Metal Sonic
Resurgence
Fighting is one of the best offensive STABs in the game, hitting 5 types for Super Effective, only resisted by 3 types and finally 1 type being immune to it. It is no question that the Underused metagame is being dominated by Fighting-types. If you aren't prepared for them, your team is going to fail. Very badly, I might add. With so many Fighting-types in Underused tier, which one should you choose from? Everything has its strengths and weaknesses, and this is no different; one man's meat is another man's poison. What are the selling points of some of the most prominent Underused threats? What makes them shout: "Pick me!"?
Without further ado, lets take a look at some of the potential candidates for your soon-to-be team!
Mienshao
Type: Fighting
Ability(s): Inner Focus/Regenerator/Reckless
Stats: 65, 125, 60, 95, 60, 105
Even though it has been ousted from its S-rank tier in the arbitrary UU Viability Ranking Thread, it still shares the coveted A-rank along with Heracross. An extremely high Attack stat backed up with one of the top Speed Tiers in UU, not to mention its fair Special Attack, gives Mienshao bright prospects for a team. With Regenerator, it can regain 1/3 of its health every switch in, making U-Turn extremely cost effective and also makes it rather difficult to wear down. A more offensive option in Reckless can be used to bolster the power of Hi Jump Kick, giving it a gigantic 234 Base Power (after calculating STAB). Hidden Power Ice can be used to counter Gligar, a common Fighting-type check, thanks to its decent Special Attack.
Mienshao can sweep with a powerful Choice Scarf set, as the colossal power of a Reckless boosted STAB Hi Jump Kick coming off Base 125 attack makes it a late-game bulldozer. It can also function as a powerful wallbreaker with Life Orb, or even use Swords Dance to complete an unbreakable sweep. Finally, Baton Pass sets can even be used, with several boosting moves such as Swords Dance, Work Up, Calm Mind and Substitute, backed up with its awesome Speed. However, a fault of Mienshao is that its Hi Jump Kick makes it fearful of Ghosts, and its defensive stats are quite poor.
Heracross
Type: Bug/Fighting
Ability(s): Swarm/Guts/Moxie
Stats: 80, 125, 75, 40, 95, 85
The only other Fighting-type in the A-rank of the Viability Ranking Thread, Heracross remains a popular choice for a Fighting-type in UU, and its not hard to see why. It has two moves that have Base Power 120, and furthermore are backed up by STAB and its large 125 Attack. Psychic-types are not a problem for Heracross, thanks to STAB Megahorn, and thus makes it one of the few Fighting-types that can take down Slowbro, which is another common Fighting-type check. Moxie is an awesome ability, rewarding the kill streaks that Heracross can get. This makes a Choice Scarf set a great choice, as Heracross can function as a revenge killer and physical sweeper all in one. Guts is also a wonderful ability, allowing Heracross to switch into Toxics and Will-O-Wisps which are ever so irritating.
The author's choice for a Sableye counter.
Cobalion
Type: Steel/Fighting
Ability(s): Justified
Stats: 91, 90, 129, 90, 72, 108
One of the only two Steel/Fighting types in the Pokemon Universe(as of now), Cobalion fulfils a extraordinary niche in its ever-so-useful Steel typing. Its Steel typing gives it a plethora of resistances, most notably Bug, Dark, Grass, Ice and Dragon, giving it multiple opportunities to switch in and cause havoc. Additionally, a great base 129 Defense with a decent 91 Base HP gives its Steel-typing more credence. Furthermore, of all the Fighting-types in UU, Cobalion is the only one that does not fear Flying-types. This means that Crobat is forced out due to the threat of a Stone Edge or a Hidden Power Ice.
Cobalion functions wonderfully as a physical sweeper with Swords Dance, and thanks to its very high Speed of 108 and its multiple setup opportunities, it can punch many holes in the opponent's team. However, a specially offensive set is not unprecedented either, due to its Special Attack being equal to its Attack, it does not make too much of a difference on which spectrum Cobalion decides to operate, with exception of the superior boosting move. Finally, a support set is also a great option, utilising Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave and Taunt to cripple the opponent's team. However, a fault of Cobalion is that its attacking stats are relatively poor.
Machamp
Type: Fighting
Ability(s): Guts/No Guard/Steadfast
Stats: 90, 130, 80, 65, 85, 55
Machamp boasts the highest Attack stat of all Fighting-types in UU. It also has a great track record of being OU in the past 4 generations, only dropping to UU along with other powerhouses such as Snorlax and more. Don't let down your guard, because Machamp's No Guard throws a 100% accurate, Base Power 100 STAB nuke, dealing heavy damage to anything not resisting it. It comes with a bonus of confusing your opponent, encouraging the use of hax while coming at absolutely no frills to Machamp (unless you consider having 8 PP a drawback). Machamp also has a good movepool, being able to use Stone Edge (which No Guard also benefits), Payback, Ice Punch and Thunderpunch. However, a fault of Machamp is that it is horribly slow and its bulk may not necessarily make up for it.
Virizion
Type: Grass/Fighting
Ability(s): Justified
Stats: 91, 90, 72, 90, 129, 108
The main selling point of Virizion is its Grass-typing. A STAB Leaf Blade is able to cut through Slowbro, a common Fighting-type check, and also other bulky Waters such as Swampert and Milotic. A useful defensive typing which resists Water, Ground, Electric and Grass along with an extremely high Special Defense of 129 grants it multiple setup opportunities. A Swords Dance set with Leaf Blade, Close Combat and Stone Edge makes it a fearsome sweeper while a Calm Mind set along with its 129 Special Defense makes it an unbreakable Special Tank. Furthermore, a great Base 108 Speed only helps to benefit its sweeping capabilities. However, a fault of Virizion is that it is quite weak before using boosts and a 4x weakness to Flying makes it very susceptible to stuff like Crobat.
Scrafty
Type: Dark/Fighting
Ability(s): Shed Skin/Moxie/Intimidate
Stats: 65, 90, 115, 45, 115, 58
Scrafty's has great offensive STABs, being able to hit all of UU for neutral damage. Unfortunately, its main counter happens to be extremely common in UU, and is also a competitor as a Fighting-type -- Heracross. Nonetheless, it gets great STABs in Hi Jump Kick and Crunch and also powerful boosting moves in Dragon Dance and Bulk Up. Furthermore, it gets one of the most coveted abilities in Moxie, making killstreaks very rewarding, and sufficient speed boosts from Dragon Dance can spell imminent doom for your opponent. Shed Skin is also a great idea, as it gets to remove status from itself (including on the first turn!) automatically and fits well with the Bulk Up set. Scrafty is also surprisingly bulky, with large Base 115 Defenses. However, a fault of Scrafty is that it is weak to the common Flying and Fighting moves found in UU.
Hitmontop
Type: Fighting
Ability(s): Intimidate/ Technician/ Steadfast
Stats: 50, 95, 95, 35, 110, 70
Hitmontop is one of the very few Rapid Spinners in UU. That gives it an exclusivity in its own right, and with Foresight it is able to prevent those defensive Ghosts from blocking Rapid Spin. This is very helpful for potential teammates such as Yanmega and Chandelure which appreciates Stealth Rocks being removed from the field. More importantly, Intimidate is a great ability as it neutralises physical sweepers and also acts as a counter to some of them such as Sharpedo and Scrafty. Its Base 110 Special Defense is also welcome for a Rapid Spinner. However, a fault of Hitmontop is that its Base HP is horrendously low, and it is unable to deal with multiple threats in UU such as Azelf, Crobat, Cofagrigus, Victini and a lot more.
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Hitmonlee
Type: Fighting
Ability(s): Limber/ Reckless/ Unburden
Stats: 50, 120, 53, 35, 110, 87
Hitmonlee is one of the few Pokemon in the game—let alone UU—with the ability Unburden. With its ability, Hitmonlee can double its Speed immediately and become an extremely threatening sweeper, like Yanmega and Sharpedo. That's not all Hitmonlee has going for it: it has a whopping base 120 Attack, a decent base 87 Speed, and great offensive options to utilize them with. Hitmonlee has a surprisingly high Special Defense to boot, which allows it to survive extremely powerful special attacks, such as Zapdos's Thunderbolt and Raikou's Extrasensory, and retaliate with a powerful attack of its own. Unfortunately, the fun ends there; Hitmonlee has an extremely low base Defense of 53, which makes it difficult for it to survive even resisted physical hits. However, with sufficient team support and good play, Hitmonlee can sweep whole teams.
Author is a proud ambassador of Hitmonlee
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***New Addition!***
Poliwrath
Type: Water/Fighting
Ability(s): Water Absorb/Damp/Swift Swim
Stats: 90, 85, 95, 70, 90, 70
UU is a tier chock-full with both Fighting-types and bulky Water-types, so it would seem strange that Poliwrath would ever be a viable Pokemon in UU. However, unlike the rest of his karate brethren, Poliwrath was not designed to be a sweeper, but as a psuedo-hazer. Poliwrath's solid bulk, great ability in Water Absorb, and access to Circle Throw allow Poliwrath to assume a bulkier role on a team and abuse its teammate's entry hazards by forcing the opponent out. As mentioned, Poliwrath's ability Water Absorb allows Poliwrath to be one of the few Pokemon in UU capable of switching into Scald and other Water-type attacks and not have to worry about stray burns or severe damage, as the absorbed attack refills its HP. Poliwrath however, is flawed, as it is burdened with middling attacking stats, multiple weaknesses to common Pokemon, and a Speed stat that leaves Poliwrath outsped by a vast majority of the tier. Despite its downsides though, Poliwrath still makes for an excellent Pokemon for bulkier teams and stall teams.
Poliwrath will be getting a UU Analysis soon, thanks to our acceptance of him into the list of UU Fighting Types! Stay tuned!
So these are the most commonly used and viable Fighting-types in the Underused tier. They can all be outstanding with the right support, and at least one of them should be considered for your potential team!
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