Charizard (GP 2/2)

marilli · Oct 28, 2012

Hi... not sure how this works, I wanted to re-reserve Charizard because I wrote it out over the break anyways.

So here goes nothing. Do I need my QC stamps again?

Note that my grammar is probably extremely sloppy here. If not, at least it's probably quite repetitive as my first drafts tend to be. My apologies, but I wanted it done as soon as possible.

edit: credits to Cherubi for most of the Other Options and Checks and Counters section.
[Overview]

Charizard stands for destruction, as it is one of the strongest Fire-types in NU, able to scorch anything that stands in its path. Solar Power, Sunny Day-boosted, STAB Fire Blast is able to 2HKO all but the sturdiest Pokemon in NU. Charizard sits on the faster side of the metagame, with 100 base Speed, and has great stats all round to pull off both its signature special set, and other niche physical sets. Roost and handy resistances to common attacking types, such as Fighting- and Grass-type attacks, make Charizard relatively bulky for its power. Unfortunately, its 4x Stealth Rock weakness severely holds it back, as Charizard will die from switching three times into Stealth Rock alone; a critical flaw in a tier with very few viable Rapid Spinners. Still, Charizard's sheer power alone is a strong merit to outweigh the costs of such weaknesses. Charizard is the fire-breathing dragon—what else can you ask for? A well-played Charizard will make all your seven-year-old wishes of becoming the Pokemon Champion closer to reality.

[SET]
name: Sunny Day
move 1: Sunny Day
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Roost
move 4: SolarBeam
item: Leftovers / Heat Rock
ability: Solar Power
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Sunny Day is Charizard's strongest set by far, mixing its power with versatility. Sunny Day triggers Solar Power, and greatly increases Charizard's sweeping capability. Fire Blast is a strong STAB, boosted by both sun and Solar Power. With very few prominent bulky Water-types in NU, Fire Blast alone has the potential to burn through entire teams. Even common Fire-type resists, such as Alomomola and Regirock, have relatively low Special Defense, and take massive damage from the resisted move. Roost helps with Charizard's crippling Stealth Rock weakness, in case you cannot spin away Stealth Rock, and gives it some reliable healing to mitigate the residual damage from Solar Power. Roost is especially helpful against defensive teams that cannot hope to finish off Charizard in a single hit or two. Finally, SolarBeam hits two Fire-type resists, Rock- and Water-types, super effectively.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Maximum Speed and Special Attack is a no-brainer, and optimizes Charizard’s sweeping potential. The remaining 4 EVs go into Defense for an odd HP number, and a second switch-in to Stealth Rock at full health. Leftovers is a good item choice, as it mitigates the recoil from Solar Power. Standard sweeping items, such as Life Orb, might sound appealing, but Life Orb and Solar Power recoil can quickly add up, and the additional power is often unnecessary. If anything, Flame Plate is often superior to Life Orb, thanks to no recoil—especially as Fire Blast would be the primary move in most situations. Heat Rock, on the other hand, is a solid choice on a dedicated Sunny Day team. In case Charizard cannot finish the job, other fearsome sun sweepers, such as Exeggutor, Sawsbuck, or Victreebel, can easily clean up the opposing team with the additional Sunny Day turns. Charizard does not require an entire team built around Sunny Day, but Pokemon such as Volbeat and Regirock are often good candidates to set up Sunny Day if one chooses to run such a team.

 Charizard's strength comes from the fact that almost nothing can take its attacks consistently. Hence, Choice Scarf users are often used on offensive teams as soft checks to Charizard. If using this set as a standalone sweeper, Piloswine is a good teammate to sponge the common Choice Scarf Electric-type attacks—most notable Volt Switch—that can easily force out Charizard after a kill. It can even force out Dragon-types, such as Altaria and Dragonair, which Charizard tends to have trouble with. Roost can keep Charizard alive even with Stealth Rock in play, but Charizard very much appreciates Rapid Spin support in order to be the offensive juggernaut it is, instead of using Roost every other switch-in to keep itself alive. Shell Smash Torkoal is a good Rapid Spin user that benefits from sun, despite its own Stealth Rock weakness. As another Fire-type, Torkoal and Charizard share similar counters, and as such, they can weaken them to allow the other to sweep. Of course, their defensive synergy is subpar, so Exeggutor is a good choice for sponging the Water- and Ground-type moves, and forcing out Rock-type Pokemon that threaten them both.

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Roost
move 4: Substitute / Focus Blast
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Blaze
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Charizard does not require sun to bring upon destruction on the enemy. Common defensive Pokemon, such as Amoonguss, give Charizard ample time to switch in and fire off attacks without the hassle of setting up. Fire Blast and Air Slash are the two obligatory STAB moves, hitting most threats for at least neutral damage, bar Rock-types. Roost is a crucial move to mitigate Stealth Rock and other passive damage. In the final slot Substitute can be used to take advantage of all the switches Charizard forces; as a bonus, Substitute also avoids status and Sucker Punch. On the other hand, a coverage move will turn Charizard into an all-out sweeper with great speed and coverage. Focus Blast, despite its shaky accuracy, hits Rock-types, such as Regirock and Carracosta, along with special walls such as Lickilicky, all for super effective damage.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Life Orb is for the increased power, and is an obvious choice to improve Charizard's sweeping potential. Solar Power, while legal, is not recommended. Dedicated Sunny Day teams will fare better with the first set anyways, especially given that Charizard's Fire Blast in sun is so powerful that any coverage move is a highly situational choice. With Substitute, Charizard can use Life Orb recoil and repeated uses of Substitute to safely activate Blaze and deal crucial bonus damage in a pinch. Leftovers might seem to be more viable alongside Substitute, but the loss of power is very noticeable. The EVs maximize Charizard's sweeping potential, and ensure that its HP is odd, allowing for two switches into Stealth Rock. Instead of Focus Blast, other coverage moves, such as Hidden Power Grass or Hidden Power Ice, can be used for hitting Rock-types and Dragon-types, respectively, for super effective damage.

If Charizard chooses Substitute over a coverage move, it is entirely walled by Rock-types, such as Regirock and Carracosta. As a result, teammates such as Choice Specs Exeggutor or Choice Band Sawk are useful to OHKO almost any Rock-type Charizard might have trouble with. Substitute and Roost, when paired with Toxic Spikes, quickly accrue the residual damage on the opponent’s team needed for a proper Charizard sweep; Garbodor is a great teammate for setting up Toxic Spikes. Due to its relatively lower damage output, this set benefits the most from multiple layers of entry hazards. If Charizard chooses Focus Blast or Hidden Power Grass, it will be more vulnerable against status moves and revenge killers. Much like the previous set, Piloswine is a great choice to deal with Choice Scarf Electric-types. Calm Mind Musharna can deal with most Choice Scarf users with its obscene bulk, and has Heal Bell in the event that Charizard is crippled by status. Again, Shell Smash Torkaol is an exceptional Rapid Spin user that synergizes with Charizard offensively. Alternatively, one can simply prevent early Stealth Rock; Life Orb Samurott and Choice Band Rampardos are great for shutting down Stealth Rock from predictable leads, such as Carracosta or Golem.

[SET]
name: Choice
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Focus Blast / SolarBeam
move 4: Hidden Power Grass / Hidden Power Ice
item: Choice Specs / Choice Scarf
ability: Solar Power / Blaze
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Does Charizard not deliver enough pure destruction? Choice Specs Charizard crushes villages by simply spamming STAB Fire Blast through the opposing team. Unless the opposing team carries a Fire-type immunity, such as Flareon, everything will be instantly evaporated with no prediction required. Even the most specially defensive of Pokemon, such as Lickilicky, cannot withstand its sheer power. Behold the behemoth that is Charizard.

<ul class="damage_calculation">
<li>Fire Blast in Sun vs. 252/252+ Lickilicky 102.12% - 120.52%</li>
</ul>

The other moves are filler. The lack of sun seriously limits Charizard's potential, and it is only then coverage moves come in handy. Air Slash is mainly used to hit Fire-type resists and immunes such as, Emboar, Flareon, and Cloud Nine Altaria. A choice of Focus Blast or Solarbeam is for hitting Rock-type Pokemon, such as Carracosta and Regirock, that resist Charizard's STAB. Finally, a choice of Hidden Power rounds off the set; Hidden Power Ice only hits Altaria, while Hidden Power Grass hits the aforementioned Rock-types reliably outside of sun.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Maximum Speed and Special Attack ensures that Charizard hits hard and fast. The 4 remaining EVs are placed in Defense to give an odd HP value, giving Charizard the ability to switch into an extra round of Stealth Rock damage. Given that all its coverage options are rather situational, Flamethrower can take place of any of them, in case you can’t afford to risk a miss with Fire Blast. Choice Specs is for guaranteed carnage, but Choice Scarf lets Charizard outspeed everything relevant to the metagame. Choice Specs is the primary option because sun teams already have insanely fast threats in Chlorophyll users; moreover, Sunny Day teams appreciate the niche of wallbreaking that Choice Specs Charizard fills.

As repeated throughout the analysis, Rapid Spin users are great for keeping Charizard alive and healthy. Because of the recoil damage of Solar Power, Charizard will be only able to switch into Stealth Rock once. However, a spinner is not a complete necessity; Choice Specs Charizard can wreak havoc with a single switch-in against slower teams, and even the weaker Choice Scarf Charizard can sweep a frail team off its feet. This is especially so when not running Sunny Day, as Samurott and Ludicolo, common alternative measures to prevent an early setting of Stealth Rock, do not synergize well with sun. Still, Shell Smash Torkoal is a great Charizard partner, being a viable team player that not only benefits from sun, but also spins away hazards. More importantly, Charizard cannot set up its own sun with a Choice set. As a result, supporters, such as Volbeat and Regirock, can easily set up Sunny Day and give Charizard a free switch-in (how). Of course, a dedicated Sunny Day team will require Chlorophyll sweepers, such as Exeggutor or Sawsbuck, to finish off weakened opponents.

[SET]
name: Physical
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Acrobatics
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Flare Blitz
item: Flying Gem
ability: Blaze
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Charizard can also use its lower offensive stat to great effect. Swords Dance provides a much-needed boost to Charizard's Attack, while Acrobatics is an extremely strong and reliable STAB. With Flying Gem and Swords Dance, Acrobatics can destroy specially defensive Pokemon, such as Altaria, that commonly switch into special Charizard sets with little problem otherwise. Earthquake provides near-perfect neutral coverage, hitting Rock-types such as Regirock, Probopass, and Bastiodon. Finally, Flare Blitz is a supplementary STAB for hitting Eelektross and Rotom-S. Given its deadly recoil and lackluster coverage, Flare Blitz will be highly situational, but will help in case there is no chance to boost.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

 Maximum Speed and Attack investment complements Charizards role as a physical sweeper, outspeeding everything it possibly can without a Choice Scarf. Flying Gem is for a strong and reliable Acrobatics—and an even more powerful first time use of the move. Flame Charge is a situational move over Flare Blitz, as while the additional speed will deny revenge killing attempts, it is excruciatingly weak, and requires good prediction to be effective. Due to Acrobatics easily wrecking common special Charizard checks, such as Mantine and Altaria, another special Fire-type is a great teammate, should such checks be lured in. Shell Smash Torkoal is a great spinner for keeping Stealth Rock off the field, while potentially capitalizing on the Pokemon Charizard lures and KOes. However, if the opponent sees Charizard using Swords Dance, the special wall is unlikely to switch, so catching Altaria on the switch with the initial Flying Gem-boosted Acrobatics can be a very viable tactic. Unlike the special sets, which use SolarBeam to wreck Rock-types, Earthquake is often not strong enough even after the Swords Dance boost; as such, some previous damage on Rock-types such as Regirock is necessary if Charizard is to KO them at +2. Golurk is a good teammate to switch into Rock-types and maintain offensive pressure. Once again, preventing early Stealth Rock with a Water-type, such as Samurott or Ludicolo, is extremely effective. Without Stealth Rock, Charizard is no longer forced to attempt a sweep on its first switch. Water-types also exert offensive pressure on the Rock-type counters to Charizard, improving the odds for a successful Charizard sweep.

[Other Options]

Perhaps the most interesting other option that Charizard has is its classic Belly Drum set. It requires massive support to use effectively, but the payoff can be enormous, especially now that Salac Berry has been released. However, a metagame filled with priority moves, Stealth Rock, and hard hitters means that BellyZard can no longer function as effectively as it once used to. Dragon Dance is also a viable option, but has significantly harder time sweeping due to its lack of power. Also, these two moves are illegal with Charizard's best physical STAB, Acrobatics.

Flamethrower can be used over Fire Blast on any of the specially oriented sets, as the perfect accuracy can save you. However, Fire Blast deals more damage, even when factoring in the miss chance, and Charizard prefers to hit as hard as possible. Overheat is another special STAB move; unfortunately, the hit-and-run strategy associated with Overheat clashes horribly with Charizard’s 4x Stealth Rock weakness. The last viable STAB move that Charizard can use is Flame Charge, as the ability to outspeed Choice Scarf Pokemon after a boost is very much appreciated. However, Charizard has trouble sparing a moveslot for it, as it is too weak to be its main STAB move.

Charizard has a wide movepool, both special and physical, giving it some added flexibility to its moveset. Charizard has the option of going mixed with Earthquake to dispose of Flareon, but this requires splitting EVs for a rather rare Pokemon, and is generally not worth it. Focus Punch can be used to do heavy damage to Lickilicky and Audino, but without Substitute, requires perfect prediction to pull it off efficiently. Quick Attack is mentioned only because it should never be used; Charizard is fast enough that it should never have to rely on a priority move, especially one as weak as Quick Attack. On the special side, Charizard can use Dragon Pulse, as it has perfect coverage alongside its Fire-type STAB moves. However, Dragon Pulse has little super effective coverage, and is not very viable for this very reason. Dragon Pulse does see merit against Altaria and Dragonair, otherwise great checks to special Charizard. Finally, Charizard can use other Hidden Power types, such as Ice or Electric, but is generally not worth it.

[Checks and Counters]

It should be clear that the most efficient way of countering Charizard is by keeping Stealth Rock up. Every time Charizard switches in it will lose half of its HP, which means that any decently powered STAB move should be able to bring Charizard down. It will often have to Roost as soon as it comes in when Stealth Rock is up, lest it risk being KOed immediately; use this turn to your advantage to hit it hard, or to bring in something that can outspeed and OHKO Charizard.

Rock-types in general are good switch-ins to Charizard. They resist both of its STABs and can always OHKO with their own; furthermore, most pack enough Defense to be able to shrug off boosted Earthquake's from the physical set. Regirock can take Charizard's STAB moves with ease, especially with a specially defensive spread, and will always OHKO Charizard with Rock Slide or Stone Edge. However, Rock-types take heavy damage from Hidden Power Grass and Focus Blast. Flareon is also an extremely effective counter. An immunity to Charizard's incredibly powerful Fire-type STAB moves, and excellent Special Defense, means that Charizard will be unable to break through the hellcat. Flareon can either whittle Charizard down with Toxic, or abuse Charizard's own Sun to hit it with its own Fire-type moves. Mono-attacker Dragonair can cheerfully sponge Charizard's attacks thanks to its high Special Defense, courtesy of Eviolite, and its resistances to Fire- and Grass-type moves. It can set up multiple Dragon Dances, Rest off the damage it takes, and eventually take Charizard out with Outrage. Mantine has massive Special Defense, a resistance to Fire, and is neutral to Grass-type attacks, courtesy of its Flying typing. It can then proceed to wash Charizard away with its STAB Water-type moves. Altaria is in the same boat, it resists all of Charizard’s special moves, bar the weak Air Slash and the highly situational Hidden Power Ice. Grumpig isn't weak to any of Charizard's commonly used moves, and gains a pseudo-resistance to Fire thanks to its ability, Thick Fat. Its excellent Special Defense allows it to shrug off Charizard's attacks. Of course, a boosted Acrobatics will easily take out all of these specially defensive tanks. Alomomola gets a special mention as being a perfect counter to the physical set, but will promptly fall to the specially based sets.

However, many of the aforementioned Pokemon are rarely used, as the NU tier is predominantly physically based. For this reason, special walls are an uncommon sight. Therefore, should you lack a counter to Charizard, the best way to prevent it from sweeping you is to carry at least one check to it in your team. By simply forcing out Charizard, it takes another 50% of its HP thanks to Stealth Rock alone—this means that revenge killers are extremely efficient tools to check Charizard. Cinccino naturally outspeeds Charizard, and can OHKO it with either Rock Blast or Tail Slap. Tauros and Swellow are both fine offensive checks for the same reason. Zebstrika and Electrode fall into the same category and can fry Charizard with their STAB Electric-type moves. Floatzel will also always outspeed Charizard, and can take it out with its STAB Water-type moves. Simpour's 101 base Speed allows it to outspeed Charizard and OHKO it with either Surf or Hydro Pump. Another option is to use Chlorophyll Pokemon, such as Exeggutor and Victreebel, as they can abuse the Sun that normally accompanies Charizard, and KO it with STAB Psychic and Sludge Bomb, respectively.

Seeing as Charizard is faster than a good portion of the NU metagame, you might have to resort to using Choice Scarf Pokemon in order to deal with it. Rotom-S is an extremely common user of Choice Scarf, and can force Charizard out by threatening it with Volt Switch. This means that Charizard will again be forced to lose 50% of its health, should Stealth Rock be present, upon re-entering the battlefield, and the Rotom-S player will have gained momentum—provided that an Electric-type immunity was not switched in, of course. Another option is to use priority moves. One can prey upon Charizard's weakness to Aqua Jet with Pokemon such as Carracosta and Samurott. The former can come in on either Fire Blast or Air Slash, and the latter can play guessing games with the Charizard user, either by going for the kill with Aqua Jet or by setting up a Swords Dance to threaten the rest of the Charizard user's team. Sucker Punch users, such as Absol or Skuntank, can also KO Charizard without Substitute. Charizard is an extremely hard Pokemon to stifle defensively, but there are plenty of options to revenge kill it.

Raseri · Oct 29, 2012

No way this is going through QC again.

Also, one thing I noticed skimming through this in the AC of the choice set

Maximum speed and special attack assures that Charizard hits hard and fast,

Speed and Special Attack should be capitalized because you're referring to the specific stats.

Thanks for getting this done Amarillo!

cb aaron judge · Oct 31, 2012

Amarillo said:
Hi... not sure how this works, I wanted to re-reserve Charizard because I wrote it out over the break anyways.

So here goes nothing. Do I need my QC stamps again?

Note that my grammar is probably extremely sloppy here. If not, at least it's probably quite repetitive as my first drafts tend to be. My apologies, but I wanted it done as soon as possible.

edit: credits to Cherubi for most of the Other Options and Checks and Counters section.

[Overview]

Charizard stands for destruction, as it Charizard is one of the strongest Fire-types in NU, able to scorch anything that stands in its path. Solar Power, Sunny Day boosted, STAB Fire Blast is able to 2HKO all but the sturdiest Pokemon in NU. Charizard sits on the faster side of the metagame with 100 base Speed, and has great all-around stats to pull off both its signature special set and other niche physical sets. Roost and handy resistances to common attacking types such as Fighting and Grass make Charizard relatively bulky for its power. Unfortunately, its typing with 4x Stealth Rock weakness severely holds it back, as Charizard will easily die by switching into Stealth Rock three times. This is such a critical flaw in a tier with very few viable Rapid Spinners. Still, Charizard's sheer power alone is a strong merit to mitigate such weaknesses. Charizard is the fire-breathing dragon—what else can you ask for? A well-played Charizard will make all your seven-year-old wishes of becoming the Pokemon Champion closer to reality.

[SET]
name: Sunny Day
move 1: Sunny Day
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Roost
move 4: SolarBeam
item: Leftovers / Heat Rock
ability: Solar Power
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Sunny Day is Charizard's strongest set by far, mixing its power with versatility. Sunny Day triggers Solar Power, and exponentially increases Charizard's sweeping capability. Fire Blast is a strong STAB boosted by sunny weather and Solar Power. Especially With very few prominent bulky Water-types in NU, Fire Blast alone has the potential to burn through entire teams. Even common Fire-type resists such as Alomomola and Regirock have relatively low Special Defense, so resistance is futile. Roost counteracts Charizard's crippling Stealth Rock weakness, in case you cannot spin away Stealth Rock, and gives it some reliable healing to negate the residual damage from Solar Power. Roost is especially helpful against defensive teams that cannot hope to finish off Charizard in a single hit or two. Finally, SolarBeam hits Rock- and Water-types super effectively; it and is a good coverage move to complement Fire Blast to hit anything that can stomach a single Fire Blast.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Maximum Speed and Special Attack is a no-brainer, and allows maximum sweeping potential. The remaining 4 EVs go to Defense for an odd HP number and a second switch-in to Stealth Rock at full health. Leftovers is a strong good item choice for negating recoil from Solar Power. Standard sweeping items such as Life Orb may sound appealing, but Life Orb and Solar Power recoil can quickly add up, and the additional power is often not necessary. If anything, Flame Plate is often superior to Life Orb thanks to the lack of no recoil. Fire Blast would be the primary move in most situations, anyways. Heat Rock, on the other hand, is a solid choice on a dedicated Sunny Day team. In case Charizard cannot finish the job, other fearsome sweepers such as Exeggutor, Sawsbuck, or Victreebel can easily clean up with the additional Sunny Day turns. Charizard does not require an entire team built around Sunny Day, but Pokemon such as Volbeat and Regirock are often good candidates to set up Sunny Day.

 Charizard's strength comes from the fact that almost nothing can take its attacks consistently. Hence, Choice Scarf users are often used on offensive teams as soft checks to Charizard. If using this Charizard as a standalone sweeper, Piloswine is a good teammate to sponge the common Choice Scarf Electric-types that can easily force out Charizard after a kill. It can even force out Dragon-types such as Altaria and Dragonair, which Charizard tends to have trouble with. Roost can keep Charizard alive even with Stealth Rock in play, but Charizard would very much appreciate Rapid Spin support in order to be the offensive juggernaut he is, instead of Roosting every other switch-in to keep itself alive. Shell Smash Torkoal is a good Rapid Spin user that benefits from sun, despite its own Stealth Rock weakness. As another Fire-type, Torkoal and Charizard share similar counters, and they can weaken each other's counters for a sweep. Of course, their defensive synergy is subpar, 

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Roost
move 4: Substitute / Focus Blast
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Blaze
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Charizard does not require sun to bring upon destruction on the enemy. Common Pokemon such as Amoonguss give Charizard ample time to switch in and fire around attacks without the hassle of setting up. Fire Blast and Air Slash are two obligatory STAB, hitting most threats bar Rock-types. Roost is a crucial move to mitigate Stealth Rock damage and other passive damage. The final slot is a crucial change of pace. Substitute allows Charizard to take advantage of the switches it forces and avoid status and Sucker Punch. On the other hand, a coverage move will turn Charizard into an all-out sweeper with great speed and coverage. Focus Blast, despite its shaky accuracy, hits Rock-types such as Regirock and Carracosta, alongside with special walls such as Lickilicky, and is a supreme option as the coverage move of choice.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Life Orb is for the increased power, and an obvious choice to improve Charizard's sweeping potential. Solar Power, while legal, is not recommended. Dedicated Sunny Day teams will fare better with the first set anyways, especially given that Charizard's Fire Blast in sun is so powerful that any coverage move is a highly situational choice. With Substitute, Charizard can even use Life Orb and Substitute to activate Blaze and deal crucial bonus damage in a pinch. Leftovers is relatively more viable alongside Substitute, but the loss of power is definitely noticeable. EVs maximize Charizard's sweeping potential, and such that its HP is odd for two switches into Stealth Rock. Instead of Focus Blast, other coverage moves such as Hidden Power Grass or Hidden Power Ice can be still viable for targeting Rock-types and Dragon-types, respectively.

If Charizard chooses Substitute over a coverage move, it is entirely walled by Rock-types such as Regirock and Carracosta. As a result, teammates such as Choice Specs Exeggutor or Choice Band Sawk are useful teammates to OHKO practically any Rock-type they may encounter. Also, Substitute and Roost are reliable stalling tactic, and Toxic Spikes synergize extremely well for adding residual damage for a proper sweep. Garbodor is a great teammate for setting up Toxic Spikes. Also, this set benefits the most from entry hazards because it packs significantly less power than the Sunny Day set at the cost of no setup. If Charizard chooses Focus Blast or Hidden Power Grass, it will be more vulnerable against status moves and revenge killers. Therefore, Pokemon such as Piloswine are great to deal with Choice Scarf Electric-types. Calm Mind Musharna can deal with most Choice Scarf users with its obscene bulk, and has Heal Bell in case Charizard selects a coverage move over Substitute. Again, Shell Smash Torkoal is an exceptional Rapid Spin user that synergizes with Charizard offensively. Alternatively, one can simply prevent early Stealth Rock. Life Orb Samurott and Choice Band Rampardos are great for early pressure, and shuts down Stealth Rock from predictable leads such as Carracosta or Golem.

[SET]
name: Choice
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Focus Blast / SolarBeam
move 4: Hidden Power Grass / Hidden Power Ice
item: Choice Specs / Choice Scarf
ability: Solar Power / Blaze
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Does Charizard not deliver enough pure destruction? Choice Specs Charizard crushes villages by simply spamming STAB Fire Blast through the opposing team. Unless the opposing team carries a Fire-type immunity such as Flareon, everything will be instantly evaporated with no prediction required. Even the most specially defensive Pokemon such as Lickilicky cannot withstand its sheer power. Behold the behemoth that is Charizard.

252 SpAtk Choice Specs Solar Power Charizard Fire Blast vs 252 HP/252 SpDef Lickilicky (+SpDef) : 102.12% - 120.52%

The other moves are filler. Lack of sun seriously limits Charizard's potential, and only then coverage moves come in relatively handy. Air Slash mainly hits Emboar, Flareon, and Cloud Nine Altaria relatively hard. A choice of Focus Blast or Solarbeam is for hitting Rock-type Pokemon such as Carracosta and Regirock that resist Charizard's STAB. Finally, Hidden Power rounds off the set with additional coverage. Hidden Power Ice only hits Altaria, while Hidden Power Grass hits the aforementioned Rock-types reliably outside of sun.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Maximum Speed and Special Attack assures that Charizard hits hard and fast, while the 4 additional EVs are placed to give odd HP and the ability to switch into an extra round of Stealth Rock damage. Given that all its coverage options are rather situational, Flamethrower can take place of any of them, in case you may need an accurate STAB for an assured victory. Choice Specs is for guaranteed carnage, but Choice Scarf lets Charizard outspeed essentially everything relevant to the metagame. Choice Specs is the primary option because sun teams already have insanely fast threats in Chlorophyll users; Sunny Day teams appreciate the niche of wallbreaking that Choice Specs Charizard fills.

As repeated throughout the analysis, Rapid Spin users are great for keeping Charizard sustained. Because of the recoil damage of Solar Power, Charizard will be only able to switch in once to Stealth Rock. However, Rapid Spinner is not a complete necessity. Choice Specs Charizard can wreak havoc with a single switch-in against slower teams, and even the weaker Choice Scarf Charizard can sweep a frail team off its feet. This is especially so as Samurott and Ludicolo, common measures to prevent early Stealth Rock, does not synergize well with Sunny Day. Still, Shell Smash Torkoal is a viable team player that benefits from sun. More importantly, Charizard cannot set up its own sun with a Choice set. As a result, supporters such as Volbeat and Regirock can easily set up Sunny Day and give Charizard a free switch-in. Of course, a dedicated Sunny Day team will require Chlorophyll sweepers to finish off weakened opponents. Chlorophyll Exegguttor or Sawsbuck are great teammates for this reason.

[SET]
name: Physical
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Acrobatics
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Flare Blitz
item: Flying Gem
ability: Blaze
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Charizard can also use its lower offensive stat to great effectiveness. Swords Dance is a much-needed boost to Charizard's Attack, while Acrobatics provides an extremely strong and reliable STAB. With Flying Gem and Swords Dance, Acrobatics can destroy specially defensive Pokemon such as Altaria that switches into Charizard with little problem otherwise. Earthquake provides near-perfect coverage, hitting Rock-types such as Regirock, Probopass, and Bastiodon. Finally, Flare Blitz is a supplementary STAB for hitting Eelektross and Rotom-S. Given its deadly recoil and lackluster coverage, Flare Blitz will be highly situational, but will help in case there is no chance to boost.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Flying Gem is for strong and reliable Acrobatics, while maximum Speed and Attack complements its role as a physical sweeper. Flame Charge is a situational move over Flare Blitz, as the additional speed will deny revenge killing attempts. However, it is excruciatingly weak, and will require good prediction to be effective. Acrobatics easily wrecks common Charizard counters such as Mantine and Altaria. As a result, another special Fire-type is a great way to exploit the hole on the opposing team. Shell Smash Torkoal is a great spinner for keeping Stealth Rock off the field, while capitalizing on the missing opposing special wall. Once Charizard uses Swords Dance, though, the special wall is likely to switch, so catching Altaria on the switch with the initial Gem-boosted Acrobatics, and boosting on the switch can be a very viable tactic. Unlike the special sets, which uses SolarBeam to wreck Rock-types, Earthquake is often not strong enough even after the Swords Dance boost. This requires some previous damage on Rock-types such as Regirock. Teammates such as Golurk can easily switch into Rock-types and keep the offensive pressure going. Once again, preventing early Stealth Rocks with a Water-type such as Samurott and Ludicolo is extremely effective, as Charizard will no longer be forced to attempt a sweep on its first switch. They also put offensive pressure on the Rock-type counters, and greatly amplify amplifies Charizard's sweeping capabilities.

[Other Options]

Perhaps the most interesting other option that Charizard has is the classic Belly Drum set. It requires massive support to use effectively, but the payoff can be enormous, especially now that Salac Berry has been released. However, a metagame filled with priority moves, Stealth Rock and hard hitters mean that BellyZard can no longer function as effectively as it used to. Dragon Dance is also a viable option, but has significantly harder time sweeping, and is similarly hard to set up. Also, these two moves are illegal with Charizard's best physical STAB, Acrobatics.

Flamethrower can be used over Fire Blast on any of the specially oriented sets, as the perfect accuracy can save you. However, Fire Blast deals more damage in the long run, and Charizard likes to hit as hard as possible. Overheat is another special STAB move. Unfortunately, the hit-and-run strategy associated with Overheat clashes horribly with Charizard as a Pokemon: it cannot afford to be switching in and out due to its massive Stealth Rock weakness. Charizard should try and stay in for as long as possible, and attempt a continuous sweep under the sun with Fire Blast. The last viable STAB move that Charizard can use is Flame Charge, as the ability to outspeed Choice Scarf Pokemon is very much appreciated. However, Charizard has trouble sparing a moveslot for it, as it is too weak to for a main STAB move.

Charizard has a wide movepool, both special and physical. Charizard has the option of going mixed with Earthquake to dispose of Flareon, but this requires splitting EVs for a rather rare Pokemon, and is generally not worth it. Focus Punch can be used to dispose of Lickilicky and Audino, but requires perfect prediction to pull it off efficiently. Quick Attack is mentioned only because it should never be used; Charizard is fast enough that it should never have to rely on a priority move, especially one as weak as Quick Attack. On the special side, Charizard can use Dragon Pulse, as it has perfect coverage alongside its Fire-type STAB moves. However, Dragon Pulse has little super effective coverage, and is not very viable for this very reason. Dragon Pulse does see merit against Altaria and Dragonair, otherwise great counters to special Charizard. Finally, Charizard can use other Hidden Power types, such as Ice or Electric, but is generally not worth it.

[Checks and Counters]

It should be clear that the most efficient way of countering Charizard is by keeping Stealth Rock up. Every time Charizard switches in it will lose half of its HP, which means that any decently powered STAB move should be able to bring Charizard down. It will often have to Roost as soon as it comes in when Stealth Rock is up; use this turn to your advantage to hit it hard, or to bring in something that can outspeed and OHKO Charizard.

Rock-types in general are good switch-ins to Charizard. They resist both of Charizard's STABs and can always OHKO with their own, and furthermore, most pack enough Defense to be able to shrug off boosted Earthquake's from the physical set. Regirock can take Charizard's STAB moves with ease, especially with a specially defensive spread, and will always OHKO Charizard with its STAB moves. However, they take heavy damage from Hidden Power Grass and Focus Blast. Flareon is also an extremely effective counter. with an immunity to Charizard's incredibly powerful Fire-type STAB moves, and excellent Special Defense mean that Charizard will be unable to break through the hellcat. Flareon can either whittle Charizard down with Toxic, or abuse Charizard's own Sun to hit it with its own Fire-type moves. The mono-attacker Dragonair can cheerfully sponge Charizard's attacks thanks to its high Special Defense, Eviolite, and resistance to Fire- and Grass-type moves. It can set up multiple Dragon Dances, Rest off the damage it takes, and eventually take Charizard out with Outrage. Mantine has massive Special Defense, a resistance to Fire, and is neutral to Grass courtesy of its Flying-typing. It can then proceed to wash Charizard away with its STAB Water-type moves. Altaria is in the same boat: it resists all of its special moves bar the weak Air Slash and the highly situational Hidden Power Ice. Grumpig isn't weak to any of Charizard's commonly used moves, and gains a pseudo-resistance to Fire thanks to its ability, Thick Fat. Its excellent Special Defense allows it to shrug off Charizard's attacks. Of course, a boosted Acrobatics will easily take out all of these specially defensive tanks. Alomomola gets a special mention as being a perfect counter to the physical set, but will promptly fall to the specially based sets.

However, many of the aforementioned Pokemon are rarely used, as the NU tier is predominantly physically based. For this reason, special walls are an uncommon sight. Therefore, should you lack a counter to Charizard, the best way to prevent it from sweeping you is to carry at least one check to it in your team. By simply forcing out Charizard, it takes another 50% damage thanks to Stealth Rock alone—this means that revenge killers are extremely efficient tools to check Charizard. Cinccino naturally outspeeds Charizard, and can OHKO it with either Rock Blast or Tail Slap. Tauros and Swellow are another fine offensive checks for the same reason. Zebstrika and Electrode fall into the same category and can fry Charizard with its STAB Electric-type moves. Floatzel will also always outspeed Charizard, and can take it out with its STAB Water-type moves. Simipour's 101 base Speed allows it to outspeed Charizard and OHKO it with either Surf or Hydro Pump. Another option is to use Chlorophyll Pokemon such as Exeggutor and Victreebel, as they can abuse the sun that normally accompanies Charizard and KO it with their Psychic and Sludge Bomb respectively.

Seeing as Charizard is faster than a good portion of the NU metagame, you may have to resort to using Choice Scarf Pokemon in order to deal with it. Rotom-S is an extremely common user of Choice Scarf, and can force Charizard out by threatening it with Volt Switch. This means that Charizard will again be forced to lose 50% of its health upon re-entering the battlefield, and the Rotom-S player will have gained momentum. Another option is to use priority moves. One can prey upon Charizard's weakness to Aqua Jet with Pokemon such as Carracosta and Samurott. The former can come in on either Fire Blast or Air Slash, and the latter can play guessing games with the Charizard user, either by going for the kill with Aqua Jet or by setting up a Swords Dance to threaten the rest of the Charizard user's team. Sucker Punch users such as Absol or Skuntank can also KO Charizard without Substitute. Charizard is an extremely hard Pokemon to stifle defensively, but there are plenty of options to revenge kill it.

amcheck btw

marilli · Nov 4, 2012

Hi check taken

want more checks plz

His Eminence Lord Poppington II · Nov 9, 2012

Amarillo said:
Hi... not sure how this works, I wanted to re-reserve Charizard because I wrote it out over the break anyways.

So here goes nothing. Do I need my QC stamps again?

Note that my grammar is probably extremely sloppy here. If not, at least it's probably quite repetitive as my first drafts tend to be. My apologies, but I wanted it done as soon as possible.

edit: credits to Cherubi for most of the Other Options and Checks and Counters section.

[Overview]

Charizard stands for destruction, as it is one of the strongest Fire-types in NU, able to scorch anything that stands in its path. Solar Power, Sunny Day-boosted, STAB Fire Blast is able to 2HKO all but the sturdiest Pokemon in NU. Charizard sits on the faster side of the metagame, with 100 base Speed, and has great ~~all-around stats~~stats all round to pull off both its signature special set, and other niche physical sets. Roost and handy resistances to common attacking types, such as Fighting- and Grass-type attacks, make Charizard relatively bulky for its power. Unfortunately, its 4x Stealth Rock weakness severely holds it back, as Charizard will ~~easily die by switching into Stealth Rock three times. This is such~~die from switching three times into Stealth Rock alone; a critical flaw in a tier with very few viable Rapid Spinners. Still, Charizard's sheer power alone is a strong merit to ~~mitigate~~outweigh the costs of such weaknesses. Charizard is the fire-breathing dragon—what else can you ask for? A well-played Charizard will make all your seven-year-old wishes of becoming the Pokemon Champion closer to reality.

[SET]
name: Sunny Day
move 1: Sunny Day
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Roost
move 4: SolarBeam
item: Leftovers / Heat Rock
ability: Solar Power
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Sunny Day is Charizard's strongest set by far, mixing its power with versatility. Sunny Day triggers Solar Power, and ~~exponential~~greatly increases Charizard's sweeping capability. Fire Blast is a strong STAB, boosted by ~~sunny weather~~both sun and Solar Power. With very few prominent bulky Water-types in NU, Fire Blast alone has the potential to burn through entire teams. Even common Fire-type resists, such as Alomomola and Regirock, have relatively low Special Defense, ~~so resistance is futile. Roost counteracts~~and take massive damage from the resisted move. Roost helps with Charizard's crippling Stealth Rock weakness, in case you cannot spin away Stealth Rock, and gives it some reliable healing to nemitigate the residual damage from Solar Power. Roost is especially helpful against defensive teams that cannot hope to finish off Charizard in a single hit or two. Finally, SolarBeam hits two Fire-type resists, Rock- and Water-types, super effectively~~, and is a good coverage move to complement Fire Blast to hit anything that can stomach a single Fire Blast~~.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Maximum Speed and Special Attack is a no-brainer, and ~~allows maximum~~optimizes Charizard’s sweeping potential. The remaining 4 EVs go into Defense for an odd HP number, and a second switch-in to Stealth Rock at full health. Leftovers is a good item choice ~~for negating~~, as it mitigates the recoil from Solar Power. Standard sweeping items, such as Life Orb, mayight sound appealing, but Life Orb and Solar Power recoil can quickly add up, and the additional power is often ~~not~~ unnecessary. If anything, Flame Plate is often superior to Life Orb, thanks to no recoil.—especially as Fire Blast would be the primary move in most situations~~, anyways~~. Heat Rock, on the other hand, is a solid choice on a dedicated Sunny Day team. In case Charizard cannot finish the job, other fearsome sun sweepers, such as Exeggutor, Sawsbuck, or Victreebel, can easily clean up the opposing team with the additional Sunny Day turns. Charizard does not require an entire team built around Sunny Day, but Pokemon such as Volbeat and Regirock are often good candidates to set up Sunny Day if one chooses to run such a team.

 Charizard's strength comes from the fact that almost nothing can take its attacks consistently. Hence, Choice Scarf users are often used on offensive teams as soft checks to Charizard. If using this ~~Charizard~~set as a standalone sweeper, Piloswine is a good teammate to sponge the common Choice Scarf Electric-types attacks—most notable Volt Switch—that can easily force out Charizard after a kill. It can even force out Dragon-types, such as Altaria and Dragonair, which Charizard tends to have trouble with. Roost can keep Charizard alive even with Stealth Rock in play, but Charizard ~~would~~ very much appreciates Rapid Spin support in order to be the offensive juggernaut heit is, instead of using Roost~~ing~~ every other switch-in to keep itself alive. Shell Smash Torkoal is a good Rapid Spin user that benefits from sun, despite its own Stealth Rock weakness. As another Fire-type, Torkoal and Charizard share similar counters, and as such, they can weaken ~~each other's counters for a~~them to allow the other to sweep. Of course, their defensive synergy is subpar, so Exeggutor is a good choice for sponging the Water-, Ground-, and Rock-type (???????????) moves that threaten them both.

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Roost
move 4: Substitute / Focus Blast
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Blaze
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Charizard does not require sun to bring upon destruction on the enemy. Common defensive Pokemon, such as Amoonguss, give Charizard ample time to switch in and fire ~~around~~off attacks without the hassle of setting up. Fire Blast and Air Slash are the two obligatory STAB moves, hitting most threats for at least neutral damage, bar Rock-types. Roost is a crucial move to mitigate Stealth Rock ~~damage~~ and other passive damage. TIn the final slot ~~is a crucial change of pace. Substitute allows Charizar~~Substitute can be used to take advantage of all the switches itCharizard forces; ands a bonus, Substitute also avoids status and Sucker Punch. On the other hand, a coverage move will turn Charizard into an all-out sweeper with great speed and coverage. Focus Blast, despite its shaky accuracy, hits Rock-types, such as Regirock and Carracosta, along with special walls such as Lickilicky, a~~nd is a supreme option as the coverage move of choic~~ll for super effective damage.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Life Orb is for the increased power, and is an obvious choice to improve Charizard's sweeping potential. Solar Power, while legal, is not recommended. Dedicated Sunny Day teams will fare better with the first set anyways, especially given that Charizard's Fire Blast in sun is so powerful that any coverage move is a highly situational choice. With Substitute, Charizard can ~~even~~ use Life Orb ~~and~~recoil and repeated uses of Substitute to safely activate Blaze and deal crucial bonus damage in a pinch. Leftovers ~~is relatively~~might seem to be more viable alongside Substitute, but the loss of power is ~~definitel~~very noticeable. The EVs maximize Charizard's sweeping potential, and ~~such~~ensure that its HP is odd, allowing for two switches into Stealth Rock. Instead of Focus Blast, other coverage moves, such as Hidden Power Grass or Hidden Power Ice, can be ~~still viable for targe~~used for hitting Rock-types and Dragon-types, respectively, for super effective damage.

If Charizard chooses Substitute over a coverage move, it is entirely walled by Rock-types, such as Regirock and Carracosta. As a result, teammates such as Choice Specs Exeggutor or Choice Band Sawk are useful t~~eammates to OHKO practically any Rock-type they may encounter. Also, Substitute and Roost are reliable stalling tactic, and Toxic Spikes synergize extremely well for adding residual damage~~o OHKO almost any Rock-type Charizard might have trouble with. Substitute and Roost, when paired with Toxic Spikes, quickly accrue the residual damage on the opponent’s team needed for a proper Charizard sweep.; Garbodor is a great teammate for setting up Toxic Spikes. ~~Also, this set benefits the most from entry hazards because it packs significantly less power than the Sunny Day set at the cost of no setup~~Due to its relatively lower damage output, this set benefits the most from multiple layers of entry hazards. If Charizard chooses Focus Blast or Hidden Power Grass, it will be more vulnerable against status moves and revenge killers. ~~Therefore, Pokemon such as Piloswine are great~~Much like the previous set, Piloswine is a great choice to deal with Choice Scarf Electric-types. Calm Mind Musharna can deal with most Choice Scarf users with its obscene bulk, and has Heal Bell in ~~case Charizard selects a coverage move over Substitute~~the event that Charizard is crippled by status. Again, Shell Smash Torkaol is an exceptional Rapid Spin user that synergizes with Charizard offensively. Alternatively, one can simply prevent early Stealth Rock.; Life Orb Samurott and Choice Band Rampardos are great for ~~early pressure, and shuts~~shutting down Stealth Rock from predictable leads, such as Carracosta or Golem.

[SET]
name: Choice
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Focus Blast / SolarBeam
move 4: Hidden Power Grass / Hidden Power Ice
item: Choice Specs / Choice Scarf
ability: Solar Power / Blaze
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Does Charizard not deliver enough pure destruction? Choice Specs Charizard crushes villages by simply spamming STAB Fire Blast through the opposing team. Unless the opposing team carries a Fire-type immunity, such as Flareon, everything will be instantly evaporated with no prediction required. Even the most specially defensive of Pokemon, such as Lickilicky, cannot withstand its sheer power. Behold the behemoth that is Charizard.

<ul class="damage_calculation">
<li>Fire Blast in Sun vs. 252/252+ Lickilicky 102.12% - 120.52%</li>
</ul>

The other moves are filler. LThe lack of sun seriously limits Charizard's potential, and it is only then coverage moves come in ~~relatively~~ handy. Air Slash is mainly ~~hits~~used to hit Fire-type resists and immunes such as, Emboar, Flareon, and Cloud Nine Altaria ~~relatively hard~~. A choice of Focus Blast or Solarbeam is for hitting Rock-type Pokemon, such as Carracosta and Regirock, that resist Charizard's STAB. Finally, a choice of Hidden Power rounds off the set ~~with additional coverage.~~; Hidden Power Ice only hits Altaria, while Hidden Power Grass hits the aforementioned Rock-types reliably outside of sun.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Maximum Speed and Special Attack asensures that Charizard hits hard and fast~~, while the 4 additional~~. The 4 remaining EVs are placed in Defense to give an odd HP anvalue, giving Charizard the ability to switch into an extra round of Stealth Rock damage. Given that all its coverage options are rather situational, Flamethrower can take place of any of them, in case you ~~may need an accurate STAB for an assured victory~~can’t afford to risk a miss with Fire Blast. Choice Specs is for guaranteed carnage, but Choice Scarf lets Charizard outspeed ~~essentially~~ everything relevant to the metagame. Choice Specs is the primary option because sun teams already have insanely fast threats in Chlorophyll users; moreover, Sunny Day teams appreciate the niche of wallbreaking that Choice Specs Charizard fills.

As repeated throughout the analysis, Rapid Spin users are great for keeping Charizard ~~sustained~~alive and healthy. Because of the recoil damage of Solar Power, Charizard will be only able to switch in ~~once~~ to Stealth Rock once. However, ~~Rapid S~~a spinner is not a complete necessity.; Choice Specs Charizard can wreak havoc with a single switch-in against slower teams, and even the weaker Choice Scarf Charizard can sweep a frail team off its feet. This is especially so when not running Sunny Day, as Samurott and Ludicolo, common alternative measures to prevent an early setting of Stealth Rock, does not synergize well with ~~Sunny Day~~sun. Still, Shell Smash Torkoal is a great Charizard partner, being a viable team player that not only benefits from sun, but also spins away hazards. More importantly, Charizard cannot set up its own sun with a Choice set. As a result, supporters, such as Volbeat and Regirock, can easily set up Sunny Day and give Charizard a free switch-in (how). Of course, a dedicated Sunny Day team will require Chlorophyll sweepers ~~to finish off weakened opponents. Chlorophyll Exeggutor or Sawsbuck are great teammates for this reason~~, such as Exeggutor or Sawsbuck, to finish off weakened opponents.

[SET]
name: Physical
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Acrobatics
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Flare Blitz
item: Flying Gem
ability: Blaze
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Charizard can also use its lower offensive stat to great effect~~iveness~~. Swords Dance iprovides a much-needed boost to Charizard's Attack, while Acrobatics ~~provide~~is an extremely strong and reliable STAB. With Flying Gem and Swords Dance, Acrobatics can destroy specially defensive Pokemon, such as Altaria, that commonly switch into special Charizard sets with little problem otherwise. Earthquake provides near-perfect neutral coverage, hitting Rock-types such as Regirock, Probopass, and Bastiodon. Finally, Flare Blitz is a supplementary STAB for hitting Eelektross and Rotom-S. Given its deadly recoil and lackluster coverage, Flare Blitz will be highly situational, but will help in case there is no chance to boost.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

 Maximum Speed and Attack investment complements Charizards role as a physical sweeper, outspeeding everything it possibly can without a Choice Scarf. Flying Gem is for a strong and reliable Acrobatics~~, while maximum Speed and Attack complements its role as a physical sweeper~~—and an even more powerful first time use of the move. Flame Charge is a situational move over Flare Blitz, as while the additional speed will deny revenge killing attempts~~. However~~, it is excruciatingly weak, and ~~will~~ requires good prediction to be effective. Due to Acrobatics easily wrecksing common special Charizard c~~ounters~~hecks, such as Mantine and Altaria~~. As a result~~, another special Fire-type is a great ~~way to exploit the hole on the opposing team~~teammate, should such checks be lured in. Shell Smash Torkoal is a great spinner for keeping Stealth Rock off the field, while potentially capitalizing on the ~~missing opposing special wall. Once~~Pokemon Charizard lures and KOes. However, if the opponent sees Charizard usesing Swords Dance, ~~though,~~ the special wall is unlikely to switch, so catching Altaria on the switch with the initial Flying Gem-boosted Acrobatics~~, and boosting on the switch~~ can be a very viable tactic. Unlike the special sets, which use SolarBeam to wreck Rock-types, Earthquake is often not strong enough even after the Swords Dance boost~~. This requires~~; as such, some previous damage on Rock-types such as Regirock~~. Teammates such as Golurk can easily~~ is necessary if Charizard is to KO them at +2. Golurk is a good teammate to switch into Rock-types and ~~keep the~~maintain offensive pressure. Once again, preventing early Stealth Rock with a Water-type, such as Samurott ~~and~~or Ludicolo, is extremely effective~~, as~~. Without Stealth Rock, Charizard ~~will~~is no longer be forced to attempt a sweep on its first switch. ~~They also pu~~Water-types also exert offensive pressure on the Rock-type counters~~, and greatly amplify~~ to Charizard, improving the odds for a successful Charizard's sweep~~ing capabilities~~.

[Other Options]

Perhaps the most interesting other option that Charizard has is ~~the~~its classic Belly Drum set. It requires massive support to use effectively, but the payoff can be enormous, especially now that Salac Berry has been released. However, a metagame filled with priority moves, Stealth Rock, and hard hitters means that BellyZard can no longer function as effectively as it once used to. Dragon Dance is also a viable option, but has significantly harder time sweeping~~, and~~ due to its ~~similarly hard to set up~~lack of power. Also, these two moves are illegal with Charizard's best physical STAB, Acrobatics.

Flamethrower can be used over Fire Blast on any of the specially oriented sets, as the perfect accuracy can save you. However, Fire Blast deals more damage ~~in the long run~~, even when factoring in the miss chance, and Charizard ~~like~~prefers to hit as hard as possible. Overheat is another special STAB move~~. U~~; unfortunately, the hit-and-run strategy associated with Overheat clashes horribly with Charizard as a Pokemon: it cannot afford to be switching in and out due to its massive Stealth Rock weakness. Charizard should try and stay in for as long as possible, and attempt a continuous sweep under the sun with Fire Blast’s 4x Stealth Rock weakness. The last viable STAB move that Charizard can use is Flame Charge, as the ability to outspeed Choice Scarf Pokemon after a boost is very much appreciated. However, Charizard has trouble sparing a moveslot for it, as it is too weak to ~~for a~~be its main STAB move.

Charizard has a wide movepool, both special and physical, giving it some added flexibility to its moveset. Charizard has the option of going mixed with Earthquake to dispose of Flareon, but this requires splitting EVs for a rather rare Pokemon, and is generally not worth it. Focus Punch can be used to d~~ispose of~~o heavy damage to Lickilicky and Audino, but without Substitute, requires perfect prediction to pull it off efficiently. Quick Attack is mentioned only because it should never be used; Charizard is fast enough that it should never have to rely on a priority move, especially one as weak as Quick Attack. On the special side, Charizard can use Dragon Pulse, as it has perfect coverage alongside its Fire-type STAB moves. However, Dragon Pulse has little super effective coverage, and is not very viable for this very reason. Dragon Pulse does see merit against Altaria and Dragonair, otherwise great c~~ounter~~hecks to special Charizard. Finally, Charizard can use other Hidden Power types, such as Ice or Electric, but is generally not worth it.

[Checks and Counters]

It should be clear that the most efficient way of countering Charizard is by keeping Stealth Rock up. Every time Charizard switches in it will lose half of its HP, which means that any decently powered STAB move should be able to bring Charizard down. It will often have to Roost as soon as it comes in when Stealth Rock is up, lest it risk being KOed immediately; use this turn to your advantage to hit it hard, or to bring in something that can outspeed and OHKO Charizard.

Rock-types in general are good switch-ins to Charizard. They resist both of ~~Charizard~~its STABs and can always OHKO with their own,; furthermore, most pack enough Defense to be able to shrug off boosted Earthquake's from the physical set. Regirock can take Charizard's STAB moves with ease, especially with a specially defensive spread, and will always OHKO Charizard with ~~its STAB moves. However, they~~Rock Slide or Stone Edge. However, Rock-types take heavy damage from Hidden Power Grass and Focus Blast. Flareon is also an extremely effective counter. An immunity to Charizard's incredibly powerful Fire-type STAB moves, and excellent Special Defense, means that Charizard will be unable to break through the hellcat. Flareon can either whittle Charizard down with Toxic, or abuse Charizard's own Sun to hit it with its own Fire-type moves. ~~The m~~Mono-attacker Dragonair can cheerfully sponge Charizard's attacks thanks to its high Special Defense, courtesy of Eviolite, and its resistances to Fire- and Grass-type moves. It can set up multiple Dragon Dances, Rest off the damage it takes, and eventually take Charizard out with Outrage. Mantine has massive Special Defense, a resistance to Fire, and is neutral to Grass-type attacks, courtesy of its Flying-typing. It can then proceed to wash Charizard away with its STAB Water-type moves. Altaria is in the same boat:, it resists all of itCharizard’s special moves, bar the weak Air Slash and the highly situational Hidden Power Ice. Grumpig isn't weak to any of Charizard's commonly used moves, and gains a pseudo-resistance to Fire thanks to its ability, Thick Fat. Its excellent Special Defense allows it to shrug off Charizard's attacks. Of course, a boosted Acrobatics will easily take out all of these specially defensive tanks. Alomomola gets a special mention as being a perfect counter to the physical set, but will promptly fall to the specially based sets.

However, many of the aforementioned Pokemon are rarely used, as the NU tier is predominantly physically based. For this reason, special walls are an uncommon sight. Therefore, should you lack a counter to Charizard, the best way to prevent it from sweeping you is to carry at least one check to it in your team. By simply forcing out Charizard, it takes another 50% ~~damage~~of its HP thanks to Stealth Rock alone——this means that revenge killers are extremely efficient tools to check Charizard. Cinccino naturally outspeeds Charizard, and can OHKO it with either Rock Blast or Tail Slap. Tauros and Swellow are anbother fine offensive checks for the same reason. Zebstrika and Electrode fall into the same category and can fry Charizard with ~~its~~their STAB Electric-type moves. Floatzel will also always outspeed Charizard, and can take it out with its STAB Water-type moves. Simpour's 101 base Speed allows it to outspeed Charizard and OHKO it with either Surf or Hydro Pump. Another option is to use Chlorophyll Pokemon, such as Exeggutor and Victreebel, as they can abuse the Sun that normally accompanies Charizard, and KO it with ~~their~~STAB Psychic and Sludge Bomb, respectively.

Seeing as Charizard is faster than a good portion of the NU metagame, you mayight have to resort to using Choice Scarf Pokemon in order to deal with it. Rotom-S is an extremely common user of Choice Scarf, and can force Charizard out by threatening it with Volt Switch. This means that Charizard will again be forced to lose 50% of its health, should Stealth Rock be present, upon re-entering the battlefield, and the Rotom-S player will have gained momentum—provided that an Electric-type immunity was not switched in, of course. Another option is to use priority moves. One can prey upon Charizard's weakness to Aqua Jet with Pokemon such as Carracosta and Samurott. The former can come in on either Fire Blast or Air Slash, and the latter can play guessing games with the Charizard user, either by going for the kill with Aqua Jet or by setting up a Swords Dance to threaten the rest of the Charizard user's team. Sucker Punch users, such as Absol or Skuntank, can also KO Charizard without Substitute. Charizard is an extremely hard Pokemon to stifle defensively, but there are plenty of options to revenge kill it.

Amarillo said:
Hi... not sure how this works, I wanted to re-reserve Charizard because I wrote it out over the break anyways.

So here goes nothing. Do I need my QC stamps again?

Note that my grammar is probably extremely sloppy here. If not, at least it's probably quite repetitive as my first drafts tend to be. My apologies, but I wanted it done as soon as possible.

edit: credits to Cherubi for most of the Other Options and Checks and Counters section.

[Overview]

Charizard stands for destruction, as it is one of the strongest Fire-types in NU, able to scorch anything that stands in its path. Solar Power, Sunny Day-boosted, STAB Fire Blast is able to 2HKO all but the sturdiest Pokemon in NU. Charizard sits on the faster side of the metagame, with 100 base Speed, and has great stats all round to pull off both its signature special set, and other niche physical sets. Roost and handy resistances to common attacking types, such as Fighting- and Grass-type attacks, make Charizard relatively bulky for its power. Unfortunately, its 4x Stealth Rock weakness severely holds it back, as Charizard will die from switching three times into Stealth Rock alone; a critical flaw in a tier with very few viable Rapid Spinners. Still, Charizard's sheer power alone is a strong merit to outweigh the costs of such weaknesses. Charizard is the fire-breathing dragon—what else can you ask for? A well-played Charizard will make all your seven-year-old wishes of becoming the Pokemon Champion closer to reality.

[SET]
name: Sunny Day
move 1: Sunny Day
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Roost
move 4: SolarBeam
item: Leftovers / Heat Rock
ability: Solar Power
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Sunny Day is Charizard's strongest set by far, mixing its power with versatility. Sunny Day triggers Solar Power, and greatly increases Charizard's sweeping capability. Fire Blast is a strong STAB, boosted by both sun and Solar Power. With very few prominent bulky Water-types in NU, Fire Blast alone has the potential to burn through entire teams. Even common Fire-type resists, such as Alomomola and Regirock, have relatively low Special Defense, and take massive damage from the resisted move. Roost helps with Charizard's crippling Stealth Rock weakness, in case you cannot spin away Stealth Rock, and gives it some reliable healing to mitigate the residual damage from Solar Power. Roost is especially helpful against defensive teams that cannot hope to finish off Charizard in a single hit or two. Finally, SolarBeam hits two Fire-type resists, Rock- and Water-types, super effectively.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Maximum Speed and Special Attack is a no-brainer, and optimizes Charizard’s sweeping potential. The remaining 4 EVs go into Defense for an odd HP number, and a second switch-in to Stealth Rock at full health. Leftovers is a good item choice, as it mitigates the recoil from Solar Power. Standard sweeping items, such as Life Orb, might sound appealing, but Life Orb and Solar Power recoil can quickly add up, and the additional power is often unnecessary. If anything, Flame Plate is often superior to Life Orb, thanks to no recoil—especially as Fire Blast would be the primary move in most situations. Heat Rock, on the other hand, is a solid choice on a dedicated Sunny Day team. In case Charizard cannot finish the job, other fearsome sun sweepers, such as Exeggutor, Sawsbuck, or Victreebel, can easily clean up the opposing team with the additional Sunny Day turns. Charizard does not require an entire team built around Sunny Day, but Pokemon such as Volbeat and Regirock are often good candidates to set up Sunny Day if one chooses to run such a team.

 Charizard's strength comes from the fact that almost nothing can take its attacks consistently. Hence, Choice Scarf users are often used on offensive teams as soft checks to Charizard. If using this set as a standalone sweeper, Piloswine is a good teammate to sponge the common Choice Scarf Electric-type attacks—most notable Volt Switch—that can easily force out Charizard after a kill. It can even force out Dragon-types, such as Altaria and Dragonair, which Charizard tends to have trouble with. Roost can keep Charizard alive even with Stealth Rock in play, but Charizard very much appreciates Rapid Spin support in order to be the offensive juggernaut it is, instead of using Roost every other switch-in to keep itself alive. Shell Smash Torkoal is a good Rapid Spin user that benefits from sun, despite its own Stealth Rock weakness. As another Fire-type, Torkoal and Charizard share similar counters, and as such, they can weaken them to allow the other to sweep. Of course, their defensive synergy is subpar, so Exeggutor is a good choice for sponging the Water-, Ground-, and Rock-type (???????????) moves that threaten them both.

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Roost
move 4: Substitute / Focus Blast
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Blaze
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Charizard does not require sun to bring upon destruction on the enemy. Common defensive Pokemon, such as Amoonguss, give Charizard ample time to switch in and fire off attacks without the hassle of setting up. Fire Blast and Air Slash are the two obligatory STAB moves, hitting most threats for at least neutral damage, bar Rock-types. Roost is a crucial move to mitigate Stealth Rock and other passive damage. In the final slot Substitute can be used to take advantage of all the switches Charizard forces; as a bonus, Substitute also avoids status and Sucker Punch. On the other hand, a coverage move will turn Charizard into an all-out sweeper with great speed and coverage. Focus Blast, despite its shaky accuracy, hits Rock-types, such as Regirock and Carracosta, along with special walls such as Lickilicky, all for super effective damage.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Life Orb is for the increased power, and is an obvious choice to improve Charizard's sweeping potential. Solar Power, while legal, is not recommended. Dedicated Sunny Day teams will fare better with the first set anyways, especially given that Charizard's Fire Blast in sun is so powerful that any coverage move is a highly situational choice. With Substitute, Charizard can use Life Orb recoil and repeated uses of Substitute to safely activate Blaze and deal crucial bonus damage in a pinch. Leftovers might seem to be more viable alongside Substitute, but the loss of power is very noticeable. The EVs maximize Charizard's sweeping potential, and ensure that its HP is odd, allowing for two switches into Stealth Rock. Instead of Focus Blast, other coverage moves, such as Hidden Power Grass or Hidden Power Ice, can be used for hitting Rock-types and Dragon-types, respectively, for super effective damage.

If Charizard chooses Substitute over a coverage move, it is entirely walled by Rock-types, such as Regirock and Carracosta. As a result, teammates such as Choice Specs Exeggutor or Choice Band Sawk are useful to OHKO almost any Rock-type Charizard might have trouble with. Substitute and Roost, when paired with Toxic Spikes, quickly accrue the residual damage on the opponent’s team needed for a proper Charizard sweep; Garbodor is a great teammate for setting up Toxic Spikes. Due to its relatively lower damage output, this set benefits the most from multiple layers of entry hazards. If Charizard chooses Focus Blast or Hidden Power Grass, it will be more vulnerable against status moves and revenge killers. Much like the previous set, Piloswine is a great choice to deal with Choice Scarf Electric-types. Calm Mind Musharna can deal with most Choice Scarf users with its obscene bulk, and has Heal Bell in the event that Charizard is crippled by status. Again, Shell Smash Torkaol is an exceptional Rapid Spin user that synergizes with Charizard offensively. Alternatively, one can simply prevent early Stealth Rock; Life Orb Samurott and Choice Band Rampardos are great for shutting down Stealth Rock from predictable leads, such as Carracosta or Golem.

[SET]
name: Choice
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Focus Blast / SolarBeam
move 4: Hidden Power Grass / Hidden Power Ice
item: Choice Specs / Choice Scarf
ability: Solar Power / Blaze
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Does Charizard not deliver enough pure destruction? Choice Specs Charizard crushes villages by simply spamming STAB Fire Blast through the opposing team. Unless the opposing team carries a Fire-type immunity, such as Flareon, everything will be instantly evaporated with no prediction required. Even the most specially defensive of Pokemon, such as Lickilicky, cannot withstand its sheer power. Behold the behemoth that is Charizard.

<ul class="damage_calculation">
<li>Fire Blast in Sun vs. 252/252+ Lickilicky 102.12% - 120.52%</li>
</ul>

The other moves are filler. The lack of sun seriously limits Charizard's potential, and it is only then coverage moves come in handy. Air Slash is mainly used to hit Fire-type resists and immunes such as, Emboar, Flareon, and Cloud Nine Altaria. A choice of Focus Blast or Solarbeam is for hitting Rock-type Pokemon, such as Carracosta and Regirock, that resist Charizard's STAB. Finally, a choice of Hidden Power rounds off the set; Hidden Power Ice only hits Altaria, while Hidden Power Grass hits the aforementioned Rock-types reliably outside of sun.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Maximum Speed and Special Attack ensures that Charizard hits hard and fast. The 4 remaining EVs are placed in Defense to give an odd HP value, giving Charizard the ability to switch into an extra round of Stealth Rock damage. Given that all its coverage options are rather situational, Flamethrower can take place of any of them, in case you can’t afford to risk a miss with Fire Blast. Choice Specs is for guaranteed carnage, but Choice Scarf lets Charizard outspeed everything relevant to the metagame. Choice Specs is the primary option because sun teams already have insanely fast threats in Chlorophyll users; moreover, Sunny Day teams appreciate the niche of wallbreaking that Choice Specs Charizard fills.

As repeated throughout the analysis, Rapid Spin users are great for keeping Charizard alive and healthy. Because of the recoil damage of Solar Power, Charizard will be only able to switch into Stealth Rock once. However, a spinner is not a complete necessity; Choice Specs Charizard can wreak havoc with a single switch-in against slower teams, and even the weaker Choice Scarf Charizard can sweep a frail team off its feet. This is especially so when not running Sunny Day, as Samurott and Ludicolo, common alternative measures to prevent an early setting of Stealth Rock, do not synergize well with sun. Still, Shell Smash Torkoal is a great Charizard partner, being a viable team player that not only benefits from sun, but also spins away hazards. More importantly, Charizard cannot set up its own sun with a Choice set. As a result, supporters, such as Volbeat and Regirock, can easily set up Sunny Day and give Charizard a free switch-in (how). Of course, a dedicated Sunny Day team will require Chlorophyll sweepers, such as Exeggutor or Sawsbuck, to finish off weakened opponents.

[SET]
name: Physical
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Acrobatics
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Flare Blitz
item: Flying Gem
ability: Blaze
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Charizard can also use its lower offensive stat to great effect. Swords Dance provides a much-needed boost to Charizard's Attack, while Acrobatics is an extremely strong and reliable STAB. With Flying Gem and Swords Dance, Acrobatics can destroy specially defensive Pokemon, such as Altaria, that commonly switch into special Charizard sets with little problem otherwise. Earthquake provides near-perfect neutral coverage, hitting Rock-types such as Regirock, Probopass, and Bastiodon. Finally, Flare Blitz is a supplementary STAB for hitting Eelektross and Rotom-S. Given its deadly recoil and lackluster coverage, Flare Blitz will be highly situational, but will help in case there is no chance to boost.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

 Maximum Speed and Attack investment complements Charizards role as a physical sweeper, outspeeding everything it possibly can without a Choice Scarf. Flying Gem is for a strong and reliable Acrobatics—and an even more powerful first time use of the move. Flame Charge is a situational move over Flare Blitz, as while the additional speed will deny revenge killing attempts, it is excruciatingly weak, and requires good prediction to be effective. Due to Acrobatics easily wrecking common special Charizard checks, such as Mantine and Altaria, another special Fire-type is a great teammate, should such checks be lured in. Shell Smash Torkoal is a great spinner for keeping Stealth Rock off the field, while potentially capitalizing on the Pokemon Charizard lures and KOes. However, if the opponent sees Charizard using Swords Dance, the special wall is unlikely to switch, so catching Altaria on the switch with the initial Flying Gem-boosted Acrobatics can be a very viable tactic. Unlike the special sets, which use SolarBeam to wreck Rock-types, Earthquake is often not strong enough even after the Swords Dance boost; as such, some previous damage on Rock-types such as Regirock is necessary if Charizard is to KO them at +2. Golurk is a good teammate to switch into Rock-types and maintain offensive pressure. Once again, preventing early Stealth Rock with a Water-type, such as Samurott or Ludicolo, is extremely effective. Without Stealth Rock, Charizard is no longer forced to attempt a sweep on its first switch. Water-types also exert offensive pressure on the Rock-type counters to Charizard, improving the odds for a successful Charizard sweep.

[Other Options]

Perhaps the most interesting other option that Charizard has is its classic Belly Drum set. It requires massive support to use effectively, but the payoff can be enormous, especially now that Salac Berry has been released. However, a metagame filled with priority moves, Stealth Rock, and hard hitters means that BellyZard can no longer function as effectively as it once used to. Dragon Dance is also a viable option, but has significantly harder time sweeping due to its lack of power. Also, these two moves are illegal with Charizard's best physical STAB, Acrobatics.

Flamethrower can be used over Fire Blast on any of the specially oriented sets, as the perfect accuracy can save you. However, Fire Blast deals more damage, even when factoring in the miss chance, and Charizard prefers to hit as hard as possible. Overheat is another special STAB move; unfortunately, the hit-and-run strategy associated with Overheat clashes horribly with Charizard’s 4x Stealth Rock weakness. The last viable STAB move that Charizard can use is Flame Charge, as the ability to outspeed Choice Scarf Pokemon after a boost is very much appreciated. However, Charizard has trouble sparing a moveslot for it, as it is too weak to be its main STAB move.

Charizard has a wide movepool, both special and physical, giving it some added flexibility to its moveset. Charizard has the option of going mixed with Earthquake to dispose of Flareon, but this requires splitting EVs for a rather rare Pokemon, and is generally not worth it. Focus Punch can be used to do heavy damage to Lickilicky and Audino, but without Substitute, requires perfect prediction to pull it off efficiently. Quick Attack is mentioned only because it should never be used; Charizard is fast enough that it should never have to rely on a priority move, especially one as weak as Quick Attack. On the special side, Charizard can use Dragon Pulse, as it has perfect coverage alongside its Fire-type STAB moves. However, Dragon Pulse has little super effective coverage, and is not very viable for this very reason. Dragon Pulse does see merit against Altaria and Dragonair, otherwise great checks to special Charizard. Finally, Charizard can use other Hidden Power types, such as Ice or Electric, but is generally not worth it.

[Checks and Counters]

It should be clear that the most efficient way of countering Charizard is by keeping Stealth Rock up. Every time Charizard switches in it will lose half of its HP, which means that any decently powered STAB move should be able to bring Charizard down. It will often have to Roost as soon as it comes in when Stealth Rock is up, lest it risk being KOed immediately; use this turn to your advantage to hit it hard, or to bring in something that can outspeed and OHKO Charizard.

Rock-types in general are good switch-ins to Charizard. They resist both of its STABs and can always OHKO with their own; furthermore, most pack enough Defense to be able to shrug off boosted Earthquake's from the physical set. Regirock can take Charizard's STAB moves with ease, especially with a specially defensive spread, and will always OHKO Charizard with Rock Slide or Stone Edge. However, Rock-types take heavy damage from Hidden Power Grass and Focus Blast. Flareon is also an extremely effective counter. An immunity to Charizard's incredibly powerful Fire-type STAB moves, and excellent Special Defense, means that Charizard will be unable to break through the hellcat. Flareon can either whittle Charizard down with Toxic, or abuse Charizard's own Sun to hit it with its own Fire-type moves. Mono-attacker Dragonair can cheerfully sponge Charizard's attacks thanks to its high Special Defense, courtesy of Eviolite, and its resistances to Fire- and Grass-type moves. It can set up multiple Dragon Dances, Rest off the damage it takes, and eventually take Charizard out with Outrage. Mantine has massive Special Defense, a resistance to Fire, and is neutral to Grass-type attacks, courtesy of its Flying typing. It can then proceed to wash Charizard away with its STAB Water-type moves. Altaria is in the same boat, it resists all of Charizard’s special moves, bar the weak Air Slash and the highly situational Hidden Power Ice. Grumpig isn't weak to any of Charizard's commonly used moves, and gains a pseudo-resistance to Fire thanks to its ability, Thick Fat. Its excellent Special Defense allows it to shrug off Charizard's attacks. Of course, a boosted Acrobatics will easily take out all of these specially defensive tanks. Alomomola gets a special mention as being a perfect counter to the physical set, but will promptly fall to the specially based sets.

However, many of the aforementioned Pokemon are rarely used, as the NU tier is predominantly physically based. For this reason, special walls are an uncommon sight. Therefore, should you lack a counter to Charizard, the best way to prevent it from sweeping you is to carry at least one check to it in your team. By simply forcing out Charizard, it takes another 50% of its HP thanks to Stealth Rock alone—this means that revenge killers are extremely efficient tools to check Charizard. Cinccino naturally outspeeds Charizard, and can OHKO it with either Rock Blast or Tail Slap. Tauros and Swellow are both fine offensive checks for the same reason. Zebstrika and Electrode fall into the same category and can fry Charizard with their STAB Electric-type moves. Floatzel will also always outspeed Charizard, and can take it out with its STAB Water-type moves. Simpour's 101 base Speed allows it to outspeed Charizard and OHKO it with either Surf or Hydro Pump. Another option is to use Chlorophyll Pokemon, such as Exeggutor and Victreebel, as they can abuse the Sun that normally accompanies Charizard, and KO it with STAB Psychic and Sludge Bomb, respectively.

Seeing as Charizard is faster than a good portion of the NU metagame, you might have to resort to using Choice Scarf Pokemon in order to deal with it. Rotom-S is an extremely common user of Choice Scarf, and can force Charizard out by threatening it with Volt Switch. This means that Charizard will again be forced to lose 50% of its health, should Stealth Rock be present, upon re-entering the battlefield, and the Rotom-S player will have gained momentum—provided that an Electric-type immunity was not switched in, of course. Another option is to use priority moves. One can prey upon Charizard's weakness to Aqua Jet with Pokemon such as Carracosta and Samurott. The former can come in on either Fire Blast or Air Slash, and the latter can play guessing games with the Charizard user, either by going for the kill with Aqua Jet or by setting up a Swords Dance to threaten the rest of the Charizard user's team. Sucker Punch users, such as Absol or Skuntank, can also KO Charizard without Substitute. Charizard is an extremely hard Pokemon to stifle defensively, but there are plenty of options to revenge kill it.

amcheck

marilli · Nov 10, 2012

Implemented

Can I get checks checks checks

Redew · Nov 10, 2012

Stamping Poppy's check

[gp]1/2[/gp]

Alfalfa · Nov 18, 2012

Set 1: Put Air Slash as an over Roost, so you can hit things that resist both Fire Blast and Solarbeam, such as Lampent and Altaria.

Physical set: In Additional comments, mention Fire Punch as a much weaker, but recoil-free alternative to Flare Blitz.

jake · Nov 18, 2012

A dude said:
Set 1: Put Air Slash as an over Roost, so you can hit things that resist both Fire Blast and Solarbeam, such as Lampent and Altaria.

Physical set: In Additional comments, mention Fire Punch as a much weaker, but recoil-free alternative to Flare Blitz.

252 SpA Solar Power Charizard Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Altaria in sun: 186-220 (63.91 - 75.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

specially defensive altaria obviously walls that but air slash isn't going to help beat that any more than fire blast already does. lampent is incredibly rare and it's not worth slashing an otherwise mediocre move for it. it would be easier to include teammates that clear out these two relatively rare checks rather than give up a move that's central to the effectiveness of the set to do that

flare blitz is going to be rarely used on the sd set (note that this is exactly how it was described on the analysis) and when it is used, the extra power that it provides is necessary to achieve koes on stuff like eelektross. there is no legitimate reason to be using fire punch on that set so it does not need to be mentioned

melvni · Nov 23, 2012

GP check. Charizard has been sitting around for much too long. Great job on writing this! Let's finally get it done.
Additions in Blue
Subtractions in Red
Comments in Purple

[Overview]

Charizard stands for destruction, as it is one of the strongest Fire-types in NU, able to scorch anything that stands in its path. Solar Power, Sunny Day-boosted, STAB Fire Blast is able to 2HKO all but the sturdiest Pokemon in NU. Charizard sits on the faster side of the metagame, with 100 base Speed, and has great stats all round to pull off both its signature special set, (remove comma) and other niche physical sets. Roost and handy resistances to common attacking types, such as Fighting- and Grass-type attacks, make Charizard relatively bulky for its power. Unfortunately, its 4x Stealth Rock weakness severely holds it back, as Charizard will die from switching three times into Stealth Rock alone; (change to comma) a critical flaw in a tier with very few viable Rapid Spinners. Still, Charizard's sheer power alone is a strong merit often/usually enough to outweigh the costs of such weaknesses. Charizard is the fire-breathing dragon—what else can you ask for? A well-played Charizard will make all your seven-year-old wishes of becoming the Pokemon Champion closer to reality.

[SET]
name: Sunny Day
move 1: Sunny Day
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Roost
move 4: SolarBeam
item: Leftovers / Heat Rock
ability: Solar Power
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Sunny Day is Charizard's strongest set by far, mixing its power with versatility. Sunny Day triggers Solar Power, (remove comma) and greatly increases Charizard's sweeping capability. Fire Blast is a strong STAB, boosted by both sun and Solar Power. With very few prominent bulky Water-types in NU, Fire Blast alone has the potential to burn through entire teams. Even This is all the more true as many common Fire-type resists, such as Alomomola and Regirock, have relatively low Special Defense, (remove comma) and take massive damage even from the resisted move. Roost helps with Charizard's crippling Stealth Rock weakness, in case you cannot spin away Stealth Rock, and gives it some reliable healing to mitigate the residual damage from Solar Power. Roost is especially helpful against defensive teams that cannot hope to finish off Charizard in a single hit or two. Finally, SolarBeam hits two Fire-type resists, Rock- and Water-types, super effectively.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Maximum Speed and Special Attack is a no-brainer, and optimizes Charizard’s sweeping potential. (I know you're just trying to be thorough, but there's no need to explain what 252/252 EVs are for) The remaining set's last 4 EVs go into Defense for an odd HP number, (remove comma) and a second switch-in to Stealth Rock at full health. (feel free to change this sentence however you want if you think that my removal of the first sentence makes it awkward; my recommended change was just my best attempt at trying to avoid that) Leftovers is a good item choice, as it mitigates the recoil from Solar Power. Standard sweeping items, such as Life Orb, might sound appealing, but Life Orb and Solar Power recoil can quickly add up, and the additional power is often unnecessary. If anything, Flame Plate is often superior to Life Orb, thanks to no its lack of recoil—especially as Fire Blast would be the primary move in most situations. Heat Rock, on the other hand, is a solid choice on a dedicated Sunny Day team. In case Charizard cannot finish the job, other fearsome sun sweepers, such as Exeggutor, Sawsbuck, or and Victreebel, can easily clean up the opposing team with the additional Sunny Day turns. Charizard does not require an entire team built around Sunny Day, but Pokemon such as Volbeat and Regirock are often good candidates to set up Sunny Day if one chooses to run such a team.

 Charizard's strength comes from the fact that almost nothing can take its attacks consistently. Hence, Choice Scarf users are often used on offensive teams as soft checks to Charizard. If using this set as a standalone sweeper, Piloswine is a good teammate to sponge the common Choice Scarf Electric-type attacks—most notable notably Volt Switch—that can easily force out Charizard after a kill. It can even force out Dragon-types, such as Altaria and Dragonair, which Charizard tends to have trouble with. Roost can keep Charizard alive even with Stealth Rock in play, but Charizard very much appreciates Rapid Spin support in order to be the offensive juggernaut it is, instead of using Roost every other switch-in to keep itself alive. Shell Smash Torkoal is a good Rapid Spin user that benefits from sun, despite its own Stealth Rock weakness. As another Fire-type, Torkoal and Charizard share similar counters, and as such, they one can weaken them to allow the other to sweep. Of course, their defensive synergy is subpar, so Exeggutor is a good choice for sponging the Water- and Ground-type moves, and forcing out Rock-type Pokemon that threaten them both.

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Roost
move 4: Substitute / Focus Blast
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Blaze
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Charizard does not require sun to bring upon destruction on the enemy. Common defensive Pokemon, such as Amoonguss, give Charizard ample time to switch in and fire off attacks without the hassle of setting up. Fire Blast and Air Slash are the two obligatory STAB moves, hitting most threats for at least neutral damage, bar Rock-types. Roost is a crucial move to mitigate Stealth Rock and other passive damage. In the final slot (add comma) Substitute can be used to take advantage of all the switches Charizard forces; as a bonus, Substitute also avoids allows/helps Charizard to avoid/avoid (depending on whether you choose allows or helps) status and Sucker Punch. On the other hand, a coverage move will turn Charizard into an all-out sweeper with great speed Speed and coverage. Focus Blast, despite its shaky accuracy, hits Rock-types, such as Regirock and Carracosta, along with special walls such as Lickilicky, all for super effective damage.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Life Orb is for the increased power, and is an obvious choice to improve Charizard's sweeping potential. Solar Power, while legal, is not recommended. Dedicated Sunny Day teams will fare better with the first set anyways, especially given that Charizard's Fire Blast in sun is so powerful that any coverage move is a highly situational choice. With Substitute, Charizard can use Life Orb recoil and repeated uses of Substitute to safely activate Blaze and deal crucial bonus damage in a pinch. Leftovers might seem to be more viable alongside Substitute, but the loss of power is very noticeable. The EVs maximize Charizard's sweeping potential, and ensure that its Charizard's HP is odd, allowing for two switches into Stealth Rock. Instead of Focus Blast, other coverage moves, such as Hidden Power Grass or Hidden Power Ice, can be used for hitting Rock-types and or Dragon-types, respectively, for super effective damage.

If Charizard chooses Substitute over a coverage move, it is entirely walled by Rock-types, such as Regirock and Carracosta. As a result, teammates such as Choice Specs Exeggutor or and Choice Band Sawk are useful to OHKO almost any Rock-type Charizard might have trouble with. Substitute and Roost, when paired with Toxic Spikes, quickly accrue the residual damage on the opponent’s team needed for a proper Charizard sweep; Garbodor is a great teammate for setting up Toxic Spikes. Due to its relatively lower damage output, this set benefits the most from multiple layers of entry hazards. If Charizard chooses Focus Blast or a Hidden Power Grass, it will be more vulnerable against status moves and revenge killers. Much As such, much like with the previous set, Piloswine is a great choice to deal with Choice Scarf Electric-types. Calm Mind Musharna can deal with most Choice Scarf users with its obscene bulk, (remove comma) and has Heal Bell in the event that Charizard is crippled by status. Again, Shell Smash Torkaol is an exceptional Rapid Spin user that synergizes with Charizard offensively. Alternatively, one can simply prevent early Stealth Rock; Life Orb Samurott and Choice Band Rampardos are great for shutting down Stealth Rock from predictable leads, such as Carracosta or and Golem.

[SET]
name: Choice
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Focus Blast / SolarBeam
move 4: Hidden Power Grass / Hidden Power Ice
item: Choice Specs / Choice Scarf
ability: Solar Power / Blaze
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Does Charizard not deliver enough pure destruction? Choice Specs Charizard crushes villages by simply spamming STAB Fire Blast through at the opposing team. Unless the opposing team carries a Fire-type immunity, such as Flareon, everything will be instantly evaporated with no prediction required. Even the most specially defensive of Pokemon, such as Lickilicky, cannot withstand its sheer power. Behold the behemoth that is Charizard.

<ul class="damage_calculation">
<li>Fire Blast in Sun vs. 252/252+ Lickilicky 102.12% - 120.52%</li>
</ul>

The other moves are filler. The lack of sun seriously limits Charizard's potential, and it is only then coverage moves come in handy. Air Slash is mainly used to hit Fire-type resists and immunes immunities such as, Emboar, Flareon, and Cloud Nine Altaria. A choice of Focus Blast or Solarbeam is for hitting Rock-type Pokemon, such as Carracosta and Regirock, that resist Charizard's STAB. Finally, a choice of Hidden Power rounds off the set; Hidden Power Ice only hits Altaria, while Hidden Power Grass hits the aforementioned Rock-types reliably outside of sun.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Maximum Speed and Special Attack ensures that Charizard hits hard and fast. The 4 remaining last 4 EVs are placed in Defense to give an odd HP value, giving Charizard the ability to switch into an extra round of Stealth Rock damage. Given that all its coverage options are rather situational, Flamethrower can take the place of any of them, in case you can’t afford to risk a miss with Fire Blast. Choice Specs is for guaranteed carnage, but Choice Scarf lets Charizard outspeed everything relevant to the metagame. Choice Specs is the primary option however because sun teams already have insanely fast threats in Chlorophyll users; moreover, Sunny Day teams appreciate the niche of wallbreaking that Choice Specs Charizard fills.

As repeated throughout the analysis, Rapid Spin users are great for keeping Charizard alive and healthy. Because of the recoil damage of Solar Power, Charizard will be only be able to switch into Stealth Rock once. However, a spinner is not a complete necessity; Choice Specs Charizard can wreak havoc with a single switch-in against slower teams, and even the weaker Choice Scarf Charizard can sweep a frail team off its feet. This is especially so when not running Sunny Day, as Samurott and Ludicolo, common alternative measures to prevent an early setting of Stealth Rock, do not synergize well with sun. Even when not running Sunny Day, common alternative measures to prevent an early setting of Stealth Rock, such as Samurott and Ludicolo, make it possible to use Charizard effectively without a Rapid Spin user. Still, Shell Smash Torkoal is a great Charizard partner, being a viable team player that not only benefits from sun, but also spins away hazards. More importantly, Charizard cannot set up its own sun with a Choice set. As a result, supporters, such as Volbeat and Regirock, can easily set up Sunny Day and give Charizard a free switch-in (how) (I think this was supposed to indicate you should add how they give Charizard a free switch-in). Of course, a dedicated Sunny Day team will require Chlorophyll sweepers, such as Exeggutor or and Sawsbuck, to finish off weakened opponents.

[SET]
name: Physical
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Acrobatics
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Flare Blitz
item: Flying Gem
ability: Blaze
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Charizard can also use its lower offensive stat to great effect. Swords Dance provides a much-needed boost to Charizard's Attack, while Acrobatics is an extremely strong and reliable STAB. With Flying Gem and Swords Dance, Acrobatics can destroy specially defensive Pokemon, such as Altaria, that commonly switch into special Charizard sets with little problem otherwise. Earthquake provides near-perfect neutral coverage, hitting Rock-types such as Regirock, Probopass, and Bastiodon. Finally, Flare Blitz is a supplementary STAB for hitting Eelektross and Rotom-S. Given its deadly recoil and lackluster coverage, Flare Blitz will be highly situational, but will help in case there is no chance to boost.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

 Maximum Speed and Attack investment complements Charizards role as a physical sweeper, outspeeding everything it possibly can without a Choice Scarf. Flying Gem is for a strong and reliable Acrobatics—and an even more powerful first time use of the move. Flame Charge is a situational move over Flare Blitz, as while the additional speed Speed will deny revenge killing attempts, it is excruciatingly weak, and requires good prediction to be effective. Due to Acrobatics easily wrecking common special Charizard checks, such as Mantine and Altaria, another special Fire-type is a great teammate, should such checks be lured in. Shell Smash Torkoal is a great spinner for keeping Stealth Rock off the field, while potentially capitalizing on the Pokemon Charizard lures and KOes. However, It should be noted that, if the opponent sees Charizard using Swords Dance, the special wall is unlikely to switch in (or "is likely to switch out" depending on whether you meant the wall comes in on the swords dance turn or not), so catching Altaria it on the switch with the initial Flying Gem-boosted Acrobatics can be a very viable is usually the best tactic. Unlike the special sets, which use SolarBeam to wreck Rock-types, Earthquake is often not strong enough even after the Swords Dance boost; as such, some previous damage on Rock-types such as Regirock is necessary if Charizard is to KO them at +2. Golurk is a good teammate to switch into Rock-types and maintain offensive pressure. Once again, preventing early Stealth Rock with a Water-type, such as Samurott or Ludicolo, is extremely effective. Without Stealth Rock, Charizard is no longer forced to attempt a sweep on its first switch. Water-types also exert offensive pressure on the Rock-type counters to Charizard, improving the odds for a successful Charizard sweep.

[Other Options]

Perhaps the most interesting other option that Charizard has is its classic Belly Drum set. It requires massive support to use effectively, but the payoff can be enormous, especially now that Salac Berry has been released. However, a metagame filled with priority moves, Stealth Rock, and hard hitters means that BellyZard can no longer function as effectively as it once used to could. Dragon Dance is also a viable option, but Charizard has a significantly harder time sweeping with it than with Swords Dance due to its lack of power. Also, these two moves are illegal with Charizard's best physical STAB, Acrobatics.

Flamethrower can be used over Fire Blast on any of the specially oriented sets, as the perfect accuracy can save you. However, Fire Blast deals more damage, even when factoring in the miss chance, and Charizard prefers to hit as hard as possible. Overheat is another special STAB move; unfortunately, the hit-and-run strategy associated with Overheat clashes horribly with Charizard’s 4x Stealth Rock weakness. The last viable STAB move that Charizard can use is Flame Charge, as the ability to outspeed Choice Scarf Pokemon after a boost is very much appreciated. However, Charizard has trouble sparing a moveslot for it, as it is too weak to be its main STAB move.

Charizard has a wide movepool, both special and physical, giving it some added flexibility to its moveset. Charizard has the option of going mixed with Earthquake to dispose of Flareon, but this requires splitting EVs for a rather rare Pokemon, (remove comma) and is generally not worth it. Focus Punch can be used to do heavy damage to Lickilicky and Audino, but without Substitute, requires perfect prediction to pull it off efficiently effectively. Quick Attack is mentioned only because it should never be used; Charizard is fast enough that it should never have to rely on a priority move, especially one as weak as Quick Attack. On the special side, Charizard can use Dragon Pulse, as it has perfect coverage alongside its Fire-type STAB moves. However, Dragon Pulse has little super effective coverage, (remove comma) and is not very viable for this very reason. However/That being said, Dragon Pulse does see merit against Altaria and Dragonair, otherwise great checks to special Charizard. Finally, Charizard can use other Hidden Power types, such as Ice or Electric, but it is generally not worth it.

[Checks and Counters]

It should be clear that the most efficient way of countering Charizard is by keeping Stealth Rock up. Every time Charizard switches in it will lose half of its HP, which means that any decently powered STAB move should be able to bring Charizard down. It will often have to Roost as soon as it comes in when Stealth Rock is up, lest it risk being KOed immediately; use this turn to your advantage to hit it hard, or to bring in something that can outspeed and OHKO Charizard.

Rock-types in general are good switch-ins to Charizard. They resist both of its STABs and can almost always OHKO with their own; furthermore, most pack enough Defense to be able to shrug off boosted Earthquake's from the physical set. Regirock can take Charizard's STAB moves with ease, especially with a specially defensive spread, and will always OHKO Charizard with Rock Slide or Stone Edge. However, Rock-types take heavy damage from Hidden Power Grass and Focus Blast. Flareon is also an extremely effective counter. An immunity to Charizard's incredibly powerful Fire-type STAB moves, (remove comma) and excellent Special Defense, (remove comma) means mean that Charizard will be unable to break through the hellcat. Flareon can either whittle Charizard down with Toxic, or abuse Charizard's own Sun sun to hit it with its own Fire-type moves. Mono-attacker Dragonair can cheerfully sponge Charizard's attacks thanks to its high Special Defense, courtesy of Eviolite, and its resistances to Fire- and Grass-type moves. It can set up multiple Dragon Dances, Rest off the damage it takes, and eventually take Charizard out with Outrage. Mantine has massive Special Defense, a resistance to Fire, and is neutral a neutrality to Grass-type attacks, courtesy of its Flying typing. It can then switch in on almost anything Charizard can throw at it and proceed to wash Charizard it away with its STAB Water-type moves. Altaria is in the same boat, (change to semicolon) it resists all of Charizard’s special moves, bar the weak Air Slash and the highly situational Hidden Power Ice. Grumpig isn't weak to any of Charizard's commonly used moves, and gains a pseudo-resistance to Fire thanks to its ability, Thick Fat. Its excellent Special Defense allows it to shrug off Charizard's attacks. Of course, a boosted Acrobatics will easily take out all of these specially defensive tanks. Alomomola gets a special mention as for being a perfect counter to the physical set, but it will promptly fall to the specially based sets.

However, many of the aforementioned Pokemon are rarely used, as the NU tier is predominantly physically based, making special walls an uncommon sight. For this reason, special walls are an uncommon sight. Therefore, should you lack a counter to Charizard, the best way to prevent it from sweeping you is to carry at least one check to it in on your team. By simply forcing out Charizard, it takes another 50% of its HP thanks to Stealth Rock alone—this means that revenge killers are extremely efficient tools to check Charizard. Cinccino naturally outspeeds Charizard, and can OHKO it with either Rock Blast or Tail Slap. Tauros and Swellow are both fine offensive checks for the same reason. Zebstrika and Electrode fall into the same category and can fry Charizard with their STAB Electric-type moves. Floatzel will also always outspeed Charizard, (remove comma) and can take it out with its STAB Water-type moves. Simpour's 101 base Speed allows it to outspeed Charizard and OHKO it with either Surf or Hydro Pump. Another option is to use Chlorophyll Pokemon, such as Exeggutor and Victreebel, as they can abuse the Sun sun that normally accompanies Charizard, (remove comma) and KO it with STAB Psychic and Sludge Bomb, respectively.

Seeing as Charizard is faster than a good portion of the NU metagame, you might have to resort to using Choice Scarf Pokemon in order to deal with it. Rotom-S is an extremely common user of Choice Scarf, (remove comma) and can force Charizard out by threatening it with Volt Switch. This means that Charizard will again be forced to lose 50% of its health, should Stealth Rock be present, upon re-entering reentering the battlefield, and the Rotom-S player will have gained momentum—provided that an Electric-type immunity was not switched in, of course. Another option is to use priority moves. One can prey upon Charizard's weakness to Aqua Jet with Pokemon such as Carracosta and Samurott. The former can come in on either Fire Blast or Air Slash, and the latter can play guessing games with the Charizard user, either by going for the kill with Aqua Jet or by setting up a Swords Dance to threaten the rest of the Charizard user's team. Sucker Punch users, such as Absol or and Skuntank, can also KO Charizard without Substitute. Charizard is an extremely hard Pokemon to stifle defensively, but there are plenty of options to revenge kill it.

[gp]2/2[/gp]

FireMage · Nov 24, 2012

Implemented Melvini's Changes for Amarillo

[Overview]

Charizard stands for destruction, as it is one of the strongest Fire-types in NU, able to scorch anything that stands in its path. Solar Power, Sunny Day-boosted, STAB Fire Blast is able to 2HKO all but the sturdiest Pokemon in NU. Charizard sits on the faster side of the metagame, with 100 base Speed, and has great stats all round to pull off both its signature special set and other niche physical sets. Roost and handy resistances to common attacking types, such as Fighting- and Grass-type attacks, make Charizard relatively bulky for its power. Unfortunately, its 4x Stealth Rock weakness severely holds it back, as Charizard will die from switching three times into Stealth Rock alone, a critical flaw in a tier with very few viable Rapid Spinners. Still, Charizard's sheer power alone is usually enough to outweigh the costs of such weaknesses. Charizard is the fire-breathing dragon—what else can you ask for? A well-played Charizard will make all your seven-year-old wishes of becoming the Pokemon Champion closer to reality.

[SET]
name: Sunny Day
move 1: Sunny Day
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Roost
move 4: SolarBeam
item: Leftovers / Heat Rock
ability: Solar Power
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Sunny Day is Charizard's strongest set by far, mixing its power with versatility. Sunny Day triggers Solar Power and greatly increases Charizard's sweeping capability. Fire Blast is a strong STAB, boosted by both sun and Solar Power. With very few prominent bulky Water-types in NU, Fire Blast alone has the potential to burn through entire teams. Even common Fire-type resists, such as Alomomola and Regirock, have relatively low Special Defense, and take massive damage from the resisted move. Roost helps with Charizard's crippling Stealth Rock weakness, in case you cannot spin away Stealth Rock, and gives it some reliable healing to mitigate the residual damage from Solar Power. Roost is especially helpful against defensive teams that cannot hope to finish off Charizard in a single hit or two. Finally, SolarBeam hits two Fire-type resists, Rock- and Water-types, super effectively.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

 The set’s last 4 EVs go into Defense for an odd HP numbe, and a second switch-in to Stealth Rock at full health. Leftovers is a good item choice, as it mitigates the recoil from Solar Power. Standard sweeping items, such as Life Orb, might sound appealing, but Life Orb and Solar Power recoil can quickly add up, and the additional power is often unnecessary. If anything, Flame Plate is often superior to Life Orb, thanks to its lack of recoil—especially as Fire Blast would be the primary move in most situations. Heat Rock, on the other hand, is a solid choice on a dedicated Sunny Day team. In case Charizard cannot finish the job, other fearsome sun sweepers, such as Exeggutor, Sawsbuck, and Victreebel, can easily clean up the opposing team with the additional Sunny Day turns. Charizard does not require an entire team built around Sunny Day, but Pokemon such as Volbeat and Regirock are often good candidates to set up Sunny Day if one chooses to run such a team.

 Charizard's strength comes from the fact that almost nothing can take its attacks consistently. Hence, Choice Scarf users are often used on offensive teams as soft checks to Charizard. If using this set as a standalone sweeper, Piloswine is a good teammate to sponge the common Choice Scarf Electric-type attacks—most notable Volt Switch—that can easily force out Charizard after a kill. It can even force out Dragon-types, such as Altaria and Dragonair, which Charizard tends to have trouble with. Roost can keep Charizard alive even with Stealth Rock in play, but Charizard very much appreciates Rapid Spin support in order to be the offensive juggernaut it is, instead of using Roost every other switch-in to keep itself alive. Shell Smash Torkoal is a good Rapid Spin user that benefits from sun, despite its own Stealth Rock weakness. As another Fire-type, Torkoal and Charizard share similar counters, and as such, one can weaken them to allow the other to sweep. Of course, their defensive synergy is subpar, so Exeggutor is a good choice for sponging the Water- and Ground-type moves, and forcing out Rock-type Pokemon that threaten them both.

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Roost
move 4: Substitute / Focus Blast
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Blaze
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Charizard does not require sun to bring destruction on the enemy. Common defensive Pokemon, such as Amoonguss, give Charizard ample time to switch in and fire off attacks without the hassle of setting up. Fire Blast and Air Slash are the two obligatory STAB moves, hitting most threats for at least neutral damage, bar Rock-types. Roost is a crucial move to mitigate Stealth Rock and other passive damage. In the final slot, Substitute can be used to take advantage of all the switches Charizard forces; as a bonus, Substitute also helps Charizard to avoid status and Sucker Punch. On the other hand, a coverage move will turn Charizard into an all-out sweeper with great Speed and coverage. Focus Blast, despite its shaky accuracy, hits Rock-types, such as Regirock and Carracosta, along with special walls such as Lickilicky, for super effective damage.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Life Orb is for the increased power, and is an obvious choice to improve Charizard's sweeping potential. Solar Power, while legal, is not recommended. Dedicated Sunny Day teams will fare better with the first set anyways, especially given that Charizard's Fire Blast in sun is so powerful that any coverage move is a highly situational choice. With Substitute, Charizard can use Life Orb recoil and repeated uses of Substitute to safely activate Blaze and deal crucial bonus damage in a pinch. Leftovers might seem to be more viable alongside Substitute, but the loss of power is very noticeable. The ensure that Charizard’s HP is odd, allowing for two switches into Stealth Rock. Instead of Focus Blast, other coverage moves, such as Hidden Power Grass or Hidden Power Ice, can be used for hitting Rock-types or Dragon-types, for super effective damage.

If Charizard chooses Substitute over a coverage move, it is entirely walled by Rock-types, such as Regirock and Carracosta. As a result, teammates such as Choice Specs Exeggutor and Choice Band Sawk are useful to OHKO almost any Rock-types Charizard might have trouble with. Substitute and Roost, when paired with Toxic Spikes, quickly accrue the residual damage on the opponent’s team needed for a proper Charizard sweep; Garbodor is a great teammate for setting up Toxic Spikes. Due to its relatively lower damage output, this set benefits the most from multiple layers of entry hazards. If Charizard chooses Focus Blast or a Hidden Power, it will be more vulnerable against status moves and revenge killers. As such, much like the previous set, Piloswine is a great choice to deal with Choice Scarf Electric-types. Calm Mind Musharna can deal with most Choice Scarf users with its obscene bulk and has Heal Bell in the event that Charizard is crippled by status. Again, Shell Smash Torkaol is an exceptional Rapid Spin user that synergizes with Charizard offensively. Alternatively, one can simply prevent early Stealth Rock; Life Orb Samurott and Choice Band Rampardos are great for shutting down Stealth Rock from predictable leads, such as Carracosta and Golem.

[SET]
name: Choice
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Focus Blast / SolarBeam
move 4: Hidden Power Grass / Hidden Power Ice
item: Choice Specs / Choice Scarf
ability: Solar Power / Blaze
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Does Charizard not deliver enough pure destruction? Choice Specs Charizard crushes villages by simply spamming STAB Fire Blast at the opposing team. Unless the opposing team carries a Fire-type immunity, such as Flareon, everything will be instantly evaporated with no prediction required. Even the most specially defensive of Pokemon, such as Lickilicky, cannot withstand its sheer power. Behold the behemoth that is Charizard.

<ul class="damage_calculation">
<li>Fire Blast in Sun vs. 252/252+ Lickilicky 102.12% - 120.52%</li>
</ul>

The other moves are filler. The lack of sun seriously limits Charizard's potential, and it is only then coverage moves come in handy. Air Slash is mainly used to hit Fire-type resists and immunities such as, Emboar, Flareon, and Cloud Nine Altaria. A choice of Focus Blast or Solarbeam is for hitting Rock-type Pokemon, such as Carracosta and Regirock, that resist Charizard's STAB. Finally, a choice of Hidden Power rounds off the set; Hidden Power Ice only hits Altaria, while Hidden Power Grass hits the aforementioned Rock-types reliably outside of sun.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

 The last 4 EVs are placed in Defense to give an odd HP value, giving Charizard the ability to switch into an extra round of Stealth Rock damage. Given that all its coverage options are rather situational, Flamethrower can take the place of any of them, in case you can’t afford to risk a miss with Fire Blast. Choice Specs is for guaranteed carnage, but Choice Scarf lets Charizard outspeed everything relevant to the metagame. Choice Specs is the primary option because sun teams already have insanely fast threats in Chlorophyll users; moreover, Sunny Day teams appreciate the niche of wallbreaking that Choice Specs Charizard fills.

As repeated throughout the analysis, Rapid Spin users are great for keeping Charizard alive and healthy. Because of the recoil damage of Solar Power, Charizard will only be able to switch into Stealth Rock once. However, a spinner is not a complete necessity; Choice Specs Charizard can wreak havoc with a single switch-in against slower teams, and even the weaker Choice Scarf Charizard can sweep a frail team off its feet. Even when not running Sunny Day, common alternative measures to prevent an early setting of Stealth Rock, such as Samurott and Ludicolo, make it possible to use Charizard effectively without a Rapid Spin user. Still, Shell Smash Torkoal is a great Charizard partner, being a viable team player that not only benefits from sun, but also spins away hazards. More importantly, Charizard cannot set up its own sun with a Choice set. As a result, supporters, such as Volbeat and Regirock, can easily set up Sunny Day and give Charizard a free switch-in . Of course, a dedicated Sunny Day team will require Chlorophyll sweepers, such as Exeggutor and Sawsbuck, to finish off weakened opponents.

[SET]
name: Physical
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Acrobatics
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Flare Blitz
item: Flying Gem
ability: Blaze
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Charizard can also use its lower offensive stat to great effect. Swords Dance provides a much-needed boost to Charizard's Attack, while Acrobatics is an extremely strong and reliable STAB. With Flying Gem and Swords Dance, Acrobatics can destroy specially defensive Pokemon, such as Altaria, that commonly switch into special Charizard sets with little problem. Earthquake provides near-perfect neutral coverage, hitting Rock-types such as Regirock, Probopass, and Bastiodon. Finally, Flare Blitz is a supplementary STAB for hitting Eelektross and Rotom-S. Given its deadly recoil and lackluster coverage, Flare Blitz will be highly situational, but will help in case there is no chance to boost.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Flying Gem is for a strong and reliable Acrobatics—and an even more powerful first time use of the move. Flame Charge is a situational move over Flare Blitz, as while the additional Speed will deny revenge killing attempts, it is excruciatingly weak, and requires good prediction to be effective. Due to Acrobatics easily wrecking common special Charizard checks, such as Mantine and Altaria, another special Fire-type is a great teammate, should such checks be lured in. Shell Smash Torkoal is a great spinner for keeping Stealth Rock off the field, while potentially capitalizing on the Pokemon Charizard lures and KOes. It should be noted that, if the opponent sees Charizard using Swords Dance, the special wall is unlikely to switch in, so catching Altaria on the switch with the initial Flying Gem-boosted Acrobatics is usually the best tactic. Unlike the special sets, which use SolarBeam to wreck Rock-types, Earthquake is often not strong enough even after the Swords Dance boost; as such, some previous damage on Rock-types such as Regirock is necessary if Charizard is to KO them at +2. Golurk is a good teammate to switch into Rock-types and maintain offensive pressure. Once again, preventing early Stealth Rock with a Water-type, such as Samurott or Ludicolo, is extremely effective. Without Stealth Rock, Charizard is no longer forced to attempt a sweep on its first switch. Water-types also exert offensive pressure on the Rock-type counters to Charizard, improving the odds for a successful Charizard sweep.

[Other Options]

Perhaps the most interesting other option that Charizard has is its classic Belly Drum set. It requires massive support to use effectively, but the payoff can be enormous, especially now that Salac Berry has been released. However, a metagame filled with priority moves, Stealth Rock, and hard hitters means that BellyZard can no longer function as effectively as it once could. Dragon Dance is also a viable option, but Charizard has a significantly harder time sweeping with it than Swords Dance due to its lack of power. Also, these two moves are illegal with Charizard's best physical STAB, Acrobatics.

Flamethrower can be used over Fire Blast on any of the specially oriented sets, as the perfect accuracy can save you. However, Fire Blast deals more damage, even when factoring in the miss chance, and Charizard prefers to hit as hard as possible. Overheat is another special STAB move; unfortunately, the hit-and-run strategy associated with Overheat clashes horribly with Charizard’s 4x Stealth Rock weakness. The last viable STAB move that Charizard can use is Flame Charge, as the ability to outspeed Choice Scarf Pokemon after a boost is very much appreciated. However, Charizard has trouble sparing a moveslot for it, as it is too weak to be its main STAB move.

Charizard has a wide movepool, both special and physical, giving some added flexibility to its moveset. Charizard has the option of going mixed with Earthquake to dispose of Flareon, but this requires splitting EVs for a rather rare Pokemon and is generally not worth it. Focus Punch can be used to do heavy damage to Lickilicky and Audino, but without Substitute, requires perfect prediction to pull it off effectively. Quick Attack is mentioned only because it should never be used; Charizard is fast enough that it should never have to rely on a priority move, especially one as weak as Quick Attack. On the special side, Charizard can use Dragon Pulse, as it has perfect coverage alongside its Fire-type STAB moves. However, Dragon Pulse has little super effective coverage and is not very viable for this very reason. That being said, Dragon Pulse does see merit against Altaria and Dragonair, otherwise great checks to special Charizard. Finally, Charizard can use other Hidden Power types, such as Ice or Electric, but it is generally not worth it.

[Checks and Counters]

It should be clear that the most efficient way of countering Charizard is keeping Stealth Rock up. Every time Charizard switches in it will lose half of its HP, which means that any decently powered STAB move should be able to bring Charizard down. It will often have to Roost as soon as it comes in when Stealth Rock is up, lest it risk being KOed immediately; use this turn to your advantage to hit it hard, or to bring in something that can outspeed and OHKO Charizard.

Rock-types in general are good switch-ins to Charizard. They resist both of its STABs and can almost always OHKO with their own; furthermore, most pack enough Defense to shrug off boosted Earthquake's from the physical set. Regirock can take Charizard's STAB moves with ease, especially with a specially defensive spread, and will always OHKO Charizard with Rock Slide or Stone Edge. However, Rock-types take heavy damage from Hidden Power Grass and Focus Blast. Flareon is also an extremely effective counter. An immunity to Charizard's incredibly powerful Fire-type STAB moves and excellent Special Defense mean that Charizard will be unable to break through the hellcat. Flareon can either whittle Charizard down with Toxic, or abuse Charizard's own sun to hit it with its own Fire-type moves. Mono-attacker Dragonair can cheerfully sponge Charizard's attacks thanks to its high Special Defense, courtesy of Eviolite, and its resistances to Fire- and Grass-type moves. It can set up multiple Dragon Dances, Rest off the damage it takes, and eventually take Charizard out with Outrage. Mantine has massive Special Defense, a resistance to Fire and neutrality to Grass-type attacks, courtesy of its Flying typing. It can switch into almost anything Charizard can throw at it and proceed to wash it away with its STAB Water-type moves. Altaria is in the same boat; it resists all of Charizard’s special moves, bar the weak Air Slash and the highly situational Hidden Power Ice. Grumpig isn't weak to any of Charizard's commonly used moves, and gains a pseudo-resistance to Fire thanks to its ability, Thick Fat. Its excellent Special Defense allows it to shrug off Charizard's attacks. Of course, a boosted Acrobatics will easily take out all of these specially defensive tanks. Alomomola gets a special mention for being a perfect counter to the physical set, but it will promptly fall to the specially based sets.

However, many of the aforementioned Pokemon are rarely used, as the NU tier is predominantly physically based, making special walls an uncommon sight. Therefore, should you lack a counter to Charizard, the best way to prevent it from sweeping you is to carry at least one check to it on your team. By simply forcing out Charizard, it takes another 50% of its HP thanks to Stealth Rock alone—this means that revenge killers are extremely efficient tools to check Charizard. Cinccino naturally outspeeds Charizard, and can OHKO it with either Rock Blast or Tail Slap. Tauros and Swellow are both fine offensive checks for the same reason. Zebstrika and Electrode fall into the same category and can fry Charizard with their STAB Electric-type moves. Floatzel will also always outspeed Charizard and can take it out with its STAB Water-type moves. Simpour's 101 base Speed allows it to outspeed Charizard and OHKO it with either Surf or Hydro Pump. Another option is to use Chlorophyll Pokemon, such as Exeggutor and Victreebel, as they can abuse the sun that normally accompanies Charizard and KO it with STAB Psychic and Sludge Bomb, respectively.

Seeing as Charizard is faster than a good portion of the NU metagame, you might have to resort to using Choice Scarf Pokemon in order to deal with it. Rotom-S is an extremely common user of Choice Scarf and can force Charizard out by threatening it with Volt Switch. This means that Charizard will again be forced to lose 50% of its health, should Stealth Rock be present, upon re-entering the battlefield, and the Rotom-S player will have gained momentum—provided that an Electric-type immunity was not switched in, of course. Another option is to use priority moves. One can prey upon Charizard's weakness to Aqua Jet with Pokemon such as Carracosta and Samurott. The former can come in on either Fire Blast or Air Slash, and the latter can play guessing games with the Charizard user, either by going for the kill with Aqua Jet or by setting up a Swords Dance to threaten the rest of the Charizard user's team. Sucker Punch users, such as Absol and Skuntank, can also KO Charizard without Substitute. Charizard is an extremely hard Pokemon to stifle defensively, but there are plenty of options to revenge kill it.

jake · Nov 24, 2012

I hear Amarillo has had some real-life situations to tend to, so FireMage's help (and melvni's) is much appreciated. I'll be uploading Charizard now!

woo only like eight months after it dropped

Charizard (GP 2/2)

marilli

With you

Raseri

cb aaron judge

ALL RISE

marilli

With you

His Eminence Lord Poppington II

proverb:the fish who eats most dies still too

marilli

With you

Redew

κακκῶ σεαυτόν

Alfalfa

jake

underdog of the year

melvni

FireMage

Disgraced

jake

underdog of the year

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