Garchomp

Garchomp comes with a great stat spread; most importantly, its base 102 Speed allows it to outspeed top-tier threats such as both Mega Charizard formes, Kyurem-B, and Mimikyu. Its high Attack stat lets it KO a lot of Pokemon such as both Mega Charizard formes, bulky Kyurem-B, Aegislash, and Magearna. It has a great movepool with reliable STAB moves in Outrage and Earthquake, Poison Jab to strike Fairy-types, and Fire Fang to KO the Pokemon, mostly Steel-types, that are weak to Fire and aren't hit super effectively by Earthquake and Outrage such as Kartana and Ferrothorn. Rough Skin offers chip damage that helps it in turning some 3HKOs and 2HKOs into 2HKOs and OHKOs and some non-guaranteed OHKOs into guaranteed OHKOs, such as when facing defensive Mega Metagross. Rough Skin also helps Garchomp defeat F.E.A.R. Aron. Garchomp's great offensive typing lets it defeat the ever-so-common Steel- and Dragon-type Pokemon such as Magearna, Aegislash, and Mega Charizard X. With an immunity to Electric, key resistances to Fire- and Rock-type moves, which are used by powerful attackers such as Mega Charizard Y and Crustle, and above-average bulk, Garchomp is capable of surviving most non-super effective attacks. However, its 4x weakness to Ice makes it vulnerable to Ice-type attacks carried by common threats such as Kyurem-B, Porygon-Z, and Greninja. Despite having a high Attack stat, it's not able to defeat all physically defensive Pokemon like Mega Slowbro, Umbreon, and Mega Aggron.
=Choice Band=
Garchomp @ Choice Band
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab
- Fire Fang / Stone Edge
==Set Comments==
===Moves===
Outrage is Garchomp's most powerful STAB move and hits all the Dragon-types such as Kyurem-B and Mega Charizard X super effectively and deals massive damage to Pokemon that do not resist it. It also has a minimal opportunity cost, as in most battles, Garchomp won't get confused. Earthquake hits Steel-, Poison-, Electric-, and Rock-types super effectively and other types that resist Outrage neutrally, allowing it to KO Pokemon like Tapu Koko, Mega Metagross, Blaziken, and Jirachi. Poison Jab hits Fairy- and Grass-types super effectively, letting Garchomp KO Whimsicott, Togekiss, Primarina, Mega Gardevoir, and non-Choice Scarf Tapu Lele. Fire Fang lets it KO other Steel-types that are not hit super effectively by Earthquake such as Ferrothorn, Celesteela, and Kartana. It also comes with a 10% chance to burn and/or flinch the target, which might prove to be useful against F.E.A.R. Pokemon that use Toxic stall such as level 2 Probopass. Stone Edge can be used over Fire Fang to hit Flying-types like Mega Pinsir, as Earthquake can't hit them. It also gives Garchomp EdgeQuake coverage, which few Pokemon resist.
===Set Details===
252 Speed EVs with a Jolly nature let Garchomp outspeed as many Pokemon as possible, which includes non-Choice Scarfed base 100 Speed and below Pokemon such as Charizard, bulky Kyurem-B, and Choice Specs Genesect. 252 Attack EVs with Choice Band allow it to hit as hard as possible. Rough Skin is the ability of choice to hurt physical attackers that use contact moves.
===Usage Tips===
It's best to send Garchomp in if the opponent has Pokemon that are outsped by it and are not bulky enough to wall its attacks. This includes a huge portion of the metagame, as its base 102 Speed and 130 Attack combined with Choice Band lets it OHKO common threats like both Mega Charizard formes, bulky Kyurem-B, and Magearna as well as having a high chance of KOing Mega Mawile even after Intimidate. Garchomp should use Outrage against most foes barring if they resist it or Garchomp has other coverage moves that deal super effective damage. Avoid sending it against Donphan, Magnezone, Mega Slowbro, and Mega Aggron, as they are able to take its attacks and in return either wear it down or retaliate with their own attacks. Use Fire Fang over Outrage when facing Crustle, as the opponent may predict Garchomp to use Outrage and OHKO Garchomp with Counter. Fire Fang does around 30% damage, which combined with the Rough Skin damage that Crustle suffers on using Counter makes it a guaranteed 3HKO for Garchomp.
===Team Options===
Powerful special wallbreakers like Porygon-Z and Greninja are great teammates for Garchomp, as they can defeat physically defensive Pokemon like Mega Slowbro and Mega Blastoise, which Garchomp struggles against. Porygon-Z can also check Mega Lopunny and Jumpluff for Garchomp. Pokemon that are able to defeat the highly used Mega Gyarados such as Tapu Koko, bulky Mega Charizard Y, and Mega Venusaur are necessary and pair up well with Garchomp. as Mega Gyarados is able to KO it with Outrage. Mega Gyarados itself emerges as another great teammate for Garchomp, as it is capable of defeating Sturdy Pokemon and other Pokemon that Garchomp is not able to defeat like Mega Slowbro, Mega Aggron, Dragonite, and Donphan. Garchomp has great synergy with Mega Venusaur, since Mega Venusaur beats Mega Gyarados, Donphan, Magnezone, Mega Altaria, and Mega Slowbro, which defeat Garchomp, while Garchomp can check the Pokemon that defeat Mega Venusaur such as both Mega Charizard formes, Icium Z Kyurem-B, and Mega Metagross. Choice Specs Magearna defeats Kyurem-B, Mega Gyarados, Tapu Lele, Mega Altaria, and Mega Slowbro, turning out to be another great partner for Garchomp. Aegiaslash and Genesect can be paired with Garchomp to scare off the abundant Fairy-types such as bulky Mega Mawile, Mega Altaria, and Choice Scarf Tapu Lele, which can be problematic for Garchomp. Mega Heracross can defeat Mega Gyarados, Kyurem-Black, Mega Slowbro, and all Sturdy Pokemon, which Garchomp appreciates, making it a reliable team member.
=Strategy Comments=
==Other Options==
Fling can be used to defeat Air Balloon Heatran and Magnezone. Choice Scarf boosts Garchomp's Speed, letting it defeat fast offensive threats such as Greninja and Choice Scarf Kyurem-Black and granting it guaranteed wins against Blaziken and Jirachi, but without Choice Band's Attack boost, it's unable to defeat other common threats like Mega Mawile, Magearna, bulky Kyurem-B, and Aegislash. Swords Dance along with Z-Moves is an effective check to a lot of walls in 1v1 and helps Garchomp KO a lot of bulky Pokemon that otherwise are able to tank its hits including Mega Slowbro, Mega Venusaur, and Chansey. Devastating Drake is an option that hits hard, and with it, Garchomp can OHKO Dragonite and bulky Kyurem-Black.Tectonic Rage is a similar option that lets Garchomp always OHKO Pokemon like Mega Mawile and Tapu Lele, which Garchomp is not always able to defeat with Earthquake. Corkscrew Crash with Iron Tail lets Garchomp lure in and defeat some Fairy types that usually defeat it, namely bulky Tapu Lele and Mega Altaria. However, running Z-Moves leaves it without Choice Band, which decreases the power of its other moves and the capability of defeating other bulky offensive Pokemon, resulting in loss of other ties. Garchomp also gets to use Substitute along with Z-Moves, which helps in blocking status moves, defeating F.E.A.R. Pokemon, and taking Z-Moves from other Pokemon, but Substitute leaves it devoid of coverage options. Mega Garchomp with an EV spread of 248 HP / 176 Def / 76 SpD / 8 Spe and an Impish nature with the moves Outrage, Earthquake, Rock Tomb, and Swords Dance can be used as a bulkier option. The EVs are optimized to defeat all the Sturdy Pokemon, Porygon-Z, bulky Primarina, and Heatran as well as Blaziken with Hidden Power Ice, which usually defeat it. 8 Speed EVs let it outspeed base 100 and below Speed Pokemon such as Mimikyu after Rock Tomb. This set gives Garchomp a major advantage in Team Preview, owing to regular Garchomp being weak to the aforementioned threats, and it can give a huge surprise to the opponent.
==Checks and Counters==
*Ice-type Attacks: Ice-type moves do a lot of damage to Garchomp, as it is 4x weak to Ice. Pokemon like Kyurem-B, Porygon-Z, Donphan, Greninja, and Genesect carry Ice-type moves and are able to defeat Garchomp if they outspeed it or survive its attacks. Life Orb Blaziken with Hidden Power Ice can also defeat Garchomp after a +1 Speed boost. Mega Aggron with Avalanche can decide not to Mega Evolve and OHKO Garchomp with it.
*Physically Bulky Pokemon: Mega Slowbro, Umbreon, and Mega Aggron are able to tank Garchomp's attacks and either wear it down by boosting their defenses and healing or KO it with their attacks. Mega Altaria can take a Choice Band Poison Jab from Garchomp with ease and retaliate with a Pixilate-boosted Giga Impact or Hyper Beam, both of which are able to OHKO it.
*Sturdy Pokemon: Donphan and Choice Specs Magnezone are able to survive a hit thanks to their ability Sturdy and KO Garchomp with with Ice Shard and Hidden Power Ice, respectively. Golem also mostly defeats Garchomp by the virtue of having Z-Moves, Counter, and Sucker Punch in its sleeves.
*Faster Offensive Pokemon: Garchomp gets outsped by some hard hitters like Greninja, Choice Scarf Kyurem-B, Choice Scarf Porygon-Z, and Mega Lopunny, which can OHKO it.
Category:Analyses