Richard's Reasoning - Charizard

Welcome to the seventh installment of Richard's Reasoning, where we discuss Pokemon in Crystal Clear's unique competitive metagame. This time we'll be talking about one of the most iconic Pokemon of all time, Charizard.

Base Stats: 78 HP / 84 Attack / 78 Defense / 109 Sp. Attack / 85 Sp. Defense / 100 Speed

Charizard is in a unique spot in the CC metagame. It doesn't operate much differently than it does in GSC OU, but the landscape is much different, given that our battles are 3v3 and the Battle Tutor additions for the metagame in general. On its own, Charizard is a very average Pokemon, sporting many common weaknesses and an unideal type. But it has access to a move that defines it: Belly Drum. With one turn of setup, Charizard can sacrifice 50% of its health for +6 Attack.

The problem with this is that Charizard really isn't as strong as you'd ideally like for it to be, even at +6. Many Pokemon will survive a hit from it even at +6 and KO back, given that it cut its own health in half. If you're going to be using Charizard, building a team that supports it well is mandatory to make effective use of it.

-BellyZard-

Charizard@ MiracleBerry / PrzCureBerry / Polkadot Bow
Belly Drum
Earthquake
Rock Slide / Double-Edge
Fire Blast / Double-Edge

Charizard's most effective set is Belly Drum, there's no real way around it. Without it, Charizard isn't very threatening. It is extremely important to know when to use Belly Drum, however, and those opportunities may be rare. Grass types can be ideal to setup on, but they're few and far between. Passive Pokemon like Chansey become setup fodder if you have one of the two berries. In general, it's going to be very important to scout the opponent's team during team selection and/or match 1 before deciding whether or not it's worth bringing Charizard.

Earthquake is the main attack here, working off Charizard's boosted Attack stat once it has setup. Good power, good coverage, not much to say here besides making sure to say that this move is absolutely necessary for Charizard to function.

The third slot is usually given to Rock Slide to compliment Earthquake. The two moves grant Charizard perfect coverage and ensure that Flying types like Dragonite and Gyarados don't just wall you.

The final slot typically goes to Fire Blast, and while it doesn't benefit from Belly Drum, it ensures Charizard isn't walled by Skarmory. It also gives Charizard an immediately threatening STAB option to click if you predict your opponent will be switching into their Charizard counter early in the match, allowing you to soften them up before you setup and sweep later.

There is, however, an option to replace either of the final moves and it's a risky one: Double-Edge. See, even after Belly Drum many Pokemon like Porygon2, Vaporeon, Slowking, and so on will survive an attack at full health and KO Charizard back. If you opt for Double-Edge, though, this problem is alleviated. The recoil damage will be huge, but not enough to KO you after a single use, assuming you Belly Drummed without taking any damage (for example, if the opponent switched out as you used Belly Drum). Here are some statistics for you:

+6 Polkadot Bow Charizard Double-Edge vs. Porygon2: 191-225 (100 - 117.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+6 Polkadot Bow Charizard Double-Edge vs. Vaporeon: 248-292 (105 - 123.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+6 Polkadot Bow Charizard Double-Edge vs. Slowking: 209-246 (103.9 - 122.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+6 Polkadot Bow Charizard Double-Edge vs. Quagsire: 203-239 (103 - 121.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+6 Polkadot Bow Charizard Double-Edge vs. Slowbro: 167-197 (83 - 98%) -- 71.8% chance to OHKO after Spikes

None of these Pokemon would be reliably OHKO'd by anything else Charizard has, even at +6. You'll notice for the last calculation, Spikes are required, so let's talk about how your team should be built to support Charizard.

Charizard needs effective teammates to make the most of his abilities. Spikes and Paralysis support is crucial in aiding his sweep potential. Qwilfish of all things can do both for role compression, but it's not always the most ideal option, as you can spread the jobs out among different Pokemon. Finding good users of Spikes and Thunder Wave isn't too difficult, but some Pokemon that pair well with Charizard that can do at least one of these two things are: Qwilfish (both), Cloyster (Spikes), Skarmory (Spikes), Omastar (Spikes), Alakazam (Thunder Wave),  Chansey (Thunder Wave), Hypno (Thunder Wave), Lanturn (Thunder Wave) and more besides. Finding the right partners for your team specifically will be something to really consider before entering a tournament!

Charizard has some other options, but they're generally unappealing. It has ThunderPunch, but it's pretty weak, doesn't utilize Belly Drum, and it has better things to be doing. You can opt for running Charizard without Belly Drum, but at that point you'd usually be better off using Moltres. You can use Super Fang to really chunk would-be counters that switch into Charizard early on, but it struggles to find room for it. If you use it, the best you could do is drop Fire Blast for it, and stick to Earthquake and Rock Slide for a late-game sweep. Hidden Power Flying is a physical STAB attack, but it's only marginally stronger than Earthquake (105 after STAB vs. Earthquake's 100) and the coverage isn't nearly as good. You'd drop Rock Slide for it, but if that's the case you're better off going with Double-Edge since HP Flying isn't getting OHKOs on any of those bulky Pokemon I mentioned earlier anyway, and HP Flying does reduce your Attack DV to 12 for what that's worth. Finally, Mega Kick is essentially Double-Edge without recoil, but it's also 75% accurate so you'd really be risking a lot in going with that option.

As for the item, Charizard really appreciates having MiracleBerry or PrzCureBerry, as it allows it to setup for free on status attempts. Polkadot Bow, however, gives Charizard the muscle that it absolutely needs to OHKO certain Pokemon if you're using Double-Edge. The choice will come down to your choice of move.

-My Opinion-

Charizard is easily one of the most important Pokemon to ever exist. It's been driven into the ground over time with Game Freak's refusal to let anyone forget just how special it is, but I'll go ahead and say that while I've gotten sick of the special treatment, it probably does deserve it. If not for Charizard's popularity, it's tough to say how much Pokemon would have even caught on during generation 1. It being the mascot for Pokemon Red undoubtedly caused it to sell copies just from the box art alone, and even today Charizard remains one of the most popular Pokemon ever introduced. It's a great design, really. I'm even a fan of the Mega Evolutions it gets down the line, and while Dynamax was never really my thing, its Gigantamax form is alright. If you're a fan of Pokemon, you probably owe at least some of the success of the series to Charizard, so maybe go raise one in Crystal Clear.