Entry 006 – Charizard
Common Name of Creature: Charizard
Pronunciation: "char-is-ard"
Latin Name of the Species: Cremare draco
Origin of the Species Name: Why Charizard was not named Charagon will always be a mystery. In ancient lore, the mighty Charizards were fought off by brave knights that dare venture into the mountains. Back then, Charizards got more than 20 feet in height and roughly 40 feet in length. They were truly great monsters that terrorized towns. But the origin of the name Charizard has less meaning. Charizards were called that name because a fire lizard was needed. The scientific community did give the Charizard justice with a scientific name; the family name remained same but the species name is draco. A great name for the greatest dragon that ever lived.
Morphology: This great beast these days measures at a little over five feet tall, hardly the monster from the past. Perhaps the reason behind that is that there are no more wild Charizards. And domestication has made it impossible for the marvels to attain their desired size. Nevertheless, the Charizard is still feared and admired by all. This great beast has a wingspan of nearly twelve feet. They are large and bat-like. The insides of the wings are colored a dark green and blue color. Its mighty tail is as long as its body if not slightly longer. The tail is a powerful new weapon of the Charizard. Not only can it swing the tail violently, it can also, if flying, strike the tail underneath its feet to hit an enemy on the ground. The enemy then gets a mouthful of its flame tail. Charizard has returned to its original orange color. It was once thought that Charmander simply evolved into Charizard due to both having a rather nasty hatred towards humanity. But it was later observed that Charmeleon is a part of the family. Why it loses its orange color only to gain it back makes no sense. The crest of the Charmeleon has developed into two well distinguished horns on top of Charizard's head; another weapon for the creature's arsenal. The sharp claws are also there and Charizard's snout is now more distinguished and more like a crocodile's snout. It is truly a menacing creature and not one, even in its domesticated form, to be taken lightly.
Origin of the Creature: Charizards, again, have an elusive past . It was once theorized that perhaps the Charizard family evolved from the great Aerodactyls. But this was later dismissed when the fossil remains of a Charmander were found from the same period as an Aerodactyl. It is still believed by many that the family is among some of the first pokemon ever on this planet. It is strange though how they didn't evolve. But with Charizards the size of a Groudon, it seems that the creature had no need to evolve into something better. Nothing could rival it.
Biology: Charizards are said to have hotter tails with each growing battle. The more battles, the hotter the tail gets. At first mention it seems utterly ridiculous but the pokemon world is filled with strange and wonderful mysteries. The flame is produced back in that gas chamber which is no longer vestigial. The hotter factor does come from the fact that the horns still house gas as well. When it's ready to give off large amounts of heat, the Charizard will make its tail flame larger and thus give off the appearance that its tail is indeed hotter. This event only seems to occur the more it battles and defeats an enemy.
First Discovered: Man knew about Charizard long before Charmanders were discovered. Ancient cave paintings depict mighty fire-breathing monsters. In the Kalos region, great kings watched other kingdoms burn in the country side. They would often enlist the help of Charizard tamers. These great and skilled early trainers would have to steal an infant Charizard from its nest (ancient Charizards gave birth to actual Charizards. It is still a mystery why domesticated pokemon today give birth to their starter evolution.) These skilled trainers would be paid a great ransom to ride the back of their mighty monster and rain fire upon the kings' enemies. Kalos was the only region to utilize this tactic that we know of.
Lifespan: Charizards of the past lived as long as 400 years and would develop such weird scruff-like scales under their chins. This was later found out, by Sir Tomas Dekievedian, that it was a type of rock dust and ash that is now permanently apart of the creature's skin. The more scruffs it had, the older the Charizard was said to be. There was and currently is no way to stop the scruffs, even today. But today, a domesticated Charizard only lives to be 130 years old…and holds the record for longest lived fire pokemon apart from legendaries in today's world.
Habitat: Charizards today are not found in the wild too often. If they are ever found, it is inside the volcano on Cinnabar Island. Many people have tried to go far into the caves inside, but many teams have never returned. Charizards are considered cryptokemon; a term to describe possibly hidden and elusive pokemon that have been sighted but are not yet recognized by science. Now, Charizards are recognized by science, but wild ones are often laughed at. If you see a wild Charizard, people will discredit you instantly.
Behavior: The domesticated Charizard is not only loyal but an incredible fighter that never backs down. However, if it trained poorly or too quickly...it may not be so loyal. They are smart, cunning, problem-solvers. Domesticated Charizards are even involved with the Pokemon Ranger Squads across the world. They are used to burn away fallen trees and debris. They can even put out fires by simply blowing on them or flapping their wings extremely fast. Obviously, these characteristics are not found in the ancient, wild Charizards. Those creatures were said to be so dangerous. If they even noticed one human that was still alive after the first fire attack, they would return and hunt that one target down by landing near them and slashing and biting. They were vicious.
Reproduction: Charizards are not very flamboyant maters, just like the other members of its family. However, ancients would perform such elaborate mating rituals. Sir Dekievedian had this to say observing such a ritual:
"It was about midday when a great roar was sounded from somewhere inside the forest. It didn't take long for my party to stumble upon the creature. A massive orange creature that is known as [Charizard] stood not far from us. It was inside a great fire circle. The creature roared again and I told them to make sure the beast would not see us. It was a huge male. At least [30 feet long] and as tall as twice a man. It wasn't long before another giant figure flew down from above. This was the female. We could tell due to its smaller size. But another figure appeared. It was a bigger male a little larger than the previous male. The two roared at each other. The two males took to the air and that was the last we saw of them for nearly 3 days. The female stayed near the sight. We returned day after day. And soon the smaller male returned with the extinguished tail of the larger male. The male presented it to the female and the two then took to the skies and performed an elaborate dance in the air. We called this "The Dragon Dance". It was then that we left these two creatures in peace.
History: Charizards have a great history about them. One thing that was not mentioned above is the practical use of Charizards in recent history. In the late 19th century to the early 20th century, Charizards were used to light what were called "fire spires" on ships. They would be on a wooden ship not only for protection but for lighting these spires to warn enemy ships away and to tell them that they have a Charizard with them.
Danger Factor: Charizards pose the same health concerns as their previous members. They are quite dangerous from their teeth to their claws. If ever one is found that is not domesticated, it should be handled with extreme caution. It is best to simply back away from a Charizard and hope it is not interested in you.