POCKET MYTH Pokedex entry No.004 Charmander

Type: Fire. Category: Lizard Pokémon. Height: 0.6 m | Weight: 8.5 kg.

Abilities

• Blaze: when HP is below one third, the power of Fire-type moves increases by 50%
• Hidden ability Solar Power: in sunshine, Special Attack increases by 30%, but the Pokémon loses 1/10 of its HP every turn

Form and ecology

Charmander is one of the original partners of the Kanto region, and its design draws on fire salamanders and juvenile dinosaurs. It has orange-red skin, a cream-yellow belly, and a flame that never goes out burning at the tip of its tail. The temperature of that flame reflects its health: above 600 degrees Celsius when it is thriving, flickering blue when it is weak. At birth the flame is tiny and it grows stronger with age, and after evolution the fire moves to the throat and becomes a flame-throwing organ.

In the official setting, the tail flame is Charmander's life core, and if it goes out the Pokémon dies. Trainers therefore need to keep it away from rain and running water. When it is emotional, such as when it is excited in battle, the flame grows explosively, and that is the energy source of the Ember move.

Stats and moves

Base stat total: 309. Speed (65) and Special Attack (60) stand out, while Defense (43) is low, so physical attacks need to be avoided.

• Starting moves: Scratch, Growl (Lv. 1)
• Key growth moves: Ember (Lv. 7), Smokescreen (Lv. 10), Dragon Breath (Lv. 16)
• Final move before evolution: Flamethrower (Lv. 36)

Ability applications

• Blaze: Fire moves burst when HP is low, turning a battle around
• Solar Power: a special attack core for sun teams, and it needs a Life Orb to offset the HP loss

Evolution line

• Level 16 -> Charmeleon (Fire). Its body grows to 1.1 m, its claws sharpen enough to learn Slash, and its tail flame passes 1,000 degrees Celsius
• Level 36 -> Charizard (Fire and Flying). It gains the Flying type and its firepower changes qualitatively