Rainbow Charizard Guide: A Fan Favorite VMAX & How to Use it

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Charizard is easily one of the most recognizable Pokemon in the genre along with Pikachu, and he was a powerful creature that was pretty relevant in the first seasons of the show for Ash. Charizard has various forms for himself, and one of them in the card game is the Rainbow Charizard. This is done with the VMax Pokemon cards, which was an expansion that was done around the time Pokemon Sword and Shield came out.

The Sword and Shield games introduced the Gigantamax pokemon to the universe. Unlike regular Dynamaxing, Gigantamaxing not only gives the HP of the Pokemon in question a large boost but also changes the appearance of the Pokemon drastically. They also get really really big!

Now, for the card game, they wanted to bring Gigantamaxing into the game. Now, they can’t make the cards much bigger, but the VMax line of cards was introduced to the game. If you have a V Pokemon of the same type, you can attach a VMax version of the card to that card and power it up!

Rainbow Charizard Stats

Health330
AttacksClaw Slash (100 Damage) G-Max Wildefire (300 damage)
WeaknessWater Type attacks
VMAX ruleWhen your Pokemon VMAX is knocked out, your opponent takes three price cards

What Is The Rainbow Charizard?

First, let’s take a look at the V version of the Charizard card. Charizard V has 220 health and has a weakness to water type attacks.

It is a Pokemon V obviously, so whenever the Charizard gets knocked out your opponent can take two prize cards. It has two attacks: Claw Slash which requires 3 normal energy to use and deals 80 damage to the opposing Pokemon. It also uses Fire Spin which is an attack that requires 2 normal energy and 2 fire energy, and it deals 220 damage.

The one downside to this very powerful attack is that you need to discard two energy from the Charizard whenever you use the ability. Finally, if you want to have your Charizard retreat from the active battle stage to the bench so you can swap him out for another pokemon, it costs 3 energy. This card also comes with the Darkness Ablazed booster pack.

Evolution: When Does Rainbow Charizard Evolve?

In order to evolve your Charizard V into a Rainbow Charizard, it follows the same rules as a regular evolution in the game. The basic form needs to be on your bench or on your active slot. Now, you can’t evolve your pokemon on the first turn it is played, or your first turn of the game. Any other time you can evolve during play by placing the evolution card on top of the phase one form.

For example, if you have your Charizard V on your active and it is locked in battle, you can evolve it into a Rainbow Charizard on your turn once you draw the card. Like before, the evolved pokemon will have all its special conditions cured or removed but will keep all its current damage and energy levels.

It also can only do the moves on its card as well and doesn’t have access to the moves of its pre-evolution counterparts. Just place your Rainbow Charizard on your Charizard V and you will be good to go for evolution. Now let’s see what this card can do.

Rainbow Charizard Strengths

The Charizard VMAX, otherwise known as the Rainbow Charizard, is a fire type Pokemon with 330 hp and the same weakness to water as the Charizard V. It also costs 3 energy tokens if you want to make it retreat as well. Rainbow Charizard has a VMAX rule as well, where if you end up knocking it out, then your opponent takes three prize cards.

It has two attacks, and the first one should look familiar. It’s Claw Slash and it does 100 damage rather than 80 for a 20 damage difference.

It still costs only three normal energy to do. The second attack is called G-Max Wildfire and costs two normal energy and three fire energy to do, but does a whopping 300 damage, so it’s definitely an attack to be used whenever desperate times call for it! Once the G-max wildfire is done, you will need to discard two energy from the Rainbow Charizard.

Rainbow Charizard Weaknesses

Every single Pokemon has weaknesses, and despite its power Rainbow Charizard has it also has its weaknesses. It takes double damage from water type attacks, and even with its high HP pool a few well-placed water attacks can easily whittle it down to nothing. If you find yourself battling a team of water types, you should leave Rainbow Charizard at home!

When Should I Evolve Rainbow Charizard from Charizard V?

A good rule of thumb is to evolve the Pokemon during larger battles, especially if the phase 1 form is taking a beating from a stronger Pokemon, or you need a significant advantage against an enemy who is stronger than you are.

If you are thrashing your opponent or your foe is inexperienced, then don’t add insult to injury and evolve into a more powerful form than they can handle.

It’s just good gaming etiquette, especially if you are fighting in a tournament or against strangers that you don’t know. However, if you are fighting with friends then you can make your own rules. Maybe you want to unleash the full power of your deck and show your friends what you can really do!

Summary of Appearances In Pokemon Versions and Media (Games, Anime, and Movies)

If you want to know if you can get a Rainbow Charizard anywhere else: no, as it doesn’t as it was created specifically for the card game. However, Charizard can be Gigantamaxed in the game, and it comes with a very unique special ability called Wildfire.

Wildfire passively does damage over time four 4 turns, dealing damage to 1/6th of your opponents’ health. This special attack is very useful against weaker or damaged enemies because it can finish them off while Charizard focuses on tougher opponents.

You just need to use the move flamethrower and then the Wildfire effect kicks in! Air Slash can also be used to raise Charizard’s speed, allowing it to do some serious damage to threats before damage can be done to them. Because Charizard, and his effects, are so powerful, you should be attempting to Gigantamax him whenever you have the chance or need an edge in a tough battle.

Where Can You Get A Rainbow Charizard?

If you are aiming to get a Rainbow Charizard for your collection, don’t get your hopes too high for this one. It’s an extremely rare card, and for those who have them and want to sell them, the prices can go up pretty high. There’s really not any strategy you can use, piece of luck you can rely on, or amount of packs you can buy that will get you a Rainbow Charizard if you want to get it.

Most of the time, you will just get lucky, and it’s best to simply buy the booster packs and not tear through them looking for a specific card. Instead, just enjoy the packs for what they are and get excited whenever you end up getting lucky! Now, you can also search for a Rainbow Charizard online, but since these cards are so rare and hard to find, you will often find yourself needing to pay big bucks for them.

How Do You Gigantamax Charizard In Pokemon Sword and Shield?

Once you get your Charmander from defeating Leon in Postwick Village, you just need to let it evolve into the Charizard. Then you need to take the Charizard somewhere where you can use the Dynamax ability. This could be a Max Raid, Battle Tower, or at a Power Spot, and then you just need to use the ability. Rather than using Dynamax, your Charizard will become Gigantamax and you can use him, and the special battle moves it uses.

What is a Shiny Charizard?

Of course, Rainbow Charizard is not just the only transformation of Charizard. In both the card game and Pokemon Sword and Shield, you can get a shiny Charizard. First, the shiny Charizard is just a cosmetic skin for your Charizard, where the Charizard is black-skinned instead of orange-skinned and has some different looks around its eyes and wings. It is a completely cosmetic change that will not change how the Charizard acts or looks in battle.

Now, mostly finding shinies in Sword and Shield comes in at the rate of 1 to 4,096 normally, and there are two ways to reduce that if you want the shiny version of Charizard. Once you 100% complete the Pokedex, you can get a shiny charm from a man in the Circhester City hotel. The shiny charm is able to reduce the rate from 1 in 4,096 to 1 in 1,365, and while it is still a big gap, the shiny charm has a difference of 2,731 which is not insignificant!

You can also breed two pokemon from games with different languages. If you have an English Charizards and a Japanese Ditto, you can breed the two pokemon together to get a shiny Charizard at a rate of 1 to 512. That’s a very good rate!

Simply Grinding For A Shiny

Finally, while it is not the best option, you can simply battle Charizards throughout the game and for every one you knock out it will count towards your ‘monsters battled total’ for that Pokemon. As you keep fighting Charizards, your odds of finding a shiny Charizard increase, and that goes up even more when you have the shiny charm.

Here are the stats if you start fighting Charizards with the shiny charm:

  • 50 battled: 1 in 1024
  • 100 battled: 1 in 819.2
  • 200 battled: 1 in 682.67
  • 300 battled: 1 in 585.14
  • 500 battled: 1 in 512

It’s a grind to be sure, but the more Charizards you battle, the higher the chances are of encountering a Shiny Charizard.

Shiny Charizard in the Card Game

The Shiny Charizard card is also a very useful card with a few interesting effects. It has 120 HP, is weak to water attacks, is resistant to Fighting attacks and 30 damage is taken off of any fighting attack that hits it. It also costs 3 normal energy to retreat.

It has the power: Energy Burn: which states: As often as you like during your turn (before your attack), you may turn all Energy attached to Charizard into Fire Energy for the rest of the turn. This power can’t be used if Charizard is Asleep, Confused, or Paralyzed.

You’ll need this fire energy because the only attack Charizard has is called Fire Spin, which needs 4 fire energy, and then you will need to discard two energy cards in order to use the attack. Still, the attack does 100 damage apiece, and with Energy Burn, you can just turn every energy card into a fire card.

Rainbow Charizard Guide: FAQs

Question: Do I Need A Rainbow Charizard?

Answer: Whether you want the card for its power or just because you love all things Charizard, many people can become blinded by their desire to get a Rainbow Charizard for their decks. However, like with every pokemon card, you don’t need it. You can easily win battles with every type of Charizard, or any type of Pokemon card for that matter!

Question: How Do I Get A Rainbow Charizard?

Answer: If you really want a Rainbow Charizard, then your best bet would be to buy one online. Stores like Amazon and eBay can have copies, but be prepared to spend a lot of money for them. Due to their rarity and power, they will not come cheap. However, it’s an easier method than just going through booster packs and hoping that you get lucky. That might happen, but you shouldn’t go through every single booster pack expecting it.

Question: Do Other Pokemon Have Rainbow Forms?

Answer: Yes, Several Pokemon such as Pikachu, Gengar, Raichu, Dragonite, and more all have rainbow variants representing the Gigantamax abilities that they have in Pokemon Sword and Shield. All of these variants are powerful and armed with lots of health and very interesting abilities.
Whether you are collecting the rainbow pokemon or end up getting lucky and finding one in a booster pack, make sure to keep it and try to find the V version as well. It can be a massive boost to your team and your deck as a whole to keep these Pokemon around!

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