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.

Not an ask, a thank you! We did solve the issue with Charmeleon and Gabite. We ended up finding a suitable place to leave them alone for some… ahem private time together. I had no idea that a Charmeleon’s way of saying “I like you” was a Dragon Claw square in the nose. Gabite didn’t seem to get the message at first (who could blame him?) and was simply retaliating but when he found out what was really going on, well, he was more than willing to do his part…

You are also very welcome, anonymous. I’m glad you were able to get to the bottom of your predicament, and hopefully, you were able to clarify to your charmeleon that there are better ways of showing affection.

In the meantime, I congratulate you in advance for the hatchlings that are very likely soon to come.

My Charmeleon and my friends Gabite used to have a sort of friendly rivalry going on, but recently they have been fighting, not simple battling, actually fighting to the point that they must be separated to prevent them seriously injuring each other. We don’t know why or when this started, could you maybe give us clues on what the problem might be and how to solve it? (My Charlie is female and the Gabite is male, so we’ve ruled out show-offy masculinity contests)

Conveniently, another reader had a similar issue with their lucario and zoroark not that long ago! The answer here is similar, although with reptilian pokémon such as charmeleon and gabite, also keep in mind that their mating rituals may be just as aggressive as their actual in-fighting. If your friend’s gabite is the instigator or if your charmeleon turns her back on him and lifts her tail shortly before the battle begins, then it’s most certainly a mating ritual. There’s not much you can do to stop them, so it would be best to take them to a place that can offer them plenty of room to mate. Once she lays an egg, their behavior should subside until the egg hatches. Consider spaying or neutering one or the other for a more long-term resolution.

Otherwise, take very similar actions as the other reader. Team up with your friend to observe your pokémon’s behavior. When you see a fight just about to start, separate them and mediate. If one of your pokémon hasn’t done anything wrong, then it may be that the other one needs an outlet for their aggression, so increase the amount of time you or your friend spend training it. And if it’s boredom, clearly establish that fighting for that sake is not acceptable.

Alternatively, given that one has evolved and the other has not, the increase in aggression may be an attempt to push your friend’s gabite into evolving. This is especially true if your charmeleon generally starts the fights or if your friend’s gabite struggles harder against being separated. If this is the case, then you’ll want to establish to your charmeleon that while it’s noble of her to help out a friend, this is not a productive way to do it. At the same time, if gabite wants to evolve, then your friend may want to consider options in getting him enough experience to do so.

Finally, there really is only one other thing that I can add to the other post, and it has to do with the fact that the pokémon in this case are owned by two different people. Sometimes, pokémon fight if they perceive that their trainers aren’t getting along well or that their relationship can be improved. By increasing the aggression of their fighting, the pokémon are essentially forcing you and your friend to work together. You’ll be able to determine whether or not this is the issue if your pokémon look at either of you at any point during their fights. If this is the case, then establish very clearly to both of your pokémon that playing matchmaker is also not acceptable behavior (but that you appreciate their efforts all the same).

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.