I Spam DynamicPunch
[Overview]
<p>Machamp is the epitome of a bulky attacker. With base 130 Attack and a wide movepool, Machamp is a force to be reckoned with. Moreover, its ability, No Guard, means thatit can spam 100 Base Power DynamicPunch with a 100% chance of confusion, and 90 / 80 / 85 defenses means it can take a lot of hits while dishing back powerful attacks. However, the Superpower Pokemon isn’t without its faults. With only 55 base Speed, Machamp is constantly outsped by Pokemon such as Latios and Tornadus. Furthermore, with Intimidate so common in the metagame, Machamp will find it hard-pressed to keep up a constant stream of assaults. Nevertheless, Machamp is a Pokemon that definitely should not be overlooked.</p>
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: DynamicPunch
move 2: Ice Punch
move 3: Stone Edge / Bullet Punch
move 4: Wide Guard / Protect
item: Sitrus Berry
ability: No Guard
nature: Adamant / Brave
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set is built around Machamp's great defensivecapabilities. 90 / 80 / 85 defenses are nothing to joke about, and as it only has two weaknesses, Machamp will be on the field for a while. DynamicPunch is Machamp's greatest asset, as it is easily abused with No Guard. Ice Punch is used to hurt Pokemon such as Garchomp and Zapdos. Stone Edge cannot miss thanks to No Guard, nails Volcarona and Yanmega, andhits Gyarados harder than Ice Punch. Bullet Punch is also a nice option, as it gives Machamp a priority attack to finish off Pokemon at lowhealth. Machamp gets a great move for VGC 2012, Wide Guard, which protects your team from Blizzard, Heat Wave, Surf, Earthquake, or any other spread move that comes your way. This provides great team support, but Protect can be used to block attacks aimed atMachamp, giving Machamp's partner time to take out a threat.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Sitrus Berry adds on to its overall bulk, asMachamp can restore a fair amount of HP back when it activates. The EVs and nature give Machamp bulk while also boosting its attack. An alternativeoption is to run aBrave nature and 0 Speed IVs, as it allows Machamp to abuse its base 55 Speed in Trick Room. As for teammates, Pokemon with access to Thunder Wave work well, as Machamp enjoys being able to outspeed its opponent.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Machamp gets a huge movepool, and there are many viable alternatives for its moves. Earthquake gives Machamp great spread move coverage, as well as the ability tohit Toxicroak. It also gets Helping Hand, which boosts the power ofan ally's attack by 50%. Encore also makes a good option for Machamp, as it can lock Pokemon into moves such as Tailwind or Trick Room, though Machamp struggles to find a moveslot for it. It also gets Light Screen, which gives great team support. However, Machamp doesn't want to give up any of its coverage movesand so many of the above options struggle to fit in on Machamp’s sets. Item-wise, Machamp can use Fighting Gem, as it allows you to OHKO Chople Berry Tyranitar and deal massive damage to anything that gets hit by it. White Herb, though situational, can be used to bypass Intimidate once, allowing Machamp to retain its powerful Attack. Choice Scarf is also a nice option to use on Machamp, as it allows him to fix his speed problems. With a Choice Scarf and a Jolly nature, an EV spread of 32 HP / 252 Atk / 224 Spe outspeeds Jolly Garchomp, and a spread of 12 HP / 252 Atk / 244 Spe outspeeds positive natured base 105s. However,Machamp dislikes using a Jolly nature over anAdamant one, as its attacks will be far less powerfulthan the physical attacker set. And, even ifit were to run max speed,it would still not outspeed speed demons such as Latios, Tornadus,and Infernape. Pokemon like Weavile and your own Latios can be used to counter these threats, and so work well as a teammate. A Guts set is also viable, but this means you would have to use Close Combat over DynamicPunch, which reduces its great defenses; besides, Pokemon such as Hariyama can pull such sets off better, thanks to Fake Out.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Pokemon that resist DynamicPunch usually check Machamp. Reuniclus and Musharna make great Machamp counters since they take little damage from DynamicPunch, are slower (and therefore not hurt as badlyby Payback), and can KO back with Psychic. Slowbro also falls in this category, as Payback and ThunderPunch are the only ways to hit it, while it can deal heavy damage to Machamp with Psychic. These counters, however, are not immune to DynamicPunch and do not enjoy the confusion that it brings. Ghost-type Pokemon such as Sableye and Dusclops are immune to DynamicPunch, take little from its otherattacks, and can use Will-O-Wisp to completely cripple it. This is especially true for Sableye, who gets priority through Prankster. Intimidate cuts Machamp’s Attack and makes his attacks weaker, making it far less of a threat.</p>
