Monotype Need help with my first monotype team

[Broom59]

Hello, this is my first time posting here.
And I need some help with my first monotype team (fighting)

I haven't played pokemon for about 5 years but recently i've played a nuzlocke and it got me back into pokemon (atleast a bit) So now I want to have some fun with a monotype fighting team. Problem is, although I played a bit of competitive as a kid, im quite rusty and have always been mediocre at the game. I also have a strong preference to use pokemon that visually appeal to me. While that sounds dumb, this game wouldn't be fun for me if I had to use pokemon that I did not like. I just want a viable team to have fun with, im not overly serious about pokemon and just want to have a good time.

(Please note that I am not a native english speaker)

Now with the context out of the way, here's my mono fighting team.

Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Bullet Punch
- Crunch
- Swords Dance

Now, im not going to lie the main reason lucario is here is because I simply like it.

But the other reason lucario is here is because it is a good answer to fairy types, because of lucario i've actually managed to win against a couple mono fairy teams. (Although that was when it had meteor mash) lucario being part steel type makes fairies atleast a bit more manageable, plus it can work as a sweeper with its pretty good speed, and priority moves.

I originally ran meteor mash on lucario, however due to having difficulty with ghost teams (aegislash in perticular, which walls my team 9 times out of 10) I had to replace it with crunch to better deal with ghosts.

I've considered running special lucario to help me deal with the crippling will-o-wisp that destroys my team full of physical attackers. However focus blast being my main fighting type stab move on lucario has deterred me from that, aura sphere is reliable but doesn't compare to close combat damage wise.

Gallade (M) @ Light Clay
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Psycho Cut
- Power-Up Punch
- Light Screen
- Reflect

Gallade has actually been one of the best team members. I orginaly ran a choice band set, however it did horribly so I decided to make gallade a support pokemon with light screen and reflect. He has been extremely useful in making this hyper offensive team of glass canons be able to take a hit somewhat. It also is sometimes a counter to toxapex as long as it dosen't have haze. Although if it does, it gets walled along with basically my whole team. Despite that, gallade's great special bulk is a godsend along side his support moves and I was very surprised at how useful this lad is.

Mienshao @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Poison Jab
- Stone Edge
- U-turn


Mienshao is the only pokemon with U-turn on my team, giving me atleast a bit of momentum. Aside from that, it hits hard and has good coverage moves. I've had great luck with stone edge almost sweeping whole fire teams (aside from cinderace) I don't get too much use out of poison jab but it's nice for If im dealing with a (from my experience) more rare team like fairy

Toxicroak @ Life Orb
Ability: Anticipation
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch
- Sucker Punch
- Swords Dance


Toxicroak is yet another hyper offensive pokemon in my team, sucker punch is useful for dealing with some ghost types and no one really wants to take a swords dance boosted sucker punch. Also helps alot with fairy types.

Hitmonlee @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Reversal
- Mach Punch
- Endure
- Throat Chop


Hitmonlee is definitely either a hit or a miss, on one hand i've gotten alot of sweeps with him. On the other hand he can be useless depending on if I reveal endure at the wrong time. It is one of, if not the only answers to cinderace. It also knows a dark type move, making it one of the few mons on my team that can do something to ghosts.

Hitmonchan (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 196 HP / 252 Atk / 60 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Thunder Punch
- Rapid Spin


Hitmonchan. I always like having a rapid spinner on my team, plus he's one of the only pokemon on my team that can take a hit. He also has thunder punch for toxapex.

The team overall: This team does kind of ok, it probably looks like crap to experienced players but I do get some wins with it.
Things that completely wall me are toxapex and aegislash mainly as well as celestela (if its physically bulky) surprisingly mono water is harder to deal with then even ghost sometimes. I avoided using pokemon such as urshifu, galarian zapdos and other good fighting types simply because I dont like them. Having alot of of low tiered pokemon on my team is probably not good. But i'd like to improve it without changing the members around too much (if that's possible) again, I'll probably get some criticism about choosing pokemon based on design but using pokemon that I like is the point of playing for me

Thank you for reading, hopefully I can make this team more viable.

 

[style.css]

Hey there and welcome back to Pokemon as well as Monotype. Fighting has always been a fun type to play but unfortunately on the low end of the tier list. I know you're trying to stick to Pokemon you like, but if you want results a lot will need to be changed. I'll try to keep it as close as I can though while still getting you a better rounded team.

Minor Changes:

I understand why Crunch is there, but you might cover more bases with a slightly modified moveset.



Reluctantly I'll try to keep Gallade and work with a Screens Fighting archetype. Minor tweaks to the set might make it easier to get set ups going. Changing Power-Up Punch to Teleport means you can set Screens, then pivot out (last) to whatever threat makes the most sense to bring in at the time. This should provide you with much more momentum. EV wise, you want to set Screens as fast as possible, so maxing out Gallade's Speed is imperative.

Screens

Gallade (M) @ Light Clay
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Psycho Cut
- Teleport
- Light Screen
- Reflect

Change the Ability of Anticipation to Dry Skin, this means you have an immunity to deal with Water. This also means Toxicroak can almost entirely stop Toxpex from making any progress. With that, I'd change Sucker Punch to Earthquake so you can actually deal damage to or KO Toxapex. Sucker Punch is nice, but without STAB and with Tapu Lele running around, it might be less impactful.

Dry Skin

Toxicroak @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance

Major Changes:
Now unfortunately the rest of the team is outclassed by a lot of options that are out there.

->
Other than access to U-turn, Terrakion does everything Mienshao does, but better. STAB Stone Edge packs a much harder punch, the higher Speed tier helps deal with a lot of threats with base Speeds between 90 and 110. There are two sets that Terrakion uses; the most common is Choice Scarf while a more niche one is set up.

Swords Dance

Terrakion @ Lum Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake / Rock Polish

This would be to take advantage of Screens reducing incoming damage so Terrakion can set up. Lum Berry prevents any burns or poisons that would threaten a sweep. Depending on what you face most commonly you can either use Rock Polish to boost Speed or Earthquake for more coverage.

Choice Scarf

Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Megahorn
- Poison Jab

This is the much more common set. Terrakion has a pretty good base Speed to take advantage of Choice Scarf. Stone Edge and Close Combat are used for their high BP with STAB. Megahorn is to help vs. Psychic-types while Poison Jab as you mentioned can help with Fairy-types.

->
Both Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan are sadly just not strong enough in comparison to the other options available to Fighting. Keldeo is the types best (and nearly only) special attacker. Combine that with its great stats and Keldeo is nearly a staple on all Fighting teams. Some people run Specs, others a Calm Mind set. Since we are using Screens, let's use the Calm Mind set.

Calm Mind

Keldeo @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Calm Mind
- Taunt

With this you can set up Keldeo with it's already high Special Attack and great coverage from STABs to effectively dent or sweep entire opposing types (most notably Ground and Steel). Taunt is used in the last slot to stop bulkier Pokemon like Mantine or Toxapex from recovering HP as well as spamming status or hazards, which Fighting just doesn't have room to handle.

->
Zapdos-Galar is such an amazing gift to Fighting. Respectable Speed, very high Attack with Defiant makes for an insanely potent attacker. Both of Zapdos' STABs are 120 BP, while it has access to U-turn for momentum. The last slot is kind of open, but Throat Chop can help against Aegislash. King's Shield will actually net you +1 Attack with Throat Chop making contact. Choice Band is the item of choice to bolster Zapdos' already high Attack stat to break through most of the meta.

Choice Band

Zapdos-Galar @ Choice Band
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Brave Bird
- Throat Chop
- U-turn

Here is the final revised Screens Fighting team (click icons):


Standard Fighting:
With that, I must also talk about a more standard composition so you can understand what Fighting typically looks like to better understand how to make more niche or unique builds while still getting results.

Cobalion is typically used as the Steel type. It has decent bulk, access to Stealth Rock (which is very important for a sweeping type) and great utility moves to cripple your opponents sets.

The next 4 you will recognize from the information above, with Terrakion being Choice Scarf instead of set up.

Finally in the last slot you have a little flexibility. Some options are a secondary Choice Scarf user in Buzzwole as a way to snowball against slower types by taking advantage of Beast Boost. It's typing also helps cover the Psychic match up a little better. Kommo-o is another option with a multitude of set options from a special attacker, set up with Clangorous Soul or defensive set up with Iron Defense and Body Press. The defensive set can almost entirely shut down Aegislash. Substitute avoids status, while Bulletproof prevents Shadow Ball from doing any damage. This could also be a great place to put your Lucario to keep some of your personal touch on the team. You can experiment with the set I provided or look into a special set with Nasty Plot, Flash Cannon, Dark Pulse, Vacuum Wave or something like that. So you can see, I've linked a standard Fighting team. Feel free to use it as inspiration as you work on your current team.

 

[Broom59]

Hey there and welcome back to Pokemon as well as Monotype. Fighting has always been a fun type to play but unfortunately on the low end of the tier list. I know you're trying to stick to Pokemon you like, but if you want results a lot will need to be changed. I'll try to keep it as close as I can though while still getting you a better rounded team.

Minor Changes:

I understand why Crunch is there, but you might cover more bases with a slightly modified moveset.



Reluctantly I'll try to keep Gallade and work with a Screens Fighting archetype. Minor tweaks to the set might make it easier to get set ups going. Changing Power-Up Punch to Teleport means you can set Screens, then pivot out (last) to whatever threat makes the most sense to bring in at the time. This should provide you with much more momentum. EV wise, you want to set Screens as fast as possible, so maxing out Gallade's Speed is imperative.

Screens

Gallade (M) @ Light Clay
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Psycho Cut
- Teleport
- Light Screen
- Reflect

Change the Ability of Anticipation to Dry Skin, this means you have an immunity to deal with Water. This also means Toxicroak can almost entirely stop Toxpex from making any progress. With that, I'd change Sucker Punch to Earthquake so you can actually deal damage to or KO Toxapex. Sucker Punch is nice, but without STAB and with Tapu Lele running around, it might be less impactful.

Dry Skin

Toxicroak @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance

Major Changes:
Now unfortunately the rest of the team is outclassed by a lot of options that are out there.

->
Other than access to U-turn, Terrakion does everything Mienshao does, but better. STAB Stone Edge packs a much harder punch, the higher Speed tier helps deal with a lot of threats with base Speeds between 90 and 110. There are two sets that Terrakion uses; the most common is Choice Scarf while a more niche one is set up.

Swords Dance

Terrakion @ Lum Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake / Rock Polish

This would be to take advantage of Screens reducing incoming damage so Terrakion can set up. Lum Berry prevents any burns or poisons that would threaten a sweep. Depending on what you face most commonly you can either use Rock Polish to boost Speed or Earthquake for more coverage.

Choice Scarf

Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Megahorn
- Poison Jab

This is the much more common set. Terrakion has a pretty good base Speed to take advantage of Choice Scarf. Stone Edge and Close Combat are used for their high BP with STAB. Megahorn is to help vs. Psychic-types while Poison Jab as you mentioned can help with Fairy-types.

->
Both Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan are sadly just not strong enough in comparison to the other options available to Fighting. Keldeo is the types best (and nearly only) special attacker. Combine that with its great stats and Keldeo is nearly a staple on all Fighting teams. Some people run Specs, others a Calm Mind set. Since we are using Screens, let's use the Calm Mind set.

Calm Mind

Keldeo @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Calm Mind
- Taunt

With this you can set up Keldeo with it's already high Special Attack and great coverage from STABs to effectively dent or sweep entire opposing types (most notably Ground and Steel). Taunt is used in the last slot to stop bulkier Pokemon like Mantine or Toxapex from recovering HP as well as spamming status or hazards, which Fighting just doesn't have room to handle.

->
Zapdos-Galar is such an amazing gift to Fighting. Respectable Speed, very high Attack with Defiant makes for an insanely potent attacker. Both of Zapdos' STABs are 120 BP, while it has access to U-turn for momentum. The last slot is kind of open, but Throat Chop can help against Aegislash. King's Shield will actually net you +1 Attack with Throat Chop making contact. Choice Band is the item of choice to bolster Zapdos' already high Attack stat to break through most of the meta.

Choice Band

Zapdos-Galar @ Choice Band
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Brave Bird
- Throat Chop
- U-turn

Here is the final revised Screens Fighting team (click icons):


Standard Fighting:
With that, I must also talk about a more standard composition so you can understand what Fighting typically looks like to better understand how to make more niche or unique builds while still getting results.

Cobalion is typically used as the Steel type. It has decent bulk, access to Stealth Rock (which is very important for a sweeping type) and great utility moves to cripple your opponents sets.

The next 4 you will recognize from the information above, with Terrakion being Choice Scarf instead of set up.

Finally in the last slot you have a little flexibility. Some options are a secondary Choice Scarf user in Buzzwole as a way to snowball against slower types by taking advantage of Beast Boost. It's typing also helps cover the Psychic match up a little better. Kommo-o is another option with a multitude of set options from a special attacker, set up with Clangorous Soul or defensive set up with Iron Defense and Body Press. The defensive set can almost entirely shut down Aegislash. Substitute avoids status, while Bulletproof prevents Shadow Ball from doing any damage. This could also be a great place to put your Lucario to keep some of your personal touch on the team. You can experiment with the set I provided or look into a special set with Nasty Plot, Flash Cannon, Dark Pulse, Vacuum Wave or something like that. So you can see, I've linked a standard Fighting team. Feel free to use it as inspiration as you work on your current team.

Thank you very much! This helps a ton.
I really apreciate it :D