Ash's Torterra: From Turtwig to TRAGEDY? | Complete History

🌲Ash's Torterra. COMPLETE HISTORY!
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📝 Battle Record
❌ Turtwig VS Pikachu
❌ Turtwig VS Chimchar
🏆 Turtwig VS Cranidos
❌ Turtwig VS Onix
🏆Turtwig VS Rampardos
❌ Turtwig & Piplup VS Quilava & Croconaw
🏆 Turtwig & Piplup VS Quilava & Croconaw
❌ Turtwig VS Turtwig
🏆 Turtwig vs Turtwig
❌ Turtwig VS Roserade
🏆 Turtwig VS Zangoose
🏆 Turtwig VS Bibarel
🏆 Turtwig VS Metang
🏆 Turtwig VS Chingling
❌ Grotle VS Honchkrow (2X)
❌ Grotle VS Rhyperior
🏆 Grotle VS Swampert
🏆 Grotle VS Sneasel
❌ Grotle VS Abomasnow
❌ Torterra VS Hippowdown
❌ Torterra VS Electivire
❌ Torterra VS Drapion
🏆 Turtwig/Grotle/Torterra VS Seviper, Cacnea, Carnivine, Dustox, Yanmega
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⚔️ Moveset
💿 Bite
💿 Energy Ball
💿 Frenzy Plant
💿 Leaf Storm
💿 Razor Leaf
💿 Rock Climb
💿 Synthesis
💿 Tackle
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Timestamps
00:00 Professor Silver: Ash's Torterra
00:15 Ash Catches Turtwig
02:05 Bonding with Ash
02:57 Turtwig VS Cranidos & Onix
03:17 Turtwig VS Rampardos
03:50 Turtwig's Early Battles
03:59 Turtwig & Piplup VS Croconaw & Quilava
04:38 Turtwig VS Cherubi & Turtwig
04:59 Turtwig VS Buizel
05:25 Turtwig VS Cherubi
05:42 Turtwig VS Turtwig
05:52 Turtwig VS Roserade
05:59 Turtwig & Chimchar VS Zangoose & Metagross
06:24 Turtwig falls in Stature
06:43 Turtwig Learns Energy Ball
07:10 Turtwig VS Bibarel
07:37 Turtwig's Growing Power
07:51 Turtwig Evolves against Honchkrow
08:30 Grotle Trains with Paul's Torterra
09:07 Grotle Adapts to his new form
09:30 Grotle Learns Rock Climb
10:24 Grotle VS Sneasel & Abomasnow
10:41 Grotle VS Honchkrow Part 2
11:28 Grotle Rebounds from Losing
11:40 Grotle VS Rhyperior
12:33 Grotl's Continued Adventures
12:50 Grotle VS Luxray
13:00 Grotle Evolves into Torterra
13:23 Torterra's Evolved Adventures
13:32 Torterra VS Hippowdon
13:56 Torterra VS Elevtivire
14:26 Torterra VS Claydol
14:34 Torterra at the Sinnoh League
14:45 Torterra VS Drapion
15:20 Torterra stays at Oak Lab
15:44 Torterra in XY & SM
15:55 Torterra Returns in Journeys
16:20 Torterra Rejoins Ash's Team
16:54 Torterra's Battle Record
17:40 Torterra's Moveset
17:47 My Thoughts on Torterra
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👨‍🏫About Professor Silver & Pokemon Explained
Each episode of Pokemon Explained profiles a different Pokemon from the main cast and breaks down its COMPLETE history on the anime, including all of its battles, appearances, character development & significant storylines.
We'll be covering all of Ash and his companion's Pokemon.
We're just starting out, so if you have any requests or feedback, I'm game to listen! Please leave feedback in the comment section or email me at [e-mail].

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

Which Pokemon should we tackle next??

[@ttoismailpikaninja]

Ash's hawlucha

[@joshfarmer8408]

James cacnea

[@evanpokemon1434]

Aipom

[@gopalbhandari5260]

Ash's Goodra 💗💗

[@Heracrossboi]

James' Cacnea

[@joshfarmer8408]

Ah yes, the story from how he went from a speedy and powerful battler into one of the animes' biggest pushovers

[@ferrellkang4954]

My Torterra would have the following moves: - Bulldoze - Trailblaze - Heavy Slam - Leech Seed

[@mannyblight6140]

What sucks is against Paul infenape got plot armor to beat Paul but they could’ve let toterra beat drapion at least

[@AnimationisTHEfuture]

@@mannyblight6140 Infernape didn't need to win against Ninjask, could've given it to Torterra, just sayin'

[@mannyblight6140]

@@AnimationisTHEfuture you’re absolutely right

[@user-rs8ky8hv6s]

​​@@AnimationisTHEfuture Unfortunately, the writers had become full-out Infernape fanboys by that point.

[@blackbulls8783]

Having paul's Torterra being ash's Torterra mentor could have been interesting idea

[@user-pk1il9ux6j]

Paul’s torterra showed Ash how to use grottle and yet he still tried to use it as a speedy attacker once it got rock climb.

[@joecrammond6221]

turtwig had so much potential from the start, only to lose it on evolving into Torterra, a massive powerhouse on Ash's team, only to lose all of its battles minus those against Team Rocket, Torterra marked the last time a grass type starter belonging to a main character evolved until Horizons

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

All it needed was an epic league battle to redeem itself

[@joecrammond6221]

too bad its only league battle was against Paul's Drapion, shame it didn't know any ground type attacks that might have helped

[@DudeLover-wo7gw]

@@joecrammond6221 Unfortunately, moves like earthquake and magnitude aren’t allowed. Probably would’ve preformed better

[@federickamen9354]

It could have got tutored earth power though

[@bloojay133_GVO]

Should have gotten wins against Volkner, Byron, maybe palmer’s Rhyperior tho idk, and definitely Paul’s drapion / aggron. It should have continued to gotten wins and learned new moves

[@silvernick65]

It's finally here.....the potential this guy had only for him to be overshadowed by infernape

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

Hope you'll enjoy!

[@MUDKINGZ3R0]

They did Torterra so dirty! I’ll never forgive them! Bro is built like a beast along side an amazing design and they said "hmmm… let’s make him the worst of ash’s team"🤦‍♂️ as a kid this made me so mad! Another great video btw professor!

[@laxusstrauss5945]

Nah it wasn't the worst None of the others would have beaten the ones who beat torterra either Except maybe infernape and pikachu

[@zimonzieclown1633]

@@laxusstrauss5945 I don't exactly see Infernape and Pikachu beating Bertha's Hippowdon either tbh.

[@laxusstrauss5945]

​@@zimonzieclown1633 yeah me too I was mainly reffering to electivire and drapion And yet pikachu wasn't strong enough to deal with drapion either since it even struggled against aggron and frosslass So gonna say infernape was the only one who could beat it on a 1V1

[@TheMan05555]

After Turtwig evolved, the only major battle it won was against Candice’s Sneasel.

[@user-rs8ky8hv6s]

Because Infernape, Infernape, Infernape, Infernape.

[@delphoxhoopa7289]

Infernape's story is unambiguously my favorite in the anime, but even I admit that they did Torterra DIRTY in order for it to happen. At least when it was still a Grotle it still had a bit of personality. When it evolved it didn't even have THAT. Combined with its massive losing streak, it's definitely one of the most famous examples of Ash's Pokemon being remembered for all the wrong reasons. It definitely deserved better than it got.

[@burkshomemadememes]

Infernape used torterra as a stepping stool so he could shine...

[@peekopyro1840]

Torterra walked so Infernape could run

[@youtube-kit9450]

Torterra absolutely should've had knocked out one of Volkner's pokémon and Paul's Drapion. Thoses two changes imo already would've made a world of difference in how he was perceived.

[@castform7618]

I feel like Rock Climb hurt more than it helped Torterra. Think about it, before it got the move it was practicing being able to take more hits and dish them back rather than than focus on speed. When Grotle learned Rock Climb, it "got its speed back" and didn't really work on taking hits anymore. Rock Climb in hindsight feels like the wrong solution to Torterra's problems.

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

Even thouggh it didn't clinch a victory against some of the high level opponents, I love the idea of the move. But, that's a good point that grotle didn't have to focus as much on Torterra's teaching. Would've made for a cool follow-up episode.

[@matthewkuscienko4616]

I feel very much the same way: I've said in the past that I feel like having Grotle learn Rock Climb was more or less backpeddling on the development it got after evolution. The best example I can point to is Ash's battle with Palmer's Rhyperior: looking back on it, I think that Grotle may very well have won if Ash had it use it's grass moves more (which would deal 4x super-effective damage) rather than trying to "brute force" it by focusing on Rock Climb, which Rhyperior had the defense and type resistance to withstand a LOT more easily -- it's also worth mentioning that it put Grotle in range of Rock Wrecker and Megahorn -- not a very smart call by Ash. That said, while there is an argument that Torterra got overshadowed by Infernape in the end, I still think that it would have actually done better if Ash focused more on taking advantage of it's defensive capabilities rather than capitalize on it's improved speed granted by Rock Climb; this would also have the side effect of helping it to better differentiate itself from Ash's other Pokemon at the time

[@Bozzyverse]

It seemed like Rock Climb was a curse. Nearly every time i remember him using it, it just set up the opponent to knock him out, giving them the high ground. Imagine if Torterra had earthquake instead but it would never have happened.

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

It came in handy against Seviper at least XD

[@OmnicidalClown1992]

It was one of the biggest crimes in all of the DP Pokémon series. They made Ash's Turtwig fully evolve into Torterra, and yet when it evolved from Turtwig to Grotle, and then from Grotle to Torterra, it was struggling... badly. And then it got to the point where it would never win a match at all.

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

Should've starred at a league battle :/

[@alakazamlover4908]

@@ProfessorAlexSilver to be fair to Ash, he didnt use it in that fight against Conway because people assume that Ash knew Conway was there so gave a false-team and Ash is a very spontaneous person

[@TheMan05555]

When it was a Grotle, it defeated Candice’s Snover at least.

[@bige81892]

@@TheMan05555 Sneasel not snover. It also OTK a Swampert

[@TheMan05555]

@@bige81892 My mistake. I asked an AI, and it lied. Still, no wins against Volkner or in the league?

[@supermariogamer1757]

RIP Ash's torterra,had so much potential but didn't get a single win as a torterra

[@JPJ1608]

Never forget that Torterra did better against an Elite 4 member than Infernape did, despite Infernape being the "Ace". He did something that only Pikachu had been able to do at that point, and actually land a decent hit on an E4 member's Pokemon.

[@MarcusMapua]

PREACH!!!!!

[@laxusstrauss5945]

torterra had the bad luck to always face powerhouses And the fact that ash sucks on training slow pokemon didn't help

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

My thoughts at the end focuses a lot on that. Guy is still a beast!

[@sniper712]

Least Turtwig evolved all the way, there's always room for more potential but having two fully evolved sinnoh starters is good enough for me. Infernape just had the whole saiyan arc in a sense

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

I love the deisgn. Rock Climb is also one of the coolest signature moves employed by Ash's Pokemon. It becomes a speedy tank with it

[@Cerez1881]

In my opinion, the biggest shortcoming of Ash's torterra was that it did not know earthquake movement.

[@TKnHappyNess]

I think because of that cancelled AG episode involving Barboach and Whiscash is why they banned Earthquake, Magnitude, and Fissure in the anime

[@jaredlanglitz5651]

I never noticed that Bulbasaur actually headbutted Misty right in the butt. Turtwig is a protector of Pokémon who’re enslaved by humanity, he’s got a good soul. I’m sure Torterra would be strong enough to beat Hippowdon and Ryperior now.

[@AMoniqueOcampo]

I think Torterra suffered from a trope known as The Worf Effect. Powerhouses/Big Guys on teams usually suffer from The Worf Effect in order to establish how powerful the enemy/rival is.

[@619Slipk]

They could at least share the load. Torterra got the short end of the stick most of the time.

[@alperenayman620]

I'll forever feel sad about Torterra, my boy was wasted just because writers decided to focus on Chimchar which is kinda unfair... They could utilise them both... I remember back at then immediately watched the episode where Ash fought Against Volkner once it was aired because I was excited to see what Ash's Torterra is capable of... my disappointment was in another level. Then we all thought this happened because he will finally shine in the final match against Paul... and it seems we were just so innocent... Journeys could justify him a bit... but naah... such a shame....

[@lauseraw7714]

Youre 100% right ! Agree with all. They did him so dirty ...

[@UltraAfroman]

If only there was a Sinnoh Battle Frontier arc, he would've had a redemption arc like Sceptile. Though you have to admire the stamina.

[@alakazamlover4908]

sadly all we got was *shiver* Black and white

[@luigiRobs14]

Torterra got done dirty which is a shame since he was essentially the ace of the DP team until Chimchar joined

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

Agreed!

[@lostanguishbladelord2461]

Thing is, Torterra is one of the better Sinnoh starters, and it was a whole bunch of behind the scenes bs that caused it to flop so hard in the anime. Rock Climb is decent and for aesthetics; Energy Ball or Leaf Storm or Frenzy Plant would be nice, but not all three at once; Synthesis has come in handy from time to time; and when was the last time it used bite? If Torterra was allowed to used Seed Bomb, Giga Drain, Iron Head, Crunch, Outrage, Stealth Rock or Rock Polish or Rock Tomb or Rock Slide (not Stone Edge as he taught it to Gliscor); Rock Smash, Reflect or most importantly *EARTHQUAKE* /Earth Power- He would have fared much better. Later seasons he could've gotten Headlong Rush, Heavy Slam, Trailblaze, Body Press, Scorching Sands, or Shell Smash

[@snapclub8751]

Am I the only one who finds Happiny carrying Grotle both cute and hilarious?

[@user-np3wd6ro5u]

TORTERRA: DIGS A GRAVE AND BEINGS CRYING AND WALKS AWAY INFERAPE READS THE THE GRAVE: HERE LIES TORTERRA’S HOPES AND DREAMS?!

[@paolocalapatia6401]

Said it before and I’ll say it again: NOT at first BUT Ever since MY rewatch of DP Series, Torterra actually became MY #2 Fave Sinnoh Ash Mon & #3 Fave Grass-type Ash Mon🍃… …which is WHY I’m still mad that even after taking on Palmer’s Rhyperior AND Bertha’s Hippowdon, even at the End of DP Series, He’s NOT given The Redemption He deserves😤

[@ajserafica3983]

Torterra should have gotten enough spotlight in the Diamond and Pearl series.

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

A few more battles would've been nice

[@tenshi7784]

Imagine how good Torterra could've been if he was taught Rock Polish. He would have his boosted power and defense along with the speed it once had in its prime.

[@Rodolphin]

I think getting rid of Synthesis would’ve helped because I feel like every time Torterra attempts to do so, it gets taken advantage of. Also not having Earthquake is also a huge drawback

[@esteban8471]

Torterra, like many of Ash's other slower Pokémon except for maybe Snorlax, suffer from a mediocre track record. It's tough being a slow tank in a series that's all about high speed action packed battles.

[@tylerdw100]

Ash only has two bulky pokemon besides Torterra and that Snorlax and Goodra. The only reason Snorlax can move fast is because he still agility despite being heavyweight and learn to take hits before he was capture while Torterra never did learn because of his rock climb move which Ash should've replaced with another move. Lucky with Goodra, He learn to do bide and learn to take hits which help Ash in the long run.

[@esteban8471]

@@tylerdw100 Torkoal also didn't perform the best, though he was more slow than bulky.

[@briansherrod1916]

Ash’s torterra could have been so broken but instead, it was broken! 😂

[@TheMan05555]

Since Chimchar joined Ash’s team, Torterra fell victim to the Worf effect.

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

Yup :/

[@MarcusMapua]

At least in my opinion Ash’s Torterra got slightly redeemed in the end when it learned Frenzy Plant!!! FINALLY one of Ash’s Starters learned how to use the Starter Trio’s Ultimate Moves!!!

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

I had hope to see more of the ultimate moves throughout the series, so that was def cool

[@MarcusMapua]

@@ProfessorAlexSilver At least XY was able to do it with utilizing all 3 Ultimate Moves into the anime!!!

[@bige81892]

I agree. But in a perfect world, he would’ve used it to score and awesome win.

[@MarcusMapua]

@@bige81892 Agreed. And if anything between its moveset, I'd have replaced it with Synthesis

[@bige81892]

@@MarcusMapua id go with rock climb. It has hurt more than it has helped. Both in battles and in plot.

[@jyoster6447]

Torterra definitely is one of Ash's more defining and powerful Pokemon, but he sadly had many things going against him. For one, he was often pitted against opponents who vastly outclassed him in skill and/or power. As Prof. Silver mentioned, he definitely held his own in most of those battles, but the way some of these fights were written, it almost necessitated for Ash to lose the battle. And poor Torterra was often the one on the receiving end of it. And the other factor being that he was competing for development time with Infernape, who was shown to be the more fleshed out of the two and had more focus on him. While both had good highlights, it has been a few times where Torterra ended up falling short and leading to Infernape to take the spotlight.

[@DSLego3]

I'll be honest, the Torterra family is my favorite Pokémon line for sure, but sadly Ash's disappointed me after it evolved. Paul's Torterra better showcased what made the Pokémon awesome for me, shame Ash's couldn't make the same impact. His Torterra did awesome against Roark at least, that's my favorite battle with him for sure. Great video Professor. Keep up your informative content, stay safe and have a great day. Also thank you for giving this starter the spotlight despite the little love he got compared to a certain other starter from Sinnoh.

[@johnpittsii7524]

Thanks for the video Professor Alex silver

[@paperluigi6132]

I heard someone theorize that Turtwig getting worse as it evolved was because defensive isn’t really Ash’s style.

[@kyndrablankenship1758]

That is a possibility. Ash has always been a 'strike fast; strike hard' type of trainer.

[@natalimoina]

Really great mon from start to finish

[@AnimationisTHEfuture]

I've been waiting for this

[@ChunkyKingdedede]

I was waiting for this video forever thanks professor silver

[@dannigro8794]

I always say this from the beginning, but Turtwig never should’ve evolved, or at least just evolved into Grotle but not further. Grotle was a good middle starter Pokémon to have. Very fast and good but Paul already had a Torterra, Ash didn’t need one. Great video btw.

[@liyum3409]

I wonder if Torterra going back to his speedy fighting style was what caused him to have that losing streak

[@christopheredwards788]

Great video 👍🏿

[@TKnHappyNess]

The question is if Torterra would've been better had the anime not neutered it by not removing Earthquake

[@TheCrybabyOtaku]

Thanks for the lesson professor 👍

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

My pleasure :)

[@CoolNala]

I think the writers thought they made Turtwig too much like Ash’s other grass types combined, and, after the whole Grotle training with Paul's Torterra, they kinda had nothing else planned for him, narrative-wise... Since Buizel, Gible, and Infernape got more attention. Turtwig's time and its training with Paul's own will always be some of the best moments in Sinnoh. Shame that, once it fully-evolved, it didn't really accomplish anything. I would have loved to have seen him win a major battle or two, and then team up with Sceptile at some point.

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

Much agreed!

[@riyan3754]

You are like a real Pokémon Professor

[@ReadyBergStudios3]

11:12 it was sky attack because I watched the episode

[@zbl28]

“Turtwig lost to Chimchar’s Peek-a-boo” hahahaha I haven’t laughed out loud like that in awhile, thank you

[@GhostintheMachine25]

The writers did Torterra dirty and I’m still upset about it.

[@kevinbogdan9301]

Thanks so much for finally doing Ash's Torterra!!! I've been waiting for this one. I wish Torterra had gotten redemption in the Journeys series. The writers should've had both Ash & Paul's Torterra's battle in the Sinnoh League with Ash's winning against Pauls, as well as Paul's Honchcrow in DP in their 1st full battle as a Grotle to show how strong it got. If the Journey's writer's had let Ash use all his pokemon + his new ones, I've pictured Ash & Torterra in the Journeys series: Helping Ash advance in the Rankings in the WCS, & learning to Dynamax Going on a training journey in Unova & training with Terrakion & Torterra battling it & learning Bulldoze or Earth Power, Rock Tomb or Rock Slide. It needed one of those moves. Using Rock Climb seemed to mostly backfire. At least it now has Frenzy Plant. Ash training all his pokemon at Oaks lab & Torterra Learning the Bloom Doom Z move. Can you do Ash's Noivern next please?

[@bige81892]

FINALLY!! I’ve been waiting so long for this one! I remember back when diamond and Pearl first came out how cool I thought Torterra was and prayed to God Ash’s Turtwig would eventually become one! I was ecstatic when my dream came true, but the writers had to go and turn my dream into a nightmare by not letting Torterra beat anyone except Team Rocket. That being said, I agree that Tera isn’t as bad as people say and think it’s more unlucky than anything else. There was no way it would beat an elite 4 pokemon at the time, its fall to ice punch was understandable given its double weakness to the move, and arguably did the best of all the Pokemon that fell to Drapion. Personally, I wish earthquake hadn’t been banned from the anime, and Tera had been given that move instead of leaf storm. It would’ve wrecked elective and Drapion that been the case.

[@The_Jam_of_Love]

I think both Torterra & Dragonite were used as barometers for their opponents strength, to show that if big bruisers like them could go down so easily, then it would show how much Ash needed to work to defeat them

[@MisunderstoodAssassin]

This makes me sad because torterra is my favorite grass type starter and my favorite gen 4 mon. I remember playing through BDSP and because of the emotional bond mechanic, it was able to take down Cynthia’s Garchomp and help me beat the game. I just wish the anime gave him more respect but at the same time I feel like I was drawn to him because of how he was portrayed.

[@PkmnTrainerEmerald]

Torterra had such a great start. The one thing i wish would have happened is winning at least once towards Paul. Imagine it leanred stone edge to finally take down Hounchkrow. Or like you put it have it win at the league at least once or the torterra battle with Paul's own. That's another thing that while what we got between them was good wish we could have seen more develop between the 2 grass starters was always interesting seeing Paul's Torterra go on its own to help Grotle after it evolved from Turtwig. At least it was cool to see it come back in Journeys and see it know frenzy plant! 🪴

[@4brianXtowns4]

By far the best grass starter sceptile a far second 🐢🌳

[@N7Landry]

Who's next? Goodra? Hawlucha? Melmetal? Either way, love the videos. Keep it up!

[@rozzan1010]

Torterra is my favorite Pokemon and it sucks that he was done so dirty. It seems like he was originally supposed to be the sinnoh ace based on how he was treated before, but the writers seemed to have changed their minds and shove him aside for infernape.

[@ttoismailpikaninja]

Nice choose 👍

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

Thanks :)

[@drrockd9460]

Ironically, The more weight turtwig gained, the more momentum he lost

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

That's deep haha

[@bluefirekid]

The curse of being a [non-Snorlax] bulky tank on Ash's team. As cool as it would've been to see it in a battle, at least it got *Frenzy Plant by the end as consolation. (*An elemental "Hyper Beam" that no other fully-evolved starter Ash has had nor its equivalents.)

[@brendanhart517]

Was surprised at the actual record of 51.6% because i didn’t think it got a win after evolving into grotle

[@JesseNightingale]

I love the Torterra line so much I don't even count it as a favorite within my top ten cause I want to give other mons a chance lol

[@JesseNightingale]

Also this show has the best animations for moves imo just look how epic that energy ball looks lol

[@deshawnedwards6412]

The Complete History of Paul's Honchkrow: From Murkrow to Predator of the Sky

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

On the list!

[@phantom5757]

I love Ash’s Torterra but I would change a few things. 1) Have Torterra and Infernape have a brotherly bond. The fact they didn’t do this amazes me as it works so well with Torterra helping Infernape out as a turtwig. I don’t think Torterra should be the ace of the team but he should have been the second strongest behind infernape. 2) Have Torterra defeat one of Volkner’s pokemon instead of Pikachu, have him win the battle against Palmer. I don’t think he should win against Bertha but Palmer and Volkner would be enough. 3) Finally have him take a win against one of Paul’s Pokémon in the final battle instead of Buzial and have it be Honchrow. It would give an end to their rivalry and the fact they didn’t surprises me as well.

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

Great points all around

[@FalcnPWNCH]

Dunno what it is with turtle pokemon, but both *_Torkoal_* and *_Torterra_* ended with the same unfortunate demise of a role: being *_a punching bag_* and *_a cannon fodder to be thrown first into battle_* to create suspense..... and not score almost a single victory on their own with their own merits and effort

[@AuraMasterUmi]

There’s a few interesting things about Torterra that it has against it. Ever since Gen3, the move Earthquake has been banned in the anime. The move would have allowed Torterra an edge in his battles, such as against Hippodown when it used dig, or avoiding Torterra to go close range like against Electivire and Drapion. Torterra was screwed over by not getting access to a move that allowed it to be powerful with in the games. Torterra losing after the anime went on is dissipointing, but I think this showed something that people hasn’t considered, and that’s Ash as a trainer. Ash is more used to speedsters, and Grotle started getting more wins after it learned Rock Climb. He’s not used to other battle styles, and Torterra is proof of that. He lost Torterra to Drapion because he forgoed the boxer play style and opted for speed. Ash still had room to grow as a trainer, which could have been used in the future. Problem, is that future writers didn’t get the memo. Even after his departure, Ash never has fully been able to master tank Pokemon, and that’s a shame to see a part of Ash’s weakness never really focused or resolved.

[@kylgrv]

Seeing Torterra lose every battle (save for Team Rocket) after evolving is so sad to see. I feel it would’ve been so much better if it got at least one or two wins during the Sinnoh League, including one against one of Paul’s Pokémon. Meanwhile, I do agree that it had an impressive move set, and did a great job in assisting other Pokemon who were in need of help.

[@bryancartagena3286]

Idk how difficult it was for the writers to make Ash VS Volkner 4 on 4 since the previous Gym was 4 on 4, which could have given Torterra a win, then lose to Electivire & then flesh out Ash's 2nd round battle with Snorlax to include Torterra & another underused Pokemon.

[@rickyronny4019]

I genuinely hate how Torterra was done dirty. He started off so good too 😭

[@Freezeflame22]

I think Torterra should have defeated Ninjask or Froslass in the League battle with Paul. Would have been the perfect way to show it overcame its issue with speed in the past.

[@lordaizen800]

Sinnoh is my favourite thx awesome and detailed video

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

Glad you liked it

[@Niall_Sene]

I really like Ash's Torterra, but it's so sad he had to become the fall guy for so many battles, if it could've just had 1 other major battle where it could win, but unfortunately what we got is what we got. Maybe in the future it returns and has a cool win.

[@sharifrhasan]

Nice. Very nice. ULTRA nice.

[@drstrange4625]

To be honest the fact he had a 50/50 battle record shows that it wasn’t as bad as people made it out. And I’m sure that if ash returns to the anime that it will get some wins in and redeem itself. Tbh all of ash’s Pokémon’s have had some bad losses. Torterra isn’t the worst trust me.

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

I agree, though, to play devil's advocate, a lot of the wins are from Team Rocket haha

[@OwenLooker]

Ash Torterra is still my favorite Pokémon but I think they should give it a new moveset for Leaf Storm, Stone Edge, Cruch, and Earth Power. This will give Torterra a bit of type coverage against Flying,Fire, and Ice Types and this will help against with Pokémon he lost.

[@emperorholocron8278]

Torterra suffered from so much bad writing. You could tell the writers just couldn’t be bothered anymore and that’s such a shame. I think DP could’ve had some of its filler slots to Torterra have an arc against Palmer’s Rhyperior where it lacks confidence after its loss and Infernape helps it train. Especially with how Chimchar was bullied and Turtwig’s whole thing was standing up to bullies. I honestly think it should’ve been him to take out Paul’s Drapion in the Sinnoh League.

[@jrp4623]

I love this starter

[@yoshi-omb4833]

YEE MY FAVORITE!!!

[@Rising_Eclipse5]

This especially hurts because torterra is my favourite sinnoh starter so i hate how they treated him, he used to be an absolute beast but then evolution made him slow and he never won against anything official afterwards

[@user-mm8qb5vw7c]

I don't understand how Ash's didn't teach him a speed boosting move like Rock Polish, if speed was an issue, then a speed boosting move like rock polish would solve it

[@edgargaebolg9307]

Or just make it faster than the rest of its species just because? It's the same gen with a Happiny lifting frozen ponds

[@BigM5304]

It’s kinda funny how Liko’s Floragato is actually the first time the grass starter evolved at all since Turtwig

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

Rowlet >>> Evolution XD

[@A.A.Gcomicsandart104]

Despite not having any wins fully evolved torterra at least would cause major damage in battle for other Pokémon to win like with drapion or did fight elite four level trainers

[@jamesrobson8308]

Not to forget the energy ball boost thing could of been a nice thing to improve on

[@abdulahiadde]

Do The Complete History Of Guzma's Golisopod Please

[@briansherrod1916]

The one time evolving ash’s Pokémon went in the wrong direction!

[@willchalloner6643]

Turtwig is still my favourite Pokémon mostly because of this series But they did him dirty I still really wish he learnt rock polish so if he couldn’t tank as well as Paul’s he could of been a dashing tank

[@rubytrix0]

Ash torterra had so much Potential

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

Much agreed👍

[@rubytrix0]

@ProfessorAlexSilver I can see if the brought torterra with the move grassy glide it would be good threat

[@Heracrossboi]

Torterra in a nutshell: Upgrade Being slow acquired Go back Immoble acquired I SAID GO BACK

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

Lol, his oppoennts were super powerful to be fair. Going up against Paul, Bertha, Palmer & Volkner's Pokemon is tough

[@Number8Novo]

Finial the long waited ash's tortera. Really mist watching these videos

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

I'm hoping to get somemore together :) aiming for 2 a month

[@youtube-kit9450]

Is it just me or did rock climb just absolutely *butcher* Grotle/Torterra? I didn't notice it while watching, but nearly every time it uses it, it sets up itself to be K.O.'d by the next move or two. The speed also seemed to make it not focus on taking hits since absurdly weak moves like pin missile took it out.

[@user-xr9xr8nm8k]

I love torterra but it's very sad that the writers overshadowed him with inferape, still he has a special place in our hearts and hope to one day he finds peace

[@noneofyourbuisness1679]

I actually think keeping Paul's Torterra has Ash's Torterra's mentor would have been an interesting and unique take, as I don't think any rival has offered their opponent any useful advice. They tend to train on their own, discovering what they can do by themselves with input only from those that are close to them. Plus, it would show that not all of Paul's Pokemon are complete jerks and have more developed personalities when they aren't constantly being pushed to their limits.

[@swift3520]

meanwhile in the alternate reality where ash goes “woah that move palmer used was so cool! i should teach grotle how to use that!”:

[@kinghunter8247]

I really feel that people have a bad impression of Ash's Torterra, don't get me wrong, I hate that he never had any remarkable victory after evolving, especially if we consider that he is the only one of the original Sinnoh team that could never defeat one of Paul's pokemon but there was a reason for them. Torterra and Infernape are the example of how certain pokemon adapt better to certain trainers, Ash's fast battle style is perfect for Infernape and Turtwig but when he evolved he had to adapt to a more defensive style and he really tried but in the end Ash was not able to extract his full potential (although I consider that his evolution to Torterra was unnecessary if he had stayed as a Grotle, I think he would have left a better impression). Despite its decline I still enjoy Ash's Torterra arc, I would much rather a Pokémon be bad for a reason than be good for no reason (that goes for you Naganadel and Dracovish)

[@DerekBackofen]

Yeah it’s a shame with torterra’s big loss but I mean too be fair all the Pokémon technically had a type advantage or a move too help cover it plus learning frenzy plant is a awesome development

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

Its losing to some of the strongest pokemon in the series is a nice conciliation prize

[@DerekBackofen]

@@ProfessorAlexSilver right elite 4 and battle frontier pokemon plus getting praised by both of them

[@tamimzaman1195]

It deserve more in the anime❤❤

[@LordRumshi]

Torterra’s downfall could be attributed to not fully taking advantage of his tremendous bulk/size. While Paul’s Torterra did give Grottle some demonstration on being more defensive in battle, it likely would’ve helped if Grottle/Torterra had a move pool to hit from a distance and one move for when an opponent closed the distance.

[@JerseyFunkos]

Omg finally lol I can be happy

[@rainbowpegacornstudios]

Torterra may have been a bad battler from the time it evolved from Turtwig into Grotle, but as a large Pokémon that's referred to as The Continent Pokémon, it could have been a good transport.

[@redshot5403]

Only now in gen 9 does torterra have shell smash, which could have easily solved the problem ash’s torterra had with its speed problem

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

That'd be a cool move to see Ash move

[@redshot5403]

@@ProfessorAlexSilver In fact, now that torterra knows Frenzy Plant, it’s the only of ash’s starters to use one of the rechargeable moves, like hydro cannon and blast burn

[@Ferril21]

I will never forgive them how they butchered Turtwig after he evolved. Ash is best with fast Pokémon like pikachu or Infernape, but he could have had a bigger arc about learning to work with Torterra. And it sucks earthquake is banned from anime, and Torterra was stuck with rock climb.

[@mrluckyluke17]

Ash's Turtwig & Grotle got more wins then it becoming a Torterra which is so Odd?