May's Blaziken
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May's Blaziken (Japanese:ハルカのバシャーモHaruka's Bursyamo) was thefirst partner Pokémon thatMay obtained at the beginning of her travels inHoenn, given to her as aTorchic byProfessor Birch.
In animation
History
Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire
Hoenn
InGet the Show on the Road!, Blaziken was given to May byProfessor Birch inLittleroot Town when it was still aTorchic. She chose it as herfirst partner Pokémon because she thoughtTreecko was creepy and scary, andMudkip had attacked her earlier with aWater Gun in the face. In contrast, she seemed to like Torchic's cute appearance and sweet nature, which it showed by hopping over to her and nuzzling against her legs affectionately.
Inthe next episode, May used Torchic to try to catch her firstwild Pokémon, anAzurill. Despite trying its best, the Azurill was too fast and agile for Torchic, easily dodging its attacks and causing Torchic to run into other objects. This eventually angered Torchic enough to fire an Ember attack, which hit not only Azurill but aMarill andAzumarill. They simultaneously sprayed Water Gun at Torchic, knocking it out in one shot.
InThere's no Place Like Hoenn, May introduced Torchic to her family, much to the disappointment of her brotherMax. It later participated in its first battle againstTeam Rocket, but it and May's inexperience led to it getting kidnapped. After being rescued byAsh andPikachu, May attempted to command Torchic in battle once again, though all of its attacks ended up hitting Max instead. Despite the setbacks, Pikachu defeated the evil trio, and Torchic and May took another step toward becoming a team.
InIn the Knicker of Time!, May and Torchic battled againstNicholai and hisMudkip. Although eager, May simply told Torchic to "start attacking" instead of calling out a move. The battle did not improve afterward, with Torchic getting knocked out by a singleWater Gun.
Due to it being very immature and inexperienced, May used Torchic sparingly after catchingBeautifly andSkitty. DuringHaving a Wailord of a Time, Max voiced his concerns about this, wondering if May even liked Torchic.
InA Togepi Mirage!, Torchic teamed up with Pikachu to faceColonel Hansen'sNinjask to stop him from opening the portal to theTogepi Paradise. Unfortunately, the speedy Pokémon were able to knock Torchic out with aShadow Ball, leaving Pikachu to handle them alone.
InA Shroomish Skirmish, Torchic got separated from its Trainer and got lost alongsideAsh's Corphish. Some wildShroomish and aBreloom started attacking them, causing Torchic to evolve into Combusken. Breloom challenged Combusken to hand-to-hand combat. Combusken obliged, and a vicious fight ensued. Both Pokémon were hit numerous times in the face by punches and kicks, and in the end, a cross-counter knocked out both Pokémon.
In thenext episode, Combusken battledBrodie'sDitto,transformed into aCrawdaunt, to prevent him from stealing all of theWeather Institute's data on weather and ancient Pokémon. Unfortunately, Combusken was quickly taken out.
After evolving into Combusken, it proved very useful forPokémon Contests. The first time it took part in one was inPokéblock, Stock and Berry andLessons in Lilycove! when May used it in theLilycove Contest. Even though itsFire Spin caused problems during theAppeals Round, Combusken managed to get a score of 23.6, which helped May to reach theContest Battles. After defeatingJessie andChimecho, May had to battleKelly, a fellowPokémon Coordinator she met before entering the Contest. Kelly and herGrumpig showed great talent and effort, but May and Combusken turned out as the winners, earning them the LilycoveRibbon.
When May got the five required Ribbons, she participated in theHoenn Grand Festival, where Combusken was used in the second round of thebattle stage againstAnthony'sSwalot andPinsir, alongsideBulbasaur, inRhapsody in Drew. The two ended the round with more points, advancing May to the next stage, which Combusken also participated in alongside Skitty. The two faced off againstDrew'sFlygon andRoselia. Together, they managed to put up a great fight but were defeated, leaving May within the Top 8 Coordinators of the Festival.
Kanto
During May's Kanto journey, Combusken had more appearances due to the Pokémon Contests allowing Coordinators to use different Pokémon for each round. InA Hurdle for Squirtle, Combusken was used for the Appeals Round of theSaffron City Contest, where it used Fire Spin and Sky Uppercut on May's untied bandanna to knot it back to her head. Later on, inWeekend Warrior, it was used for the battle rounds of theSilver Town Pokémon Contest. May and Combusken faced CoordinatorJeremy and hisVenusaur in the final match; after a close battle, where the Grass-type used the powerfulFrenzy Plant attack, May and Combusken ended as the winners, earning them the Ribbon.
InSpontaneous Combusken, it was used once again for the battle rounds, this time in theChrysanthemum Island Contest. May and Combusken first faced Jessie andMime Jr.. Though Mime Jr. was able toMimic Combusken's Fire Spin and hit it with the unusualTickle attack, Combusken managed to land a Sky Uppercut through the opposing Fire Spin and win the battle. In the second battle, Combusken was seen beating aSkarmory withQuick Attack. In the final battle, May and Combusken facedBrianna and herVibrava. After being weakened byScreech, Combusken managed a Fire Spin. However, it was countered byDragon Breath and Combusken was trapped by Vibrava'sSand Tomb and remained immobilized while May's points decreased until it broke out with a new move:Mega Kick. Combusken swiftly won the match and May received her third Ribbon.
Finally, inNew Plot, Odd Lot!, Combusken was used for the Appeals Round of theMulberry City Pokémon Contest.Team Rocket, who banded together with May'srivalHarley, attempted to ruin her performance: Harley loaned James and Meowth hisAriados to sabotage May's appeal and kick her out of the Contest, so she would not get the last Ribbon she needed to get into the Grand Festival; however, surprisingly, their plan backfired when Combusken's Fire Spin started enveloping Ariados' web, going upwards in a spiral manner, not only setting Combusken free from it but also surprisingall three judges in the process. May managed to advance to the battle rounds (narrowly, though) and went on to defeat Jessie, who this time had borrowed Harley'sBanette, in the final round.
For theKanto Grand Festival, Combusken was used for one of the Appeals Rounds and two battle rounds. Its appeal performance duringMay, We Harley Drew'd Ya!, like the one in the Mulberry Contest, involved a frisbee, and easily led her to the next round. Combusken was used for May's battle against Drew, which started inThinning the Hoard! and ended in the following episode,Channeling the Battle Zone!. It battled against Drew's Flygon andAbsol, alongsideSquirtle; however, the fierce battle left only Combusken and Absol on stage after the first half of the five minutes. Just when Absol started to get the advantage, Combusken learnedOverheat and gave its very best until the end of the match; by an extremely narrow difference, May and Combusken were announced as the winners of the round, and May moved on to the semi-finals. Combusken facedSolidad'sPidgeot andSlowbro, battling along withMunchlax. As Solidad had been observing May's battling style, she was able to evade their attacks and defeated them with relative ease, leaving May in the Top 4 of the Grand Festival.
InOnce More With Reeling!, Combuskenevolved intoBlaziken while attempting to stop Team Rocket from stealingPikachu and several other Pokémon. It used its newly-learnedBlaze Kick to send Team Rocket flying, upon which Ash remarked that he would like to battle Blaziken. Afterward, May used Blaziken in the Battle Round of theTerracotta TownPokémon Contest, an informal event not sanctioned by thePokémon Activities Committee. It went up againstAsh's Sceptile in a hard-fought match that saw both Pokémon activating theirAbilities. At the end of the five-minute time limit, May and Ash were tied in points, but due to the event's informality, a sudden-death round did not take place, and the battle ended in a draw, with May and Ash splitting the commemorativeTerracotta Medal. Later, it left forJohto with May and the rest of her Pokémon.
Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl
InA Full Course Tag Battle!, Blaziken was used in theSeven Stars Restaurant Tag Battles, in which it battled alongsideDawn's Piplup. When it was first called out, Ash seemed pleased at seeing it again, andBrock remarked that it had also gotten stronger. After the food retrieval from Team Rocket, it was called out once again for the Tag Battle. Blaziken started off with aBlaze Kick but failed to hit the opponent and got hurt by Girafarig'sBite. The battle concluded with a combination of Piplup'sBubble Beam and Blaziken'sFire Spin, resulting in a fusion of theFire-type andWater-type moves, knocking off both of the opponents as a result. Blaziken was not seen in theWallace Cup.
Personality and characteristics
Much like May at the beginning of herjourney, Blaziken, while it was a Torchic, was very inexperienced and unsure of itself. It was also shown to be a rather curious, ditzy, and playful Pokémon. It did not know how tobattle, and it tended to wander around aimlessly when brought out of itsPoké Ball. Additionally, it used to panic when in dangerous situations. It also showed a very compassionate demeanor as seen inA Corphish Out of Water when Torchic offeredWurmple its food bowl when the latter wasn't eating its food.
As seen inThere's no Place Like Hoenn, Torchic appeared to have developed a quick and early grudge againstMax, which started when he commented that May should've chosenTreecko instead of Torchic. Later, when May commanded it to attackTeam Rocket, Torchic instead attacked Max, and did so again when May commanded a second attack. However, Torchic would let go of its grudge against Max as the series progressed and the two became more accustomed to each other. When May started to ignore Torchic in favor of herBeautifly, it felt like it needed to compete for its Trainer's attention and its personality began to change: it grew more determined to improve itself and recapture May's attention. Its competitive streak continued to grow as it lost most of its childishness and confusion; this culminated in itsEvolution intoCombusken inA Shroomish Skirmish, where it learned bothFire Spin andSky Uppercut.
As a Fire Pokémon, Torchic feared water, as demonstrated inSharpedo Attack!, when it chose not to follow its Trainer in jumping into the ocean.
Upon its Evolution, it became much more assertive and confident, as it felt it didn't need to compete with Beautifly for attention anymore. As a Blaziken, it was shown to be quite an adept battler, being able to battle on par withAsh's Sceptile and work well withDawn's Piplup.
Appearance
| As a Torchic | As a Combusken |
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Moves used
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| A† shows that the move was used recently, unless all moves fit this case or there are fewer than five known moves. | |||||||
Moves improvised
| Picture | First Used In | Moves Involved | Partnered With |
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 | Rhapsody in Drew | Flamethrower andSky Uppercut | Drew'sFlygon |
| Description: A combination between Flamethrower and Sky Uppercut. DuringMay'stwo-on-twoContest Battle againstDrew in theHoenn Grand Festival, May had Combusken jump into Flygon's Flamethrower, cloaking theYoung Fowl Pokémon in flames and providing extra damage for its Sky Uppercut. | |||
 | Hail to the Chef! | Fire Spin andWater Gun | Brock's Mudkip |
| Description: A combination of Fire Spin and Water Gun. Combusken uses Fire Spin while Mudkip shoots a Water Gun and the two attacks combine to create a stream of water surrounded by a spiral of red-orange fire. This was used to try and stopTeam Rocket from making off withAsh's Pikachu,Rhonda'sMr. Mime, andRhoda'sSneasel, but to no avail. | |||
 | Channeling the Battle Zone! | Bubble andSky Uppercut | May's Squirtle |
| Description: Squirtle uses Bubble to surround Combusken. Then, Combusken heads towards the opposing Pokémon while using Sky Uppercut. The combination was used during a two-on-two Contest Battle against Drew's Flygon andAbsol in theKanto Grand Festival. | |||
 | Channeling the Battle Zone! | Fire Spin andBubble orBubble Beam | May's Squirtle orDawn's Piplup |
| Description: Combusken uses Fire Spin and Squirtle follows up with Bubble. The two moves fuse into a water and fire whirlwind surrounded by sparks which traps the opponents. It was inspired byTucker's tactical fusion ofFire- andWater-typeattacks. The combination was first used during atwo-on-twoContest Battle againstDrew'sFlygon andAbsol in theKanto Grand Festival. Another version involves Blaziken's Fire Spin and Piplup's Bubble Beam. It was used inA Full Course Tag Battle! during aTag Battle againstRoman'sGirafarig andKylie'sDrifloon in theSeven Stars Restaurant. | |||
 | The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing! | Psychic andFire Spin | May's Beautifly |
| Description: Beautifly uses Psychic to power-up a move making it faster and more powerful like Combusken's Fire Spin orSkitty'sBlizzard. | |||
Artwork
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| Early poster for Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire | Official artwork from Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire | Official artwork from Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire | Official artwork from Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire | Official artwork from Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire |
In the games
In the spin-off games
Pokémon Advanced Generation: I've Begun Hiragana and Katakana!
Torchic appears inPokémon Advanced Generation: I've Begun Hiragana and Katakana!.
Pokémon Advanced Generation: Pokémon Number Battle!
Combusken appears inPokémon Advanced Generation: Pokémon Number Battle!.
Pokémon Masters Arena
Torchic appears inPokémon Masters Arena.
In the manga
Ash & Pikachu
May's Blaziken appeared as a Torchic starting inLet's Save Pikachu!!. It was revealed to have evolved into Combusken inThe Birth Of The Invincible Team, Max And Ralts!!.
Moves used
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| A† shows that the move was used recently, unless all moves fit this case or there are fewer than five known moves. | ||||||||||
Movie adaptations
As a Torchic, May's Blaziken appeared in many of the movie adaptations, as it is one of May's main Pokémon.
Moves used
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| A† shows that the move was used recently, unless all moves fit this case or there are fewer than five known moves. | |||||||
In the TCG
May's Blaziken was featured in thePokémon Trading Card Game as both a Torchic and a Combusken. The following is a list of related cards.
| May's Blaziken Cards listed with ablue background are only legal to use in the currentExpanded format. Cards listed with agreen background are legal to use in both the currentStandard andExpanded formats. | |||||||
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| Card | Type | English Expansion | Rarity | # | Japanese Expansion | Rarity | # |
| May's Torchic |  | ADV-P Promotional cards | 037/ADV-P | ||||
| May's Combusken | | Movie Commemoration VS Pack: Sea's Manaphy | 002/019 | ||||
Trivia
- Blaziken is the firstfirst partner Pokémon in theanimated series to be owned by a main character besidesAsh to:
- Blaziken is the first partner Pokémon to be owned by a main character other than Ash.
- Blaziken is the onlyHoenn first partner Pokémon belonging to a main character who did not fall in love.
- Blaziken is the firstFighting-type Pokémon owned by a main character other than Ash.
- Blaziken is May's only Pokémon to:
- Activate itsAbility.
- Have had aunique type combination.
- Have not usedTackle.
- Blaziken has used the mostmoves out of all of May's Pokémon, with a total of nine.
- Blaziken is the onlyconcurrent first partner Pokémon owned by a main character introduced prior toPokémon Journeys: The Series to not appear in said series.
- Bothits first battle as a Combusken andits first official battle as a Blaziken resulted in a tie. Coincidentally, it fought a fully evolvedGrass-type Pokémon in both instances.
- Combusken evolved into Blazikenexactly 100 episodes after itsfirst Contest victory inLilycove City.
- LikeAsh's Sceptile, Blaziken was voiced byDarren Dunstan in its second stage followed byBill Rogers after thevoice switch.
Related articles
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 | This article is part ofProject Anime, aBulbapedia project that covers all aspects ofPokémon animation. |
