>>46395333Nobody ever said that it had no Kanto pandering at all. Just not enough to satisfy rabid nostalgiafags.
This is just a tiny namedrop of Charizard.
Now compare that to gen 6, in which you can be given a Charmander to replace your starter before the 2nd gym along with magic stones that let Charizard change into not 1 but 2 special snowflake forms.
Or gen 7, where the protagonist is literally from Kanto and Charizard is the Pokemon you'll be constantly using for flying.
Or gen 8, where the unbeaten champion's unbeaten ace is Charizard, who gets a third special snowflake form.
