garchomp potw

This posts focuses on the base form of Garchomp; its Mega Evolution will be covered in the future.

Garchomp has always been a great Pokemon to use. In the DPP, it was banned to Ubers for being too much for OU to handle. In Generation V, it was one of the best Pokemon to use in the metagame thanks to its versatility. Come Generation VI, and Garchomp still lives up to its name. Garchomp is a great Pokemon to use in the OU metagame thanks to its many positive traits. It has a high base 130 Attack, good bulk, an excellent Ground / Dragon typing, a great movepool, and an awesome Speed tier. All these traits combine into one versatile Pokemon that is capable of fulfilling both offensive and defensive roles.

Garchomp's most common set is its defensive Stealth Rock set. This set uses Garchomp's great physical bulk and typing in tandem with its ability, Rough Skin, to switch into many prominent physical attackers such as Mega Lopunny, Mega Metagross, and Bisharp. When holding a Rocky Helmet, any Pokemon that uses a contact moves takes 30% recoil damage. Because of its defensive utility, Tank Chomp is a great Stealth Rock setter and pivot for offensive teams. Its typing enables it to check Electric-types very well, as despite Garchomp's 4x weakness to Hidden Power Ice, it can be EVed to live one and retaliate back with a powerful Earthquake.

While Garchomp is best known for its defensive tank set, it is no slouch offensively, either. Its most common offensive set is its suicide lead set. This set aims to set up Stealth Rock as soon as possible, then punch holes into opposing teams with its powerful attacks. Should more defensive teams be troublesome for the Garchomp user, a Lum Berry in tandem with Swords Dance enables it to punch massive holes into the opposition. Alternatively, Garchomp is able to lure in common Steel-types such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Mega Scizor, so running Fire Blast can prove to be beneficial. Garchomp can even lure in Electric-types such as Choice Specs Raikou and Thundurus when holding a Yache Berry, as an HP Ice is incapable of OHKOing the Shark, despite its defenses being uninvested.

Overall, Garchomp is a prominent force in the metagame and every team should have an answer for it.

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