[OVERVIEW]
Mawile was blessed with two powerful abilities in Sheer Force and Intimidate as well as good Steel typing, letting Mawile's unassuming stats go a considerable distance. Sheer Force combined with Swords Dance makes Mawile into a fearsome wallbreaker, and Intimidate mixed with Mawile's coveted Steel typing allows Mawile to function as a defensive tank. However, Mawile's lack of Speed and recovery means that Mawile is limited in how effective it can be in either role. Even so, the right Mawile set in the right place at the right time has the potential to be a true menace to your opponent.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance Wallbreaker
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Ice Punch / Fire Fang / Thunder Punch
item: Life Orb
ability: Sheer Force
nature: Adamant
evs: 192 HP/ 252 Atk / 64 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Swords Dance is to push Mawile's Attack to a considerable level, and in combination with Life Orb and Sheer Force makes Mawile able to 2HKO a considerable amount of the tier. Iron Head is the preferred STAB, and even gets the bonus damage from Sheer Force. Sucker Punch gives Mawile a potential priority option to make up for its lackluster Speed to potentially KO faster threats like Zebstrika, but does not benefit from Sheer Force so Mawile will take the chip damage from Life Orb. The last move is dedicated to coverage and is very flexible: Ice Punch hits Ground-Types like Stunfisk or Torterra, Fire Fang hits Steel-Types such as Bronzor or Klang, and Thunder Punch hits Water-Types such as Swanna or Frillish. Each are viable, so pick which coverage or STAB resistance you want Mawile to patch up and go with that move. It is also possible to drop Sucker Punch for a second coverage choice, but the overall utility of Sucker Punch makes it the recommended option. EVs are so Mawile outspeeds uninvested base 55s and most notably uninvested Torterra while also achieving an ideal Life Orb HP Number, but a faster or a bulkier set can also be utilized depending on the team.
While Mawile is excellent at breaking through a great number of walls, it can still be walled depending on Mawile's chosen coverage. If Ice Punch is not chosen, Stunfisk easily walls Mawile so a partner like Torterra can be a great partner to round out that weakness. If Fire Fang is not chosen, Bronzor and Klang can wall Mawile so Monferno or Scraggy can make good partners. If Thunderpunch is not chosen, then Frillish can wall Mawile so a teammate like Vileplume can be a strong choice. It is also important to keep in mind that Mawile excels in punching holes into the opponent but isn't as good at making use of those opportunities. Pokemon that can sweep after Mawile is done make for a good offensive combo, so choices like Huntail and Fraxure make for excellent partners. Revenge killers such as Zebstrika or Choice Scarf Swanna can also be effective for taking on faster threats that Mawile might struggle with otherwise.
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Toxic
move 4: Knock Off / Pain Split
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Impish
evs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
With Intimidate and Steel-typing Mawile can make for a decent physically defensive tank, walling threats like Purugly and Dodrio. Thanks to Intimidate, Mawile causes a lot of switches, making Stealth Rock both easy to set up and potent in use. Iron Head is for a reliable STAB option, and Toxic is for reliable chip damage. The last moveslot is a choice between two options: Knock Off is strong utility to get rid of common items like Leftovers and Eviolite crippling Pokemon such as Stunfisk and Klang, while Pain Split can be used to patch up Mawile's glaring weakness of no consistent recovery. Out of these two options, Knock Off is the stronger pick due to more opportunities to use it but Pain Split is not a terrible choice thanks to Mawile's naturally lower HP.
Many dedicated defensive cores prefer sturdier Steel-types like Bronzor due to their better longevity, so defensive Mawile tends to find a home on more offensive teams that are looking for a reliable tank and appreciate the disruption of Intimidate and Knock Off that Mawile provides. Mawile is weak to Fire- and Fighting-type moves and is worn down notably by entry hazards, so Tentacool is a particularly good option for a partner while Tentacool also appreciates Mawile tanking physical hits as well. Mawile also is weak to common Ground-type attacks, so partners like Maractus can also make for good partners. Maractus and Tentacool both can also set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes respectively, synergizing with Mawile's ability to force switches very well. Other defensive choices such as Frillish, Vileplume, even Jumpluff can also make for good partners with Mawile by patching up Mawile's shortcomings by covering Mawile's weaknesses and healing Mawile from status and damage.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Akir, 231726]]
- Quality checked by: [[Bella, 567483], [name, id]]
- Grammar checked by: [[name, id]]
Mawile was blessed with two powerful abilities in Sheer Force and Intimidate as well as good Steel typing, letting Mawile's unassuming stats go a considerable distance. Sheer Force combined with Swords Dance makes Mawile into a fearsome wallbreaker, and Intimidate mixed with Mawile's coveted Steel typing allows Mawile to function as a defensive tank. However, Mawile's lack of Speed and recovery means that Mawile is limited in how effective it can be in either role. Even so, the right Mawile set in the right place at the right time has the potential to be a true menace to your opponent.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance Wallbreaker
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Ice Punch / Fire Fang / Thunder Punch
item: Life Orb
ability: Sheer Force
nature: Adamant
evs: 192 HP/ 252 Atk / 64 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Swords Dance is to push Mawile's Attack to a considerable level, and in combination with Life Orb and Sheer Force makes Mawile able to 2HKO a considerable amount of the tier. Iron Head is the preferred STAB, and even gets the bonus damage from Sheer Force. Sucker Punch gives Mawile a potential priority option to make up for its lackluster Speed to potentially KO faster threats like Zebstrika, but does not benefit from Sheer Force so Mawile will take the chip damage from Life Orb. The last move is dedicated to coverage and is very flexible: Ice Punch hits Ground-Types like Stunfisk or Torterra, Fire Fang hits Steel-Types such as Bronzor or Klang, and Thunder Punch hits Water-Types such as Swanna or Frillish. Each are viable, so pick which coverage or STAB resistance you want Mawile to patch up and go with that move. It is also possible to drop Sucker Punch for a second coverage choice, but the overall utility of Sucker Punch makes it the recommended option. EVs are so Mawile outspeeds uninvested base 55s and most notably uninvested Torterra while also achieving an ideal Life Orb HP Number, but a faster or a bulkier set can also be utilized depending on the team.
While Mawile is excellent at breaking through a great number of walls, it can still be walled depending on Mawile's chosen coverage. If Ice Punch is not chosen, Stunfisk easily walls Mawile so a partner like Torterra can be a great partner to round out that weakness. If Fire Fang is not chosen, Bronzor and Klang can wall Mawile so Monferno or Scraggy can make good partners. If Thunderpunch is not chosen, then Frillish can wall Mawile so a teammate like Vileplume can be a strong choice. It is also important to keep in mind that Mawile excels in punching holes into the opponent but isn't as good at making use of those opportunities. Pokemon that can sweep after Mawile is done make for a good offensive combo, so choices like Huntail and Fraxure make for excellent partners. Revenge killers such as Zebstrika or Choice Scarf Swanna can also be effective for taking on faster threats that Mawile might struggle with otherwise.
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Toxic
move 4: Knock Off / Pain Split
item: Leftovers
ability: Intimidate
nature: Impish
evs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
With Intimidate and Steel-typing Mawile can make for a decent physically defensive tank, walling threats like Purugly and Dodrio. Thanks to Intimidate, Mawile causes a lot of switches, making Stealth Rock both easy to set up and potent in use. Iron Head is for a reliable STAB option, and Toxic is for reliable chip damage. The last moveslot is a choice between two options: Knock Off is strong utility to get rid of common items like Leftovers and Eviolite crippling Pokemon such as Stunfisk and Klang, while Pain Split can be used to patch up Mawile's glaring weakness of no consistent recovery. Out of these two options, Knock Off is the stronger pick due to more opportunities to use it but Pain Split is not a terrible choice thanks to Mawile's naturally lower HP.
Many dedicated defensive cores prefer sturdier Steel-types like Bronzor due to their better longevity, so defensive Mawile tends to find a home on more offensive teams that are looking for a reliable tank and appreciate the disruption of Intimidate and Knock Off that Mawile provides. Mawile is weak to Fire- and Fighting-type moves and is worn down notably by entry hazards, so Tentacool is a particularly good option for a partner while Tentacool also appreciates Mawile tanking physical hits as well. Mawile also is weak to common Ground-type attacks, so partners like Maractus can also make for good partners. Maractus and Tentacool both can also set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes respectively, synergizing with Mawile's ability to force switches very well. Other defensive choices such as Frillish, Vileplume, even Jumpluff can also make for good partners with Mawile by patching up Mawile's shortcomings by covering Mawile's weaknesses and healing Mawile from status and damage.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Akir, 231726]]
- Quality checked by: [[Bella, 567483], [name, id]]
- Grammar checked by: [[name, id]]
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