Charizard (SSBB)

For information about Charizard in regards to Pokémon Trainer, see Pokémon Trainer (SSBB), Squirtle (SSBB), and Ivysaur (SSBB).

Charizard in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Universe	Pokémon
Shares character slot with	Pokémon Trainer Ivysaur Squirtle
Other playable appearances	in SSB4 in Ultimate
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Triple Finish

“	A flame Pokémon that can fly and breathe fire.	”
—Brawl manual description

Charizard (リザードン, Lizardon) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl in a sense; it is one of three Pokémon that are played through the Pokémon Trainer, the other two being Squirtle and Ivysaur. Charizard originates from the original Pokémon games as the second and final evolved form of Charmander, one of the initial Pokémon the player can start out with at the beginning of the adventure.

Charizard is voiced by Shin'ichirō Miki across all versions of the game, reprising his role from the Pokémon anime, though providing it with more realistic, reptile-like voice clips compared to the anime.

Attributes

Despite being the fifth heaviest character in Brawl, it differs greatly from the other heavyweights in abilities, though it does share their stats. It has a surprisingly fast dashing speed (slightly faster than Pikachu though the difference is extremely small.) for a character of its weight, but it also has the slowest walking speed in the game (Jigglypuff shares the same problem). It is also the second fastest heavyweight in game, next only to Captain Falcon. It is almost unaffected by type effectiveness; both grass and water-type attacks are only used by 2 characters each. Charizard is one of only three playable characters to possess wings (the others being Pit and Meta Knight), and as such is gifted with two, very small midair jumps and the ability to glide. Both the start-up and the actual glide are significantly slower than the other two gliders though, making it difficult to incorporate into strategies outside of safer, less-predictable recoveries and infinite horizontal recovery. Charizard is easy to hit due to being a very large target, but can take lots of damage before getting KO'd due to its large weight. Like all three of the Pokémon Trainer's Pokémon, Charizard is susceptible to stamina fatigue; after two minutes of play, its moves will be noticeably less powerful (in both damage and knockback). Given Charizard's high KO power and staying ability, however, it could be said it is the least affected by stamina of the three.

Predictably, Charizard is a powerful character with long attack range. Its smash attacks are all quite powerful, with its forward smash being capable of KOing a little below 80%. Charizard's power and range are counter-balanced by having a significant amount of ending lag after its power moves. Charizard can put decent offensive pressure on the opponent with its multiple jumps, Flamethrower, back aerial, up tilt, and up smash, and can also give out more defensive damage with moves like its forward tilt, down tilt and forward aerial (the last of which is especially useful when properly ledge-hopped). Neutral aerial and Rock Smash work both defensively and offensively, so overall Charizard has balanced attack capabilities. Despite its good range, Charizard's approach suffers against well-spaced disjointed hitboxes; Charizard fights best at mid to close range, where swords and the like are generally superior (Marth's forward aerial can even cut through all of Rock Smash). Charizard's specials are potent. Its Flamethrower is great at racking up the damage at close range, and also works well as an edge-guard or stalling tactic at mid-range. On the downside, Charizard lacks a long-ranged projectile. Complementing the damage-racking of Flamethrower is Charizard's side special, Rock Smash. It provides Charizard with an additional, relatively-safe power move; the headbutt packs a more portable punch than its smashes, and damage dealt from the rock fragments can combine to over 50%. Charizard's up special Fly has armor frames and significant knockback (although it has a linear path and is a somewhat poor recovery move, more because it suffers from 30 frames of the landing lag glitch), which both contribute to its recovery and can surprise high-speed rushdown moves (like Meta Knight's glide attack) by bursting through for a potential KO. Also, due the start-up, poor push-away and large landing lag of Charizard's aerials, it has a very poor air game. It is even easy to tech-chase when it lies on the ground due to its terrible get-up rolls (for example, it can't even roll behind Snake who stays stationary after it down throws him).

Charizard's greatest asset (excluding Rock Smash) is its grab; Charizard's long neck gives it the second longest standing grab in the game, next to King Dedede. The range is immensely helpful when dealing with higher-tier characters who have an easier time controlling the match. At low damage percentages, rushing in after a forward throw can usually net another grab, with another throw racking up a quick 20% at the beginning of matches. Its forward and back throws are also easily followed up with short-hopped Flamethrowers/Rock Smashes, depending on what the situation calls for (opponent retreating/advancing). Above 120% damage, Charizard's down throw is an effective KO'ing move, should the opponent prove difficult to KO with standard attacks.

Charizard was considered a semi-viable character when the Brawl metagame was active. Players agreed that Charizard was in the middle when compared with Squirtle and Ivysaur. While it had a wide array of kill options as well as a decent recovery, Charizard suffered from its slow speed and laggy moveset. It also had trouble matchups against many of the more prevalent characters in the metagame, notably King Dedede and Marth.

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	Charizard slashes twice with its claws, followed by a smack with its right wing.
			4%
			6%
Forward tilt			10% (tail), 11% (flame)	Charizard sweeps its tail forward. The move is stronger if it connects with the fiery tip of Charizard's tail. Can be angled.
Up tilt			8%	Charizard points its wings upwards and jabs the opponent.
Down tilt			12% (head), 8% (neck)	Charizard bites forward at the ground in front of itself. The strongest part of the move is at the head.
Dash attack			11% (clean), 9% (late)	Charizard slides forwards and raises one leg for a sliding kick. Slows Charizard significantly out of dash, and is easily shield-grabbed.
Forward smash			5% (hit 1), 17% (hit 2)	Charizard sweeps its head forward from bottom to top. Slow, but very powerful and far-reaching two-hit attack.
Up smash			5% (hit 1), 11% (hit 2)	Charizard slashes upward with both wings. Decent knockback; maximum damage is given if both wings strike.
Down smash			16%	Charizard stomps the ground once with both feet, causing earth to erupt from either side of it. Hits simultaneously on both sides with fantastic range and good power, but has a laggy start/finish and will only hit on ground opponents.
Neutral aerial			9% (tail), 12% (fire)	Charizard spins its entire body in a somersault, hitting with its tail. Deals more damage if it connects with the fiery tip of Charizard's tail.
Forward aerial			2-4%	Charizard breathes a cone of flame in front of itself. The attack deals more damage if it connects in from of Charizard, but deals no knockback at the tip of the flames.
Back aerial			5% (wing), 7% (tail), 9% (flame)	Charizard hits quickly behind itself with its wing, and tail. The wing can meteor smash, but it's weak and exists only to knock the opponent into the more-powerful tail swipe.
Up aerial			10% (clean), 7% (late)	Charizard bites upward. Fairly poor range and knockback. Has sex kick properties.
Down aerial			14%	Charizard stomps downward with both of its feet. This move will always be treated as a meteor smash, allowing it to safely hit airborne opponents.
Glide attack			12%	Charizard spins out of glide and attacks with its wings for solid knockback.
Grab			—
Pummel			2%	Charizard bites opponent with sharp fangs.
Forward throw			10%	Charizard grabs opponent in jaws, spins them, then releases them in front of itself.
Back throw			10%	Charizard throws the opponent behind itself quickly.
Up throw			8% (hit 1), 3% (throw)	Charizard sets opponent above itself, and then slams them with its head.
Down throw			1% (hits 1-5), 1% (throw)	Charizard sets its opponent on the floor, and then breathes fire on them. Does poor damage, but has high knockback and can KO enemies at high percents.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			6%	Swings tail backwards, then headbutts forward.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			6%	Gets up performing a half-circle claw swipe.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Similar to the back floor attack.
Edge attack (fast) Edge getups (fast)			8% (head), 6% (body)	Gets up and headbutts.
Edge attack (slow) Edge getups (slow)			10%	Slowly gets up and flicks its tail.
Neutral special		Flamethrower	2% (clean), 1% (late)	Charizard spits repeated flames that gradually weaken if the attack is held, similar to Bowser's Fire Breath.
Side special		Rock Smash	18% (Headbutt), 5% (fragments)	Charizard pulls out a giant rock and headbutts it, breaking it into pieces.
Up special		Fly	5% (hit 1), 2% (hits 2-5), 4% (hit 6)	Charizard rises upward while performing a corkscrew. The final hit deals higher knockback. Has super armor.
Down special		Pokémon Change	0%	The Pokémon Trainer calls Charizard back by throwing a Poké Ball and then sends out Squirtle.
Final Smash		Triple Finish	3% (Fire Blast), 18% (last Fire Blast)	The Pokémon Trainer sends out both Squirtle and Ivysaur and all three Pokémon perform a combination attack.

On-screen appearance

• The Pokémon Trainer releases Charizard from a Poké Ball and yells "Go Charizard!"

Taunts

All of Charizard's taunts are slightly different depending on the direction it is facing. This is most noticeable with its down taunt and least noticeable with its side taunt. Additionally, all of Charizard's taunts involve a stomp.

• Up taunt: Stomps and roars to the sky, while flapping its wings.
• Side taunt: Stomps and makes a bizarre purring sound, and also flaps its wings once.
• Down taunt: Stomps violently.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Spits fire at the ground.
• Leans back and stomps the ground.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer	File:Pokemon Trainer Cheer NTSC Brawl.ogg	File:Pokemon Trainer Cheer JP Brawl.ogg
Description	Po-ké-mon!	Po-ké-mon!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Wii Remote selection sound

• The Trainer releases a Poké Ball and says "Go for it!".

Pokémon Trainer's selection sound

Victory poses

Note: The Pokémon Trainer says "You did it, Charizard!" in all three victory poses.

An excerpt from the main theme of the Pokémon series. It is shared with Pikachu, Jigglypuff, and Lucario.

• Up: Roars up to the sky while flapping its wings.
• Left: Stomps the ground and fires a fireball into the sky.
• Right: Pokémon Trainer pets its head and hugs its neck.

Up	Left	Right

In competitive play

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

Role in The Subspace Emissary

Pokémon Trainer and Lucas watch Charizard fly to the ruins in The Subspace Emissary.

Charizard is first seen flying towards The Ruins by Lucas and Pokémon Trainer. Pokémon Trainer recognizes that Charizard is one of the Pokémon he's been trying to catch, and he and Lucas head into the ruins to attempt to capture it. In the process, they encounter Ivysaur in trophy form, which Pokémon Trainer captures. Eventually, Lucas and Pokémon Trainer defeat Charizard in battle and capture it, giving Pokémon Trainer his full team of Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard.

In Event Matches

Note: Due to Charizard being featured in all of the Pokémon Trainer's events, the following listed are those events that features Charizard, but not the Trainer.

Solo Events

• Event 8: Go! Triple Finish!: The player controls Pikachu, who must defeat Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard on Pokémon Stadium.
• Event 27: Three-Beast Carnage:A tiny R.O.B. must defeat a giant Bowser, a giant Donkey Kong, and a giant Charizard on New Pork City.

Co-op Events

• Co-Op Event 14: The Dark Guardians: A tiny Ganondorf and a tiny Wolf must work together to defeat a giant Donkey Kong and a giant Charizard on New Pork City.

Trophy

Charizard's trophy is obtained by clearing Classic Mode with the Pokémon Trainer and must deliver the final hit to Master Hand with Charizard.

Charizard

A Flame Pokémon. Its fiery breath is hot enough to burn up rocks, and its wings let it fly up to 4,600 feet into the air. It's a proud Pokémon that will never use its flame breath on an opponent weaker than itself. The flame on its tail is a barometer of how much vitality it has remaining. Its signature move, Flamethrower, is a reliable technique.

: Pokémon Red/Blue

: Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen

• 

  Classic Mode trophy

Alternate costumes

Trivia

• Charizard is the only Pokémon who the Pokémon Trainer uses that isn't voiced by other voice actors across all versions of Brawl.
• Charizard is one of the four characters whose four throws can all KO in Sudden Death.
• The Pokédex states that if the flame on Charmander, Charmeleon or Charizard's tail is extinguished, the Pokémon will die. Despite this, in Brawl, Charizard can swim. When landing in the water, Charizard's entire body (including its tail) will submerge, but nothing happens to its stamina or the flame itself. However, when swimming at the water's surface, Charizard holds the tip of its tail above the water.

External links

• Pokémon Trainer's page at Smash Bros. DOJO!!