May's Blaziken: Difference between revisions

[[File:May Torchic.png|As a {{p|Torchic}}|thumb|left]]

In ''[[AG001|Get the Show on the Road!]]'', Blaziken was given to May by [[Professor Birch]] in [[Littleroot Town]] when it was still a {{p|Torchic}}. She chose it as her [[starter Pokémon]] because she thought {{p|Treecko}} was creepy and scary (though she later called them cute in ''[[AG007|Trees a Crowd]]''), while the starter {{p|Mudkip}} had attacked her earlier with a {{m|Water Gun}} to the face. However, she seemed to like Torchic's cute appearance and sweet nature. Early on in the journey, Torchic was very inexperienced and ditzy. It did not know how to {{pkmn|battle}}, and tended to wander around obliviously; it also tended to panic when in dangerous situations. On the group's first encounter with [[Jessie's Seviper]] (still wild at the time), the {{type2|Poison}} frightened Torchic by trying to eat it.

When May started to ignore Torchic in favor of her new {{TP|May|Beautifly}}, Torchic's 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 {{p|Combusken}} during ''[[AG082|A Shroomish Skirmish]]'', where it learned both {{m|Fire Spin}} and {{m|Sky Uppercut}}. Combusken itself had a period of being highly aggressive, but this seems to have passed and its personality seems to have evened out more now that it apparently feels that it no longer has to overcompensate.

Finally, in ''[[AG174|New Plot, Odd Lot!]]'', Combusken was used for the appeal round of the [[Mulberry City]] Pokémon Contest. Team Rocket, who banded together with May's rival [[Harley]], attempted to ruin May's performance: Harley loaned James and Meowth his {{p|Ariados}} to sabotage May's appealand kick her our 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 the web, but also surprising all three judges at the same time. May managed to advance to the battle rounds (narrowly, though), and went on to defeat Jessie, who this time had borrowed Harley's {{p|Banette}}, in the final round.

For the [[Kanto Grand Festival]], Combusken was used for one of the appeal rounds and two of the battle rounds. Its appeal performance during ''[[May, We Harley Drew'd Ya!]]'', just like the one in the Mulberry Contest, involved a frisbee, and easily led her to the next round. Combusken was then used for May's battle against Drew, which started in ''[[AG181|Thinning the Hoard!]]'' and ended in the following episode, ''[[AG182|Channeling the Battle Zone!]]''. It battled against Drew's Flygon and {{p|Absol}}, alongside [[May's Squirtle|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 {{m|Overheat}} and gave his 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 then faced [[Solidad]]'s {{p|Pidgeot}} and {{p|Slowbro}}, battling along with [[May's Munchlax|Munchlax]]; they were defeated with relative ease, leaving May at the Top 4 of the Grand Festival.