Garchomp - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle

Garchomp Movesets in Other Games
SV	SWSH

This is a strategy guide for using Garchomp in competitive play for the games Pokemon Sword and Shield. Read on for tips on the best Nature, EV spreads, Movesets, and Held Items to use with Garchomp, as well as its strengths and weak points.

Garchomp - Related Guides
Evolution and Learnset	Build for Ranked Battle

Basic Information for Garchomp

Types and Abilities

Pokemon	Type 1	Type 2
Garchomp
Abilities
Sand Veil	Boosts the Pokemon's evasion in a sandstorm.
Rough Skin	Inflicts damage to the attacker on contact.

Garchomp Weaknesses and Resistances

	Type
Takes 4x damage
Takes 2x damage
Takes 0.5x damage
Takes 1/4x damage	-
Takes 0x damage

What is Type Effectiveness?

Base Stats

HP	Attack	Defense	Sp. Atk	Sp. Def	Speed
108	130	95	80	85	102

Best Nature for Garchomp

Best Natures
Jolly (+Spd, -Sp.Atk)	Naive (+Spd, -Sp.Def)

What are Natures?

Singles Movesets for Garchomp

Choice Scarf Revenge Killer Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Jolly(+Spd, -Sp.Atk)
EV Spread	Atk 252 / Def 4 / Spd 252
Final Stat Values	HP 183 / Atk 182 / Def 116 / Sp.Def 105 / Spd 169
Ability	Rough Skin
Held Item	Choice Scarf
Moveset	・Outrage ・Earthquake ・Stone Edge ・Fire Fang

Garchomp's unique speed tier makes it a great candidate for Choice Scarf, letting it function as a physical revenge killer.

About Garchomp's Moves

Outrage and Earthquake are Garchomp's main STAB moves, and can hit a plethora of common Pokemon in the metagame for good damage even without a boost. Stone Edge gives it great neutral coverage when paired with Earthquake, giving Garchomp the coveted "EdgeQuake" combo.

It's last move is Fire Fang, which is an important coverage move that ensures Garchomp can hit Steel and Grass Pokemon.

About Garchomp's EV Spread

We're using the standard EV spread here, with full investment on Speed and Attack so that Garchomp can hit fast and as hard as possible. We invest the remaining 4 EVs into Defense to round up Garchomp's respectable bulk.

About Garchomp's Ability

We're using Rough Skin for this build. Although it doesn't provide direct offensive bonus, it can break the opposing Pokemon's Focus Sash if they hit Garchomp with a contact move and allow the land shark to get a KO.

About Garchomp's Held Item

This build relies on Choice Scarf, boosting Garchomp's speed by 50% but restricts it to using only the initial move it used for the turn.

Other Viable Moves

Poison Jab	Allows Garchomp to hit Fairy-types.
Iron Head	Allows Garchomp to hit Fairy-types. Also has a good chance to cause flinching, which works well with Garchomp's naturally high speed.
Brick Break	Allows Garchomp to break Reflect and Light Screen set up by the opposing team.
Giga Impact	Should only be used during Dynamax as it becomes Max Strike, which lowers the opposing team's speed.

Swords Dance Sweeper Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Jolly(+Spd, -Sp.Atk)
EV Spread	Atk 252 / Def 4 / Spd 252
Final Stat Values	HP 183 / Atk 182 / Def 116 / Sp.Def 105 / Spd 169
Ability	Rough Skin
Held Item	Lum Berry Focus Sash Life Orb
Moveset	・Scale Shot ・Earthquake ・Fire Fang ・Swords Dance

Garchomp's flagship set is set to shake up the Sword and Shield Metagame. It's great Dual STAB moves and access to powerful moves make it a force to be reckoned with and is a Pokemon that all teams must be prepared to face up against!

About Garchomp's Moves

Swords Dance boosts Garchomp's already high attack stat to dangerous levels, allowing it to KO Pokemon that don't resist its STAB Earthquake.

Scale Shot hits 2 to 5 times, with each successful hit lowering Garchomp's defense by one stage but raising its speed by 1 stage. This makes Garchomp very difficult to outspeed, especially if the move does the maximum 5 hits.

It's last move is Fire Fang, which allows it to take out Steel and Grass-types.

About Garchomp's EV Spread

We're using the standard EV spread here, with full investment on Speed and Attack so that Garchomp can hit fast and as hard as possible. We invest the remaining 4 EVs into Defense to round up Garchomp's respectable bulk.

About Garchomp's Ability

We're using Rough Skin for this build. Although it doesn't provide direct offensive bonus, it can break the opposing Pokemon's Focus Sash if they hit Garchomp with a contact move and allow the land shark to get a KO.

About Garchomp's Held Item

Lum Berry protects Garchomp from burns from Will-O-Wisp while Focus Sash lets it set up Swords Dance even if it gets hit by a super effective move. Life Orb, on the other hand, further boosts the power of its moves at the cost of some residual damage.

Other Viable Moves

Outrage	A more powerful Dragon-type STAB but locks Garchomp for 2 to 3 turns.
Poison Jab	Allows Garchomp to hit Fairy-types.
Iron Head	Allows Garchomp to hit Fairy-types. Also has a good chance to cause flinching, which works well with Garchomp's naturally high speed.
Brick Break	Allows Garchomp to break Reflect and Light Screen set up by the opposing team.
Stone Edge	Allows Garchomp to hit Flying-types. Also becomes Max Rockfall when used in Dynamax, which sets up Sandstorm.
Giga Impact	Should only be used during Dynamax as it becomes Max Strike, which lowers the opposing team's speed.

Stealth Rock Lead Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Jolly(+Spd, -Sp.Atk)
EV Spread	Atk 252 / Def 4 / Spd 252
Final Stat Values	HP 183 / Atk 182 / Def 116 / Sp.Def 105 / Spd 169
Ability	Rough Skin
Held Item	Focus Sash
Moveset	・Outrage ・Earthquake ・Rock Tomb ・Stealth Rock

Garchomp can forgo a coverage move and set up Stealth Rock. It has an advantage over other Stealth Rock setters as few Pokemon will risk switching into Garchomp.

About Garchomp's Moves

Outrage and Earthquake are Garchomp's main STAB moves and both hit for a good amount of damage even without a boost due to its naturally high attack.

Rock Tomb lowers the opposing Pokemon's speed and is a good move to use on a predicted switch. It's last move is Stealth Rock, which provides great chip damage that helps Garchomp's teammates net KOs.

About Garchomp's EV Spread

We're using the standard EV spread here, with full investment on Speed and Attack so that Garchomp can hit fast and as hard as possible. We invest the remaining 4 EVs into Defense to round up Garchomp's respectable bulk.

About Garchomp's Ability

We're using Rough Skin for this build. Although it doesn't provide direct offensive bonus, it can break the opposing Pokemon's Focus Sash if they hit Garchomp with a contact move and allow the land shark to get a KO.

About Garchomp's Held Item

Focus Sash lets it set up Stealth Rock even if it gets hit by a super effective move that would otherwise KO it.

Other Viable Moves

Poison Jab	Allows Garchomp to hit Fairy-types.
Fire Fang	Allows Garchomp to hit Steel-types and Bulky Grass-types.

How to Use Garchomp Effectively

Capitalize on its Speed and Power

Garchomp's claim to fame is its great attacking stat and unique speed tier, which allows it to outrun many sweepers in the 100 base speed range. It's one of the reasons why the land shark, for the longest time, has been the quintessential revenge killer - performing the role effectively even without using Choice Scarf.

Get as much boosts from Swords Dance Boost

With one Swords Dance boost, Garchomp can KO and threaten a lot of Pokemon in the metagame. Even physically defensive titans such as Ferrothorn and Toxapex will find it hard to wall Garchomp once it's accumulated enough Swords Dance boosts.

How to Build a Team with Garchomp

Garchomp is easy to fit in almost any team and is a staple in Hyper Offense teams for both Singles and Doubles. If your team needs a powerful physical or mixed sweeper, Garchomp is always a good choice!

A Tricky Sweeper in Sand

Garchomp can potentially get as much as two Swords Dance boosts in Sandstorm thanks to its Sand Veil ability. Although it's not as fast as Excadrill under the same conditions, it has the potential to max out its attack and virtually KO everything that isn't resistant or immune to its STAB Ground and Dragon-type moves.

Counters for Garchomp

Weakness

Outspeed it with a Faster Pokemon

Despite its unique speed tier, there are Pokemon that can outspeed Garchomp and KO it before it can set up Swords Dance.

Best Pokemon to Use

Pokemon	Description
Dragapult	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Faster than Garchomp ・Can easily KO Garchomp with Outrage or Draco Meteor Moveset & Best Build for Dragapult
Starmie	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Faster than Garchomp ・Can easily KO Garchomp with Ice Beam Moveset & Best Build for Starmie

Wall it with a Defensive Pokemon

Garchomp is at its dangerous when it accumulates enough Swords Dance boosts. Despite this, there are defensive Pokemon that can wall it and get rid of its boosts using phasing moves or even outright ignore its boosts completely!

Best Pokemon to Use

Pokemon	Description
Hippowdon	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Boasts massive defenses and has reliable recovery in Slack Off ・Can phase Garchomp with Whirlwind Moveset & Best Build for Hippowdon
Quagsire	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Boasts great mixed bulk and has reliable recovery in Recover ・Its Unaware ability ignores Garchomp's Swords Dance boosts Moveset & Best Build for Quagsire
Clefable	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Boasts great mixed bulk and has reliable recovery in Moonlight and Wish ・Immune to Garchomp's Dragon-type moves ・Its Unaware ability ignores Garchomp's Swords Dance boosts Moveset & Best Build for Clefable
Porygon2	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Maximize durability with Eviolite. ・Able to one-shot Garchomp with Ice Beam. Moveset & Best Build for Porygon2
Celesteela	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Is very physically durable. ・Can resist Ground- and Dragon-type moves. ・Watch out for a Swords Dance-boosted Max Flare. Moveset & Best Build for Celesteela
Tapu Fini	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Has high physical durability. ・Able to one-shot Garchomp with Ice Beam. ・Misty Terrain halves any Dragon-type moves. Moveset & Best Build for Tapu Fini
Corviknight	Ranking: ★★★★ ・Resists Steel-type moves that Garchomp might use against Fairy-types. ・Be wary of Fire-type moves. Moveset & Best Build for Corviknight
Cresselia	Ranking: ★★★★ ・Has high durability and can receive and resist most of Garchomp's attacks. ・Can learn Ice Beam, but won't be able to defeat Garchomp in a single shot. Moveset & Best Build for Cresselia
Ferrothorn	Ranking: ★★★★ ・Has high physical durability. ・Be wary of Fire-type moves. Moveset & Best Build for Ferrothorn

Counter with Fairy or Ice-types

Attack its weak points with Fairy-type moves, or deal devestating blows with Ice-type moves which Garchomp has 4x weakness.

Best Pokemon to Use

Pokemon	Description
Mamoswine	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Has high Attack stat to aid in physical attacks. ・Can one-shot with Icicle Crash. Moveset & Best Build for Mamoswine
Alolan Ninetales	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Can one-shot with Blizzard. ・Can outspeed Garchomp, so it is possible to win the matchup when holding Focus Sash. Moveset & Best Build for Alolan Ninetales
Dragapult	Ranking: ★★★★ ・Can one-shot with Draco Meteor. Moveset & Best Build for Dragapult
Togekiss	Ranking: ★★★★ ・Unaffected by Ground- and Dragon-type moves. ・Fairy-type moves hit hard. ・Be careful of Rock-type moves. Moveset & Best Build for Togekiss
Mimikyu	Ranking: ★★★★ ・Fairy-type moves hit hard. ・Will have difficulty taking Garchomp down if its Defense is boosted by Max Steelspike. Moveset & Best Build for Mimikyu

Related Links

All Competitive Builds for Ranked Battle

Competitive Guides for Pokemon Sword and Shield

Competitive Pokemon Battle Guides
Tier List		Best Builds		Series 10 List of Contenders
Doubles Tier List		Team Building		Rental Teams

Best Builds for The Crown Tundra Pokemon

Movesets & Best Builds for The Crown Tundra Pokemon
Galarian Articuno	Galarian Zapdos	Galarian Moltres
Raikou	Entei	Suicune
Articuno	Zapdos	Moltres
Tornadus	Thundurus	Landorus
Tapu Koko	Tapu Lele	Tapu Bulu
Tapu Fini	Regieleki	Regidrago
Latios	Latias	Heatran
Cresselia	Glastrier	Spectrier
Nidoking	Swampert	Dragonite
Salamence	Garchomp	Metagross
Galarian Slowking	Nihilego	Naganadel
Pheromosa	Buzzwole	Celesteela
Kartana	Stakataka	Blaziken
Kyogre	Yveltal	Xerneas
Necrozma (Dusk Mane)	Calyrex (Shadow Rider)	Mewtwo
Calyrex (Ice Rider)	Dialga	Lugia
Black Kyurem	Zekrom	Ho-Oh
Rayquaza	Zygarde	Reshiram
White Kyurem	Groudon	Regirock
Palkia	Regigigas	Registeel
Regice	Giratina	Solgaleo
Lunala	Kyurem	Necrozma
Uxie	Mesprit	Azelf
Calyrex