Find out how to breed Charizard in Pokemon Sword and Shield! Learn about the best competitive Charizard movesets, best builds, best nature, strong counters & a Gigantamax build!!!
Table of Contents
- Best Items
- Counters
- Best Nature And EVs
- Competitive Breeding Process
Related Articles
 Competitive Build |
Charizard Best Moveset & Build
| Total Base Stats | 534 |
|---|---|
| Type | |
Solar Power Build
| Best Nature | Best Item |
|---|---|
| Timid (Speed↑ / Atk↓) | Weakness Policy |
| Best Ability | |
| Solar Power Special Attack increases by 50% in harsh sunlight, but user takes damage at the end of every turn. | |
| Best Moveset | |
| Fire Blast / Air Slash / Focus Blast / Solar Beam ▼Check Move Info Here | |
| Best EV Spread | |
| Sp. Attack 252, Speed 252, Defense 4 | |
Charizard Strengths
Charizard can primarily be used as a special attacker. Although his 109 Sp. Atk and 100 Speed may not seem that impressive, his large move pool and abilities allow him to become a serious threat!
Go For A Timid Nature
Although Modest is also viable, we recommend a Timid nature for Charizard. This is mainly because Jolly nature allows it outspeed 3 major threats: Mimikyu, Excadrill (without Sandstorm), & Galarian Darmanitan.
Charizard Is A Great Dynamax Candidate
A Charizard packing Solar Power relies on setting up harsh sunlight, which means It also gets STAB Max Airstream, allowing it to increase its speed as well.
Use A Damage Boosting Item
Try to supplement Charizard's attack stat in order to have the best chance of overpowering its opponent. Damage boosting items such as Charcoal, Choice Specs, or the Weakness Policy are ideal here.
Recommended Moves
| Move/Type | Reason |
|---|---|
| Fire Blast | Extremely powerful STAB move. Max Flare can cause harsh sunlight, activating Charizard's ability. |
| Air Slash | Good stab move, can cause a flinch. Useful for Max Airstream to boost speed. |
| Focus Blast | Excellent coverage move vs Rock Pokemon. |
| Solar Beam | Normally takes two turns, but can be fired off in one turn during harsh sunlight. Useful vs. Water types in a pinch. |
Other Viable Moves
| Move/Type | Reason |
|---|---|
| Overheat | 130 power, stronger than Fire Blast, but lowers your Sp. Atk after use. Risky, but good for finishing off enemies after Dynamax ends. |
| Flamethrower | 90 power, weaker but has 100 accuracy. Safest option. |
| Hurricane | 110 power but only 70 accuracy, somewhat risky move. Can confuse the target. |
| Belly Drum | Cuts own HP in half and massively increases attack. Useful for physical builds. (This is an Egg Move) |
| Dragon Pulse | Coverage for Dragon types. |
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Charizard Best Gigantamax Moveset & Build
Gigantamax Build
| Best Nature | Best Item |
|---|---|
| Timid (Speed↑ / Atk↓) | Weakness Policy |
| Best Ability | |
| Blaze The damage of Fire moves increases when at low health. | |
| Best Moveset | |
| Fire Blast / Air Slash / Focus Blast / Solar Beam ▼Check Move Info Here | |
| Best EV Spread | |
| Sp. Attack 252, Speed 252, Defense 4 | |
Deal Damage Over Time With G-Max Wildfire
| Move | G-Max Wildfire | |
|---|---|---|
| Effect | Deals damage over 4 turns (1/6th of their health every turn) | |
G-Max Wildfire is a move unique to Gigantamax Charizard. It deals 1/6th of the opponent's health in damage for 4 turns. This works excellently at whittling down the health of an opponent you nearly knocked out.
Check Out All Other Gigantamax Pokemon Here!
The Regular Solar Power Build Is More Useful
Unfortunately, with this build Charizard becames unable to use Max Flare, and thus can't set up its own sun. It is thus left with the ability Blaze. In terms of raw damage output, it's better to go for the Solar Power build instead of focusing on damage over time.
Recommended Moves
| Move/Type | Reason |
|---|---|
| Fire Blast | Extremely powerful STAB move. Max Flare can cause harsh sunlight, activating Charizard's ability. |
| Air Slash | Good stab move, can cause a flinch. Useful for Max Airstream to boost speed. |
| Focus Blast | Excellent coverage move vs Rock Pokemon. |
| Solar Beam | Normally takes two turns, but can be fired off in one turn during harsh sunlight. Useful vs. Water types in a pinch. |
Other Viable Moves
| Move/Type | Reason |
|---|---|
| Dragon Pulse | Coverage for Dragon types. |
Charizard - Best Item to Hold
| Item | Traits |
|---|---|
| Weakness Policy | Increases offensive stats when hit by a super-effective move. Extremely useful since you can usually survive one hit while dynamaxed. |
| Life Orb | Increases damage at the cost of HP. Useful but dangerous, considering Solar Power also drains your HP. |
| Charcoal | Boosts the power of Fire-type moves. Works well with Solar Power. |
| Choice Specs | Boosts Sp. Attack by 150%, but locks you in to one move. Useful because the restriction doesn't apply during Dynamax, giving you a lot of freedom. |
| Expert Belt | Boosts the damage of super-effective moves. Useful since Charizard has good overall coverage. |
| Heavy Duty Boots | Prevents you from taking hazard damage. In doubles or 6v6 matches, this is highly recommended because the chance of the opponent using Stealth Rock is much higher. |
Check Out Battle Item Locations Here!
Charizard - Best Nature And EVs
Charizard - Recommended Natures
| Nature | Traits |
|---|---|
| Timid | Speed↑ / Atk↓Charizard needs this nature to outspeed certain common threats. |
| Modest | Sp.Atk↑ / Atk↓Focuses on boosting its already powerful Sp. Atk for maximum damage. |
Which Nature Would You Recommend?
Recommended Base Point (EV) Allocation
Solar Power Charizard
| Stat | Base Point |
|---|---|
| Sp. Attack | 252 points (max) |
| Speed | 252 points (max) |
| Defense | 4 points |
Charizard's appeal stems from its offensive capabilities, so your best bet is working on augmenting them.
Charizard Counters
Recommended Pokemon To Counter Charizard
| Pokemon | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Gyarados | Pros - Easily oneshots with Waterfall - Fire attacks are not very effective - Has a naturally high Special Defense Cons - If Sunlight is up, water type moves will not one-shot |
| Excadrill | Pros - Can one shot with a rock move - Scarf variants (or with sandstorm) will go first Cons - Can't switch in on a fire move |
| Tyranitar | Pros - Resists Fire and Flying moves - Can one shot with a Rock move - Overwrites Harsh Sunlight with Sandstorm - Sp. Def rises in Sandstorms Cons - Weak to Focus Blast and Solar Beam |
| Heat Rotom | Pros - Resists Fire and Flying moves - Electric moves are super effective - Assault Vest variants can switch into Charizard easily Cons - Might not be able to one shot, so it could proc Weakness Policy |
How To Play Against Charizard
Survive Its Dynamax Phase
The second Max Flare which sets up harsh sunlight is extremely dangerous, so make sure you buy time with your own Dynamax and consider using Max Guard to weather the attack. Bring in a Pokemon with high Sp. Def that resists Fire (and Flying) moves.
Overwrite The Harsh Sunlight
Charizard can boost its speed with Max Airstream and create harsh sunlight with Max Flare. This is particularly dangerous because the ability Solar Power boosts its offensive capabilities in the sun. If you can, try to overwrite the weather with a Max Move as soon as possible!
Rock Is Its Main Weakness
It's safe to say that most Charizards in the current meta go for Dynamaxing, so you might not be able to survive 2 hits. In this case, you should always aim to one shot it. The best way is to use a Rock move, like Tyranitar's Stone Edge.
Charizard - Competitive Breeding Process
Breeding Process Flow Chart
| 1 | Catch a Charmander (or Charmeleon/Charizard) with the ability Solar Power in a Max Raid Battle |
|---|---|
| 2 | Hatch Eggs until you get a High IV Charmander (with Solar Power) |
| 3 | Breed that Charmander until you get one with a Timid Nature |
| 4 | Put 252 EVs in Sp. Attack and Speed |
| 5 | Max out its Dynamax Level |
| 6 | Teach it Fire Blast, Air Slash, Focus Blast, and Solar Beam |
| 7 | Equip Weakness Policy |
>> Check Out Our Breeding Guide For More Info!
Competitive Breeding Related Articles
| Ranked Battle Tier List | Ranked Battle Builds List |
Pokemon Sword and Shield - Related Articles
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