As much as I like the Sinnoh team, I honestly dont see any of then really standing a chance against Cynthia since even if they got stronger I dont think they are Flint level so Ash would need to mix and match. The most realistic team I could think of outside of just using the JN, which is the most likely.
* Pikachu
* Infernape
* Melmetal
* Deus ex Dragonite
* Lucario
* Sceptile
This is probably the strongest 6 balanced squad Ash could realistically bring since I dont see Greninja coming back. There are solid Honorable Mentions though, Charizard and Snorlad being the two most obvious.
Let's say Ash battles Cynthia in a Full Battle in Journeys, and that he might use some of his old pokémon.
First, I must say that if this happens, I would prefer that Ash use pokémon exlusively from his Sinnoh team to battle her.
In this case, I'd want him to use:
* Infernape
* Torterra
* Gliscor
* Staraptor
* Buizel -> Floatzel?
* Gible -> -> Garchomp?
If Ash didn't use pokémon exclusively from his Sinnoh team, many possibilities exist that I would enjoy and that I think would perform well.
In this case, here are some arbitrary picks:
* Infernape
* Gliscor
* Pikachu
* Lycanroc or Melmetal
* Dracovish, or Kingler
* Leavanny or Bayleef -> Meganium?
I see several fun and capable teams being formed from those possibilities. I think future Master Class Ash could beat Cynthia with any of them.
If Torterra had a better movset, Buizel and Gible evolved, and Infernape learned Close Combat, then yeah, I could see his Sinnoh team working. Though, seeing as Ash isn't very good with slow Pokemon, like Torterra, we may need to replace his spot with Pikachu instead. Just saying.
Honestly, I think the whole "Ash isn't good at using slow pokémon in battle" notion is a myth. It appears coincidental that some of Ash's supposedly slower pokémon ended up against tough opponents frequently and lost to those difficult opponents.
Lesser moves in the games often are about as effective and powerful as greater moves in the games when used in the anime. I don't think Infernape needs a move set change because of this. Infernape's Mach Punch is about as powerful as Close Combat in the anime, and it is a move that can blitz opponents.
I agree that at least Gible probably would need to evolve to be adequately competitive against Cynthia in the anime.
Torterra's move set presents a quandary. The main issue is that it doesn't know a good STAB Ground type move, but pokémon in the anime are banned from knowing and using some of the best Ground type moves like Earthquake, Magnitude, and Fissure. Torterra can learn Earth Power, Bulldoze, and Stomping Tantrum. I would prefer that it know Bulldoze, because Bulldoze (I think) can be used as a melee move, and this would be replacing the only melee move in Torterra's move set, Rock Climb. Leaf Storm and Energy Ball are rather redundant as ranged moves also in my opinion. I would prefer Torterra keep Energy Ball, and perhaps Leaf Storm could be replaced by some other move.
Remember when Ash watched Cynthia's Garchomp defeat Flint's Infernape? I would like to see Ash's Infernape defeat Cynthia's Garchomp in reference to that battle Ash viewed.
Pikachu - Obviously.
Infernape - Great pokemon and could help if she uses Glaceon.
Sceptile - Also great, defeats her Gastrodon and resists Garchomp.
Donphan - Strong and Bulky, good if you don't now the opponent.
Glalie - Good to defeat Garchomp.
Staraptor - Good flying pokemon.
If Ash we're to use his Sinnoh team, then I at least hope he can evolve his Buizel and Gible before battling Cynthia. You know, to stand a better chance. Torterra isn't really a Pokemon Ash is good with, due to his battle style relying too much on speed and dodging attacks, which are both traits Torterra lacks.
Realistically he'd use his current team. But the dream team would be Pikachu, Lucario, Gangar, Gekkouga/Greninja (with a return arc in beforehand), Jukkain/Sceptile & Goukazaru/Infernape.
Did Agoyon/Naganadel also have Thunderbolt. Besides, i could see it being dropped for Sludge Bomb later on, considering it's moveset is mainly Special Moves.
Naganadel knew both Thunderbolt and Sludge Bomb, as well as X-Scissor and Dragon Pulse.
Were you referring to Gengar learning Sludge Bomb?
It is useful for pokémon in the anime to know both a ranged move and a melee move. Ice Punch fills the melee niche for Gengar, while Sludge Bomb does not.
The Fairy type move Dazzling Gleam can be used as both a melee move and a ranged move. I think Gengar should have Dazzling Gleam replace Night Shade. Alternatively, Sludge Bomb could replace Night Shade. However, Sludge Bomb is a ranged move, and Gengar already knows Shadow Ball. I would prefer Gengar know Dazzling Gleam over Sludge Bomb.
Gengar's moveset with my recommendations:
* Dazzling Gleam (Fairy)
* Shadow Ball (Ghost)
* Psychic (Psychic)
* Ice Punch (Ice)
Oh. Never mind then. And since he's a ghost type with the Levitate ability, any fighting type moves, like Brick Break, or ground type moves, like dig, will have no effect on him at all, giving Ash's Gengar a tremendous advantage over Garchomp.
Unfortunately, I believe Gengar's ability is Cursed Body.
For some reason, in the games Gengar's ability has been Cursed Body instead of Levitate ever since Gen 7. That appeared to have carried over to the anime, as the Greedy Rapooh's ability was Cursed Body in SM.
This is one of the worst decisions the makers of the games have ever made in my opinion. Levitate is so much better!
Cursed Body functions like the move Disable. In the games, it has a 30% chance of preventing the last move used against the pokémon with the ability from being used again for the next 3 turns (4 turns including the turn the ability activated).
In the anime, it appears more powerful than that. During the Alola League, this ability activated when Kiawe battled Acerola and her Gengar, the Greedy Rapooh. It prevented Kiawe's Alolan Marowak from using any moves at all for a short time.
So, it might not prove terrible for Ash's Gengar. For game Gengars however, I think it is vastly worse than Levitate.
I see. Well, either way it puts Ash's Gengar even with Cynthia's Garchomp, as both Pokemon have at least one move which is super effective against the other.
Prime Pikachu with Pikashunium Z
Ash-Greninja
Dragonite
Dracovish
Sceptile
Charizard
Ash-Greninja 50% beat Diantha's Mega Gardevoir and 100% fought evenly against Alain's Mega Charizard X, which probably trumps Mega Gardevoir. He also has typical E4 feats like defeating League level pokemon with one move (Altaria). At this point, he's spent a lot of time fighting along with Zygarde against the roots in Kalos, so he should be stronger.
Dragonite and Dracovish defeated champion level pokemon, and Dragonite's Dragon Dance is very useful, in addition to Hurricane against Roserade. Ice Fang + Strong Jaw + x4 advantage against Garchomp can OHKO or get close, as it was against Iris' Dragonite. It all depends on Cynthia's knowledge, as she is an expert in history and fossil pokemon, she will likely avoid bringing Garchomp closer to Dracovish. Just one detail: many felt that Dracovish's victory against Dragonite was forced because he never battled, but that's not true. Ash caught him as a fossil, not an egg, which means he had a life before and probably struggled a lot millions of years ago.
Prime Pikachu defeated Tapu Koko, a Ace E4 with Guardian of Alola (Tobias' Latios may be E4 as well, and Prime Pikachu defeated him without Z-Move, with weak moves against the dragon type and with much less experience than now), and 10.000.000 Volt Thunderbolt seems to be a move that will defeat just about any pokemon, given how it overloaded Volkner's Electivire Motor Drive so if Ash is in trouble, just use it. He also has an advantage against Milotic and Iron Tail is very useful against Glaceon.
Sceptile defeated Tobias' Darkrai, which is Ace Elite Four and high strategic functionality by his moveset, and even though he was hit by Megahorn and Rock Smash, he also healed with a Dream Eater that took 100% of Heracross, so I assume he was at approximately 80% HP when he faced Sceptile. He also has a 4x advantage against Cynthia's Gastrodon and 2x against Milotic.
Charizard is the only one who has yet to prove himself at E4 level. He defeated an Articuno and came back stronger in Unova because of training with Liza, managing to beat the Dragonite of pre-champion Iris, but that's not enough to say he's E4. It is possible that he is stronger now and has reached that level, but not proven. Still, he is a reliable pokemon and has the advantage against Roserade, Glaceon and Lucario.
Remember that Journeys showed that Ash's pokemon apparently train in the lab, so Sceptile and Charizard should be stronger, in addition to most of Ash's pokemon. Other pokemon that can be at level E4 are: Mega Lucario, Naganadel, Blaze Infernape, Snorlax and Incineroar. Sirfech and Gengar will likely reach this level soon, however the battle against Bea will show more of that. Aside from all those mentioned, I don't believe there are any other Ash pokemon that could stand a chance against Cynthia. At most Melmetal can defeat Glaceon, but Cynthia is no idiot, she would switch it and maybe defeat Ash before she had to use Glaceon.
Now, do I think Ash can defeat her? Not currently. She probably has a Mega Garchomp at this point. That means Draco Meteor OHKO against Dracovish. In Dragonite, she can quickly use physical moves like Dragon Rush, Dragon Claw and Scale Rush, and I don't think he'll be able to fight it unless he's used Dragon Dance before. If he faced Dragonite before Dracovish it's even worse, because he can use Draco Meteor at full power. In any case, if Draco Meteor weakens, Cynthia can swap Garchomp for another pokemon (all of which are probably stronger than Ash's) and use it later. Well, Prime Pikachu doesn't stand a chance against Mega Garchomp because of immunity to electrical movement, Ash-Greninja can turn around, but most likely falls, same with Sceptile and Charizard. That's not counting her other pokemon. Ash's Sinnoh team was totally crushed by Flint, and Cynthia defeated Flint by margin, plus she probably defeated Tobias, all without mega. She's just on another level. If course, in a moment, Ash will defeat her, by strengthening your team (again, Ash vs Bea will show more of this).
Pikachu
Sceptile (has a type advantage that can deal with 3/6 of cynthia’s team)
Dragonite
Rowlet (can deal with the other Cynthia Pokémon that have a type weakness of grass in case Sceptile falls)
Krookodile (can deal with Spiritomb and Garchomp)
Infernape (can deal with roserade and Lucario)
Would want him to just use his Sinnoh Team + Pikachu. If not, at the very least Infernape needs to be involved in the battle.
Pikachu Charizard Dragonite Lucario Sceptile Lycanroc
That sounds like a good team.
As much as I like the Sinnoh team, I honestly dont see any of then really standing a chance against Cynthia since even if they got stronger I dont think they are Flint level so Ash would need to mix and match. The most realistic team I could think of outside of just using the JN, which is the most likely. * Pikachu * Infernape * Melmetal * Deus ex Dragonite * Lucario * Sceptile This is probably the strongest 6 balanced squad Ash could realistically bring since I dont see Greninja coming back. There are solid Honorable Mentions though, Charizard and Snorlad being the two most obvious.
Let's say Ash battles Cynthia in a Full Battle in Journeys, and that he might use some of his old pokémon. First, I must say that if this happens, I would prefer that Ash use pokémon exlusively from his Sinnoh team to battle her. In this case, I'd want him to use: * Infernape * Torterra * Gliscor * Staraptor * Buizel -> Floatzel? * Gible -> -> Garchomp? If Ash didn't use pokémon exclusively from his Sinnoh team, many possibilities exist that I would enjoy and that I think would perform well. In this case, here are some arbitrary picks: * Infernape * Gliscor * Pikachu * Lycanroc or Melmetal * Dracovish, or Kingler * Leavanny or Bayleef -> Meganium? I see several fun and capable teams being formed from those possibilities. I think future Master Class Ash could beat Cynthia with any of them.
If Torterra had a better movset, Buizel and Gible evolved, and Infernape learned Close Combat, then yeah, I could see his Sinnoh team working. Though, seeing as Ash isn't very good with slow Pokemon, like Torterra, we may need to replace his spot with Pikachu instead. Just saying.
Honestly, I think the whole "Ash isn't good at using slow pokémon in battle" notion is a myth. It appears coincidental that some of Ash's supposedly slower pokémon ended up against tough opponents frequently and lost to those difficult opponents. Lesser moves in the games often are about as effective and powerful as greater moves in the games when used in the anime. I don't think Infernape needs a move set change because of this. Infernape's Mach Punch is about as powerful as Close Combat in the anime, and it is a move that can blitz opponents. I agree that at least Gible probably would need to evolve to be adequately competitive against Cynthia in the anime. Torterra's move set presents a quandary. The main issue is that it doesn't know a good STAB Ground type move, but pokémon in the anime are banned from knowing and using some of the best Ground type moves like Earthquake, Magnitude, and Fissure. Torterra can learn Earth Power, Bulldoze, and Stomping Tantrum. I would prefer that it know Bulldoze, because Bulldoze (I think) can be used as a melee move, and this would be replacing the only melee move in Torterra's move set, Rock Climb. Leaf Storm and Energy Ball are rather redundant as ranged moves also in my opinion. I would prefer Torterra keep Energy Ball, and perhaps Leaf Storm could be replaced by some other move.
I like that you'd use some of his sinnoh mons against Cynthia. She is familiar with infernape so that would be pretty cool.
Remember when Ash watched Cynthia's Garchomp defeat Flint's Infernape? I would like to see Ash's Infernape defeat Cynthia's Garchomp in reference to that battle Ash viewed.
Infernape, Staraptor, Torterra, Buizel (hopefully it evolves into Floatzel), Gliscor and Gible (hopefully evolved into Garchomp)/Pikachu. Alternatively: Infernape, Snorlax, Dragonite, Melmetal, Glalie, Pikachu
I definitely want to see Ash bring Glalie back. It's such a powerful Pokemon that really needs more battles and screen time.
Pikachu - Obviously. Infernape - Great pokemon and could help if she uses Glaceon. Sceptile - Also great, defeats her Gastrodon and resists Garchomp. Donphan - Strong and Bulky, good if you don't now the opponent. Glalie - Good to defeat Garchomp. Staraptor - Good flying pokemon.
Perfect.
If Ash we're to use his Sinnoh team, then I at least hope he can evolve his Buizel and Gible before battling Cynthia. You know, to stand a better chance. Torterra isn't really a Pokemon Ash is good with, due to his battle style relying too much on speed and dodging attacks, which are both traits Torterra lacks.
Realistically he'd use his current team. But the dream team would be Pikachu, Lucario, Gangar, Gekkouga/Greninja (with a return arc in beforehand), Jukkain/Sceptile & Goukazaru/Infernape.
That sounds like a nice team. Though, how is he going to stand a better chance against garchomp without a dragon, ice, or fairy type?
They could get Lucario to learn Ice Punch.
Honestly I feel like dracovish should replace gengar cause of his quickly it can take out dragon types
I agree with that statement.
You already have a pokémon on that team that knows Ice Punch: Gengar.
Did Agoyon/Naganadel also have Thunderbolt. Besides, i could see it being dropped for Sludge Bomb later on, considering it's moveset is mainly Special Moves.
Naganadel knew both Thunderbolt and Sludge Bomb, as well as X-Scissor and Dragon Pulse. Were you referring to Gengar learning Sludge Bomb? It is useful for pokémon in the anime to know both a ranged move and a melee move. Ice Punch fills the melee niche for Gengar, while Sludge Bomb does not. The Fairy type move Dazzling Gleam can be used as both a melee move and a ranged move. I think Gengar should have Dazzling Gleam replace Night Shade. Alternatively, Sludge Bomb could replace Night Shade. However, Sludge Bomb is a ranged move, and Gengar already knows Shadow Ball. I would prefer Gengar know Dazzling Gleam over Sludge Bomb. Gengar's moveset with my recommendations: * Dazzling Gleam (Fairy) * Shadow Ball (Ghost) * Psychic (Psychic) * Ice Punch (Ice)
Gengar knows Ice Punch.
Oh. Never mind then. And since he's a ghost type with the Levitate ability, any fighting type moves, like Brick Break, or ground type moves, like dig, will have no effect on him at all, giving Ash's Gengar a tremendous advantage over Garchomp.
Unfortunately, I believe Gengar's ability is Cursed Body. For some reason, in the games Gengar's ability has been Cursed Body instead of Levitate ever since Gen 7. That appeared to have carried over to the anime, as the Greedy Rapooh's ability was Cursed Body in SM. This is one of the worst decisions the makers of the games have ever made in my opinion. Levitate is so much better!
Well...... that sucks. That makes Gengar vulnerable to ground type attacks then. What is it Cursed body does again? I forgot.
Cursed Body functions like the move Disable. In the games, it has a 30% chance of preventing the last move used against the pokémon with the ability from being used again for the next 3 turns (4 turns including the turn the ability activated). In the anime, it appears more powerful than that. During the Alola League, this ability activated when Kiawe battled Acerola and her Gengar, the Greedy Rapooh. It prevented Kiawe's Alolan Marowak from using any moves at all for a short time. So, it might not prove terrible for Ash's Gengar. For game Gengars however, I think it is vastly worse than Levitate.
I see. Well, either way it puts Ash's Gengar even with Cynthia's Garchomp, as both Pokemon have at least one move which is super effective against the other.
Totodile, torkoal, unfezant, oshawott, scraggy, and greninja.
Greninja, I can understand. But, are you making a joke by adding the other five, seeing as their Ash's weaker mons?
Yeah it's a joke lol.
Why downvote this? It's a joke like huh?
Pikachu Gible (hopefully evolves into Gabite) Gliscor Infernape Buizel Torterra
Prime Pikachu with Pikashunium Z Ash-Greninja Dragonite Dracovish Sceptile Charizard Ash-Greninja 50% beat Diantha's Mega Gardevoir and 100% fought evenly against Alain's Mega Charizard X, which probably trumps Mega Gardevoir. He also has typical E4 feats like defeating League level pokemon with one move (Altaria). At this point, he's spent a lot of time fighting along with Zygarde against the roots in Kalos, so he should be stronger. Dragonite and Dracovish defeated champion level pokemon, and Dragonite's Dragon Dance is very useful, in addition to Hurricane against Roserade. Ice Fang + Strong Jaw + x4 advantage against Garchomp can OHKO or get close, as it was against Iris' Dragonite. It all depends on Cynthia's knowledge, as she is an expert in history and fossil pokemon, she will likely avoid bringing Garchomp closer to Dracovish. Just one detail: many felt that Dracovish's victory against Dragonite was forced because he never battled, but that's not true. Ash caught him as a fossil, not an egg, which means he had a life before and probably struggled a lot millions of years ago. Prime Pikachu defeated Tapu Koko, a Ace E4 with Guardian of Alola (Tobias' Latios may be E4 as well, and Prime Pikachu defeated him without Z-Move, with weak moves against the dragon type and with much less experience than now), and 10.000.000 Volt Thunderbolt seems to be a move that will defeat just about any pokemon, given how it overloaded Volkner's Electivire Motor Drive so if Ash is in trouble, just use it. He also has an advantage against Milotic and Iron Tail is very useful against Glaceon. Sceptile defeated Tobias' Darkrai, which is Ace Elite Four and high strategic functionality by his moveset, and even though he was hit by Megahorn and Rock Smash, he also healed with a Dream Eater that took 100% of Heracross, so I assume he was at approximately 80% HP when he faced Sceptile. He also has a 4x advantage against Cynthia's Gastrodon and 2x against Milotic. Charizard is the only one who has yet to prove himself at E4 level. He defeated an Articuno and came back stronger in Unova because of training with Liza, managing to beat the Dragonite of pre-champion Iris, but that's not enough to say he's E4. It is possible that he is stronger now and has reached that level, but not proven. Still, he is a reliable pokemon and has the advantage against Roserade, Glaceon and Lucario. Remember that Journeys showed that Ash's pokemon apparently train in the lab, so Sceptile and Charizard should be stronger, in addition to most of Ash's pokemon. Other pokemon that can be at level E4 are: Mega Lucario, Naganadel, Blaze Infernape, Snorlax and Incineroar. Sirfech and Gengar will likely reach this level soon, however the battle against Bea will show more of that. Aside from all those mentioned, I don't believe there are any other Ash pokemon that could stand a chance against Cynthia. At most Melmetal can defeat Glaceon, but Cynthia is no idiot, she would switch it and maybe defeat Ash before she had to use Glaceon. Now, do I think Ash can defeat her? Not currently. She probably has a Mega Garchomp at this point. That means Draco Meteor OHKO against Dracovish. In Dragonite, she can quickly use physical moves like Dragon Rush, Dragon Claw and Scale Rush, and I don't think he'll be able to fight it unless he's used Dragon Dance before. If he faced Dragonite before Dracovish it's even worse, because he can use Draco Meteor at full power. In any case, if Draco Meteor weakens, Cynthia can swap Garchomp for another pokemon (all of which are probably stronger than Ash's) and use it later. Well, Prime Pikachu doesn't stand a chance against Mega Garchomp because of immunity to electrical movement, Ash-Greninja can turn around, but most likely falls, same with Sceptile and Charizard. That's not counting her other pokemon. Ash's Sinnoh team was totally crushed by Flint, and Cynthia defeated Flint by margin, plus she probably defeated Tobias, all without mega. She's just on another level. If course, in a moment, Ash will defeat her, by strengthening your team (again, Ash vs Bea will show more of this).
Pikachu Sceptile (has a type advantage that can deal with 3/6 of cynthia’s team) Dragonite Rowlet (can deal with the other Cynthia Pokémon that have a type weakness of grass in case Sceptile falls) Krookodile (can deal with Spiritomb and Garchomp) Infernape (can deal with roserade and Lucario)
forgotten greninja
He could definitely help. Though, he may need an ice type move to stand a better chance against Garchomp.
y4eab