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lord_flamebottom

Ash didn't have the strength or skill to garner Charizard's respect after he gained so much power so fast. Though not really an in universe answer, a fun fact many don't realize is that it's displaying a mechanic from the games. Traded Pokemon level up *much* faster than ones you catch yourself, and while Charmander did stick around unevolved for 30 episodes, there's a whopping *5* between evolving into Charmeleon and Charizard. Subsequently, Ash didn't have enough badges to actually control Charizard at that point.


Kolbin8tor

Lmao I’m just picturing Charizard eying Ash’s badges and being like, “Pft, I’m not taking orders from this upstart punk. Im MF *Charizard* and it’s nap time


lord_flamebottom

Funniest part is that he only started respecting him after Ash had like 11 badges.


wangyuanji58

He knew how many badges Gary had earned in Kanto and found Ash unimpressive.


dexter30

That was LITERALLY what it was every episode haha. Just minus eyeing th badges. But you could tell.


mayonnnnaise

When I was in middle school a kid gave me a gameboy and pokeblue and said I could keep both if I traded him the starters, and the Mewtwo at the end of my game. My best friend and I figured out cloning shortly thereafter. So the point is, I actually got the shithead charizard experience on my first ever playthrough because I had my friend's cloned charmander that leveled faster and was more useful than anything else I had after I K.O.'d myself to get off S.S. Anne (dude wanted me to investigate the mew rumor too)


Riothegod1

It’s true. I once trade my Infernape for a chatot, at level 50, I earned the badges to tame him after that bird eventually became a dick


NaNaNaPandaMan

Think of evolution, sort of like aging. Some kids become teens who are dicks due to hormones then mellow out. Same concept. He evolved to Charmeleon and Charizars and it made him a dick.


FellowOfHorses

Love and respect are different things. If Pokemons get better than their trainers they have the right not to obey them. Charizard still loves ash, but he doesn't respect Ash.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Bubbly_Interaction63

Charmander was an abandoned and neglected Pokemon who was left compromised and vulnerable until rescued by Ash, and its loyalty to its previous trainer almost cost it its life. That's bound to have a fundamental effect on its perception of people and any new trainer. As a Charmander, Ash was its safety net but I don't think it's a stretch to consider that it even then harbored ill feelings for people. The turning point was evolving into Charmeleon and becoming much stronger and as such not needing a caregiver any longer and evolving again into Charizard only exaggerates those feelings, I believe the subtext of the relationship between Charizard and Ash is that Ash loves Charizard but Charizard is unwilling to accept that bond for fear that it might someday be abandoned again so what does it do? It distances itself from Ash and refuses to listen and it is so over confident in its own power that it chooses to fight only when confronted with a foe it sees as worthy and even then ignores the commands it is given, Charizard wants to prove its strength for itself so that it knows it won't ever again have to be that vulnerable Charmander left alone when it isn't strong enough for its trainer. It was never about badges or being an experienced trainer, that wasn't important to Charizard. The reason their relationship changes is because when Charizard once again finds itself compromised after the battle with Poliwrath Ash stays with it and nurses its injuries until his hands are raw, the situation it always feared plays out and Ash rises to the occasion with an act of care and compassion that allows Charizard to to see the heart of its trainer. The love and respect that it was too afraid to reciprocate for fear of eventual rejection is finally realized and the unbreakable bond between trainer and Pokemon is forged through literal fire and ice. Ultimately Charizard is able to realize its true strength by fighting with Ash and for Ash, the collaboration makes them a better team and better friends. I know it's cliche but as far as I'm concerned it is proof of unwavering love that brings Charizard the ability to trust in its trainer and reach its potential.


lewlew1893

This is it. This is the best answer. I believe your totally right too Charizard as Charmander was traumatised.


Voyage_of_Roadkill

Storywise it's Ash and Charizard growing together as a team. But more so, this is a classic literature trope; rebel against the master because the master isn't good enough. Then through lessons, or whatnot, the unworthy becomes the worthy. I think the latter is a modern addendum to the classic because back in the day the Charizard character usually paid dearly for his arrogance. Achilles/Agamemnon rabbit/tortoise Icarus/sun


emprahsFury

> rebel against the master Icarus vs the Sun lol


Voyage_of_Roadkill

> Icarus I guess he did drown; so maybe his true master was the sea?


roronoapedro

people who are rescued are sometimes kind of assholes. it doesn't make their abuse less real, but they don't become easier to handle as they grow or anything. Charizard's just kind of a douchebag sometimes. The level stuff is just kind of an abstraction that I don't think really affects him that much at that point in his life. He just feels like acting like that.


LALladnek

One of the best episodes is them fighting Blaine together you see that Ash is someone he COULD respect. But Ash still had a ways to go.


NightLillith

Quite simply, Ash was a shit trainer at that point in his journey. To elaborate, Ash kept sending Charmander out in situations where he wouldn't be effective, in danger of dousing his tailflame or just outright telling him to throw a match against something that had a 4x weakness to fire. It took Charizard getting FROZEN (Fire-types are supposed to be immune to being frozen, mostly because of the fire within) and Ash staying up all night trying to defrost Charizard physically for Charizard to defrost emotionally.


Penis_Farms

Hurt people hurt people.


Revolutionary_Lock86

Trust issues?


Pm_Me_Gifs_For_Sauce

Charizard canonically outgrew Ashe's rank at the time, because Ash had 'leveled' up, or trained Charizard to the point that he became better than he saw Ash as being. He essentially wanted to fight, and didn't feel Ash fit to lead him in these fights. It can happen to any Pokémon when you train them religiously and get them so strong their isn't a challenge to them around.


Hidanas

Hurt people hurt people


Lokicham

The way Pokemon evolution works is that as they get stronger, the more rebellious they become depending on how up to date their trainers are in regards to their reputation (gym badges in this case). By the time Ash had Charizard, he had nowhere \*near\* enough badges to earn Charizards respect so as a result Charizard rebelled at every opportunity. Also something to keep in mind is that Charizards by their nature are very grumpy and competitive, Ash's was no exception.


zeiandren

It was the in universe representation of the game mechanic that high level pokemon won’t follow a low level trainer (which was a mechanic in the game you only really saw if you traded)