Mawile (NU Revamp) [GP 2/2]

Oglemi

Borf
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http://www.smogon.com/rs/pokemon/mawile

[Overview]

Mawile is pretty unassuming at first glance, with no stellar stats to speak of; however, as its Pokedex entries state, looks can be deceiving. Mawile is actually one of the best Pokemon in NU with a lot of positive qualities to speak of, which include: a defensively fantastic pure Steel typing, a great ability in Intimidate to bolster its otherwise below-average Defense, and most importantly, access to Baton Pass and a phenomenal movepool. Thanks to these qualities, Mawile can take on several roles for teams and do them all extremely well. Most commonly, Mawile's roles are to check Normal- and Flying-types, help the team through softening physical blows with Intimidate, and support its offensive teammates by passing Swords Dance and/or Substitute to them. Common weaknesses, particularly the ubiquitous Fighting-type weakness that plagues nearly every physically defensive Pokemon in the tier, and low Special Defense and Speed stats are Mawile's downfalls. Despite this, Mawile is a fantastic choice for offensive and defensive teams alike, and most teams are only made better with its addition.

[SET]
name: Substitute + Baton Pass
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Baton Pass
move 3: Swords Dance / Focus Punch
move 4: Hidden Power Steel
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Adamant
evs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

One of Mawile's biggest draws is its access to Baton Pass, which lets it both support its team and keep momentum. Substitute is the most flexible move to pair with Baton Pass, as it allows Mawile to protect itself from whatever Pokemon is switching in, giving it a clean exit to Baton Pass out to a teammate and scout your opponent's team and movesets. Mawile makes an exceptional switch-in to Choice-locked Rock-, Normal-, and Flying-type attacks, an invaluable asset for any team, and doing so lets it get a free Substitute up or simply keep momentum by dry passing on the predicted switch.

Once freely behind a Substitute, Mawile can do a couple different things apart from simply passing it to a teammate. Mawile is one of the few Pokemon with access to both Swords Dance and Baton Pass in NU, which is an incredible tool for offensive teams. At +2, dangerous physical attackers like Hitmonchan and Pidgeot become absolute wrecking balls with little to stand in their way. If you're able to pass both Substitute and Swords Dance to a teammate, there's little that can stand in the way of a victory. Alternatively, Focus Punch is a fantastic option that pairs perfectly with Substitute, allowing Mawile to dish out decently powerful hits on the Pokemon likely to switch in on it.

Hidden Power Steel is a required STAB move to give Mawile a decent hit on a good portion of the metagame and makes sure it isn't a sitting duck should it be unable to get up a Substitute or Baton Pass out to a teammate. With a Swords Dance under its belt, Mawile is actually pretty threateningly strong, allowing it to attempt a sweep itself should the need be there, although this shouldn't be a main end-game goal considering Steel's poor coverage and Mawile's lackluster stats.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

The EV spread is highly flexible and the one given is a balanced spread to allow Mawile to do a couple different things. With 124 Speed EVs, Mawile is able to outspeed minimum base 60s, particularly Chimecho. 132 HP EVs let Mawile set up a Substitute on -1 Choice Band Murkrow's Drill Peck and keep the Substitute intact as it passes to a teammate. This lets Mawile invest the rest of its EVs in Attack to boost the strength of Hidden Power Steel and Focus Punch. If you have no desire to use Mawile for attacking and instead want to focus on its defensive qualities, an Impish nature with max HP and 132 EVs in Defense can be run to allow Mawile to set up on even more attacks, with its Substitute notably surviving even -1 Choice Band Raticate's Double-Edge. No Speed and a Relaxed nature can be run as well to allow Mawile to underspeed as much as possible, forcing it to eat the hit of the opposing Pokemon before passing to a teammate, giving its teammate clear entry onto the battlefield. With max Defense investment, Mawile's Substitute will survive even -1 Choice Band Pidgeot's Double-Edge. Finally, no attacking moves can be run on this set, allowing Mawile to run both Swords Dance and Iron Defense on the same set, which is most commonly seen on Baton Pass chains.

Bulky Water-types, particularly Wailord and Whiscash, are the best switch-ins to Mawile, so Pokemon that can take advantage of Substitute and Swords Dance and force them out are the best possible teammates, with examples including Kecleon and Hitmonchan. Ground- and Fighting-types are also common switch-ins to Mawile, making Flying-types like Pidgeot and Poison-types like Swalot good teammates too. Pelipper creates a very good defensive core with Mawile, as it resists Fighting and Fire and is immune to Ground. Kecleon and Lickitung are good specially defensive Pokemon to pair with Mawile as well, since its Special Defense is abysmal and you'll need switch-ins to the special attacks aimed its way.

Finally, Mawile is an essential part of Baton Pass chains, and this set is essentially the one you would use should you put it on a chain. If doing so, it's recommended to replace Hidden Power Steel with Iron Defense, as Mawile is one of the few with access to it and Baton Pass. Max HP and max Speed should be used as well.

[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Hidden Power Steel / Seismic Toss
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Protect
move 4: Baton Pass
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Thanks to Intimidate and its Steel typing, Mawile is actually a fairly stout physically defensive bulwark against the myriad of Choice Band users and physical attackers in the tier, despite its average stats. This set aims to make the most of this fact, becoming an amazing defensive pivot for defensive and offensive teams alike. Even with no Attack investment, Hidden Power Steel is a good STAB move that makes use of Mawile's decent base 85 Attack and makes sure it isn't a complete sitting duck. That said, Seismic Toss provides much more consistent damage at the cost of being unable to touch Haunter. Toxic is needed as a semi-consistent damage source and heavily cripples the Choice Band attackers that Mawile so effectively checks. Protect helps scout the opponent's attacks and stalls for Leftovers recovery and Toxic damage. Baton Pass should be on the set, regardless if Mawile actually has something to pass or not, as it provides amazing momentum and scouts your opponent's switches.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

The EVs on this set are flexible, although max defensive investment is recommended to allow Mawile to check and counter as many Pokemon as possible. A bit more Attack can be used to beef up Hidden Power Steel a bit, or a bit more Speed can be run with Substitute over Protect to allow Mawile to, for example, set up a Substitute before getting hit by Sleep Powder or Leech Seed from defensive Bellossom and then Baton Passing to a teammate. Body Slam can be run somewhere to let Mawile spread paralysis a bit on the opponent's team, preferably over Toxic so the two statuses don't clash too much. Taunt is an interesting option to let Mawile outstall certain defensive Pokemon like Kecleon and Relicanth that would normally be able to shrug off Toxic with Rest; however, it's hard to use, as it only lasts two turns and Mawile sports no recovery of its own outside of Leftovers. Counter is a good option as well, since Mawile can tank almost any physical attack thrown its way at full health, even most super effective ones if the foe is at -1 Attack, and take out the opponent in one fell swoop.

Spikes paired with this set make it very dangerous, as almost all of Mawile's checks are grounded, which means Glalie and Roselia are good teammates. As this set fits well on defensive and stall teams, dedicated special walls like Lickitung make excellent teammates to cover Mawile's lower Special Defense and forming a solid defensive core. Chimecho and Pelipper in particular pair well with Mawile as they cover its Fighting and Ground weaknesses, with Pelipper also covering the Fire weakness. In return, Mawile checks the Choice Band attackers they cannot handle, like Pidgeot. Mawile also fits well on more offensive teams as a pivot to check dangerous attackers like Raticate and dry passing to teammates to keep momentum.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Hidden Power Steel
move 2: Focus Punch / Brick Break
move 3: Rock Slide / Sludge Bomb
move 4: Baton Pass
item: Choice Band
ability: Intimidate
nature: Adamant
evs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

This set is a bit unexpected and allows Mawile to hit very hard right off the bat, which can surprise the opponent and force more switches. Hidden Power Steel is a decent STAB move and is a nice safety move to use on this set. Focus Punch hits very hard, in fact—it hits way harder than Hidden Power Steel on almost every target—but is a bit hard to use without Substitute, and Brick Break is an all-around safer and more reliable option to use. That said, Focus Punch can OHKO Dewgong where Brick Break tops out at about 65%, so if you can predict well the power is more than worth it. Rock Slide rounds off coverage nicely and hits the Fire-types likely to switch into Mawile very hard. However, Sludge Bomb is an option as well and hits neutral targets and Tangela far harder than Rock Slide.

Baton Pass is what makes this set viable and dangerous. With it, Mawile can retain momentum for its team and feign a defensive or supportive set early in the game while scouting the opponent's team. This gives Mawile a huge leg up when compared to similar Choice Band users like Lairon, and because of Mawile's tendency to switch often, it creates opportunities to surprise your opponent with a powerful Focus Punch.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

124 Speed EVs are run to let Mawile outspeed minimum base 60s, particularly Chimecho, max Attack is run to give it as much power possible, and the rest is pumped into HP to increase its overall bulk. More Speed can easily be run to outrun key threats like Dewgong, but one of Mawile's perks is its decent bulk combined with Intimidate, and having a Choice Band user that isn't threatened by a large majority of physical attackers is one of the major reasons to include it on your team. A move not mentioned above that is perfectly usable is Double-Edge―a powerful safety move that can be included in the third or fourth slot—but it offers no additional super effective coverage and the recoil is undesirable.

Mawile tends to lure in defensive Pokemon like Relicanth and Flareon with its other sets, and this set can surprise them and take them out quickly with Focus Punch and Rock Slide, respectively. Lacking Earthquake and a powerful STAB move is ultimately Mawile's downside as a Choice Band user, but when combined with one or two more heavy hitters like Hitmonchan and Murkrow, Mawile can really put the pressure on defensive and offensive teams alike, making it a decent choice for offensive teams. Pelipper creates a very good defensive backup for Mawile, as it resists Fighting and Fire and is immune to Ground. Kecleon and Lickitung are good specially defensive Pokemon to pair with Mawile as well, since its Special Defense is particularly abysmal, with Kecleon being able to pull off a similar Choice Band or physical attacking set itself to continue pressuring the opponent.

[Other Options]

A specially defensive set is doable considering Mawile's plethora of resistances; although, its special bulk is pretty abysmal on the whole, it does at least avoid the 2HKO from Plusle's Thunderbolt at max Special Defense investment, making a RestTalk set a viable option. Speaking of, a physical RestTalk set is more than doable, but one of Mawile's major draws is its flexibility in battle thanks to Baton Pass, and a RestTalk set actively works against that. A special attacking set is a cute gimmick when paired with Fake Tears, and Mawile actually has a decent special movepool that includes Fire Blast, Crunch, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, and Hidden Power Grass. Finally, a Substitute + Torment set could really screw over a lot of Pokemon, as most in the tier will typically only be carrying one move that threatens Mawile; however, Mawile's Speed makes this set somewhat ineffective on the whole.

[Checks and Counters]

RestTalk bulky Water-types are the best immediate answers to Mawile, as they resist Steel, don't care too much about Toxic, and can hit Mawile on its lower Special Defense stat with their STAB moves. Wailord in particular is probably the best overall answer to Mawile, as it can use Roar to disrupt Mawile's Baton Passing shenanigans. Dewgong can also disrupt Baton Pass through Encore and Perish Song. Otherwise, Whiscash and Relicanth can easily 2HKO Mawile with Earthquake and shrug off Mawile's other attacks easily enough. After Water-types, Hitmonchan has a tougher time switching directly into Mawile due to its physical frailty, but once in it'll easily OHKO Mawile. Fire-types like Flareon make great switch-ins to Mawile, as they resist Steel and can easily OHKO Mawile with their Fire STAB moves, with Flareon also being able to carry Roar to disrupt Baton Pass. Tangela is physically bulky enough to not be fazed by anything Mawile can through at it apart from a rare boosted Sludge Bomb, and it can proceed to either put Mawile to sleep or blast it with Hidden Power Fire under the sun.

For the most part, fully countering Mawile is difficult due to its affinity to Baton Pass out. Doing things to disrupt the momentum and making smart switches are going to do more to bring Mawile down than trying to counter it directly. Pokemon with phazing moves are the most effective answers to Mawile outside of the ones listed above, Whirlwind Tropius being an excellent answer in particular, but Roar Lairon and Piloswine making decent answers as well. Other disrupting moves like Encore, Perish Song, Leech Seed, and status moves like Thunder Wave will go a long way in taking it and its teammates down.
 
Last edited:

Disaster Area

formerly Piexplode
I would mention Sub in the last slot of the SDpass spread, that (which is sorta a hybrid of the first 2 sets) is my favourite to run atm.
 
Last edited:

GatoDelFuego

The Antimonymph of the Internet
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REMOVE CHANGE COMMENTS

[Overview]

Mawile is pretty unassuming at first glance, with no stellar stats to speak of; however, as its Pokedex entries state, looks can be deceiving. Mawile is actually one of the best Pokemon in NU with a lot of positive qualities to speak of, which include: a defensively fantastic pure Steel typing, a great ability in Intimidate to bolster its otherwise below-average Defense, and most importantly, access to Baton Pass and a phenomenal movepool. Thanks to these qualities, Mawile can take on several roles for teams, and do them all extremely well. Most commonly, Mawile's roles are to check Normal- and Flying-types, help the team through softening physical blows with Intimidate, and support its offensive teammates by passing Swords Dance and/or Substitute to them. Common weaknesses, particularly the ubiquitous Fighting-type weakness that plagues nearly every physically defensive Pokemon in the tier, and low Special Defense and Speed stats are Mawile's downfalls. Despite this, Mawile is a fantastic choice for offensive and defensive teams alike, and most teams are only made better with its addition.

[SET]
name: Substitute + Baton Pass
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Baton Pass
move 3: Swords Dance / Focus Punch
move 4: Hidden Power Steel
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Adamant
evs: 128 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

One of Mawile's biggest draws is its access to Baton Pass, which lets it both support its team and keep momentum. Substitute is the most flexible move to pair with Baton Pass, (AC) as it allows Mawile to protect itself from whatever Pokemon is switching in, giving it a clean exit to Baton Pass out to a teammate and scout your opponent's team and movesets. Mawile makes an exceptional switch-in to Choice-locked Rock-, Normal-, and Flying-type attacks, an invaluable asset for any team, and doing so lets it get a free Substitute up or simply keep momentum by dry passing on the predicted switch.

Once freely behind a Substitute, Mawile can do a couple different things apart from simply passing it to a teammate. Mawile is one of the few Pokemon with access to both Swords Dance and Baton Pass in NU, which is an incredible tool for offensive teams. At +2, dangerous physical attackers like Hitmonchan and Pidgeot become absolute wrecking balls with little to stand in their way. If you're able to pass both Substitute and Swords Dance to a teammate, there's little that can stand in the way of a victory. Alternatively, Focus Punch is a fantastic option that pairs perfectly with Substitute, allowing Mawile to dish out decently powerful hits on the Pokemon likely to switch in on it.

Hidden Power Steel is a required STAB move to give Mawile a decent hit on a good portion of the metagame and makes sure it isn't a sitting duck, (RC) should it be unable to get up a Substitute or Baton Pass out to a teammate. With a Swords Dance under its belt, Mawile is actually pretty threateningly strong, allowing it to attempt a sweep itself should the need be there, although this shouldn't be a main end-game goal considering Steel's poor coverage and Mawile's lackluster stats.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

The EV spread is highly flexible and the one given is a balanced spread to allow Mawile to do a couple different things. With 124 Speed EVs, Mawile is able to outspeed minimum base 60s, particularly Chimecho. 128 HP EVs let Mawile set up a Substitute on -1 Choice Band Murkrow's Drill Peck and keep the Substitute intact as it passes to a teammate. This lets Mawile invest the rest of its EVs in Attack to boost the strength of Hidden Power Steel and Focus Punch. If you have no desire to use Mawile for attacking and instead want to focus on its defensive qualities, an Impish nature with max HP and 128 EVs in Defense can be run to allow Mawile to set up on even more attacks, its Substitute notably surviving even -1 Choice Band Raticate's Double-Edge. No Speed and a Relaxed nature can be run as well to allow Mawile to underspeed as much as possible, forcing it to eat the hit of the opponent before passing to a teammate, giving its teammate clear entry onto the battlefield. At With max Defense investment, Mawile's Substitute will survive even -1 Choice Band Pidgeot's Double-Edge.

Bulky Water-types, particularly Wailord and Whiscash, are the best switch-ins to Mawile, so a teammate that can take advantage of Substitute and Swords Dance and force them out are the best possible teammates, examples including Kecleon and Hitmonchan. Ground- and Fighting-types are also common switch-ins to Mawile, making Flying-types like Pidgeot and Poison-types like Swalot good teammates too. Pelipper creates a very good defensive core with Mawile as it resists Fighting and Fire and is immune to Ground. Kecleon and Lickitung are good specially defensive Pokemon to pair with Mawile as well since its Special Defense is abysmal and you'll need switch-ins to the special attacks aimed its way.

Finally, Mawile is an essential part of Baton Pass chains, and this set is essentially the one you would use should you put it on a chain. If doing so, it's recommended to replace Hidden Power Steel with Iron Defense as Mawile is one of the few with access to it and Baton Pass. Max HP and max Speed should be used as well.

[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Hidden Power Steel / Seismic Toss
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Protect
move 4: Baton Pass
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Thanks to Intimidate and its Steel typing, Mawile is actually a fairly stout physically defensive bulwark against the myriad of Choice Band users and physical attackers in the tier, despite its average stats. This set aims to make the most of this fact, becoming an amazing defensive pivot for defensive and offensive teams alike. Even with no Attack investment, Hidden Power Steel is a good STAB move that makes use of Mawile's decent base 85 Attack and makes sure it isn't a complete sitting duck. That said, Seismic Toss provides much more consistent damage at the cost of being unable to touch Haunter. Toxic is needed as a semi-consistent damage source and heavily cripples the Choice Band attackers that Mawile so effectively checks. Protect helps scout the opponent's attacks and stalls for Leftovers recovery and Toxic damage. Baton Pass should be on the set, regardless if Mawile actually has something to pass or not, as it provides amazing momentum and scouts your opponent's switches.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

The EVs on this set are flexible, although max defensive investment is recommended to allow Mawile to check and counter as many Pokemon as possible. A bit more Attack can be used to beef up Hidden Power Steel a bit, or a bit more Speed can be run with Substitute over Protect to allow Mawile to, for example, set up a Substitute before getting hit by Sleep Powder or Leech Seed from defensive Bellossom and then Baton Passing to a teammate. Body Slam can be run somewhere to let Mawile spread paralysis a bit on the opponent's team, preferably over Toxic so the two statuses don't clash too much. Taunt is an interesting option to let Mawile outstall certain defensive Pokemon like Kecleon and Relicanth that would normally be able to shrug off Toxic with Rest; although, it's hard to use as it only lasts two turns and Mawile sports no recovery of its own outside of Leftovers. Counter is a good option as well, (AC) since Mawile can tank almost any physical attack thrown its way at full health, even most super effective ones if it Intimidates beforehand the foe is at -1 Attack, and take out the opponent in one fell swoop.

Spikes paired with this set make it very dangerous, (AC) as almost all of Mawile's checks are grounded, which means Glalie and Roselia are good teammates. As this set fits well on defensive and stall teams, dedicated special walls like Lickitung make excellent teammates to cover Mawile's lower Special Defense and forming a solid defensive core. Chimecho and Pelipper in particular pair well with Mawile as they cover its Fighting and Ground weaknesses, with Pelipper also covering the Fire weakness. In return, Mawile checks the Choice Band attackers they cannot handle, like Pidgeot. Mawile also fits well on more offensive teams as a pivot to check dangerous attackers like Raticate and dry passing to teammates to keep momentum.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Hidden Power Steel
move 2: Focus Punch / Brick Break
move 3: Rock Slide / Sludge Bomb
move 4: Baton Pass
item: Choice Band
ability: Intimidate
nature: Adamant
evs: 128 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

This set is a bit unexpected and allows Mawile to hit very hard right off the bat, which can surprise the opponent and force more switches. Hidden Power Steel is a decent STAB move and is a nice safety move to use on this set. Focus Punch hits very hard, in fact it hits way harder than Hidden Power Steel on almost every target, but is a bit hard to use without Substitute, and Brick Break is an all-around safer and more reliable option to use. That said, Focus Punch can OHKO Dewgong where Brick Break tops out at about 65%, so if you can predict well the power is more than worth it. Rock Slide rounds off coverage nicely and hits the Fire-types likely to switch into Mawile very hard. However, Sludge Bomb is an option as well and hits neutral targets and Tangela far harder than Rock Slide.

Baton Pass is what makes this set viable and dangerous. With it, Mawile can retain momentum for its team and feign a defensive or supportive set early in the game while scouting the opponent's team. This gives Mawile a huge leg up when compared to similar Choice Band users like Lairon, and because of Mawile's tendency to switch often, it creates opportunities for it to surprise your opponent with a powerful Focus Punch.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

124 Speed EVs are run to let Mawile outspeed minimum base 60s, particularly Chimecho, max Attack is run to give it as much power possible, and the rest is pumped into HP to increase its overall bulk. More Speed can easily be run to outrun key threats like Dewgong, but one of Mawile's perks is its decent bulk combined with Intimidate, and having a Choice Band user that isn't threatened by a large majority of physical attackers is one of the major reasons to include it on your team. A move not mentioned above that is perfectly usable is Double-Edge―a powerful safety move that can be included in the third or fourth slot, but it offers no additional super effective coverage and the recoil is undesirable.

Mawile tends to lure in defensive Pokemon like Relicanth and Flareon with its other sets, and this set can surprise them and take them out quickly with Focus Punch and Rock Slide, respectively. Lacking Earthquake and a powerful STAB move is ultimately Mawile's downside as a Choice Band user, but when combined with one or two more heavy hitters like Hitmonchan and Murkrow, Mawile can really put the pressure on defensive and offensive teams alike, making it a decent choice for offensive teams. Pelipper creates a very good defensive backup for Mawile as it resists Fighting and Fire and is immune to Ground. Kecleon and Lickitung are good specially defensive Pokemon to pair with Mawile as well since its Special Defense is particularly abysmal, with Kecleon being able to pull off a similar Choice Band or physical attacking set itself to continue pressuring the opponent.

[Other Options]

A specially defensive set is doable considering Mawile's plethora of resistances; however, its special bulk is pretty abysmal on the whole, although it does at least avoid the 2HKO from Plusle's Thunderbolt at max Special Defense investment, making a RestTalk set a viable option. Speaking of, a physical RestTalk set is more than doable, but one of Mawile's major draws is its flexibility in battle thanks to Baton Pass, and a RestTalk set actively works against that. A special attacking set is a cute gimmick when paired with Fake Tears, and Mawile actually has a decent special movepool which includes Fire Blast, Crunch, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, and Hidden Power Grass. Finally, a Substitute + Torment set could really screw over a lot of Pokemon, as most in the tier will typically only be carrying one move that threatens Mawile; however, Mawile's Speed makes this set somewhat ineffective on the whole.

[Checks and Counters]

RestTalk bulky Water-types are the best immediate answers to Mawile as they resist Steel, don't care too much about Toxic, and can hit Mawile in its lower Special Defense stat with Water STAB moves. Wailord in particular is probably the best overall answer to Mawile as it can use Roar to disrupt Mawile's Baton Passing shenanigans. Dewgong can also disrupt Baton Pass through Encore and Perish Song. Otherwise, Whiscash and Relicanth can easily 2HKO Mawile with Earthquake and shrug off Mawile's other attacks easily enough. After Water-types, Hitmonchan has a tougher time switching directly into Mawile due to its physical frailty, but once in it'll easily OHKO Mawile. Fire-types like Flareon make great switch-ins to Mawile as they resist Steel and can easily OHKO Mawile with their Fire STAB moves, with Flareon also being able to carry Roar to disrupt Baton Pass. Tangela is physically bulky enough to not be fazed by anything Mawile can through at it apart from a rare boosted Sludge Bomb, and can proceed to either put Mawile to sleep or blast it with Hidden Power Fire under the sun.

For the most part, fully countering Mawile is difficult due to its affinity to Baton Pass out. Doing things to disrupt the momentum and making smart switches are going to do more to bring Mawile down than trying to counter it directly. Pokemon with phazing moves are the most effective answers to Mawile outside of the ones listed above, Whirlwind Tropius being an excellent answer in particular, but Roar Lairon and Piloswine making ok answers as well. Other disrupting moves like Encore, Perish Song, Leech Seed and status moves like Thunder Wave will go a long way in taking it and its teammates down.

1/2
 
Last edited:

Sapientia

Wir knutschen
is a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Dedicated Tournament Host Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a Past SPL Champion
Mawile doesn't really require any ways of dealing actual damage in my opinion, unless there are lots of faster Haze or Taunt users (Chimecho, Arbok, Golbat, ...) around. Substitute/Baton Pass with any combination of Swords Dance, Iron Defense and Taunt/Sing has worked just fine for me. You can even use maximum Speed and attach a Salac Berry to have it outrun Raticate and the hypothetical Luvdisc this way.
 
Last edited:

Lumari

empty spaces
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TFP Leader


remove add / fix (comments); (AC=add comma; RC=remove comma; SC=semicolon)
GP 2/2
[Overview]

Mawile is pretty unassuming at first glance, with no stellar stats to speak of; however, as its Pokedex entries state, looks can be deceiving. Mawile is actually one of the best Pokemon in NU with a lot of positive qualities to speak of, which include: a defensively fantastic pure Steel typing, a great ability in Intimidate to bolster its otherwise below-average Defense, and most importantly, access to Baton Pass and a phenomenal movepool. Thanks to these qualities, Mawile can take on several roles for teams (RC) and do them all extremely well. Most commonly, Mawile's roles are to check Normal- and Flying-types, help the team through softening physical blows with Intimidate, and support its offensive teammates by passing Swords Dance and/or Substitute to them. Common weaknesses, particularly the ubiquitous Fighting-type weakness that plagues nearly every physically defensive Pokemon in the tier, and low Special Defense and Speed stats are Mawile's downfalls. Despite this, Mawile is a fantastic choice for offensive and defensive teams alike, and most teams are only made better with its addition.

[SET]
name: Substitute + Baton Pass
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Baton Pass
move 3: Swords Dance / Focus Punch
move 4: Hidden Power Steel
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Adamant
evs: 128 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spe (you're missing 4 EVs)

[SET COMMENTS]

One of Mawile's biggest draws is its access to Baton Pass, which lets it both support its team and keep momentum. Substitute is the most flexible move to pair with Baton Pass, as it allows Mawile to protect itself from whatever Pokemon is switching in, giving it a clean exit to Baton Pass out to a teammate and scout your opponent's team and movesets. Mawile makes an exceptional switch-in to Choice-locked Rock-, Normal-, and Flying-type attacks, an invaluable asset for any team, and doing so lets it get a free Substitute up or simply keep momentum by dry passing on the predicted switch.

Once freely behind a Substitute, Mawile can do a couple different things apart from simply passing it to a teammate. Mawile is one of the few Pokemon with access to both Swords Dance and Baton Pass in NU, which is an incredible tool for offensive teams. At +2, dangerous physical attackers like Hitmonchan and Pidgeot become absolute wrecking balls with little to stand in their way. If you're able to pass both Substitute and Swords Dance to a teammate, there's little that can stand in the way of a victory. Alternatively, Focus Punch is a fantastic option that pairs perfectly with Substitute, allowing Mawile to dish out decently powerful hits on the Pokemon likely to switch in on it.

Hidden Power Steel is a required STAB move to give Mawile a decent hit on a good portion of the metagame and makes sure it isn't a sitting duck should it be unable to get up a Substitute or Baton Pass out to a teammate. With a Swords Dance under its belt, Mawile is actually pretty threateningly strong, allowing it to attempt a sweep itself should the need be there, although this shouldn't be a main end-game goal considering Steel's poor coverage and Mawile's lackluster stats.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

The EV spread is highly flexible and the one given is a balanced spread to allow Mawile to do a couple different things. With 124 Speed EVs, Mawile is able to outspeed minimum base 60s, particularly Chimecho. 128 HP EVs let Mawile set up a Substitute on -1 Choice Band Murkrow's Drill Peck and keep the Substitute intact as it passes to a teammate. This lets Mawile invest the rest of its EVs in Attack to boost the strength of Hidden Power Steel and Focus Punch. If you have no desire to use Mawile for attacking and instead want to focus on its defensive qualities, an Impish nature with max HP and 128 EVs in Defense can be run to allow Mawile to set up on even more attacks, with its Substitute notably surviving even -1 Choice Band Raticate's Double-Edge. No Speed and a Relaxed nature can be run as well to allow Mawile to underspeed as much as possible, forcing it to eat the hit of the opponent opposing Pokemon before passing to a teammate, giving its teammate clear entry onto the battlefield. With max Defense investment, Mawile's Substitute will survive even -1 Choice Band Pidgeot's Double-Edge. Finally, no attacking moves can be run on this set, allowing Mawile to run both Swords Dance and Iron Defense on the same set, which is most commonly seen on Baton Pass chains.

Bulky Water-types, particularly Wailord and Whiscash, are the best switch-ins to Mawile, so a teammate Pokemon that can take advantage of Substitute and Swords Dance and force them out are the best possible teammates, with examples including Kecleon and Hitmonchan. Ground- and Fighting-types are also common switch-ins to Mawile, making Flying-types like Pidgeot and Poison-types like Swalot good teammates too. Pelipper creates a very good defensive core with Mawile, (AC) as it resists Fighting and Fire and is immune to Ground. Kecleon and Lickitung are good specially defensive Pokemon to pair with Mawile as well, (AC) since its Special Defense is abysmal and you'll need switch-ins to the special attacks aimed its way.

Finally, Mawile is an essential part of Baton Pass chains, and this set is essentially the one you would use should you put it on a chain. If doing so, it's recommended to replace Hidden Power Steel with Iron Defense, (AC) as Mawile is one of the few with access to it and Baton Pass. Max HP and max Speed should be used as well.

[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Hidden Power Steel / Seismic Toss
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Protect
move 4: Baton Pass
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Thanks to Intimidate and its Steel typing, Mawile is actually a fairly stout physically defensive bulwark against the myriad of Choice Band users and physical attackers in the tier, despite its average stats. This set aims to make the most of this fact, becoming an amazing defensive pivot for defensive and offensive teams alike. Even with no Attack investment, Hidden Power Steel is a good STAB move that makes use of Mawile's decent base 85 Attack and makes sure it isn't a complete sitting duck. That said, Seismic Toss provides much more consistent damage at the cost of being unable to touch Haunter. Toxic is needed as a semi-consistent damage source and heavily cripples the Choice Band attackers that Mawile so effectively checks. Protect helps scout the opponent's attacks and stalls for Leftovers recovery and Toxic damage. Baton Pass should be on the set, regardless if Mawile actually has something to pass or not, as it provides amazing momentum and scouts your opponent's switches.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

The EVs on this set are flexible, although max defensive investment is recommended to allow Mawile to check and counter as many Pokemon as possible. A bit more Attack can be used to beef up Hidden Power Steel a bit, or a bit more Speed can be run with Substitute over Protect to allow Mawile to, for example, set up a Substitute before getting hit by Sleep Powder or Leech Seed from defensive Bellossom and then Baton Passing to a teammate. Body Slam can be run somewhere to let Mawile spread paralysis a bit on the opponent's team, preferably over Toxic so the two statuses don't clash too much. Taunt is an interesting option to let Mawile outstall certain defensive Pokemon like Kecleon and Relicanth that would normally be able to shrug off Toxic with Rest; although however, it's hard to use, (AC) as it only lasts two turns and Mawile sports no recovery of its own outside of Leftovers. Counter is a good option as well, since Mawile can tank almost any physical attack thrown its way at full health, even most super effective ones if the foe is at -1 Attack, and take out the opponent in one fell swoop.

Spikes paired with this set make it very dangerous, as almost all of Mawile's checks are grounded, which means Glalie and Roselia are good teammates. As this set fits well on defensive and stall teams, dedicated special walls like Lickitung make excellent teammates to cover Mawile's lower Special Defense and forming a solid defensive core. Chimecho and Pelipper in particular pair well with Mawile as they cover its Fighting and Ground weaknesses, with Pelipper also covering the Fire weakness. In return, Mawile checks the Choice Band attackers they cannot handle, like Pidgeot. Mawile also fits well on more offensive teams as a pivot to check dangerous attackers like Raticate and dry passing to teammates to keep momentum.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Hidden Power Steel
move 2: Focus Punch / Brick Break
move 3: Rock Slide / Sludge Bomb
move 4: Baton Pass
item: Choice Band
ability: Intimidate
nature: Adamant
evs: 128 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spe (here too)

[SET COMMENTS]

This set is a bit unexpected and allows Mawile to hit very hard right off the bat, which can surprise the opponent and force more switches. Hidden Power Steel is a decent STAB move and is a nice safety move to use on this set. Focus Punch hits very hard—in fact, (AC) it hits way harder than Hidden Power Steel on almost every target—but is a bit hard to use without Substitute, and Brick Break is an all-around safer and more reliable option to use. That said, Focus Punch can OHKO Dewgong where Brick Break tops out at about 65%, so if you can predict well the power is more than worth it. Rock Slide rounds off coverage nicely and hits the Fire-types likely to switch into Mawile very hard. However, Sludge Bomb is an option as well and hits neutral targets and Tangela far harder than Rock Slide.

Baton Pass is what makes this set viable and dangerous. With it, Mawile can retain momentum for its team and feign a defensive or supportive set early in the game while scouting the opponent's team. This gives Mawile a huge leg up when compared to similar Choice Band users like Lairon, and because of Mawile's tendency to switch often, it creates opportunities for it to surprise your opponent with a powerful Focus Punch.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

124 Speed EVs are run to let Mawile outspeed minimum base 60s, particularly Chimecho, max Attack is run to give it as much power possible, and the rest is pumped into HP to increase its overall bulk. More Speed can easily be run to outrun key threats like Dewgong, but one of Mawile's perks is its decent bulk combined with Intimidate, and having a Choice Band user that isn't threatened by a large majority of physical attackers is one of the major reasons to include it on your team. A move not mentioned above that is perfectly usable is Double-Edge―a powerful safety move that can be included in the third or fourth slot—but it offers no additional super effective coverage and the recoil is undesirable.

Mawile tends to lure in defensive Pokemon like Relicanth and Flareon with its other sets, and this set can surprise them and take them out quickly with Focus Punch and Rock Slide, respectively. Lacking Earthquake and a powerful STAB move is ultimately Mawile's downside as a Choice Band user, but when combined with one or two more heavy hitters like Hitmonchan and Murkrow, Mawile can really put the pressure on defensive and offensive teams alike, making it a decent choice for offensive teams. Pelipper creates a very good defensive backup for Mawile, (AC) as it resists Fighting and Fire and is immune to Ground. Kecleon and Lickitung are good specially defensive Pokemon to pair with Mawile as well, (AC) since its Special Defense is particularly abysmal, with Kecleon being able to pull off a similar Choice Band or physical attacking set itself to continue pressuring the opponent.

[Other Options]

A specially defensive set is doable considering Mawile's plethora of resistances; however, although its special bulk is pretty abysmal on the whole, although (if this kills a nuance you were going for then don't implement this, but rn it's really flipflopping between worth it / not worth it) it does at least avoid the 2HKO from Plusle's Thunderbolt at max Special Defense investment, making a RestTalk set a viable option. Speaking of, a physical RestTalk set is more than doable, but one of Mawile's major draws is its flexibility in battle thanks to Baton Pass, and a RestTalk set actively works against that. A special attacking set is a cute gimmick when paired with Fake Tears, and Mawile actually has a decent special movepool which that includes Fire Blast, Crunch, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, and Hidden Power Grass. Finally, a Substitute + Torment set could really screw over a lot of Pokemon, as most in the tier will typically only be carrying one move that threatens Mawile; however, Mawile's Speed makes this set somewhat ineffective on the whole.

[Checks and Counters]

RestTalk bulky Water-types are the best immediate answers to Mawile, (AC) as they resist Steel, don't care too much about Toxic, and can hit Mawile in on its lower Special Defense stat with Water their STAB moves. Wailord in particular is probably the best overall answer to Mawile, (AC) as it can use Roar to disrupt Mawile's Baton Passing shenanigans. Dewgong can also disrupt Baton Pass through Encore and Perish Song. Otherwise, Whiscash and Relicanth can easily 2HKO Mawile with Earthquake and shrug off Mawile's other attacks easily enough. After Water-types, Hitmonchan has a tougher time switching directly into Mawile due to its physical frailty, but once in it'll easily OHKO Mawile. Fire-types like Flareon make great switch-ins to Mawile, (AC) as they resist Steel and can easily OHKO Mawile with their Fire STAB moves, with Flareon also being able to carry Roar to disrupt Baton Pass. Tangela is physically bulky enough to not be fazed by anything Mawile can through at it apart from a rare boosted Sludge Bomb, and it can proceed to either put Mawile to sleep or blast it with Hidden Power Fire under the sun.

For the most part, fully countering Mawile is difficult due to its affinity to Baton Pass out. Doing things to disrupt the momentum and making smart switches are going to do more to bring Mawile down than trying to counter it directly. Pokemon with phazing moves are the most effective answers to Mawile outside of the ones listed above, Whirlwind Tropius being an excellent answer in particular, but Roar Lairon and Piloswine making decent answers as well. Other disrupting moves like Encore, Perish Song, Leech Seed, and status moves like Thunder Wave will go a long way in taking it and its teammates down.
 
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