Shadowclaw
Smash Cadet
Wrong. There has never been shown on the anime that Charmander dies if submerged in water. If you take a look at the Pokémon Crystal's Pokédex, Charmander's entry states: If it's healthy, the flame on the tip of its tail will burn vigorously, even if it gets a bit wet. Also, if we read his entry on Pokémon Diamond/Pearl Pokédex, we have: The fire on the tip of its tail is a measure of its life. If healthy, its tail burns intensely.CharMANDER will die if its tail flame goes out. CharIZARD won't. This has been shown in the anime several times.
Since it's tail is a measure of it's life, if it burns weakly it means the Pokémon is weak, and consequently, if it goes out, it means that it has died. It does not mean that the Pokémon will die just by dousing out his flame with external means. One thing triggers the other; it's a one-way cycle. The water does weaken the Pokémon, hence why it's not recommended to get exposed to it, but saying that it will die is exaggerating.
And back to the anime thing, there are also episodes where my statement is confirmed: The first one being The Island of Giant Pokémon, where, if you remember, at the end of the episode everyone gets launched on the cart and fall on the water. You can clearly see all Pokémon (Charmander included) in the cart during a close-up scene just before they get submerged. Also, in Those Darn Electabuzz!, Charizard's trainer says that his Charizard is so afraid of the water because he once fell on a lake as a Charmander.