A lot of Pokémon fans expect the Pokémon anime to adhere to the same logic in the Pokemon games. All the basic rules in Pokémon battles are expected to be followed.
However, there have been a couple of instances where the rules are broken - either as a small oversight or for storytelling purposes. These ten Pokémon battles are guilty of such, breaking rules in their own special way.
10 Torchic Vs. Sableye: Sableye Uses Lick
Lick is a ghost-type move, and yet despite this, Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar are the only ghost-type Pokémon to know the move. So when another ghost-type Pokémon uses Lick...it could cause some confusion.
This would be the case when Sableye made its main series debut in the Pokémon anime, in the episode "Ready, Willing, and Sableye". Pokémon trainer May sent out her Torchic to try and capture the Pokémon, but her attempt proved unsuccessful when Sableye used Lick on Torchic. Torchic became dizzy afterward and ended up too afraid to face Sableye again later in the episode.
9 Jessie Vs. Shiny Metagross: An Immaculate Poison Tail
Being a Steel-type Pokémon, Metagross is meant to withstand Poison-type moves. In fact, it's supposed to not take damage from Poison-type moves at all! Yet there was one Poison-type Pokémon in the anime that managed to get a good hit on Metagross.
That Pokémon happened to be Jessie's Seviper, who fought against a shiny Metagross while on Metagross Mountain. Seviper used Poison Tail on the Metagross, sending it down a cliff. Had Pokémon logic been applied here, the shiny Metagross should've withstood the Poison Tail with barely a scratch.
8 Meowth Vs. Haunter: Ghostly Double Standards
It is known to many Pokémon fans Normal-type moves do not affect Ghost-type Pokémon. But Ghost-type moves on Normal-type Pokémon? Yes, the anime found a way to break that rule.
In the episode "Hoenn Alone," Pikachu and Team Rocket's Meowth are wandering along a road when a Haunter sneaks upon them. Haunter used a Night Shade on Pikachu and Meowth, and the latter Pokémon returned the favor with some Fury Swipes. As expected, the Fury Swipes didn't work.
However, Haunter used another Night Shade, and despite being a Normal-type, Meowth took some damage. Pikachu would save the day with his signature Thunderbolt, scaring away Haunter for good.
7 Ash Vs. Sabrina: Haunter Forfeits During A Gym Battle
Turns out that Haunter broke the rules more than once. The first instance occurred in Ash's gym battle against Sabrina.
Needing a Ghost-type to defeat Sabrina, Ash brought an accompanying Haunter to the Saffron Gym. But during the gym battle, Haunter inexplicably disappeared, as it basically forfeited the match. Ash was forced to fight with Pikachu, as he was going up against Sabrina's Kadabra.
Soon enough, Haunter reappeared next to Sabrina, making her and Kadabra laugh by making a few funny faces and pulling out a bomb. Due to Sabrina and Kadabra being unable to battle...Ash wound up earning the Marsh Badge. Even though Haunter helped Ash earn the badge, the fact that a Pokémon willingly forfeited during a battle would never occur in the games.
6 Ash Vs. Shingo: Scizor Attempts To End A Fight With False Swipe
False Swipe is meant to be a restrained attack, and it wasn't supposed to cause the opponent to faint. The opposing Pokémon should have at least one HP left after the move is executed.
However, one trainer in the anime had other intentions in mind. A trainer by the name of Shingo commanded his Scizor to end the battle against Ash's Heracross with a False Swipe. The False Swipe doesn't actually finish off Heracross, as Heracross was able to withstand the move thanks to its hard shell. Still, the fact that Shingo intended for False Swipe to be a finishing blow shows some poor battle IQ on his part.
5 Ash Vs. Blaine: Pikachu Aims For Rhydon's Horn
Ash had a pretty tough outing in his battle against the gym leader of Cinnabar Island, Blaine. His Charizard refused to obey him, forfeiting after dodging a Horn Drill from Blaine's Rhydon. With no other options in mind, Ash resorted to his trusty Pikachu, which resulted in one of the more illogical occurrences in the anime.
While Pikachu was able to easily outspeed Rhydon, his Electric-type moves proved useless due to Rhydon being a Ground-type. That's when Ash commanded Pikachu to shock Rhydon's horn, which made the drill Pokémon faint...despite its immunity to Electric-type moves. It would've been more egregious if Rhydon had the Lightning Rod ability - if Pokemon abilities were a thing back then.
4 Ash Vs. Gary: Arcanine Dodges A Body Slam - During A Take Down
While Ash can be prone to breaking a lot of rules, his rival Gary Oak has also proven that he could break the rules as well. This was best exhibited in "Can't Beat the Heat" when Gary and Ash faced off in the Johto League Silver Conference.
Gary's Arcanine was about to use a Take Down on Ash's Snorlax, who responded with a Body Slam. Arcanine, who had yet to execute his Take Down, dodged the attack and was commanded to use Fire Spin. Essentially, Gary allowed his Arcanine to dodge a Body Slam in the midst of a Take Down and use a different move - which would be a big no-no in the games.
3 Ash Vs. Brock: Onix Gets Weakened By Sprinklers
The first time that Ash faced Brock in his first gym battle, things didn't go too well. Constricted by Brock's Onix, Pikachu tried to use Thunder Shock, which didn't faze Onix at all. This was obviously due to the Pokemon being a ground-type.
When Ash went up against Brock the second time around, however, he had a little bit of luck on his side. When constricted by Onix a second time, Pikachu uses his new move, Thunderbolt, which sparks a fire in the Gym and sets off the sprinklers...and weakens Onix in the process.
2 Ash Vs. Tate and Liza: Pikachu Uses Thunder Armor
In a double gym battle against Tate and Liza, Ash used a little improvisation to defeat Solrock and Lunatone. He commanded Pikachu to use Thunder on himself and Swellow; this maneuver supercharged both Pikachu and Swellow and cloaked them in golden armor. Their Attack and Speed were raised, as they used their moves on Solrock and Lunatone and fainted both Pokémon.
It should be noted that this improvised move, called Thunder Armor, did not exist in the games. It was more or less a plot device meant to give Ash victory in his gym battle. Yet, Ash still earned the Mind Badge, so the improvision worked in his favor.
1 Ash Vs. Greta: Snorlax Uses Hyper Beam...To Fly?!
Hyper Beam is a powerful beam that could easily finish off foes. Yet in the case of Ash's Snorlax, Hyper Beam could also be used for more than just severely damaging opponents.
In his battle against Battle Frontier Greta, Ash commanded his Snorlax to use Hyper Beam on the ground. This caused Snorlax to catapult itself in the air to avoid a Focus Punch from Greta's Medicham. Although it was supposed to be tired from using Hyper Beam, Snorlax somehow had enough energy left in it to execute a Body Slam on Medicham immediately afterward.
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June 17, 2021 at 12:00AM
