Ash's Lycanroc
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 Ash's Lycanroc | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ash's Lycanroc (Japanese: サトシのルガルガン Satoshi's Lugarugan) is the second Pokémon that Ash obtained in the Alola region, and his forty-eighth overall. Before being caught by Ash, it lived together with Professor Kukui, although it was never officially Kukui's Pokémon.
History
Under Professor Kukui's care
Lycanroc, as a Rockruff, was a wild Pokémon that one day stumbled across Professor Kukui's house. It was starving and left confused from another Pokémon's Teeter Dance. Professor Kukui gave it some Pokémon food, which made Rockruff decide to stay at Kukui's house. From then on, Rockruff lived with Kukui, although he never caught it in a Poké Ball.
Rockruff first appeared in The Guardian's Challenge!, where it had dinner and played with Ash and Pikachu. It was later seen the following day with Professor Kukui, watching the welcoming party Ash's classmates had prepared for him. Kukui had planned to battle Ash and Pikachu with Rockruff, but the party was interrupted by Tapu Koko, who challenged Ash to a battle instead.
In Rocking Clawmark Hill!, Rockruff came home injured, causing Ash and Professor Kukui to investigate the reason behind its injuries. This led them to Clawmark Hill, where they discovered that Rockruff had been fighting with other wild Pokémon, including a Magmar. With Ash's help, Rockruff was able to master Rock Throw, which helped it defeat Magmar. At the end of the episode, Professor Kukui encouraged Ash to catch Rockruff after seeing the bond the two had developed.
With Ash
In A Guardian Rematch!, Lycanroc, as a Rockruff, was used in its first official battle, in which it faced Hiroki and his Mudbray. During the battle, Rockruff performed Breakneck Blitz for the first time, which was able to defeat Mudbray.
In A Glaring Rivalry!, Rockruff was seen training with Ash's Rowlet and Litten. Later, it witnessed its evolved form Lycanroc winning a battle against a Blastoise, which greatly impressed it. Ash later used Rockruff in his battle against Gladion in which it battled Lycanroc. Rockruff got quickly overwhelmed by Lycanroc's great speed and fierce moves, but was still able to battle. The battle was then interrupted by Team Rocket, who captured Pikachu and Lycanroc.
In Trials and Determinations!, Rockruff was used in the Akala Island grand trial alongside Rowlet, battling Olivia's Lycanroc and Probopass. Despite their opponents giving them tough times with their combination tactics, Rowlet eventually managed to defeat Probopass with Bloom Doom. Unfortunately, Rockruff, who was acting aggressively, was so desperate to battle Lycanroc by itself that it impulsively used Bite against Rowlet, accidentally knocking it out. Despite this setback, Ash encouraged Rockruff to use its fighting spirit, allowing it to outspeed and defeat Lycanroc, earning Ash a Rockium Z. Professor Kukui and Olivia then revealed to Ash that Rockruff's behavior was a sign that it was going to evolve soon.
In Rising from the Ruins!, Rockruff went off by itself to train after remembering the aggression it demonstrated during Olivia's grand trial. While training, it encountered Tapu Lele, who challenged it to a battle. Rockruff was no match for the guardian deity, however, and was easily beaten. When Ash found Rockruff, he tried to stop it from running away again, but failed. The next day, Rockruff was walking on a cliffside when it got startled by a Fearow, causing it to fall down into a river. The injured Puppy Pokémon was later found by Olivia and Gladion's Lycanroc, who brought it to the Ruins of Life, where Tapu Lele resided. When Ash, Professor Kukui, and Olivia arrived at the ruins, Tapu Lele used Draining Kiss to drain Ash and the two Lycanroc's energy, which it then used to heal Rockruff's wounds. Afterwards, Rockruff went to the edge of a cliff and began to howl as the setting sun turned green. It then evolved into Dusk Form Lycanroc, after which it got happily embraced by its Trainer and the rest of Ash's party.
In Mimikyu Unmasked!, Ash had Lycanroc use Continental Crush against Team Rocket, but the attack failed. After another attempt, Professor Kukui gave him some advice, which led to Ash training with Kiawe and his Turtonator. When Team Rocket showed up again and Jessie challenged Ash to a battle with her Mimikyu, Lycanroc mastered Continental Crush and sent Team Rocket blasting off, much to their surprise.
In A Masked Warning!, Ash discovered while washing Lycanroc that it was so proud of its appearance that it would fly into a rage and attack if its fur got dirty. Lycanroc attacked Litten and Litten fought back, with Ash placing himself between his two errant Pokémon. This helped Lycanroc to calm down, and it was very apologetic towards Ash. Later, Ash used Lycanroc to battle Gladion's Type: Null, nicknamed Silvally, where it was outmatched by its opponent sheer power. During the battle Lycanroc was thrown into a nearby lake which drenched its fur, causing another rage during which it refused to listen to Ash's commands. Despite this, Silvally was still the stronger opponent and Lycanroc was easily held at bay before it could regain control of itself. After Lycanroc recovered, Ash and Gladion decided to continue the battle, but despite its best efforts, Lycanroc couldn't stand up to the power of Silvally's Crush Claw and was defeated.
In Rescuing the Unwilling!, Lycanroc fought alongside Lillie's Vulpix, Snowy, against Lusamine's Clefable, which was under Nihilego's control. It saved Lillie from Clefable's Moonblast with an Accelerock. After Lycanroc knocked back Clefable with a Rock Throw, Lillie reminded Clefable of the Clefairy doll they used to play with together, in order to free it from Nihilego's command. When Clefable began powering up a move, Lillie gestured Lycanroc and Snowy not to attack before freeing Clefable with a simple embrace.
In SM074, Lycanroc was used to battle Nanu, going up against his Krookodile. During the battle, Nanu had Krookodile deliberately anger Lycanroc, even going so far as to make it go berserk by dirtying its fur with Mud-Slap. Despite the furious attacks in its angered state, Lycanroc was defeated after Krookodile used Counter to send it flying before finishing it off with Crunch. Afterwards, at Acerola's library, Lycanroc sulked over its defeat. It was cheered up after Ash asked Acerola to help him find a place where he could train for a rematch with Nanu.
Personality and characteristics
Lycanroc is normally a playful, affectionate Pokémon that gets along well with both Ash and its previous caretaker, Professor Kukui. The first night Ash stayed with the Professor, Rockruff, Pikachu, and Ash were quickly able to befriend each other. As a Rockruff, like other members of its species, it likes to greet and show affection to others by rubbing up against them with the rocks on its neck, although it doesn't seem to be aware that it stings the recipient. Its affectionate personality was also shown in Now You See Them, Now You Don't!, where despite the fact that Litten was angry toward it whilst eating and whilst relaxing at home, it continued to eat and smiled back at Litten respectively.
Although Rockruff lived with Professor Kukui before being caught by Ash, it was actually a wild Pokémon that Professor Kukui was taking care of. When Ash revealed this to his classmates at the Pokémon School, his Rotom Pokédex added that Rockruff readily bond with humans even if they are not captured by a Trainer. After evolving, Lycanroc started taking great pride in its fur, as shown in A Masked Warning!, and is shown to enjoy being groomed and taking baths despite being a Rock-type, as observed by Rotom. However, if angered enough, such as when its fur gets dirty, Lycanroc's eyes will turn red, and it will fly into a rage, lashing out at whomever is responsible. When this happens, Lycanroc becomes disobedient and ignores Ash's commands.
Lycanroc has been shown to have a strong sense of smell as a Rockruff which has been used to help find Rowlet and Popplio, Ash's missing Electrium Z and DJ Leo's Dugtrio. In the Poké Problem segment of A Masked Warning!, it is revealed Ash and Pikachu had to rely on Lycanroc's nose to guide them back from Ten Carat Hill after Nebby had fallen asleep. In Night of a Thousand Poses! and Mission: Total Recall!, it is shown that Lycanroc will spar with Litten on occasion, even when it is separated from its Trainer.
Moves used
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| A † shows that the move was used recently, unless all moves fit this case or there are fewer than five known moves. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Z-Moves used
| Picture | Z-Move | First Used in | Base Move |
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Breakneck Blitz | A Guardian Rematch! | Tackle |
| Description: Rockruff strikes a series of synchronized poses with its Trainer to build Z-Power. It then charges at the target with a full-speed tackle. | |||
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Continental Crush | Mimikyu Unmasked! | Rock Throw or Accelerock |
| Description: Lycanroc strikes a series of synchronized poses with its Trainer to build Z-Power. It then jumps into the air and summons multiple rocks from the ground, forming a huge boulder. It then hurls the boulder at the opponent. When the boulder hits the opponent, it explodes. | |||
In the games
Rockruff is used by Professor Kukui in Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon to help with the capture, Z-Move, and Battle Royal tutorials.
| Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Capture tutorial (Route 1) |
Z-Move tutorial (Route 2) |
Battle Royal tutorial (Battle Royal Dome) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In the manga
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
Rockruff first appeared in PASM04 under the ownership of Professor Kukui. It was first used to battle Sun's Dollar at the Iki Town festival tournament. Initially, Rockruff had the advantage over En due to Sun lacking the motivation to battle. Once Sun was given the proper motivation, he and En easily defeated Rockruff, forcing Kukui to switch for Munchlax.
Moves used
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| A † shows that the move was used recently, unless all moves fit this case or there are fewer than five known moves. | ||||||||||
In the TCG
Ash's Rockruff is featured in the TCG as of one Ash's Pokémon. The following is a list of cards featuring Rockruff.
| Rockruff Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format. Cards listed with a green background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats. | |||||||
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| Card | Type | English Expansion |
Rarity | # | Japanese Expansion |
Rarity | # |
| Rockruff | 
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Ash vs Team Rocket Deck Kit | 011/026 | ||||
Related articles
For more information on this Pokémon's species, see Rockruff and Lycanroc.
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |
