Pokkén Tournament/Charizard

Overview
With beefy attacks and huge damage output, Charizard is the archetypal power character. Many of Charizard's attacks are sluggish, but it makes up for it with its incredible melee range, utilizing far-reaching pokes in conjunction with superior air mobility with its glide to catch the opponent's openings. Once Charizard gets the advantage, it can really make use of its momentum for offense, having the ability to do heavy block pressure, mixups with a tricky Flying Stance and a deadly special grab in Seismic Toss. Charizard also gets massive damage from its combos, but requires more technical skill to pull off some of its more useful ones. That said, Charizard suffers from poor speed on most of its attacks, and its slow ground movement hinders approaches against zoners.


 * HP: 600
 * Type: Power

Character Attributes
Charizard is fairly fast in Field Phase as it flies around on its wings, but its walk speed drops heavily in Duel Phase. Its forward dash in Field Phase is short and quick, while its other directional dashes are slower but cover more distance. Meanwhile in Duel Phase, both of Charizard's dashes are short and somewhat sluggish, which make them inefficient for movement. Charizard's Low Stance is a standard crouch that dodges high attacks, while its High Stance causes grabs to break automatically.

Grab (Y+B)
In Field Phase, Charizard stomps the ground, blasting the foe with the shockwave. In Duel Phase, Charizard launches the foe and roasts them with its fire breath. Charizard has one of the best grab ranges in the game, though it is slightly slower than the average grab. It also has some of the most damaging throws, so grabbing can be a good way to break a foe's guard with decent reward. Compared to Seismic Toss, it is slightly weaker and can't grab air opponents, but has a slight edge in speed.

Counter Attack (X+A)
Charizard unleashes a tall whirlwind above it. Charizard's counter is situational, but excels as an anti-air due to the amazing height of the attack, which catches foes diving in from above or attempting to jump over Charizard. However, its horizontal reach is pretty bad, so Charizard is easily punished if it whiffs. Charizard's poor dash steps also limits the effectiveness of CADC. Fire Punch usually supplements it as a counter move more suited for offense, but for staving off aerial enemies, this move has its place. Note that the whirlwind is a projectile, so some moves can go through your counter attack and punish reliably.

Glide (j.R)
Charizard can glide in the air, extending its wings to fall slowly while gaining more horizontal speed across the air. While gliding, it can transition into any of its other air actions. You can cancel and reactivate the glide by pressing R again while airborne. Your glide is an additional form of movement in the air that you can use at any point in your jump to bait out and evade anti-airs with your enhanced lateral speed, and lets you immediately punish with your own air attack afterward. Remember that you're still completely vulnerable in the air and you have to land eventually, which gives foes a chance to punish.

Ranged Attack (Y)
Charizard breathes out a fireball that bursts after a short distance. The attack can be charged to increase the power of the explosion. The explosion fireball is a lingering attack that gives good frame advantage when blocked, handy for wakeup pressure or to beat out enemy counters. When charged, the attack launches and can lead into a short combo and subsequently a phase shift. Generally, this move is outclassed by Field Phase j.Y, which has similar properties, but retains some mobility while firing instead of forcing it to remain in one spot.

Side Ranged Attack (s.YY)
Charizard rolls to the side and looses two fireballs. This is a staple of Charizard's Field Phase neutral. While the fireballs have limited range, they are pretty large and their firing angle is effective at pinning foes. Its roll is very useful as a sideways movement option that covers more distance than Charizard's sidesteps without being as vulnerable due to the fireballs. It naturally leads into f.Y, which can combo if you're close enough to your opponent.

Forward Ranged Attack (f.Y)
Charizard flies forward while breathing fire at the ground ahead. This is a typical f.Y phase change move with good reach, but it is unsafe on shield unless spaced properly and the duration is not long enough to outlast counters. However, it can be moderately useful when used as a built-in follow-up to Y and s.YY. While there is a pause between these ranged attack links, the extra active duration of f.Y can outlast counters armoring through the aforementioned moves.

Backward Ranged Attack (b.Y)
Charizard breathes a plume of fire upward, causing a phase change on hit. This is a chargeable anti-air counter attack that serves a similar function as your standard counter, trading height for better forward reach. Also unlike your normal counter, it can't be dash canceled so using this move is a commitment. Its angle reduces its range against grounded foes and, while it is safe on block, it has considerable startup and can be easily armored through. Though its use is limited to staving off aerial approaches, b.Y performs its singular role well enough.

Jumping Ranged Attack (j.Y)
Charizard breathes a fireball toward the ground. Inputting the forward or backward direction changes the distance it fires the projectile. The fireball can be charged to increase its damage and radius. While charging the attack, Charizard retains some of its lateral momentum while stalling its fall, making this a great move to bombard foes below while staying out of reach of most attacks. Varying the distance of your fireball, the time you charge the attack and the momentum of your jump, you can use this attack to cover many scenarios and stay unpredictable. A fully-charged fireball launches for a combo if you're low enough to the ground. You're forced to fall helplessly to the ground after firing the projectile, so an enemy close by can punish your landing if your attack misses.

Homing Attack (XX)
Charizard swings its tail up, then dives into the opponent. The first hit is rather slow so it can be beaten out by other homing attacks or fast attacks in general. Its vertical range is not bad so it could serve as an anti-air. Charizard has many options to go to after the first hit. For starters, the second hit of homing attack charges quickly, and Charizard is airborne while charging so it can't be interrupted by a grab unlike most homing attacks. Charizard also lunges forward which can catch backdashes. Other than that, Charizard can enter Flying Stance off the first hit of homing attack, which can result in a higher damage combo off a confirmed hit, or a mixup if the foe blocks or counters it.

Jumping Attack (j.X)
Charizard flies toward its foe and divekicks. The kick can be charged and both the charge and the flight can be canceled into Charizard's glide once per jump. Press X again to kick early mid-flight, or input b.X in the air to attack immediately. When fully-charged, the attack counter pierces and grants huge frame advantage on block. Your aerial X attack is functionally identical to its Duel Phase version, but while Duel Phase j.X is a deadly pressure tool, the limited move selection and free movement in Field Phase makes this attack less powerful. Nevertheless, it's a decent phase shift move to punish whiffed attacks from the air, and you have multiple ways of feinting the attack to throw off your opponent.

Weak Attack (5YY)
Charizard does a jab followed by a kick. Both hits can be jump or special cancelled, though the timing is slightly different for each. For a jab attack, 5Y is a tad slow, but makes up for it with its high damage combo potential. You'd usually want to use it out of a pressure sequence to get around the startup. Since it can be jump canceled, it can link into j.6YY on hit to launch a grounded foe. How soon you perform j.6YY out of the jump cancel determines what follow-ups are possible afterward, but generally the lower the attack, the better. It's very difficult to get perfect jump canceled j.6YY follow-ups out of 5Y consistently, so practise for several follow-up heights to have a combo for every scenario out of 5Y.

Take note that while 5Y is safe on block, 5YY isn't, and the full chain isn't a perfect blockstring, so it's not advisable to do the second hit if it is blocked. Don't forget that you can cancel into specials as well in case the opponent guards against 5Y. Fire Punch will catch any overzealous attempts at punishing but can be dangerous if the foe keeps blocking. You can also use disengage with Inferno into Flying Stance. The good old jump cancel into j.6Y is not a bad option either if you do it low to the ground.

Forward Weak Attack (6Y)
Charizard bumps foes away with its belly. Like 2Y, this is a quick attack that crushes throws and beats other moves by virtue of its speed. While 6Y lacks the range of 2Y, it has the slight advantage of ignoring Synergy Burst armor which can be vital for defending against a burst mode opponent. While 6Y normally bumps foes away and down to the ground, it can cause wall splats if you're close enough to the edge, giving you a small window to link into further attacks. Although 6Y is really good at breaking open gaps in the opponent's pressure, it is very punishable on block and whiff, so your opponent can bait for it if you rely on it too much.

High Stance Weak Attack (8Y)
Charizard rushes into the air. You can cancel the recovery of the move with any aerial action you like, including Glide. This is Charizard's universal anti-air attack, and an effective one at that due to its big hitbox and variable angles, from nearly vertical with a 7Y input to 45 degrees forward with a 9Y input. Against an aerial opponent, you can still combo out of a successful hit using your air attacks for some confirmed damage, which gives 8Y an additional use in combos. It has no combo potential against a grounded foe but bumps them away which can give you some space, but since it leaves you airborne it's not to be used as a consistent panic option.

Low Stance Weak Attack (2Y)
Charizard rears forward to bite at the foe's feet. Similar to 6Y, this is a very fast attack used to relieve pressure or to break throws, both having the same startup time. 2Y reaches a bit further forward and dodges low attacks during the animation, so it has an additional use as a quick poke, but it lacks the situational combo potential of 6Y. Either move have their uses, with 2Y being the safer, weaker option against foes at mid-range.

Midair Weak Attack (j.Y)
Charizard swings its tail downward. Like j.6YY this move halts Charizard's aerial momentum and causes it to start falling after use. The angle makes it handy for attacking near the ground up close, and it is safe if done instantly off a jump. It can also be canceled into Flare Blitz, which gives it a use in combos, as well as to extend pressure.

Forward Midair Weak Attack (j.6YY)
Charizard swings its tail forward, followed by a downward claw swipe. This is a key part of Charizard's move list, being an excellent poke that can lead into some significant damage. Not only does the tail have great reach, you're shifted forward with the attack to further increase the move's reach. Against a grounded opponent, the initial swipe if safe if done close enough to the ground but the claw attack is punishable. Hitting with the tail alone gives barely enough time to land 2Y or 6Y, while the claw attack pops the target into the air for a full combo. It makes a nice air to air as well due to the range, though it has a rather narrow vertical hitbox.

Strong Attack (5X)
Charizard swings its tail up. This attack can be charged for slightly more damage and a different launch trajectory. The startup and charge can cancel into Flying Stance by pressing R. 5X is in a weird spot in Charizard's moveset, seemingly fulfilling the same role as 6X as a slow mid-range punish move. Even though 5X is slightly faster, 6X is usually better due to better range and combo potential, since 5X launches foes too far away for significant combo damage. The charged version launches the enemy over Charizard instead for easier follow-ups, but since it has no pierce property foes can just harmlessly absorb the attack with a counter, or interrupt the long startup with a fast attack. 5X can also be another way of entering Flying Stance, doing so will shift Charizard a minute distance backward.

Forward Strong Attack (6XX)
Charizard swings its tail up, then dives into the opponent. This move functions similarly to Charizard's Homing Attack, except that the second hit can't be charged. It still retains the ability to enter Flying Stance by holding X, so it acts as a launcher into Charizard's highly damaging Flying Stance combos. It must be noted that 6X has sizable startup time and is unsafe on block on its own, so it cannot be thrown out arbitrarily. It does have the reach to serve as a strong mid-range punish, and being able to transition into Flying Stance makes it a bit safer if it doesn't hit, as your stance attacks can catch overzealous opponents trying to retaliate. The second hit is still unsafe but covers a good distance, which can catch foes trying to backdash out of the way.

High Stance Strong Attack (8X)
Charizard does a powerful hopping kick. As an 8X attack, this move will always crush throws, and its terrible startup speed restricts its use to this singular purpose. Nevertheless, it is certainly powerful when it hits, especially on a critical hit, and has a high chance of phase shifting if you've already done some damage in the current phase. It has no combo potential unless near a wall, where it can get a wall splat for a brutal combo. Due to the poor startup, it can be possible to crush a foe's grab and still let them recover in time to block the kick. While it is safe on block it puts you at a disadvantage, which can keep you on the defensive.

Low Stance Strong Attack (2X)
Charizard swings its tail along the ground. This move has about the same speed as 5YY and has the same cancel options, but with superior range and launching the opponent on hit. Due to the range this move is a good mid-range poke, and while it's unsafe on block it can be canceled into specials or jump to respond against any potential retaliation. Moreover, the cancels also let you convert stray 2X hits into good damage, though some follow-ups are range dependent, with the easiest and most notable being Seismic Toss. The cancel timing is different from 5YY and can vary with which part of the tail you hit with. Even without a follow-up, it still results in the foe in a knockdown state, letting you set up your wakeup offense.

Midair Strong Attack (j.X)
Charizard flies toward its foe and divekicks. The kick can be charged and both the charge and the flight can be canceled into Charizard's glide once per jump. Press X again to kick early mid-flight, or input b.X in the air to attack immediately. When fully-charged, the attack counter pierces and grants huge frame advantage on block. As a standard air to ground attack, j.X is adequate if a bit slow, and reliably leads into many of Charizard's combo starters. However, the biggest strength of j.X is as a pressure tool, especially on wakeup. Against a fully-charged j.X, your opponent can't absorb it with counter moves, so the only option is to evade it entirely and risk taking massive damage if they fail, or block it and enable Charizard's scary offense. Make use of your huge frame advantage to press the attack and frustrate the blocking opponent, or to punish attempts to retaliate. Remember you can feint the attack with your glide, which can bait out anti-airs if your foe sees you charging up the kick.

Flamethrower (A)
Charizard leans forward and breathes fire at the ground. This move has surprising reach in front of Charizard, but its poor speed limits its usage. An opponent can quickly evade the fire breath by jumping since it hits so close to the ground. It's not even particularly damaging relative to Charizard's other specials, and is too slow to consistently combo from special canceled normals. The saving grace of Flamethrower is really its excellent horizontal range, and it can be somewhat safe on block if spaced carefully.

Fire Punch (f.A or 6A)
Charizard rushes forward with its fist extended surrounded by fire. This move has counter armor on startup and can go into Flying Stance either before the move by pressing R, or after by holding A. It is a fast, forward-shifting counter move which makes it an excellent surprise attack that punishes pokes and gaps in enemy pressure. Fire Punch causes a crumple on critical hit, which can lead into massive damage from follow-ups. It is very unsafe on block and easy to armor through, but going into Flying Stance avoids simple grab punishes. You can also go into Flying Stance without punching, which shifts you slightly forward while potentially prompting the foe to make mistakes in response to Fire Punch's startup animation.

Inferno (b.A or 4A)
Charizard flies back and breathes fire in an arc, stunning the opponent if they're caught in the flame. Press R during the startup to cancel into Flying Stance. As an attack Inferno is one of the worst moves in your arsenal, having slow speed, terrible range and being really punishable on whiff or block. The step back can dodge attacks from overzealous foes and the stun leads to an easy combo, but in general Inferno is a poor option to use. It is an excellent way to enter Flying Stance while repositioning yourself as it shifts you backward a good distance, making it a great alternative to a backdash as well. While Inferno will almost never be used as an attack, it is an indispensable low risk movement option that you'll find yourself using often.

Flare Blitz (j.A)
Charizard envelops itself in flames and dives into the ground, or charges straight forward if a forward direction is held in Field Phase, or upward input in Duel. Charizard takes damage from its own attack, taking more recoil damage from the air to ground version. The standard version creates a fireball when you land which is safe on block, good for ending pressure safely while becoming grounded. The lingering attack can let you outlast enemy counters. There is an initial fireball at the start of the move around Charizard, which can tighten up pressure strings when used close to the ground or help link attacks in combos. The straight ahead version of Flare Blitz is mainly used as a combo ender when Charizard is high in the air, or occsaionally for a long-range whiff punish when j.6Y can't reach.

Seismic Toss (8A)
Charizard grabs the foe, carries them up for an aerial loop and slams them into the ground. Charizard's command throw packs frightening power, but it also has some nice utility as an air grab, which can let it catch foes trying to jump out of pressure or just used as an effective combo ender. Seismic Toss can grab grounded foes as well, but it has a slightly slower startup in exchange for more range and damage. Get your opponent into the habit of blocking against Charizard's hard-hitting offense, then grab them out of their guard when they start turtling up for large bursts of damage.

Flying Stance
Charizard's Flying Stance isn't tied to its own input, but must be activated from other moves. Charizard can go into Flying Stance if the attack button is held when performing the first hit of Homing Attack in Field Phase, 6X in Duel Phase, and Fire Punch. By pressing R during the startup of 5X, Fire Punch or Inferno, Charizard can enter Flying Stance without doing the attack. Flying Stance is often used in combos, as well as a mixup or pressure tool off of Charizard's special moves. While Charizard can move sideways in Flying Stance, the movement is so slow that it's only used to make minor position adjustments in practise. In Flying Stance, Charizard is considered airborne, so low attacks and most grabs will miss.

Air Slash (Y)
Charizard creates a blade of air that arcs upward. Hold Y to stay in Flying Stance after attacking. Ineffective against grounded opponents and poor trajectory for anti-air use, which limits this move to combos. It is excellent as combo filler as it can juggle enemies effectively, and it easily combos into other Flying Stance moves, as well as Seismic Toss for a damaging finisher.

Dragon Claw (X)
Charizard slashes down with its claw burning with blue energy. Hold X to stay in Flying Stance after attacking. This attack springs a grounded foe into the air, but causes a knockdown against an aerial foe. A good punish tool and launcher out of Flying Stance, Dragon Claw combos nicely into Air Slash, finishing off with Flare Blitz or Seismic Toss for a simple, high-damage combo. It is positive on block with good spacing, but being slower than other Flying Stance options means that foes can stuff it with a quick anti-air.

Flare Blitz (A)
Charizard charges forward while wreathed in fire. Unlike the normal use of Flare Blitz, this attack goes forward by default, and flies in an upward angle with an up input. There is also no initial fireball around Charizard compared to the jumping version. The standard input allows you to use horizontal Flare Blitz very close to the ground, which functions as a quick charging attack against foes at range. The upward input doesn't hit grounded opponents and is mainly reserved for ending combos, landing all hits more consistently than normal Flare Blitz and thus dealing more damage. It leaves Charizard falling from high in the air after the fact, so using this accidentally will give your opponent an obvious opportunity to punish if you whiff.

Synergy Burst
Charizard has a moderately slow charging Synergy Burst but a fairly short burst duration. This is due to it having one of the most oppressive Synergy Bursts in the game due to its threatening Burst Attack. Charizard benefits greatly from Synergy Burst's universal buffs since a good amount of its offense comes from aerial assaults, and most anti-airs do not break through burst mode's light armor, allowing you to be more bold with your approaches.

Miscallaneous improvements
Charizard's character-specific Synergy Burst enhancements are small but useful. The most important addition is a midair jump, which lets Charizard change its direction in the air and stay airborne a bit longer, giving it nearly free reign over the skies. Flamethrower now creates a pillar of fire at the edge of the attack that can catch jumping opponents.

Burst Attack: Searing Blaze
Charizard flies into the air and flings an enormous strip of fire at the ground. Foes caught in the blast will get incinerated by Charizard's breath, powerful enough to rend the earth. Charizard's Burst Attack is one of the most fearsome in the game, and that's not just because of its high damage. It has a huge activation hitbox that spans the screen in Duel Phase, and has enough height to catch jumps. It can be used in the air, where it has a faster startup and is harder to interrupt. It can be comboed into from a variety of attacks, such as from anti-air 8Y, 2X or Seismic Toss. The only weaknesses is its limited width when used in Field Phase, and that it is a projectile, which can be nullified by certain moves like calling Pachirisu with good timing.