Contest Contest-of-the-Week: Hariyama vs Medicham

[Winterdaze]

Welcome to Contest-of-the-Week! With the release of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire on the horizon, the attention of Pokémon fans everywhere turns to Hoenn, and all the cool and interesting Pokemon that live there.

Every week, we'll be looking at a few of the many Pokémon you'll meet along your journey through the Hoenn region, and asking for your opinions on them and how they stack up next to their counterparts or rival Pokemon looking to fill the same spot on your team.

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After delivering the letter to Steven Stone within the Granite Cave, you head back to Dewford Town to challenge Brawly for your second badge. Among the fighting type Pokemon used by him and his gym trainers are the sumo wrestler Pokemon Makuhita, which you've had a chance to catch in Granite Cave, and the yoga practitioner Meditite. Both make fine additions to a team in need of a Fighting type, though Meditite won't be available to catch until later in the game.

Hariyama is available quite early in the game, as it evolves from Makuhita at only level 24, and can easily overpower many opponents in the game with its high attack and significant bulk. In contrast Medicham exchanges staying power for sheer offensive potency, courtesy of its Pure Power ability. It also gained a Mega Evolution in X&Y, something which Hariyama currently lacks.

Which Fighting type Pokemon you prefer, and why?

-Which has the better design?
-Which one is easier to train?
-Which is more useful throughout the game?
-Which do you think will be better in ORAS?
-Which is more useful in the competitive environment?
-Which of these Pokemon has the better fighting style?

Let the contest begin!

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Next week: Plusle vs Minun

 

[Sakuraa]

Which has the better design?
Hm, I'm not too big on either of these 2, but I'd say Hariyama overall.

Which one is easier to train?
I've never trained either, but I'd guess Medicham due to having more coverage with its Psychic-type.

Which is more useful throughout the game?
Again, Medicham for reasons above.

Which do you think will be better in ORAS?
Not sure. It depends on your team first of all, then whether or not Hariyama gets a Mega, and if you can get either stone before the post game. No preference here.

Which of these Pokemon has the better fighting style?
In terms of sumo wrestler vs. yoga, I honestly prefer Hariyama's full on sumo style.

Each got 2 points, but I'm choosing Hariyama overall.

 

[Karpi]

I voted Hariyama because Makuhita is the most adorable little sack of meat I have ever seen! In RSE, they were about equal in terms of how useful they were (not extremely). I haven't really used Medicham since then but I assume it's much better now thanks to usable fighting moves, physical psychic STAB, and a mega evolution.

But I don't care! Hariyama is really cool and I want to have a cute little Makuhita again!

 

[The Dude]

Sumo! Sumo! Sumo!

Seriously, Hariyama was on 50% of my Ruby/Emerald teams, because it's a boss. Bulky, and extremely powerful, and its young form comes amazingly early in the game. Sure, it's bad against two gym leaders in a row later on, but whatever.

I have never used Medicham. I tried, believe me. In Platinum I really made the effort (because in RSE it comes too late for my tastes, given that Hariyama, Breloom, Kadabra, Spoink, and Ralts are available before then) but Meditite is annoyingly fragile and its level up moves suck for a while.

 

[Felly]

Medicham for me. I'm kinda biased towards Psychic types since I briefly ran the Saffron gym in URPG, but it just overall seems like it has a wider move pool and can adequately handle its weaknesses a lot better than Hariyama.

 

[Rainami]

I like Hariyama a lot more. Medicham looks dumb, imo. Though I suppose its Mega is okay.

To be honest, I don't really know why I like Hariyama. I just do. Not a lot, but it is one of the few fighting-types I like. A fact I've been mentioning a lot lately due to Pokken.

Which has the better design? Hariyama
Which one is easier to train? Um...Hariyama, due to higher bulk, I guess?
Which is more useful throughout the game? Medicham due to its crazy attack power
Which do you think will be better in ORAS? Medicham
Which is more useful in the competitive environment? Medicham obvs
Which of these Pokemon has the better fighting style? Hariyama

 

[Team Gaara]

I've always preferred Medicham over Hariyama. She just looks so much better, in my opinion and I'm one of those people who loves running the Elemental Punches. I think she's easier to train since she's much more offensive than Hariyama. It's also a reason why I find Medicham more useful throughout the game. That, and the dual typing can come in handy at times. I think Medicham will also be more useful in ORAS because she gets a lot of coverage moves in the Elemental Punches, which are now all Physical Attacks and the added benefit of a Mega Evolution.

In competitive, it depends. If you're looking for a reasonably fast Pokemon that hits super hard, then Medicham is much more useful. If you want a bulky fighter, Hariyama's the better choice. And if it wasn't already enough of a Medicham sweep, I prefer it's fighting style, as well.

 

[aliveatnight]

Although Hariyama is a decent Pokemon, I'd pick Medicham over it. First off, I love Yoga, and the fact that Medicham is a yoga master is really cool to me. I also love her Psychic typing and her Mega.