Flying Quirks of Charizard

Three months ago, I discussed what it might feel like to ride Pokémon, and in that post I dropped an example - the one of Charizard, which can be said to be in part popularized by Ash riding his in the anime, and now through the Sun and Moon games. Charizard and flying, however, is also tied to a couple of quirks, one old one and one new one, and it is through these quirks that the merits of flying on Charizard can be weighed.

In the games, Charizard initially couldn't learn the move Fly. Even though Charizard had a well-defined height, weight, and physique (that of a wyvern, or a two-legged dragon), it made no sense that it couldn't flap its big wings in the sky and carry people with it. Eventually Charizard became able to learn Fly and game mechanics became in line with logical assumptions while the quirk disappeared. This is a good thing because in my view, respects have been paid in this case; it was only right that Charizard became able to Fly since all the signs were pointing to this as a consequence.

On the newer side of things, Charizard in Alola shares the same fate as Rotom: it's a "tool" Pokémon that is not found in the Alola Pokédex. This leads me to think that both (especially the former) filled in their roles because of their wonder, Charizard in particular being the renowned ultimate form of a starter Pokémon that is popular due to ubiquity. Charizard's flying ability is not affected by this quirk - in fact, this affirms it - but this still remains a bit of a quirk in light of its Alolan presence.

So really, Charizard is meant to fly and be flown on by its anatomy, and it's a common wonder for many Pokémon Trainers. In either case (and taken together), Charizard is well-deserved for flight opportunities. It's a natural thing given the circumstances; I'm sure Ash and everyone on their Alola adventure would agree on this.