**Draft Order**: Round 7 onwards
**Price Range**: 3-4 points
**Overview**: Charizard is a low-price offensive Fire-type, boasting a pretty decent move pool and usable base stats. It can leverage these traits to force progress in matchups where foes cannot resist its attacks. It can also provide significant wallbreaking in sun with its Fire-type STAB moves and Solar Power. However, it is far from the centerpiece of any team and should be benched more than it's brought. Its Speed and offenses are leagues away from top metagame threats, and it can only really leverage its typing and coverage in matchups where they particularly excel in order to force progress.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Special Attacker**: Charizard most often wants to function as a special attacker, using high-Base Power STAB moves like Fire Blast and Hurricane in matchups where the opponent lacks Pokemon that resist them.
**Setup Sweeper**: Charizard can make use of setup moves such as Belly Drum and Dragon Dance as well as a plethora of physical coverage to run usable physical attacking sets. Physically offensive sets often need the boosts to force progress.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Overheat, Hurricane, Air Slash, Flare Blitz, Acrobatics
**Setup Moves**: Belly Drum, Dragon Dance, Flame Charge
**Utility Moves**: Will-O-Wisp, Roar, Dragon Tail, Substitute, Brick Break
**Coverage**: Scorching Sands, Focus Blast, Ancient Power, Dragon Pulse, Tera Blast, Earthquake, Rock Slide, Thunder Punch, Dragon Claw, Crunch
Niche Moves
========
**Endure**: Endure can be paired with a Custap Berry to gain a Speed advantage as well as to safely use up an item to boost Acrobatics.
**Swords Dance**: Swords Dance could be useful into bulkier teams, but Charizard's mediocre stats and lack of reliable recovery make it more difficult to use than other options.
**Sunny Day**: Charizard can set up Sunny Day for itself to boost its own Fire-type STAB moves from the sun and gain an additional Solar Power boost.
**Solar Beam**: Solar Beam can be a good option under sun or with a Power Herb as solid type coverage.
Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Heavy-Duty Boots negates the 50% damage Charizard would take from Stealth Rock, allowing it to safely switch in and maintain enough health to set up or take hits.
Niche Items
========
**Custap / Salac Berry**: Custap Berry is a useful one-time stop to a foe that is already set up to sweep, and Salac Berry can threaten a sweep with Belly Drum or work on its own against worn-down teams lacking priority. Endure lets Charizard guarantee that the Berry activates, and Acrobatics benefits from a damage boost afterwards.
**Sitrus Berry**: Sitrus Berry is useful on Belly Drum Charizard, letting it get back some of the health it just lost and powering up Acrobatics.
**Damage-boosting Items**: Items such as Choice Specs, Charcoal, Expert Belt, and even Life Orb can be useful on Charizard to boost damage, but they are often not worth taking Stealth Rock damage for. Life Orb is especially tricky to use, racking up copious amounts of chip damage.
Tera
========
Charizard doesn't need Tera to function, but it can be useful if there is no other option for a secondary Tera user. It can Tera into one of its own types to boost its STAB moves even further or pick a defensive type such as Tera Water, Ground, and Grass to cover for its own weaknesses. Generally, good Tera types such as Tera Fairy, Steel, and Ghost may also be used, but they do not provide a lot of inherent synergy with Charizard itself. With whatever type it uses, it can also benefit from the extra coverage of Tera Blast, but be wary because most teams should have a better, more expensive Tera Captain than Charizard that can prioritize Tera in most situations.
Draft Strategy
========
Charizard is a budget Fire-type that is primarily considered late into a draft. Teams should not rely on it to function, as it is best used every once in a while when given a particularly strong matchup. It can be slotted onto most teams due to its low price point and insignificance as a defensive Pokemon. With this in mind, there are still a couple of roles to consider that could enhance Charizard's effectiveness in its role.
**Strong Entry Hazard Removal**: Having strong entry hazard removal enables Charizard to run more of its setup sets without being forced to run Heavy-Duty Boots. Pokemon such as Terapagos, Iron Treads, and Blastoise are all premier removal options.
**Sun**: Charizard can provide decent wallbreaking on sun teams if a cheap option is needed. Torkoal and Ninetales can set sun to give it more immediate wallbreaking power. Sun-boosted teammates like Great Tusk and Scream Tail can also cover its weaknesses and provide valuable support to it.
Checks and Counters
========
**Bulky Fire- and Flying-resistant Pokemon**: Charizard's strongest and most reliable moves are its STAB moves, letting many Rock-, Water-, and Dragon-type Pokemon check it effectively. Pokemon such as Raging Bolt, Tyranitar, and Azumarill are effective at this role.
**Off-beat Bulky Foes**: It can be particularly annoying for Charizard to face particularly bulky Pokemon that are neutral to its STAB moves but can't be reliably hit super effectively. Pokemon such as Ting-Lu, Uxie, and Scream Tail are particularly annoying for it in this regard.
**Revenge Killers**: Charizard's mediocre Speed allows it to be easily revenge killed by many top threats, as a majority of teams have at least 2 good Pokemon that naturally outspeed it. There are also many offensive Water-type Pokemon that are potent in this metagame. Pokemon such as Ogerpon-W, Greninja, and Palafin can all revenge kill most Charizard sets with ease.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/streetcredcookie.304744/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sablolol.466715/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
**Price Range**: 3-4 points
**Overview**: Charizard is a low-price offensive Fire-type, boasting a pretty decent move pool and usable base stats. It can leverage these traits to force progress in matchups where foes cannot resist its attacks. It can also provide significant wallbreaking in sun with its Fire-type STAB moves and Solar Power. However, it is far from the centerpiece of any team and should be benched more than it's brought. Its Speed and offenses are leagues away from top metagame threats, and it can only really leverage its typing and coverage in matchups where they particularly excel in order to force progress.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Special Attacker**: Charizard most often wants to function as a special attacker, using high-Base Power STAB moves like Fire Blast and Hurricane in matchups where the opponent lacks Pokemon that resist them.
**Setup Sweeper**: Charizard can make use of setup moves such as Belly Drum and Dragon Dance as well as a plethora of physical coverage to run usable physical attacking sets. Physically offensive sets often need the boosts to force progress.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Overheat, Hurricane, Air Slash, Flare Blitz, Acrobatics
**Setup Moves**: Belly Drum, Dragon Dance, Flame Charge
**Utility Moves**: Will-O-Wisp, Roar, Dragon Tail, Substitute, Brick Break
**Coverage**: Scorching Sands, Focus Blast, Ancient Power, Dragon Pulse, Tera Blast, Earthquake, Rock Slide, Thunder Punch, Dragon Claw, Crunch
Niche Moves
========
**Endure**: Endure can be paired with a Custap Berry to gain a Speed advantage as well as to safely use up an item to boost Acrobatics.
**Swords Dance**: Swords Dance could be useful into bulkier teams, but Charizard's mediocre stats and lack of reliable recovery make it more difficult to use than other options.
**Sunny Day**: Charizard can set up Sunny Day for itself to boost its own Fire-type STAB moves from the sun and gain an additional Solar Power boost.
**Solar Beam**: Solar Beam can be a good option under sun or with a Power Herb as solid type coverage.
Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Heavy-Duty Boots negates the 50% damage Charizard would take from Stealth Rock, allowing it to safely switch in and maintain enough health to set up or take hits.
Niche Items
========
**Custap / Salac Berry**: Custap Berry is a useful one-time stop to a foe that is already set up to sweep, and Salac Berry can threaten a sweep with Belly Drum or work on its own against worn-down teams lacking priority. Endure lets Charizard guarantee that the Berry activates, and Acrobatics benefits from a damage boost afterwards.
**Sitrus Berry**: Sitrus Berry is useful on Belly Drum Charizard, letting it get back some of the health it just lost and powering up Acrobatics.
**Damage-boosting Items**: Items such as Choice Specs, Charcoal, Expert Belt, and even Life Orb can be useful on Charizard to boost damage, but they are often not worth taking Stealth Rock damage for. Life Orb is especially tricky to use, racking up copious amounts of chip damage.
Tera
========
Charizard doesn't need Tera to function, but it can be useful if there is no other option for a secondary Tera user. It can Tera into one of its own types to boost its STAB moves even further or pick a defensive type such as Tera Water, Ground, and Grass to cover for its own weaknesses. Generally, good Tera types such as Tera Fairy, Steel, and Ghost may also be used, but they do not provide a lot of inherent synergy with Charizard itself. With whatever type it uses, it can also benefit from the extra coverage of Tera Blast, but be wary because most teams should have a better, more expensive Tera Captain than Charizard that can prioritize Tera in most situations.
Draft Strategy
========
Charizard is a budget Fire-type that is primarily considered late into a draft. Teams should not rely on it to function, as it is best used every once in a while when given a particularly strong matchup. It can be slotted onto most teams due to its low price point and insignificance as a defensive Pokemon. With this in mind, there are still a couple of roles to consider that could enhance Charizard's effectiveness in its role.
**Strong Entry Hazard Removal**: Having strong entry hazard removal enables Charizard to run more of its setup sets without being forced to run Heavy-Duty Boots. Pokemon such as Terapagos, Iron Treads, and Blastoise are all premier removal options.
**Sun**: Charizard can provide decent wallbreaking on sun teams if a cheap option is needed. Torkoal and Ninetales can set sun to give it more immediate wallbreaking power. Sun-boosted teammates like Great Tusk and Scream Tail can also cover its weaknesses and provide valuable support to it.
Checks and Counters
========
**Bulky Fire- and Flying-resistant Pokemon**: Charizard's strongest and most reliable moves are its STAB moves, letting many Rock-, Water-, and Dragon-type Pokemon check it effectively. Pokemon such as Raging Bolt, Tyranitar, and Azumarill are effective at this role.
**Off-beat Bulky Foes**: It can be particularly annoying for Charizard to face particularly bulky Pokemon that are neutral to its STAB moves but can't be reliably hit super effectively. Pokemon such as Ting-Lu, Uxie, and Scream Tail are particularly annoying for it in this regard.
**Revenge Killers**: Charizard's mediocre Speed allows it to be easily revenge killed by many top threats, as a majority of teams have at least 2 good Pokemon that naturally outspeed it. There are also many offensive Water-type Pokemon that are potent in this metagame. Pokemon such as Ogerpon-W, Greninja, and Palafin can all revenge kill most Charizard sets with ease.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/streetcredcookie.304744/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sablolol.466715/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
Last edited:
