Poliwrath:
10
Conkeldurr:
7
Gurdurr:
4
Beartic:
4
Aggron:
3
Scizor:
3
Gliscor:
2
Golem:
2
Garchomp:
2
Druddigon:
2
Dragonite:
1
Ursaring:
1
Garbodor:
1
Stunfisk:
1
Mamoswine:
1
Sandslash:
1
Ditto:
1
Durant:
1
Zoroark:
1
Goodra:
1
Abomasnow:
1
Graveler:
1
Trevenant:
1
Wigglytuff:
1
Sliggoo:
1
Drapion:
1
Bisharp:
1
Geodude:
1
Tyranitar:
1
Heatmor:
1
Skarmory:
1
...and it's a clean sweep for Poliwrath.
If I had a nickel for every area in a mainline Pokemon region with a Pokedex listing only containing two fully-evolved Fighting-types of which one was Conkeldurr I'd have two nickels, which isn't much but it's weird that it's happened twice.
Fighting is an interesting type to do this sort of thing with (as we've done before, and I'm sure we will again). Perhaps more than any other element in the series, Fighting's characteristics - strength, digilence, honour, integrity, perserverence, virility - are those which find their way very easily into other Pokemon. In a sense it embodies the mindset of Pokemon training and battling more fully than any of the various types do, and that's probably why it's commonly thought to be one of the more "basic" types that's generally encountered very early on. At the very least, it's one of the easiest types to make a team for which the unifying thread is "every member knows a unique Fighting move" (what I've come to think of as the
jhm5 model, if you will) since Fighting moves are just so damn widespread.
Brute force was very much the criteria when you look to the most common wildcards: Aggron, Scizor, Garchomp, Golem, Druddigon. Being a mountain area, of course, it was basically inevitable that a lot of the additional picks would largely cleave to Ground, Rock, and Steel, and brute force goes hand-in-hand with all of those. And most common, of course, was Beartic. The latter makes sense both thanks to the icy, mountainous environment and for its ferocious physical prowess. Interesting that Beartic and Poliwrath's shared access to Swift Swim wasn't made use of, though admittedly it'd be hard to build a team around that unless it were one of many potential cards to play in a Doubles team - go for rain, go for Belly Drum with a Follow Me partner, make use of enfeebling moves, and so on.
However, this being Fighting, the wildcards were spread far and wide. Wigglytuff, Durant, Garbodor, and Stunfisk were definitely some of the odder ones - Goodra, Mamoswine, Abomasnow, Heatmor, and Skarmory were all ones I felt fitted well with the general vibe. This round also saw some serious love for NFEs. Geodude, Graveler, Sliggoo, and of course Gurdurr all got their chance to shine. In particular, Gurdurr's significant usage compared to its evolved form is notable as it's a middle-stage mon which not only has the stats to compete with fully-evolved species, but also a very defined flavour and mannerism compared to most unevolved Pokemon.
Stuff I expected to see more (or at all):
Politoed. Given Poliwrath made it onto every team, surprising not to see it once.
Shuckle. It's not the most Fighting-relevant mon but I did have a brief idea for an "unstoppable force, immovable object"-themed Doubles team. Golem and Aggron would round out the "immovable object" side quite well...
Escavalier. As a weapon user, surprising not to see this once - when the topic was Fighting in the Crown Tundra, Escavalier got a couple of picks.
Accelgor. Similar reasons to Escavalier, really; it's a fighter in another sense.
Bisharp. We had this chosen once but as a combat-oriented mon, I expected more.
Ursaring. It's a very aggressive, brute-force sort of Pokemon and has affinity with a lot of high-powered and uncommon Fighting moves like Cross Chop, Superpower, and Hammer Arm.
Jynx. Yeah no, really. Much like Ursaring, Jynx gets a LOT of interesting Fighting moves - Drain Punch, Submission, Wake-Up Slap, Seismic Toss - not to mention the very Fighting-adjacent Fake Out and Meditate. And typewise it's an extremely interesting curveball pick.
Delibird. No, really. Delibird fits Mountain Kalos aesthetically and thematically, gets a couple of uncommon Fighting moves - Power-Up Punch, Detect - but also has access to the somewhat Fighting-coded Vital Spirit. I was going to say Hustle was Fighting-coded too but upon checking, to my surprise nothing of that type actually gets that particular ability. But it's still broadly in the spirit of heavy hitters.
Sudowoodo. There's that "unstoppable force, immovable object" thing again but Sudowoodo is another Pokemon which has always had access to some mechanically interesting Fighting moves - Low Kick, Hammer Arm, Dynamicpunch. Definitely fits the vibe.
Fearow. Birds of any sort are a weird inclusion for Fighting teams but Fearow seems like the one that's most appropriate given its rough-and-ready disposition and slightly broader array of moves than most birds. In tandem with Skarmory, I suppose, since that actually got picked.
Floatzel. There's a mild current of Fighting adjacency to this one - it's scrappy, physically powerful, and learns a good amount of Fighting/punching moves. One day I'll actually use this in a playthrough and enjoy it.
Lickilicky. Hariyama's spiritual twin. But it's another one that gets an appreciable array of Fighting moves and is very much a brute-force Pokemon in some regards.
Ditto. Not often it's there but when it is, I always anticipate it'll get some use.