Brock's 10 Strongest Pokémon in the Anime Series

Summary Brock evolved from a strong Rock-type Gym Leader to become a skilled Pokémon Doctor with healing abilities.

Comfey, given to Brock in the Alola region, is used for healing and calming wild Pokémon, not for battling.

Brock's team includes diverse Pokémon like Sudowoodo, Geodude, Marshtomp, Ludicolo, Blissey, Crobat, Croagunk, and more.

In the Pokémon anime, Brock is second only to Ash in terms of the number of episodes he appears in. While Brock's character journey gradually took him away from battling to become a Pokémon Doctor, he was still once a Gym Leader, and possesses a number of quite powerful Pokémon.

Despite starting out as a Rock-type Gym Leader, Brock's Pokémon span a variety of types, showing how much he grew and expanded his knowledge over the course of his journey. Aside from Rock, Brock also has quite a few Water-type Pokémon, which he has made great use of over the years. Following his decision to become a Pokémon Doctor, Brock also began specializing in Pokémon that have healing capabilities, making him more effective at his job.

10 Comfey Is For Healing, Not Fighting

First Appearance: Pokémon Sun & Moon, "Heart of Fire! Heart of Stone!"

Comfey was given to Brock by a Nurse Joy after he traveled to the Alola region and helped her out with an emergency situation using his Pokémon Doctor skills. Comfey are commonly used in the Alola region for their healing ability, as even the scent of Comfey is said to have restorative properties. Brock only used Comfey once, where it was able to calm down a raging Kangaskhan and prevent it from going on a rampage using Sweet Scent.

Given that Comfey came directly from Nurse Joy, it's clear that Comfey was never intended to be used in battle, and Brock never tried to have Comfey actually fight. It wouldn't be much use in trainer battles, but it obviously has applications in situations with wild Pokémon, which can have unpredictable behavior, especially if they believe someone is invading their territory.

9 Sudowoodo Grew Alongside Brock

First Appearance (as Bonsly): Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, "From Cradle to Save"

Brock first encountered Sudowoodo as a Bonsly in the Kanto region, during the Battle Frontier story arc. Brock found Bonsly hungry and crying, and was able to concoct some food to feed it which helped raise its spirits. Bonsly had a fiery spirit, and demanded Brock battle it before it would go with him. Bonsly was the only Pokémon that Brock carried with him to Sinnoh, proving the two had developed a strong bond.

Bonsly wasn't great in battle, but grew much more capable after it evolved into Sudowoodo. Now stronger and more independent, Sudowoodo made it its mission to repay Brock for his kindness, becoming a valuable ally. Sudowoodo would prove to be much stronger, defeating several opponents over the course of Diamond & Pearl, but never quite reached the heights of some of his other Pokémon.

8 Geodude Was One of Brock's First

First Appearance: Pokémon: Indigo League, "Showdown at Pewter City"

Geodude has been with Brock since the very beginning of the series, one of his first two Pokémon alongside Onix. Geodude is a practical sort of Pokémon, often rather serious compared to many other Pokémon in the series. Geodude's track record in battle is mixed, but its solid bond with Brock meant that it remained with him for quite a long time. Geodude often made itself useful in other ways, helping to put out fires or dig underground pathways.

Brock would eventually lend Geodude to his younger brother, Forrest, when it came time for Forrest to take over the Pewter City Gym, but seemed to have reclaimed it by the time of Sun & Moon. Geodude was often used when Onix's large size made it impractical, such as aboard ships or indoors, but Onix was generally a better battler.

7 Marshtomp Gave Brock Some Type Variety

First Appearance (as Mudkip): Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, "A Mudkip Mission"

Brock's Marshtomp first appeared as a wild Mudkip, one which helped a Mudkip breeder look after the many small, newborn Mudkip in his possession. It decided to join him after that, and eventually evolved into Marshtomp, giving it drastically more power. Mudkip wasn't the first non-Rock-type that Brock had, but he put it to use more frequently, and its Water-typing helped it to become a valuable member of his team.

Marshtomp had many similarities to Brock, fawning over female Pokémon the way that Brock would often fawn over the ladies. Still, it could be more mature, likely from its time watching over the baby Mudkip, helping Pokémon to resolve disputes over food and such. Marshtomp never really won any notable battles after evolving, but it's still quite a bit more powerful than it once was.

6 Ludicolo Was a Dim-Witted But Happy Companion

First Appearance (as Lotad): Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, "The Lotad Lowdown"

Brock first encountered Ludicolo as a Lotad early in his time in Hoenn, where it struggled to use Water Gun. Brock helped it to learn, and after defeating Team Rocket, decided to come with him. Lotad would eventually evolve into Lombre, when it was mistaken as a local "god" and helped bring rains to the surrounding area. It would evolve again after coming in contact with a Water Stone, becoming the happy-go-lucky Ludicolo.

Ludicolo was often used in conjunction with Marshtomp, with Brock ordering both to use Water Gun for double the power. Ludicolo didn't get to see too many battles in its fully evolved state, but its typing made it a good choice to cover the weaknesses of many of the other Pokémon in Brock's team. While Ludicolo's full power was never on display, it can be taken with some confidence that it could pack a punch when it needed to.

5 Blissey Is Stronger Than It Looks

First Appearance (as Happiny): Pokémon Diamond & Pearl, "One Big Happiny Family"

Brock won Happiny as an egg after winning Pokémon's weirdest dress-up contest. He hatched the egg a few episodes later and revealed the Pokémon inside to be Happiny, the baby form of Chansey and Blissey. Given Brock's later decision to become a Pokémon Doctor and Chansey/Blissey's association with Nurse Joy, it ended up being quite appropriate. Happiny had a surprisingly powerful Pound attack, winning several early battles with it.

In fact, Brock's Blissey is almost anomalously strong in general. It was capable of lifting even large boulders as a Happiny, and once picked up Dawn's Mamoswine. After evolving, it became an even more competent battler, although like Comfey, battling is hardly Blissey's main skill. It presumably uses its nutritious egg to help Brock heal injured and weak Pokémon like other Chansey and Blissey.

4 Crobat's Speed Made It An Asset

First Appearance (as Zubat): Pokémon: Indigo League, "Clefairy and the Moon Stone"

Brock's first catch in the series, Zubat was actually captured off-screen, surprising even Ash when Brock called it out. As a result, Zubat was with Brock for a long time, and the two became quite close thanks to the good care that Brock took of his Pokémon. This eventually helped Zubat evolve into Golbat, and finally Crobat, which can only be obtained with high levels of friendship. Zubat often used its Supersonic to confuse opponents, forcing them to attack each other.

Like Ludicolo, Crobat didn't get many opportunities to show off as a fully-evolved Pokémon, but Crobat is generally considered a fairly strong Pokémon. Its speed allowed it to overtake even Ash's Noctowl, and that combined with its fine hearing made it an excellent scout, helping to track down Pokémon stolen by Team Rocket.

3 Croagunk's Fighting Skill Made It Powerful

First Appearance: Pokémon Diamond & Pearl, "Gymbaliar!"

Interestingly, Brock's Croagunk first aligned itself with Team Rocket before being caught by Brock. Croagunk proved to be quite skilled in battle, and Brock used Croagunk as his first choice in many situations after obtaining it. Croagunk became famous for dragging Brock away when he got too infatuated with girls, often using its Poison Jab on him in these situations, which helped keep Brock in line. Despite this, Croagunk and Brock are quite close, and typically very in sync in battle.

Croagunk brought more new typings to Brock's team, helping to vary his Pokémon even further. Croagunk's senses were finally tuned, making it capable of detecting danger approaching and allowing it to react quickly to situations. This, combined with its skill, made Croagunk quite a competitor, and it was easy to see why Brock trusted it so much.

2 Forretress Explodes With Happiness

First Appearance (as Pineco): Pokémon: Gold & Silver, "Going Apricorn!"

The only Pokémon Brock caught in Johto, Pineco was an enthusiastic Pokémon that tended to Self-Destruct when it experienced strong emotions. Pineco was surprisingly stealthy, able to lower itself down from trees by thin strands of silk. It evolved in dramatic fashion when Brock fell into danger attempting to protect it from Team Rocket, and became far more powerful as a Forretress.

Forretress learned Rapid Spin, allowing it to clear hazards and shake loose opponents that might try to cling to it, and was able to set up hazards of its own with Spikes. Its Steel-typing made it a surprisingly tough Pokémon, often withstanding barrages from Team Rocket's Pokémon with ease. Forretress didn't see many battles that didn't involve Team Rocket, but its performance against the trio made it invaluable in the early days of their travels through Hoenn.

1 Steelix Can Mega Evolve

First Appearance (as Onix): Pokémon Indigo League, "Showdown at Pewter City"

Onix was the main challenge that Ash struggled against when he first challenged Brock due to its sheer size. While that size sometimes made it impractical to battle with, it was also one of Onix's biggest assets, allowing it to overpower many smaller Pokémon. It was Brock's very first Pokémon, given to him as a gift from Brock's father when he turned 10, much like Pikachu for Ash. Onix had a major weakness to water, which was often the only way it was defeated. It evolved into a Steelix while under the care of Brock's brother and successor as Gym Leader, Forrest.

In Sun & Moon, it was revealed that Brock had reclaimed his Steelix, and together they had mastered the art of Mega Evolution, allowing it to transform into Mega Steelix. Mega Steelix proved its power by easily defeating Kiawe's Turtonator, even after Kiawe used a Z-move against it. Steelix knew a variety of moves, which helped it to battle against all manner of Pokémon, and its Steel-typing left it with few weaknesses. Its typing, capacity to Mega Evolve, and variety of moves make Steelix undoubtedly Brock's Strongest Pokémon.