Medicham (NU Analysis)

Honko

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http://www.smogon.com/dex/dp/pokemon/medicham/

[OVERVIEW]

Medicham is the best physical wallbreaker in NU, and arguably the hardest Pokemon in the tier to switch into. Its High Jump Kick is absurdly powerful thanks to Pure Power, and it has reliable secondary STAB attacks and coverage moves to back it up. Fighting- and Psychic-type attacks together cover many of the tier's best defensive Pokemon, and Thunder Punch covers Slowking, the most prominent exception. Poor bulk and middling Speed make Medicham fairly easy to revenge kill, and High Jump Kick is a risky move that's easily exploited, but these flaws aren't enough to stop Medicham from being one of NU's most dangerous Pokemon.

[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: High Jump Kick
move 2: Zen Headbutt
move 3: Thunder Punch
move 4: Fake Out / Ice Punch / Bullet Punch
item: Life Orb
ability: Pure Power
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Life Orb Medicham is easily one of the best wallbreakers in NU. High Jump Kick 2HKOes everything that doesn't resist it, and Zen Headbutt demolishes many of the Pokemon that do. Thunder Punch covers Flying-types and, more importantly, Slowking, which is a very common switch-in to Medicham. Not needing to play around Slowking is one of the biggest perks of this set; if Slowking switches in on either of Medicham's STAB moves, Thunder Punch has a good chance to KO it on the next turn.

In the last slot, Fake Out does 30-40% to most offensive Pokemon, making it a solid option to help Medicham pull its weight against offensive teams, which comprise mostly of Pokemon that outspeed it. Ice Punch is an alternative that OHKOes Gligar, which otherwise walls Medicham. Bullet Punch is another option for a more flexible priority move than Fake Out. Although most of the common Pokemon that outspeed Medicham resist Bullet Punch, it still does a decent 15-20%, which can allow Medicham to pick off heavily damaged Pokemon and ones that switch in and barely survive one of its attacks. It also OHKOes Jynx and does around 60% to Haunter, both of which otherwise force Medicham out. If you choose Ice Punch in the last slot, Psycho Cut becomes an option over Zen Headbutt to give Medicham a 100% accurate STAB move to rely on. Using Psycho Cut together with either Fake Out or Bullet Punch is illegal, though.

[ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]

High Jump Kick's monstrous power is what enables Medicham to break through NU's toughest physical walls, but it's also one of the riskiest moves in the game. The threat of a Ghost-type switching in makes it dangerous to use High Jump Kick before you've scouted your opponent's team, and walls such as Lickilicky and Regirock can use Protect to force Medicham into a prediction game. Keep in mind that High Jump Kick's crash recoil is based on the damage the move would have done (or, against Ghost-types, the target's max HP), so a crash against a target with high HP, such as Lickilicky or Drifblim, can OHKO Medicham. If you want a safer Fighting-type STAB move that doesn't require as much prediction, Brick Break is a viable alternative. Of course, the loss of power means Medicham misses out on some important KOs; it will no longer be able to OHKO Skuntank and Whiscash or 2HKO Quagsire, and it will need Ice Punch to be able to 2HKO Meganium and Sandslash.

A Jolly nature is mandatory on this set; there are a lot of common Pokemon that sit at or slightly below Medicham's Speed tier, and the additional power that an Adamant nature would provide is overkill. This set can work as a passable attacking lead with Fake Out if your team doesn't have room for a true lead. Medicham matches up very well against slower entry hazard-setting leads, but most faster leads will force it out after it uses Fake Out.

Although this set has no trouble breaking through most of NU's walls, it struggles against pure Psychic-types, especially Hypno. This makes Skuntank an excellent teammate, as it has nothing to fear from Hypno and can reliably trap it with Pursuit. Gligar (if you forgo Ice Punch) and Dusclops are the only other walls that have a chance at stopping Medicham. Zen Headbutt has about a 50% chance to 2HKO them if they switch in on it and Stealth Rock is up, but if Medicham misses out on that initial 2HKO, it will need a Zen Headbutt flinch or critical hit in order to win. Charizard is a good partner that can switch in on Dusclops's Will-O-Wisp and Gligar's Earthquake for free and benefits from Medicham's ability to lure and KO Slowking.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: High Jump Kick
move 2: Psycho Cut
move 3: Thunder Punch
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Pure Power
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Choice Scarf Medicham is a solid revenge killer and a threatening late-game sweeper. Even without a damage-boosting item, High Jump Kick's power remains impressive; it hits about as hard as Choice Band Tauros's Return. Psycho Cut is a 100% accurate STAB move that's useful both early-game, when you haven't yet scouted your opponent's team for Ghost-types, and late-game, when the opponent's team is weakened and High Jump Kick's power is no longer needed. Thunder Punch 2HKOes Slowking and is also Medicham's best move against Flying-types such as Charizard and Drifblim. Trick cripples walls that Medicham can't beat by attacking, such as Hypno and Meganium. Alternatively, Ice Punch allows Medicham to get past Gligar without giving away its Choice Scarf.

[ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]

With an Adamant nature, Medicham always OHKOes Tauros and Magmortar from full HP as well as Skuntank after Stealth Rock damage and Charizard after one round of Life Orb recoil. A Jolly nature reduces all of those KOs to approximately 50% chances, but it allows Medicham to at least Speed tie with opposing Choice Scarf Medicham and Gardevoir and outspeed a few of NU's slower weather sweepers such as Modest Vileplume and Modest Gorebyss in their respective weathers. Either nature is viable, but Adamant is the more consistently useful choice for most teams.

All Medicham sets benefit from Pursuit support, but this set needs it the most. Thunder Punch can 2HKO Slowking if you predict it to switch in, but other bulky Psychic-types don't fear anything from Choice Scarf Medicham except Trick. Skuntank is the best Pursuit user in NU, and its support is invaluable in allowing Medicham to safely spam its STAB moves.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====================

Medicham can use Choice Band to beat the handful of walls that can stop its Life Orb set. The extra power allows Medicham to always 2HKO Gligar and Dusclops with Zen Headbutt, and Trick allows Medicham to cripple Hypno and any other wall that's likely to switch in. Choice Band requires more prediction than Life Orb does, though, and Medicham's priority moves don't fit well on a Choice Band set, making it helpless against anything faster than it.

Medicham forces a lot of switches, and many teams rely on revenge killing to beat it, so Substitute is a good option that can help Medicham grab an extra KO. However, it's only effective if Medicham can OHKO the switch-in, so it's better saved for later in the match when the opponent's walls have been weakened.

Drain Punch's 60 Base Power is too low for it to be useful as a primary STAB move, but it can work alongside High Jump Kick as an alternative Fighting-type STAB move to use in situations where High Jump Kick's power isn't needed. The only time Drain Punch is worth considering as Medicham's only Fighting-type attack is on a Bulk Up set, where the healing effect is more useful and the Attack boost helps make up for the low Base Power. For example, after a Bulk Up boost, Medicham can survive Choice Band Tauros's Double-Edge and respond with Drain Punch for an OHKO. However, Medicham is generally better off running all-out attacking sets and trying to do as much damage as possible each turn.

Rock Slide gives Medicham slightly different coverage than the elemental punches. It's most useful on the Choice Scarf set for a more reliable OHKO against Charizard, but it also hits Pinsir harder than Medicham's other moves while still covering other Flying-types such as Drifblim and Jumpluff.

Checks and Counters
====================

Hypno is the only viable Pokemon with reliable recovery that can safely switch in on all of Medicham's attacks; even the Choice Band set can't 2HKO it. The only thing Hypno fears from Medicham's arsenal is Trick. Its one flaw as a counter is its vulnerability to being trapped by Skuntank, which is a common teammate for Medicham, so it needs to be used cautiously. Gligar and Dusclops are the next best switch-ins, although Gligar loses if Medicham has Ice Punch, and Dusclops only barely avoids a 2HKO from Life Orb-boosted Zen Headbutt and is forced to rely on Pain Split or Rest for recovery. Physically defensive Grumpig can switch in on any set except Choice Band and force Medicham out at least once, but its lack of reliable recovery limits it to being a short-term answer. Sableye is the only other Pokemon that can switch in on all of Life Orb Medicham's moves, but it is extremely uncommon and not very good in general.

If you don't have any of the Pokemon listed above on your team, you'll need at least a little bit of prediction to counter Medicham. Against the Life Orb set, there are several offensive Pokemon that can switch in on a move they resist and force Medicham out with the threat of an OHKO; Flying- and Ghost-types such as Charizard and Haunter can switch in on High Jump Kick, and Dark-types such as Skuntank and Shiftry can switch in on Zen Headbutt. The Choice Scarf set, on the other hand, is countered by most defensive Psychic-types and other physically defensive walls that aren't weak to its STAB moves, although all of them hate Trick, and some, such as Slowking, will lose if they switch in on a super effective coverage move. Choice Scarf Medicham is pretty easy to counter after it's locked into a move, as common Pokemon resist or are immune to each of its moves. The problem, of course, is correctly guessing which move it's going to lock itself into.
 
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Oglemi

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i don't really have much more to add, cham is pretty linear, although idk if i would ever use LO without thunderpunch. the biggest advantage to using it is that you can spam hjk/psychic stab without having to play around slowking because once it comes in you nail it with tpunch, + to me gligar is just overall less threatening but maybe that's just me.
 

Bughouse

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My two cents:

Scarf is just ok, obviously needs to be a set, but I would never in a million years list it first. Band is the main reason I would use it, while LO is the main counter option. I never expect opposing Medicham to be scarf unless they have been played in such a way it becomes obvious.

Don't think Brick Break is pure OO. It deserves a slash. On Scarf, yeah, it's probably too weak. But on LO or Band, it hits quite hard still and it's a very handy move when people may throw on random protects on things like Regirock to catch Medicham off guard (or even just scout move), as well as not self-koing against Ghosts if you mispredict.

I also think Bullet Punch is a better move on LO than Fake Out. Fake Out is obviously less helpful after turn 1 and Bullet Punch isn't resisted by /that/ many important threats nor are there that many mons you'd want to revenge that use priority. And being able to hit Haunter at all is huge. Drifblim too. And just like some mons can afford random protect to beat HJK? Well that beats Fake Out too. Bullet Punch all in all is just better imo.
 

Honko

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i don't really have much more to add, cham is pretty linear, although idk if i would ever use LO without thunderpunch. the biggest advantage to using it is that you can spam hjk/psychic stab without having to play around slowking because once it comes in you nail it with tpunch, + to me gligar is just overall less threatening but maybe that's just me.
I'd only drop TPunch on a team that uses Skuntank, I'll specify that in the writeup. Personally I think LO is the best set regardless just because it KOes everything and doesn't have to worry about being locked into a move that something's immune to.

My two cents:

Scarf is just ok, obviously needs to be a set, but I would never in a million years list it first. Band is the main reason I would use it, while LO is the main counter option. I never expect opposing Medicham to be scarf unless they have been played in such a way it becomes obvious.

Don't think Brick Break is pure OO. It deserves a slash. On Scarf, yeah, it's probably too weak. But on LO or Band, it hits quite hard still and it's a very handy move when people may throw on random protects on things like Regirock to catch Medicham off guard (or even just scout move), as well as not self-koing against Ghosts if you mispredict.

I also think Bullet Punch is a better move on LO than Fake Out. Fake Out is obviously less helpful after turn 1 and Bullet Punch isn't resisted by /that/ many important threats nor are there that many mons you'd want to revenge that use priority. And being able to hit Haunter at all is huge. Drifblim too. And just like some mons can afford random protect to beat HJK? Well that beats Fake Out too. Bullet Punch all in all is just better imo.
I'll move LO above Scarf, I agree Scarf isn't it's best set but wasn't sure if that was just me. I don't really see the appeal of Band over LO as LO is already getting all the KOes and it's not like Medicham has meaningful bulk that it needs to preserve.

Zard, Tauros, Manectric, Floatzel, Whiscash, and Typhlosion all take basically nothing from Bullet Punch. That's a large majority of the important Pokemon that Medicham might want to use priority against. I strongly prefer Fake Out for being able to do a nice 40ish% to all of those guys for free, and then, worst case scenario, switch back out to sac something and do it again. And none of the Pokemon you'd use Fake Out to revenge kill are going to have Protect. Hitting Haunter and Jynx is cool, and I won't be as negative on it in the writeup as the bullet point is right now, but I still don't think it's worth adding to the main set.
 

Bughouse

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The appeal of Band over LO is Tricking Band onto things like Hypno or Gardevoir, imo

But I definitely don't mind LO being first. Just not scarf plz.
 

Honko

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Hmm fair point. Oglemi do you have an opinion? Should I move CB out of OO and if so should it be before Scarf or after?
 

Oglemi

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i wouldn't add band as it's own set because it's worse than both scarf and lo and plays like 80% the same as both anyway (i would if we wanted to list every viable set but we don't have to). the biggest advantage to using cb cham is that you can 2hko gligar with zen headbutt (50.2 - 59.2%) and sometimes psycho cut after sr (43.4 - 51.4%) and 2hko dusclops with the same (50.7 - 60.2%). cham is still curbstomped by hypno (and slowking) outside of trick and now doesn't have the ability to do jack shit against anything faster than it (lo at least can fake out/bpunch, scarf obv outspeeds shit) unless you want to lock yourself into bpunch but lol.

if anything you could just make a mention of cb in AC of LO imo
 

Honko

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This is ready for GP.

Tagging Oglemi and Bughouse in case either of you have anything more to add (since it's been a couple of years, lol). I changed a couple of things from the old skeleton: TPunch isn't slashed with anything anymore, I removed the Ice Punch slash on Scarf, and I mentioned Brick Break and Bullet Punch in AC of LO instead of in OO.
 

Bughouse

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I mean I already said all the things about how I would have written this analysis haha. I disagree with some of what's here, but if I didn't persuade you before, I'm not going to now.
 

Oglemi

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Grumpig also counters all non-cb medichams, even better than hypno tbh cuz resist ice punch but ya, minor addition.

Otherwise I got nothing else
 

GP 1/2
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[OVERVIEW]

Medicham is the best physical wallbreaker in NU, and arguably the hardest Pokemon in the tier to switch into. Its High Jump Kick is absurdly powerful thanks to Pure Power, and it has reliable secondary STAB attacks and coverage moves to back it up. Fighting- and Psychic-type attacks together cover many of the tier's best defensive Pokemon, and Thunder Punch covers Slowking, the most prominent exception. Poor bulk and middling Speed make Medicham fairly easy to revenge kill, and High Jump Kick is a risky move that's easily exploited, but these flaws aren't enough to stop Medicham from being one of NU's most dangerous Pokemon.

[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: High Jump Kick
move 2: Zen Headbutt
move 3: Thunder Punch
move 4: Fake Out / Ice Punch / Bullet Punch
item: Life Orb
ability: Pure Power
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Life Orb Medicham is easily one of the best wallbreakers in NU. High Jump Kick 2HKOes everything that doesn't resist it, and Zen Headbutt demolishes many of the Pokemon that do. Thunder Punch covers Flying-types and, more importantly, Slowking, which is a very common switch-in to Medicham. Not needing to play around Slowking is one of the biggest perks of this set; if Slowking switches in on either of Medicham's STAB moves, Thunder Punch has a good chance to KO it on the next turn.

In the last slot, Fake Out does 30-40% to most offensive Pokemon, making it a solid option to help Medicham pull its weight against offensive teams, (comma) which comprise mostly of Pokemon that where most opposing Pokemon outspeed it. Ice Punch is an alternative that OHKOes Gligar, which otherwise walls Medicham. Bullet Punch is another option for a more flexible priority move than Fake Out. Although most of the common Pokemon that outspeed Medicham resist Bullet Punch, it still does a decent 15-20%, which can allow Medicham to pick off heavily damaged Pokemon or and ones that switch in and barely survive one of its attacks. It also OHKOes Jynx and does around 60% to Haunter, both of which otherwise force Medicham out. If you choose Ice Punch in the last slot, Psycho Cut becomes an option over Zen Headbutt to give Medicham a 100% accurate STAB move to rely on. Using Psycho Cut together with either Fake Out or Bullet Punch is illegal, (comma) though.

[ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]

High Jump Kick's monstrous power is what enables Medicham to break through NU's toughest physical walls, but it's also one of the riskiest moves in the game. The threat of a Ghost-type switching in makes it dangerous to use High Jump Kick before you've scouted your opponent's team, and walls such as Lickilicky and Regirock can use Protect to force Medicham into a prediction game. Keep in mind that High Jump Kick's crash recoil is based on the damage the move would have done (or, against Ghost-types, the target's max HP), so a crash against a high HP target with high HP such as Lickilicky or Drifblim can OHKO Medicham. If you want a safer Fighting-type STAB move that doesn't require as much prediction, Brick Break is a viable alternative to High Jump Kick. Of course, the loss of power means Medicham misses out on some important KOs; Medicham it will no longer be able to OHKO Skuntank and Whiscash or 2HKO Quagsire, and it will need Ice Punch to be able to 2HKO Meganium and Sandslash.

A Jolly nature is mandatory on this set; there are a lot of common Pokemon that sit at or slightly below Medicham's Speed tier, and the additional power that an Adamant nature would provide is overkill. This set can work as a passable attacking lead with Fake Out if your team doesn't have room for a true lead. Medicham matches up very well against slower entry hazard-setting leads, but most faster leads will force it out after it uses Fake Out.

Although this set has no trouble breaking through most of NU's walls, it struggles against pure Psychic-types, especially Hypno. This makes Skuntank an excellent teammate, as it has nothing to fear from Hypno and can reliably trap it with Pursuit. Gligar (if you forgo Ice Punch) and Dusclops are the only other walls that have a chance at stopping Medicham. Zen Headbutt has about a 50% chance to 2HKO either of them if they switch in on it and Stealth Rock is up, but if Medicham misses out on that initial 2HKO, it will need a Zen Headbutt flinch or critical hit in order to win. Charizard is a good partner that can switch in on Dusclops's Will-O-Wisp and Gligar's Earthquake for free, (comma) and it also benefits from Medicham's ability to lure and KO Slowking.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: High Jump Kick
move 2: Psycho Cut
move 3: Thunder Punch
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Pure Power
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Choice Scarf Medicham is a solid revenge killer and a threatening late-game sweeper. Even without a damage-boosting item, High Jump Kick's power remains impressive; it hits about as hard as Choice Band Tauros's Return. Psycho Cut is a 100% accurate STAB move that's useful both early-game, when you haven't yet scouted your opponent's team for Ghost-types, and late-game, when the opponent's team is weakened and High Jump Kick's power is no longer needed. Thunder Punch 2HKOes Slowking and is also Medicham's best move against Flying-types such as Charizard and Drifblim. Trick cripples walls such as Hypno and Meganium that Medicham can't beat by attacking such as Hypno and Meganium. Alternatively, Ice Punch allows Medicham to get past Gligar without Tricking away its Choice Scarf.

[ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]

With an Adamant nature, Medicham always OHKOes Tauros and Magmortar from full HP, (comma) as well as Skuntank after Stealth Rock damage and Charizard after one round of Life Orb recoil. Switching to Opting for a Jolly nature makes all of those KOs closer to 50/50 50% chances, but it allows Medicham to at least Speed tie with opposing Choice Scarf Medicham and Gardevoir and outspeed a few of NU's slower weather sweepers such as Modest Vileplume and Modest Gorebyss in their respective weathers. Either nature is viable, but Adamant is the more consistently useful choice for most teams.

All Medicham sets benefit from Pursuit support, but this set needs it the most. Thunder Punch can 2HKO Slowking if you predict the switch-in it to switch in, but other bulky Psychic-types don't fear anything from Choice Scarf Medicham except Trick. Skuntank is the best Pursuit user in NU, and its support is invaluable in allowing Medicham to safely spam its STAB moves.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====================

Medicham can use Choice Band to beat the handful of walls that can stop its Life Orb set. The extra power allows Medicham to always 2HKO Gligar and Dusclops with Zen Headbutt, and Trick allows Medicham to cripple Hypno and any other wall that's likely to switch in. Choice Band requires more prediction than Life Orb does, though, and Medicham's priority moves don't fit well on a Choice Band set, making it helpless against anything faster than it.

Medicham forces a lot of switches, and many teams rely on revenge killing to beat it, so Substitute is a good option that can help Medicham steal grab an extra KO. However, it's only effective if Medicham can OHKO the switch-in, so it's better saved for later in the match when the opponent's walls have been weakened.

Drain Punch's 60 BP Base Power is too low for it to be useful as a primary STAB move, but it can work alongside High Jump Kick as an alternative Fighting-type STAB move to use in situations when where High Jump Kick's power isn't needed. The only time Drain Punch is worth considering as Medicham's only Fighting-type attack is on a Bulk Up set, where the healing effect is more useful and the Attack boost helps make up for the low BP Base Power. For example, after a Bulk Up boost, Medicham can survive Choice Band Tauros's Double-Edge and respond with Drain Punch for an OHKO. However, in general, Medicham is generally better off running all-out attacking sets and trying to do as much damage as possible each turn.

Rock Slide gives Medicham slightly different coverage than the elemental punches. It's most useful on the Choice Scarf set for a more reliable OHKO against Charizard, but it also hits Pinsir harder than Medicham's other moves while still covering other Flying-types such as Drifblim and Jumpluff.

Checks and Counters
====================

Hypno is the only viable Pokemon with reliable recovery that can safely switch in on all of Medicham's attacks; even the Choice Band set can't 2HKO it. The only thing Hypno fears from Medicham's arsenal is Trick. Its one flaw as a counter is its vulnerability to being trapped by Skuntank, which is a common teammate for Medicham, so it needs to be used cautiously. Gligar and Dusclops are the next best switch-ins, although Gligar loses if Medicham has Ice Punch, and Dusclops only barely avoids a 2HKO from Life Orb Zen Headbutt and is forced to rely on Pain Split or Rest for recovery. Physically defensive Grumpig can switch in on any set except Choice Band and force Medicham out at least once, but its lack of reliable recovery limits it to being a short-term answer. Sableye is the only other Pokemon that can switch in on all of Life Orb Medicham's moves, but Sableye is extremely uncommon and not very good in general.

If you don't have any of the Pokemon listed above on your team, you'll need at least a little bit of prediction to counter Medicham. Against the Life Orb set, there are several offensive Pokemon that can switch in on a move they resist and force Medicham out with the threat of an OHKO; Flying- and Ghost-types such as Charizard and Haunter can switch in on High Jump Kick, and Dark-types such as Skuntank and Shiftry can switch in on Zen Headbutt. The Choice Scarf set, on the other hand, is countered by most defensive Psychic-types and other physically defensive walls that aren't weak to its STAB moves, although all of them hate Trick, and some, such as Slowking, will lose if they switch in on a super effective coverage move. Choice Scarf Medicham is pretty easy to counter after it's locked into a move, as each of its moves has common resistances and immunities. The problem, of course, is correctly guessing which move it's going to lock itself into.
 
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Lumari

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GP 2/2
[OVERVIEW]

Medicham is the best physical wallbreaker in NU, and arguably the hardest Pokemon in the tier to switch into. Its High Jump Kick is absurdly powerful thanks to Pure Power, and it has reliable secondary STAB attacks and coverage moves to back it up. Fighting- and Psychic-type attacks together cover many of the tier's best defensive Pokemon, and Thunder Punch covers Slowking, the most prominent exception. Poor bulk and middling Speed make Medicham fairly easy to revenge kill, and High Jump Kick is a risky move that's easily exploited, but these flaws aren't enough to stop Medicham from being one of NU's most dangerous Pokemon.

[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: High Jump Kick
move 2: Zen Headbutt
move 3: Thunder Punch
move 4: Fake Out / Ice Punch / Bullet Punch
item: Life Orb
ability: Pure Power
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Life Orb Medicham is easily one of the best wallbreakers in NU. High Jump Kick 2HKOes everything that doesn't resist it, and Zen Headbutt demolishes many of the Pokemon that do. Thunder Punch covers Flying-types and, more importantly, Slowking, which is a very common switch-in to Medicham. Not needing to play around Slowking is one of the biggest perks of this set; if Slowking switches in on either of Medicham's STAB moves, Thunder Punch has a good chance to KO it on the next turn.

In the last slot, Fake Out does 30-40% to most offensive Pokemon, making it a solid option to help Medicham pull its weight against offensive teams, which comprise mostly of Pokemon that outspeed it. Ice Punch is an alternative that OHKOes Gligar, which otherwise walls Medicham. Bullet Punch is another option for a more flexible priority move than Fake Out. Although most of the common Pokemon that outspeed Medicham resist Bullet Punch, it still does a decent 15-20%, which can allow Medicham to pick off heavily damaged Pokemon and ones that switch in and barely survive one of its attacks. It also OHKOes Jynx and does around 60% to Haunter, both of which otherwise force Medicham out. If you choose Ice Punch in the last slot, Psycho Cut becomes an option over Zen Headbutt to give Medicham a 100% accurate STAB move to rely on. Using Psycho Cut together with either Fake Out or Bullet Punch is illegal, though.

[ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]

High Jump Kick's monstrous power is what enables Medicham to break through NU's toughest physical walls, but it's also one of the riskiest moves in the game. The threat of a Ghost-type switching in makes it dangerous to use High Jump Kick before you've scouted your opponent's team, and walls such as Lickilicky and Regirock can use Protect to force Medicham into a prediction game. Keep in mind that High Jump Kick's crash recoil is based on the damage the move would have done (or, against Ghost-types, the target's max HP), so a crash against a target with high HP, such as Lickilicky or Drifblim, can OHKO Medicham. If you want a safer Fighting-type STAB move that doesn't require as much prediction, Brick Break is a viable alternative. Of course, the loss of power means Medicham misses out on some important KOs; it will no longer be able to OHKO Skuntank and Whiscash or 2HKO Quagsire, and it will need Ice Punch to be able to 2HKO Meganium and Sandslash.

A Jolly nature is mandatory on this set; there are a lot of common Pokemon that sit at or slightly below Medicham's Speed tier, and the additional power that an Adamant nature would provide is overkill. This set can work as a passable attacking lead with Fake Out if your team doesn't have room for a true lead. Medicham matches up very well against slower entry hazard-setting leads, but most faster leads will force it out after it uses Fake Out.

Although this set has no trouble breaking through most of NU's walls, it struggles against pure Psychic-types, especially Hypno. This makes Skuntank an excellent teammate, as it has nothing to fear from Hypno and can reliably trap it with Pursuit. Gligar (if you forgo Ice Punch) and Dusclops are the only other walls that have a chance at stopping Medicham. Zen Headbutt has about a 50% chance to 2HKO them if they switch in on it and Stealth Rock is up, but if Medicham misses out on that initial 2HKO, it will need a Zen Headbutt flinch or critical hit in order to win. Charizard is a good partner that can switch in on Dusclops's Will-O-Wisp and Gligar's Earthquake for free and benefits from Medicham's ability to lure and KO Slowking.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: High Jump Kick
move 2: Psycho Cut
move 3: Thunder Punch
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Pure Power
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Choice Scarf Medicham is a solid revenge killer and a threatening late-game sweeper. Even without a damage-boosting item, High Jump Kick's power remains impressive; it hits about as hard as Choice Band Tauros's Return. Psycho Cut is a 100% accurate STAB move that's useful both early-game, when you haven't yet scouted your opponent's team for Ghost-types, and late-game, when the opponent's team is weakened and High Jump Kick's power is no longer needed. Thunder Punch 2HKOes Slowking and is also Medicham's best move against Flying-types such as Charizard and Drifblim. Trick cripples walls that Medicham can't beat by attacking, such as Hypno and Meganium. Alternatively, Ice Punch allows Medicham to get past Gligar without Tricking giving (repetition-ish) away its Choice Scarf.

[ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]

With an Adamant nature, Medicham always OHKOes Tauros and Magmortar from full HP as well as Skuntank after Stealth Rock damage and Charizard after one round of Life Orb recoil. A Jolly nature reduces all of those KOs to approximately 50% chances, but it allows Medicham to at least Speed tie with opposing Choice Scarf Medicham and Gardevoir and outspeed a few of NU's slower weather sweepers such as Modest Vileplume and Modest Gorebyss in their respective weathers. Either nature is viable, but Adamant is the more consistently useful choice for most teams.

All Medicham sets benefit from Pursuit support, but this set needs it the most. Thunder Punch can 2HKO Slowking if you predict it to switch in, but other bulky Psychic-types don't fear anything from Choice Scarf Medicham except Trick. Skuntank is the best Pursuit user in NU, and its support is invaluable in allowing Medicham to safely spam its STAB moves.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====================

Medicham can use Choice Band to beat the handful of walls that can stop its Life Orb set. The extra power allows Medicham to always 2HKO Gligar and Dusclops with Zen Headbutt, and Trick allows Medicham to cripple Hypno and any other wall that's likely to switch in. Choice Band requires more prediction than Life Orb does, though, and Medicham's priority moves don't fit well on a Choice Band set, making it helpless against anything faster than it.

Medicham forces a lot of switches, and many teams rely on revenge killing to beat it, so Substitute is a good option that can help Medicham grab an extra KO. However, it's only effective if Medicham can OHKO the switch-in, so it's better saved for later in the match when the opponent's walls have been weakened.

Drain Punch's 60 Base Power is too low for it to be useful as a primary STAB move, but it can work alongside High Jump Kick as an alternative Fighting-type STAB move to use in situations where High Jump Kick's power isn't needed. The only time Drain Punch is worth considering as Medicham's only Fighting-type attack is on a Bulk Up set, where the healing effect is more useful and the Attack boost helps make up for the low Base Power. For example, after a Bulk Up boost, Medicham can survive Choice Band Tauros's Double-Edge and respond with Drain Punch for an OHKO. However, Medicham is generally better off running all-out attacking sets and trying to do as much damage as possible each turn.

Rock Slide gives Medicham slightly different coverage than the elemental punches. It's most useful on the Choice Scarf set for a more reliable OHKO against Charizard, but it also hits Pinsir harder than Medicham's other moves while still covering other Flying-types such as Drifblim and Jumpluff.

Checks and Counters
====================

Hypno is the only viable Pokemon with reliable recovery that can safely switch in on all of Medicham's attacks; even the Choice Band set can't 2HKO it. The only thing Hypno fears from Medicham's arsenal is Trick. Its one flaw as a counter is its vulnerability to being trapped by Skuntank, which is a common teammate for Medicham, so it needs to be used cautiously. Gligar and Dusclops are the next best switch-ins, although Gligar loses if Medicham has Ice Punch, and Dusclops only barely avoids a 2HKO from Life Orb-boosted Zen Headbutt and is forced to rely on Pain Split or Rest for recovery. Physically defensive Grumpig can switch in on any set except Choice Band and force Medicham out at least once, but its lack of reliable recovery limits it to being a short-term answer. Sableye is the only other Pokemon that can switch in on all of Life Orb Medicham's moves, but Sableye it is extremely uncommon and not very good in general.

If you don't have any of the Pokemon listed above on your team, you'll need at least a little bit of prediction to counter Medicham. Against the Life Orb set, there are several offensive Pokemon that can switch in on a move they resist and force Medicham out with the threat of an OHKO; Flying- and Ghost-types such as Charizard and Haunter can switch in on High Jump Kick, and Dark-types such as Skuntank and Shiftry can switch in on Zen Headbutt. The Choice Scarf set, on the other hand, is countered by most defensive Psychic-types and other physically defensive walls that aren't weak to its STAB moves, although all of them hate Trick, and some, such as Slowking, will lose if they switch in on a super effective coverage move. Choice Scarf Medicham is pretty easy to counter after it's locked into a move, as each of its moves has common resistances and immunities Pokemon resist or are immune to each of its moves. The problem, of course, is correctly guessing which move it's going to lock itself into.
 
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