Charizard first appeared as a Charmander whileProfessor Oak was about to give away thefirst partner Pokémon to Satoshi andShigeru. Charmander attacked aPidgey when it was going to attack Satoshi. At the lab, Satoshi immediately chose Charmander as his first partner Pokémon. He tested out Charmander by battling Shigeru'sSquirtle in which theFire-type was able to defeat Squirtle despite the type-disadvantage. Charmander woke up Satoshi with its tail and Satoshi traveled with it all the way toPewter City.
Arriving at the Pewter Gym, Charmander challengedBrock's Onix where it showed some incredible speed by dodging some of Onix's attacks and managed to defeat Onix by striking it on its rocky spine. Charmander has a battle withTeam Rocket'sBeedrill when they took overMiracle Cycle. It was able to easily defeat Beedrill which sent Team Rocket running. Satoshi and Charmander arrive inCerulean Gym where Satoshi attempted to use it to battleMisty but Charmander refused to do so as it was afraid of the water since it would put out the flame on Charmander's tail.
As a CharmeleonCharizard and Satoshi
Later, Charmander had arematch with Shigeru's Squirtle on theS.S. Anne where once again, Charmander was able to defeat Squirtle. The battle caused Charmander to evolve into Charmeleon. Satoshi and Charmeleon head to theVermilion Gym and battledLt. Surge'sElectabuzz. Charmeleon struggled with dealing with Electabuzz at first but finally defeated it with a combination of tying it up with a barbed-wire fence and attacking it with an unidentified Fire-type move.
Satoshi headed toCeladon City and sent out Charmeleon to battleErika'sVileplume in the Gym there. When Vileplume'sPetal Dance blinded Charmeleon, it caused a piece of flames from Charmeleon to accidentally burn part of Erika's kimono. Charmeleon attempted to put out the fire by slashing the burned areas. The referee was going to declare Erika as the winner since she saw Charmeleon attacking Erika, but Erika rewarded Satoshi theRainbow Badge as Satoshi raised Charmeleon to be very kind.
Later, Charmeleon battled withBlaine'sArcanine. After defeating Arcanine, Charmeleon evolved into Charizard. Blaine borrowed it while he and Satoshi attempt to capture anArticuno at Seafoam Islands. With Satoshi's help and Charizard's method of flight, Blaine was able to get close enough to Articuno and catch it. Satoshi flies back home on Charizard and then flew toViridian Gym to face the final Gym Leader.
During the Gym battle againstGiovanni, Charizard was substituted forLapras after Lapras got hit byRhydon. When Charizard dealt damage to Rhydon, it caused Giovanni to explain to Satoshi about his character and rewarded Satoshi theEarth Badge. While flying back home, Satoshi and Charizard get attacked by Shigeru andPidgeot. Since Charizard just finished the battle with Giovanni, Pidgeot sent it flying straight down.
Back home, Charizard once again woke up Satoshi using the same technique when it was a Charmander. They fly away toIndigo Plateau to challenge theElite Four. Charizard battledLance's Dragonite where it was able to defeat Dragonite with an unidentified Fire-type move. It then battled with Shigeru'sBlastoise and won, earning Satoshi the title as Champion. Sometime after Charizard dodged Blastoise's unidentified Water-type move, it hit one of the pillars and Satoshi pushed Shigeru out of the way to prevent him from getting crushed.
Personality and characteristics
Charizard was shown to have cared for its Trainer, Satoshi, as seen in its debut chapter when it saved Satoshi from aPidgey, which made Satoshi in return choose Charmander. Charmander has used many techniques which are considered extraordinary. After evolving into Charizard, Charizard has been relied on as a method of flight transportation.
