Ash's Infernape
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Ash's Infernape (Japanese: サトシのゴウカザル Satoshi's Goukazaru) is a Pokémon owned by Ash. It was initially owned by Paul as a Chimchar but joined Ash's team after being released in Glory Blaze!.
History
With Paul
Infernape was once a Chimchar owned by Paul. Prior to events of the Diamond and Pearl series, Paul saw Chimchar being chased by a group of Zangoose. The situation looked bad for Chimchar but in its stress it pulled off an extremely powerful Flame Wheel. This impressed Paul enough to add Chimchar to his regular team. However, this first impression did not match up to Chimchar's normal abilities and so Paul regularly criticized it for being weak. After this incident, Chimchar had a morbid fear of all Zangoose.
Chimchar's first episode was When Pokémon Worlds Collide where Paul used it to battle Ash's Aipom. It fought well but lost in the end. Chimchar reappeared in Different Strokes for Different Blokes where it won against Ash's Turtwig and Shapes of Things to Come! where it beat Roark's Onix but lost to Roark's Cranidos.
After losing to Cynthia's Garchomp in Top-Down Training, Paul realized that Chimchar was not fulfilling his expectations. This culminated in the Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition where he was forced to battle alongside Ash. That night, Ash discovered Paul's training regime, which involved his Pokémon attacking Chimchar in the hopes of recreating the power he had seen before. Ash intervened and took Chimchar to the Pokémon Center where Nurse Joy told Paul it would be unable to battle. However, Paul ignored this warning.
During the next battle against a Zangoose and a Metagross, Chimchar was too scared to make any attack when caught in Zangoose's claws and had to be saved by Turtwig, who was then seriously injured through Chimchar following Paul's orders. Chimchar made up for this by protecting Turtwig from a Fire Blast attack. Furious at it, Paul refused to give any orders and he simply turned away. Shocked by this, Ash gave Chimchar commands to get them out of the situation before finishing the battle with Turtwig. After the battle, Paul released Chimchar in front of Ash, who then invited it to join him.
With Ash
In the final round of the competition, Paul and Ash selected Elekid and Chimchar for their last battle in Smells Like Team Spirit! against Conway's Heracross and Dawn's Buizel. During the battle, Elekid evolved into Electabuzz and they both combined Thunder and Flamethrower on Buizel and Heracross to knock them out. This victory meant that Ash and Paul won the Hearthome City Tag Battle Tournament.
In Tears For Fears!, Ash and his friends had a picnic party. Chimchar watched the Pokémon having fun and it kept having flashbacks of when it was still in Paul's possession reflecting on how its former Trainer treated it as opposed to how Ash does, after which it cried tears of joy as it was finally treated with patience and kindness by Ash and his friends, something Paul failed to do as its trainer. In the same episode, Chimchar overcame its morbid fear of Zangoose stated above.
In A Triple Fighting Chance! Ash used Chimchar in his Gym Battle against the Veilstone City Gym Leader, Maylene. Chimchar battled Meditite, but was recalled after Meditite confused it. It was then sent out against Lucario where it fought bravely and caused some damage before being defeated.
In Chim - Charred!, Ash and co. came across Paul. Ash and Paul had an enormous argument at which point an enraged Ash challenged Paul to a battle. Chimchar volunteered to go up against Paul and faced Paul's Ursaring. Ursaring and Paul used brutal tactics and Chimchar was pushed to the point of using Blaze. Chimchar easily defeated Ursaring, but went on an uncontrollable rampage. Ash ran up to Chimchar and grabbed it, begging it to stop. Chimchar continued to struggle, biting Ash at one point. Eventually it was embraced by Ash and Chimchar calmed down.
Later in Double Team Turnover!, when battling Team Galactic, Chimchar protected Pikachu from a Poison Jab launched by Saturn's Toxicroak. Chimchar was incapacitated for the rest of the fight and was later thanked by Ash (after receiving medical treatment). Cynthia then comforted Chimchar about its past with Paul.
Ash later used Chimchar to battle against Barry in Barry's Busting Out All Over!. Chimchar easily defeated Barry's Staraptor using its superior agility. But, despite the type advantage, Chimchar lost to Barry's Roserade.
In Shield with a Twist!, using Ash's counter-shield strategy, Chimchar defeated Fantina's Mismagius and Drifblim, earning Ash his Relic Badge.
In Dealing With Defensive Types!, it was used in the battle against Byron's Bastiodon, Bronzor and Steelix. It defeated Bronzor and Steelix, but eventually fell to Bastiodon. This mirrors Staravia's previous participation in the third gym, with it defeating the gym leader's first two Pokémon and losing to their third.
In Sliding Into Seventh!, it was used in the Snowpoint Gym battle. Chimchar battled Candice's Snover and Abomasnow and despite a harsh battle with Abomasnow, it defeated both of them, earning Ash his Icicle Badge.
In Evolving Strategies!, Chimchar was used in the full battle Ash had against Paul. It defeated Paul's Ursaring, which had previously taken down three of Ash's Pokémon, and evolved soon after into a Monferno and immediately learned Mach Punch. During the following battle against Paul's Electabuzz, it put up a close fight but was defeated and badly injured, resulting in a loss for Ash.
In Uncrushing Defeat!, Monferno, along with the rest of Ash's Pokémon, was badly injured. It needed a Cheri Berry to help treat it but the Pokémon Center didn't have one. After Brock got one by Lake Acuity, it became better. It eventually attacked Team Rocket in combination with Ash's other Pokémon.
In Bagged Then Tagged!, it was used in a tag battle with Dawn against Lyra and Khoury. Monferno used Flamethrower on Dawn's Cyndaquil's Flame Wheel to defeat Lyra's Chikorita and defeated Khoury's newly evolved Croconaw with a Mach Punch.
In Fighting Ire with Fire!, Monferno battled Barry's Empoleon. After being struck by a Hydro Cannon and sent crashing into the forest nearby, Monferno entered once again into an uncontrollable rampage with Blaze, but managed to control it in the last second in order to save Ash's Pikachu, Dawn's Piplup, Paul's Electabuzz and Barry's Empoleon from Team Rocket's falling mecha, evolving into an Infernape in the process.
In Flint Sparks the Fire!, Ash used Infernape in a battle against Flint's Infernape, however despite its power and speed it was unable to keep up with Flint's Infernape and was quickly knocked out with a Mach Punch.
In The Eighth Wonder of the Sinnoh World!, Infernape participated in Ash's rematch against Volkner. It defeated Volkner's Jolteon with a Mach Punch. When it battled Volkner's Luxray, it took severe damage, pushing it to activate Blaze. This time, however, Infernape was able to control itself and defeat Luxray with a powerful Flame Wheel, giving Ash the victory and the Beacon Badge.
Before the Lily of the Valley Conference, Ash decided he would need help from his previously caught Pokémon. Due to this, Infernape, along with Ash's Sinnoh party (save for Staraptor) were all sent to Professor Oak's Laboratory. Later during the tournament Ash recalled Infernape to his team and trained against Brock's Sudowoodo to improve Flame Wheel when Infernape suddenly learned Flare Blitz which was so powerful it became blue rather than the ordinary red-orange flames.
Infernape was later used in the full battle against Paul's Aggron, where it managed to burn Aggron with Flare Blitz before finally defeating it with Mach Punch. Ash decided to recall it when Paul sent out his Gastrodon. Later on it was sent out again to battle Paul's Ninjask. Ninjask's Agility was getting the better of it so Ash told it to use Dig then Flare Blitz which heated up the field, causing fire to erupt out of the ground, which made a mist cover the whole field that damaged Ninjask and also canceled Drapion's Toxic Spikes attack. After putting up a good fight, Infernape was able to defeat Ninjask with a powerful Mach Punch, knocking it out in a single hit. Infernape battled Paul's Electivire in a heated battle in Battling a Thaw in Relations! where Blaze was once again activated, giving Infernape the strength to defeat the Thunderbolt Pokémon.
It is assumed that Ash left Infernape at Professor Oak's Laboratory when he decided to go to Unova.
Moves used
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Moves improvised
- Counter Shield was used in Shield With a Twist! and Evolving Strategies!. Chimchar/Monferno uses Flamethrower after using Flame Wheel, releasing fire whips everywhere.
- Underground Flare Blitz was used in a battle against Paul at the Lily of the Valley Conference in A Real Rival Rouser!. Infernape used Dig, and then while underground used Flare Blitz, causing the entire field to heat up and fire to burst from the ground. This canceled the effects of Drapion's Toxic Spikes and also damaged Ninjask.
In the manga
In the movie adaptations
As a Monferno, Ash's Infernape appeared in the manga adaptation of the Pokémon movie Arceus and the Jewel of Life.
Moves used
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Trivia
- This is Ash's third primate-based Pokémon, the others being Primeape and Aipom. Unlike the other two, however, Infernape has not stolen Ash's hat, and actually evolved under his care and hasn't been put in training.
- For Crossing the Battle Line!, Professor Oak's lecture is about Ash's Chimchar.
- Infernape as a Monferno was first revealed in a Japanese movie poster for Arceus and the Jewel of Life.
- When Infernape evolved from a Chimchar to a Monferno, it became the first time Ash had two evolved forms of starter Pokémon from the same region on hand.
- Monferno's evolution into Infernape was revealed in the Japanese opening The Greatest - Everyday!.
- Infernape is Ash's third Pokémon to evolve while battling against Paul, the others being Torterra and Staraptor.
- Infernape is Ash's first Template:Type2 Pokémon to evolve under his care and only his third one overall. It is also Ash's first primate-based Pokémon to evolve in his care as Ambipom evolved under Dawn's care while Primeape evolved before it was caught.
- Infernape is Ash's second fully evolved fire starter, the first being Charizard. Coincidentally, Infernape shares many qualities with Charizard.
- Both previously belonged to harsh trainers when they were in their base forms and their former trainers dubbed them weak and released them.
- Both have evolved to both their first stage and then their second stage forms in between gym battles: the previous one being one where they gain Ash the win in their base form and the next one where they help Ash win in their fully evolved forms.
- However, unlike Charizard, excluding when it had lost control of Blaze, Infernape has been obedient to Ash through all three of its forms.
- Infernape is Ash's third starter Pokémon to use its ability in a Gym battle, the first being Ash's Pikachu and second being Ash's Sceptile.
- Out of all the Pokémon on-screen in the anime, Ash's Infernape has activated its ability the most number of times: a total of five times.
Related articles
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |
