Way of the Warrior: A look at Monotype Fighting

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Intro

While it was one of the top types in BW, ever since the Fairy type was introduced in XY the Fighting type has struggled, getting slightly worse in each generation until SS, where it was considered one of the worst types in the game. However, SV has remedied almost all of the old problems Fighting had, and it has emerged as one of the strongest types in the current metagame.

How Fighting teams play

Offense is where Fighting really shines, boasting a large number of Pokémon with high attacking stats, generally solid Speed tiers, powerful STAB moves, and colorful movepools. Fighting STAB in general is extremely potent, tying with Ground for hitting the most types super effectively. Fighting teams usually build around a wallbreaker core to smash holes into the opposing team and a setup sweeper or two to clean up at the end of the game. Such structures are most often rounded out with Great Tusk and/or Iron Hands to give the team some much-needed bulk. This grants them a lot of flexibility against both offensive and balanced teams and makes it more forgiving than other "all-out" offensive types like Ice and Electric. However, the lack of any dedicated walls means Fighting can only fit into offensive or bulky offensive teams. While Fighting teams have many great options, they usually follow a similar structure: Great Tusk, Iron Hands, Iron Valiant, and Zamazenta, with the last two slots filled by the likes of Sneasler, Hisuian Lilligant, Urshifu-R, and one of the more niche options. Despite the apparent lack of diversity, though, just about all the above Pokémon can branch out with their movesets, making Fighting teams much more flexible than they might first appear.

Notable Pokémon

Great Tusk

Great Tusk @ Rocky Helmet / Heavy-Duty Boots Ability: Protosynthesis Tera Type: Ground EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe Impish Nature - Stealth Rock - Headlong Rush - Ice Spinner - Rapid Spin

Great Tusk @ Choice Band Ability: Protosynthesis Tera Type: Ground EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe Jolly Nature - Headlong Rush - Close Combat - Ice Spinner / Stone Edge - Rapid Spin

Great Tusk serves a crucial role on Fighting teams as a fantastic spinner that can beat almost every spinblocker, only struggling with Sableye, which can cripple it with a priority Will-O-Wisp. Its Ground typing also greatly helps out in the Poison matchup, which is otherwise tricky for Fighting, and its great physical bulk lets it form a tanky core with Iron Hands, with Great Tusk taking on the physical attackers Iron Hands struggles with like Landorus-T and Ursaluna. Its excellent physical bulk gives its support set plenty of opportunities to switch into physical attackers and either remove hazards or set up Stealth Rock, remove a foe's item with Knock Off, or even just outright KO it. If you don't need it to take too many physical hits, it can also run a strong Choice Band set, letting it flex that massive Attack stat and powerful attacks.

Iron Hands

• Iron Hands @ Assault Vest
• Ability: Quark Drive
• EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
• Careful Nature
• - Drain Punch
• - Thunder Punch
• - Heavy Slam
• - Volt Switch / Ice Punch

Iron Hands serves the much-needed role of special tank and Flying-type check. It can check a myriad of other special attackers like Gholdengo, Dragapult lacking Will-O-Wisp, Basculegion-F, and offensive Heatran. It can use these forced switches to either force damage on the opponent's team or safely bring in a partner like Hisuian Lilligant or Zamazenta with a slow Volt Switch so they can set up safely. It pairs up very nicely with Hisuian Lilligant, as the latter's Ice Spinner leaves Iron Hands less reliant on Ice Punch to check Flying-types. Much like Great Tusk, Iron Hands also sports a huge Attack stat, so it can still dish out decent damage even with no investment. The two pair up very often on Fighting teams, with Great Tusk taking the physical hits and Iron Hands taking the special ones.

Iron Valiant

• Iron Valiant @ Choice Specs
• Ability: Quark Drive
• EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• - Moonblast
• - Thunderbolt
• - Shadow Ball
• - Psyshock / Aura Sphere / Trick

Iron Valiant serves a valuable role on Fighting teams: that of a special attacker. Even though its physical Attack stat is slightly higher, Fighting teams have no shortage of strong physical attackers, so Iron Valiant strikes from the special side, forming strong wallbreaking cores with physical attackers like Urshifu-R. Iron Valiant can remove a lot of Pokémon that threaten Fighting teams: Sableye quickly folds to its STAB Moonblast, while its Thunderbolt can 2HKO almost everything found on a Flying team. While it normally runs a Choice Specs set, it is happy to punish that assumption with a mixed Expert Belt set that catches specially bulky Pokémon like Hisuian Goodra and Galarian Slowking off guard. While it is quite fragile, its excellent Speed stat makes up for that.

Zamazenta

Zamazenta @ Leftovers Ability: Dauntless Shield EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe Jolly Nature - Substitute - Iron Defense - Body Press - Heavy Slam / Crunch

Zamazenta @ Choice Band Ability: Dauntless Shield EVs: 8 HP / 240 Atk / 28 SpD / 232 Spe Jolly Nature - Close Combat - Crunch - Heavy Slam - Psychic Fangs / Wild Charge

232 Speed EVs on the Choice Band set lets you outrun Flutter Mane, while the HP and Special Defense investment lets it survive an unboosted Moonblast from it or Enamorus.

While Zamazenta's ability and base stats were nerfed in SV, it also received the move it was crying out for in SS: Body Press. This turns it into a terrifying and almost unbreakable late-game sweeper with Iron Defense in combination with its nigh-unmatched Speed letting it outspeed every common Pokémon besides Dragapult. This set is so effective it forces types to run specific Pokémon so they don't outright crumble to it. Water teams must run Toxapex, Steel has to run either Bulk Up Brave Bird Corviknight or bulky Rocky Helmet Gholdengo, while Fire has to run either Skeledirge or bulky Moltres. Its Speed also lets it revenge kill Flutter Mane, which could otherwise ravage Fighting teams with its Fairy-type STAB moves. While it's less effective overall, it can also run a Choice Band set designed to check opposing hyper offensive teams. On some occasions, it can even run a Choice Scarf set to revenge kill other very fast Choice Scarf users like Flutter Mane.

Sneasler

Sneasler @ Choice Scarf Ability: Poison Touch EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe Jolly Nature - Dire Claw - Close Combat - U-turn - Rock Slide / Switcheroo

Sneasler @ Air Balloon Ability: Poison Touch EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe Adamant / Jolly nature - Swords Dance - Close Combat - Gunk Shot / Dire Claw - Night Slash

Sneasler boasts a number of traits that make it a very strong contender on Fighting teams—its massive Attack stat and high Speed are impressive qualities, but what really stands out is its Poison typing. This is a huge help in the Fairy matchup, as nothing on a Fairy team wants to switch into its Dire Claw apart from Tinkaton and Klefki, neither of which want to switch into it for risk of eating a Close Combat or taking a U-turn to bring Great Tusk in for free. Speaking of Dire Claw, it is a very spammable move, as most Steel types don't want to take a Close Combat, and even bulky Pokémon that resist it like Landorus-T and Gastrodon have a chance to be poisoned, or worse, put to sleep. This chance to incapacitate foes could put an otherwise threatening Pokémon to Fighting teams like Toxapex out of commission. Choice Scarf is its most common set, but on occasion it can be a late-game sweeper with a Swords Dance set. By using an Air Balloon and the Unburden ability, it can be very hard to stop without its dedicated counters at +2 Attack and Speed. Even if it's forced out and doesn't get to reactivate Unburden, Swords Dance Sneasler can still sweep slower teams due to its excellent Speed.

Hisuian Lilligant

• Lilligant-Hisui @ Wide Lens
• Ability: Hustle
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Victory Dance
• - Close Combat / Sleep Powder
• - Leaf Blade
• - Ice Spinner

Hisuian Lilligant's access to Victory Dance gives Fighting teams a very potent late-game sweeper. Its Grass typing lets it shred balanced Water and Ground teams, and with Sleep Powder it can force the former to run both defensive Pelipper and Toxapex to reliably beat it. It also helps out a lot in the Flying matchup too, as between Close Combat and Ice Spinner it can 2HKO at worst everything on those teams besides Moltres after a boost, though it still has to watch out for Choice Scarf Enamorus, which outruns it even at +1.

Rapid Strike Urshifu

• Urshifu @ Punching Glove
• Ability: Unseen Fist
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Spd / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Swords Dance
• - Surging Strikes
• - Close Combat / Drain Punch
• - Zen Headbutt / Trailblaze

Urshifu-R serves as one of Fighting's strongest wallbreakers, boasting a huge Attack stat and the signature move Surging Strikes, which lets it ignore Reflect, Defense boosts, and its own Attack drops. This lets it cleave through many defensive Pokémon like Corviknight, Ting-Lu, and Hatterene, making it very threatening in the Steel, Dark, and Ground matchups. It can use Zen Headbutt to dramatically improve the Poison matchup when paired with offensive Great Tusk, as after Swords Dance, Water Absorb Clodsire is OHKOed, while Toxapex and Amoonguss are both 2HKOed. The two cover each other's weaknesses quite well too, with Great Tusk being able to switch into the Electric-type moves aimed at Urshifu-R, while Urshifu-R can switch into the Water- and Ice-type moves aimed at Great Tusk.

Honorable Mentions

The Pokémon listed here are generally less effective than the ones listed above and thus are harder to justify fitting on your team, but they can still be effective in the right circumstances. Paldean Tauros-F's claim to fame is its ability to counter Sableye on Dark teams, which can be very irritating for them. It can also absorb Will-O-Wisps aimed at teammates and help in the Fairy matchup, as Flame Charge lets it outrun Flutter Mane, and Raging Bull destroys their screens against Fairy teams. Breloom separates itself from Hisuian Lilligant with its access to Spore and STAB Technician-boosted priority in Mach Punch;mdash;it also helps out more in the Water matchup, since Bullet Seed hits Toxapex harder than Hisuian Lilligant's Leaf Blade and doesn't make contact. Lucario's niche lies in its STAB Bullet Punch, letting it pose a threat in the Fairy matchup; it doesn't fear paralysis as much as Sneasler because of this. Galarian Zapdos's main use is in the Fighting mirror match, as very few Pokémon on Fighting teams aren't 2HKOed by its Brave Bird; in addition, unlike Iron Valiant, it can also defeat Amoonguss, which Fighting normally struggles with. Lastly, Gallade can devastate Poison teams with its Sharpness-boosted Psycho Cuts and 2HKO Alolan Muk with Sacred Sword.

Common Matchups

Water

This largely comes down to what sort of Water team you're facing. Balanced Water teams can be quite tricky if you don't have Hisuian Lilligant, since Toxapex can wall just about everything else on a Fighting team apart from offensive Great Tusk, while Dondozo ignores boosts thanks to Unaware. Against more offensive rain teams, Barraskewda can outrun and threaten almost everything on a Fighting team with either its STAB moves or Psychic Fangs, while Choice Specs Basculegion-F can sweep once Iron Hands is down. Once again, Hisuian Lilligant is your best friend in this match up, as it can sweep these teams fairly easily once Pelipper and Toxapex have been weakened.

Week 3 MPL replay - Meta vs Cell

Dragon

This is largely a neutral matchup, as both teams have Pokémon that strongly threaten the other. Dragapult can outrun everything without a Choice Scarf and cripple it with a burn or just outright 2HKO everything bar Iron Hands and Iron Valiant with Draco Meteor. Iron Valiant can use STAB Moonblast to threaten everything on a Dragon team other than Hisuian Goodra, which still doesn't want to risk switching into Iron Valiant's Fighting-type STAB moves. Dragonite is the main threat to Fighting teams, as it can use Extreme Speed to snipe would-be faster Choice Scarf users like Sneasler and Galarian Zapdos, and other than Iron Valiant, everything on Fighting is at worst 2HKOed by a boosted Outrage. Bulky sets with Roost can be problemtic too, though they have to be wary of Ice Spinner from Great Tusk and Hisuian Lilligant. Iron Defense Zamazenta can sweep Dragon teams once Dragapult has been taken care of.

Flying

This is a tricky matchup for Fighting teams, as Enamorus can easily pick Fighting teams apart, while its Therian forme can set up on Pokémon like Great Tusk. Landorus-T can also put an end to Sneasler's sweeps, while Flame Body Moltres can stop Hisuian Lilligant from sweeping. Iron Valiant and Hisuian Lilligant are your aces in this matchup: the former can use Thunderbolt to weaken Corviknight and Moltres, while the latter can sweep late-game with boosted Ice Spinner and Close Combat. Iron Hands can beat Enamorus one-on-one, taking any one hit and KOing it back with Heavy Slam.

Week 2 MPL replay - rs vs lax

Fairy

A very difficult matchup for Fighting teams due to the type disadvantage, Fairy packs a multitude of Pokémon that can threaten Fighting teams. Choice Specs Flutter Mane can shred through a Fighting team with Moonblast once Iron Hands has been weakened, Azumarill can sweep once it gets a Belly Drum off, and bulky boosters like Hatterene and Enamorus-T can be very hard to break, since neither is OHKOed by an unboosted Dire Claw from Sneasler. Zamazenta can outrun everything commonly seen on a Fairy team and 2HKO most Pokémon with Heavy Slam, though it does need to watch out for Choice Scarf Flutter Mane. Choice Scarf Sneasler is similarly threatening with its STAB Dire Claw. Iron Hands can take a Moonblast from Choice Specs Flutter Mane and OHKO it back with Heavy Slam. While it is hard to fit into a team, Lucario can be immensely threatening to a Fairy team with its STAB Bullet Punch once it has set up a Swords Dance.

Week 6 MPL replay - Bka Onon vs pas_touchao

Poison

This is a hard matchup for Fighting teams, as the Regenerator core of Amoonguss, Toxapex, and Galarian Slowking can be very difficult for Fighting teams to break. If you are worried about running into Poison teams, your best bet will be to run a more offensive Great Tusk set, as Choice Band-boosted Headlong Rush 2HKOes everything that isn't immune to it, and Zen Headbutt from Urshifu-R picks off the weakened Pokémon Great Tusk has left in its wake.

Week 4 MPL replay - Shaneghoul vs Swiffix

Sample Teams

Bulky offensive by diegoblu

Hyper offensive by hatred_heart

Get Out There!

With the new Pokémon and metagame changes, Fighting has been reborn as one of the strongest offensive types in the current meta. Experience their power on the ladder, either with your own team or one of the above mentioned sample teams. Share your battle strategies in the forums or the Monotype Showdown room. Whatever challenges await you, fight on!

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