Charizard (Update)

shrang said:

[Overview]
<p>Apart from the its huge Stealth Rock weakness, you can't really find anything that is really noticeably wrong with Charizard. It has decent, usable stats with a fantastic movepool. However, the reason that Charizard is banished to the depths of NU is due to the fact that the sets its sets can run are either outclassed by a better Pokemon, or just plain ineffective in the metagames that he's its trying to compete for a team-slot in. Nonetheless, Charizard is still a very capable Pokemon who can be quite of being deadly in the right hands.</p>

[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Roost
item: Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Charizard's is most effective is arguably one of as a special attacker; although he it is seems outclassed by Moltres, who hits a lot harder, Charizard still has some useful perks over the Fire bird. Firstly, Charizard's base 100 Speed allows it to outrun and prevent being revenge-killed by Pokemon that would outspeed Moltres, such as Rotom and Arcanine. Sceondly, Charizard's ability, Blaze, allows it receive a boost in to its Fire-type attacks when its health falls below 33% of its health. Charizard's Fire STAB of choice has excellent coverage alongside its secondary STAB, Air Slash, while Hidden Power Grass hits the Pokemon that resist both Fire- and Flying-type moves. Roost allows Charizard to heal lost recover health from Life Orb recoil and Stealth Rock damage.</p>

<p>The choice between Fire Blast and Flamethrower again boils down to whether you prefer power or accuracy; Fire Blast is preferred since unlike Moltres, Charizard's Special Attack is comparatively poor to Moltres and needs all the power he it can get. Life Orb gives Charizard a boost in its attacks without having to locking himself it into a move.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Charizard's special attacking movepool extends further than the moves suggested; Dragon Pulse has perfect coverage alongside Fire Blast, and allows Charizard to hit Altaria super effectively without resorting to Hidden Power. Focus Blast is Charizard's most powerful move against Regirock and Clefable, if you can stand its terrible accuracy.</p>

<p>When EVing Charizard, it is always best to take advantage of Charizard's good Special Attack and good Speed. As for its nature, Timid is almost always preferred. as a Modest nature is not recommended because it is completely outclassed by Timid Moltres, who sports both a higher Special Attack, and superior Speed, stat with and better bulk. Modest Charizard should only be used if you wish to run Charizard alongside Moltres in a "double-Fire" combination, using Moltres to break apart walls so for Charizard can come back to clean up later. It should be noted that such a strategy requires very careful team building, as Charizard and Moltres both have a huge 4x weakness to Stealth Rock, as well as sharing common weaknesses.</p>

<p>Aside from the omnipresent Stealth Rock, Charizard is hard countered hindered by bulky Waters such as Milotic and Slowking. Specially defensive Pokemon such as Regirock, and Altaria, and are also fantastic checks to Charizard. Chansey are fantastic checks to Charizard too. also walls specially inclined Charizard. Good teammates to Charizard obviously need to be able to use Rapid Spin to clear away Stealth Rock, and take advantage of the aforementioned Pokemon. Hitmontop and Blastoise are arguably the two best Rapid Spinners to run alongside Charizard, since they both are relatively bulky and synergize well with him it. Hitmontop resists Rock-type attacks, and can use Foresight allows him to hit Ghosts with and Rapid Spin to clear away Stealth Rock. Hitmontop also scares chansey away. while Blastoise can do the same except resisting Water-type attacks. Hitmontop can also scare away Chansey. Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan can be used as are alternatives to Hitmontop if more attacking power is desired. Although he shares a weakness to Water-type attacks, Donphan is a decent Rapid Spinner who can defeat most common spinblockers more easily with powerful attacks moves such as Head Smash Assuance and Earthquake. Venusaur is a fantastic switch-in to bulky Water-types such as Milotic and Slowking, who can wreak causing havoc with his powerful STAB moves or Sleep Powder. Dugtrio is also a good partner to run alongside Charizard as he can trap and KO Chansey with Beat Up or Earthquake.</p>

name: SunnyBeamer
move 1: Sunny Day
move 2: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 3: SolarBeam
move 4: Roost / Air Slash
item: Life Orb / Heat Rock
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With this set, Charizard can lure in and aims to defeat his its bulky Water-type rivals counters. Again, Moltres largely outclasses Charizard in such a role, but Charizard's higher Speed stat and Blaze help him it compete for a team spot. By using Sunny Day, Charizard's Fire-type STAB is powered up to ridiculous levels. In the sun, SolarBeam does not require its charging turn, allowing Charizard to 2HKO Milotic and Slowking, his its two biggest counters. The last slot depends on how offensively you want Charizard to operate; Roost allows Charizard to recover lost health from Stealth Rock and Life Orb recoil, while Air Slash gives Charizard maximum coverage.</p>

<p>Charizard's item of choice depends on the type of team he it's in. If Charizard is part of a Sunny Day team, Heat Rock can should be considered so Charizard can to support the team as well as itself. Life Orb is preferred in most other cases.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Like all Charizard sets, Rapid Spin support is essential, especially if he it's not running Roost. Hitmontop and Blastoise are both bulky Spinners who synergize well with Charizard and have reliable ways of dealing with spinblockers. Donphan is also a good Spinner who can usually deal with spinblockers with its powerful attacks.</p>

<p>Chansey makes a fairly decent counter to SunnyBeam Charizard, although it risks getting 2HKOed by sun-boosted Fire Blast if Blaze is activated. If Charizard is not running Air Slash, Flash Fire Pokemon such as Houndoom and Arcanine walls Charizard. Dugtrio with Substitute can trap and remove Houndoom with some prediction. Rhyperior is a very decent switch into most Arcanine.</p>

<p>Since SunnyBeam Charizard is good at luring and defeating bulky Water-types, Pokemon that can take advantage of their absence make good teammates to him. Rock Polish Rhyperior, Dragon Dance Feraligatr, and Nasty Plot Houndoom are only a few of the Pokemon that who can easily sweep when opposing bulky Waters (especially Milotic) are removed.</p>

[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Flare Blitz
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: ThunderPunch
item: Life Orb
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With usable Attack and Speed stats, access to Dragon Dance, and a workable physical movepool, Dragon Dance Charizard can be very difficult to deal with late-game, especially if you're running an offensive team. With a single Dragon Dance under its belt, Charizard reaches 492 Speed, outspeeding beating Choice Scarf Rotom and Hitmonlee, two of the fastest revenge killers commonly seen in UU. Flare Blitz is Charizard's main STAB and is very powerful after a Dragon Dance. Even though Flare Blitz's recoil may be unappealing, Fire Punch is too weak at +1 and Charizard needs all the power it can get. Earthquake punishes Rock-types such as Rhyperior and Regirock, while ThunderPunch is Charizard's best answer to Water-types. Roost can used over Earthquake or Thunderpunch, but Charizard rarely finds opportunities to use Roost and set up simulataneously.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>If you find Charizard's power a bit lacking, an Adamant nature can be used provided your team has a reliable way of removing Choice Scarf Rotom, Hitmonlee, or other such revenge killers. Dragon Claw is an option as a for coverage move if your team has trouble with Altaria.</p>

<p>Slowbro is arguably the best counter to Dragon Dance Charizard with its enormous physical Defense. Physically defensive Milotic also counters Charizard very well too. Regirock and Rhyperior can take +1 Earthquake when they are good health and OHKO Charizard in return. Due to this, it is good idea to bring Charizard out is better in the late-game when everything on the opposing team has been significantly weakened, and allowing it to clean up. This means The aforementioned Pokemon and Stealth Rock need to be cleared before Charizard attempts his sweep. Venusaur can easily switch into Slowbro and Milotic and threaten them with Sleep Powder or his STAB Grass attacks. Torterra can also switch into Slowbro and set up Rock Polish. Toxicroak does a similar job against Milotic. Rhyperior is an excellent switch into Regirock who can set up Rock Polish or Substitute to terrorize the opponent. Rapid Spinners are essential to run alongside Charizard, especially when his it lacks Roost and his main STAB makes him causes take recoil. Hitmontop, Blastoise, and Donphan are all good Rapid Spinners to run alongside Charizard.</p>

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Flare Blitz / Fire Punch
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: ThunderPunch
item: Life Orb
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With Charizard's natural Speed, he it can forego Dragon Dance the need for additional Speed to and boost his attack even further with Swords Dance, allowing him to reach a very high 534 Attack after a boost. Again, Flare Blitz is Charizard's main STAB for its sheer power, but since Charizard is now at +2 after a boost instead of +1, Fire Punch is acceptable if you don't like the absurd amount of residual damage that Charizard is taking. Earthquake hits Rock-types and ThunderPunch hits Water-types. Like the Dragon Dance set, Roost can be used over Earthquake or ThunderPunch but again, though Charizard finds it hard to boost and heal at the same time. Similarly, if you are having trouble with Altaria, Dragon Claw can be used. To demonstrate Charizard's power after a Swords Dance, here are some damage calculations:</p>

<ul class=”damage_calculation”>
<li>+2 Flare Blitz vs 252 HP / 252 Def Bold Uxie: 64.41% - 75.71%</li>
<li>+2 Flare Blitz vs 252 HP / 0 Def Mesprit: 100%</li>
<li>+2 ThunderPunch vs 252 HP / 200 Def Milotic: 77.66% - 91.37</li>
<li>+2 ThunderPunch vs 252 HP / 252 Def Bold Slowbro: 54.31% - 64.47%</li>
<li>+2 Earthquake vs 252 HP / 0 Def Regirock: 62.64% - 74.18%</li>
<li>+2 Earthquake vs 140 HP / 32 Def Rhyperior: 60.59% - 71.18%</li>
</ul>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Without the Speed boost from Dragon Dance, Charizard finds itself a lot easier to revenge-kill. Due to this, it is best to scout out opposing potential revenge-killers. With Swords Dance, Charizard is more threatening to defensive teams. Swords Dance Charizard is especially good at luring out bulky Waters that expect Charizard to a special variant (such as Milotic and Slowking), and deal a lot of damage to them with a +2 ThunderPunch. Due to this, Pokemon that can take advantage of a weakened bulky Water-type make excellent partners to Swords Dance Charizard. Dragon Dance Feraligatr and Rock Polish Rhyperior are especially dangerous when opposing Milotic are weakened.</p>

<p>Like all offensive Pokemon, Charizard appreciates entry hazard support to achieve some important KOs, for example, 252 HP / 200 Def Milotic is OHKOed by Thunderpunch after she switches into Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes most of the time. Omastar can set up both Stealth Rock and Spikes while luring Grass-, Ground- and Fighting-type attacks for Charizard to switch into. Cloyster can set up Spikes while using Rapid Spin to clear away Stealth Rock. On the topic of Stealth Rock, Rapid Spin support is, again, essential for Charizard's effectiveness. Hitmontop, Blastoise, and Donphan are good Rapid Spinners to run alongside Charizard.</p>

[SET]
name: BellyZard
move 1: Belly Drum
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Fire Punch
move 4: Thunderpunch / Earthquake
item: Salac Berry
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
ivs: 30 HP

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Charizard is the only Pokemon in the game apart from the omniscient Smeargle to be able to learn the combination of Dragon Dance, Swords Dance, and Belly Drum. BellyZard, once the epitome of offense, is now possibly one of the highest-risk, relatively-low reward sets in the 4th generation metagame. Still, it is still quite potent when used unexpectedly. Utilizing BellyZard follows quite a strict format, the first step is to switch into a Pokemon that cannot hurt Charizard and scare it out, allowing for Charizard to set up Substitute. Then, use Proceed with Belly Drum to Charizard max out his Charizard's Attack stat while activating Salac Berry and Blaze. From there, Charizard (hopefully) proceeds to sweep with 1068 Attack and 492 Speed. Fire Punch is Charizard's main STAB, which is boosted to acceptable levels with Blaze. ThunderPunch takes out bulky Water-types, while Earthquake takes out Rock-types.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>If you are more daring, Double-Edge can be used over Substitute. The idea behind it is to use Belly Drum first, possibly luring out a bulky Water-type, who might switch into the special attacker. Charizard is then able to KO it with Double-Edge, which allowing Charizard him to reach Salac Berry and Blaze activation range.</p>

<p>The EVs are simple, let Charizard be as fast as possible so it is as difficult to revenge-kill as possible. 30 HP IVs are used so Charizard's HP is divisible by 4, allowing Salac Berry to activate after Substitute and Belly Drum. Earthquake or Thunderpunch can replace Substitute if the coverage is more important to you than the Speed boost.</p>

<p>While Belly Drum Charizard looks horrifically scary on paper, it is very easy to stop in practice. Firstly, if Stealth Rock is up, Charizard will be unable to pull off a successful Belly Drum. Physically defensive Hariyama with Thick Fat can take a hit from Charizard and KO it in return. If Charizard lacks ThunderPunch, bulky Water-types can stop him, while if he it lacks Earthquake, Rhyperior and Regirock is a hard stop to him it. Priority attacks also cut Charizard's sweep very short. These include Aqua Jet from Azumarill, ExtremeSpeed from Arcanine, and Sucker Punch from Toxicroak. Sand Stream and Snow Warning make Charizard sad as well, since it forces him to sweep on a timer. This is why Before bringing Charizard out, scouting the opponent's team is extremely important. Rapid Spinners can clear away Stealth Rock for Charizard, while anti-leads such as Taunt Ambipom, Electrode, and Choice Scarf Venusaur can prevent it going up in the first place. Spiritomb, Mesprit, and Uxie are good switch-ins to Hariyama. Claydol is also good for switching into Hariyama and also has the ability to use Rapid Spin to clear away Stealth Rock.</p>

[Team Options]

<p>Charizard's biggest problem in the metagame is Stealth Rock. Due to this, Rapid Spinners and Pokemon who prevent it being set up are always good teammates to Charizard. Hitmontop and Blastoise synergize well with Charizard and can use have Foresight, and allowing Rapid Spin to remove Stealth Rock even against Ghost-types. Ambipom, Electrode, and Choice Scarf Venusaur can outspeed common leads and use Taunt or Sleep Powder to stop Stealth Rock going up.</p>

<p>Outside of Stealth Rock, bulky Water-types such as Milotic and Slowking are Charizard's biggest enemies. Venusaur is an excellent partner to run alongside Charizard, who can switch in without many problems at all into bulky Waters and threaten devastation with Sleep Powder or its powerful STABs. Toxicroak can switch into Milotic and set up Swords Dance or Nasty Plot.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Charizard has a very big movepool and many options that he it can use. On the special side, Charizard has access to Focus Blast, Overheat, and Dragon Pulse, while on the physical side, he it has Rock Slide, Focus Punch, and Return. A Choice Specs set is usable, but the 4x weakness to Stealth Rock really limits its ability switch in and out, not to mention that Moltres is a better candidate overall. Charizard can also use a Blaze + Sunny Day + Petaya Berry set that makes him absurdly powerful, but like the Belly Drum set, it is extremely hard to stop and difficult to set up. Charizard can also attempt a mixed wallbreaking set with Air Slash, Brick Break, Fire Blast, and Roost, but he generally lacks the power to do so.</p>

[Counters]

<p>Charizard has two huge enemies: One is Stealth Rock, the other is bulky-Water types. Milotic is the best general counter for Charizard, while Slowking can handle special variants and Slowbro can handle physical variants. Specially defensive Regirock is also an excellent check to Charizard, being able to take most of its attacks while OHKOing back with Stone Edge or Rock Slide. Chansey walls any special variant of Charizard.</p>

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