http://www.twitch.tv/vsgc/b/569922683?t=3h44m12s
In this game, I switched over to Charizard seeing as my opponent switched to Pikachu(Game 3). My thought process was that I would be able to outpace the Pikachu as well as have an easier time surviving and killing. However due to my unfamiliarity with Charizard's new style and conversely, my opponent did main Pikachu in Brawl, not everything went as planned.
The match starts off with the pikachu taking to the air and letting loose thunder jolts. While I did manage to maneuver around them at first and land a couple grabs, due to a poorly placed aerial the pikachu was able establish a couple strings.
03:44:40 - After the Pikachu down-smashed my shield, I attempted to punish with up-tilt. Little did I know that u-tilt's new animation doesn't hit as low as it did in brawl(or at least I think it did). Regardless, Pikachu's small frame allowed it to evade the attempted punish entirely.
Since I'm on the topic of OoS options, I think CHarizard's best ones are Jab, D-tilt or Up-B.
After I get punished from the whiff, I am hit back into the air. From there I attempted to commit with an aerial landing options and proceeded to get punished. From my experience, Charizard's only good offensive landing options are Flamethrower, or n-air(if spaced correctly). That or simply using your jumps to land away from your opponent
03:44:52 - Here I opted to use flare blitz. I did this because I knew at this range I would:
A. Out prioritize any options Pikachu could have used.
B. Rebound off the pikachu to the safety of the ledge if I hit him or his shield
C. Safely soar right past him if he spot dodge
In this case, I went right above his head, so I guess that worked out. After the Pikachu turned to punish, I replied with a grab and up-throw(Seismic Toss). Based on how the throw sent Pikachu, I thought I would be able to follow up with Flare Blitz, but it sadly did not connect. Thankfully after the whiff, I was able to get back to the stage without using Up-B
03:45:31 - Here I attempted to stuff an aggressive option or spot dodge with rock smash. However, the Pikachu rolled behind and up-tilted(which did nothing due to Rock Smash's new Super Armor). After I was attacked and send offstage, I attempted to Flare Blitz back. I chose do this because I felt recovering low would leave me susceptible to angled t-jolts and gimp my recovery. To my surprise, a single t-jolt intercepted flare blitz...which it weird. Need to test its properties more.
03:46:19 - After the t-jolt hit me, I think I just might have been able to fly back to the stage, but I was already holding left in order to angle myself to the stage. Thus, I was t-jolted before fly activated and the input ended up being flare-blitz under the stage.
03:47:00 - Here, I used Fly OoS. The roll was actually an attempt Fly, but it came out right after all the same. I'm happy say that Fly is actually a reliable kill move, anti-air, OoS option, and GTFO move in the game
.
03:47:16 - This f-air should have been safe, but I messed up the auto cancel(3Ds controls X-x). If I recall correctly, f-air is Zard's only auto cancellable aerials. Would be super useful if b-air auto-canceled too, but I guess good tils make up for it.
Shortly after a couple exchanges the commentator says that dash attack isn't the really most optimal option to punish. I agree. Alternatively I could have opted for a grab or spaced rock smash. Doing nothing for the possibility of a roll read could have been nice too.
03:47:33 - Here I attempted to Fly OoS again. It doesn't seem like the pikachu got hit at all and instead actually up-tilt’d. Unfortunately it seems that the backside of Fly lack a hitbox(or at least one large enough to hit pikachu from behind. On the bright side, this does confirm super armor returns to Fly.
03:47:49 - Here after the first Flare Blitz connected I used another one right after. It wasn't intended to hit, but rather to traverse the stage faster to where Pikachu was. Admittedly it was a poor option. One of the things I believe I must teach myself is patience when utilizing Flare Blitz to return to the stage. It's so very enticing given the speed, massive distance and power if your opponent collides with it. However, there is obviously the recoil damage, recovery lag, and possibility to not being able to return to the stage if you accidentally use mistime it.
Shortly after I use Flare Blitz again in an attempt to recover, neglecting my jumps. Again I was punished for it.
03:48:17 - After being hit into the air, my failure to select an appropriate landing option proved fatal. Under pressure, I failed to consider falling with a timed air dodge instead of an aerial, or drifting away to the ledge and negotiating my way back on-stage.
As far as the matchup vs Pikachu goes, I believe patience and proper option selects are your most valuable assets. Projectiles can be a nuisance(but not too much of a problem) and Pikachu's small frame lets him evade attacks more easily.
Recovering and landing seem to be the biggest things I need to figure out. Charizard's air speed isn't all that good and all aerials have landing lag so it can be somewhat of a chore to land and escape juggles vs some characters. Also charizard might have trouble low or at mid-height. Not sure, since I haven't played much myself and don't own a personal copy of smash4.