Overview
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After many years of mediocrity, Charizard has risen to top of the food chain in the OU tier after receiving two Mega Evolutions. Mega Charizard Y is easily the most powerful wallbreaker under the sun. While the sun is up, it is only countered by very few Pokemon, such as Latias, Latios, Chansey, Multiscale Dragonite, and its counterpart, Mega Charizard X. Despite the its powerful Mega Evolution, its Charizard's Fire / Flying typing has does not changed change and makes it very weak to Stealth Rock. Additionally, its average speed will prevent Speed prevents it from sweeping teams.
SET NAME
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name: Mega Charizard-Y
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Solar Beam
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Roost / Dragon Pulse
ability: Blaze
item: Charizadite-Y
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Moves
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In the sun, Fire Blast 2HKOes, if not totally incinerates, just about anything that doesn't resist or absorb it save for a small number of special walls. A neutral Fire Blast also hits much harder than Charizard-Y's other super effective attacks hitting super effectively, so the other moves listed should only really be used situationally. If accuracy is something that worries you, Flamethrower can be used for consistency, but the power loss if very noticeable.
Solar Beam allows Charizard-Y to hit the Water-, Ground-, and Rock-types that resist Fire Blast, but it must be used while the sunlight is up shining. Focus Blast gives Charizard-Y much needed coverage against Heatran and Tyranitar, both of which limit the use of Fire Blast and Solar Beam. Roost provides a great means of recovery, granting Charizard-Y longevity and going well in tandem with its high Special Defense. On the other hand, Dragon Pulse, on the other hand, gives it coverage against Dragon-types, giving it allowing Charizard-Y a chance to win against Dragonite, Charizard-X, Latios, and Goodra.
Earthquake can be used over Focus Blast to always OHKO Heatran in on the switch. This does make matchups dealing with Tyranitar a little tougher, as 4 Atk Charizard-Y only 3HKOes it with Earthquake.
Set Details
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This set is a simple special attacker, so maximized Special Attack and Speed are required to make it as fast and powerful as possible. A Timid nature is preferred to avoid being outsped by several key theats, especially positive-natured threats in the base 87-100 Speed range such as Excadrill, Mega Garchomp, Landorus-T, Kyurem-B, and Charizard-X. Charizard-Y also gains so much power in the sunlight that it doesn't really need the extra power strength offered by Modest, though it can be used if your team can handle the Pokemon previously mentioned.
Usage Tips
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The purpose of this set is essentially to essentially destroy anything that it comes by. It can operate in nearly any part of the game, but shines especially well mid- to late-game, where it can wallbreak or clean up the opposing team when required. If possible, keep Charizard-Y alive until its most important targets have been eliminated, as it is an extremely valuable nuke that typically shouldn't faint so soon in the game.
Fortunately, it's not too hard to maintain Charizard-Y thanks to its decent defensive typing and great special bulk. Because of these traits, it can switch into common attacks, such as Earthquake, Bullet Punch, Mach Punch, Scald, Lava Plume, Moonblast, and other miscellaneous weak special attacks with ease. Another small but notable detail is that it can stomach some strong special attacks at full health; for instance, Life Orb Latias's Draco Meteor can only manage to do 73.1 – 86.2%, allowing Charizard-Y to recover with Roost while stalling Latias out. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for strong physical attacks, so it is not advised to recklessly switch into these types of moves unless resisted.
Team Options
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Charizard-Y has a nasty Stealth Rock weakness, which can be taken care of with Defog and or Rapid Spin support. Latias, Latios, Excadrill, Starmie and Mew are good teammates that can clear away entry hazards safely and quickly; the former four are also notable for their good offensive power and coverage. Charizard-Y also appreciates defensive support, as it ideally wants to switch in multiple times while avoiding Rock- and Electric-type moves attacks. Hippowdon and Chesnaught are bulky walls that can absorb Thunderbolts and Stone Edges while also providing entry hazard support. More offensive teammates that can take these attacks include Assault Vest Raikou, Aegislash, Excadrill, and Landorus-T. Pairing it with a Pursuit trapper such as Tyranitar, Aegislash, or Bisharp will greatly benefit Charizard succeed in breaking down the opposing team with sun boosted Fire Blasts. This deals with the Lati twins, and in the case of Bisharp, puts more pressure on Chansey, in the case of Bisharp.
Additionally, while this set breaks through a ton of defensive Pokemon, it notably has trouble dealing with Chansey and Blissey, both of whom have more than enough Special Defense to switch into Fire Blast and heal off the damage repeatedly. Therefore, teammates that can beat them are absolutely required. Gothitelle is a fantastic partner for this, as it doesn't care much about incoming Toxics or Thunder Waves, and can use Trick and Psyshock to completely dismantle the two pink blobs. More offensive alternatives include Terrakion, Bisharp, Choice Band Tyranitar, Thundurus (with Knock Off and Superpower), Scizor, and Keldeo. Offensive support against opposing Latios and Latias (as well as other Dragon-types in general) is also appreciated; again, Tyranitar, Aegislash, and Bisharp are good teammates, especially since they have access to Pursuit. The latter can also use its ability, Defiant, to punish both if they attempt to use Defog.
One thing to note is that Charizard-Y is skilled at wallbreaking. Take advantage of this by pairing Charizard with other offensive Pokemon that can clean up late-game. Good candidates for this include Keldeo, Talonflame, Kyurem-B, and many others, depending on your team.
Other Options
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Charizard-Y's overlooked base 104 Attack, with the help of Drought, makes its physical Fire-type attacks surprisingly strong. With maximized Attack, it can lure in and break through an astounding number of Pokemon that would have walled or stalled it out otherwise; Chansey, Blissey, Umbreon, Sylveon, and Assault Vest Conkeldurr are all 2HKOed by an accurate sun-boosted Flare Blitz (the latter four are OHKOed with after Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes), while Heatran and Chandelure are OHKOed by Earthquake with no questions asked. It However, it faces fierce competition from Charizard-X, however, as the latter has defensively and offensively overall better typing and naturally has slightly higher attack damage output on its contact attacks moves thanks to Tough Claws. While Charizard-X does outclass Charizard-Y in terms of physical attacking, Charizard-Y has the benefit of surprise value since it is normally seen only using special sets, thus having a higher chance of luring the above threats in. If the above sounds appealing, it is perhaps best to use Flare Blitz and Earthquake on a mixed set, where it can still use Solar Beam, Focus Blast, and Roost to get past its usual targets while still breaking through its new ones. Dragon Dance can also be used to boost physical moves, though again, Charizard-X tends to perform this better due to its superior typing and STAB moves.
Charizard-Y also has other special moves worth consideration considering. Air Slash might seem like a good option, but it's low base power and redundant coverage make it less appealing. Aside from a more accurate attack to use on Mega Venusaur and Conkeldurr (both of which are hit harder by sun-boosted Fire Blast anyways), it does not hit anything else notable and causes you to lose valuable coverage. Ancient Power is an option to OHKO Talonflame and opposing Charizard-Y, as well as 2HKO Charizard-X and Chandelure, but outside of these targets, it is rather weak. Overheat can also be used instead of or alongside Fire Blast to hit targets even harder, although the Special Attack drop will most likely force Charizard-Y out after its use.
Checks & Counters
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**Specially Defensive Tanks and Walls**: Only a few select specially defensive Pokemon can switch into Charizard and live to tell the tale. Blissey and Chansey wall Charizard-Y hard, and can heal back the damage while stalling it out with Seismic Toss and/or Toxic. Assault Vest Goodra and Snorlax are also notable for taking pittance from even its super effective moves, and can attack back with hard-hitting moves. However, they lack reliable recovery, meaning it that they can get be worn down easily from by Charizard-Y's attacks. When sandstorm is up, Tyranitar and Hippowdon lower the power of Solar Beam and Fire Blast, and can use Solar Beam's charge-up turn as an opportunity to OHKO Charizard-Y with Rock Slide or Stone Edge. Politoed can also do this, except it summons rain instead of sandstorm, which further decreases the power of Fire Blast.
**Bulky Fire-types**: Without Earthquake or Ancient Power, Charizard-Y lacks good coverage against Fire-type Pokemon. With However, with the help of Drought, however, it can manage to 2HKO frailer ones, so opponents much rely on bulkier choices. Moltres and specially defensive Talonflame can both take Charizard-Y's typical attacks very easily, and can wear it down with Toxic and Brave Bird, respectively. Charizard-X also hard walls any set without Dragon Pulse, and can proceed to set up or hit it hard with its powerful Dragon-type attacks. Entei risks being 2HKOed by Fire Blast or Focus Blast, but it can tank one of these attacks and respond back with Stone Edge or Extremespeed Extreme Speed. Without Ancient Power or Earthquake, Charizard-Y is also hard-walled by Chandelure, which can then fire off its own sun-boosted Fire Blast and Shadow Ball.
**Dragon-types**: Even if it doesn't lack carries (much less confusing) Dragon Pulse, Charizard-Y may find itself at the mercy of several Dragon-type Pokemon. Latios, Latias, and Garchomp are all faster than Charizard-Y, and can tank at least one Dragon Pulse or Fire Blast before hitting back with a powerful attack of their own. Goodra is similar, but is slower and has so much special bulk that Dragon Pulse can only 3HKO it, with or without an Assault Vest. Dragonite can also tank Charizard-Y's attacks thanks to Multiscale, and proceed to set up.
**Faster Attackers**: Charizard-Y's speed Speed is rather average, leaving it vulnerable to revenge killing. Thundurus, Terrakion, Greninja, Keldeo, Garchomp, and many others all threaten with super effective moves while outspeeding naturally. Threats with a Choice Scarf, such as Excadrill, Landorus-T, Gardevoir, and Tyranitar can also surprise and revenge kill it.
**Stealth Rock**: Even though it's not a direct counter, but Stealth Rocks Rock can greatly limit Charizard's longevity.
