Fighting Monotype Across the Ages

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Introduction

Fighting, once revered as one of the best typings in BW2 Monotype, has become one of the worst in USM. The reason why Fighting was considered one of the best types back then was due to its ability to build around its weaknesses, such as using Scrafty to have a better matchup against Psychic-type teams. The introduction of the Fairy type in Gen 6 removed Fighting's ability to more freely build around its weaknesses, but the type's viability was redeemed by its newfound access to strong wallbreakers such as Mega Medicham. However, Fighting got severely nerfed with the introduction of more Fairy-types in Gen 7, and with no new resources, it simply could not keep up with the metagame and became near unviable. In this article, we will explore the reasons why Fighting was so great in BW2 Monotype and why in future generations, especially Gen 7, it could simply not keep up with the rest of the metagame.

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BW2

In BW2 Monotype, Fighting is one of top types due to the high number of newly introduced powerful attackers such as Terrakion, Scrafty, and Keldeo being premier threats in the tier. Without Fairy-types such as Clefable and Azumarill running rampant, Fighting-types had a lot more freedom to freely use their STAB attacks. Fighting had the ability to beat any type in BW2. For example, Pokémon such as Heracross, Breloom, Keldeo, and Terrakion helped beat Psychic, Water, Ground, and Flying matchups, respectively. Due to its ability to beat multiple types with a single build with few modifications, Fighting was considered one of best types in the metagame. Powerful wallbreakers in Terrakion and Keldeo made it easy to break many common cores such as Chansey + Porygon2 and Skarmory + Heatran + Ferrothorn. Choice Specs Keldeo was the main special wallbreaker, having few counters outside of Jellicent and Celebi. Along with this, Fighting was gifted with one of best offensive Stealth Rock users in Infernape. Its high Speed stat and access to Taunt allowed it to effectively stop other hazard-setting leads, and the fact that Defog did not remove hazards in this generation allowed it to maintain Stealth Rock against types like Dragon and Flying, which had no ways of removing them. On top of being a good Stealth Rock user, Infernape was able to break Steel / Psychic type Pokémon such as Jirachi and Bronzong, two common checks to Scrafty on Psychic-type teams. Along with that, the presence of Pursuit Heracross made it possible to beat the dreaded Dragon and Psychic matchups by trapping Latias or Latios late-game, giving opportunities for Choice Scarf Terrakion or Choice Specs Keldeo to clean later. In addition to helping with Psychic teams, Scrafty was also an essential asset in the otherwise difficult Ghost matchup, being able to set up with Dragon Dance without worrying about burns thanks to Shed Skin. Fighting had multiple answers to top-tier threats along with access to a plethora of top-tier threats of its own, making it an amazing offensive choice in BW Monotype.

BW Sample Team

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Gen 6

Generation 6 introduced three new powerful Pokémon for Fighting in Hawlucha, Mega Gallade, and Mega Medicham. This gave Fighting a few new options to help deal with the new Fairy type. Hawlucha was a fantastic addition to Fighting, as it gave the type access to a setup sweeper that could clean against types it struggles against such as Bug and Dragon and didn't fear Ditto copying its increase in Speed thanks to Unburden. Hawlucha also acts as a great wincon against other offensively oriented teams due to how easily it can set up and sweep, giving any type without a solid defensive wall with recovery trouble. Mega Gallade is the first of the two Fighting-type Mega Evolutions introduced in Generation 6. Due to its part-Psychic typing it becomes a great way to break Poison and is able able to easily break balanced and defensive builds such as Water teams thanks to Swords Dance and its solid STAB attacks. Mega Medicham is the last of the new Pokémon introduced to Fighting in Generation 6. It was a fantastic wallbreaker due to its ability Pure Power, allowing it to immediately hit insanely hard without being hindered by Unaware. Mega Medicham easily took on a large chunk of the metagame, as it could beat most slower Pokémon without a Ghost typing to protect them from High Jump Kick. It's safe to say that Fighting profited from the Pure Power that was Mega Medicham. However, due to the release of Fairy-type Pokémon, Fighting saw an immediate shift in team composition, with formerly viable Pokémon like Scrafty in BW2 being unviable in Gen 6 and many teams trading in lead Infernape for lead Cobalion due to its Steel typing. With a solid lead Pokémon in Cobalion, Fighting-types could take on faster Pokémon thanks to Thunder Wave, inflict appreciated chip damage via Stealth Rock, and prevent walls from recovering off damage or spreading status and stop hazards from being set up thanks to Taunt. A combination of two fantastic wallbreakers such as Keldeo and Terrakion allowed Fighting to beat one of their biggest weaknesses in Flying teams and the defensive core of Zapdos + Skarmory. Pokémon such as Heracross allowed Fighting to take on Psychic-type Pokémon such as Mew with Megahorn and also provided useful utility with Pursuit, trapping Psychic-type Pokémon such as Victini. Furthermore, Cobalion, in addition to providing useful utility, had other useful purposes on Fighting such as being a soft check to Fairy-type Pokémon, such as Mega Gardevoir, with its STAB Iron Head. However, Scrafty being unviable in Gen 6 meant the only check Fighting had to Psychic-type Pokémon was Heracross, lowering its ability to successfully take on that weakness. Other than the introduction of Fairy-types, Generation 6 did not cripple the Fighting type too much, unlike Generation 7, which threw Fighting into near unviability. Overall, from powerful wallbreakers, good speed control, and access to priority, Fighting was capable of threatening tons of teams in the metagame and something to prepare for when playing ORAS Monotype.

ORAS Sample Team

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Gen 7

With the release of SM, Fighting only received two new notable Pokémon in Kommo-o and Buzzwole. Come USM, the former also gained access to a powerful new Z-Move in Clangorous Soulblaze, which can make it a powerful wallbreaker and setup sweeper when combined with Taunt, allowing it to take on Pokémon such as Mantine. Buzzwole was an interesting addition; in many ways, it is similar to Heracross, being a physical attacker best suited using a Choice Scarf set. However, unlike Heracross, Buzzwole is more customizable, allowing it to run sets like Ice Punch + Stone Edge to help it take on Dragon- and Flying-type matchups. However, even with these great new additions, Fighting still was not able to keep up with the shifting generation, as many Pokémon that were once banned such as Mega Altaria and Mega Sableye were reintroduced into the Monotype metagame. This was due to the new Mega Clause, which stated that if a Mega can only be used on a team if it shares a type both before and after Mega Evolution. This effectively banned Mega Altaria from Flying, which was the reason it was banned in ORAS, and brought it back into the metagame for Dragon teams. Mega Sableye is a fantastic wall that is not easily broken by Fighting, allowing it to easily wall and wear down the entire team, while Mega Altaria can easily set up with Dragon Dance and cleanly sweep through the type. On top of tons of old threats being reintroduced to the metagame, tons of new Fairy-types like Tapu Koko, Tapu Bulu, and Mimikyu not only threaten Fighting but also made Fairy teams way more popular, and new Pokémon such as Toxapex can wall Fighting bar Mega Gallade. Other new Pokémon such as Alolan Raichu and buffed Pokémon such as Mantine also severely limit the type's viability. These new and old Pokémon alike that threaten Fighting teams are not a rare presence in the metagame and are found on many of the better types in the current metagame. Fighting's old offensive cores that were great in Generation 6 are not as effective now because Pokémon such as Toxapex and Mantine, which are found on 3 great types, practically invalidate them by switching into them with relative ease. Overall, from the new walls, unbanned Pokémon such as Mega Sableye and Mega Altaria, and new wallbreakers such as Tapu Koko, Fighting could not keep up in terms of viability and fell through the ceiling to the bottom. In mid-SM, Mega Medicham, upon its arrival into the tier, received a suspect test and was banned immediately, taking away a powerful tool that helped Fighting stay viable in Generation 6. However, Generation 7 was not done giving Fighting the beatdown, as hazard stack became very common with Pokémon like Toxapex getting Toxic Spikes and Ribombee getting Sticky Web; Fighting was left out of the loop completely, as it could not really compete in the hazard game but also lacked a reliable hazard remover. All of these changes and additions that happened in the Generation 7 metagame sent Fighting down a spiral, and it is still at the bottom, unable to keep up with the rest of the metagame.

USM Sample Team

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