James as "Flaming Moltres" (Pokemon) by Jason L. Grossman (AnimeNEXT 2012)

I have a weakness for Pokemon. Not the card games or the Nintendo stuff . . . the various anime that have run over a decade. Granted, they're imported by 4Kids, who have never met a property from Japan they couldn't butcher. Just ask any fan of One Piece about 4Kids.

Anyway . . . years ago, there was an episode ("The Fortune Hunters") where two Team Rocket agents (Butch & Cassidy) put out a bogus fortune book where you get to learn which Pokemon you are. The book gets into the hands of Jesse & James, cast regulars and the bumbling villains of the shows. James found out that he was Moltres, a legendary Pokemon. Through a bunch of random circumstances, luck falls upon James, and he gets more insane over the episode. In the end, he breaks in a scene dressed as the Pokemon, shouting, "I AM A FLAMING MOLTRES!!!!" Now . . . I'm sure that wasn't the joke in Japan, but given how . . . flamboyant James came off in the U.S. version, it was funny as hell.

This sketch comes from Jason L. Grossman, who's good at sketching Pokemon. I explained the episode, and it came to him. The reference I gave him helped.