Garchomp has run Earthquake as its charge move in Master League since the two were both legal. That changes on Saturday, September 12, 2026, when Pokémon GO’s Gible Community Day Classic hands out an Earth Power Garchomp. In Trainer Battles, Earth Power costs 90 power for 50 energy against Earthquake’s 120 power for 65 energy — it fires close to a full turn sooner, and it simply replaces Earthquake as the better Master League move. In raids and gyms the trade flips: Earth Power tops out at 100 power to Earthquake’s 140 on the same cooldown, so Earthquake keeps the raid slot. One move, two formats, two different verdicts.
Why the Same Move Splits Two Ways
PvP charge moves are paid for with energy earned from fast-move turns inside a battle that has a practical turn limit, so a cheaper move that cycles more often usually beats a pricier one with a marginally better damage-per-energy ratio — Earthquake’s raw DPE (1.85) is still slightly ahead of Earth Power’s (1.80), but Earth Power’s lower 50-energy cost lets Garchomp throw it noticeably more often across a real Master League set, plus it carries a 10% chance to cut the target’s Defense by one stage. As a general rule in Pokémon GO PvP, energy efficiency over the length of a realistic battle beats a marginal DPE edge that a player never lives long enough to cash in.
Raids work on the opposite logic. An encounter lasts minutes, not a handful of turns, so a Pokémon’s fast move generates far more energy than any charge move needs — cost stops mattering and total damage output wins. Earthquake’s 40.00 DPS blows past Earth Power’s 28.57 DPS, so nothing about the raid meta changes: Garchomp raiders still want Earthquake.
Earth Power vs Earthquake: Full Stat Comparison
The table below uses the current live values — Niantic quietly cut Earth Power’s Trainer Battle energy cost from 55 to 50 during the Season 27 update in June 2026, so any source still quoting 55 is out of date.
| Format | Move | Power | Energy | Efficiency | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PvP (Trainer Battles) | Earth Power | 90 | 50 | 1.80 DPE | New best move |
| PvP (Trainer Battles) | Earthquake | 120 | 65 | 1.85 DPE | Replaced |
| Raids & Gyms | Earth Power | 100 | 50 | 28.57 DPS | Skip |
| Raids & Gyms | Earthquake | 140 | 100 | 40.00 DPS | Keep |
Energy cost decides the Master League winner, raw power decides the raid winner — Garchomp’s new move only wins one of the two formats.
How to Get Earth Power on Your Garchomp
Evolve Gabite into Garchomp any time from the start of the event through 9:00 p.m. local time on September 12 — up to four hours after the main 2:00-5:00 p.m. catch window closes — to lock in Earth Power. Miss that window and you get a standard Garchomp with Earthquake or Outrage instead, no different from any other day. During the 2:00-5:00 p.m. window itself, Gible spawns increase, Catch XP is tripled, and 3-hour Incense plus 1-hour Lure Modules (active 2:00-9:00 p.m.) stack extra encounters. A $1.99 Special Research ticket adds three Gible encounters with a special background and bonus rewards, and completing the Collection Challenge by evolving a Gible and a Gabite grants Garchomp Mega Energy on top.
Already Have a Garchomp? You’re Not Locked Out
If your current Garchomp already knows Earthquake, you don’t have to bench it just to try the new move. An Elite Charged TM can teach a Pokémon a past Community Day exclusive move, Earth Power included, so an existing Garchomp isn’t permanently stuck with Earthquake once September 12 passes. The catch is availability: Elite Charged TMs aren’t something you can buy on demand, and they turn up far less often than a regular Charged TM. Evolving a fresh Gible during the event window is still the faster, guaranteed route to Earth Power — treat the Elite TM as the fallback for whenever one eventually comes your way, not the primary plan.
Shiny Odds and the Rest of the Event
Shiny Gible odds run at roughly 1 in 20 during the event, in line with the boosted rate Niantic has used on recent Community Days — treat it as a strong estimate rather than an officially published fraction, since Niantic doesn’t publish exact shiny rates. Evolving during the window doesn’t affect shiny odds either way; a shiny Gible stays shiny through both evolutions regardless of which moveset the final Garchomp gets. The 1-hour Lure Modules stay active for a full seven hours (2:00-9:00 p.m.), well past the 2:00-5:00 p.m. Community Day window itself, so lingering at a lured PokéStop after the main event ends still produces high-frequency Gible spawns for anyone still chasing a shiny or working through the Collection Challenge.
Verified against Pokémon GO’s live move stats as of September 2026, post-Season 27. Niantic can rebalance move costs between seasons — check your own Garchomp’s move-detail screen if these numbers ever look off.
Sources
- Niantic. September 2026 Community Day Classic: Gible — Pokémon GO
- Leek Duck. Gible Community Day Classic — Pokémon GO News and Resources
- Pokémon GO Hub. Earth Power — Move Database
- Pokémon GO Hub. Earthquake — Move Database
- Pokémon GO Wiki (Fandom). Earth Power
- Bulbapedia. Elite Charged TM
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