Ashy-boy Ketchum has caught many Pokemon of many different types. With the number of Pokemon he’s caught across many different regions, he could come across as a Gym Leader for any potential type of his choosing.

That’s certainly the case with the Fighting-type; he has enough here to make a full team and then some. Of course, some are better than others, so this list will be looking at the eight Fighting-type Pokemon Ash has caught, and ranking them from weakest to strongest.

8 Scraggy

Scraggy’s utter lack of development just shows how the Black & White seasons of the anime lacked direction sometimes; it and other Pokemon such as Boldore and Palpitoad did not get enough spotlight.

That’s a shame, as it already has a few surprising victories under its belt, even though they’re offset by multiple losses marred by rookie mistakes. Hopefully, a potential return could show some offscreen development, but for now, it’s too weak to go any higher here.

7 Primeape

It just needs to be said as it is: Ash was robbed of his Primeape in broad daylight. Or maybe, the writers just forgot about it. It’s your choice, really.

Either way, the whopping two episodes it appeared in showed a very naturally strong Pokemon. It proved its power in an official sense by winning a Fighting-type tournament with seemingly-minimal training. What’s even worse is that Primeape formed a pretty strong bond with Ash over that very short span. Hopes aren’t high that fans will ever see this Pokemon again, though, after Ash’s competitor Anthony “offered to train him further.”

6 Pignite

As Pignite was on pace to develop into an Emboar and solidify itself as Ash’s Unova ace, Krookodile came in and completely stole its thunder. That’s a shame, as while Pignite was fairly decent as a battler, its underwhelming battling record can’t be ignored.

Pignite has a hard time winning matchups consistently against Pokemon it should be very capable of defeating. It’s had good showings, such as against Cameron in the Vertress Conference, but it can’t convincingly win absolute gimmes such as the battle against Trip’s Vanillite, which was a tie.

5 Sirfetch’d

While Ash’s first Galarian Pokemon started off as nothing more than Riolu’s sparring buddy, it’s proven itself to be one of Ash’s more underrated Journeys pickups, even as a Farfetch’d. It racked up a few solid victories against Genba and Rinto for the World Coronation Series.

It’s still a bit of a project compared to Ash’s other current-rotation Pokemon that have been good from the jump. However, if there’s any Pokemon to watch out for in the future, it would probably be Sirfetch’d.

4 Hawlucha

While Ash’s Kalos roster is a great bunch from top to bottom, Hawlucha could be considered the best Pokemon on that team not named Greninja or Pikachu. It helps that it was a forest champion before joining Ash’s team.

Hawlucha’s an interesting case in terms of battling record, though. As is appropriate with a Pokemon owned by Ash Ketchum, type matchups seem to work in reverse with Hawlucha. It’s had wins against Valerie’s Spritzee and Sawyer’s Slurpuff, but lost to Sawyer’s Slaking and Alain’s Bisharp.

3 Heracross

This Bug/Fighting-type is a contender for Ash’s most underrated Pokemon, especially as his first Johto catch. It didn’t get as much screen time as its other Johto counterparts, but the showings it did have as a battler were mighty impressive.

It’s been in many of Ash’s most important battles, including his Johto League match against Gary and in two of Ash’s Sinnoh League matches against Nando and Tobias. It has surprising physical strength for a Pokemon that isn’t Machamp-levels of buff, and its horn is a deadly weapon for either a Megahorn or Horn Attack.

2 Infernape

Infernape’s Blaze ability is still unmatched. When under pressure and in crunch time, Infernape might just be Ash’s best Pokemon for the job, able to just turn on that scorching-hot switch when in a pinch.

That’s not to say it can’t work without the extraordinary boost, though. Its best assets might be its blazing-quick Flare Blitz and Mach Punch — a perfect mix of both speed and power. It’s shown both in key matches, against Gym Leaders Byron and Volkner, and multiple times against its former trainer, Paul. Its return in Pokemon Journeys is a welcome sight for many a Pokemon anime fan.

1 Lucario

Lucario’s rise to becoming Ash’s Journeys ace has been nothing if not meteoric. While it started out as a weakling as most freshly hatched Pokemon do, it quickly developed into one of Ash’s best Pokemon.

It has the whole package as a battler. Already, Lucario has had its fair share of battles against Legendary Pokemon such as Eternatus and Mewtwo, so its experience is just piling up arc after arc. That’s made better by the fact that, similarly to Greninja before it, it has a connection with Ash that no other Trainer can claim to have.

NEXT: Pokemon: Every Different Design Of Ash Ketchum’s Hats, Ranked