Well, ummm....it'd have to levitate, wouldn't it? And abilities were a 3rd Gen. introduction...
Yeah, I reckon it was so you didn't get gifted a dragon. It'd kinda cheapen catching a Dratini when you could just get given a Charmander, wouldn't it?
Anyway, I'm glad they made it how it is. I love Dragonite. I don't personally think Salamence should've been made. Although it's a cool pokemon, It ruined Dragonite's exclusive type combination. And now, with egg moves, Dragonite doesn't even have Outrage....
Still, Charizard, as a fire-flying type, sharing it's combo with only a legendary pokemon, Moltres, is probably superior to a legend anyway, so, who cares? It's still awesome.