Review S16 E19: The Fires of a Red-Hot Reunion!

[Charmander4]

Why couldn't they just have gotten Michael Haigney to voice Charmander? Not as bad as how they ruined Psyduck and Koffing, but Charmander does not sound the same!

And hey! I made a thread asking if they would correct the animation errors for the dub and they did!

Charmander sounded AWFUL at the beginning of this episode. But the really awful voices today? Brock and Professor Oak...nuff said! XD.

Misty sounds nothing like she used to, but it's not a bad voice, I guess. :/

I agree with you, it's pretty insulting to have Stan Hart back but not having him voice Oak. That was pretty much his only work anyway.

I can watch any episode of 4Kids, but the PUSA dub makes me gag. I had to watch this episode due to how special it was. THey didn't completely ruin it, and strangely enough, the Ash voice is now the most bareable, but it's still not the same. I'm still bitter about no Michael Haigney. His Charmander is perfect, especially since he just whipped it up on a whim.

I completely agree with you, man!

Ash of all the characters sounds the most like he used to in the 4Kids dub now! I remember how AWFUL this same VA, Sarah Natochenny, used to be, too! It's amazingly scary (yet, at least it's nice she does now). She's still lacking Veronica Taylor's natural and emotional charm, but she's a hell of a lot better than the others are. XD.

I'm just so shocked, man. I remember this is the same VA who played BF and DP's Ash. Man, she has improved, big-time! O_O

Damian surprisingly got a really good replacement. Same goes for Squirtle (unless it's just stock footage) and Bulbasaur. These three had the best voices besides Ash today, IMO. XD.

Yes, Damian sounded good. I wasn't expecting that, and I knew his voice would have to be changed regardless since there is no more Maddie Blaustien. Squirtle I believe is voiced by Michelle Knotz and is probably the most spot on impression of any single Pokémon. If I didn't know better, I would say it's still Eric Stuart. Eric Stuart is a little bit deeper, but Knotz voice sounds no different than Squirtle in some later episodes Eric Stuart did, since there is a different pitch depending on the episode since Squirtle was pretty much voiced early on right until the end thanks to May's.

Bulbasaur is different than Tara Jayne, but is bearable. Charmander in some parts sounded OK (in the parts where the voice was louder it sounded more like Michael Haigney), while there were others where it was a cheap imitation. They could've tried harder to mimic the voice, or better yet, pay Michael Haigney for his!

Strangely enough, I feel that when Ash's VA is working with Pokémon Veronica Taylor worked with (the Kanto Pokémon and Johto ones) or doing things like flashbacks to 4Kids episodes, she sounds much better. I thought DP182, when Bayleef, Totodile, Cyndaquil visited Sinnoh was one of her best episodes, along with some of the Sinnoh league (DP185, battling with Noctowl) with those Pokes. Here was similar as well. She sounded pretty good talking to Charmander.

Misty and Brock yelling "Ash" when he was running away from Charizard actually sounded like the old voices, and in some parts Bill Rodgers did fine. Misty was heard so little that I don't even want to compare, though her's was one of the better/less cringe worthy voices in the Mastermind special.

 

[Pokémon Master Ash]

Why couldn't they just have gotten Michael Haigney to voice Charmander? Not as bad as how they ruined Psyduck and Koffing, but Charmander does not sound the same!

And hey! I made a thread asking if they would correct the animation errors for the dub and they did!

Charmander sounded AWFUL at the beginning of this episode. But the really awful voices today? Brock and Professor Oak...nuff said! XD.

Misty sounds nothing like she used to, but it's not a bad voice, I guess. :/

I agree with you, it's pretty insulting to have Stan Hart back but not having him voice Oak. That was pretty much his only work anyway.

I can watch any episode of 4Kids, but the PUSA dub makes me gag. I had to watch this episode due to how special it was. THey didn't completely ruin it, and strangely enough, the Ash voice is now the most bareable, but it's still not the same. I'm still bitter about no Michael Haigney. His Charmander is perfect, especially since he just whipped it up on a whim.

I completely agree with you, man!

Ash of all the characters sounds the most like he used to in the 4Kids dub now! I remember how AWFUL this same VA, Sarah Natochenny, used to be, too! It's amazingly scary (yet, at least it's nice she does now). She's still lacking Veronica Taylor's natural and emotional charm, but she's a hell of a lot better than the others are. XD.

I'm just so shocked, man. I remember this is the same VA who played BF and DP's Ash. Man, she has improved, big-time! O_O

Damian surprisingly got a really good replacement. Same goes for Squirtle (unless it's just stock footage) and Bulbasaur. These three had the best voices besides Ash today, IMO. XD.

Yes, Damian sounded good. I wasn't expecting that, and I knew his voice would have to be changed regardless since there is no more Maddie Blaustien. Squirtle I believe is voiced by Michelle Knotz and is probably the most spot on impression of any single Pokémon. If I didn't know better, I would say it's still Eric Stuart. Eric Stuart is a little bit deeper, but Knotz voice sounds no different than Squirtle in some later episodes Eric Stuart did, since there is a different pitch depending on the episode since Squirtle was pretty much voiced early on right until the end thanks to May's.

Bulbasaur is different than Tara Jayne, but is bearable. Charmander in some parts sounded OK (in the parts where the voice was louder it sounded more like Michael Haigney), while there were others where it was a cheap imitation. They could've tried harder to mimic the voice, or better yet, pay Michael Haigney for his!

Strangely enough, I feel that when Ash's VA is working with Pokémon Veronica Taylor worked with (the Kanto Pokémon and Johto ones) she sounds much better. I thought DP182, when Bayleef, Totodile, Cyndaquil visited Sinnoh was one of her best episodes, along with some of the Sinnoh league (DP185, battling with Noctowl) with those Pokes. Here was similar as well. She sounded pretty good talking to Charmander.

Misty and Brock yelling "Ash" when he was running away from Charizard actually sounded like the old voices, and in some parts Bill Rodgers did fine. Misty was heard so little that I don't even want to compare, though her's was one of the better/less cringe worthy voices in the Mastermind special.

Exactly! Sarah really reminds me of Veronica now. I mean, it's hard for me to say this, because I remember she was the worst of the current VAs at one point. Now, I'd say she's actually...the BEST of the current VAs for prior human characters. What deux ex machina BS is this? ROFL. O_O

I completely agree that Ash, Damian, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur received the best VAs today. The worst for me were Professor Oak, Brock, Aerodactyl, and Charmeleon.

When Bill Rogers was doing the rescuing Charmander scene, he was HORRIBLE. However, he was really GOOD when addressing Damian. Sadly, I personally hate how he yelled when Ash was running away. His voice is way too old-sounding and rough for Brock now. If he'd just lighten his voice up and speak in a higher pitch, he'd be great. He seems to think Brock's voice is supposed to be really deep, when it wasn't at all this deep in the 4Kids dub. *sigh*

What sucks the most is that I KNOW he can do a higher-pitched voice (Ghetsis), yet he chooses not to for Brock. Why? I respect that he tried to make the character his own and I think he is trying his best, but that just voice doesn't fit Brock to me.

 

[Charmander4]

I think all of the VA's are talented, and I don't envy the job they have to do replicating someone else's voice, but when you have almost 10 years of a certain thing, it's impossible to get used to something else. And I very much dislike the politics involved behind the change and think the suits at TPCI can pound sand.

Was Aerodactyl voiced by the Japanese voice in Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon? I don't know why they'd have dubbed him here, along with Spearow, since I know we've heard the Japanese Spearow used several times in the dub. Magmar also made me cringe.

 

[Pokémon Master Ash]

I think all of the VA's are talented, and I don't envy the job they have to do replicating someone else's voice, but when you have almost 10 years of a certain thing, it's impossible to get used to something else. And I very much dislike the politics involved behind the change and think the suits at TPCI can pound sand.

Was Aerodactyl voiced by the Japanese voice in Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon? I don't know why they'd have dubbed him here, along with Spearow, since I know we've heard the Japanese Spearow used several times in the dub.

Same here. I still think they're all talented VA's, but just like you, I dislike them for these parts. That's the issue I have as well. It was after 400+ episodes they decided to recast all the voices. The saddest thing of it all is that they made Veronica Taylor and Rachael Lillis cry. It's just wrong on so many levels ethically and morally. Pokémon doesn't teach you to do things for money: it teaches you to do the right thing, IMO. That was not the case with what TPCi did in 2006.

I think it was in that episode. I think it was dubbed over this one. XD.

 

[Charmander4]

I think all of the VA's are talented, and I don't envy the job they have to do replicating someone else's voice, but when you have almost 10 years of a certain thing, it's impossible to get used to something else. And I very much dislike the politics involved behind the change and think the suits at TPCI can pound sand.

Was Aerodactyl voiced by the Japanese voice in Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon? I don't know why they'd have dubbed him here, along with Spearow, since I know we've heard the Japanese Spearow used several times in the dub.

Same here. I still think they're all talented VA's, but just like you, I dislike them for these parts. That's the issue I have as well. It was after 400+ episodes they decided to recast all the voices. The saddest thing of it all is that they made Veronica Taylor and Rachael Lillis cry. It's just wrong on so many levels ethically and morally. Pokémon doesn't teach you to do things for money: it teaches you to do the right thing, IMO. That was not the case with what TPCi did in 2006.

I think it was in that episode. I think it was dubbed over this one. XD.

Aerodactyl was definitely dubbed here, I've seen the Japanese version several times and it was different. In Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon, Aerodactyl said "Aero" in a really screeching voice and would roar with a screechy noise. None of which was present here.

Also notable, and this probably isn't the dub's doing, but Ash said to Iris and Cilan that Charizard's loss to Poliwrath was Charizard's first loss. Could he mean as a Charizard? I believe Charmander lost to Erika's Gloom (even if it shouldn't have) and Charmeleon "lost" to Parasect.

 

[Pokémon Master Ash]

I think all of the VA's are talented, and I don't envy the job they have to do replicating someone else's voice, but when you have almost 10 years of a certain thing, it's impossible to get used to something else. And I very much dislike the politics involved behind the change and think the suits at TPCI can pound sand.

Was Aerodactyl voiced by the Japanese voice in Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon? I don't know why they'd have dubbed him here, along with Spearow, since I know we've heard the Japanese Spearow used several times in the dub.

Same here. I still think they're all talented VA's, but just like you, I dislike them for these parts. That's the issue I have as well. It was after 400+ episodes they decided to recast all the voices. The saddest thing of it all is that they made Veronica Taylor and Rachael Lillis cry. It's just wrong on so many levels ethically and morally. Pokémon doesn't teach you to do things for money: it teaches you to do the right thing, IMO. That was not the case with what TPCi did in 2006.

I think it was in that episode. I think it was dubbed over this one. XD.

Aerodactyl was definitely dubbed here, I've seen the Japanese version several times and it was different. In Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon, Aerodactyl said "Aero" in a really screeching voice and would roar with a screechy noise. None of which was present here.

Also notable, and this probably isn't the dub's doing, but Ash said to Iris and Cilan that Charizard's loss to Poliwrath was Charizard's first loss. Could he mean as a Charizard? I believe Charmander lost to Erika's Gloom (even if it shouldn't have) and Charmeleon "lost" to Parasect.

Exactly. I knew something was up today with Aerodactyl's voice. It sounded just awful, and nothing like I remember it used to.

Yup, it's not the dub's fault there. That was the original JPN version messing that up. You would be correct about Charmander and Charizard.

I sent you a friend request as well if you'd like to be friends!

 

[GibleKidd]

Easily my favorite episode of BW! Loved it!

Episodes like this just make Ash seem like he's more than an advertising tool. I like how he got nostalgic at a fair centered around his home-region. I like how we got to see him reflect on his travels and his friendship/bond with an old, faithful friend. I like how he didn't seem like a n00b in this episode and he just felt like a normal kid, to a certain extent. (I'm using "normal" a little loose of course, but you get my point.)

Now to the flashbacks of the episodes some of us, definitely myself, grew up with. I wasn't blown away, but I wasn't underwhelmed with the voices. Now, let it be known that besides Jessie, I prefer all of the 4kids actors over the new ones. That's not to say some of the new ones haven't grown on me or I hate all the new ones, though. I actually have no problem with Brock. Koga was fine. With Damien, for a second I actually thought they just kept the clip of his 4kids voice lol, so whoever did him did a decent imitation there. I'll say Sarah did a 8/10 job with Ash. These are just flashbacks, so I'm reluctant to hold her to the usual standard of an episode. You have to imagine the context of those flashbacks aren't stressed, so I can't get too upset if she might not have sounded as emotional as I wanted her to here or there. Besides, I think she did great besides the beginning of the leaving Charizard behind bit (until she stared choking up, that was awesome) and "You were obeying me just fine when you were a Charmander" didn't sit well with me. Other than that I thought she did fine, given they were just flashbacks especially. Like some above me mentioned, she's certainly improved. I think she does a good job with Ash now. I did not like Misty's voice, but I'm hesitant to care that much. It was only one line. If we do see Misty again, i'll care more; but with only one line, I just don't care enough to harp on it. All of the Pokemon were fine I guess.

I liked hearing N's little evaluation of Charizard and his past with Damien, too. Its cool seeing one of my favorite characters now, comment on one of my favorite Pokemon growing up. A satisfying taste of a new recipe mixed with an old, as Cilan might say.

Charizard vs Dragonite was fine. Dragonite did about as well as I expected him to. If the battle had continued, he obviously would have lost; but its still impressive he was able to somewhat hold his own. I imagine he would have gotten one maybe two more decent hits in before Charizard finished him up. Welcome back to the main cast Charizard, we've missed you dearly:')

I'd like to address the point that's been made being that Ash has seen some of his Pokemon (even in pre-evo form) before and not reacted like he did in this episode. I would imagine that besides Pikachu, Charizard probably has the closest bond with Ash out of all his Pokemon. All of the things they've been through with Damien, overcoming the disobedience, battling together in some of the most intense battles, Charizard saving Ash's life in Movie 3 and to a lesser extent in 2, etc. So it makes sense to me that Charizard would be a special case in retrospect. Just like I would imagine Ash's and Infernape's bond might be closer than most of the others.

One question, if they fixed Pidgeotto's hair and Aerodactyl's legs, why not go ahead and fix Ash's sleeve in the goodbye scene?

 

[Pokémon Master Ash]

Easily my favorite episode of BW! Loved it!

Episodes like this just make Ash seem like he's more than an advertising tool. I like how he got nostalgic at a fair centered around his home-region. I like how we got to see him reflect on his travels and his friendship/bond with an old, faithful friend. I like how he didn't seem like a n00b in this episode and he just felt like a normal kid, to a certain extent. (I'm using "normal" a little loose of course, but you get my point.)

Now to the flashbacks of the episodes some of us, definitely myself, grew up with. I wasn't blown away, but I wasn't underwhelmed with the voices. Now, let it be known that besides Jessie, I prefer all of the 4kids actors over the new ones. That's not to say some of the new ones haven't grown on me or I hate all the new ones, though. I actually have no problem with Brock. Koga was fine. With Damien, for a second I actually thought they just kept the clip of his 4kids voice lol, so whoever did him did a decent imitation there. I'll say Sarah did a 8/10 job with Ash. These are just flashbacks, so I'm reluctant to hold her to the usual standard of an episode. You have to imagine the context of those flashbacks aren't stressed, so I can't get too upset if she might not have sounded as emotional as I wanted her to here or there. Besides, I think she did great besides the beginning of the leaving Charizard behind bit (until she stared choking up, that was awesome) and "You were obeying me just fine when you were a Charmander" didn't sit well with me. Other than that I thought she did fine, given they were just flashbacks especially. Like some above me mentioned, she's certainly improved. I think she does a good job with Ash now. I did not like Misty's voice, but I'm hesitant to care that much. It was only one line. If we do see Misty again, i'll care more; but with only one line, I just don't care enough to harp on it. All of the Pokemon were fine I guess.

I liked hearing N's little evaluation of Charizard and his past with Damien, too. Its cool seeing one of my favorite characters now, comment on one of my favorite Pokemon growing up. A satisfying taste of a new recipe mixed with an old, as Cilan might say.

Charizard vs Dragonite was fine. Dragonite did about as well as I expected him to. If the battle had continued, he obviously would have lost; but its still impressive he was able to somewhat hold his own. I imagine he would have gotten one maybe two more decent hits in before Charizard finished him up. Welcome back to the main cast Charizard, we've missed you dearly:')

I'd like to address the point that's been made being that Ash has seen some of his Pokemon (even in pre-evo form) before and not reacted like he did in this episode. I would imagine that besides Pikachu, Charizard probably has the closest bond with Ash out of all his Pokemon. All of the things they've been through with Damien, overcoming the disobedience, battling together in some of the most intense battles, Charizard saving Ash's life in Movie 3 and to a lesser extent in 2, etc. So it makes sense to me that Charizard would be a special case in retrospect. Just like I would imagine Ash's and Infernape's bond might be closer than most of the others.

One question, if they fixed Pidgeotto's hair and Aerodactyl's legs, why not go ahead and fix Ash's sleeve in the goodbye scene?

IMO, Jessie's voice has always sounded the closest out of all of the current VAs to the original English ones, IMO, so I could understand why you'd prefer the newer one. I still like the older one more myself, because I feel Lillis really brought more depth to the role. Knotz is excellent here, though, so I really can't complain. Actually, Knotz has improved over time as Jessie as well. She's gotten a lot more natural in the role and it seems like she's more comfortable than when she first started out.

Misty's voice was by far the furthest today. Even with Brock, at least Bill was trying to make an effort to sound like Eric, I guess. Michele wasn't even close as Misty today, but it didn't hurt my ears, either. It just sounds off...it's not bad, but it feels like "this isn't the right voice...it sounds good, but not the right voice." But it was only for one line, so I don't really think I can complain. Same goes for Bill, seeing as he only said 2 lines and "Ash" the whole episode.

Really, it could've been so much worse, though.

All in all, pointless bitching aside on my part, they did a good job with the episode. They still get an 8/10 from me for an admirable effort today. :sweatlol:

 

[The Thin White Duke]

I wonder what Pokémopolis (check it out, their episode guides were hilarious) would say about Charizard's return. They'd flip... They love it.

 

[Iteru]

I'm going to request that those who have discussed the voices in more than 3 posts back off a bit. This episode is about Charizard returning, the insanely-popular Pokémon that everyone loved in their childhood that rivals Pikachu as the most iconic Pokémon ever. Let's let people enjoy that with their discussion.

 

[Yamadora]

I've waited for the dub of this episode since it aired in Japan, as I wanted to hear how TPCi would handle this...

Charmander's voice was okay, I had no problem with it. I was okay with all new voices of old characters. They went all that effort for example to get Damian's name right (his name wasn't said in the original, if I recall correctly). I also noticed how bearable Sarah Natochenny's voice is nowadays.
The reason why the flashbacks didn't felt as great as in the original because they replaced ALL music (expect that Unova route 4 theme) during it. It's the fact for me that if there's no Shinji Miyazaki's awesome compositions it doesn't feel like anything. That's proved so many times when the original nearly broughts tears in my eyes by the awesomeness combining great music, Pokémon battles and Miyazaki's music. Whenever the music is changed to something boring dub bgm that doesn't have any emotion...it just ruins everything.

My conclusion: the japanese version was awesome, while the dub was just okay.

 

[The Thin White Duke]

I'm going to request that those who have discussed the voices in more than 3 posts back off a bit. This episode is about Charizard returning, the insanely-popular Pokémon that everyone loved in their childhood that rivals Pikachu as the most iconic Pokémon ever. Let's let people enjoy that with their discussion.

Yeah, Charizard is pretty damn awesome. It's the badass grandma of Ash's team.

 

[megaevolvedmushroom]

So I saw the dub, and it SUCKS!

Misty sounds NOTHING like Lillis, or even herself in MoMP. "Charmander looks funny"
Sarah CANNOT act for her life. Not only did she put forth NO emotion at all, but she STILL sounds strained.
Bill Rogers was...ehh.

2/10 because Bill Rogers wasn't complete garbage.

 

[WatcherMark]

I must say, it's at least nice to see they're trying to at least keep consistency with the TPCi dub instead of hiring someone else to do Misty...again. I would've liked it more if they got Rachael Lillis back, but I can understand their reasoning for it (to be consistent with the voices from Seasons 9-present).

Plus there's the fact that Misty had only like five words this episode. Would it really be worth bringing her back just for that.

I understand what people are saying about bringing the old voices back, but can you imagine how confusing it would be for the kids who didn't grow up with the 4Kids dub to suddenly hear Ash and Brock speaking entirely differently. Plus there's the fact this is opening up the whole 'TPCi vs 4Kids VA' debate again. Guys, it's been eight years. TPCi have been dubbing the show as long as 4Kids did. It's time to move on.

Otherwise, I think this is a pretty solid episode and a great callback to the past. For a show as continuity shy as Pokemon is (especially since BW started), to have so many references and flashbacks was pretty neat. I do have a couple of nitpicks regarding this episode however:

- The animators wasted what was a pretty unique character design on Charmander's trainer. She barely appeared and wasn't even granted a name.
- Once again, another interesting battle was interrupted (this time by N). BW has been really bad for doing this.
- Charizard suffers from BW's habit of giving Pokemon bad attacks. Seismic Toss and Steel Wing have been thrown out for Slash and Wing Attack. Ugh, why writers? Why?

 

[Pokémon Master Ash]

I must say, it's at least nice to see they're trying to at least keep consistency with the TPCi dub instead of hiring someone else to do Misty...again. I would've liked it more if they got Rachael Lillis back, but I can understand their reasoning for it (to be consistent with the voices from Seasons 9-present).

Plus there's the fact that Misty had only like five words this episode. Would it really be worth bringing her back just for that.

I understand what people are saying about bringing the old voices back, but can you imagine how confusing it would be for the kids who didn't grow up with the 4Kids dub to suddenly hear Ash and Brock speaking entirely differently. Plus there's the fact this is opening up the whole 'TPCi vs 4Kids VA' debate again. Guys, it's been eight years. TPCi have been dubbing the show as long as 4Kids did. It's time to move on.

Otherwise, I think this is a pretty solid episode and a great callback to the past. For a show as continuity shy as Pokemon is (especially since BW started), to have so many references and flashbacks was pretty neat. I do have a couple of nitpicks regarding this episode however:

- The animators wasted what was a pretty unique character design on Charmander's trainer. She barely appeared and wasn't even granted a name.
- Once again, another interesting battle was interrupted (this time by N). BW has been really bad for doing this.
- Charizard suffers from BW's habit of giving Pokemon bad attacks. Seismic Toss and Steel Wing have been thrown out for Slash and Wing Attack. Ugh, why writers? Why?

I get what you're saying. Surprisingly, Ash really doesn't sound as off anymore to me (if this were late BF & DP, I would say he was completely different, though). In the end, it's about the next generation of children. Like it or not, I'm not in the target audience anymore, and I do get some of you prefer the current VAs and the current dub, though. I can imagine how jarring it would be for them to switch back again the way we did before. I wouldn't want to do that to them. Personally I'll always prefer the way things were handled before TPCi came in (besides the editing and errors), but I can understand where you're coming from.

Anyway, I think it's time for me to back off. I've made my point known. I still say they did a good job, but some voices were really better than others, IMO.

I'm going to request that those who have discussed the voices in more than 3 posts back off a bit. This episode is about Charizard returning, the insanely-popular Pokémon that everyone loved in their childhood that rivals Pikachu as the most iconic Pokémon ever. Let's let people enjoy that with their discussion.

Yeah, well, the voices were a huge factor that added to the nostalgia of the event for some of us. We just don't get the same feeling with Charizard's return if some of the characters sound off sometimes. I'm going to back off now anyway since you've requested it so that discussion can focus more on the episode, but I was just sharing how I felt the dub did today in that respect. I still think they did a good job, but I did have a couple of voices that made me a bit upset, that's all.

 

[megaevolvedmushroom]

About the actual episode: I still hate how N interrupted the Charizard vs Dragonite match

 

[Pokémon Master Ash]

About the actual episode:

I liked how Charizard came back. (+)
I liked how it battled Dragonite. (+)
Like StickerStarYoshi, I disliked that N stopped the battle for a winner could be decided. (-)
I thought Iris was hilarious today when asking what typing Charizard had. (+)
I thought Cilan was pretty cool today, and it was nice to see him avoiding the usual connoisseur dialogue for the most part (sometimes it is rather annoying, so it's good to see him mix things up). (+)

About the actual episode: I still hate how N interrupted the Charizard vs Dragonite match

Agreed.

 

[Nymphia]

I expected the 4kids VA returned for this episode. Because those scenmes are flashbacks toi the original episodes.

In the Japanese version, a vA who retired from voice acting 10 years ago is voicing in this episode. There should be no problem is taking the old VAs of this episode.

TPCi has to voice cast something that Japan uses stocked voice footage!!!! I wonder why.

 

[Queen Cynthia]

Well, it seems that there is not much left for me to say about probably one of the best B/W episodes. (As a side note, it says a lot about the quality of B/W if the best episode is one revolving around Kanto, doesn't it?)

OK, let's begin. This must have been the episode with the most nostalgic moments ever. Seeing all those scenes from the past when I myself was growing up sure was a very special experience. And, wow, I still remember as if it were yesterday: Ash saying goodbye to his reliable, loyal and great Charizard. I remember how much that touched me and made me cry when I first saw that episode. And guess what? I almost had the same feelings again even now after so many years have gone by. Indeed, a very special moment! Oh well, the good old days... ^^
But no matter how sweet those memories are, the present wasn't that bad either. I loved to see Charizard again in person and I have to admit that his power never ceases to amaze me. One thing's for sure: Ash's powerhouse looks stronger than ever and that makes me wonder how a match between Charizard and Infernape would end. What do you guys think?
The only thing that really bothered me was the fact that B/W gave Charizard Wind Attack and Slash, two attacks that he definitely doesn't deserve anymore, given all that training he has gone through so far. But well, as it's easy to see that the writers change attacks just as they please, I'm pretty confident that those two moves will be replaced again in future episodes.

To sum it up, it was a wonderful episode, plain and simple.

 

[techitisJ]

i have a friend who has younger cousins so she watches pokemon with them when the new episodes come out. we talk about pokemon quite a bit actually and now if she asks me my fav BW episode i can answer with this episode

i did see the japanese episode first so i knew what would happen but it was still great. i loved the Kanto fair add-in and that little Charmander was adorable.

those flashbacks were great. they may have been reanimated but i didn't mind that at all really. i will still love the original animation but that was pretty interesting. the voices were off because of well new voice actors but they still sounded find. the only one that actually bothered me was the fact that Damien (was that his name?) didn't pronounce Charmander like he did in the original episode but then again. it would be pretty difficult getting the original voice actor. but still those were some great flashbacks. i always enjoy when Brock is mentioned and i believe that was the first time Misty was.

then Charizard coming back. that was absolutely great. i cried at that little fist pound Charizard and Ash had. the battle was fantastic. it was great to see Ash get back at Iris with the "charizard's not a dragon type" and taking out his pokedex to do so.

all in all that was a beautiful episode and i can't wait to see more of Charizard. i kind of hope maybe one of his other pokemon will come back. i would love to see Bulbasaur or Squirtle again