Ash's Torterra: Difference between revisions

In ''[[DP051|Glory Blaze!]]'', Turtwig was used in the quarterfinals of the [[Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition]]. He was paired up with Paul's Chimchar, who was still weak from earlier training, and was up against a {{p|Zangoose}} and a {{p|Metagross}}. The two quickly become overwhelmed due to Chimchar being too weak and afraid of Zangoose to make any attacks. The situation became even worse when Paul ordered Chimchar to use a friendly fire {{m|Flame Wheel}} on Turtwig, seriously injuring him, before getting caught in Zangoose's claws. Turtwig then saved it, and Chimchar made up for this by protecting him from a {{m|Fire Blast}} attack on its own accord. Realizing that not even reliving the traumatic event of being attacked by Zangoose could motivate Chimchar to activate Blaze, Paul gave up on it and refused to give it any more commands. Consequently, Ash gave Chimchar commands from then on, and the three went on to win the battle.

After learning Energy Ball from {{si|Kenny}}'s {{p|Breloom}} in ''[[DP062|Tanks for the Memories!]]'', Turtwig didn't battle again until the [[Pastoria Gym]] Battle in ''[[DP083|A Crasher Course in Power!]]'', where he battled [[Crasher Wake]]'s {{p|Quagsire}}. But despite having a major type-advantage, he was called back after encountering difficulties with the opponent's super effective {{m|Ice Beam}} and {{m|Sludge Bomb}} attacks.

Like many of Ash's Pokémon, Turtwig's battle style was based on his {{stat|speed}}, a factor that Ash focused on even more after seeing Gardenia's Turtwig in action. However, in ''[[DP100|Aiding the Enemy!]]'', Turtwig evolved into {{p|Grotle}} during a battle against [[Paul's Honchkrow]]. It quickly became apparent that, due to his new body being larger and heavier, Grotle's speed had diminished, and he fumbled and fell down a lot in the battle, ultimately losing. The newly evolved Grotle had high expectations of himself, well exemplified in the same episode. During the night, he went out to try and recover his speed. However, he failed and continued to stumble over. This was initially upsetting, but [[Paul's Torterra]] provided some unexpected help by showing Grotle that he could rely on {{stat|defense}} instead.

In ''[[DP103|Jumping Rocket Ship!]]'', it was shown that Grotle became fatigued from walking a lot due to his increased weight. He had to be carried by [[Brock's Happiny]] for a portion of the journey.

In ''[[DP133|Uncrushing Defeat!]]'', Grotle, along with the rest of Ash's Sinnoh team, was under the care of [[Nurse Joy]] in the [[Lake Acuity]] [[Pokémon Center]], suffering bodily repercussions from the rough Full Battle loss against Paul. Later, he helped rescue Pikachu from {{TRT}} by knocking [[Jessie's Yanmega]] out with a single Energy Ball, before blasting them off with another one.

In ''[[DP141|Challenging a Towering Figure!]]'', he was used to battle [[Palmer]]'s {{p|Rhyperior}} in the [[Festival Battle Challenge]]. With Rhyperior's {{a|Solid Rock}} Ability, increased speed from {{m|Rock Polish}}, and powerful {{m|Rock Wrecker}} and {{m|Sandstorm}} attacks, Grotle struggled at first, but was able to make a comeback after healing himself with Synthesis and accidentally swallowing his own Energy Ball, which caused the bushes on his back to radiate a green aura and grant him a huge power boost. Said boost made him strong enough to push Rhyperior back with Rock Climb, forcing it to smash its tail into the terrain to keep from falling down. However, this position left Grotle vulnerable to another Rock Wrecker, which was enough to knock him out despite putting up a good fight.

In ''[[DP166|The Fleeing Tower of Sunyshore!]]'', Grotle was used in Ash's first Gym battle against [[Volkner]]'s {{p|Luxray}} where, despite having the type-advantage, it started to get overwhelmed, before the battle was canceled due to the [[Sunyshore Gym|Gym]] losing power. Later, Grotle was called out to battle Team Rocket inside the [[Sunyshore Tower]], and he quickly evolved into a {{p|Torterra}}. Along with his new and more powerful form, Torterra immediately learned Leaf Storm and sent Team Rocket blasting off.

In ''[[DP170|An Elite Coverup!]]'', Torterra battled [[Bertha]]'s {{p|Hippowdon}}. He initially struggled as he was hit by Hippowdon's {{m|Dig}} and {{m|Iron Head}} combination after his Leaf Storm missed, and his Rock Climb was countered by another Iron Head. Hippowdon then used Dig again, but after a lecture about observation from Bertha, Ash watched the rocks surrounding Torterra on the ground carefully and was thus able to pinpoint where Hippowdon would emerge from so Torterra could successfully dodge his Iron Head and counter with a super-effective Leaf Storm. However, Hippowdon used Dig yet again, but this time, he circled around Torterra, making it impossible to predict where he would resurface. This allowed him to land another Iron Head, launching Torterra into the air, before smashing him into the ground with a super-effective {{m|Fire Fang}}, knocking him out.

In ''[[DP179|The Eighth Wonder of the Sinnoh World!]]'', Ash used Torterra as his first Pokémon during his rematch with Volkner, sending him against Volkner's {{p|Electivire}}. After his Leaf Storm was blocked by Electivire's {{m|Fire Punch}}, he used another Leaf Storm and it was blocked again in the same way, although this left Electivire vulnerable to Torterra's Energy Ball. He then went in for a Rock Climb, but this was countered by Electivire's doubly super-effective {{m|Ice Punch}}, which knocked Torterra out in a single blow.

Ash used Torterra as his fifth Pokémon in his battle against Paul in ''[[DP187|A Real Rival Rouser!]]''. He was sent out against Paul's {{p|Drapion}}, whose {{m|Toxic Spikes}} {{status|poison}}ed him instantly. He battled well and was able to cause Drapion some damage with his Energy Ball and Leaf Storm attacks, but his Rock Climb attack was stopped cold by Drapion, who then knocked him down with {{m|Poison Fang}}. Torterra then healed himself with Synthesis, but despite this, he was immediately defeated by Drapion's super-effective {{m|Pin Missile}} barrage.