Charizard (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)


 * This article is about Charizard's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Charizard.  In addition, for information about Charizard in regards to Pokémon Trainer, see Pokémon Trainer, Squirtle, and Ivysaur.

Charizard is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl (in a sense). It is one of three Pokémon that are played through Pokémon Trainer, the other two being Squirtle and Ivysaur. Charizard originated from the original Pokémon as the second evolved form of Charmander, one of the initial Pokémon the player can start out with at the beginning of the adventure.

Attributes
Charizard is the fifth heaviest character in the game and is significantly different from the other heavyweights in abilities, though it is a common heavyweight in terms of stats. Charizard is also the only heavyweight Pokémon in the Super Smash Bros. series. Charizard has a surprisingly fast dashing speed for a character of its weight (tied with Pikachu), but it also has the slowest walking speed in the game. 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 mid-air 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 it can take lots of damage before getting KO'd, due to its heavyweight. Like all three of the Pokémon Trainer's Pokémon, Charizard is susceptible to stamina; 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 60%. Charizard's power and range are counter-balanced by having a significant amount of ending lag after its power moves. He is also very hard to approach, due to his Neutral and Side Special Moves, Flamethrower and Rock Smash respectively. Charizard can put decent offensive pressure on the opponent with its multiple jumps, Flamethrower, its Back Aerial, its Up Tilt, and its Up Smash, and can also give out more defensive damage with moves like its Forward Tilt, Down Tilt and its Forward Aerial, which is especially useful when properly ledgehopped. Neutral Aerial and Rock Smash work both defensively and offensively, so overall Charizard has balanced attack capabilities. Despite its good range, Charizard suffers against well-spaced disjointed hitboxes; Charizard fights best at mid-close range, where swords and the like are generally superior (Marth's Forward Aerial can even cut through all of Rock Smash). Charizard's Special Moves are potent. Its Flamethrower is great at racking up the damage at close range, and it also works well as an edgeguard or stalling tactic at mid-range along with protecting himself from attacks both ranged and physical. On the downside, Charizard lacks both a long-ranged projectile and damage-racking physical moves.

Complementing the damage-racking of Flamethrower is Charizard's Side Special Move, Rock Smash. It provides Charizard with an additional, relatively-safe power move; the headbutt packs a more portable punch than its Smash Attacks, and damage dealt from the rock fragments can combine to over 50%. Sometimes, when an opponent strikes Charizard in a continuous way, Rock Smash can hit its opponent, dealing them more damage than it is receiving. Charizard's Up Special Move, Fly, has super armor frames and significant knockback, which both contribute to its recovery and can surprise high-speed, high-priority rushdown moves (like Meta Knight's glide attack) by busting through for a potential KO. However, it has a linear path and is a less than decent recovery move, more because it suffers from 30 frames of the landing lag glitch. Also, due the slow start-up, poor push-away and large landing lag of its aerials, Charizard has a very poor air game. It is even easy to tech-chase it when it lies on the ground, due to its terrible get-up rolls, being unable to roll behind a Snake who stays stationary after being Down Thrown by him. However, his great speed, powerful knockback and heavy weight makes up for most problems.

Charizard's greatest asset is its grab; Charizard's long neck gives it the second longest standing grab in the game, second only to King Dedede. The range is immensely helpful when dealing with characters who have an easier time controlling the match. At low percents, 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). At percents above 120%, Charizard's Down Throw is an effective KOing move, should the opponent prove difficult to hit with standard attacks.

In the end, Charizard is a very useful fighter.

Normal

 * Neutral Attack - Right hand slash, left hand slash, then a smack with the right wing. A rather poor jab due to mediocre range and low hitstun, with the last hit being slow to come out, making it simple to Smash DI the first two hits so the last is shielded, which is punishable due to its long cooldown. It has minimum jab canceling efficiency as well, with the opponent having plenty of time to escape or punish an attempted grab, Down Tilt, etc. 3% damage on first hit, 4% damage on second hit, and 6% damage on third hit, for a total of 13% damage.
 * Dash Attack - Raises one leg for a sliding kick. Slows Charizard significantly out of dash, and is easily shield-grabbed. 11% damage.
 * Forward Tilt - Sweeps flaming tail forward. Long range and decent power on sweetspot, but ill advised at close range due to below average speed. 10% damage if sourspotted, 11% damage if sweetspotted.
 * Up Tilt - Hops into a triangular dual-wing stab above its head. Quick, great knockback and with good vertical range (with a disjoint slightly extending it), but its hitbox is almost entirely vertical, with very little horizontal range and no low hitboxes, making it situational. 8% damage.
 * Down Tilt - Bites forward at the ground in front of it. Very fast and with powerful horizontal knockback at the jaws, but low vertical reach and weak vertical knockback up close and low shieldstun. 8% damage if sourspotted, 12% damage if sweetspotted.

Smash

 * Forward Smash - Fire Fang: Sweeps its head forward from bottom to top, biting with enflamed teeth. A two-hit attack. Similar in appearance to Bowser's Forward Smash, but a bit faster. Good range and powerful knockback, KOing reliably around 90-95%. Similarly, if only the second hit connects it is not quite as strong, but is not as extreme as in the case of Bowser. It is possible for only the initial strike to connect, but this only happens if the opponent is very near Charizard and a bit off the ground, as in the midst of a short hop. 5% damage on the first hit, 17% damage on the second hit for a total of 22% damage if uncharged. First hit does 7% damage and second hit does 23% damage for a total of 30% damage if fully charged.
 * Up Smash - Bats upward with both of its wings, hitting twice. Moderate knockback; maximum damage is given if both wings strike. Initial wing swipe is very fast, making dashing Up Smashes effective. However, at high percents, the first hit often knocks the opponent horizontally strong enough to cause the second strike to miss. Slower cool down than its Up Tilt. First hit does 5% damage and second hit does 11% damage for a total of 16% damage if uncharged. First hit does 7% damage and second hit does 15% damage for a total of 22% damage if fully charged.
 * Down Smash - Earthquake: Stomps the ground once with both feet, causing earth to erupt from either side. Vertical knockback. Hits simultaneously on both sides with deceptive range and decent power, but has a laggy start/finish. Does 16% damage uncharged, 22% damage fully charged.

Other

 * Ledge Attack - A slow, biting headbutt with little range. 8% damage.
 * 100% Ledge Attack - A mid-range tail swipe with moderate knockback. Has a sweetspot at the flaming tip, burning the opponent for more damage and knockback. 10% damage.
 * Floor Attack - A combination rising bite and tail sweep, which hits on both sides quickly. 6% damage.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial - Spins entire body in a somersault, hitting with its tail. Sweetspot is very small, and otherwise has very little knockback. Has a long lasting hitbox with little aerial end lag, making it effective for defense or as a short hopped, below platform move. Somewhat high landing lag during the midst of the attack. 9% damage.
 * Forward Aerial - Flaps wings forward, creating a gust of fiery wind in front of them. Moderately fast start up. Sends the opponent at a low trajectory and has set knockback properties, with the move only becoming noticeably more powerful >100%. Its base knockback is rather high, making it effective at gimping poor horizontal recoveries even at very low damages. However, the attack has no knockback or hitstun, further away from Charizard (outside the edges of its wings), and has noticeable landing lag. 10% damage if all hits connect.
 * Back Aerial - Hits quickly behind it with its wing, claw, and fiery tail. Good horizontal range, but minimal vertical range. The first hitbox (the wing swipe) is a very weak Meteor Smash intended to knock the opponent into the more powerful tail swipe. Most reliable aerial KO move when sweetspotted. Does 7% damage if sourspotted, 16% damage when sweetspotted with the tip of its tail and all hits connect.
 * Up Aerial - Bites upward. Somewhat poor range and knockback, but fairly quick in both starting and ending. Move has significant sex kick attributes. 10% damage.
 * Down Aerial - Stomps downward. A meteor Smash with surprisingly low vertical range. It is unique in that it is stronger on grounded opponents. Due to this, it is the second strongest Meteor Smash on grounded opponents (however it is still noticeably weaker than Ganondorf's Down Aerial). Its power is only above average otherwise. 14% damage.
 * Glide Attack - Spins out of glide and hits with wings/jaws for solid knockback. A good interruption move, and easily followed up on when used near ground. Strongest glide attack in the game, but given its lack of disjointedness it is not a move that should be over-used. 12% damage.

Grabs and Throws
Note: Charizard has the second longest non-tether grab in the game (second to King Dedede), along with a fast dash speed and good traction, giving him one of the best grab games in the game. In fact, it is for this very reason that Charizard has all around manageable matchups.
 * Pummel - Bites with sharp fangs. Very fast. 2% damage.
 * Forward Throw - Grabs opponent in jaws, spins them, then releases them in front of itself. A pseudo-chain throw on many characters at near-0% percents. 9-11% damage (varies).
 * Back Throw - Throws the opponent behind it quickly. Its fastest throw. Can also pseudo-chain throw characters at very low percents. 9-11% damage.
 * Up Throw - Sets opponent above itself, then slams them with its head. 11% damage.
 * Down Throw - Sets its opponent on the floor and smothers them with fire. Strong knockback. Will KO reliably <150%, making it one of the few throws in the game that is a reasonable KO move, but is the weakest of its throws damage wise. Interestingly, unlike most projectile based throws, like Falco's, the flames cannot be reflected even if the victim is wearing a Franklin Badge. 6% damage.

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 noticable with its side taunt. Additionally, all of Charizard's taunts involve a stomp.
 * Up - Stomps and roars to the sky, while flapping its wings. Originates from his appearance animation after released from Pokeball in Pokemon Stadium for N64.
 * Side - Stomps and makes a bizarre purring sound, and also flaps its wings once.
 * Down - Stomps violently.

Role in The Subspace Emissary
Charizard is first seen flying into a cave by Lucas and the Pokémon Trainer. The Pokémon Trainer recognizes that Charizard is one of the Pokémon he had been trying to catch. Lucas and the Pokémon Trainer head into the cave to attempt to capture Charizard. In the process, they find Ivysaur and capture it as well. Eventually, Lucas and the Pokémon Trainer defeat Charizard in battle and capture it. Unlike many of the characters in The Subspace Emissary, Charizard does not serve any story roles after its capture. The Pokémon Trainer retains this role, and the player is free to choose whichever of the Pokémon he/she wants during play.

Trophy Description

 * 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

Trivia

 * Charizard is voiced by Shinichirou Miki, who also voices Staryu.
 * Charizard is the only playable Pokémon who has different names, but has the same voice in all versions (Possibly due to the fact that instead of saying its own name every time it speaks, it roars.)
 * Charizard is one of several characters that can perform a Reverse Hyrule Jump, thanks to its glide.
 * Charizard is the only playable Pokémon to make the shift from a Poké Ball item to being a fully playable character.
 * Charizard is one of the four characters whose all four Throws can KO in Sudden Death.
 * Even though Charizard is the most powerful overall out of the Pokémon Trainer's Pokémon, it has the least powerful Up Smash out of the three. However, its Up Smash is still powerful.
 * Charizard's Flamethrower seems to overcome Bowser's Fire Breath, due to it being much faster.
 * Charizard, Pikachu and Lucario are the only playable Pokémon that don’t have their shiny form as a palette swap.