Garbodor, The Trash Heap Pokémon. Beware the poisonous liquid it shoots from its right arm. If even a little of it gets on you, you’ll experience the effects of the unidentified toxin. For a time, their numbers increased explosively in Alola. Since the arrival of Grimer, their population has decreased dramatically.
Overview
Welp this week we're covering garbage..literally! They don't call Garbodor the Trash Heap Pokémon for nothing. However in the Competitive scene our friend is far from trash. It has access to both Spikes and Toxic Spikes. It's also full Poison Type meaning that it gets some great resistances to Bug, Grass, Fighting, and of course other Poison Type moves. It has decent bulk and solid attack too and access to Gunk Shot to ontop of everything else which by these powers combined make for a very dangerous defensive spiker. Which is only amplified by its Hidden Ability, Aftermath, which will cause your opponent to lose 1/4 of its HP if its KO'd by a physical attack. Like jeez that's pretty some epic revenge. As tough as Garbodor is though it will still have some trouble going head to head with Psychic and Ground Types, so use it wisely.
Positives
+ great defensive typing in Poison Type
+ decent bulk sporting 80 HP and 82 Def and SpDef
+ solid attacking prowess too with 95 Atk
+ the most consistent spiker in lower metagames
Negatives
- no real reliable means of recovery
- it's not the fasted mon in the world with only 75 speed, so its offensive options are rather limited
- has a pretty diverse special movepool, but is stuck with 60 SpA so it's unable to take advantage of it.
Abilities
Stench: If the Pokémon make physical contact with the opponent, there is a chance the opponent flinches. It's interesting, but Garbodor doesn't really have the speed to pull it off.
Weak Armor: When hit by an attack, the Pokémon's Defense is lowered by one stage but Speed is increased by two stages. It's a good ability on offensive sets, but Garbodor's main niche in singles is a defensive spike setter so overall I don't really recommend taking it.
Hidden Ability (Available):
Aftermath: The foe that dealt the final hit loses 1/4 of its maximum HP if the move made physical contact. This should be your ability of choice most. It's a really good ability, and it has great synergy with Rocky Helmet as well.
Movesets
Spiked Garbage
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Gunk Shot
- Seed Bomb
Item Attached: Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
The first two moveslots are pretty obvious. Spikes and Toxic Spikes. I mean really if I'm being honest it's the only reason Garbodor should have a spot on your team.. because other mons can run an offensive support set much better even if you're running Weak Armor on it. Gunk Shot is your main Stab move, and it's just awesome. It has 120 Base Power and a 30 percent chance to poison your opponent. Last but not least you have Seed Bomb for those pesky Bulky Water Types like Poliwrath, Gastrodon, and Lanturn and etc.
Other Options
- Drain Punch: It's a solid alternate move option in place of Seed Bomb. It hits things like Steelix and Aggron really hard, and gives you some recovery on top of everything. - Black Sludge: some passive recovery is always nice if you don't want to use Rocky Helmet for whatever reason - Haze: Garbodor won't really be able to take a lot of boosted attacks from sweepers, so Haze is a good way to hit the reset button so to speak and level the playing field.
VGC, Double, & Triple Battle Options
Garbador has always been an afterthought in VGC. Hazards are non-existent, and Garbador doesn't even have any coverage options without the ORAS move tutors. While the introduction of the Tapus and Alolan Ninetales has made Poison-types very strong in this year's format, Garbador's limited movepool and mediocre stats make it a less favorable choice than Pokemon like Alolan Muk.
Landfill
-Gunk Shot
-Toxic
-Stockpile / Substitute
-Protect
Item Attached: Black Sludge
Ability: Weak Armor / Aftermath
EVs and Nature:
252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
The buff to Weak Armor in giving two speed boosts now allows Garbador to become pretty fast after one boost. 252 speed EVs allow you to outspeed as much as possible while still allowing you to hit reasonable hard with max attack. Only 132 EVs are needed to outspeed +speed Pheromosa after a boost, while 52 and 44 EVs outspeed neutral speed Pheromosa and Timid Tapu Koko, respectively. The rest can be invested in HP. 4 SpD ensures Porygon2 would get an Attack boost. Black Sludge can help you stall out Pokemon like Porygon2 with Toxic and Substitute, but other recovery berries are also an option.
Gunk Shot is Garbador's best and only strong STAB move. Toxic helps wear down bulky Pokemon like Porygon2. Without move tutors, Garbador really does not have any coverage options, so Stockpile can instead keep it alive, especially combined Black Sludge recovery. Substitute can also buy Garbador turns of survival. Protect is the best move in doubles to keep you safe from double targets and stall out opposing speed control.
Other Options & Team Ideas
-Aftermath is still a viable ability to do damage should Garbador be KO'd.
-Return/Frustration or Body Slam are your only real moves that can do significant damage other than Gunk Shot.
-Thunderbolt is your only half decent way to hit Celesteela.
-Uhhhhhhhh...Explosion?
-Speed control against Pokemon like Tapu Lele help Garbador out if it doesn't have a speed boost yet.
-Anything to take Garchomp out, or to weaken its Earthquake like Intimidate or Tapu Bulu's Grassy Terrain (just watch out for the very common Tectonic Rage though!). .
Countering Garbodor
Well I can tell you one thing. You won't need to launch a giant ball of garbage like in Futurama to defeat this trash heap. Xatu is basically the bane of Garbodor's entire existence. It has Magic Bounce which will reflect any attempts to set up Spikes or Toxic Spikes back at you, and it's part Psychic Type too. There's also Claydol, which is both Ground and Psychic type and can take your Gunk Shots pretty easily too. Not to mention it has Levitate so it won't take any damage from your Spikes or be afflicted with Poison thanks to your Toxic Spikes, and it can Rapid Spin them away. You should also watch out for Steelix because it's Steel and Ground type meaning its immune to both your Stab Gunk Shot and your Toxic Spikes and it's so bulky that it can really tank most other physical attacks for days and days. There's plenty other counters obviously and you can always cripple it with a fast Taunt user since its main niche is to set Spikes not actively engage in battle, but those mons that we've talked about are going to be your main problems in life. I hope you enjoy using Garbodor.
Locations in Games
Red/Blue/Yellow:
Not in game
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in game
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Not in game
Colosseum/XD:
Not in game
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Not in game
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Not in game
Black/White:
Route 9
Black 2/White 2:
Route 9
X/Y:
Lost Hotel, Pokémon Village, Friend Safari
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Trade from X/Y
Sun/Moon:
Malie City Outer Cape
Animé Appearences
