I think I speak for a lot of old-school Pokemon viewers when I say that this episode marks the end of the "golden era" of Pokemon anime. It's not that there's a clear drop-off after this episode, but after several years of Pokemon mania, the fever was starting to wear off, and saying goodbye to an old favourite does feel like the right time to break away from the show. Charizard is second only to Pikachu in terms of popularity and recognizability in Ash's party, and while Ash has parted ways with his Pokemon before, this time really felt like the show was moving on and ready to leave old favourites behind. At the time of airing, this was the last episode I watched; I didn't believe that the show could recover from losing Charizard. Upon rewatch, I'm much less opposed to Ash and his Pokemon going their separate ways. I like the addition of new companions and Pokemon as time goes on, and Charizard had his time in the spotlight. It was time to open up some space for new friends to join Ash.
Before all that's done, we have this episode; the goodbye episode. It was much less saccharine than I remembered it as. There wasn't an emotional montage at the end, but rather Ash just runs away from a proper goodbye. As much as Ash has matured from his early days, his stubbornness and emotional immaturity are still clear as day in this episode. Charizard matches that energy by refusing to be rejected from the Charicific Valley, and stays in the water overnight while keeping his tail above the surface. Charizard shows a ton of personality in this episode: stubbornness, eagerness, respect for the other Charizard, respect for Ash, and he gets knocked around a lot.
Team Rocket plays the rare role of friends this episode, watching Charizard from the distance with admiration in their eyes. It's quite sweet, and they give Charizard an opportunity to show his strength by the end, helping him earn his spot in the Valley.
I doubt I'll ever give a Pokemon episode a 10/10...it's just not that high quality of a show. But, for what it's worth, this is pretty excellent by Pokemon standards. For people who watched this episode when it aired, it certainly felt like the show was moving on from us, and this was about as tough of a goodbye as we had experienced thus far in the show's run. This is a benchmark episode for Pokemon that will tug on your heartstrings if you've been along for the ride since Ash rescued that abandoned Charmander way back when...
Before all that's done, we have this episode; the goodbye episode. It was much less saccharine than I remembered it as. There wasn't an emotional montage at the end, but rather Ash just runs away from a proper goodbye. As much as Ash has matured from his early days, his stubbornness and emotional immaturity are still clear as day in this episode. Charizard matches that energy by refusing to be rejected from the Charicific Valley, and stays in the water overnight while keeping his tail above the surface. Charizard shows a ton of personality in this episode: stubbornness, eagerness, respect for the other Charizard, respect for Ash, and he gets knocked around a lot.
Team Rocket plays the rare role of friends this episode, watching Charizard from the distance with admiration in their eyes. It's quite sweet, and they give Charizard an opportunity to show his strength by the end, helping him earn his spot in the Valley.
I doubt I'll ever give a Pokemon episode a 10/10...it's just not that high quality of a show. But, for what it's worth, this is pretty excellent by Pokemon standards. For people who watched this episode when it aired, it certainly felt like the show was moving on from us, and this was about as tough of a goodbye as we had experienced thus far in the show's run. This is a benchmark episode for Pokemon that will tug on your heartstrings if you've been along for the ride since Ash rescued that abandoned Charmander way back when...
