One of Gen 1’s worst Pokemon should have been Legendary tier; at least, that’s what the fans believe, based on its glowing Pokedex entries over the years.
Fighting-type Pokemon struggled in the days of Pokemon Red & Blue. Not only did Psychic-type Pokemon rule the roost with their amazing stats and lack of viable weaknesses, but Fighting-type moves weren’t up to snuff, even when up against the top tier Normal-types, like Snorlax and Tauros.
The poor Machamp line had to wait until Pokemon Gold & Silver to become relevant. Not only did Psychic-types get nerfed, but the new types introduced in Gen 2 (Dark and Steel) were weak to Fighting-types, suddenly making them viable.
There’s more to a Pokemon’s strength than stats, as discussed by users on the Pokemon Reddit. If the Pokedex is to be believed then Machamp’s power puts it on the same level as a Legendary or Mythical Pokemon.
As listed by the OP, “It’s also strong enough to just toss you over the horizon – Silver entry (…) Has arms that can react quicker than the Pokemon can think – Crystal entry (…) This thing can throw a thousand punches in two seconds – Diamond Pokedex entry (…) CAN MOVE A MOUNTAIN WITH ONLY ONE ARM – LGPE entry.”
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Not everyone was convinced by the Pokedex’s descriptions. “Can move faster than you can think and throw 1000 punches, but he only got 55 speed lol,” one user wrote, while another said, “Yet it is outclassed by Conkeldurr, the Pokemon with a funny nose.”
The issue is that Pokedex entries are often wrong and seemingly contain more myths than facts. If the Pokedex is to be believed, Froslass keeps frozen corpses in its lair, which hardly seems correct for the Pokemon world.
Machamp’s design certainly makes it worthy of Legendary status, but while its Pokedex entries brag of incredible feats, its performance in Pokemon competitive battles has been a lot spottier, especially compared to the established titans of the series.
