Ok so the basic idea here is that I want to use my Dragon Dance Charizard to his full potential. Charizard is my favorite pokemon and I know in the right team he could be a monster I'm just trying to get it just right because while he is awesome he has some big weaknesses that need to be addressed before he can come in. Mostly what I tried to do with this team is pick pokemon that compliment Charizard, address his weaknesses and create a well rounded team as well. I've been testing teams with Charizard on pokemon online and this is a combination of a few teams I've tried that combines what I've found works best in each one.
Roserade
Item: Focus Sash
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: HP 6/ Sp.A 252/ Spe 252
Nature: Timid
Moves:
-Toxic Spikes
-Sleep Powder
-Giga Drain
-Hidden Power(Fire)
Alright so I was searching for a grass type to deal with water types and a good leading pokemon so I ended up deciding on Roserade for a few reasons. Roserade is fast that was my first selling point on her. The sleep powder helps deal with leads that might be have super effective moves, and focus sash deals with the fact that it might not attack first (hopefully most times it will be faster than my opponent's lead though). Giga drain helps deal with a first turn hit by gaining back some health, and hidden power fire gives good coverage. Finally when i was first making the team i realized it really needed entry hazards so i though toxic spikes would work well.
Hitmontop
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: HP 252/ Def 252/ Sp.D 4
Nature: Impish
Moves:
-Rapid Spin
-Close Combat
-Sucker Punch
-Bulk Up
So i tried the recommended Hitmontop rapid spin set and it worked but it was lacking in a certain umph that I needed in my fighting pokemon for this team. The core ideas of the set are still there, It's a bulky fighting type that can come in and get rid of those pesky entry hazards, but I feel the addition of Bulk Up in the 4th slot really helps it. The recommended set ran either foresight or toxic in that slot and I didn't feel either of those moves fit. Foresight could be used on ghosts, but I don't see the need to run it along side sucker punch. Sucker punch already hits ghosts super effectively and on top of that it has priority. On the other hand toxic would be a good move to choose, but ideally (and most often) I've got 2 layers of toxic spikes down, so running toxic would be kind of a waste of a move slot. Enter Bulk Up! I switched my 4th move to this and never looked back (and I've had a lot of success). It gives my already high Def a boost and ups my Atk allowing me to Score more 1HOKs which was needed for this pokemon. All in all I'm really happy with switching my fighting pokemon to Hitmontop (thanks evan1o1 & mukery)
Metagross
Item: Air Balloon
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: HP 6/ Atk 252/ Spe 252
Nature: Adamant
Moves:
- Agility
- Zen Headbutt
- Earthquake
- Meteor Mash
So I use Metagross as a wall. He helps me deal with fighting types because he can take a hit or 2 from them and own them with a Zen Headbutt after. He also helps me take on Outraging Garchomps (I really hate Garchomp) because he is one of the few pokemon who can take those hits. Metagross is just a good utility to have. He can take a hit or 2 which isn't something that can be said for some of my frailer speedier attackers which is why I like to have him. Agility helps him get the jump on some of the pokemon that are borderline faster than him which is also nice.
Tyranitar
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: HP 6/ Atk 252/ Spe 252
Nature: Jolly
Moves:
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Aqua Tail
- Stone Edge
Ok I know this set should have pursuit but the Tyranitar I have didn't have the egg move (It's shiny flawless I don't wana try to trade for a new one) so I just decided to work with what I have. Hes a basic choice scarfer and functions as such. I switch him in on pokemon who are weak against him, psychic types, ghost types, flying type, fire type, so on so forth. He really does have great type coverage my only beef with him is he has some weaknesses to some VERY common moves (especially earthquake which seems to be everywhere) so I have to watch out for that, but that aside he is a good scarfer overall.
Starmie
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: Sp.A 252/ Sp.D 6/ Spe 252
Nature: Timid
Moves:
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
- Recover
So I'm taking a more offensive approach to my Starmie now. After adding Hitmontop to my team I gave it a more offensive set. It works well but I'm still not 100% happy with it. Initially I gave it a life orb, but it just died WAY too easily. Even when I wanted to use recover I'd almost always just lose the health in the resulting counter attack. I recently switched its item to leftovers and we'll see if that helps at all but my biggest issue with this pokemon is how frail it is. It's fast but when it doesn't 1HOK it ends up dieing on the following attack. It's a good pokemon but I feel like something bulkier might be better in this slot.
Charizard
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Blaze
EVs: HP 6/ Atk 252/ Spe 252
Nature: Adamant
Moves:
- Flare Blitz
- Earthquake
- Roost
- Dragon Dance
So here's my Charizard, the main pokemon on my team. He's my favorite pokemon and this specific Charizard is the first Shiny pokemon I ever got (when he was a charmander) and happens to be flawless, which is a triple threat of reasons why I want to use him. So in an ideal world I deal with his counters, switch him in, set up a DD or 2, and sweep with Flare Blitz and Earthquake. I've been able to do this a few times with awesome results the problem seems to be making this happen. My biggest problem seems to be finding a safe time to get Dragon Dances in. I've tried to cater my pokemon to making this happen. I feel like maybe a different coverage move might work, or maybe something other than roost (I'm not sure i like the health regen but at the same time another move might help too). But all in all when he gets rolling Charizard is a force to be reckoned with
Team Comments:
So I know theres a lot of things that can kill a Charizard, but I really want this team to work. I'm open to any and all suggestions (aside from removing Charizard from the team that kind of defeats the purpose my idea). There are few other things I was considering. One of these things was running a Sub-3 Moves Gengar (Sub, HP fire, Focus Blase, Shadow ball) in the slot metagross is in, but i feel like metagross is a slightly better choice due to it's bulkiness. I'm also considering switching out Starmie for a bulkier water type, my team seems to thrive on Defense right now so something that can take some punishment would probably be better. Other than that make me some suggestions. I'm sure theres moves, EV sets, pokemon, and other things I haven't thought of using yet so help me out, I really want to make a team that lets this Charizard set shine!
Roserade
Item: Focus Sash
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: HP 6/ Sp.A 252/ Spe 252
Nature: Timid
Moves:
-Toxic Spikes
-Sleep Powder
-Giga Drain
-Hidden Power(Fire)
Alright so I was searching for a grass type to deal with water types and a good leading pokemon so I ended up deciding on Roserade for a few reasons. Roserade is fast that was my first selling point on her. The sleep powder helps deal with leads that might be have super effective moves, and focus sash deals with the fact that it might not attack first (hopefully most times it will be faster than my opponent's lead though). Giga drain helps deal with a first turn hit by gaining back some health, and hidden power fire gives good coverage. Finally when i was first making the team i realized it really needed entry hazards so i though toxic spikes would work well.
Hitmontop
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: HP 252/ Def 252/ Sp.D 4
Nature: Impish
Moves:
-Rapid Spin
-Close Combat
-Sucker Punch
-Bulk Up
So i tried the recommended Hitmontop rapid spin set and it worked but it was lacking in a certain umph that I needed in my fighting pokemon for this team. The core ideas of the set are still there, It's a bulky fighting type that can come in and get rid of those pesky entry hazards, but I feel the addition of Bulk Up in the 4th slot really helps it. The recommended set ran either foresight or toxic in that slot and I didn't feel either of those moves fit. Foresight could be used on ghosts, but I don't see the need to run it along side sucker punch. Sucker punch already hits ghosts super effectively and on top of that it has priority. On the other hand toxic would be a good move to choose, but ideally (and most often) I've got 2 layers of toxic spikes down, so running toxic would be kind of a waste of a move slot. Enter Bulk Up! I switched my 4th move to this and never looked back (and I've had a lot of success). It gives my already high Def a boost and ups my Atk allowing me to Score more 1HOKs which was needed for this pokemon. All in all I'm really happy with switching my fighting pokemon to Hitmontop (thanks evan1o1 & mukery)
Metagross
Item: Air Balloon
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: HP 6/ Atk 252/ Spe 252
Nature: Adamant
Moves:
- Agility
- Zen Headbutt
- Earthquake
- Meteor Mash
So I use Metagross as a wall. He helps me deal with fighting types because he can take a hit or 2 from them and own them with a Zen Headbutt after. He also helps me take on Outraging Garchomps (I really hate Garchomp) because he is one of the few pokemon who can take those hits. Metagross is just a good utility to have. He can take a hit or 2 which isn't something that can be said for some of my frailer speedier attackers which is why I like to have him. Agility helps him get the jump on some of the pokemon that are borderline faster than him which is also nice.
Tyranitar
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: HP 6/ Atk 252/ Spe 252
Nature: Jolly
Moves:
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Aqua Tail
- Stone Edge
Ok I know this set should have pursuit but the Tyranitar I have didn't have the egg move (It's shiny flawless I don't wana try to trade for a new one) so I just decided to work with what I have. Hes a basic choice scarfer and functions as such. I switch him in on pokemon who are weak against him, psychic types, ghost types, flying type, fire type, so on so forth. He really does have great type coverage my only beef with him is he has some weaknesses to some VERY common moves (especially earthquake which seems to be everywhere) so I have to watch out for that, but that aside he is a good scarfer overall.
Starmie
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: Sp.A 252/ Sp.D 6/ Spe 252
Nature: Timid
Moves:
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
- Recover
So I'm taking a more offensive approach to my Starmie now. After adding Hitmontop to my team I gave it a more offensive set. It works well but I'm still not 100% happy with it. Initially I gave it a life orb, but it just died WAY too easily. Even when I wanted to use recover I'd almost always just lose the health in the resulting counter attack. I recently switched its item to leftovers and we'll see if that helps at all but my biggest issue with this pokemon is how frail it is. It's fast but when it doesn't 1HOK it ends up dieing on the following attack. It's a good pokemon but I feel like something bulkier might be better in this slot.
Charizard
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Blaze
EVs: HP 6/ Atk 252/ Spe 252
Nature: Adamant
Moves:
- Flare Blitz
- Earthquake
- Roost
- Dragon Dance
So here's my Charizard, the main pokemon on my team. He's my favorite pokemon and this specific Charizard is the first Shiny pokemon I ever got (when he was a charmander) and happens to be flawless, which is a triple threat of reasons why I want to use him. So in an ideal world I deal with his counters, switch him in, set up a DD or 2, and sweep with Flare Blitz and Earthquake. I've been able to do this a few times with awesome results the problem seems to be making this happen. My biggest problem seems to be finding a safe time to get Dragon Dances in. I've tried to cater my pokemon to making this happen. I feel like maybe a different coverage move might work, or maybe something other than roost (I'm not sure i like the health regen but at the same time another move might help too). But all in all when he gets rolling Charizard is a force to be reckoned with
Team Comments:
So I know theres a lot of things that can kill a Charizard, but I really want this team to work. I'm open to any and all suggestions (aside from removing Charizard from the team that kind of defeats the purpose my idea). There are few other things I was considering. One of these things was running a Sub-3 Moves Gengar (Sub, HP fire, Focus Blase, Shadow ball) in the slot metagross is in, but i feel like metagross is a slightly better choice due to it's bulkiness. I'm also considering switching out Starmie for a bulkier water type, my team seems to thrive on Defense right now so something that can take some punishment would probably be better. Other than that make me some suggestions. I'm sure theres moves, EV sets, pokemon, and other things I haven't thought of using yet so help me out, I really want to make a team that lets this Charizard set shine!
