With the many ways Pokémon Legends: Arceus has innovated and shaken up the usual Pokémon series formula, it's easy to overlook one of the biggest changes: there's no Charizard in Arceus' Pokédex. The popular final starter evolution for Charmander has remained a staple of the franchise since Gen 1, when it appeared on the Gen 1 cover for Pokémon Red. From the anime and movies to the Pokémon TCG and official manga, Charizard has remained a recurring and iconic character not just in the video games - but in pretty much all Pokémon media. So, it's quite surprising that Pokémon Legends: Arceus doesn't let players catch and evolve a Charizard at all.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus has gotten a lot of praise from fans and critics alike for the many ways in which it innovates and changes up the series' mechanics. For many years - especially the last decade or so - it feels as though the Pokémon series had become stagnant and afraid to take risks. Legends: Arceus, however, is all about risks and this is evident from its more open-world exploration to its methods for catching Pokémon and beyond. Almost every tradition has been changed - even the protagonist's age in Legends: Arceus shows the series is slowly being aimed at (slightly) older players. There's significantly less hand-holding in the game and Requests take players away from the main story quite often. There are no Gym Leaders to worry about nor multiple cities to run through. And one of the franchise's most popular Pokémon - Charizard - is nowhere to be found.
For those who count Eevee and Pikachu as Gen 1 starters, those are in the game. Otherwise, Legends: Arceus is missing Gen 1 Pokémon starters and their evolutions - there's no Squirtle, Bulbasaur, or Charmander. There's no immediate reason as to why Charizard and its evolutionary line aren't in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Perhaps they're being saved for DLC or as a Mystery Gift later on. Maybe they'll never be added. The latter seems likely, especially if Legends: Arceus is a sign that the franchise is moving out of its comfort zone.
Why Pokémon Legends: Arceus May Never Have Charizard
The Pokémon series has come to rely on Gen 1 and its more famous designs quite a bit throughout the years. While there are certainly plenty of the original 151 Pokémon to find in Legends: Arceus - Abra, Ghastly, Geodude, and their evolutionary lines are available early on, for example - the lack of Gen 1 starters may illustrate what the entire point of Arceus really is. This is an experiment, designed to toy with normal Pokémon conventions and likely serving as a test run for what future mainline Pokémon games will be like.
Based on all the positive reviews for Legends: Arceus, it's likely most (or, at least, quite a bit) of the mechanics in the game will make it into Gen 9's games. So, why isn't Charizard in Pokémon Legends: Arceus? It's one of the most popular Pokémon - and video game character - designs of all time. It's an icon for the franchise, appearing in almost every game. When Mega Evolution was introduced - Charizard was there. When Gigantamax debuted in Sword in Shield - Charizard was there (and starring as the partner Pokémon for Champion Leon). Charizard was a Pokémon representative in Smash Bros. and is consistently the most sought-after card in the Pokémon TCG. And now, when Pokémon is innovating with Legends: Arceus, Charizard is notably absent.
This is most likely intentional. Just like Legends: Arceus is experimenting with more open-world mechanics and less-linear gameplay, it's also testing out how it can get away from familiar tropes. Pokémon has relied heavily on the same gameplay (and much of the same designs) in the last decade or so, often appearing hesitant to change up too much, too quickly. Arceus is still playing it fairly safe in that regard - many fan-favorite Pokémon like Gyrados are in the game. However, excluding Charizard is the Pokémon equivalent of dipping one's toes in the pool to see how the water feels. The desire is there - to jump in and completely shake off the shadow of Gen 1 - but it's still being cautious.
For the many Charizard fans out there, it may be disappointing that they can't catch the Pokémon in Legends: Arceus. From a business standpoint, it's also an unusually risky move from Game Freak, The Pokémon Company, and Nintendo. As evident from the highly-valuable Charizard Pokémon cards, Charizard is an extremely marketable (and profitable) part of the franchise. Leaving it out of Legends: Arceus is a major risk. Fortunately, it looks as though it's paid off.
Legends: Arceus Proves Pokémon Can Succeed Without Charizard
In its first week of launch, Pokémon Legends: Arceus has become a critical and commercial success. It even broke Animal Crossing: New Horizons' sales record in the UK for first-week sales. It's set sales records at multiple retailers and will likely continue selling well thanks to word-of-mouth and positive reviews. Despite a few hitches like complaints over the game's graphics and some performance issues, the risks used in Pokémon Legends: Arceus have paid off tremendously.
Now, a Pokémon game doesn't feature Charizard and it may become the best-selling game in the franchise's history. This proves that Pokémon titles should lean more into having good gameplay and stories rather than relying too heavily on nostalgia and the Gen 1 mascots that have remained popular since they debuted in the '90s. If the game is good, fans will notice - no matter which Pokémon appear in it.
Of course, Pokémon Legends: Arceus isn't entirely radical in its innovations. Eevee and Pikachu are still in the game - and each gets their moment in the spotlight. However, Charizard's absence, especially, is a hopeful sign of things to come in the series. It's a sign that the franchise will continue to evolve and change without banking on its usual tropes. And while Charizard will undoubtedly remain a popular Pokémon, it's nice to see that Pokémon Legends: Arceus has let it sit this one out and give some other favorites their moment in the spotlight.