Is Charmander Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
One of three Kanto starters from Professor Oak after beating Red at Mt. Silver. Charizard at 36 is the most popular choice for Battle Frontier runs. Too late for anything else.
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 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 Charmander in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Charmander is one of the three Kanto starters Oak offers in Pallet Town after you defeat Red. The fire lizard never appears wild, so choosing it locks out Bulbasaur and Squirtle for that save file.
1 location to catch Charmander
Badge 8How to Obtain Charmander in HGSS
- Step 1Charmander ✓
- Step 2Evolve into Charmeleon
- Step 3Evolve into Charizard
How to Get Shiny Charmander in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Charmander is another of Oak's Pallet Town gifts, so breed it Masuda-style with a foreign parent for a shiny. Compare Shiny Charmander odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Charmander 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.
Want exact numbers for your session? Calculate your shiny odds in HeartGold & SoulSilver with Charmander preloaded.
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
 Rampardos Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cranidos (Pewter City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Rampardos builds →Head Smash 2x441-519%KO Earthquake 2x197-232%KO Surf 2x77-91% | ||
 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 | ||
 Gyarados Water | S | |
Obtain MethodLake Of Rage Good Rod Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Gyarados builds →Aqua Tail 2x209-246%KO Earthquake 2x154-182%KO Stone Edge 2x154-182%KO | ||
 Suicune Water | A | |
Obtain MethodBurned Tower Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Suicune builds →Surf 2x150-177%KO Dig 2x81-96% | ||
 Kabutops RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Kabuto (Pewter City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Kabutops builds →Waterfall 2x173-204%KO Stone Edge 2x215-254%KO Dig 2x115-136%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% | ||
 Vaporeon Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Vaporeon builds →Surf 2x176-208%KO Dig 2x72-86% | ||
 Tentacruel WaterPoison | B | |
Obtain MethodCherrygrove City Surfing Available Move Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Tentacruel builds →Hydro Pump 2x171-202%KO | ||
 Golduck Water | C | |
Obtain MethodIlex Forest Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Golduck builds →Hydro Pump 2x197-233%KO Dig 2x87-103%KO | ||
 Tyranitar RockDark | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Tyranitar builds →Stone Edge 2x247-290%KO Earthquake 2x164-194%KO Surf 2x104-123%KO | ||
 Omastar RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Omanyte (Pewter 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% | ||
 Slowbro WaterPsychic | C | |
Obtain MethodSlowpoke Well Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Slowbro builds →Surf 2x163-192%KO Earthquake 2x101-119%KO | ||
 Swampert WaterGround | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Mudkip (Silph Co Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Charmander View Swampert builds →Earthquake 2x207-244%KO Waterfall 2x167-196%KO Stone Edge 2x138-163%KO | ||
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 10 more to offspring.
HGSS Charmander Best Moveset
Fire typing costs 25% HP from MoveStealth Rock per switch, and 39 HP collapses to any returned hit. The moveset has 60 Sp. Atk for basic special Fire damage and AbilityBlaze at low HP. Not built to compete at this stage.
Best Build
Charmander best EVs are Speed and Attack
Utility Moveset
- Dragon Dance
- Thunder Punch
- Fire Punch
- Crunch
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Flamethrower and Fire Blast bring the raw damage. But Charmander also picks up coverage across 11 types from TMs, making it tough to find a safe switch. You're not locked into one angle here.
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
All 25 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
The flame on its tail shows the strength of its life force. If it is weak, the flame also burns weakly.
The flame on its tail indicates CHARMANDER’s life force. If it is healthy, the flame burns brightly.
Charmander Event Distributions
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Charmander is an occasional Mystery Gift target, offered in a small run of events.
Birthday Commemoration GiftHeartGoldDiamondPearlNot shiny
Birthday Commemoration GiftHeartGoldSoulSilverDiamondPearlPlatinumNot shiny
Birthday Commemoration GiftHeartGoldSoulSilverDiamondPearlPlatinumNot shiny
Charmander HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Charmander has 309 BST and evolves into Charmeleon. Compare the two forms before you give either one a team slot.
Yes. Charmander is not available during the main story. It can only be obtained after entering the Hall of Fame. Charmander becomes available after the main story is complete in HeartGold & SoulSilver.
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
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