History and Evolution of Fighting-type Moves

By churine. Released: 2022/11/11.
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Art by Cretacerus

Art by Cretacerus.

Introduction

The Fighting type as a whole bases its theming around the various martial arts throughout the world, with there being many different methods for your Pokémon to punch, kick, throw, and engage in other kinds of combat. Fighting has been one of the most prolific offensive types for a number of generations due to its vital coverage against five different types, most notably Steel, Dark, and Normal. Many Pokémon carry a Fighting-type move solely to break past common threats across various generations such as Tyranitar, Ferrothorn, and Blissey. This is due in large part to a wide assortment of high-power Fighting-type moves flying around, from the stat-dropping Close Combat and Superpower to the occasionally infuriating High Jump Kick and Focus Blast. Many Fighting-type moves have seen use throughout the years, but it wasn't always like that; there was a point in time where Fighting-types were an insignificant part of the metagame, with a sparsity of strong Fighting-type moves and unfavorable type matchups being major factors. So, how did Fighting-type moves get to where we are today? Let's take a look at the various fighting styles throughout the generations and see which new styles developed and which fell out of favor.

This article will primarily focus on the newly-added Fighting-type moves per generation, though any substantial buffs or changes to an older move will be highlighted as well. Also, the focus of this article will primarily be about the move's usage in the OU tier per generation, though if the move is not significantly used in OU but sees usage in a lower tier or different official metagame in the same generation, then that particular usage will be covered.

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RBY

RBY is, unquestionably, the weakest generation for the Fighting type as a whole. The type may seem good to the prospecting player, as it's the only type super effective against the three obligatory Pokémon in the metagame, namely the Normal-types Tauros, Snorlax, and Chansey, but the rest of the metagame is dominated by Psychic-types and Zapdos, which shrug off the attacks or, in the case of Gengar, are flat-out immune. However, what ultimately hurts the Fighting type this generation is the sheer lack of powerful Fighting-type coverage, which the type would later be renowned for, with the most widely accessible Fighting-type move being Submission, a recoil-dealing move that is essentially a worse Take Down in power and accuracy, a move that is already worse than Double-Edge. High Jump Kick, which is also exclusive to the Special stat-gimped Hitmonlee, is the strongest Fighting-type move at only 85 Base Power, as opposed to 130 in recent generations, although it had a unique trait where the user only takes 1 HP of crash damage if it misses. Karate Chop, a move with a high crit ratio, is not even Fighting type in RBY for some unforsaken reason, which would have undoubtedly helped many Fighting-types by providing a consistent high-damage dealing move that also breaks past Reflect sets on Chansey and Snorlax. There are quite a few moves that non-Fighting-type Pokémon use regularly, such as Seismic Toss and Counter, although they're primarily used for their fixed damage. RBY is quite tough for Fighting-type moves with the lack of powerful moves and all the Psychic-types, Zapdos, and Gengar running around, but had RBY introduced stronger and better Fighting-type moves, they likely would've seen common usage from various Pokémon to hit Normal-types on their only weakness.

Seismic Toss

Alakazam Chansey Hypno

Seismic Toss deals a fixed amount of damage based on level, usually 100 HP, making it a frequent choice on walls like Chansey, or on Psychic-types such as Alakazam that want another attacking option. Many Psychic-types this generation lack special coverage moves, as tradeback moves are not allowed, so they utilize Seismic Toss as a secondary attack. Alakazam uses the move against Starmie, Exeggutor, and other Alakazam as to not blaze through Psychic's 16 PP so rapidly. Chansey often uses Seismic Toss for its fixed damage, though it may opt for Ice Beam due to the freeze chance; the fixed damage of Seismic Toss would be later valued highly after the Special split in GSC, as Chansey would no longer be able to use Ice Beam off a 105 Special stat and would best deal damage with Seismic Toss. A fun tidbit about Chansey: some players have experimented with running level 85 Chansey sets before, as in classic RBY shenanigans, if a Pokémon's current HP is 255 or 511 less than its max HP, it cannot use recovery moves. A level 85 Pokémon is able to set up this glitch after three uses of Seismic Toss, though the tradeoff is that the Pokémon will be far less bulky. Meanwhile, in lower tiers, pure Psychic-types such as the Hypno line, Alakazam's pre-evolutions, and Mr. Mime run Seismic Toss in a similar fashion to Alakazam in OU, as they use often use it for opposing Psychic-type Pokémon. One important thing to note is that in RBY, fixed damage moves like Seismic Toss have the added benefit of bypassing the type chart, meaning it can actually hit Ghost-types in this generation.

Counter

Chansey

Counter is a complete mess of a move that Chansey sometimes uses to deal with physical attackers, as instead of countering any physical move like in later generations, in RBY it can only return damage from Normal- or other Fighting-type moves, which includes Seismic Toss. Due to being a fixed damage move in RBY, Counter can also hit Ghost-types. Furthermore, if the opponent uses a counterable move and then switches out or doesn't use a move the following turn, Counter will still deal double the damage, even though the counterable move was used in a previous turn. Chansey primarily runs Counter to check Snorlax, as countering a Body Slam would knock Snorlax out from full, and often pairs Counter with Sing and Ice Beam to try sleep or freeze two other Pokémon on the team, sometimes being dubbed the "Triple KO" set as a result. Due to this, Snorlax and other Pokémon like Tauros can use Earthquake to scout for Counter. It's worth noting that Alakazam also can use Counter due to its low physical Defense, but is far rarer and harder to use. Counter also is so extremely bugged in Generation 1 that desyncs could occur on cartridge based on the move players tried to use, particularly on Pokémon that got fully paralyzed on a turn. This led to simulators ultimately patching the move so it would fail completely when a desync would occur; a solution that could be jarring, since Counter could sometimes succeed on a fully paralyzed Pokémon and sometimes fail.

Double Kick

Jolteon

Jolteon specifically runs Double Kick despite its low Attack to beat Chansey, although it can also be used to prevent a very weakened Rhydon from thwarting Electric moves. While Chansey only takes a bit over a quarter from the move, Jolteon's high critical hit rate of approximately 25% means that it can remove half of Chansey's HP even when it has Reflect up, since in RBY, all hits of multi-hit moves will be critical if the first hit is due to all hits dealing the same damage as the first. If Chansey has a Reflect up and Jolteon doesn't crit, though, then Thunderbolt is slightly stronger than Double Kick, and the low power of Double Kick is also why Jolteon should use Thunderbolt against Chansey's fellow Normal-types Tauros and Snorlax, unless it aims to preserve its PP.

Submission

Poliwrath Pinsir Mewtwo

Submission is the strongest widely accessible Fighting-type move, but it just might be the worst usable move in the series, as it has severe drawbacks for its average Base Power, such as imperfect accuracy and recoil. Poliwrath did see fringe usage as an Amnesia user with access to STAB Submission, primarily to immediately threaten and OHKO Chansey in OU with a critical hit. Though Pinsir is about as viable as Poliwrath in OU, it uses Submission in a similar manner, OHKOing Chansey and heavily threatening Snorlax, Cloyster, and Rhydon after a Swords Dance, dealing over half health to these threats. Pinsir can also use Submission in UU and NU to deal with Normal-resistant Pokémon, namely Golem. Submission is also an option on Mewtwo in order to maul Chansey in Ubers, as well as gain a PP advantage against opposing Mewtwo. Lastly, Submission serves as the main STAB move for Primeape and Hitmonchan, though they are very mediocre Pokémon even in NU.

Low Kick

Machamp

In RBY and GSC, Low Kick is actually a 50-Base Power move with a 30% flinch chance, as opposed to scaling Base Power by the target's weight. Machamp used to run Submission as its STAB a long time ago, but these days it opts for the weaker Low Kick, since Submission fails to OHKO Chansey anyway and means Machamp will take over 40% in recoil, while Low Kick still 2HKOes it with the added chance of flinching. When accuracy is factored, the chance for a paralyzed Pokémon to be fully immobilized after a Low Kick is above 50%, making Machamp a possible late-game choice. However, Machamp is still mainly a gimmick, since it is shut down by paralysis, and most players opt for Rhydon as the go-to late-game threat due to its greater defensive traits, higher damage output, and capability of setting up 103 HP Substitutes.

Tradebacks

Electabuzz Rapidash

RBY OU is played without the movepool expansions from GSC, but there is a metagame where these moves are allowed. Electabuzz gets BoltBeam coverage from tradebacks with Ice Punch but also gets Rolling Kick, an otherwise average move that is useful to beat Chansey and paralyzed Pokémon due to its 30% flinch chance. Rapidash, in addition to having the capability of being a potentially irritating Pokémon with Hypnosis and Fire Spin, got access to Double Kick, which lets it beat Chansey in a similar vein as Jolteon, while boasting a greater Attack stat that let it 3HKO the blob.

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GSC

GSC brought some much-needed buffs to the Fighting type with stronger moves and an updated type chart. The newly introduced Steel- and Dark-types were designed to nerf the dominant Psychic-types while also providing Fighting some well-needed targets to hit. Steel in particular would go on to be the single most key defensive typing throughout the series due to its various resistances, with Fighting coverage becoming heavily valued as a result. The metagame in GSC is a lot friendlier for Fighting-types as a whole, with Pokémon of the aforementioned types such as Tyranitar, Umbreon, and Steelix present, though the biggest target of them all is by far the tier king Snorlax, an incredibly resilient Pokémon, despite its subpar Defense, that is only weak to Fighting-type moves. Despite the single-most dominant Pokémon in an OU generation ever being only weak to Fighting, Fighting-type moves are still not very widespread in GSC, since Cross Chop, although being a great move with excellent power, has low distribution and PP, while the other more widely distributed Fighting-type move is the painfully inaccurate Dynamic Punch, which also has low PP.

Cross Chop

Machamp Primeape Electabuzz Magmar

Cross Chop is a massive step up from Submission in the previous generation, being the move Stone Edge would copy off of later on. Machamp's Cross Chop is the strongest Fighting move in the game and is therefore the hardest-hitting move against Snorlax, with a nasty 25% critical hit chance that can allow it to flat-out OHKO the behemoth and deter the most physically defensive Pokémon such as Skarmory and Forretress from switching in. Machamp can also bolster itself via Curse to make its Cross Chop more threatening and is able to OHKO Skarmory with a critical hit after merely one boost. Other Pokémon in lower tiers use Cross Chop, namely Primeape, which is the fastest Fighting-type available and warps NU around it, and Electabuzz and Magmar, which use it to beat special walls. Cross Chop has a notable drawback of having only 8 PP, which can be taken advantage of easily and makes it a hard move to simply throw out.

Dynamic Punch

Gengar Tyranitar Alakazam

Some Pokémon still opt to run the coinflip that is Dynamic Punch, primarily special attackers such as Gengar and Alakazam, which want to not be hopeless against Tyranitar and special walls such as Snorlax and Umbreon. If the move lands on these walls, the guaranteed confusion chance is able to provide key openings, or in Gengar's case, allow them to threaten a KO with Explosion after, even against the all-resilient Snorlax. Likewise, Tyranitar can run Dynamic Punch admist its wide movepool to better check Snorlax and other Fighting-weak Pokémon such as Umbreon, and potentially 2HKOing unboosted Snorlax with a layer of Spikes, though landing even one Dynamic Punch alone provides a great opening for more reliable moves. However, along with its poor accuracy, another crippling flaw of Dynamic Punch is that it has only 8 PP, which makes it even harder to simply click and hope that it lands.

Other Moves

Hitmonchan Heracross

Reversal is a move worth mentioning, as it can be used alongside Endure, which Pokémon like Heracross could try to run like they did in Nintendo Cup 2000; however, these kinds of sets throw longevity out the window for a few-turn wonder and are often considered gimmicky as a result. Mach Punch was introduced as the signature move of Hitmonchan, though it would mainly see use in later generations, since Hitmonchan never had the need for priority this generation. Hitmontop's signature Triple Kick is the basis of Triple Axel in SS, but it would never get its Base Power buffed to match Triple Axel. Detect is just a lower-PP version of Protect that would really only be useful in later generations of VGC to avoid being blocked by Imprison. Lastly, everyone's favorite HM move Rock Smash was introduced alongside breakable rocks in the overworld and is the only move in history to go from TM to HM back to TM and to HM again.

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ADV

ADV only made Fighting-type coverage more valuable due to the ubiquity of Tyranitar and Blissey along with the various strong and reliable moves that were added. It was the first generation to bring a decently strong and accurate Fighting move in Brick Break, brought a setup move in Bulk Up, and introduced the immensely powerful and meta-defining Focus Punch. ADV also reworked DVs into IVs, which meant choosing particular Hidden Power types no longer significantly compromised a user's stats, leading to a rise in Hidden Power Fighting as coverage. As a result, many Pokémon that are not even Fighting type frequently run Fighting coverage moves due to their good matchup against the metagame and their overall reliability.

Focus Punch

Tyranitar Heracross Swampert Breloom Snorlax Charizard

Focus Punch is by far the most influential Fighting move added this generation, seeing wide distribution, as it takes Dynamic Punch's TM01 slot from the previous generation. Focus Punch has the same strength as Hyper Beam, with the only condition being that the user must not take a direct hit in the turn, as opposed to Hyper Beam's costly recharge turn. Focus Punch rewards the user for reading the opponent correctly, be it predicting a switch or anticipating a status move, and is at its most prominent in ADV, with various Pokémon using the move as powerful coverage against common switch-ins or as a catch-all kind of move to ease prediction on switches. Powerful Fighting-type Pokémon such as Heracross, Breloom, and even Medicham often run Focus Punch due to their capability of forcing switches and dealing immense damage—Focus Punch is a 2HKO on Skarmory for all three Pokémon mentioned, and for Choice Band variants of Heracross, it has a 25% chance to OHKO. Breloom also has the added benefit of running Spore, meaning it can force any foe bar Gengar to eat a Focus Punch after inducing sleep on a Pokémon. Many non-Fighting-types such as Tyranitar, Swampert, and Snorlax also run Focus Punch due to how they force special walls out and can strike a heavy blow on whatever switches in. Gengar can opt for Focus Punch to hit Tyranitar and Blissey similarly to how it ran Dynamic Punch in the previous generation, but it has a lot of other more consistent moves it wants to fit this generation. Some players opt for Charizard over Moltres due to its higher Speed tier and access to Focus Punch, meaning it can severely damage common switch-ins such as Tyranitar and Blissey that Moltres has a hard time against.

Substitute synergizes well with Focus Punch due to creating a decoy to protect the user, which Pokémon like Heracross and Breloom can use effectively to facilitate a safe Focus Punch. One important quality of Focus Punch is that it deters the opponent from using setup and status moves, which means that, for example, Tyranitar wouldn't want to set up Dragon Dance against opposing Tyranitar or a Charizard expected to switch out, lest it eat a powerful Focus Punch to the face.

Brick Break

Salamence Tyranitar Heracross Medicham Hariyama

Brick Break is a Fighting-type TM move accessible on a wide variety of Pokémon, often being reliable STAB for Fighting-types such as Heracross and Medicham, and is a staple on many mixed attacking sets of Salamence and Tyranitar, which incorporate the move alongside Fire Blast and Hidden Power Grass to check opposing Tyranitar and dismantle defensive cores such as SkarmBlissPert. Salamence and Tyranitar also can run Brick Break on fully physical sets, particularly Choice Band variants, though Tyranitar more often runs Focus Punch over Brick Break on said variants. Hariyama is more noted for its Knock Off and defensive utility, but its access to Brick Break and Hidden Power Bug means it can scare out Pokémon like Tyranitar and Celebi and force a bulkier Pokémon such as Skarmory or Metagross to switch in and lose their item, often costing them the passive recovery from Leftovers. It should be pointed out that Hariyama can run Cross Chop for greater power, but it often prefers the greater PP of Brick Break.

Sky Uppercut

Breloom Blaziken

Sky Uppercut is a stronger alternative to Brick Break on Pokémon such as Breloom and Blaziken, even though it's less accurate. Breloom often runs Sky Uppercut alongside Spore and two other Fighting-type moves, with Mach Punch allowing it to pick off weakened and faster foes, including pinch Berry sets, and Focus Punch for its cataclysmic power. Blaziken is a mixed attacker that incorporates the same Fire/Fighting/Grass coverage that mixed Salamence and Tyranitar use to break SkarmBlissPert cores, with Sky Uppercut also threatening Tyranitar and Snorlax.

Hidden Power Fighting

Celebi Zapdos Jirachi Aerodactyl

Though Hidden Power was introduced in the previous generation, the overhauled IV system and ubiquity of Tyranitar and Blissey made Hidden Power Fighting a more promising option on various Pokémon to remove or severely weaken those aforementioned threats. Mixed attacking Zapdos and Jirachi run Hidden Power Fighting specifically to pressure Blissey and Tyranitar, especially with Spikes up. Swords Dance Celebi is used to switch in on resisted hits and pass boosts to various physical teammates, and it commonly runs Hidden Power Fighting to stuff Tyranitar, which often carries Roar to thwart Baton Pass strategies and checks common recipients such as Aerodactyl, Salamence, and Gyarados. Finally, some Aerodactyl sets forgo STAB Hidden Power Flying for Fighting to better check Tyranitar and reliably hit Blissey, although the 30 Speed IVs mean Jolteon and opposing Aerodactyl now outspeed it as opposed to Speed tying.

Other Moves

Deoxys-A Nidoqueen Machamp Hitmonchan Vigoroth

Bulk Up operates similarly to Curse from the previous generation, just without a Speed drop and working the same way for Ghost-types, although its low distribution this generation means there are not many common users of the move in OU, with only the fringely viable Machamp running it and some variants of Hariyama to catch the opponent off guard. In lower tiers though, Bulk Up is more common, particularly on Hitmonchan and Vigoroth in NU, which are some of the most threatening Pokémon in that tier. Superpower was introduced this generation, though it was only given to the Regi trio, Deoxys, and Nidoqueen, being good coverage on Choice Band Nidoqueen but notably being the single strongest physical move for Deoxys-A which often pairs it with Shadow Ball for unresisted type coverage. The newly introduced Salac Berry also makes Substitute + Reversal sets on Heracross more enticing, though sand limits the viability of these sets immensely.

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DPP

DPP is the generation that brought upon us the physical / special split, a change that many would revere, as it altered how moves would function forever; they were now classified as physical or special based on the move's merits rather than their typing, allowing Fighting-type moves to now be based off of Special Attack. Following the physical / special split, Game Freak introduced a whole host of decently powerful moves for both categories of every type, with there now being special Fighting-type moves such as Focus Blast, Aura Sphere, and Vacuum Wave and many new physical moves such as Drain Punch and Force Palm. DPP also introduced the fabled Close Combat, the move that would set the gold standard of all Fighting-type moves moving forward, with any Pokémon that learns the move being prized, as well as increasing the distribution of Superpower and Low Kick, mainly used by Pokémon without Close Combat. While DPP's physical / special split is often touted as one of the greatest changes in Pokémon history, it wouldn't have that much of an impact had DPP not also introduced a slew of moves for both attacking types that overshadowed the moves from previous generations.

Close Combat

Lucario Infernape Heracross Gallade Staraptor Ursaring Pinsir

With 120 Base Power, 100% accuracy, and no drawbacks other than lowering the user's defenses, it's no wonder that this move is what all other Fighting-type moves wish to be. Any Fighting-type with access to Close Combat is valued heavily, with Lucario and Infernape being among the most dangerous offensive Pokémon around combined with their extreme versatility, though Infernape has slightly fallen off in recent times. Lucario is noteworthy as one of the most dangerous late-game threats in the tier with a multitude of sets, particularly Swords Dance sets, with STAB Close Combat playing a huge role in that. Infernape's mixed sets are particularly hard to wall by virtue of hitting both sides of the defensive coin, with Latias being the best general switch-in due to its typing and bulk. Heracross is not a common sight in OU this generation despite having access to the powerfully consistent Close Combat, but it has found a niche in Ubers with Choice items, due to all the Pokémon weak to Fighting and Bug roaming around. Gallade has a unique set of qualities including Will-O-Wisp and a powerful Close Combat, which has led to it seeing some tournament success, namely as a lead. Many non-Fighting-types such as Staraptor, as well as Ursaring in UU and Pinsir, Zangoose, and Granbull in NU, heavily appreciate the coverage brought by Close Combat, as it prevents them being walled by Steel- and Rock-types. Going forward, Close Combat would become the gold standard for all Fighting-type moves and coverage, and its inclusion or omission from a Pokémon's movepool, especially for Fighting-types, can heavily influence their viability.

Dynamic Punch

Machamp

Some older moves rose to prominence in DPP due to seeing a wider distribution or beneficial interactions with abilities. Machamp gained a second ability in No Guard, which ignores accuracy for all Pokémon's moves. When paired with Dynamic Punch, No Guard makes Machamp one of the most infuriating Pokémon in the metagame, as it throws most targets into a coinflip situation with Dynamic Punch's guaranteed confusion. Dynamic Punch Machamp has had a strong influence on the lead metagame in particular, as alongside Sleep Powder Roserade, Spore Breloom, and Body Slam Jirachi, it is part of the reason why many Pokémon carry a Lum Berry, as well as the reason why some leads are often EVed specifically to take a Dynamic Punch and/or another move from Machamp. This same combination of No Guard + Dynamic Punch would be replicated a generation later with Golurk's introduction, and both Machamp and Golurk would go on to have fluctuating No Guard usage in future generations.

Superpower

Breloom Tyranitar Deoxys-A

Superpower became a tutor move starting from Platinum, giving a large number of Pokémon access to a strong and reliable Fighting move. While it is largely worse than Close Combat due to lowering Attack and thus weakening the damage output of further attacks, there are many Pokémon in the metagame without Close Combat, so it still sees a good amount of use. Breloom variants that forgo SubPunch sets will opt for Superpower as a more reliable STAB option that still deals heavy damage to any non-resistant Pokémon. Scizor, Dragonite and even Tyranitar frequently run Superpower as coverage to topple opposing Tyranitar and key Normal- and Steel-types such as Blissey, Clefable, Heatran, and Magnezone, though the latter two can pack Earthquake for Steel-types as well. In Ubers, Deoxys-A once again frequently packs Superpower as its most powerful physical attack, letting it cleave through Dialga, Tyranitar, and Darkrai.

Focus Blast

Gengar Alakazam Darkrai

The physical / special split and addition of powerful special Fighting moves was huge for many Ghost- and Psychic-types that often had higher Special Attack and wanted complementary coverage against Dark- and Steel-types like Tyranitar and Heatran. This is the case for Gengar, which complements its Ghost STAB wonderfully with Focus Blast, and also for Alakazam in UU. Meanwhile in Ubers, Darkrai often uses Focus Blast in conjunction with Nasty Plot to smack Pokémon that resist Dark like Dialga, Tyranitar, Forretress, and Scizor, particularly after it has put something to sleep with Dark Void. While Focus Blast is widely distributed and is immensely powerful, it is also extremely inaccurate and has become infamous among the wider playerbase for its low accuracy. Special Infernape sets can use Focus Blast purely for STAB, although Close Combat's reliability and greater output on special walls like Blissey mean Focus Blast sees rare use.

Aura Sphere

Togekiss Raikou Dialga Mewtwo

Another special move introduced and one of Lucario's trademark moves in media is Aura Sphere, though Lucario mostly runs physical sets with its access to Close Combat, only running Aura Sphere on Choice Specs variants. Aura Sphere was given to Togekiss and various other legendaries, however, such as Raikou, Dialga, Mewtwo, and Giratina, all of which appreciate the coverage against Tyranitar and Steel-types like Heatran, or in the case of the Ubers, Dialga as well. Togekiss's Aura Sphere can also OHKO Tyranitar after a Nasty Plot Boost and hits Heatran and Blissey hard, while Raikou learned Aura Sphere through an event and is able to better handle Magnezone and Heatran.

Vacuum Wave

Croagunk Lucario Infernape Toxicroak

Vacuum Wave is one of the only special priority moves that exist even today, which like Mach Punch and the others, helps pick off weakened or faster frail Pokémon; however, its distribution is very small for the number of Pokémon that could viably use it, being only seen on special Infernape, Choice Specs Lucario, and Nasty Plot Toxicroak in UU. Toxicroak's pre-evolution, however, Croagunk, regularly runs Vacuum Wave in Little Cup on mixed and Nasty Plot sets, often as its only Fighting STAB attack due to the breakneck pace of these games.

Hidden Power Fighting

Gastly Abra Mismagius

Most of the powerful Pokémon that desired a special Fighting-type move had access to either Focus Blast or Aura Sphere, though there are a handful of Pokémon that missed out; luckily for them, Hidden Power became a special move this generation. In UU, Mismagius is a prominent threat and can run Hidden Power Fighting to complement its Ghost STAB and hit targets like Registeel and Clefable, though this comes at the cost of lowering its Speed IV to 30. Many unevolved Pokémon such as Abra and Gastly could use Hidden Power Fighting in the newly official LC to hit Dark-, Steel-, and Normal-types, with the prime targets being Houndour, Aron, and Munchlax, though Hidden Power Fire and Ground are more common in DPP due to also hitting targets like Bronzor and Stunky, respectively. Hidden Power Fighting would end up seeing more usage in the following generations of LC with the introduction of metagame staple Pawniard. Meanwhile in OU, Rotom-A seldom runs Hidden Power Fighting on Substitute + Charge sets just for Tyranitar and overall coverage.

Force Palm

Breloom Hariyama

Force Palm is a largely subpar move due to its middling 60 Base Power and surprisingly low PP; however, the high paralysis chance can be annoying for the target to deal with, which is part of why it sees use on defensive Breloom sets as opposed to Superpower, not to mention that Superpower is slightly counterintuitive for a defensively oriented set. Similarly in UU, heavily defensive variants of Hariyama will also opt for Force Palm as a source of paralysis and damage that does not hinder their defenses like Close Combat.

Other Moves

Weavile Tyranitar

Although Low Kick was altered to be based off weight in the previous generation, DPP was when Low Kick exploded in distribution via move tutors, with Pokémon like Weavile using it to topple fat Steel-types and Tyranitar. Low Kick is most prominent in Ubers, however, due to most Pokémon being ridiculously heavy over there, with Tyranitar often using it to handle Dialga, opposing Tyranitar, and other heavy legendary Pokémon, and it is also what Blaziken would use as Fighting-type STAB attack in the following generations of Ubers. Drain Punch was introduced as a Fighting-type version of Giga Drain, though it wouldn't be until its buff the following generation that it saw regular use. Metagross could try to run Hammer Arm in order to smack Magnet Rise Magnezone sets as well as Heatran and Blissey, but the Speed drop and imperfect accuracy are undesirable, and Metagross has sufficient coverage anyways.

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BW

BW is a generation touted for its variety of Fighting-types with the introduction of many strong Pokémon, their capability of using already established moves, and buffs to many older moves. Nearly every move introduced this generation saw viable usage of some sort, whether it be in OU or a lower tier; the only exception is the Doubles-oriented Quick Guard, which blocks priority moves from hitting the user's side, stopping Terrakion from being picked off by Aqua Jet, Mach Punch, and Bullet Punch in VGC and DOU, which it is otherwise very susceptible to. BW also introduced Gems, which boost the power of a move that matches their type by 50% once per match, with many offensive Pokémon using them to break past conventional answers and teams being able to stack multiple Gems. Fighting Gem was seen on numerous Pokémon such as Breloom, Landorus-T, Keldeo, and virtually anything that had a high-power Fighting-type move, allowing them to blast through even the sturdiest walls like Skarmory and Rotom-W and open holes for teammates to clean later on. However, Gems would end up being banned from BW by a very close vote.

Drain Punch

Breloom Conkeldurr Regirock

Drain Punch was buffed to 75 Base Power and 16 PP alongside Giga Drain, giving it the same power as Brick Break and more frequent use. Numerous bulkier Pokémon appreciate the recovery from Drain Punch, such as Conkeldurr, which also gets an Iron Fist boost from the move, Breloom, which combined the recovery with Poison Heal, and Regirock in lower tiers, which ran it both as Steel-type coverage and to make up for its lack of reliable recovery.

High Jump Kick

Mienshao Hitmonlee Medicham

High Jump Kick was already slightly buffed in the previous generation to 100 Base Power, but BW amped its power even more by buffing it to 130, stronger than Close Combat; furthermore, the new Reckless ability makes Pokémon like Mienshao in UU and Hitmonlee in RU extremely dangerous with this move, though they both have other viable abilities in Regenerator and Unburden, respectively. High Jump Kick also became Medicham's strongest Fighting-type option by far, making it such a terrifying wallbreaker in RU and UU that even resistant Pokémon are scared to switch in lest they lose a large chunk of HP from it. Obviously, High Jump Kick has the notable drawback of taking half the user's HP upon a miss, making it a cautious click against teams carrying Ghost-types or common Protect users on the field.

Low Sweep

Breloom

Breloom acquired Technician in the Dream World and can combine this with the newly added Low Sweep for a 90-Base Power, no-drawbacks move that drops Speed. Low Sweep + Technician is most commonly seen on Choice Band sets and is useful not only for its damage but also to give Breloom or a teammate the jump on an opposing threat. Breloom also run Mach Punch once again as priority and can also run Superpower if the user wants a more powerful STAB move. Poison Heal is the more common ability though, meaning Breloom usually runs other Fighting-type moves such as Drain Punch on Swords Dance sets to pair with Poison Heal recovery, or Focus Punch on Substitute sets.

Throh Poliwrath
Circle Throw Storm Throw
  • Leftovers Throh @ Leftovers
  • Ability: Guts
  • EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
  • Careful Nature
  • - Circle Throw
  • - Bulk Up
  • - Rest
  • - Sleep Talk
  • Leftovers Throh @ Leftovers
  • Ability: Mold Breaker
  • EVs: 92 HP / 132 Atk / 120 SpD / 164 Spe
  • Adamant Nature
  • - Substitute
  • - Bulk Up
  • - Storm Throw
  • - Ice Punch

Many Fighting-type moves added this generation were created specifically around the Pokémon designs of that generation. An example of this is Throh, a Pokémon that specializes in grappling and throwing based off its judo martial art and as a result, brought with it two Fighting-type moves based on throwing. The first and more commonly used of these is Circle Throw, which Throh in NU, along with Poliwrath in RU, uses as a direct-damage phazing tool similar to Dragon Tail, with the capability of rack up a lot of damage on the opposing team quickly with entry hazards up. The second is Storm Throw, an automatic critical hit move equivalent to Frost Breath that saw use on more offensive variants of Throh in NU, letting it ignore Bulk Up boosts from opposing Throh.

Sacred Sword

Terrakion Cobalion Virizion

BW introduced the Swords of Justice, all of which received a signature move in Sacred Sword, a fully accurate 90-Base Power that ignores opposing stat changes. While these Pokémon all learn Close Combat and prefer it due to its sheer power alone, with Choice Band Terrakion's Close Combat being notably terrifying, Sacred Sword can give an edge in some situations if the defense drops from Close Combat are undesirable or the foe has Defense boosts.

Secret Sword

Keldeo

The signature move of Keldeo, Secret Sword functions similarly to Psyshock in that it's a special move that calculates damage based on the target's Defense stat. This means Keldeo utterly destroys the pink blobs of Chansey and Blissey, being a large contributor to their far reduced presence in the BW metagame. Keldeo can run a variety of sets in OU but it always runs Secret Sword and a Water-type move, with Secret Sword complementing its powerful Water moves effectively by checking Ferrothorn and mauling Tyranitar. Calm Mind Keldeo can even challenge Tentacruel in a one-on-one, which is an otherwise good switch-in due to its resistances. This ability to hit both sides of the defensive coin with a strong Special Attack stat, especially in rain, made Keldeo one of the most controversial Pokémon in BW.

Final Gambit

Accelgor Staraptor

Final Gambit is a rare move that deals damage based on the user's remaining HP before knocking the user out and primarily sees use on suicide leads or offensive Pokémon as a method to bring a teammate in safely while dealing huge damage, potentially getting rid of a key Pokémon. Accelgor in RU uses this to safely bring a teammate in after it has laid down entry hazards while potentially dealing valuable chip damage or severely weakening an opposing Pokémon in the process. Offensive Pokémon like Staraptor that can find a matchup difficult or have fulfilled their role can use Final Gambit to bring a teammate in safely while dealing heavy damage or knocking out an opposing Pokémon. On a side note, one hilarious thing about Final Gambit is that Shedinja learns the move despite being hardcoded to always have 1HP. Shedinja has many moves that actively go against the nature of its 1 HP stat such as Sandstorm and Double-Edge, but the idea of Shedinja sacrificing itself to deal 1 HP of damage is probably the most hilarious one yet.

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ORAS

With many powerful and reliable Fighting-type moves introduced or buffed in the past few generations, we reach the point where many Pokémon continue to use those same moves moving forward. Many Pokémon are still going to be throwing out Close Combat, Superpower, and so on, including the new Pokémon such as Pangoro and Malamar running Superpower in lower tiers and Xerneas sometimes running Focus Blast or Close Combat depending on the set. Only three Fighting-type moves were introduced this generation, and two of them hardly saw any notable usage, with Flying Press being counterproductive in its existence and Mat Block being Greninja's more limited and predictable version of Protect, only working on the first turn and being unable to protect Greninja against faster Pokémon or status moves, though also protecting the ally.

Power-Up Punch

Mega Kangaskhan Mega Lopunny

Power-Up Punch is pretty notorious on Mega Kangaskhan due to its absurd Parental Bond ability, effectively giving it a Swords Dance boost while also dealing damage, providing the kangaroo with the wallbreaking power to dismantle defensive Pokémon. Parental Bond's multiplier effect also did not affect Seismic Toss, meaning it actually dealt 200HP and 2HKOed many targets, making it a viable alternative to Power-Up Punch. Outside of Mega Kangaskhan, some variants of Mega Lopunny also ran Power-up Punch for the Attack boost to better pressure defensive teams it would otherwise have a hard time breaking past.

Flying Press

Hawlucha

Hawlucha's signature move and the webzine's namesake, Flying Press, is unique in that it's one of the only dual-typed moves in the series. However, combining Fighting and Flying into a single move is not very desirable, as their super effective coverage, particularly against Rock-, Steel-, and Bug-types, ends up cancelling itself out. This means that Hawlucha would rather use High Jump Kick and Acrobatics instead, particularly with an Unburden and Swords Dance set.

Older Moves

Mega Metagross Aegislash Barbaracle

XY brought some expanded distribution to older moves and intriguing sets, Sacred Sword saw increased distribution to the Aegislash line, providing the family with good neutral coverage with Ghost and an effective way to slice through Dark-types. Tough Claws-boosted Cross Chop and Low Kick were given to Barbaracle so it can slam Steel-types like Ferroseed and Registeel harder in NU and RU. Come ORAS and Mega Metagross is running amok in OU, sometimes using Hammer Arm, as it gains a Tough Claws boost and handily 2HKOes Ferrothorn and dents Heatran, though the Speed drop is still an unfortunate downside to the move, as it makes an otherwise hard-to-revenge kill Pokémon a fair bit easier to handle.

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SM

With Close Combat still being the flagship Fighting-type move, it's no surprise that many older Pokémon continue using the move, including the new Pokémon with access to it, such as Kommo-o, Zeraora, and Passimian, although Kommo-o had to wait until USM to learn the move. SM was a very quiet generation for new moves, as it introduced only one Fighting-type move from the advent of the single-use Z-Moves, being All-Out Pummeling.

All-Out Pummeling

Tapu Lele Magearna Kartana

Z-Moves are an integral part of all the SM metagames, with the most important aspects being the heavily bolstered power to break through bulky and defensive Pokémon and the ability to minimize risk by having perfect accuracy and avoiding contact. Many Pokémon that run Fightinium Z specificially use Z-Moves for coverage against bulkier Steel-types such as Heatran, Ferrothorn, and Celesteela, though the raw strength of Z-Moves means they can be used against neutral targets as well. Magearna and Tapu Lele can patch up Focus Blast's accuracy and eradicate otherwise decent checks in bulky Steel-types, particularly after a Calm Mind, while Kartana can run a Swords Dance set with Fightinium Z and Sacred Sword to also shred those same Steel-types like Ferrothorn and Skarmory while avoiding contact damage from Iron Barbs and Rocky Helmet. An important point about running Z-Moves is that Z-Crystals cannot be swapped or knocked off, which means Z-Move users do not take the extra 50% damage from Knock Off. There are countless other examples of Fightinium Z being used across the SM metagames; particularly, anything that has a high-power Fighting-type move with the goal of deleting a threat from the game to break defensive cores has likely taken an interest in running All-Out Pummeling.

Older Moves

Dodrio

Outside of Z-Moves, a few older moves received wider distribution, such as the aforementioned Sacred Sword on Kartana. One of these expansions was Dodrio's new acess to Jump Kick, granting important coverage against Steel- and Rock-types and making it a dangerous threat in PU. Also, it is one of the few Pokémon that learn Jump Kick but not High Jump Kick, a trait it shares with Sawsbuck, which also appreciates the coverage for Steel-types. Meanwhile in LC, Rock Smash saw legitimate use on Choice Scarf Vullaby sets to smack Pawniard, which walls its other physical moves, although Vullaby more generally runs Heat Wave.

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SS

Unlike the previous two generations, SS was very eventful for Fighting-type moves as a whole, providing a few new additions as well as expansions of Fighting-type moves. The first comes with the introductions of TRs alongside TMs, specifically Close Combat becoming a TR, granting a large number of Pokémon access to the coverage or STAB of their dreams and the gold standard of Fighting-type moves. Another one of these TRs, TR99 Body Press, contains a new move that calculates damage based on the user's Defense stat and was given to a lot of large, bulky Pokémon, allowing for many defensive Pokémon to exert offensive pressure. SS also removed some moves from the game, the most notable of which being Hidden Power, though many of the Pokémon that often ran Hidden Power as coverage were bestowed with Aura Sphere as compensation, such as Latios and Latias. Though not a Fighting-type move, Future Sight has spiked in popularity this generation due to the offensive pressure it can provide to a team, and it particularly synergizes well with Fighting-type moves, as they smack the only Pokémon type that is immune to Future Sight, the Dark type, as well as the resistant Steel type. The gimmick for this generation was Dynamax and their Max Moves before Dynamax got banned entirely, with the Fighting-type Max Move, Max Knuckle, being one of the most overpowered even despite being weaker than most other Max Moves, as it grants the user's side a +1 Attack boost upon use.

Close Combat

Buzzwole Blaziken Mienshao Pangoro Urshifu-S

Close Combat became a TR this generation, and as a result, the move would see an unprecedented increase in distribution as a myriad of Pokémon that have longed for an upgrade in their Fighting-type STAB or coverage would finally learn the move. This has essentially required all teams to have answers for Fighting-type coverage, with common switch-ins being Galarian Slowking, Toxapex, and Buzzwole. Fighting-types that have had to rely on Superpower, High Jump Kick, or other moves such as Buzzwole, Blaziken, Mienshao, and Pangoro saw an increase in viability, since they no longer have to lower their Attack or risk crash damage to dish out heavy blows. Buzzwole in particular transformed from being primarily a physical wall on stall teams in SM to being a powerful tank that can fit on many teams in SS, as now opposing Pokémon no longer have to option of healing off its attacks as it gets progressively weaker. As for new Pokémon, both Urshifu formes are massive threats with their powerful Close Combat paired with their respective auto-critting STAB moves, so much that Urshifu-S proved to be too much to handle and got banned, while Urshifu-R remains a fearsome threat that has influenced various Pokémon to run Rocky Helmet.

Non-STAB Close Combat

Aegislash Lycanroc-D Tauros Braviary

As if Close Combat becoming a TR wasn't enough, a huge assortment of non-Fighting-types got access to Close Combat, so much that we have split this section into two. Some of the many Pokémon that frequently run Close Combat include Aegislash, Crawdaunt, Lycanroc-D, Braviary, and Tauros. Aegislash previously had Sacred Sword, but Close Combat is only an upgrade for its amazing Ghost / Fighting coverage. Lycanroc-D gets a Tough Claws boost on Close Combat, meaning it actually ends up being stronger than STAB Stone Edge and essentially becomes its primary attacking option. Pokémon such as Crawdaunt, Krookodile, Braviary that previously utilized Superpower as strong Fighting coverage for their respective checks, be it Ferrothorn, Hydreigon, or Steel- and Rock-types, no longer have to lower their Attack with the upgrade to Close Combat. Most of the new Pokémon introduced that learn Close Combat, such as Barraskewda, Obstagoon, and Glastrier, all have at least a set where they use Close Combat to pounce their respective checks, which are oftentimes Steel-types.

Body Press

Corviknight Skarmory Ferrothorn Magnezone Kommo-o

SS introduced a unique attack in Body Press, a move that substitutes the user's Defense in the damage formula for Attack, similarly to how Foul Play uses the foe's Attack instead of the user's. Many large Pokémon that boast great builds and likely a Defense stat to match learn Body Press, which provides them with a way to deal solid damage and not be too passive. The metal birds Corviknight and Skarmory are able to switch in on various Pokémon such as Excadrill and Kartana and threaten them with Body Press as well as scare Fighting-weak Pokémon such as Magnezone, Heatran, and Tyranitar. Skarmory and Corviknight can even boost their Defense with Iron Defense or, in Corviknight's case, Bulk Up to fortify their physical bulk and damage output with Body Press. Ferrothorn also uses Body Press in a similar vein as the metal birds, which helps it pressure Steel-types in particular, such as Magnezone and Heatran. Although Magnezone lost Hidden Power Fire to immediately threaten targets like Ferrothorn, Body Press can now let it beat special walls like Blissey and, more importantly, also pairs up with Iron Defense so that Magnezone can set up on Ferrothorn. Furthermore, Magnezone can opt for a Magnet Rise + Air Balloon set with the aim of stonewalling prime suspect Melmetal and removing it from the game, as well as the added benefit of checking Excadrill. Kommo-o uses Body Press as its main STAB on defensive Stealth Rock sets with either Flamethrower or Earthquake as a second attack. In NU, Stealth Rock Diancie's Diamond Storm's synergizes well with Body Press due to the 50% chance of increasing Defense by two stages for each use.

Demon Body Press

Mew Registeel Metagross Cofagrigus

With how Body Press uses the user's Defense stat as part of their offense, that means it synergizes perfectly with Defense-boosting moves such as Iron Defense and Cosmic Power. This has led to the creation of the "demon" sweeper, a style of sweeper that aims to make itself as insurmountable as possible by shoring up its defenses in order perform a sweep, often with Body Press or Stored Power as the attacking move. Mew is one of the most dangerous demon sweepers in the OU tier, as not only does it get both Body Press and Stored Power, it also has a strong unpredictability factor due to its capability of running a myriad of sets. Registeel in UU has seen use as a demon sweeper with access to both Iron Defense and Amnesia to bolster its defenses, Rest as recovery, then with Body Press off of a beefy base 150 Defense, though it cannot deal with Taunt or Haze. This set is oftentimes referred to as Chinese Registeel, as the set first rose to prominence from players in Team China during the UU World Cup. Metagross in RU also uses a demon sweeper set with Cosmic Power to bolster its defenses and Body Press, though unlike the previous two it also packs immediate pressure with its Meteor Mash. There's also Cofagrigus, which has the same Iron Defense + Body Press combination in conjunction with a decently powerful Ghost-type STAB move, meaning it is no longer walled by Ghost-types unlike other Body Press demon sweepers, at the cost of being more susceptible to status. The general weakness of sweepers like these is that they often run with monoattacking moves, are thwarted by Taunt and phazing moves, and perhaps most notably, suffer from increasing susceptibility to critical hits the longer they are out on the field for.

Thunderous Kick

Galarian Zapdos

Although Galarian Zapdos learns a number of coverage moves like Blaze Kick and uses Close Combat as its main STAB, it sometimes will run Thunderous Kick for secondary Fighting STAB similarly to how Terrakion would run Sacred Sword in BW, that is to avoid the Defense drops from Close Combat. Thunderous Kick also has some more uses in situations where Galarian Zapdos wants multiple Defense drops against the foe to soften them up on consecutive attacks or for a teammate.

No Retreat

Falinks

No Retreat is the signature move of Falinks and gives it a +1 omniboost that given its decent Speed tier and Attack stat can help it clean late-game, but it comes at the cost of being unable to switch. This makes No Retreat sweeper sets very committal, since if Falinks uses the move in an attempt to sweep but cannot break past the opposing Pokémon, then the No Retreat user will have made zero progress and be at the mercy of their opponent unless they brought a Shed Shell. Due to this, Falinks will more often run Swords Dance or Choice item sets, since they lack the drawback of being forced to run a non-offense-boosting item to switch out, though Falinks itself is already a rare sight in lower tiers after the DLC expansions.

Other Moves

Grapploct Zeraora Mew

The other moves introduced this generation either are Dynamax specific or have little viable use, with Meteor Assault being a Fighting-type Hyper Beam exclusive to a Pokémon that already learns Close Combat, and Octolock, though an interesting move that traps and softens the foe by lowering their defenses, only being available on Grapploct, which doesn't have the ideal stats to run it. The Isle of Armor introduced Coaching, a Doubles-oriented move that acts as a Bulk Up boost for the ally and does see use on Pokémon such as Zeraora and Mew to bolster physically inclined teammates such as Diancie, Zygarde, Kyurem-B, and Shift Gear Genesect.

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Conclusion

While the Fighting type had a rocky start with the lack of powerful moves in RBY, it would continue to gain new techniques and buffs with each passing generation. It started humbly in GSC with the introduction of Cross Chop, Mach Punch, and the Dark and Steel types, then with Focus Punch, Superpower, and Brick Break in ADV, before finally culminating in DPP with the introduction of Close Combat and the physical / special split. There were a few more changes such as High Jump Kick being buffed in BW, but ever since Fighting found its version of Earthquake in DPP, all the other moves have seen dwindling usage, especially after Close Combat received wider distribution in SS. Brick Break is a rare sight these days, only being seen on Floatzel and some Arceus formes like Ghost, the Stone Edge equivalent in Cross Chop is solely used on Barbaracle and Electivire, as they lack other Fighting-type moves, and even Barbaracle might run Low Kick instead to accurately smack Registeel, and Focus Punch is mainly restricted to Substitute sets on Pokémon like Breloom. Pokémon that used Superpower such as Braviary, Buzzwole, and Crawdaunt instantly jumped to Close Combat the moment they learned it, and even High Jump Kick users like Blaziken, Hawlucha, and Mienshao often prefer the reliability of Close Combat.

Specially, things have been relatively barren, with there being only four regular special Fighting-type moves, being Focus Blast, Aura Sphere, the priority Vacuum Wave, and Keldeo's Secret Sword. Focus Blast is collectively regarded as an infuriating move to use due to its poor accuracy but is often the only special Fighting-type move a Pokémon will learn, which only adds more to its meme status, since these Pokémon often run it as valuable coverage lest they lose to Tyranitar, Ferrothorn, Heatran, and other common Pokémon. Pokémon that do learn Aura Sphere such as Magearna will sometimes opt for Focus Blast anyways because of its greater power. While physical Fighting-type moves have their very own Earthquake in Close Combat, special ones lack that same strong and consistent move, such as a Thunderbolt or Ice Beam-esque that many Pokémon learn, with Aura Sphere close to but not nearly able to fill that void.

It's always interesting to see to see how Pokémon types and their selection of moves evolve over time; perhaps in the following generations Game Freak will buff some of these moves to see more light in competitive play, or they can power creep new moves and make even Close Combat obsolete. The Fighting type might have some of the most interesting developments out of any type in the entire series with just how many moves were added; after all, there are many ways to engage in raw combat, and who knows what new kinds of combat methods Game Freak will come up with in the coming generations.

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