Charizard - Best Moveset & Build | Pokemon Sword Shield

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 Moveset & Build
Best Gigantamax Moveset & Build
Best Items
Counters
Best Nature And EVs
Competitive Breeding Process

Location & Stats

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