Garchomp

[Rising_Dusk]

Garchomp
​

Garchomp is the beast of DP returned to wreak havoc on BW. This thread is dedicated to the discussion of the Pokemon competitively, not whether it will or will not be banned. Keep that in mind.

[B]#445 Garchomp[/B]
Typing: Dragon / Ground
Ability 1: 
   Sand Veil
    Evasion increases by 20% in a sandstorm.
Ability 2: (Dream World)
   Rough Skin
    Deals 12.5% damage when the opponent makes contact.

HP:  108
Atk: 130
Def: 95
SpA: 80
SpD: 85
Spe: 102

[B]Pre-Evo Moves:[/B]
-

[B]Level-Up Moves:[/B]
Lv1: Fire Fang
Lv1: Tackle
Lv1: Sand-Attack
Lv1: Dragon Rage
Lv1: Sandstorm
Lv3: Sand-Attack
Lv7: Dragon Rage
Lv13: Sandstorm
Lv15: Take Down
Lv19: Sand Tomb
Lv24: Double Chop
Lv28: Slash
Lv33: Dragon Claw
Lv40: Dig
Lv48: Crunch
Lv55: Dragon Rush

Double Chop: Dragon Physical PP: 15 / Power: 40 / Accuracy: 90
Strikes twice.

[B]TM Moves:[/B]
TM01 - Claw Sharpen
TM02 - Dragon Claw
TM05 - Roar
TM06 - Toxic
TM10 - Hidden Power
TM11 - Sunny Day
TM15 - Hyper Beam
TM17 - Protect
TM18 - Rain Dance
TM21 - Frustration
TM26 - Earthquake
TM27 - Return
TM28 - Dig
TM31 - Brick Break
TM32 - Double Team
TM35 - Flamethower
TM37 - Sandstorm
TM38 - Fire Blast
TM39 - Rock Tomb
TM40 - Aerial Ace
TM42 - Facade
TM44 - Rest
TM45 - Attract
TM48 - Troll
TM54 - False Swipe
TM56 - Fling
TM59 - Complete Burn
TM65 - Shadow Claw
TM68 - Giga Impact
TM71 - Stone Edge
TM75 - Swords Dance
TM78 - Level Ground
TM80 - Rock Slide
TM82 - Dragon Tail
TM84 - Poison Jab
TM87 - Swagger
TM90 - Substitute
TM94 - Rock Smash
HM01 - Cut
HM03 - Surf
HM04 - Strength

Claw Sharpen: Dark Other PP: 15 / Power: --- / Accuracy: ---
Raises Attack and accuracy 1 stage.

Troll: Normal Special PP: 15 / Power: 60 / Accuracy: 100
Raises Base Power the more Pokemon you have with the attack.

Complete Burn: Fire Special PP: 15 / Power: 30 / Accuracy: 100
Removes the target's Berry.

Level Ground: Ground Physical PP: 20 / Power: 60 / Accuracy: 100
May decrease opponent's Speed by 1 stage.

Dragon Tail: Dragon Physical PP: 10 / Power: 60 / Accuracy: 90
Forces the target to switch.

[B]Egg Moves:[/B]
DragonBreath
Outrage
Twister
Scary Face
Double-Edge
Thrash
Metal Claw
Sand Tomb
Body Slam
Iron Head
Mud Shot
Rock Climb
Iron Tail

Garchomp is Garchomp. You all remember him well, and you know what he's capable of. Let me recap anyway.

• Access to Swords Dance
  Yeah, Swords Dance Garchomp. You all remember it well. Slap a Yache Berry on, set up in a sandstorm, and go to town. Garchomp still has all of the tools necessary to use this well in gen V. Earthquake, Dragon Claw, Sand Veil, the works. His new toys in Dragon Tail and Rough Skin really aren't helping it a lot, although Rough Skin could definitely be worth it if you anticipate getting hit by a contact move. (Might as well, right?) Unfortunately, Ice Shard isn't contact.
• Amazing stat distribution and typing
  Dragon and Ground provide excellent coverage and Garchomp just barely edges over 100 base Speed, letting it nail those base 100's hard. Furthermore, with respectable bulk, Sand Veil, and base 130 Attack, it's got just the right stat allocation for the job.
• Great coverage
  Outside of Earthquake and Dragon Claw... "At least it has Fire Fang to hit Skarmory."

I suspect that a dominant set will look like this:

Garchomp @ Yache Berry
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
~ Swords Dance
~ Dragon Claw / Outrage / Double Chop
~ Earthquake
~ Fire Fang

So, YacheChomp returns. It hurts, it is difficult to even revenge kill, and it outspeeds a sizable chunk of the metagame. We all know how that works. Outrage can be used if the transfer mechanics that bring Garchomp over from DPP allow it. Double Chop gets slashed because it's more powerful than Dragon Claw and breaks Substitutes at the cost of reliability. The question is, though, will the massive Speed and power creep of 5th generation make it any easier to handle? Tarakion can get in and use Close Combat to severely hurt Garchomp, even OHKO it if Tarakion is banded. There also exist a few Pokemon with STAB Ice-type attacks that are faster than Garchomp now, such as the Ice-type mirror Pokemon. I mention these guys because a STAB and invested Ice Beam from a faster Pokemon OHKOes Garchomp through Yache Berry.

What do you guys think? We all know what to expect from Garchomp, but what do you expect the metagame to do in return? Will Garchomp dominate, or will the new Pokemon move it down a few stages in the food chain?

 

[EvilMario]

Any possibility that Sharpen Claw has some use with Dragon Rush, and Fire Blast? Not as immediately threatening as Swords Dance, but it can blast though Skarmory in one hit with Fire Blast, and Dragon Rush becomes very accurate and more powerful than Dragon Claw.

 

[revdjweb]

If Garchomp can take advantage of the Rechargable Battery item watch out for Substitute varieties.

 

[Lee]

You put it best, Garchomp is Garchomp!

I think ScarfChomp will have the potential to be one of the most helpful Pokemon to have on your team being able to revenge kill Salamence, enemy Garchomp, Lucario, Shanderaa, Urugamosu, Terakion, Blaziken, Ononokusu...I could go on and on until my fingers bleed. If it's a threat, chances are he's a good shot at revenging it.

Quite possibly the best revenge killer in the game and one hell of a sweeper too. Welcome back Garchomp, how we've missed you.

 

[DDRMaster]

A +1 Dragon Rush has only 93.75% of the power that a +2 Dragon Claw does. I didn't think about a perfectly accurate Fire Blast, but I think the higher boost to Earthquake will still be prefered.

 

[KurashiDragon]

Imma go into the tier for a second here cause it might actually be important. I think Garchomp might stay ou this gen cause unlike last gen it can't take advantage of sand veil with Drought and Drissle moving away from ubers and some new dragons coming into play.

I agree with EvilMario. Garchomp is fast enough to use claw sharpen to a great advantage. Having access to both Dragon Rush, Fire Blast, and Stone Edge might just make a moveset. Would someone care to try and make a Claw Sharpen Moveset?

 

[Darth Meanie]

I can definitely see Garchomp being a strong anti-metagame force in this new generation. I don't think the Chandelier can take him out even with HP Ice if it's a Yachechomp, and switching out means a free Swords Dance for Garchomp. Not to mention Scarfchomp's revenge-killing abilities.

For all of the new dragons that are coming into play, Garchomp is going to be a constant thorn in their side threatening to destroy them with faster, hard-hitting moves.

And don't forget that Outrage now cancels out when it hits a Steel-type. That is a huge new boon for the guy, and makes a lot of potential checks a lot less useful.

 

[Colonel M]

My thoughts are the same as everyone else's; Choice Scarf is going to severely climb in usage since Garchomp was always the greatest revenge killer (barring Deoxys-S). Claw Sharpen is interesting too as noted: with Dragon Rush being nearly identical to Dragon Claw in terms of power and boosting Fire Blast's accuracy, the only things lost in power would be Earthquake, and even +1 Garchomp is dangerous for hyper-offensive teams. Garchomp didn't improve much with Gen 5, but it at least got a couple noteworthy things and hey, it was always solid!

I'd also include Haban Berry for the Swords Dancer. Dragon-types are becoming more and more common, and even mons learn Dragon Claw like candy nowadays. Don't want to be revenge-killed by something weird like Scarf Warubiaru, right?

 

[LafondaOnFire]

If Garchomp can take advantage of the Rechargable Battery item watch out for Substitute varieties.

As far as we know, you must actually be hit by an electric type move to get the boost from the battery. Garchomp is immune to electric attacks, and is therefore, not hit by them and not getting the boost.

 

[Blatreutka]

A Claw Sharpen set wouldn't work well because Fire Blast won't OHKO Skarmory even with max SpAtk and a positive nature. That and SD Garchomp outclasses it in virtually every way.

 

[Sparko]

welcome back good ol' stall breaker :D

on a topic related note, the new claw sharpen move is viable for some sort of mixed set, yes choice scarf still seems superior but a change of pace is always nice (especially if you can bluff scarf for a while) but yeah the lack of sp.atk hurts :/

 

[Thorhammer]

My thoughts are the same as everyone else's; I'd also include Haban Berry for the Swords Dancer. Dragon-types are becoming more and more common, and even mons learn Dragon Claw like candy nowadays. Don't want to be revenge-killed by something weird like Scarf Warubiaru, right?

Or Scarf Ditto, which may not be so uncommon in the new metagame. SD Garchomp without Haban Berry will be Ditto's favorite target.

Of course, that's no help if Ditto can OHKO it even through Haban, which seems plausible. Anyone have the calcs for +2 Garchomp's Dragon Claw vs. itself?

 

[Panthera]

I'm kind of thinking that ScarfChomp could be the big deal now for its extreme revenge killing utility since its 102 speed trolls even more now (with so many things floating in the 90s for base speed, and Urugamosu coming in at 100 with Butterfly Dance which makes it a bigger hurdle for special based revenge killers) and Choice Scarf and priority seem like they'll be even more prominent than in 4th gen given all the glass cannons that have been introduced, which will make it struggle to sweep more (the potential for Drought and Drizzle to shut down its Sand Veil is also a pain for it) when so many things will bypass its unboosted speed. It's looking like a more manageable sweeper now (though still one you have to always prepare for) but perhaps the best revenge killer in the game along with Shadow Tag Shanderaa.

EDIT: Since it was asked above, +2 Dragon Claw does a minimum of 76.3% damage to Haban Berry Chomp, so that won't work for Scarf Ditto. Outrage is a guaranteed OHKO through Haban though, about 114% minimum, so if your Chomp has Outrage, Scarf Ditto is going to be VERY happy.

 

[AxelLow]

Or Scarf Ditto, which may not be so uncommon in the new metagame. SD Garchomp without Haban Berry will be Ditto's favorite target.

Of course, that's no help if Ditto can OHKO it even through Haban, which seems plausible. Anyone have the calcs for +2 Garchomp's Dragon Claw vs. itself?

No need for calcs. That's not a garuanteed KO if it's at +2 (unless it's outrage).

I severly missed chomp as well, and will be glad to have it back in OU to check the new Dragons. If anything, I'll still love my scarfchomp, while SD will indeed still be a pain in the ass. BUT! Claw Sharpen maybe Chomp's DD. If anything, he can slot more powerful and riskier moves this way, but aleviates the risk a bit by uping the acc. I'll try and make a quick claw sharpen set to see what this beast can do.

 

[The King of Harts]

Why would you not use Double Chop over Dragon Claw? It's basically an unSTABed Outrage without being locked, no confusion, but 90 Acc. It's also a Focus Sash and Substitute breaker since it's multi-hit attack, and that's always useful.

 

[Cheesewings]

I would personally see ScarfGarchomp as a viable Ononokusu counter, similarily to how he countered Rayquaza in GenIV, as well as an overall great revenge killer

 

[thewetmop]

I'm really interested to see how he fares this gen. I didn't get into competitive until after he was banned from OU, so i've never gotten a chance to try him out (bar ubers, where i perfer rayquaza for SD sets).

His scarf set could be crucial to revenging all the new setup sweepers we're seeing.

 

[cosmicexplorer]

Why would you not use Double Chop over Dragon Claw? It's basically an unSTABed Outrage without being locked, no confusion, but 90 Acc. It's also a Focus Sash and Substitute breaker since it's multi-hit attack, and that's always useful.

Focus Sash will allow the holder to survive all hits of a multi-hit move like Fury Attack, provided the holder is at 100% health on the first hit.

It won't break Focus Sash, but it will break subs.

 

[Raptorg]

Why would you not use Double Chop over Dragon Claw? It's basically an unSTABed Outrage without being locked, no confusion, but 90 Acc. It's also a Focus Sash and Substitute breaker since it's multi-hit attack, and that's always useful.

Because Dragon Claw has the same damage?

It really only comes down to whether you want accuracy, or the ability to hit through substitutes.
But you won't gain additional damage. Unless of course, hitting twice means you have a double chance to gain a critical hit. But I doubt that's the case.

I would still like to see the result of Claw Sharpen on Dragon Rush, because if it reaches at least 85% accuracy after a single boost, I would say it's definitely worth it, especially since you get a 20% flinch chance on top of that damage.

 

[destinybond]

Why would you not use Double Chop over Dragon Claw? It's basically an unSTABed Outrage without being locked, no confusion, but 90 Acc. It's also a Focus Sash and Substitute breaker since it's multi-hit attack, and that's always useful.

Multi hit attacks dont break sashes, only subs.

Garchomp didnt get many new toys this generation, unlike some pokemon like Ditto, Arcanine, and others. It can still make a great revenge killer, able to kill +1 base 100's, and also a great SD user like last gen

 

[Wanderer]

It only applies for Wonder Guard in Outrage's case, i.e. Shedinja.

 

[The King of Harts]

It won't break Focus Sash, but it will break subs.

Well that's lame. I always thought they did.

Because Dragon Claw has the same damage?

It really only comes down to whether you want accuracy, or the ability to hit through substitutes.
But you won't gain additional damage. Unless of course, hitting twice means you have a double chance to gain a critical hit. But I doubt that's the case.

That they do. I guess I'm just out of whack, then. Either way I'd still go Double Chop so ScarfChomp can now be a deadly revenge killer and Sub breaker. If people are willing to use Fire Blast then I think a good bit will also opt for Double Chop.

 

[Garganator]

Honestly in days when Garchomp was OU I seriously despised him as probably the most pokemon, which I faced in OU matches. However it totally changes in Ubers, where I used ScarfChomp/SDChomps and mostly CBChomps on every single Uber team I made. Anyway, I think you guys should mention another really DEADLY set, yet underused, which is shocking. Of course I mentioned it here.

Garchomp @ Choice Band
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
~ Outrage
~ Dragon Claw
~ Earthquake
~ Fire Fang / Stone Edge

For first, Garchomp is great at forcing switches and while most people may expect Swords Dancer or Choice Scarf, Choice Bander takes them so often off-guard. Dragon Claw for obvious scouting switches, Earthquake compliments Dragon STAB attacks and last choice depends on if you prefer to hit for SE damage Forretress, Skarmory and new Nattrei. Stone Edge is good choice, when you hate Lugia, but well, we don't know yet if she'll be allowed on start of Gen 5 or not.

Also we still have this a bit gimmicky, however decent in some situations set. For first, it's best against stall and unfortunately looses some utility against offense. But it shouldn't be underestimated by any means.

Garchomp @ Life Orb
4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty / Naive Nature
~ Swords Dance
~ Outrage
~ Draco Meteor
~ Fire Blast / Earthquake

Old, yet uncommon ChainChomp. Popularity of this set won't rise too high, however it may work as a lure to many physically bulky pokemon and knock them down. With a bit prior damage, standard Donphan, Swampert and Hippowdon goes down against Draco Meteor, while Outrage still keeps enough power to OHKO/2OHKO most targets. Resist berry may also be an option, however you need as much power for his special attacks as possible and without it, it would probably force you to use Outrage after using Draco Meteor/Fire Blast, which isn't a really good idea. Dragon Claw is an option, however power is dissapointing. Earthquake is for obvious STAB, however uninvested doesn't hit that hard. Fire Blast is mainly for Steel types, as it OHKOes Forretress, new Nattrei, most Scizor and 2OHKO Physically Defensive Skarmory (well, if you can provide it sun support, with Ninetales for example) it's a clean OHKO.

 

[Raptorg]

Even if Claw Sharpen is outclassed by Swords Dance, it wouldn't hurt to at least give it a test run.

Garchomp @ Life Orb / Yache Berry.
252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly/Hasty Nature.
-Claw Sharpen.
-Dragon Rush.
-Earthquake.
-Stone Edge/Fire Blast.

Everything will be weaker than a swords dance set, that can't be helped, but Dragon Rush makes up for much of the lost damage compared to Dragon Claw, and all moves have 100%(99% if DR is rounded down) which can make a world of difference.

 

[TeraGhost]

I think ScarfChomp will be the most used set, as it can revenge a whole lot of the new threats that are coming (Chandilier and Sazandra to name a few). Swords Dance and Choice Band might also be popular, as Chomp naturally outspeeds a lot of pokemon from B/W.

Move over Flygon, Garchomp is in da house.