Okay, let's go over the basics for this Pokemon trio, starting with Charmander:
"Charmander, known as Hitokage (ヒトカゲ?) in Japan, created by Ken Sugimori, first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise. The end of a Charmander's tail is alight with a flame, and the flame's size reflects both the physical health and the emotions of the individual" (Wikipedia), as constantly seen in the anime. "Charmander is a starter Pokémon the player can choose from at the beginning of Pokémon Red and Blue, and their remakes, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. In the anime, Ash acquires a Charmander early in the series, and it became one of Ash's most used Pokémon. In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Blue receives a Charmander from his grandfather Professor Oak. Since it appeared in the Pokémon series, Charmander has received generally positive reception" (Wikipedia).
Charmanders name is derived from "Char" relating to it being a fire Pokemon, and the "-Mander" coming from Salamander, the lizard whom Ken Sugimori based its design off of.
"In the anime, Ash acquires a Charmander early in the series. Ash's Charmander originally belonged to a trainer named Damien, who believed it was weak, and cruelly abandoned it, telling it to stay in one spot until he "returned". The Pokémon was very loyal to its trainer, and risked its life sitting in the rain, waiting for a trainer who'd never come back to it. Upon seeing Damien's true colors, Charmander joined Ash (Takegami). It was immediately one of Ash's most used Pokémon. Charmander evolved into Charmeleon during a battle against an army of Exeggutor, and his personality changed completely, becoming a disobedient Pokémon and fighting only when and how he pleased" (Sonoda). But we'll talk about Charmeleon and Charizard later.
The following link is to a video that starts out showing the anime scene where Damien confronts Charmander about coming back into the abusive relationship with him, only the video's uploader twists the ending just a bit. Enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuvLaXVuPUU
Charmander's character has had extremely positive reception since it was first introduced amongst multiple audiences. I have to admit; playing Pokemon Snap, one of the most fun times I had was photographing Charmander and getting to progressively evolve into Charizard. Out of all the starter Pokemon, Charmander seemed the only one you could do this with in the course of a level, whereas you could not with Bulbasaur or Squirtle. Perhaps this was due to Charmander's growing popularity...perhaps not.
Remember this board game?
When first forcing---I mean, Playing, with my family, My mother instantly loved Charmander. At that moment, I questioned whether I truly liked the small fire Pokemon, or if he like Pikachu was a tool to lure in unsuspecting audiences who otherwise would not turn a head toward these japanese pocket monsters.
The "disgustingly cute" Pokemon, as one author described it, claimed a spot as one of the most popular halloween costumes since 1999. The halloween costume concept has transferred across many age demographics, and even into that of cosplay, where people dress up in costume of their favorite character from a television show or book, more so than Charmeleon or Charizard. The reasons for this could be due to Charmander's "cute" factor, or the simplicity of the costume, especially compared to its evolved form Charizard.
The connection of Charmander to that of a lizard has sparked some sexual connotations, as seen below. Apparently, some people can't get their minds out of the gutter on this one:
And the small salamander Pokemon hasn't gone without further controversy; despite its name meaning literally "fire salamander," some thought that charmander meant "life without God" causing negative speculation around the Pokemon. Author Mark Jacobson commented it seemed odd that questioning how a "baby" Pokémon can grow into a "two-hundred-pound monster whose breath can melt boulders'" (Jaconbson). Of course, nevermind the fact, Jacobson, that there are giant pokemon that look like coconut trees, or the pokemon that are shapeshifting purple blobs. No no, those make perfect sense. *facepalm*
I honestly didn't think Charmander was a safe bet to start out Pokemon Red or Blue (or LeafGree and FireRed) with, mainly because Fire is the most disadvantaged at the start of the game. Your first two opponents are Rock and Water trainers, which Fire is pretty "sucky", to put it bluntly, against. Of course, if you can survive past those two, once you get to the Gym Leader Erica and her Grass-types, you'll be smooth sailing...and fire pokemon are a bit rare, so Charmander's not a bad pick necessarily; but for me wanting to start off strong, I wasn't a fan.
At level 16, Charmander hits a stage of Pokemon puberty more so than any other pokemon arguably in the anime/franchise, becoming Charmeleon.
The name obviously connected to Chameleon, Charmeleon is physically and behaviorally different than its previoius evolutionary form. No longer was it the adorable, giant-eyed Charmander that drew "awwwws" from those trying to understand what the Hell Pokemon actually was, but instead was in its "middle" stage; some would consider hte ugliest of the three. Watching the anime, it was like looking at a cute child go through adolescence and basically disown its parent aka Ash Ketchum, its trainer.This was one aspect of Pokemon's plotline that I never understood. Ash and his friends saved Charmander from an abusive relationship and showed it love and affection...and in return, Charmeleon does this:
Charmander isn't a frequently delved into character in the anime or Manga, having small appearances. Clearly, the emphasis leads up to its pre and post-evolutionary forms. Despite Charmeleon's 180 flip in attitude, it was still no match for the evolutionary leap in both power and utter frustration (at least in the anime) that would occur with its final evolutionary form, Charizard.
This was a case of the anime and video games completely confusing each other in my opinion. On one hand, you have Charizard, whom Charmeleon evolves into at Level 36 in the video games. Not only does Charizard become BOTH flying and fire types, but its a pretty powerful pokemon to have in the game. It's the first in the National Pokedex to gain a type upon evolution, and perhaps the only starter pokemon to carry dual types. Many people stated that Charizard showed too rapid an evolutionary jump from a tiny cute lizard to a firebreathing, flying fire dragon...but again, these authors clearly need to keep in mind this is a fantastical franchise....granted, Bulbasaur could be argued as not differing much in its evolutionary appearance, but what about squirtle? Geez, look at MAGIKARP. Seriously, when we get to THAT Pokemon entry, that'll be a fun one. But back to Charizard.
If the video game made Charizard look impressive and a powerful ally, the anime made Charizard look completely the opposite, then make you feel peeved at Ash when this feeling was reversed.
According to Bulbapedia, "From the time of its becoming Charmeleon to the Orange Islands episode Charizard Chills, Charizard refused to obey Ash. After Charizard Chills, however, it became one of Ash's strongest Pokémon, perhaps even stronger than Pikachu. Ash left Charizard in the Charicific Valley with Liza in Charizard's Burning Ambition. It has returned to visit and battle for him on several occasions since then." We all thought that after Pokemon puberty, Charizard would be the mature, badass adult pokemon who would fight alongside Ash....this is the image I remember as a kid associating with Charizard:
Lazy ass Charizard with so much potential, yet wants to sit around and mope. I was so frustrated with this fire lizard as a kid. Of course, as the Bulbapedia article states, eventually Charizard comes around, and fights alongside Ash as potentially his best Pokemon. But then what? Ash gives him away. Wait...what? Really, Ash? Your most powerful Pokemon? I seriously think Ash is either a masochist who likes pain sometimes, or he's relying on the "Power of friendship"...and it just makes me want to punch him.
Either way, that's Charmander and its evolutionary forms in a nutshell. This starter pokemon basically represents the cycle all of us take in our lives: Child to whiny teenager to lazy adult who suddenly becomes responsible and then is handed off to another trainer, visiting every other season. Well...maybe that's not the best metaphor to represent for us. Thanks, Charmander. For being cute, helping our parents like Pokemon, and giving men everywhere another creepy sexual ennuendo for their genitals.
Until next time!
Cheers!
References:
Staff. "2. 一新されたポケモンの世界" (in Japanese). Nintendo.com. Nintendo. p. 2. http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/interview/irbj/vol1/index2.html. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
Stuart Bishop (2003-05-30). "Game Freak on Pokémon!". CVG. Archived from the original on 2008-02-08. http://www.webcitation.org/5VSJaR6xT. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
Chua-Euan, Howard (November 22, 1999). "PokéMania". TIME. http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/99/1122/cover2.html. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
"Charmander – The Stray Pokémon". Junki Takegami (writer). Pokémon. Various. September 22, 1998. No. 11, season Indigo League.
"The March of the Exeggutor Squad". Hideki Sonoda (writer). Pokémon. Various. October 30, 1998. No. 43, season Indigo League.
"Teenage hipster in the modern world ... - Google Books". Books.google.com. http://books.google.com/books?id=iwzTVUMl6i4C. Retrieved 2010-10-01
