Part 6 of the “Did Ash Actually Earn This?” series, where we ask the following hard-hitting questions:
- How many Gym Leaders did Ash fight?
- How many Elite Four members did Ash fight?
- How many awards did Ash fairly earn?
Seasons 17-19 are in the Kalos Region, with all the French-adjacent beauty that it contains. Ash makes new friends, a new evil team is actively trying to destroy the world, and there’s a hot new professor. But, we’re not here to discuss Professor “Slickamore”, we’re here to talk about Ash and his battle records!
Remember: In order for an award to be fairly earned, Ash must defeat the Gym Leader, Elite Four member, or Champion, either by knocking out all the opposing Pokémon, or if the opponent forfeits.
I’m counting battles that happened in any season (some exceptions apply).
| Gym Leader / Badge Given | How did the battle finish? | Ash earned the badge because… |
|---|---|---|
| Viola / Bug | Ash’s Pikachu knocks out Viola’s Vivillion | Ash defeated Viola fairly |
| Grant / Cliff | Ash’s Pikachu knocks out Grant’s Tyrunt | Ash defeated Grant fairly |
| Korrina / Rumble | Ash’s Pikachu knocks out Korrina’s Lucario | Ash defeated Korrina fairly |
| Ramos / Plant | Ash’s Frogadier knocks out Ramos’ Gogoat | Ash defeated Ramos fairly |
| Clemont / Voltage | Ash’s Goodra knocks out Clemont’s Luxray | Ash defeated Clemont fairly |
| Valerie / Fairy | Ash’s Hawlucha knocks out Valerie’s Spritzee | Ash defeated Valerie fairly |
| Olympia / Psychic | Ash’s Frogadier and Talonflame knock out Olympia’s Meowstic couple | Ash defeated Olympia fairly |
| Wulfric / Iceberg | Ash’s Greninja knocks out Wulfric’s Abomasnow | Ash defeated Wulfric fairly |
A major component of Pokémon X and Y is the Battle Château. It functions much the same as the Battle Tower or Battle Frontier of previous generations. The player can challenge other trainers, referred to with noble titles like Viscount or Duchess, and rise in rank to get money and prizes. But, in the anime, the Château is only featured in a single episode. Ash wins a battle there, earning a Baron title, and the white cape that comes with it. But aside from that, the Château is not given too much attention.
Kalos’ single-elimination tournament is the Lumiose Conference. Ash definitely stepped his game up, earning second place overall in the tournament. That’s pretty damn good, especially considering what Ash needed to deal with immediately after losing.
You know what’s not pretty damn good? Not battling most of the Elite Four again.
| League Member | Did Ash defeat this person? |
|---|---|
| Malva | Did not battle |
| Siebold | Not encountered |
| Wikstrom | Did not battle |
| Drasna | Yes (a few seasons later) |
| Diantha | No |
Even though it’s cool that Ash met more members of the Kalos League, simply meeting a canon member doesn’t count. Ash didn’t even defeat the Champion of the region, despite his Greninja looking cool as shit.
Regardless of my irritation, the final analysis is this: Ash won all 8 Kalos badges fair and square, but once again, he does not join the regional Hall of Fame.
We’re nearing the end of our little series, with only the Alola region left to cover (Maybe I’ll look into other little bits and pieces Ash did during the series? Who knows?) Alola will definitely be the most interesting to look at, considering the overhaul to its Gym Leader system.
Interesting Times with CaptainHoneydew 
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