Sophocles's Vikavolt
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Sophocles's Vikavolt (Japanese: マーマネのクワガノン Mamane's Kuwagannon) was the only Pokémon that Sophocles caught in the Alola region, and his second overall.
In the anime
History
Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon
In So Long, Sophocles!, Ash was looking for a farewell present for Sophocles due to the latter supposedly moving away soon, and decided to go look for a Charjabug at Rotom's suggestion. With the help of Pikachu, Rockruff, and Litten, he was able to track one down. Litten and Rockruff dug it up from its place underground. Charjabug shocked Ash as he impetuously reached to grab it from its burrow. After recuperating, Ash and his Pokémon managed to capture it in a cage. He brought it along with him to Sophocles's farewell party, where he let it out of the cage and showed it off to Sophocles.
Sophocles was surprised by Ash's kindness and sent out Togedemaru to battle Charjabug. Charjabug was able to deflect one Zing Zap and fight back with Discharge. Togedemaru managed to weaken Charjabug enough for Sophocles to feel comfortable enough throwing a Poké Ball at it. Sophocles expressed so much excitement at the prospect of catching Charjabug that he nearly fell over while throwing the Ball, and expressed even more excitement at its capture, soon admitting that he was just moving to another house down the street.
In Mounting an Electrifying Charge!, Sophocles decided to enter the Charjabug race, a race where Charjabug are fit into electric-powered cars and made to drive through an obstacle-filled racecourse with the aid of a three-man team. Working together with Ash and Kiawe, Sophocles formed the Sophocles Lab team, with him working as the team director, Kiawe working as the team mechanic, and Ash working as Charjabug's "support runner", running alongside Charjabug during the race and helping it to get past obstacles. During the race, Sophocles struck a rivalry with Horacio's Red Comet team and his Shiny Charjabug. Thanks to their constant support to Charjabug and a little creativity in the face of obstacles, the Sophocles Lab team eventually won the race, winning a year's supply of Charjabug-themed merchandise as a prize.
In 10,000,000 Reasons to Fight!, Charjabug and Togedemaru used Discharge and Zing Zap, respectively, on Milotic. Although Milotic appeared to have been defeated by this move, Nihilego made it get back up and continue battling. The battle ended when Ash and Pikachu performed 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt to defeat Nihilego.
In Pushing the Fiery Envelope!, Sophocles used Charjabug during his Battle Royal match against the Masked Royal and his Incineroar, Ash and his Litten, and Kiawe and his Marowak, but was soon defeated by Incineroar's Darkest Lariat.
In Securing the Future!, Charjabug joined the rest of Alola in showering Necrozma with light so it could return to its normal form.
In That's Some Spicy Island Research!, Sophocles revealed that he planned to evolve Charjabug and learnt from Nurse Joy that he can do so over at Vast Poni Canyon. During their stay on Poni Island, Sophocles and Charjabug trained to prepare for Charjabug's upcoming Evolution. Sophocles finally decided to visit Vast Poni Canyon in Evolving Research! and was accompanied by Ash, Kiawe, and Hapu. He attempted to let battle Charjabug some wild Pokémon, but was prevented from doing so by Ash, Kiawe, and Togedemaru, who battled the Pokémon themselves. The group then encountered Horacio, alongside his brothers, who was also planning to evolve his Charjabug and was looking for a legendary Bug Stone said to evolve all Bug-type Pokémon. Sophocles and Horacio took part in a race to see whose Charjabug would evolve first. After making their way through a cave, Charjabug and Sophocles witnessed Horacio and his Charjabug crossing a rope bridge, which soon collapsed beneath them. This triggered Sophocles's Charjabug to evolve into Vikavolt, giving it the ability to rescue Horacio and his Charjabug.
In A High-Speed Awakening!, Sophocles entered Vikavolt into the Vikavolt race, where it found itself up against Horacio and his own recently evolved Vikavolt. During the race, Team Rocket tried to steal all of the participating Vikavolt, but with Sophocles and Horacio's combined efforts, the villainous trio's plans were thwarted, and the race continued. In the end, Sophocles's Vikavolt barely crossed the finish line before Horacio's Vikavolt, winning the race for Sophocles and earning him a Buginium Z as a reward.
In A Fiery Training Camp Trick!, Sophocles and Vikavolt trained to use their new Z-Move together, using Vikavolt's newly learned Signal Beam as its basis, but due to Sophocles failing to do the correct pose and the lack of sync between the two, they failed to pull off the move during a training battle with Kiawe. To help Sophocles master his Z-Move, Kiawe invited him and Ash for a boot camp near his family ranch. At the camp, both Kiawe and Ash kept offering advice that didn't make any sense to Sophocles. He wanted to give up, but seeing Vikavolt's determination, he decided to tough it out and keep on trying. Later, while being left alone by Ash and Kiawe, Sophocles was attacked by a wild Crawdaunt. At first, Vikavolt was at a disadvantage, as Crawdaunt kept avoiding its attacks, causing Sophocles to get discouraged. However, Vikavolt's unrelenting spirit reinvigorated Sophocles's spirit as well, quickly turning the battle in their favor. Seeing his Buginium Z glowing, Sophocles and Vikavolt finally performed a successful Savage Spin-Out, defeating Crawdaunt. Soon Kiawe returned and revealed that he had actually asked the Crawdaunt to attack him on purpose, as he had believed that this kind of situation would allow Sophocles to master the Z-Move, which it had done.
In Chasing Memories, Creating Dreams!, Sophocles and Vikavolt trained with Lana and her Primarina at Lillie's mansion in preparation for the Alola League, revealing that Vikavolt had learned Zap Cannon sometime before.
In The Battlefield of Truth and Love!, Sophocles used Vikavolt during his Manalo Conference battle against Mina. Using its speed and agility, Mina's Ribombee easily dodged Vikavolt's attacks while retaliating with its own. By trapping Ribombee in between its jaws, Vikavolt prevented it from escaping a point-blank Signal Beam, successfully knocking Ribombee out and allowing Sophocles to advance to the second round.
In Battling on the Wing!, Vikavolt was used to battle Kiawe's Charizard in the second round. By dodging its opponent's attacks with agile movements, Vikavolt was able to hit Charizard with a Zap Cannon, leaving it stunned long enough for Sophocles and Vikavolt to use Savage Spin-Out on it. The battle continued in the next episode, where Charizard was able to escape Savage Spin-Out with its fire. Sophocles attempted to defeat Charizard by using Vikavolt's newly learned Wild Charge, but failed when Charizard used Fire Punch to block the attack. Charizard then used Supersonic Skystrike against Vikavolt, and although Vikavolt tried to counter with another Wild Charge, it was eventually overpowered and defeated, eliminating Sophocles from the tournament.
Pokémon Journeys: The Series
In That New Old Gang of Mine!, Vikavolt joined the welcome party for Ash and Goh during their visit to Alola.
Personality and characteristics
When Ash tried to first catch Vikavolt as a Charjabug, it electrocuted Ash after he impulsively grabbed it, showing its defensive nature. However, it was also a weak battler: when it battled Sophocles's Togedemaru, it was quickly defeated after using only one Discharge attack. In addition to being weak in battle and relying on hiding as a defensive technique whilst living in the wild, it initially seemed to be a bit unsure about itself and its abilities, as evidenced by its reluctance to run on a running wheel, until further encouraged by its Trainer. However, due to the training done in preparation for the Charjabug race, it apparently gained more self-confidence and a deeper connection to its Trainer, happily hugging Sophocles after winning the race.
Vikavolt often demonstrates a close bond with Togedemaru. In Love at First Twirl!, it was shown physically comforting Togedemaru when she became sad over Pikachu's absence, and later celebrated by nuzzling against her after their victory against Lusamine's Milotic in 10,000,000 Reasons to Fight!. Much like Togedemaru, it shows compassion by using its electricity to calm down its Trainer whenever they are in a dark location, as shown in Evolving Research! and A High-Speed Awakening!. In Rise and Shine, Starship!, it was shown to have the ability to send sound waves in order to communicate to a group of nearby Grubbin. In That's Some Spicy Island Research!, it was shown to love the taste of Poni Island radishes. Since its evolution, it enjoys giving rides to smaller Pokémon like Togedemaru and Sandy. Vikavolt can also be easily distracted, as seen in A High-Speed Awakening!, where it went to drink some sap from a tree during its training with Sophocles.
Moves used
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Z-Moves used
| Picture | Z-Move | First Used in | Base Move |
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Savage Spin-Out | A Fiery Training Camp Trick! | Signal Beam |
| Description: Vikavolt's Trainer strikes a series of poses to build Z-Power. It then shoots out a thick mass of white silk from its mouth and wraps the opponent inside a cocoon. Vikavolt then slams the cocoon on the ground, tosses it in the air, and slices through it with its jaws, causing the cocoon to explode. | |||
Moves improvised
| Picture | First Used In | Moves Involved | Partnered With |
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Twirling with a Bang! | Electroweb, Zing Zap, Discharge, Bubble Beam, Magical Leaf, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, and Powder Snow | The Ultra Guardians' Pokémon |
| Description: Super Pokémon Fireworks (Japanese: 超特大ポケモン花火 Super Special Pokémon Fireworks) A combination move used by the Ultra Guardians' partner Pokémon and their Ride Pokémon. Pikachu launches Electroweb into the air, followed by Togedemaru and Charjabug adding to it by creating a makeshift Electroweb with Zing Zap and Discharge, respectively. Popplio, Steenee, Turtonator, and Charizard add to the combination with Bubble Beam, Magical Leaf, and a double Flamethrower, respectively. Flygon, Garchomp, and Altaria then use a triple Fire Blast, followed by Snowy's Powder Snow and Poipole's poison. Together, the moves make a giant spinning ferris wheel-shaped construction. | |||
In the games
In the core series
Sophocles's nine Charjabug appear in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon and help around the Hokulani Observatory. Though each has its own nickname, only Onejabug (Japanese: デンイチ Den'ichi), Twojabug (Japanese: デンニ Den'ni), Threejabug (Japanese: デンサン Densan), Sevenjabug (Japanese: デンナナ Den'nana), and Ninejabug (Japanese: デンキュー Denkyū) are named out loud. During Sophocles's trial, the device used to summon the Totem Pokémon malfunctions and begins attacking the Charjabug used as a part of the trial. Although Sophocles's Togedemaru uses her Lightning Rod to absorb the electricity fired by the device, she isn't able to fully absorb the attack, forcing Totem Togedemaru to step in and rescue her as well.
Sophocles also uses Vikavolt in battle. It appears in the following games:
| Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon |
Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Pokémon League Title Defense |
Battle Agency | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In spin-off games
Pokémon Masters EX
- Main article: Sophocles (Masters)
Sophocles mentioned that he owns multiple Charjabug in Pokémon Masters EX.
Trivia
- Vikavolt is the first Pokémon in the anime to have its Nature confirmed.
- Vikavolt, as a Charjabug, is the last credited role for Unshō Ishizuka prior to his death in 2018.
- When Charjabug evolved into Vikavolt, the Evolution sequence was similar to that of Metapod and Kakuna into their evolved forms in the original series. However, rather than the newly-evolved Vikavolt emerging from Charjabug's shell, the Charjabug shell burst apart, revealing the Grubbin body underneath that changed into Vikavolt.
Names
Due to the line revealing Ninejabug's nickname being re-written in the French version to simply list two examples of names, it is unclear which Charjabug have the names "Chry-Zeult" and "Chry-Zabeau".
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Onejabug
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Twojabug
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Threejabug
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Sevenjabug
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Ninejabug
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Chry-Zeult
Chry-Zabeau
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Related articles
For more information on this Pokémon's species, see Charjabug and Vikavolt.
References
- ↑ Confirmed in Mounting an Electrifying Charge!.
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |
