Dwayne's Blaziken

**Dwayne's Blaziken** (Japanese: **ドゥエインのバシャーモ** *Douein's Bursyamo*) is the fourth Pokémon that Dwayne obtained during his travels in the Hoenn region, and his twenty-fifth overall. Blaziken was a Pokémon originally owned by Layla.

## **New Era**

### **Hoenn Again**

#### **With Layla**

Blaziken first appeared as a Torchic whilst living at Professor Birch's laboratory in Littleroot Town, where he was eventually picked by Layla as her starter Pokémon, merely because Torchic was her mother's first Pokémon, and Layla wanted to become as strong as her mother.

When Layla showcased Torchic to her family, her younger sister Elizabeth is disappointed that Layla picked Torchic, and states that she would have picked Treecko, angering Torchic, who starts pecking her. Torchic spectated the battle between Gwendolyn's Blaziken against Dwayne's Gardevoir and marvels at the sight of his own evolved form, and begins cheering for the Fire-type Pokémon.

While at Rinshin Town, Layla and Torchic battle against Dwayne and his Shroomish to test each other's current strength. The battle starts when Dwayne orders Shroomish to use Seed Bomb, but Torchic dodges and uses Ember, but Shroomish easily dodges. Shroomish then uses Sunny Day, creating a harsh sunlight, and Layla urges Torchic to perform better, and Dwayne notices that Torchic was having trouble keeping up with Layla's demands. Layla then orders Torchic to use Peck, but Shroomish dodges again.

Layla pushes Torchic to do better, and orders him to use Quick Attack, but Shroomish continuously dodges, and finishes off Torchic with a devastating Solar Beam. Layla complains about the loss, and says that she needed to train up Torchic better because his performance was underwhelming, and Torchic lowers his head, saddened by Layla's comments. Dwayne cuts her off, scolding her for not realizing that Torchic was pushing himself beyond his limits to keep up with her demands. Dwayne then walks over to Torchic and pats his head, assuring him that Torchic did great, and Torchic instantly cheers up and gently pecks him as a sign of affection. However, Shroomish seems unimpressed with Dwayne's methods, and seemingly agrees with Layla's tough love treatment, something that Dwayne disapproves. Realizing that both Pokémon preferred the others's training style, Dwayne offers a trade, but Layla adamantly refuses, saying that she needed Torchic to become just like her mother, but Dwayne cuts her off again, angrily exclaiming that because of her desire to take after her mother, she was ignoring Torchic's nature, because Torchic preferred being treated with care instead of being pushed with pressure.

Layla says that she wanted to become just like her mother, and Dwayne says that Gwendolyn was indeed one of the toughest Trainers in Hoenn, but also says that Gwendolyn nevertheless treated her Pokémon with care, and asks Layla if she'd ever seen her mother pressure her Pokémon during battle, and Layla realizes that Dwayne was right; not once did she ever see Gwendolyn push her Pokémon beyond their limits. Dwayne then says that she can still become as strong as her mother, but there was no need to rely on the same Pokémon that Gwendolyn owns, and urges Layla to forge her own path instead of following her mother's shadow. Layla finally agrees with Dwayne's sentiment, and apologizes to Torchic, who forgives her, aware that Layla wasn't pushing him out of malice. Shroomish, while understanding, still disagrees with Dwayne's more calm and patient training methods, and both Trainers agree to the trade.

Back at the Pokémon Center, Dwayne and Layla prepare for the trade, and each bid their goodbyes to their original Pokémon, before subsequently starting the trade on the trading machine. After a few seconds, both Pokémon are traded, with Dwayne receiving Torchic and Layla receiving Shroomish. Dwayne sends out Torchic while Layla sends out Shroomish, and both Pokémon immediately prove more compatible with their new Trainers.

#### **With Dwayne**

Dwayne and Torchic first battled together when they challenged the Rustboro Gym, with Torchic being chosen as Dwayne's second and final remaining Pokémon to battle against Roxanne's Geodude. Torchic starts by destroying the rock field with Ember. Though Ember has destroyed the field, he has yet to damage Geodude. Roxanne notes that it allows Geodude greater maneuverability, and better use of Rock Throw. Torchic dodges the rocks with Quick Attack, but takes a Mega Punch. When Roxanne tries to use Rollout to finish Torchic off, though, Geodude gets stuck on the softer battlefield, making an opening for Torchic to get close and get the knockout with Low Kick. Roxanne admits that Dwayne has talent, as Geodude had never been knocked out by a Fire-type Pokémon before, and Dwayne admits having chosen Torchic simply for his usage of Low Kick, since Fighting-type attacks were strong against Rock-types.

Roxanne calls out her Nosepass. Torchic starts off with Ember, which makes its mark, but when Ember tries to use it again, it misses. Nosepass responds with a Rock Tomb, trapping Torchic in boulders. However, Torchic breaks free with Peck. Nosepass then uses Sandstorm, making Torchic unable to find Nosepass, and allowing Nosepass to pin Torchic to the battlefield. Torchic soon escapes, and manages to evade another Rock Tomb with a Quick Attack. Torchic runs circles around Nosepass in an attempt to disorient it, which allows another shot with Ember. Nosepass tries to finish off Torchic with Zap Cannon, but Torchic dodges in time.

Anticipating another Ember, Nosepass uses Zap Cannon again, to which Dwayne tells Torchic to run towards the attack, which leaves both Roxanne and the students confused. As the attack nears Torchic, Dwayne orders him to jump and ride the Zap Cannon, and Torchic climbs atop of the sphere and begins riding like a surfboard, and redirects it towards Nosepass after using his claws to turn, scoring a direct hit, which leaves Nosepass paralyzed. Roxanne expresses pure shock at this strategy, and on the stands, Elizabeth lets out a loud cheer, urging Dwayne to end the battle, and Dwayne does so by commanding a Low Kick, and Nosepass gets sent crashing onto the wall, knocked out from the attack.

The referee calls off the battle and declares Dwayne and Torchic as the winners. Dwayne and Torchic celebrate with a high-five (with Torchic using his feet for the act), and just as Dwayne praises Torchic for his performance, Torchic suddenly evolves into Combusken. Dwayne becomes surprised as how quickly Torchic evolved, and Roxanne explains that Torchic was already pretty talented, and his experience was already advanced enough to evolve.

When Dwayne challenged the Dewford Gym, Combusken was chosen as Dwayne's first Pokémon to battle against Brawly's Machop. Dwayne tells Combusken to use Double Kick, hitting Machop. Dwayne has Combusken use several Fire Punches, all of them hitting Machop. Dwayne wonders how Machop can still look so strong after getting hit so many times. When Dwayne calls for a Quick Attack, Brawly finally orders a move, Cross Chop, hitting Combusken square on and knocking it out.

Whilst training for his rematch against Brawly, Dwayne began teaching Combusken and his other Pokémon to calm their minds to focus on the opponent's moves by medidating by the sea. A large wave approaches the shore. Combusken begins to freak out, but Dwayne tells him to keep meditating, because if he can learn how to sense the waves, they may be able to beat Brawly and his surfing techniques. Combusken shuts his eyes and continues to meditate as Dwayne listens intently. As wave grows larger and nearer, Dwayne orders them all to get out of the way. However, the wave proves too quick, leaving Dwayne and his Pokémon soaked, and Combusken freaks out again, disliking water due to his status as a Fire-type.

Suddenly, they all notice that the tent is walking away. Dwayne gives chase and the menace soon crashes into a tree and it begins to flee underground. Dwayne tells Dragonair to stop it with Wrap, but as Dragonair wraps herself around the creature, she is pulled along. Treecko grabs on to help, but it is also dragged forward. Dwayne, Gardevoir, Swablu, and Combusken all grab the thread and start to heave, but the creature drags them along the beach. It soon retreats to the water, causing everyone to fall in. Once Dwayne's clothes are hung up to dry, he stands on the beach covered in sand. He inspects the damaged tent and the ruined rice balls that litter the beach, wondering what could have done such a thing and considers that a Diglett, a Krabby, or an Aron might be the culprit. Seeing how strong the mysterious Pokémon was, Dwayne declares that he wants to catch it.

That night, Dwayne and his Pokémon sit by some bushes and wait for the mysterious creature to take their bait. Dwayne then suddenly hears something behind him, but it is too late. The creature smashes into Dwayne and his Pokémon, sending them all flying onto the beach. It continues its pursuit, prompting them to gives chase. Dwayne tells Combusken to use Fire Spin. The attack hits, but the menace quickly disappears underground and without a trace. The following morning, Dwayne is slumped against the tent in exhaustion, but still keen to find out what the mysterious creature is. Dwayne then remembers that he saw a red "horn" protrude from the sand after it was hit by Combusken's earlier attack. Dwayne then heads back to the beach and has Combusken make several huge holes in the sand with Dig.

That night, Dwayne waits in the bushes again while watching the Pokémon food. Dwayne alerts his Pokémon as four large bunches of seaweed emerge from the water. They walk up and begin to eat the Pokémon food. Dwayne comments on how the plan is working and sets some more food on a nearby rock. One of the seaweed bunches spies this and they head towards the new food, only to fall into a hole. Dwayne approaches, but the creature suddenly emerges from the hole and smashes into him, sending Dwayne flying back but Gardevoir catches him. The creature is revealed to be a Corphish.

Dwayne scans it with the Pokédex, and the Pokédex notes its territorial behavior is a classic trait of Corphish. Dwayne reiterates his desire to catch Corphish, fully aware of its incredible speed and power. He sends in Combusken as Corphish gets up. Combusken starts with Fire Spin, but Corphish dodges and uses Bubble Beam. It then burrows into the sand, leaving Combusken confused. Corphish soon emerges, sending Combusken flying into the air with Crabhammer. As he descends, Combusken tries to use Quick Attack, but Corphish catches him with its pincers and chucks him at Dwayn, who remarks that this Corphish is stronger than anticipated, and that he has a challenge on his hands, and decides to switch Combusken for Treecko.

When Dwayne challenged the Mauville Gym, Combusken was chosen as Dwayne's second Pokémon to battle against Wattson's Raichu. Combusken opens up with Fire Spin, which Raichu tries to counter with Thunderbolt, only for Combusken to dodge it and deal a direct blow on Raichu. Combusken then moves on to use Flamethrower, easily pushing through Raichu's Thunderbolt and dealing another hit. Wattson tells Raichu to use Volt Tackle, but it gets stopped in its tracks by Combusken's Dig, causing Raichu to trip within a hole, and subsequently struck by Combusken's attack, which sends Raichu slamming into a wall, taking it out of the fight. While Dwayne compliments Combusken, Wattson recalls Raichu and sends out his second Pokémon, Electrode.

Wattson commands it to use Magnet Rise, which not only raises it off the ground, but chunks of the battlefield as well. Wattson explains that they've developed this strategy to counteract the Ground-type moves most challengers use here. Electrode starts bouncing around the floating floor pieces, rapidly striking Combusken from all directions. Even Combusken's attempt at flinging Electrode away with Flamethrower only momentarily slows down the assault. Combusken tries to use Quick Attack, but Electrode evades the attack and uses Discharge, knocking Combusken out.

During Dwayne's Petalburg Gym battle against Gwendolyn, Combusken was chosen as his second Pokémon to battle against Gwendolyn's Donphan. Upon seeing Combusken, Gwendolyn comments that she was surprised to see that Dwayne also owned one, and remarked that herself, Dwayne, and Layla all owned the same species, but Layla sheepishly comments that Dwayne's Combusken was the same one that used to belong to her, and they had traded their Pokémon, much to everyone's shock. Gwendolyn asks why Layla had traded her very first Pokémon, and Layla comments that Combusken's nature didn't match with her training style, so they opted to trade. Despite somewhat disappointed that Layla traded away her starter Pokémon, Gwendolyn nonetheless respects her decision.

As the battle resumes, Combusken uses Flamethrower, which easily blasts through Donphan's Rock Tomb and scores a direct hit, knocking Donphan out. With Donphan out of commission, Gwendolyn calls out her next Pokémon, Gallade. Dodging Combusken's Flamethrower, Gallade knocks Combusken out with a single Psycho Cut.

When Dwayne challenged the Fortree Gym, Combusken was selected as his second Pokémon to battle against Winona's Pelipper. Combusken starts off with a Quick Attack, but the attack is proving ineffective as Pelipper retaliates with Steel Wing. Combusken is keeping up its Quick Attack, but Pelipper remains unaffected. After Pelipper strikes Combusken with a Quick Attack of its own, Dwayne changes his strategy and orders Combusken to remain still. Although confused, Winona orders Pelipper to use Wing Attack, and as Pelipper draws near, Dwayne orders Combusken to use Counter, and when Pelipper lands the attack, Combusken subsequently returns the damage twice as powerful. As both Pokémon are exhausted, Dwayne and Winona decide to end the round, with Winona ordering a Hydro Pump while Dwayne orders a Flamethrower, and both attacks collide for a brief moment before causing an explosion that engulfs both Pokémon. Once the smoke clears, both Combusken and Pelipper are unable to continue the battle.

When Dwayne and Layla met up against shortly before the start of the Hoenn League, Combusken was selected to battle against Layla's Breloom. The battle starts, with Layla ordering Breloom to use Seed Bomb, but Combusken effortlessly blocks with Flamethrower. Layla then orders Breloom to use Mach Punch, but Combusken retaliates with Quick Attack, and both attacks clash and both Pokémon are sent flying. Layla then orders Breloom to use Dynamic Punch, but Combusken takes the attack head-on, which confuses Layla as to why he didn't dodge. As Combusken withstands the heavy damage, Dwayne orders him to use Reversal, a move that causes more damage the more the user is damaged, and Combusken scores a direct hit, which knocks out Breloom. As Combusken roars in victory, he suddenly begins evolving into Blaziken, much to both Dwayne and Layla's joy. After evolving, Blaziken shakes hands with Breloom, who despite showing respect towards him, is nonetheless angry about his loss, and doesn't hide his explosive temper, shooting out his Seed Bomb at a nearby tree to calm himself down.

During Dwayne's Full Battle against Layla in the second round of the Finals Tournament of the Ever Grande Conference, Blaziken was chosen as Dwayne's sixth and final remaining Pokémon to battle against Layla's Breloom yet again. Blaziken performs Blaze Kick, which Breloom matches with Mach Punch. The Pokémon collide, but Breloom takes the brunt of the damage. Then, Breloom responds with Seed Bomb, but Blaziken's Flamethrower burns the seeds into ash. Blaziken follows up with Stone Edge, but Breloom uses Dynamic Punch to shatter the rock pillars into pieces. Layla then orders Breloom to use Growth, increasing its attack power, and Blaziken retaliates by using Flamethrower, but Breloom quickly uses Mach Punch, allowing him to dodge the attack and score a direct hit against Blaziken. As Blaziken staggers, Layla commands a barrage of Mach Punches, and Blaziken gets battered by the onslaught of attacks. As Dwayne tries to come up with a stategy, he notices a tip of the grass burned from Blaziken's earlier attack, and suddenly has a new idea in mind. After Blaziken manages to dodge the attacks, Dwayne orders him to blast the field with multiple Flamethrowers, and soon enough, the entire grass field starts to catch on fire, which also causes the fire to spread and engulf Breloom, leaving it severely burned.

As the announcer comments on Dwayne's unorthodox, yet brilliant, strategy, Dwayne orders Blaziken to use Stone Edge, and Breloom gets smashed by the rock pillars and sent flying. While free-falling, Breloom tries to use Seed Bomb, but its burn status kicks in again, cancelling the attack, and allowing Blaziken to score a direct Blaze Kick right on its face, and Breloom plummets to the ground, knocked out, and the referee declares Dwayne and Blaziken as the winners. Dwayne and Blaziken celebrate with a hug as the crowd applauds the amazing battle they'd just witnessed.

During the finals of the tournament, Blaziken was selected by Dwayne as his second Pokémon to battle against Raven's Manectric. Blaziken launches Flamethrower as Manectric evades Blaziken's attacks. Manectric responds with a Charge Beam attack, which collides with its target for a direct hit. Blaziken is blasted backwards but recovers from the attack. Blaziken goes for another Flamethrower attack but as Manectric evades this second round of attacks, Blaziken ascends into the air and strikes a direct hit with Blaze Kick. After the dust clears, Manectric is announced as unable to battle. Raven decides to choose Hariyama for her third Pokémon choice. Blaziken begins with another Flamethrower attack as Hariyama blasts forward with an Arm Thrust reflecting the Flamethrower attack. When Hariyama is within range, it strikes down with a Brick Break, knocking Blaziken unconscious.

### **Frontier Challenge**

When Dwayne challenged the Battle Arena, Blaziken was chosen as his second Pokémon to battle against Greta's Hariyama. Hariyama strikes its opponent repeatedly with Arm Thrust, though Blaziken repeatedly dodges and is eventually pushed back to the end of the field. Hariyama attacks again, but Dwayne tells Blaziken to use Bounce, and Blaziken leaps high in the air, and uses the ceiling for further momentum as he speeds towards Hariyama with a direct hit, which pushes Hariyama back. Hariyama uses Focus Punch, and Blaziken gets slammed back. Greta orders Hariyama to use another Focus Punch, but Blaziken jumps up to dodge, so Hariyama's fist hits the ground, injuring it. Dwayne tells then tells Blaziken to use Revenge, and with Hariyama having damaged Blaziken already, Revenge's power gets boosted, allowing Blaziken to knock out Hariyama.

Medicham jumps into play and shows off its prowess. Greta tells Medicham to use Focus Punch, and Blaziken dodges the attack for a brief seconds, but it doesn't work for long and he falls back after the punch and a kick. Greta orders another Focus Punch, and Dwayne orders Flamethrower. Blaziken misses his mark and Medicham strikes him from behind, hurling him into the crowd of trainees. The match continues, and Dwayne tells Blaziken to use Blaze Kick while Medicham is told to use Ice Punch. At the last second, however, Dwayne tells Blaziken to aim his Blaze Kick directly onto Medicham's fist, causing Medicham's Ice Punch fist to hit its own chest, which causes Medicham to become frozen, which leaves Greta and her students shocked. As Medicham is unable to move, Dwayne commands Blaziken to charge all of his power into one, powerful, Flamethrower, and Medicham gets blasted by the attack and sent crashing onto the wall, enough to leave a huge crater on it, before falling back down, unable to continue. Dwayne hugs Blaziken as he is declared the winner of the match.

During Dwayne's Battle Palace challenge against Spenser, Blaziken was chosen as his second Pokémon to battle against Spenser's Venusaur. Blaziken instantly leaps onto Venusaur's flower. Venusaur, however, flicks him off with his Vine Whip. Dwayne quickly orders Blaziken to attack with a Blaze Kick, which Spenser tries to counter with a Razor Leaf; however, Blaziken manages to knock all of the leaves out of the sky with its Blaze Kick and then strike a direct hit onto Venusaur. Heracross continues to attack with Revenge until a powerful Vine Whip knocks Blaziken back.

Blaziken lands on his feet and is ready to retaliate; Blaziken and Venusaur go for Revenge and Tackle, respectively, meeting eyes locked in the middle. At the last second, Dwayne has Blaziken swhich to Flamethrower, which hits Venusaur hard, knocking it back. It slides directly into a tree knocking from it a Nanab Berry, which Spenser catches. Spenser orders a Solar Beam from Venusaur, and Dwayne uses the delay from the move to his advantage attacking again with a Bounce. Bounce hits directly onto Venusaur, but this time, Venusaur responds with a Solar Beam, which knocks Blaziken out.

When Dwayne challenged the Battle Tower, Blaziken was his second Pokémon of choice, battling against Anabel's Alakazam. Blaziken begins the attack, speeding towards Alakazam's position. Alakazam is quick to interrupt the attack by lifting Blaziken into the air with its psychic power and then dropping him back down. Blaziken gets back up and charges again. Alakazam charges as well, dodges to the side, and then sends Blaziken skyward with a Focus Punch. Alakazam finishes the airborne Pokémon off with Psybeam.

The next day during Dwayne's rematch against Anabel, Blaziken was chosen by Dwayne as his second Pokémon to face off against Anabel's Metagross. Blaziken's first attack is Revenge, to which Metagross counters with Iron Defense. Dwayne then calls for Blaziken to increase its power with Bulk Up and follow up with Blaze Kick, and Anabel has Metagross counter with Meteor Mash. Blaziken is able to dodge Meteor Mash and slam his leg into Metagross's underside, sending it flying. However, Metagross uses Hyper Beam, striking directly at Blaziken. Blaziken, however, makes a quick recovery and retaliates with Flamethrower, striking Metagross due to the delay as it recovers from its earlier Hyper Beam. Finally, Metagross is able to use Meteor Mash, which Blaziken tries to counter with Blaze Kick. The attacks collide and both Pokémon faint.

During Dwayne's second battle against Brandon at the Battle Pyramid, Blaziken was chosen to battle against Brandon's Registeel. The referee starts the match with Dwayne telling Blaziken to start with Flamethrower. The attack hits its mark and Brandon has his Registeel counter with Metal Claw. Dwayne tells Blaziken to dodge and use Blaze Kick which he does, knocking Registeel over. Dwayne compliments Blaziken and Scott remarks how well Dwayne is doing. Brandon tells Registeel to use Zap Cannon and Blaziken counters with Flamethrower. The two attacks collide creating an explosion. Brandon has Registeel use Lock-On and then Zap Cannon, and Dwayne tells Blaziken to use Substitute. The attack hits, but Blaziken is unaffected due to Substitute, although Blaziken is weakened due to Substitute's side-effects. Dwayne has Blaizken use Revenge and Registeel tries to counter with Metal Claw. However, before it can attack, Blaziken dodges out of the way and scores a direct hit with Revenge on the back. Brandon compliments Dwayne on his strategy but says he is overconfident, and then orders Registeel to throw Blaziken. It does so, but Dwayne counters by having Blaziken use the wall to redirect another Blaze Kick.

Brandon says he is impressed but now wants Dwayne to throw everything at him. Dwayne tells Blaziken to use Flamethrower, but Brandon has Registeel break free from the attack and Dwayne has Blaziken send another Flamethrower at it. Brandon tells Registeel to use Sandstorm, which blocks the attack and traps Blaziken in the vortex. Brandon has Registeel use another Sandstorm but Dwayne orders Blaziken to counter with Flamethrower. Pushing the Sandstorm back, Blaziken manages to trap Registeel. Registeel uses another Zap Cannon but Blaziken dodges it and, under Dwayne's command, uses the power of the Sandstorm to strengthen his Revenge. The attack hits but Registeel holds on and uses Lock-On followed by another Zap Cannon. The vortex charges up the attack and the resulting explosion destroys the blazing Sandstorm. The smoke clears and both Blaziken and Registeel are still standing. But Blaziken soon falls down, marking another defeat for Dwayne.

## **Personality and Characteristics**

Blaziken, as a Torchic, was very inexperienced and unsure of himself. He was also shown to be a rather curious, ditzy, and playful Pokémon. Because of this, Torchic's nature clashed against Layla's, his original Trainer, as Layla's more bruttish battling style wasn't suited for Torchic's personality, and as such, Torchic struggled to keep up with her demands, and often proved disappointed whenever Layla summoned him to battle.

Realizing this, Dwayne scolded Layla for not realizing she was pushing Torchic too far, and offered to trade Torchic for his Shroomish, since Shroomish clearly preferred Layla's style over his own, and immediately after the trade, Torchic already proved more compatible with Dwayne, but nevertheless, remained friendly and respectful towards Layla, never blaming her for their misfortunes together.

After joining Dwayne's team, Torchic's talent flourished, proven by his quick evolution into Combusken not long after joining his team, and soon became one of Dwayne's most reliable Pokémon throughout his journey in Hoenn. He was capable of matching, and even surpassing, type disadvantages, seen during his battles against Gwendolyn's Donphan, and Winona's Pelipper. Upon his evolution, Blaziken became much more assertive and confident, as well as an adept battler, being able to quickly follow Dwayne's unorthodox and abrupt strategies without problem.

Like many other Fire-type Pokémon, Blaziken utterly detests water, seen during his training for Dwayne's rematch against Template:Bç, he started freaking out when the waves from the sea started getting closer, but was able to momentarily contain himself by meditating, but when they all failed to dodge the waves in time, he began freaking out after being soaked.