Why does Charmander die if his flame goes out?

Question

I just found a doodle about how Charmander and Squirtle were getting high, and Squirtle accidentally extinguishes Charmander's flame, and Charmander dies. Is this true? And why does Charmander die if his flame goes out? Is there any explanation about this in the anime?

I did find a Bulbapedia page that said:

Charmander dies if its flame goes out.

But it didn't explain any further.

Altough it does not directly answer the question. [Anatomy of charmander](http://www.tshirtvortex.net/wp-content/uploads/Charmander-Anatomy.jpg) — Dimitri mx, Apr 17 '14 at 03:09
@Eric Cant say its 100% cannon. The artist made several, partially based on fantasy. Partially on facts given in the series. — Dimitri mx, Apr 17 '14 at 04:05
as much as i can remember, they do die. ash rescued his charmander from rain when his fire was going to extinguish. maybe because charmander are that kind of animal who die when their fire extinguishes. — Sp0T, Apr 17 '14 at 05:23
I edit my title because the answer of the first title will be obvious and already state in wiki I cite — Darjeeling, Apr 18 '14 at 14:00

score 13 · Accepted Answer · edited Aug 27 '15 at 17:30

According to Charmander article on Bulbapedia:

A fire burns at the tip of this Pokémon’s slender tail, and has blazed there since Charmander’s birth. The flame can be used as an indication of Charmander's health and mood, burning brightly when the Pokémon is strong, weakly when it is exhausted, wavering when it is happy, and blazing when it is enraged. It is said that Charmander dies if its flame goes out.

Charmander's flame is an indicator to his remaining life force.

So, saying "Charmander dies if its flame goes out" would be like saying "A human dies if he blows his last breath". Dying and having no flame would basically be equivalent statements. So even if Squirtle gets high, squirts all over Charmander's tail and the flame goes out for a second, Charmander wouldn't die and the flame would come out again if he was still healthy.

Having water on his tail will probably cause him a lot of pain and continuously being exposed to this torture could make him faint or die, but it would be because his health would drop and thus the flame would become smaller. Vice-versa, if you could somehow bind a lighter to its tail with infinite gas, Charmander wouldn't become invincible, even though his flame would never die out.

score 8 · Answer 2 · edited Aug 27 '15 at 18:31

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Now it was a long time ago from when I watched the series but from what I remember, in the first episode Charmander appears in, Ash finds him injured (or at least very sick) in the middle of the road. Ash and his party then rescue him. After taking Charmander to Nurse Joy (I think, they take him to someone at least), they explain that the fire on Charmander's tale represents his health. The stronger the flame, the more healthy and strong he is and vice-versa. And yes, I do remember that he does indeed die once the flame went out completely, which was explained in that episode as well.

I'm sorry if the answer isn't 100% accurate but it has been about 15 years since I seen this episode.

edited Aug 27 '15 at 18:31

Ero Sɘnnin

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answered Apr 17 '14 at 10:22

Nerakai

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It really has been 15 years. Good old days!! +1 :D – Elysium Apr 17 '14 at 14:00
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For reference, the episode in question is [episode 11](http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/EP011). – senshin Apr 18 '14 at 01:45

score 2 · Answer 3 · edited Mar 21 '15 at 18:43

It's the other way around. Charmander is likely to be dead soon if his flame is about to go out on itself. As you may know already, the strength of the flame on his tail represents his health level.

I've read about this subject many times before on the net, and I think there was a bit about if you were to extinguish Charmander's tail fire while he's healthy, it would simply light up again shortly afterwards. So his tail fire's kinda like a trick candle that doesn't go out (if you remember those from your childhood).

score 1 · Answer 4 · edited May 08 '15 at 15:34

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Generation one Pokedex entry.

Obviously prefers hot places. When it rains, steam is said to spout from the tip of its tail.

So unless it's dying, it can lose its tail flame temporarily, which will later come back.

edited May 08 '15 at 15:34

nhahtdh

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answered May 07 '15 at 20:52

user14323

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score 0 · Answer 5 · edited May 08 '15 at 15:25

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It's possible that as a Fire type Pokemon, Charmander is cold blooded and needs a high core temperature to live. As a result, if the flame goes out and isn't rekindled, its body cools at a rapid rate, eventually stopping its heart.

edited May 08 '15 at 15:25

nhahtdh

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answered May 16 '14 at 22:32

user4919

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sawpost · Answer 6 · 2015-03-21T18:37:21.583

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According to "The Science of Pokemon" on Tumblr, a charizard's tail flame keeps it warm. Without the flame, the charizard will basically freeze to death, because it has no other way to generate enough body heat to keep it alive. It's because the flame isn't just at the tip of charizard's tail. It burns inside of it's body, because of a stream of gas that passes through him. It seem like the tail flame is the flame that keeps the rest of the gas lit, so if it goes out, the rest of the fire inside goes out, too. It does indicate the health and emotions of charizard, too, but I think that's more of a side effect than something really important.

edited Mar 21 '15 at 18:37

answered Mar 21 '15 at 18:32

sawpost

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The source doesn't seem to draw reference (or if it does, it didn't cite) from any of the official material (manga, anime, games, etc.). It sounds like fan theory about how the body of the Pokemon works. – nhahtdh Mar 21 '15 at 18:49

Why does Charmander die if his flame goes out?

6 Answers6