The Best Fire-Type Pokémon to Use in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
Bug Catchers beware! With their blazing demeanor and fiery hot breath, it’s no surprise that Fire-type Pokémon are a popular choice to fill out a team slot.
Unfortunately, in FireRed and LeafGreen, Fire-types struggle against in many key gym and Pokémon League matchups. For that reason, they are often overshadowed by Flying types, which provide similar offensive coverage more effectively. With that being said, there are still Fire-type Pokémon worthy of a slot on your team.
For an optimized run through the Kanto region, you’ll want to obtain your Fire Pokémon before challenging the fourth gym: Erika’s Grass-type gym. Below are your best available options.
Charizard
Choosing 
Charmander as your starter is basically opting for hard mode. Without over-leveling or solid team support, this fire lizard will struggle to take down Brock’s Rock-types and Misty’s Water-types, making the first two gym badges a real challenge. But if you can manage the early game, you’re rewarded with one of the best Fire-type Pokémon in the game.
Two things set 
Charizard apart from other Fire-type Pokémon. The first is its additional Flying type. If you value the convenience of the 
Fly HM, having a Flying-type Pokémon on your team can make traveling between cities much faster. The Flying type also gives Charizard a useful immunity to Ground-type attacks, which it would otherwise be weak against. The downside is that it also introduces a quadruple weakness to Rock-type moves, meaning even the slightest hit from a Rock attack can send Charizard straight to the Pokémon Center. The good news is that Rock-type moves are fairly rare in this game, so this isn’t much of a concern.
The other advantage Charizard has is its impressive move pool. Early in the game, it can learn TMs like 
Dig, 
Brick Break and Seismic Toss to help take down Lt. Surge’s Electric-types, while also giving it tools to handle those pesky Rock-types. In the mid to late game, options like 
Dragon Claw, 
Rock Slide, and Earthquake make Charizard a formidable mixed attacker. On top of that, it can learn the incredibly powerful 
Blast Burn before challenging the Pokémon League, an attack exclusive to starter Pokémon.
Arcanine
While not technically a Legendary Pokémon, 
Arcanine is classified as one, and with its impressive stats, it certainly lives up to the title. Arcanine becomes available right at a time in the game where it is most useful, with great matchups against the Grass-type gym leader Erika, and the physically frail Psychic Pokémon in Sabrina’s gym. Additionally, its Dark-type Bite works wonders against the 
Gastly and 
Haunter you’ll encounter in the Pokemon Tower of Lavender Town. Unfortunately for LeafGreen players, this loyal canine is exclusive to FireRed.
Offensively, Arcanine performs best as a mixed attacker, supported by strong physical and special Attack stats. Its move pool offers plenty of flexibility, with options like 
Bite, Flame Wheel, Flamethrower, Dig, and 
Extremespeed. Extremespeed is a rare and valuable Normal-type move with 80 base power that always strikes first, making it one of Arcanine’s biggest advantages over its competition. To ensure it learns this move, be sure to evolve your 
Growlithe before it reaches level 49, otherwise, it will miss out entirely.
Defensively, Arcanine is just as impressive. With solid 90/80/80 HP and defensive stats, it can take hits better than most Fire-type Pokémon. It also has two strong ability options to further enhance its durability. Flash Fire grants immunity to Fire-type attacks while boosting Arcanine’s own Fire-type moves when hit by one, though its natural resistance to Fire makes this slightly less impactful. Its other ability, Intimidate, is one of the best in the game. Intimidate lowers the opponent’s Attack stat upon entering battle, making it easier for Arcanine and its teammates to handle physical threats.
To obtain Arcanine, start by catching a Growlithe on Routes 7 or 8, located between Lavender Town and Celadon City. Many players prefer to evolve it immediately using a 
Fire Stone, which can be purchased at the Celadon Department Store. While this prevents Growlithe from learning additional moves before level 49, the immediate power boost from evolving into Arcanine is significant. If you take this approach, be sure to pick up 
TM35 Flamethrower from the Game Corner, otherwise you’ll be stuck with the much weaker Ember until late game when the Fire Blast and Overheat TMs become available.
Flareon
The Eeveelutions are all top-tier options, and 
Flareon is no different. The biggest knock against Flareon is that it can’t take full advantage of its high base 135 Attack stat in these games, since Fire-type attacks are categorized as Special. Despite this, Flareon still boasts an impressive base 95 Special Attack, which it can use to great effect, making it one of your better options for a mixed attacker.
Flareon is similar to Arcanine in many ways and becomes available around the same time. Both learn Bite by level-up, but Flareon has access to the more powerful 
Shadow Ball via TM, which utilizes its higher Attack stat. Used in conjunction with Quick Attack, you’ll make quick work of Sabrina’s Gym. Flareon also learns Flamethrower, but not until the late level of 52, so you’ll definitely want to use the Game Corner TM to replace Ember for Erika’s Gym and beyond. Dig and 
Iron Tail round out its coverage options, helping it deal with pesky Rock-types that it would otherwise struggle against.
Flareon is quite frail physically, but it has an impressive base 110 Special Defense, allowing it to tank weaker super-effective Water-type attacks. It also serves as a strong counter to Psychic-types due to its stat spread and move pool. While Flareon is a bit slow by competitive standards, its base 65 Speed is still enough to outpace most in-game threats.
To recruit Flareon to your squad, sneak in through the back door of Celadon Mansion and climb to the top floor. Pick up the 
Poké Ball on the table to receive 
Eevee, then evolve it using a Fire Stone.
Verdict
Based on availability and overall usefulness, these three Fire-type Pokémon are your best options for a FireRed and LeafGreen playthrough. 
Moltres, 
Rapidash, and 
Magmar all become available much later in the game, by which point the value of a Fire-type has significantly declined. 
Ninetales is a viable option in LeafGreen if you’d prefer to evolve your Eevee into 
Vaporeon or 
Jolteon, but you’re generally better off using a Flying or Psychic-type to deal with Grass/Poison-types.
