Ash's Pignite
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 Ash's Tepig | ||||||||||||||||||
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Ash's Tepig (Japanese: サトシのポカブ Satoshi's Pokabu) is the third Pokémon that Ash caught in the Unova region.
History
Tepig once belonged to another Trainer who abandoned him after he lost to a Deerling in battle. The trainer was disappointed in Tepig and so, Tepig was tied to a post. When Don George tried to untie him, Tepig broke free of his bonds and began searching for his trainer, but to no avail. When Ash visited the Accumula Town Pokémon Battle Club in The Battle Club and Tepig's Choice!, Ash mistook Tepig for an Umbreon when watching a security tape of him stealing food from the nearby warehouse. In an attempt to capture the 'Umbreon', Ash then met Tepig for the first time when he was trying to eat some bait. He realized that Tepig was covered in soot and was unable to eat as there was a rope tied around his mouth, making him extremely hungry and very skinny. Initially, Tepig tried to run away, but after being cornered by Ash and having his rope removed and fed, he was carried back to the Battle Club by Ash. Later on, Tepig volunteered to help Ash retrieve his Pikachu from Team Rocket. Later, when Iris wanted to capture Tepig, he refused and decided he wanted to join Ash's team and Ash caught him in a Poké Ball.
Tepig fought for Ash during his Striaton Gym battle in Triple Leaders, Team Threats!, against Chili and his Pansear. Tepig's attacks didn't do much damage to Pansear, but Pansear managed to hit Tepig with powerful Fire Punch, Flamethrower and Dig attacks. One of Pansear's Dig attacks sent Tepig into the air. Ash then commanded him to dive into the hole that Pansear was in and he managed to bite Pansear's tail. Although Pansear threw Tepig onto the ground, he managed to get up and spin Pansear around, throwing him to the ground. He used Ember successfully and then knocked Pansear out with a powerful Tackle.
Tepig was revealed to be male in Snivy Plays Hard to Catch! when he battled a wild Snivy that would eventually be caught by Ash. Although he managed to use an Ember attack, he was hit by the Snivy's Attract and became infatuated with her, causing him to be recalled.
In A Rival Battle for Club Champ!, he was used to fight against Trip's Tranquill. Like Oshawott before him, he was defeated by two consecutive Aerial Aces due to Tranquill's Super Luck ability, which increased Tranquill's chance of inflicting critical hits.
In The Battle According to Lenora!, he battled Lenora's Lillipup, which promptly used Roar to force Tepig back into his Poké Ball. After Lenora's Watchog defeated Oshawott, he fought Lillipup again and was defeated. In Rematch at the Nacrene Gym!, he trained alongside Ash at Don George's Battle Club. He ran on a treadmill and dodged black balls that symbolized Shadow Ball attacks. By training, Tepig became faster and stronger, and also learned Flame Charge. Later on, he battled against Lenora's Herdier, which soon used Roar to force Tepig back into his Poké Ball again. After Watchog and Oshawott knocked each other out, Tepig battled Herdier again and won because of his faster, stronger attacks and his newly-learned Flame Charge move.
He had his third gym battle against the Template:Type2 Gym Leader Burgh in Battling For The Love of Bug-Types! and despite Ash planning to win with a type advantage, Burgh sent out a Dwebble which had its own type advantage. Even though Tepig tried his best, Dwebble's superior speed and powerful Rock-type moves got the better of Tepig which lead to his eventual defeat.
Tepig was later used in Ash and Trip's Third Battle! to battle Trip's Vanillite. Tepig defended himself from Vanillite's Template:Type2 attacks with Flame Charge but could not keep up with some of its faster moves and despite the type advantage, the match ended in a tie.
Tepig was used in Gotta Catch A Roggenrola! to battle Roggenrola after Oshawott was defeated, only to be defeated himself. He later helped Ash rescue all of the Roggenrola from the Team Rocket trio. He later had a rematch with Roggenrola and after a fierce battle, he weakened it enough for Ash to catch it.
In BW048, Tepig was used to propel the train cart Ash and friends were riding on to get away from Team Rocket; along with Roggenrola using Flash Cannon and Axew using Dragon Rage. In the process, his Ember attack became Flamethrower.
Personality and characteristics
Tepig has been shown to not take losing very well, often getting sad when he loses, such as in A Rival Battle for Club Champ! where he fought and lost to Trip's Tranquill. This was shown again during Ash's battle against Lenora the gym leader of the Nacrene Gym. He fought against her Lillipup and lost getting depressed again, not even cheering up when Ash told him he did a good job. He also felt upset when he drew to Trip's Vanillite in Ash and Trip's Third Battle!, reacting the same way he does when he loses. However, in some cases, Tepig is happy to lose, but only in unoffical training battles, as seen in A Dragon Master's Path!. Otherwise, Tepig is a rather sweet Pokémon, always looking to please Ash in battle.
Tepig has shown multiple times that he is always trying to please Ash. Lenora confirms this in Rematch at the Nacrene Gym!, where she says that Tepig is trying very hard for Ash. This could be because Tepig's former trainer abandoned him and out of fear that Ash will do the same, tries his best to prove he is worthy.
Moves used
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Trivia
- Tepig's capture was first revealed in a short preview aired after DP190, featuring all the Unova starters. However, it was not revealed who would be catching him.
- Tepig is the fourth Template:Type2 starter Pokémon to be caught by Ash and the third to have been abandoned by his previous Trainer. The other two are Charmander and Chimchar.
- He is also the only Fire-type starter that Ash caught whose Japanese name doesn't begin with the character ヒ hi and whose English name does not begin with a C.
- Like all of Ash's Fire-type Pokémon, Tepig was caught without battling.
- Tepig is Ash's only Fire-type Pokémon to have its gender confirmed in the original Japanese version.
Related articles
For more information on this Pokémon's species, see Tepig.
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| For a list of Pokémon Ash has temporarily owned, used, or commanded, see here | ||||||
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |
