Charizard’s Burning Ambitions – Pokémon Season 3, Episode 18

Plot episodeCharizard stays behindTakeshi Shudō script

Charizard’s Burning Ambitions is the 18th episode of Pokémon: The Johto Journeys, the third season of the Pokémon anime, and the 134th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 136, Bulbapedia code EP134). It first aired in Japan on 10 February 2000 and in the United States on 3 February 2001. It falls within the season’s Towards Azalea & Charizard’s farewell stretch (EP132–EP134).

Synopsis · Major Events · Trivia · Dub Changes · All episodes

Synopsis

Ash, Misty and Brock are growing weary of walking but continue their journey none the less, meanwhile Team Rocket are reluctantly plotting to try and steal Pikachu again. As the group walk through the Charicific Valley National Reserve they meet a Charizard trainer by the name of Liza; she instinctively knows that Ash has a Charizard by recognising its subtle scent. Liza asks if Ash and co will accompany her for a look around the Charicific Valley; she summons her friend (a Charizard) called Charla.

Charla arrives towing a balloon’s container, and Liza offers Misty and Brock passage in that along with her groceries. There’s not enough room for Ash though and she suggests he follows on the back of his own Charizard who is at first reluctant to give Ash a ride but after some goading from Liza it takes him.

Ash & his Charizard struggle terribly to keep up with Charla and her passengers and they end up having a bit of a chaotic journey. Meanwhile Team Rocket are making their own way down into the Valley. Charla arrives at the ancient place where the greatest and strongest Charizard are from and Liza shows Brock and Misty around; all of the Charizard here are naturally strong because they compete with each other daily to become as strong as they can be. Liza, Misty and Brock note that Ash’s Charizard did appear to have some stamina issues even getting to the Valley. Just then Ash and Charizard arrive, Charizard clearly a little worse for wear.

Liza suggests that Ash’s Charizard needs some serious training and continues to state that the Charizard from this Valley aren’t just “any Charizard”. Ash challenges Liza and Charla to a battle; Liza makes some poor excuse that because she trained Charla from a Charmander and isn’t even wild she can’t (err didn’t Ash do the exact same thing with his?), so Ash says he’ll battle any other Charizard from the Valley. Liza presses a button which opens the huge doors into the Valley and inside some monstrously large Charizard can be seen. Liza suggests Ash’s Charizard battles one of the smaller Charizard’s from the Valley, Ash’s Charizard wastes no time in making a surprise attack which proves ineffective before getting hit by an extremely powerful flamethrower attack. Next Liza suggests Ash tries to take on a large Charizard that is apparently the gentlest in the Valley, it goes badly once more and results in Ash’s Charizard being knocked out of the valley. Liza suggests Ash does some serious training with his Charizard before trying again and closes the doors to the Valley.

Team Rocket are watching everything unfold nearby trying to work out how bad their chances are if they take on the Charizard’s who can defeat the Charizard that normally defeats them. Charizard meanwhile is pounding on the closed metal doors of the Valley. Liza opens the doors and says if Charizard really wants to battle it can battle her Charla afterall (after Ash’s Charizard is already weak from 2 battles? Big of her), Charla throws Charizard straight into the water where Liza tells it to stay and cool off. It stays in the water and waits just like she said. Ash asks Charizard if it wants to just go, but it won’t leave. Team Rocket are watching over Charizard from a distance empathising with Charizards dejection and disappointment at failure, to a point where they are actually rooting for Ash’s Charizard.

As night falls, Ash, Misty and Brock stay awake. Charizard begins to fall asleep risking its flame on its tail being submerged and going out, but Team Rocket throw little stones to help keep Charizard awake. Liza and Charla too are watching from a distance admiring its heart. Team Rocket approach the entrance to the Valley with their latest mechanical monstrosity which begins smashing at the metal doors. Charizard flies to block the doorway and attacks Team Rocket’s robot, destroying it entirely. Team Rocket actually staged this whole thing to help Ash’s Charizard. The steel doors to the Valley open up and Liza invites Charizard to train with the others because it’s proven it wants to be great.

Ash tells Charizard to stay there, and says who wants a weak Charizard anyway before lowering his cap and walking away saying maybe he’ll see you around some time before running off closely followed by Misty and Brock. Pikachu too says his goodbye to Charizard. Ash continues to run; knowing that it’s the best thing for Charizard if it stays and trains in the Valley to become stronger, even if it’s not really what he wants.

Major Events

• Charizard left at the Charicific Valley
• Liza & Charla debut
• Charizard confirmed male (first final-stage starter with a confirmed gender)
• Team Rocket skip the motto and *want* to blast off
• Dub cut (2 s)
• Dub narrator says “Ambition”

Trivia

• The screenplay is by Takeshi Shudō.
• This is a plot episode: it advances the Johto storyline.
• The Who’s That Pokémon? segment features Charizard in Japan, where it almost always matched the episode, but Sunflora in the US, where 4Kids picked the Pokémon at random.

Changes in the English Dub

• A 2-second close-up of a valley Charizard hitting Ash’s Charizard in the face replaced with an impact star; the blast-off mouths move silently.
• Near-total rewrite: the valley’s “guardian deities” become “the greatest Charizard in history”; Liza says she raised Charla from a Charmander (dub only); Ash says he has never ridden Charizard (contradicting EP046 and EP105); a Karl Busse poem and puns dropped; Team Rocket’s jokes about Pikachu’s and Charizard’s popularity become “the Boss will fire us”. The title-card voiceover says “Burning Ambition”.
• Score cues from Pikachu’s Vacation and Mewtwo Strikes Back.
• Pokémon Karaokémon: “Song of Jigglypuff”.

Part of our Pokémon: The Johto Journeys guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.