Ash's Charizard/History/Original Series/Kanto/With Damian

Charmander originally belonged to a boastful named Damian. However, in Charmander - The Stray Pokémon, Damian grew tired of Charmander being weak and abandoned it, leaving it on a rocky outcrop and telling it that he would come back later. Charmander's health deteriorated, but it was able to resist capture by twice before explaining to  that it was waiting for Damian. Later, Ash met Damian and learned that he never planned to return for it. Outraged but mostly concerned for Charmander, who was now stuck out in the rain loyally awaiting Damian,, Ash, and rushed to its rescue, with Brock carrying it to the Pokémon Center while Ash sheltered the little remaining tail flame with his coat.

Despite the care shown to it, Charmander was unwilling to remain at the Pokémon Center and returned to the rock where it had been staying. However, it came across, who had stolen Pikachu. Charmander ordered them to return Pikachu, and when they ignored it, it blasted them with Flamethrower to send them running away, leaving behind Pikachu. Ash invited Charmander to join them, but Damian turned up with a bunch of Poké Balls and said that he had abandoned Charmander on purpose in order to allow it to toughen up. Damian threw a Poké Ball at it, but Charmander deflected the ball in defiance. Having seen Damian's character, Charmander staunchly refused to return, and when Damian threatened to crush it with all of his other Pokémon, it attacked Damian with a Flamethrower attack alongside Pikachu, who used. Damian fled and Charmander happily joined Ash's team instead.