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Community POTW #079

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Serebii

And, as if by magic, the webmaster appeared...
Staff member
Admin
Time for the next Pokémon of the Week and we have a classic

68.png


It's Machamp, the classic Fighting-type that has recently gone to help headline the Pokkén spin-off. Machamp is surprisingly good and can sometimes shock opponents

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-xy/068.shtml

Go nuts
 

Chinonso

Therians
Machamp is a UU staple that is incredible - simply because of its versatility:

Positives:
+ Base 130 Attack is formidable, as this allows Machamp to hit a LOT of things hard.
+ No Guard, while not as amazing as it used to be in Gen 5, is still an excellent ability that Machamp can use to great effect.
+ Able to counter its weaknesses.
+ An enormous range of usable moves including DynamicPunch, Cross Chop, the elemental punches, Bullet Punch, Knock Off and many more.
+ 90/80/85 bulk is decent. You're looking at slightly lower bulk than Kingdra, but the Assault Vest really helps it out.

Negatives:
- It's rather slow. Just as slow as Eelektross in fact, at Base 55.
- You're limited in move choices if you don't run No Guard as it doesn't learn Close Combat.
- (Almost) walled by Mega Gallade.

Abilities:
Guts: The Attack stat of this Pokemon is increased by 50 percent if induced under a status condition, with the exception of confusion and attraction. The Attack drop from burning is not applied. This is a great ability on Machamp if you like sweeping. The "maxed" Attack means it can OHKO a lot of things (and it can 2HKO using resisted attacks, too). But, it falls inferior to its second ability.
No Guard: The accuracy of moves that Machamp uses and the moves that hit Machamp become 100 percent. This ability is a double-edged sword. While you can use this ability to great effect (Dynamic Punch) to cause serious grief to your opponent, you are now prone to moves that like to miss such as Air Slash and Zen Headbutt.
Hidden Ability:
Steadfast: This Pokemon's Speed is raised every time it flinches. This is quite situational, and you're never really leading off with Machamp anyway, so Fake Out isn't going to be seen a lot.

Moveset:
Four Arms
Dynamic Punch
Ice Punch
Knock Off
Bullet Punch

Item: Assault Vest
EV's: 252 Atk, 252 Def, 4 HP
Adamant Nature
Ability: No Guard

Dynamic Punch confuses every time it hits. So this is essentially a Confuse Ray + Massive Damage. The other three moves are created to counter its three weaknesses, but you can change them how you like (e.g. Thunder Punch instead of Ice Punch etc.)
 

TurtwigAndSquirtle

I like turtles
Positives:
130 Atk is very high (15th out of non-legendary, non-megas)
Great movepool
Dynamic Punch, Mega Kick, Stone Edge are very good with No Guard.

Negatives:
Horrible speed.
90/80/85 bulk isn't too good (better with Assault Vest)

Assault Champ

Machamp @ Assault Vest
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 248 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Mega Kick
- Fire Punch/Other punches
- Stone Edge
- Dynamic Punch

Dynamic Punch to take advantage of No Guard with high damage and 100% confusion. Mega Kick for 120 base damage and STAB. Stone Edge for coverage, 120 base damage, and high critical hit ratio. Fire Punch for coverage or one of the other punches, depending on what you want
Life Orb
 
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ClefairyRox

Nintendo Fan
Choicechamp

Machamp @ Choice Band/Life Orb
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 248 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Mega Kick
- Fire Punch/Other punches
- Stone Edge
- Dynamic Punch

Dynamic Punch to take advantage of No Guard with high damage and 100% confusion. Mega Kick for 120 base damage and STAB. Stone Edge for coverage, 120 base damage, and high critical hit ratio. Fire Punch for coverage or one of the other punches, depending on what you want

Hate to be that guy, but Mega Kick is a Normal-type move.
 
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BorrelnootjeNL

Active Member
Machamp is a UU staple that is incredible - simply because of its versatility:

Positives:
+ Base 130 Attack is formidable, as this allows Machamp to hit a LOT of things hard.
+ No Guard, while not as amazing as it used to be in Gen 5, is still an excellent ability that Machamp can use to great effect.
+ Able to counter its weaknesses.
+ An enormous range of usable moves including DynamicPunch, Cross Chop, the elemental punches, Bullet Punch, Knock Off and many more.
+ 90/80/85 bulk is decent. You're looking at slightly lower bulk than Kingdra, but the Assault Vest really helps it out.

Negatives:
- It's rather slow. Just as slow as Eelektross in fact, at Base 55.
- You're limited in move choices if you don't run No Guard as it doesn't learn Close Combat.
- (Almost) walled by Mega Gallade.

Abilities:
Guts: The Attack stat of this Pokemon is increased by 50 percent if induced under a status condition, with the exception of confusion and attraction. The Attack drop from burning is not applied. This is a great ability on Machamp if you like sweeping. The "maxed" Attack means it can OHKO a lot of things (and it can 2HKO using resisted attacks, too). But, it falls inferior to its second ability.
No Guard: The accuracy of moves that Machamp uses and the moves that hit Machamp become 100 percent. This ability is a double-edged sword. While you can use this ability to great effect (Dynamic Punch) to cause serious grief to your opponent, you are now prone to moves that like to miss such as Air Slash and Zen Headbutt.
Hidden Ability:
Steadfast: This Pokemon's Speed is raised every time it flinches. This is quite situational, and you're never really leading off with Machamp anyway, so Fake Out isn't going to be seen a lot.

Moveset:
Four Arms
Dynamic Punch
Ice Punch
Knock Off
Bullet Punch

Item: Assault Vest
EV's: 252 Atk, 252 Def, 4 HP
Adamant Nature
Ability: No Guard

Dynamic Punch confuses every time it hits. So this is essentially a Confuse Ray + Massive Damage. The other three moves are created to counter its three weaknesses, but you can change them how you like (e.g. Thunder Punch instead of Ice Punch etc.)

Doesn't it learn Close Combat as an egg move?
 

Missingno. Master

Poison-type Trainer
Four Arms Are Better Than Two
Machamp@Leftovers/Assault Vest
Brave nature
No Guard
252 Attack/252 HP/4 Sp. Atk
~Dynamic Punch
~Stone Edge
~Knock Off
~Fire Blast

Heh, Machamp. A classic Fighting-type, and not without good reason. Dynamic Punch is your main STAB move, dealing heavy damage and confusing anything that lives to tell the tale. Stone Edge and Knock Off are for additional coverage. Fire Blast seems crazy, I know, but bear with me here. Ordinarily, a Machamp would be at the mercy of any physical wall, like Skarmory or Ferrothorn. Even the likes of Scizor or Forretress could slow Machamp down. But not if you're packing Fire Blast. Not meant as regular coverage, more along the lines of a last resort against aforementioned physical walls.

Item helps Machamp survive. Ability is best for use with its attacks.


Other options:
*Machamp can learn Mega Kick, and it goes well with No Guard, but Normal moves don't offer it too much in the way of coverage that would be worth dropping its other moves.
*If you want a nice priority move (because let's face it, Machamp ain't that fast), Bullet Punch gets the job done and can put a dent in those pesky Fairy-types as well.
*Cross Chop seems tempting at first, but Dynamic Punch outclasses it- same power, and causes confusion.
*Earthquake is always worth consideration. It also gets Thunder Punch, Fire Punch, and Ice Punch, so it's no stranger to good coverage.
*If you decide to go with a Guts set, Facade is practically obligatory on one of those.

Abilities:
*Guts: When Machamp is inflicted with a status condition, its Attack is increased by x1.5. If it's burned, its Attack won't be lowered at all, allowing the Attack boost to be just as effective as it would for any other status. Always a good Ability, but Machamp actually has an even better option in...
*No Guard: Any attacks used by or against Machamp cannot miss, even if the target is in the air, underground, underwater, or vanished. Easily Machamp's best Ability. Just look at some of its moves- Dynamic Punch, Stone Edge, Fire Blast- it's perfect. Just bear in mind that this means opponent's moves can't miss Machamp, though.
*Steadfast: Machamp's Hidden Ability. When Machamp flinches, its Speed goes up by one stage. While it can be argued that Machamp would benefit from a nice Speed boost, Steadfast is just too situational to rely on.

Partners:
Wish support would help greatly, and something with Aromatherapy or Heal Bell would be useful if you're not trying out a Guts set. And if you want to forego Fire Blast for some strange reason, a nice special attacker with a good Fire move would make a great partner for Machamp.

Counters:
If you're not packing Fire Blast, Skarmory is something to watch out for. Gengar can switch in on Dynamic Punch or Earthquake (though must beware Stone Edge or especially Knock Off) and OHKO with Psychic or Dazzling Gleam. Oh, and if you're not packing Bullet Punch or something, Fairy-types are something to be on the lookout for.

Opinion:
I like Machamp. It's cool.

Prediction for next week:
Garbodor.
 

Kraleck

Well-Known Member
Machamp. A Gen I Classic that keeps getting neat tweaks with each passing Generation. Would've loved a Mega Evolution, but it's still good.

Stats:
-HP - Good-bordering-Great - Base 90 HP gives a solid staying power for a Fighting Type.
-Attack - Incredible - Base 130 Attack emphasizes the "Fighting" in Fighting Type.
-Defense - Above Average - Base 85 isn't the best, but at least it doesn't suck.
-Sp.Atk - Mediocre-bordering-Below Average - Base 65 is "meh" at best, but I've seen a few surprises pulled out of Machamp's Special Movepool at the right time against a Physical Wall (i.e. Fire Blast VS Skarmory).
-Sp.Def - Average - Base 80.
-Speed - Dead Zone-bordering-Good (Trick Room) - Base 55 is slightly too high for my Trick Room liking, but it's serviceable.

Abilities:
-Guts - Attack x1.5 when suffering from a major Status Effect. Quite fun, but pales in comparison to...
-No Guard - ...never missing a Dynamicpunch. Can also be fun with Stone Edge, Toxic, Mega Kick, Dual Chop, and Fire Blast.
-Steadfast (Hidden, Available) - Speed is buffed 1 Stage when you're affected by a Flinch. Kinda "meh" with that Base 55 Speed, but can have some use against other Base 55 Speed Pokémon, I guess...

Overall, Machamp is that one Pokémon with the obvious, but effective, sets. Guts sets are good for foes that sling Burns around like Ashton Kutcher on That 70s Show, No Guard makes some of Machamp's most brutal Moves scarier, and staying in on Skarmory is a good indicator of Fire Blast. That said, Machamp's offense is somewhat outclassed by Fighting Types like Mienshao, Blaziken, and Medicham, and so is its defense slightly outclassed compared to Fighting Types like Scrafty, Intimidate Ability Hitmontop, and Throh.

That said, every Fighting Type plays differently from one another, so it's hard to get an actual "typical specimen" among them like early Generation Bug, Grass, or Psychic Types. Machamp's style is very Risk VS Reward with its Abilities - No Guard also makes Moves impossible to miss for opponents, Guts doesn't aid Accuracy, and Steadfast relies on actually Flinching a few times to gain decent Speed.
 

ger9119

Well-Known Member
It's outclassed bv Conk, but it can run a solid AV set on lower tiers. It would've loved Drain Punch.
 

venom1950

Ace Trainer
great pokemon for doubles, machamp can provide aoe protection with wide guard. machamp is my staple for doubles.
Machamp @ Quick Claw
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Wide Guard
- Protect
- Dynamic Punch
- Knock Off

quick claw over assault vest because sometimes you need to knock off some pokemon's item. protect is here because i used it in some battles with mega audino for healing it up so it can provide more aoe protection. aoe protection in doubles is crucial. everyone runs charizard y with heath wave or EQ while flying type is in the battle.
 

Ckeen

Active Member
great pokemon for doubles, machamp can provide aoe protection with wide guard. machamp is my staple for doubles.
Machamp @ Quick Claw
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Wide Guard
- Protect
- Dynamic Punch
- Knock Off

quick claw over assault vest because sometimes you need to knock off some pokemon's item. protect is here because i used it in some battles with mega audino for healing it up so it can provide more aoe protection. aoe protection in doubles is crucial. everyone runs charizard y with heath wave or EQ while flying type is in the battle.

Quick claw....really putting emphasis on "luck" never ever quick claw on anything.....its not even situational! Anyways if youre prone to F around I find that scarfing it or banding it is fun. But tbh the speed of machamp is really bad...
 

zapto369

Because I'm Worth It
Quick claw....really putting emphasis on "luck" never ever quick claw on anything.....its not even situational! Anyways if youre prone to F around I find that scarfing it or banding it is fun. But tbh the speed of machamp is really bad...

Agreed, quick claw leaves way, way, way too much to chance to be useful. If you're going to worry about Machamp's speed (clearly it's biggest weakness, save for maybe sp. def), perhaps using it in doubles in conjunction with a trick room team would be a worthy idea.
 

Azulart

Shiny Hunter
Agreeing on the opinion that Machamp is great in doubles, its one of those pokemons that is good in every kind of rules setting.
In my expercience it can perform three roles. Bulky Support, Trick Room Sweeper and Allround lead.

Here are my sets:

AllRound-Lead
Machamp @ Focus Sash / Lum Berry
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 100 HP / 252 Atk / 156 Speed
Adamant Nature
- Dynamic Punch
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off
- Protect

This set is meant for Tailwind support, with it, it reaches 190 Speed (lvl50) so he can outspeed base 120 Speed's like M-Salamence.
And fast Machamps are in general dangerous due Dynamic Punch's confusion ratio and can really annoy opponents and score victories with it,
Knock off is meant for the ghost and psychic types while Stone edge makes greatly use of No Guard providing a reliable way to deal with Flying type enemies.

Items is a matter of personal taste, if your team really hates Talonflame give Machamp Focus sash so he can take atleast one Brave bird, if you have something in your team
for talonflame by all means go Lum berry and laugh at Smeargle's dark void or Will-o-wisp's for a turn.

Protect is there to scout out the opponent and garantues your partner to set up Tailwind.
Great partners for this set are Togekiss or Tailwind Latias who form good synergy aswell especially Latias.

Trick Room Sweeper
Machamp @ Lum Berry
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spd
IV's: 0 Speed.
Brave Nature
- Dynamic Punch
- Stone Edge / Knock Off
- Wide Guard
- Protect


Machamp in Trick room receives competition from Hariyama which in my opinion does a slightly better job at sweeping in Trick room. Nevertheless, machamp carves his nince in Trick room
being able to outspeed alot of mons due his low base speed spreading the D-punches and confusion everywhere. Lum berry serves the role to ignore Prankster Will-o-wisp or a Spore from Amoongus. Wide Guard is there to protect from Hyper voice who are really everywhere in the metagame and for me served alot of support to my M-Camerupt who really digs the Wide guard support for EQ, Surf or Hyper voice damage. Stone edge is for the flying coverage and is in general stronger than Knock Off + the Crit chance can be nice, but Knock off is a great option
although does less damage against M-Gardevoir for example.

SupportChamp
Machamp @ Leftovers / Sitrus Berry
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpDef / 4 Def
Careful Nature
- Dynamic Punch
- Quick Guard
- Wide Guard
- Helping Hand

Pokemon with both Quick Guard and Wide guard, I personally adore them ! making them flexibele whenever you feel EQ is coming or priority moves that would otherwise kill you or your partner hard. With this set it can also function as an Lead but its best along side a Hyper Voice user like Sylveon or M-Salamence because Helping Hand + Hyper Voice is evil.
Quick Guard might seem weird on a slow pokemon considering that it can't outspeed alot of Fake out users but Quick guard is great to stop Scizor's Bullet Punch, Talonflame's Brave Bird or Prankster moves from Klefki or Sableye. And for Sylveon the ignore from Scizor's Bullet punch is very appreciated. When Machamp's support moves are not desired on the turn, it can use Dynamic Punch which causes good damage with confusion further adding support in that way. The rest speaks for itself.
 

Ckeen

Active Member
Also since machamps so slow a decent partner could be something with zapcannon...im sure that anything that gets hit with zapcannon and dynamic punch is gonna have a bad day. Just an idea:)
 

Kansas_Rocks!

Awesomeness Trainer
Also since machamps so slow a decent partner could be something with zapcannon...im sure that anything that gets hit with zapcannon and dynamic punch is gonna have a bad day. Just an idea:)

That doesn't work. No Guard only affects Machamp and any Pokémon targeting Machamp. It has no effect on allies unless the ally is targeting Machamp.
 

Azulart

Shiny Hunter
Also since machamps so slow a decent partner could be something with zapcannon...im sure that anything that gets hit with zapcannon and dynamic punch is gonna have a bad day. Just an idea:)

Are you talking in doubles or singles? Anyway, allies dont receive the effect of No Guard in neither sitaution.

It is however an idea to use Skill Swap or Role play on your Machamp so that both mons on the field have No Guard.
I once experciened a player having a Smeargle with the move set - Dark Void, Role Play, Protect, Sheer Cold.

Once my team was asleep he did role play on his Machamp and just spammed Sheer Cold untill I was done for,
I really regret running a Trick room team in that match haha.
 

Kraleck

Well-Known Member
Oddly enough, I've seen a rather effective Specs Machamp once. Modest, No Guard, Fire Blast, Focus Blast, and 2 other Moves I don't remember. Quite a shock to the poor sucker that tried to lower its Attack with Burns, only to get slammed by a Special Move from a Machamp...
 

Ckeen

Active Member
Lol didnt know never used anything with no gaurd thought everyones acc became 100% oh well that would have been nice tho....lol well it seems like whatever machamp can do something else can do it better....
 

KillerDraco

Well-Known Member
Oddly enough, I've seen a rather effective Specs Machamp once. Modest, No Guard, Fire Blast, Focus Blast, and 2 other Moves I don't remember. Quite a shock to the poor sucker that tried to lower its Attack with Burns, only to get slammed by a Special Move from a Machamp...

Specs Machamp is a garbage gimmick and will not even be mentioned. Seriously, with base 65 special attack, even Blissey pulls off a better Specs set. Blissey of all things (also Specs Blissey is absolute garbage as well). If you want to utilize surprise value on something trying to neuter Machamp with a burn, run a Guts set with Close Combat replacing Dynamic Punch. It still faces competition from Conkeldurr in OU (Due to no Drain Punch), and Heracross in UU (whose higher speed tier and secondary STAB help it be a fearsome force), but Guts on Machamp is still viable... It's just that it has a lot of competition in the Guts category, whereas STAB No Guard Dynamic Punch is something pretty much only Machamp can do. I mean, Golurk can do No Guard Dynamic Punch too, but it's not STAB, and that's a whole other can of worms in and of itself.
 

Ckeen

Active Member
Oddly enough, I've seen a rather effective Specs Machamp once. Modest, No Guard, Fire Blast, Focus Blast, and 2 other Moves I don't remember. Quite a shock to the poor sucker that tried to lower its Attack with Burns, only to get slammed by a Special Move from a Machamp...

If you wanna do a suprise pokemon you can always use sp atk tyranitar...sp atk t-tar works pretty good acctually
 

ampfire101

Well-Known Member
Take Things Slow

Moves:
-DynamicPunch
-Stone Edge
-Poison Jab
-Fire Punch/ Ice Punch/ ThunderPunch/ Rolling Kick
Ability: No Guard
Item: King's Rock/ Iron Ball
Nature: Brave
EVs: 252 Atk, 152 Def, 80 Sp. Def, 24 HP

This set is made for Trick Room teams, as the poor Speed stat can now be used to sweep. With zero Speed EVs and a Brave nature, the trick is to maximize Attack and minimize Speed. Dynamic Punch is used as a primary STAB once again, and Stone Edge is there to take care of annoying Flying-types hindered by a loss of speed, such as Swellow and Noivern. Poison Jab is utilized to settle the score with the Fairies that would otherwise walk all over Machamp, namely Mega Gardevoir, and can help against bulky Grass-types such as Tangrowth and Leafeon. The last slot is really a toss in the air. It all depends on what keeps your Machamp and you up at night. If Skarmory and Escavalier are your trouble, run Fire Punch. If it's Landorus-T, go with Ice Punch. If it's Jellicent, Alomomola, or Gyarados (although it can be taken care of with Stone Edge too), go with ThunderPunch. However, now that Machamp can virtually outspeed everything, it can run Rolling Kick and King's Rock for a huge chance of flinching. Otherwise, go with a Muscle Band.

The defensive EVs are arranged they way they are because most priority moves are physical moves. However, a bit of bulk is necessary to handle some weaker Psychic attacks from things like Jellicent, so there are the Special Defense EVs, and the HP EVs are so that Talonflame takes a little more recoil from Brave Bird before Machamp goes down.
 
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