The fire-type starter for generation three, Blaziken is the final evolution of Torchic. Blaziken is a fire/fighting type that can cover a lot of problematic Pokemon you can encounter in the games. Fire/fighting types became rather typical for the starter fire type Pokemon and Blaziken was one the first of this trope in the starter lineup. It has very good attack stats and can come with the ability speed boost to help its raw damage output. Like many starter Pokemon, Blaziken comes with mega evolution. This guide will showcase Blaziken’s appearances in the anime, its capability in battle, as well as other general facts about Blaziken.
About Blaziken
Blaziken was first introduced in generation three through the Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire games. It is the final evolution of Torchic and evolves from Combusken. Capable of learning fire, fighting, and even flying moves early, the Torchic line gave very good coverage of many different Pokemon types and was a solid choice for a starter Pokemon. It has balanced defensive stats and powerful offensive stats. Despite being a generation three Pokemon, Blaziken first appeared in the original series as a teaser for the new series.
| First appearance in anime | Original Series Pop Goes the Sneasel |
| First appearance in game | Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire |
| Region | Hoenn |
| Evolution | Final evolution of Torchic, evolves from Combusken |
| 1st Evo level | 16 |
| 2nd Evo level | 36 |
| Pokedex Entry | 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. |
Blaziken Base Stats
| HP | 80 |
| ATTACK | 120 |
| DEFENCE | 70 |
| SP. ATTACK | 110 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 70 |
| SPEED | 80 |
| TOTAL | 530 |
Appearance of Blaziken
Blaziken is a bipedal, bird-like Pokemon with long sand-colored hair behind its head. The majority of its body is red, with yellow accents on its chest and feet. Its hands end in claws with gray wrappings, each hand has three claws that resemble talons. It has long legs typically depicted in a fighting stance to go along with its fighting archetype. Blaziken’s mouth is a hooked beak that protrudes downwards. Near its blue eyes, it has a “V” shaped crest that points down towards its beak. Along its legs, chest, and pelvis it has tufts of spiky fur. Blaziken is quite a tall Pokemon at 1.9 meters or 6 feet and 2 inches.
Behavior of Blaziken
Despite being a fire/fighting type Pokemon, it is often depicted as a cool-headed and calm Pokemon. While not battling, it can be seen meditating and focusing rather than any explosive behavior. Blaziken can seem quite standoffish. During the battle, it is capable of letting loose flames from its wrists and it is seen to take martial arts stances. The inspiration for its fighting style may stem from Muay Thai fighting. Its long legs are quite powerful, and according to the Pokedex, is capable of clearing a 30 story building in one leap.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Blaziken is an absurdly powerful Pokemon. With the ability speed boost covering its already decent speed stat, an unchecked Blaziken will make quick work of any team. As such, it is placed in the Uber tier, typically reserved for the best of the best in competitive Pokemon battles. Blaziken’s defense stats are mildly low, so if you can get a flying, ground, water, or psychic hit into Blaziken before it begins to scale high, you can stop it in its tracks. Use very fast Pokemon or priority moves to deal with Blaziken before it becomes a menace.
Shiny Blaziken
Shiny Blaziken is regrettably not much different from regular Blaziken. For Shiny Blaziken, its beige-colored hair turns white, the red on its body becomes darker, and not much of the gold from Torchic can be seen in its final evolution. While not a particularly contrasting shiny variant, Shiny Blaziken is still highly desirable due to its battle capabilities. A Shiny Blaziken will of course maintain the starry entrance that every shiny has. The most impressive part of this shiny is its white feathers.
Mega Blaziken
Mega Blaziken is an absolute menace in battles. If you were unlucky and your Blaziken did not have a speed boost, Mega Blaziken solves this problem by having speed boost innately, in addition to the large attack, special attack, and speed stat boosts. In order to gain access to Mega Blaziken, you will need to obtain the item Blazikenite. Mega Blaziken’s hair becomes shorter, its yellow accents are replaced for black, and yellow and orange ribbons can be seen around its hands in addition to its gray wrappings. With Blaziken’s ability to release flames from its wrist, the ribbons in Mega Blaziken’s design are awe-inspiring.
Shiny Mega Blaziken
For Shiny Mega Blaziken, we can see where the gold from Shiny Torchic went off to. Shiny Mega Blaziken’s feathers around its head and chest become golden, while maintaining much of Mega Blaziken’s design. Not much else changes between Mega Blaziken and Shiny Mega Blaziken, and although the colors that are changed are similar, the gold appears to be more striking than the white.
Blaziken Pokedoll
The Blaziken Pokedoll is a Pokemon Center release in 2004. This limited edition plushie was available on the official Pokemon Center website for a limited time. The Blaziken Pokedoll’s dimensions were 16.25 x 9.5 x 6.75 inches making it a decent-sized plush toy. It is currently unavailable on the official site, but third-party sellers are selling the Blaziken Pokedoll at nearly 200 USD. As the Pokedoll was only available for a limited time, fans and collectors will have to spend a pretty penny to obtain one for themselves.
Best Moveset
As mentioned above, Blaziken is an incredibly powerful Pokemon. Its use in competitive battle is exclusively for sweeping to take full advantage of its powerful offensive statline. To make the best use out of Blaziken, you should consider moves like Swords Dance, Flare Blitz, Low Kick, and Stone Edge/Knock Off. Swords Dance is a no-brainer when your Pokemon will advance its speed stat naturally, Flare Blitz is a high physical power fire move, Low Kick will take advantage of the Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB), and Stone Edge and Knock Off are popular moves for giving Blaziken more type coverage. As Blaziken has a mega evolution, you are best off using Blazikenite as its held item.
| Swords Dance | Flare Blitz |
| Low Kick | Stone Edge/Knock Off |
How to Catch Blaziken in Pokemon Go
If you would like a Blaziken in Pokemon Go, you can easily catch a Torchic to eventually evolve into Blaziken. You will need a total of 125 Torchic candies in order to complete the evolutionary line, 25 to evolve into Combusken and 100 to evolve into Blaziken. Torchics will most commonly spawn in farmland locations, although you can regularly find them in cities and residential areas as well. If you want to skip the grind, you can also participate in tier 3 raids. Keep your eyes peeled for a Blaziken raid at a nearby Pokemon Gym and gather your friends to get a Blaziken right off the bat.
Video Guide
Trivia
- Blaziken is the only starter Pokemon to make an appearance in the core series as its fully evolved form before its debut generation.
- Blaziken’s name is a portmanteau of the words Blaze and chicken.
- Of all the mega evolutions introduced in Pokemon X and Y, Blaziken is the only Pokemon that was introduced with a mega evolution that was not native to the Kalos region.
FAQs
Q. Why is Blaziken Banned?
Blaziken is only banned in OU (Over Used) tiers and below. It can still be used in Uber teams in the Smogon competitive brackets. Blaziken was banned in OU due to its ability to completely overwhelm teams with its speed boost ability. After two turns, it was an impossible task to deal with a Blaziken unless your team was specifically tailored to defeat it.
Q. Is Blaziken a Legendary Pokemon?
Blaziken is simply the final evolution of the starter Pokemon Torchic. It is not a legendary Pokemon. While Blaziken is truly deserving of the title with its impressive capabilities in battle, it is not classified as a legendary Pokemon in any regard.
Q. Is Blaziken better than Charizard?
Shortly, yes. Blaziken is better than Charizard at least in competitive formats. While Charizard has many different variants to toy around with, Blaziken is simply more solid in the competitive environment. You can easily get set up with Blaziken and Charizard has trouble living up the potential damage outputs of Blaziken.
Conclusion
Congratulations, you now know just about everything there is to know about Blaziken’s role in the Pokemon franchise. This generation three starter Pokemon has stood the test of time, being an incredible sweeper throughout all the generations of Pokemon. Blaziken has seen many appearances in the anime, a powerful role in competitive battle, and even has an exclusive plushie to collect. This Pokemon is truly worthy of holding a special place in the hearts of fans.
