All this recent discussion regarding Garchomp got me thinking. I think the main thing which makes Garchomp so hard to take down is its Ability, Sand Veil. Sure it's got many other things going for it, but the thing is, you can always prepare for those. You are responsible for making sure you have a Dragon resist, a Bulky Water with Ice Beam, something with Ice Shard, etc. you get my point. But what you cannot account for, and what seems to be the most common way to losing to Garchomp from my experience at least, is Sand Veil. No Pokemon that serves as a counter to Garchomp is immune to its effects.
And this is why people get mad. Not only do they get mad, but the vast majority of Garchomp users themselves sympathize with their opponent when they miss on a crucial turn (which, with Garchomp, is practically every turn). If you think about it, whenever Sand Veil activates, everyone pretty much either gets pissed off or feels guilty. I don't know about you, but I play this game for enjoyment, and neither of those two feelings make me feel good. Like I said, you can prepare all you want for Garchomp itself, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds myself praying on EVERY move I throw at Garchomp that it will connect.
Which is why I propose we remove its ability. Whether we give it something else or just leave it with no ability is up for discussion.
I realize such a proposal comes with a lot of baggage. For one thing you'd be straying from the actual game, and any simulator not using Garchomp's actual ability might recieve criticism from some groups. Removing Garchomp's ability would also brings up the question of "what next?" in many peoples' minds. If you successfully "even out" one Pokemon, I'm certain plenty of people will vouch for the same thing to happen for other Pokemon. Proof of this is all these topics about moving x down from Ubers into OU after Deoxys-S was moved. This is not necessarily a bad thing though. While there were many many annoying topics during the early days of DP, the end result was two new Pokemon which can fairly compete in OU. Change is good. Another question this proposal raises is what do do about other Pokes like Gliscor and Mamoswine. And probably most significant of all is that such a widespread change would be very difficult to implement. All these points must be taken into consideration.
Notice that I addressed the cons of removing Sand Veil in addition to my reasons for it. I'm doing my best to look at things from both sides, so I'd appreciate if you all would too. To reiterate, the fundamental point of my argument for removing Sand Veil is that while you can make the necessary preparations to handle Garchomp, just as you can for Gengar, Tyranitar, Gyarados, etc. there is NO WAY you can prepare yourself for the devastating effects of Sand Veil on a Pokemon where a single turn can change the game.
And this is why people get mad. Not only do they get mad, but the vast majority of Garchomp users themselves sympathize with their opponent when they miss on a crucial turn (which, with Garchomp, is practically every turn). If you think about it, whenever Sand Veil activates, everyone pretty much either gets pissed off or feels guilty. I don't know about you, but I play this game for enjoyment, and neither of those two feelings make me feel good. Like I said, you can prepare all you want for Garchomp itself, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds myself praying on EVERY move I throw at Garchomp that it will connect.
Which is why I propose we remove its ability. Whether we give it something else or just leave it with no ability is up for discussion.
I realize such a proposal comes with a lot of baggage. For one thing you'd be straying from the actual game, and any simulator not using Garchomp's actual ability might recieve criticism from some groups. Removing Garchomp's ability would also brings up the question of "what next?" in many peoples' minds. If you successfully "even out" one Pokemon, I'm certain plenty of people will vouch for the same thing to happen for other Pokemon. Proof of this is all these topics about moving x down from Ubers into OU after Deoxys-S was moved. This is not necessarily a bad thing though. While there were many many annoying topics during the early days of DP, the end result was two new Pokemon which can fairly compete in OU. Change is good. Another question this proposal raises is what do do about other Pokes like Gliscor and Mamoswine. And probably most significant of all is that such a widespread change would be very difficult to implement. All these points must be taken into consideration.
Notice that I addressed the cons of removing Sand Veil in addition to my reasons for it. I'm doing my best to look at things from both sides, so I'd appreciate if you all would too. To reiterate, the fundamental point of my argument for removing Sand Veil is that while you can make the necessary preparations to handle Garchomp, just as you can for Gengar, Tyranitar, Gyarados, etc. there is NO WAY you can prepare yourself for the devastating effects of Sand Veil on a Pokemon where a single turn can change the game.
