Top 20 Pokemon Moments That Broke The Internet

#20: Ash-Greninja

Greninja was arguably one of the most complex members of Ash’s team. His drive to win at all costs made him into a powerhouse, with a deep bond with his trainer. Just how deep is this bond? Deep enough to unlock a whole new transformation – the Bond Phenomenon. This form grants Greninja an Ash-like appearance and allows both trainer and Pokémon to feel each other’s strengths and weaknesses. While Mega Evolution was still relatively new at the time, this latest evolution took it one step further, highlighting the importance of the connection between humans and Pokémon. Honestly, we’re surprised that Pikachu wasn’t the one who got an Ash form.

#19: The Time Skip

We all joke that the Pokémon anime is stuck in a never-ending time loop. We’ve followed Ash’s journey for over two decades, and he’s still 10 years old by the time his adventure ends. However, the second season of “Horizons” changed all the rules. The episode “Where the Adventure Leads” ends by jumping one year into the future following the incident at Laqua. Yes, you heard that right, “Pokémon” actually did a time skip and stuck to it. The idea of time actually moving forward in this anime was unprecedented; while it was only a year, it opened so many doors and possibilities.

#18: The Journey Continues

After 26 years, the end of Ash’s journey with us has come. He’s the World Champion, he’s said goodbye to Misty and Brock again, defeated Team Rocket for the last time, and reunited with Pidgeot... where can he go from here? In Ash’s own words, he can’t truly be a Pokémon Master until he’s befriended as many Pokémon as possible. And so, we watch with tears in our eyes as Ash and Pikachu set off again for another journey –one that we can’t follow on. We knew we couldn’t follow Ash forever, but seeing him and Pikachu leave without us after two decades hit harder than it should have. Until we meet again, Ash Ketchum.

#17: Return of an Old Friend

While visiting the Kanto Fair, Ash starts remembering another one of his most iconic Pokémon – Charizard. He tells his Unova friends Charizard’s entire story – from its beginning as an abandoned Charmander, to its lazy, rebellious stage, before becoming a loyal powerhouse. After a stroll down memory lane, Ash decides it’s time to bring Charizard back on the team. Immediately, it forms a rivalry with Iris’ Dragonite and proves how effective its training has been while it’s been away. Given the massive gap since we last saw Charizard, this reunion shook us to our core and made us excited to see how far he’s come since Ash first caught him.

#16: Ash vs. The Masked Royal

Even after winning the Manalo Conference, Ash still has to power through the exhibition match against the Masked Royal... who is revealed to be Ash’s teacher, Professor Kukui. While it’s a friendly match with no major stakes... It’s absolutely insane! Ash’s Torrecat evolving into Incineroar, Kukui teaming up with the legendary Tapu Koko, and Pikachu ending the match with a dazzling display of 10,000,000 thunderbolts! All the while, Ash gives it his all against the teacher who became like a father to him, and triumphs over an Alolan guardian as well. So much is happening with so little on the line, and yet it’s so fun and thrilling that we can’t look away.

#15: Pikachu Speaks to Ash

In an alternate take of Ash and Pikachu’s earliest adventures, our duo is being attacked by mind-controlled Pokémon. Ash begs Pikachu to get into his Poké Ball, where it’s safe, but Pikachu won’t budge. When Ash asks why he won’t go into the ball... our eyes bugged out when we heard Pikachu give his answer... and we could understand him. It may have been because Ash was semi-conscious, but hearing the iconic electric mouse say something other than his name felt like a shocking whiplash. Add to it, the first legible words he speaks absolutely melted our hearts and reminded us how strong the duo’s friendship really is. Though admittedly, some people hated this.

#14: Red’s Final Test

Remember playing the Gen 1 games? Travelling to Cerulean Cave to confront the most mysterious Pokémon of all – Mewtwo. The series finale of “Pokémon Origins” recaptures this feeling by recounting Red’s encounter with the elusive psychic-type. Mewtwo isn’t going down without a fight, even taking out Red’s Articuno. Then Red breaks out Charizard, his very first Pokémon. The bond between trainer and Pokémon enables Charizard to Mega Evolve, giving the Mighty Mewtwo a run for its money, and allowing Red to capture it. At long last, Red has completed the Pokedex... and he didn’t even use a Master Ball. Between Mega Charizard X and recapturing the thrill of fighting Mewtwo, it’s impossible not to replay this scene multiple times.

#13: Ash vs. Cynthia

Since her debut in the anime and Gen 4 games, folks fell in love with Cynthia, the champion of Sinnoh. She's ranked among the strongest trainers in the world, and we longed for the day when she and Ash would do battle. The big day arrives when Ash faces Cynthia in the Masters Elite Semifinals; after this, she plans to retire, and she is giving it her all. Both opponents are neck-and-neck; Cynthia proves her champion status, while Ash puts all the training he’s had over the years into practice. When the dust clears, Ash emerges victorious, and Cynthia is inspired to keep on battling –meanwhile, we’re sobbing tears of joy at finally seeing the duel we’ve been itching for.

#12: The Gang’s Back Together

After finishing Ash’s journey in Johto, it shattered our hearts when he parted ways with Misty and Brock. Brock had only just come back after leaving during the Orange Islands arc, and Misty had been with him since the beginning. While Brock returned for Hoenn and Sinnoh, Misty only made guest appearances, so it felt like the trio would never fully be back together. That is, until we learn that Ash and his new Alolan friends would be visiting Kanto, and guess who’s waiting for them at the airport. Brock and Misty, of course. While it wouldn’t be the first time they reunited, seeing the OG trio back together always warms our hearts.

#11: “Cooking With Pokémon”

In 2022, the Japanese Pokémon YouTube channel released a 5-minute short about a nameless trainer baking treats for his team. The story for the short was wholesome, while the baked goods had our taste buds tingling to try them ourselves. Between the adorable antics and the mouth-watering goodies, the video blew up with over 100 million views –the most viewed video on the Japanese channel. Sometimes it’s nice to unwind from the high intensity of the games and anime and enjoy some nice, wholesome shorts, and having it double as a baking video feels like a match made in heaven.

#10: Clash of the Charizards

Ever since the Fire Lizard debuted in the anime and caused Ash a lot of havoc, Charizard has been a fan favorite. So, when 2013’s “Pokémon X and Y” came out and the pseudo dragon was getting 2 Mega Evolutions, we were excited. Then, the episode “A League of His Own!” was aired, which gave us THE Charizard battle of all time as X took on Y. Armed with Mega Charizard X, Alain took on Trevor’s Mega Charizard Y in the top 64 bout for the Lumiose Conference in Kalos. After a drawn-out battle with the behemoths slugging it out, Alain’s Charizard overcame its Mega rival and then took out the rest of Trevor’s team to advance in the tournament.

#9: Ash Challenges Mewtwo

Old school Pokémon fans still remember where they were upon seeing Mewtwo’s incredible aura and playing a role in turning Ash to stone in 1998’s “Pokémon: The First Movie." While the legendary psychic has popped up every so often in the series and films, the O.G. Mewtwo hadn’t appeared since the Johto days. Well, that changed in the “Pokémon Journeys” episode, “Getting More Than You Battled For!” Goh and Ash arrived on an island to search for Mew. Instead, they discovered Mewtwo, the same one from the films. During the episode, Goh and Ash teamed up to battle Mewtwo so the former could capture it. However, it wiped the floor with the 2 trainers in majestic fashion, exciting viewers with this epic return.

#8: Overpowered Tobias

If you’ve played an online battle and faced someone with a team filled with legendaries and mythicals, you know how annoying this can be. In the semi-final of the Lily of the Valley Conference of the Sinnoh League, Ash took on the mysterious Tobias, who had a Darkrai that swept the competition on its own so far. Ash’s team put up a valiant effort, even knocking out Darkrai. However, Tobias threw out a Latios that won the battle for him, even if it got knocked out doing so. The audience was annoyed at the cheap way the writers wanted a ridiculously strong trainer to stop Ash from going on to win the tournament. What made it worse is that Tobias hasn’t been seen since.

#7: Pikachu's Backstory

Since debuting in the anime’s first episode, Pikachu has led the whole franchise as its mascot. Yet in the show, for over 2 decades, its history before being stuffed into the Pokéball against its will has been a mystery. Only drops of information here and there. To welcome the new series, we discovered more of the electric rodent’s origin in the episode “Enter Pikachu!” 4 years before it became Ash’s premier partner, Pikachu was a Pichu in a forest near Pallet Town. Exhausted after several run-ins with wild Pokémon, it’s adopted by a Kangaskhan. After some time, Pichu realizes it’s time to move on. As it waves goodbye, it evolves into Pikachu. Understandably, many fans cried at the wholesome tale.

#6: Lake Rage

In 2016, “Pokémon Generations” was released online, which featured short animations based on events from the video games. One episode in particular, “The Lake of Rage," captured the attention of the audience and brought in the most viewers. With Lance of the Elite Four infiltrating the Team Rocket laboratory in Mahogany Town, we witnessed another Gen One favorite being the coolest Pokémon in existence with Dragonite. Not only did it briefly battle the iconic shiny Gyarados, but the dragon-type easily defeated 5 Team Rocket Pokémon at the same time and wrecked the lab, all with stunning animation! Honestly, Lance wasn’t really needed, as Dragonite did it all by itself.

#5: Losing the Kalos League

For 19 seasons, Ash had never looked stronger than when he reached the final of the Lumiose Conference in the Kalos League. Armed with the unique Ash-Greninja, it seemed like the Pallet Town homeboy would lift a league trophy. In the final against Alain’s Mega Charizard X, even with a type advantage, Greninja was the first to fall in the epic, incredibly animated fight. Fans were split on the decision for Ash to lose. Some didn’t mind, as it showed progression. But they did point out that losing to Alain meant Ash never beat him, which was disappointing. Others were livid that they were misled by the episode’s promotional material and the translation of the Japanese title, which also hinted at Ash's win.

#4: The First Kiss...?

Shipping is a serious topic. Fans love to debate their matchmaking choices, and Pokémon is one of the best examples. Whenever Ash has a new companion, the audience goes into a tailspin over the new possible romance. But Ash had little love moments beyond THAT Latias scene. Well, that was until the climax of the “XYZ” series. As Serena was leaving for Hoenn, she suddenly turned up the escalator and -- while not shown -- it’s heavily implied from the blushing, the foot movement, and the stunned reaction of the characters that she kissed Ash. AmourShippers, as fans who want Ash and Serena together are called, were delighted. But Pokéshippers, fans of Misty and Ash, were probably less enthusiastic.

#3: Ash the League Champion

After countless battles, capturing Pokémon, befriending many folks, and making way too many memories for a single lifetime, Ash had finally achieved what he strove to do, become a League Champion. To make it even more impressive, he became the Alola region’s first winner. While the “Sun and Moon” series was divisive for its change in art style, that was all forgotten about when Ash faced Gladion in the final of the Manalo Conference. With his Dusk Form Lycanroc taking on the Midnight Form, Ash out-Counter-ed his rival to win his first major League trophy! The only achievement close to this was the much smaller Orange League success. This Alolan news even reached mainstream media, which released articles celebrating the monumental moment.

#2: Gotcha!

In 3 minutes and 14 seconds, no Pokémon-related music video has captured as much nostalgia as this. In 2020, Japanese rock band Bump of Chicken had their song “Acacia” turned into a beautiful animated Pokémon video to celebrate the Crown Tundra DLC for “Pokémon Sword and Shield.” Known as “GOTCHA!” it went through the video game’s history, highlighting forgotten and beloved characters and creatures over the entire franchise, alongside a catchy tune. It was filled with many, many easter eggs to get fans to stare at every frame for secrets. As of right now, “GOTCHA!” has amassed 82 million views on YouTube! In comparison, Ed Sheeran’s “Celestial” from 2022 has 48 million, and 2021’s “Electric” from Katy Perry has 52 million.

#1: Becoming World Champion

Finally, Ash had completed what he’d set out to do since he walked into Professor Oak’s lab with a dream. He’s now a Pokémon Master! After over 1200 episodes, during the “Ultimate Journeys” series, Ash entered the Masters Eight Tournament, where the top-ranked trainers in the world competed. Bringing back familiar powerhouses and beloved characters for a delightful trip down memory lane, Ash goes through the tournament to win it all by beating Leon in the final! Once again, mainstream media celebrated the news as though Ash was an IRL competitor, delighting fans even more. It was the perfect send-off for Ash Ketchum. Soon after, he stepped into anime retirement as the series’ main protagonist, allowing the franchise to evolve once more.

Which Pokemon moment blew your mind? Let us know in the comments below