I love him, but I have to admit that he's a failed shillmon. He was clearly meant to be the leader of the Unova trio, even having two roles in the anime as a foil to Ash's Tepig, who was owned by Tepig's former trainer, and as Bianca's strong ace pokemon, who beaten Ash's rival, Trip. Ash's Tepig was also meant to evolve all the way to Emboar, being placed on the same path as Charmander and Chimchar as abused pokemon who evolved into powerhouse psuedo acemons. It wasn't until the massive negative reception that TPCI abandoned him all together, left him as a Pignite, and then later on, made Oshawott/Samurott the trio leader of the group due to Legends Arceus.
