i’ve recently had a charmander enter into my family- my charizard had kids!! while a great pokemon, he has trouble controlling his flame. do you have any advice on how to help him? i got charizard fully evolved, i’ve never dealt with this before. send help before either me or venusaur catches on fire. signed, Not Fireproof

Given the number of people intending on raising fire-types from birth, fireproof furniture coverings are actually a lot less expensive than you might think.

On a serious note, with all fire-type hatchlings, it’s imperative that you rely on their fire-type parent or other experienced fire user to help you. The problem is that while we can train our pokémon to understand and use their element as best as we can, we’re still only human with (presumably) no actual, inherent ability to control flame. It would be like if a slowpoke tried to teach another slowpoke how to talk; we just don’t have that nearly instinctive understanding of the elements or how to control them.

However, pokémon do. While it’s true (and quite obvious, as you’ve noticed) that not all of them are born with complete control over their elements, they eventually gain that understanding as they grow and unlock their full abilities and powers. Thus, a pokémon who’s managed to reach their final evolution (or who is at least several years older than a hatchling) would logically understand their element better than any human ever can. Or in other words, you and your charmander might not know how to control fire, but your charizard certainly does.

Explain the situation to your charizard (yes, it will understand) and set up a specific time to have it train your charmander every day. Given the immediacy of the situation and the danger fire presents, I would actually recommend setting up a training session that goes for as long as your charmander can handle—that is, at least and absolutely not less than one hour a day. As your charmander gains better mastery over fire, you can reduce this training time down to the standard hour-per-day most pokémon train for, if either your charmander or your charizard wish. Also, ensure these sessions happen in an open area with very little brush or other plant life that could catch on fire. Empty parking lots might be a good idea if you can’t reserve a battlefield at your local pokémon center. Bring with you fireproof targets (cinderblocks, bricks, or rocks will do, and keep in mind you can request such targets if you’re working at a pokémon center), and once the training grounds are set up, step back and let your charizard take it from there.

Best of luck, and congratulations on the new addition to your family!

What are some common hatch defects observed in the Charmander line? I tried asking a breeder but she started crying???? I hope she’s ok

Well … admittedly, hatch defects can be quite gruesome, so it can be rough for a sensitive breeder, especially if (and no offense intended to the breeder in one of these asks) the available genetic pool is … less than ideal for viable offspring, to put it as lightly as possible.

To put it bluntly, meanwhile, the worst of these will result in death, either shortly after hatching or, well, long after. Such deformities can range from abdominal hernias (in which the abdominal wall isn’t fully developed, causing internal organs to press against the skin—which is a condition that is not at all viable for life) to conditions in which the charmander will refuse to eat (which is possible to reverse with a lot of hard work) or in which the charmander will build up fluids beneath its skin slowly and for reasons that aren’t entirely understood in the pokémon medical world (which is not possible to reverse and will also result in death months after birth). Some charmander may even develop open sores due to an underdeveloped scale and/or immune system, although this, too, can be treated. However, if your charmander is born without scales or with an inability to produce more, that may make life somewhat painful for it, and battling with such a charmander is not recommended. They simply can’t recover as quickly as charmander with healthy scales, and wounds are more likely to become infected.

However, there are plenty of other conditions that are perfectly viable for life. Sometimes, charmander may be born blind. They could be born missing limbs, claws, or toes. Some have kinked tails (although if a charmander has a kinked spine—that is to say, spinal issues further up the column—then that pokémon may struggle when battling, just as a forewarning) or flames that burn a little dimmer than most, even when the charmander is perfectly healthy. Some have significant underbites or overbites (which only require some minor assistance for feeding when the charmander is young—they will learn to feed themselves eventually), and some are born without eyelids (which require you to administer eyedrops when they’re young until their eyes adapt). Some are simply born too soon and either have their yolk sac attached (which will fall off without any issue on its own) or are otherwise smaller than the rest of the clutch. As you can tell by the abundance of notes throughout this paragraph, all of these conditions result in charmander that can absolutely lead long and healthy lives; it’s just that some of these will require care, especially early on. And before you ask, no, evolution doesn’t “resolve” any of these issues. A charmander born missing a limb will be missing that limb as a charmeleon and charizard, but rest assured that this is perfectly natural and that the pokémon in question is very likely still perfectly healthy.

As a note, all of these deformities are possible in both standard and shiny charmander. Shininess doesn’t really increase the chances of a charmander being born deformed, as many of these deformities depend on a variety of factors entirely unrelated to a charmander’s color, from temperature and humidity of the incubator to genetic mutations on separate parts of a charmander’s DNA from the code that controls pigmentation.

Kanto Starters II: Charmander

bills-pokedex:

Charmander
The Lizard Pokémon
Type: Fire
Official Registration #: 4
Entry: One of three pokémon traditionally offered to new trainers at the beginning of their journeys in Kanto. Many people believe that out of the three, charmander are the hardest to raise. This is a fairly understandable statement. Charmander are naturally energetic, and their fire element means they don’t do well against Pewter or Cerulean’s gyms. More importantly, however, charmander are considered a challenge to raise because of the flame at the tip of their tails. A physical representation of charmander’s health and emotions, this flame must be meticulously kept, not only because allowing it to become extinguished would kill the host charmander but also because it is an actual flame that will react to Kanto’s abundance of fields full of dry, tall grass just about as well as you think it would.

Charmeleon
The Flame Pokémon
Type: Fire
Official Registration #: 5
Entry: The evolved form of charmander, by battle experience. Charmeleon are thought to be merciless, bloodthirsty pokémon that will attack foes with their sharp claws and intense flames. This is not necessarily true. While some charmeleon are indeed that aggressive, the vast majority of them are actually simply outgoing. It just so happens that the flame on a charmeleon’s tail grows hotter and taller whenever its host is excited, and charmeleon itself is a very excitable pokémon. As for the note concerning its claws, evidently, a charmeleon’s first instinct upon accidentally setting its new friends on fire with its tail is to smack the flames in an attempt to smother them with their hands. It’s just that charmeleon also unfortunately forget that they have claws, so their attempts to help are often not particularly helpful.

Charizard
The Flame Pokémon
Type: Fire/Flying
Official Registration #: 6
Entry: The evolved form of charmeleon, by battle experience. Stories throughout Europe tell of ancient charizard flying on giant wings and using its flame breath to burn the countryside, the peasants, and the people in their thatched-roof cottages. Only heroes brave enough and with water-types strong enough were able to vanquish this threat and bring peace to the land. Of course, the validity of these claims are debatable. While charizard’s preferred fighting style is indeed a combination of flying over its opponents and breathing flames that reach temperatures in excess of 1000 degrees, historical evidence seems to point to the notion that the stories concerning giant charizard terrorizing the countryside were made up by bored young men who would have liked to think they were braver, funnier, and more attractive than they actually were.

Mega Charizard X
The Flame Pokémon
Type: Fire/Dragon
Official Registration #: 6+
Entry: The advanced form of charizard, via charizardite X. Upon mega evolution using charizardite X, the fire that burns within this pokémon gains mystical properties that in turn imbues it with an affinity for the dragon element, rather than flying. This same process leaves charizard with the appearance of something fresh from a heavy metal album cover; thus, the answer to the age-old question about base charizard’s flying-type is, in the words of the author’s Sinnohan counterpart, because “charizard isn’t normally rad enough.”

Mega Charizard Y
The Flame Pokémon
Type: Fire/Flying
Official Registration #: 6+
Entry: The advanced form of charizard, via charizardite Y. In contrast to charizardite X, charizardite Y keeps charizard’s affinity for the flying type intact but heavily boosts its affinity for fire instead. It does this by granting charizard a number of unique traits, including extra wings to fan its flames, healthier flame sacs, and most importantly, Drought, the very ability that Groudon used to dry up the seas and create continents. So if for trainers who have ever wanted to wield the literal power of a god in the body of a dragon bred to be as loyal and intelligent as a pet dog … charizardite Y can be found in a number of specialty jewelry shops in Kalos and Hoenn.

Will a Charmander actually die if the flame on its tail is put out? This always confused me because in pokemon battles where a Charmander is hit with a strong water attack (eg. surf or hydro pump) I find it hard to believe that the flame won’t go out.

Yes, but the flame on a charmander’s tail isn’t exactly like the fire one would get by striking a match. A charmander’s tail actually secretes a thick layer of grease that feeds its flame, so splashing water onto it actually causes the fire to grow in small bursts. You can see something similar at work here.

Of course, in addition to that, its tail flame is also supported by its own mystical energy, as it’s basically a representation of its life force. Suffice to say, short of any attack that would actually drown a charmander or any attack launched on a charmander that’s already been weakened almost to the point of death, it’s not necessarily easy to put out a charmander’s tail flame.

Kanto Starters II: Charmander

Charmander
The Lizard Pokémon
Type: Fire
Official Registration #: 4
Entry: One of three pokémon traditionally offered to new trainers at the beginning of their journeys in Kanto. Many people believe that out of the three, charmander are the hardest to raise. This is a fairly understandable statement. Charmander are naturally energetic, and their fire element means they don’t do well against Pewter or Cerulean’s gyms. More importantly, however, charmander are considered a challenge to raise because of the flame at the tip of their tails. A physical representation of charmander’s health and emotions, this flame must be meticulously kept, not only because allowing it to become extinguished would kill the host charmander but also because it is an actual flame that will react to Kanto’s abundance of fields full of dry, tall grass just about as well as you think it would.

Charmeleon
The Flame Pokémon
Type: Fire
Official Registration #: 5
Entry: The evolved form of charmander, by battle experience. Charmeleon are thought to be merciless, bloodthirsty pokémon that will attack foes with their sharp claws and intense flames. This is not necessarily true. While some charmeleon are indeed that aggressive, the vast majority of them are actually simply outgoing. It just so happens that the flame on a charmeleon’s tail grows hotter and taller whenever its host is excited, and charmeleon itself is a very excitable pokémon. As for the note concerning its claws, evidently, a charmeleon’s first instinct upon accidentally setting its new friends on fire with its tail is to smack the flames in an attempt to smother them with their hands. It’s just that charmeleon also unfortunately forget that they have claws, so their attempts to help are often not particularly helpful.

Charizard
The Flame Pokémon
Type: Fire/Flying
Official Registration #: 6
Entry: The evolved form of charmeleon, by battle experience. Stories throughout Europe tell of ancient charizard flying on giant wings and using its flame breath to burn the countryside, the peasants, and the people in their thatched-roof cottages. Only heroes brave enough and with water-types strong enough were able to vanquish this threat and bring peace to the land. Of course, the validity of these claims are debatable. While charizard’s preferred fighting style is indeed a combination of flying over its opponents and breathing flames that reach temperatures in excess of 1000 degrees, historical evidence seems to point to the notion that the stories concerning giant charizard terrorizing the countryside were made up by bored young men who would have liked to think they were braver, funnier, and more attractive than they actually were.