I am just a pile of trash, nothing to see here...
[OVERVIEW]
Garbodor is the best Spiker in NU, as it can reliably set up Spikes throughout the match thanks to its bulk and typing. Its mono-Poison typing allows it to switch into a lot of common Pokemon such as Lilligant while checking a plethora of physical attackers such as Sawk, Kangaskhan, and Scyther. Its all-around natural bulk allows it to survive a lot of repeated hits while chipping away at the foe's health via Rocky Helmet damage. It also isn't setup fodder, as it hits hard even uninvested with its base 95 Attack and a high powered STAB move in Gunk Shot. When it's done doing its job, Garbodor's ability Aftermath allows it to check contact attackers, potentially weakening a Pokemon enough to be revenge killed. Garbodor's lack of reliable recovery means it can get worn down really quickly, and it won't be able to continue to do its job of checking physical attackers. Its mono-Poison typing is also a double-edged sword, as it gives great resistances to Bug and Fighting, but also gives Garbodor common weaknesses in Ground and Psychic.
[SET]
name: Defensive Spiker
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Gunk Shot
move 3: Toxic Spikes / Seed Bomb
move 4: Drain Punch / Seed Bomb / Haze
item: Rocky Helmet
ability: Aftermath
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Spikes wears down grounded Pokemon with residual damage very quickly. Toxic Spikes helps wear down bulky, defensive teams much faster, as they usually have a method of recovery. Seed Bomb can be used instead to nail Rhydon, Claydol, and Quagsire, all common Pokemon that resist Gunk Shot. Gunk Shot hits anything hard that does not resist it, is boosted by STAB, and has a chance to poison Xatu, preventing it from repeatedly switching in and bouncing back entry hazards that Garbodor tries to set. Drain Punch is specifically for Steel-types, such as Pawniard and Klinklang, and it hits Sneasel if you don't want to risk a Gunk Shot miss. Haze is another option, as it gets rid of boosts from Steel-types that try to set up on Garbodor such as Mawile and Klinklang as well as Pokemon such as Gurdurr, Scyther, Samurott, and Malamar. Toxic is yet another option that can wear down bulky Ground- and Psychic-types as well as levitating Pokemon that tend to switch into Garbodor, such as Mesprit, Uxie, and Mismagius.
Set Details
========
96 Speed EVs let Garbodor outrun neutral-natured fully invested base 55 Speed Pokemon, such as Exeggutor and Cacturne. 136 Speed EVs, however, can be used to outpace Adamant Pawniard. Maximum HP investment gives Garbodor stronger bulk. The remaining EVs are put into Defense with an Impish nature allowing Garbodor to better punish users of physical contact moves, such as Scyther and Sawk. Aftermath makes Garbodor an emergency check to physical attackers that rely on contact moves. Rocky Helmet inflicts chip damage, which can not only prevent spinners from removing entry hazards unless they want to take a lot of recoil damage, but also wear down the opponent's team overall. It also can break Sawk's Sturdy if you are unable to get entry hazards up. Black Sludge can be used instead to give Garbodor some passive recovery and cripple Trick users such as Rotom and Mismagius.
Usage Tips
========
Garbodor should set either entry hazard depending on the opposing team. If the team relies on their bulk to check Pokemon, Spikes can wear them down quickly; however, teams that have no way to get rid of status or a team without a Poison-type will hate Toxic Spikes, as it wears them down with consistent passive damage. Only use Drain Punch on frail threats, as even bulky Rock-types such as Regirock and Rhydon can easily take it, and laying down a layer of Spikes or Toxic Spikes is usually more beneficial. If Garbodor carries Seed Bomb, common switch-ins such as Rhydon and Quagsire are worn down to the point where they can be finished off by the team, as they both lack forms of reliable recovery. If Garbodor carries Haze, it can set up entry hazards against Gurdurr and Malamar without letting them get the upper hand. Garbodor's main niche compared to other Spikes users, such as Cacturne and Crustle, is its ability to last throughout the match, acting as a pivot with solid bulk and damage output, making it the best Spiker for most teams by far. Garbodor can also switch into a lot of contact moves and physical attackers unlike Cacturne or Crustle and force them out, allowing it to use Gunk Shot against the switch-in or set up a layer of Spikes or Toxic Spikes. Common Pokemon that Garbodor can get chip damage on, such as Kangaskhan and Hariyama, can opt to use Earthquake, bypassing Aftermath and Rocky Helmet while doing massive damage to Garbodor, so it's advised to scout for coverage moves on physical attackers that Garbodor usually checks. Finally, if Garbodor's HP is low and it has done its job, you can sacrifice it to a contact move-using Pokemon, such as a weakened spinner, to deal massive recoil via Rocky Helmet and Aftermath to the attacker, which means that the entry hazards cannot be spun away if the spinner dies.
Team Options
========
Ghost-types are good partners, as they can spinblock. Rotom can provide momentum with Volt Switch, and Mismagius can prevent Defog as well thanks to Taunt. Defiant users, such as Pawniard and Primeape, can be really useful, as they gain a +2 Attack boost from Defog. Dark-types, such as Liepard, can beat up on the Ghost- and Psychic-types that resist Garbodor's attacks or hit them with a super effective STAB move. Sneasel is a particularly good partner, as it can Pursuit trap Xatu, allowing Garbodor to have an easier time with setting up entry hazards. They also appreciate a bulky Pokemon that resists Fighting-type moves to fall back on. Water-types such as Life Orb Samurott can destroy the Rock- and Ground-types that can hurt Garbodor while Garbodor takes Grass-type moves aimed at Samurott. Bulky Ground-types such as Rhydon and Claydol can switch into Poison-types that try to switch in and absorb Toxic Spikes and keep up offensive pressure and momentum. Psychic-types such as Uxie, Mesprit, and Xatu can force all Poison-types out, as some, such as Weezing, are immune to Ground-type moves thanks to Levitate. Fletchinder also appreciates Spikes support and can take the Ground-type moves thanks to its Flying typing. Garbodor can also wear down Fletchinder's checks and counters with Seed Bomb.
[SET]
name: Offensive Spiker
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Gunk Shot
move 3: Drain Punch / Seed Bomb
move 4: Seed Bomb / Toxic Spikes
item: Rocky Helmet
ability: Aftermath
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Spikes wears down grounded Pokemon, as Garbodor can force a lot of switches. Gunk Shot hits really hard with investment in Attack, always nabbing the 2HKO on Pokemon such as bulky Xatu. Drain Punch allows Garbodor to hit Steel-types, such as Klinklang and Pawniard, hard while gaining a decent amount of HP. Seed Bomb, with the investment, can secure 2HKOs on Quagsire and Rhydon while denting Claydol significantly, which otherwise can force Garbodor out with their Ground-type STAB. Toxic Spikes is nice to pressure more defensively oriented teams. Explosion is helpful to block Rapid Spin and can hit spinners such as Claydol fairly hard and can block Defog, allowing Garbodor's entry hazards to continue to apply pressure to the opposing team.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack and Speed EVs allow Garbodor to outspeed a lot of Pokemon and hit them harder. An Adamant nature allows Garbodor to hit Pokemon such as Xatu and Rhydon a lot harder than it could with a Jolly nature; however, a Jolly nature can help Garbodor outspeed Pokemon such as Adamant Sawk, Modest or Mild Magmortar, and neutral-natured Mesprit. A Jolly nature also needs to be used with Explosion to outspeed Modest maximum Speed Claydol and block its Rapid Spin. Aftermath allows Garbodor to check physical attackers, such as Klinklang and Hariyama. Rocky Helmet inflicts chip damage to punish physical attackers. An alternate EV spread of 168 HP / 124 Def / 216 Spe with an Impish nature outspeeds maximum Speed Samurott and is still decently bulky. It's a better spread on offensive teams that need a bulkier pivot that doesn't completely lose momentum when Samurott comes on the field.
Usage Tips
========
Garbodor can be more lenient with its choice of moves because, with the Attack investment, it can proceed to surprise the opponent's common checks to Garbodor such as Rhydon and Quagsire. Garbodor beats the common Pokemon that can either spin away or block entry hazards better with the offensive investment. 252 Speed EVs allow Garbodor to outspeed a lot more Pokemon, giving it the ability to set up Spikes on more targets. This set can be a useful pivot on offensively oriented teams, as it has decent natural bulk and power to hit spinners and Defoggers that may give offensive teams trouble. Garbodor still has a niche over other offensive Spikers, as it can switch into attacks, unlike Cacturne and Crustle. Garbodor can also wear down the foe more quickly with its offensive investment along with Rocky Helmet and Aftermath. Common physical attackers that Garbodor gets chip damage on, such as Kangaskhan and Hariyama, may opt to use Earthquake, bypassing Aftermath and Rocky Helmet; however, offensive Garbodor can 2HKO both, meaning that most physical attackers that try to get around the chip damage are going to be 2HKOed by Gunk Shot. If Garbodor is low on health, and it has done its job, this set still works as an emergency check to a powerful physical attacker, taking around 41% of their health away with Rocky Helmet and Aftermath damage.
Team Options
========
This set is more useful on bulky offense teams, as it can keep up the offensive pressure while still laying down entry hazards effectively. However, pure offensive teams appreciate Garbodor's ability to switch into a lot of threats and force them out. Pokemon such as Kangaskhan, Sneasel, Klinklang, and Archeops appreciate their checks being worn down so that they can continue to pressure the opponent. Pokemon that appreciate Spikes support, such as Klinklang, can be great partners, as Spikes tends to wear down their checks while Garbodor's offensive pressure means that it can keep up with the pace of the team. Volt Switch and U-turn users, such as Scyther and Rotom-S, appreciate the entry hazards, as they tend to force a lot of switches and can keep up offensive pressure. Defiant users such as Pawniard can deter Defoggers from getting rid of your entry hazards while Malamar can actually increase its evasion thanks to Contrary. Spinblockers, such as Rotom and Mismagius, can also keep entry hazards up and pressure the opponent with the momentum that Volt Switch gains or set up with Nasty Plot. Both Rotom and Mismagius appreciate Spikes wearing down their checks. They both also have access to Levitate, allowing them to switch into Garbodor's Ground weakness with ease. Fletchinder appreciates Spikes support and is immune to Ground-type moves thanks to its Flying typing. Garbodor can also wear down Fletchinder's checks with Seed Bomb.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Rock Polish can allow Garbodor to set up and sweep, as it has decent Attack and Speed stats. It also has plenty of coverage to pick what it can beat, which can make it a really great late-game cleaner. Clear Smog allows Garbodor to deal damage while resetting a setup sweeper's stats; however, Garbodor also has access to Haze, which allows Garbodor to reset the boosts of Steel-types such as Klinklang and Mawile that are immune to Clear Smog. Pain Split is an option to give Garbodor a form of semi-reliable recovery, although Drain Punch provides recovery as well as coverage on Steel-types that are immune to Garbodor's Poison-type STAB moves. It also has access to a wide special movepool with moves such as Thunderbolt to hit Pelipper, Swanna, and Mantine hard, Giga Drain to have recovery while hitting Water- and Ground-types hard, and Focus Blast to hit Ferroseed harder; however, Garbodor has roughly the same coverage in its physical movepool along with a better Attack stat.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Xatu**: Xatu has Magic Bounce to bounce back entry hazards from Garbodor, can recover the damage taken from Gunk Shot with Roost, and can threaten it with a STAB-boosted Psychic. It does, however, dislike a potential poison from Gunk Shot as well as the guaranteed 2HKO from offensive Garbodor.
**Psychic-types**: Pokemon such as Mesprit and Uxie can outspeed and KO Garbodor with a STAB-boosted Psychic. While both are usually bulky enough to take a hit, Mesprit is outsped and 2HKOed by offensive Jolly Garbodor; however, Uxie can reliably tank Gunk Shot but doesn't like getting poisoned.
**Bulky Ground-types**: Ground-types resist Gunk Shot, as not all Garbodor carry Seed Bomb while obviously all carry Gunk Shot, so Rhydon, Stunfisk, Torterra, Sandslash, and Quagsire can all take a Seed Bomb from bulky variants and proceed to force Garbodor out with their STAB moves.
**Special Attackers**: Pokemon such as Magmortar and Samurott can threaten Garbodor out with a powerful STAB move, leaving it very weak for the rest of the match. However, neither of them can switch into offensive Garbodor, as Garbodor 2HKOes Samurott while outspeeding it and can OHKO Magmortar after taking Stealth Rock damage.
**Taunt Users**: Pokemon such as Archeops, Mismagius, and Haunter all outspeed any variant of Garbodor and prevent it from setting up Spikes while resisting its STAB move. Haunter also doesn't fear being poisoned by Gunk Shot.
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