Ash's Tauros

Ash's 30 Tauros (Japanese: サトシの３０匹のケンタロス Satoshi's 30 Kentauros) are a group of that   during his travels in the Kanto region. Together, they are the tenth species of Pokémon caught by Ash in the Kanto region, and his eleventh overall.

Kanto
Ash spent some time in the in the banned episode EP035. He was attempting to as many  as possible, though all he ended up with were thirty Tauros as they always ran in front of his Safari Balls when he tried to make a catch. At the end of Ash's adventures in the Safari Zone, all thirty Tauros were sent to 's laboratory. This episode has not been aired outside of Japan,, and due to the firearms being a plot point. The dub merely mentions in Showdown at the Po-ké Corral that Ash caught the Tauros in the Safari Zone without the captures ever being depicted.

The Tauros' main characteristic is stampeding. This means that the lab is a good place for them, as there is plenty of space to run around. They have proved useful at the laboratory, stampeding to wake up Ash's Snorlax in times of crisis. However, the stampeding has caused mishaps. The first time Ash returned to Pallet Town in Showdown at the Po-ké Corral, they stampeded through a fence and sent Team Rocket blasting off. Later, they stampeded through the lab, leaving a mess and a large hole in the wall.

Orange Islands
Ash began using Tauros when he needed a replacement for in his battle for the Winner's Cup of the Orange League in Hello, Pummelo! and Enter The Dragonite. He sent the now-sleeping to Oak's for one of his Tauros to see if the "beginner's luck" strategy he had used in the Indigo Plateau Conference with  and  would work again. Tauros seemed shocked but very pleased when Ash chose him.

After an initial failure when hit with 's, Tauros went up against 's. His Fissure and Take Down attacks caused him to become lodged in the now sandy field, and he was helpless when Venusaur, who he had managed to hurl into the air, hit him with. However, this freed him from the sand, and he defeated Venusaur with a very powerful Take Down. He later fought Drake's Dragonite, managing to stand firm and catch Dragonite's on his horns; Ash remembered the sand's cushioning effect and used it to his advantage this time. Tauros then slammed Dragonite into the ground, but Dragonite recovered and took down Tauros with a. His efforts allowed Pikachu to land the final blow and win Ash the tournament.

Tauros was returned to his herd in A Tent Situation when Ash and returned to Pallet Town.

Johto
Tauros appeared in A Farfetch'd Tale, where he crowded into Ash's screen with Kingler, Muk, and Snorlax to wish him luck for his next Gym battle with Whitney.

Tauros was used again in early Johto during the Pokémon Swap Meet, in Tricks of the Trade. One of the events was a Tauros-battling competition, which Ash entered after exchanging for Tauros. Ash then sprinted into the stadium to challenge Fernando, the undefeated champion with ten straight wins. Ash's Tauros locks horns with Fernando's and manages to overpower his Tauros with a Take Down that threw Fernando's Tauros into the arena wall and knock him out, winning Ash the tournament. Ash then received multiple offers to trade Tauros for an, , and a , as well as Benny's. However, he explained that he wasn't there to trade and sent Tauros back to Professor Oak in the next episode, The Fire-ing Squad!.

Ash later used a Tauros in the Silver Conference, in The Ties That Bind. He fought 's. managing to push through the rocks thrown by and charge with a Horn Attack. Nidoqueen blocked Tauros by catching his horns and then launched a Hyper Beam, easily knocking Tauros out of the match.

In Showdown at the Oak Corral, the Tauros made a cameo appearance, telling the other Pokémon about Cassidy and Butch.

On Ash's return from Hoenn in The Right Place and the Right Mime, the Tauros were seen running towards him with his other Pokémon. However, they were so pleased to see him that they got carried away and stampeded off with Ash on their backs, and Ash had to be retrieved by his before he could be reunited with the other Pokémon.

He used Tauros again in the battle against Salon Maiden Anabel in Talking a Good Game!, first against her. He went on an offensive charge, but was easily defeated by a combination of and.

After training the next day (and being so spooked by a 's that he managed to hurl Ash, Anabel, Pikachu and  flying into a lake), he was used in the rematch in Second Time's the Charm. This time, he was used against, using Horn Attack to throw Metagross into the air. Metagross's was countered by Double Team, but the beam slashed through all of the duplicates and hit Tauros. He quickly recovered and struck the recharging Metagross hard. His final Take Down was countered by, taking out both Pokémon.

The Tauros were reunited with Ash in The Dream Continues! when Ash returned to the lab. They greeted him by trampling him, much to the surprise of Alexa. Later on, they and the rest of Ash's Pokémon posed in a group photo with him.

The Tauros reappeared in Alola, Kanto! during Ash and ' visit to the laboratory. Excited to see him again, they ran into Ash and knocked him into the sky.

Personality and characteristics
Due to the large number of Tauros, it is impossible to determine each and every one's personality. However, the Tauros seem to share a very enthusiastic personality, and a love of exercise. In terms of battling, despite the very small move set available during most of their screen time, they are all extremely strong, capable of throwing a, , Tauros, and into the air from a standing position, using only their neck muscles. It has been shown multiple times that they get very excited when they see Ash, as they often stampede him when he returns home.

In the Ash & Pikachu manga
Ash's Tauros appears in the chapter One Half Of A Poké Ball, where he was sent out to battle 's and lost to her.

In The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga
Ash's Tauros was briefly seen in The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga during Ash's battle with Drake in chapter Pikachu's Plan. It is unknown whether Ash has multiple Tauros in the manga like he has in the anime.

Trivia

 * a Tauros at the same time that Ash caught his first Tauros. Because of this, some believe that Brock actually owned a Tauros, and the writers simply forgot about it in subsequent episodes. However, Brock caught him using one of Ash's s, and therefore, it is counted as one of the thirty belonging to Ash.
 * Despite the Tauros all being captured in green Safari Balls, they all have regular s when Ash calls them into.
 * It has never been revealed whether Ash uses the same Tauros whenever one of them is transferred to him or if Professor Oak simply sends him a random one each time.
 * Ash's Tauros are the only Pokémon belonging to a main character to have been caught in a banned episode.
 * Ash was offered a in exchange for his Tauros after winning the Tauros battling competition. Ash had tried to capture a Rhyhorn in the Safari Zone, but a Tauros ran past and was captured instead. Despite this, Ash chooses to keep his Tauros.
 * Tauros is Ash's only Pokémon to have used a one-hit knockout move.
 * The Tauros are Ash's only gender-specific Pokémon.
 * The Tauros are the only Pokémon Ash has caught more than one of.
 * The Tauros are the only Pokémon caught by Ash during his original Kanto that he never used in a battle during said journey.
 * In, which is based on the anime series, Tauros's encounter rate at the Safari Zone is 10%, whereas in , , its encounter rate is only 1% or 4%, depending on the area. Making Tauros more common in the anime-based game may be a reference to Ash's Tauros.

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