Pokemon Unite Garchomp guide (April 2023): Best movesets, builds, held items, and more

Garchomp remains one of the best sleeper picks on the entire Pokemon Unite roster. It is one of the title's original characters, and the developers have had tons of time to balance it out and leave it in a state as close to perfect as the metagame will allow.

Garchomp debuted in the fourth generation of the franchise. Many older trainers have become well-acquainted with the Pseudo-Legendary Pokemon from the Sinnoh region. Whether it is on the team of the region's champion, Cynthia, or one that they trained on their own, the creature has a place in the hearts of almost every Pokemon fan.

However, Pokemon Unite is a much different game than anything else in the beloved Pocket Monster franchise. Being a much more strategic title, the MOBA requires a bit more game knowledge than usual.

So how can players best play Garchomp in Pokemon Unite?

Note: Parts of this article are subjective and solely reflect the opinions of the writer

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Everything to know about playing Garchomp in Pokemon Unite

Garchomp as it appears in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

While Pokemon Unite recommends Garchomp be played in the bottom path, this is not optimal. Being in the bottom path as a creature with such a weak early game puts you at the mercy of the support player that goes with you. Relying on any teammate is always a risky choice. With this being the case, players should take Garchomp into the center area or "jungle," as many may call it.

Playing in the jungle allows Garchomp to passively grind XP without being contested by opposing creatures. It also allows the creature to hit its first evolution with only one full clear of its side of the map. Evolving much faster than some opponents on the map gives Garchomp an advantage in a fight, allowing it to snowball in as early as two minutes.

There are a couple of movesets that work for Garchomp in Pokemon Unite. However, the choice depends on what the player wants for a particular round.

Taking Dig is always great as it gives Garchomp some movement options as well as a way to hit opponents through walls. The other attack is where things get a bit more complicated.

Players who want to make a larger impact in team fights should pick Earthquake. Earthquake is an area attack that extends in a circle around Garchomp. However, if trainers want to deal more damage in duels, they should use Dragon Claw. This attack deals a lot of damage to a singular target and works great for players wanting to take fights from the jungle rather than head-on from a lane.

Items are where things start to get very interesting for Garchomp in Pokemon Unite. Thanks to some new additions to the items catalog, the creature is one of the best bruisers for extended fights against tanks.

The combination of Rapid-Fire Scarf and Drain Crown makes Garchomp unkillable. This is thanks to the terrifying amounts of life steal from these items as well as the Pocket Monster's empowered basic attacks.

For the last item, Pokemon Unite players can take either the Muscle Band or the Scope Lens.