How To Get Charcoal in Pokémon ORAS

by Jon Soluna

All Charcoal Locations
1	Lavaridge Town – Pokémon Herb Shop	No
2	Held item (5% chance) by these wild Pokémon: Torkoal Vulpix	Yes

All Charcoal Locations

Location

Repeatable?

Lavaridge Town – Pokémon Herb Shop

Held item (5% chance) by these wild Pokémon:

Torkoal
Vulpix

Yes

The easiest way to get Charcoal is from an old man NPC in Lavaridge Town. You can find him inside the herb shop on the southeast side of the town.

But another way to obtain this item is by stealing it from wild Torkoal or Vulpix. There is a 5% chance that either of these Pokémon are carrying it in the wild.

Method #1: Lavaridge Town – Pokémon Herb Shop

The easiest way to get Charcoal is by speaking to the old man in the Pokémon Herb Shop. You can find this shop on the southeast side of Lavaridge Town.

But just note that this method only works once, so you can only get one Charcoal this way.

To get to the shop, start from the Lavaridge Town Pokémon Center, then head south.

Leaving the Lavaridge Town Pokémon Center.

Go east down the first fork in the road (pictured below). The first house on the right is the Pokémon Herb Shop. Go inside.

Walking towards the Pokémon Herb Shop.

Speak to the old man near the shop counter – he will give you a Charcoal.

The old man inside the Pokémon Herb Shop.

Method #2: Held Item by Wild Torkoal & Vulpix

Finding Wild Torkoal

Encountering a wild Torkoal in the Fiery Path.

There is a 5% chance that wild Torkoal is holding Charcoal. You can find this Pokémon in the Fiery Path, a cave that connects the two sides of Route 112.

To find it, fly to Route 112. You’ll land near three berry trees – go southwest from there.

You’ll find the entrance to the Fiery Path in the left corner.

The entrance to the Fiery Path on Route 112.

Inside the cave, you can find wild Torkoal by walking around.

Inside the Fiery Path.

Finding Wild Vulpix

Encountering a wild Vulpix on the summit of Mt. Pyre.

Similar to wild Torkoal, there is a 5% chance that wild Vulpix is carrying Charcoal. You can find this Pokémon in two locations:

Mt. Pyre (outdoor area and the summit)
Mirage Forest (north of Route 124)

Since mirage locations appear randomly and are only available in late game, you’re better off going to Mt. Pyre instead.

So to farm wild Vulpix, fly to Mt. Pyre. Take the entrance to the cemetery inside.

The entrance of Mt. Pyre.

On the third floor, take the south exit to reach the outdoor area of Mt. Pyre – this also leads to the summit.

You can encounter wild Vulpix anywhere in the grass here.

The outdoor area of Mt. Pyre.

Farming Charcoals as Held Items

Using Thief against a wild Torkoal.

To farm Charcoal using the second method mentioned above, bring a Pokémon that knows the move Thief with you.

This way in every encounter you can use Thief as your first move, and if the wild Torkoal or Vulpix is carrying Charcoal, you can obtain it immediately.

Stealing the wild Torkoal’s held Charcoal.

You still have a relatively low chance (at 5%), however, of encountering wild Pokémon that carry rare items like Charcoal.

To optimize the process, you can utilize Pokémon with CompoundEyes and Frisk. These abilities will increase the chances of encountering wild Pokémon with held items and then identify these items at the beginning of a battle.

How Charcoal Works

Viewing the Charcoal in-game.

Charcoal raises the power of its holder’s Fire-type moves by 20%.

Fire types like Arcanine and Ninetales will benefit the most from this item, giving these Pokémon a significant boost in damage, especially in combination with STAB attacks.

Fun Fact: In Gen II and III, Charcoal only gave a 10% power increase. It was only during Gen IV onwards that it was buffed to 20%.

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Jon Soluna

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Jon is a game development student pursuing a career in video game writing. When he’s not working on his thesis, you could often find him playing open-world games, reading classic novels, rewatching Game of Thrones, or on occasion, playing Pokémon Alpha Sapphire on his old 3DS.

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