Charizard (SSB4)
| Charizard in Super Smash Bros. 4 | |
|---|---|
 
| |
| Universe | Pokémon |
| Other playable appearance | in Brawl |
| Availability | Starter |
| Final Smash | Mega Evolution |
| “ | Charizard Fires It Up! | ” |
| —Introduction Tagline | ||
Charizard (リザードン, Lizardon) returns as a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. 4. It was revealed with Greninja in a trailer during the April 8th, 2014 Super Smash Bros. Direct.
Charizard is once again voiced by Shinichiro Miki, who provided new voice clips that resemble its cries from the anime. Unlike other animalistic characters such as Bowser, its new voice clips are notably less bestial than in Brawl.
Attributes
Charizard fits the archetype of a powerful yet slow heavyweight with remarkable reach, although similar to Ike, it also possesses some fast attributes (most notably its dash speed) and combo ability. One of Charizard's strengths is its huge array of KO moves, with 3 of its 4 specials being able to KO at reasonable percents, and all of its smashes, forward tilt, up, back, and down aerials, and up throw are able to KO easily below 140%. Charizard also has some moves that combo rather well, such as its jab and forward air. It also has a decent recovery, as Flare Blitz covers a large horizontal distance quickly with very high knockback, and Fly covers a decent vertical distance with super armor and high base knockback. Charizard's biggest asset is its grab and throw game: its grab is one of the longest non-tethers in Smash 4, its up throw can potentially KO below 95%, and its down throw is a good combo throw.
However, Charizard has noticeable flaws. One flaw is its lack of a very useful projectile; although Flamethrower can inflict massive damage, interrupt approaches, and gimp recoveries, its subpar 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. Its poor air speed can also hinder its recovery and comboing ability. Arguably its biggest flaw is its out of shield game: despite having some of the best OOS options (like Fly and up throw), they are hindered by Charizard's exceptionally poor traction, second worst to only Luigi.
Overall, there is significant debate for whether Charizard is a viable character or not. While most say it is not a consistently viable character, some players, such as ZeRo and Omega Tyrant claim that Charizard is a viable character. Overall, its strengths are about equal with its weaknesses.
Changes from Brawl
Charizard has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition from Brawl, but its few major nerfs slightly counter its many various buffs, causing debate on whether it was buffed or nerfed overall (Pokémon Trainer's gimmick notwithstanding). Most notably, the removal of gliding has made Charizard's recovery much worse. Its new side special Flare Blitz is not enough to compensate due to its situational use for recovering, but it has great effect in free-for-alls and doubles, making its foes unable to react out of the move. The rest of its moveset has been re-balanced in other ways: its faster attacks (such as its jab, neutral aerial and forward tilt) are slightly weaker, and many of its KO moves have been strengthened at the cost of speed. As a heavyweight character, Charizard benefits greatly from the addition of the rage mechanic, particularly with the buff to its up throw from update 1.0.8; in fact, the recoil from Flare Blitz can be beneficial if taken into account properly, as it can bring Charizard into utilizing the rage mechanic sooner than expected and thus enable it score KOs easier.
Custom moves address some of Charizard's shortcomings. Dragon Rush is arguably its best custom, as it replaces the somewhat situational Flare Blitz with a high-pressure rush-down 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. The other up special alternative, Rising Cyclone, sacrifices some recovery height for very high launching power that can KO most characters via the upper blast line around as low as 56%. Additionally, the 1.0.8 patch has drastically improved two of Charizard's most useful moves as well as its grab game. Its jab combo connects more reliably and its neutral air is much faster, so much so that it can auto-cancel after a short hop, which greatly increases its utility in spacing. Its up throw now has far more knockback, making it the second 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 the trajectory. Additionally, its down throw has been re-purposed as a useful combo starter, occasionally leading into a KO with its up aerial.
As a result of Charizard's major flaws such as its laggy and punishable attacks, ironically poor aerial mobility, and average vertical recovery (especially if customs are not utilized), it is said to work best as a punishing-oriented character by using its stronger yet slower attacks to take advantage of openings and flaws in the opponent's play. However, players such as Trela and Bloodcross have been able to show some dominance in Charizard's metagame even without customs, causing debate on how effective it can be. This has led many players to now regard it as one of the better, if not the best, of the low-tier characters after it was initially considered one of the poorest characters in the game in early SSB4 competitive play.
Aesthetics
Charizard's skin is a brighter shade of orange, its fangs are smaller, and its proportions are more in-line with its recent 3D appearances in the Pokémon franchise.- Charizard now flaps its wings while dashing.
- Without Pokémon Trainer, all of Charizard's victory poses have changed.
- Charizard is now ambidextrous.
Attributes
Charizard is heavier (110 → 115).- Charizard walks significantly faster (0.7 → 1.2).
- Charizard dashes faster (1.8 → 2.0). An incredibly fast dash, considering Charizard's weight.
Charizard's air speed is slower (0.987 → 0.87).- Charizard falls slightly faster (1.35 → 1.4).
- Charizard's traction has been moderately decreased (0.055 → 0.04), going from the second worst to being right above Luigi's.
- Without Pokémon Trainer, Charizard is no longer affected by stamina.
- Type effectiveness no longer applies, thus removing Charizard's water weakness and grass resistance.
- Charizard, along with Pit and Meta Knight, can no longer glide, which hinders its recovering potential.
Ground attacks
- Neutral attack is significantly faster.
- Neutral attack deals 1% less damage.
- Forward tilt is slightly faster and one of its previous sourspot hitboxes is now a sweetspot hitbox.
- Forward tilt's sourspot deals 3% less damage.
- Down tilt is slower, deals 2% less damage and has lost its KOing power.
- Down tilt now has a windbox that pushes opponents away from Charizard.
- Forward smash is now a single hit attack that is stronger, and the move has more horizontal range.
- Forward smash losing its multi-hit properties means that it now deals 5% less damage.
- Down smash now sends opponents horizontally and is stronger.
Air attacks
- Neutral aerial now deals consistent damage throughout and is significantly faster, now auto-canceling after a short hop.
- Neutral aerial deals less damage and knockback.
- Forward aerial is now a claw slash that deals greater damage and knockback.
- Back aerial deals 1% more damage, has greater reach and is significantly stronger, KOing earlier than some smashes.
- Back aerial has added start-up, no longer auto-cancels from a short hop and has more landing lag.
- Up aerial has an altered animation, provides partial intangibility, deals 3% more damage and is significantly stronger.
- Up aerial has added start-up and has lost its lingering hitbox.
- Down aerial has an added lingering sourspot that is significantly weaker with horizontal knockback. This gives Charizard a new edge-guarding option and a few more follow-up options when aerially fighting opponents, but makes it easier to punish at lower percentages.
Throws/other attacks
- Charizard has a new up throw similar to Kirby's up throw, possibly being based on Seismic Toss or Sky Drop. It was drastically buffed in terms of knockback in the 1.0.8 update, becoming the second strongest up throw in the game and one of the strongest throws overall in the game.
- As of the 1.0.8 update, Charizard's down throw has significantly reduced knockback, making it a much better combo starter. It can no longer reliably KO, but this was compensated for in the same update with Charizard's up throw. The throw can be followed up consistently into a forward aerial on most characters until about 60%, and it can even lead into a KO around 80% when followed up with an up aerial and if the opponent DIs vertically.
Special moves
- With no need for Pokémon Change, Charizard has a new side special, Flare Blitz. It is an extremely powerful but laggy attack with recoil damage. It also gives Charizard a new horizontal recovery option.
- Rock Smash is now Charizard's down special instead of a side special.
- Starting on frame 5, Rock Smash now grants Charizard 22 frames of launch resistance.
- Rock Smash (including its shards) deals less damage and knockback.
- Fly grants more vertical distance. The first few hits also link together better and the final hit is much stronger.
- Charizard's new Final Smash involves Mega Evolving into Mega Charizard X.
Update history
1.0.4
- Five frames of intangibility have been added to Charizard's head in certain situations.
- Dragon Rush does less damage: 15% → 11%.
- Some properties of what appear to be the headbutt in Rock Hurl and Flamethrower have been adjusted.
1.0.6
- Up throw does more damage: 6% (hit 1), 2% (throw) → 8% (hit 1), 3% (throw).
- Flare Blitz now does 1% more recoil damage: 4% (no collision), 9% (collision) → 5% (no collision), 10% (collision).
- Forward air sweetspot and sourspot hitboxes switched.
- Fly's knockback has increased.
- Down tilt has less start-up and endlag.
1.0.8
- Jab combo connects more reliably.
- Forward air's hitbox is larger and lasts longer.
- Up throw has significantly more knockback, making it a KOing option.
- Down throw has significantly less knockback, making it a combo starter at low percents but a less reliable KOing option. However, it is a buff overall due to the same update's aforementioned buff of Charizard's up throw.
1.1.0
- Forward tilt's sweetspot does more damage: 10% → 11%.
- One of forward tilt's three sourspot hitboxes is now a sweetspot, which essentially makes it larger.
- Down tilt been given a windbox that pushes opponents inwards (pre-animation modifier frames 6-9).
- Back aerial landing lag has been reduced (36 → 33).
- Down throw's end frame has been reduced (72 → 70).
1.1.1
- Sinking Skull now deals 12% on the ground and 10% in the air, as opposed to the previous 10% and 9% (respectively). Endlag reduced by 5 frames.
Moveset
| Name | Damage | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral attack | 3% | Charizard slashes twice with its claws followed by striking with its right wing. | ||
| 4% | ||||
| 5% | ||||
| Forward tilt | 11% (flame), 7% (tail) | Charizard sweeps its tail forward. The move is much stronger if it connects with the fiery tip of Charizard's tail, so proper spacing is key when using it. | ||
| Up tilt | 8% | Charizard stabs upward with both of its wings. | ||
| Down tilt | 10% | Charizard headbutts forward at the ground in front of it. Good horizontal knockback, though not as much as in Brawl. | ||
| Dash attack | 11% (clean), 8% (late) | Charizard does a running side kick. | ||
| Forward smash | 17% (clean, late body), 14% (late head) | Charizard sweeps its head forward from bottom to top. Charizard is invincible during the first 5 active frames of this attack, even when hitting explosive items. | ||
| Up smash | 5% (hit 1), 11% (hit 2) | Charizard bats upward with both of its wings, hitting twice. First hit does not link very well into the second. | ||
| Down smash | 16% | Charizard stomps the ground once with both feet, causing the ground to erupt from either side of it. | ||
| Neutral aerial | 10% (flame), 7% (tail) | Charizard spins its entire body in a somersault, hitting with its tail. | ||
| Forward aerial | 11% (early, clean arm), 12% (clean tip) | Charizard slashes in front of it. | ||
| Back aerial | 10% (body), 13% (tail), 15% (flame) | Charizard swings its tail backwards. Very strong, with similar power to King Dedede's dash attack, but has high landing lag. | ||
| Up aerial | 13% | Charizard headbutts upward. | ||
| Down aerial | 14% (clean), 8% (late) | Charizard stomps downward with one of its feet. A powerful meteor smash. | ||
| Grab | — | Charizard grabs its opponent with its mouth. | ||
| Pummel | 2% | Charizard bites the opponent. Very fast and relatively damaging, making it a good pummel, especially right before an up throw. | ||
| Forward throw | 10% | Charizard spins the opponent once with its mouth, then throws them forward. | ||
| Back throw | 10% | Charizard throws the opponent backwards with its mouth. Does not have much ending lag, meaning that Charizard can pursue a thrown opponent with a dash immediately after, or even a short hop/full hop Flare Blitz in some cases. | ||
| Up throw | 8% (hit 1), 3% (throw) | Charizard jumps with the foe skyward to the upper blast line, then drops down with them against the floor. Similar to Kirby's. Drastically increased knockback as of the 1.0.8 update, and it is now the strongest up throw in the game (though DI is more effective against it than Mewtwo's), reliably KOing under 130%. | ||
| Down throw | 1% (loop hits), 1% (throw) | Charizard pins 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. Deals severely reduced knockback as of the 1.0.8 update, which is a buff overall due to it becoming a combo starter. | ||
| Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge |
— | — | ||
| Techs | — | — | ||
| Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front) |
7% | Swings tail backwards, then headbutts forward. | ||
| Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back) |
7% | Gets up performing a half-circle claw swipe. | ||
| Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip) |
5% | Similar to the back floor attack. | ||
| Edge attack Edge getups |
8% | Gets up and headbutts. | ||
| Neutral special | Default | Flamethrower | 2% (clean), 1% (late) | Charizard spits repeated flames that gradually weaken if the attack is held, similar to Bowser's Fire Breath. Unlike Fire Breath, Flamethrower's far hitboxes will still make the opponent flinch. |
| Custom 1 | Fire Fang | 2% (flames), 8% (finish) | A short-range fire-breathing attack that hits quickly. Releasing the button finishes the move with a small explosion. | |
| Custom 2 | Fireball Cannon | 3% (clean), 2% (late) | Fires distinct balls of fire that travel far and will not weaken over time, but does less damage than Flamethrower. More start-up lag, and must fire 3 balls of fire before the move can end. | |
| Side special | Default | Flare Blitz | 4% (collision), 15% (explosion) | Charizard does a very powerful burning tackle that causes recoil damage at the beginning of the move and again on contact. Has heavy armor (14%). |
| Custom 1 | Blast Burn | 4% (collision), 5% (explosion loop), 9% (explosion last) | A slower, shorter ranged version of Flare Blitz that deals more damage to both Charizard and its opponent. Has heavy armor (14%). | |
| Custom 2 | Dragon Rush | 1.2% (per hit) | Does multiple hits with less power overall, but Charizard takes no recoil damage and will not stop moving if it hits an opponent. Generally considered the most versatile of Charizard's side special variants, and one of the main reasons why Charizard is noticeably better with customs on. | |
| Up special | Default | Fly | 5% (hit 1), 2% (loop hits), 4% (last hit) | Charizard rises upward while performing a corkscrew. The final hit has great knockback. Has super armor. |
| Custom 1 | Rising Cyclone | 4% (hit 1), 2% (loop hits), 6% (last hit) | Recovery distance is reduced, but Charizard can suck in opponents and launch them. Has super armor. | |
| Custom 2 | Fly High | 0% | Deals no damage, but has an increased vertical distance. Has super armor. | |
| Down special | Default | Rock Smash | 14% (headbutt), 3% (fragments) | Charizard pulls out a giant rock and headbutts it, breaking it into pieces. Has super armor. |
| Custom 1 | Sinking Skull | 10% (ground), 12%/9% (air) | Charizard headbutts the opponent, causing them to get stuck in the floor. | |
| Custom 2 | Rock Hurl | 8% (headbutt), 2% (fragments) | The rock fragments fly further than Rock Smash, but deal less damage. Has super armor. | |
| Final Smash | Mega Charizard X | 2% (charge loop), 10% (charge last), 5% (blast collision), 1% (blast loop), 5% (blast last) | Charizard transforms into its powerful Mega Evolution from Pokémon X. Similar to Super Dragon, Charizard consistently hovers around the stage. It has two attacks: Dragon Rush, a physical one where it spins in any given direction, and a projectile, allowing Charizard to shoot Fire Blasts at opponents. | |
Taunts
- Up Taunt: Stomps and roars to the sky, while flapping its wings.
- Side Taunt: Stomps and growls, and also flaps its wings once.
- Down Taunt: Stomps violently.
On-Screen Appearance
Charizard is released from a Poké Ball, then stomps.
Victory Fanfare
A small excerpt of the music that would play on the title screen of Pokémon Red, Blue and Green Versions, a track which would go on to become the Pokémon Main Theme, which also appears as a standalone track in Brawl. It is shared with Pikachu, Lucario, Jigglypuff, Greninja and Mewtwo.
Victory Poses
- CharizardPose1WiiU.png
- CharizardPose2WiiU.png
- CharizardPose3WiiU.png
- Roars and does a pose.
- Stomps forward, roars upwards with flames coming out of its mouth, then poses.
- Uses Flare Blitz into the ground, then poses.
In Competitive Play
Official Custom Moveset Project
| Character | Custom sets available | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Charizard |
1311 | 1313 | 1331 | 1333 | 1113 |
| 1211 | 1213 | 3311 | 2311 | 1321 | |
Notable players
In Event Matches
Solo Events
- All-Star Battle: Brawl: Charizard is one of the opponents fought in this event. All characters debut from Brawl and reappeared in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
- Fire-Type Frenzy: Charizard must defeat Greninja, Lucario, and Pikachu all appearing after another.
- Pokémon Battle: Greninja must defeat a team of Pikachu, Charizard, and Lucario in a 1 stock battle.
- The Falchion's Seal: Robin must defeat a giant Charizard using his Final Smash, Pair Up. Defeating it any other way causes it to respawn.
Co-Op Events
- Poisonous Planet: Olimar and Samus (under the flowering effect) must defeat a team of 2 Charizards in a 200HP battle before their health is depleted.
- Pokémon Multi Battle!: Pikachu and Charizard 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 giant Yoshi, giant Charizard 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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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)
Alternate costumes
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Gallery
Charizard's splash art.
Charizard's amiibo.
Charizard and Pikachu atop a cliff, overlooking various Pokémon.
Charizard's new aerial attack, slashing Mario in the air.
Charizard using Flare Blitz.
Landing lag of back air.
Defending against Mario's F.L.U.D.D..
Sidestepping against Little Mac's attack.
Being attacked by Greninja.
Striking a pose.
Glaring at Kirby after copying Charizard's Flamethrower.
In front of the Prism Tower in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
With Pikachu.
Charizard using Flare Blitz, along with knockback recoil.
Trivia
- Charizard is the first veteran in Smash 4 to receive splash art and a unique pose (that is, different from the pose in its official artwork) in its introduction, the others being Mewtwo, Lucas, and Roy. It is also the first veteran to be introduced as a challenger in a trailer.
- Charizard knows 6 official Pokémon attacks (4 in its standard moveset and 2 when it Mega Evolves during its Final Smash) in Smash 4, which is impossible in the main series Pokémon games, where the maximum is four. Apart from Flamethrower, Rock Smash, Flare Blitz and Fly, which are its special moves, it also uses Fire Blast and Dragon Rush during its Final Smash.
- This number is increased to 8 if one includes custom moves, as two of Charizard's custom moves are Fire Fang and Blast Burn.
- In the PAL version of the 3DS version, 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!"
| 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 |
