Is Charizard Good in Red & Blue Playthrough?
Charizard earns its keep once it's fully evolved. Fast enough to outrun most of what Red and Blue throws at you, and strong enough to close out fights before they drag on. The early struggle with Charmander makes the payoff feel earned. One of those Pokemon that carries the back half of the game if you put in the work early.
Brock's typing presses Charmander's defenses.
Misty's team hits Charmeleon's weaknesses hard.
Charmeleon has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Charmeleon has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Charizard has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Charizard 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 Giovanni's team.
Charizard trades roughly evenly with Lorelei's team.
Charizard trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Charizard has the type edge here and should clean up Agatha's team.
Lance's team hits Charizard's weaknesses hard.
Charizard trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Starter
Charmander is available as a starter.
Recommended Moves
- After Brock
- TM28GroundDigPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Returned by the Team Rocket thief after you defeat him in Cerulean City
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- After Lt. Surge
- TM05NormalMega KickPower 120Accuracy 75%PP 5Celadon Department Store
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Fuchsia City
- LV 38FireFlamethrowerPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Blaine
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 180Accuracy 85%PP 5Prize for defeating Cinnabar Gym Leader Blaine
Evolve Charmander to Charmeleon
Charmander evolves into Charmeleon at Level 16. Your Charmander should hit Level 16 before you reach Misty, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Brock
- TM28GroundDigPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Returned by the Team Rocket thief after you defeat him in Cerulean City
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- After Lt. Surge
- TM05NormalMega KickPower 120Accuracy 75%PP 5Celadon Department Store
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Fuchsia City
- LV 42FireFlamethrowerPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Blaine
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 180Accuracy 85%PP 5Prize for defeating Cinnabar Gym Leader Blaine
Evolve Charmeleon to Charizard
Charmeleon evolves into Charizard at Level 36. Your Charmeleon should hit Level 36 before you reach Koga, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Brock
- TM28GroundDigPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Returned by the Team Rocket thief after you defeat him in Cerulean City
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Rocket Game Corner
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- LV 46FireFlamethrowerPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Blaine
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 180Accuracy 85%PP 5Prize for defeating Cinnabar Gym Leader Blaine
How to Get Charizard in Red & Blue
Charmeleon evolves into Charizard at level 36. No wild Charizard exists in Red or Blue, so every one in the game was raised from a hatchling-stage Charmander.
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 RB
- Step 2Evolve into Charmeleon
- Step 3Charizard ✓
Charizard Weakness
Type-wise, Charizard takes extra damage from Rock, Water, Electric, and Ice. Watch out for Rock attacks, those deal 4x damage. Ground moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity. It resists 4 types, giving it decent defensive coverage.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 4x (Critical) | Rock |
| 2x (Weak) | Water, Electric, Ice |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Fighting |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Grass, Bug |
| 0x (Immune) | Ground |
- Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
- Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
- Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
What is Charizard Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Charizard
 Rhydon GroundRock | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Rhydon builds →Rock Slide 4x166-196%KO Blizzard 2x34-40% Surf 2x29-35% Thunderbolt 2x29-35% | ||
 Omastar RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Omanyte (Cinnabar Island Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Omastar builds →Surf 2x88-104%KO Blizzard 2x68-81% | ||
 Kabutops RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Kabuto (Cinnabar Island Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Kabutops builds →Surf 2x56-67% Blizzard 2x43-51% | ||
 Jolteon Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
 Lapras WaterIce | B | |
Obtain MethodSilph Co Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Lapras builds →Blizzard 2x81-96% Hydro Pump 2x88-104%KO Thunderbolt 2x47-56% | ||
 Gyarados Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Magikarp (Route 4 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Gyarados builds →Hydro Pump 2x67-79% Blizzard 2x41-49% Thunderbolt 2x35-42% | ||
 Dewgong WaterIce | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Dewgong builds →Blizzard 2x69-81% Surf 2x60-71% | ||
 Starmie WaterPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Staryu (Cinnabar Island Super Rod) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Starmie builds →Surf 2x79-94% Blizzard 2x61-72% Thunderbolt 2x53-63% | ||
 Blastoise Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Squirtle (Pallet Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Blastoise builds →Surf 2x71-83% Blizzard 2x54-64% | ||
 Slowbro WaterPsychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Slowbro builds →Surf 2x79-94% Blizzard 2x61-72% | ||
 Seadra Water | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charizard View Seadra builds →Surf 2x76-90% Blizzard 2x59-69% | ||
 Raichu Electric | C | |
 Electrode Electric | B | |
Obtain MethodPower Plant Interact Encounter | ||
Charizard Evolutions
Charmander's chain leads to Charizard (at level 36). A Fire/Flying type at 510 stats, sitting in the Undiscovered group. Evolving from Charmander gave Charizard the biggest boost in HP (+39), bringing the total to 510 stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
RB Charizard Best Moveset
MoveEarthquake on every serious team and Rock moves punishing the Fire/Flying combination kept Charizard out of the top tier. 85 Special powers decent Fire TermStab from MoveFire Blast, with physical coverage filling gaps. Strong enough for mid-tier but the typing works against it.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Swords Dance
- Hyper Beam
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
TMs define Charizard's movepool. The natural moves cover basics with Fire Blast and Flamethrower, but the real versatility comes from technical machines giving it Normal and Fighting coverage and more. That's where the options open up.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- 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.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM 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 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
All 27 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Spits fire that is hot enough to melt boulders. Known to cause forest fires unintentionally.
Charizard Red & Blue Guide
Mega Evolution isn't available in Red & Blue, but Charizard does have a Mega form in Gen 6-7 games (X/Y, ORAS, Sun/Moon). Mega Charizard hits 610 BST.
In Red & Blue, Charizard plays as a pivot. It outspeeds most threats, so it can pressure opponents before they move.
Gigantamax Charizard is exclusive to Sword & Shield, so it's not usable in Red & Blue. The form has a unique appearance and a signature G-Max move.
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
Explore
Where to go next after Charizard.
Keep playing · Red & BlueRed & Blue Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Red & Blue Tier List