• Hi all. We have had reports of member's signatures being edited to include malicious content. You can rest assured this wasn't done by staff and we can find no indication that the forums themselves have been compromised.

    However, remember to keep your passwords secure. If you use similar logins on multiple sites, people and even bots may be able to access your account.

    We always recommend using unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication if possible. Make sure you are secure.
  • Be sure to join the discussion on our discord at: Discord.gg/serebii
  • If you're still waiting for the e-mail, be sure to check your junk/spam e-mail folders

Top 10 XY Battles

Shadao

Aim to be a Pokémon Master
The XY anime was the beginning of new method by OLM to Pokémon battles. It got rid of the light streak in favor of real backgrounds, and it heavily invested in dynamic camerawork for a more realistic and lively approach. It started with Origins giving a preview of what was to come, and to this day it still lives on in Sun and Moon. It is no surprise that there would be many XY battles that are memorable and visually impressive to look at. But which battles are the best of the best?

It's a hard one for me since there are so many to choose from. So if you had to choose 10 XY Battles that are the best in terms of animation, camera techniques and presentation, which one will you choose and in what order?
 

Akkipeddi

All set to be a nice guy
My top 10 XY battles:

1. Ash Greninja vs Mega Charizard X (Kalos League)
2. Ash Greninja vs Mega Sceptile (Kalos League)
3. Ash Greninja vs Mega Gardevoir
4. Frogadier / Talonflame vs Meowstic
5. Not really a battle per say, but Mega Charizard X and Mega Metagross vs Primals in ME Act III
6. Ash Greninja vs Mega Abomasnow
7. Talonflame vs Unfezant
8. Ash vs Clemont (full battle)
9. Pikachu vs Mega Lucario
10. Pikachu vs Aegislash
 

345ash-greninja

Auto-Memories Doll
Top 10 XY battles:

1) Ash-Greninja vs Mega Gardevoir
2) Ash-Greninja vs Mega Sceptile
3) Ash-Greninja vs Mega Charizard X
4) Pikachu vs Mega Lucario
5) Mega Charizard X vs Mega Houndoom
6) Ash-Greninja vs Mega Abomasnow
7) Talonflame vs Unfezant
8) Goodra vs Luxray
9) Pikachu vs Metagross
10) Pikachu vs Aegislash
 

Zoruagible

Lover of underrated characters
I don't have a top 10. I don't give a damn about Sawyer or the Stu so half the battles are already eliminated.

1. Mega Lucario vs Pikachu
2. Korrina's complete gym battle

7. Ash-Greninja vs Abomasnow
8. Goodra vs Luxray, the last great feat either of those two did
9. Hawlucha the Fairy Slayer(Laverre? Gym)
10. Olympia's gym fight.... even though it could have been better had they evolved Greninja beforehand and had Noivern fight instead of Talonflame.
 

Janovy

Banned
Wow, people putting Ash vs Alain over Ash vs Olivia.

I get that it's a hype battle and Kalos League finals, but wow.
 

BladexFade

Well-Known Member
I don't have a top 10 list but here goes nothing:

Ash vs Sawyer(KL)
Mega Charizard X & Mega Metagross vs Primal Groudon vs Primal Kyogre vs Mega Rayqueza
Seibold vs Alain
Ash vs Alain(KL)
Ash vs Olympia
Ash vs Wulfric(part I & II)
Ash vs Korina
 

Frozocrone

Miraculous!
Wow, people putting Ash vs Alain over Ash vs Olivia.

I get that it's a hype battle and Kalos League finals, but wow.

I assume you meant Olympia but I agree with the implication Olympia should be higher than Alain.
 

BladexFade

Well-Known Member
While I do agree that Ash vs Olympia does deserve to be placed somewhere in top 5, or at least top 10. I don't think Ash vs Olympia deserves to be to put over Alain vs Ash. What puts this Ash vs Alain above Ash vs Olympia, in my opinion, is the sheer volume of intensity. One of the best aerial battles to this day is still Ash's Talonflame vs Alain's Unfezant.
 

Satoshi & Touko

Peanuts aren't just a nut.
Wow, people putting Ash vs Alain over Ash vs Olivia.

I get that it's a hype battle and Kalos League finals, but wow.

Ash vs Alain Kalos League is my favorite for me as well, though it's likely for a different reason than the others. XD I literally had a better time sleeping the night before SM games came out than I did the night before that episode! XD
 

Daniel31

HopingGaryReturns
Why is that so preposterous?
Maybe because of how the battle ended and who won..? I mean, I agree that it was a great battle, but the result of the battle itself should be taken into account when rating it. I would think that for the people who were very salty afterword, they wouldn't have that battle rated so high on their list. At least that's the way I would see it. I myself didn't have much of a problem with Alain winning, so I would personally rate the battle high on my list for the XY series and maybe my favorite, because of strategies used and intensity of the battle itself.
 

Janovy

Banned
Why is that so preposterous?
Because I felt like Olympia's battle had a lot more strategy going for it and was more creative on Ash's part.

Ash vs Alain was just...good battle, but nothing mindblowing. It felt like more like a clash of brute strength.
 

Zipper4242

Bewear is the most powerful being in the universe.
By far my favorite battle was Ash vs Scottie/Hau minus the malasadas Sawyer in the Kalos League. Other than that, it goes Ash v. Clemont (gym battle), Ash v. Wulfric (2nd time), Ash v. Viola (rematch), Ash v. Korrina, Serena vs Pikachu Rock Star Dude, Ash v. Olympia, Ash v. Valerie, Tierno v. Sawyer, Everyone vs the Giant Rock, Clemont v. Xerosic, Ash v. Lysandre (If it would have had Ash solo Lysandre it would've been good, imo bringing Malva and the Stu into it kinda ruined it), and Ash v. Alain (until the last three minutes, which I thought was just so dissatisfying and puts it behind the giant rock and the virtually nonexistent Clemont v. Xerosic, but it still stays in my top battles list).

Tbh my problem with most of Ash's league battles were that his Pokemon just went down too easily (namely Goodra and Noivern).
 
Last edited:

BladexFade

Well-Known Member
Ash v. Lysandre (If it would have had Ash solo Lysandre it would've been good, imo bringing Malva and the Stu into it kinda ruined it), and Ash v. Alain (until the last three minutes, which I thought was
That is the part I don't understand the point of. Just, why? What was the point of Malva being there? Other than being a support character that did nothing to contribute to the fight.

I really do not like the way how the anime handled Malva's character.
 
Last edited:

Navin

MALDREAD
Because I felt like Olympia's battle had a lot more strategy going for it and was more creative on Ash's part.

Ash vs Alain was just...good battle, but nothing mindblowing. It felt like more like a clash of brute strength.

I get that. I enjoyed the visuals, attack chaining, and intensity of Ash v Alain. Ash v Sawyer was good too, because it featured the strategic element.

As good as Vs Olympia was, league full battles are just on another level.
 

ash&charizardfan

Humans are tools
Ash vs Valerie is pretty underrated, I like how ash broke the trick room, he was so lucky in DP. Also fletchinder's performance was so good here.
 

Genaller

Silver Soul
Ash vs Valerie is pretty underrated, I like how ash broke the trick room, he was so lucky in DP. Also fletchinder's performance was so good here.

I agree.

On a related note; does anyone here consider any of the gym battles to be "bad" or at least underwhelming in terms of presentation?
 

ash&charizardfan

Humans are tools
I agree.

On a related note; does anyone here consider any of the gym battles to be "bad" or at least underwhelming in terms of presentation?

Kalos gyms were all good, there were none that seemed bad. Kalos definitely stands out with sinnoh as having the best gym quest of the series. Hoenn and johto was good but hoenn had thunder armor in 7th gym and watson's disaster in 3rd gym. Johto was good as well but it had whitney's miltank. Whereas unnova gyms were mostly underwhelming except for 2 or 3 gyms. Kalos didn't have one underwhelming gym battle just like sinnoh.
 

Genaller

Silver Soul
Kalos gyms were all good, there were none that seemed bad. Kalos definitely stands out with sinnoh as having the best gym quest of the series. Hoenn and johto was good but hoenn had thunder armor in 7th gym and watson's disaster in 3rd gym. Johto was good as well but it had whitney's miltank. Whereas unnova gyms were mostly underwhelming except for 2 or 3 gyms. Kalos didn't have one underwhelming gym battle just like sinnoh.

I have the same assessment for this case. Between Sinnoh and Kalos I think Sinnoh has the overall edge in strategic/tactical depth whereas Kalos has the overall edge in presentation but yeah both badge quests were pretty great :)!
 
Top