Taking this over from Woodchuck since he's inactive.
The original analysis can be found here: http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3458111
DAT ZARD
[Overview]
<p>For several generations, Charizard has been regarded as the most powerful of Pokemon...by your six-year-old neighbor. Charizard has never really been an excellent Pokemon, even plunging into the depths of NU after the introduction of Stealth Rock, which cut its health by 50% on each switch in. However, Game Freak finally took pity on its forgotten child with the new Dream World abilities in BW, granting Charizard the powerful ability Solar Power. With Solar Power, Charizard finally has something more than 10 extra base Speed to set it apart from Moltres. Solar Power allows Charizard to hit ridiculous hard in strong sunlight, being able to at least 2HKO practically everything in the RU tier. While Charizard still has to watch out for Stealth Rock, it finally can catch up to its fearsome sun sweeper brethren.</p>
[SET]
name: Solar Power
move 1: Sunny Day
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Air Slash
move 4: SolarBeam
item: Leftovers
ability: Solar Power
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Instead of relying on its teammates to set up the sun, this set allows Charizard to get up Sunny Day itself and proceed to plow through the enemy team with its sun-boosted Fire Blast and the 1.5x boost from Solar Power. Opponents will be extremely hard-pressed to find something in the RU tier that Charizard cannot KO; Fire Blast already hits anything that doesn't resist it (and a lot of things that do) for massive damage. Air Slash serves as Charizard's reliable secondary STAB, hitting the Dragon- and Fire-type Pokemon that its other moves cannot cover. SolarBeam rounds off the coverage, allowing Charizard to hit Rock- and Water-type Pokemon that would be able to take a hit and retaliate with super effective damage.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread is self-explanatory: it maximize Charizard's sweeping prowess. A Timid nature goes hand-in-hand with this, maximizing Charizard's Speed. Leftovers is the item of choice, mitigating the damage taken from Solar Power. While Life Orb would grant Charizard even more power, Charizard won't be able to set up Sunny Day and then attempt a sweep through all the residual damage. Heat Rock, on the other hand, is more viable, but odds are Charizard will either be KOed or forced out by the time the eight turns are up.</p>
<p>Any RU team would be hard pressed to find a Pokemon that can actually wall Charizard. Therefore, the main concerns when supporting Charizard are residual damage and revenge killers. Charizard loathes residual damage; a spinner is absolutely required for Charizard to function, or else it will be losing health tremendously fast thanks to its 4x Stealth Rock weakness and the recoil from Solar Power. Charizard also needs teammates that dispatch priority users and other fast Pokemon. Victreebel makes for a good partner, benefiting from the sun, defeating revenge killers thanks to its Chlorophyll Speed boost, and cleaning up after Charizard has weakened most of the walls on the opposing team. It also resists Electric- and Water-type attacks and doesn't mind switching into Rock-type attacks. Shiftry and Sawsbuck are also good partners to Charizard for the same reasons. However, this set can function outside of dedicated sun teams as well. In general, teammates should benefit from having walls weakened as this set excels at dealing massive damage.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: SolarBeam / Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Focus Blast
item: Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
ability: Solar Power
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set trades the ability to set up its own sunlight for either greater speed or greater power. With sun support, Charizard can deal massive damage in the sun, with the Specs variant able to 2HKO Slowking and 3HKO Munchlax with Fire Blast. Fire Blast is the primary attack of this set, boosted by STAB and dealing ridiculous damage in the sun. As there are practically zero good Flash Fire users in the RU tier, Charizard is able to spam Fire Blast to its heart's content. Air Slash is backup STAB, allowing Charizard to hit Fire resists that can withstand Fire Blast. SolarBeam hits Water-types immensely hard with sun support while Hidden Power Grass is more reliable, and Focus Blast hits Rock-types and Munchlax for super effective damage.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread and nature increase Charizard's sweeping potential to the highest level possible. A Choice Scarf is the preferred item, allowing Charizard to outrun the majority of threats in the tier and decimate them with a Solar Power-boosted Fire Blast. However, Choice Specs is also an option, raising Charizard's Special Attack to sky-high levels, allowing it to tear through stall teams. This Charizard greatly needs sun support, as otherwise, it's just an inferior version of Moltres. Pokemon such as Regirock are good partners for this reason; Regirock can also take priority moves from the likes of Entei and Honchkrow. Rapid Spin support is also essential, as Stealth Rock strips off 50% of Charizard's health. Therefore, Pokemon such as Claydol are good partners for this set; Claydol can also set up Sunny Day. Conversely, entry hazard support is very helpful as well, as this Charizard will be forcing switches left and right. Pokemon such as Crustle are appreciated for their ability to set up hazards.</p>
<p>Flamethrower is an option over Fire Blast for its perfect accuracy, but it is much less powerful, causing Charizard to miss out on important OHKOs against Poliwrath and Entei (with Choice Specs). Flamethrower is also an option over Air Slash or Focus Blast, however, as is Overheat. Overheat can allow Charizard to easily decimate the entire metagame in the sun, but forces Charizard to switch out. Flamethrower, again, is a reliable and more consistent attack; neither of these options offer more coverage, however.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Every other special attacking set Charizard can run is easily outclassed by Moltres, who has higher defenses and Special Attack. Charizard has access to Belly Drum, however, which can be used with moves such as Fire Punch and Earthquake, but Belly Drum will just make Charizard very prone to revenge killing, especially since pinch Berries aren't released. It also has access to Swords Dance and Dragon Dance, but Swords Dance fails to boost Charizard's Speed, and Charizard's only average base 84 Attack means that it won't be doing much damage after one Dragon Dance boost. It also has access to Flame Charge, but Charizard is usually better off straight-up attacking. Finally, Charizard has supporting options in Roost, Substitute, and Dragon Tail, but it is simply too frail to pull them off.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>In the sun, Charizard's raw power means that it can deal massive damage to the entire metagame, especially with Choice Specs equipped. It essentially OHKOes / 2HKOes everything in the tier, so one's best bet to beat it is to revenge kill it. If Charizard is holding a Choice item, stalling out sun is also a possibility. Slowking can be a problem for Choice Scarf variants, as it can take Fire Blast, cripple Charizard with Thunder Wave, and then heal up with Slack Off and Regenerator. Non-Choice Scarf variants can be easily revenge killed by Pokemon such as Galvantula, and all variants of Charizard can be knocked down to size by non-Fighting-type priority moves. But the best way to defeat Charizard is simply to keep Stealth Rock on the field. It robs Charizard of 50% of its health every time Charizard switches in, making it much easier to take out.</p>
The original analysis can be found here: http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3458111
DAT ZARD
[Overview]
<p>For several generations, Charizard has been regarded as the most powerful of Pokemon...by your six-year-old neighbor. Charizard has never really been an excellent Pokemon, even plunging into the depths of NU after the introduction of Stealth Rock, which cut its health by 50% on each switch in. However, Game Freak finally took pity on its forgotten child with the new Dream World abilities in BW, granting Charizard the powerful ability Solar Power. With Solar Power, Charizard finally has something more than 10 extra base Speed to set it apart from Moltres. Solar Power allows Charizard to hit ridiculous hard in strong sunlight, being able to at least 2HKO practically everything in the RU tier. While Charizard still has to watch out for Stealth Rock, it finally can catch up to its fearsome sun sweeper brethren.</p>
[SET]
name: Solar Power
move 1: Sunny Day
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Air Slash
move 4: SolarBeam
item: Leftovers
ability: Solar Power
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Instead of relying on its teammates to set up the sun, this set allows Charizard to get up Sunny Day itself and proceed to plow through the enemy team with its sun-boosted Fire Blast and the 1.5x boost from Solar Power. Opponents will be extremely hard-pressed to find something in the RU tier that Charizard cannot KO; Fire Blast already hits anything that doesn't resist it (and a lot of things that do) for massive damage. Air Slash serves as Charizard's reliable secondary STAB, hitting the Dragon- and Fire-type Pokemon that its other moves cannot cover. SolarBeam rounds off the coverage, allowing Charizard to hit Rock- and Water-type Pokemon that would be able to take a hit and retaliate with super effective damage.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread is self-explanatory: it maximize Charizard's sweeping prowess. A Timid nature goes hand-in-hand with this, maximizing Charizard's Speed. Leftovers is the item of choice, mitigating the damage taken from Solar Power. While Life Orb would grant Charizard even more power, Charizard won't be able to set up Sunny Day and then attempt a sweep through all the residual damage. Heat Rock, on the other hand, is more viable, but odds are Charizard will either be KOed or forced out by the time the eight turns are up.</p>
<p>Any RU team would be hard pressed to find a Pokemon that can actually wall Charizard. Therefore, the main concerns when supporting Charizard are residual damage and revenge killers. Charizard loathes residual damage; a spinner is absolutely required for Charizard to function, or else it will be losing health tremendously fast thanks to its 4x Stealth Rock weakness and the recoil from Solar Power. Charizard also needs teammates that dispatch priority users and other fast Pokemon. Victreebel makes for a good partner, benefiting from the sun, defeating revenge killers thanks to its Chlorophyll Speed boost, and cleaning up after Charizard has weakened most of the walls on the opposing team. It also resists Electric- and Water-type attacks and doesn't mind switching into Rock-type attacks. Shiftry and Sawsbuck are also good partners to Charizard for the same reasons. However, this set can function outside of dedicated sun teams as well. In general, teammates should benefit from having walls weakened as this set excels at dealing massive damage.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: SolarBeam / Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Focus Blast
item: Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
ability: Solar Power
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set trades the ability to set up its own sunlight for either greater speed or greater power. With sun support, Charizard can deal massive damage in the sun, with the Specs variant able to 2HKO Slowking and 3HKO Munchlax with Fire Blast. Fire Blast is the primary attack of this set, boosted by STAB and dealing ridiculous damage in the sun. As there are practically zero good Flash Fire users in the RU tier, Charizard is able to spam Fire Blast to its heart's content. Air Slash is backup STAB, allowing Charizard to hit Fire resists that can withstand Fire Blast. SolarBeam hits Water-types immensely hard with sun support while Hidden Power Grass is more reliable, and Focus Blast hits Rock-types and Munchlax for super effective damage.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread and nature increase Charizard's sweeping potential to the highest level possible. A Choice Scarf is the preferred item, allowing Charizard to outrun the majority of threats in the tier and decimate them with a Solar Power-boosted Fire Blast. However, Choice Specs is also an option, raising Charizard's Special Attack to sky-high levels, allowing it to tear through stall teams. This Charizard greatly needs sun support, as otherwise, it's just an inferior version of Moltres. Pokemon such as Regirock are good partners for this reason; Regirock can also take priority moves from the likes of Entei and Honchkrow. Rapid Spin support is also essential, as Stealth Rock strips off 50% of Charizard's health. Therefore, Pokemon such as Claydol are good partners for this set; Claydol can also set up Sunny Day. Conversely, entry hazard support is very helpful as well, as this Charizard will be forcing switches left and right. Pokemon such as Crustle are appreciated for their ability to set up hazards.</p>
<p>Flamethrower is an option over Fire Blast for its perfect accuracy, but it is much less powerful, causing Charizard to miss out on important OHKOs against Poliwrath and Entei (with Choice Specs). Flamethrower is also an option over Air Slash or Focus Blast, however, as is Overheat. Overheat can allow Charizard to easily decimate the entire metagame in the sun, but forces Charizard to switch out. Flamethrower, again, is a reliable and more consistent attack; neither of these options offer more coverage, however.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Every other special attacking set Charizard can run is easily outclassed by Moltres, who has higher defenses and Special Attack. Charizard has access to Belly Drum, however, which can be used with moves such as Fire Punch and Earthquake, but Belly Drum will just make Charizard very prone to revenge killing, especially since pinch Berries aren't released. It also has access to Swords Dance and Dragon Dance, but Swords Dance fails to boost Charizard's Speed, and Charizard's only average base 84 Attack means that it won't be doing much damage after one Dragon Dance boost. It also has access to Flame Charge, but Charizard is usually better off straight-up attacking. Finally, Charizard has supporting options in Roost, Substitute, and Dragon Tail, but it is simply too frail to pull them off.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>In the sun, Charizard's raw power means that it can deal massive damage to the entire metagame, especially with Choice Specs equipped. It essentially OHKOes / 2HKOes everything in the tier, so one's best bet to beat it is to revenge kill it. If Charizard is holding a Choice item, stalling out sun is also a possibility. Slowking can be a problem for Choice Scarf variants, as it can take Fire Blast, cripple Charizard with Thunder Wave, and then heal up with Slack Off and Regenerator. Non-Choice Scarf variants can be easily revenge killed by Pokemon such as Galvantula, and all variants of Charizard can be knocked down to size by non-Fighting-type priority moves. But the best way to defeat Charizard is simply to keep Stealth Rock on the field. It robs Charizard of 50% of its health every time Charizard switches in, making it much easier to take out.</p>
