May's Blaziken
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May's Blaziken (Japanese: ハルカのバシャーモ Haruka's Bursyamo) was the first partner Pokémon that May obtained at the beginning of her travels in Hoenn, given to her as a Torchic by Professor Birch.
In animation
History
Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire
Hoenn
In Get the Show on the Road!, Blaziken was given to May by Professor Birch in Littleroot Town when it was still a Torchic. She chose it as her first partner Pokémon because she thought Treecko was creepy and scary, and Mudkip had attacked her earlier with a Water 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.
In the next episode, May used Torchic to try to catch her first wild Pokémon, an Azurill. 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 a Marill and Azumarill. They simultaneously sprayed Water Gun at Torchic, knocking it out in one shot.
In There's no Place Like Hoenn, May introduced Torchic to her family, much to the disappointment of her brother Max. It later participated in its first battle against Team Rocket, but it and May's inexperience led to it getting kidnapped. After being rescued by Ash and Pikachu, 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.
In In the Knicker of Time!, May and Torchic battled against Nicholai and his Mudkip. 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 single Water Gun.
Due to it being very immature and inexperienced, May used Torchic sparingly after catching Beautifly and Skitty. During Having a Wailord of a Time, Max voiced his concerns about this, wondering if May even liked Torchic.
In A Togepi Mirage!, Torchic teamed up with Pikachu to face Colonel Hansen's Ninjask to stop him from opening the portal to the Togepi Paradise. Unfortunately, the speedy Pokémon were able to knock Torchic out with a Shadow Ball, leaving Pikachu to handle them alone.
In A Shroomish Skirmish, Torchic got separated from its Trainer and got lost alongside Ash's Corphish. Some wild Shroomish and a Breloom 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.
After evolving into Combusken, it proved very useful for Pokémon Contests. The first time it took part in one was in Pokéblock, Stock and Berry and Lessons in Lilycove! when May used it in the Lilycove Contest. Even though its Fire Spin caused problems during the Appeals Round, Combusken managed to get a score of 23.6, which helped May to reach the Contest Battles. After defeating Jessie and Chimecho, May had to battle Kelly, a fellow Pokémon Coordinator she met before entering the Contest. Kelly and her Grumpig showed great talent and effort, but May and Combusken turned out as the winners, earning them the Lilycove Ribbon.
When May got the five required Ribbons, she participated in the Hoenn Grand Festival, where Combusken was used in the second round of the battle stage against Anthony's Swalot and Pinsir, alongside Bulbasaur, in Rhapsody 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 against Drew's Flygon and Roselia. 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. In A Hurdle for Squirtle, Combusken was used for the Appeals Round of the Saffron City Contest, where it used Fire Spin and Sky Uppercut on May's untied bandanna to knot it back to her head. Later on, in Weekend Warrior, it was used for the battle rounds of the Silver Town Pokémon Contest. May and Combusken faced Coordinator Jeremy and his Venusaur in the final match; after a close battle, where the Grass-type used the powerful Frenzy Plant attack, May and Combusken ended as the winners, earning them the Ribbon.
In Spontaneous Combusken, it was used once again for the battle rounds, this time in the Chrysanthemum Island Contest. May and Combusken first faced Jessie and Mime Jr.. Though Mime Jr. was able to Mimic Combusken's Fire Spin and hit it with the unusual Tickle 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 a Skarmory with Quick Attack. In the final battle, May and Combusken faced Brianna and her Vibrava. After being weakened by Screech, Combusken managed a Fire Spin. However, it was countered by Dragon Breath and Combusken was trapped by Vibrava's Sand 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, in New Plot, Odd Lot!, Combusken was used for the Appeals Round of the Mulberry City Pokémon Contest. Team Rocket, who banded together with May's rival Harley, attempted to ruin her performance: Harley loaned James and Meowth his Ariados 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 surprising all 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's Banette, in the final round.
For the Kanto Grand Festival, Combusken was used for one of the Appeals Rounds and two battle rounds. Its appeal performance during May, 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 in Thinning the Hoard! and ended in the following episode, Channeling the Battle Zone!. It battled against Drew's Flygon and Absol, alongside Squirtle; 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 learned Overheat 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 faced Solidad's Pidgeot and Slowbro, battling along with Munchlax. 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.
In Once More With Reeling!, Combusken evolved into Blaziken while attempting to stop Team Rocket from stealing Pikachu and several other Pokémon. It used its newly-learned Blaze 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 the Terracotta Town Pokémon Contest, an informal event not sanctioned by the Pokémon Activities Committee. It went up against Ash's Sceptile in a hard-fought match that saw both Pokémon activating their Abilities. 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 commemorative Terracotta Medal. Later, it left for Johto with May and the rest of her Pokémon.
Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl
In A Full Course Tag Battle!, Blaziken was used in the Seven Stars Restaurant Tag Battles, in which it battled alongside Dawn's Piplup. When it was first called out, Ash seemed pleased at seeing it again, and Brock 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 a Blaze Kick but failed to hit the opponent and got hurt by Girafarig's Bite. The battle concluded with a combination of Piplup's Bubble Beam and Blaziken's Fire Spin, resulting in a fusion of the Fire-type and Water-type moves, knocking off both of the opponents as a result. Blaziken was not seen in the Wallace Cup.
Personality and characteristics
Much like May at the beginning of her journey, 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 to battle, and it tended to wander around aimlessly when brought out of its Poké Ball. Additionally, it used to panic when in dangerous situations. It also showed a very compassionate demeanor as seen in A Corphish Out of Water when Torchic offered Wurmple its food bowl when the latter wasn't eating its food.
As seen in There's no Place Like Hoenn, Torchic seems to have developed a grudge against Max, which started when he commented that May should've chosen Treecko instead of Torchic. Later, when May commanded it to attack Team Rocket, Torchic instead attacked Max, and did so again when May commanded a second attack. When May started to ignore Torchic in favor of her Beautifly, 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 its evolution into Combusken in A Shroomish Skirmish, where it learned both Fire Spin and Sky Uppercut.
As a Fire Pokémon, Torchic feared water, as demonstrated in Sharpedo 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 with Ash's Sceptile and work well with Dawn'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 and Sky Uppercut | Drew's Flygon |
| Description: A combination between Flamethrower and Sky Uppercut. During May's two-on-two Contest Battle against Drew in the Hoenn Grand Festival, May had Combusken jump into Flygon's Flamethrower, cloaking the Young Fowl Pokémon in flames and providing extra damage for its Sky Uppercut. | |||
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Hail to the Chef! | Fire Spin and Water 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 stop Team Rocket from making off with Ash's Pikachu, Rhonda's Mr. Mime, and Rhoda's Sneasel, but to no avail. | |||
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Channeling the Battle Zone! | Bubble and Sky 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 and Absol in the Kanto Grand Festival. | |||
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Channeling the Battle Zone! | Fire Spin and Bubble or Bubble Beam | May's Squirtle or Dawn'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 by Tucker's tactical fusion of Fire- and Water-type attacks. The combination was first used during a two-on-two Contest Battle against Drew's Flygon and Absol in the Kanto Grand Festival. Another version involves Blaziken's Fire Spin and Piplup's Bubble Beam. It was used in A Full Course Tag Battle! during a Tag Battle against Roman's Girafarig and Kylie's Drifloon in the Seven Stars Restaurant. | |||
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The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing! | Psychic and Fire Spin | May's Beautifly |
| Description: Beautifly uses Psychic to power-up a move making it faster and more powerful like Combusken's Fire Spin or Skitty's Blizzard. | |||
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 in Pokémon Advanced Generation: I've Begun Hiragana and Katakana!.
Pokémon Advanced Generation: Pokémon Number Battle!
Combusken appears in Pokémon Advanced Generation: Pokémon Number Battle!.
Pokémon Masters Arena
Torchic appears in Pokémon Masters Arena.
In the manga
Ash & Pikachu
May's Blaziken appeared as a Torchic starting in Let's Save Pikachu!!. It was revealed to have evolved into Combusken in The 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 the Pokémon Trading Card Game as both a Torchic and a Combusken. The following is a list of related cards.
| May's Blaziken Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format. Cards listed with a green background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats. | |||||||
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| Card | Type | English Expansion |
Rarity | # | Japanese Expansion |
Rarity | # |
| May's Torchic | 
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ADV-P Promotional cards | 037/ADV-P | ||||
| May's Combusken |
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Movie Commemoration VS Pack: Sea's Manaphy | 002/019 | ||||
Trivia
- Blaziken is the first first partner Pokémon in the animated series to be owned by a main character besides Ash to:
- Blaziken is the first partner Pokémon to be owned by a main character other than Ash.
- Blaziken is the only Hoenn first partner Pokémon belonging to a main character who did not fall in love.
- Blaziken is the first Fighting-type Pokémon owned by a main character other than Ash.
- Blaziken is May's only Pokémon to:
- Activate its Ability.
- Have had a unique type combination.
- Have not used Tackle.
- Blaziken has used the most moves out of all of May's Pokémon, with a total of nine.
- Blaziken is the only concurrent first partner Pokémon owned by a main character introduced prior to Pokémon Journeys: The Series to not appear in said series.
- Both its first battle as a Combusken and its first official battle as a Blaziken resulted in a tie. Coincidentally, it fought a fully evolved Grass-type Pokémon in both instances.
- Combusken evolved into Blaziken exactly 100 episodes after its first Contest victory in Lilycove City.
- Like Ash's Sceptile, Blaziken was voiced by Darren Dunstan in its second stage followed by Bill Rogers after the voice switch.
Related articles
| May's Pokémon | ||||||
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| Professor Birch's Pokémon | ||||||
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |
