Is Ash actually the best?

[KorpiklaaniVodka]

Ash isn't the best, but he is clearly the most competent trainer from the entire main cast. He can make Infernape or Pikachu work much better than, say, Brock (not Lesnar).

 

[POMAS]

he's the best he never won a league he's coz he's busy saying nice stuff to his rival and never gets time to heal.

or just coz if he won a league he'll just sleep 4ever(don't say he's so bad red did the same and just participated in the sinnoh league coz he was beaten by gold)

i can proof he's the best he've beaten brock with electric type moves(thundershock)

he one hit k.o a geodude with a move that should do no damage at all and he evolved a pidgey in virdian forest without it got to lvl 18 b4 fighting the first gym
want another proof he did not force his pikachu to evolve he let it do what it wanted
and he did not use all his pokemon against the 3rd gym coz he was to strong that he could just use pikachu he've beaten team rocket and destroyed thier vacum without having to heal after the fight against misty

 

[Little hero]

No, he isn't.In Pokèmon DP, he was very close to his dream.
In Pokèmon BW, He spent his time defending that trubbish Pokèmon.


I was highly frustrated by this.

 

[Hikamaru]

Serena's post accurately sums it up. He might be above average than most trainers, but he's usually a victim of bad and incompetent writing at times, the entire Best Wishes saga being one of the worst offenders.

 

[Famon]

Ash is Just a D-rank trainer !!!
His big achievement is just that he qualified for the League . He never gone beyond that.
It doesn't matter if he became Top 4 or Top 8 in the League because even a stronger trainer can get lower rank then weaker trainer.
Example : Ursula who's better then Jessie yet she became Top 8 while Jessie reach Top 4 .
Also , The fact that A trainer who can't win the League But conquer the Orange League & Battle Frontier proves that those aren't really Tough Challenge.
That Why , Ash becoming Top 2 or Top 4 in Kalo league isn't enough ! Ether Ash wins Kalo League or he just an Ordinary trainer.

 

[Tek]

After all these years, I think the picture is clear about Ash... he is far from being "the best", no matter how you define "best". If he really was "the best", he would have won a main series League by now (Orange Islands doesn't count since its league and gyms weren't featured in a main series Pokémon game).
He also wouldn't be frequently making stupid mistakes commonly associated with beginning trainers (especially in the B/W run.)

immediately after seeing the thread title i asked, "best at what?".

in my opinion, ash is superior at the following:
-perservering against all odds
- valuing emotional bonds over combat prowess
- appreciating the joy of being with good friends - both human and 'mon - through all of his losses
- never backing down from doing the right thing... even if that means saying goodbye to precious companions

what ash is not superior at includes climbing the rankings and winning at major competitions. he frequently fails in these arenas.

that's why i can relate to ash. his character development is sub-par compared to characters in most other fictional media. yet he has the very human quality of being great at certain things and totally sucking at others.

 

[UltimateFrosty08]

Ash isnt the best Red Is

 

[Lunaturret]

Well if the theory of ash being in a coma is true then yes in his eyes he's the best that no one ever was.