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Ash's problem child and the subject of one of the best character redemptions in the Pokemon anime, Charizard, is among the most memorable creatures from the franchise's longest-running anime series. Being one of Ash's first Pokemon he ever caught, Charizard has had a lot of screen time over the years, making for some truly memorable battles.
Though Charizard had some great battles as Charmander and Charmeleon, most of Charizard's best moments came when it reached its final form. With the first run of the anime coming to an end, being replaced with Pokemon Horizons, it can make for a fun nostalgia trip to look back on these best moments for Ash's famous Charizard.
Note: This article is subjective and reflects the views of the writer.
Charizard's five best battles in the Pokemon anime
1) Gary
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During the Silver Conference, Ash faced off against Gary Oak. In this battle, Charizard showed exactly why it is one of the greatest battlers in the anime by taking down three of Gary's Pokemon, winning Ash the match. Charizard successfully managed to take down Gary's Scizor, Golem, and Blastoise, with the latter two having the advantage over Charizard due to their typing.
This battle was filled with high-intensity moments and smart strategic thinking. Using fire to superheat the ground, Charizard forced Blastoise to create an opening by shooting water on the battlefield to cool it, creating steam. This steam granted Charizard the perfect chance to close the distance on Blastoise, allowing it to finish the fight with its iconic Seismic Toss attack.
2) Noland's Articuno
Returning from its training in Johto to assist Ash with his Battle Frontier challenge, Charizard faced Noland's Articuno in a 1v1 battle. Being the first time one of Ash's team has taken down a Legendary Pokemon, this was a big moment for Ash's battling career, as well as marked a significant milestone in Charizard's training.
Ash temporarily released his Charizard in the Johto region at a sanctuary for Charizards to train. As such, Charizard, seeing that it could now take down such a powerful foe, helped the dragon see how much it improved.
However, this was only one of Charizard's many special appearances in the anime, for when Ash needed to assemble his A-Team for an important fight.
3) Charizardtwo
In the first Pokemon movie, Charizard goes head-to-head with its own clone. Before the fight in the movie, Charizard had its DNA extracted and used to produce a stronger copy of it. These clones would be the creatures Mewtwo uses, claiming to be the strongest trainers in the world, to battle the other top trainers it invited to its island.
Two powerful dragons taking to the air for a fight without trainer intervention is rare in the franchise. Though Charizard did lose the battle, given that the clones were engineered to be better than the originals, the fight was still a scene to behold.
4) Entei
Charizard made one of its iconic surprise appearances during the third Pokemon movie just in time to save Ash from a fatal fall, rescuing him before going in on the Legendary Pokemon who put him in danger, Entei. Though Charizard eventually lost the fight, the battle sequence between the two was one of the film's highlights.
During the fight, Entei was being assisted by the powers of the Unown, which rescued the Legendary Pokemon when Charizard had it right where he wanted it. If Entei played fair, it would be safe to say that the movie would have gone much differently.
5) Iris' Dragonite
In the same episode where Charizard joins Ash for the rest of his Unova adventures, Iris' aggressive Dragonite challenges it to a battle, hosting a drive for battling just like the Fire-type. This fight was a great chance for fans to see that Charizard has not gotten rusty over its time away from Ash, being the strongest it has ever been.
Charizard could withstand some very impressive attacks from Dragonite, like Dragon Rush and Thunder Punch, but the fight was eventually cut short by N before Charizard could remind Dragonite who the real dragon of the cast is.
Nevertheless, the higher quality of animations really shows the power both of these creatures possess, making for one of the most visually impressive battles in the season.
