Blaziken

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. 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. Every several years, its old feathers burn off, and new, supple feathers grow back in their place. An early concept design of Blaziken had it combined with Latias and had a trainer on its back.

In the video games

Blaziken first appears in the Game Boy Advance games Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire 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. 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, 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

Blaziken's first appearance in the anime was during the Silver Conference under the ownership of a trainer from Hoenn named Harrison, who used it against Ash's Charizard and ultimately won, leading Ash to travel to Hoenn. 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. 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. Blaziken was also seen in Destiny Deoxys under the ownership of Rafe. It also appears in the anime of Pokémon X and Y, under the ownership of Blaziken Mask, where it saves Ash and Pikachu after Mega Evolving. Another Blaziken appears in the anime of Pokémon X and Y under the ownership of Gurkinn, who is the father of Korrina, the fighting type gym leader in Kalos, where it fought against Korrina's Lucario.

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. Game Informer ranked it the 36th best Pokémon. 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?". Another poll of the best Pokémon introduced in Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald placed Blaziken third. GamesRadar used Blaziken as an example of a human shaped Pokémon done right. 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. Game Informer's Jeff Marchiafava felt that Blaziken was less cool than other Fire-type Pokémon and stated that it has a 1970s "vibe". While he felt that the Mega Evolution was an improvement, he called it a "Mega Disappointment." 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. 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. ONM editor Thomas East wrote that Blaziken was a good idea for inclusion in a fourth Super Smash Bros. title.