Charizard (SSB4)
| Charizard in Super Smash Bros. 4 | |
|---|---|
 
| |
| Universe | Pokémon |
| Other playable appearance | in Brawl |
| Availability | Starter |
| Final Smash | Mega Evolution |
| Tier | H (51) |
| “ | Charizard Fires It Up! | ” |
| —Introduction Tagline | ||
Charizard (リザードン, Lizardon) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. Charizard's return to the series was confirmed as part of the April 8th, 2014 Super Smash Bros. Direct, during which its fellow Pokémon representative Greninja was also confirmed. Charizard is once again voiced by Shin'ichirō Miki, who re-recorded Charizard's grunts and roars to match how it sounds in the Pokémon anime, rather than redo its coarser grunts and roars from Brawl.
Charizard is currently ranked 51st out of 58 on the current tier list, placing it at the top of the H tier and making it the highest ranking bottom-tier character. This is a significant drop from Pokémon Trainer's standing in Brawl, where he had been ranked 29th out of 38. Now an individual character, Charizard no longer has to contend with stamina reducing its power and has a more consistent moveset, but is unable to switch out with other Pokémon in order to cover its significant weaknesses. Charizard is a fast character for its weight class: its boasts a decent walking speed, one of the fastest dashing speeds, and several moves with reasonable speed and combo potential.
Charizard also benefits from an array of strong KOing options, high durability thanks to its weight, and a grab game that allows for combos, KO set-ups or KOing outright. Its up throw is particularly notable due to being the strongest in the game, although its KO power is most effective on stages with platforms and its knockback can be mitigated via directional influence. Additionally, its special moveset is more consistent than in Brawl and is useful both for punishing and defensive purposes.
However, Charizard has some exploitable weaknesses. Despite having better frame data than its fellow super heavyweights, some of Charizard's attacks are still laggy and punishable compared to the many combo-oriented characters prevalent in the metagame. Charizard also suffers from a vulnerability to combos, a common problem among heavyweights and super heavyweights; although its escape options are assorted, they can be easy to exploit.
In the early metagame, Charizard endured very poor tournament representation and results, to the point of being considered the single worst character. While Charizard has been consistently and heavily buffed via game updates, it still has an underwhelming presence in the competitive scene. Despite this, its results have gradually improved over time. The most notable instance was Sharpy winning the regional tournament BeSmash 2016 while exclusively using Charizard, an achievement that other current bottom-tier characters have failed to match. Soon afterwards, Hitomoshi achieved the same level of success by winning the regional tournament Tamisuma 63 while exclusively using Charizard. As a result, its tier placement and overall viability are highly contested, with some professionals having a much higher opinion of Charizard, such as ZeRo and ESAM ranking it 35th and 41st on their respective personal tier lists.
Attributes
Unlike the other playable Pokémon, who are either lightweights or middleweights, Charizard is a super heavyweight. As such, it fittingly possesses impressive power and survivability, yet deviates from its weight class's typicality in a few ways. The most noticeable factors are its grounded mobility and versatile recovery; Charizard boasts very good grounded mobility, with its walking speed being tied with Mewtwo's for the fifteenth fastest in the game, and its dashing speed being the ninth fastest in the game, whereas its recovery is packed with good distance and amount of armor, making it difficult to act on. Charizard's frame data is also decently fast, making it arguably the fastest of the super heavyweights and thus results in it fitting the "lightning bruiser" archetype. Despite its impressive grounded mobility, Charizard is burdened with low traction, which is tied with Mewtwo's as the second lowest in the game. Lastly, Charizard is one of the only two heavyweights that has multiple double jumps, with the other being King Dedede.
One of Charizard's strengths is its KOing ability, as it possesses numerous KOing options (Flare Blitz, Fly, Rock Smash, its smash attacks, its sweetspotted forward tilt, its forward, up, back, and down aerials, and its post-update 1.0.8 up throw) that become even more lethal courtesy of the rage mechanic that SSB4 introduced. As of update 1.1.5, Charizard's back aerial in particular is one of its most fearsome moves, as it deals outstanding knockback and has excellent range. Another of Charizard's strengths is its grab game. Its overall grab range is one of the longest for a non-tether grab in SSB4, its up throw can potentially KO below 95%, and its down throw is a reliable combo starter. Its very fast dashing speed further compliments it grab game by allowing Charizard to land dash and pivot grabs easier than other heavyweights.
Charizard's special moves are all useful for its general playstyle. Flamethrower is a short-ranged projectile that can rack up damage, intercept projectiles, interrupt approaches, and gimp recoveries. Compared to Bowser's Fire Breath, it also boasts better versatility due to having less ending lag and causing flinching more easily. Rock Smash is an essential move due to its offensive and defensive capabilities. In addition to dealing high damage and knockback, it provides Charizard with high amounts of armor, which allows it to avoid being launched or juggled by all but the fastest moves and function as a somewhat safe landing option.
Flare Blitz and Fly are highly protective recovery options. While Flare Blitz is somewhat situational as a recovery option, deals recoil damage, and is punishable due to its lag, it grants a large amount of horizontal distance quickly, deals respectable damage and knockback, and can be used as a punishment option in its own right due to its armor. In comparison, Fly grants a decent amount of vertical distance, but deals high knockback and provides armor like Flare Blitz does.
However, Charizard has noticeable flaws. One of which is its lack of a very useful projectile; despite Flamethrower's strengths, its sub-par range and moderately fast decay can prevent it from aiding Charizard significantly. Charizard also is easy to combo and generally hit due to its size and weight, although this factor can be overcome with the use of defensive moves such as Rock Smash, Fly, dodging, and even Flare Blitz to escape from foes. Additionally, while Charizard's frame data is better overall than other heavyweights (even Bowser's), it is still generally poor compared to most of the cast, although this is not necessarily a glaring problem depending on the moves used. While Charizard's air speed has been greatly improved and is no longer among the slowest in the game, it is still below average overall. Its out of shield game is considered a weakness as well; despite having some of the best out of shield options available, such as Fly and its up throw, they are hindered by Charizard's aforementioned poor traction.
A few of Charizard's custom moves address some of its shortcomings. Dragon Rush is arguably its best custom move, as it is a pressuring and rushdown option that has less lag, no recoil and cannot be blocked by opponents when recovering. Fly High slightly improves its vertical recovery, although it loses one of its fastest punishing moves in the process. Rising Cyclone sacrifices some recovery height for very high launching power that can KO most characters around as low as 56% while near the upper blast line. Rock Hurl, while sacrificing damage output, provides much greater range, speed, and super armor (starting on frame 1) than Rock Smash.
Overall, Charizard's strengths are generally on par with its cons; whether one outweighs the other is dependent on the other character and player it is facing. It can be considered a variation of Bowser that exchanges out of shield options and raw power for speed, mobility, usable defensive tools and better recovery. Playing Charizard requires patience, as well as appropriately balancing offensive and defensive tactics. Purely offensive play exposes Charizard to harsh punishment, whereas strict defensive play fails to exploit Charizard's main advantages over other super heavyweights, namely its attack speed and mobility. Like with all super heavyweights, the player should not be afraid to exchange blows with the opponent, as a few strong hits from Charizard can give it the advantage in many cases. Reads and mindgames can be pivotal for Charizard's best punishment options, such as Flare Blitz and its smash attacks, although it is not as singularly dependent on them like Ganondorf and Jigglypuff are thanks to its other assets.
From a competitive standpoint, Charizard ranks at the top of the bottom-tier in the current tier list and has had generally below average tournament representation to reflect this, with many players citing it as one of the more complex heavyweights to utilize. Despite being initially regarded as a non-viable character, its results have begun to improve consistently. The most notable instances have been Sharpy and Hitomoshi winning the Dominican Republic tournament BeSmash 2016 and the Japanese tournament Tamisuma 63, respectively, both of whom did so while only using Charizard. As such, the topic of whether or not Charizard has viability in competitive play is debatable; some professionals have a more favorable opinion of Charizard than the tier list would suggest, such as ZeRo labeling it as a potential mid-tier character.
Changes from Brawl
Charizard has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition from Brawl to SSB4. It can be seen as either buffed or nerfed overall depending on as an individual or a part of a character, respectively. As an individual character, Charizard was seen as nerfed during the early days of SSB4 but it has received consistent improvements from then on. This makes it hard to determine whether if Charizard was buffed or nerfed overall. Its faster falling speed, slower air speed, and heavier weight make it more vulnerable to combos. The removal of gliding has greatly weakened Charizard's recovery. Its new side special, Flare Blitz, is not as flexible for horizontal recovery like gliding was, and it deals damage to itself. Some of Charizard's moves deal more knockback, making it it easier for Charizard to KO but more difficult to combo opponents past mid percent. Its grab range has also been nerfed and is slightly slower, although it is still rather wide in range. The most notable change Charizard has underwent is that it now lacks other Pokémon as teammates that are better suited for specific matchups, making it less adaptable than Pokémon Trainer.
However, Charizard has received some notable buffs. Charizard no longer has to contend with running out of stamina. Charizard's already fast dash speed has become even faster, now being the ninth fastest in the game, while its walking speed has also become drastically faster, having gone from being the slowest in Brawl to being tied with Mewtwo's as the fifteenth fastest in SSB4. Charizard's down throw is also better for combos at low to medium percents, while up throw is now a reliable KO option. Flare Blitz and Rock Smash also grant super armor, which can help Charizard start or escape from combos. Charizard greatly benefits from rage thanks to its wide array of KO options, by definition, becoming even more powerful.
Aesthetics
Due to the aesthetic used in SSB4, Charizard is a more vibrant shade of orange and it is sleeker overall. Additionally, its proportions are more akin to its appearances in the Pokémon core series as of generation VI. This includes slightly smaller fangs, a slightly less pronounced snout, and the metacarpal joints on its wings being slightly larger. Lastly, Charizard is more expressive overall and is ambidextrous.- Charizard's has new voice clips. Its grunts and roars now match how they sound in the Pokémon anime.
- Dash's animation has slightly changed. Charizard now flaps its wings while dashing.
- Due to being separate from Pokémon Trainer, Charizard has a new victory pose that replaces the one that involves Pokémon Trainer petting it. Its new victory pose consists of Charizard using Flare Blitz to descend from the air and crash into ground before striking a pose.
Attributes
- Charizard is heavier (110 → 116). This improves its endurance, but makes it more susceptible to combos.
Charizard walks faster (0.7 → 1.2), going from being tied for the slowest in Brawl to being tied for the fifteenth fastest in SSB4.- Charizard dashes faster (1.8 → 2.0).
Charizard's air speed is slower (0.987 → 0.92).- Charizard falls faster (1.35 → 1.4).
- Charizard's traction is lower (0.055 → 0.04), going from being average in Brawl to being tied for the second lowest in SSB4.
- Charizard's jumpsquat is 1 frame slower (frame 6 → 7).
- Charizard's item throw is stronger (1.198 → 1.208).
- Charizard is no longer connected to Pokémon Trainer via Pokémon Change or menu input usage.
- Due to being separate from Pokémon Trainer, Charizard is no longer affected by stamina. Additionally, the removal of type effectiveness removes Charizard's water weakness and grass resistance. Although it is extremely minor, it is a buff nonetheless due to five characters having water-based attacks, most notably Greninja, while the loss of its grass resistance is of no consequence due to Mega Man's Leaf Shield being the only grass-based attack in SSB4.
- The removal of gliding significantly hinders Charizard's recovery.
Ground attacks
- Neutral attack's last hit deals 1% less damage (6% → 5%).
- Neutral attack's last hit has increased knockback (40 (base)/110 (growth) → 60/130) and is significantly faster.
- Sourspotted forward tilt deals 3% less damage (10% → 7%).
- Sweetspotted forward tilt has increased base knockback (35 → 40), slightly improving its spacing and KO potentials.
- Forward tilt is slightly faster and one of its previous sourspots is now a sweetspot.
- Up tilt has a shorter duration (frames 9-15 → 9-13).
- Down tilt deals less damage (12% (head)/8% (neck) → 10%) and has altered knockback (40 (base)/100 (growth) → 60/60) due to its sweetspot being removed, removing its KO potential. It also has increased start-up (frame 8-9 → 9-10) and ending lag (IASA 28 → 31).
- Down tilt has received a windbox that pushes opponents inward, making it easier to land.
- Dash attack has decreased ending lag (45 frames → 39).
- Forward smash deals 5% less damage (22% → 17%) due to its initial hitbox being removed.
- Forward smash has altered knockback (40 (base)/98 (growth) → 60/94), has increased horizontal range and now consists of a single hit instead of multiple hits, similarly to Bowser's forward smash. Altogether, these changes improve its KO potential.
- Up smash no longer has transcendent priority.
- Down smash has increased knockback growth (75 → 79/85) and an altered angle (80° → 33°/46°), improving its set-up potential for edge-guarding.
Aerial attacks
- Neutral, forward, up and down aerials have decreased landing lag (22 frames (neutral, up)/32 frames (forward)/ 35 frames (down) → 20/22/33).
- Back aerial has increased landing lag (22 frames → 24).
- Neutral aerial has 1 more frame of start-up lag and has a shorter duration (frames 8-28 → 9-25). Its hitboxes' sizes have also been decreased.
- Charizard has a new forward aerial, a slash with its claws. Compared to the previous forward aerial, it deals more damage (2%-4% → 12% (early, clean arm)/13% (clean tip)) and knockback, making it better at KOing.
- Back aerial deals more damage (9% (flame)/7% (tail)/5% (wing) → 16%/14%/11%), its sweetspot is larger (4.5u → 5u), it has increased range and is significantly stronger. Altogether, these changes significantly improve its KO potential.
- Back aerial can no longer auto-cancel from a short hop.
- Up aerial deals more damage (10% (clean)/7% (late) → 13%), more base knockback (20 → 30), provides partial intangibility, and is significantly stronger. Altogether, these changes improve its KO potential.
- Up aerial has increased start-up lag and its lingering hitbox has been removed.
- Down aerial has received a lingering sourspot that is significantly weaker and deals horizontal knockback. This makes it capable of edge-guarding and slightly improves its follow-up potential while in midair, but makes it easier to punish at lower percents.
Throws/other attacks
- All grabs have decreased ranges.
- Dash and pivot grabs have increased start-up lag (8 (dash)/10 (pivot) → 10/11).
- Charizard has a new up throw, a dive-bombing slam, similar to Kirby's and Meta Knight's up throws. Compared to the previous up throw, it has altered knockback (70 (base)/140 (growth) → 50/220), making it significantly better at KOing.
- Down throw has altered knockback (40 (base)/300 (growth) → 70/130) and decreased ending lag (80 frames → 70), improving its combo potential at low to to medium percents. While the altered knockback removes its KO potential, this is mitigated by up throw's significant KO potential.
Special moves
- Charizard has a new side special, Flare Blitz. It is a powerful, corkscrewing tackle that deals flame damage and has utility as a KOing and recovery option.
- Flare Blitz deals recoil damage regardless of whether or not Charizard hits an opponent. It is also laggy overall.
- Due to the addition of Flare Blitz, Rock Smash is now Charizard's down special, rather than its side special.
- Rock Smash now grants Charizard 22 frames of armor beginning on frame 5.
- Rock Smash deals less damage (18% (headbutt)/5% (fragments) → 14%/3%) and knockback, hindering its KO potential.
- Fly's vertical distance has increased. Its initial hits also connect together better and its last hit is much stronger, improving its KO potential.
- Charizard has a new Final Smash, Mega Charizard X. Charizard undergoes Mega Evolution to become Mega Charizard X, which enables it function similarly to Yoshi's Super Dragon in that it can fly freely across the screen instead of being forced into a stationary position like with Triple Finish, launch fiery attacks, and gain resistance to both flinching and launching. In addition to Fire Blast, Mega Charizard X can also perform Dragon Rush instead of Flare Blitz, regardless of whether or not custom moves are enabled. However, Mega Charizard X's duration is not fixed like Triple Finish's, as Mega Charizard X will end earlier if Charizard takes damage while Mega Evolved.
Update history
Initially considered one of the worst characters in the game and arguably the worst among the cast, Charizard has been noticeably buffed via game updates. Notably, update 1.0.8 drastically improved two of Charizard's most useful moves as well as its grab game. Its neutral attack connects more reliably and its neutral aerial is much faster, so much so that it can auto-cancel from a short hop, which greatly increases its utility in spacing. Its up throw now has significantly more knockback, making it the strongest up throw in the game and one of the strongest throws overall in the game. However, it is easier to mitigate with DI due to its launching trajectory. Additionally, its down throw has been re-purposed into becoming Charizard's best combo starter; it can lead into short, but impressively damaging combos alongside a dashing up smash, a forward aerial and an up aerial, the latter of which is a fairly reliable KO combo at high percents.
In spite of Charizard's below average out of shield game, changes to shield mechanics brought about by updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1 also help it due to its moves' high hitlag and damage outputs. Lastly, update 1.1.5 provided the most significant buffs of all by increasing Charizard's air speed to a more usable level, increasing the damage outputs and reducing the landing lag on its aerials (especially its forward and back aerials), and giving Flare Blitz an additional hitbox that can allow it to punish a wider variety of maneuvers.
- Four frames of intangibility have been added to Charizard's head for its shielding animation. This leaves Charizard less susceptible to shield stabbing, as its head is not covered by the shield during these first frames even at full health, and could therefore be hit prior to the change.
- Dragon Rush deals less damage: 15% → 11%.
- Some properties of what appear to be the headbutt in Rock Hurl and Flamethrower have been adjusted.
- Up throw's damage increased: 6% (hit 1)/2% (throw) → 8%/3%.
- Flare Blitz deals 1% more recoil damage: 4% (no collision)/9% (collision) → 5%/10%.
- Forward aerial's sweetspot and sourspot hitbox positions switched.
- Fly's knockback increased, improving its KO potential.
- Down tilt's start-up and ending lag decreased.
- Neutral aerial's start-up lag increased by 1 frame, its duration decreased: 8-28 → 9-25 and its hitboxes' sizes decreased.
- Neutral attack's hits connect together better and its first hit has increased weight-based knockback.
- Forward aerial's duration and hitbox size increased.
- Back aerial's sweetspot hitbox size was increased and its other hitboxes were shifted outward giving it more range.
- Up throw's knockback growth increased: 160 → 220 and angle altered: 60° → 70°, improving its KO potential.
- Down throw's knockback altered: 40 (base)/300 (growth) → 70/130 and ending lag decreased: 80 frames → 72, improving its combo potential at low to medium percents. Although this removed its KO potential, this is completely mitigated by up throw's buff in the same update.
- Sweetspotted forward tilt deals 1% more damage: 10% → 11%.
- One of forward tilt's three sourspot hitboxes has become a sweetspot, essentially making its sweetspot larger overall.
- Down tilt has received a windbox that pushes opponents inward, making it easier to land.
- Back aerial's landing lag decreased: 36 frames → 33.
- Down throw's ending lag decreased: 72 frames → 70.
- Sinking Skull's damage increased: 10% (ground)/9% (air) → 12%/10%.
- Sinking Skull's ending lag decreased.
- Dash attack has less ending lag (FAF 45 → 40).
- Dash attack launches opponents at a lower angle: 70°/80° (near/far) → 50° (near clean)/60° (near late/far clean)/75° (far late)).
- Up smash has received several minor tweaks.
- Down smashhas higher knockback scaling (76 (far)/82 (near) → 79/85), improving its KO potential.
- First hit of up smash's hitbox placements modified significantly and have angle modifications and/or increased knockback.
- Second hit of up smash deals more knockback.
- Trip invincibility and all trip followups except floor attack have one less frame of invincibility.
- Air speed: 0.87 → 0.92
- Weight: 115 → 116
- Neutral (22 → 20), forward (31 → 22), back (33 → 24), up (22 → 20), and down air (35 → 33) all have less landing lag.
- Neutral aerial deals 2% more damage: 10%/7%/7%/7% → 12%/9%/9%/9% but with knockback compensated (90 → 78).
- Forward aerial deals 1% more damage: 11%/12% → 12%/13%.
- Back aerial deals 1% more damage: 15%/13%/10%/10% → 16%/14%/11%/11% and has a larger sweetspot (4.5u → 5u).
- Flare Blitz explosion knockback growth: 78 → 84
- Flare Blitz has an additional hitbox that extends its reach to behind Charizard.
- Max Walk speed with heavy items increased: 1.198 → 1.208
Moveset
| Name | Damage | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral attack | 3% | Slashes twice with its claws and then strikes with one of its wings. The last hit has high knockback, with the wing's inner portion launching opponents vertically, while its tip launches horizontally. It can be jab canceled, with its most notable follow-ups being Fly and a grab. | ||
| 4% | ||||
| 5% | ||||
| Forward tilt | 11% (flame), 7% (tail) | Swings its tail forward. Its sweetspot is at the tip of Charizard's tail, which has a flame effect. Useful for spacing and can KO at 148% when sweetspotted. | ||
| Up tilt | 8% | Thrusts both of its wings upward. Charizard's wings are intangible as long as the hitbox is active. It has decent vertical knockback and KOs around 135%. | ||
| Down tilt | 10% | A low-angle headbutt. Due to being a semi-spike, it is suitable for edge-guarding. | ||
| Dash attack | 11% (clean), 8% (late) | A side kick. It can be used to catch landing opponents. | ||
| Forward smash | 17% (clean, late body), 14% (late head) | Rears its head back and then performs a headbutt. It is very strong, as it can KO at 91% when sweetspotted, but has high ending lag. Charizard is also invincible during the active frames of this attack. | ||
| Up smash | 5% (hit 1), 11% (hit 2) | Bats its wings upward. It has the lowest ending lag of all of Charizard's smash attacks, but the first hit requires the attack to be initiated with the opponent in front of Charizard to reliably connect. Despite this, it can act as a jab reset if they are not behind it. It can KO at 115%. | ||
| Down smash | 16% | Stomps the ground, causing the ground to erupt on either side of it. It is a fairly powerful semi-spike, as it can KO at 132%. However, its hitboxes are mostly grounded, which can make it difficult to hit an aerial opponent. It also has high ending lag. | ||
| Neutral aerial | 12% (flame), 9% (tail) | Somersaults to strike with its tail. Like forward tilt, its sweetspot is at the tip of Charizard's tail and has a flame effect. Can auto-cancel from a short hop. | ||
| Forward aerial | 12% (early, clean arm), 13% (clean tip) | Slashes with its claws. Deals good knockback, which can enable it to KO early if hits with the tip. It is also relatively quick and auto-cancels from a short hop. However, it has moderate landing lag. | ||
| Back aerial | 11% (body), 14% (tail), 16% (flame) | Swings its tail backward. Like forward tilt, its sweetspot is at the tip of Charizard's tail and has a flame effect. Its sweetspot's power is on par with Captain Falcon's sweetspotted Knee Smash, which enables it to KO at 105% from center-stage. It also has relatively low landing lag for its range, making it safe on shield when spaced properly. | ||
| Up aerial | 13% | An upward headbutt. It is very strong, as it KOs at 107% from a short hop, and also renders Charizard's head partially intangible during its active frames. However, it has minimal horizontal range. | ||
| Down aerial | 14% (clean), 8% (late) | A stomp. It is a very powerful meteor smash from frames 1-3, with its lingering hitbox launching opponents either vertically or at the Sakurai angle. However, it has high landing lag. | ||
| Grab | — | Clinches the opponent with its arms and mouth. Despite having been decreased since Brawl, Charizard's grab ranges are still above average. | ||
| Pummel | 2% | A bite. A fairly fast pummel. | ||
| Forward throw | 10% | Sways its head with the opponent in tow and then flings them forward. Fairly high knockback and can KO some middleweights near the edge at 147%. Can be used as a mix-up while facing the edge with its up throw, though it can potentially KO earlier than up throw if the opponent DIs away from Charizard. | ||
| Back throw | 10% | Flings the opponent backward. Has very low ending lag, meaning that at low percents, Charizard can pursue a thrown opponent with a dash immediately after, or even with a short hopped/jumping Flare Blitz in some cases. It has fairly high knockback like its forward throw, but due to it launching at the Sakurai angle, it KOs later (beginning at 155%) while near the edge. | ||
| Up throw | 8% (hit 1), 3% (throw) | Soars to the upper blast line with the opponent in tow, then dive-bombs them onto the stage at a blinding speed, similarly to Kirby's and Meta Knight's up throws. As of update 1.0.8, its knockback has been drastically increased, making it the strongest up throw in the game. It is also the second strongest throw of any kind in the game, being surpassed only by Ness' back throw. Although directional influence is more effective in hindering its KO potential than Mewtwo's up throw, which is the second strongest up throw in the game, Charizard's up throw still reliably KOs beginning at 130%. It can KO even earlier on stages with platforms, such as Battlefield, beginning at 95%. While its knockback makes it best suited for KOing, it can also act as a set-up for Flare Blitz, which deals 30% altogether. However, this combo is very situational due to requiring the opponent to be at low percents, as well as the fact that it can be acted out of. | ||
| Down throw | 1% (hits 1-5), 1% (throw) | Pins the opponent to the ground and then expels embers from its mouth onto them. Prior to update 1.0.8, it had high knockback and could KO beginning at 125%. As of update 1.0.8, its knockback has been altered, which is beneficial to Charizard due to it now being re-purposed into a very good combo starter at low to medium percents. Notable follow-ups include dashing up smash, a neutral aerial (which can be potentially followed up with another grab or up smash), a forward aerial (which can be performed on most characters until around 60%), and an up aerial (which can KO beginning at 80% and especially if the opponent DIs vertically). | ||
| Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge |
— | — | ||
| Techs | — | — | ||
| Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front) |
7% | Swings its tail backward, then headbutts forward. | ||
| Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back) |
7% | Gets up and performs a semi-circular slash with its claws. | ||
| Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip) |
5% | Gets up and performs a slash with its claws. | ||
| Edge attack Edge getups |
8% | Performs a headbutt while climbing up. | ||
| Neutral special | Default | Flamethrower | 2% (clean), 1% (late) | Expels a stream of flames from its mouth. It gradually weakens if used, similarly to Fire Breath. Unlike Fire Breath, Flamethrower's long-ranged hitboxes will make the opponent flinch. |
| Custom 1 | Fire Fang | 2% (embers), 8% (explosion) | Expels a short-ranged stream of embers from its mouth that hit quickly. Releasing the special button results in a small explosion. | |
| Custom 2 | Fireball Cannon | 3% (clean), 2% (late) | Expels fireballs that travel far and weaken slightly over time, though they deal slightly more damage. In addition to having more start-up lag, Charizard must expel three fireballs before it concludes. | |
| Side special | Default | Flare Blitz | 4% (collision), 15% (explosion) | A fiery, corkscrew tackle. Deals 5% recoil damage both at its beginning and on contact. KOs at 110% from center-stage and grants heavy armor that can withstand a maximum of 14%, extremely unsafe on shield. |
| Custom 1 | Blast Burn | 4% (collision), 5% (explosion loop), 9% (explosion last) | A slower, short-ranged version that concludes with a fiery explosion. Deals noticeably more damage, but more recoil damage as well, with 6% at its beginning and 10% on contact. Like the default version, it grants heavy armor that can withstand a maximum of 14%. | |
| Custom 2 | Dragon Rush | 1.2% (hits 1-6), 4% (hit 7), 11.2% (all hits connect) | A corkscrew tackle that hits multiple times, similarly to Fly. It deals less damage and knockback overall, but it does not deal recoil damage. In addition, it will not stop moving if it hits an opponent, which makes it a better recovery option. It is generally considered to be Charizard's best custom move due to its aforementioned recovery potential, its inability to be interrupted like Flare Blitz or Blast Burn, and having KO potential near the edge. | |
| Up special | Default | Fly | 5% (hit 1), 2% (loop), 4% (last) | Flies upward while corkscrewing. The last hit deals powerful knockback and can KO at 115% from center-stage. Grants super armor at its beginning. |
| Custom 1 | Rising Cyclone | 4% (hit 1), 2% (loop), 6% (last) | Grants less distance, but Charizard can vacuum opponents and launch them. The last hit is also noticeably stronger and like the default version, it grants super armor at its beginning. | |
| Custom 2 | Fly High | — | Deals no damage, but grants more vertical distance. Like the default version, it grants super armor at its beginning. | |
| Down special | Default | Rock Smash | 14% (boulder hit 1), 6% (boulder hit 2), 3% (fragments) | Pulls out a boulder and headbutts it, breaking it into pieces. Grants super armor on frames 5-22 before breaking the boulder. KOs at 139% from center-stage. |
| Custom 1 | Sinking Skull | 10% (grounded), 12%/9% (aerial) | A headbutt. Deals less damage, but it buries grounded opponents and meteor smashes aerial opponents. | |
| Custom 2 | Rock Hurl | 8% (boulder hit 1), 4% (boulder hit 2), 2% (fragments) | Deals less damage overall, but the boulder fragments fly farther and it grants super armor beginning on frame 1. | |
| Final Smash | Mega Charizard X | 2% (Dragon Rush loop), 10% (Dragon Rush last), 5% (Fire Blast collision), 1% (Fire Blast loop), 5% (Fire Blast last) | Mega Evolves into Mega Charizard X. Mega Charizard X consistently hovers around the stage, similarly to Super Dragon. Unlike Super Dragon, Mega Charizard X has infinite super armor rather than invincibility, and dealing damage to Mega Charizard X will shorten its duration. As Mega Charizard X, it can use Fire Blast, a powerful projectile, and Dragon Rush, a powerful corkscrewing tackle. Unlike the Dragon Rush custom move, Mega Charizard X's Dragon Rush can move in any given direction. | |
On-screen appearance
- Emerges from a Poké Ball, then stomps once.
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Taunts
- Up taunt: Stomps once and roars to the sky while flapping its wings.
- Side taunt: Faces the camera while stomping once and growling while flapping its wings once.
- Down taunt: Violently stomps twice while facing the camera.
| Up taunt | Side taunt | Down taunt |
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Idle poses
- Leans back and then stomps once.
- Turns its head to the side and quickly spits an ember onto the ground.
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Crowd cheer
| English | Japanese | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheer | ||
| Description | Char-izard! | Liz-ar-don! |
| Pitch | Group chant | Group chant |
Victory poses
- Roars and then strikes a pose.
- Stomps forward, then roars upward with flames coming out of its mouth and then strikes a pose.
- Descends from the sky while using Flare Blitz to crash into the ground and then strikes a pose.
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In competitive play
Official Custom Moveset Project
| Character | Custom sets available | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Charizard |
1311 | 1313 | 1331 | 1333 | 1113 |
| 1211 | 1213 | 3311 | 2311 | 1321 | |
Notable players
Active
Angis
Aposl- Bloodcross
- Blue
- chaoszard
- Chuck Nasty
- Draquaza
- RIP Shadow
Serge
Sharpy
SilentDoom- Steeler
Inactive
Tier placement and history
Upon the initial release of SSB4, Charizard was poorly perceived by the majority of players due to its sluggish moveset, predictable and exploitable recovery, very slow air speed and susceptibility to combos. Its negative perception led some players to view it as being heavily nerfed since Brawl even when not including Squirtle and Ivysaur, and many considered it to be the single worst character in the game up until update 1.0.6. As a result, Charizard's representation throughout SSB4's lifespan has been notoriously poor, despite its consistent popularity within its home series.
However, Charizard began to receive consistent, substantial buffs in game updates beginning with update 1.0.8, which noticeably improved its KO power, combo ability, frame data and mobility. While some players argued that Charizard had become somewhat viable, it was still widely attested that these buffs were not sufficient enough to significantly improve its representation and results. As a result, Charizard was ranked 49th on the first tier list, placing it in the I tier and perpetuating its perception as a bottom-tier character. Even as these buffs continued through update 1.1.5, Charizard did not see the same immediate leap in competitive success as other similarly buffed bottom-tier characters, such as Palutena and Lucina. Charizard's tier status has therefore only slightly improved: it remains within the bottom-tier at its current ranking of 51st, which places it in the H tier, but it is now at the top of the bottom-tier rather than in the middle of it.
Despite its consistently poor perception among the competitive community, numerous professionals, including ZeRo and ESAM, believe Charizard to be a somewhat viable character and have labeled it as a potential low-tier to mid-tier character. In fact, its tournament presence has begun to show some improvement, with Sharpy and Hitomoshi each winning regional tournaments (BeSmash 2016 and Tamisuma 63, respectively) while exclusively using Charizard. As a result, Charizard's current tier position has become one of the most contentious of the bottom-tier characters.
Trophies
- Charizard
The iconic Fire/Flying-type Pokémon. Charizard's scorching breath can melt anything in its path. It soars through the air, seeking only worthy foes to test itself against. In Smash Bros., Charizard unleashes the destructive Flare Blitz special move— a move so strong, it even injures the user!
Charizard, a Fire- and Flying-type Pokémon, can burn through anything with the flames it breathes. It is constantly on the lookout for powerful opponents. And where better to find them than in this game? Its huge build and special moves mean it can inflict massive damage, and its Flare Blitz is so powerful, it even hurts Charizard itself!
: Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue (09/1998)
: Pokémon X and Pokémon Y (10/2013)
- Charizard (Alt.)
- Charizard's Flamethrower attack can be sustained by holding the button. The flames will gradually die, but a short break will recharge them. Charizard's down special Rock Smash crushes a rock and hits foes with the pieces. Charizard won't flinch while crushing, but others can break the rock...
- When using Charizard's Flamethrower move, hold the button to keep breathing fire. The flames gradually die down, but you just need to rest for a bit before doing it again. If you get hit while you're using the down special Rock Smash, you won't flinch, but someone else can break the rock instead, making your attack fail.
- : Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue (09/1998)
- : Pokémon X and Pokémon Y (10/2013)
- Mega Evolution (Charizard)
- In this powerful Final Smash, Charizard Mega Evolves into Mega Charizard X and takes to the air. In this form, it can charge violently in any direction or shoot horizontal blasts of fire that launch foes. Mega Charizard X isn't invulnerable, though-in fact, taking damage will actually reduce the time you can stay transformed.
- For this powerful Final Smash, Charizard Mega Evolves into Mega Charizard X and takes to the air. In this form, it can charge violently in any direction and shoot horizontal blasts of fire that launch foes. Mega Charizard X isn't invulnerable, though - taking attacks will reduce the length of time it stays transformed.
Classic (3DS)
- CharizardAllStarTrophy3DS.png
Alt. (3DS)
Classic (Wii U)
Alt. (Wii U)
In Event Matches
Solo Events
- All-Star Battle: Brawl: Charizard is one of the opponents fought in this event. All of the opponents debuted in Brawl.
- Fire-Type Frenzy: Charizard must defeat Greninja, Lucario, and Pikachu all appearing after another.
- Pokémon Battle: As Greninja, the player must defeat a team of Charizard, Pikachu and Lucario in a one stock battle.
- The Falchion's Seal: As Robin, the player must defeat a giant Charizard using his Final Smash, Pair Up. Defeating it in any other way causes it to respawn.
Co-Op Events
- Poisonous Planet: Olimar and Samus must defeat two giant Charizard in a Stamina Battle before their own health is depleted due to being flowered.
- Pokémon Multi Battle!: Charizard and Pikachu must defeat a team of Lucario and Greninja, then a team of Pikachu and Charizard each appearing after one opponent is defeated.
- Robots vs. Dragons: Mega Man and R.O.B. must defeat a team of a giant Charizard, a giant Yoshi and Ridley in a stamina battle.
- The Ultimate Battle: Two players select characters and must defeat the entire roster.
Reveal trailer
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Alternate costumes
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Gallery
Charizard's splash art.
Charizard's amiibo.
Charizard and Pikachu atop a cliff, overlooking various Pokémon during Charizard's trailer.
Using its new forward aerial on Mario.
Using Flare Blitz, its new side special, alongside Diddy Kong.
Landing after using its back aerial.
Using its forward tilt against Mario's F.L.U.D.D.
Being hit by Greninja's Water Shuriken.
Using its down taunt.
Charizard and Lucario sleeping due to Bellossom's Sweet Scent.
Alongside Pikachu.
Using Mega Charizard X, its new Final Smash.
Taunting alongside Lucario, Greninja and Pikachu.
Using Flare Blitz on Diddy Kong and Wii Fit Trainer and suffering from its recoil.
Trivia
- Unlike in Brawl, Charizard draws inspiration from Ash's Charizard, Red's Charizard and Alain's Charizard:
- The animations of its neutral attack's first two hits are similar to Red's when repeatedly using Slash against Mewtwo.
- The animations of its neutral and forward aerials are identical to Ash's and Alain's when they use Dragon Tail and Dragon Claw, respectively.
- The animation of its up throw is similar to Ash's and Red's when they use Seismic Toss.
- It can use Fire Blast and Blast Burn like Red's and Alain's, respectively.
- However, it can only use Fire Blast while Mega Evolved.
- It can Mega Evolve into Mega Charizard X like Red's and Alain's.
- It has an idle pose that sees it turn its head and spit out an ember like Ash's did during its disobedient phase.
- It is voiced by Shin'ichirō Miki, who voiced both Ash's and Red's.
- Due to having access to both X Attack and Fake Nails in the attack category, Charizard is the only character capable of using two types of specialized/non-badge equipment within the same category.
- This also makes it the only Pokémon that can equip something other than badges and Pokémon equipment.
- Charizard knows eight official Pokémon moves in SSB4, all of which it can learn legally in the Pokémon core series. In addition to Flamethrower, Flare Blitz, Fly and Rock Smash, it can also use Fire Fang and Blast Burn as custom moves, Fire Blast as part of its Final Smash and Dragon Rush as both a custom move and as part of its Final Smash.
- As Squirtle did not return from Brawl, Charizard is now the only Pokémon in SSB4 to know at least one HM move, due to it knowing Fly.
- In the PAL version of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, one of the tips about Rock Smash refers to Charizard using masculine pronouns: "Right before smashing a rock, Charizard gets super armor, meaning he won't even flinch if he's attacked!"
- Charizard is the only Pokémon without a chargeable special move and the only one that lacks an aerial attack that hits more than once.
- Charizard is the only character to have one of its special move inputs changed between games outside of SSB.
| Fighters in Super Smash Bros. 4 | |
|---|---|
| Veterans | Bowser · Captain Falcon · Charizard · Diddy Kong · Donkey Kong · Dr. Mario · Falco · Fox · Ganondorf · Ike · Jigglypuff · King Dedede · Kirby · Link · Lucario · Lucas · Luigi · Mario · Marth · Meta Knight · Mewtwo · Mr. Game & Watch · Ness · Olimar · Peach · Pikachu · Pit · R.O.B. · Roy · Samus · Sheik · Sonic · Toon Link · Wario · Yoshi · Zelda · Zero Suit Samus |
| Newcomers | Bayonetta · Bowser Jr. · Cloud · Corrin · Dark Pit · Duck Hunt · Greninja · Little Mac · Lucina · Mega Man · Mii Fighter (Mii Brawler · Mii Gunner · Mii Swordfighter) · Pac-Man · Palutena · Robin · Rosalina & Luma · Ryu · Shulk · Villager · Wii Fit Trainer |
