The best moveset for Machamp in Pokemon Sword and Shield

A long-time veteran Pokemon, Machamp has made it into the Galar Pokedex as one of the best bulky Fighting-types in the game.

While boasting an astronomically high attack stat (130), Machamp also has surprisingly good defensive stats. It’s mostly known for having high HP and Defense, but its Special Defense is actually pretty decent too (85). This means that Machamp is going to have many turns to punish the enemy with its brutal attacks before it goes down.

Machamp was one of the lucky few to receive a Gigantamax form, but regular Dynamax Machamp is just as good, if not better. G-Max Chi Strike will raise the critical hit ratio for Machamp, which can be useful at times. Max Knuckle though, raises Machamp’s attack anyways, so it’s arguably better. These are the best moves to teach Machamp:

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the opinion of the writer.

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The best moveset for Machamp in Pokemon Sword and Shield

Image via The Gamer

As with most bulky Fighting-types, of which there are a lot (Conkeldurr, Urshifu, Kommo-o, etc.), a Bulk Up set works very well with Machamp. Not only will Machamp’s attacks do so much more damage after the boost, but it works well with Dynamax too.

• Bulk Up
• Close Combat
• Earthquake
• Bullet Punch

Raising Machamp’s Attack and Defense with a Bulk Up can help it stomp opposing teams. The four-armed menace will easily take a few hits while dealing out tremendous blows to the opponent. One great strategy for Machamp users is to Bulk Up before Dynamaxing. With the Defense boost, Machamp can become very hard to deal with after its HP is doubled in Dynamax form. Machamp can then inflict humongous damage with the Attack boost already in place.

Close Combat should be put on Machamp, as it is the best Fighting-type move. Yes, it does drop the defenses of the Pokemon using it, but it does so much damage that most Pokemon will get knocked out before it can do anything to Machamp.

Dynamax also serves as a way to bypass the stat drop from Close Combat, which is great for Machamp, since it is going to enjoy Max Knuckle in the first place due to the Attack boost. When taking Bulk Up into account, it becomes apparent how powerful Dynamax Machamp is, since it can boost its stats and snowball out of control very quickly.

Earthquake is another great move that complements Dynamax Machamp while also obliterating Pokemon outside of Dynamax. On any Pokemon with a large Attack stat, Earthquake will always be valuable.

The other benefit from this move is that Max Quake raises the user’s Special Defense. This is perfectly complementary to any Pokemon that has used Bulk Up, now that Pokemon has both defensive stats raised.

Bullet Punch is another great move on Machamp, although it has low base power (40). Since Machamp has so many ways to raise its Attack, Bullet Punch will still be able to inflict damage while also having priority. Since Machamp is weak to Fairy-types as well, Bullet Punch can be a great way to KO those Pokemon before they knock out Machamp.

Max Steelstrike is also wonderful on Machamp since it raises defense. Essentially, this moveset is going to turn Dynamax into an unstoppable monster. Machamp can boost Attack, Defense and Special Defense with its Dynamax attacks. It’s going to be tough for opponents to break through all that.