(stupid) question about fire pokemons

[flaming infernape]

Has anyone else noticed how weird it is that the Charmander line is the only one that finds near-death situations around water? I've been wondering if Magmar, Ponyta/Rapidash, and (maybe) Monferno face the same problem with water.

 

[Brago]

Has anyone else noticed how weird it is that the Charmander line is the only one that finds near-death situations around water? I've been wondering if Magmar, Ponyta/Rapidash, and (maybe) Monferno face the same problem with water.

yes, i was wondering too, but i don't think so. Maybe their flame is just a sign of power

 

[xianeuki]

In the original Pokemon Manga, death was actually a player. If a charmander went under water, it wasn't going to come back up.
I remember one gruesome frame where an Arbok got it's head sliced off by a Slash attack- the drawing showed meat and the severed spinal cord and everything... Ick. Pokemon center wasn't going to fix that.
But it proves that the anime was toned down from the original concept to suit children and television needs. In the anime, they probably wouldn't let it happen.

It is shown way leter in that manga that the Arbok survived and regrew it's lower parts.

 

[DaggerWolf]

It is shown way leter in that manga that the Arbok survived and regrew it's lower parts.

Delicious.

Possibly with Charizard it can protect it's flame by covering it in a fold of skin/flesh?

Or it's like one of those really irritating birthday candles... Just when you think it's out, on it comes again, playing a jaunty tune. Minus the jaunty tune of course.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

In the original Pokemon Manga, death was actually a player. If a charmander went under water, it wasn't going to come back up.
I remember one gruesome frame where an Arbok got it's head sliced off by a Slash attack- the drawing showed meat and the severed spinal cord and everything... Ick. Pokemon center wasn't going to fix that.
But it proves that the anime was toned down from the original concept to suit children and television needs. In the anime, they probably wouldn't let it happen.

1--Special is not the "original Pokemon manga" by any means.
2--The Arbok could regenerate and was very much alive (granted it was still gruesome, but established to be survivable).
3--Special is its own concept. The "original concept" is the GAMES, and the only death in the original game happend offscreen before the player gets to the town.
4--The content of one offshoot has no bearing on the content of another offshoot. By that logic I could say that the "original concept" involved enormous boobs on any girl over ten because that's what Ono's comic involved.

My god, I really hate Specialworship. Sure it's an enjoyable read, but honestly, it's not the be-all and end-all of Pokemon.

 

[The Outrage]

Yeah seriously, and I'm pretty sure the Anime precedes any of the pokemon Manga.

There is a difference between a Charmander's life being dependant on its tail flame, and its tail flame being dependant on its life force.

Now I'd like to draw some attention to its Pokedex entries:

Gold entry: The flame on its tail shows the strength of its life force. If it is weak, the flame also burns weakly.

Silver Entry: The flame on its tail indicates Charmander's life force. If it is healthy, the flame burns brightly.

Crystal Entry: If it's healthy, the flame on the tip of its tail will burn vigorously, even if it gets a bit wet.

D/P Entry: The fire on the tip of its tail is a measure of its life. If healthy, its tail burns intensely.

As you can see, of all the dex entries pertaining to life and the tail flame, none of them suggest that its life force is dependent on the flame. Rather, the flame is dependent on its life force (any of you math people out there can compare it to the x and y variables on a graph).

Its tail flame is a representation of its health and well being. Naturally, being fully soaked in water could potentially put out the flame, but not the Pokemon's life. Of course, being a fire Pokemon, being soaked from head to toe in water certainly isn't healthy, but its probably not as life threatening as the anime makes it seem.

It seems as though the early anime writers mis-interpreted Charmander and its tail flame since it was only clarified and elaborated on in the later generations. Though, with little to no reference from the original games themselves towards Charmander's flame and life force, one has to wonder if this is a product of the anime that the game merely adapted for itself and made more sensible or if its something that Tajiri opted not to mention for the games at that time. Though I here FireRed entries come from the original Green and Red versions:

Fire Red Entry: From the time it is born, a flame burns at the tip of its tail. Its life would end if the flame were to go out.

Then again it is four entries against one and the first generation to me has always worded things strangely.

I also remember an episode where chazrizard battled a poliwrath, and it used ice beam. Charizard was frozen, but the poliwrath spared the end of its tail, and we saw ash being really worried!!

Yeah, or it was you know, fire against ice and the flame kept the tip from freezing. And of course Ash is worried, Charizard's entire body just gt frozen into a block of ice.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

Yeah seriously, and I'm pretty sure the Anime precedes any of the pokemon Manga.

Actually no, but anyway.


Yeah, the pokedex is notorious for making stuff up. I think the anime just took it and ran with it.

Come to think of it, Magical Pokemon Journey established the same thing, since Charmander is petrified of getting wet, and when it starts to rain, Peanut has to shield him, saying "If Charmander's flame goes out, so does his life!"

What do other continuities have to say about this?

 

[Near]

Of course another thing could be that the Charmander was rather weak (after all, his trainer, Damien in the dub, abandoned him). And, fire-types are weak to water, and rain is water... So it fit into the measure of life force theory but could still apply as the Gen I dex says.

(By the way, does anyone else think that Brock should've gotten Charmander after doing all that work to save him? Alas.)