Recap: The Fires of a Red-Hot Reunion

Greetings everyone! Happy 20th anniversary of Pokémon! It’s been a wild ride since I put up my recap of “Love, Petalburg Style” four years ago; and since I first got into the series when I was living in California. Much has happened since then, and much more is planned for the landmark 20th anniversary! So, with my 20th anniversary New 3DS by my side; I thought I would do an episode that shows how far we’ve come, but never forgets where we started. Let’s open up “The Fires of a Red-Hot Reunion” and celebrate!

We open on the Unova Region’s Kanto Fair; where Ash, much like me, has a nostalgic feeling in the air around him.

My friends, we've come home.

We then get the theme song for the Adventures in Unova dub; “It’s Always You and Me.” As I pointed out before, it’s a decent tune by Pokémon Company standards, though I admit the themes they’ve been coming up with for the XY dub have been really good (for XYZ, “Stand Tall” manages to capture the hard rock sound of the Japanese theme very nicely).

The title card is also an open invitation to what lies ahead. A world full of fantasy and fun. 

Amid all the partygoers; everyone sees a video presentation by Professor Oak on the starter Pokémon one can receive in Kanto: Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle.

When N asks about Pikachu; Ash explains that he got him because he arrived late when he started his journey. 

As a dancer with a Charmander takes the stage; N is spellbound by the ceremony, despite not being familiar with the species of Pokémon.

On the subject of Ash scanning Charmander with the Pokédex: I personally don’t have a problem with it; as trainers in this franchise have done weirder things. Red sat on a mountain for two years; Yellow pretended to be a boy, and Green stuffed Poké Balls down her dress as a “booby trap,” so to speak.

Later that night; Ash decides to tell the story of his own Charmander over drinks with his friends. He remembers it like it was only yesterday. 

As you know, Charmander was abandoned by an abusive trainer known as Damian; and Ash; Misty and Brock rescued him. When Damian saw how powerful he truly was; he tried to get him back, but Charmander saw through his trainer’s cruelty and joined Ash instead.

By jove; the reanimated flashbacks here are gorgeous. Even when covering old ground; I have grown to appreciate how great this series is at making old concepts new again. Just look at these stills and tell me they weren’t giving it their all.

As you can see; these episodes featured are key moments of Ash’s journey in the original series, such as his gym battle with Koga. I may consider doing a gym battle showcase in 2017 before I retire. I want to be done with class so I can get a job in my field.

As time passed; their bond grew, so much that Charmander evolved into an unruly Charmeleon! 

Further down the line; he became an even more powerful Charizard! 

He was a very powerful Pokémon; but at the cost of the respect for his trainer. As a result; his time at the Indigo Plateau ended in defeat. This isn’t the last time this sort of thing happens either; though admittedly, it did get better with time.

Even so, Ash concludes he’s a big help; and an even bigger friend.

Regarding the “Who’s that Pokémon” segment: like I could ever forget.

As the story continues, Iris, Cilan and N wonder why Ash doesn’t still have him around.

Ash then says that when he reached the Charicific valley in Johto; Charizard learned one of the universal truths and themes in the series: no matter how good you think you are, there’s always someone better. 

Moved by his desire to get stronger; Ash ultimately decided to leave Charizard behind as he continued to get stronger. This is another trait that sets him apart from Alan: by limiting his reliance on more powerful Pokémon; it generates anticipation from the audience for their next appearance and allows new allies to shine. Thus, it makes the character more satisfying when he reappears after being absent for longer periods of time. That is why I feel Ash’s bond with Charizard and his other Pokémon (and by that proxy, Red’s bond with his Charizard) is more genuine than Alan’s bond with his, on a personal level. It just felt more human to me. I’ll address the manner further whenever I decide recap some of XYZ; but this is also what’s going to set the two apart in that arc: even when Ash finds out Alan’s true intentions (and he will), I genuinely believe that Ash doesn’t have it in his heart to take the same actions Alan did in the Strongest Mega Evolution acts (and is currently taking in XYZ); which is ultimately going to lead to Alan’s undoing. 

Inspired by Ash’s story, his friends encourage him to bring Charizard back for them all to see in person. Ash agrees; and has him sent over from the Charicific Valley in exchange for Unfezant.

He sends out Charizard; and everyone basks in his glory. As an icon of the bestselling video game series; if Pikachu represents the “cute” side of things, Charizard definitely represents the “cool” side of things for my money; even if my favorite is Lucario. 

They also give each other a fist bump to welcome each other back; seeing as this first aired in 2013. For the record, I did like the retro-90s aesthetic that BW had; and I’m also liking how the same thing is occurring in XY. I can only imagine what they have planned for the inevitable rebrand for Sun and Moon. While Origins proved that alternative adaptation targeted at someone my age could work; my ideal reboot, if I were in charge, would be something akin to Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark; with elements of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for handling large amounts of characters. A sort of hard-PG, possible PG-13 action/adventure series if you will (I would not do a hard-R version like that fan trailer that everyone but me liked). 

Yet, when the other Pokémon meet him; Iris’ Dragonite does not take a shine to Charizard. At this; Ash and Iris decide to have a battle to break the ice. 

The battle that ensues is a simply wonderful experience between friends. The way the animation is handled to reintroduce this character to the series: the angles, the lighting, the way the characters move: it’s one of the many reasons I love this episode.

Charizard, however, has one more trick up his sleeve: Dragon Tail! Now that’s impressive!

N then declares the battle a draw. Also, is N Prattkeeping these Pokémon?

Iris is impressed with Charizard’s strength; in her words, “After all, it is a dragon type.” You guys only get one, Iris haters. I’ve already made clear I like her in past recaps.

Once Ash clarifies Charizard is a Fire/Flying type; she is aghast at the fact she’ll be unable to train one, not that it stopped her from keeping an Emolga and an Excadrill, nor the Mega Evolution that looks kind of like a Night Fury. You all know what’s coming; guys. As I said, you haters only get one.

Stupid! You're so stupid!

Be that as it may, Charizard rejoins Ash and Pikachu on their journey as I celebrate 20 years. No matter how long it takes, we’re not going anywhere.

“The Fires of a Red-Hot Reunion” is truly worthy of being my favorite episode of Best Wishes; as with most of my favorites, it displays the best of its saga in one episode. Full of great animation and homages to its lineage; it’s the ideal way to reintroduce one of the big mascots of the franchise.

With that on the table, this is going to be my last Pokémon episode recap for a while. I’m going to officially shift my focus on Pokémon recaps to the movies; which I started last year. I will be continuing that pattern with the third movie in April; while other recaps will occur in March. Since Yo-Kai Watch will be launching in Europe in springtime; I’m going to do more of that; as the franchise so far has been a nonstarter in the US. I will just have to see where the plans to localize the sequels will go; but for now, I’m going to keep enjoying this 20th anniversary over the coming year. Bang.