<h2>Everybody loves Kung-Fu Fighting: Underused's Fighting types</h2>
<p>Fighting is one of the best offensive STABs in the game; it hits five types super effectively, is only resisted by three types, and finally, one type is immune to it. It is no question that the Underused metagame is currently dominated by Fighting-types. If you aren't prepared for them, your team is going to fail. Very badly, I might add. With so many Fighting-types in the Underused tier, which one should you choose? Everything has its strengths and weaknesses, and this is no different; one man's meat is another man's poison. What are the selling points of some of the most prominent Underused threats? What makes them shout: "Pick me!"?</p>
<p>Without further ado, let's take a look at some of the potential candidates for your soon-to-be team!</p>
<p><strong><a href="/bw/pokemon/mienshao>Mienshao</a></strong><br />
<img src="/download/sprites/bw/650.png" alt="Mienshao><br />
Type: Fighting<br />
Abilities: Inner Focus / Regenerator / <em>Reckless</em><br />
Stats: 65 / 125 / 60 / 95 / 60 / 105</p>
<p>An extremely high Attack stat backed up by one of the highest Speed stats in UU, not to mention fair Special Attack, gives Mienshao bright prospects for a team. With Regenerator, it can regain one-third of its health every time it switches in, making U-turn extremely cost-effective and also making it rather difficult to wear down. A more offensive option in Reckless can be used to bolster the power of Hi Jump Kick to a gigantic 234 Base Power (after STAB). Hidden Power Ice can be used to counter Gligar, a common Fighting-type check, thanks to Mienshao's decent Special Attack.</p>
<p>Mienshao can sweep with a powerful Choice Scarf set, as the colossal power of a Reckless-boosted STAB Hi Jump Kick coming off base 125 Attack makes it a late-game bulldozer. It can also function as a powerful wallbreaker with Life Orb, or even use Swords Dance to set up an unstoppable sweep. Finally, Baton Pass sets can even be used, thanks to its access to several setup moves such as Swords Dance, Work Up, Calm Mind, and Substitute, backed up by its awesome Speed. However, one fault of Mienshao is that its Hi Jump Kick makes it fearful of Ghost-types and Protect users; its defensive stats are quite poor as well.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/bw/pokemon/heracross">Heracross</a></strong><br />
<img src="/download/sprites/bw/214.png" alt="Heracross"><br />
Type: Bug / Fighting<br />
Abilities: Swarm / Guts / <em>Moxie</em><br />
Stats: 80 / 125 / 75 / 40 / 95 / 85</p>
<p>Heracross remains a popular choice for a Fighting-type in UU, and it's not hard to see why. It has two moves that have a massive 120 Base Power, and are further backed up by STAB <em>and</em> its large base 125 Attack. Psychic-types are not a problem for Heracross, thanks to STAB Megahorn, which makes it one of the few Fighting-types that can take down Slowbro, a common Fighting-type check. Moxie is an awesome ability, rewarding the kill streaks that Heracross can get. This makes a Choice Scarf set a great choice, as Heracross can function as a revenge killer and physical sweeper all in one. Guts is also a wonderful ability, allowing Heracross to switch into the ever-irritating moves Toxic and Will-O-Wisp.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/bw/pokemon/cobalion">Cobalion</a></strong><br />
<img src="/download/sprites/bw/668.png" alt="Cobalion"><br />
Type: Steel / Fighting<br />
Ability: Justified<br />
Stats: 91 / 90 / 129 / 90 / 72 / 108</p>
<p>One of the only two Steel / Fighting types in the game, Cobalion fulfills an extraordinary niche with its ever-so-useful Steel typing. Its Steel typing gives it a plethora of resistances, most notably to Bug, Dark, Grass, Ice, and Dragon, allowing it multiple opportunities to switch in and cause havoc. Additionally, a great base 129 Defense with a decent base 91 HP gives its Steel typing more credence. Furthermore, of all the Fighting-types in UU, Cobalion is the only one that does not fear Flying-types, forcing out the likes of Crobat with the threat of Stone Edge or Hidden Power Ice.</p>
<p>Cobalion functions wonderfully as a physical sweeper with Swords Dance, and thanks to its very high Speed and multiple setup opportunities, it can punch many holes in the opponent's team. A specially offensive set is not impossible either, as it possesses balanced attacking stats; however, it has a better physically offensive boosting move. Finally, a support set—utilizing Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave, Volt Switch, and Taunt to cripple the opponent's team—is also a great option. However, a fault of Cobalion is that its attacking stats are relatively poor.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/bw/pokemon/machamp">Machamp</a></strong><br />
<img src="/download/sprites/bw/68.png" alt="Machamp"><br />
Type: Fighting<br />
Abilities: Guts / No Guard / <em>Steadfast</em><br />
Stats: 90 / 130 / 80 / 65 / 85 / 55 </p>
<p>Machamp boasts the highest Attack stat of all Fighting-types in UU. Don't let down your guard, because Machamp's No Guard lets it throw a 100% accurate, 100 Base Power STAB nuke in the form of DynamicPunch, dealing heavy damage to anything that does not resist it. It comes with the bonus of confusing your opponent, encouraging the use of hax while coming at absolutely no cost to Machamp (unless you consider having 8 PP a drawback). Furthermore, Machamp has a good movepool, being able to use Stone Edge (which also benefits from No Guard), Payback, Ice Punch, and ThunderPunch. However, Machamp is horribly slow and its bulk might not necessarily make up for it.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/bw/pokemon/virizion">Virizion</a></strong><br />
<img src="/download/sprites/bw/670.png" alt="Virizion"><br />
Type: Grass / Fighting<br />
Ability: Justified<br />
Stats: 91 / 90 / 72 / 90 / 129 / 108</p>
<p>The main selling point of Virizion is its Grass typing. Its STAB Leaf Blade is able to cut through Slowbro, a common Fighting-type check, as well as other bulky Waters such as Swampert and Milotic. A useful defensive typing—which gives it resistances to Water, Ground, Electric, and Grass—along with an extremely high base 129 Special Defense grants it multiple setup opportunities. It can run a Swords Dance set with Leaf Blade, Close Combat, and Stone Edge to be a fearsome sweeper, while a Calm Mind set makes it an unbreakable special tank. Furthermore, its great base 108 Speed only helps to benefit its sweeping capabilities. However, Virizion is quite weak before boosting and its 4x weakness to Flying makes it very susceptible to the likes of Crobat.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/bw/pokemon/scrafty">Scrafty</a></strong><br />
<img src="/download/sprites/bw/590.png" alt="Scrafty"><br />
Type: Dark / Fighting<br />
Abilities: Shed Skin / Moxie / <em>Intimidate</em><br />
Stats: 65 / 90 / 115 / 45 / 115 / 58</p>
<p>Scrafty has great offensive STABs, being able to hit all of UU for neutral damage bar its main counter, Heracross. Unfortunately, Heracross happens to be extremely common in UU, and also competes with it for the role of a Fighting-type. Nonetheless, it gets great STABs in Hi Jump Kick and Crunch, as well as powerful boosting moves in Dragon Dance and Bulk Up. Furthermore, it gets one of the most coveted abilities in Moxie, making kill streaks very rewarding, and sufficient Speed boosts from Dragon Dance can spell imminent doom for your opponent. Shed Skin is also useful, as it automatically heals Scrafty of status one-third of the time, and thus fits well on the Bulk Up set. Scrafty is also surprisingly bulky, with large base 115 defenses. However, a fault of Scrafty is that it is weak to the common Flying and Fighting moves found in UU.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/bw/pokemon/hitmontop">Hitmontop</a></strong><br />
<img src="/download/sprites/bw/237.png" alt="Hitmontop"><br />
Type: Fighting<br />
Abilities: Intimidate / Technician / <em>Steadfast</em><br />
Stats: 50 / 95 / 95 / 35 / 110 / 70</p>
<p>Hitmontop is one of the very few Rapid Spinners in UU. This gives it an exclusivity in its own right, and with Foresight it is able to prevent defensive Ghosts from blocking Rapid Spin. This is very helpful for potential teammates such as Yanmega and Chandelure which appreciate Stealth Rock being removed from the field. More importantly, Intimidate is a great ability as it neutralizes physical sweepers and also allows Hitmontop to counter some of them, such as Sharpedo and Scrafty. Its base 110 Special Defense is also a welcome trait on a Rapid Spinner. However, Hitmontop’s base HP is horrendously low, and it is unable to deal with multiple threats in UU such as Azelf, Crobat, Cofagrigus, Victini,and many more.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/bw/pokemon/hitmonlee/uu">Hitmonlee</a></strong><br />
<img src="/download/sprites/bw/106.png" alt="Hitmonlee"><br />
Type: Fighting<br />
Abilities: Limber / Reckless / <em>Unburden</em><br />
Stats: 50 / 120 / 53 / 35 / 110 / 87</p>
<p>Hitmonlee is one of the few Pokemon in the game—let alone UU—with the ability Unburden. With its ability, Hitmonlee can double its Speed immediately and become an extremely threatening sweeper, like Yanmega and Sharpedo. That's not all Hitmonlee has going for it: it has a whopping base 120 Attack, a decent base 87 Speed, and great offensive options to utilize them with. Hitmonlee has a surprisingly high Special Defense to boot, which allows it to survive extremely powerful special attacks, such as Zapdos's Thunderbolt and Raikou's Extrasensory, and retaliate with a powerful attack of its own. Unfortunately, the fun ends there; Hitmonlee has an extremely low base 53 Defense, which makes it difficult for it to survive even resisted physical hits. However, with sufficient team support and good play, Hitmonlee can sweep whole teams.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/bw/pokemon/poliwrath">Poliwrath</a></strong><br />
<img src="/download/sprites/bw/62.png" alt="Poliwrath"><br />
Type: Water / Fighting<br />
Abilities: Water Absorb / Damp / <em>Swift Swim</em><br />
Stats: 90 / 85 / 95 / 70 / 90 / 70</p>
<p>UU is a tier chock-full of both Fighting-types and bulky Water-types, so it would seem strange that Poliwrath would ever be a viable Pokemon in UU. However, unlike the rest of his karate brethren, Poliwrath was not designed to be a sweeper, but a psuedo-hazer. Poliwrath's solid bulk, great ability in Water Absorb, and access to Circle Throw allows it to assume a bulkier role on a team and take advantage of its teammates' entry hazards by forcing the opponent out. As mentioned, Poliwrath's Water Absorb ability allows it to be one of the few Pokemon in UU capable of switching into Scald and other Water-type attacks without fear of stray burns or severe damage, as the absorbed attack refills its HP. However, Poliwrath is burdened with middling attacking stats, multiple weaknesses to common Pokemon, and a Speed stat that leaves it outsped by a vast majority of the tier. Despite its downsides though, Poliwrath still makes for an excellent Pokemon for bulkier and stall teams.</p>
<p>Fighting is one of the best offensive STABs in the game; it hits five types super effectively, is only resisted by three types, and finally, one type is immune to it. It is no question that the Underused metagame is currently dominated by Fighting-types. If you aren't prepared for them, your team is going to fail. Very badly, I might add. With so many Fighting-types in the Underused tier, which one should you choose? Everything has its strengths and weaknesses, and this is no different; one man's meat is another man's poison. What are the selling points of some of the most prominent Underused threats? What makes them shout: "Pick me!"?</p>
<p>Without further ado, let's take a look at some of the potential candidates for your soon-to-be team!</p>
<p><strong><a href="/bw/pokemon/mienshao>Mienshao</a></strong><br />
<img src="/download/sprites/bw/650.png" alt="Mienshao><br />
Type: Fighting<br />
Abilities: Inner Focus / Regenerator / <em>Reckless</em><br />
Stats: 65 / 125 / 60 / 95 / 60 / 105</p>
<p>An extremely high Attack stat backed up by one of the highest Speed stats in UU, not to mention fair Special Attack, gives Mienshao bright prospects for a team. With Regenerator, it can regain one-third of its health every time it switches in, making U-turn extremely cost-effective and also making it rather difficult to wear down. A more offensive option in Reckless can be used to bolster the power of Hi Jump Kick to a gigantic 234 Base Power (after STAB). Hidden Power Ice can be used to counter Gligar, a common Fighting-type check, thanks to Mienshao's decent Special Attack.</p>
<p>Mienshao can sweep with a powerful Choice Scarf set, as the colossal power of a Reckless-boosted STAB Hi Jump Kick coming off base 125 Attack makes it a late-game bulldozer. It can also function as a powerful wallbreaker with Life Orb, or even use Swords Dance to set up an unstoppable sweep. Finally, Baton Pass sets can even be used, thanks to its access to several setup moves such as Swords Dance, Work Up, Calm Mind, and Substitute, backed up by its awesome Speed. However, one fault of Mienshao is that its Hi Jump Kick makes it fearful of Ghost-types and Protect users; its defensive stats are quite poor as well.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/bw/pokemon/heracross">Heracross</a></strong><br />
<img src="/download/sprites/bw/214.png" alt="Heracross"><br />
Type: Bug / Fighting<br />
Abilities: Swarm / Guts / <em>Moxie</em><br />
Stats: 80 / 125 / 75 / 40 / 95 / 85</p>
<p>Heracross remains a popular choice for a Fighting-type in UU, and it's not hard to see why. It has two moves that have a massive 120 Base Power, and are further backed up by STAB <em>and</em> its large base 125 Attack. Psychic-types are not a problem for Heracross, thanks to STAB Megahorn, which makes it one of the few Fighting-types that can take down Slowbro, a common Fighting-type check. Moxie is an awesome ability, rewarding the kill streaks that Heracross can get. This makes a Choice Scarf set a great choice, as Heracross can function as a revenge killer and physical sweeper all in one. Guts is also a wonderful ability, allowing Heracross to switch into the ever-irritating moves Toxic and Will-O-Wisp.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/bw/pokemon/cobalion">Cobalion</a></strong><br />
<img src="/download/sprites/bw/668.png" alt="Cobalion"><br />
Type: Steel / Fighting<br />
Ability: Justified<br />
Stats: 91 / 90 / 129 / 90 / 72 / 108</p>
<p>One of the only two Steel / Fighting types in the game, Cobalion fulfills an extraordinary niche with its ever-so-useful Steel typing. Its Steel typing gives it a plethora of resistances, most notably to Bug, Dark, Grass, Ice, and Dragon, allowing it multiple opportunities to switch in and cause havoc. Additionally, a great base 129 Defense with a decent base 91 HP gives its Steel typing more credence. Furthermore, of all the Fighting-types in UU, Cobalion is the only one that does not fear Flying-types, forcing out the likes of Crobat with the threat of Stone Edge or Hidden Power Ice.</p>
<p>Cobalion functions wonderfully as a physical sweeper with Swords Dance, and thanks to its very high Speed and multiple setup opportunities, it can punch many holes in the opponent's team. A specially offensive set is not impossible either, as it possesses balanced attacking stats; however, it has a better physically offensive boosting move. Finally, a support set—utilizing Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave, Volt Switch, and Taunt to cripple the opponent's team—is also a great option. However, a fault of Cobalion is that its attacking stats are relatively poor.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/bw/pokemon/machamp">Machamp</a></strong><br />
<img src="/download/sprites/bw/68.png" alt="Machamp"><br />
Type: Fighting<br />
Abilities: Guts / No Guard / <em>Steadfast</em><br />
Stats: 90 / 130 / 80 / 65 / 85 / 55 </p>
<p>Machamp boasts the highest Attack stat of all Fighting-types in UU. Don't let down your guard, because Machamp's No Guard lets it throw a 100% accurate, 100 Base Power STAB nuke in the form of DynamicPunch, dealing heavy damage to anything that does not resist it. It comes with the bonus of confusing your opponent, encouraging the use of hax while coming at absolutely no cost to Machamp (unless you consider having 8 PP a drawback). Furthermore, Machamp has a good movepool, being able to use Stone Edge (which also benefits from No Guard), Payback, Ice Punch, and ThunderPunch. However, Machamp is horribly slow and its bulk might not necessarily make up for it.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/bw/pokemon/virizion">Virizion</a></strong><br />
<img src="/download/sprites/bw/670.png" alt="Virizion"><br />
Type: Grass / Fighting<br />
Ability: Justified<br />
Stats: 91 / 90 / 72 / 90 / 129 / 108</p>
<p>The main selling point of Virizion is its Grass typing. Its STAB Leaf Blade is able to cut through Slowbro, a common Fighting-type check, as well as other bulky Waters such as Swampert and Milotic. A useful defensive typing—which gives it resistances to Water, Ground, Electric, and Grass—along with an extremely high base 129 Special Defense grants it multiple setup opportunities. It can run a Swords Dance set with Leaf Blade, Close Combat, and Stone Edge to be a fearsome sweeper, while a Calm Mind set makes it an unbreakable special tank. Furthermore, its great base 108 Speed only helps to benefit its sweeping capabilities. However, Virizion is quite weak before boosting and its 4x weakness to Flying makes it very susceptible to the likes of Crobat.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/bw/pokemon/scrafty">Scrafty</a></strong><br />
<img src="/download/sprites/bw/590.png" alt="Scrafty"><br />
Type: Dark / Fighting<br />
Abilities: Shed Skin / Moxie / <em>Intimidate</em><br />
Stats: 65 / 90 / 115 / 45 / 115 / 58</p>
<p>Scrafty has great offensive STABs, being able to hit all of UU for neutral damage bar its main counter, Heracross. Unfortunately, Heracross happens to be extremely common in UU, and also competes with it for the role of a Fighting-type. Nonetheless, it gets great STABs in Hi Jump Kick and Crunch, as well as powerful boosting moves in Dragon Dance and Bulk Up. Furthermore, it gets one of the most coveted abilities in Moxie, making kill streaks very rewarding, and sufficient Speed boosts from Dragon Dance can spell imminent doom for your opponent. Shed Skin is also useful, as it automatically heals Scrafty of status one-third of the time, and thus fits well on the Bulk Up set. Scrafty is also surprisingly bulky, with large base 115 defenses. However, a fault of Scrafty is that it is weak to the common Flying and Fighting moves found in UU.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/bw/pokemon/hitmontop">Hitmontop</a></strong><br />
<img src="/download/sprites/bw/237.png" alt="Hitmontop"><br />
Type: Fighting<br />
Abilities: Intimidate / Technician / <em>Steadfast</em><br />
Stats: 50 / 95 / 95 / 35 / 110 / 70</p>
<p>Hitmontop is one of the very few Rapid Spinners in UU. This gives it an exclusivity in its own right, and with Foresight it is able to prevent defensive Ghosts from blocking Rapid Spin. This is very helpful for potential teammates such as Yanmega and Chandelure which appreciate Stealth Rock being removed from the field. More importantly, Intimidate is a great ability as it neutralizes physical sweepers and also allows Hitmontop to counter some of them, such as Sharpedo and Scrafty. Its base 110 Special Defense is also a welcome trait on a Rapid Spinner. However, Hitmontop’s base HP is horrendously low, and it is unable to deal with multiple threats in UU such as Azelf, Crobat, Cofagrigus, Victini,and many more.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/bw/pokemon/hitmonlee/uu">Hitmonlee</a></strong><br />
<img src="/download/sprites/bw/106.png" alt="Hitmonlee"><br />
Type: Fighting<br />
Abilities: Limber / Reckless / <em>Unburden</em><br />
Stats: 50 / 120 / 53 / 35 / 110 / 87</p>
<p>Hitmonlee is one of the few Pokemon in the game—let alone UU—with the ability Unburden. With its ability, Hitmonlee can double its Speed immediately and become an extremely threatening sweeper, like Yanmega and Sharpedo. That's not all Hitmonlee has going for it: it has a whopping base 120 Attack, a decent base 87 Speed, and great offensive options to utilize them with. Hitmonlee has a surprisingly high Special Defense to boot, which allows it to survive extremely powerful special attacks, such as Zapdos's Thunderbolt and Raikou's Extrasensory, and retaliate with a powerful attack of its own. Unfortunately, the fun ends there; Hitmonlee has an extremely low base 53 Defense, which makes it difficult for it to survive even resisted physical hits. However, with sufficient team support and good play, Hitmonlee can sweep whole teams.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/bw/pokemon/poliwrath">Poliwrath</a></strong><br />
<img src="/download/sprites/bw/62.png" alt="Poliwrath"><br />
Type: Water / Fighting<br />
Abilities: Water Absorb / Damp / <em>Swift Swim</em><br />
Stats: 90 / 85 / 95 / 70 / 90 / 70</p>
<p>UU is a tier chock-full of both Fighting-types and bulky Water-types, so it would seem strange that Poliwrath would ever be a viable Pokemon in UU. However, unlike the rest of his karate brethren, Poliwrath was not designed to be a sweeper, but a psuedo-hazer. Poliwrath's solid bulk, great ability in Water Absorb, and access to Circle Throw allows it to assume a bulkier role on a team and take advantage of its teammates' entry hazards by forcing the opponent out. As mentioned, Poliwrath's Water Absorb ability allows it to be one of the few Pokemon in UU capable of switching into Scald and other Water-type attacks without fear of stray burns or severe damage, as the absorbed attack refills its HP. However, Poliwrath is burdened with middling attacking stats, multiple weaknesses to common Pokemon, and a Speed stat that leaves it outsped by a vast majority of the tier. Despite its downsides though, Poliwrath still makes for an excellent Pokemon for bulkier and stall teams.</p>
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