Charizard (, Rizādon?) is one of the fictional species of Pokémon creatures from the multi-billion-dollar Pokémon media franchise—a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. As do all Pokémon, Charizard fight other Pokémon in battles central to the anime, manga, and games of the series. The name Charizard is used as both a singular and a plural noun when referring to the species.
Charizard made their video game debut in 1996 with the Japanese release of Pokémon Red and Blue. Known as the Flame Pokémon, Charizard are violent yet honorable creatures, flying proudly around the sky and constantly seeking for powerful opponents to quarrel with. Several Charizard are featured the Pokémon anime series with the most recurring being from the main character, Ash Ketchum.
Charizard is also the version mascot of Pokémon Red and FireRed versions, and makes an appearance on the boxarts of Pokémon Stadium, Pokémon Ranger, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team, and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky. The design and art direction for Charizard was provided by Ken Sugimori, a good friend of Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri. Throughout the series, they have been portrayed with no spoken dialogue.
In the Pokémon anime, they use facial expressions, body language, and repeat the syllables of their own names, using different pitches and tones. The name "Charizard" originates from the words "charcoal" or "char" and "lizard". Where as Charmander and Charmeleon are ground-bound lizard like creatures, Charizard resembles a large traditional European dragon.
Despite this, Charizard is explicitly a Fire/Flying-type, not a Dragon-type. During an interview, Pokémon Company president Tsunekazu Ishihara stated Charizard was expected to be popular with North American audiences, citing their preference for strong, powerful characters.