The final evolution of the generation two starters in Pokemon Gold and Silver, Typhlosion is a fire-type Pokemon. It is the final evolution of Cyndaquil, and many fans have come to love this fiery honey badger. Interestingly it is a Pokemon with very few appearances in the anime, which is odd considering its status as a starter Pokemon. Nevertheless, Typhlosion has cemented itself in Pokemon history as the generation two fire starter representative. This guide will showcase Typhlosion’s appearances in the anime, its capabilities in battle, as well as other general facts about Typhlosion.
About Typhlosion
The fire type representative for generation two, Typhlosion is the final evolution of Cyndaquil. Despite being a starter, and existing for as long as it has, it has not made many appearances in the anime. It first debuted in 2001 (Japan) and 2006 (US) in The Legend of Thunder as part of the Pokemon Chronicles. The impressive flames on the back of Typhlosion occur when it is angry. The Pokedex states that its flames can create huge explosions or burn anything it touches into a crisp. Curiously, its sprite changed from generation six and onwards, where the flames around its neck are not seen in its sprite.
| First appearance in anime | Pokemon Chronicles The Legend of Thunder |
| First appearance in game | Pokemon Gold and Silver |
| Region | Johto |
| Evolution | Final evolution of Cyndaquil, evolves from Quilava |
| 1st Evo level | 14 |
| 2nd Evo level | 36 |
| Pokedex Entry | Typhlosion obscures itself behind a shimmering heat haze that it creates using its intensely hot flames. This Pokémon creates blazing explosive blasts that burn everything to cinders. |
Typhlosion Base Stats
| HP | 78 |
| ATTACK | 84 |
| DEFENCE | 78 |
| SP. ATTACK | 109 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 85 |
| SPEED | 100 |
| TOTAL | 534 |
Appearance of Typhlosion
While its base evolution is based on the echidna, Typhlosion evolves its way into what resembles a honey badger. The back of Typhlosion has a dark gray/blue color and the front half of Typhlosion is cream-colored. It has four pointed teeth, two on the top of its mouth and two on the bottom. Typhlosion is a bipedal Pokemon, and its body ends in paws with three digits each. What is most striking about Typhlosion’s design is the large flames on its back that resemble quills or spikes.
Behavior of Typhlosion
Typical of fire-type Pokemon, Typhlosion has quite an explosive personality. While relatively calm when not in battle, its temper is short and its rage is depicted by the flames on its back. It is shown to be very reliable in battle, and in the anime trainer, Jimmy commands Typhlosion without any problems. Fierce and protective with incredible fiery prowess, Typhlosion is an aggressive Pokemon.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Typhlosion is quite fast and it has a strong special attack to match. However, its other base stats are somewhat mediocre. Its abilities are not particularly exciting as immunity to fire on a fire type is not something that is easy to exploit. As such it has a relatively low bracket to exist in. Any water, ground, or rock-type Pokemon will likely stop Typhlosion in its tracks. Despite its decent offensive statline, it is often outclassed by other fire types. If you do plan on saving a slot on your team for Typhlosion, make sure to take advantage of its high special attack and speed as it does not have too much more to offer.
Shiny Typhlosion
For Shiny Typhlosion, it replaces the color on the back of its hide from a dark blue/black to a dark red. The front of Shiny Typhlosion remains the cream-colored body that it typically has. While Shiny Typhlosion’s colors are not the most impressive shiny you may have seen, it can be rewarding having a shiny starter Pokemon. Like all shiny Pokemon, Shiny Typhlosion will have a starry animation upon entering battle.
Dark Typhlosion
Dark Typhlosion is part of the Pokemon TCG and it was released with the Neo Destiny Unlimited set. Despite being relatively newer than the first edition boxes, it is the oldest of the generation two Pokemon you can find. Dark Typhlosion manages to hold its value today thanks to rarity and the difficulty involved with getting a PSA 10 graded card. A Dark Typhlosion today retails for over 1,500 USD which is incredible considering the card does not have the first edition marker. An impressive card with great art to feature this fire starter, players with large collections may fondly remember owning a Dark Typhlosion.
Best Moveset
While Typhlosion did not have the biggest impact in competitive play, you can still run it in the lower-end brackets. This does give Typhlosion a unique niche as in the NU (Never Used) bracket, not too many Pokemon can match its high special attack and high speed. For a held item, you will want to go with Choice Specs to increase Typhlosion’s one-hit KO potential. For moves, consider Eruption, Flamethrower/Flame Blast, Focus Blast, and Hidden Power Grass. The eruption is one of the highest base power special fire moves you can run and with STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) it becomes even stronger, Flamethrower and Fire Blast are interchangeable as they serve a similar purpose, Focus Blast can take advantage of Typhlosion’s high special attack, and Hidden Power Grass will allow you to hold your own against water-type Pokemon.
| Eruption | Flamethrower/Fire Blast |
| Focus Blast | Hidden Power Grass |
How to Catch Typhlosion in Pokemon Go
As a fire-type Pokemon, you are likely to find Typhlosion in arid climates in farmlands, cities, and residential areas. Since it is the fully evolved version of a starter Pokemon, while it is not impossible to find a Typhlosion in the wild, it is very rare to find them casually. Instead, you will want to find Cyndaquils and get enough candies to evolve it into Quilava and eventually Typhlosion. You will need 25 to evolve into Quilava and 100 to evolve it into Typhlosion. Of course, if you want to skip this, Typhlosion has also appeared as a 4-star raid boss in Pokemon Gyms. Keep your eyes out for any nearby raids if you want to skip the Cyndaquil spawns.
Video Guide
Trivia
- There is no difference in base stat totals for Charizard and Typhlosion.
- The name Typhlosion is a portmanteau of the words typhoon and explosion
- While Typhlosion’s design largely resembles honey badgers, it is also possible that the inspiration for its design came from weasels and wolverines.
FAQs
Q. Who is better: Typhlosion or Charizard?
They are actually quite identical in terms of stats. The only remarkable difference between these two Pokemon, barring design, would be their typing. Charizard benefits from learning flying type moves and earns STAB respectively. However, this does make it weaker to a wider range of types. You will have to decide for yourself if the advantage offensively makes up for the weakness defensively.
Q. Is Typhlosion a good Pokemon?
Typhlosion is perfectly fine in casual play, however, in competitive play you will be restricted to NU (Never Used) or RU (Rarely Used) as viable brackets of competition for Typhlosion. Anything higher than that and Typhlosion begins to show its age and how newer Pokemon typically outclass it.
Q. Is Mega Typhlosion real?
Mega Typhlosion is not an official Pokemon released in the main series. You can find fan games and parodies of the real games that may feature a Mega Typhlosion, but it has not reached the main series. Since the games have moved away from mega evolutions, it is not likely that Typhlosion will receive a mega evolution in the future.
Conclusion
Congratulations, you now know just about everything there is to know about this fiery honey badger. Typhlosion is a bit of a tragic story regarding its competitive viability. While its design is remarkable and fans may love their memory of playing the generation two games with their Typhlosion, it has simply been outclassed by many other Pokemon. However, it is still perfectly viable in casual play. As a generation two starter Pokemon, Typhlosion will likely remain in the hearts of fans who started with Pokemon Gold and Silver.
