Is Charizard Good in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Playthrough?
One of the better Underground pickups thanks to Sinnoh's thin Fire roster. Handles Gardenia, Byron, Aaron, and Candice. Crasher Wake and Bertha are bad matchups, but having reliable Fire coverage matters more in BDSP than most games. Reusable TMs let it carry Earthquake and Dragon Claw without opportunity cost.
Roark's team hits Charmander's weaknesses hard.
Charmander has the type edge here and should clean up Gardenia's team.
Charmander trades roughly evenly with Maylene's team.
Crasher Wake's Pokemon outpace and outclass Charmander here.
Charmander trades roughly evenly with Fantina's team.
Charizard has the type edge here and should clean up Byron's team.
Charizard resists most of Candice's coverage and hits back hard.
Charizard trades roughly evenly with Volkner's team.
Charizard has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Charizard trades roughly evenly with Bertha's team.
Charizard has the type edge here and should clean up Flint's team.
Charizard has the type edge here and should clean up Lucian's team.
Charizard trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Charizard cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four. Alternatively, transfer the pre-evolution and level it up to Lv 36.
How to Get Charizard in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
Can't catch Charizard directly. Start with Charmander at moderate rates from the locations below, then evolve at level 36. The 3-stage chain from Charmander to Charizard is where the leveling time goes.
How to Obtain Charizard in BDSP
The path to Charizard starts with Charmander at Lv. 58-63 via walking encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.
Step 1Catch CharmanderSandsear CaveLv.58-63GrassPost-gameTyphlo CavernLv.58-63CavePost-gameVolcanic CaveLv.58-63CavePost-game
Step 2Evolve into Charmeleon
Step 3Charizard ✓
Charizard Weakness
Type-wise, Charizard takes extra damage from Rock, Water, and Electric. Watch out for Rock attacks, those deal 4x damage. Ground moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity. 6 resistances give it solid defensive coverage on top of that. With 78 HP and balanced defenses, Charizard can afford to eat a neutral hit or two.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 4x (Critical) | Rock |
| 2x (Weak) | Water, Electric |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Fighting, Steel, Fairy |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Grass, Bug |
| 0x (Immune) | Ground |
What is Charizard Weak Against
ExcellentBest Pokemon Against Charizard
 Probopass RockSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Probopass builds →Power Gem 4x117-138%KO Thunderbolt 2x42-50% | ||
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
 Floatzel Water | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Floatzel builds →Waterfall 2x79-94% Rock Tomb 4x81-96% | ||
 Gastrodon WaterGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Gastrodon builds →Stone Edge 4x109-129%KO Surf 2x74-88% | ||
 Bibarel NormalWater | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Bibarel builds →Waterfall 2x66-78% Thunderbolt 2x35-42% Rollout 4x35-42% | ||
 Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
Probopass RockSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Probopass builds →Power Gem 4x117-138%KO Thunderbolt 2x42-50% | ||
Graveler RockGround | C | |
Floatzel Water | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Floatzel builds →Waterfall 2x79-94% Rock Tomb 4x81-96% | ||
Gastrodon WaterGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Gastrodon builds →Stone Edge 4x109-129%KO Surf 2x74-88% | ||
Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
Probopass RockSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Probopass builds →Power Gem 4x112-133%KO Thunderbolt 2x42-50% | ||
 Golduck Water | C | |
Obtain MethodCelestic Town Surfing | ||
Graveler RockGround | C | |
Floatzel Water | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Floatzel builds →Waterfall 2x76-90% Rock Tomb 4x78-92% | ||
Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
Probopass RockSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Probopass builds →Power Gem 4x109-129%KO Thunderbolt 2x40-48% | ||
Golduck Water | C | |
Obtain MethodCelestic Town Surfing | ||
Graveler RockGround | C | |
Floatzel Water | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Floatzel builds →Waterfall 2x75-89% Rock Tomb 4x75-89% | ||
Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
Probopass RockSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Probopass builds →Power Gem 4x109-129%KO Thunderbolt 2x40-48% | ||
Golduck Water | C | |
Obtain MethodCelestic Town Surfing | ||
Graveler RockGround | C | |
Floatzel Water | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Floatzel builds →Waterfall 2x74-88% Rock Tomb 4x75-89% | ||
Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
Probopass RockSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Probopass builds →Power Gem 4x109-129%KO Thunderbolt 2x40-48% | ||
Golduck Water | C | |
Obtain MethodCelestic Town Surfing | ||
Graveler RockGround | C | |
 Raichu Electric | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Raichu builds →Thunderbolt 2x68-81% Surf 2x45-54% | ||
Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Sudowoodo builds →Head Smash 4x269-317%KO | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Rhydon builds →Stone Edge 4x225-265%KO Thunderbolt 2x27-32% Surf 2x27-32% | ||
 Magcargo FireRock | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Magcargo builds →Ancient Power 4x94-112%KO | ||
 Corsola WaterRock | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Corsola builds →Power Gem 4x97-115%KO Surf 2x54-63% | ||
Probopass RockSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Probopass builds →Power Gem 4x108-127%KO Thunderbolt 2x40-47% | ||
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Tyranitar can KO Charizard with Stone Edge (457-537%). Starmie threatens a KO with Scald (85-100%).
 Tyranitar RockDark | A | |
Recommended Build AbilitySand Stream ItemChoice Band NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Tyranitar builds →Crunch91-107%KO Stone Edge 4x457-537%KO | ||
 Starmie WaterPsychic | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityAnalytic ItemPower Herb NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Starmie builds →Scald 2x85-100%KO Ice Beam32-37% Psyshock42-50% | ||
 Rotom ElectricGhost | C | |
Recommended Build AbilityLevitate ItemStickybarb NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Rotom builds →Hex33-39% | ||
Charizard Evolutions
Charizard is the final form in a three-stage chain from Charmander through Charmeleon. Breeding this form produces Charmander eggs (average hatch time). Evolving from Charmander gave Charizard the biggest boost in Sp.Atk (+49), bringing the total to 534 stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Charizard to get Charmander eggs easily using 30 partners from the Dragon and Monster egg groups. Notable egg moves include Air Cutter, Ancient Power, Beat Up and 11 more.
BDSP Charizard Best Moveset
The MoveStealth Rock problem that crippled Charizard since Gen 4 finally has an answer in Held ItemHeavy Duty Boots, blocking the 50% HP penalty on every switch. Hidden AbilitySolar Power boosts Sp. Atk 50% in sun, and the moveset pushes Fire and Flying TermStab from 109 base through that combination. D-tier because the format grew faster than these tools compensate.
Best Build
Charizard best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed
Special Sweeper Moveset
- Flamethrower
- Solar Beam
- Air Slash
- Dragon Pulse
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Breeding's the move. Air Cutter and Ancient Power give Charizard options it can't learn any other way, and coverage across 9 types already covers a decent range on top of Blast Burn and Overheat. The egg moves push it further.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It is said that Charizard’s fire burns hotter if it has experienced harsh battles.
Charizard Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Guide
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Charizard has a 534 base stat total and ranks as B-Tier: a solid option in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl for the right team. It works best as a sweeper. Flamethrower with Heavy-Duty Boots is the standard set.
Mega Evolution isn't available in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, but Charizard does have a Mega form in Gen 6-7 games (X/Y, ORAS, Sun/Moon). Mega Charizard hits 634 BST.
Blaze is the go-to ability for Charizard. It strengthens fire moves to inflict 1.5× damage at 1/3 max HP or less. Its hidden ability Solar Power can work in specific setups.
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Charizard fills the sweeper role. It's a special attacker with base 109 Sp. Atk. Base 100 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. And it's enough bulk to take a hit or two.
Game Availability
Charizard first appeared in Red & Blue and spans 21 games across 10 generations. It later gained Mega X and Mega Y forms in Generation 6 and a Gigantamax form in Generation 8, adding new dimensions to its competitive identity.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XYMega XMega Y
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwShGigantamax
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves