Ash Ketchum has been celebrated as a competitive battler and traveled adventurer, but no one would ever describe him as a lover of Bug-type Pokemon. His most well-known traveling partner, Misty, had a deep fear of them so it makes sense why Ash never pursued the acquisition of them in any meaningful way.
That being said, there are plenty of Bug-types he should have caught. Let’s take a look at some Bug-type Pokemon Ash never managed to catch over the course of his various Pokemon journeys.
10 Venonat
Why catch a Venonat when Ash already had a Metapod he was trying to evolve? By now it’s pretty well-known that a look at Pokemon designs shows Venonat is supposed to evolve into Butterfree, but it and Venomoth were swapped at some point. Either way, the reasoning for Ash never catching Venonat is rather clear and obvious. Also, with Misty having an extreme fear of bugs, it might be best to limit her exposure to them by only having one on an active roster at any given time.
9 Combee
In the world of Pokemon in the anime, there’s a distinction between battle Pokemon and creatures that just exist in the world. Combee is an example of a Pokemon that doesn’t seem fit for battle in the show but serves a purpose in helping Ash along his journey. Not only does a group of Combee help Ash find enchanted honey, but they’re also featured in an episode in which Honey Island is revealed to be a famous field of flowers where world-renowned honey is produced by the Pokemon at an alarming rate.
8 Wimpod
Ash is a much better person than he needs to be, and his run-in with Wimpod is a glaring example of that. The cowardly Bug-type tried stealing Ash’s Poke Beans as a group and upon fleeing one of them became stuck in some rocks.
Not only did Ash and Pikachu forgive the Wimpod of its attempted crime, but they helped rescue it. They didn’t do it alone as they were aided by the help of the giant Alolan version of Exeggcutor, which happens to be much taller than anyone assumes it would be.
7 Joltik
Ash has never really had a positive experience with Joltik, as most of his run-ins with the Electric-type spider result in someone getting shocked or attacked. Whether it’s Ash’s Oshawott thinking a Joltik was its lost scalchop, or a group of Joltik and Galvantula attacking due to being forced out of their habitat by Team Rocket, Ash isn’t exactly comfortable around the creatures. Also, with Pikachu always at his side, it’s hard for Ash to justify catching another Electric-type since he knows it likely won’t ever be battling.
6 Vivillon
Some of the best episodes of the anime are when Ash teams up with a Pokemon for a single episode and helps the creature overcome a challenge, obstacle, or threat. The Vivillon Ash had the pleasure of commanding in battle was the victim of theft by a trainer named Dolan when it was still a Scatterbug. Not only did it get to evolve into its final form eventually, but it did so by defeating the trainer who brought it pain. Everything came full circle and Ash helped the Bug-type Pokemon come out on top when it started as a victim.
5 Nincada
Special relationships with Pokemon are one of the foundational building blocks of what makes the franchise and the anime specifically so special. When Ash and his friends come across strangers who have developed bonds with certain Pokemon, it often results in memorable episodes. Nincada happens to be the subject of such an episode, when Ash stumbles across a boy named Keanu who lives in a secluded secret base. When someone’s alone like that, it makes sense why they would develop a bond with a Pokemon.
4 Larvesta
Larvesta, the Torch Pokemon, shows up first in the show during the Nimbasa Tournament’s second round. Its final form, Volcarona, never made an appearance in the show, but Larvesta more than made up for it. On top of Ash not being really into Bug-type Pokemon, he’s also not in need of a Fire-type.
This makes Larvesta undesirable, but at least the audience gets to see what the Pokemon is capable of when it battles a Stunfisk in the Nimbasa Tournament under the command of the filmmaker/trainer named Luke.
3 Charjabug
Now, if this list was being technical then Ash did technically catch a Charjabug. The issue here is that he caught it in a cage and not in a Pokeball. He planned to give it to his friend Sophocles so he could catch it himself, which he ended up doing in the show. The funny thing here is that later in the show Ash commanded this same Charjabug in a race. Sometimes experiencing what a Pokemon has to offer through your friends and their caught Pokemon is enough to satiate any trainer’s desire to catch said Pokemon.
2 Wurmple
After his time in the Kanto region, it seems that Ash never spent any time trying to catch Bug-type Pokemon. This means that each 3-stage evolution of each region never made its way onto his team. Wurmple on its own is nothing to write home about in the 3rd generation of Pokemon games, but its final form named Beautify is a neat creature in and of itself. The most likely reason Ash never caught butterfly Pokemon is because it would bring back painful memories of when he had to let his Butterfree go.
1 Scyther
Scyther isn’t only considered to be one of the coolest Bug-type Pokemon in the franchise but is often considered just as cool regardless of typing. In the second season of the anime, Brock is no longer traveling with Ash and Misty along their journey. Their new companion ends up being this boy named Tracey who likes drawing Pokemon. He ends up battling and catching an injured Scyther he helps nurse back to health. This is another example of Ash’s friends catching a Pokemon, and in turn, making it seem pointless for him to do so.
NEXT: 10 Electric-Type Pokemon Ash Ketchum Never Caught
