Ash's Snivy

**Ash's Snivy** (Japanese: **サトシのツタージャ** *Satoshi's Tsutarja*) was the fourth Pokémon that Ash obtained in the Unova region, and his thirty-eighth overall.

## History

### Pokémon the Series: Black & White

#### Unova

Snivy debuted in *Snivy Plays Hard to Catch!*. She was discovered by Ash and his friends after she stole some cake from them. Iris and Cilan speculated that Snivy abandoned her Trainer, whom she had deemed unworthy of having her, as she was clearly demonstrating a high level of competency and skill for a wild Pokémon, evident in her first escape from Ash by infatuating Pikachu with Attract then escaping using the cover of her Leaf Storm. She also snickered at Ash in his first attempt to catch her.

Ash was able to catch Snivy once he won over her respect and was recognized before her eyes as a Trainer of not only skill but of unwavering determination and overpowering spirit. Despite his countless defeats with Snivy, especially when Pikachu, Oshawott, and Tepig all succumbed easily to her Attract, Ash nevertheless followed her all the way throughout from the time they met to the point of her capture. During this journey, Ash showed her two notable acts of sacrifice: the first when he shielded Pikachu from her Vine Whip, and the second when he asked Pikachu to climb onto his head when they were sinking into a muddy swamp. At last, Ash had to perform a show of skill before he could capture her. Luckily for Ash, his Pidove was also female and thus immune to Snivy's Attract, allowing him to battle on even grounds. In the ensuing battle, Snivy put up an intense struggle against her captor but was weakened considerably. Despite seemingly being in visibly good condition, she finally let out a small, humble smile that signified the acceptance of her Trainer, before allowing Ash to capture her.

Snivy was sent out twice during Ash's 5-on-5 battle with Trip in *A Rival Battle for Club Champ!*. Though she initially struggled in her first match against Trip's Servine, the use of Attract predominantly paved the way to a surprise victory against her evolved form. Later on, she was called upon as Ash's last Pokémon to battle Trip's Frillish after his swift defeat of Pidove, and Ash, who had no knowledge of his opponent's Ability, Cursed Body, commanded Snivy to use physical attacks which ultimately led to their loss.

In *Emolga and the New Volt Switch!*, Snivy was called out of her Poké Ball by Iris' Emolga's Volt Switch. Since Emolga did not wish to battle anymore, Ash used Snivy in a battle against Bianca's Pignite for a short period. Later, Snivy noticed with distaste that Emolga had used Attract to make her male teammates give their lunch to her and ratted her out to Ash and company. Later, she noticed that Emolga had wandered away, as well as Axew and Oshawott after her, and decided to investigate. Snivy found them being attacked by an angry Simisear and stopped it with Vine Whip. Emolga did not wish to fight Simisear, but Snivy forced her to help out. When Snivy was hurt by Simisear, Emolga finally decided to assist her and the two Pokémon worked together to stop it. They also saved Simisear's life by destroying a boulder that was about to crush it. Both Snivy and Emolga later temporarily settled their differences and shared an apple to symbolize that.

She battled with Trip's Servine once again in *Ash and Trip's Third Battle!*. This time around, Trip and Servine were prepared for Attract and countered it with Leaf Tornado. She was then taken out of the match when a single Cut from Servine overpowered her Leaf Blade.

In *Cilan Versus Trip, Ash Versus Georgia!*, Snivy was used against Georgia's Pawniard during the second round of the Club Battle Tournament, however, she struggled against the powerful opponent, having Attract fail when Pawniard also turned out to be female. However, she managed to defeat Pawniard in the following episode with Leaf Storm.

In *Battle For The Underground!]*, when Pikachu spotted her Poké Ball among those Team Rocket had stolen from the Nimbasa Pokémon Center, he used Electro Ball to let her out. Snivy searched through the pile of Poké Balls for the others, letting out Excadrill to free Pikachu and Axew from their cages, Pansage to help bust through the door, Dwebble at Pikachu's request to burn from the sturdy door, and Tepig and Roggenrola to propel the train cart away from Team Rocket. She later helped fight off Dr. Zager's helicopter while the other Pokémon tried to work out an escape.

In *Dazzling the Nimbasa Gym!*, Ash used Snivy in his Gym match against Elesa and her Emolga. Despite trying her best, none of Snivy's attacks were working and, since they were both female, Attract proved to be ineffective. In the end, Emolga defeated Snivy with a barrage of powerful Flying-type moves.

In *Scraggy and the Demanding Gothita!*, Snivy looked happy to see Ash's Scraggy and Iris' Axew getting along happily. In the middle of the night when Katharine's Gothita escaped with Scraggy, and then followed by Axew, Snivy closely followed them all and helped protect them from a wild and angry Garbodor that Gothita had disturbed. Snivy scolded Gothita and battled Garbodor until Katharine's Deerling calmed it down with Aromatherapy. The next day, Snivy had a battle with Gothita, which resulted in a clear victory for Snivy. Snivy then condemned Gothita's loss, making it run away in a fuss with its Trainer close behind.

In *Stopping the Rage of Legends! Part 1*, Snivy battled Tornadus and Thundurus in an attempt to halt their rampage. She landed a hit on the legendary Pokémon by combining her Leaf Storm with Excadrill's Drill Run, but was eventually defeated by her powerful opponents.

Snivy was Ash's second Pokémon in his Driftveil Gym battle against Clay in *Battling the King of the Mines!*, going up against his Palpitoad, due to her type advantage over both of his types. Snivy opened with Attract to infatuate Clay's Palpitoad and then quickly defeated her defenseless opponent with a barrage of doubly super-effective hits. The use of Attract annoyed Clay, who denounced Ash's strategy as "unfair" since it wasn't an upfront assault. In response, he used his most powerful Pokémon, his Excadrill. Despite her best attempts, all of her moves were blocked by her opponent's Rapid Spin. The Subterrene Pokémon then used the one-hit knockout move Horn Drill to defeat Snivy.

In *Evolution by Fire!*, Snivy was disgusted at Shamus, Tepig's former Trainer, for his treatment of her friend and volunteered to battle as Tepig's partner against Shamus' Emboar and Heatmor the next day. That night, she found Tepig sulking, slapped him with Vine Whip in an attempt to snap him out of his depression, and successfully encouraged him to battle. As they were sent out to battle, Snivy was more than ready to fight and defend her friend's honor, while Tepig didn't feel as motivated. While shouting words of encouragement to Tepig, who wouldn't dodge his opponents' attacks, they began to team up against her, wearing her down severely. When Shamus ordered a Flare Blitz-Fire Spin combo, Snivy pushed her friend out of the way of the attack, getting knocked out in the process. Though she was unable to battle, Snivy insisted that she would stay outside of her Poké Ball and watch the end of the battle. This motivated Tepig to evolve into Pignite, learn Fire Pledge, and defeat his opponents.

In *Beauties Battling for Pride and Prestige!*, after Iris, Emolga, and Snivy were insulted by the Flower Garden Troupe, a trio of performers who prized beauty in themselves and their Pokémon above all else, Iris forced Ash and Cilan to dress up as women so that they could confront the group in a battle. In the final confrontation with Troupe leader Moira, Iris temporarily commanded Snivy against Moira's Cinccinoette and, after using Leaf Storm to clean off the oil that coated Cinccino's fur, managed to leave her prized Pokémon drenched in mud.

In *Cameron's Secret Weapon!*, Snivy was the sixth Pokémon Ash chose to use during his Vertress Conference battle against Cameron, sending her out to face his Riolu. Initially, Riolu seemed to have the upper hand, disorienting Snivy by copying her Leaf Blade with Copycat, then following with an onslaught of attacks. Once Snivy regained her footing, however, she managed to fire off a powerful Leaf Storm that left Riolu at the brink of defeat. Unfortunately for Snivy and Ash, this resulted in Riolu's sudden evolution into Lucario. As the battle continued in the next episode, Lucario managed to overpower her with its newfound power and finished Snivy off with its newest move, Aura Sphere.

In *Team Plasma and the Awakening Ceremony!*, Snivy was sent out alongside the rest of Ash's team to help Ash and N dig up to the surface of the White Ruins after they had fallen into a pit. While battling Team Plasma, Snivy dealt massive damage to two controlled Golurk with her Leaf Storm attack. However, when Colress turned his mind control machine on them, Snivy was quickly recalled to her Poké Ball along with Ash's other Pokémon.

#### Decolore Islands

In *Team Rocket's Shocking Recruit!*, Snivy joined the gang to search for Emolga, who had run off after being unfairly shouted at by Iris for attacking Axew. When they later found Emolga with Team Rocket, Snivy and Emolga began to argue and battle each other. Snivy deflected one of Emolga's Hidden Power attacks, which flew off course and disturbed a sleeping Exploud. The Loud Noise Pokémon emerged from the bushes and began to attack the gang, allowing Team Rocket and Emolga to escape with Axew. The gang later found out that Emolga had not been in the wrong and had, in fact, tried to protect Axew, leaving Snivy a little embarrassed over assuming the worst of her rival. After Team Rocket had blasted off, Snivy reluctantly and sharply apologized to Emolga.

Snivy reunited with Ash and the entire Unova team at Professor Oak's Laboratory in *The Dream Continues!*. She joined in with them to launch a group attack on Team Rocket, using Leaf Storm to send them blasting off for the final time in *Pokémon the Series: Black & White*. Later, Snivy posed in a group photo with the rest of Ash's Pokémon. Then, she was left at the lab when Ash set off for the Kalos region.

### Pokémon Journeys: The Series

Snivy, along with the rest of Ash's Pokémon at the lab, reunited with Ash in *Friends, Rivals, Lend Me Your Spirit!*. During the visit, she watched the battle between Ash and Paul. Before Ash left, she posed with the rest of Ash's Pokémon in a group photo with him.

From *Battling as Hard as Stone!* onwards, Snivy watched Ash's Masters Eight Tournament matches against Steven, Cynthia, and Leon. In *Partners in Time!*, Snivy appeared as a vision to Pikachu during his battle against Leon's Charizard. After Ash won the battle, Snivy joined the rest of Ash's Pokémon at the lab in celebrating their Trainer's victory.

In *The Same Moon, Now and Forever!*, Snivy was shown to have rejoined Ash's team. During the episode, she used Leaf Storm to destroy one of Team Rocket's mechas.

## Personality and characteristics

Snivy is nothing less than a Pokémon shrouded in mystery. It is speculated by Iris and Cilan that she had a previous Trainer whom she left because they did not meet her expectations, but she seems to have found what she had been searching for in Ash. Snivy seemed to have been in search of a compassionate and loyal Trainer, as she always remembered all of Ash's self-sacrificial actions in which he prioritized his Pokémon's safety above his own. This may be the reason why Snivy left her previous Trainer, which shows that she has little tolerance for selfishness and only respects those who treat her and her fellow Pokémon with respect.

This aspect of her mentality is further shown in *Evolution by Fire!*, when Tepig's former Trainer reappeared in his life. She emphatically volunteered to battle alongside Tepig against his former Trainer and encouraged him to stand tall, slapping him back to his senses. During the ensuing battle, she also shown to have a self-sacrificing side to her, as she tackled Tepig out of the way of a powerful Fire-type combo attack and took the full brunt of it, despite being at a massive type disadvantage. Snivy is later seen hugging a newly evolved Pignite along with Ash while laughing, making it one of the few times she was seen doing so.

She tends to show no emotion except for when she is battling, even then moving as gracefully as she does outside of battle. Snivy is a fierce competitor and will take each battle that she competes in seriously. She is very mature psychologically, which can be seen when Ash's newborn Scraggy attempted to attack her in *Scraggy—Hatched to be Wild!*, as she did not utilize her full strength when stopping him. Behind her tough exterior, Snivy actually cares deeply about her friends and watches out for them whenever their Trainers cannot, as seen in episodes like *Emolga and the New Volt Switch!* and *Scraggy and the Demanding Gothita!*.

Ever since Iris' Emolga joined the group, she and Snivy have gotten into a few disagreements. Snivy did not like how Emolga used her cuteness to infatuate her friends and get what she wanted, as seen in *Emolga and the New Volt Switch!*, and was pretty much the only one able to see through her facade of innocence. In *Movie Time! Zorua in "The Legend of the Pokémon Knight"!*, Emolga and Snivy were seen fighting again, which resulted in them knocking paint over their Trainers. Despite her overall maturity, Snivy seems to have a short temper in regards to Emolga, which can be seen in *Battling the Leaf Thieves!*, when she immediately tried to hit Emolga with Vine Whip after she starting laughing about her leaf hood. As shown in *Team Rocket's Shocking Recruit!*, Snivy is shown to still hold some animosity and distrust towards Emolga, assuming that she was the one responsible for hurting Axew—though, in reality, Emolga was only trying to protect him from a wild Galvantula.

## 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

* Snivy's capture was first revealed in a short preview aired after DP190, featuring all the Unova starter Pokémon.
* Snivy is Ash's only Grass-type starter to have been caught as the last starter Pokémon; in every series Ash has caught a Grass-type starter Pokémon, it was either the first or only one to be caught.
* Out of the three Unova starter Pokémon Ash has caught, Snivy is the only one he caught by battling.
* A constant animation quirk that occurs with Snivy is that she appears to have a third arm and her right foot turns green every time she uses Leaf Blade up close.

1. ↑ Confirmed in *Snivy Plays Hard to Catch!*.