Torchic in Emerald.
Torchic is a starter in Pokemon Emerald: Professor Birch offers it at level 5 at the start, and it appears nowhere in the wild.
Evolution
3 stages
Torchic
Combusken
BlazikenEvolves into Combusken at level 16.
Evolve now or wait
from the game's learnsets and the relearner ruleTorchic evolves at level 16. Evolving then forfeits 2 moves that Torchic would still learn: Fire Spin at 25, Flamethrower at 43. Combusken learns 2 moves of its own after that: Bulk Up at 28, Sky Uppercut at 50.
| Move you would forfeit | Level | Can you get it back? |
|---|---|---|
| Fire Spin | 25 | No. The Move Relearner only teaches moves from the current form's own level-up list, so once it is Combusken this move is gone. |
| Flamethrower | 43 | Yes: TM35 Flamethrower teaches Combusken. |
Rule the game applies: the Move Relearner in Fallarbor Town (he takes a Heart Scale) teaches only the level-up moves of the form you hand him, at or below its current level. Delaying an evolution costs the evolved form's higher base stats for every level you wait; a move you barely use is not worth that.
Torchic learnset in Emerald
11 level-up moves · 20 machinesBy level
Combusken by level
TMs and HMs it can learn (20)
HM01 Cut, HM04 Strength, HM06 Rock Smash, TM06 Toxic, TM10 Hidden Power, TM11 Sunny Day, TM17 Protect, TM21 Frustration, TM27 Return, TM28 Dig, TM32 Double Team, TM35 Flamethrower, TM38 Fire Blast, TM39 Rock Tomb, TM40 Aerial Ace, TM42 Facade, TM43 Secret Power, TM44 Rest, TM45 Attract, TM50 Overheat