Honko
he of many honks
https://www.smogon.com/dex/dp/pokemon/charizard
[OVERVIEW]
Charizard is generally regarded as the best Pokemon in NU. It's powerful, fast, and extremely versatile, capable of running sets ranging from special attacker to physical setup sweeper to Toxic staller that each require different counters. Its typing comes with an obvious drawback in a 4x weakness to Stealth Rock, making Rapid Spin support nearly mandatory, but Charizard also has an immunity to Ground and resistance to Fighting, which open up far more opportunities to switch in freely than other offensive Fire-types have, as well as access to Roost. When you're building an NU team, Charizard is the number one Pokemon you need to keep in mind.
[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Hidden Power Grass / Focus Blast
move 4: Roost
item: Life Orb
ability: Blaze
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
This is Charizard's most common and straightforward set. Fire Blast is the primary attack, while Air Slash gives Charizard an option with neutral coverage against opposing Fire-types, better accuracy, higher PP, and a handy flinch chance. Hidden Power Grass covers the Water- and Rock-types that resist Charizard's STAB moves. Roost allows Charizard to recover the HP it loses from Stealth Rock and Life Orb recoil on forced switches, mitigating its 4x Stealth Rock weakness to some extent and setting Charizard apart from most other offensive Pokemon in NU, which lack reliable recovery. You can opt for Focus Blast over Air Slash or Hidden Power Grass in order to KO Regirock, Lickilicky, and Cradily after they switch into Fire Blast, but keep in mind that dropping Air Slash hurts Charizard's neutral coverage and consistency, while dropping Hidden Power Grass means losing to Water-types that Charizard could otherwise 2HKO.
[ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]
Charizard sits at an important Speed tier that lets it outspeed Jynx and Haunter and Speed tie with Typhlosion, Dodrio, Ninetales, and of course other Charizard, so maximum Speed investment with a Timid nature is required. Life Orb is highly recommended for the power boost that makes Charizard so dangerous. However, it does have the serious drawback of limiting Charizard to a single switch-in if Stealth Rock is on the field and Charizard doesn't get a chance to use Roost. If you're not confident that your team can keep Stealth Rock off the field, you can consider switching to Expert Belt or Leftovers in order to ensure Charizard can come into the battle at least twice, although you may be better off just using Choice Specs instead.
Flamethrower can replace Fire Blast if you're worried about accuracy. Substitute is a neat option if you can afford to drop Hidden Power Grass, especially on teams that intend to spread poison or paralysis. It protects Charizard from status and Sucker Punch, takes advantage of opponents who try to sacrifice a weakened Pokemon to get a revenge killer in, and allows Charizard to fish for opposing full paralysis and Stone Edge misses or stall out poisoned foes.
Entry hazard removal is the most important support for any Charizard set. Sandslash and Hitmonchan both pair well with Charizard, since they can switch in on Regirock fairly easily; Hitmonchan also threatens Lickilicky and Cradily, while Sandslash can set up your own Stealth Rock and provides an Electric immunity. With Stealth Rock off the field, Charizard can repeatedly switch in on most Grass- and Ground-types and force them out, especially Sandslash and Gligar, which often don't carry a Rock-type attack. You can also use Charizard as a lead in order to be sure that it gets into battle at least once without taking Stealth Rock damage.
Specially defensive Water-types such as Slowking, Politoed, and Mantine comfortably counter this set, as Hidden Power Grass never 2HKOes them even after Stealth Rock damage. Grass-types such as Shiftry, Cacturne, and Meganium are therefore good partners. Specially defensive Psychic-types such as Gardevoir, Hypno, and Grumpig can also stop Charizard, which makes Skuntank an excellent teammate for its ability to trap Psychic-types with Pursuit. Tauros is very commonly used to revenge kill Charizard, so your team should include a solid switch-in such as Regirock, Cradily, or Drifblim.
[SET]
name: Toxic Stall
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Flamethrower
move 4: Roost
item: Leftovers
ability: Blaze
nature: Timid
evs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Although Charizard is mostly known for its offensive prowess, it also has all the tools necessary to be a very effective Toxic staller. This set is great at crippling typical defensive switch-ins such as Slowking and Regirock with Toxic. Once the opponent's walls are poisoned, Charizard can stall them out with Substitute and Roost. Flamethrower hits most of the common Poison- and Steel-types super effectively and still does significant damage to most offensive Pokemon despite this set's lack of investment in Special Attack.
[ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]
Investing in HP helps Charizard stall for longer against the weak attacks of defensive Pokemon such as Lickilicky and Slowking. However, it's also reasonable to move some EVs from HP into Special Attack in order to better take on certain offensive Pokemon. For example, with 192 Special Attack EVs, Charizard will always OHKO Jynx and has a 50% chance to OHKO Haunter after Stealth Rock damage.
This set can be an effective lead. Leading means Charizard won't have to worry about switching into Stealth Rock to get into play, and it can reveal and cripple your opponent's Fire-type counter very early in the match. In addition, Substitute blocks sleep from lead Jynx and Venomoth and also punishes opponents who choose to spend the first turn setting up entry hazards.
This set works best alongside other Pokemon that spread poison. Regirock, Gligar, Lickilicky, Politoed, and Hypno are all examples of effective Toxic stallers that can work well alongside Charizard. Setting up multiple layers of entry hazards also greatly increases the effectiveness of Toxic stalling strategies, so consider adding Nidoqueen or Venomoth for Toxic Spikes, Glalie or Cacturne for Spikes, and a Ghost-type to block Rapid Spin.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Flare Blitz
move 3: Thunder Punch
move 4: Earthquake
item: Life Orb
ability: Blaze
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Swords Dance makes Charizard a powerful wallbreaker with a very different set of counters from its more common special attacking sets. After a boost and with Stealth Rock up, Flare Blitz OHKOes specially defensive Lickilicky, Cradily, and Hypno, Thunder Punch OHKOes most specially defensive Water-types, including Slowking that don't invest most of their EVs in Defense, and Earthquake demolishes Fire-types such as Ninetales and Flareon.
[ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]
Entry hazard removal is even more important than usual for this set, since it will be suffering recoil damage from Flare Blitz in addition to Life Orb and lacks any healing. Hazard support of your own is also important, most notably for putting Slowking into OHKO range for +2 Thunder Punch.
Regirock takes a maximum of approximately 75% from +2 Earthquake, which means Charizard can't beat it alone. This set therefore works best alongside another Pokemon that Regirock counters, such as Tauros or Typhlosion. Since Regirock lacks reliable recovery, you can have Charizard weaken it to allow your Tauros to sweep, or vice versa. Pokemon that Slowking counters, such as Medicham and Floatzel, are also good partners for similar reasons. Water / Ground types and physically defensive Water-types such as Poliwrath counter this set, so it's a good idea to bring a Grass-type that can switch in on them. This set is relatively easy to revenge kill, especially after Flare Blitz and Life Orb recoil have taken their toll, so your team will need solid answers to Tauros, Floatzel, and common Choice Scarf users such as Medicham and Gardevoir.
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Air Slash
move 3: Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Focus Blast
item: Choice Specs
ability: Blaze
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Choice Specs Charizard has a couple of notable advantages over the more common Life Orb variant. The extra power allows Charizard to 2HKO Lickilicky and Hypno with Fire Blast and potentially OHKO Regirock with Focus Blast after Stealth Rock damage, whereas Life Orb Charizard falls short. In addition, the lack of recoil means Charizard can switch in at least twice per match even if you can't keep Stealth Rock off the field, whereas Life Orb Charizard can only switch into Stealth Rock once if it attacks but doesn't use Roost. The downside, of course, is that Choice Specs requires more prediction to use effectively, and Charizard loses the option of using Roost to heal itself when it forces a switch, making any damage it takes permanent.
Fire Blast is the primary STAB move and the attack you'll be looking to use once you've weakened or KOed the opposing Pokemon that resist it. Air Slash has better accuracy and provides good neutral coverage alongside Fire Blast, most importantly against opposing Fire-types. Hidden Power Grass hits Water- and Rock-types, although it unfortunately falls short of 2HKOing most Slowking and Politoed unless you have multiple layers of entry hazards set up. Focus Blast OHKOes Regirock that don't fully invest in Special Defense and also hits many other common switch-ins hard.
[ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]
Flamethrower and Overheat are worth a look as alternative STAB moves. If you're willing to give up Focus Blast's coverage, running Flamethrower and Overheat together gives Charizard great flexibility in choosing between power and reliability depending on the situation. However, Fire Blast remains the primary option due to the 2HKOs it achieves against common special walls.
Choice Specs Charizard is a decent lead choice, as leading gets it into the battle without worrying about Stealth Rock. Whether it leads or not, Charizard obviously benefits from Rapid Spin support. It also appreciates support from Skuntank to help remove Slowking, and it works well with other Pokemon that Regirock counters, such as Typhlosion and Dodrio, since it can knock Regirock out of the game with a single Focus Blast.
[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Flare Blitz
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Thunder Punch
item: Life Orb
ability: Blaze
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Charizard is one of the few Pokemon with access to Dragon Dance in NU, and it's the only one with enough Speed to outspeed most Choice Scarf users after a boost. This makes it a dangerous late-game sweeper that can run over offensive teams that expect to rely on revenge killers to deal with Charizard. Flare Blitz is Charizard's primary STAB move, Earthquake covers Rock- and Fire-types, and Thunder Punch zaps Water-types. It's important to note that Charizard is not especially powerful at +1 and cannot OHKO anything with decent physical bulk that isn't weak to Flare Blitz, so you'll need to soften up the opponent's defensive core before attempting to sweep.
[ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]
Rapid Spin support is absolutely critical for Charizard to have a chance at sweeping, since recoil from Flare Blitz and Life Orb will deplete its HP very quickly. With only a +1 boost to its mediocre base 84 Attack, Charizard cannot OHKO most walls, so it appreciates teammates that can lure out and weaken the opponent's Water- and Rock-types as well as other physically defensive Pokemon such as Sandslash and Lickilicky. Tauros is a good partner, as it tends to draw out the opponent's physical walls and can weaken them with its coverage moves. Stacking multiple layers of Spikes is also an option, as that can help push Pokemon such as Politoed, Cradily, and Tauros into OHKO range.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
================
Charizard can be an effective revenge killer with Choice Scarf, but you're usually better off using Typhlosion or Magmortar in that role. The combination of Sunny Day and Solar Beam is an option to overpower some of the usual counters to special attacking sets, but this is usually only worth the setup if you have at least one other Pokemon on your team that benefits from sun.
Belly Drum is an extremely high-risk, high-reward option. If you can keep Stealth Rock off the field, remove faster Choice Scarf users and priority users, weaken physically defensive Water-types, and give Charizard a free turn, it can win the game with a set of Substitute / Belly Drum / Fire Punch / Earthquake with a Salac Berry. That's a lot of conditions, though, which makes this set impossible to pull off with any consistency.
Rock Slide and Hidden Power Rock allow Charizard to win mirror matchups but provide no other useful coverage. Hidden Power Electric stops Mantine from walling special sets, retains coverage against Slowking and Politoed, and also has some value against opposing Charizard, at the cost of leaving Charizard walled by Quagsire and Gastrodon. Will-O-Wisp neuters Skuntank that try to revenge kill Charizard with Sucker Punch, but you're better off simply shooting a Fire Blast at just about any other Pokemon that you'd want to burn.
Checks and Counters
================
Regirock and Slowking are the safest immediate answers to Charizard; they can switch in on both the standard special and physical sets and beat or force out Charizard, although Slowking needs significant investment in Defense to survive +2 Thunder Punch if Stealth Rock is up. However, they both hate switching in on the SubToxic set, and Regirock is vulnerable to Focus Blast from special sets, while Slowking must beware of being Pursuit trapped by one of Charizard's teammates.
Politoed and Mantine are solid counters to special attacking sets but lose to physical sets with Thunder Punch. Specially defensive variants of Lickilicky and Cradily can stall out special attacking Charizard sets that lack Focus Blast, but both fall to +2 Flare Blitz. Gardevoir, Grumpig, and Hypno can also counter special attacking sets but lack the physical bulk to stand up to boosted Flare Blitz, and all three are very vulnerable to being trapped by Skuntank. Ninetales and Flareon can switch into special sets relatively safely but are crushed by Earthquake from physical sets. Probopass checks any set without Focus Blast or Earthquake and can set up Stealth Rock.
Quagsire, Gastrodon, and Whiscash are perhaps the best counters to physical sets, but special sets annihilate them with Hidden Power Grass. Poliwrath and Walrein can also check physical Charizard, but they lack reliable recovery and need to stay relatively healthy to be able to survive a boosted Thunder Punch. Solrock counters physical sets quite well, but it loses to special sets and is rarely seen outside of the lead slot.
Perhaps the easiest way to handle Charizard, especially for offensive teams, is to keep Stealth Rock up and force it out with faster Pokemon. Tauros, Manectric, Floatzel, and Electrode all naturally outspeed Charizard and can OHKO it with their STAB moves. Choice Scarf users such as Gardevoir, Magmortar, Medicham, and Magneton all threaten Charizard with Electric-type moves, although the first three require a bit of prior damage to secure the OHKO. Priority users such as Skuntank, Shiftry, and Sharpedo can also revenge kill weakened Charizard, although those that rely on Sucker Punch must beware of Charizard dodging it with Roost or Substitute.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Honko, 42413]]
- Quality checked by: [[Oglemi, 40358], [Bughouse, 52547], [Jirachee, 61836]]
- Grammar checked by: [[frenzyplant, 185509], [The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216]]
Last edited: