Ash's Palpitoad

Ash's Palpitoad (Japanese: サトシのガマガル Satoshi's Gamagaru) was the seventh that   in the Unova region, and his thirty-ninth overall.

History
Palpitoad was first seen in Facing Fear with Eyes Wide Open!, where he was the leader of a group of wild that lived in a lake. and had unknowingly invaded his territory while looking for an underwater plant to help his, 's, and 's Pokémon heal after being  by wild  that were disturbed by Ash's Scraggy. Palpitoad was angered by their intrusion, and ordered his Tympole cohorts to attack them. When they swam away in fear of Oshawott, he called upon his friend, 's, help. However, when Cilan fished Stunfisk out of the water, Palpitoad was forced to face Oshawott himself. Despite knowing some powerful moves, the Vibration Pokémon lost to Oshawott's newly mastered, and was caught by Ash.

In Reunion Battles In Nimbasa!, he was used in the Club Battle Tournament against Burgundy's. Despite being his first battle with Ash as his Trainer, the two synchronized well, avoiding Stoutland's attacks and dealing out powerful blows. Eventually, Palpitoad was caught in Stoutland's mouth when it used, though he avoided damage from the move, being part. However, Burgundy took the chance, and ordered an attack, which became a problem for Palpitoad until he used Supersonic to shatter the ice, and knock Stoutland back. After blocking Stoutland's with Mud Shot, Palpitoad won the match with a direct hit from Hydro Pump. In Club Battle Finale: A Hero's Outcome!, Palpitoad battled Dino's in the semifinals, and won with a single Hydro Pump, allowing Ash to move on to the finals.

In Dazzling the Nimbasa Gym!, Palpitoad was used in Ash's Gym battle against Elesa. Being immune to moves, Palpitoad was the ideal choice for this battle, and was Ash's sole strategy for the battle. Palpitoad took many ineffective hits from Zebstrika's and a  attack, proving unable to dodge. As Zebstrika headed towards Palpitoad using, Ash commanded a Supersonic attack, which blocked and confused Zebstrika. Palpitoad then finished the match with a Mud Shot, followed by a Hydro Pump. Palpitoad showed signs of fatigue after Elesa recalled Zebstrika, so both Iris and Cilan suggested that Ash should recall him and switch to another Pokémon. Ash, however, decided to stick with Palpitoad when Elesa brought out Emolga. However, Palpitoad found himself unable to keep up with 's fast moves, and was hit by an attack, and several  attacks before he was hit with Emolga's, causing him to become immobilized by infatuation. After another couple more hits from Aerial Ace, Palpitoad was knocked out, ruining Ash's strategy for the battle, but Ash later regained his composure and won.

In Rocking the Virbank Gym! Part 2, Ash used Palpitoad as his fifth Pokémon during his Gym battle against Roxie, and her final and strongest Pokémon,. Palpitoad first tried to use Mud Shot on the Trash Heap Pokémon, but Garbodor used its extendable arms to raise itself from the floor and dodge the attack. As Garbodor attacked with, Palpitoad used Hydro Pump to block it. Palpitoad then tried another Mud Shot, but it was blocked and countered by a attack, which ed Palpitoad as it hit. Garbodor attacked Palpitoad two times with, being twice as powerful because of the poison, and he was knocked out.

In Strong Strategy Steals the Show!, Ash used Palpitoad in his Vertress Conference battle against Stephan and his Zebstrika. At the beginning of the battle Zebstrika was too fast for Palpitoad and avoided its Mud Shot before striking back with and. However, Palpitoad was shown to have learned a new move, Sludge Wave, which caused Zebstrika to become poisoned when the attack hit. Despite this, Zebstrika was able to fight back, even using the poison as an advantage when using, which did a lot of damage to Palpitoad. Ultimately Palpitoad managed to hit Zebstrika with Supersonic, causing it to damage itself due to confusion. Palpitoad then managed to launch a hit with Hydro Pump. Stephan in turn ordered a Giga Impact which sent Palpitoad flying. However, Palpitoad managed to fire a Mud Shot while in the air just before crashing into a wall, fainting. The match ended with a tie as Zebstrika fainted at the same time from the Mud Shot Palpitoad managed to execute.

In Farewell, Unova! Setting Sail for New Adventures!, Professor Juniper sent Palpitoad to Professor Oak's Laboratory before Ash left for Kanto, touring through the Decolore Islands. He later reunited with Ash and the entire Unova team at Oak's lab in The Dream Continues!. Palpitoad joined in with them to launch a group attack on, using Mud Shot to send them blasting off for the final time in the. Palpitoad later posed in a group photo with the rest of Ash's Pokémon. Then, he was left at the lab when Ash set off for the Kalos region.

Personality and characteristics
Palpitoad was once quite the rowdy Pokémon, and liked to be the boss over others, such as when he commanded a group of and a  to attack Ash and his  in Facing Fear with Eyes Wide Open!. Palpitoad is also very protective over what he claims as his own, such as territory, as shown in the same instance. In the Club Battle Tournament, Palpitoad has been shown to be capable of putting up a strong fight against his opponents. Since he shares a love for battling with Ash, Palpitoad seems satisfied to have Ash as his Trainer, and they were able to work well together, despite only recently being captured at the time and it being the first battle Palpitoad participated in with his Trainer. Palpitoad has also been shown to be physically tough, as he can endure attacks easily as shown in the Gym battle with Elesa and in the battle against Stephan.

Trivia

 * Like Dawn's Togekiss, there seems to be some inconsistency in terms of Palpitoad's size. In his debut appearance, he was similar to the size of Ash's Oshawott. However, in his second appearance, he is shown to go up to Ash's waist. Later, in Dazzling the Nimbasa Gym!, he appears to be the same size as he was in his first appearance.
 * Before Palpitoad, the last non-temporary Pokémon which Ash had caught in its evolved state was his, which he caught in Fowl Play!, 535 episodes before him.
 * Palpitoad was also the first evolved Water Pokémon acquired by Ash since his evolved into  in Round One - Begin!, 614 episodes before Palpitoad's capture.
 * Of all of main characters' Pokémon, Palpitoad has been absent from the greatest number of episodes in a row while still being in rotation at the time: 36 episodes, spanning from after Strong Strategy Steals the Show! to before The Dream Continues!.
 * Of all the Pokémon that Ash currently has in his possession, Palpitoad has made the least amount of appearances, having appeared in only nine episodes to date.
 * Palpitoad is the only dual-type Ash currently owns.