Recap: File 4-Charizard

We now conclude my look at Pokémon Origins with Part 4-Charizard!

Red has beaten the Elite Four, but Lance tells him there is one more challenge to face: the champion! It's Blue! With great vigor; Red steps up to the challenge to take on his rival. The battle goes on with attack after attack until it comes down to Red's Charizard and Blue's Blastoise. They are on much more even footing than the match at the start of the special; though they are both much more powerful. Blastoise even takes a punch to the face and his glare doesn't even break! Even so, Red wins! So he becomes champion. Wow. They weren't messing around when they made this special; were they?

So, now Red's next task is filling in the blank spaces in his Pokédex, which is standard procedure for me when I beat the Elite Four and Champion in the games. Pokémon of note include his capture of Pikachu; essentially the Mickey Mouse of the franchise and as big a Nintendo icon as Mario, Link, or Samus. There's also his adventure in the Safari Zone. The bait! Throw the bait!

He also gets the legendary birds: we see him get Articuno in the Seafoam Islands; but it's not shown when he gets Zapdos in the abandoned power plant and Moltres in Victory Road. Yet, the Ultra Balls dissolved over their bodies are all we need. 

Red returns to Pallet Town, and finds Blue lying in bed covered in bandages. Professor Oak is by his side; and Blue's Pokédex is broken. It seems he went after Mewtwo; and he's every bit as threatening as he has been in prior adaptations. Professor Oak then reveals that Red will need the Mega Stones to capture him. 

Red goes to the cave by Cerulean City; and Mewtwo is waiting for him. Not even the Legendary Birds stand a chance against Mewtwo. Charizard is the last Pokémon; but he and Red are knocked into the water! As Red and Charizard lay adrift; Red then activates the Mega Stones! Behold! Mega Charizard X! I'm enjoying the design of him; with the black skin and blue flames. I'm getting a kind of Night Fury vibe looking at him. With this, Red defeats and captures Mewtwo! With an Ultra Ball, no less! 

Red returns home to celebrate his completion of the Pokédex; but then he announces his next task: finding Mew, as he drifts by Red's window! It's as organic a sequel hook as you can find; akin to Luke getting a new hand and vowing to stop the Empire once and for all, Nick Fury showing up at Tony Stark’s house; or Emmett "Doc" Brown inviting Marty to come back to the future to help his children.

I can say I was satisfied with this last part of the special, as well as its entirety. While I agree that the finale is a bit rushed; it does do a very good job of tying up the loose ends, as well as leaving an opening for more specials if they desire. I'd be open to the idea of it, but it's really up to the creators to decide. Since reception to this special has been roundly positive, I can say it could happen. 

However, as much as I like how they were able to pull off a direct-to-game adaptation and show Red; I can say that Ash and the main anime are not without merit. I have taken very great care to give newer seasons and newer games a chance; as well as point out there are far worse characters and merchandise-driven anime out there. If I took one character or adaptation as an opportunity to disparage another, I'd be like I was when I was 13; or a Kotaku writer. In my opinion, Ash and Red would be friends, fighting alongside each other; sharing lunch and occasionally playing Super Smash Bros. Wii U. I would be open to seeing more specials; starting with one centered around Gold and Silver. My answer to the whole Ash or Red debate is taking a third option with Gold. I close with the fact that it's OK to like more than one adaptation and character of Pokémon; much like it's OK to like more than one Jedi Knight or Star Wars movie. I daresay I'm getting off track; but I'm going to wrap this up here.

My last big comparison is this; something I drew even before this special went into production: if the current anime is like the Adam West Batman, then Origins is very much like The Dark Knight. This will not be the last Pokémon-related piece I do on this blog for that reason. With how XY has used its influence to great extent (and not just by the animators taking over the work for the mainline series); I can say the best is yet to come. Bang.