O Charizard

I have to say that I do have a liking for Charizard. It's one of the most recognizable strong Pokémon from the first generation, no less because it's featured on the cover of the Red Version of the main series games, both the original and remake. It seems anyone who has been involved with Pokémon for a significant amount of time will recognize Charizard. However, anyone who has been with the franchise might also know some of its quirks. Yet even with all that, Charizard stands as a remarkable Pokémon.

Its namesake in English (and to some extent its Japanese name as well) is "lizard", but it's much more than that. It's appearance is more dragon-like, a reptile that has lots of connections to fantasy, and because it has two legs rather than four, it's classified as a wyvern. Its dragon connections become more evident as it fits the archetype of dragons breathing fire, so it's no surprise that it has two Mega Evolutions, one enhancing the dragon aspect, and one enhancing the fire aspect. It's versatile and mighty, which is why it's well-liked by players of the games, and even by characters like Red and Ash.

But then there are the quirks. I've already detailed about its flying quirks, though this is mostly historical and now it's well-established that Charizard has wings that can let it fly and carry people if need be. Its biggest quirk is probably how it behaves in the anime, more specifically how it relates to Ash, as his Pokémon or otherwise. It was unruly at first and for quite a long time, and just as when things got good it had to go in the saddest of ways. And most recently it was part of a decisive turn of events, which was also sad in some ways. These might call into question its mightiness, but this might also be considered relative.

If every story has two sides, then Charizard is definitely a story. It brings wonder in the best of ways, and yet it has also brought wonder in questionable and regrettable ways. It's still remarkable in that it provokes wonder regardless. Anyone involved with Pokémon will surely know of these wonders sooner or later given that they're pretty much set in stone. I'll still have a liking for it, and this may also be the case for Pokémon fans for some time to come.

One year ago: Romanticism of Tall Grasses