Pokemon X and Y [3DS] - Page 24

On October 03 2013 02:01 Archas wrote:
Mega Charizard X could actually be REALLY scary. Stealth Rock won't hurt it nearly as much; it gets some good resistances with its Dragon-type; its Fire-type STAB moves let it hurt Fairy-types that are immune to its Dragon moves; its ability Tough Claws further boosts physical moves; it gets a fantastic physical movepool with moves like Flare Blitz, Outrage, Earthquake, Crunch, ThunderPunch, and whatever it gets in X and Y; it has plenty of powerful boosting moves like Dragon Dance and Swords Dance; and if it manages to pull off a Belly Drum, you are almost certainly totally fucked. The only things that could hold it back could be a middling Speed stat and the one-turn setup for Mega evolution.

Based off my own knowledge of Pokemon, I see Mega Charizard X (ChariXard?) as potentially one of the most fearsome physical threats in the new metagame. Like Charizard in previous generations, it will require a lot of support, but if that support is used well, I see very few things that can stop it once it gets rolling. Strong priority users and Choice Scarfers could revenge kill, but I think ChariXard will be more than capable of smashing through at least one Pokemon during its rampage. Maybe something like Jellicent could wall it for some time, with Cursed Body to disable one of its moves, but ThunderPunch or even Shadow Claw will still do a number on it thanks to 2x effectiveness and boosted damage from Tough Claws. Not only that, but Jellicent's Scald will only be of neutral effectiveness, and will no longer burn ChariXard, due to Fire-types being immune to burns in X and Y. Maybe a Fairy type with Flash Fire would be the best choice for taking it on, but ChariXard's coverage moves can still do plenty of damage, and we don't know if there will be something like that in X and Y.

Oh, and God help you if you have to take a boosted Flare Blitz from this thing in the sun.

Actually, regarding Mega evolutions, I don't actually know if they persist upon switching out, or if you have to reactivate the evolution every time you send that Pokemon in. If it's the latter, then ChariXard might not be incredibly viable due to the sheer amount of switching involved in mispredictions. However, even if that's the case, something like a Life Orb ChariXard could still wreak havoc by simply coming in and spamming Flare Blitz until it dies, taking a big chunk of health out of the opponent if not killing something outright. That would still be a lot of setup, though; you'd have to ensure Stealth Rock is off the field, switch in Charizard on something that's afraid of it, Mega evolve, use a boosting move, and THEN start attacking. That's a large window of vulnerability, even if you decide to forgo the boosting move and just go all-out attacking mode.

I predict that ChariXard will possess quite a few exploitable weaknesses and require lots of support and prediction, just like normal Charizard. If it sets up, though, you WILL be punished for it.

I've edited this post like 14 times. I should be working, but Pokemon is too exciting~ :3