BW118: The Fires of a Red-Hot Reunion!

March 7, 2013

***The Fires of a Red-Hot Reunion!*** (燃えよリザードン！VSカイリュー！*Burn, Lizardon! VS Kairyu!*) is the 775th episode of the Pokémon anime series. In this episode, Ash is reminded of his home region, Kanto, due a festival he and his friends are at, and he reunites with an old friend.

## Episode Summary

Ash, Iris, Cilan, and N arrive in a town which is having a Kanto fair. The fair brings back a lot of memories of Ash's past journeys and of his homeland which makes him nostalgic and excited. N makes the connection that Ash is feeling this way because he's probably from the Kanto region, which is reassured by Ash. While they're enjoying the fair, Ash hears a familiar voice on a screen to find it is Professor Oak talking about the starter Pokémon you can obtain in the Kanto region. This results in N asking who he chose for his first Pokémon and Ash said that Pikachu was his first, due to him waking up too late and Pikachu being the only Pokémon left. At the end of the speech given by Professor Oak, a woman appears and shows them one of the Kanot starter Pokémon, Charmander. This Charmander was very excited and put on a show for the people watching. However, during the show it ended up getting slightly injured and was taken to the Pokémon Center.

While Charmander was being looked at by Nurse Joy, Ash started remembering his Charmander. This confused Cilan as he thought Pikachu was his first Pokémon, but Ash explained how he received Charmander, which resulted in a flashback. Ash explained that during his travels in Kanto, he, Brock, and Misty ran into a Charmander that was laying on a rock with a leaf over it's head during a rain storm and a flock of Spearow. The flame on it's tail was really dim, which was a sign that it was getting weak. Therefore, the three of them rushed it to the nearest Pokémon Center where Nurse Joy looked after it. However, Charmander left the Pokémon Center to return to the rock to wait for its trainer where it eventually saved Pikachu from Team Rocket. Noticing it's true strength, it's old trainer, Damian returned asking it to come back with him. Charmander refused to go back with Damian, realizing how selfish Damian was. Instead, Charmander decided to join Ash's team.

Ash further explained that he and Charmander have experienced a lot over the years. He told them of how it helped him catch a Ash's Primeape, getting him a victory in the Fucshia Gym, and keeping him, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Pidgeotto, and Pikachu warm. The time where Charmander evolved into Charmeleon and become disobedient. Despite this, he explained that he kept using it so much that it soon evolved into Charizard to battle against an Aerodactyl and was still disobedient. While he may not have listened to Ash, he explained to the group that Charizard still got him out of tight spots in battles, but did lose him some as well, including his battle in the Indigo Plateau.

This is when the flashback is interrupted by Iris who was confused on how Charizard was acting like this, given how he was as a Charmander. Cilan reminded her that this is very similar to how her Excadrill behaved a little while ago, which lead Ash to continue his story about his Charizard. Ash explained that during battle against a Poliwrath, he became frozen due to the Poliwrath's Ice Beam which resulted in its first lost as a Charizard. However, Ash did not give up on Charizard and instead stayed with it all night while it recovered. This resulted in Charizard realizing that Ash was unselfish and began to then listen to Ash from then onward.

Again, Iris interrupts to ask where Charizard is now and Cilan also wonders the same thing since Charizard was such a powerful asset to his team. Ash explained that he and his friends came up to a place called the Charicific Valley where there are many powerful Charizards there who are looked after by a woman named Liza. Ash and Charizard soon realized that while they were strong, there were many more Pokémon that were stronger, especially when it came to other Charizards. This resulted in Ash making a very difficult decision; he told Charizard to stay at the Charicific Valley where he could train and become stronger. The flashback ends when he runs off crying after saying good-bye to Charizard with Brock, Misty, and Pikachu following after him.

At the end of his story, the Charmander and the woman who owned it came out to see Ash and his friends. They were all relieved to see that Charmander was doing fine now. Ash, after remembering all the good times he shared with his Charizard, decided he wanted to bring Charizard back to his roster. This excited Iris and Cilan as they wanted to both see a Charizard in person as well as see how the bond between Ash and him was. So, Ash called up Professor Oak and asked to get Charizard from the Charicific Valley for him. When Oak received Charizard, he asked Ash which of the Pokémon he had on him at the time that he wished to send to him for the trade. Ash chose to send his Unfezant to Oak in exchange for his Charizard. Oak was delighted at the news because Ash's Swellow and Staraptor could then have flying speed races now that a third flying-type was coming over.

Eager to see Charizard, Ash goes to the battlefield outside of the Pokémon Center and calls out his old friend, Charizard. Charizard greets Ash with one of its most notable moves, Flamethrower, for which Ash compliments his move. N notices now strong of the bond that both Ash and Charizard have. To further greet Charizard, Ash and Iris call out their Pokémon, but when Charizard and Iris' Dragonite's eyes meet, a fierce look appeared in both of their eyes. This resulted in both Charizard and Dragonite to have a battle. During this battle, Charizard is shown to have learned three new moves: Wing Attack, Slash, and Dragon Tail. The battle was leading to Charizard's favor, however the battle was then called a draw by N, stating that both Dragonite and Charizard now know each other's strengths and both were now satisfied, which both Charizard and Dragonite agreed.

The episode ends with Ash deciding to take Charizard on the remainder of his Unova journey which resulted in Charizard happily shooting his Flamethrower into the sky.

## Characters

### Reucurring

Human
* Ash
* Iris
* Cilan
* N
* Professor Oak
* Tracey
* Nurse Joy (one was in a flasbhack)
* Brock (flashback)
* Misty (flashback)
* Jessie (flashback)
* James (flashback)
* Koga (flashback)
* Tad (flashback)
* Damian (flashback)
* Liza (flashback)
* Various crowds of people
* Female announcer

Pokémon
* Pikachu (Ash's)
* Axew (Iris')
* Meowth (Team Rocket's, flashback)
* Oshawott (Ash's)
* Pignite (Ash's)
* Snivy (Ash's)
* Boldore (Ash's)
* Excadrill (Iris')
* Emolga (Iris')
* Dragonite (Iris')
* Togepi (Misty's, flashback)
* Audino (Nurse Joy's)
* Magikarp (Magikarp salesman's)
* Bulbasaur
* Charmander
* Squirtle
* Charmander (Kanto Fair host's)
* Spearow (multiple, flashback)
* Golbat (Koga's, flashback)
* Aerodactyl (flashback)
* Magmar (Blaine's, flashback)
* Pikachu (Ritchie's, flashback)
* Poliwrath (Tad's, flashback)
* Charizard (Liza's, flashback)
* Dragonair (Clair's, flashback)
* Blastoise (Gary's, flashback)
* Articuno (Noland's, flashback)
* Charizard (multiple, flashback)
* Pidgeotto (Ash's, flashback)
* Charizard (Ash's)
* Charmander (Ash's, flashback)
* Charmeleon (Ash's, flashback)
* Bulbasaur (Ash's, flashback)
* Squirtle (Ash's, flashback)
* Primeape (Ash's, flashback)

Items
* Poké Ball
* Pokédex

## Errors

* During one of the flashback episodes, Snow Way Out!, Ash's Pidgeotto had the feathers on its head recolored to yellow instead of pink, to fix the mistake made when the episode was released.
* In the episode Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon, one of the legs of Aerodactyl is orange like Charizard during a scene.
* When Ash and his Charizard were in the Charicific Valley, there is a time where one of the sleeves on Ash's shirt is blue instead of white.
* Right before Ash exchanges his Unfezant for his Charizard, Professor Oak's eyes are brown instead of black.
* When the episode zooms in on Charizard's Poké Ball in Ash's hand, the cuff of one of Ash's hands is green, resembling the color of his cuffs during the Hoenn and Sinnoh series.
* When Dragonite is first released from it's Pokéball it's antennae are orange like the rest of its body.

## Trivia

* The last time Ash's Charizard was seen was in the episode Pace - The Final Frontier!. This marks over 300 episodes since it's last official appearance.
* In a flashback with Ash's Charmander versus a Ash's Primeape, that was the first time Ash's Primeape has been seen since it's departure to train with Anthony, over 740 episodes ago (ignoring openings).
* Misty (anime) made her first vocal appearance since The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon in this episode.
* Tracey made his first personal appearance since Following A Maiden's Voyage!, over 300 episodes ago.
* Even though Charizard is part flying-type, this was the first time that Ash's Charizard has used a flying-type move.
* Continuing tradition, the Magikarp Salesman appears in this episode, like he does at least once per series.
* The only region-specific clothing Ash is not seen wearing in this episode is the one he wears in the Sinnoh region, due to Charizard not making an appearance during that series.
* Throughout all of the flashbacks, many animations and voice changes were made to reflect their respective current standings. Such things include the eyes of Ash, his Pokémon, and the voices of some trainers (including Ash, Misty, Brock, and other minor appearance trainers).