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-
Blaze
- Boosts power of Fire moves 50% when at 1/3 HP or less.
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Statistics
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
78
|
- |
297 |
360 |
- |
| Atk |
84
|
183 |
204 |
267 |
293 |
| Def |
78
|
172 |
192 |
255 |
280 |
| SpA |
109
|
228 |
254 |
317 |
348 |
| SpD |
85
|
185 |
206 |
269 |
295 |
| Spe |
100
|
212 |
236 |
299 |
328 |
This set looks a lot like the one below, but it gets a different entry because it plays much differently before the set up. The bane of the Bellyzard is often the "bulky Water" for all sets, the difficulty in activating a Salac berry on Substituteless sets, and the difficulty in hitting everything with Substitute taking up a slot. Double-Edge OHKOs Milotic, Swampert, and Vaporeon, and nearly OHKOs Suicune (if you hit it with anything before this, it will die), and survives the recoil from it to put it into Salac range. Then you use Earthquake and the Blaze Fire move to sweep. You can use Double-Edge once more as a kamikaze move, in case they have a Swampert and Salamence or something, but few teams actually have multiple guys that resist EQ and your Fire move. For this reason, it's best to wait until you know most of their team before trying to Drum.
Generally the strategy for a non-Substitute Belly Drum Charizard is to switch once into a Skarmory Drill Peck or Blissey Seismic Toss to get your health low enough to Belly Drum and activate Salac Berry. Or you could Belly Drum on a switch at full health and try to sweep without your Salac Berry, and switch out if you find anything that is able to kill you before you kill them. To get Belly Drum in the 2nd time, you will want to get it in on a predicted Skarmory or Forretress switch or on a Choice Banded Earthquake.
The strategy for the Belly Drum Charizard with Substitute is different. You will switch this in on something like Skarmory's Spikes, and Substitute on the switch to a non-Suicune Water-type. Belly Drum to get Salac Berry's boost, and sweep. Not as effective, but easier to pull off.
These EVs are assuming you are using max IVs. If you're using Hidden Power, you'll have 269 instead of 270 Speed, but that's not a problem at all, you just take 4 EVs out of Special Attack and put them into Speed. Set your HP IV to 30 instead of 31, so your HP becomes 296 rather than 297, so your Salac Berry activates after a Substitute and a Belly Drum.
Focus Punch should be pulled off with either prediction, or you can use Substitute to see what your opponent will do. Another advantage of Substitute is you can activate a Petaya Berry with it. This set can surprise and kill, but if it does it's highly likely that the Belly Drum version would have done even better. After Petaya, Blaze and Sunny Day, Charizard's Fire Blast is extremely strong and does a lot to anything that's not Blissey and Snorlax.
If you are using Hidden Power, make sure to keep the minimal 225 Attack to have a guaranteed 2HKO on Blissey with Focus Punch.
A sweeping physical Charizard, but not as all out as the Belly Drum version. Normally I would suggest Rock Slide for the 3rd option, but Earthquake can bust up Tyranitar pretty badly. Hidden Power Grass is nice for catching Ground and Water-types on the switch, but you'll have to use Aerial Ace instead of Hidden Power Flying.
What goes for the EVs on the first set goes for these as well. Use 299 Speed if you're using Swords Dance.
Other Options
Flamethrower is an option over Fire Blast on every set for people who like accuracy more. Fire Blast does more damage on average though, and its extra power is helpful against Weezing and Celebi, but in other cases, like when you have a Belly Drum and you're up against a Skarmory with about 50% health, you'll want to be able to hit. Overheat is both accurate and powerful, but if your opponent has two Pokémon you need to use a Fire move for, you're screwed. Pick wisely.
The other moves Charizard gets are rather novel, and usually too circumstantial to work. Sunny Day boosts Charizard's Fire moves and reduces the Water moves he's weak to in power. It gives him the ability to pack a punch, maybe combined with Blaze. Brick Break busts Snorlax, Tyranitar and Blissey with a Swords Dance, but why wouldn't you just Belly Drum up, or Focus Punch them? Toxic can annoy Swampert, Tyranitar, Aerodactyl and some others, it's never a bad option on Pokémon that lure your opponent's main Water since it helps in wearing them down.
EVs
Charizard can tie in Speed with Salamence using 252 EVs. Any version using Salac Berry or Dragon Dance needs 264 Speed minimally, but 270 is probably a better idea for beating out Adamant Heracross before your Salac activates. Usually, you'll want the main attacking stat maxed, and put any spare EVs into the other attacking stat.
Opinion
Using Charizard requires a lot of planning ahead, but in the end is worth the effort. Belly Drum decimates teams, provided you found some way to wear down your opponent's bulky water, and obviously aren't outsped by Pokémon like Starmie and Gengar. Salac Berry helps with the last problem. One of Charizard's problems is versatility within a set. The more set-up moves, the less versatile it is against the multitude of opponents. Bluffing, as well as using Dugtrio, Magneton, and Explosion can help to clear the way to Charizard. A high risk, high reward Pokémon.
Counters
Suicune, Swampert, Milotic and Vaporeon will always survive whatever Charizard throws at them early on, with the exception of a Belly Drummed Double-Edge, and counter with a Surf or Hydro Pump. Swampert can have trouble with Hidden Power Grass, though. Aerodactyl resists most of Charizard's moves and instantly kills with a faster Rock Slide. Zapdos ties him for base speed, and is easy to bring in on Earthquake, Hidden Power Flying and Fire moves to an extent, and will OHKO with Thunderbolt. Tyranitar can take an unboosted Earthquake and either cripple with Thunderbolt, or kill with his STAB Rock Slide. Tyranitar's existence alone is enough to seriously hurt a Drummer, as Sand Stream seriously lowers the ability to sweep. Actually, anything using Rock Slide is a threat to Charizard.