Charizard weaknesses, resistances & strengths explained in Pokemon

Niladri Sarkar
charizard in the pokemon anime

The iconic Charizard can be your ace in Pokemon battles. To master this Gen 1 classic, here are the weaknesses, resistances, strengths, and best moves for Charizard in Pokemon.

Even after Pokemon Scarlet and Violet introduced several new Pokemon, including some of the most OP Legendaries ever, the Gen 1 icon Charizard remains a fan-favorite species in battles.

This Fire/Flying-type starter can become a major threat if used right, so if you’re eager to win Pokemon battles with Charzizard, here’s all about its weaknesses, resistances, strengths, and recommended moveset.

Charizard weaknesses explained in Pokemon

Charizard’s weaknesses include Electric, Rock, and Water-type attacks in Pokemon. You should know that Charizard is 4x weak to Rock-type moves.

This makes it especially a concern against entry Hazards like Stealth Rock, but I always add the Held Item Heavy-Duty Boots to negate any damage from Stealth Rock or any other Hazard. Another strategy I’ve used hundreds of times in battles is to Terastallize Charizard to Dragon Tera Type, removing its weaknesses while also being able to go up against the typical weaknesses of Dragon Pokemon.

Its bulk is decent, so don’t use Charizard to tank hits. Instead, go on an offensive role as soon as you bring Charizard onto the battlefield.

Charizard resistances explained in Pokemon

Charizard’s resistances include Bug, Fairy, Fighting, Fire, Grass, and Steel-type attacks and it is immune to Ground-type attacks in Pokemon.

While its bulk isn’t the most impressive, its set of resistances and immunity is remarkable, helping it go face-to-face against threats like Great Tusk, Iron Valiant, Ogerpon, Metagross, and Scizor. It’s particularly great against a rampaging Great Tusk, stopping the powerful Paradox Pokemon in its tracks.

I find it incredibly useful to switch in Charizard to Ground-type moves like Earthquake, Earth Power, and Precipice Blades from the likes of Garchomp, Sandy Shocks, and Groudon, and then use the free turn from zero damage taken to Terastallize and surprise my opponents.

Charizard strengths explained in Pokemon

Charizard deals super-effective damage to Bug, Fighting, Grass, Ice, and Steel-type Pokemon using its STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) Fire and Flying-type moves.

It has a good Speed stat of 100 and an impressive 109 Special Attack, but it excels under Sun. In such conditions, the damage from Fire-type moves is increased by 50% while damage from Water-type moves is reduced by 50%. That’s not all, as Charizard’s ability Blaze increases its offenses by 50% at 1/3rd or less of its max HP.

This entire setup turns Charizard into a fearsome sweeper that can do heavy damage even to neutral targets. I’ve won several battles with this strategy, and it is also a great teammate to Dragon types like Roaring Moon, Walking Wake, and Gouging Fire.

Best Charizard moves in Pokemon

The best Charizard moves in Pokemon are Flamethrower, Hurricane, Dragon Pulse, and Will-O-Wisp.

  • Flamethrower is its go-to move, boasting 90 base power that can go a different level altogether under Sun. It also has a 10% chance of burning the target.
  • Hurricane is a powerful 100 base power Flying-type move that is 70% accurate in general but is guaranteed to hit under Rain. So, even when your opponent brings Rain, Charizard still has an ace up its sleeve with the STAB Hurricane.
  • Dragon Pulse syncs well with the Dragon Tera Type, gaining STAB, as is Charizard’s weapon to defeat Dragon types.
  • Will-O-Wisp is an amazing utility move that indices the Burn status on targets and drains their HP every turn. Additionally, it also halves damage from Physical Attackers, and I’ve used this to weaken opponents like Zacian Crowned, Arceus, and Koraidon.

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About The Author

Niladri is a Writer who specializes in Pokemon Go, Scarlet and Violet, and competitive VGC battles. With more than seven years of experience in copywriting and SEO content writing, Niladri has previously written for Pokémon GO Hub and Smogon. He has been covering Pokemon for CharlieIntel since June 2023. Niladri can be contacted at [email protected].