Charizard
He is the one. The original terrifying dragon (Sorry Dragonite, you are way too cute to terrify me!) The one that evolved not because of his bonding with Ash, but because of the power that was already inside him.
Talk about self-motivation!
If the top battles are counted, I think Charizard will beat all of Ash’s other Pokemon by a fair margin. Yes, it has its share of losses, the most notable ones being beaten by Brandon’s Dusclops (yeah, that was bad), Drake’s Dragonite, and Harrison’s Blaziken (but both of them were damn close!)
If wins are counted, he has gotten the better of
a) Blaine’s Magmar
b) Claire’s Dragonair
c) That irksome Champion Poliwrath
d) Half of Gary Oak’s team in the Johto Silver Conference (including his starter, the overpowered Blastoise)
e) Kicked the ass of Iris’ Dragonite
f) And a friggin legendary, an Articuno!
Combine all these with that mean seismic toss and you have got a Pokemon that can toss you off the edge of the world.
But the real reason Charizard takes the cake is not his power.
It’s his character development…
He starts off as a meek Charmander, abandoned by his previous trainer and sticking to Ash as arguably his most loyal Pokemon.
Then he evolves, after fighting out a bunch of hypnotized Exeggutors and gains a new arrogant teenager look. Brash, overconfident, irritating, and way too-self absorbed in his own style.
He evolves not because of any “conventional reasons”, he does it because his pride is hurt.
He had to get better…
He thought of himself to be the very best, and then he was bettered by a flying Aerodactyl who mocks him for his lack of wings. What does he do?
Simple. He grows wings!
Then, his arrogant traits get amplified, making Ash lose in the Indigo league against a puny Pikachu. At this moment, the six-year-old me hated Charizard with the same panache that I hate another orange dude now.
But every now and then, when his pride is hurt, he goes on to fight. And wins every single one of them.
Until….
He gets his ass royally kicked. By a champion Poliwrath.
He is absolutely outclassed, humiliated, frozen, and rendered helpless.
Here we see the firebreathing nemesis at his lowest, as helpless as he was when found by Ash as an ailing Charmander. And the same guy nurses him back to health, once again.
The next morning….
(Yeah, this is one of my most favorite Anime scene of all time)
He understands that his trainer never gave up on him and his loyalty comes back ten times stronger. With the newfound vigor, he seismic tosses the Poliwrath out of existence.
After a slew of well-fought victories by Ash’s side, he now reaches the Charicific valley where he is comprehensively beaten by more experienced Charizards. Once again, he is found incapable, insufficient, and belittled.
As the trainer, the little guy knows how badly his dragon wants to get stronger.
He leaves him there…
And seasons later, he is the leader of the band of Charizards there. From being outclassed by the weakest ones there to leading the pack.
And getting the girl, of course..!
Charizard has made his own story, one which is worthy enough to be told to his own grandchildren when he has retired in Oak’s lab or the Charicific valley itself.
In many ways, he embodies what the legendary title song of the original series starts with.
“I wanna be.. the very best.. like no one ever was…”
And that, for me, makes him the best Pokemon owned by Ash…
