RU Machamp

[KW]

[OVERVIEW]

Machamp's niche over other Fighting-types in the RU tier is its ability Guts, which can transform it into a powerful wallbreaker with Flame Orb, boasting over 590 Attack, while maintaining the flexibility to switch its moves and not worry about Toxic. Machamp's STAB move usefully threatens many of the tier's Stealth Rock setters, including Registeel, Rhyperior, and Gigalith, and the rest of its movepool allows it to either OHKO or 2HKO the remainder of the metagame. Even stall teams have little in the way of checks for Machamp, as Close Combat, Knock Off, and Facade can break through everything in conjunction with Machamp's Guts-boosted power and ability to switch moves. However, Machamp competes for a spot with Bewear and Pangoro, the tier's other premier Fighting-types, which both have access to Swords Dance along with better physical bulk in the former's case and a stronger Knock Off for the latter. In addition, without defensive investment, Machamp is fairly easy to revenge kill due to its poor Speed tier and lack of a STAB priority move, and it is worn down quickly thanks to residual damage stacking up from Flame Orb and pivoting into entry hazards.

[SET]
name: Guts Wallbreaker
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Facade
move 4: Bullet Punch / Ice Punch
item: Flame Orb
ability: Guts
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Close Combat is Machamp's most powerful STAB move, capable of decimating virtually any nonresistant target, and it can be spammed when Ghost-types are not present. Knock Off hits Ghost- and Psychic-types capable of switching into Machamp's STAB Close Combat, principally Doublade and Cresselia, along with removing items. Facade gives Machamp a strong alternative to Close Combat that will not lower its defenses, and it heavily damages common Fighting-resistant Pokemon(space)such as Moltres, Florges, and Araquanid. Priority Bullet Punch makes Machamp more useful versus offensively inclined teams and threatens faster offensive Fairy-types such as Gardevoir. Running Bullet Punch does, however, make it harder to get rid of Gligar, worsening the stall matchup. Ice Punch on Machamp patches up this problem and helps with its stallbreaking niche, as well as increasing Machamp's chance at OHKOing Nidoqueen and Dragalge.
Set Details
========

Maximum Speed and Attack investment with an Adamant nature allows Machamp to hit as hard as possible while ensuring it will outspeed the plethora of defensive Pokemon in the tier. Flame Orb allows Machamp to safely trigger Guts to boost its Attack and Facade's Base Power, turning Machamp into a powerful wallbreaker. A Jolly nature can be used to outspeed and obliterate Adamant Bewear and Pangoro, as well as easing the matchup versus Speed-invested Gligar, which might otherwise outspeed Machamp and get off critical Earthquake damage or Roost on an Ice Punch.

Usage Tips
========

Play Machamp aggressively, bringing it on double switches expecting the opponent to send in a Pokemon it threatens out, such as Registeel or Umbreon. Use Facade liberally, as it provides a high-Base Power move that comes without drawback and can 2HKO a majority of switch-ins along with one of Machamp's coverage moves. Be careful to preserve Close Combat PP against stall teams, as they will often attempt to Protect stall your team and pivot around in order to waste PP due to them lacking proper switch-ins to Machamp's Guts-boosted attacks. Be wary of leading with Machamp, as without Guts activated it will be significantly weaker on the first turn.
Team Options
========

Pokemon such as Doublade, Gardevoir, Moltres, and Comfey, whose ability to dent a team is hindered by the presence of Registeel or Umbreon, appreciate Machamp threatening these foes on a double switch. The same goes for Moltres and Comfey. Healing Wish or Lunar Dance users such as Shaymin, Gardevoir, and Cresselia are also good options, as they can bring a weakened Machamp back onto the field to give it a second go at breaking through teams that relied on wearing it down. Pokemon providing VoltTurn support, such as Gligar, Swellow, and Rotom-C, can get Machamp in for free to fire off a powerful attack. Rhyperior and Registeel can come in on Flying-types such as Moltres and Golbat, which easily switch into Machamp and force it out, and they also provide Stealth Rock support for your team. Nidoqueen appreciates Machamp weakening their shared check in Cresselia, and vice versa, while supporting the team by setting up Stealth Rock. Escavalier can come in on and often Pursuit trap faster Psychic-types and force out Fairy-types that threaten Machamp.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Machamp's niche in RU is as a Guts wallbreaker, and aside from that it does not have much going for it. A No Guard set with Dynamic Punch may sound appealing, but it is unreliable due to confusion's low self-hit chance, and the Guts set is much more efficient and reliable. Earthquake guarantees the OHKO on Nidoqueen after a Guts boost, unlike Ice Punch, and it deals more damage to Doublade as well. Heavy Slam gives Machamp the potential to OHKO Florges.
Checks and Counters
===================

**Psychic-types**: Psychic-types such as Espeon, Cresselia, and Meloetta can outspeed Machamp and revenge kill it with their super effective STAB moves, though none appreciate switching in on a Knock Off or Facade. Cresselia also needs heavy Speed investment to outspeed Machamp.
**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types such as Gardevoir, Slurpuff, and speedy Florges can come in on Machamp and OHKO it with their super effective STAB moves, though they have to beware Bullet Punch, and Florges is 2HKOed by Facade.

**Faster Wallbreakers**: A plethora of Pokemon in the tier can revenge kill Machamp, such as Salazzle, Decidueye, and Bruxish, as well as some of the Fighting-types Machamp competes with in Bewear and Pangoro.

**Residual Damage**: Residual damage from entry hazards, Rocky Helmet, and Flame Orb can put Machamp into the range where it can no longer switch

 

[aVocado]

•Can come in on a majority of the tier's defensive threats such as Registeel and Umbreon

Remove this, it can't really "come in" cuz it doesn't like taking a round of hazards (possibly) + burn damage + seismic toss/foul play, and in the very next point you say it threatens them so this is misinformation and unnecessary imo.

Mention rivalry between itself and other fighting types, most notably pangoro and bewear, and note Machamp's niche over them. Mainly, Machamp is immune to status (mostly toxic) so it isnt worn out /as/ easily, and the ability to be very threatening right off the bat while still being able to switch between moves is a huge boon. meanwhile, its slightly slower, has less bulk than bewear, and doesn't have a strong knock off like pangor.

You forgot to include the set name in the set itself and theres a couple spacing errors (there should be spaces before and after slashes), so copy/paste the following:

[SET]
name: Guts
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Facade
move 4: Ice Punch / Bullet Punch
item: Flame Orb
ability: Guts
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

In usage tips, about spamming close combat, i disagree. It should spam facade unless CC is needed to KO something Facade otherwise wouldn't, so change that tidbit to reflect that.

You forgot the ====== after team options so I suggest going over the analysis format. For future reference, copy/paste the analysis format and edit it from there. Anyway, for the team options themselves, Florges denting a team is a weird option because CM Florges barely exists anymore, so remove that. Decidueye doesn't care for Registeel, in fact regi is set up fodder a lot of the time, so that's not a suitable option either. Include Pokemon that would struggle with stall, things like fast sweepers that can't take on walls by themselves. Swellow, Sharpedo, Doublade, and maybe DD Feraligatr are options you could use.

Remove the bit about wish passers also, I just don't think it fits honestly. Instead, put healing wish shaymin, gardevoir, and lunar dance cresselia. Machamp weakening shit and stall having to play so meticulously around it to weaken it, then only for it to be wished back to full health and wreck havoc all again.

Also add things that can take on its typical checks; Rhyperior is good here as it can take any flying type should that exist, mainly just Moltres and Golbat. Dragalge is also good here, it likes Machamp weakening some shared checks. Meloetta could also work.

Nidoqueen is an obligatory mention, they share a same check in Cresselia and it sets down SR. Remove the bit about Tsareena she's ass, along the Gligar mention also plug in Swellow since it also has U-turn and can give you big momentum if say, the opponent switched to registeel and u u-turn into machamp.

I think the no guard set is so inferior that it's not even worth mentioning in OO, so either remove it or intentionally say that it's ass because Guts is literally machamp's only niche. I also don't like EQ that much there but w/e. Machamp kinda doesn't really have any other options so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In C&C mention how Florges should be wary of Facade as it easily 2HKOs. Mention Cresselia under Psychic-types, as well as Meloetta. Do note how Melo and Espeon are too weak to be able to switch in, while Cresselia has to run some speed to be able to outspeed and will take a hefty amount from facade/knock off.

Do all of that and then I'll go over it again for a check

 

[KW]

Edits made

 

[aVocado]

Remove nidoqueen as a rocker it threatens in overview, nidoqueen can easily do upwards 80% with sludge wave so its not exactly a threat you should stay in against

Competes for a spot with Bewear and Pangoro, the tiers other premier fighting types, which offer better physical bulk and a stronger stab knock off along with swords dance respectively.

this is worded as to say bewear has a stab knock off which is false. restructure the sentence to something like "competes with bewear and pangoro, as the former has much more bulk while the latter has SD and a stab knock off"

in OO put a sentence before anything else that says something along the lines of "machamp's only niche is guts flame orb, and it doesn't have much else going for it"

QC approved 1/3

 

[Deleted User 400951]

Not QC, some suggestions:
"•Heavy Slam gives Machamp the potential to OHKO Florges and does more to mega Audio"
Mega Audino is irrelevant in this meta, remove the mention
In Usage Tips, I'd mention how it's pretty bad vs offense so you can sack it or something.

 

[aVocado]

the following post is written by slurmz but he can't post it cuz smogon isn't working for him:



hi lad. read all the italics and bolded stuff

[OVERVIEW]

•Competes for a spot with Bewear and Pangoro, the tiers other premier fighting types, as the former offers better physical bulk while the latter offers stronger stab knock off along with swords dance. (both have swords dance, reword this)

Maybe mention how it's similar to heracross simply due to the set yet falls short of the dominance that heracross once had due to many of the downfalls you note in the overview.

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

•Close Combat is Machamp's most powerful stab move capable of decimating virtually any non resist and can be spammed when ghost types are not present.

•Knock off hits ghost and psychic types capable of switching into Machamp's STAB Close Combat, principally Doublade and Decidueye (remove decidueye since ice punch hits decidueye harder anyway (since most carry deci or grass z). mention other resists such as cress or jellicent.)

•Facade gives Machamp a strong alternative to Close Combat that will not lower its defenses, while also hitting Moltres, Florges, and Golisopod. (change this to "also hitting other common fighting resists such as..." also don't mention golisopod since it sucks and is irrelevant)

•Ice Punch hits any flying types that can come in on Machamp, primarily gligar, while also giving Machamp a move to hit Nidoqueen and Dragalge with. (ice punch is primarily for gligar since facade 2HKOs offensive nidoqueen and dragalge. nidoqueen is also faster than machamp in almost all cases. maybe reword this to note that ice punch is pretty much solely for gligar and aids in its stall breaking niche.)

•Bullet Punch gives Machamp a priority move so it is not useless versus faster teams while threatening offensive fairies such as gardevoir. (replace bold with "so it is more useful versus offensively inclined teams" and "threatening faster offensive fairies such as gardevoir". also mention how it sacrifices its ability to immediately threaten gligar and makes stall-breaking much more difficult.)

Usage Tips
========

•Be careful to preserve Close Combat PP versus stall matchups, as they can attempt to protect stall you and pivot around in order to waste PP (this contradicts your previous bullet point which i left unmarked above (since you say its best matchup is versus stall). even if i understand what you were going for, you don't want to confuse readers since they are either new to the tier or new to the site.)

Team Options
========

•Pokemon such as Doublade, Gardevoir, or Swellow whose ability to dent a team is hindered by the presence of Registeel or Umbreon which Machamp can threaten on a double. (remove swellow from here since you mention it below.)

•Pivots such as U-Turn Gligar and Swellow which can get Machamp in for free to allow it to fire of a powerful attack (reword this to "VoltTurn support from pokemon such as Gligar, Swellow, or Rotom-Mow can get Machamp in for free to fire off a powerful attack") rotom mow is good i swear. also read below

•Rhyperior can come in on flying types such as Moltres and Golbat which can often live a hit and force Machamp out. (obvious typing error. also mention other examples besides rhyperior i.e registeel. also mention how these dudes can rock for the team.)

•Offensive Dragalge appreciates having Registeel and Umbreon pressured and KO'd by Machamp as they are otherwise reliable switchins. (not really sure about this bullet since machamp only forces out umbreon and registeel. it doesn't really eliminate them. dragalge really doesn't do anything for machamp either except tspike, which offensive rather do other things for the most part. i'd rather you delete this bullet and expand on the things that lure in registeel/umbreon to bring in machamp safely while also expanding on things that weaken common checks to machamp, allowing it to pressure teams more easily.)

•Nidoqueen appreciates Machamp weakening their shared check in Cresselia and can support the team by setting up stealth rock. (i fixed some spelling errors here so change those. also I believe machamp appreciates nidoqueen keeping cresselia in knock off range more than vice-versa. also read above)

•Escavelier can come in on and often pursuit trap faster psychic and fairy types that threaten Machamp (Escavalier* also escav doesn't pursuit trap fairies, it forces them out since pursuit doesn't do much to any of the fairies except gardevoir, which is a psychic type. so your wording here can confuse people. reword this. something along the lines of: "Escavalier can come in on and often pursuit trap faster psychic types that threaten Machamp. It also forces out all of the fairy types that irk Machamp.")

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

•Earthquake guarantees the OHKO on Nidoqueen after a guts boost, whereas Ice Punch has the chance not to hitting while also hitting Doublade (reword this, i really dislike how this reads.)

•Heavy Slam gives Machamp the potential to OHKO Florges and does more to mega Audino (unmon, remove. florges is fine by itself here.)

Checks and Counters
===================

**Faster Wall Breakers** A plethora of pokemon in the tier can come in to Machamp and with the OHKO it usually with the help of a boosting item including some of the fighting types Machamp competes with in Bewear and Pangoro. (your wording makes it seem like they can switch in. they can't. also, bewear and pangoro can come in to revenge usually but add different examples)

**Residual Damage** Hazards damage as well as Rocky Helmet damage along with the residual damage from Machamp's own flame orb can put it in range where it can no longer switch into anything. (add)



you have a lot of spelling and grammatical errors that i didn't change, so please review and fix :(. the content overall seems okay just a little poorly written. ill qc after since this is a lot.

 

[KW]

Added pretty much everything and tried to clean up the grammar a bit
Only thing I didnt add was the heracross portion since I wasnt sure where that would go/ whether it would be correct to reference previous metas, if you all think its really inportant i could add it in
On the point about preserving PP instead of getting rid of it I tried to emphasize again how stall lacks switchins to avoid confusion

 

[aVocado]

Yeah don't mention heracross at all slurmz is dumb

 

[phantom]

it doesn't need ice punch that badly since knock off + facade destroys gligar, so make bullet punch the first slash

qc 2/3

 

[MrAldo]

- Set Details is a little empty tbh, so there you could mention the benefits of running Jolly Nature (not that many but there are still some) like outspeeding opposing adamant Bewear and Pangoro and destroying them, while making the matchup against speedy gligar a bit easier. Obviously mention the drawbacks it has (less power and stuff).

- The Faster Wallbreaker section on checks and counters is pretty odd since you just mention its direct competition and not other wallbreakers. You can mention Pokemon like Salazzle, Bruxish and what not. It just feels odd to me that you are limiting yourself to mentioning its direct competition, instead of plethora give some examples to give the reader an idea. Salazzle, Bruxish as said, and Decidueye would be other nice examples.

Everything else looks pretty fine. Good job. QC 3/3 once implemented.

 

[P Squared]

in the future have the decency to capitalize all of your Pokemon and move names without our help, thanks

http://spo.ink/gpvideo

GP 1/2

Hide

[OVERVIEW]

Machamp's niche over other Fighting-types in the RU tier is thanks to its ability Guts, (add comma) which can transform it into a powerful wallbreaker with Flame Orb, boasting over 590 Attack, while allowing it to maintaining the flexibility to switch up its moves and not worrying about Toxic avoid getting hit by toxics. Machamp's STAB move usefully threatens a majority of the tier's Stealth Rock setters rockers, (add comma) including Registeel, Rhyperior, Gligar, and Gigalith, and the rest of its while its remaining movepool allows it to either OHKO or 2HKO the remainder of the metagame. Even stall teams have little in the way of checks for Machamp, as Close Combat, Knock Off, (add comma) and Facade can break through everything in conjunction with Machamp's Guts-boosted power and ability to switch up moves while maintaining the power of Choice Band with it guts boost active. However, Machamp competes for a spot with Bewear and Pangoro, the tier's other premier Fighting-types, which both have access to Swords Dance, (remove comma) along with better physical bulk in the former's case and a stronger Knock Off for the latter. In addition, without defensive defense investment, (add comma) Machamp is fairly easy to revenge kill due to its slow poor Speed tier and lack of a STAB priority move, (add comma) and it is worn down quickly thanks to residual burn damage stacking up from Flame Orb and pivoting into entry hazards coming in on hazards and by being pivoted around on.

[SET]
name: Guts Wallbreaker
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Facade
move 4: Bullet Punch / Ice Punch
item: Flame Orb
ability: Guts
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Close Combat is Machamp's most powerful STAB move, (add comma) capable of decimating virtually any nonresistant target non-resist, (add comma) and it can be spammed when Ghost-types are not present. Knock Off hits Ghost- and Psychic-types capable of switching into Machamp's STAB Close Combat, principally Doublade and Cresselia, along with removing items (if that's useful). Facade gives Machamp a strong alternative to Close Combat that will not lower its defenses, and it heavily damages while also common Fighting-resistant Pokemon fighting resists such as Moltres, Florges, and Araquanid. Priority Bullet Punch gives Machamp a priority move so it is makes Machamp more useful versus offensively inclined teams and threatens faster offensive Fairy-types fairies such as Gardevoir. Running Bullet Punch does, however, make it harder to get rid of Gligar, worsening the stall matchup. Ice Punch on Machamp patches up this problem and primarily hits gligar, which is crucial to aid in its stallbreaking niche, as well as increasing Machamp's your chance at OHKOing Nidoqueen and Dragalge.

Set Details
========

Maximum Speed and max Attack investment with an Adamant nature allows Machamp to hit as hard as possible while ensuring it will outspeed the plethora of defensive Pokemon in the tier. Flame Orb allows Machamp to safely trigger its abiltiy of choice in Guts which allows the burn from Flame Orb to boost its Attack and Facade's Base Power, turning Machamp into a powerful wallbreaker. A Jolly nature can be used to outspeed and obliterate Adamant Bewear and Pangoro, as well as easing the matchup versus Speed-invested Gligar, (add comma) which may otherwise outspeed Machamp and get off critical Earthquake damage or Roost on an potential Ice Punch.

Usage Tips
========

Play Machamp aggressively, bringing it on double switches expecting the opponent to send in a Pokemon it threatens and forces out, such as Registeel or and Umbreon. Use Facade liberally, (add comma) as it provides a high-Base Power move that comes without drawback and can 2HKO a majority of switch-ins along with one of Machamp's coverage moves. Be careful to preserve Close Combat PP in versus stall matchups, as they will often attempt to Protect stall your team and pivot around in order to waste PP due to them lacking proper switch-ins to Machamp's Guts-boosted your guts boosted attacks. Be wary of leading with Machamp, as without its Guts activated it will be significantly weaker on the first turn.

Team Options
========

Pokemon such as Doublade and Gardevoir, (add comma) whose ability to dent a team is hindered by the presence of Registeel or Umbreon, appreciate Machamp threatening these foes on a double switch which Machamp can threaten on a double are good options. The same goes for Moltres and Comfey. Healing Wish or Lunar Dance users such as Shaymin, Gardevoir, and Cresselia are also good options, as they can bring back a weakened widdled Machamp back onto the field to give it a second go at breaking through teams that who relied on wearing it down. Pokemon providing VoltTurn support, such as Gligar, Swellow, and Rotom-CMow, (add comma) can get Machamp in for free to fire off a powerful attack. Rhyperior and Registeel can come in on Flying-types such as Moltres and Golbat, (add comma) which easily switch into would otherwise come in on Machamp and force it out, and they also provide while providing Stealth Rock support for the your team. Offensive Gardevoir, Moltres, Comfey, and Doublade appreciate having their switch-ins Registeel and Umbreon pressured and KOed by Machamp as they are otherwise reliable switchins. (why is this separated from the first sentence?) Nidoqueen appreciates Machamp weakening their there shared check in Cresselia, and vice versa, while supporting the team by setting up Stealth Rock. Escavalier can come in on and often Pursuit trap faster Psychic-types that threaten Machamp. It also forces out Fairy-types that threaten Machamp.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Machamp's niche in RU is as a Guts from running a guts wallbreaker set, (add comma) and aside from that it does not have much else going for it. A No Guard set with Dynamic Punch may sound appealing, (add comma) but it is unreliable due to the lowered confusion chance, and the Guts while a guts wallbreaking set is a much more efficient and reliable use of the time Machamp has on the field and is thus a vastly superior option. Earthquake guarantees the OHKO on Nidoqueen after a Guts boost, unlike while Ice Punch does not, and it deals more damage to Doublade as well. Heavy Slam gives Machamp the potential to OHKO Florges. (add period)

Checks and Counters
===================

**Psychic-types**: (add colon) Psychic-types such as Espeon, Cresselia, and Meloetta can outspeed Machamp and revenge kill it with their super effective STAB moves stab, (add comma) though none appreciate switching in on a Knock Off or Facade. Cresselia also needs heavy Speed investment has to invest in a high amount of speed outside of bulk to allow it to outspeed Machamp and never appreciates taking guts boosted Knock Off or Facade.

**Fairy-types**: (add colon) Fairy-types such as Gardevoir, Slurpuff, and speedy Florges can come in on Machamp and OHKO it with their supper super effective STAB moves, though they have to beware Bullet Punch, and Florges is 2HKOed in 2HKO'd by Facade.

**Faster Wallbreakers**: (add colon) A plethora of Pokemon in the tier can come in on Machamp (the QC says they can't switch in, or am I reading it wrong?) and KO it Machamp, (add comma) such as Salazzle, Decidueye, and Bruxish, (add comma) as well as some of the Fighting-types Machamp competes with in Bewear and Pangoro.

**Residual Damage**: (add colon) Residual damage from entry hazards, damage as well as Rocky Helmet, (add comma) damage along with the residual damage from Machamp's own flame orb and Flame Orb can put it Machamp into the range where it can no longer switch. (add period)

 

[KW]

Thanks P Squared, updated

 

[Lumari]

heads-up there were a bunch of spacing issues following the first check which i fixed without marking them, shouldn't be a problem if you implement this via the method in the video

remove add / fix (comments); (AC=add comma; RC=remove comma; SC=semicolon)
GP 2/2

check

[OVERVIEW]

Machamp's niche over other Fighting-types in the RU tier is its ability Guts, which can transform it into a powerful wallbreaker with Flame Orb, boasting over 590 Attack, while maintaining the flexibility to switch its moves and not worry about Toxic. Machamp's STAB move usefully threatens a majority of the tier's Stealth Rock setters, including Registeel, Rhyperior, Gligar, (?) and Gigalith, and the rest of its movepool allows it to either OHKO or 2HKO the remainder of the metagame. Even stall teams have little in the way of checks for Machamp, as Close Combat, Knock Off, and Facade can break through everything in conjunction with Machamp's Guts-boosted power and ability to switch moves. However, Machamp competes for a spot with Bewear and Pangoro, the tier's other premier Fighting-types, which both have access to Swords Dance along with better physical bulk in the former's case and a stronger Knock Off for the latter. In addition, without defensive investment, Machamp is fairly easy to revenge kill due to its poor Speed tier and lack of a STAB priority move, and it is worn down quickly thanks to residual damage stacking up from Flame Orb and pivoting into entry hazards.

[SET]
name: Guts Wallbreaker
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Facade
move 4: Bullet Punch / Ice Punch
item: Flame Orb
ability: Guts
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Close Combat is Machamp's most powerful STAB move, capable of decimating virtually any nonresistant target, and it can be spammed when Ghost-types are not present. Knock Off hits Ghost- and Psychic-types capable of switching into Machamp's STAB Close Combat, principally Doublade and Cresselia, along with removing items. Facade gives Machamp a strong alternative to Close Combat that will not lower its defenses, and it heavily damages common Fighting-resistant Pokemon(space)such as Moltres, Florges, and Araquanid. Priority Bullet Punch makes Machamp more useful versus offensively inclined teams and threatens faster offensive Fairy-types such as Gardevoir. Running Bullet Punch does, however, make it harder to get rid of Gligar, worsening the stall matchup. Ice Punch on Machamp patches up this problem and helps with its stallbreaking niche, as well as increasing Machamp's chance at OHKOing Nidoqueen and Dragalge.

Set Details
========

Maximum Speed and Attack investment with an Adamant nature allows Machamp to hit as hard as possible while ensuring it will outspeed the plethora of defensive Pokemon in the tier. Flame Orb allows Machamp to safely trigger Guts to boost its Attack and Facade's Base Power, turning Machamp into a powerful wallbreaker. A Jolly nature can be used to outspeed and obliterate Adamant Bewear and Pangoro, as well as easing the matchup versus Speed-invested Gligar, which might otherwise outspeed Machamp and get off critical Earthquake damage or Roost on an Ice Punch.

Usage Tips
========

Play Machamp aggressively, bringing it on double switches expecting the opponent to send in a Pokemon it threatens out, such as Registeel or Umbreon. Use Facade liberally, as it provides a high-Base Power move that comes without drawback and can 2HKO a majority of switch-ins along with one of Machamp's coverage moves. Be careful to preserve Close Combat PP in against stall matchups teams, as they will often attempt to Protect stall your team and pivot around in order to waste PP due to them lacking proper switch-ins to Machamp's Guts-boosted attacks. Be wary of leading with Machamp, as without Guts activated it will be significantly weaker on the first turn.

Team Options
========

Pokemon such as Doublade, (comma) and Gardevoir, Moltres, or and Comfey, (AC) whose ability to dent a team is hindered by the presence of Registeel or Umbreon, appreciate Machamp threatening these foes on a double switch. The same goes for Moltres and Comfey. Healing Wish or Lunar Dance users such as Shaymin, Gardevoir, and Cresselia are also good options, as they can bring a weakened Machamp back onto the field to give it a second go at breaking through teams that relied on wearing it down. Pokemon providing VoltTurn support, such as Gligar, Swellow, and Rotom-C, can get Machamp in for free to fire off a powerful attack. Rhyperior and Registeel can come in on Flying-types such as Moltres and Golbat, which easily switch into Machamp and force it out, and they also provide Stealth Rock support for your team. Nidoqueen appreciates Machamp weakening their shared check in Cresselia, and vice versa, while supporting the team by setting up Stealth Rock. Escavalier can come in on and often Pursuit trap faster Psychic-types and force out Fairy-types that threaten Machamp. It also forces out Fairy-types that threaten Machamp.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Machamp's niche in RU is as a Guts wallbreaker, and aside from that it does not have much going for it. A No Guard set with Dynamic Punch may sound appealing, but it is unreliable due to the lowered confusion's low self-hit chance, and the Guts set is much more efficient and reliable and is thus a vastly superior option. (implied) Earthquake guarantees the OHKO on Nidoqueen after a Guts boost, unlike Ice Punch, and it deals more damage to Doublade as well. Heavy Slam gives Machamp the potential to OHKO Florges.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Psychic-types**: Psychic-types such as Espeon, Cresselia, and Meloetta can outspeed Machamp and revenge kill it with their super effective STAB moves, though none appreciate switching in on a Knock Off or Facade. Cresselia also needs heavy Speed investment to outspeed Machamp.

**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types such as Gardevoir, Slurpuff, and speedy Florges can come in on Machamp and OHKO it with their super effective STAB moves, though they have to beware Bullet Punch, and Florges is 2HKOed by Facade.

**Faster Wallbreakers**: A plethora of Pokemon in the tier can revenge kill Machamp, such as Salazzle, Decidueye, and Bruxish, as well as some of the Fighting-types Machamp competes with in Bewear and Pangoro.

**Residual Damage**: Residual damage from entry hazards, Rocky Helmet, and Flame Orb can put Machamp into the range where it can no longer switch.

 

[aVocado]

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