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Community POTW #013

Serebii

And, as if by magic, the webmaster appeared...
Staff member
Admin
It's the week of Pokémon Day, and you know what that means. We're going to Kanto!

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It's Charizard!
 

KyogreThunder

Call of Fate
Charizard
Timid nature
Ability: Solar Power
EVs: 252 SpAtk/252 Speed/4 HP
@Life Orb/Heavy-Duty Boots
-Flamethrower
-Solar Beam
-Air Slash
-Dragon Pulse/Ancient Power
Shame Charizard has lost Scorching Sands in the generational shift, as it was the best coverage move against Rock-types. This is true for Roost, too.
 
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XaelOstigian

Competitive...kinda
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Can we all agree that Charizard has been done to death? Yeah it's a cool fire breathing dragon (Isn't actually a Dragon type), but that's about it in terms of novelty. In competitive tiers, Charizard has fluctuated greatly between being a juggernaut offensive drake and a paper dragon. The introduction of Stealth Rock all but killed its usage in higher tiers, but then Gamefreak went out of its way giving it all kinds of gimmicks such as two mega evolutions in gen 6 each with their own unique niche and gen 8 where it got its own unique Gigantamax form as the champion's ace and the bane of the Battle Tower that generation. But sadly mega evolutions and G-Maxing went the way of the Berserk Gene, leaving Charizard with little to make it stand out from the crowd, especially when competing with other Fire types like the Drought setting Torkoal, the massacre moth that is Volcarona, the Libero soccer superstar Cinderrace, or the cool as hell Ceruledge. Heck, it even faces competition from the starter of this generation which has better typing, tanky stats, cool and unique set up moves, and its technically also a fire breathing dragon sans the wings. But the fandom around this Pokemon will never die, thus it made the cut twice in the Dexit limitations, so let's see if we can give the OG Fire starter its due.
charizard-pokemon.gif

Still not a Dragon
Ability: Solar Power
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
EVs: (HP 4) (Attack 252) (Speed 252)
Tera Type: Fire, Ground, or Dragon

Moves:
Dragon Dance
Fire Punch/Flare Blitz
Earthquake
Thunder Punch/Crunch/Dragon Claw

Set Details:
A Dragon Dance sweeper set that echoes its old Charizard X set. Set up Dragon Dance to boost physical attack and speed, Fire Punch is your most spammable Fire STAB though Flare Blitz is also an option if you want more power and don't mind the recoil, and Earthquake is for wide offensive coverage. The last slot is also a matter of coverage depending on preference. Thunder Punch surprises Water types who think they will be safe, Crunch has overall strong neutral coverage, and Dragon Claw does the same but also counters other "fellow" Dragons. Invest everything into attack and speed, and your choice of nature is up to you since after a single Dragon Dance Charizard can outspeed most of the metagame thus giving it an option to go full Adamant if it wishes. Life Orb is also there to boost offense further, just be weary of the double recoil with the orb and Flare Blitz which can send Charizard to the field medics early if used recklessly. Tera typing is a boon for Charizard this generation so it isn't impeded by its poor typing this generation, and your choice comes down to Fire for extra power, Ground to sponge incoming Electric and Rock attacks while boosting Earthquake, or Dragon (For lols) and a means to sponge Water and Electric attacks while being neutral to Rock attacks and possibly even boosting Dragon Claw.

Drummer Drake
Ability: Solar Power
Item: Sitrus Berry
Nature: Jolly
EVs: (HP 4) (Attack 252) (Speed 252)
Tera Type: Fire or Ground

Moves:
Belly Drum
Fire Punch
Acrobatics
Earthquake

Set Details:
Charizard is one of the few Belly Drum users that actually has the speed to make the most of the move without being immediately revenge killed. Set up Belly Drum to max out your physical attack, spam Fire Punch and Acrobatics, the latter of which becomes a 110 base move after consuming your Sitrus Berry post Belly Drum, and Earthquake provides the best coverage. Same stat spread as my last set, same Tera type justification too.
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BillyBobJoe

Well-Known Member
Still not a Dragon
Ability: Solar Power
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
EVs: (HP 4) (Attack 252) (Speed 252)
Tera Type: Fire, Ground, or Dragon

Moves:
Dragon Dance
Fire Punch/Flare Blitz
Earthquake
Thunder Punch/Crunch/Dragon Claw

Drummer Drake
Ability: Solar Power
Item: Sitrus Berry
Nature: Jolly
EVs: (HP 4) (Attack 252) (Speed 252)
Tera Type: Fire or Ground

Moves:
Belly Drum
Fire Punch
Acrobatics
Earthquake
Solar Power only boosts Special Attack in the sun. There is literally no reason to use it on a physical set.
 

Mestorn

Wandering Battler
Charizard is definitely overrated, being the OG Dragon we all got to own as a kid/teen/young adult/adult/etc. However it is not completely without Merit. While Fire Flying is plagued by common weaknesses in Water, Electric and a cripping 4 times weakness to Stealth Rock, 6 resistances and 1 immunity plus dodging every other entry hazard isn't bad... Though, Stealth Rock, Solar Power, and Charizard's own poor defenses ensures it has little defensive utility.

What Charizard brings to the table is Power... in the sun. Solar Power + Specs, or heck, even Life Orb has obscene power with the number of Pokémon commonly used in Doubles, OU and Ubers that are not threatened by a OHKO by Solar Power Specs can be counted on two hands (using Overheat/Solar Beam and Focus Blast for coverage). Base 100 Speed is appreciably fast as well. While 8 generations of Power Creep have ensured that Base 100 isn't impressive against a number of offensive Pokémon, against defensive ones, base 100 speed is lightning quick to them, turning Charizard into a fierce Wallbreaker melting anything not named Blissey/Chansey, Armarouge, Ceruledge, intact Multiscale Dragonite, Rotom-Heat, Specially Defensive Skeledirge, Ting-Lu, Toxapex or Miraidon.

However, Stealth Rocks being extremely common in Singles ensures that Charizard will likely continue its reign of lording over the lower tiers, but in Doubles, I can see Charizard having a niche like in previous generations. Sun has never been stronger, especially with the Scarlet Paradox Pokémon running about, making it relatively easy to slot Charizard on a team with Sun Support and Start melting the competition. However, losing Dynamax hurts and Charizard no longer has an emergency button to compensate for its bulk, a STAB Attack that increases its speed, ignore the drawbacks of its stronger Fire Attacks or still have a Grass attack available when Sun goes down. Sadly, Charizard isn't currently allowed in VGC, but I expect that to change in the future.

Burning Wings
Charizard
Ability:
Solar Power
Item Attached: Life Orb
-Heat Wave
-Focus Blast/Ancient Power
-Solar Beam/Flamethrower/Fire Blast
-Protect
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
Tera: Fire/Grass

Charizard in Doubles proves to be an intense threat in the Sun. Only Armarouge and Ceruledge are directly immune to Charizard's Fire Attacks which do obscene damage after sun comes up. Heat Wave provides good spread damage at little drawback, making it easy for Charizard to pick up KOs on weakened teams. Focus Blast provides invaluable coverage into Roaring Moon and Tera Normal Dragonite, while Ancient Power provides coverage for many opposing Fire types (Arcanine, Torkoal, Armarouge, Iron Moth, Tera Fire Hydreigon ,etc.) Solarbeam has naturally fantastic coverage with Fire, but if you already have several Grass coverage on your team, swapping out for a non-Spread Fire Attack is worth consideration. Protect is the best move in Doubles.

Tera Fire is preferred -Charizard's power when Terastalized becomes obscene, reaching numbers it would otherwise have to use Overheat or Blast Burn for without the drawback. Tera Grass is a viable option, giving STAB to Solar Beam while wiping out many of Charizard's weaknesses.

Preferred Partners
Torkoal is king. You need that sun up, Torkoal provides.
Tailwind setters are also invaluable, patching up Charizard's speed to get the jump on the faster offensive threats like Flutter Mane and Iron Bundle.
 
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Divine Retribution

Conquistador de pan
Me: Mom, can we have Chi Yu?
Mom: We have Chi Yu at home.
Chi Yu at home: 252 SpA Choice Specs Solar Power Charizard Overheat vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Blissey in Sun: 370-436 (51.8 - 61%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
 

Mestorn

Wandering Battler
Me: Mom, can we have Chi Yu?
Mom: We have Chi Yu at home.
Chi Yu at home: 252 SpA Choice Specs Solar Power Charizard Overheat vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Blissey in Sun: 370-436 (51.8 - 61%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
But Mooooom, if we get Chi Yu with Chi Yu at home we can melt even more stuff:
252 SpA Choice Specs Solar Power Tera Fire Beads of Ruin Charizard Overheat vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Blissey in Sun: 656-774 (91.8 - 108.4%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
 
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