Introduction
Probably one of only a few Pokemon who do not need an introduction to begin with, but we're going to give him one anyway. Charizard is the Fire/Flying starter of the Kanto region, and the uncontested winner of any popularity contest.
Charizard is the face of Pokemon, behind only Pikachu perhaps, and rightfully so. His power is immense, and his usefulness is nearly unmatched across all of the regions. The only other Fire/Flying Pokemon considered worthy to stand with Charizard are legendaries such as Moltres and Ho-Oh. He is that good.
But at the same time, he is overrated. Perhaps only slightly, but overrated nonetheless. He can be defeated, but it is no small task.
Charizard was even popular enough to become a playable character in Super Smash Bros.
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| Why Rock Smash? Why?!? |
Let's take a look at why and how Charizard has become one of the most famous Pokemon in history.
Capture/Training
Like the other two Kanto starters, Charizard is only obtainable through evolution and trading. In FireRed, LeafGreen, Red, Blue, and Yellow, Charmander can be obtained from Professor Oak at the onset of the game at Level 5. In HeartGold and SoulSilver, Charmander can be chosen as a gift from Professor Oak after obtaining 16 gym badges.Charmander evolves into Charmeleon at Level 16, at which point it is still just a pure Fire-type. At Level 36, Charmeleon evolves into Charizard and gains the Flying-type, which in turn removes his weakness to Ground-types (while adding Electric as a new vulnerability).
Abilities
Blaze is the normal ability on a Charizard, which raises the power of all his Fire-type moves once his health bar is depleted below the 1/3 point. Needless to say, this ability can be extremely useful in a pinch.
The Dream World ability given to Charizard in Gen V is Solar Power, which actually decreases Charizards health a little each turn while in sunshine, but increases the power of ALL of his Special Attack moves (not just Fire).
No wonder Red uses him!
Stats
HP: 78 Atk: 84 Def: 78 SpAtk: 109 SpDef: 85 Spd: 100
Shares the EXACT same base statistics with fellow Fire-type starter, Typhlosion. Charizard is an attacking powerhouse. A monstrous Special Attack and Speed stat combined with a not too shabby Attack stat allow Charizard to attack hard and fast from both ends of the physical-special spectrum.
Defenses are key to prey on if Charizard is your opponent, but the difficult part is surviving a turn or two to pull it off.
Moves
Charizard's movepool is easily one of the largest in the game's history, and this is one of his biggest advantages over Blastoise and Venusaur.
Let's begin with primary Fire-type attacks. Easily the most reliable of the bunch is Flamethrower, which utilizes Charizard's awesome Special Attack stat and boasts 100 percent accuracy. Fire Blast, Heat Wave, and Overheat are more powerful special options, though the lower accuracy (and for Overheat lowering of Special Attack afterwards) makes them less desirable.
Blast Burn is also available, though like Hyper Beam and Giga Impact, are not recommended except for in-game when Charizard has the opportunity to be switched out afterwards. In Gen V, Inferno becomes an option, though it is essentially the Fire-type equivalent to Zap Cannon, with only 50 percent accuracy but 100 percent chance of Burn. A neat idea, but not a practical one.
On the Physcial end, Charizard also has access to Fire Fang, but more importantly Flare Blitz. At the cost of recoil damage, Flare Blitz provides a physical STAB move for Charizard with 100 percent accuracy.
For Flying STAB, Charizard can learn Air Slash at the Move Relearner's, and Aerial Ace through TM. Wing Attack is gained upon evolution at Level 36. Fly can be taught via HM, which can be practical in certain situations (such as avoiding a second turn move like Skull Bash or moving opposite a Pokemon like Slaking). Sky Drop was added in Gen V and can be used to essentially waste your opponent's turn.
Charizard has access to Swords Dance (through TM as of Gen IV), which allows him to be more of a true mixed attaker. In Gen V, Hone Claws only offers one level of attack boost per use but added accuracy. Without the boost, Charizard is better off sticking with Special Attacks. And, let's not forget the ever useful Dragon Dance, which increases both Attack and Speed simultaneously.
On the Physical end, Charizard can be taught both Dragon Claw and Shadow Claw via the Move Relearner, which have great accuracy and reliable power. Earthquake, Brick Break, and Iron Tail/Steel Wing are great for defending against Charizard's 4x weakness to Rock. Rock Slide and Rock Tomb can take down other Flying and Fire types, as well as deal significant damage to Ice and Bugs (Rock Tomb also lowers their Speed). As an alternative to Earthquake, Bulldoze can be a reliable Ground move with the ability to lower Speed at 100 percent accuracy.
Dragon Tail (as added in Gen V) acts like Whirlwind, but also has a 60 base power to play with, though Outrage is much more powerful and is likely to benefit Charizard more than Dragon Tail.
Crunch, Dragon Rush, and Focus Punch are among the most useful of Charizard's breeding moves.
Both Fire Punch and ThunderPunch are options, with ThunderPunch definitely being the more useful of the two, seeing as how Charizard might run into trouble against Water-types.
On the Special end, Charizard has a lot to play with. In addition to the plethora of STAB attacks, Charizard has access to many secondary Special attacks as well.
SolarBeam works wonder in tandem with the Solar Power ability and covers all of Charizard's weaknesses except for Electric.
Dragon Pulse and Ancient Power round out Charizard's Egg Moves, and can be useful when taking on Dragons, Ice, Fire, Flying, and Bugs. Focus Blast and Hyper Beam are risky because of their accuracy (and Hyper Beam's recharge effect).
Of course, Hidden Power is always an option.
Belly Drum can be deadly in combination with Rest or Substitute. Charizard can also inflict a Burn condition through Will-O-Wisp and heal himself at the same time with Roost.
There are actually more, believe it or not, but these are the sets we've seen most often. Just with his movepool alone, Charizard can be annoyingly unpredictable.
Movesets
1. SpecialZard
| ~ Fire Blast/ Flamethrower ~ Air Slash ~ Hidden Power Grass ~ Roost Notes: Charizard's Fire-type STAB attack has excellent coverage alongside its secondary STAB move, Air Slash, while Hidden Power Grass hits Pokemon that resist both Fire- and Flying-type moves. Roost allows Charizard to recover health from Life Orb recoil and Stealth Rock damage. The choice between Fire Blast and Flamethrower boils down to whether you prefer power or accuracy; Fire Blast is preferred since Charizard's Special Attack is comparatively poor to Moltres, and because it needs all the power it can get. Life Orb gives Charizard a boost in its power without locking it into a move. 2. SunnyZard
Notes: With this set, Charizard aims to defeat its bulky Water-type counters. The last slot depends on how offensively you want Charizard to operate. Roost allows Charizard to recover from Stealth Rock and Life Orb recoil, while Air Slash gives Charizard maximum coverage. Finally, Charizard's item choice depends on the type of team it is in. If Charizard is part of a Sunny Day team, Heat Rock should be considered so Charizard can support the team as well as itself. Life Orb is preferred in most other cases due to the higher damage output it provides. 3. Dragon Dancer
Notes: With a single Dragon Dance under its belt, Charizard reaches 492 Speed. Flare Blitz is Charizard's main STAB move and is very powerful after a Dragon Dance. Even though Flare Blitz's recoil may be unappealing, Fire Punch is too weak at +1, and Charizard needs all the power it can get. Earthquake punishes Rock-types such as Rhyperior and Regirock, while ThunderPunch is Charizard's best answer to Water-types. Roost can used over Earthquake or ThunderPunch, but Charizard rarely finds opportunities to use both Roost and Dragon Dance. 4. Swords Dance
With Charizard's naturally high Speed, it can forego Dragon Dance to boost its attack even further with Swords Dance, allowing it to reach a very high 534 Attack after a boost. Again, Flare Blitz is Charizard's main STAB for its sheer power, but since Charizard is now at +2 after a boost instead of +1, Fire Punch is acceptable if you don't like the absurd amount of residual damage that Charizard would be taking from Flare Blitz. If your team is having trouble with Altaria, Dragon Claw can be used. 5. BellyZard
Conclusion Charizard is most likely not only the best Kanto starter, but the best starting Pokemon of all time. With his amazingly broad movepool, awesome Special Attack and Speed stats, and fabulous ability to counter his type weaknesses, Charizard can be considered one of the deadliest Pokemon.  However, Charizard's largest competitive vulnerability lies in Stealth Rock. Why? Because of Charizard's 4x weakness to Rock, Stealth Rock saps a shocking 50 percent of Charizard's full health immediately upon entering the battlefield. Keeping a Rapid Spinner around just in case is ideal for Charizard's success post-Gen III. Is Charizard the best Pokemon ever? Probably not, but he's up there. For now, he's the number one Pokemon starter of all time. |
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