Garchomp vs. Salamence: Who Is the Stronger Pokémon?

Garchomp and Salamence are both dragon Pokémon that have a fearsome look let alone being quite powerful Pokémon. But of the two of them, what is the strongest Pokémon?

Garchomp is the stronger Pokémon due to its great stats and performance in the anime. Its natural resistance to electricity puts it above Salamence and its victories in the anime show that it is stronger.

Let’s look at why Garchomp is stronger by comparing their performance in the anime as well as looking at Salamence and Dragonite to see how Garchomp stacks up against other dragons in the Pokemon series.

Is Salamence the Strongest Pokémon?

Salamence is a powerful Pokemon and does feature in Pokemon tournaments, but is not the strongest pokemon overall.

First, the concept of legendary Pokemon means that Salamence, a lowly pseudo-legendary or just non-legendary Pokemon, is not going to be able to compete with the legendary Pokemon.

For instance, when you look at Pokémon like Arceus, who can change resistance types and also can basically alter matter and reality, it’s safe to say that a flying dragon-like Salamence is not going to be doing a lot against Arceus.

Keep in mind that Arceus defeated other legendary Pokemon, notably by taking on Giratina, Palkia, and Dialga and winning in a three versus one.

There is also the problem of Yveltal, who may not be the strongest out there, but has a skill that activates from beyond the grave or when Yveltal is almost dead, to kill his attacker. If you always kill your opponent, you must be pretty strong. 

Salamence has some useful abilities as showcased in the anime, such as using fire attacks to destroy forests and fly people around. J’s Salamence also held its own against Regirock, Registeel, and Regice as well as fighting Regigigas.

However, the fact that Salamence cannot deal with these lower legendaries means that he has no hope against the top dogs.

Who Is Better: Dragonite, Salamence, or Garchomp?

Garchomp wins in this battle of anime between Dragonite, Salamence, or Garchomp. 

Dragonite notably is part of Drake’s lineup, but we have also seen one around the lighthouse and as part of Lance’s lineup. 

Drake is the head gym leader in the Orange Islands, and he won’t fight anyone unless they prove they beat four other gyms across the Orange Islands. Upon victory, a trainer and their Pokémon get put in the Orange Islands Hall of Fame.

This Dragonite easily warded off Team Rocket and was only felled by Ash’s Pikachu after first taking down Ash’s Charizard, Tauros, and Squirtle.

Salamence, especially the one owned by J, does some serious damage throughout the anime, as well as is a useful companion to its trainer. Like Dragonite, the combination of dragon-type with flying-type does remove the vector of ground-based attacks.

The final challenge of the Pokémon League Elite Four, Drake the Dragon master, also has a powerful Salamence but does still get defeated by Ash.

Garchomp is one of the more unique Pokemon, being a dragon-type but also a ground-type. This gives Garchomp quite the advantage over Dragonite, who got zapped in the head by Pikachu’s Thunder attack, as Garchomp won’t be affected at all by electricity. 

Cynthia sent out Garchomp to help fight Thundurus, Tornadus, and Landorus and Professor Sycamore also used a Mega Garchomp to destroy Team Rocket.

Who Is Stronger Than Garchomp?

There is a whole host of Pokemon more powerful than Garchomp, including many of the legendaries present throughout the series.

Garchomp has never defeated anything terribly noteworthy, although Garchomp itself is another of the pseudo-legendary Pokémon, this time with a gender difference.