Charizard Y Analysis


Mega Evolutions are once again legal in VGC, allowing the fan favorite sun-setter back into the format. Everyone’s favorite Gen 1 starter boasts and incredibly high Special Attack along with the incredibly useful ability of Drought. Combined with a decent speed stat and passable bulk, Charizard Y threatens to blaze through teams with powerful Fire type attacks.





Pros
*159 Special Attack stat allows Charizard Y to hit very hard without much investment, KOing and 2HKOing targets with sun up
*100 Base Speed allows Charizard Y to outspeed and KO the likes of Tapu Lele and non-Choice Scarf Landorus-T
*Its Mega Evolution Ability, Drought, summons Sunny Day for 5 turns or until a different weather is summoned.
*Sun not only disrupts other weathers but also boosts Charizard’s damage output while protecting it from Water type attacks
*Access to a decent movepool allows Charizard Y to hit most of its weaknesses for super effective damage
Cons
*Fire / Flying typing is 4x weak to Rock, and therefore Charizard Y is very, very, very weak to Rock Slide
*Charizard also has no useful Flying type STAB other than Air Slash, so Flying type is more a of a hindrance
*Tapu Koko also threatens Charizard Y heavily with its speedy Electric moves in terrain
*78 / 78 / 115 Defenses mean that Charizard Y relies heavily on Intimidate and Snarl to survive strong attacks
*When Sun isn’t up, Charizard is very easily walled by bulky waters and misses crucial KO’s on opponents

x

Set - Roast them quickly
Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y  
Ability: Drought  
Level: 50  
Shiny: Yes  
EVs: 156 HP / 92 Def / 36 SpA / 4 SpD / 220 Spe  
Timid Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk  
- Overheat  
- Heat Wave  
- Tailwind / Solar Beam / Hidden Power Ground  
- Protect
*A set aimed towards hitting quickly while being able to survive a few Super Effective attacks, this Charizard Y spread allows for fast damage output in exchange for Special Attack investment.
*Overheat is crucial on this Charizard Y Spread to nuke opponents before they can move, which moves such as Flamethrower simply can not do.
*Heat Wave allows Charizard Y a strong spread move on opponents, netting KO’s and dealing decent chip damage on neutral targets.
*The third moveslot on Charizard Y is always a toss up depending on what your team is weak to
*Tailwind can be run for teams lacking any other forms of speed control, but limits Charizard Y’s coverage options significantly.
*Solar Beam helps Charizard to 2HKO the likes of Tapu Fini and Tyranitar outside of Sand
*Hidden Power Ground is used specifically to hit Heatran and if your team has 0 Heatran answers. I would not use this unless you lack any answer to Heatran at all
*36 SpA allows Mega Charizard Y to net crucial KO’s, such as:
*36 SpA Mega Charizard Y Overheat in the Sun KO’s 4/0 Tapu Lele 93.8% of the time
*36 SpA Mega Charizard Y Overheat in the Sun KO’s 4/0 Landorus-T 100% of the time
*36 SpA Mega Charizard Y Heatwave in the Sun KO’s 252/4 Amoongus 93.8% of the time
*36 SpA Mega Charizard Y Overheat KO’s 4/0 Tapu Koko 93.8% of the time
*36 SpA Mega Charizard Y SolarBeam 2HKOs 252/44 Tapu Fini 100% of the time
*156 / 92 Defensive EV’s allow Charizard Y to survive -1 +252 Atk Landorus-T Rock Slide as well as -1 252 Atk Tyranitar Rock Slide
*+252 Atk Mega Kangaskhan Double Edge is also a 2HKO
*156 / 4 Special Defense allows Charizard Y to survive Life Orb Tapu Koko Thunderbolt outside of Electric Terrain, and return KO with Heat Wave
*+220 Speed allows Mega Charizard Y to outspeed +252 Speed Tapu Lele and KO Lele with an Overheat
*Also outspeeds non-Choice Scarf Landorus-T and Excadrill outside of the Sun
Using Charizard Y
*Because Charizard Y is so weak to the likes of Landorus-T, Tapu Koko, Tyranitar, and Heatran, Charizard Y desperately needs checks to all of the aforementioned Pokemon
*Landorus-T is a phenomenal partner for Charizard-Y (especially Scarfed Variants), as it can not only provide Intimidate support but also Earthquake freely and threaten ¾ of Charizard’s major threats
*Cresselia is also incredibly useful, providing Icy Wind support to allow Charizard Y to outspeed both Tapu Koko and Scarf Landorus/Tyranitar
*Tapu Koko also pairs well with Charizard Y, dealing with the problem of bulky waters, opposing Charizard Y, and annoying Heatran with Z Thunderbolt
*Raichu (non-Alola) also pairs decently well with Charizard Y, providing Fake Out and Lightning Rod support. It also has access to a strong Fighting type nuke with Z Focus Blast, which destroys both Tyranitar and Heatran
*Charizard Y is also very weak to rain for obvious reasons, and while Mega Evolution + Drought slightly mitigates this weaknesses, it usually is not enough, especially if the opponent has dual Rain setters.
*Tyranitar is therefore an incredibly useful pivot for Charizard Y, with Sand Stream summoning a non-Rain weather onto the field. This allows Charizard’s Fire moves to at least hit for normal damage, and protects both Charizard and Tyranitar from Rain boosted moves
*Because of the added SpD boost to Rock types from Sandstorm, Tyranitar can also switch into Water type moves as well
*Kartana is also very useful in dealing with bulky Waters, while also providing Tailwind support
*Sacred Sword also deals with opposing Tyranitar and Sand teams nicely
*You typically do not want to switch Charizard Y into attacks as its base form without Drought up is very frail
*Try to sack an ally or lead with Charizard Y to threaten offensive pressure from the start

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