Venusaur (#3) - Charmander - Charmeleon (#5) |
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| General | |
|---|---|
| Name (japanese), Number | Charmander (Hitokage), 4 |
| Stage | Basic |
| Evolves from | (none) |
| Evolves to | Charmeleon |
| Battle¹ | |
| Hit points | 39 |
| Attack | 52 |
| Defence | 43 |
| Speed | 65 |
| Special attack² | 60 |
| Special defense² | 50 |
| Special³ | 50 |
| Biological | |
| Species | Lizard Pok�mon |
| Types | Fire |
| Height | 2'0" (0.61 m) |
| Weight | 19 lb (8.55 kg) |
| Shiney colour | |
| Gender distribution | 87.5% male, 12.5% female |
| ¹ Stats for trading card versions may vary. ² Pok�mon Gold/Silver/Crystal ³ Pok�mon Red/Blue/Yellow |
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In the anime TV show, Ash and his friends find a Charmander on a rock, waiting for its owner. Fearing for its life in the rainstorm because the Charmander will die if the flame on its tail goes out, they pick it up and take it inside, yet it returns to the very same rock once it has recovered. It turns out that its owner had abandoned it and deceived the Charmander by convincing it he would come back for it. After Charmander discovers that, it becomes Ash's Pok�mon and breathes fire in the face of its previous owner. Once acquired, Charmander becomes a willing and eager Pok�mon, speaking in its dilute, high-pitched, kawaii "Char! Char!" voice. Ash's Charmander later evolves into Charmeleon and then into Charizard.
Charmander's name is a combination of "char" and "salamander." Its Japanese name, Hitokage, means "fire lizard", from "hi" (meaning "fire") and "tokage" (meaning "lizard"). The name is thus a reanalysis of the word "hitokage", which in Japanese generally means "figure" (in the sense of the vague outline of a person, as in "I saw a shadowy figure passing by at the side of the hill"). In the usual sense of the word, "hitokage" is a compound of "hito" (meaning "person") and "kage" (meaning "shadow").
In Pok�mon Red/Blue, Charmander is one of the starter Pok�mon, together with Bulbasaur and Squirtle. In Pok�mon Yellow, Charmander is not a starter; rather, it's obtained on Route 24. In Pok�mon Gold/Silver/Crystal, Charmander must be obtained through trading with another cartridge. In Pok�mon Sapphire/Ruby, Charmander is not available at all.
Charmander also appears in the Nintendo 64 game Pok�mon Snap.
Charmander is vulnerable to Water, Ground and Rock, and strong against Fire, Bug, Grass, Steel and (in Pok�mon Gold/Silver/Crystal) Ice.