Charizard

Charizard is a Fire/Flying Type Pokémon from Generation I of Pokémon. It evolves from Charmeleon at Level 36, after evolving from Charmander at Level 16. It is widely known for its bad temper.

Super Smash Bros.
Charizard was featured as a Pokéball Pokémon which breathes fire when summoned and as a playable character starting with Brawl.

In the anime
Charizard is one of Ash Ketchum's Pokémon that evolved from a Charmander, its first pre-evolution form. Alain and Trevor also own a Charizard that can Mega Evolve.

Joining Ash
Charmander used to belong to a Trainer named Damian, who eventually decided that it was too weak. He abandoned it on a rock, but told it he’d come back for it later. Charmander remained there for quite some time, growing weaker as time went by and eventually Ash and his friends came across it. Ash attempted to capture Charmander, but it resisted his attempts and told Pikachu that it was waiting for its Trainer. However when Ash and co. ran into Damian they found out that he had absolutely no intention of returning for Charmander. Damien even blew Brock off when he angrily called him out for leaving his Pokémon to die in the rain. The trio rushed back to save Charmander, who was now out in a rainstorm. Ash carried it back to the Pokémon Center, sheltering its tail flame under his raincoat. Charmander was able to recover, but went back to the rock to wait for Damian. However it came upon Team Rocket trying to steal Pikachu and told them to give Pikachu back. When they refused, Charmander attacked and drove them off with Flamethrower, prompting Ash to ask it to come with him. But Damian arrived on the scene, saying he’d abandoned Charmander so as to make it tougher and tried to recapture it. However it realized what kind of a person Damian really was and knocked the Poké Ball away, refusing to go back to him. Damian tried to use his other Pokémon to take Charmander back, but it blasted him with Flamethrower, sending him packing, and joined Ash.

Time as Charmander
Charmander became one of Ash’s most used Pokémon and would continually grow in power. It was used to light up a cave for Ash on one occasion, team up with other Charmander on the St. Anne to drive off Team Rocket, and lead Ash through a tower haunted by Ghost Pokémon. Charmander would also take on a wild Primeape, defeating it after using Rage for the first time to increase its power. Its next fight would be in Ash’s Gym Battle in the Celadon Gym, where Charmander took on Erika's Weepinbell, successfully defeating it. But when it took on her Gloom, its stench took the Lizard Pokémon down. Charmander also battled for Ash at the Fuschia Gym, where it faced Koga's Venomoth, before Team Rocket interrupted the fight. In Ash and Koga’s rematch, Charmander took on the Gym Leader’s Golbat and managed to defeat it. It later fought a Golem owned by a biker and its flame attack proved strong enough to keep the Megaton Pokémon burning, even heating up its Poke Ball. After stopping a group of rampaging Exeggutor, Charmander finally evolved into Charmelon.

Disobedient period
However, Charmeleon was extremely disobedient towards Ash, since its skill level had grown beyond his. When he first tried to use it to fight a Paras belonging to Cassandra that Ash was trying to lose to so it would evolve, Charmeleon went all out in attacking it. Paras finally managed to stop it with a desperate claw jab, but it refused to let Ash recall it. Charmelon took on Paras again after it evolved into Parasect, but the Mushroom Pokémon used Stun Spore to put it to sleep. Ash was able to recall it and Cassandra’s grandmother warned him that he needed to learn to control Charmeleon. He stopped using the Flame Pokémon, but when he found himself trapped in a cave with a group of Fossil Pokémon, Ash tried to use Charmeleon to drive them off. However it ignored his commands until an Aerodactyl showed up, knocking it over, and the Flame Pokémon tried to fight it, but couldn’t do much. As Aerodactyl flew off with Ash, Charmeleon grabbed onto its tail as it flew out of the cave, but was shaken off. Angry and determined to reclaim its pride, Charmeleon evolved into Charizard and flew after Aerodactyl. It fought the Fossil Pokémon until Jigglypuff's Sing put everyone to sleep, but caught Ash as Aerodactyl dropped him, though it remained as disobedient as ever. This started to cost Ash during his journey, when he used Charizard in his Gym Battle with Blaine. It refused to fight his Rhydon and just lazed around, until it saw Blaine’s Magmar aiding in damming the volcano when Team Rocket caused an eruption. Charizard then joined in and became determined to take on Magmar afterwards. Blaine had another battle with Ash on the volcano’s peak and Charizard and Magmar were able to match each other. Magmar tried forcing Charizard into lava, only for Charizard to take to the air and weaken its opponent with Submission, before taking it down with Seismic Toss. Later, when Ash was faced by Mewtwo's clone Pokémon, it took on a cloned Charizard, but was defeated after being knocked into the ground. Mewtwo then caught Charizard in a Clone Ball, but Ash managed to release it and the other Pokémon captured by Mewtwo. Charizard and the other Pokémon took on their clones, until Ash was petrified by attacks from Mewtwo and Mew. Charizard wept for its Trainer along with all the other Pokémon, which helped restore Ash and after everything was restored to normal, Charizard went back to being disobedient. This really cost Ash during his battle with Ritchie in the Indigo League, when he was down to one Pokémon and called out Charizard. It took on Zippo (Ritchie’s Charmander), easily winning the round, but when Ritchie used Sparky (Ritchie’s Pikachu), Charizard refused to fight, going to sleep instead. Thus Ash lost the match and the Indigo League. Though he brought Charizard to the Orange Islands with him, he started trying to use it less. Ash did use it, along with Pikachu and Bulbasaur, in the second round of his gym match against Danny, but it showed little interest in taking part. However Charizard unwittingly helped when it fired a Flamethrower at Ash, turning a pillar of ice into a sled, winning him the round. After Charizard saw the strength of Tracey’s Scyther, it became interested in fighting it, though Ash stopped any fight, but soon after they teamed up to fight Team Rocket. Ash then used Charizard in a battle with a boy on Mandarin Island, it took out the Tauros it was fighting easily before flying off, trying to incinerate everything around. However Prima had her Slowbro use Disable to stop Charizard, letting Ash recall it. Later, he used the Flame Pokémon to fight a Poliwrath belonging to Tad, refusing to listen to any of its Trainer’s commands and kept firing Flamethrower at its opponent, despite the attack’s ineffectiveness. Poliwrath used Water Gun, which almost put out Charizard’s tail flame, before using Ice Beam to trap the Flame Pokémon in ice. Horrified, Ash shattered the ice around Charizard’s head and lit a fire next to it to help thaw it out, also rubbing it to help restore its body heat. Despite rubbing his hands raw, Ash kept it up, receiving help from Misty, Tracey, and Pikachu, and continued working to make Charizard better all throughout the night. Seeing this reminded the Flame Pokémon of how kind Ash had always been to it and by morning, it had recovered, with its loyalty to Ash restored as well. Charizard aided Ash in saving Pikachu from Team Rocket, learning how to use Dragon Rage when Ash and Pikachu were knocked out. Charizard had a rematch with Tad’s Poliwrath, successfully dodging Ice Beam and taking it down with Seismic Toss.

Battles with Ash
Charizard was later used along with Pikachu in Ash’s Gym Battle with Luana’s Alakazam and Marowak. While at first Charizard and Pikachu had trouble working as a team, they managed to get it together, helping each other deal with their opponent’s attacks. Eventually, Charizard managed to make Marowak and Alakazam knock each other out, winning Ash the match. Later, it helped bring Ash to Ice Island to claim the Ice Sphere and helped fend off Moltres, but was quickly recalled by Ash after the destruction of his sleigh. Charizard was then used in Ash’s battle with Drake, where it managed to defeat his Electabuzz, before taking on Dragonite. However it was weakened after being hit by the Dragon Pokémon's Water Gun and then knocked to the ground. Charizard and Dragonite both fired Dragon Rage at each other, but Charizard was finally overpowered and defeated. Ash brought it with him to the Johto region, where its power gave Ash an extreme edge. He used it against Casey, where it defeated her Pidgey just by exhaling, her Rattata when it bounced off its stomach, and her Chikorita just by slightly burning it with Flamethrower. Ash used Charizard in his Gym Battle with Falkner, taking on the Gym Leader’s Pidgeot. Pidgeot’s speed gave it the advantage and it even used Whirlwind to send Charizard’s Flamethrower back at it. After being repeatedly hit by attacks, the Flame Pokémon appeared defeated, but it got its second wind and managed to strike Pidgeot with a Fire Spin, before taking it down with Seismic Toss, winning the match. Misty eventually criticized Ash for using Charizard too much against inexperienced Trainers, which gave him an unfair advantage that let him keep winning. However Ash met Liza, who taught him how to fly on Charizard’s back and showed them the Charicific Valley, home to many strong Charizard. Ash and Charizard tried to prove how strong Charizard was, but Liza said that only weak Charizard showed off like his did. Angry, Charizard kept picking fights with the other Charizard, but was easily swept aside, even by the gentlest Charizard in the valley. Eventually, it was tossed out of the valley and Liza told it to train and reflect. Charizard remained in the lake it was tossed into for some time and Ash didn’t want to move on, knowing Charizard wanted to get stronger. Sympathizing with the Flame Pokémon, Team Rocket kept it awake in the water and staged an attack on the Charicific Valley. Charizard drove them off, proving itself to Liza, her Charizard, Charla, and the other Charizard and its determination to become great. Though sad at the idea of Charizard leaving him, Ash just angrily told it he didn’t want a weakling Pokémon on his team and he didn’t need it. He told Charizard to train in the valley, so as to become as strong as it desired to be, and ran away with tears in his eyes, knowing he couldn’t stop, since he’d be unable to say goodbye. Charizard and Pikachu said goodbye to each other, before the Flame Pokémon began its training.

Returns from training
On one occasion, Charizard saw that Ash was in trouble in Greenfield, which Liza was watching on TV. It left the Charicific Valley to help and arrived just in time to catch Ash as he was falling off a cliff. Charizard then took on Entei and while it was able to put up a good fight, it was defeated by the Legendary Pokémon. But before Entei could kill Charizard, the bond it had with Ash made Molly change her mind and call Entei off. Charizard then worked together with Pikachu and Entei to break the forcefield created by the Unown, breaking the spell they had put on the area. Charizard then returned to the Charicific Valley. As time went by, Charizard grew even stronger and took on the role of bodyguard for Charla, apparently developing a romantic bond with her. On one occasion, Liza brought Charizard and Charla with her on a visit to the Dragon’s Valley, where they ran into Ash, Clair, and his friends, who were pursuing Team Rocket after they stole the Blackthorn Gym’s Dragon Fang and tricked the Valley’s guardian, Dragonite, into aiding them. Charizard, Liza, and Charla joined them, but Team Rocket accidentally started a fire in the forest from the flame in the Dragon Shrine, causing Dragonite to go berserk. Charizard and Clair’s Dragonair took on Dragonite, finally managing to beat it and calm it down. In Ash’s Gym Rematch with Clair, Charizard took on Clair’s Dragonair, successfully evaporating the pool in the Gym, preventing Dragonair from protecting itself. They continued to fight and Charizard tried using Seismic Toss, but Dragonair used Dragon Rage, badly harming the Flame Pokémon and preventing it from completing the attack. However Charizard used Seismic Toss again, but when Dragonair used Dragon Rage, the Flame Pokémon used Fire Spin to ignite the tornado Dragon Rage generated. Not only did this weaken Dragonair, this let Charizard complete its Seismic Toss, defeating the Dragon Pokémon and winning Ash the battle. Ash then had Charizard go back to the Charicific Valley with Liza to train more, knowing it still had much to learn. During the Silver Conference, Ash had Liza send Charizard to him for his match against Gary Oak. After being left with only one Pokémon, Ash called the Flame Pokémon out and it managed to fight and defeat Gary’s Scizor, thanks to its type advantage and equal speed. Gary sent out his Golem to fight Charizard, which was able to prevent the Flame Pokémon from using Seismic Toss. However it was finally able to defeat Golem with a powerful Dragon Rage. Charizard then took on Gary’s Blastoise, which it struggled to defeat thanks to Blastoise’s high defense skills. The Flame Pokémon tried taking to the air, only to be held at bay by Hydro Pump, but Ash had Charizard blast the field with Flamethrower, melting the rocks and heating it up. Blastoise cooled the field down, but the cloud of steam generated let Charizard get in close and start grappling with the Shellfish Pokémon. Blastoise used Withdraw to dodge Dragon Rage, but Charizard managed to finish it off with a Seismic Toss, winning Ash the battle. In Ash’s next match with Harrison, he sent Charizard out against Blaziken. In their fight, Blaziken’s incredible jumping ability took away Charizard’s aerial advantage and they each landed powerful attacks on each other with Blaziken even using Flamethrower to weaken the impact of Charizard’s Seismic Toss. In the end, the two used their Dragon Rage and Flamethrower against each other, but Blaziken was the one who got up, losing Ash the match. After the Silver Conference, Charizard went back to the Charicific Valley, but Ash would again call on it for his first fight in the Battle Frontier against Noland. It took on Noland’s Articuno, succeeding in matching the Legendary Pokémon at first. But it was able to remain unaffected by Charizard’s Flamethrower and Dragon Breath, using Mist to prevent the Flame Pokémon from seeing and hitting it with Steel Wing. Articuno then used Water Pulse to badly damage Charizard, freezing its wing tip as well. However the Flame Pokémon finally used its newly learned Overheat to melt the ice, before grabbing Articuno as it was again trying to use Steel Wing, then used Seismic Toss on the Legendary Pokémon. Though Charizard collapsed at first, it got back to its feet as Articuno fainted, winning the match. It was also used in Ash’s battle against Brandon, along with Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Pikachu. Charizard took on Dusclops, which managed to use Confuse Ray, Mean Look, and Will-O-Wisp on it, forcing the Flame Pokémon to fight in a confused state, while continually taking damage. Charizard managed to snap out of the confusion and weakened Dusclops with Dragon Breath. It tried using Seismic Toss, but Dusclops dissipated and reformed away from Charizard, taking out the Fire-type with a Shadow Punch. However Ash was able to win and Charizard returned to the Charicific Valley.

In the reboot like his Charmeleon form, he seem to be more obeidiant to Ash then not follow his orders, also protecting his old Trainer from Mareshadow attack, same if he abandoned him in Charmander form.

Personality
While Charizard was a Charmander, it was an extremely loyal Pokémon, doing as Damian asked it, despite the risks to itself. After seeing how Damian really acted, Charmander suffered from some issues with abandonment. But after becoming a Charmeleon and Charizard, it was very different, not caring about friendship and constantly seeking to increase its strength on its own. Ironically, it had become very similar to Damian. Even when it fought for Ash, Charizard only did so because of its pride, though at times, it showed it still had a small shred of its loyalty to Ash. After Ash helped it recover after its fight with Poliwrath, Charizard has become loyal to its Trainer once again, though it still constantly seeks to become stronger and has a strong sense of pride. It also has a habit of blasting Ash with Flamethrower, but while it used to be a sign of its rebellious attitude, it now uses it as a sign of affection.

Abilities
Charizard is one of Ash’s strongest Pokémon, having defeated many powerful opponents and even defeating a Legendary Pokémon. It has high strength, speed, and endurance and is able to fly thanks to its wings. Charizard’s known attacks are Flamethrower, a powerful blast of flame it fires from its mouth, Seismic Toss, where it picks up its opponent, flies into the air, spins around a few times, then slams them into the ground, Fire Spin, a spinning fire blast, Dragon Rage, a fiery ball of energy Charizard fires from its mouth, Mega Punch, a powerful punch, Overheat, a white hot blast of fire that gets weaker when used repeatedly, Dragon Breath, a beam of air that Charizard breathes out of its mouth, Take Down, a powerful body slam, Steel Wing, a metal based strike with its wing, Leer, a glare that lowers the opponent’s defense, Ember, a barrage of fireballs fired from Charizard’s mouth, Rage, where it becomes more ferocious and boosts its attacking power, and Submission, where it grabs the opponent and flies around in circles.

Trivia

 * Charizard’s gender has never been officially confirmed, though it has been hinted to be male. In the English dub of one episode, Brock referred to it as male and its relationship with Charla also hinted to its gender.
 * Charizard has used the most moves out of all of Ash’s Pokémon, was the first of his Starter Pokémon to fully evolve, the first to defeat a Legendary Pokémon, and the only one of Ash’s Pokémon that didn’t obey him after evolving.
 * Charizard returns in the Pokémon: Best Wishes series (Episode N).