The Origins of 33 Lizard Pokemon & the Real Animals Behind Them

Most lizard Pokemon do not stay lizards for long. Western dragons in folklore are heavily inspired by lizards, and salamanders were long thought of as fire spirits. A design that borrows from either one tends to end up with wings, flames or a crown. The geckos and chameleons that stay closest to the real animal wear a secret agent's suit or a tail full of leaves instead.

See all 33 lizard Pokemon in one list.

Here's every lizard Pokemon:

All 33 Lizard Pokemon

#004

Charmander

Charmander is the Lizard Pokemon, and it was designed as a lizard on purpose. Its name also points to the salamander, an amphibian that looks like a lizard and, in folklore, a fire spirit able to survive extreme heat or flames. Its upright build resembles a baby theropod dinosaur. A flame burns at the tip of its tail from the time it is born, and its life would end if the flame went out, which is a lot to ask of anyone who cannot keep a candle lit through a sneeze. It stands 0.6 m tall.

#005

Charmeleon

Charmeleon carries the lizard in its name, and it could also be based on the mythical fire salamander, since salamanders and lizards are very similar. The crest on its head resembles that of the dinosaur Parasaurolophus. If it becomes agitated during battle, it spouts intense flames and incinerates its surroundings. We get agitated in traffic too, and it is lucky for everyone that nothing catches fire. Its Blaze ability makes its Fire moves deal 1.5× damage once its HP drops to a third or less (an ability is a passive effect that works on its own in battle).

#006

Charizard

Charizard may be based on European dragons, which European folklore ties closely to fire. Like its earlier forms, it also takes from lizards, dinosaurs and the mythical salamander, and Mega Charizard X (a Mega Evolution is a temporary battle transformation) has the Fire / Dragon typing to match. Its wings can carry it close to an altitude of 4,600 feet, and it blows out fire at very high temperatures. (We get winded on the stairs to the second floor, which rules out the altitude.)

#126

Magmar

Magmar, the Spitfire Pokemon, seems to combine a booby or a duck with the mythical salamander of fire, but its tail and the spikes on its back resemble those of an iguana. Overall it may be based on a Karura, a birdlike, fire-breathing creature of Japanese Hindu-Buddhist mythology. Legend has it that Magmar was born from the crater of a volcano, and that when wounded, it bathes in lava to heal its body, much as one would soak in a hot spring, although our own hot spring is a bath that went cold an hour ago.

#199

Slowking

Slowking, the Royal Pokemon, is the oddest lizard here. Its body may be based on hippopotamuses and giant otters as well as giant salamanders, the big amphibians that put it on this list. The growth around its neck resembles a king's ruff, and its shell is similar to a crown. Slowking can solve any problem presented to it, but no one can understand a thing it says. (We have sat through that meeting and may have run it.)

#240

Magby

Magby seems to combine a booby or a duck with the mythical salamander, and the spike on its back gives it the look of a baby iguana. Its face may come from Hyottoko masks, which resemble a man blowing fire through a bamboo pipe. It lives in volcanic areas, where sparks spurt from its mouth and nose with each breath, and its flames gain a yellow tint when it is in good health, a health check we would happily swap our thermometer for. Its Flame Body ability has a 30% chance of burning a Pokemon that attacks it on contact.

#248

Tyranitar

Tyranitar may draw on kaiju, the giant monsters of Japanese film, and its upright posture may allude to how most kaiju are humanlike in shape because a person had to fit inside the suit. Its lizard side may come from the armadillo girdled lizard, a desert lizard known for its especially firm scales. The quakes it causes when it walks make even great mountains crumble. Our own footsteps only make the floorboards creak. It weighs 202 kg, and its Sand Stream ability summons a sandstorm as it enters battle.

#252

Treecko

Treecko, the Wood Gecko Pokemon, shares its look with the leaf-tailed gecko, a lizard that blends in with plantlike appendages and can climb up flat surfaces. Its green skin and red underside seem to come from male green anoles, whose dewlaps (the flap of skin under the throat) inflate and turn red to show dominance. It never panics, and if a bigger foe glared at it, it would glare right back without conceding an inch. We would lose a staring contest to a pigeon. Treecko weighs only 5 kg.

#253

Grovyle

Grovyle keeps the leaf-tailed gecko look and adds a dinosaur, with a strong resemblance to Dromaeosaurus. The leaves on its tail are especially similar to the tail of Epidexipteryx, a small dinosaur whose short tail held much larger feathers. It flies from branch to branch in trees, and no Pokemon in a forest can catch a fleeing Grovyle, however fast it may be, which beats our own escape plan of a bush and hope.

#254

Sceptile

Sceptile takes its appearance and its mannerisms from leaf-tailed geckos, and it also resembles Dilophosaurus. Mega Sceptile can launch its tail, which may refer to autotomy, a defense where reptiles and other animals shed a body part and grow it back later. The seeds on its back are bursting with nutrients that revitalize trees, and it raises the trees in a forest with loving care. We cannot keep basil alive, which makes a lizard with a gardening hobby look good.

#352

Kecleon

Kecleon, the Color Swap Pokemon, is based on a chameleon, in particular the panther chameleon or the Cape dwarf chameleon. Its color changes for concealment and also when its mood or health changes, and the darker the color, the healthier it is. (By that measure we are a pale beige.) Its Color Change ability turns it into the type of a damaging move that hits it. Its hidden ability, Protean, changes its type to match each move it uses (a hidden ability is a rarer second ability some Pokemon can have).

#373

Salamence

Salamence is based on the classic European dragon, and also on a salamander, most likely the Hida salamander or Anderson's salamander. The three finlets on each side of its head back that up, since they read as external gills, which many amphibians have. The joy of flight keeps it in high spirits, but it turns into an uncontrollable menace if something angers it. (We turn into the same menace when someone ruins a weekend.)

#495

Snivy

Snivy is the Grass Snake Pokemon, and a snake is its main source, but some of its features may come from legless lizards and skinks. The shape of its head and shoulders may come from the bird of paradise flower, also called Strelitzia, which is named after Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and fits the royal air of its line. Snivy photosynthesize by bathing their tails in sunlight, and their tails droop when they are not feeling well. (We would droop too if we had tails.) Its hidden ability, Contrary, inverts its stat changes, so a drop turns into a boost.

#496

Servine

Servine keeps the snake and skink mix, in particular serpentine species such as Brachymeles and Chamaesaura. Its body also resembles the acanthus leaf motifs that the Renaissance made popular. Its leaves can't be used for photosynthesis when it gets dirty, so it always keeps itself clean. Staying that clean is more than we manage in a busy week.

#497

Serperior

Serperior, the Regal Pokemon, is based on a snake such as the vine snake, and it may also draw inspiration from legless lizards. Its glare that stops foes may reference the basilisk, the legendary king of serpents in European folklore, and the basil-like leaves on its body may be a pun, since basilisk and basil share a Greek root meaning king. Its body's way of amplifying sunlight may allude to King Louis XIV of France, who called himself the Sun King. It can stop its opponents' movements with just a glare, and it takes in solar energy and boosts it internally. (Our glare has never stopped anything, the kettle included.)

#551

Sandile

Sandile, the Desert Croc Pokemon, is based on a baby crocodile, and the marking around its eyes resembles sunglasses. Its lizard link is the way it moves. It pushes sand aside and moves through the desert as if it's swimming, which may reference the sandfish skink, a lizard that burrows and moves through sand as if it is swimming, with more grace than we have in a pool. Its hidden ability, Anger Point, raises its Attack to the maximum when a critical hit lands on it (a critical hit is a lucky hit that deals extra damage).

#559

Scraggy

Scraggy, the Shedding Pokemon, may be based on a lizard, and the molted skin it wears sags like a pair of baggy pants. That look may come from the hip hop and punk youth scenes. It protects itself with its durable skin, and it is thought to evolve once that skin has completely stretched out. We are waiting for the same thing to happen to a pair of jeans. Its Shed Skin ability has a 33% chance of curing a status problem such as poison or a burn after each turn.

#560

Scrafty

Scrafty is based on a lizard molting its skin, and its crest shares the elongated scales of iguanas. The sagging pants and hoodie point to hip hop, while the red crest reads as a punk mohawk. Mega Scrafty wears its white shed skin as a hoodie, which may come from photos of leopard geckos that shed their skin all at once and look as if they are wearing a whitish onesie. We own a similar onesie, and it never leaves the house. It has the temperament of an aggressive ruffian but takes very good care of its family and friends. Its Defense and Special Defense are both 115.

#610

Axew

Axew is mostly dinosaur, but its crest may come from a Corytophanid lizard such as the brown basilisk, if it does not come from the hadrosaur Saurolophus. Its tusks seem to be based on axes, and its design was reverse-engineered from Haxorus, its final form and one of the first Unova Pokemon to be designed. Axew play by knocking their large tusks together, and the tusks sometimes break but grow back so quickly that it isn't a concern, which is more than our own teeth manage.

#611

Fraxure

Fraxure, the Axe Jaw Pokemon, keeps the same crest, which may come from the brown basilisk, and its longer tusks look like pickaxe blades. Its skin is as hard as a suit of armor, and its favorite strategy is to tackle opponents while stabbing them with its tusks. We admire a Pokemon with one plan and the focus to carry it out. Its Mold Breaker ability lets its moves get past a target's ability when that ability would hinder or stop them.

#694

Helioptile

Helioptile is probably based on the frilled lizard, though its frills also resemble those of the secret toadhead agama. It can learn Surf, which may reference the common basilisk, a reptile that can run on water for short distances. Its red Shiny coloring (Shiny is a rare alternate color) may be a reference to sunburn, a color we reach by the end of a beach week. The sun powers its electricity generation, and any interruption of that process stresses it to the point of weakness.

#695

Heliolisk

Heliolisk is likely based on the frilled lizard too, because it can expand its frill. With the frill fully open, it resembles the sun when viewed from the front, and its black coloring may refer to solar eclipses. Its English name and its upright stance are likely inspired by the common basilisk. One Heliolisk basking in the sun with its frill outspread could produce enough electricity to power a city. Our electric bill would like a word with it. Its Special Attack and Speed are both 109, and its Dry Skin ability heals it in rain and turns Water moves into healing.

#757

Salandit

Salandit, the Toxic Lizard Pokemon, is based on a salamander, some species of which are toxic, and its coloring is similar to the Japanese fire belly newt. In legends, salamanders are tied to fire and sometimes to poison, which covers both of its types. It slinks behind its prey and immobilizes it with poisonous gas before the prey even realizes Salandit is there. It is rude but efficient, and we respect a plan. It weighs 4.8 kg, and its Corrosion ability lets it poison Poison and Steel types, which are normally immune.

#758

Salazzle

Salazzle mixes the poisonous real salamander with the fire-linked mythical one, and adds whiptail lizards, some species of which are female only, such as the New Mexico whiptail. It may also draw on the mo'o of Hawaiian myth, large female lizards with scales as black as night that shape-shift into seductive women to devour men. Contests between Salazzle are won by whichever one has the most male Salandit with it. We would lose that contest to a houseplant.

#784

Kommo-o

Kommo-o may be partly based on the Komodo dragon and on the Mo'o, a shapeshifting Hawaiian dragon. Its model in Scarlet and Violet shows a layer of fur under the scales, which points to pangolins and armadillos as well. Pangolins were hunted for scales that became scale armor, and certain ruins have paintings of ancient warriors wearing armor made of Kommo-o scales. (The oldest thing our fleece has been in is a washing machine.)

#816

Sobble

Sobble, the Water Lizard Pokemon, is based on the veiled chameleon, whose males share its colors. That chameleon collects water droplets from its casque, the helmet-like bump on its head, into its mouth, which could explain the tear-like patches on Sobble's face and its crying. Its skin changes color when it gets wet, and it becomes invisible as if it were camouflaged. (We also cry and want to disappear, but nothing about us turns invisible.) It stands 0.3 m tall.

#817

Drizzile

Drizzile keeps the veiled chameleon look, and its colors suggest the Fiji crested iguana and the closely related Fiji banded iguana as well. It is highly intelligent but also very lazy, and it keeps enemies out of its territory by laying traps everywhere. Smart and lazy is the dream, and we have managed one of the two. Its hidden ability, Sniper, makes its critical hits deal 3× damage instead of 2×.

#818

Inteleon

Inteleon, the Secret Agent Pokemon, takes its crest and colors from chameleons and its slim, upright body from basilisk lizards, which stand on two legs to run across water. Its crest and back membrane resemble the gliding flaps of Draco, the flying lizards. The spy theme may come from the chameleon's camouflage, and the colors on its body resemble a tuxedo. Its nictitating membranes (a see-through third eyelid) let it pick out a foe's weak points and blast them with water from its fingertips at Mach 3. (We need two tries to open a jar.)

#848

Toxel

Toxel may be based on several lizards and frogs, mainly the poison dart frog, which fits its Poison type and toxic skin. It is also a human baby: its bottom half resembles a diaper, the white spot on its chest is a bib, and it crawls on its hands and throws tantrums. It changes the chemical makeup of its poison to produce electricity, weak but enough to cause a tingling paralysis. We run on the same weak voltage before coffee.

#967

Cyclizar

Cyclizar, the Mount Pokemon, may be based on the anole and on the fan-throated lizards of the genera Sitana and Sarada, with gecko foot pads and a chameleon's curling tail. Its casque resembles a motorcycle windshield, its cheeks look like turn signal lights and its tail like a rubber tire. It can sprint at over 70 mph while carrying a human, and the rider's body heat warms its back and lifts its spirits. (A motorbike with feelings is one we would never leave parked outside.)

#1007

Koraidon

Koraidon may be based on lizards and dinosaurs, along with vague European fantasy dragons, and it has the frills of an iguana and the feet of a gecko. It also bears some resemblance to the basilisk, a creature from medieval European myth. The name of its signature move, Collision Course, alludes to the asteroid that wiped out most dinosaurs. It resembles Cyclizar but is far burlier and more ferocious. (Cyclizar after a gym membership, while our own is still the free trial.) Koraidon weighs a hefty 303 kg.

#1008

Miraidon

Miraidon may be based on a robotic serpentine dragon and on the same anoles and fan-throated lizards as Cyclizar. Its serpent body and Electric type may come from Sugaar of Basque mythology, a god of storms and thunder who takes the form of a serpent and embodies lightning. It seems to be the Iron Serpent of an old book, said to have turned the land to ash with its lightning. Our toaster does the same to bread on a smaller scale. It stands 3.5 m tall. Its Hadron Engine ability creates Electric Terrain as it enters battle and boosts its Special Attack while the terrain lasts.

#1009

Walking Wake

Walking Wake is based on Suicune, rebuilt as a reptile that walks on two legs. That body comes from theropod dinosaurs and possibly the basilisk lizard, which can also run on water. It may also be based on the Qilin, one of Suicune's original inspirations. It resembles an illustration in a paranormal magazine, said to show a super-ancient Suicune. We trust that magazine about as much as our horoscope. It stands 3.5 m tall and weighs 280 kg, and its Protosynthesis ability raises its highest stat in harsh sunlight or while it holds Booster Energy.

Eight of the 33 Lizard Pokemon Are Dragon Types

Eight of the 33 lizard Pokemon are Dragon types, which is almost a quarter of the list. That follows an old idea. Western dragons in folklore are heavily inspired by lizards and other reptiles, and several real lizards are named after dragons for the same reason. The Komodo dragon behind Kommo-o is one of them. Charmander's own line ends on a dragon in looks, since Charizard is based on European dragons and Mega Charizard X turns Fire / Dragon.

The geckos and chameleons stay small. No Pokemon in Treecko's line or Sobble's line is a Dragon type, and neither is Kecleon.

Lizard Pokemon FAQ

How many lizard Pokemon are there?

There are 33 lizard Pokemon. Seven of them have a lizard word in their category, and the other 26 were designed from real or mythical lizards and salamanders.

What is the strongest lizard Pokemon?

Koraidon and Miraidon, tied at a base stat total of 670. Among the lizard Pokemon that are not legendary, Tyranitar, Salamence and Kommo-o tie at 600.

Is Charmander a lizard?

Yes. Its official category is the Lizard Pokemon and it was designed as a lizard, though its name also borrows from the salamander.

Which Pokemon is a chameleon?

Kecleon, which is based on the panther chameleon or the Cape dwarf chameleon. Sobble, Drizzile and Inteleon draw on the veiled chameleon.

Is Sceptile a dinosaur?

No. Sceptile is based mainly on leaf-tailed geckos, though it also resembles Dilophosaurus.