History FridgeBrilliance / PokemonTheSeries

--->'''Youtube User:''' Charmander was an abandoned and neglected Pokemon who was left compromised and vulnerable until rescued by Ash, its loyalty to it's previous trainer almost cost it its life. That's bound to have a fundamental effect on its perception of people and any new trainer. As a Charmander Ash was its safety net but I don't think it's a stretch to consider that it even then harbored ill feelings for people. The turning point was evolving into Charmeleon and becoming much stronger and as such not needing a caregiver any longer and evolving again into Charizard only exaggerates those feelings, I believe the subtext of the relationship between Charizard and Ash is that Ash loves Charizard but Charizard is unwilling to accept that bond for fear that it might someday be abandoned again so what does it do? It distances itself from Ash and refuses to listen and it is so over confident in its own power that it chooses to fight only when confronted with a foe it sees as worthy and even then ignores the commands it is given, Charizard wants to prove its strength for itself so that it knows it won't ever again have to be that vulnerable Charmander left alone when it isn't strong enough for its trainer. It was never about badges or being an experienced trainer, that wasn't important to Charizard. The reason their relationship changes is because when Charizard once again finds itself compromised after the battle with Poliwrath Ash stays with it and nurses its injuries until his hands are raw, the situation it always feared plays out and Ash rises to the occasion with an act of care and compassion that allows Charizard to to see the heart of its trainer. The love and respect that it was too afraid to reciprocate for fear of eventual rejection is finally realized and the unbreakable bond between trainer and Pokemon is forged through literal fire and ice. Ultimately Charizard is able to realize its true strength by fighting with Ash and for Ash, the collaboration makes them a better team and better friends. I know it's cliche but as far as I'm concerned it is proof of unwavering love that brings Charizard the ability to trust in its trainer and reach its potential.
** There's also an alternate but similar way to looking at Ash and Charizard's relationship. Charmander was abandoned by Damian for being "weak" but saw that it started to gain his respect when it proved its strength. But then Ash & co. made it clear that they didn't care about that, making Charmander view that he wouldn't have that his battle prowess wouldn't matter with Ash. But then what happened? After Pikachu, he became Ash's main battler as when you look back on it rarely was ever brought out of his ball outside of when the situation was dire. From battling a raging, fully evolved Pokemon by tapping into his inner rage to being in a submerged flooding ship to being lost in the mountains to fighting a Gym Leader who primarily uses status ailments and it starts to paint a picture. Charmander doesn't even seem to like battling, it looks visably uncomfortable in most of its fight (just look at how it performs Ember). The last time we see it as a meak Charmander, not only does it get put in a box with the much more stand-offish Bulbasaur and Squirtle, but it also has to push itself to the limit to stop a heard of fully evolved Pokemon, being congratulated for its strength before evolving and this is probably the moment that Charmeleon thought to itself "Well I guess Damian was right, how strong I am is all that matters. Even my new trainer thinks so. So if that's all I'm good for, then that's what I'll be. I'll show I'm the strongest." This is the birth of his BloodKnight peronality, where it decided it would only battle strong opponents to prove it's stronger and disobeying Ash because by this point it felt Ash didn't really care about him, ONLY how strong he was. So Charmeleon, then Charizard thought "Hey, I'll do they thing you want me to do, just give me someone strong to fight, until then, leave me alone." This was probably exaserbated by the Indigo League, where Charizard thought he was being tough by refusing to fight someone clearly weaker than him...then was declared the loser. So while he did act out more after this, he was more constructive in a passive-aggressive way (like forming a perfect ice sled for Ash but totally not because Ash told him to.) Then we get to Charizard Chills, where Charizard saw Ash selflessly try to save him, rubbing him to keep him warm to point of wearing the skin off his hands, which is the moment Charizard realized that Ash did always care for him, even if he lost. After this moment you can even see more of his happier, goofier Charmander traits start to reemerge. The point is that Charizard wasn't disobeying Ash because of and arbitrary number of badges or because it believed it own hype, it was ACTING the way it THOUGHT Ash wanted it to until it realized that he'd care for it no matter what.

* Iris's [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Iris%27s_Dragonite Dragonite]], which she caught near the end of season 15, doesn't know its species [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Hyper_Beam_(move) ultimate attack]]. It doesn't learn that attack until level 75 in [[Videogame/PokemonBlackandWhite the Unova games]]. So what if the reason it hasn't learned its ultimate attack is because it just evolved from Dragonair? That also explains why it hasn't learned [[UnstoppableRage Outrage]] either.

* Historically Ash has struggled the most with Pokemon who are MightyGlacier type battlers with Torterra, Sirfetch'd, Boldore, and Goodra to a lesser extent being infamous for their tendency to be worfed. Yet Snorlax, the slowest and bulkiest of them al, has frequently shown himself as one of Ash's best Pokemon time and time again? Why? A few reasons.

** James grew up at the peak of nobilty, but his parents clearly don't love him a lot if they were to fake their own deaths to trick James into coming home and marry him to someone he hates. It's easy to see him as the nicest of the two considering he grew up rich; a comming thing with rich kids is that they are sheltered most of their lives so they have a more white vision of the world, which is shown with James several times. And unlike Jessie, James was searching a way to escape their overbearing parents and fiancee, so no wonder he joined Team Rocket. Which noble would think their child joined a criminal organisation?
* Considering how Trip relies mainly on his starter, that being Serperior, all of his team seems to fall behind with almost all of his Pokémon not being fully evolved yet (for all we know). Perhaps Trip didn't have the patience (or the will) to train all of his Pokémon. This might mirror some players in real-life. I mean, who didn't had a file where the only Pokémon they used was their starter?

*** Take all this together and it's not strange that Trip has perhaps the worst track record among Ash's rivals. Players that relies exclusively on one or two Pokémon are known to lose several times in the games.

** Ash on the other hand, was slovenly and unprepared much of the time, essentially relying more on his sheer determination, luck and pity badges to compensate for his lack of preparation and skill. While his potential to be a great trainer was always there, the fact that his journey was inconsistent and oftentimes only met with success due to his opponents being less competent than him meant that by the time he entered the League, he was very arrogant and refused to recognize just how far behind he truly was as a trainer. This is reflected in his lackluster training regime for the many episodes prior to the League itself, and while he might have managed to pull off some good wins due to his creativity and determination, his ultimate loss only proved that those would only go so far in the face of a trainer with far better discipline and skill.
*** It's easy to see the disappointment towards [[HeroicBSOD his behavior after the loss as being too excessively harsh]], especially given that his team was exhausted due to being kidnapped, and having to make it back to the stadium on his own. However, while it was somewhat unfair, it was also not entirely unjustified given that if he HAD been more prepared as a trainer and had done more to improve his team's skills, he likely might not have lost the way he did (or at the least not as badly). After all, the only reason he lost in the end was because of Charizard's discipline problems, something that, regardless of his justified situation for being absent, was the end result of HIS poor training habits and lack of proper discipline. It would certainly explain why he takes training more seriously from that point forward.

*** It's easy to see the disappointment towards [[HeroicBSOD his behavior after the loss as being too excessively harsh]], especially given that his team was exhausted due to being kidnapped, and having to make it back to the stadium on his own. However, while it was somewhat unfair, it was also not entirely unjustified given that if he HAD been more prepared as a trainer and had done more to improve his team's skills, he likely might not have lost the way he did (or at the least not as badly). After all, the only reason he lost in the end was because of Charizard's discipline problems, something that, regardless of his justified situation for being absent, was the end result of HIS poor training habits and lack of proper discipline. It would certainly explain why he takes training so much more seriously from that point forward.

** Gary was a giant punk and jerk who thought extremely highly of himself, and for the longest time had the skills to back it up, especially compared to Ash's sloppyiness and lack of discipline. Furthermore, to inflate his ego, he went and collected more badges than needed and boasted several times that he was the strongest trainer of Pallet Town. However, this same egotism would end up blowing up in his face, both against the dangerous Mewtwo in the Viridian City Gym, and especially afterwards, when his reputation and prior bragging probably would have led to some of the other contestants finding him particularly dangerous. As a result, they probably built some countermeasures for his tactics and caught him flatfooted.

*** It's easy to see the disappointment towards [[HeroicBSOD his behavior after the loss as being too excessively harsh]], especially given that his team was exhausted due to being kidnapped, and having to make it back to the stadium on his own. However, while it was somewhat unfair, it was also not entirely unjustified given that if he HAD been more prepared as a trainer and had done more to improve his team's skills, he likely might not have lost the way he did (or at the least not as badly). After all, the only reason he lost in the end was because of Charizard's discipline problems, something that, regardless of his justified situation for being absent, was the end result of HIS poor training habits and lack of proper discipline.

* Gary losing during the Indigo Plateau makes more sense if you think about it. Just to inflate his ego, he went and collected more badges than needed and boasted several times that he was the strongest trainer of Pallet Town. He must have built a reputation for himself but that must have lead to some of the other contestants finding him particularly dangerous so perhaps they built some countermeasures for his tactics.
** This would be something seen in later leagues, where Ash was fully capable of researching his opponents ahead of time (one notable example being Ash looking up Macy's team to know she has an Electabuzz to deal with Water Pokemon). While this wasn't a feature of Indigo, it is not hard to see this being in place in retrospect.

* While ''Best Wishes'' made the trio more competent as villains, most of their [[TeamRocketWins long term victories]] that actually earned Giovanni's approval tied in with their usual RedemptionPromotion, eg. stopping rival Team Plasma in an EnemyMine with Ash, saving BrainwashedAndCrazy Giovanni from destroying Unova, handing him Pokemon they earned through legitimate circumstances rather than stealing. Even Meowth's HeelFaceMole plot only got so far because he was genuinely helpful to the heroes and did good deeds. It only makes sense that after that, they decide to just go back to doing things their own way, where they do well in benevolent circumstances anyway, something ''XY'' has stayed consistent with.

** Another thing to consider is that the Rocket Trio are kept on because of [[{{Determinator}} their sheer tenacity]]. The simple reality is that out of nearly every Rocket we've seen, the Rocket Trio are the only ones who have ''always'' kept. coming. back. No matter how many times they failed, no matter how many times they've made a mess of things, no matter how many times it would be easier for them to give up and find a better life, they just don't quit. And I think Giovanni, for all of his understandable frustration and varying degrees of displeasure at their incompetence, does to some small degree value that kind of single-minded determination. It's especially something that sticks out given that their former rivals Butch and Cassidy eventually retired, and there are no shortage of random grunts and former friends of the trio who have given up on Team Rocket to pursue other ventures.

** Another thing to consider is that the Rocket Trio are kept on because of [[Determinator their sheer tenacity]]. The simple reality is that out of nearly every Rocket we've seen, the Rocket Trio are the only ones who have ''always'' kept. coming. back. No matter how many times they failed, no matter how many times they've made a mess of things, no matter how many times it would be easier for them to give up and find a better life, they just don't quit. And I think Giovanni, for all of his understandable frustration and varying degrees of displeasure at their incompetence, does to some small degree value that kind of single-minded determination. It's especially something that sticks out given that their former rivals Butch and Cassidy eventually retired, and there are no shortage of random grunts and former friends of the trio who have given up on Team Rocket to pursue other ventures.

* How fitting is that Ash's first Pokemon League challenge ended because his Charizard lost to a Pikachu (by technicality), and now, his Pikachu defeated a Charizard to win the world championships.

* Considering how Trip relies manly on his starter, that being Serperior, all of his team seems to fall behind with almost all of his Pokémon not being fully evolved yet (for all we know). Perhaps Trip didn't have the patience (or the will) to train all of his Pokémon. This might mirror some players in real-life. I mean, who didn't had a file where the only Pokémon they used was their starter?

* Some of Alain's fans were rather enraged that his battle with Leon did him dirty despite winning the Kalos League. But let's face it. Despite being above Ash and Iris, Alain is perhaps the weakest of the Master Eight. Even if he's strong, all the other partecipants were Champions, meaning they were literally the best of the best of their respective regions. And Alain was pitted against the strongest trainer of the world who decided to use his strongest Pokémon right after one defeat. You don't feel as surprised as before are you?
** This is reflected even more later. Diantha is probably even stronger than Alain but Leon defeated her easily, taking out '''five''' of her Pokémon with only his Rillaboom. Poor Alain didn't stand a chance from the very beginning against such an opponent.

* Gary losing during the Indigo Plateau makes more sense if you think about it. Just to inflate his ego, he went and collected more badges than needed and boasted several times that he was the strongest trainer of Pallet Town. He must have built a reputation for himself but that must have lead to some of the other contestants finding him particularly dangerous so perhaps thay built some countermeasures for his tactics.

** Jessie's terrible childhood also explains her extremely vain and selfish personality.

* One of the initial observations of the Masters Eight are in their similar team rosters. If we count Ash's reserves and discount any Pokemon not seen in the anime under their ownership we have three Dragonites (Lance, Iris, and Ash), three Charizards (Leon, Alain, Ash), two Metagross (Steven and Alain), and two Unfeazant (Alain and Ash), and if we add in their game teams the list expands further with such Pokemon as Aggron (Steven and Iris), Haxorus (Leon and Iris), Lucario (Cynthia and Ash), Hawlucha and Goodra (Diantha and Ash), and a fourth Charizard with Lance. Anyone who does see a real life competitive Pokemon tournament would see that this sort of overlap is actually fairly common. While none of them likely went in with that same idea in mind, the same factors would naturally have leaned in on their teams having some similarities.

* Froakie's backstory implies it was a disobidient Pokemon who rejected trainer after trainer due to high standards, something that comes off as an InformedFlaw for the large part. However, the one time it ''did'' disobey Ash was because it was hell bent on paying out Fletchling for upsetting Bonnie. This was immediately resolved by Ash showing he understood what was wrong and reasoning with Froakie, something it is surprised and touched by. In all likeliness, Froakie wasn't a renegade simply because trainers weren't good enough, it was because they didn't get its personality.

* One notable bit about Paul's test battle for Ash before the Masters Eight is that not only did he used the same Pokemon as several of his possible opponents, but they all used very similar moves despite the three Pokemon all having a massive array of moves to potentially use. Lance loves himself a Hyper Beam and Red Gyarados did use Ice Fang against Leon. Cynthia's Garchomp has used Stone Edge, Dragon Claw, and Draco Meteor in the series previously. Of the three moves that Metagross used, two of them, Psychic and Meteor Mash, have been used by Steven's Metagross. The one move that this Metagross didn't share with Steven's known moveset at the time, Agility, was in fact used by ''Alain's'' Metagross.

** On that note, Fishious Rend has a secondary effect where the power of the move doubles if the user attacks first. Dracovish strikes before Dragonite could act, fufilling the requirement for the secondary effect to activate, thus Fishious Rend ended up doing a hefty amount of damage to Dragonite, also enough for a enhanced Ice Fang to finish him off.

** One could suggest the same thing for Squirtle and its [[EleventhHourSuperpower Eleventh Hour Hydro Pump.]]

* One notable bit about Paul's test battle for Ash before the Masters Eight is that not only did he used the same Pokemon as several of his possible opponents, but they all used very similar moves despite the three Pokemon all having a massive array of moves to potentially use. Lance loves himself a Hyper Beam and Red Gyarados did use Ice Fang against Leon. Cynthia's Garchomp has used Stone Edge, Dragon Claw, and Draco Meteor in the series previously. Of the three moves that Metagross used, two of them, Psychic and Meteor Mash, have been used by Steven's Metagross. The one move that this Metagross didn't share, Agility, was in fact used by ''Alain's'' Metagross.

** One ability that a Dracovish can have is Strong Jaw, which increases the attack power of biting moves, and is implied to be Ash's Dracovish's ability as Iris realizes that it is more dangerous up close. The two moves it uses against Dragonite are Fishious Rend and Ice Fang, two moves that are powered by Strong Jaw.
** On that note, Fishious Rend has a secondary effect where if the user attacks before the target, the attack power of the move doubles. Dracovish strikes before Dragonite could act, fufilling the requirement for the secondary effect to activate, and if one considers the possibility of Dracovish having Strong Jaw, Fishious Rend ended up doing a hefty amount of damage to Dragonite, also enough for a enhanced Ice Fang to finish him off.