Ash's Torkoal

Carter Cathcart (AG186-present)

**Ash's Torkoal** (Japanese: **サトシのコータス** *Satoshi's Cotoise*) was the fourth Pokémon that Ash caught in the Hoenn region, and his twenty-sixth overall.

## History

### Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire

#### Hoenn

Torkoal first appeared in *All Torkoal, No Play*. The group found Torkoal in the Valley of Steel being attacked several times by a group of Steel-type Pokémon. As they reached the end of the valley, a Steelix revealed itself as the Steel-types' leader in the valley and began a battle with Torkoal. Despite the type disadvantage, Steelix was able to dominate the battle. Ash thought back to Flannery's Torkoal and then commanded it to use Overheat. Steelix was then defeated, and before the other Steel-types attacked, Steelix got up and issued respect to Torkoal. Ash then asked Torkoal if it wanted to join his team. Torkoal agreed to the idea and tackled Ash to the ground.

In the next episode, Ash introduced Torkoal to the rest of the group's Pokémon, which it greeted by releasing smoke from its nostrils. At a game carnival thrown by Team Rocket, Torkoal attempted to go on its back legs to kick a soccer ball, but ended up falling flat on its back. It was captured by Team Rocket along with Treecko and Corphish, but rescued by the intervention of Watt, Wattson, and Electrike. After Electrike evolved into Manectric, Torkoal was so happy that it engulfed them all in smoke. Ash and Wattson then decided to have an informal rematch, and Ash decided to put Torkoal up against the newly evolved Manectric. Ultimately, Manectric emerged victorious.

In *Balance of Power!*, Ash used Torkoal as his second Pokémon in his Petalburg Gym battle against Norman, Torkoal went up against Norman's Slakoth. Torkoal used Flamethrower to overwhelm Slakoth's Blizzard, with Flamethrower overpowering and defeating Slakoth. Next, Torkoal took on Norman's Vigoroth. Its Overheat was dodged, and Vigoroth used a powerful Scratch, defeating Torkoal in one hit.

In *Pearls are a Spoink's Best Friend*, Torkoal befriended a Spoink and, along with Ash and the gang, helped it to recover its lost pearl. They were later reunited in *Clamperl of Wisdom* when Spoink was floating in the ocean off Maisie Island. Again, Torkoal decided to assist with the search effort for Spoink's lost pearl, at one point diving into the water before having to be rescued itself.

In *Vanity Affair*, Ash used Torkoal in a practice battle with an unknown Trainer and his Scizor. Thanks to its defensive capabilities and type advantage, Torkoal soon won the match.

Ash decided to use only his Hoenn team, which included Torkoal, to compete in the Ever Grande Conference. In *From Brags to Riches*, Torkoal and Corphish battled Dominick's Tropius and Swalot in a Double Battle. After a collision of Torkoal's Overheat and Tropius' Solar Beam, both Pokémon were knocked out of the battle. Corphish went on to win the match for Ash, allowing them to advance into the next round.

In *Shocks and Bonds*, Ash used Torkoal as his first Pokémon in his Full Battle against Katie in the Victory Tournament. Initially, it went up against her Venomoth, but Katie soon changed recalled it and sent out Golduck, who quickly overwhelmed Torkoal and defeated it.

In *Choose It or Lose It!*, Ash used Torkoal as his third Pokémon in his Full Battle against Morrison in the Victory Tournament, where it went up against his Steelix. While having a type advantage and managing to deal super effective damage on Steelix, Torkoal was eventually taken down by a Dragon Breath.

In *At the End of the Fray*, Ash used Torkoal as his second Pokémon in his Full Battle against Tyson in the Victory Tournament. Its first opponent was Tyson's Shiftry, who kept dodging its Flamethrowers, until Ash had Torkoal jump just as Shiftry jumped too, allowing it to finally land a Flamethrower and defeat its opponent. Next, Torkoal went up against Hariyama, whose Thick Fat rendered Torkoal's Flamethrower almost completely useless, allowing it to easily push through it and then defeat it with Brick Break.

#### Kanto Battle Frontier

In *The Right Place and the Right Mime*, Torkoal met the rest of Ash's Pokémon back in Kanto at Professor Oak's Laboratory, striking up a quick friendship with Cyndaquil. After Ash decided to challenge the Battle Frontier, he left Torkoal and Glalie with the rest of his Pokémon.

Torkoal was brought back to Ash's team in *Overjoyed!* to battle Brandon's Registeel, having mastered Heat Wave during its time at Oak's lab. Despite putting up a good fight, however, Torkoal was ultimately defeated by a Zap Cannon, resulting in Ash's second loss against Brandon.

### Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl

Torkoal was reunited with Ash at the Lily of the Valley Conference in *An Old Family Blend!*, where it was sent to spend some time with Ash training, helping to unfreeze Ash after Glalie froze him with Ice Beam.

Torkoal was the second Pokémon Ash used to battle Tobias' Darkrai after Heracross in *The Semi-Final Frontier!*. It launched a Flamethrower, which was countered by a powerful Dark Pulse that wiped out Torkoal upon contact.

### Pokémon the Series: Black & White

Torkoal 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

Torkoal, 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 helped train Ash's Gengar to learn Will-O-Wisp, and 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, Torkoal watched Ash's Masters Eight Tournament matches against Steven, Cynthia, and Leon. In *Partners in Time!*, Torkoal appeared as a vision to Pikachu during his battle against Leon's Charizard. After Ash won the battle, Torkoal joined the rest of Ash's Pokémon at the lab in celebrating their Trainer's victory.

In *Heroes Unite!*, Torkoal, along with the rest of the Pokémon at the lab, welcomed Ash back to Pallet Town after his victory over Leon.

## Personality and characteristics

Torkoal, as Brock pointed out, is quite an emotional individual and very friendly towards people and other Pokémon. Its hardened shell added a defensive element to Ash's otherwise agile Hoenn team, which often proved difficult for any opponent to overcome. Torkoal has a habit of crying and releasing smoke from its nostrils and back when it is happy. It will usually do this every time it's released from its Poké Ball and when it wins a battle. Although not ill-intended, the smoke usually blackens anything and anyone around it. This was demonstrated relatively often when Torkoal was first captured. It has a slight comic element to it, most notably when it tried to play a soccer carnival game in *Manectric Charge!* and fell over in the process.

Torkoal quickly became loyal to Ash and bonded with him right away, after working together with him to battle a wild Steelix.

## Moves used

 A **†** shows that the move was used recently, unless all moves fit this case or there are fewer than five known moves.

## Trivia

* Torkoal is Ash's only Fire-type Pokémon who has no evolutionary family.
	+ Also, Torkoal is the only Pokémon Ash caught in Hoenn that isn't capable of evolving.
* Torkoal is Ash's only Pokémon from *Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire* that he didn't catch through the usual method of battling it first.
* Torkoal is Ash's only Fire-type Pokémon residing at Professor Oak's Laboratory to not appear in *Advice to Goh!*.
* Torkoal is Ash's first Fire-type Pokémon that is not a starter Pokémon.