I would like to hear opinions on this set as I think it might be Garchomps best set in the current metagame, having barely any switch-ins and absolutely demolishing it's standard switch-ins without any kind of boost. I am pretty sure SOMALIA came up with it first, of course he could've taken it from someone else but you'll never know. This set does not only net surprise-kills very easily, it also weakens the counters of your respective sweeper. It is best used alongside Mega-Kangaskhan, as it destroys Skarmory and Ferrothorn, which, especially if they are carrying the Rocky Helmet will be a huge annoyance. Scizor and Swords Dance Aegislash also really appreciate having those removed while mixed Aegislash has even more synergy because it does a ton (between 70% and 90% if you're using modest max SpA Life Orb) to Gliscor and Landorus-Therian, two pokemon that can just straight up wall this Garchomp set. Defensive walls that are not weak to Fireblast will wall this set, Hippowdon, Slowbro and Donphan come to my mind. Those are also lured in and two-hit or ohko'ed by Aegislash, just to mention it. This set definitely does perform worse once it is fully revealed. Still, it is very hard to Life Orb stall since Garchomp is immune to Sandstorm and resists Stealth Rock when switching in. Spikes prove to be very problematic, so this set is best ran with Rapid Spin or Defog support. I did the EV spread myself, it is far from perfect but it's definitely not bad. 54 SpA EV's give you a 56% chance to OHKO the standard 164 SpD Ferrothorn after Stealth Rocks. It also gives you a small numbers-jump, which is why I used this exact number. Dragon Claw is preferred over Outrage because you will be having to switch up moves a lot and you don't want to be easily revenge-killed by Mamoswine or Choice Scarfers. The introduction of Mega-Evolutions made Garchomp a lot more powerful in my opinion, even though new fast threats like Greninja and Noivern will be causing problems. Those are checks, not counters and will get obliterated by Earthquake and Dragon Claw respectively. His odd base-speed lets it outspeed Mega Charizard X and Y and it OHKO's both. Mega-Kangaskhan and Mega Pinsir are also both outsped and won't OHKO Garchomp with their priority because of it's good natural bulk. Stealth Rock can also be ran if no one else on your team can afford to miss a move since it is the least useful coverage option, atleast in my opinion. You can always go for accuracy over power, but you will lose some key KO's if you do that.
<p>Garchomp @ Life Orb<br />
Ability: Rough Skin <br 200 Atk /56 SpA / 252 Spe <br />
Naive Nature<br />
- Stone Edge / Rock Slide / Stealth Rock<br />
- Earthquake<br />
- Dragon Claw / Outrage<br />
- Fire Blast / Flamethrower<br /></p>
I will add some very important calcs to show how good this set really is:
52 SpA Life Orb Garchomp Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 164 SpD Ferrothorn: 307-364 (87.21 - 103.4%) -- 56.25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
52 SpA Life Orb Garchomp Fire Blast vs. 224 HP / 32 SpD Skarmory: 255-302 (77.98 - 92.35%) -- 31.25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
52 SpA Life Orb Garchomp Fire Blast vs. 224 HP / 252+ SpD Skarmory: 179-213 (54.74 - 65.13%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
200 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Stone Edge vs. 248 HP / 216+ Def Togekiss: 211-250 (56.56 - 67.02%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
200 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Stone Edge vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Togekiss: 286-338 (76.67 - 90.61%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
-1 200 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Gyarados: 221-263 (66.76 - 79.45%) -- 31.25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
-1 200 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Stone Edge vs. 88 HP / 4 Def Gyarados: 221-263 (62.6 - 74.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
52 SpA Life Orb Garchomp Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Forretress: 598-707 (168.92 - 199.71%) -- guaranteed OHKO (might not seem important but this means you have a decent chance to OHKO in rain after Stealth Rocks)
200 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Dragon Claw vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Rotom-W: 156-185 (51.48 - 61.05%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
200 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Dragon Claw vs. 232 HP / 68+ Def Rotom-W: 133-157 (44.48 - 52.5%) -- 86.72% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock (I don't know how many Defense EV's people use, my Rotom-W is speedy with Leftovers, it outspeeds positively natured base 80's and the rest are out into Defense)
200 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Registeel: 289-343 (89.19 - 105.86%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock (Registeels base stars were changed to Aegislashs)
200 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Earthquake vs. 180 HP / 0 Def Tyranitar: 377-447 (97.66 - 115.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
200 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Tyranitar: 377-447 (93.54 - 110.91%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
52 SpA Life Orb Garchomp Fire Blast vs. +1 252 HP / 216 SpD Scizor: 255-302 (74.12 - 87.79%) -- 6.25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock (Assault Vest trapping Scizor, the most Specially Bulky set)
200 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Earthquake vs. 212 HP / 0 Def Azumarill: 247-292 (62.69 - 74.11%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
200 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Dragon Claw vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Dragonite: 439-517 (120.6 - 142.03%) -- guaranteed OHKO (Goodra's base stats were used)
200 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Stone Edge vs. 248 HP / 236+ Def Zapdos: 221-263 (57.7 - 68.66%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
Ignore those unless you are interested in actually using it on the Pokébank-Ladder, those Pokémon are not obtainable by now.
200 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Dragon Claw vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Celebi: 165-195 (40.84 - 48.26%) -- 12.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
52 SpA Life Orb Garchomp Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0+ SpD Celebi: 182-216 (45.04 - 53.46%) -- 92.58% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
200 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Jellicent: 185-218 (45.9 - 54.09%) -- 97.66% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
200 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 36 Def Jellicent: 263-309 (65.09 - 76.48%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock