[OVERVIEW]
<p>Machoke may not be as strong as his OU counterpart Machamp, but his blend of a base 100 Attack stat and decent 80/70/60 defenses provide him with the tools he needs in order to succeed in the UU metagame. Machoke's ability, No Guard, along with DynamicPunch sets him apart from other Fighting-types in the UU metagame, and his unique movepool makes him an optimal choice as a lead.</p>
[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: DynamicPunch
move 2: Payback / Rock Slide
move 3: Bullet Punch
move 4: Protect
item: Focus Sash / Lum Berry
ability: No Guard
nature: Adamant
evs: 156 HP / 252 Atk / 100 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Instead of focusing on setting up hazards, Machoke's purpose as a lead is to threaten the opposing lead with brute force and DynamicPunch's confusion rate. Machoke can take a huge chunk out of leads that set up entry hazards and limit the number of entry hazards they can set up, weakening them to a point where they can be finished off easily. DynamicPunch is the major pull to using Machoke as a lead, which not only hits any Pokemon who don’t resist it for major damage, but also guarantees confusion on slower leads like Omastar and Rhyperior, as well as incoming Pokemon intended to counter Machoke such as Scyther and Moltres. Confusion is what makes Machoke such a great anti-lead, either giving your opponent a 50% chance of getting up Stealth Rock or Spikes, or forcing your opponent to switch, thus preventing hazards from being set up. Confusion also prevents common switch-ins from a guaranteed attack on Machoke, giving him a chance to retaliate and KO, or switch to an appropriate counter at little cost.</p>
<p>The second option comes down to which popular lead your team wants to OHKO: Moltres or Alakazam. Payback hits Alakazam for an OHKO, while Rock Slide guarantees the OHKO on Moltres. Bullet Punch may seem trivial, but it's one of the most important moves on Machoke, helping him take out other Focus Sash leads like Alakazam and Ambipom, and often turning 3HKOs and 4HKOs into 2HKOs and 3HKOs. Protect rounds out the set, allowing Machoke to defeat the popular Fake Out users of UU, like Ambipom and Kangaskhan. It also doubles as a scouting method, effectively dealing with leads he cannot combat using his attacking moves, like Trick users.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A choice needs to be made between Rock Slide and Payback. Rock Slide hits Moltres for a guaranteed OHKO, while also hitting the Bug- and Flying-types of UU, which include Scyther and Venemoth, for super effective damage. Note that Machoke must be at full health to deal with the majority of these switch-ins, so that Machoke can use his Focus Sash to survive the would-be OHKO. Payback, on the other hand, guarantees a win against Alakazam leads. Payback also hits non-bulky variants of Rotom and Mismagius for OHKOs, and[Insert space here]has a higher Base Power than Rock Slide, assuming that Machoke is the slowest Pokemon on the field. The choice also depends on your own team, and determining what opposing leads will give the team trouble in the long run.</p>
<p>It is possible to drop Protect altogether, placing Payback and Rock Slide on the same set, to deal with both Moltres and Alakazam leads. However, Ambipom can 2HKO Machoke with Fake Out + Return, forcing Machoke out and reducing his role in the match. Machoke also loses his ability to scout other leads and switch-ins, as well as his ability to scout Trick users.</p>
<p>Focus Sash is necessary to survive Psychic from Alakazam and Air Slash from Moltres without getting OHKOed. It's possible to run a Lum Berry to prevent any Ghost (bar Spiritomb) from burning Machoke with Will-O-Wisp, allowing you to KO most of them. However, without a Focus Sash, Machoke will lose to leads like Alakazam and Moltres automatically. A type-resist Berry is also acceptable, letting Machoke survive Psychic or Air Slash with slightly more HP than Focus Sash allows, but note that Focus Sash still beats both leads effectively and provides a cushion against powerful neutral attacks.</p>
<p>The EVs are designed to give Machoke as much attacking power as possible, while still outrunning certain leads and tanks to prevent Stealth Rock from being set up. With an Adamant nature and 252 Attack EVs, Machoke hits a respectable 328 Attack stat, more than enough to cause massive damage to opposing leads and switch-ins. 100 Speed EVs allow him to outrun the standard lead Hariyama by one point, as well as any Pokemon slower than Hariyama (including Rhyperior, Omastar, Regirock, Donphan, Chansey and Registeel). The remaining EVs are dumped into HP in order that Machoke can take weak neutral hits better.</p>
<p>Machoke will have immense problems against Spiritomb leads, against which he can do very little. Machoke also has trouble against Uxie and Mesprit leads because of their Speed, although Mesprit is 2HKOed and Uxie is 4HKOed by Payback. [Not worth mentioning IMO] The only popular leads that will be able to set up Stealth Rock against Machoke are Uxie, Mesprit, Kabutops, and Donphan. Uxie, Mesprit, Kabutops, and Donphan are the only popular leads from whom Machoke cannot prevent Stealth Rock. Donphan is slower than Machoke, but has immense bulk to survive two or three DynamicPunches. The other three simply are faster than Machoke. For these reasons, pairing Machoke with a Spiritomb is often the best choice to deal with the leads Machoke cannot beat, successfully countering each Pokemon with his bulk and support-based moves. A Rapid Spinner like Donphan or Claydol ensures that Stealth Rock will not be on the field very long after these leads place them down. Chansey, Registeel, and Milotic also make fine partners to combat powerful special attackers like Moltres and Alakazam when Machoke lacks the appropriate move.</p>
[TEAM OPTIONS]
<p>Both offensive Pokemon and walls appreciate the prevention of entry hazards by Machoke. Pokemon like Absol, Alakazam, and other strong attackers can easily take advantage of there being no Stealth Rock and few[another space needed here]Spikes on the field. Sweepers that are weak to Stealth Rock also greatly appreciate Machoke's knack for preventing it, especially those like Moltres and Scyther who are 4x weak to it. Defensively, Registeel and Chansey can come in and set up Stealth Rock practically for free because of the multitude of Psychic / Flying special attacks Machoke tends to draw in. Dugtrio is also a decent partner, being able to trap and kill weakened leads and Machoke switch-ins. Rapid Spin support is a nice option to pair with Lead Machoke, as once Machoke damages an entry hazard Pokemon, a Rapid Spinner can switch in and successfully spin away any possible hazards without fear of them being set up again later in the match. Pokemon such as Claydol and Donphan are good choices for this role. Hitmontop shares the same weaknesses as Machoke, making it a more risky pick, but is a very effective rapid spinner.</p>
[OPTIONAL CHANGES]
<p>Machoke could utilize a Substitute set, which would allow him to be an effective mid-game attacker, much like SubChamp in OU. Using DynamicPunch's 100% confusion rate in conjunction with Substitute and coverage moves would enable Machoke to survive and combat opponents for multiple turns. He lacks the immediate power and bulk of SubPunchers like Hariyama, however. A Choice Band set is viable, being able to 2HKO most of the tier. However, aside Aside from the 100% accurate DynamicPunch confusion, he is greatly outclassed by Hariyama in this regard, however.</p>
<p>Earthquake could prove useful against any of the Poison-types in the tier, including Toxicroak and Muk. However, DynamicPunch already hits Steel types hard, which lessens Earthquake's potential. Ice Punch is a great coverage move, enabling Machoke to hit Pokemon like Venusaur, Nidoking, and Nidoqueen for big damage. For most sets, DynamicPunch is obviously the Fighting move of choice, but if one wishes for more power or if one is running a potential Guts set, Machoke does have access to Close Combat, Revenge, Superpower, and Cross Chop.</p>
<p>In terms of support moves, Scary Face is a viable move, and gives Machoke a way to severely cripple switch-ins who generally out-speed Machoke. Scary Face also works well in conjunction with Spikes and Stealth Rock, enabling Machoke to play the role of a Phazer with the numerous switches Scary Face will cause. Encore is a useful move in conjunction with Substitute, locking Pokemon attempting to set up on Machoke into their boosting or status move. Toxic is a great choice to harm Machoke's normal counters, including Slowbro, Slowking, and non-Rest variants of Spiritomb. It is important to note that Toxic will never miss, thanks to No Guard. The only useful boosting move Machoke receives is Bulk Up, which can be used to some effect in conjunction with DynamicPunch. However, a Bulk Up set is mostly outclassed by Hitmontop and Hariyama due to their higher offensive and defensive stats.</p>
[COUNTERS]
<p>Spiritomb is most likely the greatest threat to Machoke, being immune to his STAB attack and taking neutral damage from all other attacks. In return, he can Will-O-Wisp Machoke, making him near useless, or start setting up with Calm Mind or Nasty Plot. Slowbro and Slowking are a close second, both resisting his STAB attack, while their ability naturally prevents confusion. They can then fire off STAB Psychics to quickly dispatch of Machoke. Weezing shares similar resistances with Slowbro while having immense physical bulk and access to Will-O-Wisp. Venusaur can come in on Machoke relatively safely, although he will not like the confusion caused by DynamicPunch nor a hit from Ice Punch. He can then put Machoke to sleep and set up or use Leech Seed.</p>
<p>Machoke suffers from incredibly low Speed. This can be taken advantage of by numerous offensive switch-ins, like Moltres and Alakazam. However, there are very few Pokemon that like switching into one of Machoke's DynamicPunches, so keep this in mind.</p>
GP Check 2/2
Additions in Blue, Deletions in Red.
Good job and good day.
