Ash's Kingler
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 Ash's Kingler | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ash's Kingler (Japanese: サトシのキングラー Satoshi's Kingler) was the sixth Pokémon that Ash caught in the Kanto region, and his seventh overall. It was also the first of Ash's Pokémon to primarily reside at Professor Oak's Laboratory in Pallet Town.
In animation
History
Pokémon the Series: The Beginning
Kanto
Ash originally obtained Kingler as a Krabby in Mystery at the Lighthouse, when he became angry at Misty for saying that it was a fluke that he caught all of his other Pokémon. Storming down to the beach, he discovered a minuscule Krabby and made fun of it. Krabby challenged Ash, who fought it with a nearby stick and then captured it in a Poké Ball. Having six Pokémon already in his party, the newly caught Krabby's Poké Ball was immediately teleported away, much to Ash's surprise and concern. He soon learned Krabby was sent to Professor Oak.
Ash quickly rang Oak, initially horrified at the thought that Oak was eating his new Krabby. However, the Professor pointed out that he was eating tofu. Ash's initial relief changed to jealousy after Oak revealed that Gary had also caught a Krabby, although his Krabby was far larger. Later, in Showdown at the Po-ké Corral, Gary scoffed at the sight of Krabby's minuscule size.
Krabby made its battling debut in Round One - Begin! when Ash used it during the first round of the Pokémon League against Mandi. He reasoned that Krabby would be perfect for a battle on the water field despite Misty's protests.
It seemed at first that Misty's forebodings would prove true; Mandi's Exeggutor used Psychic to trap Krabby in a whirlpool. However, Krabby escaped and took control of the battle with Vise Grip. It avoided Exeggutor's Hypnosis and took victory with Leer and Stomp. The intensity of the battle caused it to evolve into a Kingler. It was able to finish the rest of the match single-handedly, defeating Mandi's Seadra by slowing it down with Bubble before knocking it out with Crabhammer; Kingler also defeated Mandi's Golbat with a Hyper Beam. This was despite Misty and Brock's real concerns about Kingler's ability to prevail against Seadra's speed and Golbat's air attacks.
Ash also used Kingler in his battle on the ice field in Fire and Ice, where Kingler defeated Pete Pebbleman's Cloyster by striking its protective shell with a fury of unrelenting Crabhammers. It went up against his Arcanine, but its Bubble was dodged by the Fire-type Pokémon, and Kingler was knocked out by a Dragon Rage attack.
Orange Islands
Kingler spent its time at Oak's lab as Ash and his his friends traveled the Orange Islands. Kingler and Muk offered to fight for Ash in the Winner's Trophy match against Drake in Hello, Pummelo!, but Ash chose Tauros instead.
Pokémon the Series: Gold and Silver
In A Farfetch'd Tale, Kingler crowded into Ash's screen with Muk, Tauros, and Snorlax to wish him luck for his next Gym battle with Whitney.
After realizing he only had one Water-type Pokémon, Totodile, in The Perfect Match!, Ash had Kingler rejoin his party in time for the Whirl Cup tournament. In the second round, after Totodile's loss to Poliwhirl, Kingler knocked out Poliwhirl with a powerful one-two punch Crabhammer. However, when Ash ordered it to use Vise Grip on Psyduck, the pain gave Psyduck the ability to tap into its Psychic powers and defeat Kingler with an overwhelming Confusion attack. Kingler was sent back to Oak's lab afterward.
In Love, Pokémon Style, Ash planned to use Kingler in the Johto League Silver Conference against Macy's array of Fire Pokémon, but it was injured while rescuing a trio of runaway Voltorb, who shocked Kingler when it caught them. Nurse Joy informed Ash that Kingler would need to rest up; luckily Squirtle arrived in time to fill Kingler's spot.
Pokémon Chronicles
In Showdown at the Oak Corral, Kingler made a cameo appearance telling the other Pokémon about Cassidy and Butch.
In Journey to the Starting Line!, Kingler watched a group of Marill dance. This caused it to get dizzy and clamp onto Phanpy's tail, which led to a turn of events that caused a group of first partner Pokémon to escape Professor Oak's lab.
Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire
In The Right Place and the Right Mime, Kingler quickly made friends with Ash's Corphish.
Pokémon the Series: Black & White
Kingler was reunited with Ash in The Dream Continues!, where it and the rest of Ash's Pokémon posed in a group photo with him.
Pokémon Journeys: The Series
Kingler, along with the rest of Ash's Pokémon at the lab, reunited with Ash in Friends, Rivals, Lend Me Your Spirit!. During the visit, it was seen relaxing with Corphish, and they later watched the battle between Ash and Paul. Before Ash left, it posed with the rest of Ash's Pokémon in a group photo with him.
From Battling as Hard as Stone! onwards, Kingler watched Ash's Masters Eight Tournament matches against Steven, Cynthia, and Leon. In Partners in Time!, Kingler appeared as a vision to Pikachu during his battle against Leon's Charizard.
In Heroes Unite!, Kingler, along with the rest of the Pokémon at the lab, welcomed Ash back to Pallet Town after his victory over Leon.
In Ride, Lapras, Ride!, Kingler was shown to have rejoined Ash's team. During the episode, it helped free a trapped Wailmer. Despite Wailmer evolving into a Wailord and getting stuck again, they were able to free the Float Whale Pokémon.
Personality and characteristics
In its debut, Krabby appeared to be fiery and brash, challenging Ash to a fight, despite him not even being a Pokémon. However, after being caught, Krabby mellowed out significantly and became a modest and quiet Pokémon. This is most likely due to its residence with Professor Oak, who said in Showdown at the Po-ké Corral that Pokémon take on the personality of the person who spends the most time with it.
In battle, Kingler was quite determined, not giving up against Mandi despite, at face value, being the underdog against all three of his Pokémon. Kingler was a very modest victor, happily hugging its Trainer, but not waving to the crowd or gloating at Mandi. These are more of Oak's traits coming through, as opposed to the rest of Ash's team. This is likely why Kingler never secured a permanent position on Ash's team. It has proven strong in battle, loyal, and caring, but the little time spent together has likely made Ash feel more secure using his other Pokémon. Kingler, like Muk and Tauros, remains a trump card in Ash's arsenal.
Appearance
| As a Krabby |
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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. | |||||||
Artwork
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| Poster for Pokémon: To Be a Pokémon Master |
In the manga
The Electric Tale of Pikachu
Ash caught Kingler off-panel as a Krabby and used it in Welcome to the Big Leagues. During the battle, it defeated a Golbat, allowing Ash to move on in the Indigo League tournament.
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. | ||||||||||
Trivia
- Kingler is the first:
- Pokémon Ash has caught while having a full party of six. The same wouldn't happen again until Sewaddle's capture in Sewaddle and Burgh in Pinwheel Forest!, 662 episodes later.
- Water-type Pokémon to have evolved under Ash's ownership, and the only one to have done so until Frogadier in A Stealthy Challenge!, 776 episodes later.
- Additionally, it was Ash's only evolved Water type until the capture of Palpitoad in Facing Fear with Eyes Wide Open!.
- Pokémon to have evolved in a Pokémon League match, and the only one to have done so until Incineroar in Fiery Surprises!, 1,007 episodes later.
- Kingler is the only one of Ash's Pokémon to have won in a Pokémon League match single-handedly, excluding one-on-one matches.
- Kingler is the only Pokémon Ash caught in Kanto during the original series to have appeared neither physically nor in a flashback during Pokémon the Series: Black & White, only appearing in the photograph at the end of The Dream Continues!.
- Kingler has had the longest absence of any Pokémon that has remained in Ash's ownership, with a gap of 792 episodes between its physical appearances in The Right Place and the Right Mime and Friends, Rivals, Lend Me Your Spirit!.
- Kingler has also gone the longest without being used in an onscreen battle out of all the Pokémon that Ash has consistently possessed since obtaining them, having last battled in The Perfect Match!.
- Out of all of Ash's Pokémon, Kingler has spent the most amount of time at Professor Oak's Laboratory, having remained there almost constantly since it was caught in Mystery at the Lighthouse.
- It took 1,215 episodes for Kingler to be in Ash's active party for something unrelated to participating in a battle or tournament from its debut to Ride, Lapras, Ride!.
- In Pokémon Yellow, a game highly based on the anime, Krabby's encounter rate by fishing is 70%, as opposed to its Red and Blue encounter rate of 33%. This is likely a reference to Ash's Krabby.
- All of Kingler's moves were revealed in a single episode.
- Additionally, out of all of Ash's Pokémon, Kingler has used the most new moves in one episode.
- Kingler's use of Crabhammer in Round One - Begin! marks the first time one of Ash's Pokémon has used a signature move.
Related articles
For more information on this Pokémon's species, see Krabby and Kingler.
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| For a list of Pokémon Ash has temporarily owned, used, or commanded, see here | ||||||
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |