Pokémon X and Y Mega Evolution: How to Get Mega Charizard X

To Mega Evolve Charizard X in Pokémon X, you need three things: a Charizard, Charizardite X held by that Charizard, and the Mega Ring. Pick Charmander from Professor Sycamore in Lumiose City after the first Gym and he gives you Charizardite X along with it. The Mega Ring comes from Korrina at the top of the Tower of Mastery in Shalour City, after you win the third Gym Badge. Evolve Charmander at Lv. 16 and Charizard at Lv. 36, give it the stone, and tap the Mega Evolution button in battle. In Pokémon Y, Sycamore and the Stone Emporium give Charizardite Y instead. Y’s normal story has no pickup spot for Charizardite X, so you trade one in over local wireless from Pokémon X, Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire.

This page covers Pokémon X and Pokémon Y on Nintendo 3DS and 2DS, up to the final version 1.5. None of the update notes mention changes to Mega Evolution. Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Pokémon GO and Legends: Z-A are covered briefly at the end, because their rules don’t carry over.

How to Mega Evolve Charizard X, step by step

1. Pick Charmander in Sycamore’s lab. After you beat Viola in Santalune City and reach Lumiose City, Professor Sycamore battles you in his lab on the third floor and then offers Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle. Choose Charmander. In Pokémon X he hands you Charizardite X straight away; it goes into the Items pocket of your Bag.
2. Evolve it twice. Charmander evolves into Charmeleon at Lv. 16 and Charmeleon into Charizard at Lv. 36. There’s no stone or trade. Only Charizard can Mega Evolve.
3. Get the Mega Ring. Beat Korrina at the Shalour City Gym for the Rumble Badge, then meet her at the top of the Tower of Mastery, where she gives you the Mega Ring. You can’t Mega Evolve anything before this.
4. Give Charizardite X to Charizard. Open the Bag, go to Items, select Charizardite X and choose Give. The stone has to be held, not just carried.
5. Mega Evolve in battle. When Charizard is out, tap the Mega Evolution button on the lower screen, then pick a move. Charizard changes before anyone moves that turn and stays as Mega Charizard X until the battle ends.

Mega Charizard X quick facts

Why Charizard won’t Mega Evolve

If the Mega Evolution button never appears, check these five things:

• It’s still Charmeleon. Charmeleon can’t Mega Evolve. Get it to Lv. 36 first.
• The stone is in your Bag. Sycamore puts Charizardite X in your Bag, not on Charmander. Give it to Charizard from the Items pocket.
• You don’t have the Mega Ring yet. The stone does nothing until Korrina gives you the ring at the Tower of Mastery, after the Shalour City Gym.
• You already used a Mega Evolution this battle. Only one Pokémon per battle can Mega Evolve. If Lucario Mega Evolved first, Charizard can’t.
• It’s holding Charizardite Y. That stone turns Charizard into orange Mega Charizard Y, a Fire / Flying form. For the black, blue-flamed Fire / Dragon form, Charizard must hold Charizardite X.

Charmander and Charizardite X from Professor Sycamore

Sycamore’s Kanto gift is separate from your Kalos starter. After his battle, he lets you choose one of Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle, at Lv. 10, and gives you the matching Mega Stone. Pick Charmander in Pokémon X and that stone is Charizardite X. In Pokémon Y it’s Charizardite Y. The choice is permanent: the other two starters aren’t offered again, and Charmander doesn’t appear in the wild anywhere in Kalos.

The Charmander line has another source later on. Charmeleon can be the second Pokémon in a Fire-type Friend Safari, but it’s only one of four possibilities for that slot, alongside Pyroar, Slugma and Larvesta. You need a friend whose Fire safari has Charmeleon; the first two slots only need that friend on your 3DS Friend List. A Charmeleon from there evolves into a Charizard that can use the same stone. Still undecided about the starter? See how Sycamore’s gift fits with your Kalos starter and which starter is best.

The Mega Ring at the Tower of Mastery

You get Charizardite X early, but it does nothing until you have the Mega Ring. Shalour City is the third Gym town. On your first visit to the Tower of Mastery, Korrina’s grandfather Gurkinn explains Mega Evolution: the Pokémon holds a Mega Stone and you wear the Mega Ring. He has only one ring to give, and you battle your rival for it, but you don’t get it yet. Beat Korrina at the Shalour Gym for the Rumble Badge, then go to the top floor of the tower, where she gives you the Mega Ring. She lends you a Lucario holding Lucarionite for a one-on-one Mega Evolution battle against her own Lucario, rematches you until you Mega Evolve it, and then lets you keep that Lucario.

That gives you a second Mega Evolution option. Keep the one-per-battle rule in mind: if you plan to Mega Evolve Charizard in a fight, don’t tap the button for Lucario first. Every other stone and where it’s found is on the Mega Stones list.

Didn’t pick Charmander? Buy Charizardite X

If you took Bulbasaur or Squirtle, you can still get Charizardite X in Pokémon X. A man in the Stone Emporium on Vernal Avenue, Lumiose City, sells the Mega Stones for the two Kanto starters you didn’t take. He sells one during the story and the second after you enter the Hall of Fame, one copy of each.

The price depends on your Lumiose style: $1,000,000 below style 10, falling to $10,000 at maximum style. Buying one Premier Ball at a time in the Poké Ball Boutique on Autumnal Avenue is the quick way to raise it; the full price ladder is on the shop’s page. He never restocks, and in Pokémon Y he sells Charizardite Y instead.

Charizardite X in Pokémon Y

Pokémon Y’s normal story has no pickup spot for Charizardite X: Sycamore and the Stone Emporium both give Charizardite Y. Your Charizard can still become Mega Charizard X, because the stone is an ordinary held item. Someone with Pokémon X, or with Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire (where Charizardite X is in Fiery Path after the Groudon or Kyogre story), gives it to a Pokémon, trades that Pokémon to you, and you take the stone off. Pokémon X players get Charizardite Y the same way.

Online trading through the GTS and Wonder Trade ended when Nintendo shut down 3DS online services on April 8, 2024. Now the trade has to happen over local wireless, with both systems in the same room, from the Player Search System on the lower screen. In 2014, several Pokémon Y event distributions in Japan, South Korea and Europe gave out a Lv. 36 Charizard holding Charizardite X, but those events ended long ago and can’t be received any more. It’s one of the version differences worth weighing before you buy.

Charmander’s evolution levels

Charmander comes at Lv. 10, so you need 26 more levels to reach Charizard. The Exp. Share, which you already have by this point, does most of the work, and a Lucky Egg speeds things up after the story. Charizard reaches Lv. 36 around the middle of the game, which means you get Mega Charizard X well before the Elite Four.

Mega Charizard X stats

Tough Claws boosts moves that make contact, such as Dragon Claw, Flare Blitz, Fire Fang and Shadow Claw, by about 30%. Drought on Mega Y turns on harsh sunlight as soon as it Mega Evolves, which powers up Fire moves and lets Solar Beam fire without charging.

Mega Charizard X weaknesses

Losing the Flying type changes Charizard’s matchups a lot. Water, Ice and Fairy all hit Mega Charizard X for normal damage, because Fire and Dragon cancel each other out against them. Electric becomes a resistance, and Fire and Grass do only a quarter of their damage. In exchange, Ground moves now hit it, so watch out for Earthquake.

Mega Charizard X or Y?

In Pokémon X you don’t have to choose, since Charizardite X is what the game gives you. If you can trade for both, it comes down to how your Charizard fights:

For a playthrough, Mega Charizard Y is the easier pick because Charizard learns special Fire moves by level. Mega Charizard X hits harder once it has Dragon Claw and Flare Blitz, which takes one extra stop. Charizard is a strong pick either way; see the best Pokémon in X and Y.

Moves for Mega Charizard X in the story

Evolving at Lv. 36 teaches Charizard Wing Attack, not Dragon Claw or Flare Blitz. Both are on Charizard’s Lv. 1 list, which a Charizard evolved from Charmeleon has already passed. Flare Blitz also comes back by level-up at Lv. 77, but that’s far past the story, so these are the practical routes:

• Madam Reminder in Dendemille Town teaches any move on Charizard’s level-1 list, including Dragon Claw and Flare Blitz, for one Heart Scale per move. You reach Dendemille after the sixth Gym. How Madam Reminder works.
• TM02 Dragon Claw is in Victory Road, right at the end of the game. See all TM locations.

Dragon Dance, the classic Mega Charizard X move, isn’t on Charizard’s level-up list or a TM. It’s an egg move, so it only comes from breeding a Charmander with a Dragon Dance father at the Day Care. You don’t need it to finish the game.

Mega Evolution rules in battle

• Only one Pokémon on your team can Mega Evolve per battle, and only once.
• Mega Charizard X stays in its Mega form until the battle ends, even if you switch it out. After the battle it goes back to normal Charizard, and you can Mega Evolve it again in the next one.
• Opponents can’t take Charizardite X away with Knock Off or Trick while Charizard holds it.
• Holding the stone means Charizard can’t hold anything else, like Leftovers or Charcoal.

Mega Charizard X in other games

Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire use the same Charizardite X and Mega Ring rules, and Pokémon holding Mega Stones can be traded between those games and X or Y over local wireless. Pokémon GO uses Mega Energy instead of a held stone. Pokémon Legends: Z-A on Nintendo Switch has its own Mega Evolution system and story, and nothing from X or Y carries over to it.

Mega Charizard X checklist

Frequently asked questions

Can you get Mega Charizard X in Pokémon Y?

Yes. Y’s normal story has no pickup spot for Charizardite X, so trade one in, held by a Pokémon, from Pokémon X, Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire. The 2014 Pokémon Y event Charizard that came holding one can’t be received any more.

Can I get a second Charizardite X?

Not in one Pokémon X save. Sycamore gives one if you pick Charmander, and the Stone Emporium only sells the stones for the starters you didn’t take, one copy each. A second one has to come from another game by trade.

Can I switch between Mega X and Mega Y?

Yes. The held stone decides the form each time Charizard Mega Evolves, so with both stones you can swap between battles.

Can a Friend Safari Charmeleon become Mega Charizard X?

Yes, if a friend’s Fire safari has Charmeleon in its second slot. Any Charizard can use Charizardite X, wherever it came from.

When can I first use Mega Charizard X?

As soon as you have the Mega Ring and a Lv. 36 Charizard. The ring comes after the third Gym, so in most playthroughs the Charizard level is what you wait for.