Choice Scarf Garchomp is an excellent revenge killer and cleaner in the Uber environment. Thanks to Garchomp's 102 base Speed and Choice Scarf, Garchomp can easily outrun and revenge kill almost every Dragon-type Pokémon used in Ubers (the exceptions being the incredibly rare Choice Scarf Latias or Latios, and Kingdra in the rain). Garchomp is also one of the few Pokémon who can revenge kill both Dragon Dance Rayquaza and Swords Dance Rayquaza, with its good defenses and higher Speed. Note that if Garchomp is a team's main way to deal with Swords Dance Rayquaza, it is advisable to try keeping Garchomp at near full health until it has KOed Rayquaza. A once Swords Danced Life Orb Adamant Rayquaza deals 80%-94% to Garchomp with ExtremeSpeed and may down it if it's previously taken any residual damage. Outrage is important for this set, because Garchomp does not have the power of Choice Band to boost its attacks; Outrage's STAB and 120 Base Power help make up for the lack of a boost. STAB Earthquake is important for coverage, taking out Dialga, Metagross, and other Steel-types in Ubers. Dragon Claw is weaker than Outrage; however, it gives Garchomp the ability to attack with a reliable Dragon-type move and retain the freedom to switch. Toxic is normally the best choice for the last slot, because Toxic can cripple Lugia and let Garchomp survive an encounter with Wobbuffet. Stone Edge is another option - capable of OHKOing Ho-Oh and, with Stealth Rock damage, 2HKOing some Lugia. Faster variants designed to outrun Jolly Rayquaza will usually be 2HKOed but bulkier sets are much more likely to survive. A Fire move can also be used in the last slot (either Fire Blast or Fire Fang) to do a severe amount of damage to Forretress. Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Garchomp makes a fantastic user of Choice Band in the Uber environment. With 333 Speed and 538 Attack, not a whole lot can switch into this set safely. Opponents may be expecting the Choice Scarf set, and Earthquake 2HKOes many of that set's common switch-ins such as Scizor and Wobbuffet. Earthquake will also OHKO most Dialga (unless it has used Bulk Up once) and any other grounded Steel-type in Ubers. Outrage is an excellent clean-up attack once the main threats to Garchomp have been eliminated. For example, Outrage can even 2HKO most support Groudon after they take damage from Stealth Rock. Outrage should always be used with extreme caution because once it is used, Garchomp cannot switch out and stays locked into using it repeatedly. Stone Edge is Garchomp's best move against Lugia. Lugia is the dominant wall in Ubers, but does not always invest enough Speed to outpace Garchomp. This gives Garchomp a fighting chance against some slower Lugia as long as Stealth Rock is present on the field, though Garchomp should always avoid facing off with a faster Lugia. As with the Choice Scarf set, Dragon Claw is useful to finish off weakened Pokémon without becoming locked into. Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
With Life Orb and Swords Dance, Garchomp is nearly unstoppable offensively. After a Swords Dance, even Lugia is OHKOed by Stone Edge (Stealth Rock is required if Garchomp lacks Life Orb). Garchomp outspeeds and can OHKO a Groudon that has 252 HP EVs and 32 Defense EVs with Outrage over 50% of the time. STAB Earthquake wrecks Steel-types that can take a boosted Outrage, like Dialga and Metagross. Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
This set allows Garchomp to safely Swords Dance without as much prediction, thanks to Substitute. Behind the Substitute, feel free to use Swords Dance until the Substitute breaks. Once the Substitute is broken, repeat the process until the Salac Berry activates, then you are ready to sweep. Dragon Claw allows Garchomp to switch attacks, ensuring that Garchomp is not stopped cold by most Steels. Outrage is still a worthwhile secondary choice, however. Because Garchomp will be at low HP after Salac activates, Outrage is worth considering due to its higher Base Power over Dragon Claw. Even with a Swords Dance, there are a number of Pokemon Garchomp will still be unable to KO with either of its other attacking moves. Outrage offers the strongest alternative possible, at the risk of being walled after using it. Whichever Dragon-type attack you choose, Earthquake is the best move to pair with it, offering the most additional coverage and STAB. Stone Edge isn't worth considering; you lose the guaranteed OHKO on Lugia, but Dragon and Ground offer far superior coverage than any other combination, and you still maintain a slim chance of OHKOing Lugia with Outrage after Stealth Rock damage. Team Options & Additional Comments >>>Team OptionsStealth Rock should always be used on a team with Garchomp, because it turns 2HKOs on powerful threats, like Palkia and Rayquaza, into OHKOs with an unboosted Dragon Claw. Additionally, Swords Dance Garchomp without Life Orb has a 79% chance of KOing the standard 252 HP / 52 Defense Bold Lugia with Stone Edge, if Stealth Rock is present. In general, all Garchomp sets enjoy the sandstorm, because the evasion boost from Sand Veil allows Garchomp to avoid a move that would ordinarily KO it, potentially netting it an extra kill. The only Sand Stream Pokémon who is viable in Ubers is Tyranitar, who is an excellent teammate with Garchomp. Tyranitar can beat Latios and Latias with a Pursuit boosted from Choice Band. With 252 HP EVs, 200 Special Defense EVs, and a Careful Nature, Tyranitar can survive any special attack from Mewtwo (including an Aura Sphere that has been boosted by one Calm Mind) and OHKO it with a Choice Banded Crunch. Garchomp will have problems with sweeping when Timid Lugia or faster Pokémon with either Ice- or Dragon-type moves are around. Kyogre can take Lugia’s Ice Beam quite easily, and strike back hard with Thunder. If Kyogre carries Sleep Talk, it can switch into Darkrai’s Dark Void and force it out. Kyogre can also devastate any Steel-type Pokémon who may switch into Garchomp’s Choiced Dragon-type attacks with its powerful STAB Surfs. Choice Scarf Garchomp can also revenge kill the most common switch-ins to Choice Specs Kyogre, Latias, and Palkia. A specially defensive Scizor can switch into any of Mewtwo’s attacks, bar Fire Blast, and threaten it with a STAB U-turn. Deoxys-A is also easily dealt with by Scizor, as Scizor can switch in and either Pursuit Deoxys-A as it switches out or OHKO it with Bullet Punch. Wobbuffet can switch in on Choice Scarfed moves from Pokémon like Dialga and Palkia, and use either Mirror Coat or Counter to KO them. Support Groudon can easily lure Lugia and cripple it with Toxic, thus Garchomp will have an easier time sweeping. Generally, the best defensive teammates for Garchomp resist its only two weaknesses, Ice- and Dragon-type moves. Kyogre is an excellent teammate defensively, because Kyogre not only resists Ice-type attacks, Garchomp is also immune to Kyogre’s most exploited weakness, Thunder. Once again, Scizor is an excellent teammate defensively, as Scizor resists both Dragon- and Ice-type attacks, while Garchomp resists Scizor’s Fire-type weakness. In a similar manner, Metagross resists Garchomp’s weaknesses, but Metagross’s main advantage over Scizor is the ability to effectively use a Choice Scarf to revenge kill problem Pokémon with Explosion. Lugia’s only common partners that give Garchomp any trouble are Darkrai and Palkia (both of whom have trouble with Choice Scarf Garchomp). Choice Band Scizor can switch into Palkia’s Dragon-type attacks, and do massive damage with U-turn. Additionally, Scizor can switch into Darkrai once the Sleep clause is triggered and 2HKO with Bullet Punch. Thankfully, the most common teammates for problem Pokémon and Darkrai are all Pokémon whom Garchomp can handle with at least one of its sets (mainly Kyogre, Palkia, Groudon, Dialga, and Rayquaza). For example, Choice Scarf Garchomp easily OHKOes Palkia and Rayquaza with Dragon Claw, after they take damage from Stealth Rock. Dialga is easily OHKOed by Choice Band Garchomp’s Earthquake, while Groudon is 2HKOed by a Choice Banded Outrage. Additionally, a common tactic against Choiced Garchomp is to send in a Steel-type to take an Outrage. The most common Pokémon seen doing this are Scizor and Forretress. Common partners for Forretress that have not been mentioned yet are Giratina and Blissey. Garchomp easily 2HKOes Giratina with Outrage, and Blissey is never going to stay in on Garchomp. Scizor’s most common partners are actually nearly identical to Lugia’s, thus the same tactics can be applied here. Other OptionsGarchomp’s movepool isn’t massive compared to other OU Dragon-types, nor is it as versatile as other Uber Pokémon. The moves listed are best choices for Garchomp in most scenarios. On the Choice Band or Choice Scarf sets, Crunch is a reasonable option over Stone Edge. Crunch can still 2HKO Lugia on the Choice Band set, while giving Garchomp a safer alternative against the omnipresent Psychic-types in Ubers. Fire Fang and Fire Blast are decent options, especially when paired with sunlight. Given that Garchomp has better overall defenses than Swampert, running a defensive set that utilizes Rest and Sleep Talk may seem like a viable option, but Dialga is generally the better choice for this, as Dialga has no 4x weaknesses and has better defenses than Garchomp. EVsFor all Garchomp sets, max Speed and Attack are recommended. The remaining EVs can go into HP, with the exception of sets with Substitute. The extra 4 EVs should be allocated into Defense and use a 30 HP IV as well. OpinionDo not be fooled by Garchomp’s previous status as an OU Pokémon, because Garchomp is still a force to be reckoned with in the Uber tier. With Choice Scarf, Garchomp is an excellent revenge killer that can stop sweeps from Rayquaza. With Choice Band, Garchomp is a powerful physical threat that needs no set up time. With Swords Dance, Garchomp is a physical sweeper that even Bold Lugia can fall to. Garchomp can single-handedly crumple the Uber metagame with STAB Outrage, as there are very few Pokémon who resist Dragon-type moves in the tier. Give Garchomp the chance to sweep, and it will respond quickly with devastation, leaving only dust in its wake. CountersGarchomp is very hard to counter, because Garchomp can easily find ways to get past its checks. For example, Groudon must invest heavily in HP and Defense in order to be a buffer against Garchomp. Unfortunately, Groudon is still at risk of being 2HKOed from a Swords Danced Outrage. What’s worse is Thunder Wave will not paralyze Garchomp, thanks to its Ground-typing. Lugia is often the best check against Garchomp, as long as it is Timid. While Bold Lugia doesn’t have many problems with Choice Scarf Garchomp, Choice Band Garchomp can outspeed and 2HKO Bold Lugia with Stone Edge. The standard Bold Lugia with 252 HP EVs and 52 Defense EVs has a 79% chance of getting KOed by Garchomp’s Swords Danced Stone Edge after taking Stealth Rock damage (this is without Life Orb). Timid Lugia can live by using Reflect, Roosting off the damage, and scaring Garchomp off with Ice Beam (Ice Beam only 2HKOes though). Cresselia can easily switch into Garchomp that lack Swords Dance and retaliate with Ice Beam. Moonlight's recovery is boosted by Groudon's Drought, allowing Cresselia to more efficiently take hits from Garchomp. Skarmory and Bronzong can switch into Garchomp, especially because the vast majority of Garchomp lack Fire Fang or Fire Blast. Metagross can switch into a locked Outrage and KO Garchomp with Ice Punch. Many Pokémon can rely on their high Speed in order to revenge kill Garchomp. Keep in mind that the Choice Scarf set is an exception. Mewtwo, Darkrai, and Deoxys-A carry moves that threaten to OHKO Garchomp. Mewtwo commonly has Ice Beam to dispense Garchomp quickly and even has access to Will-O-Wisp and Reflect. A combination of Darkrai's STAB Dark Pulse, Dark Void, and Bad Dreams will usually force Garchomp to switch out. Deoxys-A can easily scare Garchomp off with Ice Beam, but is one of the few Pokémon listed above that cannot switch into Garchomp at all. Deoxys-S can always outpace Garchomp, with enough Speed investment, and bring it down with Ice Beam. For the non Choice Scarf sets, Latios, Latias, and Choice Scarf Dragon Pokémon can revenge kill Garchomp. This can be risky though, because Haban Berry Garchomp will survive any of the faster Dragon-type attacks, bar a Draco Meteor, from Latios or Latias. For any user of Ice Beam, 269 Special Attack minimum is required in order to OHKO Garchomp. Sand Veil makes countering difficult. Because Sand Veil reduces Ice Beam's accuracy to 80%, it may sometimes miss, resulting in Garchomp gaining a KO. Dark Void suffers an accuracy cut from 80% to 64%. Thankfully, Rayquaza's Air Lock prevents Sand Veil from screwing up ExtremeSpeed’s accuracy. |
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