Just to jump into the whole Skarmory thing, good work pointing it out Glen. Yes, Skarmory forces Garchomp out more than it does kill it directly, but that doesn't mean Skarmory isn't a viable option for taking care of Garchomp. It never really killed Curselax directly in GSC either, rather just prevented it from doing any damage until you could deal with it later. It's pretty much the same idea dealing with Garchomp now, have Skarmory push it out of the way until you can figure out the best way to really put it out of commission. It's a strong option for any team using Skarmory. And even if Skarmory is 2HKOed by SD Fire Fang, it is not 2HKOed by SD Outrage -- what if it switches in at that time?
I would never advocate non-ES Lucario. However, it is a pretty damn surprising option that can sometimes work. As for Salamence countering Lucario, don't forget that it is very easily worn down by SR + SS; Intimidate is what annoys Lucario more than anything.
Mr. E, you keep saying "The same stuff always counters Garchomp", but you haven't actually told us what does counter Garchomp. Cresselia? It'll die before it kills YacheChomp. Skarmory? Fire Fang easily wipes the floor with it. Faster stuff with Ice moves that can OHKO even with Yache? That's pretty much only Weavile, and it can't possibly hope to switch in safely.
Why is it that Garchomp is always assumed to be full health when it switches in? Why is Yache Berry always such a point of contention such like "Starmie can't kill it, it'll survive with Yache!" and "Yache helps protect it from Cresselia!" I thought the entire point of the Yache Berry was to unexpectedly survive random Ice Beams everywhere to set that Swords Dance up and sweep! Typically this means that, by the time Garchomp gets its setup and starts attacking, it's already at 30% and lost its item. Rarely is it going to be near-full health with both SD up and Yache intact.
Weavile can switch in safely if it knows you're Swords Dancing first. :P Mindgames, son.
You know, Garchomp uses Yache Berry to guarantee its setup, stuff its Ice-based counters, protect from weaker Ice attacks while trying to sweep. So... What about using some of those other berries to counter Garchomp? Garchomp would be in for a surprise if he switched into a Shuca Berry Tyranitar and got beat where it thought it was forcing a switch. Comedy Haban Berry Dragons work as well but that's not realistic. Maybe people just need to think outside the box a bit.
And yep, at least one counter does exist. Max Def/HP Regirock beats Garchomp. It can, surprisingly, survive a Swords Danced EQ from Garchomp. (It survives about 75% of the time even with SR, and can guarantee survive using Leftovers or Shuca Berry.) It can then Counter him back for the kill. No Counter? Garchomp acts tricky and puts up a second SD? No problem, Regirock can always Explode if it wants to ensure Garchomp can't pull a kill out of its ass or the Shuca Berry option even prevents the OHKO at +6. Garchomp's death is virtually assured and Regirock sometimes even survives the ordeal. We have a winner here, folks.
Other potential "counters" include... Max Def/HP Weezing can sometimes survive an SD Outrage, Pain Split back most of its health (while doing a good ~45% to Garchomp), and survive a second one. It could also simply Explode, Destiny Bond (which ignores accuracy), or WoW, the latter having dubious accuracy but all three of which guarantee killing or crippling Garchomp. Scarf Abomasnow is never going to eat a Fire Fang switching in and should be able to power through Yache with 100% Blizzard. A little too specialized to really count, max Def/HP Specs Regice also counters Garchomp. What about just using Reflect more judiciously? Jirachi isn't afraid of Garchomp if it switches into a Reflect, let alone what would happen if you put Reflect on something like Cresselia or Bronzong. Toxic Spikes, as always, still cripples Garchomp's ability to sweep.
Of course, the notion of a "counter" on paper is mostly moot anyway unless we're talking trapping attacks or traits. But you asked for it. Lucario is a lot more counterable on paper than it is in practice and, to bring back an old point here, is virtually guaranteed at least one kill every match. Yet, somehow, nearly 50 pokémon manage to thrive in OU (with many more seeing occasional usage) rather than being dominated by the same 5-10 pokémon that "guarantee" kills every battle.
Because the only "ADV" pokemon you've claimed to be even close to potentially overpowering are Blissey and Tyranitar? ... If you want to discuss "ADV" or any pokemon in "ADV", there is a separate forum for that and I suggest you take your comments there.
I never said anything about Tyranitar in Advance, you dumbshit. And yes, it's absolutely relevant to the situation. One of the primary reasons many people use to justify that Garchomp is broken is that it's used a damn lot. In Advance, Blissey was also excessively overused but was not banned. How has D/P changed such that heavy use of a single pokémon is overpowered? "D/P isn't ADV!" is not an answer to this question, it fails to explain how D/P changed such that usage is now a valid indicator of "overpoweredness" when it never used to be.
It's getting frustrating trying to explain all of this to you when you clearly have no comprehension of how the game is actually played.
You're throwing a lot of bullshit at jrrrr...r
The more I read of Mr. E's arguements, the more I think he's just trying to troll.
But you guys are right, I'm the one throwing ad hominem attacks everywhere and not actually arguing the point.
Tangrowth is only beaten by Fire Blast and can Sleep Powder Garchomp. HP Ice will break its Yache and can KO it while it's asleep.
MOJONBO RULES HERE