One of The Most Iconic Pokemon Ever is Quietly Chewing At Pokemon Champions' Meta

Pokemon Champions is in a strange spot, almost three weeks after its release, and it has to do with the critters that are currently available as well as the items one can use. The reason is that the meta is filled with low-power options, making a few Pokemon much better than others because their power is higher. And yet, many non-meta Pokemon that would never have a chance in regular VGC from the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet era are now popping up and being used more as niche counters to top threats in Pokemon Champions. Among the best Pokemon in the game are the usual suspects, like Incineroar, Kingambit, Farigiraf, Whimsicott, and Venusaur, but one of them stands out — Garchomp.

It’s no secret that Garchomp is one of the most iconic Pokemon ever, to the point that it became a fan-favorite over the years and is cited as one of the strongest aces ever, as it was used in Cynthia’s team in Pokemon Gen 4 games. Garchomp is also one of the best Ground-type Pokemon ever, and it learns several fantastic moves, such as Earthquake, Rock Slide, Dragon Claw, Iron Head, Crunch, Swords Dance, and Stone Edge. And yet, despite having a Mega Evolution, Garchomp is being used in all sorts of teams without being the true star of the show, all while carrying many games on its back.

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Why Garchomp is Better Than Mega Garchomp in Pokemon Champions

One of the things to consider when building a double battles team in Pokemon Champions is that you can technically even have six Mega Evolutions, but you can only use one of them per game. What follows is that all Megas on a team should be impactful, and so most teams use either one or two, with the option for two being particularly useful when the first Mega has a bad match-up against popular picks. For this reason, Mega Garchomp sees very little play, if at all.

Picking a Mega Evolution is a matter of opportunity cost. If using a regular Garchomp with Strus Berry, White Herb, or Choice Scarf can lead to equal or even better results than using Mega Garchomp, there is little reason to do that. What follows is that one has to look at the current meta to figure out if Mega Garchomp is worth the Mega Evolution slot and if it’s enough to compete with the best Pokemon in Pokemon Champions, and the answer is no for several reasons.

Garchomp has a base Speed of 102, which is not enough to be one of the fastest Pokemon ever or even in this game, but it’s enough to outspeed some powerful critters that Mega Garchomp wouldn’t be able to with 92 base Speed:
- Mega Glimmora (base Speed of 101)
- Charizard, Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Dragonite, Typhlosion, Mega Gardevoir, and Volcarona (base Speed of 100)
- Hydreigon (base Speed of 98)
- Mimikyu (base Speed of 96)
- Arcanine and Hisuian Typhlosion (base Speed of 95)
Garchomp also has a Speed tie with Pokemon Champions‘ best Mega Evolution, Floette. This allows Garchomp with Choice Scarf to always outspeed Mega Floette, as it can’t hold an item other than Floettite, which in turn means Garchomp can attack before being damaged or KOed by Floette.
Garchomp has the Rough Skin ability, which is very good to deal chip damage to opponents who attack it, breaking their Focus Sash if they have one. For example, Pokemon Champions‘ Sneasler is often used with White Herb to immediately proc Unburden with Close Combat, whereas it would break its Focus Sash upon attacking a Garchomp, never benefiting from Unburden.
Garchomp’s second ability is Sand Veil, which is less useful in the current meta. However, when used in sand teams in Pokemon Champions, Sand Veil can be amazing defensively on Garchomp.
Mega Garchomp’s ability is Sand Force, which boosts the power of Rock, Ground, and Steel moves as long as the user is in a sandstorm. The problem is that sun teams in Pokemon Champions are everywhere, using Mega Charizard Y, and the same goes for snow teams with Mega Froslass and rain teams with Pelipper. Not being able to control the weather reliably means that Mega Garchomp will sometimes find itself without an ability.

For all these reasons, the better choice ends up being Garchomp over Mega Garchomp in virtually any scenario. Sitrus Berry gives it more durability, Choice Scarf makes it outspeed many strong non-Scarf Pokemon and even some Scarf users, White Herb counters Incineroar in Pokemon Champions by not getting an Attack stat drop, and its 102 base Speed is much better than Mega Garchomp’s 92.

What Items to Use on Garchomp in Pokemon Champions

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One could even give Garchomp Roseli Berry or Yache Berry to reduce the damage of incoming Fairy and Ice attacks, respectively, which would make the Dragon/Ground Pokemon have more staying power. Without Scarf but with max Speed investment and Jolly nature, Garchomp can be one of the best partners for Aerodactyl in Pokemon Champions, as the latter sets up Tailwind easily, allowing the former to outspeed most threats and spam Rock Slide for massive damage and potential flinching.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A Ranked Mega Garchomp

So, it may not be surprising to see Garchomp at the top of the meta, but it’s interesting that in a Mega Evolution-only format, it ends up being better without it. Things may change once Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s Mega Garchomp Z is added to the game, though, as it’s a pure Dragon-type Pokemon with 151 base Speed, and it’s a special attacker instead. Until then, though, Garchompite may be more of a collectible in Pokemon Champions than a useful item.