Ash's Hypothetical Paldea Team

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

Based on this thread. If Ash hadn't been retired as the anime's protagonist, what Pokemon do you think he would've caught if he traveled to Paldea?

Here's what I would personally like Ash's Paldea Team to be:

• Pikachu- Normally there wouldn't be anything to add here because Ash's Pikachu is always a constant, but the Terastalization gimmick warrants an interesting question: would Pikachu just be Tera Electric or would his Tera Type be something else? If the latter, which Tera Type would he get? Normal or Steel would be the safest alternative Tera Types for Pikachu due to Quick Attack and Iron Tail, but Flying and Water are also options due to the gift Flying Pikachu that was offered early in the SV games' releases and the fact that the Tera Raid Pikachu with the Mightiest Mark had the Water Tera Type. I think it's possible that Pikachu would just be Tera Electric initially, but there'd be a mini arc changing his Tera Type to something else later on, much like how Gengar got his Gigantamax form.
• Skeledirge- It's most definitely bias, since this is my personal favorite Starter line of Gen 9, but I think Skeledirge fits Ash the best out of the Paldea Starters. It may seem odd due to it not being a speedster like Ash normally uses, but it is at least more mobile than Torterra was, so I think Ash would to a lot better with it, especially with its amazing signature Torch Song.
• Flamigo- This guy would be subbing in for the mandatory Flying-type/Regional Bird due to Paldea's actual Regional Bird not being an option thanks to the unspoken rule that Ash isn't allowed to catch any Electric-types that aren't Pikachu. Flamigo is a simple design, but it's deceptively quite powerful, and it having a dopey appearance means I can see it being one of those goofy Pokemon that is nonetheless competent ala Totodile or Rowlet.
• Palafin- With how heroic Ash is, this literal superhero dolphin would suit him really well, and the Zero to Hero Ability would be fun to see in battles. The one snag I do see with this is mon is that the Finizen stage and the Zero Form Palafin are water-restricted, but with the Hero Form mitigating this somewhat I can see this being worked around a bit more easily than the previous times a main character had fully aquatic Pokemon
• Cyclizar- This would be Ash's main mode of transportation kind of like Lapras back in the Orange Islands. Here, though, Cyclizar would be far more versatile and have more chances to get spotlight due to actually being a land creature. Shed Tail would also be really fun to see
• Ogerpon- Out of the Legendary Pokemon that Gen 9 introduced, I feel like Ogerpon would be the best fit for Ash because I can so easily see her storyline being done with Ash to fantastic effect thanks to the latter's compassionate nature. Besides, she'd be a badass female Pokemon and Arceus knows Ash doesn't have anywhere near enough of those: maybe Ogerpon could be his first female Regional Ace?

Alternative options/Honorable mentions:

• Annihilape- If Ash ever reunited with his Primeape, I think it would be a great opportunity for it to rejoin his team permanently and evolve into a new Gen 9 Pokemon to boot. I'm not sure how big the chances of this happening would be due to the writers' tendency to rarely ever bringing back any old mons, but Pidgeot returning permanently at the end of Ash's tenure does at least open the doors.
• Quaquaval- If Palafin proves too tricky to work with, Quaquaval would be a perfect alternative... and actually the only real alternative if the writers wanted Ash to have a Water-type at all, since every other Water-type introduced in Gen 9 are either water-bound (Veluza, Dondozo, Wiglett line), part of a duo that really shouldn't be broken up (Tatsugiri, Dondozo again), part of a species that Ash technically already has (Aqua Breed Paldean Tauros), or kind of unlikely due to their story and classification status (Iron Bundle, Walking Wake). So, yeah, if Ash doesn't get Palafin as his Paldean Water-type he'd pretty much have to get Quaquaval for that role. Or just not have a Water-type like in Alola.
• Meowscarada- Of the Paldea Starters, I think this one fits Ash the least and would be better suited for a traveling female companion, but I can still see Ash himself having it if only just because of it being the most popular Paldea Starter. It'd be the alternative Grass-type for Ash in place of Ogerpon if catching Legendaries is out of the question.
• Armarouge- The alternative Fire-type in case Skeledirge is deemed not a good fit; for instance, I could see the Main Cast Fuecoco staying in that stage due to it being the most popular of its line and thus end up being sort of the "Piplup" of the saga, where one of Ash's companions gets it and it remains a comic relief out-of-ball mon. Hence Ash having an Armarouge as his Fire-type instead. I think the bright colors and chivalrous nature of Armarouge fit Ash's personality, plus it being part-Psychic would properly check off that type on Ash's capture list.
• Dachsbun- Fairy is the other type that Ash never properly caught, and I just think Dachsbun fits him quite well.
• Tinkaton- The other Fairy-type alternative. Normally this would be a dubious option because of the writers' weird reluctance to give Ash anything remotely pink and overtly feminine, but Tinkaton's massive popularity could end up overriding those nonsensical concerns.
• Dudunsparce- Only because of the weird running joke of Ash wanting to catch a Dunsparce only to fail somehow; it'd be quite interesting if that had been eventually resolved in the same Generation that finally gave this pudgy snake an evolved form.

Anyways, what are everyone's thoughts on this? Do you agree with my choices or would you give Ash something else? What team would you give Ash if he had stayed and travelled to Paldea?

 

[Greninjaman]

Ash's for me would be Pikachu + The first 5 Pokemon Roy got.

But...Roy only has two Pokemon at the moment.

 

[Nicolas721]

• Pikachu: Electric tera-type, though changed to Stellar during some special arc.
• Skeledirge: Definitely the starter that fits Ash the most. As a Fuecoco it would be identical to Roy's and then it would be a powerhouse with coverage via biting moves. Fire tera-type.
• Lokix: As a Nymble it would be a real weakling but then it would be a proud and agile physical glass cannon, and it would take advantage of Kamen Raider's popularity in Japan. Fighting Tera-type.
• Toedscruel: A Dracovish-like choice, it would be silly as a Toedscool but then it would cripple its opponents with status moves, coverage of Grass and Ground types and maybe a Water Tera-type to reference Tentacruel.
• Ogerpon: She's designed to be your friend and it would be interesting to see Ash with one to make it more popular. Her masks would be adquired late during the series or destroyed off screen to make it less troublesome, so it would always wear the Grass one.
• Cetitan: Late arrival and quite bulky, would take advantage of Ice Spinner to make up for its poor speed. Ice tera-type.

For extra options, Tinkaton (agree with what you said, Steel Tera-type) or Kingambit (could be Lokix's older brother, Dragon Tera-type to show his royalty).

 

[Emelie]

If Ash ever returns I think seeing him with Annihilape would be great. I can imagine an interesting story behind it, Primape feeling bitter that Ash never came back to visit it.

 

[c la fet]

Since he's familiar with Donphan, he could probably befriend and catch an Iron Treads/Great Tusk.