Machoke appear as larger, tailless Machop with red marks along their muscular arms. Their faces are more reptilian than before. The marks actually look like places where the skin has stretched apart because it can barely contain its huge muscles. Machoke wear black wrestling tights for better movement and a large, golden belt with a little red P on the buckle.
Gender differences
None.
Special abilities
Machoke are Pokémon of immense strength. In fact, they are so strong that even with the power-save belt they constantly wear they are able to lift a sumo wrestler.
Behavior
Strong and capable, Machoke helps people with labor.
Machoke live in mountains, in foreboding areas where they can hone their skills. They can also be found in urban areas, as they are often employed for manual labor. They are most common in Kanto, Johto and Sinnoh.
Blue also had a Machoke that evolved into Machamp under Red's care, but was traded back afterwards..
Machoke was seen again in Volume 18 as one of Brawly's Pokémon; it is unconfirmed if this Machoke evolved from the Machop he had in Volume 16. Machoke attempted to fight Mack's fiery illusions in Volume 20 at the Lilycove Museum, but failed miserably and ended up getting burned. His Hariyama succeeded in doing so, however.
Machoke's thoroughly toned muscles possess the hardness of steel. This Pokémon has so much strength, it can easily hold aloft a sumo wrestler on just one finger.
Machoke undertakes bodybuilding every day even as it helps people with tough, physically demanding labor. On its days off, this Pokémon heads to the fields and mountains to exercise and train.
In The Official Pokémon Handbook, Machoke is described as being extremely narcissistic; "Machoke,[...]likes its own body way too much. Sometimes it's too busy looking at itself in the mirror to train", which is exactly the opposite of the description given in Pokémon Stadium; "Although it is incredibly strong, it is always modest".
Incidentally, Machoke appears in the anime to have a greenish skin pigment, while it keeps a purple color in the games and in Ken Sugimori's official artwork.
In the Family Guy episode April in Quahog, a superhero that strongly resembles Machoke is seen depicted on a poster in Chris's room.
Origin
Machoke appears to be based on a bodybuilder or wrestler with some reptilian traits.
Name origin
Machoke's name may be a combination of choke, as in chokehold, and macho, which is Spanish for overly masculine or chauvinist. In Russian сolloquialisms, Качокkachok means culturist. Macho has come to mean tough or masculine in English. Like Mr. Mime, this is not reflected in the gender distribution. Goriky is a corruption of 剛力 gōriki, herculean strength.
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.