Notes: Machoke is one of the strongest physical attackers in the tier, further boosting its immense power with an instant Guts activation. Close Combat is its strongest STAB outside of Focus Punch, while Bullet Punch provides priority to take out weakened but faster pokemons. Knock Off has good utility as well as hitting Ghost/Psychic types for Super Effective Damage, and Heavy Slam hits the Fairy Types in the tier bar Marill for solid damage. Facade is also an option for hitting things that generally resists Fighting for solid damage, Ice Punch is also a good option for Flying and Grass/Poison pokemons.
Checks % Counters: Kadabra can easily OHKO Machoke with a STAB Psychic, and Haunter with Hex or Z Sludge Wave can do a hefty chunk. Otherwise, Flying Types can often OHKO, as well as bulky pokemons like Gloom can tank a few hits and heal up with Strength Sap. Clefairy and Togetic can also counter non-Heavy Slam variants.
Other Options: Bulk Up variants can be used, as Machoke has the bulk and movepool to pull that off. However, Gurdurr just does this better due to having access to STAB Priority and hence outclasses Machoke as a Bulk Up tank. Machoke otherwise has access to all the elemental punches, which can be implemented into the Guts set, as well as No Guard making Dynamic Punch a viable option, but with the Confusion nerf in gen 7 and Close Combats raw power, it's not a great option.
