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Published on March 5th, 2014 | by Knuckles

13

Getting Physical with Fighting Types

They are strong, they are aggressive, and they never shy away from the battle! These are the fighters of the Pokemon world! Fighting-type Pokemon are known for their high base Attack stats, useful support roles, and diverse movepools. Fighting-type Pokemon are threatening on their own and can also be used to counter opposing threats in the Pokemon Video Game Championships.

Offense

Offensively, the Fighting-type hits five different types for super-effective damage and hits seven other types for neutral damage. It boasts the ability to slam Normal-types for super-effective damage, but must be wary of Ghost-types, which are completely immune to Fighting-type attacks. Fighting-type moves are super-effective against Ice-types such as Mamoswine, Cloyster, and Abomasnow, and four times super-effective against Weavile, which are all popular checks to Flying- and Dragon-type Pokemon. If your team is struggling against these Pokemon, then you may want to consider adding a Fighting-type Pokemon to your roster in order to counter these potential threats. Fighting-types hit Rock-type Pokemon such as Rhyperior, Tyranitar, Aggron and the newly-added Tyrantrum for super-effective damage, with Tyranitar taking quadruple damage from its attacks. To round things off, Dark-types like Hydreigon, Krookodile, Liepard, Mega Gyarados, and Scrafty, and Steel-types like Bisharp, Lucario, and Ferrothorn also get smacked for twice the damage. As mentioned before, Fighting-types also hit Normal-type Pokemon super-effectively, most notably Mega Kangaskhan, Smeargle, and Snorlax. When you look at this list you can quickly understand why Fighting-types are useful in VGC due to the many threats that they can counter.

Defense

Defensively, Fighting-type Pokemon are resistant to Bug-, Rock- and Dark-type attacks, but are weak to Flying-, Psychic- and Fairy-type attacks. Many Fighting-type Pokemon come with mediocre Special Defense, and many powerful Psychic and Fairy-type moves hit on the special side of the spectrum. However, some Fighting-types like Lucario, Gallade, and Medicham have a second type that cancels out their Psychic weakness. Scrafty is even immune to Psychic due to its Dark-typing, but this immunity unfortunately comes with a 4x weakness to Fairy-type attacks. If you’re looking for a Fighting-type that only takes neutral damage from Fairy, Lucario and Toxicroak are the only VGC ’14 legal Pokemon with this trait.

Threats to the Fighting Type

Because most Fighting-type Pokemon hit on the physical side of the spectrum, your opponent will most likely implement several strategies to render your physical Fighting-types useless. Here are a few common countermeasures that players use in order to disrupt your fighters.

Will-O-Wisp

Will-O-Wisp is the most reliable move to inflict a status condition most physical attackers despise – Burn. In addition to chipping away at 1/8 of a Pokemon’s health per turn, burning a Pokemon also cuts its Attack stat in half. However, Pokemon with the Guts Ability actually benefit from having a burn; it will raise the Pokemon’s Attack stat by 50% instead of cutting it in half. With the release of Pokemon X and Y, Will-O-Wisp was given an increase in accuracy from 75% to 85%, which makes Will-O-Wisp a much more reliable move than in generations past. As a result, more teams are utilizing it. The move Safeguard will help protect you from this threat. Some of the most popular users of Safeguard are Meowstic and Klefki, who offer priority Safeguard with their Prankster Abilities. This move also protects your team from other status conditions, including paralysis, sleep, freeze, and confusion. If a Safeguard user does not work well for your team, try having your Pokemon hold a Lum Berry. This is another viable option,which cures the same status conditions as Safeguard but does not take up a move slot.

Intimidate

Gyarados, Mawile, Mega Manectric, Krookodile, Salamence, and Scrafty are all common Pokemon in the VGC ’14 metagame that can have Intimidate as their Ability. Intimidate will undoubtedly annoy your fighters when used by your opponent because it lowers the Attack of both opposing Pokemon by one stage when sent out. Unfortunately, Intimidate users do not share a common weakness. However, we can identify the ones that give our individual teams the most problems and take care of them. For example, Mega Manectric may be a dangerous threat to your physical sweepers. It can outspeed the majority of the metagame, Volt Switch out before it can be attacked, and chain Intimidates accordingly. If Mega Manectric is wreaking havoc on your team, make sure you have a Pokemon to counter it effectively. Never leave your Fighting-type in a position where it can constantly have its Attack lowered.

Talonflame

Base Stats: 78 HP / 81 Atk / 71 Def / 74 Sp. Atk / 69 Sp. Def / 126 Spd

Generation VI introduced a new Flying-type Pokemon with the ability to deal priority Flying-type attacks in the form of Talonflame, and there was nothing a Fighting-type trainer could do except watch in horror. Gale Wings Talonflame can dish out priority super-effective damage to your Fighting-type Pokemon. Thankfully, the Flying Gem is not available in VGC as of right now, or Talonflame would be even more powerful with a combination of Flying Gem and Acrobatics. Talonflame can even set up priority Tailwind which doubles the speed of all of Talonflame’s allies. Luckily, Pokemon X and Y gave a buff to the move Quick Guard, which blocks both members of your team from any priority attacks in Talonflame’s Flying-type arsenal. The great thing about Quick Guard this generation is that Quick Guard can now be used consecutively without fail unlike other blocking moves such as Protect and Detect. You may want to consider adding a partner that carries Quick Guard in order to preserve your Fighting-type Pokemon. Many Fighting-type Pokemon can learn Quick Guard themselves if you are opposed to having a teammate carry the move. Another option to counter Talonflame is to run a Pokemon with access to Rock Slide or Stone Edge. Rock Slide comes with 90% accuracy, hits both opposing Pokemon, and also comes with a 30% chance of causing the Pokemon it hits to flinch. Stone Edge comes with a less reliable 80% accuracy and hits just one Pokemon; however, it can be used if you are worried about Wide Guard users protecting opposing Talonflame or Mega Charizard Y from Rock Slides. Popular users of these moves are Garchomp, Tyranitar, Rhydon, and Rhyperior, among others. Many Fighting-type Pokemon have access to Rock Slide and Stone Edge as well. You can also consider having your Fighting-type Pokemon hold a Coba Berry which reduces the amount of damage taken by a foe’s super-effective Flying-type attack by 50%.

Now that we have analyzed the Fighting-type as a whole, let’s examine each individual VGC-legal Fighting-type option in order to discover which Pokemon can better serve your team.

The Fighters

Mega Heracross

Base Stats: 80 HP / 185 Atk / 115 Def / 40 Sp. Atk / 105 Sp. Def / 75 Spd

Pokémon X and Y has been very kind to Heracross. Through Heracross’ newly acquired Mega Evolution, both its Defense and its Special Defense stats increase, and Heracross’ already respectful 125 base Attack stat soars to an outrageous 185. That’s higher than Mega Tyranitar and Mega Garchomp! Mega Heracross’ new Skill Link Ability extends all two-to-five hit moves to the full five hits every time, which means it can laugh at Focus Sash, Substitutes, and resist Berries. Mega Heracross hits like an Abrams Tank, and does so repeatedly. When you look at the movepool that Mega Heracross has at its disposal, it gets some interesting moves to take advantage of its newly acquired Ability. Mega Heracross learns Pin Missile, which is a powerful STAB that can rip Meowstic apart. Although Mega Heracross gets Arm Thrust as a Fighting-type STAB, the move’s power is somewhat underwhelming compared to that of Close Combat, and doesn’t mean you take 5/8 of your HP as damage when attacking a Garchomp or Ferrothorn.

In terms of coverage moves, Mega Heracross gets Rock Blast as an Egg Move. While this might seem like a great way to check Mega Charizard Y and Talonflame, their respective Heat Waves and Brave Birds will OHKO you far before you have a chance to Rock Blast them back. Mega Heracross also learns Bullet Seed to get coverage over Water-, Rock-, and Ground-types. It is worthwhile to note that with any of these multi strike moves, you have a 5/16 chance of getting a critical hit, or a 31.25% chance. Sadly, Mega Heracross also has some distinct disadvantages as well. Even though it received greater bulk and got +60 base Attack in its Mega Evolution, it took a hit to its Speed stat placing it at an awkward base 75 Speed.

Mega Lucario

Base Stats: 70 HP / 145 Atk / 88 Def / 140 Sp. Atk / 70 Sp. Def / 112 Spd

Lucario’s Mega Evolution grants it a buff in both Attack and Special Attack, a huge jump in Speed, and a slightly buffed Defense stat. Mega Lucario has a unique presence as a Fighting-type because it is incredibly unpredictable. When another Fighting-type enters the battlefield, you can usually assume that it is a physical attacker. With Mega Lucario, this is not always the case. Mega Lucario can use a physical set utilizing Close Combat, Bullet Punch, Rock Slide or any other physical attack in its movepool, a special set using Vacuum Wave, Aura Sphere, and Flash Cannon, or even a supporting bulkier version with Follow Me, Quick Guard, or Heal Pulse. Other helpful moves in Mega Lucario’s arsenal include Crunch and Dark Pulse to hit Psychic- and Ghost-types for solid damage, Extreme Speed for powerful priority, and Final Gambit to OHKO things like Rotom at full HP. Because of Mega Lucario’s dual Fighting / Steel type, it carries eight resistances and an immunity to Poison. Mega Lucario’s increased Speed stat allows it to outspeed certain Pokemon it couldn’t before. With 164 Speed EVs and a Speed-boosting Nature, Mega Lucario can outspeed all base 100 Speed Pokemon. This includes Jolly Mega Kangaskhan and Timid Mega Charizard Y that you can OHKO with Close Combat / Aura Sphere and Rock Slide respectively. Lucario’s versatility means you can even run a mixed attacking set.

Even with all these cool tricks, Mega Lucario does come with some drawbacks. It is incredibly frail at times and can easily faint when hit by super-effective attacks, or even repetitive neutral damage. This can be remedied with a little prediction by Mega Lucario’s trainer. When you recognize that a threat to Mega Lucario is out on the field, you can switch out to something that resists an incoming Heat Wave or Earthquake if you feel you can’t remove that particular threat before it knocks out Mega Lucario. Mega Lucario also suffers a bit from four-moveslot syndrome; you more or less have to have a Fighting-type move and Protect, and those last two moveslots can be real tossups.

Mega Medicham

Base Stats: 60 HP / 100 Atk / 85 Def / 80 Sp. Atk / 85 Sp. Def / 100 Spd

Medicham also received a Mega Evolution this generation, and with it Medicham was granted a sharp increase in Attack and a buff in Defense, Special Defense, Speed, and Special Attack. Mega Medicham’s Pure Power Ability doubles its Attack stat. It essentially has the same effects as the Ability Huge Power, which makes Mega Medicham a very powerful Fighting-type Pokemon. You will probably want to use a Jolly Nature with Mega Medicham along with 252 Speed EVs in order to at least speed tie with other base 100 max speed Pokemon such as Jolly Mega Kangaskhan and OHKO with Drain Punch. Mega Medicham can learn a wide variety of attacking moves – Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Rock Slide, and High Jump Kick. It also has access to Bullet Punch for priority, Zen Headbutt for other Fighting-types, and Drain Punch for recovery. Mega Medicham also learns some support moves such as Quick Guard and Fake Out. The drawbacks to using Mega Medicham is that it is the definition of a glass cannon. In other words, it can dish out powerful attacks but has problems lasting many turns. Also, speed tying with other base 100 Speed Pokemon can be frustrating at times.

Mienshao

Base Stats: 65 HP / 125 Atk / 60 Def / 95 Sp. Atk / 60 Sp. Def / 105 Spd

Mienshao has always been a popular choice for trainers who seek a fast Fighting-type with access to Fake Out. It can have Regenerator, Inner Focus or Reckless as an Ability. Inner Focus helps to check Mega Kangaskhan, but in today’s metagame Reckless seems to be the better option. Reckless increases the base power of moves which cause recoil or crash damage by 20%. Moves like High Jump Kick get an attack boost when paired with this Ability. Mienshao is fast enough to outspeed Garchomp and the entire base 100 Speed crew. Mienshao can OHKO Mega Charizard Y with Rock Slide and OHKO Mega Kangaskhan with High Jump Kick. Mienshao also has access to some handy support moves such as Fake Out, Feint, Quick Guard, and Wide Guard. The downside to using Mienshao is that it is frail when left exposed to powerful attacks. A recent example of Mienshao’s VGC success can be found in Mathew Carter’s (mattj) first place Missouri Regional report found here.

Machamp

Base Stats: 90 HP / 130 Atk / 80 Def / 65 Sp. Atk / 85 Sp. Def / 55 Spd

Machamp is most often seen as a Trick Room Sweeper. Machamp’s low Speed stat makes it perform very well under the effects of Trick Room, although there are many other roles that Machamp can fill. Machamp has access to two useful Abilities, although No Guard is definitely the most popular. No Guard makes sure any move used by or against Machamp will hit 100% of the time. This allows Machamp to take full advantage of Dynamic Punch, a move that normally would not be used due to its terrible 50% accuracy. With No Guard, Dynamic Punch hits 100% of the time, and because of Dynamic Punch’s 100% chance to inflict confusion, even Pokemon that resist the attack aren’t safe, because they have to risk getting confused. No Guard also lets Machamp take advantage of attacks like Stone Edge to OHKO Pokemon that might be able to take a non-STAB Rock Slide. Another option would be to use the Guts + Flame/Toxic Orb combo like Hariyama or Conkeldurr, but never missing with No Guard is tough to pass up. As for other moves, Machamp has access to priority Bullet Punch, Earthquake, Superpower, all elemental punches, and a cool support move in Wide Guard.

Conkeldurr

Base Stats: 105 HP / 140 Atk / 95 Def / 55 Sp. Atk / 65 Sp. Def / 45 Spd

Conkeldurr has been one of the more popular Fighting-types since its release in Generation V, and for good reason. Conkeldurr has reasonable high HP, and a reliable Defense stat which allows it to be surprisingly bulky and stay in the battle longer, especially if you consider Drain Punch for recovery. Conkeldurr’s base Attack stat of 140 allows it to hit like a truck, dealing a ton of damage with its Fighting-type STAB attacks. While Conkeldurr is indeed strong, it lost the Ice Punch move tutor from last generation, which is disappointing because it means Conkeldurr can no longer brush Amoonguss and Dragon-type Pokemon aside like it could before. That being said, the Ability can actually be more of a tossup than it was last generation. Iron Fist boosts the power of Hammer Arm, Drain Punch, and Mach Punch, but leaves you susceptible to Will-o-Wisp. Guts + Toxic/Flame Orb prevents you from being hit with status conditions and boosts the damage output for all your moves, but can eat away at your health over time.

Chesnaught

Base Stats: 88 HP / 107 Atk / 122 Def / 74 Sp. Atk / 75 Sp. Def / 64 Spd

Chesnaught is an interesting Pokemon with its excellent dual Grass / Fighting type. It carries great physical bulk which is useful in today’s physically based metagame. Chesnaught has seen an increase in usage after Enosh Shachar used it during the 2014 Virginia Regional. During this Regional, Enosh used a Chesnaught with an Adamant Nature, 144 Attack EVs, and an Expert Belt. With this spread, Chesnaught becomes an effective counter to the extremely popular Mega Kangaskhan with its STAB Hammer Arm. It can also OHKO Rotom-Wash with Wood Hammer. Chestnaught has the unique Bulletproof Ability, which makes Chesnaught immune to ball and bomb moves such as Aura Sphere, Focus Blast, Gyro Ball, and Shadow Ball among others. Chesnaught also has some useful support moves at its disposal such as Spiky Shield, Leech Seed, Taunt, Feint, and Quick Guard. Chesnaught also has the advantage of catching an opponent by surprise with its lesser-used unpredictability factor. Chesnaught does come with its drawbacks; is that it does not hit many Pokemon for super-effective damage and is also weak to six different types, which makes it a very situational Pokemon to bring into battle. Enosh’s Chesnaught was so successful for him because it was a very specific choice for his team. Perhaps it can be for your team as well.

Toxicroak

Base Stats: 83 HP / 106 Atk / 65 Def / 86 Sp. Atk / 65 Sp. Def / 85 Spd

Toxicroak has mostly been a staple of teams utilizing rain in past VGC events. It comes with a useful typing that takes neutral damage from Fairy, resists Fighting-, Dark-, Rock-, and Grass-type moves, and is immune to Water-type attacks with its Dry Skin Ability. Dry Skin allows Toxicroak to heal 1/8 HP during rain, and can absorb Water-type attacks which recover 1/4 of its HP. This Ability also has some drawbacks. It causes 1/8 max HP in damage each turn during strong sunlight and increases damage from fire moves to 1.25x. The introduction of Mega Charizard Y and its Drought Ability to the metagame has made Toxicroak a less reliable option now than it has been in past VGC events. However, if you build a team that is dedicated to setting up the weather condition of rain, Toxicroak can still assist your team in a variety of ways. Toxicroak is most often utilized by having its partner use a rain-boosted Surf which heals Toxicroak’s HP while also damaging both opposing Pokemon. Toxicroak has some nice support options in its movepool such as Fake Out, Quick Guard, and Taunt. Toxicroak can also learn Drain Punch which, when combined with the held item Black Sludge, can make Toxicroak last a lot longer than you might expect. However, even with its good recovery options, Toxicroak is somewhat frail.

Hawlucha

Base Stats: 78 HP / 92 Atk / 77 Def / 74 Sp. Atk / 63 Sp. Def / 118 Spd

Somewhere in the Pokemon X and Y story mode you may have crossed paths with Hawlucha and did not give it a second thought. Hawlucha is rarely seen in the VGC metagame as of now, but it has plenty of things that can work in its favor. What separates Hawlucha from other Fighters is its incredible speed. Hawlucha is the fastest VGC-eligible Fighting-type Pokemon. Hawlucha’s speed can reach even further heights with Unburden as its Ability, which doubles its speed when a held item is used or lost. For example, an item such as a Lum Berry can allow Hawlucha to shake off any inflicted status condition, while also giving it an unexpected boost in speed. Hawlucha also carries a beneficial Flying-typing in order to hit other Fighting-types super-effectively. Hawlucha has a unique signature move, Flying Press, which deals both Fighting and Flying-type damage at the same time. Also, if Flying Press is used against a target that has used Minimize, it will never miss and its base power is doubled, which would allow you to laugh at Chansey (if it was VGC’14 legal). Other options in Hawlucha’s movepool include High Jump Kick, Low Sweep, Acrobatics, Stone Edge, Rock Slide, and U-turn. Hawlucha also has access to support moves such as Quick Guard, Swagger, Encore, and Feather Dance. It also has a Roost available as a recovery move. The drawback to running Hawlucha is its mediocre 92 base Attack stat. Hawlucha also has problems lasting more than a couple turns, especially with so many Talonflame around. Most Electric- and Ice-type attacks found in the VGC metagame also will cause Hawlucha to faint.

Hariyama

Base Stats: 144 HP / 120 Atk / 60 Def / 40 Sp. Atk / 60 Sp. Def / 50 Spd

Most Hariyama that are seen in the VGCs are primarily used as a means to assist a team with setting up Trick Room because of its low Speed, high Attack, and access to Fake Out. Hariyama also carries great bulk and has the highest HP stat of all VGC ’14 eligible Fighting-type Pokemon. When choosing an Ability for your Hariyama, there are some interesting choices you can make. The Guts Ability increases Hariyama’s attack by 1.5 times when affected by a status condition. Toxic Orb is the most optimal way to activate Guts, even though the most common choice is Flame Orb. Hariyama actually needs to stay on the field at least four turns or more in order for Toxic Orb to be worse than Flame Orb. Protect or Detect can help activate your Orb of choice, which also makes Hariyama immune to other status effects such as sleep, paralysis, and freeze. The Thick Fat Ability is another viable option, which helps Hariyama absorb Mega Charizard Y’s Heat Waves and Abomasnow’s Blizzards. Hariyama can learn Close Combat, Earthquake, Stone Edge, and Bullet Punch. Hariyama can also make great use of Belly Drum which cuts Hariyama’s HP in half while maximizing its Attack. Hariyama also has access to some great support options in Wide Guard and Helping Hand. The drawbacks to using Hariyama is its lackluster movepool, and the fact that it is often outclassed by other Trick Room supporting Pokemon such as Machamp or Scrafty.

Scrafty

Base Stats: 65 HP / 90 Atk / 115 Def / 45 Sp. Atk / 115 Sp. Def / 58 Spd

Scrafty has been a popular choice among VGC trainers ever since its introduction in Pokemon Black and White. What sets Scrafty apart from other Fighting-types is its valuable Intimidate Ability, which lowers both opposing Pokemon’s Attack stats by one stage when Scrafty is sent into battle. This can be very disruptive to an opposing player’s physical attackers. Scrafty is also the only Pokemon with access to both Intimidate and Fake Out on the same set. With Scrafty’s excellent 115 base Defense and Special Defense stats, it has great bulk and can take many attacks before fainting. Scrafty has access to STAB attacking moves in Drain Punch and Crunch which are only resisted by Fairy-types, Hawlucha, Heracross, and Toxicroak. Other moves in Scrafty’s movepool include Brick Break, High Jump Kick, Zen Headbutt, Rock Slide, Stone Edge and all elemental punches. Scrafty also gets some nice support moves including Fake Out and Quick Guard. Additionally, its low Speed stat allows it to function well in Trick Room. The two drawbacks to using Scrafty are its low damage output (due to a low 90 base Attack stat), and its 4x weakness to Fairy-type attacks.

Heracross

Base Stats: 80 HP / 125 Atk / 75 Def / 40 Sp Atk / 95 Sp Def / 85 Spd

Heracross is a Pokemon that was used in previous VGC formats as a reliable way to counter the very popular Cresselia. Heracross saw a rise in usage after Cassie used it with great success during the 2012 VGC season. Cresselia is not a problem this season because it is not a Pokemon that is allowed in the VGC ’14 format, but Heracross still becomes an effective sweeper with its high base 125 Attack stat and the Speed boost it receives when Heracross holds a Choice Scarf. What sets Heracross apart from its Mega Evolution is its Ability Guts, which increases Heracross’s Attack stat by 1.5 times when inflicted with a major status effect. If you choose to run Choice Scarf on your Heracross, you can have a partner Will-O-Wisp it in order to receive the stat boost, or smile when the opponent foolishly tries to burn it themselves. If you prefer to ditch the Choice Scarf and have free range of your move selection, you can have it hold a Toxic/Flame Orb and use Protect turn one in order to activate the status condition and also the Attack boost. While under a major status effect, Heracross becomes immune to other status conditions such as Paralysis, Freeze, and Sleep. With a Guts Attack boost, Heracross can even outdamage its Mega Evolution form, although its main STAB option does have decreased accuracy. Heracross has access to Close Combat, Megahorn, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, and Earthquake, just to name a few moves. The drawback to running Heracross is its incredible weakness to Flying-type attacks, especially from Talonflame. Sun-boosted attacks from Mega Charizard Y can cause Heracross problems as well, but this can be remedied with a Choice Scarf and your Rock-type move of choice.

Special thanks to Leonard Craft III (DaWoblefet) who was nice enough to proofread this article for me and offer suggestions before it was officially edited.

About the Author

Knuckles is a battle hardened Pokemon trainer who has Pokemon origins that date back to 1996, as a young boy playing the original Fire on his now ancient 8-bit Game Boy. He started playing competitively in VGC events on June 15, 2009 in Nashville, Tennessee and has attended events annually ever since. He enjoys attending VGC events with his brother and other friends.

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