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Charmander, the Stray Pokémon (011)

Red and Blue

Well-Known Member
Upon reflection I'm kind of disappointed that Brock wasn't the one to catch Charizard when he showed the most concern for it.

If OS was more like later seasons and Ash didn't hog all the starters, I wonder if Misty would have caught Squirtle and Brock Charmander?
 

Leonhart

Imagineer
Upon reflection I'm kind of disappointed that Brock wasn't the one to catch Charizard when he showed the most concern for it.

Takeshi caring for Hitokage's well-being would've also been good foreshadowing for his inevitable Pokemon Doctor career, so it's a shame that he didn't capture Hitokage.
 

Manchee

extra toasty
I think that Brock catching Charmander would have been a odd in the long run, knowing what is to come with Charmander evolving and having a tough relationship with Ash for a while. Anyone who watched this series as a kid can probably still remember that Charizard was Ash's misbehaving Pokémon that always gave him a hard time. That's not something that I think the show could have pulled off with Bulbasaur or Squirtle. Maybe a belligerent Venusaur would have worked, but in the long run it makes sense to me for Ash to be the one to catch it in the end.

Also, Damian's accent was so bad, but I thought it was hilarious at the same time. It made me think of him as trying to put it on to seem cooler. His character was definitely trying to show off, and I think it's a little trait to give him that makes him sound so haughty and dumb, which is comedic, haha.
 

Leonhart

Imagineer
Also, Damian's accent was so bad, but I thought it was hilarious at the same time. It made me think of him as trying to put it on to seem cooler. His character was definitely trying to show off, and I think it's a little trait to give him that makes him sound so haughty and dumb, which is comedic, haha.

I remember disliking his English dub voice, although what I disliked even more was how he was bragging about abandoning Hitokage, which was on-par with animal cruelty.
 

gentwoer

Well-Known Member
Upon reflection I'm kind of disappointed that Brock wasn't the one to catch Charizard when he showed the most concern for it.

If OS was more like later seasons and Ash didn't hog all the starters, I wonder if Misty would have caught Squirtle and Brock Charmander?


I honestly wonder if that wasn't the original intention? It really seemed like Brock was suppose to get Charmander and then something last minute happened and the writer got a note from Gamefreak or Nintendo that no Ash needs to have all the Red/Green/Blue starters. Of course if Brock had captured Charmander while it probably would have been one of his most used Pokemon I bet it would have been lucky to evolve into Charmeleon by the end of Johto.

Really it didn't seem to be a reason to show Brock's concern for Charmander if it wasn't intended for him before executive meddling. The only real foresahdowing to Ash getting Charmander is saying he was disappointed he didn't get one (but not really because iirc Squirtle was his first choice and then Bulbasaur and then Charmander and he fanboy'd waaaay more over Bulbasaur in his debut than he did Charmander)

And bulbasaur evolving into a disobedient Pokemon would have made more sense anyways since Bulbasaur was the least trustful around trainers to begin with even thinking they were abandon in the island of the giant Pokemon episode. And plus I think Venusaur would have gotten a lot more love if it was the starter that got to fully evolve in the anime.
 
Wow, so Ash got Charmander for no reason. How many times did Ash get something without really earning it in Kanto?? I would've rather seen Brock get Charmander.
 

gentwoer

Well-Known Member
Wow, so Ash got Charmander for no reason. How many times did Ash get something without really earning it in Kanto?? I would've rather seen Brock get Charmander.

If we don't count his starter (and we shouldn't) he only had Charmander and Squirtle of all the Pokemon he got in Kanto just given to him. He caught the rest. And then he did earn 3 and half badges.
 

Daizy

I call you honey
The best part of this episode was when Charmander and Pikachu taught Damien a lesson (how was he able to have so many Poke balls?)

It grinds my gears that Charmander had to punish Damien when all of this could've been avoided if Nurse Joy had taken matters into her own hands. She knew Damien's cruelty but she didn't intervene.
 

Leonhart

Imagineer
It grinds my gears that Charmander had to punish Damien when all of this could've been avoided if Nurse Joy had taken matters into her own hands. She knew Damien's cruelty but she didn't intervene.

She wasn't a police officer like Junsa, so Joi couldn't have punished him for his abusive tendencies toward Hitokage.
 

gentwoer

Well-Known Member
Rewatching this episode I stand by that Brock should have gotten Charmander but then it probably wouldn't have evolved past Charmeleon and probably even then not until the Johto saga. I guess the in-universe reasoning (besides the obvious meta reason that they wanted the main character to advertise the red/blue starters) was that Ash would use Charmander more for battling or something.
 

KyogreThunder

Call of Fate
Good episode. I felt sorry for Charmander waiting for Damien to return even in the rain, and for the group when Pikachu accidentally zapped them. Why did the Spearow even attack Charmander when he moved? I was glad to see Damien zapped and torched at the end of the episode. 8/10
 

Leonhart

Imagineer
gentwoer said:
I guess the in-universe reasoning (besides the obvious meta reason that they wanted the main character to advertise the red/blue starters) was that Ash would use Charmander more for battling or something.

Sadly this is likely the reasoning, which in a way was a smart decision since we all know how little Takeshi did in Kanto by the end of it.
 

Mega Altaria

☆~Shiny hunter▢~
Just rewatched this episode last night and to this day, I still get sad when I see Charmander sitting on the rock in the rain, waiting on Damien and hoping his flame go out. I think the Charmander evolutions have been one of favorites ever since.
Yeah, it’s such a sad sight to see an abandoned Charmander in that condition. Damien treated it like trash so I don’t like him. And then a very emotional bit is it still retained its full trust in him and I remember it running back to him once it saw him again. And it got kicked away.
 

Leonhart

Imagineer
PorcelainVulpix said:
Just rewatched this episode last night and to this day, I still get sad when I see Charmander sitting on the rock in the rain, waiting on Damien and hoping his flame go out. I think the Charmander evolutions have been one of favorites ever since.

It's interesting that his treatment began a trend when it came to Satoshi catching abused Fire-types such as Cotoise, Hikozaru, and Pokabu. But Hitokage's scenario is the only one that genuinely makes me feel sad.
 

Leonhart

Imagineer
TomRC121991 said:
I wonder how Pikachu got out of the balloon after Charmander beat Team Rocket when we didn't see how it got out.

Satoshi probably popped the balloon. It seemed really sturdy since Pikachu couldn't get out himself, but maybe Satoshi used something sharp.
 

Captain Jigglypuff

Leader of Jigglypuff Army
Damien definitely got what he deserved. He doesn’t deserve to train Pokémon.
 

Leonhart

Imagineer
Captain Jigglypuff said:
Damien definitely got what he deserved. He doesn’t deserve to train Pokémon.

I kind of wish that the police had gotten involved here, though. What he did crossed the line since his actions could've killed his Pokemon, yet all he got was a bad burn and then just ran away like a coward with no other repercussions.
 
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