Special
Sweeper
534High
100Fast
BTier

Charizard's Fire/Flying typing gives it an immunity to Ground. Only 3 weaknesses on top of that — it has plenty of safe switch-in opportunities. A competitive option since Gen 1. It clears the crowded base-100 Speed benchmark.

Charizard's built around special offense. Sp. Atk leads the charge, HP pays for it. Tough to catch, worth 3 Sp. Atk EVs. Follows a 1.06M XP medium-slow curve.

Base Stats
534High
HP78
C
Attack84
C
Defense78
C
Sp. Atk109
B
Sp. Def85
C
Speed100
B
Total534
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Charizard yields +3 SpA
HPAtkDefSpA+3SpDSpe
Details
Catch45Challenging•Medium Slow1.06M XP•1.7m / 5'07"•90.5kg / 199.5 lbs•267Base XP
Pokedex Entries

It is said that Charizard’s fire burns hotter if it has experienced harsh battles.

Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl

Charizard Weakness

Excellent

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.

4xCriticali
Rock
2xWeaki
WaterElectric
½xResisti
FireFightingSteelFairy
¼xResisti
GrassBug
0xImmunei
Ground
STAB (5)i
GrassIceBugSteelFighting
3Weak
6Resist
1Immune
Scorei+3
Stealth Rock50% on switch
4x Rock — Stone Edge, Rock Slide, Stealth Rock
Abilities
BlazeStrengthens fire moves to inflict 1.5× damage at 1/3 max HP or less.
Solar PowerHAIncreases Special Attack to 1.5× but costs 1/8 max HP after each turn during strong sunlight.

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.

How to Evolve

3 Forms
Charmander
#004Charmander
16
Level 16
Charmeleon
#005Charmeleon
36
Level 36
Charizard
#006Charizard
Stat Comparison 3 Stages
Charmander
Fire
Charmeleon
Fire
Charizard
FireFlying
HP
39
58+19
78+20
ATK
52
64+12
84+20
DEF
43
58+15
78+20
SP.ATK
60
80+20
109+29
SP.DEF
50
65+15
85+20
SPE
65
80+15
100+20
BST
309D-Tier
405D-Tier+96
534B-Tier+129
ROLE
Balanced
Balanced
Sweeper
TYPE
Utility
Special
Special
Breeding
Easy

Breed with Charizard to get Charmander eggs easily from the Dragon and Monster egg groups. Notable egg moves include Air Cutter, Ancient Power, Beat Up and 11 more.

Egg Groups
DragonMonster
Gender
♂87.5%♀12.5%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
14moves

You commit to a move every time Charizard comes in. Choice Specs gives boosted special damage with move lock, and Solarpower adds to that. Max Sp. Atk and Speed EVs make sure the locked move actually hurts. Double STAB covers the rest.

Best Build

Special Sweeper
Ability
Solarpower
Item
Choice SpecsPOWER
Nature
Modest+SPA
EVs

Best Charizard Moveset

  • Air SlashSTAB
  • FlamethrowerSTAB
  • OverheatSTAB
  • Heat WaveSTAB

Recommended Teammates

Torkoal
TorkoalDecent
Porygon2
Porygon2Decent

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.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Air Slash
759515Flying
Lv 1
Dragon Claw
8010015Dragon
Lv 1
Ember
4010025Fire
Lv 1
Growl
—10040Normal
Lv 1
Heat Wave
959010Fire
Lv 1
Scratch
4010035Normal
Lv 1
Smokescreen
—10020Normal
Lv 12
Dragon Breath
6010020Dragon
Lv 19
Fire Fang
659515Fire
Lv 24
Slash
7010020Normal
Lv 30
Flamethrower
9010015Fire
Lv 39
Scary Face
—10010Normal
Lv 46
Fire Spin
358515Fire
Lv 54
Inferno
100505Fire
Lv 62
Flare Blitz
12010015Fire

TM Moves

Src
TM40
Aerial Ace
60—20Flying
TM45
Attract
—10015Normal
TM31
Brick Break
7510015Fighting
TM83
Bulldoze
6010020Ground
TM93
Cut
509530Normal
TM28
Dig
8010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
——15Normal
TM02
Dragon Claw
8010015Dragon
TM59
Dragon Pulse
8510010Dragon
TM26
Earthquake
10010010Ground
TM58
Endure+4
——10Normal
TM42
Facade
7010020Normal
TM54
False Swipe
4010040Normal
TM38
Fire Blast
110855Fire
TM35
Flamethrower
9010015Fire
TM56
Fling
—10010Dark
TM94
Fly
909515Flying
TM52
Focus Blast
120705Fighting
TM01
Focus Punch-3
15010020Fighting
TM68
Giga Impact
150905Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM23
Iron Tail
1007515Steel
TM50
Overheat
130905Fire
TM17
Protect+4
——10Normal
TM44
Rest
——10Psychic
TM05
Roar-6
——20Normal
TM80
Rock Slide
759010Rock
TM98
Rock Smash
4010015Fighting
TM39
Rock Tomb
609515Rock
TM51
Roost
——10Flying
TM65
Shadow Claw
7010015Ghost
TM82
Sleep Talk
——10Normal
TM22
Solar Beam
12010010Grass
TM47
Steel Wing
709025Steel
TM96
Strength
8010015Normal
TM90
Substitute
——10Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
——5Fire
TM87
Swagger
—8515Normal
TM75
Swords Dance
——20Normal
TM61
Will-O-Wisp
—8515Fire
TM10
Work Up
——30Normal

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Air Cutter
609525Flying
Egg
Ancient Power
601005Rock
Egg
Beat Up
—10010Dark
Egg
Belly Drum
——10Normal
Egg
Bite
6010025Dark
Egg
Counter-5
—10020Fighting
Egg
Crunch
8010015Dark
Egg
Dragon Dance
——20Dragon
Egg
Dragon Rush
1007510Dragon
Egg
Dragon Tail-6
609010Dragon
Egg
Flare Blitz
12010015Fire
Egg
Metal Claw
509535Steel
Egg
Outrage
12010010Dragon
Egg
Wing Attack
6010035Flying

Tutor Moves

Src
Tutor
Blast Burn
150905Fire

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 Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

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.

  1. Charmander
    Step 1Catch Charmander
    Sandsear Cave
    Brilliant DiamondGrassLv.58-63PostDesertPost-game
    Sandsear Cave
    Shining PearlGrassLv.58-63PostDesertPost-game
    Typhlo Cavern
    Brilliant DiamondGrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    Typhlo Cavern
    Shining PearlGrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    Volcanic Cave
    Shining PearlGrassLv.58-63PostVolcanoPost-game
    Volcanic Cave
    Brilliant DiamondGrassLv.58-63PostVolcanoPost-game
  2. Charmeleon
    Step 2Evolve into Charmeleon
  3. Charizard
    Step 3Charizard ✓

  • Charizard has a 534 base stat total and ranks as B-Tier — a solid choice for the right team. It works best as a sweeper. Base 109 Sp. Atk is where it shines.

  • Charizard's biggest threats include Golem (Rock), Gyarados (Water), and Raikou (Electric), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Golem is the most dangerous since Rock moves deal 4x damage.

  • Charmeleon evolves into Charizard at level 36. Charizard is the final evolution in a 3-stage line starting from Charmander. At 534 BST, it's got solid stats to work with.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Charizard appears in 21 games, including Yellow, Red & Blue, and Gold & Silver.

Charizard first appeared in Red & Blue and spans 21 games across 9 generations. It later gained Mega X and Mega Y forms in Generation 6, a Mega form in Generation 7, and a Gigantamax form in Generation 8, adding new dimensions to its competitive identity.