Blaziken

Blaziken
Pokémon series character
First game Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
Designed by Ken Sugimori
Voiced by (English) Darren Dunstan (4Kids)
James Carter Cathcart (TPCI)
Voiced by (Japanese) Katsuyuki Konishi

Blaziken (/ˈbleɪzᵻkᵻn/), known in Japan as Bashāmo (バシャーモ), is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Blaziken first appeared in the video games Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise.

Concept and characteristics

Blaziken, known as the Blaze Pokémon, evolves from Combusken at level 36, and is the final form of Torchic. Blaziken appears as if it's wearing a sleeveless jacket on its torso. It has a crest on its head with two points, which resembles a letter "V". It also has long hair behind its head and a small face almost completely covered in feathers. Its strong, muscular legs help it jump up a skyscraper with one kick and with ease.[1] It can make flames spout from its wrists and ankles, cloaking its feet or fists. Blaziken also has spurs on its ankle which are similar to those used in cockfighting. It may also launch a fiery kick at the opponent.[2] A female has shorter "hair" than a male. The V-shape on a female's "mask" is also smaller. Every several years, its old feathers burn off, and new, supple feathers grow back in their place.[3] An early concept design of Blaziken had it combined with Latias and had a trainer on its back.[4]

Appearances

In the video games

Blaziken first appears in the Game Boy Advance games Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire[5] and in its remake Pokémon Emerald. It is the evolved form of Combusken, which evolves from Torchic. Torchic is one of the three starting Pokémon that players get to choose from along with Treecko and Mudkip. It has appeared in every main Pokémon title since. In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Torchic can be obtained from Steven Stone after obtaining all 16 badges and beating the final boss, Red, which can evolve into Blaziken. Outside of the main series, the three of them are featured in Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, Pokémon Trozei!, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon titles, the Pokémon Ranger titles, Pokémon Channel, and PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure. Blaziken is one of several Pokémon in Pokémon X and Y that will able to use the new Mega Evolution mechanic, becoming Mega Blaziken,[6][7] though doing so is only possible by acquiring the special event Mega Stone "Blazikenite", only obtainable by downloading a special event Torchic to the game. In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the Blazikenite is obtained from Steven Stone in the main game if the player's starter Pokémon is Torchic. Blaziken appears as a playable fighter in Pokkén Tournament.

In the anime

The character May obtains a Torchic in the anime, which eventually evolves into Combusken and finally into a Blaziken during the break of a Pokémon Contest when they were trying to stop Team Rocket from stealing Pikachu and other Pokémon. May then used Blaziken in the Battle Phase against Ash's Sceptile.[8] Blaziken appeared again when May made a guest appearance in Sinnoh, taking a break from Johto contests. It was used in tag battles, and battled alongside Dawn's Piplup.[9] Blaziken was first seen when it was used by Harrison to defeat a Sneasel that was blocking access to the flame of Ho-Oh. Harrison later used Blaziken in a climatic battle with Ash's Charizard.[10] Blaziken was also seen in Destiny Deoxys under the ownership of Rafe.[11] It also appears in the anime of Pokémon X and Y, where it saves Ash and Pikachu after Mega Evolving.

In the manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Sapphire received a Torchic (nicknamed Chic) from her father, Professor Birch which eventually evolved into Combusken and finally into Blaziken in a bout against Winona. It is Sapphire's most trusted team member, and was used in almost every single major battle she had. It teamed up with Ruby's "Mumu" in a double battle against Archie and Maxie at Seafloor Cavern. In the Emerald arc, Chic was Sapphire's most used Pokémon in the numerous Battle Dome and Battle Tower battles, and it learned the ultimate fire attack, Blast Burn, from Kimberly's metal ring.

Reception

Blaziken has received generally positive reception. IGN readers ranked Blaziken the 50th best Pokémon ever.[12] Audrey Drake did not understand why it made the list; she called it "terrible" and said that it was the only starter Pokémon that she did not like.[12] Game Informer ranked it the 36th best Pokémon.[13] In a poll by Official Nintendo Magazine's Tom East, Blaziken was voted as the third best Fire-type Pokémon. They stated "A kung fu chicken? What's not to like?".[14] Another poll of the best Pokémon introduced in Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald placed Blaziken third.[15] GamesRadar used Blaziken as an example of a human shaped Pokémon done right.[16] The Escapist's John Funk wrote that Blaziken was "awesome" an example of a Pokémon that players who refused to play past Red and Blue were missing out on.[17] Game Informer's Jeff Marchiafava felt that Blaziken was less cool than other Fire-type Pokémon and stated that it has a "70's vibe." While he felt that the Mega Evolution was an improvement, he called it a "Mega Disappointment."[18] Kotaku's Eric Jou also felt that it had a weak design and cited it as an example of Ruby and Sapphire's weak Pokémon designs.[19] IGN's Jose Otero felt that Blaziken would be a good choice for a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U due to its Mega Evolution, whereas fellow editor Tim Gettys felt that it would be unlikely.[20] ONM editor Thomas East wrote that Blaziken was a good idea for inclusion in a hypothetical fourth Super Smash Bros. title.[21]

References

  1. ↑ Game Freak (2003-03-17). Pokémon Sapphire. Game Boy Advance. Nintendo. Blaziken has incredibly strong legs - it can easily clear a 30-story building in one leap. This Pokémon's blazing punches leave its foes scorched and blackened.
  2. ↑ Game Freak (2003-03-17). Pokémon Ruby. Game Boy Advance. Nintendo. In battle, Blaziken blows out intense flames from its wrists and attacks the foe courageously. The stronger the foes, the more intensely this Pokémon's wrists burn.
  3. ↑ Game Freak (2005-05-01). Pokémon Emerald. Game Boy Advance. Nintendo. It learns martial arts that use punches and kicks. Every several years, its old feathers burn off, and new, supple feathers grow back in their place.
  4. ↑ Hernandez, Patricia (2012-12-18). "This Is What Our Favorite Pokémon Looked Like Before Their Final Designs". Kotaku. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  5. ↑ Thomas East (29 Sep 2010). "Nintendo Feature: Best Fire Pokémon". Official Nintendo Magazine. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  6. ↑ "Mega Pokémon". Pokemonxy.com. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  7. ↑ "メガバシャーモ｜『ポケットモンスター Ｘ』『ポケットモンスター Ｙ』公式サイト". Pokemon.co.jp. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  8. ↑ Junki Takegami (writer) (February 24, 2007). "Once More with Reeling". Pokémon. Season Battle Frontier. Episode 191. Various.
  9. ↑ Atsuhiro Tomioka (writer) (September 13, 2008). "A Full Course Tag Battle!". Pokémon. Season Diamond and Pearl: Battle Dimension. Episode 76. Various.
  10. ↑ Yukiyoshi Ōhashi (writer) (September 16, 2003). "Pop Goes The Sneasel". Pokémon. Season Master Quest. Episode 265. Various.
  11. ↑ Hideki Sonoda (writer) (February 15, 2005). "Destiny Deoxys". Pokémon. Various.
  12. 1 2 Drake, Audrey. "Blaziken - #50 Top Pokémon". IGN. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  13. ↑ Harmon, O'Dell (2012-11-21). "Top 50 Pokémon Of All Time". Game Informer. p. 2. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  14. ↑ Thomas East (29 Sep 2010). "Nintendo Feature: Best Fire Pokémon". Official Nintendo Magazine. Archived from the original on October 11, 2014. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
  15. ↑ East, Thomas (2013-08-22). "Top 10 best third generation Pokemon". Official Nintendo Magazine. p. 8. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  16. ↑ Fugly Pokemon | GamesRadar
  17. ↑ The Escapist : News : Pokemon Gold & Silver Remakes Tear Up Charts
  18. ↑ Marchiafava, Jeff (2013-08-12). "Analyzing The New Mega Pokémon". Game Informer. p. 2. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  19. ↑ Jou, Eric (2013-01-30). "Let's Rank the Pokémon Games, Best to Worst". Kotaku. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  20. ↑ Otero, Jose; Gettys, Tim (2013-10-08). "Which Pokemon Would You Put in Smash Bros?". IGN. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  21. ↑ Wii Feature: Challenger Approaching: Your Say! - Official Nintendo Magazine

External links

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