Matchup Summary (Win Condition and Game Plan)
This matchup gets worse for Charizard the longer Zelda is allowed to finish Phantom and Din’s Fire setups, and gets better for him the more often his run speed lets him enter before those layers are ready.
Zelda has far better anti-air and reversal power than mobility, so Charizard needs to make her block first with forward tilt, forward air, and dash grab instead of yielding center and letting her prepare traps freely.
On shield, dash attack, neutral B, up B, and down B are the spots where up smash or Up B cash out cleanly, while spaced fair, bair, and nair are often too safe to force, so the better answer is to take space and pre-cover the next landing.
For kills, it is more stable to keep ledge, show Flamethrower, and cover jump, neutral getup, and re-entry with back air, forward tilt, and up smash than to chase too deep and let Farore’s Wind reverse positions.
Full Move Frame Quick Reference
| Opponent Move | Startup | On Shield | Charizard OOS Candidate Moves | Barely Missed Moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rapid Jab | 4/6/8/10… | — | ||
| Rapid Jab Finisher | 6 | -32 |
| |
| Jab | 4/7 | -13 |
|
|
| Forward Tilt | 12 | -13/-10 |
|
|
| Up Tilt | 7 | -15 |
|
|
| Down Tilt | 5 | -10 |
|
|
| Dash Attack | 6 | -18 |
|
|
| Forward Smash | 16/18/20/22/24 | -16 |
|
|
| Up Smash | 9/13/17/21/25/29/34 | -25 |
| |
| Down Smash | 5/13 | -24/-17 |
| |
| Neutral Air | 6/10/14/18/22 | -10/-9 |
|
|
| Forward Air | 6 | -8/-12 |
|
|
| Back Air | 6 | -8/-12 |
|
|
| Up Air | 14 | -6/-8 |
|
|
| Down Air | 14 | -6/-9 |
|
|
| Neutral B | 11… | -25 |
| |
| Side B | 44—70 | -18 to -10 |
|
|
| Up B | 6/35 | -29 (ground) // -19 (air) |
|
|
| Down B | 26/32/38/46/59-127 | -19 to -15 |
|
|
| Grab | 10 | — | ||
| Dash Grab | 13 | — | ||
| Pivot Grab | 14 | — |
Win Condition Checklist
- Do not give up ground at the start of neutral; pressure before Phantom is charged and force Zelda to shield first with run-up forward tilt, forward air, and dash grab.
- When dash attack, neutral B, up B, or down B hit shield, punish immediately with up smash or Up B and keep center instead of resetting to full screen.
- Use Flamethrower mainly to tighten ledge and landing space, not as a long-range fireball war, so Zelda loses time to set Din’s Fire and Phantom.
- Once Zelda is cornered, favor ledgetrapping over deep edgeguards and watch both Phantom startup and Farore’s Wind re-entry at the same time.
- When launched, preserve jumps and vary drift height so Zelda has less time to stack up tilt and up air juggles on Charizard’s large hurtbox.
Actions to Avoid
- Do not sit at midrange long enough for both Phantom and Din’s Fire to come online, because Charizard’s size makes that two-layer trap especially expensive to absorb.
- Do not force shield punishes on every spaced fair, bair, or nair, because whiffing there is how Zelda gets her anti-air traps and Lightning Kick callouts started.
- Do not rush for a kill with raw Flare Blitz into Nayru’s Love or shield and hand Zelda the entire swing back.
- Do not chase Zelda too far offstage and let Farore’s Wind or bair flip positions and turn your own recovery into the weaker side of the exchange.