Head-to-head
Garchomp vs Dragonite
Dragon pseudo-legendary face-off — Ground anchor vs Flying tank.
Side-by-side
Garchomp
Dragon/Ground · #0445
BST: 600
Dragonite
Dragon/Flying · #0149
BST: 600
Verdict
Winner: Garchomp (no setup) / Dragonite (after Dragon Dance)
Garchomp wins the speed tier 1-on-1. Dragonite wins with setup due to Multiscale + DD.
Context: why this matchup matters
Garchomp (Gen 4) and Dragonite (Gen 1) are both Dragon-type pseudo-legendaries (600 BST). Garchomp is Dragon/Ground; Dragonite is Dragon/Flying. They've been OU-tier together for 15+ years. The classic question: who's better, the Ground-immunity-loss tank or the Multiscale wallbreaker?
Stat battle: who has the numbers?
Garchomp: 108/130/95/80/85/102 BST 600. Physical attacker (130 Atk) with high HP (108) and decent Speed (102). Dragonite: 91/134/95/100/100/80 BST 600. Slightly lower Speed (80 vs 102) but better mixed stats (100 SpA) and Multiscale ability. Garchomp outspeeds Dragonite without setup; Dragonite wins after Dragon Dance.
Abilities: Garchomp's Rough Skin damages contact attackers; Dragonite's Multiscale halves all damage at full HP — effectively giving it 50% extra effective HP from full. Multiscale is widely considered the better ability.
Full matchup analysis
Without setup: Garchomp outspeeds and 2HKOes with Earthquake (Dragonite's only 2× Ice weakness is matched by Garchomp's 4× Ice weakness — both die to Ice Beam). But Garchomp moves first and gets the KO.
With Dragon Dance: Dragonite wins. Multiscale ensures Dragonite survives Garchomp's first Outrage / Earthquake, then DD raises Atk + Speed, and the second turn Dragonite OHKOes back with Extreme Speed or +1 Outrage.
Tera plays: Garchomp's most common Tera is Steel (drops Ice 4× weakness to neutral). Dragonite's most common Tera is Normal (gives Extreme Speed +1 priority STAB). Both flip the matchup in different directions.
Competitive viability: Both are OU-tier. Garchomp is more flexible (Loaded Dice + Scale Shot + Earthquake + Stealth Rock support set). Dragonite is more snowball-y (DD + Extreme Speed sweep). They're often on the same team rather than competing for one slot.
When to pick each
Pick Garchomp for: Lead Stealth Rock + Scale Shot sweeping, Sand teams (Sand Veil ability), Loaded Dice multi-hit abuse. Garchomp is the most flexible OU Pokémon — it can run physical attacker, mixed attacker, or defensive setter.
Pick Dragonite for: Setup sweeping with Dragon Dance + Extreme Speed, defensive Multiscale stalling, Choice Band wallbreaking. Dragonite hits 4× more matchups thanks to Multiscale + Extreme Speed priority. See our Dragapult build for an alternative Dragon special attacker.