cosmicexplorer
pewpewpew
This isn't a discussion about its tiering, and both Nattorei and Skarmory can counter the choice sets, which are the most popular and arguably the most effective. Also, having no counters doesn't necessarily make it Uber.
Why would you ever even run Rough Skin?You have to realize that even if you don't carry Sand, most likely your opponent will and for that reason Sand Veil should always be used.It can win a game..As long as Doryuuzu remains in OU so will sand so Saind Veil should be the only choice of ability and is in fact the greatest asset Garchomp has over any Dragon...It may seem like i am exaggerating but i am not.This metagame will be dominated by sand and Garchomp is the only Dragon that can take advantage of it..When people stop using Doryuuzu and Tyranitar(like thats going to happen) then you run Rough Skin.BTW if Garchomp does invest its defenses to match Mixpert's, it's only 15-20% weaker than an Impish 252 / 252 Nattorei on the physical side, and about 5-10% weaker on the special side. Pretty impressive compared to 5th Gen's premier tank considering the same Garchomp outspeeds neutral heatran and has 298 ATK (and STAB Dragon Tail and Earthquake). Have been messing around with it on a stall-bulky offensive team, and it really screws teams over when combined with spikes.
Still annoyed that Rough Skin and SR are incompatible. :/
I actually knew that.The thing is that Sand Veil is,in my opinion, the thing that places Garchomp above all other Dragons.I understood he was going with a defensive set but even then i think Sand Veil is a better option since the dominace of sand.A defensive set would benefit more with Sand Veil considering that Garchomp can't heal himself and in sand is an instant plus one evasion..That is no gimick, that is a chance to stop any sweeper conbined with Dragon Tail.He explained why he'd want to use Rough Skin over Sand Veil in his post. When combined with other residual damage like Spikes, it does a good deal of damage. Keep in mind that his idea was for a more defensive Garchomp, not a sweeping one. Rough Skin > Sand Veil for that situation.
sand veil is one of the things that makes garchomp what it is.You've gotta be joking if you believe Sand Veil is what makes Garchomp what it is. Its incredible dual-STAB, SR resistance, SS immunity, unique speed tier, and great bulk make it, not a situational ability like Sand Veil.
You've gotta be joking if you believe Sand Veil is what makes Garchomp what it is. Its incredible dual-STAB, SR resistance, SS immunity, unique speed tier, and great bulk make it, not a situational ability like Sand Veil.
I said, Speed and Typing aside, Sand Veil is what places Garchomp above every other Dragon.The Typing and speed are alot of it, but really like the poster above said it is Sand Veil that seals the deal.Again, it's not Sand Veil that distinguishes Chomp from other dragons, it's its speed, attack, access to Swords Dance, and STAB EQ, while having few weaknesses, a resistance to Stealth Rock, and immunity to Thunder Wave. Can any other dragon claim those? Those particular traits make it hit harder than any other dragon on the physical side outside of Ononokusu, while retaining that trolly 102 base speed, and also being able to hit much harder with its STAB Earthquake, allowing it to KO many pokemon without locking itself into Outrage, like other Dragons such as Salamence and Ononokusu have to do.
Very well said.Sand Veil is an awesome ability. Yes, it's probably better it had intimidate, but intimidate is one of the best abilities in the game.
However, I, and probably everyone who has ever faced a Garchomp, knows exactly what it is like to have your last gasp of beating Garchomp miss and proceed to lose the match.
Intimidate is good for forcing a switch so you can set up, but Sand Veil means that once you're set up, you can claw a victory out from nothing. Sand Veil isn't the only thing separating Garchomp from other dragons - it's typing and STABS are truly amazing and resisted by only a handful of stuff (which is easily taken care of by a Magnezone, I might add ;) ).
It's a combination of all these things which makes Garchomp still the most powerful and dangerous dragon in OU, IMO.
Considering Doryuuzu has no business taking on Garchomp 1v1 withouth a +2 Sword Dance boost, and the fact that "counters" are at the very least reliable methods of dealing with specific threats, I would say that's a rather far-fetched statement.garchomp can actually be a good counter(not the best counter) to sand teams because of his ability. imagine coming in on a doryuzuu, him missing his EQ then you hit him back with a fire fang/outrage.