[DISCUSSION] Neglected Pokémon Spotlight: Garbodor!

[0kamii]

Hey, everybody! It's 0kamii, and I'm thrilled you share another new series with you all!

In this new series, I'm going to take an under-appreciated/forgotten pokémon and try to spread some love in their name. I figured there was no better candidate for the pilot post of this series than the king of hate himself, Garbodor. Obviously, if you've clicked on this post, you're probably as accepting of this little guy as I am. I bet you that there are no Genwunners reading this. If there are, they probably already skipped the entire post and jumped down to the comments to trash talk this lovable trash bag. Well, I say no more! I used a Garbodor during one of my original Pokémon Black and White playthroughs and I don't regret it one bit. It was a fun, very different pokémon to use. Not to mention that Aftermath ended more battles in my favor than you'd think. So, here we go! The very first post in my "Neglected Pokémon Spotlight" series!
 

Neglected Pokémon Spotlight: Garbodor!

 

Much like Garchomp and I, people really seem to love to hate poor Garbodor. What's weird about this however is that the majority of hate that people have with the Trash Heap Pokémon seems to be in only two areas. Those areas are its design, and its lackluster battling ability. Genwunners, as I've previously mentioned, always seem to direct our attention to Garbodor as proof that GameFreak is becoming lazy, uninspired, or cyclical. Frankly, I'm not going to bother trying to dispute that because the bounty of wonderful new pokémon we've gotten over the last five years says it for me. Besides, we all know that Genwunners see the first Generation through rose-tinted lens, and you'll be hard-pressed to find one that actually admits that Gen 1 is easily the most glitchy, slow, experimental games in the series. But you know what? That's okay! So instead of trying to stake my claim against Genwunners, I'd like to go over all the reasons why I personally love Garbodor, and why you should too!

 

 

Reason 1: It's Better in Combat Than You Think!

We all know that Garbodor has a meager stat total, and I'm in no way suggesting that Garbodor can swing with the big boys in VGC and OU. What I am suggesting is that the people that who claim Garbodor is a terrible pokémon in battle clearly never tried him in the proper tier. Believe it or not, Garbodor is actually very good in the NU and RU tiers in Smogon's format. It's a very reliable Toxic Spikes setter, and even though its Sp. Attack isn't the greatest, it actually has a lot of options for coverage. These include by not limited to Thunderblot, Psychic, Focus Blast, and even Solar Beam. Who would've thought, right? And I know some skeptics are reading this and thinking, "Of course it's in NU, all the dumb mons that no one uses are in the bottom tiers!" Well sir or madam, to that I say this: Do you know who else is in NU? Charizard. Yep, and so is Kangaskhan. Not to mention Scyther, and Steelix, and...oh, you get the point. A pokémon's popularity does not correlate to its battling prowess, and thus I think it's fair that Garbodor is in the same tier as non-Mega Charizard. Use it against other pokémon of the same caliber and Garbodor might just surprise you! In fact, this screenshot is taken from PIMPNITE, and I'll leave the original video below! See what Garbodor can do for yourself when used well!

 

 

Reason 2: It's Got a Pretty Good Shiny!

This reason probably has less meaning to others, but as a Shiny hunter, I always consider a mon's Shiny form before I judge how much I like them. Compared to some of the other pokémon with which Garbodor shares a region, it's actually got a VERY good Shiny. My favorite kinds are the ones that are distinguishable, and seeing as how Garbodor shares a generation with lackluster Shinies like Samurott, Gothitelle, Sawsbuck, and Beartic, I think Garbodor's Shiny easily stands out even if it's not my favorite. The 5th Generation had a lot of cool Shinies (Chandelure, Haxorus, Scolipede to name a few), but Garbodor is still one of the better looking ones, in my opinion. It's definitely on my hunt list. And it just so happens that you can S.O.S. chain for one in Sun and Moon!

 

 

Reason 3: It's Endangered in Alola...

All I really need to do for this one is to refer you to the PokéDex entry for Garbodor in Pokémon Moon. I quote:

 

"For a time, their numbers increased explosively in Alola. Since the arrival of Grimer, their population has decreased dramatically."

 

Aw. Poor Garbodor. It's great that the overpopulation problem was fixed, but not if it means driving them off their island home. This newest detail really makes me feel sorry for Garbodor and its Trubbish friends. Have no fear Garbodor, I'll look after you and your buddies! We'll conquer the RU metagame together!

 

Conclusion:

That's really all I have to say about Garbodor. It's truly an under-appreciated pokémon, and in NO way deserving of all the hate that those stubborn Genwunners give it. I could have spent this whole post making the same arguments to everyone about how Muk has a lazier design, or commenting that Garbodor is not an ideal representation of what Gen 5 has to offer, but that's simply not the 0kamii way! Those arguments have been made over and over again in defense of this pokémon and every other 'dumb' mon from Gen 5. So instead of telling nay-sayer why they're wrong, why not tell each other why we're right? We love Garbodor, you must to have made it all the way down to this point in the post. Together we stand in favor of this misunderstood mon, and I will always go out of my way to tell people that I love Garbodor. If that doesn't make me a true fan in the eyes of the Genwunners, then I'm happy to disappoint them. Yes Garbodor, you can has love. All my love, just for you!

Thanks so much for reading, everyone! And again, I'm happy to be back to my regular posting schedule. I'll see you all next time with my personal analysis of the Top 8 teams from Worlds this year! I'm sure it'll be insightful for the both of us. Especially given how much I refrain from standardized strategies.

Read you all soon, everyone. Battle onwards, friends!

P.S. Credit for the title image goes to IcyLatias, and the Shiny to Muums. Go check them both out on DeviantArt. They both make some good stuff!

[Kris]

I always did love Garbodor and it's design is nice. I might try him out in battle sometime

[0kamii]

@Kris

I'm glad I'm not the only one who's unafraid to openly express my adoration for this little guy. I actually didn't know how much hate people had for Garbodor until years after I played Gen 5.

Only once I started watching PokéTubers and seeing their lists of bad/forgotten pokémon did I realize the reputation that Garbodor had accumulated. It made me feel really sorry for him, but you know what? It doesn't change how I feel. I love Garbodor, and if I ever build an NU team, I'll be sure to include him. A consistent Toxic Spikes setter is so hard to come by...

- 0kamii

[FireTaco]

when you are so moved by a thread you do this (I might have cried, so what?)


Pure Poetry (Garbodor) @ Leftovers  
Ability: Stench  
EVs: 252 HP / 124 Def / 4 SpA / 128 SpD  
Modest Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk  
- Toxic Spikes  
- Acid Spray  
- Psychic  
- Spikes

[0kamii]

@FireTaco

Interesting set, FT. I'm glad you liked the post. Would you mind explaining to me the specifics of the set? Why you chose the moves, the use of EV investment, obviously which tier this is designed for, basically the whole shebang, as you like it.

- 0kamii

[Kris]

(Sep 27, 2017, 07:04 PM)0kamii Wrote: @Kris

I'm glad I'm not the only one who's unafraid to openly express my adoration for this little guy. I actually didn't know how much hate people had for Garbodor until years after I played Gen 5.

Only once I started watching PokéTubers and seeing their lists of bad/forgotten pokémon did I realize the reputation that Garbodor had accumulated. It made me feel really sorry for him, but you know what? It doesn't change how I feel. I love Garbodor, and if I ever build an NU team, I'll be sure to include him. A consistent Toxic Spikes setter is so hard to come by...

- 0kamii

You know I love being different Garbodor for OU

[FireTaco]

@0kamii 

So honestly this set was designed to be a good double hazard setter, as well as being able too boost its dammage up, or help out the team later on.  The hazards being Toxic Spikes and Spikes.  Both of them together make a large mess in the opponets side that will help out tremendously, the next two moves Acid Spray and Pcychic, are ment to be its main way of doing any attacks.  I am always a fan of the weaker attack with the great affects, and having a definate Sp. Def drop helps out it slightly lacking Sp. Attack.  Then Psychic was there to help against people who will switch into a poision type pokemon, as they will be immune to the Toxic Spikes.  Leftovers are there to give it some recovery, as its only other options are Rest or a pain split, which you can never be sure about.  The Evs were made to give it a boost to its great natural bulk and HP stat.  This will help ensure it is able to get the two hazards up. The ability is Stench, because even though it is unlikely, the other two abilites are out classed in a way.  Weak armmor drops it bulk, which makes it at a big disadvantage.  Aftermath is just more coincidental.  It has no moves that are super effective on it that cause contact, also its bulk makes it harder to KO.

All and all, I'm unsure where I could put this guy, but I will be seeing him in my pokemon Sun very soon.

[Reis]

I hate when people say Garbodor is the epitome of laziness and trash, and that pokemon in the lower tiers suck. Believe it or not, Arcanine is in UU, along with Starmie and Metagross and Hydreigon.

Just goes to show tiers ≠ viabillity, tiers are also based on usage

[0kamii]

@Reis

I never would've thought that Metagross, Arcanine, and Starmie were in UU. Huh. Learn something new everyday. But yes, you're right. Ranking is based on usage, not popularity. I guess some pokémon aren't nearly as good as you think they'd be. At least in Singles. We all know Arcanine and Metagross killed it this VGC season.

- 0kamii