s05e57 — Love, Pokemon Style

I finally understood why Squirtle has sunk into my soul more than any of the Pokemon over the past two seasons, and why Squirtle's return causes so many positive emotions.

Squirtle has a character and a story. Squirtle has development, relationships with other Pokemon, he even had a gang! And there are cool glasses! He's not just some Squirtle out of millions of Squirtles, he's Ash's Squirtle, and you can imagine how he would behave in a certain situation.

And Totodile, and Sindakville, and Fanfi? How will they behave in any situation? Yes, they will not behave in any way, they are just cardboard boxes, who are sometimes called up for battle, and who have had absolutely no development in two seasons.

Here is the Totodile. What can you say about him? He's a crocodile, and he loves to dance. And what kind of character does he have? And the background? And the conflict? How does he feel about Ash? no way. How does he feel about other Pokemon? no way. Does he have a personality? Nope.

But Squirtle, Bulbasaurus, and Charizard had personalities. We could say something more about them than "water Pokemon dancing."

Yes, there is more interesting in any Magicarp than in the Pokemon of the second generation of Ash.

That's why Squirtle and Charizard came: to save us all from despondency. Unfortunately, not for long.