Over the past couple of decades, Ash Ketchum, star and protagonist of the Pokémon anime, has caught quite a few Pokémon. Some of them have been forgotten, while others have remained in the hearts of fans for years. Some of them are also a lot cuter than others, especially since he has a habit of catching starters in each region.

But, which of them are the cutest? It’s a hard choice given how many adorable critters Ash has gotten his hands on, but there are a few that are objectively great. Here are the cutest Pokémon Ash has caught over the years.

10 Oshawott

Oshawott is easily one of the cutest Pokémon in existence. This Generation-V Water-type is one of the choices of starter Pokémon for trainers who start their journey in the Unova region. Ash received his Oshawott from Professor Juniper, making it his second Pokémon in Unova.

Notable events in the series with Ash and his Oshawott include defeating gym leader Lenora, working on their Aqua Jet move, and falling in love with Mythical Pokémon Meloetta. When Ash made his way to Kalos, he left Oshawott with Professor Oak.

9 Bulbasaur

One of the first Pokémon Ash ever caught was also one of his cutest. Bulbasaur was caught during a heated battle against Team Rocket in the Hidden Village. Bulbasaur was initially hostile toward Ash, but came around after they battled the villainous team together.

Bulbasaur was the first starter Pokémon that Ash caught in the wild, and one of his original team members, following his capture of Caterpie, Pidgey, and of course, his original starter, Pikachu.

8 Meltan

In one of the most recent installments to the series, Ash got his hands on a very adorable Mythical Pokémon. That Pokémon was the Steel-type Meltan. This small metallic Pokémon would go on to evolve into Melmetal by joining with a group of other Meltan, but it was quite cute before that happened.

In a famous scene, Ash throws a Poké Ball at Meltan to catch it and the Ball lodges in Meltan’s nut-shaped head. It’s an adorable and hilarious scene that cemented this little guy as one of the cutest.

7 Squirtle

One of the most famous and beloved Pokémon that ever traveled with Ash is his Squirtle, which he caught in the Kanto region very early on in his adventures. This Squirtle is famed for its sunglasses and membership in the Squirtle Squad.

Ash actually originally chose Squirtle as his starter Pokémon before arriving late to Professor Oak’s lab and being given Pikachu instead. Squirtle remains one of his most beloved Pokémon by fans to this day.

6 Rockruff

One of the first Pokémon Ash caught in the Alola region would become one of his most adorable. Rockruff was a wild Pokémon that lived with Professor Kukui, but he never tried to catch it. After seeing the bond between Ash and the Rockruff would prompt Kukui to encourage Ash to catch it.

After a series of trials and tribulations, the Rockruff would eventually evolve. It evolved into Dusk Form Lycanroc, probably as a promotion for the new evolution by the Pokémon Company.

5 Totodile

Squirtle isn’t the only adorable Water-type starter that Ash has caught in his journey. In the Johto region, he also made friends with and caught a Totodile, adding yet another cutie to his team.

As the fourth Pokémon added to his team in Johto, Totodile was caught in the Totodile Duel. It was actually Misty who initially expressed interest in catching the Water-type. Like most of his Pokémon, Ash left Totodile at Professor Oak’s lab before heading off to a new region — in this case, Hoenn.

4 Phanpy

Not long after catching his Totodile, Ash would become the owner of another adorable Johto Pokémon. In Extreme Pokémon!, Ash would receive a blue egg from some ranch owners. After traveling with it for some time, the egg would hatch into the adorably cute Phanpy.

This fun blue elephant would travel with Ash for almost 200 episodes before evolving into the strong and intimidating Donphan. This would be the first of many eggs that Ash would hatch throughout the series.

3 Noibat

One of those many eggs would arrive in the Kalos region. Hawlucha, one of Ash’s Pokémon, would find this strange purple egg and give it to Ash. The trainer would then join his Pokémon in keeping it warm until it hatched.

The Pokémon that hatched from the egg would go on to be one of Ash’s best — Noibat. It was an adorable friend for a short time before evolving into the less cute but very powerful Noivern.

2 Buizel

One of Ash’s cutest Pokémon across the entire series is his Buizel. This small otter/weasel-Pokémon was a faithful companion to the protagonist during his time in the Sinnoh region, where it was caught. It was actually Dawn who caught this Buizel, but she traded it to Ash for his Aipom.

A memorable episode with Buizel was Short and To the Punch!, where the two trained their ability to throw a punch, eventually leading Buizel to learn Ice Punch.

1 Pikachu

Which of Ash’s Pokémon, of course, could ever be more adorable or cute than his most faithful companion and best friend, Pikachu? This Electric-type mouse became Ash’s first and most prominent Pokémon in the very first episode of the series and has been present for Ash’s entire journey since.

Pikachu is adorable and has had some very cute moments. Over time, it has become one of the most recognizable video game characters in the world and the mascot of the entire Pokémon franchise.

NEXT: Pokémon: Every Single Move Ash’s Pikachu Has Ever Used