5 most epic Pikachu battles in Pokemon anime

Despite his small stature, Ash's Pikachu is arguably one of the strongest creatures in the Pokemon anime. Being with Ash since day one, Pikachu has been a main member of the cast up until the end of the show. As such, the electric mouse has had his fair share of memorable fights across the many years.

With Pokemon Horizons replacing the journey of Ash and Pikachu, the franchise mascot has a lot less hype these days, but still lives on in spirit through Captain Pikachu. Nevertheless, looking through some of Pikachu's best moments during its spotlight in the show can be a fun nostalgia trip. So, where did Ash's best friend really show off its power?

5 of Pikachu's best battles from the Pokemon anime

1) Pikachu vs. Tobias

A screenshot from the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Even though Ash lost this battle, going 2 - 6, it is still one of the best moments for Pikachu, demonstrating that it has the capacity to take down a Legendary Pokemon. With Pikachu as his last teammate, Ash sends it in to take on Tobias' Latios.

After a long and intense sequence of moves, Pikachu finishes the fight with an improvised attack - combining Volt Tackle with Iron Tail. Though the attack ended up besting Latios, Pikachu would then faint to recoil damage, thus losing the battle for Ash. Tobias then wound up winning the Sinnoh League.

2) Double Battle

Ash's gym battle at the Kumquat Gym in the Orange Islands was not only the first Double Battle to take place in the franchise, but was also a shining moment for Pikachu in his early years. The episode Pokemon Double Trouble featured the battle of Ash's Pikachu and Charizard against Luana's Marowak and Alakazam.

Thanks to true teamwork between the two and their trainer, Ash and friends were able to take down this pair of threatening opponents, despite Pikachu's significant disadvantage. This battle gave Ash his last Orange Islands league badge, allowing him to challenge the Pokemon League.

3) Pikachu vs. Brandon

Just one of the many fantastic and memorable battles Pikachu had during the Battle Frontier saga of the anime, this was against the Frontier Brain Brandon and his team of Legendary Golems. Pikachu bravely squared off against Brandon's Regice and emerged victorious thanks to his powerful Volt Tackle signature attack.

Another instance of it taking down a Legendary Pokemon on its own, Regice and its fellow golems are known for their amazing defensive stats, making Pikachu's ability to cleave through the foe all the more impressive. This battle won Ash his Brave Symbol, entering him into the Battle Frontier Hall of Fame.

4) Pikachu vs. Cameron

During the semifinals for the Unova Pokemon League, Ash faced off with one of his rivals and friends he met along his journey, Cameron. Pikachu was Ash's last party member and went out with quite the bang. It took down Cameron's Swanna and Samurott before falling to Lucario, who evolved in the middle of their battle.

This battle saw Pikachu taking down two of a high-leveled trainer's Pokemon. Keep in mind, these were fully evolved, healthy creatures. While the two were Water-types, giving Pikachu the advantage, it was on its way towards a clean sweep until Riolu evolved. This gave the latter the edge in power it needed to take down a weakened Pikachu.

5) Pikachu vs. Leon

The final battle of the Masters Eight Tournament, Ash faced off against the Galar region champion and fellow finalist in the tournament, Leon. A tough battle to say the least, Pikachu passed out after barely besting Leon's Charizard, having a nice heartfelt flashback to his journey with Ash throughout the years.

Being the battle that crowned Ash as the Pokemon Master he always aimed to be, it is worth watching for more than its significance to the narrative. The animation of this battle plays up to hype, making for an amazing viewing experience with some nice callbacks to the earlier seasons for the long-time fans.