Ash's Lycanroc: Difference between revisions

[[File:Rockruff and Kukui anime.png|thumb|250px|As a Rockruff, with Professor Kukui]]

In ''[[SM015|Rocking Clawmark Hill!]]'', Rockruff came home injured, causing Ash and Professor Kukui to investigate the reason behind its injuries. This led them to [[Clawmark Hill]], where they discovered that Rockruff had been fighting with other wild Pokémon, including a {{p|Magmar}}. With Ash's help, Rockruff was able to master {{m|Rock Throw}}, which helped it defeat Magmar. At the end of the episode, Professor Kukui encouraged Ash to catch Rockruff after seeing the bond the two had developed.

In ''[[SM019|A Guardian Rematch!]]'', Lycanroc, as a Rockruff, was used in its first official battle, in which it faced [[Hiroki]] and his {{p|Mudbray}}. During the battle, Rockruff performed {{m|Breakneck Blitz}} for the first time, which was able to defeat Mudbray.

In ''[[SM027|A Glaring Rivalry!]]'', Rockruff was seen training with [[Ash's Rowlet]] and {{AP|Litten}}. Later, it witnessed its evolved form {{TP|Gladion|Lycanroc}} winning a battle against a {{p|Blastoise}}, which greatly impressed it. Ash later used Rockruff in his battle against {{an|Gladion}} in which it battled Lycanroc. Rockruff got quickly overwhelmed by Lycanroc's great speed and fierce moves but was still able to battle. The battle was then interrupted by {{TRT}}, who captured Pikachu and Lycanroc.

[[File:Rockruff aggressive behavior.png|thumb|250px|As a Rockruff, displaying aggressive behavior, due to being close to evolving]]

In ''[[SM036|Trials and Determinations!]]'', Rockruff was used in the [[Akala Island]] grand trial alongside Rowlet, battling [[Olivia's Lycanroc]] and {{p|Probopass}}. Despite their opponents giving them tough times with their combination tactics, Rowlet eventually managed to defeat Probopass with {{m|Bloom Doom}}. Unfortunately, Rockruff, who was acting aggressively, was so desperate to battle Lycanroc by itself that it impulsively used {{m|Bite}} against Rowlet, accidentally knocking it out. Despite this setback, Ash encouraged Rockruff to use its fighting spirit, allowing it to outrun and defeat Lycanroc, thus earning Ash a [[Rockium Z]]. Professor Kukui and Olivia then revealed to Ash that Rockruff's behavior was a sign that it was going to [[evolution|evolve]] soon.

In ''[[SM037|Rising from the Ruins!]]'', Rockruff went off by itself to train after remembering the aggression it demonstrated during Olivia's grand trial. While training, it encountered {{DL|Guardian deities (anime)|Tapu Lele}}, who challenged it to a battle. Rockruff was no match for the [[guardian deities|guardian deity]], however, and was easily beaten. When Ash found Rockruff, he tried to stop it from running away again but failed. The next day, Rockruff was walking on a cliffside when it got startled by a {{p|Fearow}}, causing it to fall down into a river. The injured Puppy Pokémon was later found by Olivia and Gladion's Lycanroc, who brought it to the [[Ruins of Life]], where Tapu Lele resided. When Ash, Professor Kukui, and Olivia arrived at the ruins, Tapu Lele used {{m|Draining Kiss}} to drain stamina from Ash and the two Lycanroc, which was then used to heal Rockruff's wounds. Afterward, Rockruff went to the edge of a cliff and began to howl as the setting sun {{wp|Green flash|turned green}}. It then evolved into {{DL|List of Pokémon with form differences|Lycanroc|Dusk Form}} Lycanroc, after which it got happily embraced by its Trainer and the rest of Ash's party.

In ''[[SM047|A Masked Warning!]]'', Ash discovered while washing Lycanroc that it was so proud of its appearance that it would fly into a rage and attack if its fur got dirty. Lycanroc attacked {{AP|Litten}} and Litten fought back, with Ash placing himself between his two errant Pokémon. This helped Lycanroc to calm down, and it was very apologetic towards Ash. Later, Ash used Lycanroc to battle Gladion's {{p|Type: Null}}, nicknamed Silvally, where it was outmatched by its opponent's sheer power. During the battle Lycanroc was thrown into a nearby lake which drenched its fur, causing another rage during which it refused to listen to Ash's commands. Despite this, Silvally was still the stronger opponent and Lycanroc was easily held at bay before it could regain control of itself. After Lycanroc recovered, Ash and Gladion decided to continue the battle, but despite its best efforts, Lycanroc couldn't stand up to the power of Silvally's {{m|Crush Claw}} and was defeated.

In ''[[SM053|Rescuing the Unwilling!]]'', Lycanroc fought alongside {{an|Lillie}}'s {{p|Vulpix}}, [[Snowy]], against [[Lusamine's Clefable]], which was under {{DL|Ultra Beasts (anime)|Nihilego}}'s control. It saved Lillie from Clefable's {{m|Moonblast}} with an {{m|Accelerock}}. After Lycanroc knocked back Clefable with a {{m|Rock Throw}}, Lillie reminded Clefable of the Clefairy doll they used to play with together, in order to free it from Nihilego's command. When Clefable began powering up a move, Lillie gestured Lycanroc and Snowy not to attack before freeing Clefable with a simple embrace.

In ''[[SM074|Tough Guy Trials!]]'', Lycanroc was used to battle [[Nanu]], going up against his {{p|Krookodile}}. During the battle, Nanu had Krookodile deliberately anger Lycanroc, even going so far as to make it go berserk by dirtying its fur with {{m|Mud-Slap}}. Despite the furious attacks in its angered state, Lycanroc was defeated after Krookodile used {{m|Counter}} to send it flying before finishing it off with {{m|Crunch}}. Afterward, at [[Acerola]]'s library, Lycanroc sulked over its defeat. It was cheered up after Ash asked Acerola to help him find a place where he could train for a rematch with Nanu.

In ''[[SM075|Some Kind of Laziness!]]'', Acerola took Ash to see {{DL|Guardian deities (anime)|Tapu Bulu}} at the [[Ruins of Abundance]] so it could help him train. After some time, the duo managed to meet with Tapu Bulu and convince it to help them. At one point during their stay, it began raining, so Tapu Bulu decided to knock Lycanroc into a nearby pond, dirtying its fur and making it go berserk. By reminding Lycanroc of its time as a Rockruff and the bond they share, Ash finally managed to calm Lycanroc down. Impressed by this act, Tapu Bulu decided to battle Lycanroc. Though Tapu Bulu proved to be a powerful opponent, Lycanroc learned {{m|Stone Edge}} during the battle, after which Tapu Bulu called the battle off.

In ''[[SM077|Guiding an Awakening!]]'', Ash faced Nanu in a grand trial battle but was only allowed to use Lycanroc against all three of Nanu's Pokémon. After managing to defeat Nanu's Krookodile and {{p|Sableye}}, it went up against Nanu's {{rf|Alolan}} {{p|Persian}}. Throughout the battle, Nanu used his previous strategy of angering Lycanroc so that it would go into its red-eyed state. Ash, worried that Lycanroc could go berserk again, kept telling it to keep calm throughout the battle. Nanu, realizing the truth of the situation, decided to anger Ash himself by mocking his skill as a Trainer. In order to calm its Trainer down, Lycanroc chose to tackle Ash, revealing that it was in complete control of itself the entire time. Realizing that he let his anger and frustration from Nanu's insults go to his head, Ash apologized to Lycanroc and continued the battle. After an exchange of Z-Moves with Persian as well as its newly learned {{m|Counter}}, Lycanroc won the battle, allowing Ash to win a [[Lycanium Z]].

In ''[[SM139|Enter the Champion!]]'', Ash used Lycanroc as his final Pokémon against Gladion and his own Lycanroc during the finals of the [[Manalo Conference]]. Ash's Lycanroc's attempts to get close to Gladion's Lycanroc were repeatedly intercepted by Counter and Stone Edge. After powering itself up with {{m|Swords Dance}}, Gladion's Lycanroc got close enough to attack with {{m|Outrage}}, only to get confused and bite its left arm. Ash had his Lycanroc take this opportunity to attack, only for Gladion's Lycanroc to retaliate with Counter, revealing it bit itself to snap itself out of the confusion. Ash had his Lycanroc rush in with Accelerock, hoping to land one final blow. Gladion had his Lycanroc intercept with one more Counter, but just as it connected, Ash had his Lycanroc use Counter as well. This sent Gladion's Lycanroc flying into the wall and subsequently knocking it out, thus winning Ash the battle and the championship.

In ''[[SM141|Exhibition Unmasked!]]'', Lycanroc was Ash's second Pokémon used during his exhibition battle against Professor Kukui, replacing {{AP|Torracat}} in the confrontation against [[Professor Kukui's Incineroar]] after Ash [[recall]]ed it. When Incineroar used {{m|Darkest Lariat}} to stop Lycanroc's Stone Edge, Ash had Lycanroc grab one of the shards of the broken Stone Edge with its mouth and use it to attack Incineroar. The plan worked, allowing Lycanroc to deal the first bit of [[damage]] to Incineroar in the battle. Kukui then chose to recall Incineroar and send out {{p|Braviary}} in its place, while Ash chose to stick with Lycanroc. Their battle properly commenced in the [[SM142|next episode]]. While Lycanroc was able to endure a {{m|Sky Drop}} and deal some damage to its opponent, the [[Pokémon category|Wolf Pokémon]] was eventually defeated by a super effective {{m|Superpower}}.

Lycanroc is normally a playful, affectionate Pokémon that gets along well with both Ash and its previous caretaker, Professor Kukui. The first night Ash stayed with the Professor, Rockruff, Pikachu, and Ash were quickly able to befriend each other. As a Rockruff, like other members of its species, it likes to greet and show affection to others by rubbing up against them with the rocks on its neck, although it doesn't seem to be aware that it stings the recipient. Its affectionate personality was also shown in ''[[SM045|Now You See Them, Now You Don't!]]'', where, despite the fact that {{AP|Litten}} was angry toward it whilst eating and whilst relaxing at home, it continued to eat and smiled back at Litten respectively. Lycanroc appears to take its failures rather personally. As a Rockruff in ''[[SM036|Trials and Determinations!]]'', after knocking out {{AP|Rowlet}} in a fit of anger, it immediately came to its senses and regretted what it had done, and, despite ultimately winning against [[Olivia]], was still visibly upset in [[SM037|the next episode]]. At the end of ''[[SM074|Tough Guy Trials!]]'', Lycanroc was seen sulking in the corner of [[Acerola]]'s house after losing its battle with [[Nanu]]'s {{p|Krookodile}}, prompting Ash to give it a pep talk.

Although Rockruff lived with Professor Kukui before being caught by Ash, it was actually a [[wild Pokémon]] that Professor Kukui was taking care of. When Ash revealed this to his classmates at the [[Pokémon School]], {{Rotom}} added that Rockruff readily bond with humans even if they are not captured by a {{pkmn|Trainer}}. After evolving, Lycanroc started taking great pride in its fur, as shown in ''[[SM047|A Masked Warning!]]'', and is shown to enjoy being groomed and taking baths despite being a {{type|Rock}}, as observed by Rotom. However, if angered enough, such as when its fur gets dirty, Lycanroc's eyes turned red, and it would fly into a rage, lashing out at whomever it thought was responsible. When this happened, Lycanroc became [[obedience|disobedient]] and ignored Ash's commands. This weakness caused problems later during Ash's battle with Gladion and {{TP|Gladion|Silvally}}, and was later the cause of its defeat at the hands of Nanu and his Krookodile in ''Tough Guy Trials!''. In ''[[SM075|Some Kind of Laziness!]]'', Lycanroc was able to overcome this destructive habit with the help of Ash and the bond the two shared, remembering a memory it had when it played in the mud happily with Ash and Pikachu when it was still a Rockruff. After this, Lycanroc no longer goes berserk when its fur is dirtied, as seen in ''[[SM076|A Battle Hand-Off!]]'', where it got a bit of mud on its face and only reacted with disappointment. In ''[[SM077|Guiding an Awakening!]]'', Lycanroc was revealed to have gained full control of its red-eyed state, allowing it to use it as a boost of power.

Lycanroc has a strong sense of smell as a Rockruff, which has been used to help find {{AP|Rowlet}} and {{TP|Lana|Popplio}}, Ash's missing [[Electrium Z]] and [[DJ Leo]]'s {{p|Dugtrio}}. In the [[Poké Problem]] segment of ''[[SM047|A Masked Warning!]]'', it is revealed that Ash and Pikachu had to rely on Lycanroc's nose to guide them back from [[Ten Carat Hill]] after [[Nebby]] had fallen asleep. In ''[[SM048|Night of a Thousand Poses!]]'' and ''[[SM049|Mission: Total Recall!]]'', Lycanroc tends to spar with Litten on occasion, even when it is separated from its Trainer. However, Lycanroc seems to have a small rivalry with Litten, which carried over when it evolved into Torracat. Despite this, Lycanroc does get along with Torracat, as they often hang out when they are not sparring or being rivals. Lycanroc would also help Torracat, as seen in ''[[SM063|Pushing the Fiery Envelope!]]'', when it help train the Fire Cat Pokémon in learning {{m|Flame Charge}}.

* Rockruff's [[evolution]] into Lycanroc had a unique animation sequence, as it glowed green instead of blue whilst evolving, possibly as a result of the {{wp|green flash}}.