Overview
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Hawlucha has a high base Speed and an excellent ability, Unburden. Thanks to Unburden, Hawlucha's Speed is doubled after its item is removed or consumed, giving it the ability to outpace every un-boosted Pokemon in OU. Hawlucha has an excellent Fighting / Flying typing that grants it excellent coverage as well as a neutrality to Stealth Rock. Hawlucha has a subpar base Attack stat compared to other Pokemon used in OU, which hinders its ability to break through common defensive Pokemon without boosting its Attack. It doesn't take hits very well because of its poor defenses. This limits its role to that of a late-game cleaner that relies heavily on, Unburden.
Substitute + Swords Dance
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name: Substitute + Swords Dance
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Swords Dance
move 3: High Jump Kick
move 4: Acrobatics
ability: Unburden
item: Sitrus Berry
evs: 12 HP / 252 Atk / 244 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
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Substitute protects Hawlucha from status moves, such as Thunder Wave, Toxic, and Will-O-Wisp. Substitute can also provide Hawlucha with a safe method of lowering its HP to consume its Sitrus Berry to activate Unburden. Hawlucha's Attack stat is mediocre compared to other Pokemon in OU; as such, Swords Dance is used to give Hawlucha the ability to boost its Attack, supplying Hawlucha with the power it needs to pick apart weakened teams late-game. High Jump Kick is the most powerful Fighting-type move that Hawlucha has access to; it is also easily spammable and gives Hawlucha a powerful tool Hawlucha can use to decimate opposing teams. Acrobatics is another powerful and easily spammable attack; after Hawlucha has lost or used its Sitrus Berry, Acrobatics's Base Power is boosted to 110. Flying-type attacks have very few resistances, so Acrobatics should be Hawlucha's most-used move unless the foe is a Rock-, Steel-, or Electric-type.
Set Details
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The 12 HP EVs give Hawlucha an HP value that's divisible by 4, which allows its Sitrus Berry to be consumed after Hawlucha uses Substitute twice, thus activating its ability, Unburden. The remaining EVs are invested in Attack and Speed to maximize Hawlucha's offensive capability. A Jolly nature allows Hawlucha to outspeed a few threats, such as Latios, Latias, Raikou, Terrakion, and Keldeo, before it receives a Speed boost from Unburden.
Usage Tips
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Hawlucha should be used as a mid- or late-game cleaner. Hawlucha is most useful after its checks have been eliminated. Talonflame and Pinsir are two of its biggest checks and must be KOed before Hawlucha begins to setup because of their Flying-type priority moves. A few defensive Pokemon such as Slowbro, Zapdos, Clefable, and Mew should be weakened or KOed before setting up Swords Dance because Hawlucha has trouble breaking through them. Always switch Hawlucha in on a Pokemon it can force out, such as Chansey; use the free turn to set a Substitute up. After that, use Swords Dance as the switch-in breaks Hawlucha's Substitute. At this point, nothing should be able to outspeed Hawlucha so it should be able to set up another Substitute. Because its HP will drop below 50%, Hawlucha will consume its Sitrus Berry and activate Unburden. With +2 Attack and +2 Speed Hawlucha is free to pick off the remaining Pokemon.
Team Options
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A teammate that can check Talonflame and Pinsir is a necessity, as they both can easily KO Hawlucha with their priority Flying-type moves. Rotom-W, Zapdos, and Landorus-T are a few examples of Pokemon that excel at checking Talonflame and Pinsir. A teammate that can easily pressure offensive and defensive teams compliments Hawlucha well. Gengar is a great example this because of its versatility and power. Gengar can effortlessly eliminate defensive threats, such as Clefable, Doublade, and Slowbro. Gengar can also get rid of offensive threats such as Choice Scarf Landorus-T, making it significantly easier on Hawlucha to sweep late-game. A teammate that can provide entry hazard support is also vital because entry hazards can wear down the opposing team, making it easier for Hawlucha to perform a late-game sweep. Stealth Rock is the most important entry hazard because it does a great job of limiting the amount of times Flying-type Pokemon can switch in. This is great to deal with Talonflame and Pinsir, as well as defensive checks such as Zapdos.
A teammate that does a great job of breaking down defensive Pokemon is extremely useful, as Hawlucha doesn't have the raw power to break through some defensive Pokemon. Mega Gardevoir fits this role perfectly, as it lures Pokemon such as Heatran and Chansey, two walls that Hawlucha has no problem setting up on or KOing. Mega Gardevoir can also KO Pokemon that Hawlucha has trouble dealing with, such as Zapdos, Mew, Clefable, and Slowbro. Adding a teammate that can check Electric-types such as Thundurus, Mega Manectric, and Raikou, would make it easier for Hawlucha to perform late-game sweeps; examples include defensive Mega Charizard X, Mew, Heatran, Choice Scarf Landorus-T, and Assault Vest Raikou.
Other Options
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Sky Attack could be used over Substitute for more power. If you choose to use Sky Attack, give Hawlucha a Power Herb to hold, as it will allow Hawlucha to use Sky Attack after one turn. The use of Sky Attack gives Hawlucha a faster method of activating Unburden. Limber is a decent ability but it isn't worth using over Unburden most of the time because Unburden's Speed boost is what separates Hawlucha from other late-game cleaners. Limber could prove helpful against Prankster Thunder Wave users such as Thundurus, however. Stone Edge is a plausible option over Substitute. It can be used to surprise a few Flying-type Pokemon that hope to switch in on High Jump Kick, such as Mega Pinsir, Talonflame, and Zapdos. Keep in mind that it won't have much use against Ground / Flying types such as Landorus-T and Gliscor, however. It's also not worth giving up Substitute's protection from attacks and pseudo-immunity to status. Taunt could also work over Substitute but, unlike Substitute, it fails to protect Hawlucha from attacks.
Checks & Counters
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**Flying-types**: Zapdos is Hawlucha's biggest counter because it resists every attack on Hawlucha's moveset. Even at +2 Attack Hawlucha cannot OHKO Skarmory. Hawlucha has to rely on its teammates to weaken the aforementioned Pokemon. Talonflame and Pinsir are huge threats to Hawlucha, as they both can easily KO Hawlucha with their priority Flying-type movess.
**Electric-types**: Raikou, Rotom-W, Mega Manectric, Magnezone, and Thundurus can threaten Hawlucha before it activates Unburden. Raikou and Mega Manectric can outspeed and KO Hawlucha with their Electric-type STAB moves. Defensive Rotom-W can take two hits from High Jump Kick and KO or severely weaken Hawlucha. Choice Scarf Magnezone outspeeds and KOes Hawlucha with its Electric-type STAB moves. Thundurus can slow Hawlucha down with Thunder Wave so another teammate can revenge kill it.
**Slowbro**: Hawlucha fails to OHKO Slowbro after one Swords Dance boost and so has to rely on its teammates to weaken Slowbro.
**Unaware Clefable**: Hawlucha's mediocre Attack makes it incapable of KOing Clefable before it's 2HKOed by Moonblast.
**Doublade**: Doublade is immune to Fighting-type attacks and resists Flying-type attacks. Even with a few Attack boosts, Hawlucha cannot deal much damage to Doublade. Also, because of the huge discrepancy in Doublade and Hawlucha's Speed, Gyro Ball easily 2HKOes Hawlucha.
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