SS OU Charizard's team first attempt

[Axelio]

Hello trainers! Before you go any further you want to excuse my bad english, it's not my mother language.
Yes, I'm serious, I'm actually run Charizard in SS OU. He has always been by my side since XY.
I tried play in National Dex but is pretty confusing (Mega + Z + Dynamax) and some problematic pkmns like MegaMetagross returning so actually is not my meta.

The EVs distributions are taken by the respective pages of smogon.

Btw let's go!

Charizard @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Air Slash
- Dragon Pulse
- Focus Blast/Ancient Power

I can't use Dynamax so I can't use Solar Beam as Max Overgrowth, instead I'm using Air Slash on Fight-type or at least I hope in a flintch or 2; Dragon Pulse because in this meta there are a lot of dragons like Hydreigon and Dragapult: Focus Blast for OHKO opponent's Tyranitar but Ancient Power is also good because it' s super-effective against Gyarados and, if I'm lucky enough, I can gain a +1 boost in each stats. Flamethrower is obviously the mandatory STAB, I preferir it instead of Fire Blast because I don't want lose a turn. The item prevenst the damage of Stealth Rock in my side of field.

Rotom-Wash @ Choice Specs/Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 44 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump

My best counter of Toxapex (that I hate with all myself) and Gyarados too. At certain times is better the Choice Specs, in others the Scarf so I'm not sure about which give to it. Trick is for make stall opponent's pkmns like Ferrothorn, Toxapex, Galar-Corsola etc useless. Tbolt and Hydro Pump as STAB and Volt Switch for safe switch-in/switch-out.

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Protect
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Knock Off

This is basically my only "stall" pkmn, I needed a Grass-type with Knock Off and Ferrothornwas the best (and only) option; Power Whip on Gyro Ball because otherwise I've auto-lose against Gastrodon and other bulky-water/ground pkmn. Leech Seed for slowly kill my opponent's and Protect for stall the seeds and scout my opponent's moveset.

Excadrill @ Air Balloon
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Iron Head

Excadrill set the entry hazards and remove them at the same time, Air Ballon was my choice against Focus Sash because prevents the damage of opponent's entry hazard but most importantly when I see an opponent entry hazard (Galvantula or Excadrill without Air Ballon) I usually use RapidSpin for: remove their entry hazards, break their Sash and gain +1 in speed and then hit with EQ. EQ and Iron Head are the best STAB and I think we all agree with this.

Grimmsnarl (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Atk / 224 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave
- Sucker Punch
- Spirit Break

At least I need a Taunt user and I choose Grimmsnarl. I use TWave everytime I can hoping it works and making my opponent's lose his turn; Spirit Break instead of Play Roughe for the more accuracy and the usefull secondary effect, then Sucker Punch 'cause it's a slow pkmn and using Darkest Lariat without Bulk Up and 0 EVs in Speed is a bad idea for me.

Dragapult @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower/Thunderbolt
- U-turn

In the very end we have Dragapult with special moves. I need a pkmn with very high speed and in this meta Dragapult is the new Landorus-Therian, Draco Meteor and Shadow Ball for obvious reasons, U-Turn for the seems reasons seen on Rotom-Wash and... Flamethrower or Thunderbolt? I don't know, maybe the Fire-move is better for Ferrothorn, Galar-Darmanitan etc when Charizard isn't avaible (Galar-Darmanitan's Icicle Crash does OHKO on Charizard so I'm still waiting the ban of Gorilla Tactics). Infiltration because I don't have to deal with opponent's substitutes.


The only problem that I can't handle is Bisharp with boost in Atk and Sucker Punch, I can't even use TWave on hit and hope in a PAR.

In conclusions: I don't really know if this team is all wrong or pretty solid (sometimes I win and sometimes I lose). I usually run a Grass-type and a Water-type with Charizard, a Stealth Rock(er) and a Taunt(er). If you have suggestions I'm ready to accept them but please don't tell me "Don't use Charizard, it's trash" and other things like this.

 

[chimp]

So, obviously, Charizard is non-negotiable. That's fine, but I am going to approach this with the mindset getting the most value out of it.

So first, let's start with Charizard
For Zard I would recommend swapping Air Slash to Hurricane. I know the drop in accuracy is unappealing, but I'm pretty sure the mathematics works out so that Hurricane has a better damage output despite it's chance to miss. Just given the nature of Charizard, it really needs all the power it can get, especially since it can't really comfortably run LO or Specs due to its reliance on HDB. By that same metric, I would recommend Fire Blast over Flamethrower.

Dragon Pulse is good, but an interesting, yet worth considering, tech would be to swap it with Will-o-Wisp. You mention that Zard is complete set up bait for Gyarados and Tyranitar, and Will-o-Wisp could make those threats think twice before switching in. Focus Blast hits Hydreigon harder than D.Pulse would, and Hurricane hits Dragapult and Dracovish for a near equal amount, so I really don't feel as if you're missing out on too much without it. This leaves you open to Dracozolt, though that still would be crippled by Wisp. I think it could be a neat tech to give Charizard a bit more utility throughout the match.

The second major change would be to swap Dragapult with Darmanitan-Galar. Primarily because I believe you could really use a powerful physical attacker. But, Darmanitan is capable of denting some of the Pokemon that Charizard really dislikes, like Rotom-Wash and Rotom-Heat, and it can threaten Toxapex out with Earthquake. It can also allow you to threaten opposing Dragon-types. Your team is also fairly weak to opposing Darm's, so having a scarf Darmanitan of your own can put your opponent into some awkward 50/50s... Which admittedly isn't the best way of dealing with something, but given Darm's absurd power, there sometimes isn't a better option.

Some minor changes:
I would leave the scarf on Rotom, though be careful for using Trick on Toxapex, since they often (pretty much always, in my experience) run Black Sludge. You have to weigh the benefits of crippling the Toxapex vs. crippling your Rotom.

I would consider running a dual screens set for Grimmsnarl with Reflect/Light Screen/Taunt/Spirit Break and a Light Clay. This will give your team more of a defensive presence, allowing Zard to come in more and allowing your pivots to do their jobs easier.

Finally, some other Pokemon that would work well with Charizard would be Sticky Web setters, like Araquanid or Ribombee, or sun-setters like Torkoal or Ninetales. Either of those options would be drastic changes to your team, though, so I didn't want to go too deep into them. If you want to explore those options, though, just let me know.

 

[Axelio]

You said "Darmanitan is capable of denting some of the Pokemon that Charizard really dislikes, like Rotom-Wash and Rotom-Heat" but how?

 

[chimp]

You said "Darmanitan is capable of denting some of the Pokemon that Charizard really dislikes, like Rotom-Wash and Rotom-Heat" but how?

Basically, U-turn spam. U-turn can do upwards of 40% to Rotom-Wash and a bit to Rotom-Heat, and though the damage may seem negligible, when factoring in hazard damage and an overall lack of healing, its easy to wear them down. And, on top of that, even with the resistances to Ice, Icicle Crash will deal a significant amount of damage to both. Generally players try to conserve their Rotoms to take care of Darmanitan-G, but since you'll also be applying pressure with Charizard, it may put them in a position where their Rotoms are being stretched too thin.