Machoke, while not the final evolution in its fighting type line, is a Pokemon that many players, from the original games, used as one of their strongest Pokemon. It clearly is strong, being one of the few Pokemon that look humanoid and possess incredible muscle and bulk.
About Machoke
| First appearance in anime | In the Pokemon Original series episode ‘The Punchy Pokémon’ |
| First appearance in game | Red and Blue |
| Region | Kanto |
| Evolution | Machop-->Machoke-->Machamp |
| 1st Evo level | 28 |
| 2st Evo requirement | Trade |
| Pokedex Entry | Its muscular body is so powerful, it must wear a power-save belt to be able to regulate its motions. Its formidable body never gets tired. It helps people by doing work such as the moving of heavy goods. |
Machoke’s Base Stats
| HP | 80 |
| Attack | 100 |
| Defense | 70 |
| Sp. Attack | 50 |
| Sp. Defense | 60 |
| Speed | 45 |
Appearance
Machoke is a humanoid Pokemon with blue-grey skin and heavy musculature. While it does look like a human, its head is somewhat reptilian and has three grey crests sticking out from the top. Around its abdomen is what looks like a championship belt, although all Machoke have this so it is possibly organic or crafted by them like the way humans create clothing.
Behavior
Machoke is characterized by its incredible strength with its muscles said to be as hard as steel and it can lift just about anything with only a finger. It also never gets tired and while it is often idolized and glorified, Machoke is often happy performing menial and manual labor for people. Because of this it modulates its strength and is known for being modest.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Machoke’s pure fighting type gives it a few type matchups and does not excel in them frequently, though this is made up for in its stats. Machoke is resistant to rock, bug, and dark type moves and takes half damage from them. It is weak to flying, psychic, and fairy type moves.
Mega Machoke
Mega Machoke is not a real Pokemon. While its evolution, Machamp, does have a Mega Evolution, Machoke has no Mega Machoke variant. Mega Machoke likely does not exist because no unevolved Pokemon has a Mega Evolution.
Shiny Machoke
Shiny Machoke is the rare, recolored version of Machoke. Shiny Machoke has only a few changes to its design with a Shiny Machoke now fully green instead of grey and the small accents of red on its arms are now blue. Like all shiny Pokemon, Shiny Machoke gains a starry animation upon entering battle.
Best Movesets for Machoke
Tank: While it may seem like an all out attacker at first, Machoke being unevolved gives it access to a strategy which few Pokemon can take full advantage of. Using Evolite, Machoke gets a boost to its defenses free of charge and combining that with Rest, means that Machoke can be a Pokemon that refuses to be KO’d. Pairing that with Sleep Talk and a few strong attacking moves can make a battle against a Machoke an infuriating experience.
| Dynamic Punch | Rest |
| Knock Off | Sleep Talk |
How to Catch Machoke in Pokemon Go
In Pokemon Go, Machoke is obtained either in the wild and through evolving a Machop. It's not very rare but if you obtain 25 Machop candy before finding one you can evolve a Machop with the candy to obtain Machoke. Both Machop and Machoke are found with other fighting types in gyms, stadiums, and arenas.
Video
Trivia
- In all Pokemon forms of media, Machoke is depicted as dark blue, except for in the anime where its skin is much lighter.
- Machoke’s belt has a heavy resemblance to the Winner's Belt Prop in Pokémon Black and White.
- In beta builds of the original Pokemon games, Machoke was called ‘Kung-foo.’
FAQs
Is Machoke better than Machamp?
While it may seem like Machamp would be an easy win against its pre-evolution, when used as a tank, Machoke can easily take hits from its evolved form and eventually out-damage it.
How do I get Machamp without trading?
In all mainline Pokemon games, Machamp cannot be obtained without trading a Machoke. The only way would be to edit the game files and the code in order to do so.
Conclusion
Due to being unevolved, Machoke may not seem like a good choice next to Machamp but will definitely take the chance to surprise you. Machoke can easily be a powerful addition to a team and even if it is evolved, it stays that way.
