Pokémon contests were a little minigame that originally appeared in Ruby and Sapphire, and only truly returned in their reboots. They had different categories where different moves fit and had different ratings and effects. It was really a fun way to incorporate different moves that the player might regularly avoid, and think about things in a fun new way.
One of the categories a Pokémon could compete in was Toughness. Just because a Pokémon looked like a tough fighting-type didn't mean that it was. It all depended on how many Pokéblocks it was fed, its nature, and what moves it had. However, some Pokémon were just way more suited for a Toughness contest than others.
10 Mew Is A Technical Machinist
The best part about Mew is that it can learn any TM or HM without consideration for type. Therefore, it is a great Pokémon for contests in general, as its moveset can be altered to suit whatever contest it's going for, so if the goal is to just get a singular Pokémon through every single contest, Mew is the go-to.
Don't underestimate its high-appeal move Pound though, which it learns naturally at level 1. It also gains Mega Punch at level 10, so it's not stuck to Smart contests.
9 Claydol Is A Jam
Use Sandstorm or Bulldoze for some good jamming moves. Giga Impact will also jam but will cost a turn so it makes a good last-ditch finale move. Then Strength or Rock Smash make for some good safe moves.
All in all, Claydol is a beast who can be dragged through multiple kinds of contests and come out wearing that shiny Master Rank ribbon every time. It might need a little TM magic to make it work, but it's an excellent contestant.
8 Haxorus Is A Hack
Haxorus has a massive pool of Tough moves at its disposal. One of which is only available in an egg move, Endure. It's an amazing move both inside of contests and out, so it's worth breeding it in.
It also has access to Giga Impact naturally, as well as the less devastating jamming move Dual Chop. It also has Poison Jab available through a TM, which really puts the creature over the edge.
7 Machamp Is The Obvious Choice
Machamp is built to be in Tough and Cool contests. It learns a wide range of Tough moves naturally, as well as having a ton of them in its TM repertoire. Not to mention, some amazing Egg Moves can be bred in to really make one stand out as the toughest in the bunch.
Close Combat is almost essential for a contesting Machamp as it is a massive appeal-gaining move. Breed that in from the Hitmon line, Sawk, Hariyama, Lucario, or Infernape and it's going to live up to the Champ part of its name. While at it, breed in Smelling Salts from a Hariyama, let it learn Karate Chop and then round it out with whatever sounds most fun.
6 Pinsir Works In A Pinch
Pinsir naturally gains a ton of Tough moves and can even learn the fabulous Close Combat from being bred through a Heracross. It also gets the moves Thrash at level 43 (ORAS) and Superpower at level 47 (ORAS) making it a serious powerhouse in the field due to their extremely high appeal scores. Bulldoze makes for a good jamming move to round out the set.
It's a little more suited for Cool contests, but it can work for Tough in a pinch pretty well.
5 Gengar Can Sweep All Fields
Gengar is just made for the spotlight. Naturally it is more suited for Clever contests, but with some good breeding, it can be a killer in Tough contests too. If willing to sacrifice a little extra appeal with Destiny bond, the Curse + Destiny Bond combination can be easily rocked with Gengar.
It can also make for a terrible jammer with the Egg Move Grudge or the high appeal move Smog— or both. It can also learn a ton of Tough TMs and HMs like Giga Impact, Strength, Poison Jab, and Rock Smash making it a sweep.
4 Breloom Is Born For It
Breloom can learn a fair number of Egg Moves and Tutoring that are just amazing for Tough contests. This could include moves like Superpower, Wake-Up Slap, and Seed Bomb with the latter also being available naturally at high levels.
If transferred around or brought up from the original Ruby or Sapphire, it can have Double-Edge too which is phenomenal and has massive appeal. The only modern move that matches in those terms is Superpower, so getting one of them is definitely worth it.
3 Hariyama Could Shoulder The Whole Thing
Hariyama is a beast as far as Toughness contests go. It naturally learns the amazing moves of Smelling Salts and Close Combat, giving it a huge edge against some others. Naturally it learns 10 entire Tough moves, meaning that there's no real reason for TMs or Egg moves unless the player really wants them.
Though if the plan is to add more moves, getting it to a tutor where it can learn Superpower, Fire Punch, or Iron Head would make more sense than TMs or Egg Moves as well as taking a lot less time.
2 Banette Makes Great Use Of Egg Moves
Banette is another one that makes excellent use out of its egg moves, capable of rocking the Curse/Destiny Bond combination like a good handful of other Ghost types. Otherwise, Curse and Spite make a great combination and doesn't break the theme while also being naturally obtainable.
It also naturally learns the powerhouse of a jamming move Grudge, an essential in its contest moveset. A final Egg Move that is worth adding to the set is Gunk Shot, picked up by a Muk or a Swalot, for when there needs to be a little more jam in the session.
1 Pelipper Swallows The Competition
Stockpile, Rain Dance, Spit Up, and Thief is the golden combination as far as Pelipper is concerned. Absolutely nothing else is needed with this combination, though be prepared for setting up some serious combo rounds. That's really where its strength lies, so get ready for the long haul and hope for some good RNG in other competitors.
If that's a little too dangerous, it also naturally learns 7 Tough moves which could be exchanged to suit the player's preferences.
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