Approved by scpinion
QC: Eien / Vid / SirSkit
GP: Rare Poison / The Dutch Plumberjack
[OVERVIEW]
**Ground**:
Garchomp has a high Attack stat along with a great base 102 Speed, allowing it to outpace base 100 Speed Pokemon such as Mega Charizard Y and Manaphy. Its Dragon / Ground typing gives it a neutrality to Water and Grass, often enabling it to tank hits from Water- and Grass-types, such as Waterfall from Mega Gyarados and Bullet Seed from Breloom, and deal a good amount of damage in return, and its good bulk often enables it to tank neutral attacks relatively well, such as Close Combat from Mega Heracross and Bug Bite from Mega Scizor. However, its 4x weakness to Ice-type attacks means even weaker moves such as Hidden Power Ice and Ice Shard from the likes of Mega Manectric and Mamoswine are able to knock it out. It has access to reliable STAB moves in Earthquake and Dragon Claw, and its great neutral STAB coverage makes it difficult to wall. Furthermore, Garchomp can use Swords Dance to boost its already high Attack and increase its sweeping and wallbreaking capabilities. It also has access to solid coverage options in Stone Edge, which allows it to hit Flying-types such as Zapdos and Mega Charizard Y for super effective damage, and Fire Blast, for hitting Steel-types such as Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Scizor. Rough Skin enables Garchomp to return damage to foes that hit it with contact moves. Although its Speed stat is solid, it is still outsped by many fast threats such as Keldeo and Latios; however, with Choice Scarf, it is able to outspeed them. Upon Mega Evolution, Garchomp gets a big boost in both of its offensive stats, enabling it to do a lot of damage with little to no investment and utilize special attacks such as Draco Meteor and Fire Blast much more effectively. It also gains an increase in bulk, allowing it to survive many strong attacks including +6 Aqua Jet from Azumarill. Garchomp gains the Sand Force ability upon Mega Evolution, which increases the damage output of its Earthquake and Stone Edge during sand. However, it loses a bit of Speed and is no longer able to outpace the aforementioned base 100 Speed Pokemon.
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker (Ground)
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Stone Edge
item: Garchompite
ability: Rough Skin
nature: Naive
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Draco Meteor is Mega Garchomp's strongest Dragon-type STAB attack, and it's very useful for luring in and KOing physically defensive Pokemon such as Slowbro and Hippowdon. Earthquake is its Ground-type STAB attack and lets it target Steel-, Fire-, and Fairy-type Pokemon such as Bisharp, Victini, and Azumarill. Fire Blast is a great coverage option for hitting Pokemon such as Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Mega Scizor, which aren't threatened by Mega Garchomp's other attacks. Stone Edge is useful for dealing with Flying-types such as Zapdos and Mega Charizard Y.
Set Details
========
Full investment in Special Attack increases the damage output of Mega Garchomp's special attacks. Maximum investment in Speed lets Mega Garchomp be as fast as possible and outspeed base 100 Speed Pokemon such as Manaphy before Mega Evolving. The remaining 4 EVs go into Attack to slightly increase the damage output of Mega Garchomp's physical attacks. Naive is the preferred nature over Hasty, as it allows Mega Garchomp to take priority moves more comfortably and survive +6 Aqua Jet from Azumarill. A Speed-boosting nature allows Garchomp to outspeed base 80 Speed Pokemon such as Hoopa-U after Mega Evolving. Rough Skin allows Garchomp to return a bit of damage to foes that attack it with a contact move before it Mega Evolves. Sand Force boosts the power of its Earthquake and Stone Edge in sand.
Usage Tips
========
Mega Garchomp should be used to wallbreak early-game so one of its teammates can clean up late-game. Examples of walls it can weaken for its teammates include Ferrothorn, Mega Venusaur, and Swampert. It can lure in and KO its usual checks such as Skarmory, Ferrothorn, Slowbro, and other physical walls with Fire Blast or Draco Meteor. However, in order to lure in these Pokemon, it has to hide its full set until it has the right opportunity. Due to Mega Garchomp's reliance on Draco Meteor, which lowers its Special Attack, it cannot break down physical walls that have access to recovery such as Hippowdon and Slowbro unless they switch into an attack. Its Special Defense is significantly lower than its Defense, so letting it take strong special hits should be avoided. Garchomp has a tough time switching into powerful Grass- and Water-type attacks from the likes of Serperior and Keldeo despite its respectable bulk and neutrality to them. Garchomp should avoid being afflicted with status because they can reduce its longevity or wallbreaking capabilities. For this reason, it can't always reliably switch in on walls such as Slowbro, which can burn it and halve its Attack with Scald, and Zapdos, which can badly poison it with Toxic. In some situations, Garchomp should not Mega Evolve in order to preserve its Speed. This is useful for checking Mega Charizard Y or a weakened Manaphy, as after Garchomp's Mega Evolution, they both outspeed it.
Team Options
========
Hippowdon is a great partner for Mega Garchomp because of its ability to set up Stealth Rock and weaken foes for Mega Garchomp. It also has the Sand Stream ability, which boosts the power of Mega Garchomp's Earthquake and Stone Edge thanks to its Sand Force ability. A Sand Force-boosted Earthquake is able to OHKO Azumarill after a Belly Drum and one turn of sand damage. Hippowdon is also able to use Whirlwind to phaze setup sweepers that try to set up on a -2 Special Attack Mega Garchomp. Excadrill is an amazing wallbreaker that appreciates Mega Garchomp's early-game wallbreaking so it can clean up late-game. Mixed Mega Garchomp can get past a few Pokemon that wall Excadrill such as Skarmory and Slowbro. Excadrill is able to check Fairy- and Ice-types that threaten Mega Garchomp. It can also use Rapid Spin to get rid of Spikes and Toxic Spikes, which can wear down Mega Garchomp. Mamoswine can switch in on Ice-type attacks that threaten Mega Garchomp quite well due to its Thick Fat ability. It can also check fast Dragon-types such as Hydreigon and Latios with its Ice Shard. Mamoswine has access to Knock Off and Superpower to threaten Chansey and Porygon2, both of which wall Mega Garchomp. Seismitoad and Gastrodon have an immunity to Water-type attacks and a neutrality to Ice-type attacks, which Mega Garchomp strongly appreciates. They also both have access to Scald, which can burn and whittle down walls for Mega Garchomp. Gastrodon can use Toxic to wear down walls such as Porygon2, which wall Mega Garchomp. Seismitoad and Gastrodon's ability to switch into Water-type attacks comes in handy when Mega Garchomp needs to retreat after using Draco Meteor. Landorus can use Gravity to allow Mega Garchomp to hit Flying-types with its Earthquake. It's also another Pokemon that appreciates Mega Garchomp's ability to weaken foes early-game so it can clean late-game with its powerful Sheer Force-boosted attacks or set up with Rock Polish. Landorus is also another good check to Fairy-types thanks to its access to Sludge Wave.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance (Ground)
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Dragon Claw / Stone Edge
move 4: Fire Blast / Substitute
item: Garchompite
ability: Rough Skin
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Swords Dance boosts Mega Garchomp's Attack to incredibly high levels, allowing it to break most physically defensive walls such as Slowbro and Hippowdon, which are no longer able to switch in. Earthquake is Mega Garchomp's Ground-type STAB attack and most reliable move due to its high Base Power. Dragon Claw is Mega Garchomp's Dragon-type STAB attack and targets Pokemon that aren't threatened by Earthquake such as Flying- and Grass-types. Stone Edge is an alternative option that targets Togekiss, which otherwise walls this set. Fire Blast is mainly used to hit Skarmory, which isn't threatened by any of Mega Garchomp's other moves. Substitute can be used to set up on Pokemon that rely on status damage such as Mew and Zapdos. It can also be used to take advantage of switches to make Mega Garchomp harder to revenge kill. However, Fire Blast is more important because of how much Skarmory threatens Ground-type teams.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack investment allows Mega Garchomp to deal as much damage as it can. Full investment in Speed with a Jolly nature allows Mega Garchomp to outpace as many foes as possible. Even with a Jolly nature and no Special Attack investment, Mega Garchomp is still able to 2HKO Skarmory with Fire Blast. Rough Skin allows Garchomp to deal damage to foes that hit it with contact moves before it Mega Evolves. Garchompite gives Garchomp a boost to its Attack, allowing it to hit much harder. It also boosts both of its defenses, giving it more opportunities to set up. However, it does cost Mega Garchomp some Speed, making it unable to outspeed Pokemon such as Kyurem-B and base 100 Speed Pokemon such as Manaphy and Mega Charizard Y.
Usage Tips
========
Mega Garchomp should set up with Swords Dance on passive Pokemon or Pokemon that don't threaten it such as Jirachi and Tyranitar. Before attempting to set up, all of its checks or counters such as Weavile and Clefable have to be knocked out or weakened. Mega Garchomp's Speed is too low for it to be a sweeper, so it should set up to wallbreak more easily, because a Swords Dance-boosted Earthquake and Dragon Claw can rip through many teams such as Fire, Steel, Normal, and Poison. This allows it to weaken many of its checks such as Clefable and Porygon2 to open the door for teammates that share the same checks, such as Excadrill, to sweep later. For this reason, Mega Garchomp's wallbreaking capabilities are useful early-game. Mega Garchomp should avoid status such as poison and burn from Pokemon like Porygon2 and Rotom-W, as they strongly reduce its longevity and sweeping potential. If it has Substitute, Mega Garchomp can easily set up on walls and status users such as Cradily and Mew. If Mega Garchomp has an opportunity to sweep, its health should be preserved because a healthy Mega Garchomp is hard to revenge kill once it sets up. However, in other matchups such as against Normal, setting up and wallbreaking is much more important than preserving its health because it opens up the door for a teammate such as Excadrill to clean late-game. In some cases, Mega Evolution should be preserved in order to outspeed base 100 Speed Pokemon such as Mega Charizard Y, which gets OHKOed by +2 Dragon Claw. However, Mega Evolving is necessary when using Fire Blast because a Leftovers variant of Skarmory has an easy time walling non-Mega Garchomp due to its Jolly nature and poor Special Attack.
Team Options
========
Hippowdon is a great partner for Mega Garchomp because of its ability to set up Stealth Rock and weaken foes for Mega Garchomp. It also has the Sand Stream ability, which boosts the power of Mega Garchomp's Earthquake thanks to Sand Force and gives it a good chance of OHKOing Slowbro at +2. Mamoswine's Thick Fat ability allows it to comfortably switch in on Ice-type attacks that threaten Mega Garchomp. It's also able to deal with Dragon-types that outspeed and OHKO Mega Garchomp such as Latios and Hydreigon with Ice Shard. Mamoswine also has access to Superpower and Knock Off, which help it to break Porygon2. Seismitoad also learns Knock Off, which cripples Porygon2 and thanks to its Water Absorb, it can switch in on Water-type attacks that threaten Mega Garchomp such as Scald from Keldeo. Gastrodon also has a Water immunity and can use Toxic to wear down walls for Mega Garchomp. Both Seismitoad and Gastrodon can use Scald to burn and wear down walls. Landorus is an amazing special wallbreaker and is able to break Fairy-type walls that try to stop Mega Garchomp such as Unaware Clefable and Togekiss thanks to its access to Sludge Wave. Rock Slide can also be used to deal a lot of damage to Togekiss. Excadrill is a great wallbreaker that's able to check Fairy- and Ice-type Pokemon such as Clefable and Weavile that Mega Garchomp has trouble with. It can also help Mega Garchomp wear down their shared threats such as Rotom-W and Mandibuzz, which enables one of them to sweep late-game.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf (Ground)
move 1: Outrage
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Fire Blast
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Rough Skin
nature: Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Outrage is Garchomp's strongest physical Dragon-type attack with a very high Base Power and reliable accuracy. However, after using Outrage, Garchomp won't be able to switch out for two to three turns, after which it will get confused. Earthquake is Garchomp's Ground-type STAB move and its most reliable move due to its high Base Power and lack of drawbacks. Stone Edge is mainly for hitting Togekiss, as it's immune to both of Garchomp's STAB attacks. It can be used to hit other Flying-types such as Mega Charizard Y and Zapdos for super effective damage; however, Outrage does a lot of damage to them anyway. Fire Blast deals with the likes of Skarmory, Mega Scizor, and Ferrothorn, which wall Garchomp if it locks itself into any of its other moves.
Set Details
========
Maximum Speed investment with a Naive nature and Choice Scarf allows Garchomp to outpace as many Pokemon as it possibly can including base 100 Speed Choice Scarf users such as Jirachi. Full investment in Attack maximizes the damage output of Garchomp's physical attacks. The remaining 4 EVs are put into Special Attack to slightly increase Fire Blast's damage output. Rough Skin is the preferred ability for chipping away at foes that hit Garchomp with contact moves. A Naive nature is used so the power of Fire Blast isn't decreased. It's preferred over Hasty for tanking priority moves better and having a chance to survive +6 Aqua Jet from Azumarill.
Usage Tips
========
Choice Scarf Garchomp is a great late-game cleaner and revenge killer, being able to spam one of its powerful STAB attacks once its checks have been knocked out or weakened. It can also effectively lure in and eliminate faster threats such as Mega Diancie because most of the time the opponent expects Mega Garchomp. Garchomp needs to be careful when locking itself into Outrage because it might give free setup opportunities to Mega Scizor or Belly Drum Azumarill. Being locked into Earthquake can also give certain Pokemon such as Gyarados an opportunity to set up. For this reason, Pokemon that are immune to one Garchomp's STAB attacks should be removed so Garchomp can utilize them more freely. Although it has a Choice Scarf, it should still be careful of Ice Shard users such as Weavile and Mamoswine. Garchomp's Special Defense is not that impressive compared to its Defense, so switching it in on powerful special attacks should be avoided. Garchomp is completely useless if burned, so it should watch out for Pokemon that can potentially burn it with Will-O-Wisp, Scald, or even Lava Plume such as Mew, Slowbro, and Heatran.
Team Options
========
Hippowdon's ability to set up Stealth Rock and weaken foes for Garchomp makes it a valuable teammate. It can also phaze setup sweepers such as Mega Gyarados with Whirlwind. Mamoswine switches in on most Ice-type attacks with ease thanks to its Thick Fat ability. It's also able to check Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Latios and Whimsicott, which threaten Garchomp, thanks to its Ice Shard. Seismitoad and Gastrodon have an immunity to Water and a neutrality to Ice, which make them valuable partners for Garchomp. Seismitoad has access to Knock Off, which is able to cripple Porygon2 and Chansey, while Gastrodon can use Toxic to cripple other walls that check Garchomp such as Slowbro and Swampert. Landorus is a very powerful wallbreaker that can weaken foes, such as Mega Venusaur with Psychic, Fairy-types with Sludge Wave, and Flying-types with Rock Slide, for Choice Scarf Garchomp to clean late-game. It can also use Gravity to enable Garchomp to hit Flying-types with Earthquake. Excadrill is a solid partner because of its ability to check Fairy- and Ice-type Pokemon such as Sylveon and Weavile with its STAB Iron Head. Mega Camerupt appreciates Garchomp's neutrality to Water-type attacks and in return is able to OHKO most Grass-type Pokemon that Garchomp trouble dealing with such as Mega Venusaur. Mega Camerupt also has an immunity to burn and, thanks to its amazing Special Attack, can break physical walls such as Skarmory.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
**Ground**:
Maximum Attack investment can be used instead of maximum Special Attack investment on the mixed attacker set. However, it comes at the cost of Mega Garchomp's mixed wallbreaking capabilities and prevents it from breaking physical walls such as Slowbro and Hippowdon. A physically defensive set with Rocky Helmet is an option; however, it's inferior to all of its other sets simply because Hippowdon performs the role of a physical wall and Stealth Rock setter much better. Garchomp does have an easier time tanking Water- and Grass-type attacks and has a more offensive presence than Hippowdon does, but it gets worn down more easily because it lacks access to reliable recovery. Gastrodon also outclasses it as a Toxic spreader, as it has access to Recover, which helps it stall out walls. A regular non-Choice Scarf Garchomp can be used with Life Orb or Lum Berry, but due to Ground's lack of viable Mega Evolutions, there's often no reason not to run Mega Garchomp. Another reason Life Orb isn't as useful as Garchompite is because of the recoil damage and regular Garchomp's inferior bulk. Life Orb does, however, allow Garchomp to hit harder than Mega Garchomp and retain its good Speed tier. Running a Lum Berry allows Garchomp to avoid status once. A Salac Berry can be used on the Swords Dance set to allow Garchomp to become a dangerous late-game sweeper by boosting its Speed by one stage when its health is at 25% or under.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ground**:
**Ice-types**: Most Ice-types such as Weavile and Mamoswine threaten Garchomp with Ice Shard, while other ones such as Avalugg can survive any hit from it and OHKO with Avalanche. Avalugg does fear Fire Blast from the mixed wallbreaker set because it's almost always physically defensive.
**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types such as Clefable and Togekiss are immune to Garchomp's Dragon-type attacks and are usually bulky enough to take a few Earthquakes. Clefable can also recover the damage with Soft-Boiled. They threaten Garchomp with their super effective Fairy-type attacks.
**Togekiss**: Togekiss walls Garchomp most of the time because of its immunity to both of Garchomp's STAB attacks, but it does need to watch out for Stone Edge.
**Physically Defensive Pokemon**: Physically defensive Pokemon such as Slowbro and Porygon2 can usually wall Garchomp pretty well, unless they're weakened and lured in with Mega Garchomp's Draco Meteor. Porygon2 can do a massive amount of damage with Ice Beam, while Slowbro can burn it with Scald or an Ice Beam of its own. Both of them have access to reliable recovery in Recover and Slack Off.
**Residual Damage**: Residual damage from entry hazards or status cripples Garchomp's longevity due to its lack of recovery. It gets worn down easily by Spikes and damage from burn, which also halves its Attack, and poison.
**Faster Pokemon**: Faster wallbreakers such as Keldeo, Latios, and Mega Diancie can do a lot of damage to Garchomp or even OHKO it. Mega Garchomp is revenge killed even because of the drop in Speed once it Mega Evolves.
QC: Eien / Vid / SirSkit
GP: Rare Poison / The Dutch Plumberjack
[OVERVIEW]
**Ground**:
Garchomp has a high Attack stat along with a great base 102 Speed, allowing it to outpace base 100 Speed Pokemon such as Mega Charizard Y and Manaphy. Its Dragon / Ground typing gives it a neutrality to Water and Grass, often enabling it to tank hits from Water- and Grass-types, such as Waterfall from Mega Gyarados and Bullet Seed from Breloom, and deal a good amount of damage in return, and its good bulk often enables it to tank neutral attacks relatively well, such as Close Combat from Mega Heracross and Bug Bite from Mega Scizor. However, its 4x weakness to Ice-type attacks means even weaker moves such as Hidden Power Ice and Ice Shard from the likes of Mega Manectric and Mamoswine are able to knock it out. It has access to reliable STAB moves in Earthquake and Dragon Claw, and its great neutral STAB coverage makes it difficult to wall. Furthermore, Garchomp can use Swords Dance to boost its already high Attack and increase its sweeping and wallbreaking capabilities. It also has access to solid coverage options in Stone Edge, which allows it to hit Flying-types such as Zapdos and Mega Charizard Y for super effective damage, and Fire Blast, for hitting Steel-types such as Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Scizor. Rough Skin enables Garchomp to return damage to foes that hit it with contact moves. Although its Speed stat is solid, it is still outsped by many fast threats such as Keldeo and Latios; however, with Choice Scarf, it is able to outspeed them. Upon Mega Evolution, Garchomp gets a big boost in both of its offensive stats, enabling it to do a lot of damage with little to no investment and utilize special attacks such as Draco Meteor and Fire Blast much more effectively. It also gains an increase in bulk, allowing it to survive many strong attacks including +6 Aqua Jet from Azumarill. Garchomp gains the Sand Force ability upon Mega Evolution, which increases the damage output of its Earthquake and Stone Edge during sand. However, it loses a bit of Speed and is no longer able to outpace the aforementioned base 100 Speed Pokemon.
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker (Ground)
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Stone Edge
item: Garchompite
ability: Rough Skin
nature: Naive
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Draco Meteor is Mega Garchomp's strongest Dragon-type STAB attack, and it's very useful for luring in and KOing physically defensive Pokemon such as Slowbro and Hippowdon. Earthquake is its Ground-type STAB attack and lets it target Steel-, Fire-, and Fairy-type Pokemon such as Bisharp, Victini, and Azumarill. Fire Blast is a great coverage option for hitting Pokemon such as Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Mega Scizor, which aren't threatened by Mega Garchomp's other attacks. Stone Edge is useful for dealing with Flying-types such as Zapdos and Mega Charizard Y.
Set Details
========
Full investment in Special Attack increases the damage output of Mega Garchomp's special attacks. Maximum investment in Speed lets Mega Garchomp be as fast as possible and outspeed base 100 Speed Pokemon such as Manaphy before Mega Evolving. The remaining 4 EVs go into Attack to slightly increase the damage output of Mega Garchomp's physical attacks. Naive is the preferred nature over Hasty, as it allows Mega Garchomp to take priority moves more comfortably and survive +6 Aqua Jet from Azumarill. A Speed-boosting nature allows Garchomp to outspeed base 80 Speed Pokemon such as Hoopa-U after Mega Evolving. Rough Skin allows Garchomp to return a bit of damage to foes that attack it with a contact move before it Mega Evolves. Sand Force boosts the power of its Earthquake and Stone Edge in sand.
Usage Tips
========
Mega Garchomp should be used to wallbreak early-game so one of its teammates can clean up late-game. Examples of walls it can weaken for its teammates include Ferrothorn, Mega Venusaur, and Swampert. It can lure in and KO its usual checks such as Skarmory, Ferrothorn, Slowbro, and other physical walls with Fire Blast or Draco Meteor. However, in order to lure in these Pokemon, it has to hide its full set until it has the right opportunity. Due to Mega Garchomp's reliance on Draco Meteor, which lowers its Special Attack, it cannot break down physical walls that have access to recovery such as Hippowdon and Slowbro unless they switch into an attack. Its Special Defense is significantly lower than its Defense, so letting it take strong special hits should be avoided. Garchomp has a tough time switching into powerful Grass- and Water-type attacks from the likes of Serperior and Keldeo despite its respectable bulk and neutrality to them. Garchomp should avoid being afflicted with status because they can reduce its longevity or wallbreaking capabilities. For this reason, it can't always reliably switch in on walls such as Slowbro, which can burn it and halve its Attack with Scald, and Zapdos, which can badly poison it with Toxic. In some situations, Garchomp should not Mega Evolve in order to preserve its Speed. This is useful for checking Mega Charizard Y or a weakened Manaphy, as after Garchomp's Mega Evolution, they both outspeed it.
Team Options
========
Hippowdon is a great partner for Mega Garchomp because of its ability to set up Stealth Rock and weaken foes for Mega Garchomp. It also has the Sand Stream ability, which boosts the power of Mega Garchomp's Earthquake and Stone Edge thanks to its Sand Force ability. A Sand Force-boosted Earthquake is able to OHKO Azumarill after a Belly Drum and one turn of sand damage. Hippowdon is also able to use Whirlwind to phaze setup sweepers that try to set up on a -2 Special Attack Mega Garchomp. Excadrill is an amazing wallbreaker that appreciates Mega Garchomp's early-game wallbreaking so it can clean up late-game. Mixed Mega Garchomp can get past a few Pokemon that wall Excadrill such as Skarmory and Slowbro. Excadrill is able to check Fairy- and Ice-types that threaten Mega Garchomp. It can also use Rapid Spin to get rid of Spikes and Toxic Spikes, which can wear down Mega Garchomp. Mamoswine can switch in on Ice-type attacks that threaten Mega Garchomp quite well due to its Thick Fat ability. It can also check fast Dragon-types such as Hydreigon and Latios with its Ice Shard. Mamoswine has access to Knock Off and Superpower to threaten Chansey and Porygon2, both of which wall Mega Garchomp. Seismitoad and Gastrodon have an immunity to Water-type attacks and a neutrality to Ice-type attacks, which Mega Garchomp strongly appreciates. They also both have access to Scald, which can burn and whittle down walls for Mega Garchomp. Gastrodon can use Toxic to wear down walls such as Porygon2, which wall Mega Garchomp. Seismitoad and Gastrodon's ability to switch into Water-type attacks comes in handy when Mega Garchomp needs to retreat after using Draco Meteor. Landorus can use Gravity to allow Mega Garchomp to hit Flying-types with its Earthquake. It's also another Pokemon that appreciates Mega Garchomp's ability to weaken foes early-game so it can clean late-game with its powerful Sheer Force-boosted attacks or set up with Rock Polish. Landorus is also another good check to Fairy-types thanks to its access to Sludge Wave.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance (Ground)
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Dragon Claw / Stone Edge
move 4: Fire Blast / Substitute
item: Garchompite
ability: Rough Skin
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Swords Dance boosts Mega Garchomp's Attack to incredibly high levels, allowing it to break most physically defensive walls such as Slowbro and Hippowdon, which are no longer able to switch in. Earthquake is Mega Garchomp's Ground-type STAB attack and most reliable move due to its high Base Power. Dragon Claw is Mega Garchomp's Dragon-type STAB attack and targets Pokemon that aren't threatened by Earthquake such as Flying- and Grass-types. Stone Edge is an alternative option that targets Togekiss, which otherwise walls this set. Fire Blast is mainly used to hit Skarmory, which isn't threatened by any of Mega Garchomp's other moves. Substitute can be used to set up on Pokemon that rely on status damage such as Mew and Zapdos. It can also be used to take advantage of switches to make Mega Garchomp harder to revenge kill. However, Fire Blast is more important because of how much Skarmory threatens Ground-type teams.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack investment allows Mega Garchomp to deal as much damage as it can. Full investment in Speed with a Jolly nature allows Mega Garchomp to outpace as many foes as possible. Even with a Jolly nature and no Special Attack investment, Mega Garchomp is still able to 2HKO Skarmory with Fire Blast. Rough Skin allows Garchomp to deal damage to foes that hit it with contact moves before it Mega Evolves. Garchompite gives Garchomp a boost to its Attack, allowing it to hit much harder. It also boosts both of its defenses, giving it more opportunities to set up. However, it does cost Mega Garchomp some Speed, making it unable to outspeed Pokemon such as Kyurem-B and base 100 Speed Pokemon such as Manaphy and Mega Charizard Y.
Usage Tips
========
Mega Garchomp should set up with Swords Dance on passive Pokemon or Pokemon that don't threaten it such as Jirachi and Tyranitar. Before attempting to set up, all of its checks or counters such as Weavile and Clefable have to be knocked out or weakened. Mega Garchomp's Speed is too low for it to be a sweeper, so it should set up to wallbreak more easily, because a Swords Dance-boosted Earthquake and Dragon Claw can rip through many teams such as Fire, Steel, Normal, and Poison. This allows it to weaken many of its checks such as Clefable and Porygon2 to open the door for teammates that share the same checks, such as Excadrill, to sweep later. For this reason, Mega Garchomp's wallbreaking capabilities are useful early-game. Mega Garchomp should avoid status such as poison and burn from Pokemon like Porygon2 and Rotom-W, as they strongly reduce its longevity and sweeping potential. If it has Substitute, Mega Garchomp can easily set up on walls and status users such as Cradily and Mew. If Mega Garchomp has an opportunity to sweep, its health should be preserved because a healthy Mega Garchomp is hard to revenge kill once it sets up. However, in other matchups such as against Normal, setting up and wallbreaking is much more important than preserving its health because it opens up the door for a teammate such as Excadrill to clean late-game. In some cases, Mega Evolution should be preserved in order to outspeed base 100 Speed Pokemon such as Mega Charizard Y, which gets OHKOed by +2 Dragon Claw. However, Mega Evolving is necessary when using Fire Blast because a Leftovers variant of Skarmory has an easy time walling non-Mega Garchomp due to its Jolly nature and poor Special Attack.
Team Options
========
Hippowdon is a great partner for Mega Garchomp because of its ability to set up Stealth Rock and weaken foes for Mega Garchomp. It also has the Sand Stream ability, which boosts the power of Mega Garchomp's Earthquake thanks to Sand Force and gives it a good chance of OHKOing Slowbro at +2. Mamoswine's Thick Fat ability allows it to comfortably switch in on Ice-type attacks that threaten Mega Garchomp. It's also able to deal with Dragon-types that outspeed and OHKO Mega Garchomp such as Latios and Hydreigon with Ice Shard. Mamoswine also has access to Superpower and Knock Off, which help it to break Porygon2. Seismitoad also learns Knock Off, which cripples Porygon2 and thanks to its Water Absorb, it can switch in on Water-type attacks that threaten Mega Garchomp such as Scald from Keldeo. Gastrodon also has a Water immunity and can use Toxic to wear down walls for Mega Garchomp. Both Seismitoad and Gastrodon can use Scald to burn and wear down walls. Landorus is an amazing special wallbreaker and is able to break Fairy-type walls that try to stop Mega Garchomp such as Unaware Clefable and Togekiss thanks to its access to Sludge Wave. Rock Slide can also be used to deal a lot of damage to Togekiss. Excadrill is a great wallbreaker that's able to check Fairy- and Ice-type Pokemon such as Clefable and Weavile that Mega Garchomp has trouble with. It can also help Mega Garchomp wear down their shared threats such as Rotom-W and Mandibuzz, which enables one of them to sweep late-game.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf (Ground)
move 1: Outrage
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Fire Blast
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Rough Skin
nature: Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Outrage is Garchomp's strongest physical Dragon-type attack with a very high Base Power and reliable accuracy. However, after using Outrage, Garchomp won't be able to switch out for two to three turns, after which it will get confused. Earthquake is Garchomp's Ground-type STAB move and its most reliable move due to its high Base Power and lack of drawbacks. Stone Edge is mainly for hitting Togekiss, as it's immune to both of Garchomp's STAB attacks. It can be used to hit other Flying-types such as Mega Charizard Y and Zapdos for super effective damage; however, Outrage does a lot of damage to them anyway. Fire Blast deals with the likes of Skarmory, Mega Scizor, and Ferrothorn, which wall Garchomp if it locks itself into any of its other moves.
Set Details
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Maximum Speed investment with a Naive nature and Choice Scarf allows Garchomp to outpace as many Pokemon as it possibly can including base 100 Speed Choice Scarf users such as Jirachi. Full investment in Attack maximizes the damage output of Garchomp's physical attacks. The remaining 4 EVs are put into Special Attack to slightly increase Fire Blast's damage output. Rough Skin is the preferred ability for chipping away at foes that hit Garchomp with contact moves. A Naive nature is used so the power of Fire Blast isn't decreased. It's preferred over Hasty for tanking priority moves better and having a chance to survive +6 Aqua Jet from Azumarill.
Usage Tips
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Choice Scarf Garchomp is a great late-game cleaner and revenge killer, being able to spam one of its powerful STAB attacks once its checks have been knocked out or weakened. It can also effectively lure in and eliminate faster threats such as Mega Diancie because most of the time the opponent expects Mega Garchomp. Garchomp needs to be careful when locking itself into Outrage because it might give free setup opportunities to Mega Scizor or Belly Drum Azumarill. Being locked into Earthquake can also give certain Pokemon such as Gyarados an opportunity to set up. For this reason, Pokemon that are immune to one Garchomp's STAB attacks should be removed so Garchomp can utilize them more freely. Although it has a Choice Scarf, it should still be careful of Ice Shard users such as Weavile and Mamoswine. Garchomp's Special Defense is not that impressive compared to its Defense, so switching it in on powerful special attacks should be avoided. Garchomp is completely useless if burned, so it should watch out for Pokemon that can potentially burn it with Will-O-Wisp, Scald, or even Lava Plume such as Mew, Slowbro, and Heatran.
Team Options
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Hippowdon's ability to set up Stealth Rock and weaken foes for Garchomp makes it a valuable teammate. It can also phaze setup sweepers such as Mega Gyarados with Whirlwind. Mamoswine switches in on most Ice-type attacks with ease thanks to its Thick Fat ability. It's also able to check Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Latios and Whimsicott, which threaten Garchomp, thanks to its Ice Shard. Seismitoad and Gastrodon have an immunity to Water and a neutrality to Ice, which make them valuable partners for Garchomp. Seismitoad has access to Knock Off, which is able to cripple Porygon2 and Chansey, while Gastrodon can use Toxic to cripple other walls that check Garchomp such as Slowbro and Swampert. Landorus is a very powerful wallbreaker that can weaken foes, such as Mega Venusaur with Psychic, Fairy-types with Sludge Wave, and Flying-types with Rock Slide, for Choice Scarf Garchomp to clean late-game. It can also use Gravity to enable Garchomp to hit Flying-types with Earthquake. Excadrill is a solid partner because of its ability to check Fairy- and Ice-type Pokemon such as Sylveon and Weavile with its STAB Iron Head. Mega Camerupt appreciates Garchomp's neutrality to Water-type attacks and in return is able to OHKO most Grass-type Pokemon that Garchomp trouble dealing with such as Mega Venusaur. Mega Camerupt also has an immunity to burn and, thanks to its amazing Special Attack, can break physical walls such as Skarmory.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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**Ground**:
Maximum Attack investment can be used instead of maximum Special Attack investment on the mixed attacker set. However, it comes at the cost of Mega Garchomp's mixed wallbreaking capabilities and prevents it from breaking physical walls such as Slowbro and Hippowdon. A physically defensive set with Rocky Helmet is an option; however, it's inferior to all of its other sets simply because Hippowdon performs the role of a physical wall and Stealth Rock setter much better. Garchomp does have an easier time tanking Water- and Grass-type attacks and has a more offensive presence than Hippowdon does, but it gets worn down more easily because it lacks access to reliable recovery. Gastrodon also outclasses it as a Toxic spreader, as it has access to Recover, which helps it stall out walls. A regular non-Choice Scarf Garchomp can be used with Life Orb or Lum Berry, but due to Ground's lack of viable Mega Evolutions, there's often no reason not to run Mega Garchomp. Another reason Life Orb isn't as useful as Garchompite is because of the recoil damage and regular Garchomp's inferior bulk. Life Orb does, however, allow Garchomp to hit harder than Mega Garchomp and retain its good Speed tier. Running a Lum Berry allows Garchomp to avoid status once. A Salac Berry can be used on the Swords Dance set to allow Garchomp to become a dangerous late-game sweeper by boosting its Speed by one stage when its health is at 25% or under.
Checks and Counters
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**Ground**:
**Ice-types**: Most Ice-types such as Weavile and Mamoswine threaten Garchomp with Ice Shard, while other ones such as Avalugg can survive any hit from it and OHKO with Avalanche. Avalugg does fear Fire Blast from the mixed wallbreaker set because it's almost always physically defensive.
**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types such as Clefable and Togekiss are immune to Garchomp's Dragon-type attacks and are usually bulky enough to take a few Earthquakes. Clefable can also recover the damage with Soft-Boiled. They threaten Garchomp with their super effective Fairy-type attacks.
**Togekiss**: Togekiss walls Garchomp most of the time because of its immunity to both of Garchomp's STAB attacks, but it does need to watch out for Stone Edge.
**Physically Defensive Pokemon**: Physically defensive Pokemon such as Slowbro and Porygon2 can usually wall Garchomp pretty well, unless they're weakened and lured in with Mega Garchomp's Draco Meteor. Porygon2 can do a massive amount of damage with Ice Beam, while Slowbro can burn it with Scald or an Ice Beam of its own. Both of them have access to reliable recovery in Recover and Slack Off.
**Residual Damage**: Residual damage from entry hazards or status cripples Garchomp's longevity due to its lack of recovery. It gets worn down easily by Spikes and damage from burn, which also halves its Attack, and poison.
**Faster Pokemon**: Faster wallbreakers such as Keldeo, Latios, and Mega Diancie can do a lot of damage to Garchomp or even OHKO it. Mega Garchomp is revenge killed even because of the drop in Speed once it Mega Evolves.
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