Is Chimchar Good in Diamond & Pearl Playthrough?
The most recommended starter in Diamond and Pearl. Sinnoh has almost no other Fire options. Chimchar evolves into Infernape at 36, covering Fire and Fighting. If you don't pick Chimchar, you're stuck with Ponyta as your only native Fire choice.
Roark's team hits Chimchar's weaknesses hard.
Monferno has the type edge here and should clean up Gardenia's team.
Monferno has the type edge here and should clean up Maylene's team.
Monferno trades roughly evenly with Crasher Wake's team.
Monferno trades roughly evenly with Fantina's team.
Infernape resists most of Byron's coverage and hits back hard.
Infernape resists most of Candice's coverage and hits back hard.
Infernape has the type edge here and should clean up Volkner's team.
Infernape has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Infernape has the type edge here and should clean up Bertha's team.
Infernape has the type edge here and should clean up Flint's team.
Infernape has the type edge here and should clean up Lucian's team.
Infernape resists most of Mars's coverage and hits back hard.
Infernape resists most of Jupiter's coverage and hits back hard.
Infernape has the type edge here and should clean up Saturn's team.
Infernape has the type edge here and should clean up Cynthia's team.
Starter
Chimchar is available as a starter at Lv 5.
Recommended Moves
- LV 17FireFlame WheelPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 25
- After Gardenia
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 180Accuracy 85%PP 5Lake Verity
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10Maniac Tunnel
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Lost Tower
- After Byron
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Oreburgh Gate
- HM08NormalRock ClimbPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20Route 217
- LV 41FireFlamethrowerPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15
- Post-Game
- TM50FireOverheatPower 210Accuracy 90%PP 5Stark Mountain
Evolve Chimchar to Monferno
Chimchar evolves into Monferno at Level 14. Your Chimchar should hit Level 14 before you reach Gardenia, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Gardenia
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 180Accuracy 85%PP 5Lake Verity
- TM52FightingFocus BlastPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 5Veilstone Department Store
- TM35FireFlamethrowerPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Veilstone Game Corner
- TM31FightingBrick BreakPower 113Accuracy 100%PP 15Oreburgh Gate (basement)
- LV 36FightingClose CombatPower 180Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Byron
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 225Accuracy 100%PP 20Oreburgh Gate
- LV 49FireFlare BlitzPower 180Accuracy 100%PP 15
- Post-Game
- TM50FireOverheatPower 210Accuracy 90%PP 5Stark Mountain
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
Evolve Monferno to Infernape
Monferno evolves into Infernape at Level 36. Your Monferno should hit Level 36 before you reach Byron, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Gardenia
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 180Accuracy 85%PP 5Lake Verity
- TM35FireFlamethrowerPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Veilstone Game Corner
- TM68NormalGiga ImpactPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Game Corner
- After Byron
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 225Accuracy 100%PP 20Oreburgh Gate
- LV 41FightingClose CombatPower 180Accuracy 100%PP 5
- LV 57FireFlare BlitzPower 180Accuracy 100%PP 15
- Post-Game
- TUTORFireBlast BurnPower 225Accuracy 90%PP 5Route 228
- TM50FireOverheatPower 210Accuracy 90%PP 5Stark Mountain
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
How to Get Chimchar in Diamond & Pearl
Chimchar is the fire pick among Professor Rowan starters, handed to you at Lake Verity at level 5. Choose the monkey and the grass and water starters are gone for that save.
1 location to catch Chimchar
How to Obtain Chimchar in DP
- Step 1Chimchar ✓
- Step 3Evolve into Infernape
How to Get Shiny Chimchar in Diamond & Pearl
Chimchar is handed out at Lake Verity, though its shiny breeds fastest via the Masuda Method. Compare Shiny Chimchar odds across every game
Diamond & Pearl Shiny Chimchar 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.
For time estimates and charm math, open the Diamond & Pearl shiny odds calculator with Chimchar already selected.
Chimchar Weakness
Type-wise, Chimchar takes extra damage from Water, Ground, and Rock. It resists 5 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. 3 weaknesses is about average, nothing too hard to play around.
| 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 Chimchar Weak Against
Avg
Chimchar Evolutions
Chimchar is the start of a three-stage chain. It evolves into Monferno first, then eventually reaches Infernape. For breeding, average hatch time with a massive 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 Chimchar easily with 131 breeding partners from the Field and Human-Like egg groups. Pass egg moves like Blaze Kick, Counter, Double Kick and 7 more to offspring.
DP Chimchar Best Moveset
Fire starter with 58 in both Attack stats and 61 Speed. The moveset has Fire attacks at low power and MoveStealth Rock costs 25% per switch. Monferno, then Blaziken.
Best Build
Chimchar best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed
Special Sweeper Moveset
- Stealth Rock
- Endeavor
- Vacuum Wave
- Overheat
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Stall teams hate this. Chimchar can spread damage across 10 types, with Normal and Flying punishing common defensive pivots. STAB from Overheat and Fire Blast 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
35 of 39 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It agilely scales sheer cliffs to live atop craggy mountains. Its fire is put out when it sleeps.
Its fiery rear end is fueled by gas made in its belly. Even rain can’t extinguish the fire.
Chimchar Event Distributions
In Diamond & Pearl, Chimchar is an occasional Mystery Gift target, offered in a small run of events.
Birthday Commemoration GiftHeartGoldSoulSilverDiamondPearlPlatinumNot shiny
Birthday Commemoration GiftHeartGoldSoulSilverDiamondPearlPlatinumNot shiny
Chimchar Diamond & Pearl Guide
In Diamond & Pearl, Chimchar does the job early-game if you need a Fire type on your team. Evolve it into Monferno before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.
Game Availability
Chimchar first appeared in Diamond & Pearl and has been available in 12 games across 6 generations. Obtainable through catching or hatching as a base form in most titles where it appears.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DPDebut
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 Chimchar.
Keep playing · Diamond & PearlDiamond & Pearl Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Diamond & Pearl Tier List