Bulky Laner Garchomp - BottomLaner

Guide

MEDIUM FLOOR | LOW CEILING

Garchomp is a late game pokemon no matter how you slice it. Needing to evolve at lvl6 makes it hard to have a real effect on the game early in a round. Plus, unlike Raltz evolving into Kirlia, Gabite doesn’t get the option of an immediate high burst attack upon evolving. Nevertheless, Garchomp is still one of the best late game selections and can be really effective in a big brawl. So here is how you should try to play this build.

Start by heading to your designated lane and level up as soon as possible, stealing wild pokemon in the middle of a lane and “bees”. Once you evolve and get Dig, you’ll have a move with decent displacement, makes you momentarilly untouchable, and gives you a boost to Defense. You’ll want to start every engagement with Dig, especially in big fights to stun multiple targets. (You can use Dig as an escape tool!) when you unlock Earthquake, you’ll have a nice rush down into AOE combo that, at higher levels, will also slow enemies. Use this tactic in teamfights to disrupt your enemies and rack up big area damage.

A key part of this build are the held items which are meant to increase your survivability and punish enemies hitting you. Combining your ability (Rough Skin) with Rocky Helmet is a good way to get chip damage off on enemies attacking you; when you combine that with Weakness Policy — gives you a damage stack (up to 4) each time you receive damage — you can further punish opponents trying to take you on, especially given the increase in defense from Rocky Helmet, Focus Band, and Dig. Focus Band will also slowly regen health when you reach lower HP.

While this build plays similarly to the Rush-Claw build, the intent is to grind out your enemies in big teamfight, as opposed to rushing down targets and knocking them back. Practice it to get a feel of how long it takes to evolve into Garchomp and work on your approaches vs escapes.