The Fighting Gym

[moussrfacekilla]

In response to Cream_93's suggestion for Gym teams I thought I'd share the gym team I've been running on shoddy battle lately (some of you might have fought it ^_^). I used a similar format to fit the uniform gym feel. So without further a due.......

THE FIGHTING GYM

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Machamp

Item: Lum Berry
Trait: No Guard
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 240 HP / 248 Atk / 6 Spe

~ Dynamicpunch
~ Ice Punch
~ Payback
~ Bullet Punch

The best defense for an all out fighting team is a good offense. I like to start out by tearing through the other lead. Basic strategy is if it's Azelf, Starmie, Rotom, Uxie etc. use Payback. If its a bulky lead start out with dynamic and confuse them and wear down. Bullet punch is for finishing off focus band pokemon, and Ice punch is to prevent Gliscor walls and for predicted flying pokemon switches. He has a Lum Berry to overcome speed sleepers/will-o-wisp.

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Heracross

Item: Choice Scarf
Trait: Guts
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

~ Close Combat
~ Megahorn
~ Stone Edge
~ Night Slash

This remains one of my favorite pokemon of all time. He is largely underrated and unpredicted by a large sum of battlers. Choice scarf gives him the surprise speed to score a few KOs. 120 power STABs Close Combat and Megahorn cover super effective hits on large sum of types in OU, and also hit for a great damage neutrally. Stone edge is for gyarados (of which this team is relatively weak), and most fliers and flying/dragon types. Night Slash is for non-scarfed Gengar and Rotom forms. With Guts this guy becomes a great status absorber.

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Poliwrath

Item: Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 6 SpD

~ Focus Punch
~ Ice Punch
~ Waterfall
~ Substitute

This guy keeps me from totally being destroyed by DD Gyarados, CROcune, and Kingdra. I have water absorb to suck up/redirect water attacks. I use leftovers for gradual recovery. 252 HP gives the bulk necessary for puting up substitutes and surviving the +1 hits from Gyarados and company. Ice punch covers fliers and dragons. STAB waterfall gets rid of pesky fires like Infernape. Basica strategy is sit behind a beefy sub and focus punch non-resistant foes down (very similar to Breloom)

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Lucario

Item: Life Orb
Trait: Inner Focus
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk / 6 Def / 252 Spe

~ Close Combat
~ Extremespeed
~ Crunch
~ Swords Dance

Basic swords dance Lucario set. Life orb for gut ripping dmg, inner focus to prevent flinches, and a supportive EV spread. STAB Close Combat hit weak and neutral pokemon as the main attack. Crunch for ghost types. Extremespeed for revenge kills and fast pokemon once I have some swords dances under my belt. Basic startegy is come in late game and charge up, then sweep when I can without being too greedy on swords dances.

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Breloom

Item: Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Attack / 16 HP/ 242 Spe

~ Spore
~ Substitute
~ Seed Bomb
~ Focus Punch

Everyone knows, loves, and hates this cheeky bastard. What better home can he find then a fighting gym though? I use pretty much the standard Breloom sub/spore-puncher set with my own twist. I run a Jolly nature to get the Spore edge on some unsuspecting pokemon. Basic strategy is: Spore if I can, Sub if I can't charge up a focus punch on switches/weak pokemon and Seed bomb when focus punch isn't useful. I really love the synergy with him, infernape, and poliwrath.

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Infernape

Item: Life Orb
Trait: Blaze
Nature: Naive
EVs: 174 Atk / 144 SpA / 192 Spe

~ Close Combat
~ Overheat
~ Grass Knot
~ Mach Punch

It is fitting that Infernape is listed last here. He is my secret end game clean-up card. If I can avoid using him early in the game I do at all costs. With his amazing speed and mixed attacking abilities he makes a wonderful end game clean up. I run a Naive nature for speed, and a life orb for all out power. The given EVs allow me to 2HKO suicune and hippowdon with grass knot and 1HKO swampert. STAB close combat and overheat do amazing damage. I use mach punch for revenge kills, quick kills on the likes of Weavile and Empoleon. I hate monkeys, but this martial arts master rocks.

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Well there you have it. A team totally composed of fighting pokemon. I have the diversity of special/physical and pure physical sweepers to balance against both special and physical walls. I have 2 wall breakers and an impressive amount of offense. I have been running this team on Shoddy Battle for testing, so if you fight me please comment as we battle. Thank you so much in advance for all your comments/rates.

PLEASE REMEMBER THIS IS A MONOTYPE GYM TEAM AND NOT A 100% PERFECT COMPETITIVE BATTLING TEAM (although it does quite well in OU)

cheers!

Mousse

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[moussrfacekilla]

bump for suggestions/comments/rates

 

[GaRgAnt]

So there's no wildcards allowed?

You really need something to cover that Psychic-weakness; any scarfed Azelf with Psychic comes in, and you're dead.

 

[moussrfacekilla]

ya no wildcards allowed :/ If there was I might use Electivire (w/ cross chop) or maybe...a dark pokemon that has a macho fighting persona like....Weavile?

 

[Xiahou Dun]

ya no wildcards allowed :/ If there was I might use Electivire (w/ cross chop) or maybe...a dark pokemon that has a macho fighting persona like....Weavile?

You could always try a Gallade...He's Psychic neutral with the best Special Defense the Fighting mono can offer you.

 

[GtM]

Once again, I agree with Xiahou Dun, and will provide a useful suggestion! Try out this bulky set for Gallade, you can use it to cripple anything that would otherwise be able to sweep your team.

Gallade @ Coba Berry
Nature: Careful
Ability: Steadfast
252 HP / 152 Atk / 104 SpD

- Thunder Wave
- Will o Wisp
- Night Slash
- Stone Edge

I understand that this isn't the most practical set, but I think it'll really help your team out in terms of fighting the Psychic/Flying weakness. Coba Berry is necessary to reduce the potency of Flying attacks, and lets you try and OHKO with Stone Edge. Most of the time, Yanmega and Togekiss Air Slashes will only 3HKO thanks to the berry, and you'll be able to survive a Brave Bird from almost anything and finish the opponent off. Likewise, Gallade's typing and EV spread lets it take Psychic attacks pretty well, and you can threaten Azelf and others with Night Slash. Thunder Wave and Will o Wisp are there to cripple switch ins and any other threats in general. I'm not sure if this will work at all, but give it a try, and see if it helps to minimise your weakness.

 

[moussrfacekilla]

thanks for the suggestions guys! Ill give it a whirl!

 

[Enroyalle]

I do realize this is a Gym team, but you still have a few big weaknesses - specifically, Zapdos. Your only SE moves are Stone Edge from Heracross and Ice Punch from Poliwrath, but they don't enjoy Heat Wave or Thunderbolt, respectively.

You need something that can reliably take on Zapdos. Sadly, there are no Rock/Fighting or Ice/Fighting types in the game that can smash Zappy with SE STAB moves. If you don't want to fodder something to let Heracross come in and hit it with a Stone Edge. And even that isn't reliable, because Stone Edge from Choice Scarf Heracross does a mere 50.1% - 59% to physically defensive Zapdos, meaning Zapdos can Roost/Pressure stall you out of PP. With that in mind, it seems you need a different approach to taking on the electric bird.

What you need is Toxic. Provided it doesn't have a Sub up, using Toxic will severely hinder Zapdos' walling abilites. The best users of Toxic are bulky ones, and the two bulkiest Fighting-types I can think of are Hitmontop and Gallade. They both have fantastic special defensive to combat Zapdos with. Unfortunately, neither of them have a particularly reliable recovery move to stall with. If you choose this option you're most likely either going to have to rely on Rest (or utilize RestoChesto), or, iirc, Gallade learns the risky recovery move Pain Split. But it's better than nothing.

Here's what I'd use:

Gallade (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Steadfast
EVs: 236 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful nature (+SpD, -SpA)

-Toxic
-Pain Split
-Ice Punch / Encore
-Close Combat / Encore

The given HP EVs supply a solid Leftovers number. Throw a bunch in for max SpD to tank Zapdos' hits, and put the last four in Atk. A Careful nature should work best to take Zapdos' hits as well. Obviously, you're relying on Toxic here. Pain Split when you're low on HP. Ice Punch doesn't do much to Zapdos, but it's got more accuracy and PP than Stone Edge. Use it when you have a free turn. Close Combat is your obligatory STAB, but you can try Drain Punch if you'd prefer the recovery. Encore is one of my favorite moves in the entire game, and I list it here as it's actually a big help. You can do one of two things with it while against Zapdos: Encore it onto a Roost so it can't attack you, and let the Toxic damage rack up, or, you can Encore it onto an attacking move so it can't Roost.

Physically Defensive Zapdos' Thunderbolt VS This Gallade - 24.4% - 28.9%

That's pitiful. You can tank Zapdos like there's no tomorrow. Plus, you can take on many other special attackers with Gallade's high SpD. Toxic support is always nice, too, as is Encore if you choose to use it. Encore is also great for locking the foe into a non-attacking move, providing an easy set up with Lucario or even Poliwrath.

I can just about guarantee your team will benefit from the extra defensive hand and support.

Hope it helps. It took me awhile to make this, lol.

 

[moussrfacekilla]

I do realize this is a Gym team, but you still have a few big weaknesses - specifically, Zapdos. Your only SE moves are Stone Edge from Heracross and Ice Punch from Poliwrath, but they don't enjoy Heat Wave or Thunderbolt, respectively.

You need something that can reliably take on Zapdos. Sadly, there are no Rock/Fighting or Ice/Fighting types in the game that can smash Zappy with SE STAB moves. If you don't want to fodder something to let Heracross come in and hit it with a Stone Edge. And even that isn't reliable, because Stone Edge from Choice Scarf Heracross does a mere 50.1% - 59% to physically defensive Zapdos, meaning Zapdos can Roost/Pressure stall you out of PP. With that in mind, it seems you need a different approach to taking on the electric bird.

What you need is Toxic. Provided it doesn't have a Sub up, using Toxic will severely hinder Zapdos' walling abilites. The best users of Toxic are bulky ones, and the two bulkiest Fighting-types I can think of are Hitmontop and Gallade. They both have fantastic special defensive to combat Zapdos with. Unfortunately, neither of them have a particularly reliable recovery move to stall with. If you choose this option you're most likely either going to have to rely on Rest (or utilize RestoChesto), or, iirc, Gallade learns the risky recovery move Pain Split. But it's better than nothing.

Here's what I'd use:

Gallade (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Steadfast
EVs: 236 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful nature (+SpD, -SpA)

-Toxic
-Pain Split
-Ice Punch / Encore
-Close Combat / Encore

The given HP EVs supply a solid Leftovers number. Throw a bunch in for max SpD to tank Zapdos' hits, and put the last four in Atk. A Careful nature should work best to take Zapdos' hits as well. Obviously, you're relying on Toxic here. Pain Split when you're low on HP. Ice Punch doesn't do much to Zapdos, but it's got more accuracy and PP than Stone Edge. Use it when you have a free turn. Close Combat is your obligatory STAB, but you can try Drain Punch if you'd prefer the recovery. Encore is one of my favorite moves in the entire game, and I list it here as it's actually a big help. You can do one of two things with it while against Zapdos: Encore it onto a Roost so it can't attack you, and let the Toxic damage rack up, or, you can Encore it onto an attacking move so it can't Roost.

Physically Defensive Zapdos' Thunderbolt VS This Gallade - 24.4% - 28.9%

That's pitiful. You can tank Zapdos like there's no tomorrow. Plus, you can take on many other special attackers with Gallade's high SpD. Toxic support is always nice, too, as is Encore if you choose to use it. Encore is also great for locking the foe into a non-attacking move, providing an easy set up with Lucario or even Poliwrath.

I can just about guarantee your team will benefit from the extra defensive hand and support.

Hope it helps. It took me awhile to make this, lol.

cool gallade. very surprising. I have not had any trouble with Zapdos so far between: machamp - ice punch, heracross - scarfed stone edge and Poliwrath - subed ice punch he hasn't been too much of a problem. Moltres has however (ones that carry air slash and fire/electric attacks). Fortunately I only ran into 1 during my one week of testing.

 

[scarloc]

mousse.
first of all, i love fighting types, so i'd happily rate.
an old freind of mine on shoddy known as MDK, gave me a great gallade moveset.
i don't have time for a nice picture and everything, but the moves and Ev's are
Gallade @ Leftovers
Steadfast
206 HP, 52 Atk, 252 SP.Def
Adamant
Bulk Up
ShadowSneak
Drain Punch
Ice Punch
This gallade is meant for increasing stats with bulk up, then pick off switch in's like gengar with Sneak. Drain Punch is for survival and a decent STAB. Don't use Close Combat as it will only reduce your defenses. Brick Break is another option
Ice Punch is for salamence and gliscor, who can switch in if you don't have enough bulk up's and threaten outrage. If you have 1 or 2 Bulk Up's then it's fine.
The gallade here is meant to last awhile, and focuses on tanking hits and possibly walling rather than sweeping.

 

[RaikouLover]

I have a very successful mono-fighting team if your interested.

My main suggestion is that the team needs to work more as a unit since you have more weaknesses.

For starters, you NEED stealth rock. It is the biggest asset to a fighting team. Secondly, ditch the Choice Scarf, it will get you into way more trouble than without it.

 

[moussrfacekilla]

I have a very successful mono-fighting team if your interested.

My main suggestion is that the team needs to work more as a unit since you have more weaknesses.

For starters, you NEED stealth rock. It is the biggest asset to a fighting team. Secondly, ditch the Choice Scarf, it will get you into way more trouble than without it.

@ stealth rock usage

How do you recommend I get SR out? Infernape?

@ scarf on heracross

choice scarf on heracross goes from surprising sweeps on cocky super effect pokemon to a slow sweeper who can outspeed enough to kill. Ive use Heracross on my team since Gold and Silver and nothing made him more OP then a Choice Scarf

 

[Dracoflare]

Because you have so many physical attackers why don't you try special oriented infernape
like nasty plot ape or specially based mix ape

 

[moussrfacekilla]

thanks draco! I still need your help making my regular non-gimmick team haha

 

[KingdomBlade]

Very cool team. You could switch Infernape to the lead and make Machamp a SubAttacker, or Bulk Up attacker.

Infernape @ Focus Sash
Naive / Hasty
EVs: 64 Atk / 252 SpA / 192 Spe
~ Fake Out
~ Stealth Rock
~ Fire Blast
~ Close Combat / Encore

Machamp @ Leftovers
No Guard
Adamant
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Atk / 128 Spe
~ Bulk Up
~ DynamicPunch
~ Stone Edge / Ice Punch
~ Payback / ThunderPunch

Machamp @ Leftovers
No Guard
Adamant
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
~ Substitute
~ DynamicPunch
~ Payback
~ Stone Edge

If you do this, you could run a Mix Lucario also since Ape is gonna be a lead. You could use some other Special Attacks.

Lucario @ Life Orb
Inner Focus
Naive / Hasty
EVs: 129 Atk / 129 SpA / 252 Spe
~ Aura Sphere
~ ExtremeSpeed
~ Shadow Ball
~ Stone Edge

I myself have been experimenting on a Psychic team, after a few more fights, I'll post it on RMT.

 

[moussrfacekilla]

Interesting idea! I'll give it a whirl! Also saw your psychic team and it looks cool