agslash23
Banned deucer.
Base Stats: 108 HP / 130 Atk / 95 Def / 80 SpA / 85 SpD / 102 Spe
Abilities: Rough Skin
Notable Moves:
-Earthquake
-Swords Dance
-Stealth Rock
-Spikes
-Stone Edge
-Draco Meteor
-Fire Blast
-Fire Fang
-Flamethrower
-Liquidation
Pros
- It has a great attack stat of 130 which, coupled with great STAB typing, relevant coverage, and Swords Dance, makes it a powerful breaker that doesn't have many walls
- It can spread lots of residual damage additionally thanks to its ability Rough Skin, as well as access to dual hazards in Stealth Rock and Spikes
- For an Offensive Pokemon, it has great bulk and good defensive typing (resists Fire, Rock, Poison, immune to Electric)
- Speed tier is good enough to outspeed the walls it wants to break
Cons
- It has weaknesses to strong offensive types like Fairy, Dragon and x4 weakness to Ice
- It can be walled by a few Pokemon like Corviknight, Orthworm, Dondozo.
- It is outsped by many Offensive Pokemon like Iron Valiant, Roaring Moon, Chien Pao, Dragapult, etc.. without Choice Scarf.
Terastalizing
- Fire Tera is quite valuable for demolishing Orthworm and Corviknight. This also means that it can keep Hazards up vs latter.
- Ground Tera can make its Earthquakes even more powerful, and if combined with Soft Sand or Life Orb, can hurt even resists a lot
- Electric Tera can let it beat Corviknight and Dondozo, but this makes it stonewalled by Grass types.
- Ghost Tera can ensure that it keeps rocks vs Great Tusk and Iron Treads
- Water Tera on Defensive sets can let it pivot powerful wallbreakers like Chien-Pao
- Steel Tera lets it turn the tables vs revenge killers like Iron Valiant, Dragapult and revenge kill them in return
Potential Set
Tank Chomp
Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Dragon Tail
This is a modern twist on the classic Tank Chomp. While it has lost Toxic, it has gained Spikes to become a bulky hazard setter that punishes Rapid Spin from Great Tusk and Iron Treads thanks to a combination of Rough Skin and Rocky Helmet. Dragon Tail phazes out usual checks like Dondozo and forces them to take heavy Hazard Damage. This set cannot keep up Hazards vs Corviknight as it can switch in easily and Defog, thus it is best paired with Gholdengo, who can block Defog. It can also be paired with something like Magnezone since it traps and eliminates Corviknight.
Swords Dance
Garchomp @ Leftovers / Soft Sand / Life Orb
Ability: Rough Skin
Tera Type: Ground / Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Spikes / Stealth Rock / Substitute
- Stone Edge / Terablast / Fire Fang
On Physical sets, Sword Dance is great to boost its Attack to massive levels. Earthquake is mandatory STAB. Last 2 slots are flexible - there is room for only 1 type of Hazard, but Spikes is usually better since there are more Stealth Rock setters than Spike setters. Stone Edge provides great general synergy with Earthquake, but Terablast is great if Garchomp is the Tera pokemon of choice, as with Fire Tera it can then beat Corviknight more easily and thus win the Hazard war. Fire Fang is another alternative that is weaker, but doesn't mandate Terastalization. Item is a matter of preference - Leftovers provide general longevity to set up and lay hazards multiple times ; Soft Sand can be used with Ground Tera to make its Earthquake really powerful (it can OHKO Slowbro at +2), Life Orb provides greater damage for all attacks, but at the cost of longevity
Mixed Dual Hazards Setter
Garchomp @ Life Orb
Ability: Rough Skin
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock / Spikes
- Draco Meteor / Spikes
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast / Flamethrower
This set aims to set up Hazards and thus its aim is to beat Corviknight and Great Tusk, who are the best removers in the meta. This is achieved by Life Orb-boosted Fire Blast or by Tera Fire Flamethrower, as both these attacks 2HKO even Maximum Specially Defensive Corviknight. Draco Meteor goes a great amount of damage vs Great Tusk.
Scarf Chomp
Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly / Naive Nature
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Stone Edge / Rock Slide
- Spikes / Terablast
A relic of the past era, Scarf Garchomp is good in current SV OU metagame due to a shortage of Flying and Fairy types, while being able to revenge kill faster attackers like Iron Valiant, Chien-Pao, Roaring Moon, Dragapult. Outrage is good on this set late-game once Fairy and Steel types are gone, since it is a really strong move otherwise to beat Earthquake resists and immunities like Meowscadara, and Dragonite. Rock moves like Stone Edge or Rock Slide can be used to beat Volcarona if it has set up. Spikes is an interesting mid-ground move on Scarf set to set up Hazards vs switch-ins like Corviknight, Rotom-W, Dondozo. This ensures that it is not deadweight vs bulkier teams. Terablast is an alternative with Fire Tera to 2HKO Corviknight after Stealth Rock. Ground Tera, however, is usually preferred to have more power on its Earthquake, and it helps to avoid OHKO from Iron Valiant's Moonblast, Chien-Pao's Ice Shard.
Other options
Endure in conjunction with Swords Dance, Earthquake and coverage move like Stone Edge or TeraBlast can be used while holding Salac Berry to replicate Scale Shot Garchomp from SS OU, but is shut down by Ice Shard from Chien-Pao, as well as Booster Energy users like Iron Valiant.
Summary
Garchomp does face competition as a Ground type from Great Tusk and Iron Treads as both possess Rapid Spin and Knock Off, better offensive typing in case of the former, and better Speed and defensive typing in the case of the latter. However, both lack Swords Dance, Spikes, mixed attacking potency, and have worse Special Bulk. As a dual Hazard setter, it faces competition from Glimmora since it can also remove Hazards with Mortal Spin, while it sets automatic Toxic Spikes when hit physically. However, Garchomp has a better typing, and is bulky and faster. Garchomp's biggest competitor, however, is Ting-Lu since it is a Ground type and can set Stealth Rock and Spikes, and can phase out switch ins with Whirlwind. Ting-Lu has much better bulk and has a better typing that lets it check Ghost types. However, Garchomp is stronger, much faster, has access to Swords Dance, and has a better offensive movepool to threaten Defoggers and Rapid Spinners.
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