Analysis - Garchomp

Defensive Combinations

General Counters

Putting It All Together

Set - ScarfChomp

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Dragon, Ground and Fire are all together resisted by no Pokemon in the entire standard metagame. This set's purpose is to come in during the late game and sweep the opponent with two very powerful STAB attacks being supported by 394 Attack and 454 Speed. Fire Blast is chosen over Fire Fang because it is a 2HKO on Skarmory and a OHKO on Forretress, even with the -SpAtk nature.

The last move slot is purely a matter of preference. Toxic will severely cripple Hippowdon, Gliscor, Cresselia (non Rest versions), Slowbro, Gyarados and Zapdos that attempt to switch in, allowing for a later potential sweep. Dragon Claw acts as Dragon Pulse did on the SpecsMence set; it gives a dependable STAB if the more powerful version's negative effect is not desireable.

Other Options

ScarfChomp has a few options for that last slot. Stone Edge can be considered if Gyarados / Zapdos are considered immediate threats and must be dealt with faster than Toxic can deal with them. Dragon Rush can be considered over Outrage / Dragon Claw simply for its flinching potential. Crunch, for Celebi, Starmie, Cresselia or Dusknoir, or Aerial Ace, for Heracross, might considered, but should not be, as Outrage does more to all of them and is a near OHKO to the only one that it does not do more to, Heracross.

ScarfChomp can also run a Jolly nature (with 252 Speed EVs still), both to outspeed other ScarfChomps and to outspeed Deoxys-S, who often will not run a +Speed nature and the 236 Speed EVs it would take to outspeed a 333 Speed Choice Scarf Garchomp. This version of Garchomp will also outspeed all ScarfRoserade, ScarfPorygonZ, Modest ScarfGengar, Modest ScarfAzelf and any Salamence or Dragonite with 1 Dragon Dance.

ScarfChomp can also run a bulkier version in order to survive more neutral attacks, and survive some specific SE attacks. A physically bulky version, one that always survives a Jolly Choice Band Mamoswine's Ice Shard, 128 HP / 24 Atk / 232 Def / 124 Speed EVs with an Adamant nature yields a stat spread of 389 HP / 332 Atk / 284 Def / 176 SpAtk / 206 SpDef / 271 Speed. This will outspeed standard ScarfCross, while also providing the team with a dependable defensive stallwart. SDLuke, with 350 Attack, one Swords Dance, and holding a Life Orb, only has a 75% chance of 2HKOing Garchomp with Extremespeed. However, the real interesting feature of this spread is how it takes advantage of Garchomp's ability, Sand Veil, as well. The chance to hit Garchomp twice with Sand Veil activated is 64%, meaning wit a 75% chance to 2HKO Garchomp, the "real" percentage, is 64% * 75%, OR 48%, meaning that on average, Garchomp gives the team a check against one of the most fearsome physical attackers in the metagame, SDLuke. DDGyarados also has to run a very offensive set, as in Attack above 363, to OHKO this Garchomp, as a Dragon Dance Ice Fang from 363 Attack only does 388 damage on average to Garchomp.

If sacrificing so much Speed isn't desired, but a little extra bulkiness is, running 176 HP / 48 Atk / 240 Speed / 44 SpDef EVs with an Adamant nature, for 401 HP / 338 Atk / 226 Def / 176 SpAtk / 217 SpDef / 300 Speed, is also an option. This allows Garchomp to always outspeed Adamant Salamence after it has one Dragon Dance, while also allowing Garchomp to always survive a non-STAB Ice Beam from 269 Special Attack, the standard Special Attack used to ensure a OHKO on the standard 4 HP / 0 SpDef Garchomp.

Offensive Combinations

ScarfChomp finds itself unable to 2HKO Cresselia, Deoxys-D, Bronzong, Hippowdon, Gliscor, Donphan, Celebi, Shaymin, Slowbro, Manaphy, Gyarados, Suicune, Shuckle, Cloyster, Weezing, Slaking, and really defensive Steelix / Regirock / Rhyperior / Dusknoir / Uxie / Umbreon / Miltank. Skarmory, Forretress, Leafeon and Tangrowth are also huge concerns, as ScarfChomp has to deviate from its high damage STAB attacks to "predict" and use Fire Blast to 2HKO them.

A MixTar, with Ice Beam, Fire Blast, and Crunch helps ScarfChomp with many of its issues. A Substitute, Leech Seed, Seed Flare, Hidden Power Fire Shaymin will beat all of ScarfChomp's issues excluding Celebi / Shaymin, who take high damage from Hidden Power Fire. A Taunt, Overheat, Hidden Power Grass Life Orb Heatran will handle all the threats besides a Manaphy that can OHKO Heatran, and some Suicune. A Nasty Plot, Overheat, Hidden Power Grass, Life Orb Houndoom has a chance to OHKO all the above threats, especially with Stealth Rock support. Gengar, with Shadow Ball, Focus Blast, Thunderbolt, Hidden Power Ice and Expert Belt can 2HKO all of ScarfChomp's issues, besides Bronzong and Shuckle. MixApe, with Nasty Plot, Fire Blast, Grass Knot and Close Combat, really only has issues with being Thunder Waved from Cresselia / Uxie or being Encored from Shuckle, and not doing significant damage to the light Manaphy. Explosion Azelf / Metagross can use SE attacks to hurt the majority of that list, and then use Explosion on those Pokemon that give them issues.

Strategic Combinations

The most obvious strategic combination is having Garchomp complemented by Sand, most easily accomplished by adding either Tyranitar or Hippowdon to the team. Reducing Ice Beam's or Ice Shard's 100% chance to hit Garchomp to 80% really displays its merits in the long run, when in 1 out of every 5 battles Garchomp is given an extra turn to wreak havoc on the opposing team. Toxic Spikes also significantly bother ScarfChomp, as it will look to come in late game and take 6 or 7 turns to sweep the opposing team, and if it is badly Poisoned, even if it is only hit by minor attacks, Garchomp will go from having the potential to attack 6 or 7 times to only being able to attack 3 or 4 times, so having a Rapid Spinner or grounded Poison Pokemon on the team is an advantage.

Since Garchomp will frequently find itself being attacked by Ice Beam (Cresselia / Suicune), Ice Shard (Mamoswine / Weavile), Grass Knot / Seed Flare (Celebi / Shaymin) and Ice Fang (Gyarados), a Hidden Power Electric Choice Scarf Heatran is an interesting complement, as it takes Ice / Grass attacks at 25% and can hit the common Pokemon back with powerful SE attacks.

Since ScarfChomp's primary "purpose" is to sweep late game, an interesting strategy is to make ScarfChomp the sixth Pokemon on Stall teams. Most Stall teams have issues with Mixmence, Mixape and SDLuke, all of which can be dealt with by ScarfChomp. Not just that, but the Stealth Rock, Spikes, Toxic Spikes and general residual damage that Stall teams force on the opposition help turn many of ScarfChomp's 3HKOs and 2HKOes in 2HKOes and OHKOes.

Set Counters

Cresselia, Bronzong, Hippowdon, Gliscor, Donphan, Celebi, Shaymin, Slowbro, Manaphy, Gyarados, Suicune, Cloyster, Weezing, Slaking, and really defensive Dusknoir can take a hit from ScarfChomp and respond with Ice Beam, Ice Fang or Hidden Power Ice. As long as Skarmory, Tangrowth and Forretress do not switch into Fire Blast, they take minimal damage from all of Garchomp's other attacks and can KO Garchomp before it KOes them back.

ScarfChomp itself, Mamoswine, Weavile, Deoxys-S (with 500 Speed), a Speed Boost Life Orb Hidden Power Yanmega coming in on Earthquake and really defensive Ice Punch Choice Band Snorlax can all revenge kill ScarfChomp with few problems.

Set - YacheChomp

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Does a set with simply one difference, the item, truly deserve an entirely different section? In almost every case, the answer would be no. However, Yache Berry Swords Garchomp serves a different purpose, and can be such a gamebreaking that it deserves its own section. The moves are chosen for powerful STAB and coverage, and Fire Fang is chosen over Fire Blast because it does more to Skarmory after the Swords Dance.

This set differentiates itself in the sense that it does not require early game scouting to be able to set up. Garchomp simply needs to switch into a Pokemon that will not do significant damage to it, Swords Dance, take the next Ice attack at half damage and then sweep the opposition. Since Garchomp is so bulky, the only attacks it really fears are Dragon attacks (such as Outrage from ScarfChomp or Draco Meteor from ScarfMence), and Destiny Bond and Explosion from faster Pokemon, such as Gengar (Destiny Bond) or Metagross (Choice Scarf Explosion).

Other Options

Outrage can be dropped for Stone Edge if hitting bulky Zapdos and bulky Gyarados is pressing concern. Dragon Claw also becomes a viable option on this set, because Yache Berry allows for one "free" turn.

Offensive Combinations

Because SD Garchomp really has no true "counters," what really concerns is the concept of revenge killers. SD Garchomp's complementing Pokemon should be those that can deal with the non Ice attacking revenge killers, like ScarfChomp, or Pokemon with Explosion / Destiny Bond. Pokemon such as Tyranitar, Blissey, Heatran and Metagross all tend to lure out ScarfChomp, and throwing an Ice attack on them and makng them defensively bulky will assist SD Garchomp greatly.

Deoxys-S is actually a perfect complement to SD Chomp, as it deals with the two most common Ice Sharders, Mamoswine and Weavile, with Superpower, deals with Gengar / Azelf / Starmie, and is faster than ScarfChomp.

There are few uncommon threats that can stand up to SD Garchomp, such as 252 HP / 168 Def Choice Band Snorlax with Selfdestruct, who is never OHKOed by a Jolly Swords Dance Outrage and always OHKOes back with Selfdestruct. Choice Scarf Gyarados can be EVed to always survive a Swords Dance Stone Edge from Garchomp (after the Intimidate), and always 2HKO with Ice Fang. Choice Band Heracross can deal with both, but requires predicting with the Gyarados switching in.

Strategic Combinations

The trick with successfully sweeping with YacheChomp is weakening one of the opponent's Pokemon that has Ice Beam, so that it can OHKO that Pokemon later and then take an Ice attack from another Pokemon without too much harm due to its own Yache Berry. This often means luring out these common Pokemon, such as Cresselia, Blissey or Suicune. This can be done easily by using a Dragon Dance Salamence; just Dragon Dance on turn one, Dragon Claw the opposition until it is below 50% so that when Garchomp comes out, it can KO the weakened counter, and perhaps survive a Mamoswine or Weavile Ice Shard.

A Rapid Spinner to remove Toxic Spikes and a Sandstream Pokemon are, again, optimal complements for Garchomp, as both increase its survivability quite a bit.

Set Counters

Again, there are few counters by the standard definition of counter. However, certain Pokemon can be EVed specifically to deal with this omnipresent threat. Choice Band Snorlax with 252 HP / 168 Def can always survive a Swords Dance Outrage and OHKO with Selfdestruct. A 216 HP / 16 Atk / 96 Def / 180 Speed Adamant Choice Scarf Gyarados will defeat YacheChomp the majority of the time. The standard Garchomp counters, such as Bronzong, Cresselia and Suicune do not apply as they will frequently switch in on a Swords Dance, and then only deal about 40% with a Yache Berry reduced Ice Beam, and be subsequently 2HKOed by Garchomp. However, both Cresselia and Suicune can run Choice Scarf versions in order to defeat Yache Chomp one on one. Suicune would need 116 Def / 216 SpAtk / 176 Speed Bold to always survive a Swords Dance Outrage and always 2HKO Yache Chomp, and Cresselia would need 56 Def / 252 SpAtk / 200 Speed Bold to always survive a Swords Dance Outrage and always 2HKO Yache Chomp.

Deoxys-S can run Choice Specs and a +SpAtk nature in order to OHKO Yache Chomp 54% of the time (factoring in clean OHKO odds, accuracy and Sand Veil) with Psycho Boost.

Set - SDChomp

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This set tends to see a rise in usage when Stall teams begin to take over the metagame. It's purpose is very simple: Swords Dance, and proceed to OHKO the majority of the metagame. Outrage and Earthquake are there for STAB, and Fire Fang is there for coverage for Skarmory, Forretress and Bronzong. Fire Fang is chosen over Fire Blast as a Swords Dance Fire Fang is sometimes a OHKO to Forretress and Bronzong, and its ability to Flinch Skarmory is very useful.

Just an example of how massive the damage this can deal is, take Gliscor, one of the most common physical walls. A Swords Dance Outrage will OHKO 252 HP / 252 Def Impish Glicor 28% of the time, 100% of the time with Stealth Rock down. Weezing, Dusknoir, Celebi and Slowbro are all potentially OHKOed by a Swords Dance Outrage.

Other Options

Running Adamant is an option to consider, as it dramatically increases the chance to OHKO Celebi, Gliscor and Slowbro, and it also moves the chance to OHKO Cresselia / Hippowdon with Stealth Rock down into more respectable 40% ranges. If locking Garchomp into Outrage is undesirable for Pokemon such as Gyarados or BulkyMence, for fear of the switch to a Steel, having Stone Edge over Fire Fang is a possibility, just make sure that Bronzong, Skarmory and Forretress are dealt with somehow, such as with Magnezone.

Offensive Combinations

Since only Cresselia and Hippowdon really have a practical chance of not being OHKOed by Garchomp, the Pokemon that truly complement this Garchomp are those that can deal with Pokemon faster that are capable of OHKOing Garchomp, such as Gengar / Azelf with Hidden Power Ice, Starmie with Ice Beam, ScarfChomp and Weavile. Therefore, Deoxys-S, with Superpower, Ice Beam and Shadow Ball is an ideal partner.

SubSeed Breloom can work great against Cresselia and Hippowdon, but against the faster Pokemon that beat Garchomp, Breloom as to make sure it has its Substitute set up first. Snorlax can handle the special threats, though against Ice Sharders such as Mamoswine and Weavile it needs to be careful, preferably setting up at least one Curse before they attack him. Heatran, especially with Choice Scarf, can handle most of Garchomp's issues, and even Starmie does not enjoy switching into a 394 Special Attack STAB Fire Bast.

Weavile can handle Cresselia and Hippowdon, and also beat Gengar, Azelf, Starmie, ScarfChomp and other Weavile, but it needs to run Ice Shard, Brick Break, Night Slash and Ice Punch to do all of that, and will not like the Thunder Wave from Cresselia or the Earthquake from Hippowdon.

Strategic Combinations

Since Garchomp needs to get a Swords Dance out and it will frequently not have te opportunity to switch in as easily in game, a Pokemon with Encore can sufficiently help out Garchomp. Since Garchomp has Sand Veil and will frequently have permanent Sand to help him, Shuckle is a great complement. Shuckle gets a Special Defensive boost in Sand and can take all Ice attacks directed towards Garchomp, while also being able to set up Stealth Rock (that ensures the OHKO or 2HKO of many Pokemon) and being able to Encore the opponent, to allow Garchomp to switch in more efficiently.

Since this Garchomp is a stall breaker and since it really only has issues with Pokemon faster than it with Ice moves, the primary concern should be ridding the opposition of those Pokemon. A lure Pokemon like Salamence, who will draw them out, especially if it is a Dragon Dance Salamence, is an interesting potential partner. It will draw out the counters to Garchomp, and then sufficiently weaken them for Garchomp to come in. Lucario also tends to lure those use, and with Choice Specs, Lucario can do significant damage to them on the switch.

Obviously with Life Orb taking 10% health each turn, this Garchomp especially does not like Toxic Spikes. Having a Poison Pokemon or Rapid Spin Pokemon would greatly help increase Garchomp's number of turns for potential sweeping.

Set Counters

There are no counters to this Garchomp set, at least in the traditional definition. Skarmory takes +50% from a Life Orb Swords Dance Fire Fang, and Hippowdon / Cresselia are potentially OHKOed by Life Orb Swords Dance Outrage. The best way to deal with this Garchomp is to have a faster Pokemon with an Ice or Dragon attack. Azelf, Gengar, Starmie, Mamoswine and Weavile can all efficiently OHKO Garchomp with their respective Ice attacks.

Slapping a Choice Scarf on Pokemon not able to reach 333 Speed or not possessing Ice Shard is also a possibility, and optimal recipients are Heatran (Hidden Power Ice), Gallade (Ice Punch), Metagross (Ice Punch), Zapdos (Hidden Power Ice) and Milotic (Ice Beam).

Set - BandChomp

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This set is meant to wreak sheer, immediate havoc on the opponent's team. Hippowdon and Cresselia, even if both are running 252 HP / 252 Def +Def nature, are 2HKOed by Outrage the majority of the time simply with Stealth Rock and Sandstorm in play. Fire Blast is chosen over Fire Fang because it does more damage to Skarmory and Forretress, and Celebi should be hit by Outrage anyway.

Earthquake is chosen both for its STAB and power and for its great coverage with Dragon and Fire attacks, as the Pokemon that walled it with just Dragon and Fire, Empoleon, Heatran and Tentacruel, are now always OHKOed by Earthquake.

Dragon Claw is chosen in the last slot over Toxic simply becuase being trapped in Outrage is not always optimal, and the Pokemon that Toxic would cripple, Hippowdon, Cresselia, Slowbro and Gliscor, are all 2HKOed by Outrage anyway.

Other Options

Stone Edge once again is a possibility over Dragon Claw, as Gyarados will forever remain Garchomp's nemesis. This Choice Band set also allows Dragon Rush to be a seriously viable alternate, as Dragon Claw and Outrage can be replaced for the flinching potential of Dragon Rush, and Stone Edge can be added to take care of Gyarados. If Dragon Rush is chosen, switching the nature to Jolly is recommended just to more often take advantage of the potential flinch.

Even without Dragon Rush, however, Jolly is a viable alternative. Reaching 333 Speed should be considered to outspeed +nature Lucario, Roserade, Porygon-Z, Electivire, Houndoom, Salamence, Jirachi and Celebi.

Fire Fang, though doing less overall damage to Skarmory and Forretress, can be chosen if potentially 2HKOing Bronzong is wished, since Fire Blast will often only 3HKO Bronzong.

Offensive Combinations

CB Chomp is a phenomenal wall-breaker. A Pokemon with slightly weaker offensive stats and high Speed that wants to sweep late game should make CBChomp its partner. Life Orb Aerodactyl, Deoxys-S, Weavile and Dugtrio all benefit from CB Chomp's huge attacks.

Because Garchomp will be eliminating a lot of common physical walls, the Dragon Dancers like Gyarados and Salamence greatly benefit from Suicune, Cresselia or Hippowdon being weakened to sub 50% health levels. Since Hippowdon, Cresselia and Gliscor will be weakened, SDLuke has the opportunity to not run Crunch or HP Ice, and focus on Bullet Punch to take care of revenge killing Gengar and Aerodactyl.

Strategic Combinations

Since Garchomp will 2HKO every Pokemon in the standard metagame if it chooses the right move, the only thing Garchomp has to worry about is faster Pokemon, especially since it runs an Adamant nature. Spreading Paralysis around, through Jirachi, Togekiss or Slowbro would help Garchomp greatly. Faster Choice Scarfers, such as Gengar, Azelf and Dugtrio can help to eliminate the non-Scarf versions that would come in and beat Garchomp, and also outspeed Deoxys-S, who can come in while Garchomp is locked in Outrage and OHKO with Ice Beam.

Because Steel Pokemon will frequently switch into Garchomp (such as Bronzong and Skarmory), Magnezone and its Magnet Pull ability can significantly assist.

Set Counters

Countering a Choice Band set is all about prediction. If Garchomp is going to use Earthquake, bring in Ice Beam Cresselia or Ice Fang Gyarados. If an Outrage is predicted, bring in Bronzong or Ice Punch Metagross. Coincidentally, the only Pokemon that is not 2HKOed by CBChomp is an extremely defensive Bronzong, which has a chance to 2HKO Garchomp with Hidden Power Ice.

Common revenge killers include anything faster than 333 Speed with an Ice move, such as Hidden Power Ice Gengar / Infernape / Azelf, Ice Beam Starmie or Ice Fang Aerodactyl. Deoxys-S can also come in and easily revenge kill Garchomp with Ice Beam.

Set - MixChomp

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Designed early in the DP metagame, this set's purpose is to surprise Hippowdon and Gliscor, and maintain physical sweeping potential by Swords Dancing in the late game. Draco Meteor will 2HKO 252 HP / 4 SpDe neutral nature Hippowdon and Gliscor everytime. Fire Blast is OHKO on all standard Skarmory and Forretress, and 2HKO on Bronzong the majority of the time. Swords Dance + Earthquake allows Garchomp to complete its coverage and also not be walling by special walls.

What makes the set especially effective is how teams are so physically defensive due to the fear of Yache Chomp. After one Swords Dance, the opponent will, for the rest of the battle, be nearly guaranteed to switch to a physical wall like Hippowdon, Celebi or Slowbro. After the first time Garchomp is sent it out, it can Draco Meteor the next time and effectively remove the opponent's physical wall, opening the door for another physical Pokemon to sweep late game, or for Garchomp to sweep with Swords Dance + Earthquake.

Other Options

This set is as it is, and really has no other options. It requires the +SpAtk nature to ensure a 2HKO on most standard Celebi, and it requires at least 300 Speed to lose to Salamence. The moves are essential as well, as Fire Fang is not recommended due to Fire Blast's ability to OHKO Skarmory.

Offensive Combinations

This set really has issues with Cresselia, specially defensive Dragon Dance Gyarados, specially defensive Celebi (switching in on a Draco Meteor) and physically defensive Regice. A Swords Dance Heracross can OHKO all of them, and only fears a 295+ Speed Celebi using Psychic against it, which is excessively rare. Even a Choice Scarf Heracross is fine, albeit with good prediction. Tyranitar can also handle all those threats, though it will have to be slightly defensive to survive an offensive Gyarados' Waterfall

MixChomp also will not KO Suicune, Milotic, Vaporeon, Gastrodon, or Slowking with a Draco Meteor + Earthquake combination, so something like Shaymin or Celebi can help assist MixChomp there (and also help with the Cresselia and Gyarados issues).

Strategic Combinations

As usual, Sandstorm helps Garchomp a lot due to the activation of Sand Veil, and a Rapid Spinner / Poison Pokemon complements Garchomp well by removing Toxic Spikes from the field.

Since Lucario tends to lure out Cresselia, Gyarados, Celebi and Suicune, a Swords Dance Crunch Stone Edge Close Combat set would be a nice way to remove Garchomp's threats before can stop it. Other potential lures include Gyarados, who can run a Choice Band set to deal some significant "on the switch" damage to MixChomp's counter Pokemon, Tyranitar, who lure out bulky Waters and proceed to Substitute + Thunderbolt them, and Metagross, who can lure out bulky Waters, Cresselia, Gyarados and Celebi and use whatever SE attacks or Explosion to remove them from the equation.

Set Counters

Cresselia, Regice, Gyarados, and bulky Waters, especially those with some special defense like Suicune, Milotic and Slowking, all can take a Draco Meteor on the switch, not be KOed by the following Earthquake, and OHKO back with Ice Beam (or in Gyarados' case, Ice Fang).

The normal revenge killers work for eliminating MixChomp, as Gengar / Azelf can OHKO with Hidden Power Ice, Starmie can OHKO with Ice Beam and Weavile / Mamoswine can OHKO with Ice Shard.

Set - SubSalacChomp

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This set's purpose is to take advantage of Sand Veil by continually using Substitute and hoping for an eventual Sand Veil miss, Swords Dancing, and then having Salac Berry activate with the last substitute, so Garchomp effectively has +2 in Attack and +1 in Speed, with no Choice to limit it.

Since Sand Veil makes Garchomp's evasion 80%, it has a 40.96% chance of avoiding an attack if it uses Substitute four times in Sand. This means that, on average, Garchomp will avoid an attack, get a Swords Dance off, and activate Salac Berry.

Other Options

Running a Jolly nature, to always have at least a Speed tie with Jolly ScarfChomp and outspeed most Deoxys-S (since they rarely run a +Speed nature and 236 Speed EVs), is a viable choice. It would also allow Garchomp to outspeed all ScarfPorygon-Z, Modest ScarfGengar and ScarfAzelf.

Outrage is an option to consider over Dragon Claw, as it can net a OHKO on threats like BulkyGyarados and Milotic / Vaporeon.

Fire Fang should also be considered, as Skarmory, Forretress and Bronzong all wall this set, and a Swords Dance + Fire Fang would remove that. If Fire Fang is preferred and Earthquake is the move chosen to be dropped, Dragon Claw is recommended to be replaced by Outrage, to give Garchomp a much more powerful attack to more effectively sweep.

Another option is to replace Salac Berry with Brightpowder to emphasize the evasion aspect while sacrificing the Speed boost. With Brightpowder and Sand Veil activated, Garchomp's evasion rises to 72%, meaning Garchomp avoids an attack almost once every 2 Substitutes (51.84% chance to evade one attack out of two), and it has a 26.87% overall chance of avoiding an attack after four Substitutes. This looks to achieve both a Swords Dance and get safely behind a Substitute in order to avoid revenge killers such as Mamoswine, and be able to 2HKO threats such as Hippowdon, Cresselia and Gliscor without the respective Ice attack to worry about.

Offensive Combinations

Since Skarmory / Bronzong / Forretress completely wall the non Fire Fang set, Magnezone would do well to eliminate those threats. Hippowdon, Cresselia and Gliscor can also annoy if Sand Veil does not activate propitiously, so an Ice Beam Tyranitar could be nice to eliminate those threats. Suicune and Slowbro can also stand up to this set, so Grass Pokemon like Celebi, Shaymin and Ludicolo also serve as ideal complements, especially since they deal with Hippowdon, Cresselia and Gliscor as well.

If Garchomp has Fire Fang, it drops either Earthquake or Dragon Claw. If it drops Dragon Claw, Flying Pokemon such as Gyarados, Salamence and Zapdos wall it, so a Calm Mind Cresselia with Ice Beam or a Curse Swampert with Stone Edge can help Garchomp offensively.

If it decides to drop Earthquake, it is walled by Heatran, Empoleon, Regirock, Registeel and Steelix, and bulky Waters can stand up to it more efficiently. To counter this, a MixMence with Earthquake is a great complement, as it will KO Heatran / Empoleon with Draco Meteor + Earthquake, KO most bulky Waters with 2 Draco Meteors and KO Steelix with Fire Blast. Gengar with Life Orb and Thunderbolt and Focus Blast can also take care of most of those threats. Jolly Choice Band Heracross can OHKO or 2HKO all those threats, and only fear a Choice Scarf Heatran hitting it back in return.

Strategic Combinations

Obviously this depends on having constant Sand out, so having both Sandstreamers, Tyranitar and Hippowdon, on the team would be a huge advantage, especially in case one falls in the early game.

Since this is a Substituting Pokemon, Toxic Spikes affect it more than the other sets, so a Poison Pokemon to absorb the Toxic Spikes or a Rapid Spinner to spin them away is also a huge benefit.

Any offensive Pokemon can use Stealth Rock, since it effectively eliminates the threat of Focus Sash and it allows many 2HKOes to turn into OHKOes. However, this is even more true for SD Garchomp. With Stealth Rock, Garchomp can OHKO all but the bulkiest of Gyarados after a Swords Dance; it makes a Swords Dance Earthquake a guaranteed OHKO against the bulkiest of Starmie, and it allows Garchomp to 2HKO the bulkiest of Cresselia with Dragon Claw.

Set Counters

The most dependable way to take care of this Garchomp is removing Sand from the field, via Abomasnow and Snow Warning or any Pokemon with Sunny Day / Rain Dance. However, these two options tend to centralize teams a bit too much, and might not be completely desirable.

What this Garchomp does is essentially force the opposition to carry two Pokemon to take care of it, as one will most likely be screwed by Sand Veil, since on average the Salac set will have an attack miss it in four turns. Hippowdon, Gliscor, Cresselia, Donphan, Suicune, Slowbro and Gyarados are all decent options to take care of it, and then any Choice Scarfer faster than 333 without the Choice Scarf and with an Ice attack or Mamoswine / Weavile with Ice Shard can come in for the revenge kill.

For the sets without Fire Fang (though this is certainly not a common occurence), Skarmory, Forretress and Bronzong all deal with Garchomp nicely.

For the sets without Dragon Claw, most bulky Flying Pokemon, such as Gyarados, Salamence and Zapdos deal with Garchomp effectively.

For the sets without Earthquake, Heatran, Empoleon, Regirock, Steelix and bulky Waters tend to be decent checks.

Set - RestTalkChomp

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RestTalkChomp is designed to absorb status and sweep at the same time. Outrage is resisted only by Steels, but even they are hard pressed to take a +6 boosted Outrage from Garchomp. The EVs have very specific purposes, as well.

300 Speed is reached to outspeed all neutral natured Base 100 Pokemon, like Salamence and Zapdos. 401 HP and 276 Defense is reached to survive the strongest Ice Shard in the game, an Adamant CB Mamoswine's Ice Shard, on average. This will also easily survive a Choice Scarf Metagross Ice Punch, and even Gyarados needs to be very offensive and have a Dragon Dance to OHKO this Garchomp with Ice Fang. In fact, Adamant Gyarados with 176 Atk EVs, reaching 363 Attack, will NOT OHKO this Garchomp after one Dragon Dance on average.

The real beauty of this set is that when Sleep Talk chooses Outrage, Garchomp is not stuck...meaning it can fire off a huge attack and not feel any repurcussions. However, ShoddyBattle currently keeps Garchomp stuck in Outrage when picked by Sleep Talk, so be aware that Garchomp doesn't have that advantage on a simulator, yet anyway.

Other Options

The other options really have to do with the EVs. Garchomp can choose to run 164 Speed EVs in order to reach 309 and outspeed 306 Pokemon and those with +Natures that gain the bonus point at 307 (to reach 308).

To reach more specially bulky EVs, Garchomp can run 224 HP / 64 Def / 88 SpDef / 132 Speed, to reach 413 HP/ 242 Def / 228 SpDef / 300 Speed. This allows Garchomp to survive a Jolly CB Mamoswine's Ice Shard on average and always survive a Modest ScarfGengar's Hidden Power Ice. What this means, of course, is that Garchomp can be stuck in Outrage, and survive a Hidden Power Ice from Pokemon such as Gengar, Azelf or Magnezone, and proceed to KO back (in Magnezone's case, Outrage does 2HKOes the 4 HP variant with Leftovers 88% of the time).

Offensive Combinations

Since Steels resist Outrage, any Pokemon that can take care of Steels is a great offensive complement. Magnezone can easily remove Skarmory, Forretress and Bronzong from the equation, and can deal with Metagross so long as it is faster and has Magnet Rise. For Heatran, other Metagross, and Jirachi, Calm Mind Suicune, Dragon Dance Salamence and Dragon Dance Gyarados all provide effective support.

Dugtrio can also take care of the Steels that Magnezone has issue with, and Dugtrio + Magnezone actually complement this Garchomp perfectly. Once all the opponent's Steels are gone, he will have to focus on revenge killing methods to take care of Garchomp, and this Garchomp is specifically built to survive one of those methods.

Choice Band Metagross with Explosion and Choice Band Snorlax with Selfdestruct also provide a nice complement, as they frequently lure these Steels in, and can OHKO most of them with the super powered self sacrifice attack, paving the way for Garchomp to sweep.

Strategic Combinations

As usual, Sand Veil is the easiest and most obvious trait of Garchomp's that an assisting Pokemon can exploit, so the Sandstream Pokemon, Tyranitar and Hippowdon are optimal choices.

A lot of the "strategy" behind this Garchomp is removing its threats and using the Dragon typing's advantage of being unresisted by 16 types effectively. This Garchomp, therefore, does exceptionally well on U-turn teams with Magnezone, Dugtrio and Wobbuffet.

Set Counters

Most of the normal Garchomp counters and revenge killers aren't exactly optimal for this Garchomp set, as Garchomp is capable of surviving most of those Ice attacks and responding with a OHKO on the frailer, faster Pokemon and a 2HKO on the slower, bulkier Pokemon.

This would mean that the typical "2 Pokemon to deal with Chomp" strategy could be attempted, or something clever can be done: use Choice Scarf. By slapping a Choice Scarf on Pokemon like Metagross, Heatran, Suicune or Jirachi, Garchomp can be dealth with pretty easily. Switch in on the Swords Dance, throw the SE Ice attack, take the Outrage, and then finish off the stuck Chomp with the surprise Speed. Obviously reached 333 Speed (just in case) is a necessity.

Set - BulkyChomp

[ Information | Other Options | Offensive Combos | Strategic Combos | Set Counters ]

Garchomp is known primarily for its impressive offensive prowess, and subsequently its auspicious defensive potential is often overlooked. Garchomp's 108 HP / 95 Def / 85 SpDef is actually bulkier on average than Swampert. Garchomp comfortably sets up Stealth Rock, and the Steel that switches in, be it Skarmory, Forretress or Bronzong, is then Fire Blasted.

413 HP / 275 Def allows Garchomp to not be OHKOed on average by an Adamant CBMamoswine's Ice Shard (only 33% of the time). 413 HP / 213 SpDef allows Garchomp to not be OHKOed on average by a Modest Gengar's Hidden Power Ice (again, only 33% of the time). 280 Speed is reached to outspeed the neutral natured base 85 Speed Pokemon, like Heracross and Suicune, and base 90 Speed Pokemon, like Lucario.

The fourth slot is a matter of choice; Toxic helps Garchomp more efficiently beat Hippowdon, Gliscor and Gyarados (on the switch), and Dragon Claw lets it hit other Dragons for SE damage. Be careful with Dragon Claw, however, as Garchomp will be slower than most standard Dragon Pokemon at 280 Speed.

The lower Speed on Garchomp, and consequently the lowering of the ability to beat Salamence, is not an issue for this Garchomp, as it tends to round out Hail teams quite nicely, and those teams are chalk full of methods for defeating Salamence / Garchomp.

Other Options

Depending on personal preference, Garchomp can lower or raise its Speed to whatever levels it wishes. If those 33% KOes are desired to be made into 0% KOes, 240 HP / 164 Def / 88 SpDef / 16 Speed EVs with Impish nature, for 417 HP / 293 Def / 228 SpDef / 244 Speed allows Garchomp to never be OHKOed by an Adamant Mamoswine's Ice Shard and never be OHKOed by a non-boosted Modest Gengar's Hidden Power Ice, while still reaching enough Speed to outspeed Jolly Tyranitar.

Outrage is NOT recommended on this set, as the negative effect of being locked into Outrage is too much for a risk for this set, as its purpose is to be a dependably bulky Pokemon.

Offensive Combinations

This will look to lay down Stealth Rock for its team mates, use Toxic to slowly weaken the opponent and use its reputation to lure Skarmory / Forretress out in order to weaken them for another sweeper on the team. This Garchomp itself complements any Pokemon direly begging for Stealth Rock to be put in play and Hippowdon to be hit with Toxic or Skarmory to be hit with Fire Blast. Obvious choices are SDLuke, Dragon Dance Salamence, Choice Band Gyarados, and Nasty Plot Azelf.

Strategic Combinations

Since this doesn't hit particularly hard, it doesn't have a stat boosting move and it doesn't have too impressive Speed, this set is not going to be sweeping the opposition. It's purpose is to use Garchomp's credibility as an offensive threat to force a switch and freely lay down Stealth Rock, and also use its Fire / Rock resists and Electric immunity to round out a team.

The trio of Tentacruel + Skarmory + Garchomp cover each other very well, and lay the groundwork for a stall based team as well, as they provide Toxic Spikes. Rapid Spin, Toxic Spikes absorbing, Spikes, PHazing, Stealth Rock and Toxic all in 3 Pokemon. Garchomp's high Speed also prevents Lucario from doing its role as a stall breaker, and Garchomp's bulk prevents Infernape from working its own magic against stall.

Set Counters

Weezing has its way with this Garchomp set, as only Dragon Claw really hits it hard, and that is from a much weaker Garchomp Attack stat. Bulky Water Pokemon generally can handle this set, but do not like getting Toxiced at all, so something like a Rest Sleep Talk Ice Beam Milotic or Calm Mind Rest Sleep Talk Surf Suicune would be more optimal counters. CurseLax can effectively set up on this Garchomp set, especially since Earthquake is not as powerful as normal.