Gary Oak’s Worst 10 Pokemon in the Anime

In contrast to Ash Ketchum, who is widely recognized as the main character of the Pokemon anime series, Gary Oak stands out as one of Ash’s most significant rivals. Since Gary is the grandson of renowned Pokemon Professor Samuel Oak, he started with an advantage, having a deeper understanding of various Pokemon compared to Ash, who would eventually become the World Champion. Although Gary opted for a career in Pokemon Research instead, his training skills have shown great potential through numerous battles, and he has learned much from them. Today, we will be focusing on the ten worst Pokemon that Gary has managed to catch throughout his journey.

Gary boasts famous Pokemon such as Blastoise, Umbreon, and Electivire, but he also has captures that have minimal screen time or have never been seen in action. With over 1,025 different species of Pokemon in the current Scarlet and Violet Pokedex, Gary only has 20 unique Pokemon in his collection, despite his numerous achievements like earning 10 badges for the Indigo League, with 7 of these badges from unknown locations. According to Gary himself, he’s captured more than 200 Pokemon from at least 60 different species during his journey as a trainer. For this analysis, we will focus on the screened Pokemon throughout Gary’s 20-year career and delve into those that didn’t quite compare to the rest. This examination will cover every battle, moveset, and notable achievements for each capture from his early days as a novice trainer up until his involvement with Project Mew.

10) Unseen Pokemon Feat. Pinsir & Alakazam

In simpler terms, the list’s initial entries are Pokémon that we know Gary caught but didn’t see him use in battles or for practical purposes. These Pokémon include Pinsir, Houndoom, Alakazam, Skarmory, and Kingdra, which were introduced before Ash’s battle in the episode “The Ties That Bind.” During this episode, Ash was researching strategies to defeat Gary in the Johto Silver Conference by examining Gary’s team page on the league website. On this page, these Pokémon were listed among Gary’s main team members like Nidoqueen, Umbreon, Magmar, and Arcanine.

Although Gary is known to possess these Pokemon, we have limited information about them. They are merely listed as part of his team without specific details such as abilities, movesets, or documented battle history. However, it’s clear that these are powerful creatures, considering they are in their final forms (like Magmar) and helped Gary earn all 8 Johto badges and qualify for the Silver Conference.

9) Scizor

Although Scizor ranks fourth among Gary’s best Pokémon, it boasts an impressive 2-1 win-to-loss ratio, surpassing many of his other creatures. During the Silver Conference battle against Ash, Scizor outpaced Ash’s Snorlax, a feat that isn’t particularly challenging due to Snorlax’s slow nature. However, Scizor didn’t stop there; it proceeded to defeat the sleeping Pokémon with ease.

In the following match against Ash’s Muk, a fight that should have been a walk in the park for Gary given Muk’s type disadvantage, Scizor faced some challenges as several of its attacks were absorbed by the Sludge Pokemon. Nevertheless, it emerged victorious by launching it into the air and defeating it with a swift strike.

At that particular moment, Scizor struggled against Ash’s Charizard due to its disadvantageous type. Trying to dodge Charizard’s flamethrower, Scizor was caught off guard and defeated quickly, leaving Gary with only two Pokemon remaining. Nevertheless, Scizor possesses a variety of attacks like Quick Attack, Metal Claw, Swift, and Steel Wing, making it a swift and powerful force. However, even with these attributes, it pales in comparison to the win-to-loss ratio of other Pokemon such as Umbreon, Blastoise, and Electivire.

8) Nidoking

Originally belonging to Gary’s Indigo League team, Nidoking demonstrated resilience against formidable adversaries. In a gym battle against crime boss Giovanni, Gary deployed Nidoking, who swiftly dispatched Giovanni’s Golem. This act is impressive on its own. However, it was no match for Armored Mewtwo and its partner Arcanine. Though it was defeated, it was the first Pokemon that Gary summoned to confront this mysterious adversary, a testament to its significance within his team.

Nevertheless, we must acknowledge that Gary’s Indigo Plateau league was lost to Melissa’s Golem in the fourth round, leading to its subsequent retirement without an opportunity for redemption. Additionally, its move set left much to be desired, with only Tackle and Horn attacks to show for it. However, this Pokemon is highly ranked due to its past victories against one of Giovanni’s Pokemon and even battling Mewtwo, despite being particularly vulnerable to Psychic-type attacks.

7) Nidoqueen

Though Nidoking might be a formidable Pokémon, we can’t overlook Nidoqueen, another powerhouse on Gary’s roster for the Silver Conference. With an impressive win-to-loss ratio of 2:1, our introduction to Nidoqueen was during its victory over Team Rocket. It tore their tent and propelled it, along with a Jigglypuff, into the air. This powerful display enabled it to effortlessly defeat both of Team Rockets’ Pokémon. It even broke Meowth’s claws with its tough, armored body. Furthermore, it demonstrated its strength by defeating one of Ash’s numerous Tauros at the Johto Silver Conference. However, it was ultimately defeated by Snorlax’s Ice Punch.

The reason she falls short compared to Scizor is because her victories are usually against relatively weak opponents like Team Rocket, who aren’t particularly challenging given they primarily fight Ash’s team at the moment. Her only known battles outside of this were against one of Ash’s Tauros, suggesting it was fresh from capture. When faced with a true powerhouse such as Snorlax, she was quickly overpowered. However, she boasts a better win-to-loss ratio than most of Gary’s Pokemon and possesses an above-average move set that includes Mega Punch, Strength, Rock Smash, Hyper Beam, and Double Kick.

6) Hatterene

Hatterene is a recent addition to Gary’s team and played a crucial role in the Project Mew mission. This powerful Pokemon can hold its own against Regidrago and Regieleki, two legendary Pokémon. Moreover, it managed to free Gary’s trainer from an icy trap that was set by other members of Project Mew to halt Gary and Goh’s progress.

Despite its impressive displays, it struggled against the two legendary Pokémon, dealing enough harm for Gary to catch RegiDrago. However, in that battle, its main contribution was deflecting an attack from RegiDrago before getting hit by Regieleki and eventually defeated by Regidrago. Similarly, when facing members of Project Mew, it wasn’t as effective as Gary utilizing Blastoise against them. Nevertheless, this Pokémon is truly remarkable with a powerful moveset, but we can’t rank it any higher in comparison to these encounters.

5) Magmar

It’s clear that Magmar remains one of Gary’s formidable Pokemon, showcasing a fierce battle against Ash’s Heracross at the Silver Conference. Yet, among his team in the same tournament, it seems to have one of the least successful win-to-loss records, starting with a defeat. Nevertheless, Magmar demonstrates an incredible power by enveloping Ash’s Heracross in flames using Fire Blast and Flamethrower. However, despite this intense fire assault, Heracross managed to extinguish the flames and gain the advantage with a Megahorn attack, ultimately leading to Magmar’s defeat.

Speaking as an avid fan, it’s clear that Magmar has been a bit inconsistent in Gary’s Silver Conference team. While Magmar has demonstrated some serious firepower against Heracross, the win-to-loss ratio isn’t exactly what I’d call impressive. However, it did deal a significant amount of damage to Heracross, paving the way for Blastoise to take down the Single Horn Pokemon with ease. Yet, we can’t overlook its single defeat in its only battle so far.

4) Golem

Just like Magmar, Golem used similar strategies, but lacked the same strength. Notably, Golem was the last Pokémon on Gary’s team during the Silver Conference, where it fought Ash’s Charizard. Its most notable moments were momentarily stunning Charizard and being too heavy for Charizard to use Seismic Toss. However, Charizard quickly defeated Golem using Dragon Rage, an attack not particularly renowned for its power. Essentially, Charizard defeated Golem in a single blow and sustained minimal damage from the encounter.

Although initially causing trouble for Ash and his Charizard, Golem was soon managed. However, its moves like Magnitude and Rollout, whose strength changes with each turn, make it challenging to rank it higher than Magmar, who inflicted considerable harm on Heracross.

3) Dodrio

Dodrio is one of Gary’s original Pokémon from Kanto, but we don’t know much about it because it only appeared in two episodes. It first showed up at Professor Oak’s lab without making much of an impact. Later on, it seems that Gary left Dodrio with his grandfather for a while, as it didn’t reappear until the 15th episode of the spin-off series Pokémon Chronicles. In this episode, Gary used Dodrio to stop Butch and Cassidy from stealing an Aerodactyl.

As an observer, I must admit that, despite the team’s impressive win-to-loss ratio, its ranking remains relatively low due to its limited range of appearances and underwhelming feats. It’s unfortunate to note that this particular entity is only known to possess a single move, Drill Peck, and there seems to be a lack of documented battle performances for it. However, it does surpass our last two picks in terms of overall presence.

2) Tyranitar

It’s surprising to find a powerful Pokemon like Tyranitar among Gary’s collection, but it’s not his strongest. Tyranitar, who made its debut in a Raid Battle against Articuno during the Project Mew expedition, was surprisingly weak and couldn’t hold its own in the fight. Despite having a type advantage, Tyranitar didn’t use any moves and was quickly defeated by Articuno. This is less impressive than the performances we’ve seen from other Pokemon Gary has used, like Umbreon and Arcanine, who were also defeated by Articuno but at least managed to get an attack off before going down.

One positive aspect of this Pokémon is that it’s considered pseudo-Legendary and enjoys popularity among fans. However, its defeat against a Legendary Pokémon, which had a type advantage, leaves much to be desired. Regardless, it boasts more battle achievements than our top pick.

1) Krabby

1st Place is awarded to Gary’s Krabby. Notably, this crab surpassed Ash’s Krabby, eventually evolving into a Kingler and outshining it significantly. The first time we saw this Pokemon was when Ash caught his own Krabby, pondering if he could also send it to Professor Oak. Without a shadow of a doubt, this particular Pokemon symbolizes the dynamics between Gary and Ash. Constantly aiming to surpass Ash in every way, even in the realm of catching Pokemon, was a characteristic trait of Gary.

Unlike Gary, Ash’s Krabby managed to evolve into a Kingler and participate in several battles, earning victories, which is significantly more than what Gary’s Krabby achieved. Interestingly, it appears that this Pokémon has no recorded moves, and since its capture, it’s been kept in Professor Oak’s lab. This makes for a rather ordinary storyline for one of the rare Pokémon caught by the renowned trainer, Gary Oak.

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2025-08-12 04:13