One key element ofPokémon, be it the anime or the games, is the presence of a rival character, who can help push the protagonist to new heights. For Ash Ketchum, there have been many rivals over the course of his journey, and their skills have varied radically.
To be considered one of Ash’s rivals, the character must not only show up multiple times over the course of a season, but also battle Ash multiple times during their appearances. These rivals often go on to battle Ash in a League tournament as well, although that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. Ash has had friendly rivalries with many of his traveling companions and other recurring characters, but most of them don’t rise to the level of “rival.” Ash often only has one major rival at a time, but even that isn’t a hard rule. Here are Ash’s top rivals, ranked.
11Tierno
Appears in: Pokémon XY
Tierno is a trainer from the Kalos region who acted as Ash’s primary rival early in theXYseries. Based on a rival character from the games, Tierno specializes in an unusual form of battling that’s heavily inspired by dance and rhythm. Ash met Tierno when he was first starting out as a trainer, but Tierno improved rapidly, catching several evolved Pokémon in a brief period of time.
Unfortunately for Tierno, he never managed to beat Ash in a battle on-screen, and lost in the League tournament to another of Ash’s rivals, Sawyer, preventing them from having a rematch in the tournament. That pretty well solidifies Tierno as the weakest of Ash’s major rivals, although he did have an influence on Ash’s battling style.
10Ritchie
Appears in: Pokémon the Original Series
Ritchie is one of Ash’s first rivals, and in fact is almost a direct mirror to Ash. Aside from looking similar, Ritchie is also known for owning a Pikachu named Sparky, as well as a Charmander and a Butterfree. Ash first battles Ritchie in the Kanto League tournament, a match which Ash loses due to Charizard’s disobedience. Ritchie would then show up periodically throughout theGold and Silverera, temporarily joining Ash for certain story arcs, like the Whirl Islands arc.
Ritchie is unique in that he would go on to star ina few episodes ofPokémonChronicles, a spinoff series about side characters from the anime. He shows a lot of competence in these episodes, so while he only battled Ash rarely, he was still a pretty good trainer.
9Trip
Appears in: Pokémon Black and White
Trip is Ash’s primary rival in the Unova region. Again, Ash met Trip when he first started out on his Pokémon journey, and Trip defeatedPikachu in a battle with his brand-new Snivy(Pikachu was under the weather at the time). Trip looked down on Ash for coming from Kanto, claiming it was a backwater region full of hicks and yokels. The two would have several matches over the course of the series, culminating in a battle at the Unova League tournament.
Ash would lose to Trip in most of their confrontations; Trip even won the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup by defeating Ash. However, Ash would go on to defeat Trip in the Unova League, and while he wouldn’t win the whole conference, it was enough to set their differences aside.
8Barry
Appears in: Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
Barry is one of Ash’s rivals from the Sinnoh region, based on the character from the games. Barry is often in a rush and doesn’t always think things through as a result. Ash won their first battle, while Barry won their second, and their third was a tie. Barry would go on to enter the Sinnoh League tournament, but was defeated by Paul before he could battle Ash there.
Barry does have a rather impressive team, with all party members fully evolved, featuring Pokémon like Empoleon, Heracross, Staraptor and Roserade. He was generally on pretty good terms with Ash, at least compared to other rivals, and the two were definitely friends by the end of Ash’s time in the Sinnoh region.
7Gary Oak
Ash’s true first rival, of course, is Gary Oak. Gary started his journey on the same day that Ash did, having taken Squirtle as his starter. Gary was always two steps ahead of Ash, even obtaining 10 badges in the Kanto region before the league tournament. While the two rarely battled, Ash’s rivalry with Gary was perhaps one of his most intense, as Ash always took it very personally when Gary managed to one-up him.
Ash and Gary eventually battled it out at the Johto League tournament, where Ash managed to defeat Gary, despite a major type disadvantage, and finally earn Gary’s respect. Gary would continue to appear sporadically all the way intoJourneys, at which time he became a rival for Goh as well.
6Gladion
Appears in: Pokémon Sun and Moon
Gladion is Ash’s main rival in the Alola region. Brother to Lillie and son of Lusamine, Gladion is deeply tied to the Aether Foundation, having run off with one of their experimental Pokémon, Type: Null. Gladion and Ash had their first battleinterrupted by Team Rocket, but Gladion won their next battle. Ash would help Gladion and Lillie deal with their family troubles, and finally the two faced off in the final round of the Alola League, which ended in Ash’s victory.
Gladion was a very competent trainer with some unique and interesting Pokémon on his team. This gave him a degree of unpredictability, making matches against him quite tough for Ash. By making it to the final round of the Alola League, Gladion proved his skill, even if he didn’t win.
5Sawyer
Sawyer is a young trainer just starting out who quickly becomes a rival to Ash in Kalos. Known for taking copious notes of every battle he sees, Sawyer is the analytical type, and has a radically different battle style from Ash. Sawyer’s battle strategies often revolved around well-thought-out plans based on observation, but they didn’t always work out due to his lack of experience. Sawyer would lose his first two battles to Ash before winning one, and they eventually faced off in the Kalos League.
Sawyer was definitely one ofAsh’s most clever rivals, using complex battle strategies that required some outside-the-box thinking for Ash to defeat. His team is rather impressive as well, mostly fully evolved, and he’s capable of using Mega Evolution with his Sceptile.
4Bea
Appears in: Pokémon Journeys
Bea is a Fighting-type gym leaderfrom the Galar region in the games, and a competitor in the World Coronation Series in the anime. She’s the only trainer who Ash battles multiple times throughoutJourneys, making her his biggest rival by default. Unlike many of Ash’s rivals, Bea specializes in a single type, but Ash would often use his own Fighting-type Pokémon against her, like Lucario. Bea won her first match against Ash, had a draw in the second, and lost the third.
Bea unfortunately didn’t make it to the Masters Eight tournament, but her rivalry with Ash certainly helped to propel him to the top of the charts. Bea doesn’t let losses set her back, though, and she redoubled her efforts in training for next year.
3Paul
Paul is Ash’s primary rival in the Sinnoh region. Known for his cruel training methods, which resulted in him abandoning his Chimchar and leaving it to be picked up by Ash,Paul is an undeniably talented trainer. His first battle with Ash was a tie, followed by several victories. This ultimately led to a showdown during the Sinnoh League tournament, where Ash finally emerged victorious, proving to Paul that his strict and ruthless training wasn’t necessary to be successful.
Paul definitely has the most character growth of any of Ash’s rivals, with the possible exception of Gary. He’d even come back when he heard Ash qualified for the Masters Eight, helping him to train and practice against the types of Pokémon he would be up against.
2Alain
Alain started out as the protagonist of theMega Evolutionspecials, but soon entered the main series as a rival to Ash.Alain is known for being a user of Mega Evolution, particularly for his Charizard in the Mega Charizard X state.Alain was Ash’s final opponentin the Kalos League, and only narrowly beat him out when it all came down to the final blow. Alain would appear again as a participant in the Masters Eight, although he never got the chance to battle Ash there.
Alain is usually cool and collected during battle, but can get heated in the right circumstances. The fact that Alain was able to make it to the Masters Eight proves that he’s definitely one of Ash’s strongest rivals, but not the absolute strongest of all.
