Rae
hot girl activities
[OVERVIEW]
With a great typing that helps cancel out its own weaknesses, an amazing array of stats, solid coverage options, and a useful ability in Rough Skin, Garchomp is a highly versatile Pokemon with excellent offensive and defensive capabilities. It can either be a terrifying wallbreaker with a nearly unresisted STAB combination, useful coverage, and an above average Speed tier, or it can excel as a tank with the ability to set up Stealth Rock easily thanks to the pressure it places with Toxic on Defoggers like Tornadus-T and access to a powerful uninvested Earthquake. However, Garchomp's offensive sets struggle due to unreliable nature of Scale Shot: it has poor accuracy, an inconsistent number of hits, (AC) and can be blocked by Fairy-type Pokemon. Its Stealth Rock-setting capabilities are also hampered by it being easy for Corviknight to use Defog on, and its defensive role is also under heavy competition from Landorus-T due to Landorus-T's access to utility moves like Defog, Knock Off, and U-turn. Garchomp also struggles in longer games due to its lack of reliable recovery, leaving it vulnerable to chip damage from Pokemon it wishes to check like Heatran and Zapdos thanks to Magma Storm and Toxic.
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Scale Shot
move 4: Aqua Tail / Fire Fang
item: Leftovers
ability: Rough Skin
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Garchomp's sweeping potential is put on full display thanks to the combination of Swords Dance and a near unresisted STAB combination, as well as a number of useful options to let it pick its own checks and counters. Scale Shot's ability to boost Garchomp's Speed allows it to outspeed the majority of its revenge killers and sweep opposing teams. Aqua Tail helps Garchomp take down the likes of Landorus-T and Air Balloon Heatran. Fire Fang is used to hit Corviknight and Skarmory, as they ignore Garchomp's moves otherwise. Leftovers helps boost Garchomp's longevity, letting it take Heatran's Magma Storm more easily and avoid a 2HKO from specially defensive Landorus-T. Life Orb Garchomp trades its longevity for explosive damage, giving it a guaranteed OHKO on Calm Mind Clefable, Urshifu-R, and Ferrothorn, as well as Tapu Fini after Stealth Rock damage and a Swords Dance boost. Lum Berry and Roseli Berry are also solid options, as the former helps block status from Landorus-T and Hippowdon's Toxic and Rotom-Wash's Will-O-Wisp, while the latter helps prevent Garchomp from being revenge killed by Tapu Koko and Choice Scarf Tapu Lele.
Team Options
========
Swords Dance Garchomp is most commonly seen on offensive teams that love its ability to wallbreak or hyper offense teams that can support its full sweep. Pokemon that love Garchomp's ability to smash through teams and pressure Flying-type Pokemon, like Kartana and Urshifu-R, fit excellently with it, pressuring Flying-types like Corviknight, Skarmory, and Zapdos to help overwhelm them. Urshifu-R also baits Toxapex in for Garchomp to take advantage of. Steel-type Pokemon like Ferrothorn, Melmetal, and Heatran switch in on and take out Fairy-types like Clefable, Tapu Lele, and Tapu Koko, allowing Garchomp to set up more easily without their presence. All three function as excellent Rillaboom and Weavile answers, while Heatran and Melmetal can also help overwhelm sturdy Garchomp checks like Corviknight, Skarmory, and Tapu Fini. Magnezone is an excellent teammate, as its ability to trap and remove Skarmory and Corviknight is amazing for Garchomp. Slowbro has excellent synergy with Garchomp, as Garchomp is able to break through annoying Pokemon like Zapdos and Zeraora for it, while Slowbro can effectively handle Urshifu-R and Barraskewda and bring Garchomp in safely for setup opportunities with Teleport. Partners on hyper offense teams like Mew and Life Orb Weavile can break through Garchomp's defensive answers like Landorus-T, Zapdos, Corviknight, Skarmory, and Slowbro, making it easier for it to sweep. Weavile in particular is excellent, as it can easily break through these Pokemon with a Swords Dance boost while checking Rillaboom with Ice Shard. Dual screens setters like Alolan Ninetales help make setting up with Garchomp easier and enable a potential sweep.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Substitute can be used in tandem with Leftovers on Swords Dance Garchomp to give it turns to set up on a free switch, as well as the ability to save itself from revenge killing attempts. Specially defensive Garchomp can utilize Roar to phaze threatening Pokemon like Landorus-T and Zapdos, forcing them to take more chip damage from Stealth Rock, though this means it has to lose either Toxic, Protect, (ac) or important coverage. Rest gives Garchomp the ability to fully recover its health and heal itself from any status, shutting down plans to wear Garchomp down with Toxic, but it puts Garchomp to sleep, making it an incredibly risky move that leaves Garchomp vulnerable byto opposing Pokemon. Stealth Rock is an option on Swords Dance sets due to how well they are able to pressure common Defog users like Landorus-T, but this means that Garchomp has to drop its coverage option, which leaves it open to more counterplay. Faster sets with Rocky Helmet are also valuable, sacrificing the longevity of Leftovers in favor of punishing physical attackers like Melmetal and Urshifu-R and U-turn from Tornadus-T and Landorus-T.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fairy-type Pokemon**: Bulky Fairy-types like Tapu Fini and Clefable can be difficult to handle, as they can tank most hits from Garchomp and threaten it back with a powerful Moonblast, though they can be overwhelmed by Swords Dance sets and, more importantly, ones that run Life Orb. While their Dragon immunity can prevent Garchomp from getting off a Scale Shot, this is an unreliable method of counterplay due to Garchomp's ability to predict this and go for Earthquake instead. Tapu Koko, Choice Scarf Tapu Lele, and Alolan Ninetales are also solid checks to Garchomp when paired with Pokemon immune to Earthquake, forcing it to choose correctly and then outspeeding and forcing it out.
**Physically Defensive Pokemon**: Walls like Slowbro, Hippowdon, and Buzzwole can consistently come in on Garchomp if it lacks Toxic and threaten it with Scald or Ice Punch, scaring it out. Garchomp can, however, overwhelm these Pokemon with enough Swords Dance boosts.
**Corviknight and Skarmory**: With an immunity to Earthquake, a resistance to Scale Shot, and the ability to use IronPress to wall it, Corviknight and Skarmory are some of the sturdiest checks to Garchomp in the tier. Even outside of IronPress, Corviknight can use U-turn to pivot out into a revenge killer safely as well as freely using Defog on bulky Garchomp, with Pressure stalling its Stealth Rock PP, and Skarmory can use Toxic to help slowly whittle Garchomp down. These two Pokemon are extremely difficult for any Garchomp set that does not have Fire Blast to deal with; however, Fire Blast sets scare Skarmory away and force Corviknight to use its Roost PP.
**Revenge Killers**: Pokemon such as Weavile, Rillaboom, and Choice Scarf Kartana all have the ability to get rid of Swords Dance Garchomp sets, especially after a Scale Shot and some minor chip damage. Weavile and Rillaboom in particular are scary due to their ability to scare out tank Garchomp , thanks to the former's 4x super effective STAB moves, notably Ice Shard as a priority move, and the latter's Grassy Surge weakening Earthquake and making Grassy Glide a powerful priority attack. Dragapult is able to naturally outspeed unboosted Garchomp and consistently threatens to OHKO any variant of it with Draco Meteor or Dragon Darts.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/Hannah.540289/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/veti.612907/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/slowpoke-fan.617219/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/veti.612907/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
Last edited: