LC Charmander

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is a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Taken from Darkamber8828 with permission. I'm just pretending to be TCR.
If anything seems sketchy, I can redo it. This thread is pretty old.

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Final QC: Kavatika
GP: Legitimate Username , GatoDelFuego

Overview
########

In Pokemon X and Y, Charmander takes the lead as the cutest Fire-type in the metagame. Not only is it cute, it also boasts prodigious Speed and reasonably good offensive abilities. It has access to Solar Power, which boosts its STAB Fire Blast to one of the strongest attacks in the tier. Despite some of these virtues, Charmander is heavily outclassed by other Fire-types in the tier. It suffers from weakness to Stealth Rock and is vulnerable to most forms of priority. Without any real set of special attacking moves, Charmander's high Special Attack stat goes to waste. Despite these weaknesses, Charmander can still be a dangerous threat if used correctly.

Choice Scarf
########
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Hidden Power Grass / Overheat
move 3: Ancient Power / Flamethrower
move 4: Dragon Pulse / Flamethrower
ability: Solar Power
item: Choice Scarf / Life Orb
evs: 44 HP / 12 Def / 200 SpA / 236 Spe
nature: Modest / Timid

Moves
========
Fire Blast, when boosted by Sunny Day and Solar Power, destroys everything except the bulkiest of resistant Pokemon and Flash Fire users. The vast majority of the time, this is the move Charmander will want to use. Hidden Power Grass can be used to guarantee the KO on defensive Tirtouga and Eviolite Omanyte, as well as smacking Chinchou, Wooper, and Onix, all of which would otherwise entirely wall it. Overheat is used to deal more damage than Flamethrower and Fire Blast, but only by crippling Charmander in the process. Ancient Power hits Flash Fire Houndour and Ponyta, as well as some other Pokemon that resist Fire Blast. Ancient Power also hits Archen, which is a serious threat to Charmander. Dragon Pulse hits Dragon-types such as Axew and Dratini. Flamethrower can be used for accuracy when Fire Blast's greater power is unneeded.

Set Details
========

The added power of a Modest nature is helpful for powering through bulkier Pokemon. With Modest, Charmander reaches an impressive 24 Speed, enough to outspeed every unboosted Pokemon in Little Cup. With Timid, Charmander reaches 25 Speed, enough to outspeed Tirtouga after a Shell Smash, Adamant Carvanha after one Speed boost, and and Speed tie Choice Scarf Mienfoo, Pawniard, and Chinchou, although the latter three will KO Charmander if it loses the Speed tie. However, the power loss is quite noticeable. Life Orb can be used instead of Choice Scarf to bolster Charmander's power. The Special Attack and Speed EVs are used to hit hard and fast, while the rest should be focused on physical Defense in order to take priority better.

Usage Tips
========

Use Charmander only when the sun is up, as otherwise it won't have the power to OHKO much of anything. Try to bring in Charmander safely with a slow VoltTurn user or after a teammate is KOed; it needs all the health it can get, considering its Stealth Rock weakness and Solar Power recoil.

Team Options
========

Heat Rock Vulpix is almost mandatory to provide sun to boost Charmander's Fire Blasts. It can also lure guaranteed switch-ins to Fire-types and hit them with Energy Ball, Will-O-Wisp, or Hypnosis. Chlorophyll sweepers synergize well with Charmander, as they benefit from sun themselves and can use Sleep Powder on special walls and remove the Rock-, Ground-, and Water-types that threaten Charmander, while Charmander blasts away Steel- and Grass-types. Charmander appreciates both Stealth Rock setters to guarantee OHKOs and Rapid Spinners or Defog users to remove the opponent's entry hazards that plague Charmander. Secondary sun setters are helpful in case Vulpix goes down. Cottonee is particularly useful, as it can switch in on Ground- and Water-type moves and use a Prankster Sunny Day to set up quickly, and it has Stun Spore to cripple faster revenge killers and can use Memento to give Charmander a free switch-in.

Other Options
########

Charmander has access to a godly physical movepool, including Dragon Dance, Belly Drum, and Swords Dance. As a result, a physical set is not out of the question. Brick Break can be used on a mixed Dragon Dance set to KO Munchlax while still hitting Tirtouga and Tyrunt, but Charmander needs maximum Attack investment and a Life Orb to always OHKO Berry Juice Munchlax after Stealth Rock with a +1 Brick Break, which leaves no room for Special Attack investment. Substitute can be run to block priority moves and faster revenge killers, but the accumulated damage from Life Orb, Solar Power, and Substitute makes Charmander too fragile. Focus Punch can be run alongside Substitute, requiring only 20 EVs and a Life Orb to OHKO Berry Juice Munchlax. Will-O-Wisp can be used to surprise priority users, especially Sucker Punch users like Pawniard, but it can leave holes in coverage. Air Cutter, Hidden Power Fighting, and Hidden Power Ground are other coverage options. However, these moves are weaker when super effective than a resisted Fire Blast in the sun, so they're generally inferior options.

Checks & Counters
########

**Entry Hazards**: Stealth Rock limits the amount of switch-ins, and thus sweeping time, that Charmander has.

**Tanks**: Munchlax can eat anything except a Focus Punch and OHKO Charmander back with Earthquake. RestTalk Chinchou and other bulky Water / Rock-types such as Shellos, Archen, Omanyte, and Tirtouga can take Fire Blasts and hit back with Scald or Rock Slide, but they all get 2HKOed by a Life Orb Fire Blast (and, without Eviolite, Chinchou and Archen get OHKOed by it). Specially defensive Hippopotas can take two Fire Blasts after the sun is replaced by sandstorm and can OHKO back with Earthquake, but it is almost always 2HKOed by a Life Orb Fire Blast.

**Flash Fire Pokemon**: Ponyta and Houndour can switch in on Fire Blast for free and threaten Charmander with Wild Charge or Sucker Punch, but they are both OHKOed by a Solar Power Life Orb-boosted Ancient Power.

**Strong Priority Users**: Pawniard and Bunnelby can easily revenge kill Charmander, especially after Stealth Rock and Solar Power recoil.


-cute
-decent speed and offenses
-has niche in being the only fire-type with solar power, which makes its STAB Fire Blast one of the strongest attacks in the tier
-outclassed by other fire-types outside of solar power and dragon dance
-suffers from weakness to Stealth Rock and vulnerability to many forms of priority
-power lacking without sun up

Choice Scarf
########
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Hidden Power Grass / Overheat
move 3: Ancientpower / Flamethrower
move 4: Dragon Pulse / Flamethrower
ability: Solar Power
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 44 HP / 12 Def / 200 SpA / 236 Spe
nature: Modest / Timid

Moves
========
-Fire Blast, combined with sun, STAB, and Solar Power destroys everything except the bulkiest of resists and Flash Fire pokemon, even 2HKOing Eviolite bulky attacking Chinchou and Skrelp. The vast majority of the time, this is the move Charmander will want to use.
-Hidden Power Grass can be used to guarantee the KO on defensive Tirtouga and Eviolite Omanyte, as well as smacking Chinchou, Wooper, and Onix
-Overheat is used to deal more damge than Flamethrower and Flame Blast, but by doing so cripples itself..
-Ancientpower hits Flash Fire Houndour and Ponyta, and everyone wants that boost.
-Dragon Pulse hits Dragons like Axew and Dratini
-Flamethrower can be used for accuracy when Fire Blast's power is unneeded

Set Details
========

-Modest's power is helpful for powering through bulky pokemon, as the added power allows Charmander's Fire Blast to always 2HKOing Eviolite bulky attacker Chinchou. With Modest, Charmander reaches an impressive 24 speed, enough to outspeed every unboosted pokemon in Little Cup.
-With Timid, Charmander reaches 17 speed, enough to outspeed Tirtouga after a Shell Smash, Adamant Carvanha after one speed boost, Mienfoo, Pawniard, and Scarf Chinchou,, although the latter three will KO you if you lose the speed tie. The power loss is quite noticeable, however.
-Max SpA and speed to hit hard, rest focused on physical defense to take priority hits

Usage Tips
========

-Use it in sun, or it can't OHKO everything
-Try to bring in Charmander safely with a slow VoltTurn user or after a teammate is KO'd, it needs all the health it can get to take priority hits, especially with a SR weakness and Solar Power damage

Team Options
========

-Heat Rock Vulpix is almost mandatory to provide sun to boost Charmander's Fire Blasts, it also lures switch-ins to Fire-types and hits them with Energy Ball, Will-o-Wisp, or Hypnosis
-Chlorophyll sweepers synergize well with Charmander, using Sleep Powder on special walls and removing Rock-, Ground-, and Water-types who threaten Charmander while Charmander blasts away Steel- and Grass-types
-Charmander appreciates both Stealth Rock setters to guarantee OHKOs and Rapid Spinners or Defog users to remove enemy hazards that plague Charmander.
-Secondary sun setters are helpful in case Vulpix goes down. Cottonee is particularly useful, as it can switch in on Ground- and Water-type moves and uses Prankster Sunny Day to set up quickly, has Stun Spore to cripple faster revengers, and can use Memento to give Charmander a free switch-in

Physical Sweeper
########
name: Physical Sweeper
move 1: Belly Drum / Dragon Dance
move 2: Flare Blitz
move 3: Acrobatics / Crunch
move 4: Fire Punch / Thunder Punch
ability: Blaze
item: Berry Juice / Life Orb
evs: 180 Atk / 92 SDef / 236 Spd
nature: Adamant / Jolly

Moves
========
- Belly Drum boosts Charmander to +6 attack, while Dragon Dance boosts speed and attack, amplifying charmander's speed of 16/17.
- Flare Blitz is Charmander's main source of damage.
- Acrobatics is run to counter Fighting-types and works well with Belly Drum, since Berry Juice will be consumed. Crunch should be run on teams that have trouble dealing with Ghost-type Pokemon.
- Fire Punch is another fire move that won't deal as much damage with recoil. Thunder Punch can be used to deal with water type pokemon that resist everything else Charmander has.

Set Details
========

-Adamant's power is helpful for powering through bulky pokemon
-With Jolly, Charmander reaches 17 speed, enough to outspeed Tirtouga after a Shell Smash, Adamant Carvanha after one speed boost, and Scarf Chinchou, Mienfoo, and Pawniard, although the latter three will KO you if you lose the speed tie. The power loss is quite noticeable, however.
-Max SpA and Speed to hit hard and fast, put the rest in attack or defense
-Be sure to run no HP EVs and 0 HP IVs if using Life Orb, to minimize recoil
-Berry Juice lets Charmander better take priority hits , but Life Orb lets Charmander breeze past bulky pokemon that could formerly take its hits

Usage Tips
========

-Give it time to Dance or Drum, otherwise it won't be able to do anything
-Also, don't bring charmander in and waste time setting up if there are still Pokemon on the enemy team that would wall it.
-Try to bring in Charmander safely with a slow VoltTurn user or after a teammate is KO'd, it needs all the health it can get to take priority hits,especially with a SR weakness, and Life Orb recoil
-Charmander can set up while forcing a Grass, Steel, Bug, or Fairy out with the threat of a Scarf Fire Blast

Team Options
========

-Charmander appreciates both Stealth Rock setters to guarantee OHKOs and Rapid Spinners or Defog users to remove enemy hazards that plague Charmander.
-Secondary sun setters are helpful in case Vulpix goes down. Cottonee is particularly useful, as it can switch in on Ground- and Water-type moves and uses Prankster Sunny Day to set up quickly, has Stun Spore to cripple faster revengers, and can use Memento to give Charmander a free switch-in.

Other Options
########

-Brick Break can be used on a mixed Dragon Dance set to kill Munchlax while still hitting Tirtouga and Tyrunt, but Charmander needs max investment and a Life Orb to always OHKO Berry Juice Munchlax after Stealth Rock with Brick Break at +1, which leaves no room for special investment
-Substitute can be run to block priority hits and revenging from faster pokemon, but the accumulated damage from Life Orb, Solar Power, and Substitute makes Charmander too fragile
-Focus Punch can be run along with Substitute, requiring only 20 EVs and Life Orb to OHKO Berry Juice Munchlax
-Will-o-Wisp can be used to surprise priority users, especially Sucker Punch users like Pawniard, but it can leave holes in coverage
-Air Cutter, Hidden Power Fighting, and Hidden Power Ground are other options, but they are weaker when 2x super effective than a 2x resisted Fire Blast in sun, and they don't hit 4x resists significantly, so they're generally inferior options

Checks & Counters
########

**Hazards**: Stealth Rock limits the amount of switch-ins and sweeping time Charmander has

**Tanks**: Munchlax can eat anything except Focus Punch and OHKO back with Earthquake. Resttalk Chinchou and other bulky Water- and Rock-types like Shellos, Archen, Omanyte, and Tirtouga, can take Scarf Fire Blasts and hit back with Scald or Rock Slide, but they all get 2HKOed by LO Fire Blast (and, without Eviolite, Chinchou and Archen get OHKO'd by it). Specially defensive Hippopotas can take two Scarf Fire Blasts after sun is replaced by Sandstorm and OHKO back with Earthquake, but it is almost always 2HKO'd by Life Orb Fire Blast

**Flash Fire pokemon**: Ponyta and Houndour can switch in on Flare Blitz or Fire Blast for free and threaten it with Wild Charge or Sucker Punch, but are both OHKO'd by Solar Power Life Orb Ancientpower

**Strong priority users**: Pawniard and Bunnelby can easily revenge Charmander, especially after Stealth Rock and Solar Power recoil
 
Last edited:

Legitimate Username

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BRING ON THE SUNSHINE.
Additions
Removals
(Comments)
Overview
########

In Pokemon X and Y, Charmander clearly (AHEM Torchic duh) takes the lead as the cutest Fire-type in the metagame. Not only is it cute, however, it also boasts prodigious speed Speed and reasonably-good reasonably good offensive abilities. It accesses has access to Solar Power, boosting which boosts its STAB Fire Blast to being one of the strongest attacks in the tier. Despite some of these virtues, Charmander is heavily-outclasses heavily outclassed by other fire-types Fire-types in the tier. It suffers from weakness to Stealth Rock and is vulnerable to most forms of priority. Without any real set of Special Attacking special attacking moves, Charmander's powerful high Special attack Attack stat goes to waste (I'm not really sure what you're trying to say with this sentence, perhaps rewrite it a little?). Despite these weaknesses, Charmander can still be a dangerous threat to some commonly used Pokemon.

Choice Scarf
########
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Hidden Power Grass / Overheat
move 3: Ancientpower Ancient Power / Flamethrower
move 4: Dragon Pulse / Flamethrower
ability: Solar Power
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 44 HP / 12 Def / 200 SpA / 236 Spe
nature: Modest / Timid

Moves
========
Fire Blast, when boosted by Sunny Day and Solar Power, destroys everything except the bulkiest of resistant Pokemon and Flash Fire Pokemon users. The vast majority of the time, this is the move Charmander will want to use. Hidden Power Grass can be used to guarantee the KO on defensive Tirtouga and Eviolite Omanyte, as well as smacking Chinchou, Wooper, and Onix, all of which would otherwise entirely wall it. Overheat is used to deal more damage than Flamethrower and Flame Fire Blast, but only by crippling itself in the process. Ancientpower Ancient Power hits Flash Fire Houndour and Ponyta, as well as some other Pokemon that resist STAB Fire Blast, and everyone wants that boost (pointless addition). Ancient Power also hits Archen, which is a serious threat to Charmander. Dragon Pulse hits Dragons like Dragon-types such as Axew and Dratini. Flamethrower can be used for accuracy when Fire Blast's greater power is unneeded.

Set Details
========

Modest's The added power of a Modest nature is helpful for powering through bulky pokemon, as the added power allows Charmander's Fire Blast bulkier Pokemon. With Modest, Charmander reaches an impressive 24 speed Speed, enough to outspeed every unboosted Pokemon in Little Cup. With Timid, Charmander reaches 17 speed 25 Speed, enough to outspeed Tirtouga after a Shell Smash, Adamant Carvanha after one speed Speed boost, and Choice Scarf Mienfoo, Pawniard, and Chinchou, although the latter three will KO you if you lose the speed Speed tie. The However, the power loss is quite noticeable, however. Max Special Attack and Speed EVs are used to hit hard, while the rest should be focused on physical defense, Defense in order to take priority hits better.

Usage Tips
========

Use Charmander only when Sunny Day the sun is up, otherwise it won't have the power to OHKO everything. Try to bring in Charmander safely with a slow VoltTurn user or after a teammate is KO'd KOed; it needs all the health it can get, considering a its Stealth Rock weakness and Solar Power recoil.

Team Options
========

Heat Rock Vulpix is almost mandatory to provide sun to boost Charmander's Fire Blasts. It can also lures guarenteed lure guaranteed switch-ins to Fire-types and hits hit them with Energy Ball, Will-o-Wisp Will-O-Wisp, or Hypnosis. Chlorophyll sweepers synergize well with Charmander, using as they benefit from sun themselves and can use Sleep Powder on special walls and removing remove the Rock-, Ground-, and Water-types who that threaten Charmander, while Charmander blasts away Steel- and Grass-types, as well as benefiting from Sunny Day themselves. Charmander appreciates both Stealth Rock setters to guarantee OHKOs and Rapid Spinners or Defog users to remove enemy the opponent's hazards that plague Charmander. Secondary sun setters are helpful in case Vulpix goes down. Cottonee is particularly useful, as it can switch in on Ground- and Water-type moves and uses use a Prankster Sunny Day to set up quickly, and it has Stun Spore to cripple faster revengers revenge killers, and can use Memento to give Charmander a free switch-in.

Other Options
########

Charmander has access to a godly Physical physical movepool, like including Dragon Dance, Belly Drum, and Sword Swords Dance. A Physical As a result, a physical set is not out of the question. Brick Break can be used on a mixed Dragon Dance set to kill KO Munchlax while still hitting Tirtouga and Tyrunt, but Charmander needs max maximum Attack investment and a Life Orb to always OHKO Berry Juice Munchlax after Stealth Rock with a +1 Brick Break at +1, which leaves no room for special Special Attack investment. Substitute can be run to block priority hits moves and revenging from faster pokemon revenge killers, but the accumulated damage from Life Orb, Solar Power, and Substitute makes Charmander too fragile. Focus Punch can be run along with alongside Substitute, requiring only 20 EVs and a Life Orb to OHKO Berry Juice Munchlax. Will-o-Wisp Will-O-Wisp can be used to surprise priority users, especially Sucker Punch users like Pawniard, but it can leave holes in coverage. Air Cutter, Hidden Power Fighting, and Hidden Power Ground are other coverage options, but they are weaker when 2x super effective than a 2x resisted Fire Blast in the sun, and they don't hit 4x resists significantly, so they're generally inferior options.

Checks & Counters
########

**Hazards**: Stealth Rock limits the amount of switch-ins and sweeping time Charmander has.

**Tanks**: Munchlax can eat anything except a Focus Punch and OHKO Charmander back with Earthquake. Resttalk RestTalk Chinchou and other bulky Water- and Rock-types like such as Shellos, Archen, Omanyte, and Tirtouga, can take Choice Scarf Fire Blasts and hit back with Scald or Rock Slide, but they all get 2HKOed by LO a Life Orb Fire Blast (and, without Eviolite, Chinchou and Archen get OHKO'd OHKOed by it). Specially defensive Hippopotas can take two Choice Scarf Fire Blasts after the sun is replaced by Sandstorm sandstorm and can OHKO back with Earthquake, but it is almost always 2HKO'd 2HKOed by a Life Orb Fire Blast.

**Flash Fire pokemon Pokemon**: Ponyta and Houndour can switch in on Flare Blitz or Fire Blast for free and threaten it Charmander with Wild Charge or Sucker Punch, but they are both OHKO'd OHKOed by a Solar Power Life Orb Ancientpower Ancient Power.

**Strong priority users Priority Users**: Pawniard and Bunnelby can easily revenge kill Charmander, especially after Stealth Rock and Solar Power recoil.
Overview
########

In Pokemon X and Y, Charmander takes the lead as the cutest Fire-type in the metagame. Not only is it cute, it also boasts prodigious Speed and reasonably good offensive abilities. It has access to Solar Power, which boosts its STAB Fire Blast to being one of the strongest attacks in the tier. Despite some of these virtues, Charmander is heavily outclassed by other Fire-types in the tier. It suffers from weakness to Stealth Rock and is vulnerable to most forms of priority. Without any real set of special attacking moves, Charmander's high Special Attack stat goes to waste. Despite these weaknesses, Charmander can still be a dangerous threat to some commonly used Pokemon.

Choice Scarf
########
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Hidden Power Grass / Overheat
move 3: Ancient Power / Flamethrower
move 4: Dragon Pulse / Flamethrower
ability: Solar Power
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 44 HP / 12 Def / 200 SpA / 236 Spe
nature: Modest / Timid

Moves
========
Fire Blast, when boosted by Sunny Day and Solar Power, destroys everything except the bulkiest of resistant Pokemon and Flash Fire users. The vast majority of the time, this is the move Charmander will want to use. Hidden Power Grass can be used to guarantee the KO on defensive Tirtouga and Eviolite Omanyte, as well as smacking Chinchou, Wooper, and Onix, all of which would otherwise entirely wall it. Overheat is used to deal more damage than Flamethrower and Fire Blast, but only by crippling itself in the process. Ancient Power hits Flash Fire Houndour and Ponyta, as well as some other Pokemon that resist Fire Blast. Ancient Power also hits Archen, which is a serious threat to Charmander. Dragon Pulse hits Dragon-types such as Axew and Dratini. Flamethrower can be used for accuracy when Fire Blast's greater power is unneeded.

Set Details
========

The added power of a Modest nature is helpful for powering through bulkier Pokemon. With Modest, Charmander reaches an impressive 24 Speed, enough to outspeed every unboosted Pokemon in Little Cup. With Timid, Charmander reaches 25 Speed, enough to outspeed Tirtouga after a Shell Smash, Adamant Carvanha after one Speed boost, and Choice Scarf Mienfoo, Pawniard, and Chinchou, although the latter three will KO you if you lose the Speed tie. However, the power loss is quite noticeable. Max Special Attack and Speed EVs are used to hit hard, while the rest should be focused on physical Defense in order to take priority better.

Usage Tips
========

Use Charmander only when the sun is up, otherwise it won't have the power to OHKO everything. Try to bring in Charmander safely with a slow VoltTurn user or after a teammate is KOed; it needs all the health it can get, considering its Stealth Rock weakness and Solar Power recoil.

Team Options
========

Heat Rock Vulpix is almost mandatory to provide sun to boost Charmander's Fire Blasts. It can also lure guaranteed switch-ins to Fire-types and hit them with Energy Ball, Will-O-Wisp, or Hypnosis. Chlorophyll sweepers synergize well with Charmander, as they benefit from sun themselves and can use Sleep Powder on special walls and remove the Rock-, Ground-, and Water-types that threaten Charmander, while Charmander blasts away Steel- and Grass-types. Charmander appreciates both Stealth Rock setters to guarantee OHKOs and Rapid Spinners or Defog users to remove the opponent's hazards that plague Charmander. Secondary sun setters are helpful in case Vulpix goes down. Cottonee is particularly useful, as it can switch in on Ground- and Water-type moves and use a Prankster Sunny Day to set up quickly, and it has Stun Spore to cripple faster revenge killers, and can use Memento to give Charmander a free switch-in.

Other Options
########

Charmander has access to a godly physical movepool, including Dragon Dance, Belly Drum, and Swords Dance. As a result, a physical set is not out of the question. Brick Break can be used on a mixed Dragon Dance set to KO Munchlax while still hitting Tirtouga and Tyrunt, but Charmander needs maximum Attack investment and a Life Orb to always OHKO Berry Juice Munchlax after Stealth Rock with a +1 Brick Break, which leaves no room for Special Attack investment. Substitute can be run to block priority moves and faster revenge killers, but the accumulated damage from Life Orb, Solar Power, and Substitute makes Charmander too fragile. Focus Punch can be run alongside Substitute, requiring only 20 EVs and a Life Orb to OHKO Berry Juice Munchlax. Will-O-Wisp can be used to surprise priority users, especially Sucker Punch users like Pawniard, but it can leave holes in coverage. Air Cutter, Hidden Power Fighting, and Hidden Power Ground are other coverage options, but they are weaker when super effective than a resisted Fire Blast in the sun, and they don't hit 4x resists significantly, so they're generally inferior options.

Checks & Counters
########

**Hazards**: Stealth Rock limits the amount of switch-ins and sweeping time Charmander has.

**Tanks**: Munchlax can eat anything except a Focus Punch and OHKO Charmander back with Earthquake. RestTalk Chinchou and other bulky Water- and Rock-types such as Shellos, Archen, Omanyte, and Tirtouga can take Choice Scarf Fire Blasts and hit back with Scald or Rock Slide, but they all get 2HKOed by a Life Orb Fire Blast (and, without Eviolite, Chinchou and Archen get OHKOed by it). Specially defensive Hippopotas can take two Choice Scarf Fire Blasts after the sun is replaced by sandstorm and can OHKO back with Earthquake, but it is almost always 2HKOed by a Life Orb Fire Blast.

**Flash Fire Pokemon**: Ponyta and Houndour can switch in on Fire Blast for free and threaten Charmander with Wild Charge or Sucker Punch, but they are both OHKOed by a Solar Power Life Orb Ancient Power.

**Strong Priority Users**: Pawniard and Bunnelby can easily revenge kill Charmander, especially after Stealth Rock and Solar Power recoil.

GP approved 1/2
 
Last edited:

GatoDelFuego

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Alphose_Elric

REMOVE CHANGE COMMENTS

Overview
########

In Pokemon X and Y, Charmander takes the lead as the cutest Fire-type in the metagame. Not only is it cute, it also boasts prodigious Speed and reasonably good offensive abilities. It has access to Solar Power, which boosts its STAB Fire Blast to being one of the strongest attacks in the tier. Despite some of these virtues, Charmander is heavily outclassed by other Fire-types in the tier. It suffers from weakness to Stealth Rock and is vulnerable to most forms of priority. Without any real set of special attacking moves, Charmander's high Special Attack stat goes to waste. Despite these weaknesses, Charmander can still be a dangerous threat to some commonly used Pokemon, such as.

Choice Scarf
########
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Hidden Power Grass / Overheat
move 3: Ancient Power / Flamethrower
move 4: Dragon Pulse / Flamethrower
ability: Solar Power
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 44 HP / 12 Def / 200 SpA / 236 Spe
nature: Modest / Timid

Moves
========
Fire Blast, when boosted by Sunny Day and Solar Power, destroys everything except the bulkiest of resistant Pokemon and Flash Fire users. The vast majority of the time, this is the move Charmander will want to use. Hidden Power Grass can be used to guarantee the KO on defensive Tirtouga and Eviolite Omanyte, as well as smacking Chinchou, Wooper, and Onix, all of which would otherwise entirely wall it. Overheat is used to deal more damage than Flamethrower and Fire Blast, but only by crippling itself Charmander in the process. Ancient Power hits Flash Fire Houndour and Ponyta, as well as some other Pokemon that resist Fire Blast. Ancient Power also hits Archen, which is a serious threat to Charmander. Dragon Pulse hits Dragon-types such as Axew and Dratini. Flamethrower can be used for accuracy when Fire Blast's greater power is unneeded.

Set Details
========

The added power of a Modest nature is helpful for powering through bulkier Pokemon. With Modest, Charmander reaches an impressive 24 Speed, enough to outspeed every unboosted Pokemon in Little Cup. With Timid, Charmander reaches 25 Speed, enough to outspeed Tirtouga after a Shell Smash, Adamant Carvanha after one Speed boost, and Speed tie with Choice Scarf Mienfoo, Pawniard, and Chinchou, although the latter three will KO you Charmander if it you loses the Speed tie. It's not really outspeeding, then, is it? However, the power loss is quite noticeable. Max The Special Attack and Speed EVs are used to hit hard, while the rest should be focused on physical Defense in order to take priority better.

Usage Tips
========

Use Charmander only when the sun is up, as otherwise it won't have the power to OHKO everything. Can it OHKO everything? I'm not a LC player so I don't know, but if this is an exaggeration consider saying "anything" instead Try to bring in Charmander safely with a slow VoltTurn user or after a teammate is KOed; it needs all the health it can get, considering its Stealth Rock weakness and Solar Power recoil.

Team Options
========

Heat Rock Vulpix is almost mandatory to provide sun to boost Charmander's Fire Blasts. It can also lure guaranteed switch-ins to Fire-types and hit them with Energy Ball, Will-O-Wisp, or Hypnosis. Chlorophyll sweepers synergize well with Charmander, as they benefit from sun themselves and can use Sleep Powder on special walls and remove the Rock-, Ground-, and Water-types that threaten Charmander, while Charmander blasts away Steel- and Grass-types. Charmander appreciates both Stealth Rock setters to guarantee OHKOs and Rapid Spinners or Defog users to remove the opponent's entry hazards that plague Charmander. Secondary sun setters are helpful in case Vulpix goes down. Cottonee is particularly useful, as it can switch in on Ground- and Water-type moves and use a Prankster Sunny Day to set up quickly, and it has Stun Spore to cripple faster revenge killers, (RC) and can use Memento to give Charmander a free switch-in.

Other Options
########

Charmander has access to a godly physical movepool, including Dragon Dance, Belly Drum, and Swords Dance. As a result, a physical set is not out of the question. Brick Break can be used on a mixed Dragon Dance set to KO Munchlax while still hitting Tirtouga and Tyrunt, but Charmander needs maximum Attack investment and a Life Orb to always OHKO Berry Juice Munchlax after Stealth Rock with a +1 Brick Break, which leaves no room for Special Attack investment. Substitute can be run to block priority moves and faster revenge killers, but the accumulated damage from Life Orb, Solar Power, and Substitute makes Charmander too fragile. Focus Punch can be run alongside Substitute, requiring only 20 EVs and a Life Orb to OHKO Berry Juice Munchlax. Will-O-Wisp can be used to surprise priority users, especially Sucker Punch users like Pawniard, but it can leave holes in coverage. Air Cutter, Hidden Power Fighting, and Hidden Power Ground are other coverage options, but they are weaker when super effective than a resisted Fire Blast in the sun, and they don't hit anything significant with a 4x resistance to Fire resists significantly, I rearranged "significant" here, but I'm not sure which version is correct. If the moves don't hit anything significant that 4x resists fire, then implement my change, but if they hit the significant things that resist fire, just not for a lot of damage (significantly), don't change "significant"'s position so they're generally inferior options.

Checks & Counters
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**Entry Hazards**: Stealth Rock limits the amount of switch-ins, (AC) and thus sweeping time, (AC) that Charmander has.

**Tanks**: Munchlax can eat anything except a Focus Punch and OHKO Charmander back with Earthquake. RestTalk Chinchou and other bulky Water- and Rock-types Water / Rock types such as Shellos, Archen, Omanyte, and Tirtouga can take Choice Scarf Fire Blasts and hit back with Scald or Rock Slide, but they all get 2HKOed by a Life Orb Fire Blast (and, without Eviolite, Chinchou and Archen get OHKOed by it). Specially defensive Hippopotas can take two Choice Scarf Fire Blasts after the sun is replaced by sandstorm and can OHKO back with Earthquake, but it is almost always 2HKOed by a Life Orb Fire Blast.

**Flash Fire Pokemon**: Ponyta and Houndour can switch in on Fire Blast for free and threaten Charmander with Wild Charge or Sucker Punch, but they are both OHKOed by a Solar Power, Life Orb-boosted Ancient Power.

**Strong Priority Users**: Pawniard and Bunnelby can easily revenge kill Charmander, especially after Stealth Rock and Solar Power recoil.

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