Hi, my name is Professor Silver, and in today’s
class, we’ll be tackling the complete history of Ash’s hotheaded powerhouse, Charizard. We’ll leave no stone unturned as we deep
dive into his legendary battles, heart wrenching storylines, & iconic character growth. This video is brought to you by Skillshare. Prior to Charizard’s debut as a Charmander
in the episode, Charmander the Stray Pokemon, he belonged to a wicked trainer named Damian
who thought him the weakest Pokemon alive No matter how badly Damian mistreated the
poor fire type, Charmander loved him, followed him everywhere & desperately sought his approval. While Charmander would have moved heaven and
earth at the request of his trainer, his efforts were never enough, as Damian only cared about
strength, power, & showboating. Following one too many losses, Damian abandoned
him on a rock in the woods & falsely promised he’d soon return. The Pokemon was unfortunately too naïve to
question Damian’s intentions, and stayed on the rock for many hours, possibly days,
with no concern for his health or safety. By the time Ash stumbled onto him, Charmander
had grown sickly & near-death. His condition so mortified Ash that he twice
tried to catch him in order to rush him to a Pokecenter. Much to Ash’s chagrin, however, Charmander
stubbornly refused both attempts. It pained Ash to leave him behind, but he
felt there was nothing more he could do after Pikachu explained he already had an owner
& wanted to wait for said owner until his return. It wasn’t until Ash overheard Damian brag
about ditching Charmander that he realized the fire-type had no one who cared for him
and no one who would rescue him from an impending storm. The revelation not only upset Ash, but also
Brock. Since Damian refused Brock’s request that
he save Charmander, and washed his hands of the Pokemon’s plight, Ash, Brock & Misty
conducted the rescue in his stead. They rushed to his aid, saved him from wild
Spearow, shielded his tail & ferried him to Nurse Joy all because they truly cared for
Charmander & believed that if his flame extinguished, his life would perish. Joy worked throughout the night to keep his
tail ablaze, but he escaped the next day anyway, as he couldn’t fathom the notion that Damian
had truly abandoned him. While en route to his rock, Charmander crossed
paths with Team Rocket, discovered their theft of Pikachu, demanded they return the electric-type
to his owner & roasted the trio with Flamethrower. Beyond amazing Ash, his display of power also
impressed Damian, who watched from afar. Because of the showing, Damian asked that
he rejoin his team. Charmander thought long and hard about the
offer, but ultimately refused after Damian revealed that he never intended to come back,
didn’t reciprocate his love & only wanted him for his newfound power. Although Damian retaliated to the rejection
with scorn, Charmander deflected his Pokeball, charred him with Flamethrower, & sent him
running for his mommy. Having made clear once & for all that he would
never again return to a life of abuse, Charmander happily joined Ash’s team & became one of
his most legendary companions. Like Bulbasaur, he prospered under Ash’s
tutelage & repaid his compassion with undying loyalty, loving affection & ample utility
support. Examples include illuminating a cave in Here
Comes the Squirtle Squad, fighting off Team Rocket in The Battle Aboard the St Anne & helping
him escape the St Anne as it sank in Pokemon Shipwreck. Despite the bliss Charmander felt at Ash’s
side, the trauma he felt from Damian’s abuse reared its ugly head on the Island of the
Giant Pokemon, when Bulbasaur suggested Ash had deserted them. Charmander was terrified to think Ash might
have abandoned him, but he repressed the thought, swallowed his anxiety & bounced back to his
happy-go-lucky nature as soon as they reunited. The spectre of Damian’s influence & obsession
with strength bubbled within Charmander’s subconscious, & provided him great hardship,
but also fueled his growth into Ash’s most valuable battler. He got spooked by Gastly’s illusions in
The Ghost of Maiden’s Peak, licked into submission by Haunter in The Tower of Terror
& terrified by Sabrina in Haunter VS Kadabra but finally rose to the occasion in Primeape
Goes Bananas when he revealed himself the only Pokemon strong enough to beat Primeape. After upgrading his strength with Rage, & toasting
Primeape with Flamethrower, he gloated so heavily over his victory that one could be
forgiven for mistaking him for Damian. In Pokemon Scent-sation, Charmander made comparably
quick work of Celadon Gym Leader Erika’s Weepinbell, but her Gloom’s pungent odor
proved an insurmountable obstacle. To make up for the loss, he fought Fuschia
gym leader Koga in The Ninja Poke-Showdown. Koga’s Golbat opened with Wing Attack, but
Charmander kept it at bay with Ember, outlasted screech, roasted its wing, won with Fire Spin
& earned Ash the Soul Badge. Thereafter he widened the power divide between
himself & Ash’s other Pokemon by fighting Laramie’s Growlithe in The Flame Pokemon-Athon,
& charring a biker’s Golem in the Bridge Bike Gang. Charmander Embered Golem, dodged its Rock
Throw, shot off Flamethrower, won out with Fire Spin, & hinted at the darkness that swirled
within him by arrogantly laughing at his opponent’s demise. Thanks to the experience from his many battles,
he easily mowed down a plethora of hypnotized Exeggutor in the episode, The March of the
Exeggutor Squad. Beating the grass-types skyrocketed his level
& also accelerated his evolution. The transformation into Charmeleon initially
delighted Ash, but his elation quickly turned to sorrow when he discovered that Charmeleon
no longer cared for him like Charmander once did. Although evolution made him significantly
stronger, it also stripped him of his sweet demeanor, & left little behind, but the anger
that had festered since his time with Damian. Because Charmeleon adopted Damian’s belief
that strength alone was all that mattered, & thought himself too strong to heed a novice’s
commands, he often ignored Ash & acting like a bully. Rather than help a Paras evolve, like Ash
intended, in The Problem with Paras, for example, he made the bug flee in tears, turned his
flame towards Ash & forced Pikachu into the fray. Since Ash couldn’t believe his beloved Charmander
had turned into a self-centered jerk, he foolishly granted him a rematch with Paras, that very
same episode. Had Charmeleon not marched straight into Paras’
pinsir, & been lulled to sleep by its Spore, it’s likely he would have shown no mercy
& produced an extra crispy heaping of mushrooms. His unruly rage left Ash too scared to use
him in anything but the most desperate of circumstances. Charmeleon didn’t stay gone long, however,
as only two episodes later, in Attack of the Prehistoric Pokemon, Ash requested he rescue
him from a horde of angry fossil Pokemon. Unfortunately for Ash, Charmeleon cared so
little for his well-being that he napped rather than protect the boy who once cherished him
as a loyal friend. It was only after Aerodactyl bruised Charmeleon’s
forehead & damaged his ego that he braced himself for combat & leapt into the fray. Soon after Aerodacytl kidnapped Ash, Charmeleon
hitched a ride to the surface, fumed at the rock-type’s taunts, channeled the anger
into his core & made history by evolving into Charizard. Ash originally thought Charmeleon had evolved
to save him, but his errant Flamethrowers showed he had instead evolved to get his revenge. In spite of his lack of regard for Ash’s
safety, Charizard saved him from Aerodactyl anyway when Jigglypuff prematurely ended the
battle with Sing, & sent Aerodactyl downward to the earth. Although the kind gesture proved that he held
Ash in high regard deep within his psyche, he didn’t stop acting like a disobedient
brat until well into the Orange saga. Because of his nasty attitude, & uncontrollable
nature, Charizard sat dormant in his Pokeball for 12 episodes until Ash needed his exceptional
strength against Blaine in Riddle Me This. He snoozed against the Cinnabar Gym Leader’s
Rhydon, & forced Pikachu to battle in his stead, but Blaine’s Magmar so impressed
him he helped it stop the volcano’s eruption, in Volcanic Panic. Once the crisis averted,Charizard challenged
Magmar to one-on-one combat in order to test his power. During the skirmish, he fired off Flamethrower,
diverted fire blast, tanked Skull Bash, went claw-to-claw with Magmar, narrowly survived
a lava bath thanks to his fire-typing, launched an all-out aerial assault using Submission,
triumphed with an around-the-world Seismic Toss & earned Ash the Volcano Badge. Since Charizard only battled to show his supremacy
over Magmar, the battle did little to mend his friendship with Ash, or improve his willingness
to accept the trainer’s commands. Instead, it renewed Ash’s conviction that
he would one day earn back his friend’s love & loyalty. By Charizard’s next appearance, in the episode
It’s Mr. Mimie Time, he had fully reverted to his old ways and become such a lazy jerk
that he refused to protect a beleaguered circus. Even though the Flame Pokemon was unwilling
to provide utility support like he once did as a Charmander, he proved a helpful ally
when Ash traveled to New Island in Mewtwo Strike Back. While there, he arrogantly attacked Mewtwo
& fought one of the Legendary’s many clones. Charizard and the clone exchanged many blows,
& several Flamethrowers, but he ultimately lost the fight due to the clone’s superior
strength & knowledge of Seismic Toss. At film’s end, Charizard revealed that he
still loved Ash with all his heart & hated to see harm befall him. Despite his tears of affection at Ash’s
petrification, he totally lost Ash the Indigo League, in Friend & Foe Alike, by refusing
to fight Richie’s Pikachu Sparky after beating his Charmander Zippo. Had Ash tamed Charizard before the league
began, they would have wrecked Richie, finished higher in the League’s rankings & fought
in a full battle during the sixth round. After ruining Ash's post-league celebration,
in Pallet Party Panic, Charizard hinted at the goodness within his heart by saving Pikachu
from Team Rocket & accompanied Ash to the Orange Islands. During the saga’s first half, Charizard
was a constant thorn in Ash’s side. He accidentally helped Ash earn the Sea Ruby
Badge in Navel Maneuvers, formed a rivalry with Tracey’s Scyther in A Way Off, Day
Off, burned Misty in Misty Meets Her Match, & in Mandarin Island Miss Match, he torched
a Tauros & celebrated his victory with a rampage so destructive that Prima of the Elite 4 had
her Slowbro disable his power of flight rather than let him wreak further havoc. In spite of Charizard’s rebelliousness,
Ash never lost faith that they would one day repair their friendship & asked him to fight
fellow Orange League competitor Tad’s Poliwrath, in the episode Charizard Chills. Initially ignoring Ash’s plea to battle,
Charizard rested until Poliwrath made the first strike. He tried to get his revenge with Flamethrower,
but Poliwrath shrugged off the flames, followed up with Water Gun & won out with a freeze-inducing
Ice Beam. Although Ash spared no time freeing Charizard
from the icy prison, the intense cold left behind by the attack so worried him he spent
all night warming Charizard to ensure that his flame never extinguished
By not dwelling on the loss, and only caring about his recovery, Ash proved to Charizard
once and for all that he would never abandon him & would love him no matter his strength. The next day, the Pokemon made a full recovery,
stopped dwelling on his past with Damian, pledged to Ash his continued loyalty, & accepted
him as his trainer. Immediately after reconciling with Ash, Charizard
teamed up with his old friend, vanquished Team Rocket, learned Dragon Rage & impressed
Tad just enough that he granted a rematch, During the battle, Charizard proved that having
Ash in his corner made him significantly stronger. Thanks to the boy’s direction, he dodged
Water Gun, fired off Ember, intercepted Mega Kick, evaded Ice Beam, jettisoned Poliwrath
& won the rematch with Seismic Toss. Beating Poliwrath cemented Charizard’s partnership
with Ash & also returned him to his usable ranks. In Pokemon Double Trouble, Charizard confirmed
he would never again return to his old ways. Beyond following Ash orders to destroy a Robo
Rhydon, he also teamed with Pikachu against Kumquat Gym Leader Luana’s Marowak & Alakazam
& learned the value of teamwork. Charizard took a major beating during the
battle’s first half as Luana seized on his inability to sync with Pikachu, but he turned
things around upon learning that he & Pikachu were stronger together than apart. They saved each other from their opponent’s
attacks, disrupted Bonemerang, flew towards Alakazam, pulled up at the last second, & forced
a double knockout through clever trickery. Shortly after Charizard got Ash his fourth
shell badge, & helped him save the world in The Power of One, he battled Orange League
Champion Drake’s Electabuzz in Enter the Dragonite. Although Electabuzz dodged Flamethrower, landed
Thunder Punch & let loose Thunder, he broke free of its electric hold with Ember, claimed
victory with Seismic Toss & then faced Dragonite. When Dragonite tore through his flames, Ash’s
ace hook things up by taking to the air. He dodged several Ice Beams, did a dizzy spin,
& nearly landed Seismic Toss, but Dragonite intercepted his throw, slammed him into the
ground, & won out by producing the more powerful Dragon Rage. Despite losing the battle, Charizard’s efforts
contributed heavily to Pikachu’s eventual win. Winning the Orange League & gaining entry
into the Orange Islands Hall of Fame delighted Ash, but failed to quell his desire to travel
the world & become a Pokemon master. Following the arc’s end, he traveled to
Johto, where Charizard muscled through most of his early battles. He blasted off Team Rocket in Don’t Touch
That Dile, beat up Casey’s Pokemon in The Double Trouble Header, stopped the Arbo-Tank
in Tanks Alot, embarrassingly tied with Ash’s Chikorita in Chikorita Rescue & fought Falkner’s
Pidgeot in Fighting Flyer with Fire. To start the Violet City Gym battle, Charizard
missed Flamethrower, developed a wing injury after getting knocked to the ground by Whirlwind,
tanked Wing Attack & took major damage from Quick Attack. Pidgeot’s evasive maneuvers threw him for
a loop, but he pushed through the pain, intercepted Quick Attack, incapacitated the flying-type
with Seismic Toss & earned Ash the Zephyr Badge. Because Ash’s bout with Falkner earned him
acclaim as a Charizard trainer, he & Charizard were invited to the Charicific Valley by Liza,
the valley’s caretaker, in the episode Charizard’s Burning Ambitions. Within the valley, there were many wild Charizard
who did nothing but eat, sleep, & train. Their fierce competition resulted in them
being among the strongest Charizards in the world. Ash & Charizard had zero practice flying,
so they struggled to keep themselves afloat while flying to the valley, dove into a ravine,
bounced off rocks, flew through trees, & arrived completely exhausted. Charizard’s inability to fly with Ash led
Liza to think him too weak to beat any of the Valley’s Pokemon, but she let him battle
some of the weaker ones anyway as Ash begged her to let them to prove their strength. Unlike Liza, Ash wholeheartedly believed in
his friend & refused to think him anything less than perfect. Soon after Charizard was beaten into submission
by one of the valley’s smallest residents, he tried his luck on a gentle giant who Liza
considered one of the Valley’s weakest Pokemon. To his shock, the giant shrugged off his sneak-attack,
slammed him into a wall, pushed him into the ground & kneed him out of the valley without
breaking a sweat. He tried to claw his way back but Liza blocked
his passage, deemed him unworthy of entry & left him with nothing but one last pity
battle with her darling Charla. After Charla threw the bewildered powerhouse
into a nearby lake, Liza told him to cool down, reflect on his limitations & think of
how he could be the best possible version of himself. Since he wanted to get stronger and be the
best possible version of himself, Charizard took Liza’s suggestions to heart, & stayed
in the water all through the night. He nearly fell asleep several times, but Team
Rocket empathized with his plight, encouraged him from afar & kept him awake by showering
him with pebbles. The next morning, the trio followed up their
compassion with more selflessness. They attacked the valley just so Charizard
could protect it & impress those who lived within. Thanks to their noble sacrifice, Charizard
earned the respect of his peers, proved his desire to be the greatest & gained an invitation
to train at the valley for as long as he wanted. Ash couldn’t have been prouder , but he
was filled with sadness upon realizing that Charizard’s acceptance meant they could
no longer travel together. Doing what was best for his friend, Ash ordered
Charizard to train hard, ran off before he changed his mind & promised himself that he’d
meet Charizard again some day. Charizard was initially taken aback by Ash’s
decision, but he too knew their friendship would last a lifetime, respected Ash’s choice
& entered the valley with his head held high. Before we tackle Charizard’s many epic comebacks
as Ash’s ultimate fighter, I wanted to give a shout out to our sponsor, Skillshare, & tell
you how the online learning community has helped me grow as a writer. Skillshare offers 1000s of ad-free classes,
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me overcome the hurdles I had while writing Charizard as his advice to create a writing
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a 1 month free trial of Skillshare. On that note, let’s return to Charizard
epic history. Due to his intense training regime at the
Charicific Valley, Charizard returned to the series as an absolute beast in Spell of the
Unknown. Upon discovering that the legendary Pokemon
Entei was threatening Ash, he flew to Ash’s location, saved him from a deadly fall, ferried
him on his back with ease, & gave Entei a run for its money. Although Charizard lost the battle, the fact
that he flew countless miles & literally risked his neck for Ash’s safety, confirmed that
he would have Ash’s back no matter the distance between them. Following his return to the valley, Charizard
resumed training, & entered a romance with Charla. He also made frequent visits to the Dragon
Holy Land where he regularly sparred with the dragons owned by Dragon Master Claire. Because one of his visits coincided with Ash’s
trip to the Holy Land, he happily reunited with Ash in Fangs for Nothing & fought at
his side in Great Bowls of Fire after Team Rocket stole Clair’s Dragon Fang & manipulated
her Dragonite into being their lackey. Dragonite presented a major threat to everyone
Charizard held dear, so he teamed up with Clair’s Dragonair’s to quell the fully
evolved dragon’s rage before it destroyed the whole forest. During the brawl, he torched Dragonite, combined
Flamethrower with Hyper Beam, missed Seismic Toss, took heavy damage from a tail slam,
and trapped Hyper Beam within Fire Spin. He and Dragonair ultimately calmed Dragonite
and left the battle as allies, but they were reintroduced to each other as rivals in Better
Eight than Never when Ash challenged Clair to a Blackthorn gym battle. Charizard opened with Flamethrower but Dragonair
dove underwater to avoid the flames, retaliated with Dragon Rage & followed up with Hyper
Beam. Although he blocked the blast with Flamethrower,
& evaporated the gym’s pool to avoid further evasion, Dragonair safeguarded herself from
his flames, & landed a mighty blow with Iron Tail. When she tried the attack a second time, Charizard
caught hold & took her for a spin with Seismic Toss. Dragonair stopped the attack with Dragon Rage
& sent Charizard plummeting, but he held strong, dodged Hyper Beam, caught another Iron Tail,
& triumphed with a combination of Fire Spin & Seismic Toss. Charizard left at episode’s end, but returned
for the Johto League in The Ties That Bind. As Ash’s final hope against Gary, in Can’t
Beat the Heat, he incinerated Scizor, nearly broke his back fighting Golem before winning
out with Dragon Rage, & served as the ultimate foil to Gary’s Blastoise. At battle’s start, Blastoise Withdrew itself
from Flamethrower, landed Hydro Pump, let loose Skull Bash, and put Charizard on edge
with a barrage of Hydro Pumps. Since the arena’s many pillars offered the
water-type protection from his flames, Charizard upped the intensity, melted the field, and
left Gary’s champion nowhere to hide. Blastoise cooled things down, but Charizard
took advantage of the fog it produced to fly down unimpeded, engage in clawed combat, & get
so close that it couldn’t land Hydro Pump. After failing to land Dragon Rage, Charizard
held strong, unleashed Seismic Toss, slammed Blastoise into the surface, & won Ash the
match. During the league’s semi-finals, in Playing
with Fire & Johto Photo Finish, Charizard followed up his victory by giving his all
against Harrison’s Blaziken. After the two fire-types opened the battle
by trying to obliterate each other, Blaziken leapt away from Charizard’s flames, dodged
Dragon Rage, traded more Flamethrowers & exchanged a bevy of blows. They struck each other many times, but neither
connected strongly enough to end the match. Following Blaziken’s Quick Attack & Fire
Punch, Charizard struck back with Flamethrower. The Hoenn starter responded with another Quick
Attack, so Charizard shot off a Tail Slam, grabbed his foe, launched Seismic Toss and
slammed it into the ground. Though Blaziken took massive damage, it softened
the landing with Flamethrower, countered back with Quick Attack, withstood Flamethrower,
dodged Seismic Toss, and did untold damage with Blaze Kick. As their final acts of the battle, the two
fiery beasts exchanged Dragon Rage & Flamethrower. The shockwave generated from the attack’s
collision majorly damaged both Pokemon, but only Blaziken was left with enough energy
to maintain its composure & remain standing. Right as Charizard was about to mount its
comeback, he collapsed in defeat, making Harrison the victor. Blaziken took so much damage from the battle
that it was unable to fight in the Final 4, leading to Harrison’s downfalls at the hands
of Jon Dixon. Despite Charizard’s losing Ash a second
League, Charizard’s performance totally redeemed his lackluster showing in the Indigo
saga & forever enshrined him as one of Ash’s most powerful Pokemon. Thereafter, Charizard continued his training
at the Valley, while Ash traveled through Hoenn. He was referenced several times throughout
the saga but never physically appeared. Examples include Max chiding Ash, in There’s
no Place Like Hoenn for losing to Blaziken & Ash saying in Like Meowth to a Flame, that
Charizard’s use at the Hoenn League would be unfair to his present team. Though he missed out on the League, he flew
out to the Battle Factory in Numero Uno Articuno & The Symbol Life, so that Ash could stand
a chance in his battle against Frontier Brain Noland’s Articuno. Charizard proved himself more powerful than
the legendary by overpowering Ice Beam, but Articuno evened up the score by dodging a
second Flamethrower & even things up using a Mist-fueled sideswipe. After Articuno tanked Dragonbreath, it shot
off Ice Beam, evaded Flamethrower, landed Steel Wing, sowed havoc with Water Pulse,
froze Charizard’s wing & landed Water Pulse powered ice-shards. Since Articuno’s ice severely hindered Charizard’s
flying, he warmed his wing with Overheat. Although Articuno blocked the projectile & retaliated
with Steel Wing, Charizard won Ash the Knowledge Symbol anyway as he caught the bird’s wings,
& landed a brutal Seismic Toss. Charizard delighted Ash by becoming the first
of his Pokemon to beat a legendary, but he returned to the valley at episode’s end
as he likely felt compelled to continue his training. He didn’t train long, as he returned for
the Frontier Battle with Brandon in Gathering the Gang of 4. Before the battle started, Charizard reunited
with his old friends, settled a few arguments, revealed his knowledge of Steel Wing and helped
Ash rediscover his passion for Pokemon battling. In the battle itself, Ash switched things
up by using Charizard as his opening act rather than his finisher. Brandon’s Dusclops started the match by
blocking Flamethrower & preempting Steel Wing, but Charizard remained strong & scored a direct
hit with Dragon Breath. The display of force helped Brandon realize
that Charizard would win if the battle hinged on firepower alone, so he ordered Dusclops
to use Mean Look, tank Steel Wing & activate Confuse Ray. Because the confusion wrought by Dusclops
left Charizard totally impaired, & Mean Look made him unable to return to his Pokeball,
the ghost-type pressed its lead with Shadow Punch & Will O’Wisp. Shortly after Ash revitalized Charizard’s
warrior’s heart, & helped him regain control of his faculties, the starter sought his revenge
with Dragon Breath, withstood Will-O-Wisp, & landed Steel Wing. Unfortunately, before Charizard could claim
victory, Ash commanded him to use Seismic Toss, not realizing that fighting-type attacks
were useless on ghosts. Thanks to Ash’s ignorance, he missed the
attack and fell to a gut wrenching Shadow Punch. Despite the loss, Ash won the battle anyway,
& entered the Battle Frontier Hall of Fame. Charizard didn’t appear in Diamond & Pearl
but he returned in the Black & White episode Flames of a Red-Hot Reunion shortly after
Ash lost the Unova League & visited a Kanto-themed festival. Seeing a Charmander at the festival made him
nostalgic, so he recapped Charizard’s origin story to his friends, and invited him to rejoin
his team. As is usual for Charizard, his joyous reunion
with Ash was immediately met with an epic battle. Because Iris’ Dragonite shared his goal
of being the strongest, the two instantly caught each other’s eyes, connected as rivals
& vented their aggression against each other on the battlefield. Proving himself forever, the king, Charizard
traded Flamethrowers with Dragonite, jetted though the sky, blocked Thunder Punch, Slashed
through Dragon Rush, & sent Dragonite plummeting with Dragon Tail. Even though N ended the battle prematurely
because he believed Charizard & Dragonite had gained each other’s respect, I can’t
imagine Charizard losing if the battle had continued. The rival Pokemon clashed a second time in
Team Plasma’s Pokemon Manipulation! when Team Plasma mind controlled Dragonite, but
they ultimately grew into the best of friends. Together, they went on scouting missions,
blasted off Exploud, flew into rocks, rescued Mewtwo & palled around with Claire’s Dragonite
when Claire returned to the series in Pokemon of a Different Color. Besides Iris’ Dragonite, Charizard also
formed tight friendships with Ash’s Unova Pokemon. In Team Plasma & The Awakening Ceremony, Charizard
helped them tunnel Ash to freedom & led them in their defense of Ash against the evil organization’s
many Pokemon. While Charizard befriended all of Ash’s
Pokemon, he developed a brotherly bond with Pignite. Though it’s not explicitly confirmed why
they had such a special relationship, I imagine it’s because they share fiery hearts, traumatic
pasts, a passion for battling & a love for setting Ash ablaze. Besides fighting Dragonite & mentoring Pignite,
Charizard spent much of his time in the saga fighting off opponents that threatened his
friends. In defense of his beloved trainer, he torched
James’ Amoonguss in Best Wishes Until We Meet Again & clobbered a wild Ninetales in
Mystery on a Deserted Island. During the battle with Ninetales, Charizard
tanked Energy Ball, missed Dragon Tail, dodged Flamethrower, Slashed through Double Team
& triumphed with Dragon Tail. Ash & Charizard had a wonderful time traveling
together, but their Decalore adventure ended in the Dream Continues when Ash returned to
Oak’s Lab, left his team with Oak & departed for Kalos. Before Ash left, Charizard blasted off Team
Rocket and bid him a heartfelt farewell. Charizard opted to stay at the lab rather
than return to the Valley, but his cameo in Journeys confirmed that he keeps his skills
as a battler sharp by training with Infernape & Ash’s other reserves. It’s currently unknown if Charizard will
produce a baby with Charla, return to the valley or fight in the Master Class, but I
expect him, at the least, to receive an epic send-off when Ash retires as a character. And now for the BATTLE RECORD. Charizard won against: Ash’s Primeape, Erika’s
Weepinbell, Koga’s Golbat, Chopper’s Golem, Wild Exeggutor, Cassandra’s Paris, Blaine’s
Magmar, Richie’s Charmander, a Tauros, Tad’s Poliwrath, Luana’s Marowak, Luana’s Alakazam,
Drake’s Electabuzz, James’ Weezing, Jessie’s Arbok, James’ Victrebell, Jessie’s Lickitung,
Casey’s Pidgey, Casey’s Rattata, Casey’s Chikorita, Falkner’s Pidgeot, Clair’s
Dragonair, Gary’s Scizor, Gary’s Golem, Gary’s Blastoise, Noland’s Articuno, James’
Amoonguss, a wild Exploud & wild Ninetales. He lost to: Erika’s Gloom, Ash’s Pikachu,
Cassandra’s Paras, Mewtwo’s Charizard, Tad’s Poliwrath, Drake’s Dragonite, Charicific
Charizards, Entei, Harrison’s Blaziken, & Brandon’s Dusclops. His one and only tie was with Ash’s Chikorita. Over the course of the series, Charizard used:
Ember, Leer, Tackle, Flamethrower, Rage, Skull Bash,
Fire Spin, Submission, Seismic Toss, Mega Punch, Dragon Rage, Take Down,
Dragon Breath, Overheat, Steel Wing, Wing Attack, Slash, & Dragon Tail
Greninja may rival Charizard as Ash’s MVP, but Charizard will forever be his original
ace. He’s a walking tank whose firepower is nothing
short of amazing. By earning Charizard’s trust, Ash forever
established himself as a skilled trainer worthy of any competitor. What makes Charizard’s narrative growth
so impactful is that he forced Ash to become a better trainer and understand that Pokemon
are living, breathing things whose trauma can hinder their development. Because Charizard played such a huge role
in Ash’s evolution, I sincerely hope the writers respect his legacy & give him a place
on Ash’s team when the latter enters the Master Class. And with that, class is adjourned. I’d want to thank both Skillshare & the
channel’s Patrons as their support has made the continued growth of the channel all the
more possible. If you’d like to watch class early, have
your name appear on-screen when I cover Greninja, & get access to other exclusive perks, make
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subscribe & hit the bell so you’re never late. Until next time, catch you later.
