What does Charmander evolve into?

Charmander becomes Charmeleon at level 16, then Charizard at level 36. Straight three-stage line with no branching.

At what level does Charmander evolve?

Charmander evolves into Charmeleon at level 16. Early evolution, you'll hit it before the third gym in most games.

Should I use Charmander?

For Red & Blue, you can run Charmander through the first few routes without issues. 299 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Charmeleon as fast as you can.

Where can you catch Charmander?

Charmander is catchable in Red & Blue. Check the Locations section above for specific routes, encounter rates, and methods. It also appears in 20 other games across the series.

Charmander - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Special

Balanced

DTier

65Speed · Below Avg

Stats & Training

Speed and Attack carry most of Charmander's stat budget. HP's the obvious dump stat. Tough to catch and yields 1 Speed stat exp. Follows a 1.06M XP medium-slow curve.

Base Stats

Below

HP39

Attack52

Defense43

Sp. Atk50

Sp. Def50

Speed65

Total299

Details

Catch Rate

Challenging45 / 255

Growth Rate

Medium Slow1.06M XP

Height0.6 m

Weight8.5 kg

Base XP62

Abilities

Abilities were introduced in Generation III. Shown below for reference.

Blaze

Strengthens fire moves to inflict 1.5× damage at 1/3 max HP or less.

Solar PowerHA

Increases Special Attack to 1.5× but costs 1/8 max HP after each turn during strong sunlight.

EV Yield

HPAtkDefSpASpDSpe+1

Speed training source

Pokedex Entries

Obviously prefers hot places. When it rains, steam is said to spout from the tip of its tail.

Charmander Weakness

Charmander is weak to Water, Ground, and Rock. 4 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Standard number of weaknesses for the Fire typing.

Charmander Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Water, Ground, Rock
0.5x (Resist)	Fire, Grass, Ice, Bug

Type ChartAvg

3Weak

4Resist

0Immune

Score-2

Gen I Type Chart

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

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Water Ground Rock

½xResist

Fire Grass Ice Bug

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

None

STAB (3)

Grass Ice Bug

How to Beat Charmander in Red & Blue (Best Counters)

Squirtle Water	D
Obtain MethodPallet Town Gift Upcoming Move Moves BubbleLv. 8 Learns Bubble at Level 8 View Squirtle builds →

Red & Blue Evolution

Charmander evolves into Charizard, but can't breed. At 299 stats as a Fire type, evolution is the only path. Evolving adds up to 235 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

3 Forms

#004Charmander

Level 16

#005Charmeleon

Level 36

#006Charizard

Stat Comparison 3 Stages

Charmander

Fire

Charmeleon

Fire

Charizard

FireFlying

58+19

78+20

ATK

64+12

84+20

DEF

58+15

78+20

SP.ATK

80+20

109+29

SP.DEF

65+15

85+20

SPE

80+15

100+20

BST

309D-Tier

405D-Tier+96

534B-Tier+129

ROLE

Balanced

Sweeper

TYPE

Utility

Special

Breeding not available · Introduced in Gen 2

Red & Blue Charmander Best Moveset

Best Build

Experimental

Utility

Ability

Not in Gen 1

Item

Not in Gen 1

Nature

Not in Gen 1

Utility Moveset

FlamethrowerSTAB
Fire SpinSTAB
EmberSTAB
Fire BlastSTAB

Recommended Teammates

SquirtleGood

BulbasaurGood

IvysaurGood

Moves

TMs carry this one. Charmander learns Fire Blast and Flamethrower naturally for STAB, but the offensive range comes almost entirely from technical machines. Normal and Fighting and beyond give it real matchup play.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Growl

B—10040Normal

Lv 1

Scratch

—4010035Normal

Lv 9

Ember

A4010025Fire

Lv 15

Leer

——10030Normal

Lv 22

Rage

—2010020Normal

Lv 30

Slash

B7010020Normal

Lv 38

Flamethrower

S9510015Fire

Lv 46

Fire Spin

S357015Fire

TM Moves

TM34

Bide+1

———10Normal

TM08

Body Slam

D8510015Normal

TM18

Counter-5

D—10020Fighting

HM01

Cut

—509530Normal

TM28

Dig

—10010010Ground

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM10

Double-Edge

C12010015Normal

TM23

Dragon Rage

——10010Dragon

TM38

Fire Blast

A120855Fire

TM05

Mega Kick

D120755Normal

TM01

Mega Punch

D808520Normal

TM31

Mimic

———10Normal

TM20

Rage

—2010020Normal

TM33

Reflect

C——20Psychic

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM19

Seismic Toss

D—10020Fighting

TM40

Skull Bash

C10010010Normal

HM04

Strength

—8010015Normal

TM17

Submission

D808025Fighting

TM50

Substitute

B——10Normal

TM39

Swift

D60—20Normal

TM03

Swords Dance

C——30Normal

TM09

Take Down

—908520Normal

TM06

Toxic

C—9010Poison

Egg Moves

Charmander doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Charmander can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Charmander in Red & Blue

Charmander is handed to you at Pallet Town. No encounter rates or random spawns involved, so there's nothing to grind. Check the location details below for the exact conditions to trigger it.

Best Locations to Catch Charmander in Red & Blue

Pallet Town

RedGift from NPC Lv.5 City

LimitedEarly

Starter choice

Pallet Town

BlueGift from NPC Lv.5 City

LimitedEarly

Starter choice

Charmander Guide

Charmander becomes Charmeleon at level 16, then Charizard at level 36. Straight three-stage line with no branching.
Charmander evolves into Charmeleon at level 16. Early evolution, you'll hit it before the third gym in most games.
For Red & Blue, you can run Charmander through the first few routes without issues. 299 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Charmeleon as fast as you can.
Charmander is catchable in Red & Blue. Check the Locations section above for specific routes, encounter rates, and methods. It also appears in 20 other games across the series.

Game Availability

One of the original 151, Charmander has appeared in 21 games — nearly every mainline game. From Red & Blue through the latest titles, it's rarely been left out of a regional Pokedex.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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Geodude RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Rock ThrowLv. 16 Damage vs Charmander Dig 2x 123-147%KO Rock Throw 2x 81-98% View Geodude builds →
Sandshrew Ground	C
TM Move Moves DigTM28 Damage vs Charmander Dig 2x 119-140%KO View Sandshrew builds →
Squirtle Water	D
Obtain MethodPallet Town Gift Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Bubble BeamTM11 BubbleLv. 8 Water GunTM12 Damage vs Charmander Dig 2x 58-70% Bubble Beam 2x 70-84% Bubble 2x 47-56% Water Gun 2x 47-56% View Squirtle builds →

Geodude RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Rock ThrowLv. 16 Damage vs Charmander Dig 2x 123-147%KO Rock Throw 2x 81-98% View Geodude builds →
Sandshrew Ground	C
TM Move Moves DigTM28 Damage vs Charmander Dig 2x 119-140%KO View Sandshrew builds →
Squirtle Water	D
Obtain MethodPallet Town Gift Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Bubble BeamTM11 BubbleLv. 8 Water GunTM12 Damage vs Charmander Dig 2x 58-70% Bubble Beam 2x 70-84% Bubble 2x 47-56% Water Gun 2x 47-56% View Squirtle builds →

Onix RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Rock SlideTM48 Rock ThrowLv. 19 Damage vs Charmander Dig 2x 83-99% Rock Slide 2x 80-94% Rock Throw 2x 54-64% View Onix builds →
Geodude RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Rock SlideTM48 Rock ThrowLv. 16 Damage vs Charmander Dig 2x 123-146%KO Rock Slide 2x 116-137%KO Rock Throw 2x 80-94% View Geodude builds →
Dugtrio Ground	C
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Rock SlideTM48 Damage vs Charmander Dig 2x 146-171%KO Rock Slide 2x 91-109%KO View Dugtrio builds →
Cubone Ground	D
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Bone ClubLv. 1 Bubble BeamTM11 Water GunTM12 Damage vs Charmander Dig 2x 87-103%KO Bone Club 2x 73-86% Bubble Beam 2x 39-46% Water Gun 2x 26-31% View Cubone builds →
Squirtle Water	D
Obtain MethodPallet Town Gift Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Bubble BeamTM11 BubbleLv. 8 Water GunTM12 Damage vs Charmander Dig 2x 57-69% Bubble Beam 2x 64-77% Bubble 2x 43-51% Water Gun 2x 43-51% View Squirtle builds →

Lapras WaterIce	B
Obtain MethodSilph Co Gift Available Moves Moves Bubble BeamTM11 Water GunTM12 Damage vs Charmander Bubble Beam 2x 99-118%KO Water Gun 2x 61-73% View Lapras builds →
Onix RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Rock SlideTM48 Rock ThrowLv. 19 Damage vs Charmander Earthquake 2x 103-122%KO Dig 2x 82-97% Rock Slide 2x 78-93% Rock Throw 2x 54-65% View Onix builds →
Geodude RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Rock SlideTM48 Rock ThrowLv. 16 Damage vs Charmander Earthquake 2x 154-182%KO Dig 2x 123-146%KO Rock Slide 2x 116-138%KO Rock Throw 2x 78-93% View Geodude builds →
Dugtrio Ground	C
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Rock SlideTM48 Damage vs Charmander Earthquake 2x 182-215%KO Dig 2x 147-174%KO Rock Slide 2x 92-108%KO View Dugtrio builds →
Cubone Ground	D
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Bone ClubLv. 1 Bubble BeamTM11 Damage vs Charmander Earthquake 2x 109-130%KO Dig 2x 89-105%KO Bone Club 2x 72-85% Bubble Beam 2x 38-46% View Cubone builds →

Lapras WaterIce	B
Obtain MethodSilph Co Gift Available Moves Moves SurfHM03 Bubble BeamTM11 Water GunTM12 Damage vs Charmander Surf 2x 133-158%KO Bubble Beam 2x 97-115%KO Water Gun 2x 62-73% View Lapras builds →
Onix RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Rock SlideTM48 Rock ThrowLv. 19 Damage vs Charmander Earthquake 2x 104-123%KO Dig 2x 85-100%KO Rock Slide 2x 81-96% Rock Throw 2x 55-65% View Onix builds →
Rhyhorn GroundRock	C
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Rock SlideTM48 Damage vs Charmander Earthquake 2x 167-196%KO Dig 2x 133-158%KO Rock Slide 2x 127-150%KO View Rhyhorn builds →
Geodude RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves EarthquakeTM26 DigTM28 Rock SlideTM48 Rock ThrowLv. 16 Damage vs Charmander Earthquake 2x 159-188%KO Dig 2x 127-150%KO Rock Slide 2x 121-142%KO Rock Throw 2x 81-96% View Geodude builds →
Squirtle Water	D
Obtain MethodPallet Town Gift Available Moves Moves SurfHM03 DigTM28 Bubble BeamTM11 BubbleLv. 8 Damage vs Charmander Surf 2x 94-112%KO Dig 2x 58-69% Bubble Beam 2x 68-81% Bubble 2x 45-54% View Squirtle builds →