Ash's Bayleef: Difference between revisions

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Bayleef debuted in ''[[EP126|The Chikorita Rescue]]'' as a Chikorita. Chikorita was especially stubborn, going so far as to fight [[Ash's Charizard]], despite being faced with overwhelming odds, and it was injured in the process. {{TRT}} kidnapped it and tried to convince the stubborn Pokémon to join them, but {{Ash}} eventually won its confidence by saving it from Team Rocket.

Chikorita made its [[Gym]] {{pkmn|battle}} debut in ''[[EP131|Fighting Flyer with Fire]]'', where it took on [[Falkner]]'s {{p|Hoothoot}}. Ash showed that he believes in Chikorita by defending his choice to a disapproving Falkner, but Chikorita was outclassed by the {{type|Flying}}, who dodged its Vine Whip and {{m|Razor Leaf}} and then knocked it out with a {{m|Peck}} and a Tackle.

Chikorita's jealousy of {{AP|Pikachu}} and resentment towards Ash arose in ''[[EP136|Chikorita's Big Upset]]''. Ash tried to [[recall]] Chikorita for Pikachu in a battle with a {{tc|Schoolkid|Schoolboy}}'s {{p|Raticate}}, but Chikorita refused, and the battle was suspended by the time Ash returned her. It later ran away during the night and stumbled into the territory of a group of urban Pokémon. Lashing out at the {{p|Primeape|leader}}, it knocked it out and became the new leader. Team Rocket tried to take it and the other Pokémon with their robot made out of tires, but Ash risked himself to save her, and Chikorita returned the favor by catching him when he fell. The two then took down the robot, and Chikorita forgave Ash and became friends with Pikachu.

In ''[[EP144|Gettin' The Bugs Out]]'', Ash used Chikorita as his second Pokémon in his [[Azalea Gym]] Battle, despite the [[Type#Type effectiveness|type disadvantage]], something which [[Bugsy]] mocked. It went up against {{p|Spinarak}}. After dodging some {{m|String Shot}}s, it used Vine Whip, which Spinarak could dodge by aiming String Shot at a tree. Chikorita launched multiple Vine Whip attacks, all of which were dodged by Spinarak, who used the trees to dodge. Its Razor Leaf and Spinarak's Poison Sting collided and destroyed each other. Chikorita then used Sweet Scent to distract Spinarak, and then it defeated it with Tackle. It then went up against {{p|Metapod}}, Chikorita used Vine Whip, but Metapod countered with {{m|Harden}}, and Vine Whip didn't faze Metapod. The same thing happened with its Razor Leaf. It used Razor Leaf again, but Metapod jumped and used Tackle, knocking Chikorita out.

In ''[[EP151|The Totodile Duel]]'', Chikorita defeated [[Misty's Staryu]] in a battle to determine who got to keep a {{pkmn2|wild}} {{AP|Totodile}}. The powerful {{m |Water Gun}} almost defeated her, but it dug in its heels and then managed to dodge a Tackle and hit Staryu from behind with Vine Whip. By this point, it had proven to increase its battling capability significantly, taking down [[Jessie's Arbok]] with a single Tackle attack in ''[[EP198|The Heartbreak of Brock]]''.

In ''[[EP199|Current Events]]'', Chikorita [[Evolution|evolved]] into Bayleef to protect Ash from Team Rocket. However, in the following episode, ''[[EP200|Turning Over A New Bayleef]]'', the amorous Pokémon was shown not to have realized it had grown so much and continued to act as though it was still small enough to leap into Ash's arms. This problem was addressed when it ran away after Ash scolded it to "get away and stay away." Bayleef then came across [[Haruno]] and her Pokémon, and it and Ash made up in the process of taking down Team Rocket's giant Bayleef mecha. After the villainous trio had been defeated, Bayleef showed its affection towards Ash by using its newly learned Body Slam on him.

In Ash's Gym battle against [[Chuck]] in ''[[EP209|Machoke, Machoke Man!]]'', Bayleef single-handedly won Ash the [[Badge]] after Pikachu was defeated by Chuck's {{p|Poliwrath}}. It bested Poliwrath in a display of strength, slamming Poliwrath to the ground with a Vine Whip and then using Body Slam to knock it out. It then fought Chuck's powerful {{p|Machoke}}, taking damage from {{m|Karate Chop}} and {{m|Submission}}, but showed good strategy by restraining Machoke's arms with its vines to block his {{m|Cross Chop}}, and then used its own Submission-induced momentum to in turn slam Machoke to the ground. It then used Body Slam and a point-blank Razor Leaf to take out Machoke and win the battle.

It was briefly sent back to [[Professor Oak's Laboratory]] in ''[[EP216|Dueling Heroes]]'' in exchange for his {{AP|Kingler}}, who Ash needed to compete in the [[Whirl Cup]]. It did not warm up to Oak well, and Oak called Ash to inform him that Bayleef was restless. Finished with Kingler, Ash returned Bayleef to his team in the [[EP217|next episode]].

In ''[[EP228|Extreme Pokémon!]]'', Bayleef participated in the [[Extreme Pokémon Race]] with Ash, racing {{Gary}} and his {{TP|Gary|Arcanine}}. Ut showed an immense feat of strength by hurling Ash at Team Rocket's balloon so that Ash could pierce it with his skateboard and rescue Arcanine. It then arrived just in time to attack Jessie's Arbok and hold it off long enough for Gary to catch up, who took down Arbok with his Arcanine. Bayleef and Ash worked together to finish the race, and they managed to best Gary just at the end, winning the race for Ash.

Ash called on Bayleef's assistance in his [[Silver Conference]] [[Full Battle]] against Gary. In ''[[EP270|Can't Beat the Heat!]]'', it was sent out to give Ash a type advantage over Gary's powerful {{TP|Gary|Blastoise}}, managing to use Vine Whip to jump above {{m|Hydro Pump}}. However, its aerial Razor Leaf was deflected by a {{m|Rapid Spin}}, and it was knocked out when Blastoise {{m|Bite|bit}} its leaf and tossed it aside.

In ''[[EP271|Playing with Fire!]]'', it redeemed this loss in a battle with {{jo|Harrison}}'s {{TP|Harrison|Houndoom}}, again showing innovation by clamping Houndoom's jaw shut with Vine Whip and then using Body Slam to take it down. It put up its best efforts against {{TP|Harrison|Blaziken}}, but was unable to overcome another type disadvantage and was defeated by a {{m|Fire Punch}}.

In ''[[HS04|Showdown at the Oak Corral]]'', it was seen helping {{Tracey}} feed the other Pokémon across Oak's lab.

She was reunited with Ash in ''[[AG133|The Right Place and the Right Mime]]'', where it rescued him from his stampeding {{AP|Tauros}}, who had carried him off in their excitement.

In ''[[DP182|An Old Family Blend!]]'', after briefly being stolen by Team Rocket, Bayleef escaped from its {{i|Poké Ball}} and went looking for Ash. Eventually, Bayleef thundered out of the trees and tackled {{an|Barry}}. Then, it found Ash and tackled him too. When he tried to return Bayleef to its Poké Ball, it took it in its mouth, wanting to spend more time with Ash. It later helped destroy the hands of one of Team Rocket's mechas, and afterwards was sent back to Professor Oak's lab. Bayleef was not seen participating in the [[Lily of the Valley Conference]].

Bayleef was reunited with Ash in ''[[BW142|The Dream Continues!]]'', where it and the rest of Ash's Pokémon posed in a group photo with him.

Bayleef is an incredibly affectionate Pokémon. However, as a Chikorita, it proved to be quite jealous and often fought for attention over Ash's other Pokémon - especially {{AP|Pikachu}}. Characteristically stubborn, and somewhat violent, hints of its crush on Ash were first sighted in ''[[EP127|Once in a Blue Moon]]''. Its antics including bursting out of its {{i|Poké Ball}} unannounced and throwing tantrums. However, some of its more extreme personality traits seemed to have mellowed following [[evolution]] in ''[[EP199|Current Events]]''. It has proven to be a powerful and tactical battler, often using its vines to restrict it's opponent's moves or evade oncoming attacks by becoming airborne, a technique later copied by {{Gary}}'s {{p|Nidoqueen}}. Bayleef's stamina and full-charge approach to battling made for some incredible moments during Ash's [[Silver Conference]] campaign.

* In the {{pmin|the Netherlands|Dutch}} dub of the {{pkmn|anime}}, Chikorita was referred to as a "he", implying it was a male.