[Overview]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Play Rough
move 2: Iron Head / Substitute / Swords Dance
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Protect
item: Mawilite
ability: Intimidate
nature: Adamant / Brave
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
[Set Comments]
Moves
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Other Options
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- 105 Base Attack with the Huge Power ability lets it hit 590 Attack, the highest unboosted attack in the game
- Faces competition as a Trick Room Mega, however it is the best choice amongst those Mega Pokemon for handling Hoopa-U as it can use Intimidate to slow it down, or just KO it
- Great typing gives only 2 weaknesses and 2 immunities, however its weaknesses are 2 of the most common offensive types, Fire- and Ground-type
- Let down by its low base Speed stat
- Intimidate as a base ability is very useful in aiding its 125 Defense stat, however its base forms stats are quite poor, so switching it in safely is hard
- 2 STABs have good neutral coverage, but it is unable to hit Fire and Steel types very hard
- Sucker Punch gives Mawile much needed priority, and this coupled with large attack and great STABs make Mawile able to smash through teams that aren't ready for it
- Mega Mawile works great against the strong Ghost- and Dark-types that typically threaten Trick Room teams, not only because its slow, but because Play Rough and Sucker Punch will usually either KO or scare them out
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Play Rough
move 2: Iron Head / Substitute / Swords Dance
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Protect
item: Mawilite
ability: Intimidate
nature: Adamant / Brave
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
[Set Comments]
Moves
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- Play Rough is the first STAB move, does very good damage combined with Mawile's sky high Attack stat. Also has a 10% chance to lower enemies Attack by 1 stage, although is only 90% accurate. Hits Dark, Dragon and Fighting Types super effectively
- Iron Head is slightly less powerful, but has a 30% flinch chance and is 100% accurate. Hits super effectively on Rock, Ice and Fairy Types
- Substitute means you can't hit Poison Types well, but Mawile becomes very dangerous with a sub protecting it
- Swords Dance also forgoes Iron Head but Play Rough OHKOes Mega Gardevoir and has a 25% chance of OHKOing Sylveon anyway
- Sucker Punch is to snipe enemies while Trick Room is down, or to use Trick Room to Sucker Punch things trying to use priority, and can hit Ghost and Psychic types super effectively, however beware things like Chandelure using Will-O-Wisp or Aegislash using Substitute to avoid the Sucker Punch
- Protect allows Trick Room to be set while keeping Mawile safe, or to eliminate a threat
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- 252 Attack with an Adamant nature maximizes attack
- 252 HP somewhat aids Mawile's low HP stat
- Spare 4 EVs in SpD
- If using Swords Dance, an alternative EV spread of 252 HP / 180 Atk / 40 Def / 36 SpD should be used, as it allows Mawile to survive a Life Orb Garchomp Earthquake and a -1 Choice Band Talonflame Flare Blitz, aswell as a 252+ Heatran Heat Wave. It also OHKO's Mega Gardevoir with Play Rough, aswell as having a 37.5% chance to OHKO 200 HP / 56 Def Sylveon, which are the main two things Iron Head hits anyway
- If using on a Trick Room team, a Brave nature with 0 Speed EVs/IVs should be used
- Hyper Cutter can be used as a base ability if you don't need another Intimidate, as it allows Mawile to lead and mega without being intimidated, and stops Intimidate switching in to protect a team mate from a OHKO
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- Sometime it is best to hold off on mega evolving too early, as intimidate is lost once you do, and it can come in handy late game, however you should not attempt to attack in non mega form as it has considerably less bulk and power
- Good stop to Mega Kangaskhan as Intimidate combined with high defense and resistance to Normal and Dark make it hard for Kang to do damage
- Dealing with opposing Intimidate and Will-o-Wisp users is important as Mawile wants to be at full power to do its job
- Mega Mawile is also a decent option late game once the opposing team has been softened up because its Sucker Punch hits very hard which lets it get around its poor speed. This is especially true for Swords Dance Mega Mawile, because at +2 it's Sucker Punch OHKO's conventional checks like Charizard, Landorus-T, and non Substitute Heatran
- Mega Mawile is heavily dependent on speed control, so Trick Room or Tailwind is required when using it. Alternatively, redirection can help Mawile, but it still has a vulnerability to spread moves like Earthquake and Heat Wave
- Mawile should Ideally be kept out until all Fire-types / Will-O-Wisp users have been dealt with
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- Trick Room setters are nice as a form of speed control. Chandelure is a great partner as it can defeat Steel types. Jellicent can beat Fire types for Mawile. Cresselia is the best Trick Room setting parter for Mawile as it really likes Dark-types being removed
- Gyarados works well as it can switch in to both of Mawile's weaknesses, and can hit both Fire and Ground types super effectively
- Scrafty can provide Fake Out and Wide Guard support, aswell as forming a double Intimidate core and helping against Steel-types
- Rotom Wash has good synergy with Mawile as it resists fire and is immune to ground, while also beating these types. The Will-o-Wisp support is great as a physical attacker being burnt makes it incredibly hard to damage Mawile
- Politoed makes for an interesting partner as it weakens the Fire-type attacks that Mawile is weak to, and can beat / scare out Charizard-Y
- Hoopa-U is a good partner as it destroys Aegislash through King's Shield, and Jellicent, while Mawile beats the Dark-types that Hoopa-U struggles to damage
Other Options
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- Rock Slide can be used to hit Fire-types super effectively
- Ice Punch can be used to hit Ground- and Flying-Types
- Hyper Cutter can be used if you really fear Intimidate pre mega, however Intimidate is the best option
- Brick Break can OHKO 56 HP Heatran 18.8% of the time :/
- Knock Off is an option for Dark coverage that doesn't need the enemy to attack, and can stop SubTran from setting up. It also hits Jirachi and Cresselia very hard, aswell as being able to reliably damage Aegislash
- If running Substitute, Focus Punch is an option as Sub will shield Mawile from an attack, allowing it to use a 150 base power move
[OVERVIEW]
Boasting base 105 Attack and Huge Power, Mega Mawile reaches the highest unboosted Attack in the game. Its great typing gives it only two weaknesses and two immunities, although its weaknesses are to two of the most common offensive types, Fire and Ground. Intimidate as a base ability is very useful in bolstering Mega Mawile's large base 125 Defense; however, its base forme's stats are quite poor, so switching it in safely is difficult. Its STAB moves have good neutral coverage but leave it walled by Fire- and Steel-types, such as Heatran, Mega Charizard Y, and Aegislash. Mega Mawile works great against the strong Ghost- and Dark-types that typically threaten Trick Room teams, not only because it's slow but also because Play Rough and Sucker Punch will usually either KO them or scare them out. Its low Speed stat is also a problem, making it rely heavily on speed control, but Sucker Punch allows it to bypass this problem somewhat. While Mawile faces competition as a Trick Room Mega Pokemon from Mega Abomasnow and Mega Camerupt, it is the best choice for defeating Hoopa-U, as it can use Intimidate to weaken it or just KO it.
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Play Rough
move 2: Iron Head / Swords Dance / Substitute
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Protect
item: Mawilite
ability: Intimidate
nature: Adamant / Brave
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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Play Rough does very good damage coming off Mawile's sky-high Attack stat, being able to OHKO Dragon-types like Latios and Hydreigon, Dark-types like Hoopa-U, and Fighting-types like Keldeo and Conkeldurr; it also has a 10% chance to lower enemies' Attack by one stage, but its 90% accuracy is unreliable. Iron Head is slightly less powerful but has a 30% flinch chance and is 100% accurate. The accuracy can be important; if a foe is within KO range, Iron Head is the best option, as it won't miss. Iron Head hits Rock-types like Terrakion, Ice-types like Abomasnow, and Fairy-types such as Sylveon super effectively. Running Swords Dance forces Mawile to forgo Iron Head, but Play Rough OHKOes Mega Gardevoir and has a 25% chance of OHKOing 56 HP / 200 Def Sylveon anyway. After a Swords Dance, Mawile becomes incredibly powerful, OHKOing almost anything that doesn't resist Play Rough, as well as OHKOing foes that would normally scare it out, such as Heatran and Mega Charizard Y, with Sucker Punch. Although running Substitute over Iron Head means Mawile can't hit Poison-types well, Amoonguss specifically, Mawile becomes very dangerous behind a Substitute. Sucker Punch lets Mawile somewhat bypass its low Speed stat, and if Trick Room is up, it can be used to move before opposing fast priority attacks such as Talonflame's Brave Bird. It also hits Ghost- and Psychic-types super effectively, but you should beware of situations like Chandelure using Will-O-Wisp and Aegislash using Substitute to avoid the Sucker Punch. Protect allows Mawile to stay safe while its partner sets up Trick Room or to eliminate a threat.
Set Details
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Running 252 Attack EVs with an Adamant nature maximizes Mawile's Attack, while full HP investment somewhat aids Mawile's low base HP. If you run Swords Dance, an alternative EV spread of 252 HP / 180 Atk / 40 Def / 36 SpD should be used, as it allows Mawile to survive either a Life Orb Garchomp's Earthquake, a -1 Choice Band Talonflame's Flare Blitz, or a 252+ Heatran's Heat Wave. Using the Swords Dance spread, Mawile also OHKOes Mega Gardevoir with Play Rough and has a 37.5% chance to OHKO 200 HP / 56 Def Sylveon without an Attack boost, which are the two main targets for Iron Head anyway. If you're using Mawile on a Trick Room team, a Brave nature with 0 Speed EVs and a 0 Speed IV should be used for minimum Speed.
Usage Tips
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Sometimes it is best to hold off on Mega Evolving so that Mawile keeps Intimidate, which can be useful late-game. Mawile should not attempt to attack while in its base forme, as it is far weaker without Huge Power. Mawile works as a good stop to Mega Kangaskhan, as Intimidate combined with its high Defense and resistances to Normal- and Dark-type moves makes it hard for Mega Kangaskhan to do much damage. Dealing with opposing Intimidate and Will-O-Wisp users before bringing Mawile out is important, as the attack drops will severely cripple it, making it harder for it to do its job. Mawile is also effective late-game once the opposing team has been softened up, because its Sucker Punch is able to pick off weakened targets quite easily. This is especially true for Swords Dance Mega Mawile, because at +2 its Sucker Punch OHKOes conventional checks like Mega Charizard-Y, Landorus-T, and non-Substitute Heatran. Mega Mawile is heavily dependent on speed control due to its low Speed, so Trick Room or Tailwind is required when using it. Alternatively, redirection can help Mawile, but it still has a vulnerability to spread moves like Earthquake and Heat Wave. Ideally, Mawile should not be sent out until all Fire-types and Will-O-Wisp users have been dealt with.
Team Options
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Trick Room setters are nice as a form of speed control. Cresselia is the best Trick Room setting parter for Mawile, as it really likes Dark-types being removed and is bulky enough to set Trick Room multiple times throughout the match. Chandelure is a great partner, as it can defeat Steel-types for Mawile. Tailwind users can also help with Mawile's low Speed. Suicune resists Fire-type attacks and can threaten foes such as Heatran. Latios can switch into both Ground- and Fire-type attacks, set Tailwind, and maintain offensive pressure.
Gyarados can switch into both of Mawile's weaknesses and can hit both Fire- and Ground-types super effectively. Politoed makes for an interesting partner, as it weakens the Fire-type attacks that Mawile is weak to and can beat or scare out Mega Charizard Y. Jellicent can beat Fire-types for Mawile, as well as set up Trick Room. Rotom-W has good synergy with Mawile, as it resists Fire-type attacks, is immune to Ground, and can beat foes of these types. Its Will-O-Wisp support is great, as burning opposing physical attackers makes it incredibly hard for them to damage Mawile. Fake Out users fit well on teams with Mawile, buying free turns to set up Trick Room, Substitute, or Swords Dance. Scrafty can provide Fake Out support and Intimidate, and Hariyama can use Fake Out and Wide Guard to protect Mawile from Earthquakes and Heat Waves. Hoopa-U is a good partner too, as it destroys Jellicent and Aegislash through King's Shield while Mawile beats the Dark-types that Hoopa-U struggles to damage.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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Rock Slide can be used to hit Fire-types super effectively, while Ice Punch can be used to hit Ground- and Flying-types. Hyper Cutter can be used if you really fear Intimidate before Mawile Mega Evolves. Brick Break has a small chance to OHKO 56 HP Heatran, but this isn't really worth the risk, and it doesn't hit anything else for decent damage. Knock Off is an option for Dark-type coverage that doesn't require the enemy to attack and can stop Substitute Heatran from setting up. It also hits Jirachi and Cresselia very hard, as well as being able to reliably damage Aegislash as long as Mawile doesn't hit King's Shield.
Checks and Counters
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**Typing Advantage**: Mawile struggles against Fire-types, as its only way to hit them for neutral damage is with Sucker Punch, which won't OHKO Mega Charizard Y or Heatran, both of which can OHKO back with Heat Wave. Rotom-H can do the same with Overheat but can also burn Mawile, severely reducing its attack power. Talonflame can OHKO with Flare Blitz. Steel-types such as Mega Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Escavalier can hit Mawile for neutral damage with their Steel-type STAB moves, and their resistances to both Play Rough and Iron Head make it easy for them to switch in. Ground-types such as Landorus-T can outspeed Mawile and obliterate it with a STAB Earthquake. Mega Camerupt also underspeeds Mega Mawile in Trick Room and can OHKO it with both STAB moves.
**Intimidate and Burns**: Intimidate is an issue for Mawile, as its main selling point is its destructive power. Landorus-T is the main offender, due to its powerful STAB Earthquake. Mawile does not want to be burned, as it loses half its power and is left open to attacks. Burns coming from bulky support Pokemon like Rotom-W and Rotom-H and fast users like Talonflame threaten Mawile out.
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