Garbodor Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Gunk Shot pressures Xatu, 2HKOing it if it poisons it, and OHKOes Comfey, although its lacking PP and low accuracy make it unreliable to spam. Spikes wears down enemy Pokemon, helping out Garbodor's team, and Garbodor has the typing and defensive stats to come in multiple times to set them, while it has the power to bypass Xatu, a common entry hazard control option. Toxic Spikes gives Garbodor an additional move with which to support its team, easily and quickly wearing down defensive Pokemon such as Vaporeon, Rhydon, and Torterra for Garbodor's team. Alternatively, Seed Bomb can be used to wear down Seismitoad and Rhydon for Garbodor. Pain Split keeps Garbodor at high HP over the course of a match, preventing it from being worn down too much, and can make matchups against Pokemon such as Comfey and Sceptile significantly easier. Set Details Maximum HP and 228 Special Defense EVs with a Careful nature give Garbodor good special bulk, letting it take only 33% from Sceptile's Leaf Storm and easily wall Comfey. 28 Speed EVs let Garbodor outrun defensive Blastoise as well as Modest Alolan Exeggutor. Black Sludge keeps Garbodor healthy, mitigating chip damage taken from Stealth Rock and preventing it from being worn down as easily. Aftermath causes any Pokemon that KOes Garbodor with a contact move to take significant recoil damage. Rocky Helmet can be used to punish any opponent that makes contact with Garbodor, notably easily wearing down enemy Comfey and punishing U-turns from Pokemon such as Passimian. A physically defensive EV spread of 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 Spe can also be used to better take on Pokemon such as Passimian. However, this leaves Garbodor significantly more vulnerable to Sceptile, and Garbodor remains vulnerable to the coverage moves many physical threats carry. Usage Tips If facing Xatu, don't immediately try to set up Spikes, as an opponent will often try to reflect them or scout which Garbodor set is being run by switching into it. Better options are to use Gunk Shot to damage Xatu or switch out to a teammate that can punish it such as Sneasel or Heliolisk. When against an opponent without Xatu, it is often helpful to immediately set up entry hazards, as it will force the opponent to quickly remove them, or they will consistently take significant damage. Garbodor should generally be brought in against attacks it resists, such as Comfey's Draining Kiss and Passimian's Close Combat, although it should be wary of coverage moves, such as Passimian's Earthquake. Prioritize Spikes over Toxic Spikes if the opponent has a grounded Poison-type such as their own Garbodor, and generally try to prioritize Toxic Spikes if the opponent's hazard remover is vulnerable to Toxic Spikes or if the opponent has a Pokemon such as Slowking or Dhelmise that needs to be poisoned. Aftermath can be used to deal significant damage to the opponent that KOes Garbodor, so try to keep Garbodor around for the right time once it gets to low HP. Team Options Teammates such as Sneasel, Heliolisk, and Incineroar that can take on Xatu for Garbodor are helpful, with the former being able to Pursuit trap Xatu, potentially removing it from the game. Garbodor generally needs teammates to take on enemy Ground-types for it, so Pokemon such as Sceptile, Decidueye, and Seismitoad can make good teammates. Entry hazard removal that keeps Garbodor's Spikes up is preferred, so Pokemon such as Xatu, Blastoise, and Dhelmise are excellent teammates. Toxic Spikes support is greatly appreciated by Delphox, Rotom, and Vaporeon, as well as any Pokemon with answers weak to poison or some way of staying on the field for a long time. Wallbreakers and cleaners such as Magmortar, Comfey, and Passimian appreciate Garbodor's support, being able to either rack up Spikes damage by forcing switches or appreciating that Spikes wears down their answers. Stealth Rock users such as Piloswine, Druddigon, and Rhydon that can get Stealth Rock up against Xatu are good teammates, as Stealth Rock support can help wear it down. Heliolisk and Incineroar are exceptional teammates, as they can take on Golbat and Rotom, which easily Defog on Garbodor and resist Gunk Shot.

Moves Gunk Shot lets Garbodor always 2HKO Xatu with either a Toxic Plate or an Adamant nature, as well as threaten Pokemon such as Comfey and Delphox. Spikes and Toxic Spikes wear down opposing Pokemon, helping out Garbodor's team, and Garbodor is a good user of the moves thanks to its great defensive typing and ability to bypass Xatu. Stomping Tantrum can be used if Toxic Spikes is not needed, is Garbodor's hardest-hitting move against Steelix and Klinklang, and threatens opposing Garbodor. Alternatively, Seed Bomb can be used to wear down Seismitoad and Rhydon for Garbodor, which can be very beneficial for its team. Explosion prevents the opponent from using Defog or Rapid Spin to remove entry hazards, provided that Garbodor is faster than the enemy, while also dealing very heavy damage. Pain Split can be used in the last moveslot to keep Garbodor at high HP over the course of a match, preventing it from being worn down too much, and can make matchups against Pokemon such as Comfey and Sceptile significantly easier. Set Details Maximum Attack and an Adamant nature maximize Garbodor's power, enabling it to 2HKO Xatu with Gunk Shot, as well as hit targets such as Decidueye and Vaporeon for heavy damage. Maximum Speed is needed to outrun Xatu as well as Pokemon such as Incineroar. A Jolly nature can be used with Toxic Plate to maintain the 2HKO on Xatu and outrun standard Comfey and maximum Speed Decidueye. If using an Adamant nature, Black Sludge can be used to give Garbodor useful recovery, significantly increasing its longevity, while a Rocky Helmet can be used to damage any Pokemon making contact with it, such as Passimian using U-turn. Toxic Plate can be run with an Adamant nature if being able to 2HKO Blastoise after Stealth Rock is needed. Aftermath is used to deal recoil damage to the foe if they KO Garbodor with a contact move, such as Comfey's Draining Kiss or Passimian's Knock Off. Usage Tips Garbodor is often better off using Gunk Shot if the opponent has a Xatu, as it can immediately bounce back any Spikes Garbodor uses if it switches in correctly. Gunk Shot deals heavy damage to most Pokemon that do not resist it and can be used to buy a turn to use Spikes, for example against Vaporeon, which is often forced to Wish if it switches into Gunk Shot. Garbodor should be brought in often against Grass-types such as Sceptile, as the more turns it has to set up Spikes, the more Garbodor can support its team. Be careful of coverage moves such as Earthquake from Passimian and status moves such as Will-O-Wisp from Weezing, as they can leave Garbodor crippled for the rest of a match. Explosion should be used when the opponent is predicted to use either Defog or Rapid Spin, as it stops them from removing entry hazards while also dealing heavy damage. If it's running the correct coverage, an enemy such as Silvally-Steel or Blastoise using Defog or Rapid Spin can often be a free turn for Garbodor to attack. Team Options Garbodor generally needs teammates to take on enemy Ground-types for it, so Pokemon such as Sceptile, Alolan Exeggutor, and Seismitoad can make good teammates. Magic Bounce and Rapid Spin support from Pokemon such as Xatu, Dhelmise, and Blastoise allows Garbodor to keep its Spikes up even if its team requires enemy hazards removed. Pokemon such as Klinklang, Comfey, and Passimian all appreciate the entry hazard support that Garbodor provides, which can easily wear down Pokemon such as Steelix and Delphox for them. Wallbreakers such as Magmortar and Alolan Exeggutor also benefit from Garbodor's Spikes support thanks to the number of switches they force. Stealth Rock users such as Rhydon, Steelix, and Piloswine are good teammates, building on the hazard pressure that Garbodor provides. Rhydon and Piloswine are especially good options, as they provide another method to pressure Xatu. Pokemon such as Heliolisk and Incineroar are able to beat Golbat and Rotom for Garbodor, Pokemon that it otherwise struggles with.

Moves Spikes wears down grounded Pokemon, which is nice because Garbodor can force a lot of switches. Gunk Shot hits really hard with investment in Attack, always getting the 2HKO on Pokemon such as bulky Xatu, Hitmonchan, Mantine, and Mega Audino. Drain Punch allows Garbodor to some Steel-types, such as Klinklang and Pawniard, while gaining a decent amount of HP. However, Focus Blast, while less reliable, hits Steelix, Ferroseed, Aggron, and Regirock much harder. Seed Bomb, with the investment, can secure 2HKOs on Gastrodon and Rhydon while denting Claydol significantly, which otherwise can force Garbodor out with their Ground-type STAB moves. Explosion is useful to block Rapid Spin and Defog and can hit spinners such as Claydol extremely hard. Toxic Spikes is also a nice option to pressure more defensively oriented teams. Set Details Maximum Speed EVs allow Garbodor to outspeed neutral-natured base 70 Speed Pokemon, such as Samurott and Ludicolo, as well as Hasty Abomasnow. A Jolly nature lets Garbodor outspeed defensive Xatu, which is extremely useful, as it can 2HKO with Gunk Shot and proceed to get hazards up. This nature also lets Garbodor outspeed Magmortar, Modest Mesprit, Adamant Kabutops and Lonely Shiftry. Alternatively, an Adamant nature further increases Garbodor's power, allowing it to hit Pokemon such as Xatu and Rhydon extremely hard. Aftermath allows Garbodor to check physical attackers, such as Klinklang and Hariyama. Rocky Helmet inflicts chip damage to punish physical attackers. Life Orb is an option to significantly increase damage output, letting Garbodor force many switches. Poison Barb can be used to avoid Life Orb's recoil while still dealing huge amounts of damage with Gunk Shot. Alternatively, Garbodor can utilize a specially offensive set consisting of moves including Gunk Shot, Giga Drain, Focus Blast, Thunderbolt, and Psychic to lure in specific checks and eliminate them with its wide coverage. Usage Tips Garbodor can be more lenient with its choice of moves because, with the Attack investment, it can surprise common checks such as Rhydon and Gastrodon. Garbodor can lure in and beat the common Pokemon that can either spin away or block entry hazards, such as Xatu, Mantine, and Pelipper, more reliably with the offensive investment. 252 Speed EVs allow Garbodor to outspeed a lot more Pokemon, giving it the ability to set up Spikes on more targets. This set can be a useful pivot on offensively oriented teams, as it has solid natural bulk, a good defensive typing, and power to hit spinners and Defoggers that may give offensive teams trouble, particularly Xatu. Common physical attackers that Garbodor gets chip damage on, such as Kangaskhan and Hariyama, may opt to use Earthquake, bypassing Aftermath and Rocky Helmet; however, offensive Garbodor can 2HKO both. If Garbodor is low on health and it has done its job, this set still works as an emergency check to a powerful physical attacker, inflicting around 41% to the foe with Rocky Helmet and Aftermath damage. Garbodor should use Explosion against Pokemon such as Pelipper, Mantine, Prinplup, and Skuntank to block their Defog. Team Options This set is more useful on bulky offense teams, as it can keep up the offensive pressure while still laying down entry hazards effectively. Pokemon such as Kangaskhan, Floatzel, Tauros, and Archeops appreciate their checks being worn down so that they can continue to pressure the opponent. Volt Switch and U-turn users, such as Scyther, Mesprit, and Manectric, appreciate the entry hazards, as they tend to force a lot of switches and can keep up offensive pressure while their own checks get worn down. Pokemon with Defiant, such as Primeape, can deter Defoggers from getting rid of your entry hazards, while Malamar can actually increase its evasion thanks to Contrary. Spinblockers such as Rotom and Mismagius can also keep entry hazards up as well as provide a Ground immunity for Garbodor and threaten out Psychic-types. Furthermore, these Ghost-types can take advantage of the Toxic Spikes Garbodor spreads to launch full-powered Hexes straight away.

Moves Spikes wears down grounded Pokemon with residual damage very quickly. Toxic Spikes helps wear down bulky, defensive teams much faster, as they usually have a method of recovery to mitigate the damage of Spikes alone. Gunk Shot hits anything that does not resist it relatively hard, is boosted by STAB, and has a chance to poison Xatu, preventing it from repeatedly switching in and bouncing back the entry hazards that Garbodor tries to set. Seed Bomb targets common Pokemon that resist Gunk Shot, including Gastrodon, Claydol, Rhydon, Omastar, and Kabutops Drain Punch is an option that can help give Garbodor some passive recovery as well as a method of hitting Steel-types such as Klinklang, Ferroseed, Aggron, and Steelix; however, it is quite weak, especially against the latter. Focus Blast is an alternative option that lets Garbodor hit Steelix and Aggron significantly harder while maintaining coverage on Rock-, Steel-, and Ice-types by hitting them on their often weaker Special Defense stat. Rock Blast is another option to deal with Scyther much more easily while also hitting Xatu and other Flying-types reliably on the switch. Set Details 56 Speed EVs let Garbodor outrun maximum Speed Mega Audino, Aggron, and Jolly Rhydon. Alternatively, 96 Speed EVs can be used to outpace neutral-natured fully invested base 55 Speed Pokemon, such as Cacturne, Exeggutor, and Omastar. Maximum HP investment increases Garbodor's overall bulk. The remaining EVs are put into Defense with an Impish nature to maintain Garbodor's high physical bulk and punish users of physical contact moves, such as Samurott, Scyther, and Hitmonchan. Aftermath helps Garbodor check physical attackers that rely on contact moves. Rocky Helmet inflicts chip damage, which discourages spinners from removing entry hazards unless they want to take a lot of recoil damage and chips away at physical attackers in general. Black Sludge can be used instead to give Garbodor some passive recovery and increase its longevity. Usage Tips Garbodor should set either entry hazard depending on the opposing team. If the team relies on their bulk to check Pokemon, Spikes can wear them down quickly; however, teams that have no way to get rid of status or a team without a Poison-type will hate Toxic Spikes, as it wears the opposing Pokemon down with consistent passive damage. Only use Drain Punch on frail threats such as Liepard, as bulky Rock-, and Steel-types such as Steelix, Regirock, and Rhydon can easily take it and setting a layer of Spikes or Toxic Spikes is more beneficial against them. Similarly, it is much more constructive for Garbodor to be setting down Spikes rather than using Seed Bomb on bulky targets such as Aurorus and Regirock most of the time. Garbodor can pivot into contact moves such as Kangaskhan's Fake Out, Hariyama's Bullet Punch, and Hitmonchan's Drain Punch in order to rack up Rocky Helmet damage; however, be wary, as many physical attackers carry Earthquake as coverage to hit Garbodor while also avoiding Rocky Helmet and Aftermath recoil. Use Gunk Shot on predicted switches to entry hazard removers such as Xatu, Pelipper, and Mantine, as it is Garbodor's strongest move against them. Finally, if Garbodor's HP is low and it has done its job, you can sacrifice it to a Pokemon using a contact move, such as a weakened spinner, to deal massive recoil via Rocky Helmet and Aftermath to the attacker and prevent the entry hazards from being removed if the spinner faints. Team Options Steelix is a great partner, as it completes an entry hazard setting core, with Steelix being able to shut down Psychic-types that trouble Garbodor, particularly Mesprit and Musharna, and Garbodor switching in on Fighting-type attacks aimed at Steelix. Ghost-types are good partners, as they can spinblock. Rotom can provide momentum with Volt Switch, and Mismagius can prevent Defog as well thanks to Taunt, while they can both switch into Ground-type attacks for Garbodor. Dark-types, such as Liepard, can take on the Ghost- and Psychic-types that resist Garbodor's attacks. Liepard is a particularly good partner with its ability to Pursuit trap Xatu, allowing Garbodor to have an easier time setting up entry hazards. Liepard also appreciates a bulky Pokemon that resists Fighting-type moves to fall back on. Water-types such as Samurott, Floatzel, and Poliwrath can destroy the Rock- and Ground-types that can stop Garbodor, while Garbodor can handle some Grass-types such as Lilligant, Shiftry, and Cacturne. Psychic-types such as Musharna, Mesprit, and Xatu can force opposing Poison-types out.

This is Garbodor's best set, which focuses on Garbodor's utility, bulk, and typing to the fullest. Spikes is Garbodor's best way to support its team, particularly with the switches it commonly forces, making it a staple on this set. Toxic cripples walls, such as Alomomola, that would normally have their way with Garbodor. Pain Split is Garbodor's most reliable form of recovery. Toxic Spikes can be used for further team support, but Pain Split is generally superior as it lets Garbodor stick around for a while. Besides, Toxic usually gets the job done just fine. The last moveslot prevents Garbodor from being Taunt bait; Rock Blast is a great choice for the utility it provides, notably hitting common threats such as Armaldo and Haunter. Gunk Shot, on the other hand, provides a powerful STAB attack that hits decently hard off of Garbodor's good Attack stat. Most notably, it allows Garbodor to dent Fighting-types such as Sawk and Primeape. A physically defensive EV spread makes the most out of Garbodor's resistances to Close Combat and Megahorn, allowing it to set up in the face of common threats, such as Sawk, Primeape, and Gurdurr. 16 Speed EVs let Garbodor outspeed maximum Speed Golem—despite the fact that this set cannot touch Golem, outspeeding it allows Garbodor the chance to set up an extra layer of Spikes against it before falling to Earthquake. Rocky Helmet punishes many physical threats Garbodor likes to switch into, letting it stack up residual damage against them. Most importantly, it ensures Primeape can't just U-turn out against Garbodor unscathed. Rocky Helmet also works well in conjunction with Aftermath, letting Garbodor potentially deal over 40% in residual damage when it goes down. Black Sludge is also a viable alternative, providing passive recovery and focusing more on Garbodor's survivability. Air Balloon is another potential option for a one-time immunity to Ground-type attacks, but Garbodor loses to most Ground-types even with it. Garbodor also has several somewhat useful options in the last two slots, including Seed Bomb, Drain Punch, Clear Smog, and Protect. Seed Bomb lets Garbodor outspeed and dent common Ground-types, such as Seismitoad and Golem. Drain Punch allows Garbodor to dent Rock- and Steel-types, such as Probopass and Bastiodon, and provides a semi-reliable form of recovery. Clear Smog prevents Garbodor from being setup bait, while Protect allows Garbodor to scout the opponent's next move and helps with Toxic stalling. However, Garbodor generally does not have room for any of these moves, and thus the main options are preferred over them. If you are running Toxic Spikes, Ground-types make for good partners, as they help combat the Poison-types that absorb them and can set up Stealth Rock. Garbodor lacks reliable recovery, so a Wish passer is recommended to help make up for that. Alomomola is a good partner for this role, passing enormous Wishes as well as handling Ground-types that threaten Garbodor with relative ease. Lickilicky and Audino are also good partners, as they provide decent defensive synergy and Heal Bell support as well. Sweepers also appreciate Garbodor's presence on a team to take advantage of the Spikes that it provides. Examples include Samurott, Serperior, and Sawsbuck, who all provide decent type synergy and the ability to dispose of Ground-types with their STABs. As a bonus, Swords Dance Samurott can even take out Psychic-types that threaten Garbodor with Megahorn. Finally, Ghost-types make great partners to spinblock and keep Garbodor's Spikes on the field. Misdreavus is arguably the best partner for this role, as it handles Ground-types thanks to Levitate and keeps Psychic-types in check with its Foul Play or STAB Shadow Ball.