Is Charmander Good in Diamond & Pearl Playthrough?
Fire starter from Kanto, import-only through Pal Park. Sinnoh's Fire options are the thinnest in the series. Only the Chimchar and Ponyta lines exist natively, so any imported Fire-type carries outsized value.
Roark's team hits Charmander's weaknesses hard.
Charmander has the type edge here and should clean up Gardenia's team.
Charmander has the type edge here and should clean up Maylene's team.
Crasher Wake's team hits Charmander's weaknesses hard.
Charmander trades roughly evenly with Fantina's team.
Charmander resists most of Byron's coverage and hits back hard.
Charmander has the type edge here and should clean up Candice's team.
Charmander trades roughly evenly with Volkner's team.
Charmander has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Bertha's team hits Charmander's weaknesses hard.
Charmander trades roughly evenly with Flint's team.
Charmander trades roughly evenly with Lucian's team.
Charmander has the type edge here and should clean up Mars's team.
Charmander has the type edge here and should clean up Jupiter's team.
Charmander has the type edge here and should clean up Saturn's team.
Cynthia's team hits Charmander's weaknesses hard.
Trade
Charmander 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.
Recommended Moves
- After Gardenia
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 180Accuracy 85%PP 5Lake Verity
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10Maniac Tunnel
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Lost Tower
- TM31FightingBrick BreakPower 75Accuracy 100%PP 15Oreburgh Gate (basement)
- LV 25FireFire FangPower 98Accuracy 95%PP 15
- LV 34FireFlamethrowerPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Byron
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Oreburgh Gate
- Post-Game
- TM50FireOverheatPower 210Accuracy 90%PP 5Stark Mountain
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
How to Get Charmander in Diamond & Pearl
Charmander has zero wild spots in Sinnoh. With no Kanto starters handed out in these games, you bring one over through Pal Park from a Gen 3 cart or trade for it.
How to Obtain Charmander in DP
- Step 1Charmander ✓CARTRIDGE TRADEAvailableCatch in HeartGold & SoulSilver via Gift · Pallet Town · Gift from Professor Oak (post-Red), then trade to the current game via link cable.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Red & BlueNot TradeableAppears in Red & Blue via Gift · Pallet Town · Starter Pokémon. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom YellowNot TradeableAppears in Yellow via Gift · Route 24. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom FireRed & LeafGreenNot TradeableAppears in FireRed & LeafGreen via Gift · Pallet Town · Starter Pokémon. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom X & YNot TradeableAppears in X & Y via Gift · Lumiose City · Gift from Professor Sycamore. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCENot TradeableAppears in Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon via Walking · Route 3 · Island Scan; Sunday. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCENot TradeableAppears in Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee via Gift · Route 24 · 50 Pokémon caught. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
- Step 2Evolve into Charmeleon
- Step 3Evolve into Charizard
How to Get Shiny Charmander in Diamond & Pearl
Charmander has no home in Sinnoh, so its shiny comes from a HeartGold or SoulSilver playthrough brought over by Pal Park. See every game where Shiny Charmander can be hunted
Charmander Weakness
Charmander is weak to Water, Ground, and Rock. 5 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Standard number of weaknesses for the Fire typing.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Water, Ground, Rock |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Grass, Ice, Bug, Steel |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Charmander Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Charmander
 Garchomp DragonGround | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Garchomp builds →Earthquake 2x240-283%KO Stone Edge 2x160-188%KO Surf 2x90-106%KO | ||
 Marowak Ground | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Marowak builds →Earthquake 2x160-188%KO Stone Edge 2x106-126%KO | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Rhydon builds →Earthquake 2x240-283%KO Stone Edge 2x240-283%KO Surf 2x58-69% | ||
 Kabutops RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Kabuto (Oreburgh City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Kabutops builds →Waterfall 2x173-204%KO Stone Edge 2x215-254%KO Dig 2x115-136%KO | ||
 Vaporeon Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Hearthome City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Vaporeon builds →Surf 2x176-208%KO Dig 2x72-86% | ||
 Empoleon WaterSteel | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Piplup (Lake Verity Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Empoleon builds →Hydro Pump 2x225-265%KO Earthquake 2x113-133%KO Rock Slide 2x85-100%KO | ||
 Golduck Water | C | |
Obtain MethodCelestic Town Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Golduck builds →Hydro Pump 2x197-233%KO Dig 2x87-103%KO | ||
 Kingler Water | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Kingler builds →Crabhammer 2x240-283%KO Dig 2x128-151%KO Rock Slide 2x120-141%KO | ||
 Omastar RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Omanyte (Oreburgh City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Omastar builds →Hydro Pump 2x232-273%KO Ancient Power 2x117-138%KO Mud Shot 2x72-85% | ||
 Torterra GrassGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Torterra builds →Earthquake 2x206-242%KO Stone Edge 2x137-162%KO | ||
 Gliscor Ground | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Gliscor builds →Earthquake 2x183-215%KO Stone Edge 2x122-144%KO | ||
 Floatzel Water | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Floatzel builds →Waterfall 2x160-188%KO Dig 2x106-126%KO Rock Tomb 2x67-79% | ||
 Azumarill Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Azurill (Great Marsh Surfing) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Azumarill builds →Hydro Pump 2x137-162%KO Dig 2x60-71% Rollout 2x24-28% | ||
 Armaldo RockBug | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Anorith (Oreburgh City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Armaldo builds →Stone Edge 2x232-273%KO Earthquake 2x154-182%KO Water Pulse 2x52-62% | ||
Charmander Evolutions
Three stages ahead. Charmander grows into Charmeleon, then pushes on to Charizard. Check the evolution methods below. For breeding, average hatch time with a decent partner pool via two egg groups. Evolving adds up to 225 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Charmander easily with 30 breeding partners from the Dragon and Monster egg groups. Pass egg moves like Ancient Power, Beat Up, Belly Drum and 9 more to offspring.
DP Charmander Best Moveset
Fire typing now means losing a quarter of max HP to MoveStealth Rock every switch-in, and 39 HP can't absorb that. The move slots have special Fire attacks and very little else. Evolve immediately.
Best Build
Charmander best EVs are Speed and Attack
Utility Moveset
- Dragon Dance
- Thunder Punch
- Fire Punch
- Crunch
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Egg moves make a real difference. Charmander gets Ancient Power and Beat Up exclusively through breeding, filling gaps that TMs and level-up can't touch. Coverage across 9 types rounds out the picture alongside Overheat and Flare Blitz.
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
31 of 34 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Transfer Moves
Base Stats
The fire on the tip of its tail is a measure of its life. If healthy, its tail burns intensely.
Charmander Event Distributions
In Diamond & Pearl, Charmander is an occasional Mystery Gift target, offered in a small run of events.
Birthday Commemoration GiftDiamondPearlNot shiny
Birthday Commemoration GiftHeartGoldDiamondPearlNot shiny
Birthday Commemoration GiftHeartGoldSoulSilverDiamondPearlPlatinumNot shiny
Birthday Commemoration GiftHeartGoldSoulSilverDiamondPearlPlatinumNot shiny
Charmander Diamond & Pearl Guide
No. Charmander isn't catchable in Diamond & Pearl. Obtain it as a gift in HeartGold or SoulSilver, then trade it over.
In Diamond & Pearl, Charmander has 309 BST and evolves into Charmeleon. Compare the two forms before you give either one a team slot.
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
- 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 6XY
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 8SwSh
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 Charmander.
Keep playing · Diamond & PearlDiamond & Pearl Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Diamond & Pearl Tier List