#67-68: Machop, Machoke and Machamp

So we've had the Abra, Kadabra, Alakazam family, and Pokemon has a way of pairing families and having similarities between them, so here's the Machop family, the other one where the final evolution is by trade within the same generation, and with very similar base stat totals (Machop and Machoke are now 5 lower than Abra and Kadabra respectively but Machamp is 5 higher than Alakazam, not that this really matters). This family is also fighting compared to the psychic, so it seems like the families would pair well, so how come only one got a mega evolution?

Mega evolution aside, it's not just the base stat total that drops Machop a little lower but the spread as well. If you had a total of 605, but 600 were in speed and just one in each of the rest, you're basically dead unless you get a lucky fissure or whatever off. The problem for Machop, however, is the speed. For a first evolution it gets good HP (base 70) and good attack (80), but the defences (50 physical and 35 special) mean that the HP is a little wasted. The special attack being only 35 doesn't really matter: unless it's fairly close to the attack then it may as well be zero. The issue is, you don't have the defences to really be a boss, so you need the speed to sweep, like with Abra. Machop's speed is 35. It would be outsped by Abra with paralysis...

Bro-fist?

Machop does get some decent abilities: guts (boosts attack when afflicted with a status problem by 50%), no guard (all attacks land, so you can take ones with immense power and useless accuracy, but remember that all incoming attacks land too, so this could ruin you since, y'know, low speed) and the hidden ability steadfast (speed is boosted by a stage when the Pokemon flinches). I only said decent abilities, not great.

The thing which again makes Machop like an opposite to Abra is the sizeable level-up move pool, but like Abra, not many types are covered. In the myriad of fighting moves you get dual chop (dragon physical hitting twice at base 40 you get at level 31 in ORAS, probably after you've evolved at level 28), knock off (dark physical base 65 that knocks off an item when the foe has an item you can knock off, gained only in ORAS at level 21) and four normal status moves: foresight boosts accuracy and allows you to hit ghosts with fighting or normal moves, scary face drops their speed, leer drops their defence and focus energy boosts critical chances (if you survive).

Aside from bulk up, all the other moves are fighting physical. Low kick does more damage to heavier foes, karate chop hits at base 50 with a high chance of flinching, low sweep hits at base 65 and can drop the foe's speed one stage, and revenge hits double its base 60 if you sustain damage in that turn before moving. In fact, with revenge it used to be the case than being slow was good, but now it has decreased priority, so even a stupidly fast Pokemon could get this to work. In ORAS, the last two moves you get before the evolving level are vital throw (base 70 with -1 priority and perfect accuracy excepting things like flying turns) and wake-up slap (hits harder on sleeping Pokemon, waking them up, but has base 70).

If you hold off on evolving then you can get submission (base 80, 80 accuracy but has heavy recoil), cross chop (heavy hitting with increased critical chance: base 100, 5 PP and 80 accuracy) and finally dynamic punch (100 power, 50 accuracy, 5 PP and will always confuse the target). Remember, if you have no guard, these moves will always hit. Also, sorry if this list seems a little uninvolved, but the sheer variety of all but two damaging moves being fighting physical is a little overwhelming...

There are some decent TM moves on top of things like toxic and sunny day. In fact, return may be a good shout here if you can make your Pokemon like you enough. Ignoring special moves like hidden power and flamethrower, you can nab earthquake (but this is still useless against the flying-types you'll probably have switching in on you), smack down (addresses that problem but is only base 50), dig, brick break is a decent STAB move, rock tomb is pretty good, and facade comes up YET AGAIN, thief's ok but not as good as knock off, low sweep you should already have, payback is decent since your speed isn't, retaliate is a great move as I have said before, bulldoze and rockslide offer decent coverage, and poison jab is great for winding up fairies. Power-up punch is by no means a bad idea, nor is strength, and I guess rock smash is passable.

As far as breeding goes, bullet punch is a maybe, close combat is very powerful but does lower your defences, which you probably need, counter is great IF you know how to use it, fire punch is ok as neutral coverage, ice punch is maybe better than fire punch since it's super effective against flying, and so is thunder punch, smelling salts is a normal move with base 70 that is like wake-up slap but rather than sleep hits paralysis doubly hard and cures it (maybe pair with thunder punch?), heavy slam hits harder the heavier you are compared to the target (hmm...), rolling kick has a decent base 60 as a STAB move and has a 30% chance to flinch, and once again the tutor is only semi-useful. The tutor can re-teach a lot of level and TM moves (why pay more when TMs are now multi-use?) but you can get superpower (which lowers your attack, countering it's very nice 120 base) and focus punch, which I've slated enough... Yes it has uses, but you need setups for it.

Upon evolving, your abilities stay put, as does that mono-fighting-typing. HP and speed both go up 10 in base, attack is up to 100, defence also up 20 to 70, special defence up 25 to 60 (so now you could take a hit or two), and who cares about special attack? Ok, it's 50, not that it matters at all.

Would you hire a removal man with 'choke' in their company name?

In every way that you can get moves, there is no difference other than a few by level up being at slightly higher levels, so we can stop talking about this and moan that you need a trustworthy friend to trade with to get your Machamp (they might steal it in exchange for a Metapod).

Guess what? No change in abilities again. Or typing. Once again, speed and HP go up by 10, so the speed has now started creeping into that grey-zone where it may be too fast for a trick room set, but is still far too slow to be any use for regular sweeping. 90 HP with the 80 defence and suddenly 85 special defence sort of balances out the lack of speed so you can now take a hit or two, and 130 attack is actually pretty decent. Special attack has oozed up to 65, which would be good for a first evolution...

Yes, he does lift... Maybe a bit much...

Before writing this, I'd never really considered how same-y the move lists were for this family.Throwing in wide guard by level up, hyper beam and giga impact by TM and being ripped off for moves you should already have from the tutor (they actually give nothing you couldn't have got before) doesn't leave me a lot to write about other than the fact that Machamp should have got a mega evolution. Alakazam got one, and the two families pair up nicely, but if we're being honest, Alakazam didn't even need it as much, what with it being overpowered anyway. Fighting-type is less rare and has a nice common flying weakness, as well as the obvious psychic weakness, and the spread of stats, as well as a fairly limited movepool means that Machamp was always lagging behind.

Comparing Machamp to Alakazam is a little unfair. That's like comparing an Audi A4 to a Pagani Zonda: the Zonda is excruciatingly fast, rarer, looks better (well, that one doesn't really go well since neither Alakazam nor Machamp is much of a looker) and all that jazz, whilst the A4 is maybe a bit more reliable: the thing is, should you really be comparing a very nice sensible car with a racing car? If Machamp is the A4, that's not a problem: it's got decent power behind it, and despite the lack of speed, it's pretty good. Yes, it could probably do with a mega evolution, but don't discount it for that. It has nice bulk, good physical power and will occupy a different role from (Mega) Alakazam.

(All artwork presented by Ken Sugimori, taken from the Bulbapedia image archives)