Top 20 Times Pokemon Went Beast Mode
Top 20 Times Pokémon Went Beast Mode
Top 10 Times Demon Slayer Characters Went Beast Mode
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 20 Times Pokémon Went Beast Mode. For this list, we’ll be looking at the most notable instances where Pokémon completely cut loose. What’s your favorite rampage in the series? Let us know in the comments below!
#20: Psyduck's True Power
"The Perfect Match!" Misty’s oblivious partner spends more time nursing a headache than fighting in battle. So, it spelled almost certain doom when she accidentally sent it out during the finals of the Whirl Cup. But, against all odds, Psyduck shocked Misty, Ash, the audience, and itself with an amazing psychic smackdown. The pent-up mental energy gave the plodding duck the strength to one-shot Ash and Kingler out of the entire tournament. In doing so, Psyduck also earned Misty her first ever true win against Ash. Based on that feat alone, Psyduck has definitely earned its spot on Misty’s team. At least, as long as that headache never goes away.
#19: Lycanroc Rocks On
“Guiding an Awakening!” Island trials aren’t supposed to be easy, let alone challenging a kahuna. But, apparently, no one told that to Lycanroc. Due to some miscommunication between trainer and Pokémon, the Rock-type pretty much defeats two-thirds of Nanu’s team all on its own. The Kahuna’s mind-games do end up enraging Lycanroc, but unfortunately for Nanu, Ash knows a thing or two about training unruly Pokémon. So, once the pair finally sync up, they take the whole fight up a few notches. However, the best part comes after the fireworks, when Lycanroc takes it all home with a single Accelerock attack. It’s so blissfully simple that it almost feels disrespectful.
#18: Fighting Fire With Fire
"Volcanic Panic" To say Ash struggled raising his Charizard would be an understatement. So, no one was more surprised than him when the rebellious Fire-type decided to duke it out for the Volcano Badge. As one of the first times Charizard ever showed its stuff, the fight did not disappoint. In fact, the redhot back-and-forth is among the coolest in the entire Kanto arc. And yet, despite Magmar’s best efforts, this was Charizard’s fight to win. So, with one instantly-iconic seismic toss finisher, the Kanto starter proved he really was the superior fire type. Plus, if his attitude is any indication, he didn’t even need Ash’s help to do it.
#17: Rock & Roll-out
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“A Goldenrod Opportunity” At the start, Ash seemed to have the Goldenrod Gym Badge on lock. But, after easily taking out her first two mons, he discovered that the whole fight had just been a preamble for Whitney’s dreaded Miltank. So, in a blow to both his Pokémon and his pride, the Gym leader’s ace reverse 3-0’d him into a clean defeat. To make matters worse, Miltank didn’t just solo his entire team, it did it with a single move, no less. The bovine Pokémon’s Rollout attack compounds strength with each attack, meaning Ash’s team quite literally only made it stronger. After such an embarrassing loss, it’s just amazing Ash showed his face in battle ever again.
#16: Charizard Burns Through the Competition
“A League of His Own!” A Mega Charizard versus another Mega Charizard should be a pretty even matchup. However, the devil is in the details. Sure, Trevor is no slouch, but against a Pokémon trained by Alain, the poor guy just didn’t stand a chance. In Charizard’s case, there’s no better way to assert dominance than by defeating your own species. But, just for good measure, Alain’s Mega Charizard also proceeded to burn through the rest of Trevor’s team, too. On a stage as big as the Kalos League, that kind of defeat is soul-crushing. If anything, this fiery fight only confirmed Charizard is overpowered no matter who’s training it.
#15: Pikachu Pummel
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“Electric Shock Showdown” Ash earned his first two Indigo League badges through friendship and perseverance. But, that wasn’t going to cut it against Lt. Surge. Instead, the Gym Leader’s fully-evolved Raichu showed why it’s at the top of the evolutionary tree. At a certain point, the Body Slams and Thunderbolt’s just feel cruel, especially since Pikachu stubbornly refuses to give up. It’s a downright brutal thrashing the likes of which “Pokémon” had never seen before. But, that just makes it all the more vindicating when Pikachu returns to the favor with a speedy rematch. It’s hard to top an episode that’s two one-sided beatdowns for the price of one.
#14: A League of Its Own
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“The Semi-Final Frontier” Even compared to rivals, Champions, and Gym Leaders, there might not be a singular Pokémon with a more impressive resume than Tobias’ Darkrai. After all, the Legendary basically won an entire Regional League on its own. As his showdown with Ash proves, those victories were no fluke, either. Pikachu’s trainer assembled a squad specifically to combat Tobias’ Darkrai, and even then, the nightmare Pokémon still one-shotted half his team. After a showcase like that, it’s just impressive Ash managed to K.O. it at all. Still, since Darkrai went on to sweep the Tournament Finals, there’s no question who’s the real MVP of the Sinnoh League.
#13: Rock, Paper, Boldore
“Battling the King of the Mines!” It’s rudimentary knowledge that Rock Pokémon are weak against Ground-types. But, Ash has never let something like type coverage stop him before. So, through sheer grit and tenacity, his unassuming Roggenrola tanked some serious hits from Clay’s Excadrill. Turns out, that’s just what Ash’s partner needed to evolve into Boldore. Then, in its first order of business, it returned Excadrill’s favor - and then some. With Boldore’s new fittingly-named Rock Smash attack, the whole thing turns into less of a Pokémon battle and more of a drag-out wrestling match. But, even with type advantage on its side, Excadrill couldn’t keep up with Boldore’s rock-solid willpower.
#12: Flames & Flight
“A Legendary Photo Op!” Moltres is pretty much the definitive fire-flying type Pokémon. However, in Ash’s case, Fletchinder is totally the next best thing. For one, it had no hesitation taking Moltres’ Fire Blast on the beak. Then, just to show off, it spread its wings and became an almighty Talonflame. Of course, a common bird versus a Legendary still isn't great odds. But, Talonflame proved that it didn’t learn the move “Brave Bird” for being a coward. In fact, the way it flew circles around Moltres would make you question which of these two is the actual Legendary. So, even though it didn’t quite clinch the win, Talonflame’s fiery passion still burned plenty hot.
#11: Duel of the Dragons
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“The Fires of a Red-Hot Reunion!” Iris’ Dragonite is certainly no pushover. But, unfortunately, it decided to pick a fight with Ash’s Charizard. So, in one hell of a homecoming, the Fire-type greeted Unova by completely dominating Dragonite in battle. Iris’ partner put up a good effort, but it’s lack of experience made it easy pickings for Charizard’s Dragon Tail attack. All it took was that one blow for Ash’s teammate to remind everyone why it’s the coolest dragon around. The real kicker, though, is that Charizard isn’t even a Dragon Type at all. For the sake of Iris’ pride, maybe Ash should’ve kept that tidbit to himself.
#10: Beware the Bewear
“Beauty is Only Crystal Deep!” Apparently, even Ultra Beasts forget that Pokémon hath no fury like a Momma Bear scorned. After Pheromosa ran quick-attacks around Pikachu and the others, there’s something almost menacing about the way Bewear confidently stalks up to its prey. Not only does it actually land a paw on the Ultra Beast, but it seems completely unfazed by their extreme speed. Bewear proves its confidence was warranted when it dodges a strike, catches Pheromosa, and delivers a sky-uppercut to end all sky-uppercuts. To say it was super-effective would be an understatement. Clearly, the untrained, fluffy combatant was on a mission to prove that its name was for more than just wordplay.
#9: Kingler is King
“Round One - Begin!” The opening match of a regional league is not usually the time to test out the second string. But, Krabby definitely proved the exception. In its first ever true fight in series, it used a vice grip on type matchups, evolved to Kingler, and then hyper-beamed Mandi out of the entire Indigo League. It’s an utter crabhammer of a match that ends with a clean three-oh sweep for Ash. That’d be impressive for any Pokémon, let alone one that spent almost the entirety of Kanto on the bench. With a debut performance like that, Ash may want to rethink his starting lineup.
#8: Riolu Roars
“Sword & Shield... The Legends Awaken!” With the fate of Ash, Pikachu, and the entire region at stake, there was a lot riding on this aura Pokémon’s tiny shoulders. But, despite the odds, he didn’t so much as hesitate before leaping into action to protect his trainer. By holding back two fully-evolved Pokémon on his own, Riolu unlocked enough friendship to evolve into Lucario - and, evidently, he learned the move “thrash” in the process. To call the ensuing scuffle a fight is a bit rude to Lucario, who only has to throw a few aura spheres before Chairman Rose completely wilts. It’s an utter reversal, and we don’t just mean the move.
#7: Dragonite Gets Grounded
“Ash, Iris, & Trip: Then There Were Three!” A fully evolved dragon-type is nothing to ‘rest’ at. Thankfully, the same can be said for ground-types. This battle of sky and earth got off to a rocky start for Ash, but it’s all to set the stage for Krokorok’s shiny, new evolution. With bigger shades, more attitude, and a super-effective dragon claw attack, the newly-minted Krookodile soon had Dragonite calling mayday. He dug his way to victory by forcing the furious dragon into a fiery crash landing - and, of course, chucking a few pointy rocks along the way. Not only did Dragonite basically defeat itself, but it lost to a Pokémon wearing sunglasses. Talk about going out with style.
#6: Evolution Revolution
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“Tentacool & Tentacruel” For the most part, Pokémon are partners, friends, and helpers. Well, except for this episode, where Team Rocket turns some cranky Tentacool into the stars of a disaster film. One of them even evolves into a Kaiju, both in size and destructive capability. The rampaging Tentacruel nearly decimates a whole town off the map, and that’s with Ash and company trying to stop it. There’d never been such a display of strength in the show before, to the point it was even temporarily banned from English broadcast. That just goes to show that Tentacruel’s surf attack wasn’t a light sprinkle, it was a full on tidal wave.
#5: Sword & Shield
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“Beyond Chivalry… Aiming to be a Leek Master!” On principle alone, a sword fight between Pokémon is plenty cool. When it’s accompanied by a welcome power-up for a long-forgotten mon, it’s no wonder this scene is a downright critical hit. Not even Gallade’s Justified boost can pierce the epicness of Farfetch’d finally getting its due. Especially when the new form comes with its own set of weaponry, too. Sirfetch’d counters the psychic-type’s blades with his very own, until, with a fearsome battle cry, he clinches a win that finally puts respect on his name. Even though Farfetch’d had been around since the first generation, this fight singlehandedly proved that the bird Pokémon still had some tricks up his leek.
#4: Blaze Blitz
“Battling a Thaw in Relations!” Really, there was only ever one way Ash and Paul’s rivalry could’ve ended. It just feels right to have their journey culminate in the top 8 of the Sinnoh league, both down to their ace, with Infernape up against the very trainer that abandoned him. With all that one the line, it’s clear why Electivire’s shocks won’t keep the fire-type down. Instead, Infernape finds the motivation to stand up one last time and blaze his way to victory. That power-up roar is downright iconic, but it immediately tops itself again with a flare-blitz that sums up the best parts of the Sinnoh seasons with a single, unforgettable move.
#3: Ash-Greninja Awakens
Top 10 Times Pokémon Went Beast Mode
“Championing a Research Battle!” After over nine hundred episodes and five regional leagues, the Pallet Town prodigy was still finding new ways to unlock his partners’ potential. By battle-bonding with the Kalos water starter, both trainer and Pokémon aligned to make the near-unstoppable Ash-Greninja. The water shurikens were already no joke, but the fact the new form managed to push a champion’s ace to Mega Evolve speaks for itself. If it weren’t for Ash and Greninja’s inexperience with the mode, they may have very well secured the win against Diantha. She may not give out a gym badge, specifically, but Ash definitely walked away with a badge of honor.
#2: Garchomp vs. Paul
“Top-Down Training!” Even a newbie trainer should know that frivolously challenging a league champ is probably not a great idea. For his trouble, Paul finished his bout against Cynthia with a battered team and a severely wounded ego. Most of that comes from the fact that against his thrifty strategies, tough Pokémon, and even a quad-effective blizzard attack, the Sinnoh Champion only had to use a lone Garchomp to win. You know it’s a real blowout when even someone as prideful as Paul forfeits the match. It just goes to show why most trainers have to win a regional league just for the chance to challenge someone like Cynthia.
#1: Mega Mayhem
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“The Aura Storm!” Evolution is nothing new to Pokémon, but Korrina’s ace skipped a few stages and became something almost unrecognizable. She got more than a measly sword dance with this Mega form; it gave Lucario red eyes, uncontrollable power, and a lust for combat. There’s something undeniably terrifying about a Pokémon that refuses to listen to its trainer, especially one with the power to toss around Pikachu like it’s a Caterpie. Then, even worse, it tried to take the “Pokémon” out of Pokémon battles by targeting Ash himself. If another Lucario hadn’t stepped in, the rampaging Mega may have left Ash and Pikachu six feet deep.
