[SET]
name: Mega Garchomp
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Dragon Claw
move 3: Fire Blast / Fire Fang
move 4: Swords Dance
item: Garchompite
ability: Sand Force
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Earthquake is Mega Garchomp's strongest STAB move, boasting good power, 100% accuracy, and the potential to be boosted by Sand Force. Dragon Claw is the secondary STAB move, usually used to hit Flying-types or Levitate users such as Landorus-T, Zapdos, and Rotom-W. Fire Blast and Fire Fang both serve somewhat similar purposes, mainly nailing Steel- and Grass-types, such as Skarmory, Celesteela, Tapu Bulu, and Tangrowth. Fire Blast hits the likes of physically defensive Skarmory and Tapu Bulu much harder while avoiding Iron Barbs recoil from Ferrothorn. Fire Fang, on the other hand, deals more damage to the likes of Celesteela and Assault Vest Tangrowth and can be boosted by Swords Dance. Aqua Tail can be used in place of Fire-type coverage on rain teams, as Mega Garchomp can OHKO defensive Pokemon such as Landorus-T with Aqua Tail when factoring in rain and Swords Dance boosts.
Set Details
========
Maximum Speed and Attack investment ensures that Mega Garchomp is as fast and powerful as possible. A Jolly nature is used, enabling Garchomp to get the jump on Jolly Landorus-T while also outspeeding threats such as Mega Charizard Y and Salamence before Mega Evolving. A Naive nature can be run in combination with Fire Blast to improve Mega Garchomp's odds of being able to knock out Pokemon such as Ferrothorn; however, diminishing Mega Garchomp's bulk isn't ideal. Sand Force grants Mega Garchomp a 1.3x boost to its Earthquake when in the sand, which only makes it an even more fearsome wallbreaker, enabling it to 2HKO the likes of Unaware Clefable and Tapu Fini.
Usage Tips
========
Mega Garchomp is generally used as an early- or mid-game wallbreaker that opens up holes in an opposing team's defensive core so that a faster cleaner such as Excadrill or Ash-Greninja is able to swoop in and clean up the mess. However, there are some instances, especially when facing bulkier defensive teams, where Mega Garchomp can be used as somewhat of a late-game cleaner, boosting up to bust through multiple defensive Pokemon on the way to a sweep. Mega Garchomp's above-average bulk grants it a vast number of setup opportunities, as it is able to boost up in front of most defensive Pokemon. Utilizing Mega Garchomp in combination with sand can be nice to boost the power of its Earthquake; however, it isn't always required, as Mega Garchomp's already immense power combined with a boosting move means that it is usually a threatening wallbreaker even without sand. There are only a few instances, such as when facing Unaware Clefable, when Sand Force is truly required for Mega Garchomp to wallbreak to its true potential. Lastly, Garchomp's Mega Evolution may give it greater power, but it does come at the cost of Speed. Keeping this in mind, sometimes it is actually beneficial not to Mega Evolve Garchomp right away to outspeed a number of common threats such as Volcarona, Manaphy, Mega Medicham, and Mega Charizard X.
Team Options
========
Tyranitar is usually one of the first Pokemon that comes to mind when considering teammates to support Mega Garchomp because it is an effective means of weakening common Mega Garchomp checks, such as physically defensive Pokemon like Landorus-T and Tangrowth, while its Sand Stream ability allows Mega Garchomp to effectively utilize its Sand Force ability to more capably break down bulkier defensive Pokemon. Tyranitar also has the ability to check and Pursuit trap some of the offensive checks to Mega Garchomp, such as Latios and Tapu Lele. Generally, most physical attackers, such as Bisharp, Mimikyu, and Excadrill, will pair well with Mega Garchomp, as they can work together to weaken defensive Pokemon until an opportunity is created for one of them to sweep. Ash-Greninja is also a good partner for Mega Garchomp, as it can deal with bulky Ground-types as well as generally physically bulky Pokemon while appreciating Mega Garchomp's ability to weaken defensive threats such as Tapu Fini and Ferrothorn.
name: Mega Garchomp
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Dragon Claw
move 3: Fire Blast / Fire Fang
move 4: Swords Dance
item: Garchompite
ability: Sand Force
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Earthquake is Mega Garchomp's strongest STAB move, boasting good power, 100% accuracy, and the potential to be boosted by Sand Force. Dragon Claw is the secondary STAB move, usually used to hit Flying-types or Levitate users such as Landorus-T, Zapdos, and Rotom-W. Fire Blast and Fire Fang both serve somewhat similar purposes, mainly nailing Steel- and Grass-types, such as Skarmory, Celesteela, Tapu Bulu, and Tangrowth. Fire Blast hits the likes of physically defensive Skarmory and Tapu Bulu much harder while avoiding Iron Barbs recoil from Ferrothorn. Fire Fang, on the other hand, deals more damage to the likes of Celesteela and Assault Vest Tangrowth and can be boosted by Swords Dance. Aqua Tail can be used in place of Fire-type coverage on rain teams, as Mega Garchomp can OHKO defensive Pokemon such as Landorus-T with Aqua Tail when factoring in rain and Swords Dance boosts.
Set Details
========
Maximum Speed and Attack investment ensures that Mega Garchomp is as fast and powerful as possible. A Jolly nature is used, enabling Garchomp to get the jump on Jolly Landorus-T while also outspeeding threats such as Mega Charizard Y and Salamence before Mega Evolving. A Naive nature can be run in combination with Fire Blast to improve Mega Garchomp's odds of being able to knock out Pokemon such as Ferrothorn; however, diminishing Mega Garchomp's bulk isn't ideal. Sand Force grants Mega Garchomp a 1.3x boost to its Earthquake when in the sand, which only makes it an even more fearsome wallbreaker, enabling it to 2HKO the likes of Unaware Clefable and Tapu Fini.
Usage Tips
========
Mega Garchomp is generally used as an early- or mid-game wallbreaker that opens up holes in an opposing team's defensive core so that a faster cleaner such as Excadrill or Ash-Greninja is able to swoop in and clean up the mess. However, there are some instances, especially when facing bulkier defensive teams, where Mega Garchomp can be used as somewhat of a late-game cleaner, boosting up to bust through multiple defensive Pokemon on the way to a sweep. Mega Garchomp's above-average bulk grants it a vast number of setup opportunities, as it is able to boost up in front of most defensive Pokemon. Utilizing Mega Garchomp in combination with sand can be nice to boost the power of its Earthquake; however, it isn't always required, as Mega Garchomp's already immense power combined with a boosting move means that it is usually a threatening wallbreaker even without sand. There are only a few instances, such as when facing Unaware Clefable, when Sand Force is truly required for Mega Garchomp to wallbreak to its true potential. Lastly, Garchomp's Mega Evolution may give it greater power, but it does come at the cost of Speed. Keeping this in mind, sometimes it is actually beneficial not to Mega Evolve Garchomp right away to outspeed a number of common threats such as Volcarona, Manaphy, Mega Medicham, and Mega Charizard X.
Team Options
========
Tyranitar is usually one of the first Pokemon that comes to mind when considering teammates to support Mega Garchomp because it is an effective means of weakening common Mega Garchomp checks, such as physically defensive Pokemon like Landorus-T and Tangrowth, while its Sand Stream ability allows Mega Garchomp to effectively utilize its Sand Force ability to more capably break down bulkier defensive Pokemon. Tyranitar also has the ability to check and Pursuit trap some of the offensive checks to Mega Garchomp, such as Latios and Tapu Lele. Generally, most physical attackers, such as Bisharp, Mimikyu, and Excadrill, will pair well with Mega Garchomp, as they can work together to weaken defensive Pokemon until an opportunity is created for one of them to sweep. Ash-Greninja is also a good partner for Mega Garchomp, as it can deal with bulky Ground-types as well as generally physically bulky Pokemon while appreciating Mega Garchomp's ability to weaken defensive threats such as Tapu Fini and Ferrothorn.
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