Buizel has a vastly different type of personality than Dawn's other Pokémon. He purposely looks for battles with Trainers' Pokémon and loves to show off his amazing strength. He first took out Dawn's Piplup, then Zoey's Glameow, and finally Ash's Pikachu by using his incredible speed and moves like Aqua Jet. He showed bitterness towards humans, but gained respect for Dawn after she saved him from a nasty fall. Afterwards, Buizel found her worthy enough for a second battle, where she was able to capture him.
Since then, though, he still gets along poorly with most other Pokémon. In particular, he seems to have a rivalry developing with one of the other strength-oriented Pokémon on the cast, Brock's Croagunk. However, they may have started to get along with each other as they are with each other in Sleight of Sand! while the others play.
With Ash
In Throwing the Track Switch, Dawn began the Contest training for the Solaceon TownContest; however, Buizel seemed to be more interested in Ash's battle training and thus couldn't set its mind on Dawn's training. Meanwhile, Ash's Aipom appeared to have a similar problem in Ash's training because it tended to be more interested in Dawn's Contest training. Then Zoey proposed that Ash and Dawn trade them. After some soul-searching, the trainers agreed, and the trade took place.
In The Keystone Pops!, during a battle between Ash and Dawn, Buizel's SonicBoom was deflected by Aipom, hitting a stone tower and freeing a Spiritomb.
In A Triple Fighting Chance!, he fought Maylene's Lucario in a Gym Battle, resulting in a Double KO and a tied match. During the battle, Buizel learned Water Pulse. Buizel's version is unique, as Buizel's Water Pulse retains its spherical shape, which is presumably inspired by the Aura Sphere of Maylene's Lucario.
In a Staging a Heroes Welcome and Pruning a Passel of Pals! , Buizel participated in his first contest-style competition, as Ash's entry for the Wallace Cup. Buizel succeeded in the appeal rounds due to a dazzling combination of Aqua Jet, Water Gun, and the utilization of his inflatable tube around its neck, but lost in the second round of battles. He perfected an Ice Beam and Aqua Jet combination that Dawn had tried to teach him in an earlier episode.
In A Crasher Course in Power! Buizel was training for Ash's Gym Battle and was accidentally shocked by Pikachu. Buizel angrily jumped at Pikachu but was restrained by Turtwig. Buizel continued to hold a grudge against Pikachu during the battle. Buizel defeated Crasher Wake's Quagsire using its "Ice Jet" combination and stayed on to battle Floatzel. Floatzel managed to use most of Buizel's attacks against him and eventually confused him with his own Water Pulse. Buizel was recalled and Pikachu was sent out. Buizel eventually shook off the confusion to see Pikachu valiantly fighting a losing battle against Floatzel. Floatzel eventually partially froze Pikachu's back and Buizel wanted to get back in the fight. As Pikachu and Buizel tagged out, they exchanged a high five and Buizel broke the ice on Pikachu's back with a Water Gun. Buizel went on to defeat Floatzel by using a Water Pulse at close range, defeating Floatzel and earning Ash his Fen Badge.
Buizel is the seventh Pokémon to follow the pattern of premiering in a movie and then being captured by one of the main characters. In all cases, the premiered Pokémon is not the same character as the one caught, just the same species. In some cases, this may be a result of the writers deciding a Pokémon works well with the group after they are shown together. Ash's Buizel comes after Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea. Others include (in movie order):
Buizel is Ash's third Pokémon received in a trade (the first is Raticate, and the second was Butterfree, when he traded Raticate back).
Buizel and Aipom are the first two Pokémon to be traded between main characters. Coincidentally, both are in the Ground Egg Group and of opposite genders, and both use their Japanese voice actors in the English dub whilst in their unevolved forms.
A constant animation quirk that occurs with Buizel is that his eyes briefly turn the same color as his Water Gun. This is almost always seen when Buizel uses Water Gun up close. It is uncertain whether this is an error or a style touch.
Buizel has been used in every Gym battle since his trade, and in each, he battles the Gym Leader's final Pokémon. This resulted in a tie with Maylene and a victory over Crasher Wake.
