Webcomic / Lil' Char and the Gang

A Pokémon parody series by Nekoama.

Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur are young 'mons living with the teenage Charmeleon, Wartortle, and Ivysaur, as well as their parents Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur. They go on typical childhood adventures to the annoyance of the teenagers and the exasperation of the parents. There are no humans to be seen.

The comic has a similar flavor to Calvin and Hobbes, being mostly about kids being kids.

Can be found here.

In December of 2021, there was a small Schedule Slip of about six weeks before Nekoama announced the comic would be going on indefinite hiatus due to burnout and needing to take a break. In July of 2022 she tweeted to tell fans that she hopes to get back to drawing again, although it will be a "slow process".

Finally, on March 24, 2023 a new comic was posted, with Nekoama thanking fans for being so patient. The series is currently on an infrequent update schedule, with no plans about when/if it might go back to its original weekly posts.

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This webcomic provides examples of:

• Blatant Lies:
  Venusaur: Bulbasaur! You're not trying to sneak a cookie, are you?
  Bulbasaur: (angelic Puppy-Dog Eyes, while his hands/front paws are inches away from the cookie jar) Buh buh!
• Brick Joke: The "plant Pokemon die in Fall" joke from the very first four comics ("Bulbasaur in Fall") reappear in "Oddish in Fall(ish)".
• Childhood Friends: The trio's dads, and as we later learn in "The Good Old Days", Charmander's mom, were this.
• Comic Trio: Squirtle is scheming, Bulbasaur is dumb and Charmander is helpless.
• Cool Shades: Squirtle's most defining characteristic, design-wise.
• Delayed Reaction: Charmander, when Squirtle informs him that Venusaur just got a new fridge delivered in a box.
  Charmander: Okay...? What's the big deal with- (eyes go wide) a box... as big as a fridge...
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: Eevee's evolutionary crisis is similar to someone struggling with their parents' expectations for them—education, career, sexuality/romantic orientation.
• Double Take:
  Blastoise: Heh heh, [Squirtle] stuck in a... He's WHAT?!?
• Early-Installment Weirdness: Oh man, where to begin? Back then, the art style was much more exaggerated, Charmander was the sole star out of the trio, he was a bit more of a Jerkass, and somehow, Charizard was even more of a Jerkass, causing outright misery for his son. Charizard also swore. A lot. Thankfully, all of this was toned down significantly in later comics.
• Epic Fail: Charmander somehow manages to lose at chess to Bulbasaur, who doesn't understand the rules of the game and spends most of the time eating the pieces.
• Fantastic Racism: Ghost-type Pokémon apparently face discrimination and are considered taboo due to their undead nature, so much that Eevee is reluctant to come clean to anyone about her friendship with Misdreavus.
• Fridge Horror: In-Universe. Charmander and Squirtle think Bulbasaur is going to die in the fall when his plant half dies. The teenagers tell them instead that they have to bury him in the ground or the plant will suck all the life out of him. Charizard has to set them straight.
• Happily Adopted:
  • Squirtle, to the point of decorating the picture of him and his family on adoption day.
    • We learn in "The Good Old Days" that Charmander's mother was adopted by Blastoise's parents, making Mrs. Charmander Bastoise's adopted sister and, by extension, making Charmander and Squirtle cousins.
    • Later confirmed that it's the case of his sister, too.
  • Pidgey might be this, unless one of his dads is his biological dad.
• Here We Go Again!: Charizard and Pidgeot have a race at the behest of their sons, who each are having a "my dad can beat your dad contest". Charizard wins and Pidgeot is a Graceful Loser, but unfortunately for Charizard, it turns out Pidgey has two dads, and now Charmander wants him to race the other one.
• Kids Prefer Boxes: Squirtle and Charmander are ecstatic at the mere thought of playing with the box that Venusaur's new fridge arrived in.
• Makeover Torment: Subverted in "I Feel Pretty": Ivysaur and Wartortle have received clumsy makeovers from the Snubbull twins the former is babysitting, and they invite Charmeleon over to be their next target...but after being assured that he could still share the pizza he brought, he sits right down and lets the girls pretty him up without complaint.
• Misery Builds Character: Or in Charizard's case, "Dying builds character".
• Missing Mom: The kids are primarily raised by their fathers. Bulbasaur's mom lives in Johto and he visits her in a story arc, but Squirtle was adopted, and Charmander's mom is dead (exactly how is uncertain), though she appears in a Christmas flashback.
• Mythology Gag: The book "The Hunt for Missingno." refers to a glitch in Pokemon Red and Blue.
• Odd Friendship: Eevee and Misdreavus. The latter is a Ghost-type, who apparently face a fair bit of scorn for essentially being undead.
• Our Dragons Are Different: Charmander is disappointed to discover that despite the Char family being considered "fire dragon" Pokemon, he will not actually be a Dragon-type once he evolves into a Charizard.
  Charizard: Welcome to life, son. It's disappointing.
  [beat]
  Charmander: Wait, but... Dragonite is a Dragon-type and we're not?
  Charizard: DO YOU THINK QUESTIONS WILL CHANGE THINGS?
• Pokémon Speak:
  • Bulbasaur. Not even his cousin Ivysaur knows why he does that.
  • "Never Growing Up" shows that Eevee's younger sibling, Eevee Jr., speaks this way too. It's implied that he's even younger than Bulbasaur.
• The Silent Bob: Despite Bulbasaur only speaking in Pokémon Speak, his friends can understand him perfectly. It seems like the older 'mons have more trouble, though.
• Shout-Out: "The Dark Secret of Lavender Town", a book in Clefairy's cave, refers to a Pokemon creepypasta.
• String Theory: Conspiracy Theorist Clefairy has this board in his lair/cave.
• Surfer Dude: Quilava gives off this vibe, constantly using "bro" and talking about life being a journey and all that.
  Charmeleon: I freakin' hate that guy.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: When Ivysaur was younger (still a bulbasaur), she convinced her parents to let her stay home alone for the Christmas season while they vacationed in Sinnoh; at some point she became convinced that someone was going to try to break into the house, so naturally she set up a bunch of elaborate traps to deter the home invaders...but it turned out it was just her imagination and all she ended up doing was making a huge mess.
• Tempting Cookie Jar: Bulbasaur ends up with the jar on his head. Hey, at least he offers his mom a cookie when she sees.
• Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: Averted. Most of the female characters have no features or accessories marking them as female, unless the Pokemon has gender-based features in the games. Newer readers often have to be told that, for instance, Wartortle and Ivysaur are both girls.
• Wham Line: Played for laughs when, during a father-son barbecue, Pidgey challenges Charmander to a "my dad can beat your dad" contest—in this case, a flying race. Charizard wins, Pidgeot sportingly concedes defeat, and then Charmander says...this:
  Charmander: Pidgey has two dads. You have to race the other one now.