Charmander

**Charmander** (Japanese: **ヒトカゲ***Hitokage*) is a Fire-type Pokémon.

It evolves into Charmeleon starting at level 16, which evolves into Charizard starting at level 36.

Along with Bulbasaur and Squirtle, Charmander is one of three starter Pokémon of Kanto available at the beginning of Pokémon Red, Green, Blue, FireRed, and LeafGreen.

## Biology

Charmander is a bipedal, reptilian Pokémon with an orange body, though its underside and soles are cream-colored. It has two small fangs visible in its upper and lower jaws and blue eyes. Its arms and legs are short with four fingers and three clawed toes. A fire burns at the tip of this Pokémon’s slender tail, and has blazed there since Charmander’s birth. The flame can be used as an indication of Charmander's health and mood, burning brightly when the Pokémon is strong, weakly when it is exhausted, wavering when it is happy, and blazing when it is enraged. It is said that Charmander dies if its flame goes out.

Charmander can be found in hot, mountainous areas. However, it is found far more often in the ownership of Trainers. As shown in Pokémon Snap, Charmander exhibits pack behavior, calling others of its species if it finds food.

## In the anime

### Major appearances

#### Ash's Charmander

In *Charmander - The Stray Pokémon*, Ash,Misty, and Brock came across a Charmander which had been abandoned by its Trainer, Damian, who only cared about strong Pokémon. At first, Charmander refused to leave the spot it was at, waiting for Damian to return. However, when a rainstorm picked up, Charmander grew ill and Ash took it to a Pokémon Center. Charmander realized that Damian was no good, and joined up with Ash. It has since evolved into Charmeleon, and then Charizard.

#### Zippo

Ritchie owned a Charmander named Zippo, which debuted in *A Friend In Deed*. It later evolved into Charmeleon.

#### Alain's Charmander

A Charmander appeared in a flashback in *Mega Evolution Special I* as the unevolved form of Alain's Charizard.

#### Natsu's Charmander

Natsu's Charmander acts like Natsu. Along with Happy, he's very loyal to Natsu and always determined to win any battles.

#### Other

In *Journey to the Starting Line*, Gilbert was intended to start his journey as a Pokémon Trainer, but the trio of Kanto Starter Pokémon were scared off when Ash's Taurosstampeded through Professor Oak's house. Professor Oak, Tracey, Delia and Gilbert split up in order to find the three missing Pokémon. The Charmander was the first one to be found.

Another Charmander was seen with Professor Oak in *A Six Pack Attack!* along with aBulbasaur and Squirtle. Another was seen in *The Right Place and The Right Mime*, along with another Bulbasaur and Squirtle.

A Charmander stars in *Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters out of the Gate!*as the leader of Team Go-Getters.

A Charmander appeared in *The Fires of a Red-Hot Reunion!* owned by the Kanto Fair Host. Seeing it inspired Ash to bring his Charizard back onto his team.

A Charmander appeared in *Summer of Discovery!*, under the ownership of Trevor.

### Minor appearances

Charmander was mentioned in the first episode of the anime, *Pokémon - I Choose You!*, as one of the three starter Pokémon new Trainers in Pallet Town can choose from. Ash dreamed of owning one, although it was his last choice of a starter coming after Squirtle and Bulbasaur. However, when he arrived at Oak's lab, he found out it was too late, as another Trainer who started the same day had already taken it.

Multiple Charmander also appeared in *Battle Aboard the St. Anne*.

A Charmander was seen in a Pokémon Center in *Hypno's Naptime*.

A Charmander also appeared in *Pokémon Fashion Flash*.

In *The Ultimate Test*, a Charmander was one of the Pokémon owned by the Pokémon League entrance exam instructor.

Two Charmander appeared in *The Breeding Center Secret*. One was seen evolving on TV for a commercial about Cassidy's and Butch's breeding center, while the other one appeared in the said center.

A Charmander under the ownership of an unknown Trainer, appeared in *Friends to the End*, during the closing ceremonies of the Indigo League.

A Charmander appeared in *A Better Pill to Swallow* as a fantasized Pokémon.

A Charmander was used by one of the students of the Pokémon Trainer's School in*Gonna Rule The School!*.

One also appeared in *Meloetta's Moonlight Serenade*.

A Charmander appeared in Alexa's magazine in *The Journalist from Another Region!*.

### In Pokémon Origins

#### Red's Charmander

Charmander was one of the three Pokémon Professor Oak gave Red andBlue to choose from to start their journey, with Red choosing Charmander. It later evolved into a Charmeleon between *File 1 - Red* and *File 2 - Cubone* and then a Charizard between *File 2 - Cubone* and *File 3 - Giovanni*.

#### Giovanni's Charmander

Giovanni was shown to have once had a Charmander during a flashback in*File 3 - Giovanni*.

Another Charmander appeared in *File 3: Giovanni* at Silph Co.

## In the manga

### In The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga

*Main article: Ash's Charmander*
Ash's Charmander makes a few appearances in the manga The Electric Tale of Pikachu.

The capture of Ash's Charmander diverges considerably from the anime. In the manga,Damian seems to have abandoned his Charmander at the beginning of the chapter*Pikachu's Excellent Adventure*, but it turns out that he had just been injured and went to the hospital.

Ash is shown to own a Charmander despite this, his own Charmander first appears in*You Gotta Have Friends*. Ash's Charmander's capture is not shown in the manga, instead, when Charmander first appears from its Poké Ball, it is simply stated that "Ash has been busy since the last comic".

Ash's Charmander reappears as a Charizard in the chapter *The Indigo Finals* at theIndigo Plateau Conference. In this chapter, Charizard battles Charley, Ritchie's own Charizard.

### In the Magical Pokémon Journey manga

*Main article: Peanut's Charmander*
*Main article: Mandy (MPJ)*
In Magical Pokémon Journey, the sickly Trainer Peanut owns an aggressive Charmander. Peanut's Charmander first appears in the chapter *Charmander's Peanut*.

Mandy is a female Charmander from the Magical Pokémon Journey manga.

### In the Pokémon Adventures manga

*Main article: Blue's Charmander*
Charmander debuted in the first round of the *Red, Green & Blue* chapter, *A Glimpse of the Glow*, where one appeared in a fantasy explanation of Red and as one of Blue's first Pokémon, received from his grandfather Professor Oak. It has since evolved intoCharmeleon before facing Brock of Pewter City, and then to Charizard before the Silph Co.battles against Team Rocket. The major powerhouse of his team with its newly learnedBlast Burn attack, its battle skills (able to defeatRed's Poliwhirl easily even before evolving) are complimented by its fast flight, for which it was traded to Red twice, during both the *Gold, Silver & Crystal* chapter and the *FireRed & LeafGreen* chapter. It is worth noting that, as Charmeleon, it was accidentally traded to Red many years earlier.

Another Charmander appeared as a silhouette when Green explains about Mew in *The Jynx Jinx*.

After X's Marisso lost to it in a battle X decided to take it and named it Salamè in*Chespin Sows the Seeds of Change*.

### In the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga

*Main article: Green's Charmander*
In the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga series, Red's rival, Green, chose Charmander as his starter Pokémon. Green's Charmander is mischievous and has a rivalry with Red's Clefairy.

Green's Charmander has evolved into Charizard. It seems to be able to skip theCharmeleon stage, as it was seen evolving directly into Charizard. Although it has devolved back to the Charmander stage, it currently seems to have permanently evolved back into Charizard.

### In the Pokémon Zensho manga

*Main article: Satoshi's Charmander (Zensho)*
In Pokémon Zensho, Satoshi chooses Charmander as his starter Pokémon, while Shigeru chooses a Squirtle.

## Other appearances

Charmander appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a trophy.

### Trophy Information

*"A Lizard Pokémon. It just downright likes hot stuff. The always-burning tail indicates its mood--waving gently when content and burning intensely when angry. If the tail were to go out, it would be the end of Charmander's life. Its tail is believed to emit steam when it rains. Charmander evolves into Charmeleon by leveling up."*

## Game data

### NPC appearances

* In PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure Charmander is one of Pikachu's best friends. After falling through the mysterious tunnel, he almost lands into a pool of molten lava only to be saved by the zone leader, Blaziken. He was then taken in as Blaziken's pupil and trained to become stronger. After he's been found, he journeys to the Meeting Place where he helps Piplup mend the balloon, and makes fireworks. He later accompanies Pikachu to the Sky Pavilion along with Piplup and Chikoritawhere he meets Mew. Once the Sky Prism has been restored, Charmander celebrates by firing off the fireworks he made.

### Held items

 Stadium\*
 Events\*

### Stats

#### Base stats

 * Minimum stats are calculated with 0 EVs, IVs of 0, and a hindering nature, if applicable.
* This Pokémon's  Special  base stat in Generation I was **50**.

### Type effectiveness

normally by:

### Evolution

 Fire

Level 16
→

 Fire

Level 36
→

 Fire  Flying

### Sprites

For other sprites and images, please see Charmander images on the Bulbagarden Archives.

## Trivia

* Niue released a one-dollar coin featuring Charmander as part of a commemorative promotion for the Pokémon franchise, with Charmander on one side and the nation's coat of arms on the other.
* In the first generation, on its sprite and first artwork, Charmander's "back" is depicted as having a small line of spikes. The spikes were not shown in the sprites and artwork of later generations. Blue's Charmander also had these spikes in thePokémon Adventures manga, where the spikes were larger and easier to see. The spikes were also seen on Green's Charmander from the Pokémon Pocket Monstersmanga.
* Charmander is the tallest Fire-type starter Pokémon.
* Charmander has the longest name of all unevolved starter Pokémon.
* Charmander is the only Fire-type starter Pokémon that is not a member of the Field Egg Group.

### Origin

Charmander appears to be predominantly reptilian in origin, and may have been partially inspired by the mythical salamander (as opposed to the real-world amphibian of the same name which inspired its mythical counterpart). This salamander was a fire-spirit capable of surviving in extreme heat or flames, and it is sometimes creatively rendered or interpreted in the shape of a lizard.

Physically, Charmander has a slender body, a short nose, and a long tail, as well as other lizard-like characteristics. The fact that it does not undergo a metamorphosis stage (beyond its own evolutionary pattern) but instead grows into a larger version of itself as it matures, among other things, indicate that Charmander has more in common with reptiles (such as lizards) than with amphibians (such as real-world salamanders).

Charmander's Hidden Ability, Solar Power, may have drawn inspiration from the spotted salamander. In July and August 2010, this species was identified as the first knownphotosynthetic vertebrate animal, capable of converting energy from sunlight.

#### Name origin

Charmander is a portmanteau of the words *char* (to burn) and *salamander*.

Hitokage comes from 火蜥蜴 (salamander): 火 *hi* (fire) and 蜥蜴 *tokage* (lizard).

## Related articles

* Ash's Charmander
* Zippo
* Green's Charmander
* Blue's Charmander
* Red's Charmander
* Alain's Charmander
* Natsu's Charmander