Bouffalant is a bovine Pokémon with a large, dark afro on its head. Two large, curving horns, each with two golden growths resembling rings, protrude from the afro. It has a shaggy brown hide that ends at its knees and does not cover its face. A large, gray nose sits at the end of its short, beige snout, and its yellow eyes are partly hidden by its hair. There are black tear markings directly below its eyes. Each of its beige legs has a single, gray hoof and its tail ends in a stubby tuft of fur. A territorial Pokémon, it will headbutt anyone that attempts to invade its territory. However, in the anime, it has been known not to attack those with an afro hairstyle. Protected by its afro, which absorbs damage, its headbutts are strong enough to derail a train and send it flying. Bouffalant is the only known Pokémon to learn Head Charge.
Alder's Bouffalant debuted in Trip's flashback Ash and Trip's Third Battle!, where he remembered seeing it as a child, which inspired him to become a Pokémon Trainer. It physically debuted in Ash Versus the Champion!, where it faced Pikachu in a battle with Ash. Alder fell asleep during the battle, resulting in no one winning. Alder later used Bouffalant in a battle against Trip and his Serperior, and he was able to win.
A herd of Bouffalant appeared in Baffling the Bouffalant!, where they attacked anyone in their territory who wasn't wearing an afro.
Minor appearances
A herd of Bouffalant was seen in the prologue of White—Victini and Zekrom. They were startled by the arrival of a dust storm and began to stampede towards Luisa's village. However, the nearby Damon summoned Reshiram to easily destroy the dust storm, thus placating the Bouffalant in time.
Bouffalant are Sawsbuck's friends. They are a little rough, but they care about their friends. They are also fairly popular, because they can be counted on in a pinch.