Pokémon Garchomp

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

Garchomp

Base Stats: 108 HP / 130 Attack / 95 Defense / 80 Special Attack / 85 Special Defense / 102 Speed
Abilities: Sand Veil | Rough Skin (H)

All Moves

By Level-up:
[Evo] Crunch
[1] Crunch
[1] Dual Chop
[1] Sand Tomb
[1] Tackle
[1] Sand Attack
[1] Dragon Breath
[18] Bulldoze
[27] Bite
[34] Slash
[42] Dragon Claw
[52] Dig
[62] Sandstorm
[72] Take Down
[82] Dragon Rush

By TM
[TM08] Hyper Beam
[TM09] Giga Impact
[TM15] Dig
[TM21] Rest
[TM22] Rock Slide
[TM24] Snore
[TM25] Protect
[TM26] Scary Face
[TM31] Attract
[TM32] Sandstorm
[TM33] Rain Dance
[TM34] Sunny Day
[TM36] Whirlpool
[TM39] Facade
[TM40] Swift
[TM43] Brick Break
[TM48] Rock Tomb
[TM49] Sand Tomb
[TM53] Mud Shot
[TM59] Fling
[TM65] Shadow Claw
[TM68] Fire Fang
[TM76] Round
[TM81] Bulldoze
[TM94] False Swipe
[TM97] Brutal Swing
[TM98] Stomping Tantrum
[TM99] Breaking Swipe

By TR
[TR00] Swords Dance
[TR01] Body Slam
[TR02] Flamethrower
[TR04] Surf
[TR10] Earthquake
[TR15] Fire Blast
[TR20] Substitute
[TR24] Outrage
[TR26] Endure
[TR27] Sleep Talk
[TR31] Iron Tail
[TR32] Crunch
[TR47] Dragon Claw
[TR57] Poison Jab
[TR62] Dragon Pulse
[TR67] Earth Power
[TR74] Iron Head
[TR75] Stone Edge
[TR76] Stealth Rock

Egg Moves
Thrash
Metal Claw
Double-Edge
Twister

Tutor Moves
Scorching Sands
Scale Shot

Transfer Only Moves:
Roar
Toxic
Double Team
Aerial Ace
Dragon Tail
Swagger
Confide
Aqua Tail
Laser Focus
Hone Claws
Incinerate
Rock Smash
Cut
Strength
Fury Cutter
Mud-Slap
Headbutt

Newly obtained moves:
Scale Shot - Hits 2-5 times, lowers Defense by one stage and increases Speed by one stage
Scorching Sands - May potentially burn the target

Notable Moves:
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Scale Shot
- Swords Dance
- Fire Blast
- Fire Fang
- Stone Edge
- Dragon Tail
- Roar
- Draco Meteor

Pros
- Excellent offensive typing, Dragon / Ground makes for a great offensive combo
- High Attack and decent Speed make it a good offensive Pokemon
- Stealth Rock, and it also happens to be quite reliable as a lead in that regard
- Rough Skin allows Garchomp to inflict slight punishment on several physical attackers
- Good bulk all around, good for helping facilitate setup as well as allowing it to pull a tank role
- A fairly versatile Pokemon that can fulfill a variety of roles for a team: SR setter, sweeper, revenge killer, wallbreaker, tank, lead, etc.
- Good defensive typing with some nice important resists/immunities (namely Fire and Electric) to softcheck the likes of Heatran, Victini, etc.

Cons
- 102 Speed is not quite good enough, still outsped by tons of notable threats such as Tornadus-T, Latis, Dragapult, and other Scarf Pokemon if it's not running Scarf
- Severe Ice weakness means it's vulnerable to certain Ice-types such as Weavile and Mamoswine (thankfully, this is less of a con now that Hidden Power Ice is gone)
- Really few cons to list because Garchomp is just an all around excellent Pokemon, so the above two flaws are only minor blemishes on an otherwise masterfully made Pokemon

Potential Sets

Swords Dance+Scale Shot, let's sweep!
Garchomp @ Lum Berry / Life Orb
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Scale Shot
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang / Stone Edge

Classic Swords Dance Garchomp, seeing as how Garchomp frankly hasn't changed much at all since its Gen 4 days, not that it needs to. This is the same old Swords Dance set, but instead of Outrage we now run Scale Shot, which boosts Garchomp's Speed at the expense of its defense which helps its sweeping capabilities immensely, and it doesn't lock itself in while it has the luxury of breaking Substitutes. The premise to this set is simple: set up Swords Dance possibly, then sweep with a deadly combination of Scale Shot and Earthquake: Garchomp may not have Dragon Dance (good thing it doesn't) but Swords Dance+Scale Shot becomes a pseudo Dragon Dance of sorts which allows this thing to become a formidable sweeper and wallbreaker at the same time. The last slot is coverage that is largely up to you: Fire Fang for the likes of Skarmory and Corviknight, or Stone Edge for Togekiss: pick your poison. Naturally whichever one you miss out on, you'll need a teammate to cover (such as Magnezone), but once those are out of the way, Garchomp can roll in and get a sweep going.

Fast Revenge Killer
Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Fire Blast / Fire Fang

This is a much simpler set than the above set, but it's a classic: ScarfChomp aims to come in and immediately revenge kill a faster Pokemon such as Tapu Koko or Dragapult, which is always a nice attribute to have on a team. It can also revenge kill a +1 Volcarona with Stone Edge if it switches in while Volcarona sets up. Overall a reliable and dependable revenge killer, with potential coverage to main switch-ins such as Corviknight or Togekiss.

Fast Pebbles
Garchomp @ Focus Sash / Life Orb
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Outrage / Scale Shot
- Fire Fang / Stone Edge

The classic lead Garchomp, this just aims to get Rocks up on the field and then do some damage. A pretty simple set, but with the same good offensive presence that it has with its good offensive STAB combo and the potential coverage to hit Corviknight or Togekiss. There's really not much else to say about this set other than that it's a typical, albeit solid offensive Stealth Rock user.

Bulky Tank
Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Dragon Tail / Roar
- Earthquake
- Toxic

Garchomp's access to Rough Skin and good bulk make it a good bulky Rocks setter with quite a bit of utility. With Rough Skin and Rocky Helmet in tow, it can punish prominent physical attackers such as Urshifu, Rillaboom, Blaziken, Victini, etc. with heavy passive damage, while it can phaze with Roar or Dragon Tail and rack up damage with Stealth Rock, Toxic, and Rocky Helmet+Rough Skin. Its typing also gives it crucial resistances so it can check stuff like Heatran. Overall a unique, albeit interesting set that has its niches on bulkier builds as a tank and Rocks setter, and a viable set in its own right.

Overall, Garchomp will be the same excellent glue Pokemon it's always been in OU since like forever, with flexibility and versatility being its claim to fame. Its sets are quite simple, but its ability to fulfill a variety of roles for any team while being a strong threat in its own right will ensure it will be as much of a staple in OU as ever. Anyway, here's to the return of the great landshark!

 

[Revelation]

Scorching Sands might be worth running on defensive for da burnz

 

[Finchinator]

Probably worth including a classic MixChomp set with DracoEQBlast and SR/filler. Also, Tank Chomp tends time run some speed, but overall the OP does a great job capturing what Garchomp can do overall!

Scorching Sands might be worth running on defensive for da burnz

Given the huge drop in power, the abundance of non-grounded Pokemon, and the fact that it’s only a 30% chance, I think I would only consider this on teams with Grassy Terrain when you’re also using a special fire move on Tank Chomp. Otherwise, EQ is likely the way to go.

 

[Dreadfury]

Agreed with Finch's post above. Mixed Stealth Rock is a genuinely threatening set that handily deals with fat Grounds like Lando-T, Tank Chomp, Zygarde, and Hippowdon by luring them in and nuking them with LO Draco. 80 SpA with a Life Orb may not sound too wild, but for what MixChomp does it's definitely worth considering.

 

[OldAmberPlays]

Maybe Endure is a good option on Tank Chomp. It can chip a little more threats such as Urshifu, Blaziken and Galarian Zapdos

 

[christopher_ 1942]

Garchomp did NOT get Dragon Dance in the end. I am shocked. Probably because it would've been classified as an Uber if it does like what happened back in Diamond and Pearl. Even so, it's good to see Sand Jaws back in action, even without a Mega Evolution. I'd say Garchomp will still be the top dog to watch out for as it's the counter to most Volt Turn teams that could contain Regieleki.

 

[Red Raven]

I'm really loving Garchomp's scale shot + swords dance set. I've won a lot of battles and life orb just provides the added boost in the event swords dance is not an option. Then again, being in the 1200 elo range means almost zero intimidate and a lot of Regieleki as setup fodder. I would like to add that maybe white herb is something worth considering as scale shot does leave it vulnerable to priority but only when not paired up with Tapu Lele and also maybe a naive nature if running fire blast on the scarf set

 

[incorolla]

What do yall think is the best ev spread and moveset for MixChomp? Im guessing EQ/Meteors/Fireblast/Rocks but unsure

 

[earl]

What do yall think is the best ev spread and moveset for MixChomp? Im guessing EQ/Meteors/Fireblast/Rocks but unsure

Same moves, Max Special Attack Max Speed 4 attack +Spe -def/spd (depends on team, better Zyg or Heatran MU)

 

[just trying to help]

I'm really loving Garchomp's scale shot + swords dance set. I've won a lot of battles and life orb just provides the added boost in the event swords dance is not an option. Then again, being in the 1200 elo range means almost zero intimidate and a lot of Regieleki as setup fodder. I would like to add that maybe white herb is something worth considering as scale shot does leave it vulnerable to priority but only when not paired up with Tapu Lele

who do u battle i'm around 1100 rating and every team has incineroar/landot

also white herb is useless cuz it would work something like this:
1) chomp used scale shot
2) white herb activates
3) the rest of chomp's scale shot happens
this means even with white herb chomp still gets dropped defense so its kinda useless

 

[Heavyweapons Mann]

Scale Shot’s stat changes only happen on the last hit, not with each individual hit.

 

[Red Raven]

I have no idea to be honest. I even reached 1300 already and I barely see any Landorus Therian at all or even Incineroar. In fact, the most common after the very balanced Genesect was banned is Landorus Incarnate, which should be banned imo. Too broken

And like Heavyweapons said, the changes only happen on the last shot if it actually hits. At the moment, I'm even experimenting with that super effective dragon reducing berry because Latios is one of the things that can cut Chomp's sweep short