True, Ash, by how long the series is, and how many times they've mentioned how many years have passed since Kanto, you would think he would be like 20, but no, they have to keep him in suspended animation.
Like he would have the balls to evolve Pikachu, but Pika don't want to, never listen to pokemon.
Ash does win battles, just the qualifyer in a few coordinators and the normal gym battles. Ash, really has no character development, he's just an annoying kid who wants to be a pokemon master.