Is Machamp with Charged Attack Payback good in Pokemon GO PvP?

Pokemon GO's competitive scene is witnessing a slight rise in popularity amid the 2023 Pokemon World Championships. With so many players watching the action unfold, some may be inspired to go on a battling journey of their own. This may bring trainers to some of the mobile title's more prominent metagame picks. One of these creatures may very well be Machamp or its shadow variant.

With many players taking a more analytical approach to building their battling teams, some may want to know if Machamp's Elite TM-exclusive attack is worth the effort to obtain.

With Machamp being in Pokemon GO since the very start, the creature has a lot of other moves to pick from. So, is using Payback a good idea, or should players turn their attention elsewhere?

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and reflect the opinions of the writer

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Is Payback worth using on Machamp in Pokemon GO?

Machamp as seen in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

While Payback is relatively decent to use as Machamp's charged attack, it should not be considered its primary option. Machamp is a creature whose sole purpose is to deal as much damage as possible before going down. As such, players looking to use the Pocket Monster before unlocking its secondary slot may want to look elsewhere for a proper charged attack.

Cross Chop should always be taken as Machamp's primary charged attack, as it maximizes the creature's damage output potential in Pokemon GO.

Once dedicated trainers unlock the secondary charged attack, Payback becomes much more viable on Machamp. Even better, the attack can be a great coverage choice in the event that the opponent switches to a Psychic-type pick.

While Payback is a good secondary charged attack option, it is far from Machamp's best.

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Best moveset for Machamp in Pokemon GO

In terms of whether or not players should use Shadow or Regular Machamp, the choice ultimately comes down to preference. However, Shadow Machamp is seen as the better candidate in Pokemon GO.

The difference is that Shadow Machamp has the shadow bonus, which increases its attack at the cost of slightly lowering its defense. Since Machamp is meant to be a damage dealer, this bonus only improves its performance.

In most cases, players who use Machamp competitively use Counter, Cross Chop, and Rock Slide. This is due to the fact that this set grants players the highest amount of base Fighting-type damage possible, while Rock Slide gives Machamp a fighting chance against the Flying-type foes that give it trouble in higher tiers of play.

Overall, Machamp is a great pick in terms of Fighting-type creatures. While it shines much brighter in Pokemon GO's raiding scene, the Pocket Monster still has a sizable niche.

When dealing with the Steel-type creatures that cram the ranked ladders of Ultra and Great League, many players will find that Machamp can often be a valuable asset. Players who have access to its shadow variant should use it instead if they want to deal a little extra damage.