The Pokémon Champions meta may develop drastically due to a tournament-winning team that combines both rain and sun.
American player Alex ‘Lexicon’ Underhill won the 4,000+ player Grand Champion Festival Encore tournament with a unique rain Charizard team.
With Pokémon Champions‘ smaller and simplified roster, weather control has been one of the dominant strategies in VGC doubles.
And Lexicon has cleverly combined two of the strongest duos in the game, Archuladon with Pelipper and Mega Charziard Y with Venusaur.
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How Does Rain Charizard Work in Pokémon Champions?
The team Lexicon created runs:
- Pelipper (Sitrus Berry)
- Grimmsnarl (Light Clay)
- Archuladon (Leftovers)
- Venusaur (Focus Sash)
- Basculegion (Choice Scarf)
- Charizard (Charizardite Y Mega Stone)
Though he is understandably keeping the stat distributions to himself.
You would think running both rain and sun would be counterintuitive, as they counter each other.
Sun boosts fire attacks, decreases the power of water attacks, and allows Solar Beam to shoot in one turn for a super effective attack against water types.
Meanwhile, rain boosts the power of water-type moves, which are super effective against fire.
This team tries to take advantage of both via clever switching and smart play, making it a difficult team to pilot.
However, in the right hands, it’s proven to be very powerful as explained by VGC content creator SlowHomie.
Of course, you can bring just one weather setter in Charizard Y or Pelipper to a match, but the two also have surprising synergy.
And not only because Pelipper’s Wide Guard and Tailwind are two moves that will turn Charizard Y into an even stronger carry.
In a mirror match against another Charizard, swapping in Pelipper for a surpirse Weather Ball can be lethal.
Or similarly, you can use a Pelipper to bait a Solar Beam or Electro Shot from your opponent, then swap in Charizard to lock them into a two-turn move.
Switching is crucial with this team, and thankfully Charizard and Archuladon are fantastic for that.
Most will look to deal with Charizard with a Rock Slide, which is free +1 defense boost for a switching in Archaludon.
Plus, Charizard Y and Archuladon are both offensive monsters; it will always be very difficult for an opponent to deal with both at once.
Venusaur also benefits heavily from both weather. It can become a fast sleep powder demon in the sun or a bulky tank in the rain with more fire resistance.
And Grimmsnarl then ties everything together with Prankster Parting Shot to guarantee you switch to the weather you want.
This is very much a big brain team where you look to control the battlefield and outmanoeuvre your opponent.
Will you try rain Charizard in this new Pokémon Champions season? Let us know on the Insider Gaming Discord.
Also, a game-breaking bug has made Incineroar even stronger in Pokémon Champions. And for even more Insider Gaming delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.
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