Pancham

Using Pancham in a Playthrough

Pancham evolves into Pangoro starting at level 32 while the player has a Dark-type Pokemon in the party, reflecting the line's eventual Fighting/Dark typing. Pangoro has base 124 Attack, 95 HP, and modest 78/71 defenses, but only base 58 Speed, so it functions as a slow wallbreaker rather than a sweeper. Drain Punch, Hammer Arm or later Close Combat, Knock Off, Crunch, Gunk Shot, Bullet Punch in later generations, Swords Dance, and Parting Shot provide excellent offensive and utility options. Iron Fist boosts punching moves by 20 percent, Mold Breaker lets Pangoro ignore opposing abilities when attacking, and the Hidden Ability Scrappy allows Normal- and Fighting-type moves to hit Ghost-types. Fighting/Dark grants a Psychic immunity and useful Dark resistance, but Flying and Fighting are super effective and Fairy deals quadruple damage. Adamant is usually ideal, while Brave fits Trick Room teams and Careful can reinforce Pangoro's modest special bulk.

Pancham in Competitive Pokémon

Pangoro was a serious ORAS UU wallbreaker and sat in RUBL by usage-based tiering. Base 124 Attack, Fighting/Dark STAB, Iron Fist, Knock Off, Drain Punch, Hammer Arm, Gunk Shot, Swords Dance, and Parting Shot let it punish both defensive Pokemon and predicted switches, while Mold Breaker and Scrappy provided situational alternatives to Iron Fist. Smogon specifically describes Pangoro as excellent at dismantling bulky teams because very few defensive Pokemon appreciate losing an item to Knock Off and then facing boosted Fighting STAB. The same basic role persisted in later lower tiers, where Swords Dance and priority options improved its ability to clean weakened teams. Its problems are equally consistent: base 58 Speed, only moderate bulk, and a quadruple Fairy weakness leave it vulnerable to common revenge killers. Pangoro succeeds when it gets a safe entry and immediately forces progress, not when it tries to trade hits with fast offense.

Pancham in Nuzlockes

Pangoro can be extremely useful in Nuzlockes because base 124 Attack and Drain Punch combine strong damage with reliable healing. Its Psychic immunity creates a completely safe switch against known Psychic attacks, and Parting Shot can lower both opposing offenses before bringing in a teammate. The quadruple Fairy weakness is the central danger, because even relatively weak Fairy coverage can be lethal; Flying and Fighting attacks also hit super effectively. Hammer Arm is powerful but lowers Speed and has imperfect accuracy, so Drain Punch is usually the safer Fighting STAB whenever it secures the same knockout. The evolution requirement should also be planned in advance, since Pancham cannot evolve at level 32 unless a Dark-type teammate is present.

Pancham deliberately tries to imitate the intimidating behavior of Pangoro, which it treats as a role model and teacher. It carries a leaf in its mouth largely because it thinks the leaf makes it look tougher, but its attempts at a frightening glare often fail when it becomes distracted or starts smiling. Pangoro teaches young Pancham how to fight and hunt, and may take away Pancham's leaf as punishment for serious mistakes. Despite the posturing, Pancham is still playful enough to enjoy being patted on the head.