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People celebrate a lot of Ash's milestones as if he actually accomplished something by getting to the top 16 during his first league, top 8 for a few leagues, the semifinals in his fourth league, the runner-up position in his sixth, and finally winning a league in his seventh attempt. But let it be known that the majority of Ash's feats are accomplished not by his own doing, but because other people helped him.
In Kanto, Ash caught plenty of Pokemon that he himself actually didn't train or raise. Pokemon such as Krabby that won Ash his first league battle only got strong because Oak supervised Krabby and/or Krabby trained on its own in the ranch. Same goes for Muk. Pokemon such as Charizard got stronger on their own via evolution. The only Pokemon that Ash arguably trained by himself in the entire Kanto arc was Pikachu, and Pikachu barely won a single battle.
In Orange Islands, Ash also relied on several Pokemon he didn't train (Bulbasaur, Lapras, Squirtle), Pokemon that others trained (Tauros), and a Pokemon that was strong on its own (Charizard). Against Drake, Ash won with Squirtle only with massive type advantage. Pikachu won against Ditto because Ditto naturally has less stamina than its opponents. Charizard won due to being naturally talented. Tauros won due to being trained by itself, its herd, or by Oak. Lapras won due to some plot bullshit. Pikachu won against Dragonite only because 3 other Pokemon fought Dragonite beforehand, including the naturally powerful Charizard.
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