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Community POTW #010

Serebii

And, as if by magic, the webmaster appeared...
Staff member
Admin
Time for the next Pokémon of the Week and this week we're going to Sinnoh!

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It's the old favourite, Garchomp

 

KyogreThunder

Call of Fate
Garchomp
Jolly nature/Adamant nature
Ability: Rough Skin
@Choice Band/Choice Scarf
EVs: 4 HP/252 Attack/252 Speed
-Outrage/Dragon Claw
-Earthquake
-Fire Fang
-Crunch/Stone Edge
 

XaelOstigian

Competitive...kinda
Then:
FbqNH71UIAA1bHe.jpg:large

Now:
__cynthia_garchomp_and_mega_garchomp_pokemon_and_1_more_drawn_by_azul_ze_l__c2f06d69a5ad6459cf66cdbb02079d16.jpg

Words cannot describe how OP Garchomp has been. It was even banned at one point. And anyone who has faced Cynthia knows the fear better than I can describe it. Pseudo-legendary status, excellent stats across the board, a wide movepool, near perfect STAB coverage, and access to Swords Dance to jack power even further. And on that last note:

Sword Sand Shark Sweeper
Ability: Rough Skin
Item: Life Orb/Rocky Helmet
Nature: Jolly
EVs: (HP 4) (Attack 252) (Speed 252)
Tera Type: Ground or Steel

Moves:
Swords Dance
Earthquake
Dragon Claw
Iron Head/Fire Fang

Set Details:
Boost power with Swords Dance, crush the opposition with your wide STAB coverage, and then use Iron Head to counter Fairy types, or Fire Fang to counter certain Steel types that take little to no damage from Earthquake. Life Orb will further jack up your power, but Rocky Helmet in tangent with Rough Skin allows you to passively chip away at your opponent without even having to attack yourself. Tera type goes to either Ground which further boosts one of your STAB and removes a few weaknesses such as Dragon and Fairy while making the mega weakness to Ice more manageable, or Steel which can tank an Ice, Dragon, or Fairy attack completely and can give Iron Head an extra boost.
 
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Spider-Phoenix

#ChespinGang
Here's a pokémon I hope will never, ever be "Dexit'd"
 

Divine Retribution

Conquistador de pan
Garchomp lost Scale Shot, its only means of boosting Speed, in the shift to Gen 9, but gained a bit of a new toy in Spikes. Now it has the ability to set up both rocks and spikes. The passive damage that its tankier sets can rack up especially against contact move users can be incredibly valuable for many teams, and the existence of Gholdengo and general lack of good hazard removers outside of Corviknight and the Paradox Donphans makes this strategy very potent.

garchomp.gif

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Jolly - Rough Skin
252 HP, 252 Speed, 4 Attack
-Earthquake
-Dragon Tail
-Stealth Rock
-Spikes

Fast TankChomp is a very solid Pokemon in the current metagame, benefiting from how strong hazard stacking teams currently are. Max Speed is used to outpace positive base 100s as well as neutral Iron Valiant and below, but if hitting those benchmarks isn't as important to your team then moving some EVs to Defense isn't a terrible idea. Earthquake is your main STAB attack; coming off of Garchomp's base 130 Attack it doesn't really need much investment to do respectable damage. Dragon Tail lets Garchomp force opponents out, racking up entry hazard damage and making it difficult for non-Fairy type checks to switch in. Stealth Rock and Spikes are both pretty self-explanatory; entry hazard damage is the main way this set applies pressure, and Garchomp gets plenty of opportunities to set up both.

For teammates, Gholdengo is almost a must as it is completely unparalleled when it comes to keeping your hazards up thanks to its Ghost/Steel typing blocking both Rapid Spin and Mortal Spin, as well as its Good As Gold ability blocking Defog. Garganacl makes a great teammate as well, loving Garchomp's entry hazards as a means of breaking down opponents faster thanks to the switches it forces with Salt Cure, and being able to check many of the opponents that threaten Garchomp, like opposing Dragapult and Chien-Pao. More offensively-inclined wallbreakers like the aforementioned Chien-Pao as well as Roaring Moon, Dragonite, Iron Valiant, and Volcarona also immensely appreciate Garchomp's passive damage spreading capabilities as it helps them get OHKOs/2HKOs in situations they otherwise might have just barely missed out on. Finally Iron Treads makes a very solid teammate; despite sharing the Ground typing the two don't actually share any weaknesses, and Iron Treads is a very reliable way to remove your opponent's entry hazards without removing your own, even being able to pressure opposing Gholdengo with Earthquake and Knock Off.​
 

Mestorn

Wandering Battler
Garchomp is a beast. I mean, that is expected of any Pseudo-Legendary, but Garchomp takes it to another level. Of all the Pseudo Legends throughout the generations, only Garchomp has consistently remained in OU barring when it was banned from that to Ubers in Gen 4. No other Pseudo Legend can make such a claim, with only Tyranitar coming close, having finally fallen to UU in Scarlet in Violet.

And Garchomp's keys to success are its amazing stat spread and movepool with one of the more potent STAB combinations in the game. Base 103 Speed is key -getting the jump on so many base 100 Pokémon that are already considered fast to begin with is crucial with something packing Garchomp's power. And it is not just Speed. 108/95/85 defenses are well above average, meaning even uninvested, Garchomp can take a hit or two and invested it becomes a viable Tank in its own right, enabling even more mind games. Movepool is quite fantastic as well. Garchomp has a wealth of coverage to compliment its already complimentary STABs, leaving few if any truly safe answers into it while having access to Swords Dance thrusts Garchomp into a new Realm of Power, something you never want to hear on Pokémon with STAB Earthquake.

Even in Doubles this all around excellence carries over. Fast Rock Slides are amazingly good, considering the good coverage with Earthquake and potential flinches being game determinative, while having the bulk to stave of several spread attacks. If it wasn't for the fact that Landorus-Therian exists, it is very probable that Garchomp would have won more world Championships. And the current Doubles Meta is very favorable to Garchomp. Public Enemy #2 at the moment is Gholdengo, who Garchomp eats alive, as well as many popular Tera Steel Pokémon. Hydreigon's lower natural speed also makes it prey to Garchomp, as is the many other popular Dragon types. Clear Amulet is another amazing boon, protecting Garchomp from Intimidate ruining its own Attack. And Maushold's population bomb just makes fodder as Garchomp's Rough skin would eat that alive.

Garchomp does still have a few weaknesses. Its abilities can be lackluster compared to the competition and the amount of Speed Control running around makes Garchomp far more manageable when it isn't outspeeding the opposition. A quadruple weakness to Ice is a huge hit me sign on Garchomp's back that otherwise ruins its good bulk. Several popular Pokémon like Dondozo and Meowscarada have very favorable matchups into Garchomp and several of Garchomp's favored targets can win with Tailwind or the right Tera type. Garchomp still looks to be a beast going forward and must be respected all the same.

Land Shark Pack Attack
Garchomp
Ability:
Rough Skin
Item Attached: Clear Amulet
-Earthquake
-Dragon Claw
-Rock Slide
-Protect
EVs and Nature:
4 HP /252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
Tera: Ground

This Garchomp set functions rather simply as a fantastic attacker. Earthquake is incredible STAB in doubles, hitting both opponents for massive damage, though the friendly fire aspect must be accounted for. Dragon Claw is secondary STAB, but no less important in coverage. Many Dragon types are very popular right now, especially with the dearth of Fairies, so having a reliable answer into them, especially given that Garchomp natively outspeeds all of the them, is invaluable. Rock Slide has extremely synergistic coverage with Earthquake, lacks the friendly fire aspect and can pick up on crucial flinches. Protect is the best move in Doubles, hands down.

Clear Amulet protects against the stat dropping effects of Intimidate and Icy wind that may otherwise hamper Garchomp from doing its job.

Preferred Partners
Murkrow -Immune to Earthquake, has Tailwind to make Garchomp impossible to outspeed, Haze messes with Dondozo, what's not to love?
Hydreigon -the Special to Garchomp's physical with many of the same traits as Murkrow and terastalization can alleviate weakness stacking issues
Gholdengo -Earthquake weak, but enjoys Garchomp dealing with opposing Gholdengos and has an incredibly favorable matchup into Ice Attacks and Ice types.
 
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