[OVERVIEW]
Machamp is a fearsome wallbreaker with almost no guaranteed counters due to its combination of raw power, high-Base Power moves, and fantastic coverage. Thanks to Guts, Machamp is able break through traditional counters to Fighting-types such as Weezing, Jellicent, and Gourgeist-XL, which would attempt to status it, as well as bulky Fighting-resistant Pokemon such as Slowbro, Uxie, and Aromatisse, which risk being 2HKOed by Guts-boosted Facade. However, while Machamp can revenge kill specific Pokemon with priority Bullet Punch, it still struggles against offensive teams, which have the power and speed to OHKO it before it can deal too much damage. Furthermore, Machamp faces competition from other Fighting-types such as Emboar, Sawk, Medicham, and Hitmonlee, which offer more Speed and a better matchup versus offense.
[SET]
name: Guts + Flame Orb
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Facade
move 4: Bullet Punch
item: Flame Orb
ability: Guts
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Close Combat is Machamp's strongest STAB move, and it deals ridiculous amounts of damage to even neutral targets with the drawback of lowering Machamp's defenses. Knock Off helps Machamp get past bulky Ghost-types such as Gourgeist-XL, Jellicent, and Sableye, as well as being its best move to hit Spiritomb. Facade rounds out Machamp's coverage, dealing significant damage to Fairy-types such as Aromatisse and Granbull, 2HKOing Slowbro with Stealth Rock up, and inflicting huge damage onto Poison-types, including Weezing, Vileplume, and Garbodor. Bullet Punch gives Machamp excellent priority, allowing it to revenge kill frail Pokemon such as Sneasel, Whimsicott, Vivillon, and Minior.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack investment with an Adamant nature makes Machamp incredibly difficult to switch into, 2HKOing even the bulkiest of foes such as Slowbro. Maximum Speed investment lets Machamp outspeed Seismitoad, Vaporeon, Lanturn, and Weezing, as well as Speed tying with opposing Machamp. Flame Orb activates Guts and deals much less damage over time compared to Toxic Orb.
Usage Tips
========
Machamp should be played aggressively and brought in on Pokemon such as Steelix and Incineroar that it can threaten with Guts-boosted attacks. Use Knock Off if the opponent has healthy Ghost-types on their team or Facade if they have bulky Fighting-resistant Pokemon such as Aromatisse and Slowbro. Revenge kill faster Pokemon such as Sneasel and Whimsicott with Bullet Punch. Machamp can be brought in as a status absorber once its Flame Orb has activated and proceed to drop devastating attacks.
Team Options
========
Machamp works well on VoltTurn teams that can bring it in safely; therefore, Scyther, Rotom, Alolan Persian, Uxie, and Vikavolt are great partners. Machamp also happens to have great synergy with most VoltTurn users, as it can break down bulky Rock-, Steel-, and Ground-types for them. Pursuit trappers such as Sneasel, Drapion, and Spiritomb greatly aid Machamp, as they can dispatch of Psychic-types, particularly faster ones such as Meloetta and Sigilyph. Additionally, Rock- and Steel-types such as Rhydon and Steelix are solid partners, as they provide Machamp with a sturdy Flying-resistant teammate and Stealth Rock to ease Machamp's wallbreaking; for instance, Facade 2HKOes Slowbro with Stealth Rock damage.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
An Assault Vest set can be run to provide some extra defensive backbone to a team; however, it is generally outclassed by Assault Vest Hariyama, which has access to Thick Fat and can thus take on a wider range of special attackers. A Choice Band set with No Guard is an option that allows Machamp to take advantage of the guaranteed confusion from Dynamic Punch; however, due to the relatively low chance for the foe to hit itself in confusion, it is too inconsistent and a waste of Machamp's wallbreaking capabilities. Earthquake is an option to hit Garbodor without triggering Rocky Helmet or Aftermath, but apart from this, it is generally inferior to Machamp's other coverage options. Likewise, Stone Edge can surprise and OHKO Scyther and Xatu on the switch, but it is generally too niche to be considered.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Faster Attackers**: Machamp is relatively slow and unable to withstand many hits without investment; therefore, the best way to deal with it is through KOing it with faster attackers such as Delphox, Sawk, Braviary, Sigilyph, Sceptile, and Medicham.
**Flying-types**: Flying-types such as Scyther, Golbat, and Charizard can KO Machamp with their STAB moves; however, they must all be wary of switching into Guts-boosted Facade.
**Fairy-types**: Granbull is arguably the best defensive Machamp check available, as it can OHKO Machamp with Play Rough and come in on any attack thanks to Intimidate. While Granbull can stay healthy with Z-Heal Bell, it must be cautious of taking too many boosted Facades, as it can only heal itself once. Moreover, Whimsicott can offensively check Machamp with Moonblast; however, it must be at full health because Guts-boosted Bullet Punch does massive amounts of damage. Aromatisse can softly check Machamp and KO it with Moonblast, but it cannot reliably switch in due to Facade being an easy 2HKO.
**Psychic-types**: While Machamp can 2HKO, if not OHKO, most Psychic-types with either Facade or Knock Off, most of them outspeed and OHKO it with their STAB moves. Slowbro can temporarily deal with Machamp; however, it risks getting 2HKOed by Facade on the switch if Stealth Rock is up.
**Garbodor**: Garbodor takes little damage from Machamp's Close Combat and can severely weaken it with a combination of Rocky Helmet and Aftermath recoil. Furthermore, offensive Garbodor can outspeed Machamp and deal huge amounts of damage with Gunk Shot. However, Garbodor will frequently end up sacrificing itself just to inflict recoil damage onto Machamp, making it a shaky check.
Machamp is a fearsome wallbreaker with almost no guaranteed counters due to its combination of raw power, high-Base Power moves, and fantastic coverage. Thanks to Guts, Machamp is able break through traditional counters to Fighting-types such as Weezing, Jellicent, and Gourgeist-XL, which would attempt to status it, as well as bulky Fighting-resistant Pokemon such as Slowbro, Uxie, and Aromatisse, which risk being 2HKOed by Guts-boosted Facade. However, while Machamp can revenge kill specific Pokemon with priority Bullet Punch, it still struggles against offensive teams, which have the power and speed to OHKO it before it can deal too much damage. Furthermore, Machamp faces competition from other Fighting-types such as Emboar, Sawk, Medicham, and Hitmonlee, which offer more Speed and a better matchup versus offense.
[SET]
name: Guts + Flame Orb
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Facade
move 4: Bullet Punch
item: Flame Orb
ability: Guts
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Close Combat is Machamp's strongest STAB move, and it deals ridiculous amounts of damage to even neutral targets with the drawback of lowering Machamp's defenses. Knock Off helps Machamp get past bulky Ghost-types such as Gourgeist-XL, Jellicent, and Sableye, as well as being its best move to hit Spiritomb. Facade rounds out Machamp's coverage, dealing significant damage to Fairy-types such as Aromatisse and Granbull, 2HKOing Slowbro with Stealth Rock up, and inflicting huge damage onto Poison-types, including Weezing, Vileplume, and Garbodor. Bullet Punch gives Machamp excellent priority, allowing it to revenge kill frail Pokemon such as Sneasel, Whimsicott, Vivillon, and Minior.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack investment with an Adamant nature makes Machamp incredibly difficult to switch into, 2HKOing even the bulkiest of foes such as Slowbro. Maximum Speed investment lets Machamp outspeed Seismitoad, Vaporeon, Lanturn, and Weezing, as well as Speed tying with opposing Machamp. Flame Orb activates Guts and deals much less damage over time compared to Toxic Orb.
Usage Tips
========
Machamp should be played aggressively and brought in on Pokemon such as Steelix and Incineroar that it can threaten with Guts-boosted attacks. Use Knock Off if the opponent has healthy Ghost-types on their team or Facade if they have bulky Fighting-resistant Pokemon such as Aromatisse and Slowbro. Revenge kill faster Pokemon such as Sneasel and Whimsicott with Bullet Punch. Machamp can be brought in as a status absorber once its Flame Orb has activated and proceed to drop devastating attacks.
Team Options
========
Machamp works well on VoltTurn teams that can bring it in safely; therefore, Scyther, Rotom, Alolan Persian, Uxie, and Vikavolt are great partners. Machamp also happens to have great synergy with most VoltTurn users, as it can break down bulky Rock-, Steel-, and Ground-types for them. Pursuit trappers such as Sneasel, Drapion, and Spiritomb greatly aid Machamp, as they can dispatch of Psychic-types, particularly faster ones such as Meloetta and Sigilyph. Additionally, Rock- and Steel-types such as Rhydon and Steelix are solid partners, as they provide Machamp with a sturdy Flying-resistant teammate and Stealth Rock to ease Machamp's wallbreaking; for instance, Facade 2HKOes Slowbro with Stealth Rock damage.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
An Assault Vest set can be run to provide some extra defensive backbone to a team; however, it is generally outclassed by Assault Vest Hariyama, which has access to Thick Fat and can thus take on a wider range of special attackers. A Choice Band set with No Guard is an option that allows Machamp to take advantage of the guaranteed confusion from Dynamic Punch; however, due to the relatively low chance for the foe to hit itself in confusion, it is too inconsistent and a waste of Machamp's wallbreaking capabilities. Earthquake is an option to hit Garbodor without triggering Rocky Helmet or Aftermath, but apart from this, it is generally inferior to Machamp's other coverage options. Likewise, Stone Edge can surprise and OHKO Scyther and Xatu on the switch, but it is generally too niche to be considered.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Faster Attackers**: Machamp is relatively slow and unable to withstand many hits without investment; therefore, the best way to deal with it is through KOing it with faster attackers such as Delphox, Sawk, Braviary, Sigilyph, Sceptile, and Medicham.
**Flying-types**: Flying-types such as Scyther, Golbat, and Charizard can KO Machamp with their STAB moves; however, they must all be wary of switching into Guts-boosted Facade.
**Fairy-types**: Granbull is arguably the best defensive Machamp check available, as it can OHKO Machamp with Play Rough and come in on any attack thanks to Intimidate. While Granbull can stay healthy with Z-Heal Bell, it must be cautious of taking too many boosted Facades, as it can only heal itself once. Moreover, Whimsicott can offensively check Machamp with Moonblast; however, it must be at full health because Guts-boosted Bullet Punch does massive amounts of damage. Aromatisse can softly check Machamp and KO it with Moonblast, but it cannot reliably switch in due to Facade being an easy 2HKO.
**Psychic-types**: While Machamp can 2HKO, if not OHKO, most Psychic-types with either Facade or Knock Off, most of them outspeed and OHKO it with their STAB moves. Slowbro can temporarily deal with Machamp; however, it risks getting 2HKOed by Facade on the switch if Stealth Rock is up.
**Garbodor**: Garbodor takes little damage from Machamp's Close Combat and can severely weaken it with a combination of Rocky Helmet and Aftermath recoil. Furthermore, offensive Garbodor can outspeed Machamp and deal huge amounts of damage with Gunk Shot. However, Garbodor will frequently end up sacrificing itself just to inflict recoil damage onto Machamp, making it a shaky check.
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