Charmander - The Stray Pokémon

**Charmander – The Stray Pokémon** (はぐれポケモン・ヒトカゲ *Stray Pokémon - Hitokage*, ***Charmander – The Stray Pokémon***?) is the 13th episode of Season 4 of *Guardians of Harmony* and the (TBA) episode of the *Guardians of Harmony* series.

## Summary

*Our friends, lost, discover an injured Charmander. They talk to it and learns that it's been waiting a long time for its trainer to return.*

*Later, at a Pokémon Center, we overhear a Trainer bragging about abandoning his Charmander. Jim confonts the trainer, named Damien, who challenges them to a battle. Nurse Joy and Kyubey break things up and remind everyone that Pokémon and magic are not to be used to settle personal disputes.*

*The Guardians rush to retrieve the Charmander. It's not only threatened by a driving rain that could extinguish its flame, it's also under attack by a flock of Pidgeotto! Fortunately, Thunders is able to make the Pidgeotto scatter so the Charmander could be saved.*

*They return to the Pokémon Center, where Nurse Joy says the Charmander requires an overnight stay.*

*When our friends wake up the next morning, however, the Charmander is gone!*

*Is the Charmander still loyal to the neglectful Damien? Will Damien ever learn that a Trainer must be responsible for his Pokémon? And will the villajns' latest trap finally succeed?*

## Plot

The Guardians apparently lose their way en route to Vermilion City, frustrating Nanette. The group stops to consult Jim's map, and Ash determines that the trail they are following intersects Route 24, which in turn leads straight to Vermilion City. Jim is satisfied and puts the map away. But, as they move, a large shadow suddenly falls across their path. Soon, the sunlight's intensity dims, revealing a Charmander sitting upon a rock. After checking his Pokédex, Ash is happy that he has a chance to catch a Charmander. Marina points out how weak its tail flame is, and that it probably needs help. However, Charmander resists Ash's attempt to catch it. Nanette suggests that he try again, but Ash's second attempt also fails. The Charmander tells the Guardians that it is waiting for someone to come and pick it up. Will decides that if it belongs to someone else, it is best to leave it (with Red bragging how he already has a Charmander, much to everyone's annoyance), but Elizabeth recklessly tries to climb up and grab the Charmander so they can take it to the Pokémon Center since it is ill, only to get attacked by it and sent flying, causing everyone to laugh at her. The Guardians then leave.

Farther down the trail, the Guardians discover the Pokémon Center that is on their map, and they enter just as it begins to rain. Despite Elizabeth's concerns, Nanette reassures her and points out that there is no way the Charmander would have waited around that long. However, they overhear laughter nearby, and look over to see a Trainer named Damian surrounded by a group of friends. They listen in on his conversation, Damian reveals that he had a Charmander, but since it was so weak, he left it on a rock out in the middle of the woods promising to return for it, though he admits he has no intention of doing so. The Guardians conclude that the Charmander they saw and that based on Damian's description are one and the same. This pushes the normally level-headed Jim over the edge, and he confronts Damian, demanding he retrieve his Charmander. He angrily transforms and threatens to punch him with a fist of electricity if he doesn't go and get Charmander immediately. Damian pushes him off, but Ash and Kyoko soon arrive to back up Jim. However, Kyubey stops them and Nurse Joy agrees with her and says that magic or Pokémon are never to be used in personal fights. After Damian and his crew leave, Jim detransforms and the Guardians hurry back to find Charmander.

The Guardians, Kyubey, and the walking Pokémon race back through the pouring rain towards the rock where the Charmander is, and find it under attack from a gang of Spearow. Mikey tries to drive them off by throwing a rock at them, but the Spearow turn their attention to him and his friends. Ash orders a Thunder Shock from Thunders, and he obeys, scaring off the Spearow (although he accidentally shocked the others due to the inclement weather and their wearing raincoats). The group quickly wraps Charmander up in their raincoats and race back to the Pokémon Center, begging Nurse Joy to help. Initially, Nurse Joy is angry at the Guardians, but Julia explains that it was Damian that left the Charmander there, taking advantage of Charmander's loyalty. Madoka and Elizabeth plead with Nurse Joy to save the Charmander, and she promises to do whatever she can. After an intense and distressing wait (with even the normally patient Niu starting to get impatient), Nurse Joy finally comes out of the operating room and reports that Charmander has pulled through, and it will be fine by morning.

Morning arrives, and Nanette's shout causes Melody to fall off the couch. It turns out Charmander has disappeared from the emergency room. Kyubey is certain that the Charmander has simply gone back to the rock. Marina wants to go after it again, but Sayaka points out that it is no use. Even though Damian does not care about it, the Charmander is still stubbornly loyal to him. Although Marina is still disappointed, the Guardians leave the Pokémon Center. Meanwhile, up ahead, the villainous quartet has just finished digging another pitfall trap for the twerps. However, Thunders' and Kyubey's light weight does not activate the trap. Black Hat and Necrosis argue over who is responsible for this failure (with the latter calculating that both of their weight is too light to trigger the trap) until Demencia silences them by striking them with her tongue. The Guardians, being a lot heavier, end up triggering the trap and fall into the hole. The villains then appear, laughing at the fact that their trap worked. Dragonet is about to use Zen Headbutt, but she remembers that she is pregnant and thus battling is a very bad idea.

Necrosis then summons an Allfornothing from the Metal Element Spirit, and the Guardians transform and fly out of the pit while Charmander confronts the villains. Charmander, as translated for the others by Event Horizon, orders them to stop what they are doing. The villains refuse, and warn Charmander to beat it or else. Charmander responds by closing its eyes, focusing hard, and unleashing a massive Flamethrower combined with Hilary's Glimmer Flash, which purifies the Allfornothing and roasts the villains, causing the freed Metal Element Spirit to laugh. They flee, all the while ranting about how Charmander roasted them. They pass Damian in the process, causing him to express shock that Charmander had managed to beat them. The Guardians thank Charmander for its help, and Ash asks Charmander if it wants to come along with him. However, Damian arrives and claims that he has come back for Charmander, just as he promised. Damian goes on to say that abandoning Charmander had made it stronger. Despite retorts from the Guardians and Kyubey, Damian brags about his methods of treating and training Pokémon. When he tries to recall Charmander by throwing his Poké Ball, it rejects him as its trainer by throwing the ball back at him with its tail. Enraged, Damian attempts to attack Charmander with all his Poké Balls. Charmander responds with a Flamethrower, followed by Mist's Psychic, which are aimed at Damian and prompt him to flee. After some negotiation, Ash insists Nanette should have Charmander, and the Fire-type Pokémon happily jumps into Nanette's Poke Ball, and she names her new Pokémon Sunny.

## Characters

### Guardians of Harmony

* Nanette Daisy
* Marina Daisy
* Julia Dreamwalker
* Jim Porter
* Mikey Evoli
* Glorysia Melody
* Elizabeth Storybook
* Nina Aarden
* Ash Ketchum
* Will Brennan
* Emily
* Melody Harmadale
* Madoka Kaname
* Sayaka Miki
* Mami Tomoe
* Homura Akemi
* Kyoko Sakura
* Natasha Flowerton
* Maya Aquaheart
* Hilary Lightfield
* Niu Coco
* Red Fire
* Leaf Green
* Elaine Evefluff
* Chase Sparkbolt
* Daisy Oak
* Abigail Rose Mercia
* Miranda Skylark

### Villains

* Event Horizon
* Demencia
* Black Hat
* Necrosis

### Secondary Characters

* Nurse Joy
* Damian
* Trainers

## Trivia

* The Guardians, while rushing through the rain to retrieve Charmander, wear color-coded raincoats matching their Guardian theme colors (and since Harmony Marks reappear in the same spot whenever their owner changes clothes and always appear on the outermost layer, their Harmony Marks can be clearly seen on their raincoats):
	+ Nanette's is lavender.
	+ Marina's is dark blue.
	+ Ash's is azure blue.
	+ Elizabeth's is sky blue.
	+ Jim's is cyan.
	+ Mikey's is brown.
	+ Glorysia's is bright bubblegum pink.
	+ Julia's is bright magenta.
	+ Nina's is light pink.
	+ Will's is deep reddish-orange.
	+ Emily's is light tan.
	+ Melody's is purple and electric blue.
	+ Madoka's is very pale pink.
	+ Sayaka's is dull blue.
	+ Mami's is dull yellow.
	+ Homura's is black.
	+ Kyoko's is red.
	+ Natasha's is warm rose pink.
	+ Maya's is bright dodger blue (not as bright as cyan but brighter than sky blue).
	+ Hilary's is bright yellow.
	+ Niu's is medium grass green.
	+ Red's is bright red.
	+ Elaine's is burnt orange like Mikey's, but a bit lighter.
	+ Leaf's is bright spring green.
	+ Chase's is golden yellow.
	+ Abigail's is bright pink.
	+ Daisy's is bright blue.
	+ Miranda's is orange.

* The villainous quartet refers to the Guardians as "the twerps" in place of Team Rocket since they don't appear in this episode.
* This is one of the rare times a character threatens to kill another character onscreen, one of the other times being in Season 8 when Giovanni threatens to crush Ash, Nanette, Thunders, and Gigi inside a cube if Meloetta doesn't agree to go with him.
* Unlike the canon episode, due to the large size of the group, the Guardians' and Damian and his friends' positions in the Pokémon Center are swapped: Damian and his buddies sit at the table while the Guardians eat at the large couch by the fireplace.

### Dub Edits

* In the original Japanese version, Damian mentions to his friends that Charmander was so weak that it couldn't defeat a Poliwag. The English version changes it into the weakest opponents, which created a dialog error when Marina immediately remarks Charmander is naturally weak against Water-type Pokémon.
* In the original, Jim threatens to electrocute Damian to death with his electrified fist if he doesn't go and get Charmander. In the dub, he simply threatens to punch him.
* In the original when Charmander burns the villains and forces them to flee, Necrosis screams like the other three and says "Abnormally high temperature detected! Does not compute!" In the English dub, she instead says "DOES NOT COMPUTE! DOES NOT COMPUTE! DOES NOT COMPUTE! LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!"
* In the English dub, tears are added to Madoka's eyes when she begs Nurse Joy to save the Charmander.
* While running through the rain, Will worries about them all getting hypothermia. In the dub, he instead worries about catching pneumonia.
* In the original, the Guardians eat hot nabayaki udon at the Pokémon Center, but in the dub, it is edited to be regular soup and called such.
* Event Horizon's charred face after Charmander roasts the villains is edited to be dark gray since combined with her pink skin, the dubbers were concerned it resembled blackface.