Bedschibaer
NAME = FUCK
The old analysis is pretty outdated in general, doesn't really name zard's main uses, etc.
[Overview]
Charizard is the fastest user of Belly Drum in the whole tier and also packs a respectable punch on the special side. Due to its poor defensive stats and typing Charizard is unable to fill any defensive roles for your team and is rather dependant on support from its teammates. Compared to other Belly Drum users it lacks the bulk and recovery options to work consistently and it won't be able to overcome most bulky waters, but it outshines them with its speed and the ability to beat walls like Skarmory or Steelix with its STAB Fire Blasts. Generally Charizard is considered a surprise threat that most people won't expect, it needs rather complicated and risky setup, but with the right support it can become a powerhouse.
[SET]
name: BellyZard (Belly Drum)
move 1: Belly Drum
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Rock Slide
move 4: Fire Blast
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Belly Drum is a high risk/high reward move that boosts your attack to the maximum cap of the game. Earthquake and Rock Slide form your arsenal of physical attacks that hit everything in the tier apart from Skarmory at least for neutral damage. After a Belly Drum Earthquake gets several notable OHKOs such Tyranitar, Raikou, Misdreavus, Nidoking, Gengar or Rhydon. Everything else that doesn't resist it or is immune to it gets 2HKOd. Rock Slide is needed for Zapdos and the rarely seen Dragonite, but also for its flinch chance to push your luck and overcome some Pokemon. Fire Blast gets the OHKO on Skarmory, Steelix, Forretress and Exeggutor after Spikes, as well as a 2HKO on Cloyster and Heracross without the need to boost up.
Usage Tips
========
For a successful Charizard sweep you want everything that outspeeds it paralyzed or removed completely. That includes Raikou, Starmie, Gengar, Jolteon, Espeon and the rarely seen Alakazam, Aerodactyl, Jumpluff and Tauros. Charizard speed ties with Zapdos, Miltank and Tentacruel. Neutering those is advised. Alot Pokemon need to be weakened first to pull off the sweep. Cloyster needs to be at ~78%, Machamp at 72%, Marowak at ~69%, Starmie at 80%, Suicune at 54% and Vaporeon at 70%. Those percentages are the minimum damage rolls of the respectively strongest attack versus the Pokemon after the Belly Drum boost. Pokemon like Snorlax, Umbreon or Mitank are bulky enough to live any attack after the boost, but they aren't as crucial to be weakened since they won't be able to fend off Charizard in one turn either. The other issue you have with Charizard is getting a free turn to use Belly Drum without being taken down in the process. Threatening the immediate OHKO on Skarmory, Forretress or Exeggutor is a good way to force a switch and get off the Belly Drum. It can also be done with Reflect or Light Screen support, inflicting status to the opposing team or by channeling your luck with fully paralyzed or resting Pokemon on the opposing side. You have to be aware that Charizard usually has only a single shot at doing anything in a game. You will usually not get any opportunities to switch out and retry sweeping at a later point of the game, which means that very often you will have to go for speed ties, flinches: things that can make Charizard a powerful standalone threat too, after Starmie or Cloyster are removed.
Team Options
========
What pairs best with the lizard is Cloyster, which can explode on Raikou or Zapdos and most importantly Starmie. It also provides spikes which can be used to wear down the Pokemon listed above. Paralysis and Sleep spreading is quite essential to hit the key Pokemon on the opposing team to attempt a sweep. Exeggutor for example can be quite useful here since it has access to both status inducing moves in Sleep Powder and Stun Spore, it can also explode on Zapdos, Raikou or Umbreon. Gengar can be an effective teammate because it can explode on Raikou quite reliably. Your Snorlax can be used to spread status with Body Slam or to take out walls like Suicune with Self Destruct, Lovely Kiss or Belly Drum. Reflect and/or Light Screen users pair up well with Charizard to support it when setting up. Charizard teams often run the risk of having too much support dedicated to it so they are lacking defensive capabilities to endure a whole battle. Keep in mind that you are basically down one Pokemon, since you have to keep your Charizard back for the longest part of the battle, and it wouldn't be able to fill any defensive roles anyways.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
===========
Charizard barely has any viable other options. Flamethrower misses out on the OHKO on Skarmory, the accuracy might come in handy though. Hyper Beam is an interesting option that can kill off certain bulky mons like Snorlax or Suicune after Spikes. The recharge will make Charizard basically useless afterwards, but you can still take down something you wouldn't be able to otherwise, which can lead to beneficial gamestates. Sunny Day is a possibility since it doesn't only boost your attacks for useful 2HKOs on Zapdos or Raikou, it also weakens incoming Water type attacks and makes the common Thunder more inaccurate.
Checks and Counters
=============
Starmie is probably the best counter to this, as it outspeeds Charizard and it can take it down after the Belly Drum. Raikou and Gengar outspeed Charizard too and they can beat it with Thunder or Thunderbolt, they have to be weary about the OHKO after the boost though. Zapdos is a little bit shakier because it's just as fast as Charizard and it goes down to a Rock Slide. Keeping bulky Pokemon like Suicune or Snorlax healthy throughout the game is a good way to stop an attempted sweep. Slowbro is a niche Pokemon that does stop Charizard really effectively. Charizard is unable to take any form of status and it has to cut its health to half to even be threatening, which makes just attacking it when it is in a good way to keep it in check and prevent it from boosting up. Preventing the neccessary support Charizard needs to set up is usually enough to render Charizard useless, make sure to not let status get spread too far and try to perserve key Pokemon such as Starmie or the Electrics.
[Overview]
Charizard is the fastest user of Belly Drum in the whole tier and also packs a respectable punch on the special side. Due to its poor defensive stats and typing Charizard is unable to fill any defensive roles for your team and is rather dependant on support from its teammates. Compared to other Belly Drum users it lacks the bulk and recovery options to work consistently and it won't be able to overcome most bulky waters, but it outshines them with its speed and the ability to beat walls like Skarmory or Steelix with its STAB Fire Blasts. Generally Charizard is considered a surprise threat that most people won't expect, it needs rather complicated and risky setup, but with the right support it can become a powerhouse.
[SET]
name: BellyZard (Belly Drum)
move 1: Belly Drum
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Rock Slide
move 4: Fire Blast
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Belly Drum is a high risk/high reward move that boosts your attack to the maximum cap of the game. Earthquake and Rock Slide form your arsenal of physical attacks that hit everything in the tier apart from Skarmory at least for neutral damage. After a Belly Drum Earthquake gets several notable OHKOs such Tyranitar, Raikou, Misdreavus, Nidoking, Gengar or Rhydon. Everything else that doesn't resist it or is immune to it gets 2HKOd. Rock Slide is needed for Zapdos and the rarely seen Dragonite, but also for its flinch chance to push your luck and overcome some Pokemon. Fire Blast gets the OHKO on Skarmory, Steelix, Forretress and Exeggutor after Spikes, as well as a 2HKO on Cloyster and Heracross without the need to boost up.
Usage Tips
========
For a successful Charizard sweep you want everything that outspeeds it paralyzed or removed completely. That includes Raikou, Starmie, Gengar, Jolteon, Espeon and the rarely seen Alakazam, Aerodactyl, Jumpluff and Tauros. Charizard speed ties with Zapdos, Miltank and Tentacruel. Neutering those is advised. Alot Pokemon need to be weakened first to pull off the sweep. Cloyster needs to be at ~78%, Machamp at 72%, Marowak at ~69%, Starmie at 80%, Suicune at 54% and Vaporeon at 70%. Those percentages are the minimum damage rolls of the respectively strongest attack versus the Pokemon after the Belly Drum boost. Pokemon like Snorlax, Umbreon or Mitank are bulky enough to live any attack after the boost, but they aren't as crucial to be weakened since they won't be able to fend off Charizard in one turn either. The other issue you have with Charizard is getting a free turn to use Belly Drum without being taken down in the process. Threatening the immediate OHKO on Skarmory, Forretress or Exeggutor is a good way to force a switch and get off the Belly Drum. It can also be done with Reflect or Light Screen support, inflicting status to the opposing team or by channeling your luck with fully paralyzed or resting Pokemon on the opposing side. You have to be aware that Charizard usually has only a single shot at doing anything in a game. You will usually not get any opportunities to switch out and retry sweeping at a later point of the game, which means that very often you will have to go for speed ties, flinches: things that can make Charizard a powerful standalone threat too, after Starmie or Cloyster are removed.
Team Options
========
What pairs best with the lizard is Cloyster, which can explode on Raikou or Zapdos and most importantly Starmie. It also provides spikes which can be used to wear down the Pokemon listed above. Paralysis and Sleep spreading is quite essential to hit the key Pokemon on the opposing team to attempt a sweep. Exeggutor for example can be quite useful here since it has access to both status inducing moves in Sleep Powder and Stun Spore, it can also explode on Zapdos, Raikou or Umbreon. Gengar can be an effective teammate because it can explode on Raikou quite reliably. Your Snorlax can be used to spread status with Body Slam or to take out walls like Suicune with Self Destruct, Lovely Kiss or Belly Drum. Reflect and/or Light Screen users pair up well with Charizard to support it when setting up. Charizard teams often run the risk of having too much support dedicated to it so they are lacking defensive capabilities to endure a whole battle. Keep in mind that you are basically down one Pokemon, since you have to keep your Charizard back for the longest part of the battle, and it wouldn't be able to fill any defensive roles anyways.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
===========
Charizard barely has any viable other options. Flamethrower misses out on the OHKO on Skarmory, the accuracy might come in handy though. Hyper Beam is an interesting option that can kill off certain bulky mons like Snorlax or Suicune after Spikes. The recharge will make Charizard basically useless afterwards, but you can still take down something you wouldn't be able to otherwise, which can lead to beneficial gamestates. Sunny Day is a possibility since it doesn't only boost your attacks for useful 2HKOs on Zapdos or Raikou, it also weakens incoming Water type attacks and makes the common Thunder more inaccurate.
Checks and Counters
=============
Starmie is probably the best counter to this, as it outspeeds Charizard and it can take it down after the Belly Drum. Raikou and Gengar outspeed Charizard too and they can beat it with Thunder or Thunderbolt, they have to be weary about the OHKO after the boost though. Zapdos is a little bit shakier because it's just as fast as Charizard and it goes down to a Rock Slide. Keeping bulky Pokemon like Suicune or Snorlax healthy throughout the game is a good way to stop an attempted sweep. Slowbro is a niche Pokemon that does stop Charizard really effectively. Charizard is unable to take any form of status and it has to cut its health to half to even be threatening, which makes just attacking it when it is in a good way to keep it in check and prevent it from boosting up. Preventing the neccessary support Charizard needs to set up is usually enough to render Charizard useless, make sure to not let status get spread too far and try to perserve key Pokemon such as Starmie or the Electrics.
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