CHARIZARD

is one of the fictional species of Pokémon creatures from the ''Pokémon'' media franchise. In Pokémon games, anime, and manga, Charizard battles wild Pokémon and Pokémon owned by other Pokémon trainers, and may be caught by Pokémon trainers like all wild Pokémon. ''Pokémon Ruby'' and ''Pokémon Sapphire'' Review (page 1) ''Ign.com''. URL Accessed June 1, 2006. Charizard was designed by Ken Sugimori,“PokéMania,” ''Time.com''. URL accessed on December 24 2006, and debuted in 1996 in Pokémon Red.
In the Pokemon franchise, Charizard starts out as a Charmander, which, as it gains battle experience, becomes Charmeleon, then Charizard. "Pokémon For Dummies" ''pokemonelite2000.com''. URL Accessed May 25, 2006. Upon evolving, it develops a pair of powerful wings, which supplement the fiery breath it gained in its earlier evolutionary forms. The flames which Charizard produces are hotter than those produced by Charmeleon; at full intensity, they are stated to have the power to melt solid rock or large glaciers. According to its back story, Charizard in the wild focus on finding worthy challengers, however in the games it is generally impossible to find in the wild due to its status as a starter Pokémon. According to the Pokédex, they possess a strong innate sense of honor, relying on only claws and strength to hunt or ward off lesser foes and using their flaming breath only against opponents whom they would consider equals. Additionally, the Pokedex states that the power of their flame attacks is volatile enough that accidental or careless use can cause forest fires and other disasters. The in-game Pokédexes of the ''Pokémon'' video games (A copy of them from ''Psypokes.com''.) URL Accessed July 11, 2006.

Contents

Video games

Pokémon anime

Manga

Card game

Other media

See also

Footnotes

References

External links

Video games

Charizard first appeared in ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Blue'', and is the final form in the Charmander evolutionary line. Charizard evolves from Charmeleon, which evolves from Charmander. There are three Starter types of Pokémon - Charmander (Fire), Bulbasaur (Grass), and Squirtle (Water). Each Starter Pokémon has an advantage and a disadvantage to one of the other Starters - Grass is weak to Fire, Water is weak to Grass, and Fire is weak to Water. These advantages and disadvantages remain in their evolved forms as well. Charizard is only available without trading in three games - the above mentioned ''Red'' and ''Blue'', ''Pokémon Yellow'', and ''Pokémon FireRed'' and ''LeafGreen'' (the latter two being remakes of the first game). In general charzard fucking rocks do pick it as a starter because you will pwn completely. dont use bulbasaur a much more shittier starter. This is a fact of the official site of poke. Charmander will always obey you if you pick it as a starter because you didn't pick bulbasaur.
Charizard has made several appearances in ''Pokémon'' spin-offs and in other series, including ''Pokémon Snap'', , and ''Pokémon Ranger''. In ''Pokémon Mystery Dungeon'', Charizard acts as a non-playable character and as a member of a rescue team led by Alakazam, a primary character in the games. In ''Pokémon Ranger'', Charizard is a wild boss Pokémon who becomes attached to the player's character and assists him or her several times throughout the game. Charizard also appears in ''Super Smash Bros.'' and ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' as a Pokémon which will appear out of a Pokéball and attack opponents of the player who summoned it.
In ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'', Charizard will be playable through the Pokémon Trainer character, who rotates between it, Squirtle, and Ivysaur.

Pokémon anime

In the anime of the franchise, Charizard is arguably the main character Ash Ketchum's strongest Pokémon surpassing both Pikachu and Sceptile. Ash's Charizard started out as a Charmander which had been abandoned by another trainer. As the series continued, Charmander became loyal to Ash, then evolved into a Charmeleon. Charmeleon refused to obey him, which within the world of the franchise is something that Pokémon who become "stronger" and more experienced than their trainers sometimes do when they lose their respect for their trainer. Charmeleon evolved when Ash summoned it for protection from a wild Aerodactyl which intended to devour him. Ash was ultimately saved by Charizard, but it remained unclear in the series whether Charmeleon evolved to rescue Ash or just to fight Aerodactyl, which had injured it. Charizard did purposefully swoop down to catch Ash as he fell, however.^[1]
Originally, Charizard, like Charmeleon, did not obey Ash, and only battled Pokemon that would pose a challenge, mainly other Fire-type Pokemon, but through its willfulness it often inadvertently helped Ash reach his goals, particularly against Gym Leader Blaine. However at one time, its refusal to obey Ash led to his loss in the Kanto League Finals. It became loyal during the Orange Islands arc after Ash battled a trainer with a Poliwrath and Charizard was frozen solid. Because of Ash’s continuous self-sacrificing efforts to save it from certain death, Charizard began to obey Ash, and ultimately defeated the Poliwrath in a rematch.^[2] It remained on Ash's team, contributing to his win in the Orange League and part of Johto. It eventually stays behind in the Charizific Valley, a reserve where many wild Charizard battle and train to become stronger, likely due to meeting Charla, a female Charizard that it develops a fondness for. ''Pokémon - The Johto Journeys - Fire Power (Vol. 44)'', Viz Video., July 31, 2001. ASIN B00005LCAO. Charizard, like many of Ash’s other Pokémon, has returned on a temporary basis to battle at Ash’s side, typically when Ash faces a particularly powerful Pokémon. Charizard has also saved Ash's life on more than one occasion, as seen in the film Spell of the Unown.

Manga

In ''The Electric Tale of Pikachu'' manga, which loosely parallels the storyline of the anime, Ash evolves his Charmeleon into a Charizard to battle in the Pokémon League tournament. He has trouble controlling it, however.^[3] Ash brings Charizard to the Orange Islands, and, having trained it diligently since the near-disaster, uses it to battle Dragonite in the final showdown with Drake, the Orange Crew Supreme gym leader.^[4]
In the ''Pokémon Adventures'' manga, Blue, originally Red’s rival and later the Viridian City Gym leader, owned a Charizard which evolved from a Charmander he received from his grandfather, Professor Oak. In Chapter 28, "Peace of Mime", Blue used his to gain access to Saffron City, and ultimately help disable the Barrier, being created by a Mr. Mime, with the help of Red's Pikachu, Pika.^[5] In Chapter 31, "The Art of Articuno", Red and Blue face off against Koga's Articuno and are frozen by its Ice Beam, but ultimately defeat the Team Rocket Executive with Charizard's Flamethrower.^[6] In Chapter 33, "The Winged Legends", it teamed up with Red's newly evolved Venusaur, Saur and Green's Blastoise, Turtley, to defeat Sabrina's Zapmolcuno (a merged form of Zapdos, Moltres and Articuno) and destroy Team Rocket's control on Saffron City, splitting the three birds in the process.^[7]
Blue's Charizard re-appeared next in Chapter 40, "A Charizard... and a Champion", during the final match of the Ninth Pokémon League, against his longtime Rival, Red. The battle began with Red's Saur and Blue's Charizard facing each other.
Charizard tried to use Fire Punch, but was hit by Saur's Poison Powder. Charizard was nearly knocked out, despite the type advantage. As the battle progressed, Blue's Ninetails used Fire Blast to send Pika and Red's Poliwrath, Poli, flying towards the ceiling. The two trainers then used their first Pokémon to battle again, Saur binding the Charizard from attacking. Suddenly, thunderclouds, formed from the attacks of Poli and Pika, began to form above the battlefield, and Saur submerged a vine into the cloud, shocking Charizard and knocking it out.^[8]
When the "FireRed and LeafGreen" volume of the manga began, Red, Blue and Green, the original protagonists, returned to fight the newly formed Team Rocket and the Deoxys under their power. In Chapter 24, "FireRed and LeafGreen", the three trainers were trapped inside the Trainer Tower in the Sevii Islands, battling the main computer of the building and the Deoxys Divides. Due to the prior battle between Red and Team Rocket, most of his team were near death. This causes Blue to trade his Charizard with Red's Saur, since Blue was the person who was leading the fight to free Mewtwo from the binds. After struggling to co-ordinate Turtley, Saur and Charizard, the three trainers managed to focus the angle of the three powerful attacks, Blast Burn, Hydro Cannon and Frenzy Plant, to free Mewtwo, who in turn, destroyed the Trainer Tower. Red now wields Charizard in his battle against Giovanni.^[9]
In chapter 179, Charizard, Blastoise and Venusaur have been called back by Red, Blue and Green as they recalled back the Legendary Pokémon into their Pokéballs to fight their last battle against Pryce's ultimate weapon.

Card game

Charizard appears often in the ''Pokémon Trading Card Game'' as a powerful Stage-2 Fire Pokémon, including appearances in the Base Set (reprinted in Base Set 2 and Legendary Collection), Team Rocket (as Dark Charizard, normal and holographic versions), Gym Challenge (as Blaine’s Charizard), Neo Destiny (as Shining Charizard, a Basic Pokémon), Pokémon Neo 2 Binder (Japanese only, reverse holo), Pokémon
★ VS (as Lance’s Charizard,VS Translation - Lance's Charizard ''Serebii.net'' URL Accessed July 10, 2006 a Basic Pokémon, in Japanese only), Expedition (twice, including a holographic version), Skyridge (as a Colorless Pokémon with the "Crystal Type" Poke-Power), EX Dragon (as a secret holographic card), EX FireRed & LeafGreen (as Charizard EX), List of Charizard appearances in the ''Pokémo Trading Card Game'' ''Psypokes.com''. URL Accessed July 15, 2006. and EX Crystal Guardians, as a Lightning- and Metal-type Delta Species Pokémon.The Pokémon TCG - Card Viewer ''Psypokes.com''. URL Accessed July 10, 2006The Pokémon TCG - Card Viewer (Base set) ''Psypokes.com''. URL Accessed July 10, 2006 The latest edition of Charizard is Charizard
★ , an incredibly rare card, as a δ species Dark-type Basic.
When the ''Pokémon Trading Card Game'' became widespread in North America, the Base Set Charizard card was very popular and always in high demand, due to its high HP value and its powerful Fire Spin attack. In trading card magazines, the card’s value often exceeded $60.^[10]

Other media

Due to Charizard's appeal, it has featured in many lines of soft toys and action figures in the ''Pokémon'' franchise, made by ''Hasbro'', "Pokémon Action Charizard Evolution Pack" ''Hasbro.com''. URL Accessed July 14, 2006. and ''TOMY''. "Recall of Pokémon plush toys" ''Cpsc.org'' URL Accessed 12 July, 2006 In 2004, the "Charizard Medium Plush" was part of a major recall of 13 plush toys due to a manufacturing fault involving tips of needles being found with the stuffing, causing makers, ''TOMY'', to replace the toys with compensation or replacements.
Charizard also has its own DVD that contains three episodes Charizard is in; "Attack of the Prehistric Pokemon", "Charizard Chills", and "Charizard's Burning Ambition". This DVD is part of the 10th Anniversary Box Set, and in the Box Set's "10 Most Wanted Pokemon" countdown, Charizard is #3, beaten only by Pikachu and Jigglypuff respectively.
Charizard also appeared as the main Pokémon in the short novel, ''Charizard Go!.'' The novelisation, adapted by Tracey West, is the retelling of Ash's journey with his Charmander, and reaches its climax as Ash and Charizard battle in the Pokémon League at the Indigo Plateau against his good friend, Richie. The story covers Ash and his companions finding the abandoned Charmander, the battles in which Charmeleon didn't listen to Ash, and Charizard battling Blaine's Magmar. ''Charizard Go!'' is the sixth novel in the ''Pokémon Chapter Books'' series.^[11] Another chapter novel, ''All Fired Up: Pokémon the Johto Journeys'', adapted by Jennifer Johnson, covers the portion of Ash's journey near Violet City and the Characific Valley, in which Ash wonders if Charizard should leave his team forever. It also covers the capture of Ash's Cyndaquil, his new Fire Pokémon.^[12]
Charizard makes an appearance in the ''Robot Chicken'' episode "Cracked China" as one of Gary Oak's Pokémon.
Charizard has appeared as one of the Pokemon that appears from a Pokeball in the Super Smash Bros game series. When released, Charizard uses its Flamethrower attack to either side, alternating over and over until it disappears. Opponents take a lot of damage if they touch Charizard directly and are thrown high into the air. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Charizard, along with Squirtle and Ivysaur, is now a playable character under the new character Pokémon Trainer he will use the attacks Flamethrower and Rock Smash.

See also

★ Charmander

★ Charmeleon

★ Starter Pokémon

★ Ash Ketchum

Footnotes

1. ''Pokémon, Vol. 15: Charizard!!'', Viz Video., February 2000. ASIN B00004DS9J.
2.
3. Ono, Toshihiro. ''Pokémon: Electric Pikachu Boogaloo Graphic Novel''. VIZ Media LLC, April 5 2000. ISBN 1-56931-436-5
4. Ono, Toshihiro. ''Pokémon: Surf’s Up, Pikachu Graphic Novel''. VIZ Media LLC, June 2000. ISBN 1-56931-494-2
5. Kusaka, Hidenori, & Mato. ''Pokémon Adventures, Volume 3: Saffron City Siege''; Chapter 28, "Peace of Mime" (pg 5-19) VIZ Media LLC, August 5 2001. ISBN 1-56931-560-4
6. Kusaka, Hidenori, & Mato. ''Pokémon Adventures, Volume 3: Saffron City Siege''; Chapter 31, "The Art of Articuno" (pg 47-61) VIZ Media LLC, August 5 2001. ISBN 1-56931-560-4
7. Kusaka, Hidenori, & Mato. ''Pokémon Adventures, Volume 3: Saffron City Siege''; Chapter 33, "The Winged Legends" (pg 77-95) VIZ Media LLC, August 5 2001. ISBN 1-56931-560-4
8. Kusaka, Hidenori, & Mato. ''Pokémon Adventures, Volume 3: Saffron City Siege''; Chapter 31, "A Charizard... and a Champion" (pg 118-) VIZ Media LLC, August 5 2001. ISBN 1-56931-560-4
9. Synopsis of ''Pokémon Adventures''; ''FRLG'' series, Chapter 24, "FireRed and LeafGreen" ''Serebii.net''. URL Accessed July 11, 2006.
10. Pokémon Best Collection ''pokemondungeon.com''. URL Accessed 13 July 2006
11. West, Tracey. ''Charizard Go!''. Scholastic Publishing, April 2000. ISBN 0-439-15421-9.
12. Johnson, Jennifer. ''All Fired Up: Pokémon the Johto Journeys''. Scholastic Publishing, June 2001. ISBN 0-439-22114-5.

References

★ The following games and their instruction manuals: ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Blue''; ''Pokémon Yellow''; ''Pokémon Stadium'' and ''Pokémon Stadium 2''; ''Pokémon Gold'', ''Silver'', and ''Crystal''; ''Pokémon Ruby'', ''Sapphire'', and ''Emerald''; ''Pokémon FireRed'' and ''LeafGreen''; ''Pokémon Colosseum'' and ''.

External links

★ Official Pokémon website

★ Bulbapedia’s article about Ash’s Charizard

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