Charizard (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)


 * ''For other uses please see Charizard (disambiguation).
 * 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 Brawl and is significantly different from the other heavyweights featured in Brawl in abilities, though it is a common heavyweight in terms of stats. Charizard is also the only heavyweight Pokémon in the Smash Bros. Series. Charizard has a surprisingly fast dashing speed (tied with Pikachu) for a character of its weight, 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 can take lots of damage before getting KOed 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 side 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, b-air, up-tilt, and up-smash, and can also give out more defensive damage with moves like f-tilt, d-tilt and f-air (f-air is especially useful when properly ledge-hopped). N-air 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 (a Marth f-air 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 it also works well as an edge-guard or stalling tactic at mid-range. On the downside, Charizard lacks both a long-ranged projectile and a sufficient defense against opponents' projectiles. 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%. Sometimes, when an opponent strikes you in a continous way, Rock Smash can hit your opponent; dealing them more damage than you are receiving. Charizard's up special Fly has super-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, high-priority rushdown moves (like Meta Knight's glide attack) by busting through for a potential kill. Also, due the start-up, poor push-away and large landing lag of his aerials, it has a very poor air game. It is even easy to tech-chase when it lies on the ground due his terrible get-up rolls (for example, it can't even roll behind a Snake who stays stationary after it down throws him).

Charizard's greatest asset is its grab; Charizard's long neck gives it the second longest standing grab in the game, next to Dedede. The range is immensely helpful when dealing with higher-tier 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 killing move, should the opponent prove difficult to kill with standard attacks.

Normal

 * Neutral Attack - Right hand slash, left hand slash, then a smack with the right wing. Does 3% damage on first hit, 4% damage on second hit, and 6% damage on third hit for a total of 13% damage if all hits connect.
 * Dashing Attack - Slides forwards and raises one leg for a sliding kick. Slows Charizard significantly out of dash, and is easily shield-grabbed. Does 11% damage.
 * Up Tilt - Hops into a triangular dual-wing stab above its head. Quick with excellent knockback, working well in conjunction with up-smash and n-air. Does 8% damage.
 * Forward Tilt - Sweeps flaming tail forward. Long range and decent power (on sweet-spot), but ill-advised at close-range. Does 10% damage if sourspotted and 11% damage if sweetspotted.
 * Down Tilt - Bites forward at the ground in front of it. Quick move and great range with useful pop-up in-close, and powerful knockback at the jaws. Does 8% damage if sourspotted and 12% damage if sweetspotted.

Smash

 * Forward Smash - Sweeps its head forward from bottom to top. Slow, but very powerful and far-reaching attack.  Two-hit attack. First hit does 5% damage and second hit does 17% damage if uncharged.  First hit does 7% damage and second hit does 23% damage if fully charged.
 * Up Smash - Bats upward with both of its wings, hitting twice. Decent knockback; maximum damage is given if both wings strike. Initial wing-swipe is very fast, making running up-smashes very effective. First hit does 5% damage and second hit does 11% damage if uncharged.  First hit does 7% damage and second hit does 15% damage if fully charged.
 * Down Smash - Stomps the ground once with both feet, causing earth to erupt from either side of it. Vertical knockback.  Hits simultaneously on both sides with fantastic range and good power, but has a laggy start/finish and will only hit if the opponent is grounded. Does 16-22% damage.

Other

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

Aerial

 * Neutral Aerial - Spins entire body in a somersault, hitting with its tail. Hitbox for sweetspot is very small, and otherwise has very little knockback. Has a long-lasting hitbox and cancels quickly, making it effective for defense or for attacking from beneath low-level platforms. Does 9% damage.
 * Forward Aerial - Breathes a cone of flame forward and a little down. Good knockback, quick, and can work as a mildly effective Fence of Pain. However, the attack has no knockback further away from initial flame-blast near the mouth, and has noticeable landing lag. Does 10% damage if all hits connect.
 * Back Aerial - Hits quickly behind it with its wing, claw, and fiery tail. The upper hit-box can Meteor Smash, but it is weak and exists only to knock the opponent into the more-powerful tail swipe.  Most reliable aerial kill move when sweet-spotted. Does 7% damage. 16% when hit with all attacks and sweetspotted fire on tail.
 * Up Aerial - Bites upward. Fairly poor range and knockback. Move has significant sex-kick attributes. Does 10% damage.
 * Down Aerial - Stomps downward. This move will always Meteor Smash. This makes Charizard the only flying/multiple-jump character in the game with a dedicated, single-hit Meteor Smash in its arsenal of regular attacks (Kirby's d-air becomes a drill after the initial hitbox), allowing it to meteor smash opponents more safely/reliably than others. This meteor is unique as it is the only meteor that hits grounded opponents harder than aerial opponents. It is in fact, the second strongest meteor on grounded opponents, being able to star KO under 125% (it still pales in comparision to Ganondorf's dair). Its power is only above average on airborne opponents. Does 14% damage. Hit also has an invisible hitbox like Snake's f-tilt and u-tilt, except it's vertical.
 * 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. Does 12% damage.

Grabs and Throws

 * Pummel - Bites with sharp fangs. Very fast. Does 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. Does 10% damage.
 * Back Throw - Throws the opponent behind it quickly. Its fastest throw. Does 10% damage.
 * Up Throw - Sets opponent above itself, then slams them with its head. Does 11% damage.
 * Down Throw - Sets its opponent on the floor, and then breathes fire on them. Largely horizontal knockback. A reliable, if easy to DI, KO move at high percents, but the weakest of his throws damage-wise. Can even damage a victim with a Franklin Badge. Does 6% damage.

Taunts
All of Charizard's taunts are slightly different depending on the direction it's facing. This is most noticable 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.
 * 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 encounter 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.

Trivia

 * It 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 Pokéball item to being a fully playable character.
 * Charizard is one of the four characters whose all four throws KO in Sudden Death.
 * Even though Charizard is the most powerful overall out of the Pokemon Trainer's pokemon, it has the least powerful up smash out of the three (its up smash is still powerful however).
 * Interestingly, in Pokemon Red Charizard is the fastest starter, but in Brawl he is the slowest out of the 3.