Metadour-2
Smash Apprentice
Back from the dead and ready to rumble!
[Pokemon] Garchomp
[National Pokedex Number]: 445
[Metagame Tier] OU (Overused)
[Ability] Sand Veil
[Base Stats]
-HP 108
-AT 130
-DE 95
-SA 80
-SD 85
-SP 102
MOVESETS
Swords Dance Sweeper
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
Item: Leftovers / Life Orb
Evs: 252 ATK / 252 SP / 6 HP
Move 1: Swords Dance
Move 2: Dragon Claw / Outrage
Move 3: Earthquake
Move 4: Stone Edge / Fire Fang
The standard Physical Garchomp. Swords Dance is obvious, doubling Garchomp’s already massive attack stat will give it the ability to put a huge dent in anything that doesn’t resist it, and there are little pokemon that could resist Garchomp’s STAB attacks in the first place. Dragon Claw is typically used, the extra base power Outrage grants usually isn’t worth the confusion and won’t make a huge difference after a dance anyway. EQ is for STAB, and paired with dragon the only notable pokemon resisting Garchomp are Bronzong and Skarmory, which is what Fire Fang is for. Stone Edge is good coverage if you have other means for handling those two. Life Orb grants it a 1.3 Attack boost of the bat, which is usually preferred since Garchomp is a very “kill or be killed” Pokemon. Jolly will just barely set you above the base 100 speeds like Salamence who wish to tear you down before you get a chance to throw up the dance.
Choice Scarf Garchomp
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
Item: Choice Scarf
Evs: 252 ATK/ 252 SP/ 6 HP
-Earthquake
-Outrage/Dragon Claw
-Stone Edge
-Crunch/Fire Fang/Aerial Ace
There you go, CS Chomp. Due to Choice item's switch-outy nature, Outrage's confusion shouldn't be too much of a problem. Fire Fang is for Foretress, or you could use Crunch for extra power. AA OKHO's Hera, which is worth consideration. Also, Flamethower and Fire Blast are options on this set, as the will deal better with Bronzong and Skarmory. Normally, fire fang would be the preference, but without Swords Dance it is worth consideration. Dragon claw is optional if Outrage's negative effects are still bothering.
Chain Chomp
Nature: Timid/Modest
Item: Life Orb
Evs: 16 ATK/ 240 SP/ 252 SA
Move 1:Swords Dance
Move 2:Draco Meteor
Move 3:Earthquake
Move 4:Fire Blast
Throw up a swords dance to intimidate the opponent into anticipating a huge physical attack, and swarm them with Draco Meteor. Yes, we all know, Chomp has a measley 80 Special Attack, but STAB, High base, and likely a pokemon switched in to survive a PHYSICAL hti (like Hippowdon or Donphan) get a nice 2HKO. Fire Blast can also do more damage because of the EVs in SpAtk. Kind of similar to Tyraniboah in the older generations.
Moveset Name: SpecsChomp
Nature: Timid
Item: Choice Specs
EVs: 252 Sp. Attk / 252 Spd / 6 HP
Move 1: Draco Meteor
Move 2: Flamethrower / Fire Blast
Move 3: Dragon Pulse
Move 4: Surf
Garchomp's Special Attack hits 388 with Timid and 426 with Modest. Pretty upsetting to a skarmory who is expecting a stone edge/fire fang.
Draco Meteor is obviously for the OHKO, and dragon pulse for consistent sweeeping. Well, that and garchomp has no other viable special moves (much like the far more popular specsmence).
Moveset Name: CB Chomp
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 ATK/ 252 SP/ 6 HP
Move 1: Outrage/Dragon Claw
Move 2: Earthquake
Move 3: Stone Edge/Rock Slide
Move 4: Fire Fang/Crunch/Aerial Ace
This set reaches that coveted 1.5 Attack boost right of the bat, and with a jolly nature and max speed it is guaranteed to outrun all base 100 pokes without a Scarf. Once again, the choice between outrage and dragon claw is mainly opinionated. Earthquake is obvious for STAB, and the coverage with Stone Edge/Rock slide is a huge bonus. The choice is also up to preference: Stone edge hits a lot harder as far as base power goes (100) and has a high critical hit ratio, while Rock Slide loses that base power (75) to improve its accuracy (SE is 80, Slide is 90) and it also hits two pokemon in a double battle. The last slot is to cover the few pokemon that resist the afformentioned moves or the pokes that give this set a hard time. Fire fang is, once again, for Skarmory and Bronzong, while Crunch is nice for Gengars, Dusknoir, and the occasional Alakazam (although it is questionable what garchomp would be doing staying in against some of those pokes). Aerial Ace serves the sole purpose of wiping the floor with CS Heracross. Garchomp should be able to take a hit from it and deliver the KO shortly after. It also hits a few other pokemon, but the base power is simply too low to the point where in some cases an Earthquake would still do more damage even if AAce is super effective.
COUNTERS
Must it be said? Ice moves are the Achilles heel of Garchomp, and the fact that they are insanely popular makes it too easy to exploit. Why are they popular?
Because pokemon like Garchomp are popular!
If a Garchomp has NO defensive EVs but perfect IVs you will need...
245 SA to OHKO with a non stabbed ice beam. (256 guarantees it)
340 AT for an unstabbed ice punch (367 guarantee)
390 AT for unstabbed ice fang, Adamant Gyara falls short a bit (425 guarantee)
330 SA for unstabbed HP Ice (358 guarantee)
You're probably saying (well what about STABed Ice moves?
What Trainer in their right mind what could keep in Garchomp against an ice type (with the exception of Swords Dance and/or Stone Edge/Rock Slide/Fire Fang)
Dragon Type moves work well, most will 2HKO. However, most dragon moves come from dragon type pokemon, and chances are a Garchomp WILL outspeed it and proceed to sweep it before you get the chance. Only a few given Dragon STAB users are not weak to dragon itself (Dialga being one).
Garchomp is also fairly predictable outside of Chain Chomp sets. So basically, any pokemon that can either outspeed Garchomp (weavile), or survive enough of its hits to fire off a counterattack (it doesn’t like being burned either) has the upper hand. Here are a few examples.
Dusknoir can shove off it’s attacks before a Swords Dance set up, and burning it will usually force a switch. However, it the ability Sand Veil is up, there is a significant chance of missing, and that can lead to serious problems.
Choice Band Mamoswine with Ice Shard can pick off Garchomp in one to two turns, and has the defensive stats to survive a retaliation.
Cresselia is immune to Earthquake, returns Ice beams, can set up reflects and recover afterwards with moonlight.
Slowbro and Suicune are good examples of pokemon perfectly capable of taking the hits Garchomp can dish out an still meet the required Ice Beam OHKO (or 2HKO on sets that have more focus on defensive slowbro/suicune rather than offense, which is usually the standard).
Movepool Physical
Dragon Claw
Frustration
Iron Tail
Earthquake
Return
Dig
Brick Break
Rock Tomb
Aerial Ace
Façade
Secret Power
False Swipe
Fling
Shadow Claw
Giga Impact
Stone Edge
Rock Slide
Natural Gift
Poison Jab
Fire Fang
Tackle
Take Down
Sand Tomb
Slash
Crunch
Dragon Rush
Iron Head
Outrage
Body Slam
Trash
Moveset Special
Dragon Rage
Hyper Beam
Flamethrower
Fire Blast
Dragon Pulse
Surf
Draco Meteor
Twister
Moveset Other
Sand-Attack
Sandstorm
Roar
Toxic
Sunny Day
Protect
Rain Dance
Double Team
Rest
Attract
Endure
Stealth Rock
Captivate
Sleep Talk
Swagger
Substitute
[Pokemon] Garchomp
[National Pokedex Number]: 445
[Metagame Tier] OU (Overused)
[Ability] Sand Veil
[Base Stats]
-HP 108
-AT 130
-DE 95
-SA 80
-SD 85
-SP 102
MOVESETS
Swords Dance Sweeper
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
Item: Leftovers / Life Orb
Evs: 252 ATK / 252 SP / 6 HP
Move 1: Swords Dance
Move 2: Dragon Claw / Outrage
Move 3: Earthquake
Move 4: Stone Edge / Fire Fang
The standard Physical Garchomp. Swords Dance is obvious, doubling Garchomp’s already massive attack stat will give it the ability to put a huge dent in anything that doesn’t resist it, and there are little pokemon that could resist Garchomp’s STAB attacks in the first place. Dragon Claw is typically used, the extra base power Outrage grants usually isn’t worth the confusion and won’t make a huge difference after a dance anyway. EQ is for STAB, and paired with dragon the only notable pokemon resisting Garchomp are Bronzong and Skarmory, which is what Fire Fang is for. Stone Edge is good coverage if you have other means for handling those two. Life Orb grants it a 1.3 Attack boost of the bat, which is usually preferred since Garchomp is a very “kill or be killed” Pokemon. Jolly will just barely set you above the base 100 speeds like Salamence who wish to tear you down before you get a chance to throw up the dance.
Choice Scarf Garchomp
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
Item: Choice Scarf
Evs: 252 ATK/ 252 SP/ 6 HP
-Earthquake
-Outrage/Dragon Claw
-Stone Edge
-Crunch/Fire Fang/Aerial Ace
There you go, CS Chomp. Due to Choice item's switch-outy nature, Outrage's confusion shouldn't be too much of a problem. Fire Fang is for Foretress, or you could use Crunch for extra power. AA OKHO's Hera, which is worth consideration. Also, Flamethower and Fire Blast are options on this set, as the will deal better with Bronzong and Skarmory. Normally, fire fang would be the preference, but without Swords Dance it is worth consideration. Dragon claw is optional if Outrage's negative effects are still bothering.
Chain Chomp
Nature: Timid/Modest
Item: Life Orb
Evs: 16 ATK/ 240 SP/ 252 SA
Move 1:Swords Dance
Move 2:Draco Meteor
Move 3:Earthquake
Move 4:Fire Blast
Throw up a swords dance to intimidate the opponent into anticipating a huge physical attack, and swarm them with Draco Meteor. Yes, we all know, Chomp has a measley 80 Special Attack, but STAB, High base, and likely a pokemon switched in to survive a PHYSICAL hti (like Hippowdon or Donphan) get a nice 2HKO. Fire Blast can also do more damage because of the EVs in SpAtk. Kind of similar to Tyraniboah in the older generations.
Moveset Name: SpecsChomp
Nature: Timid
Item: Choice Specs
EVs: 252 Sp. Attk / 252 Spd / 6 HP
Move 1: Draco Meteor
Move 2: Flamethrower / Fire Blast
Move 3: Dragon Pulse
Move 4: Surf
Garchomp's Special Attack hits 388 with Timid and 426 with Modest. Pretty upsetting to a skarmory who is expecting a stone edge/fire fang.
Draco Meteor is obviously for the OHKO, and dragon pulse for consistent sweeeping. Well, that and garchomp has no other viable special moves (much like the far more popular specsmence).
Moveset Name: CB Chomp
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 ATK/ 252 SP/ 6 HP
Move 1: Outrage/Dragon Claw
Move 2: Earthquake
Move 3: Stone Edge/Rock Slide
Move 4: Fire Fang/Crunch/Aerial Ace
This set reaches that coveted 1.5 Attack boost right of the bat, and with a jolly nature and max speed it is guaranteed to outrun all base 100 pokes without a Scarf. Once again, the choice between outrage and dragon claw is mainly opinionated. Earthquake is obvious for STAB, and the coverage with Stone Edge/Rock slide is a huge bonus. The choice is also up to preference: Stone edge hits a lot harder as far as base power goes (100) and has a high critical hit ratio, while Rock Slide loses that base power (75) to improve its accuracy (SE is 80, Slide is 90) and it also hits two pokemon in a double battle. The last slot is to cover the few pokemon that resist the afformentioned moves or the pokes that give this set a hard time. Fire fang is, once again, for Skarmory and Bronzong, while Crunch is nice for Gengars, Dusknoir, and the occasional Alakazam (although it is questionable what garchomp would be doing staying in against some of those pokes). Aerial Ace serves the sole purpose of wiping the floor with CS Heracross. Garchomp should be able to take a hit from it and deliver the KO shortly after. It also hits a few other pokemon, but the base power is simply too low to the point where in some cases an Earthquake would still do more damage even if AAce is super effective.
COUNTERS
Must it be said? Ice moves are the Achilles heel of Garchomp, and the fact that they are insanely popular makes it too easy to exploit. Why are they popular?
Because pokemon like Garchomp are popular!
If a Garchomp has NO defensive EVs but perfect IVs you will need...
245 SA to OHKO with a non stabbed ice beam. (256 guarantees it)
340 AT for an unstabbed ice punch (367 guarantee)
390 AT for unstabbed ice fang, Adamant Gyara falls short a bit (425 guarantee)
330 SA for unstabbed HP Ice (358 guarantee)
You're probably saying (well what about STABed Ice moves?
What Trainer in their right mind what could keep in Garchomp against an ice type (with the exception of Swords Dance and/or Stone Edge/Rock Slide/Fire Fang)
Dragon Type moves work well, most will 2HKO. However, most dragon moves come from dragon type pokemon, and chances are a Garchomp WILL outspeed it and proceed to sweep it before you get the chance. Only a few given Dragon STAB users are not weak to dragon itself (Dialga being one).
Garchomp is also fairly predictable outside of Chain Chomp sets. So basically, any pokemon that can either outspeed Garchomp (weavile), or survive enough of its hits to fire off a counterattack (it doesn’t like being burned either) has the upper hand. Here are a few examples.
Dusknoir can shove off it’s attacks before a Swords Dance set up, and burning it will usually force a switch. However, it the ability Sand Veil is up, there is a significant chance of missing, and that can lead to serious problems.
Choice Band Mamoswine with Ice Shard can pick off Garchomp in one to two turns, and has the defensive stats to survive a retaliation.
Cresselia is immune to Earthquake, returns Ice beams, can set up reflects and recover afterwards with moonlight.
Slowbro and Suicune are good examples of pokemon perfectly capable of taking the hits Garchomp can dish out an still meet the required Ice Beam OHKO (or 2HKO on sets that have more focus on defensive slowbro/suicune rather than offense, which is usually the standard).
Movepool Physical
Dragon Claw
Frustration
Iron Tail
Earthquake
Return
Dig
Brick Break
Rock Tomb
Aerial Ace
Façade
Secret Power
False Swipe
Fling
Shadow Claw
Giga Impact
Stone Edge
Rock Slide
Natural Gift
Poison Jab
Fire Fang
Tackle
Take Down
Sand Tomb
Slash
Crunch
Dragon Rush
Iron Head
Outrage
Body Slam
Trash
Moveset Special
Dragon Rage
Hyper Beam
Flamethrower
Fire Blast
Dragon Pulse
Surf
Draco Meteor
Twister
Moveset Other
Sand-Attack
Sandstorm
Roar
Toxic
Sunny Day
Protect
Rain Dance
Double Team
Rest
Attract
Endure
Stealth Rock
Captivate
Sleep Talk
Swagger
Substitute
Yeah, just thought I'd point that out.
