
Is Charizard Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Fire/Flying at level 36. AbilityBlaze for a clutch Fire boost. Post-Red reward only, so Charizard's role is Battle Frontier and Red rematches. HGSS gives it MoveAir Slash as a special Flying move matching its stronger special side.
Charmander trades roughly evenly with Falkner's team.
Charmander has the type edge here and should clean up Bugsy's team.
Charmander trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Charmander trades roughly evenly with Morty's team.
Chuck's team hits Charmander's weaknesses hard.
Charmander has the type edge here and should clean up Jasmine's team.
Charmander has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Clair's team hits Charmander's weaknesses hard.
Brock's team hits Charmander's weaknesses hard.
Misty's team hits Charmander's weaknesses hard.
Charmander trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Charmander has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Charmander has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Charmander trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Charizard trades roughly evenly with Blaine's team.
Charizard has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Charizard has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Charizard resists most of Koga's coverage and hits back hard.
Charizard resists most of Bruno's coverage and hits back hard.
Charizard resists most of Karen's coverage and hits back hard.
Charizard trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Gift Charmander
Charmander is given to you as a gift in Pallet Town at Lv 5. From Professor Oak after defeating Red. Receive from Professor Oak in Pallet Town after obtaining the National Pokedex.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 180Accuracy 85%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- After Whitney
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Hiker on Route 42
- LV 25FireFire FangPower 98Accuracy 95%PP 15
- After Chuck
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Chuck
- LV 34FireFlamethrowerPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Jasmine
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15Prize for defeating Jasmine
- After Clair
- TM02DragonDragon ClawPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Route 27
Evolve Charmander to Charizard
Charmeleon evolves into Charizard at Level 36. Your Charmander should hit Level 36 before you reach Blaine, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 180Accuracy 85%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- After Chuck
- HM02FlyingFlyPower 135Accuracy 95%PP 15From Chuck's wife outside Cianwood Gym
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Chuck
- After Pryce
- TUTORFireBlast BurnPower 225Accuracy 90%PP 5Blackthorn City
- LV 42FireFlamethrowerPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 59FireHeat WavePower 150Accuracy 90%PP 10
- LV 66FireFlare BlitzPower 180Accuracy 100%PP 15
How to Get Charizard in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Charmeleon evolves into Charizard at level 36, the top of a line that never touches the wild. Because the whole chain starts with Oak's post-Red gift, you get exactly one shot at raising the fire flyer per save.
Catch Charmander at any of these 1 spot to eventually evolve into Charizard.
- 1Catch Charmander
- 2
- 3Evolve Charizardat Lv.36
How to Obtain Charizard in HGSS
Step 2Evolve into Charmeleon
Step 3Charizard ✓
How to Get Shiny Charizard in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Charizard tops the Charmander line, so breed the Pallet Town starter Masuda-style and raise it into the dragon. Compare Shiny Charizard odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Charizard Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Soft Reset: Save in front of a static, gift, or legendary encounter, then reset until it sparkles.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Planning a longer hunt? Set up Charizard in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Odds Calculator to compare every method side by side.
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. It resists 5 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. 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 |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Grass, Bug |
| 0x (Immune) | Ground |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Charizard Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Charizard
Rampardos Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cranidos (Pewter City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Rampardos builds →Head Smash 4x420-494%KO Thunderbolt 2x38-45% Surf 2x38-45% | ||
Tyranitar RockDark | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Tyranitar builds →Stone Edge 4x235-277%KO Thunderbolt 2x51-61% Surf 2x51-61% | ||
Rhydon GroundRock | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Rhydon builds →Stone Edge 4x228-269%KO Thunderbolt 2x29-34% Surf 2x29-34% | ||
Kabutops RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Kabuto (Pewter City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Kabutops builds →Stone Edge 4x206-243%KO Waterfall 2x82-97% | ||
Aerodactyl Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodPewter City Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Aerodactyl builds →Stone Edge 4x189-223%KO Thunder Fang 2x41-49% | ||
Armaldo RockBug | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Anorith (Pewter City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Armaldo builds →Stone Edge 4x221-260%KO Water Pulse 2x26-30% | ||
Solrock RockPsychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Solrock builds →Stone Edge 4x175-206%KO Charge Beam 2x19-22% | ||
Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 36 Interact Encounter | ||
Gyarados Water | S | |
Obtain MethodLake Of Rage Good Rod Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Gyarados builds →Stone Edge 4x147-173%KO Aqua Tail 2x100-117%KO Thunderbolt 2x36-43% | ||
Raikou Electric | B | |
Cradily RockGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Lileep (Pewter City Gift) | ||
Lunatone RockPsychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Lunatone builds →Stone Edge 4x114-134%KO Charge Beam 2x27-32% | ||
Suicune Water | A | |
Obtain MethodBurned Tower Interact Encounter | ||
Vaporeon Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) | ||
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 Ancient Power, Beat Up, Belly Drum and 10 more.
HGSS Charizard Best Moveset
Special Fire and Flying attacks powered by 109 Sp. Atk at 100 Speed give the moveset real offensive presence. AbilityBlaze adds desperation power, but 25% HP from MoveStealth Rock every switch defines how many turns Charizard actually gets.
Best Build
Charizard best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed
Special Sweeper Moveset
- Air Slash
- Flamethrower
- Solar Beam
- Hidden Power Grass
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Stall teams hate this. Charizard can spread damage across 11 types, with Dragon and Normal punishing common defensive pivots. STAB from Blast Burn and Flare Blitz keeps the pressure honest on everything else.
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
33 of 34 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
If CHARIZARD becomes furious, the flame at the tip of its tail flares up in a light blue shade.
Breathing intense, hot flames, it can melt almost anything. Its breath inflicts terrible pain on enemies.
Charizard HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
Mega Evolution isn't available in HeartGold & SoulSilver, but Charizard does have a Mega form in Gen 6-7 games (X/Y, ORAS, Sun/Moon). Mega Charizard hits 634 BST.
Yes. Charizard is not available during the main story. It can only be obtained after entering the Hall of Fame. Charizard becomes available after the main story is complete in HeartGold & SoulSilver.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Charizard plays as a sweeper. It outspeeds most threats, so it can pressure opponents before they move. Flamethrower is the primary attack.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Timid is the go-to nature for Charizard. That's +Speed / -Attack. Pair it with 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe EVs. Fits the sweeper role.
Game Availability
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 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 7Let's Go

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
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