|
-
Blaze
- Boosts power of Fire-type moves 50% when at 1/3 HP or less.
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Solar Power
- HP decreases in the sun. Special Attack increases by 50%.
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Level 50 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
39
|
- |
114 |
146 |
- |
| Atk |
52
|
64 |
72 |
104 |
114 |
| Def |
43
|
56 |
63 |
95 |
104 |
| SpA |
60
|
72 |
80 |
112 |
123 |
| SpD |
50
|
63 |
70 |
102 |
112 |
| Spe |
65
|
76 |
85 |
117 |
128 |
Overview
Despite appearances, Charmander is quite flawed in Little Cup, with lower attacking stats than more frequently used Fire-types such as Ponyta and Houndour. Being a Fire-type in itself hurts as well, as this means that Charmander is weak to Stealth Rock as well as common Water-, Ground-, and Rock-type moves. However, Charmander has a few things that differentiate itself from other Fire-types. Dragon Dance is the main move that sets Charmander apart, as no other Fire-type receives the move. Charmander also has a much wider physical movepool than other Fire-types, giving it ways to deal with the many Pokemon that resist Fire-type attacks. Overall, Charmander ends up as a usable but not great Pokemon in Little Cup, and can be considered for your team if you want to be a little different.
Dragon Dance is Charmander's best move for setting up a sweep, which makes it an obvious choice to base a moveset around. Flare Blitz is Charmander's main attacking move, being its most powerful STAB move by far. ThunderPunch complements Flare Blitz quite well, doing a good amount of damage to most Water-types. In the last slot, two options can be considered. Brick Break is the main option, as it pummels Flash Fire Houndour and Thick Fat Munchlax, two Pokemon that this set can otherwise have problems with. Rock Slide is a viable alternative, however, as it still hits Houndour as well as other Fire-types; keep in mind that it has similar power but lower accuracy, meaning it falls just short of the reliability that Brick Break provides.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
A 21 IV in HP is used to lower Charmander's HP to 19, which in turn lowers Life Orb recoil. As for potential threats, Chinchou and Wooper resist Flare Blitz and are immune to ThunderPunch, making them major problems to this set. Dratini can set up Dragon Dances on Charmander as it resists Flare Blitz. It also has ExtremeSpeed to revenge kill it if needed. Snover is a good teammate for Charmander, as it can deal serious damage to all three aforementioned Pokemon. Ferroseed can also be used if the residual damage from hail is unwanted. Ponyta and Darumaka work well against Charmander that choose not to use Rock Slide, so Wooper can be a good teammate for checking them. In addition, Wooper attracts Grass-types that Charmander can set up on, providing good synergy. Munchlax can deal with Charmander sets lacking Brick Break, as Thick Fat provides a useful resistance to Fire-type moves. Timburr works well against Munchlax, making it a good teammate. Timburr itself also causes problems to Charmander with its priority moves, and Duskull can be a good switch-in to it.
Charmander is fast enough to reach 21 Speed while holding a Choice Scarf, allowing it to function as an effective revenge killer. The moves are quite simple here. Flare Blitz is the main STAB move and has considerable power, making it the primary option. ThunderPunch gets coverage on Water-types, while Brick Break hits Houndour and Munchlax. Lastly, Rock Slide is a good option to hit opposing Fire-types. These four moves combine for great coverage, allowing Charmander to revenge kill a myriad of threats.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Due to this Charmander's relative lack of power compared to the Dragon Dance set, bulky Pokemon such as Hippopotas and Wooper are problems. In addition, Hippopotas commonly sets up Stealth Rock, which can quickly wear down Charmander when combined with recoil from Flare Blitz. Snover is a good teammate for Charmander, as it can deal with both. Slowpoke only fears Toxic from Hippopotas, making it a solid teammate as well. Dratini is again a threat to Charmander, so consider carrying Ferroseed to check it.
Other Options
Charmander has a multitude of other options to consider, which can make it quite unpredictable. Crunch could be used to hit Frillish quite hard but ThunderPunch is just slightly weaker against it and has better overall coverage. Dragon Claw could be used to hit Dratini super effectively as well as for neutral coverage with Flare Blitz, but because Flare Blitz is already so powerful, Charmander would be better off aiming for as much super effective coverage as possible. Dig is a gimmicky move to hit Chinchou with and it is much too easily countered to be an option. Fire Punch is a recoil-free physical Fire-type move, but it is not worth a look as it's much weaker than the powerful Flare Blitz. Swords Dance could be used to boost Charmander's Attack quicker, but Dragon Dance's Speed boosts make Swords Dance inferior. Belly Drum could even be used to skyrocket Charmander's Attack stat, but it is much too risky with all of the priority moves around. Flame Charge could be used to boost Speed, but with Dragon Dance there already there's little point.
Charmander's special movepool consists of various Fire-type moves, Dragon Pulse, AncientPower, and Hidden Power, which is far inferior to its physical movepool. Dragon Pulse and AncientPower would be the only reasons to use it over Houndour, which isn't nearly enough to be worth it. Hone Claws could be used on a gimmicky set with Inferno and DynamicPunch, which, with some luck, could give opponents major problems. Substitute and Focus Punch could be used together to an interesting effect as well, but losing HP from Substitute as well as Flare Blitz would probably be too much for Charmander to handle. Will-O-Wisp is an option to burn a switch-in, but bulkier Pokemon would be better suited for the role. Counter could get a surprise KO on something, which is always nice, although Charmander would have trouble doing anything afterward. Lastly, Toxic could help chip away at the HP of bulky Water- and Ground-types that usually switch into Charmander.
Checks and Counters
Wooper and Chinchou resist Flare Blitz and ThunderPunch, and take pitiful damage from Charmander's other coverage options, making them good checks. Dratini works well if Charmander lacks Dragon Claw, which is uncommon anyway. Ponyta and Darumaka can work if Charmander is not carrying Rock Slide, while Munchlax is good against all sets lacking Brick Break. Each can deal heavy damage to Charmander or just force it out. Hippopotas can take a Flare Blitz and hit back with Earthquake, and can put down Stealth Rock to wear Charmander down on repeated switches very quickly. If Charmander is attempting to sweep, Timburr can stop that with its priority moves.
Unreleased
Charmander receives Solar Power from the Dream World. It would be good in the sun for a powerful special set, but is unavailable in Little Cup due to all of the current released Charmander with the ability being level 10 and male.
