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POTW Pokémon of the Week #61: Gible, Gabite & Garchomp

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Hey everyone! I'm Froyo, moderator of Pokemon Video Games, as well as the Bulbagarden Discord server, I'll be your guest this week, so hold on tight ;)

There are plenty of wonderful creatures known as Pokemon in the... Pokemon world. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but they're all really wonderful and interesting! Every week, an evolutionary line or a single Pokemon is chosen to be exposed and talked about right here, in Pokemon of the Week. This week's chosen is a personal favorite of mine, and I hope of many others as well :3 It's none other than the Gible evolutionary line! Now, without further ado~
443Gible.png

444Gabite.png

500px-445Garchomp.png

445Garchomp-Mega.png
The Gible line originated in Generation IV, as a Dragon/Ground Dual Type Pokemon with various similarities to dragons, as well as sharks. They also have some features that make them evoke jet aircrafts, like their horns and the relative position of their dorsal fin.They are great diggers and hide in caves to avoid the cold. As they evolve, they become much more territorial and aggressive, attacking anyone who comes nearby. They also gain more draconian characteristics and a much more fierce appearance overall, and are known to fly at very high speeds. Their final form, Garchomp, gained the ability to Mega Evolve in Generation VI, having their physique changed to a much sharper appearance, which includes having arms similar to scythes.

In the games, Gible made their first appearance inside the Wayward Cave, which many Trainers will miss while passing through, for the entry point is hidden below the Cycling Road. In their origin games, their most prominent appearance is in Cynthia's team in their final form, her signature and highest leveled Pokemon. The line is also relatively well represented in side games, with Gible being a partner Pokemon option in Ranger: Shadows of Almia, Gabite being an optional password boss fight in Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Darkness, and Garchomp having a playable role in Pokken Tournament.

Garchomp has been making splashes in the competitive scene since its introduction. Its typing carries few weaknesses and gives it STAB for several powerful moves such as Earthquake and Outrage. If you want some variety, Garchomp has access to many other types of moves as well such as Stone Edge, Iron Head, Fire Blast, and Stealth Rock. Though it doesn't have quite the raw power that most pseudo-legendary Pokémon do, it still has very high Attack and HP, sizable defenses, and it is the fastest of all current pseudo-legends. This versatility in both its movepool and stats makes it unpredictable in battle: some trainers run all-out offensive sets, some prefer setting up with Swords Dance, and still others run a more defensive set combining its ability to take some heavy hits with its ability Rough Skin and the Rocky Helmet held item. Mega Garchomp improves on all of its offensive and defensive stats and Sand Force gives it even more attack strength during a Sandstorm, but many trainers prefer using standard Garchomp due to the Mega's reduced speed and inability to hold useful items.

The shark/dragon family doesn't stop at just the games, though! They've made several appearances to various degrees of prominence in the anime and manga series; most recognizably in Ash's and Cynthia's teams, with the latter being based on her game counterpart, and treated as her Pokemon of choice. Gible has also made some cameos in movies, like being one of the tsrgets of Darkrai's Dark Void in the tenth movie, The Rise of Darkrai, as well as it's manga adaptation.

Now! With this in mind, and do feel free to look up more if you're curious, let's start with the questions :D
  • Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?
  • How is this Pokémon in-game?
  • How is this Pokémon in competitive play? Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for them?
  • Do you like this Pokémon's representation in the anime? Are there any moments or qualities in particular you enjoy/dislike?
  • How do you think this Pokémon would interact with our world?
  • If given the power to, would you change anything about this Pokémon and if so, what would you change?
  • How does this Pokémon compare to other Pseudo-legendaries? And other Pokémon of its types?
  • How do you feel about this Pokemon's popularity? Do you think it's well deserved?
  • Should this Pokemon have a signature move? If so, what would it be?
  • Do you prefer standard or Mega Garchomp? Do you feel Mega Garchomp should have been made more clearly better?
  • Which has been your favorite incarnation of Garchomp and its pre-evolutions throughout their many game appearances?
Feel free to leave ideas for future Pokemon to use in this segment! Make sure to reply to this first, though ;)

Previous Pokémon of the Week:
Pokémon of the Week #1: Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, & Venusaur
Pokémon of the Week #2: Scraggy & Scrafty
Pokémon of the Week #3: Gulpin & Swalot
Pokémon of the Week #4: Porygon, Porygon2, & Porygon-Z
Pokémon of the Week #5: Emolga
Pokémon of the Week #6: Rufflet & Braviary
Pokémon of the Week #7: Ditto
Pokémon of the Week #8: Wynaut & Wobbuffet
Pokémon of the Week #9: Sneasel & Weavile
Pokémon of the Week #10: Murkrow & Honchkrow
Pokémon of the Week #11: Houndour & Houndoom
Pokémon of the Week #12: Exeggcute & Exeggutor
Pokémon of the Week #13: Gastly, Haunter, & Gengar
Pokemon of the Week #14: Smoochum & Jynx
Pokémon of the Week #15: Beldum, Metang, & Metagross
Pokémon of the Week #16: Bidoof
Pokémon of the Week # 17: Deerling & Sawsbuck
Pokémon of the Week #18: Munchlax & Snorlax
Pokémon of the Week #19: Hoppip, Skiploom, & Jumpluff
Pokémon of the Week #20: Nincada, Ninjask, & Shedinja
Pokémon of the Week #21: Pumpkaboo & Gourgeist
Pokémon of the Week #22: Mudkip, Marshtomp, & Swampert
Pokémon of the Week #23: Froakie, Frogadier, & Greninja
Pokémon of the Week #24: Rattata & Raticate
Pokémon of the Week #25: Mimikyu
Pokémon of the Week #26: Mareep, Flaaffy, & Ampharos
Pokémon of the Week #27: Delibird
Pokémon of the Week #28: Espeon
Pokémon of the Week #29: Rowlet, Dartrix, & Decidueye
Pokémon of the Week #30: Popplio, Brionne, & Primarina
Pokémon of the Week #31: Litten, Torracat, & Incineroar
Pokémon of the Week #32: Woobat & Swoobat
Pokémon of the Week #33: Vulpix & Ninetales
Pokémon of the Week #34: Mewtwo
Pokémon of the Week #35: Shellos & Gastrodon
Pokémon of the Week #36: Weedle, Kakuna, & Beedrill
Pokémon of the Week #37: Alomomola
Pokémon of the Week #38: Pidove, Tranquill, & Unfezant
Pokémon of the Week #39: Darkrai
Pokémon of the Week #40: MissingNo.
Pokémon of the Week #41: Pikachu
Pokémon of the Week #42: Bonsly & Sudowoodo
Pokémon of the Week #43: Wingull & Pelliper
Pokémon of the Week #44: Swirlix & Slurpuff
Pokémon of the Week #45: Lotad, Lombre, & Ludicolo
Pokémon of the Week #46: Kangakhan
Pokémon of the Week #47: Riolu and Lucario
Pokémon of the Week #48: Raichu
Pokémon of the Week #49: Magikarp & Gyarados
Pokémon of the Week #50: Horsea, Seadra & Kingdra
Pokémon of the Week #51: Elgyem & Beheeyem
Pokémon of the Week #52: Scyther & Scizor
Pokémon of the Week #53: Crabrawler & Crabominable
Pokémon of the Week #54: Rotom
Pokémon of the Week #55: Numel and Camerupt
Pokémon of the Week #56: Sableye
Pokémon of the Week #57: Corsola
Pokémon of the Week #58: Diglett and Dugtrio
Pokémon of the Week #59: Klink, Klang, Klinklang
Pokémon of the Week #60: Caterpie, Metapod, Butterfree
 
~~pokes Froyo's cup :v~~
Garchomp is quite a nice Pokémon but it still could have used another secondary ability.. Scarf sets were common but they seem to have declined in favor of sash and, Groundium-Z sets.. The 102 speed is quite nice since it allows it to outspeeds most Pokémon without a scarf. Mega Chomp loses that nice 102 speed which makes it easy pickings for most of the Pokémon it would normally outspeed and ko. Mega Chomp is definitely not as good despite the attack increase. It's just ice Beam bait..

Also for the ideas for next week I'd suggest Cutiefly/Ribombee ;p
 
-Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?
I suppose it's ok. Not my first choice though.

-How is this Pokémon in-game?
Pretty good, even if I myself don't use Garchomp often.

-How is this Pokémon in competitive play? Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for them?
Gen VI was a turbulent time for previous pseudos in general. To stay highly used throughout all this while standard Salamence and Metagross dropped off alongside Hydreigon, it speaks volumes about Garchomp.
Just carry Stone Edge for getting rid of Togekiss since it walls your dual STAB forever. Don't bother with things like Iron Head/Poison Jab, most Fairy types are knocked around hard enough by an Earthquake after Swords Dance anyway.

-Do you like this Pokémon's representation in the anime? Are there any moments or qualities in particular you enjoy/dislike?
Everything Ash's Gible says and does.

-If given the power to, would you change anything about this Pokémon and if so, what would you change?
Ooh, I'm really not certain... There's nothing I'd like to change about standard Garchomp.

-How does this Pokémon compare to other Pseudo-legendaries? And other Pokémon of its types?
It's a good contender in these areas but not first in any, as far as personal preference goes. Metagross, Dragalge, and debatably Mamoswine are my picks for pseudo, Dragon, and Ground.

-How do you feel about this Pokemon's popularity? Do you think it's well deserved?
I don't worship this Pokémon but I appreciate why others like it. The fact remains though that I sought out a Beldum in Route 228 rather than a Gible in Wayward Cave if my preference wasn't clear enough.

-Should this Pokemon have a signature move? If so, what would it be?
If it gets a signature move, it should be a Dragon type one. Dragon Claw lacks overbearing power, Dragon Rush misses too often, and Outrage's side effect bothers me at the best of times. Any signature move on the Ground end feels unnecessary with Earthquake around.

-Do you prefer standard or Mega Garchomp? Do you feel Mega Garchomp should have been made more clearly better?
Standard by a long shot. Until Garchomp gets something like Dragon Dance, the -10 speed isn't worth it.
 
Standard by a long shot. Until Garchomp gets something like Dragon Dance, the -10 speed isn't worth it.
I hope Garchomp never gets Dragon Rush. While it's Mega could reap some benefits from it, I don't ever want to deal with a standard Chomp that can increase its own speed and attack in one move. Besides, that's currently the main attribute that makes Flygon stand out since its slower and weaker in every other stat. I'd rather Flygon not be outshined any further
 
Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?
One of my all-time favourites! Nice design, typing, usefulness...
How is this Pokémon in-game?
Pretty good, in Platinum even as a Gabite it can do very well for most of the main game. In Black 2 I liked getting a Shiny one as a reward for clearing Black Skyscraper, Shiny Garchomp was awesome.
How is this Pokémon in competitive play? Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for them?
Great! It's part of my teams' core all the time, I've used both Choice Scarf and Stealth Rock variants.
Do you like this Pokémon's representation in the anime? Are there any moments or qualities in particular you enjoy/dislike?
Yes! Ash's Gible, Iris' Gible, Ursula's Gabite, Cynthia's Garchomp, they are all pretty cool. Although Ash's Gible, while given a nice character and some OK development, always felt a bit out of place. Obtained too late, replacing Gliscor when I saw no good reason for Gliscor to be replaced, too late to evolve...
How do you think this Pokémon would interact with our world?
Some people would be afraid of it, it is a land shark after all. But others (like me) would think they're awesome.
If given the power to, would you change anything about this Pokémon and if so, what would you change?
More physical oriented, less special. And a somewhat better Mega, not a Sandstorm-reliant option with reduced Speed.
How does this Pokémon compare to other Pseudo-legendaries? And other Pokémon of its types?
It's one of the coolest, strongest and most favourite of mine. But I think that all pseudo-legendaries are cool. It is definitely better than your average Ground or Dragon-type, and quite better than Flygon although it lacks Levitate (which sometimes I feel like would fit it since it's described flying in the Pokedex). In any case, Flygon is also a big favourite of mine so topping Flygon sure is something.
How do you feel about this Pokemon's popularity? Do you think it's well deserved?
Definitely! If being good isn't enough, giving it to Cynthia as a last boss in the Sinnoh games and making it look OP in the anime sure works.
Should this Pokemon have a signature move? If so, what would it be?
I kinda want it to have one, but it'd better be something good. I don't mind it not having one for now.
Do you prefer standard or Mega Garchomp? Do you feel Mega Garchomp should have been made more clearly better?
Standard! And yes, that drop in Speed and Sandstorm-related ability doesn't help things for it.
Which has been your favorite incarnation of Garchomp and its pre-evolutions throughout their many game appearances?
Cynthia's.
 
This line is cool. Garchomp is used and abused to death in competitions so I have a little bit of a small irritation towards it, but at the same time, I just cannot bring myself to dislike it and especially its pre-evos. They're land sharks! How cool is that? I'd say they're neat. I have used them both in-game and competitively. Garchomp is a very powerful Pokemon competitively, much more in-game. It's Speed stat is just at a point where it can outspeed most users of common Ice-type attacks, and it also makes good with a Yache berry or Focus Sash to create lots of havoc. Mega Garchomp, thankfully, is not as fast and is likely not to survive a reliable Ice Beam or Moonblast user. I don't fear fighting against it as much as I do regular Garchomp. I do try not to use Garchomp in competitions just because of how overused it is. There's OU and then there's Garchomp. =\ It's a nightmare to fight against in a Sandstorm team, and to see it paired up with Tyranitar is beyond predictable.

I loved Cynthia's Garchomp and the Garchomp seen at the beginning of the X and Y series. They always portray it as something more sympathetic than monstrous. Ash's Gible was cute, too.

I would imagine the entire line to be dangerous in the real world, but they would be rare and in their own corner of the world.

There's really nothing I would change about Garchomp. It's already so overused that to make any improvements would be overkill. If I were to change something, I would probably downgrade it rather than upgrade it.

Compared to Pseudo-Legendaries, it's fantastic. Probably the best of the bunch on its own without Mega Evolving. I do see it combined with other pseudos like Tyranitar for Sandstorm and Metagross thanks to Sand Veil.

If a Pokemon is popular, I can't say it isn't deserved. The Garchomp-line have great designs and they're super useful in competitions. I would say they are much more overused to the point where I'd rather not use them than their popularity being undeserved. The same can be said about other popular Pokemon. I mean, I love Charizard. It's popular yet isn't as powerful as Garchomp. I still love it.

I really don't care too much if Garchomp gets a signature move. If it does get one, I wouldn't want it to raise its Speed. Then I'll probably be an inch away from hating it. =\

Mega Garchomp and regular Garchomp should have had their speeds reversed to give people a bigger incentive of wanting to use it. If it Mega Evolved, it should have had normal Garchomp's speed along with the other stat boosts. It's a downgrade that isn't worth using, especially if you are giving a precious item slot up. Because of that, I prefer regular Garchomp.

I liked the Gible and Garchomp in the PokePark games. I liked Gabite in the Mystery Dungeon games.
 
Garchomp is a cool Pokemon. I mean, I'm biased since I love sharks. Also, Mega Garchomp is one of the few Megas I like as much as the original because it's FUCKING TERRIFYING.
 
I don't mind the designs of gible or gabite, but garchimp is...cluttered. It's lame, and a waste of a land shark. Which is a cool concept in theory, as seen here (granted, the original zamtrios lives in arctic waters).

as it happens, two of my favorite pokemon are other examples of creatures with similar characteristics that actually look good. Stunfisk, another example of a ground-type fish, is adorable, has personality outside of "argh, I'm angry", and is a very simple design that actually is very sleek and nicely shaped with colors that work surprisingly well together. I'm not much of a yellow or brown person, usually, but they look good on fisky. The opposite of cluttered garchomp. Sharpedo isn't as simplistic as stunfisk, especially not in its mega form, but it looks pretty cool and honestly is a scarier and eerier shark in both of its forms. Especially its mega form, which achieves creepiness through having a blatantly scarred body and a jaw with portions of the flesh ripped. As well as looking almost like a great white that could actually achieve the 120 mph speeds the pokedex describes. With retractable sawshark spikes that waterfall finally uses in its animation. Hmm, this paragraph basically exists just for me to fangirl, doesn't it? I guess I'll have to stop myself here...

On that note, I'll admit I somewhat prefer m-garchomp to regular garchomp. It at least tries to have some sort of personality, even if it really comes across as more of a deranged shark man with a huge chin. A concept that's honestly something I would be able to take more seriously in, like, silent hill or nightmare on elm street. It looks more like something out of digimon or neon genesis evangelion, and I don't think it quite works in this case. It's still dumb.

it's also obnoxiously powerful, to the point where I don't think I'd ever get satisfaction out of using one. I'll admit that rough skin + rocky helmet is an interesting set, at least. If I were to ever use garchimp, I'd probs use that one.
 
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I like this line in general, but Mega Garchomp's design disappointed me greatly. I actually don't dislike shiny Garchomp like a lot of people seem to do. I still wish it kept shiny Gible/Gabite's colours. I liked the line's portrayal in the anime, too, although Iris' Axew taking TWO Dragon-type attacks from Cynthia's Garchomp and still being able to stand made absolutely no sense.
 
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  • Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?
It's not bad. It has some nice stats and a great offesive typing so I like it.
  • How is this Pokémon in-game?
It's surprisingly speedy for a ground mon and can hit hard too so yeah.
  • How is this Pokémon in competitive play? Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for them?
Never done competitive but heard it was good there.
  • If given the power to, would you change anything about this Pokémon and if so, what would you change?
Since it's already powerful nothing much.
  • How does this Pokémon compare to other Pseudo-legendaries? And other Pokémon of its types?
I don't think it's my no.1 fav but it's up there.
  • How do you feel about this Pokemon's popularity? Do you think it's well deserved?
It does look cool and like I said it's strong to use so yeah, deserves it's popularity.
  • Should this Pokemon have a signature move? If so, what would it be?
Not really.
  • Do you prefer standard or Mega Garchomp? Do you feel Mega Garchomp should have been made more clearly better?
I like them bot equally.
 
I appreciate the fact that they started the Dragon/something trend for pseudos, and they are better than their two successors, but something on their design feels lacking. It has a lot of unnecesary details, and not enough shark-ness. My favorite one is Gible, as he looks cute and has a great personality.

MegaGarchomp is an improvement overall, while it loses some of Garchomp's shark-ness it looks more cohesive color-wise.

In the anime, Garchomp had good roles, my favorite one is Sycamore's, but Cynthia's is good too. Gible, on the other hand...I really dislike how he was added to Ash's team just to make a gag and get some attention. It ended up performing better than expected in the league, but still, it contradicted DP's principles of sticking to storylines from beginning to end.

Their popularity has lead them to appear in many games after their introduction, but unlike others, they aren't shoved in your face and are restricted to specific zones, so I'm ok with them appearing in many desserts.
 
Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?
I love them. They're some of my top favorite Pokemon from Sinnoh.

How is this Pokémon in-game?
Great. I used the line in Platinum and they were amazing.


Do you like this Pokémon's representation in the anime? Are there any moments or qualities in particular you enjoy/dislike?
I hated Ash's Gible, Ursala's Gabite was okay, and I loved Cynthia's badass Garchomp.

How do you think this Pokémon would interact with our world?
I guess they'd just travel underground all day.

If given the power to, would you change anything about this Pokémon and if so, what would you change?
Nope, they're perfect.

How does this Pokémon compare to other Pseudo-legendaries? And other Pokémon of its types?
Probably pretty poorly considering that double weakness to ice...

How do you feel about this Pokemon's popularity? Do you think it's well deserved?
Uh, yeah. As I said, they're perfect.

Should this Pokemon have a signature move? If so, what would it be?
Idk. If it did get one it would probably be a really powerful ground-type move. Maybe a stronger version of Dig.

Do you prefer standard or Mega Garchomp? Do you feel Mega Garchomp should have been made more clearly better?
Standard. Mega Garchomp is nice, but a bit too much for my tastes.

Which has been your favorite incarnation of Garchomp and its pre-evolutions throughout their many game appearances?
Cynthia's Garchomp.
 
Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?
Like. I love sharks and dragons.

How is this Pokémon in-game?
I used to have a shiny one (the one you get in Black 2), and well, it was late in-game, so I didn't use him much, but I know Cynthia is a pain, so I guess it's pretty good.

Do you like this Pokémon's representation in the anime? Are there any moments or qualities in particular you enjoy/dislike?
I actually find Ash's Gible kind of annoying I think, but I watched Diamond and Pearl back when I still watched the norweigan dub, and the way they pronouced "Gible" annoyed me, so maybe that's why. I like Cynthia's Garchomp though, she is really cool.

How do you think this Pokémon would interact with our world?
I'd fly to school everyday. I mean, I'm not sure, it's hard to imagine having a landshark as a pet :p

How does this Pokémon compare to other Pseudo-legendaries? And other Pokémon of its types?
It's probably one of the most popular Pseudo-legendaries, and it does well as a dragon too, so eh.

Should this Pokemon have a signature move? If so, what would it be?

Something involving its shark fins, I mean come on. (It could possibly share it with Sharpedo)

Do you prefer standard or Mega Garchomp? Do you feel Mega Garchomp should have been made more clearly better?

I do prefer the standard one, unless we're talking about the shiny, because Mega Garchomp is fabulous.
 
Garchomp is one of my favourite Pokémon, saying I like it would be an understatement. It's one of the best mons you can use for DPPt's story mode; Gible was available as soon as you get Cut, so as early as Eterna Gym. Sure you also need Flash and Rock Smash for Wayward Cave, but you can still run around in the hidden room in complete darkness for a Gible. This was around the time most first forms were either mid/lategame at best (Dratini/Bagon) or postgame at worst (Beldum/Larvitar). I've never used Garchomp competitively though - all I know is that it was Uber in Gen IV ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
IMO its design is the best out of the dragon-type pseudo-legends. It looks much more threatening than Dragonite, and has better proportions than Salamence (imo it would look much better with a thinner body and longer legs). Can't say the same for its Mega, unfortunately; that chin, those hand-scythes and its spikes look so out of place that I can't take it seriously. That said, I've always thought its dorsal fin looked a little awkward - it'd be better off smaller imo.
It'd be an apex predator in our world that's for sure. Maybe in environments like the Kalahari desert or Serengeti region - any arid place with large wildlife will do. Overall, I'd say Garchomp's popularity is well-deserved. It's a powerful Pokémon who's the ace of a popular character. It helps that Cynthia is well-regarded as a difficult Champion. It's clear which incarnation is my favourite.
 
What can I say here? I love this line. I love everything about it.

While I like Gible and Gabite, none of them comes close to how much I love Garchomp! IMO, it’s one of the coolest Pokémon there is. The one that Cynthia had in the anime was pretty awesome (and it’s a girl, too!), so that kind of helped me like it, as well.

Also, this picture is pure win:
A0E49C54-217C-4533-A478-3DD21BD09D01.jpeg
 
Please note: The thread is from 6 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
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