Charizard Returns…To The Bottom Tier
In my previous article covering which Pokemon made the cut into Pokemon Sword & Shield, Charizard and subsequently its pre evolutions are the only returning starter Pokemon line to be allowed in game. Though this comes with some hard hits for the non-Dragon-type dragon Pokemon. As seen in the franchise, certain features and mechanics in previous games will not be returning. Charizard, in the last two gernerations has benefitted from some of those features and now that they are gone, it all but hurts the Fire-type starter. So much so, it’s back…to being one of the most crippled Pokemon ever.
First off, a history. A little history of Charizard in competitive Pokemon play. Charizard was a potent attacker and a very potent sweeper in Generations II and III albeit, one with very obvious flaws. It relied on the move Belly Drum, which maximized its attack power to supplement the wide movepool it had. Though it proved to be a double-edged sword as the move would eat half of the user’s maximum health in order to be used. Which meant Charizard could be easily taken down by faster Pokemon with tools to that countered Zard.
Then Generation IV rolled in, and Charizard was all but invalidated along with a mass of Pokemon, all because of the new reliance on entry hazard moves, specifically Stealth Rock. Entry hazards are as they imply, they cause damage to a Pokemon when they are switched in. There are limitations to all of them, but Stealth Rock was (and still is) the most flexible of them. Unlike the other most popular entry hazard Spikes, Stealth Rock can affect Pokemon regardless if they are Flying-type or have the ability Levitate. The balance effect is that Stealth Rock’s effectiveness depends on the typing of the victim Pokemon. If a Pokemon is resistant to Rock-type move, Stealth Rock does less damage and vice versa with a Pokemon that is vulnerable.
Charizard is double vulnerable to Rock-type move with its Fire/Flying typing. In Stealth Rock calculations, that means Charizard instantly loses half of its health just by entering the battle if Stealth Rock is up. To this day, that is still the case. Couple that with weather teams like Sandstorm and Rain teams reaching a prominence that hit the peak in Generation V, both of which cripple Charizard even further, everyone’s favorite non-dragon from their childhood was a laughingstock for competitive players.
But Charizard found a saving grace in the advent of Mega Evolutions is Generation VI. With two extremely useful Mega Evolutions, nerfs to weather teams, and more tools for teammates to use to negate or solve Stealth Rock, Charizard was genuinely useful. Albeit in a Mega Evolved state, but useful.
Mega Charizard X made itself into a potent sweeper on the level of power as Dragonite with more speed and gave the Pokemon the Dragon-type that fans so desired it to have. It helped nerf some damage Stealth Rock dealt and gave Charizard extra power and versatility giving a STAB (Same-Type-Attack-Bonus) to a type that is only resisted by two types.
Mega Charizard Y added more Fire-type firepower, with Drought giving an instant Sunny Day upon transforming and more Special Attack and Speed. One Flamethrower or Fire Blast could be considered the equivalent of a nuke if used in the right situations. Defensive walls vulnerable to Fire type moves like Ferrothorn or Skarmory would just melt away.
I found myself, a regular Charizard critic, building up an optimized Mega Charizard X a few times in Gen VI and enjoyed playing the Pokemon on my team. Generation VII preserved Megas, albeit, in a less accessible way but nonetheless it meant Charizard still rolled strong.
Now we return to modern day. From the announcements and reveals, Game Freak has indicated that Mega Evolutions will likely not be returning in favor of the Kaiju-like Dynamax transformations. Charizard is among the list of the Pokemon given a Dynamax. Although it’s unclear how, or if, this will be utilized in competitive Pokemon play. One thing is for certain, Charizard likely no longer has the major tools that made it comeback to usefulness in Gen VI and VII. Charizard returns…to the bottom tier. So much for bringing the Pokemon back because of popularity. Without its best tools, it’s doomed for hell again. The very rocky kind of hell.
