Base Stats: 78/84/78/109/85/100
Abilities: Blaze/Solar Power
Notable Moves:
Flamethrower
Fire Blast
Overheat
Will-o-Wisp
Swords Dance
Dragon Dance
Thunder Punch
Fire Punch
Flare Blitz
Dragon Claw
Dragon Pulse
Earthquake
Substitute
Crunch
Focus Blast
Hurricane
Solar Beam
Belly Drum
Counter
Dragon Tail
Tera Blast
Heat Wave
Rock Slide
Air Slash
Brick Break
Facade
Acrobatics
Fire Spin
Pros:
- Thanks to Terastalization, Torkoal's Sun support, Choice Specs, and Charizard's Solar Power ability, there is absolutely nothing in OU besides Drizzle Pelipper and Flash Fire users like Ceruledge and Armarouge that can safely switch in against Charizard. The overwhelming majority of the tier is 2HKOed by Sun-boosted Flamethrower and shockingly bulky threats like max-HP Blissey, and even Dondozo are often outright OHKOed by Overheat after Stealth Rock or Spikes damage.
- Charizard boasts decent coverage with Focus Blast to hit Tyranitar. Solar Beam seems appealing, but Overheat already does enough damage.
- Charizard's physical movepool is extremely versatile with strong STABs and strong coverage alike, which could potentially let it function as a physical attacker instead of its flagship Choice Specs set.
- Charizard's Flying typing gives it natural immunities to Ground-type moves, Spikes, and Sticky Web; its Fire typing gives it resistances to opposing Fire-type attacks, and under Sun its weakness to Water-type attacks is partially mitigated.
- Charizard's base 100 Speed gets the jump on almost every defensive staple of the tier, and virtually none want anything to do with its Fire STAB.
Cons:
- Charizard only functions under Sun, which drastically limits the number of teams it functions on and makes it quite weak when Torkoal's weather is not active.
- Solar Power and Charizard's extreme susceptibility to Stealth Rock damage make it extremely prone to getting worn down over the course of a match.
- Chi-Yu exists, has far better set diversity, doesn't require Sun to function, and has a far better offensive typing and a very spammable Dark Pulse. This combination makes Chi-Yu the far superior pick in most cases.
- Base 100 Speed is not the fastest; there are many offensive threats that can outpace and possibly KO or irreparably damage Charizard.
- Its excellent physical movepool is betrayed by its poor Attack stat, and such sets are likely redundant because the special sets hit so ludicrously hard.
- Charizard lost numerous crucial moves in the transition into Gen IX for the time being. It no longer gets Roost so it lacks reliable recovery, and it no longer gets Weather Ball so it loses its strongest consistent STAB under Sun (though Flamethrower will often suffice).
- Most of Charizard's most astonishing feats of wallbreaking depend on moves with significant drawbacks like Overheat or Blast Burn; it won't really run the latter due to how overkill it is in the current metagame, though.
- Its absolute fullest wallbreaking potential requires you to commit your Terastalization usage to Charizard instead of the tier's many other possible Sun abusers.
Terastalization Potential:
Tera-Fire Allows Charizard to further boost its Fire-type damage output, which allows it to OHKO even the bulkiest Fire resists like Dondozo or SpDef Skeledirge, or incredibly bulky walls like Blissey and Ting-Lu either outright or after only minimal chip. Other Tera-typings may be worth considering for their defensive value, but at that point it may just be worth using Chi-Yu instead.
Potential Sets:
Sun Wallbreaker
Charizard @ Choice Specs
Ability: Solar Power
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid / Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Overheat
- Focus Blast
- Solar Beam / Hurricane
To call Choice Specs Charizard a wallbreaker is as much an understatement as it is an overstatement to call Sticky Web Spidops an OU-viable suicide lead; with the many multipliers added by mandatory teammate Torkoal's Sun, Solar Power, Terastalization, and Choice Specs, Charizard becomes an OHKO machine that is almost entirely impossible to switch in against. Flamethrower offers Charizard a reliable STAB that functions well even outside of Sun, and it often does enough to 2HKO the overwhelming majority of the tier even when resisted. Overheat is Charizard's second-strongest Fire-type attack behind Blast Burn, but its drawbacks are much easier to work around and its damage output is more than adequate enough to seal the deal against any bulkier threat standing before it. Overheat notably has a very high chance to OHKO even max-HP Dondozo after minimal chip from entry hazards. Focus Blast serves one purpose and one purpose alone: to hit Tyranitar attempting to switch in and remove Torkoal's Sun. The final moveslot option is essentially filler: Solar Beam offers a reliable and strong hit against threats like Dondozo so long as Sun remains active, while Hurricane is Charizard's best way to hit Flash Fire Armarouge and Ceruledge and can heavily punish an attempted switch into Pelipper to overwrite Sun. The majority of the time, Charizard is using Flamethrower or Overheat anyway.
Physical Wallbreaker?
Charizard @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Blaze
Tera Type: Fire /
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance / Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz / Fire Punch
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
Belly Drum?
Charizard @ Salac Berry
Ability: Blaze
Tera Type: Flying / Water / Ghost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Belly Drum
- Substitute
- Acrobatics
- Fire Punch / Earthquake
Realistically, these sets offer very little but I figured I'd include them just in case. They're walled by Skeledirge and Dondozo, they require careful setup to pull off, and the reward just isn't as high as the huge immediate reward of landing Sun-boosted Flamethrowers and Overheats. Finding setup opportunities will probably prove difficult with these sets because, simply put, Specs Charizard doesn't force switches too well simply because something's getting OHKOed no matter what.
If you want a good Dragon Dance user, it's recommended that you run Dragapult, Dragonite, Roaring Moon, Baxcalibur, or even Iron Thorns instead. And if you're running Swords Dance, you may just want to consider Weak Armor Ceruledge instead. Belly Drum is significantly more unique, since it's the fastest possibly-viable user of the move outside of Slush Rush Cetitan under Snow and has very strong Flying-type STAB in itemless Acrobatics to abuse thereafter. It's very prone to revenge killing, though, so customizing Charizard's Tera-typing to survive priority attempts (i.e. Dragonite's Extreme Speed) may prove ideal.
Overall:
As a late bloomer introduced into the game a few weeks late but not in a HOME or DLC wave, Charizard probably won't end up being OU by usage long-term due to the sheer specificity of its niche. It requires very specific team support to function and struggles in a more offensive, fast-paced metagame such as the current SV OU meta. That said, its niche is completely unparalleled, even by the likes of Chi-Yu, once those conditions are met. If played extremely aggressively on a Sun team, Charizard can reward methodical but aggressive play with truly unparalleled reward, OHKOing OU's defensive staples even when it should have no business doing so.
