>>37967423Kinglerr won a 1-on-3 battle singlehandedly with no battle experience, but it lost easily to a Psyduck. So it's hardly based. Mandi was just a weakling. Ash's third-round opponent was much more skilled, having his Arcanine easily beat Kingler.
>>37968135It was confirmed that Pokemon at Oak's actually do train on their own, hence many of Ash's Pokemon learn new moves at Oak's off-screen. Torkoal learned Heat Wave; Heracross learned Megahorn, Sleep Talk, Hyper Beam, and Focus Punch; Muk learned Sludge Bomb; Quilava learned Flame Wheel and Aerial Ace; and Noctowl learned Air Slash, Extrasensory, and Sky Attack.
>>37972515Oak presumably sends the leader of the Tauros herd to Ash.
