#255 - #257: Torchic, Combusken & Blaziken

From an incredibly badass plant lizard we move on to... an oversized chicken. An awesome oversized chicken, that is.

Awww, our cute little chickie!

Of course, every oversized chicken starts off as a chick. Torchic is the perfectly adorable starter Pokémon, and like we can expect from a chick it follows its Trainer with an unsteady gait. It keeps a flame somewhere in its belly that causes it to feel warm when it is hugged, which - in combination with its own fluffy coat - will give its Trainer a warm feeling indeed. When Torchic is attacked, it will shoot fireballs with a temperature up to 1,800°F resulting from above-mentioned internal flame. It should be mentioned that Torchic's Japanese name is Achamo (アチャモ), which is derived from the shamo, a breed of chicken once bred and raised for cockfights. As Torchic evolves into Combusken, it gains the fighting type, which set the tone for Game Freak to create Gen. IV and Gen. V fire/fighting starters as well. Maybe they noticed Blaziken's overwhelming popularity and decided to build from there, but by the time Emboar was announced, everybody had come to hate new fire/fighting starters tremendously. I mean, you can pull off the same trick twice in a row, but three times? No. And let's be frank here: a skinny ape and a fat boar aren't quite as impressive as an oversized chicken that beats the crap out of everybody, right? (Yes, I know the phrase 'oversized chicken' has a negative connotation to it, but I don't mean it that way, I swear.)

Pretty cool fan art of Combusken, who seems to be sparring
with Braixen. 

But Torchic and its evolutions are not only based on the shamo chicken. There's a creature in Japanese mythology called the basan - or, alternatively, the basabasa or inuhōō - which is a fowl-like bird that resembles a large chicken and breathes a cold, ghostly fire. The only difference, of course, is that Torchic and its evolutions produce scorching hot flames... Anyway, let's continue with Combusken, a Pokémon that is so engrossed in training every day that its powerful legs can dish out up to ten kicks per second. Combusken is noisy while it fights, producing sharp cries that distract and intimidate its opponent and boost its own confidence and concentration. As a Blaziken, its legs have developed and muscled up so much that it can use techniques Combusken cannot, such as Blaze Kick and High Jump Kick. What's more, its legs are actually so powerful that they allow Blaziken to leap over 30-story buildings. However, not only its kicks are devastating; its punches are also very dangerous, and that's because of the white-hot flames that come out of its wrists, which burn more intensely the tougher the foe is and leave them scorched and blackened. Blaziken even has a Mega evolution, who hones the power of its kicks and even experiences a burning feeling from the friction of the surrounding atmosphere as it unleashes a flurry of savage kicks. As Mega Blaziken's body temperature increases, its power and speed continue to ramp up.

Blaziken as seen in Pokkén Tournament.

In that regard, the Speed Boost ability is quite fitting on (Mega) Blaziken, but when I take a look at its moves I'm surprised it didn't get Reckless. It's an ability that boosts the power of recoil moves by 20%, and moves like High Jump Kick, Brave Bird and Flare Blitz would greatly benefit from it. Speed Boost ain't bad though, and when a hidden ability Blaziken Mega-evolves, it retains that ability. That, in combination with a potential Swords Dance and Blaziken's formidable attacking stats, makes both Blaziken and its Mega form so incredibly powerful that they were bundled off to Smogon's Uber tier. Both can be used as mixed attackers, but they lean more towards a physical moveset, especially when you consider they have easy access to Swords Dance. Blaziken's physical movepool is also extensive to such an extent that a special moveset would be stretching it. I mean, you can run Overheat or Fire Blast instead of - or next to - Flare Blitz, just because the latter deals so much recoil damage to Blaziken, but aside from that a late-game Swords Dance sweep is very much preferable. Just note that you need to let Blaziken carry a Blazikenite when you want to Mega-evolve it, but that a Life Orb or Choice Band would suffice if you don't. And because you're running Speed Boost on Blaziken by default (ain't nobody want to use the Blaze ability; this ability fires up fire-type moves when Blaziken gets below 33% health, but it doesn't have the defenses to make good use of it), you can just slap an Adamant nature on it, no problem. You can even give it the move Protect, so you can get a free speed increase.

Amazing fan art of Mega Blaziken. Yes, the fire 'ribbons' on its wrist are part of
its design. 

Yup, Blaziken is a monster and a fan favorite, and the fact that it got a Mega before Sceptile and Swampert only supports that statement. I always ended up choosing either Treecko or Torchic as my Hoenn starter, just because I thought their final evos were awesome (they still are). Sceptile is still my favorite starter Pokémon ever, but I love Blaziken as well and I certainly think it deserves a perfect rating.

Next up is Swampert. Oh man, you gotta love the Hoenn starters!

Rating: 5/5