QC checks: [Valentine] [alexwolf] [ ]
Overview
########
-Unique typing, getting STAB on both Fighting and Flying, which have pretty good coverage together
-Now that Aegislash is gone, Hawlucha has more opportunities to wreak havoc and no longer requires Pursuit support
-Fighting STAB and Stealth Rock neutrality main niches over Mega Pinsir
-Rekt by Talonflame and Mega Pinsir
-Bulk? Hahahaha what's that.
-Has trouble breaking through key defensive walls like Zapdos and Clefable
-92 base Attack isn't that great
-After it gets the Unburden boost, good luck checking it even with a Choice Scarf user – But you only get one opportunity to use that Unburden boost!
-Absolutely not the best Pokemon to use in OU, but with the right support, it has the potential to do serious damage
Substitute + Swords Dance
########
name: Substitute + Swords Dance
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Swords Dance
move 3: Acrobatics
move 4: High Jump Kick
ability: Unburden
item: Sitrus Berry
evs: 12 HP / 252 Atk / 244 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
========
-Substitute gives Hawlucha a buffer to set up, while also allowing it to bring itself down Berry activation. Sitrus Berry lets Hawlucha recover some damage from subbing down and activates Unburden when used. Substitute also allows Hawlucha to set up on Gliscor without fearing Toxic
-Once you're all set up, High Jump Kick is your obligatory STAB, while Acrobatics allows you to get a hard hit on those that resist High Jump Kick like Gengar and the Lati twins.
Set Details
========
-EV spread ensures Hawlucha can outspeed Starmie and Raikou pre-Unburden while still having a HP stat divisible by 4
-Adamant can be used if you don't care about pre-Unburden speed; if running Adamant, the EV spread should be 124 HP / 252 Atk / 132 Spe as this outruns Jolly Excadrill in Sand after Unburden. However, beware that this will make setup more difficult
Usage Tips
========
-If using Sitrus, simply sub, then SD, then sub again to activate Sitrus Berry
-If you use Substitute as something faster comes in, you can Sub again as they attack to activate Sitrus Berry, and then you can Swords Dance on the next turn
-Seriously, don't try setting up until all of Hawlucha's checks and counters are out of the way or weakened enough for Hawlucha to sweep – Should be obvious
-Set up Substitute against Pokemon that Hawlucha forces out - Think Heatran, Chansey, and so forth
-You can use High Jump Kick before setting up to possibly help wear checks down
-Liechi Berry can also be used to grant Hawlucha an additional Attack boost, but you don't KO many Pokemon at +3 that you wouldn't KO at +2
Team Options
========
-Hippowdon and Skarmory can easily stop you from setting up and subbing down to your Berry with Whirlwind, and Zapdos is not letting you sweep; Although they do not have good defensive synergy with Hawlucha, Mega Heracross and Mega Medicham are great wallbreakers that can wear them down. If your Mega slot is already taken, Terrakion is another fine option; Gothitelle also works as it can trap many physical walls Hawlucha wants weakened/removed
-Magnezone can remove non-Shed Shell Skarmory, non-Superpower (Mega) Scizor, and Protect Ferrothorn; can also revenge kill Mega Pinsir if Choice Scarf
-Priority from the likes of Talonflame, Scizor, and Azumarill will cut your sweep short; Rotom-W helps against all three
-Mega Manectric is a good offensive partner that can check Talonflame and Mega Pinsir; Raikou also checks these threats, and can function much more easily against Thundurus with Assault Vest
Sky Attack
########
name: Sky Attack
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Acrobatics
move 3: High Jump Kick
move 4: Sky Attack
ability: Unburden
item: Power Herb
evs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
========
-Swords Dance is self-explanatory, boost up that Attack (311 Attack is so bad...)
-Sky Attack uses up your Power Herb to activate Unburden and hits hard in general; after that, Acrobatics is your primary Flying-type STAB, covering whatever High Jump Kick doesn't (Gengar, Mega Gardevoir, Latios/Latias, etc.) while also getting a harder hit on Pokemon such as Keldeo
-High Jump Kick is Fighting-type gold; you'll be hitting just about everything that doesn't resist it really hard.
Set Details
========
-EVs ensure that Hawlucha outspeeds anything up to and including Starmie before Unburden
-Adamant can be used for extra power, but outspeeding certain threats (e.g. Keldeo) pre-Unburden is extremely important with this set
Usage Tips
========
-Simple: Use Swords Dance, use Sky Attack to put the hurt on and use up your Power Herb, and enjoy! But DO NOT SET UP UNTIL HAWLUCHA'S CHECKS AND COUNTERS ARE GONE OR SEVERELY WEAKENED. You will only get one opportunity to set everything up, so make it count.
-You can use High Jump Kick early-game to help wear down the opponent (be careful about Ghosts and Protect)
-Maybe try using something weak to High Jump Kick as setup bait; you probably don't want Hawlucha to try to take a hit, it's not that bulky
Team Options
========
-Talonflame and Mega Pinsir will destroy you, so pack Pokemon such as Heatran and/or Rotom-W that can tank a Brave Bird and an Aerilate Quick Attack, respectively – Heatran in particular has great defensive synergy with Hawlucha, though won't help you against Mega Pinsir. Mega Manectric is a good offensive check to Talonflame and Mega Pinsir; Assault Vest Raikou also checks these threats and can take on Thundurus much more easily
-Magnezone can also cover Skarmory, Scizor, and Protect Ferrothorn; Choice Scarf Magnezone in particular can also revenge kill Mega Pinsir
-Good luck breaking through Zapdos and Clefable. The aforementioned Heatran can beat Clefable, especially when running Taunt, while you may want Pokemon like Terrakion or Tyranitar to help against Zapdos
Other Options
########
-Damn this thing has a shallow movepool
-Limber (Please don't... Maybe for Thundurus though to become immune to T-wave?)
-Baton Pass?
-Rock Slide or Stone Edge to try to catch Talonflame, Mega Pinsir, and Thundurus on the switch
Checks & Counters
########
-Physical walls (Skarmory, Hippowdon, Doublade, Slowbro, etc.)
-Zapdos resists both STABs and OHKOes
-Unaware Clefable and Quagsire ignore boosts
-Priority (especially from Talonflame and Mega Pinsir)
-Protect forces Hawlucha to lose 50% of its health from High Jump Kick
-Prankster users can easily cripple it, especially Thundurus since it resists both of Hawlucha's STABs and can easily cripple it with priority Thunder Wave
-Anything faster before the Unburden boost can check it before it gets the boost (beware of SubSD though, as it can use Substitute as a buffer and then use Substitute again on the same turn you attack)
Overview
########
-Unique typing, getting STAB on both Fighting and Flying, which have pretty good coverage together
-Now that Aegislash is gone, Hawlucha has more opportunities to wreak havoc and no longer requires Pursuit support
-Fighting STAB and Stealth Rock neutrality main niches over Mega Pinsir
-Rekt by Talonflame and Mega Pinsir
-Bulk? Hahahaha what's that.
-Has trouble breaking through key defensive walls like Zapdos and Clefable
-92 base Attack isn't that great
-After it gets the Unburden boost, good luck checking it even with a Choice Scarf user – But you only get one opportunity to use that Unburden boost!
-Absolutely not the best Pokemon to use in OU, but with the right support, it has the potential to do serious damage
Substitute + Swords Dance
########
name: Substitute + Swords Dance
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Swords Dance
move 3: Acrobatics
move 4: High Jump Kick
ability: Unburden
item: Sitrus Berry
evs: 12 HP / 252 Atk / 244 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
========
-Substitute gives Hawlucha a buffer to set up, while also allowing it to bring itself down Berry activation. Sitrus Berry lets Hawlucha recover some damage from subbing down and activates Unburden when used. Substitute also allows Hawlucha to set up on Gliscor without fearing Toxic
-Once you're all set up, High Jump Kick is your obligatory STAB, while Acrobatics allows you to get a hard hit on those that resist High Jump Kick like Gengar and the Lati twins.
Set Details
========
-EV spread ensures Hawlucha can outspeed Starmie and Raikou pre-Unburden while still having a HP stat divisible by 4
-Adamant can be used if you don't care about pre-Unburden speed; if running Adamant, the EV spread should be 124 HP / 252 Atk / 132 Spe as this outruns Jolly Excadrill in Sand after Unburden. However, beware that this will make setup more difficult
Usage Tips
========
-If using Sitrus, simply sub, then SD, then sub again to activate Sitrus Berry
-If you use Substitute as something faster comes in, you can Sub again as they attack to activate Sitrus Berry, and then you can Swords Dance on the next turn
-Seriously, don't try setting up until all of Hawlucha's checks and counters are out of the way or weakened enough for Hawlucha to sweep – Should be obvious
-Set up Substitute against Pokemon that Hawlucha forces out - Think Heatran, Chansey, and so forth
-You can use High Jump Kick before setting up to possibly help wear checks down
-Liechi Berry can also be used to grant Hawlucha an additional Attack boost, but you don't KO many Pokemon at +3 that you wouldn't KO at +2
Team Options
========
-Hippowdon and Skarmory can easily stop you from setting up and subbing down to your Berry with Whirlwind, and Zapdos is not letting you sweep; Although they do not have good defensive synergy with Hawlucha, Mega Heracross and Mega Medicham are great wallbreakers that can wear them down. If your Mega slot is already taken, Terrakion is another fine option; Gothitelle also works as it can trap many physical walls Hawlucha wants weakened/removed
-Magnezone can remove non-Shed Shell Skarmory, non-Superpower (Mega) Scizor, and Protect Ferrothorn; can also revenge kill Mega Pinsir if Choice Scarf
-Priority from the likes of Talonflame, Scizor, and Azumarill will cut your sweep short; Rotom-W helps against all three
-Mega Manectric is a good offensive partner that can check Talonflame and Mega Pinsir; Raikou also checks these threats, and can function much more easily against Thundurus with Assault Vest
Sky Attack
########
name: Sky Attack
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Acrobatics
move 3: High Jump Kick
move 4: Sky Attack
ability: Unburden
item: Power Herb
evs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
========
-Swords Dance is self-explanatory, boost up that Attack (311 Attack is so bad...)
-Sky Attack uses up your Power Herb to activate Unburden and hits hard in general; after that, Acrobatics is your primary Flying-type STAB, covering whatever High Jump Kick doesn't (Gengar, Mega Gardevoir, Latios/Latias, etc.) while also getting a harder hit on Pokemon such as Keldeo
-High Jump Kick is Fighting-type gold; you'll be hitting just about everything that doesn't resist it really hard.
Set Details
========
-EVs ensure that Hawlucha outspeeds anything up to and including Starmie before Unburden
-Adamant can be used for extra power, but outspeeding certain threats (e.g. Keldeo) pre-Unburden is extremely important with this set
Usage Tips
========
-Simple: Use Swords Dance, use Sky Attack to put the hurt on and use up your Power Herb, and enjoy! But DO NOT SET UP UNTIL HAWLUCHA'S CHECKS AND COUNTERS ARE GONE OR SEVERELY WEAKENED. You will only get one opportunity to set everything up, so make it count.
-You can use High Jump Kick early-game to help wear down the opponent (be careful about Ghosts and Protect)
-Maybe try using something weak to High Jump Kick as setup bait; you probably don't want Hawlucha to try to take a hit, it's not that bulky
Team Options
========
-Talonflame and Mega Pinsir will destroy you, so pack Pokemon such as Heatran and/or Rotom-W that can tank a Brave Bird and an Aerilate Quick Attack, respectively – Heatran in particular has great defensive synergy with Hawlucha, though won't help you against Mega Pinsir. Mega Manectric is a good offensive check to Talonflame and Mega Pinsir; Assault Vest Raikou also checks these threats and can take on Thundurus much more easily
-Magnezone can also cover Skarmory, Scizor, and Protect Ferrothorn; Choice Scarf Magnezone in particular can also revenge kill Mega Pinsir
-Good luck breaking through Zapdos and Clefable. The aforementioned Heatran can beat Clefable, especially when running Taunt, while you may want Pokemon like Terrakion or Tyranitar to help against Zapdos
Other Options
########
-Damn this thing has a shallow movepool
-Limber (Please don't... Maybe for Thundurus though to become immune to T-wave?)
-Baton Pass?
-Rock Slide or Stone Edge to try to catch Talonflame, Mega Pinsir, and Thundurus on the switch
Checks & Counters
########
-Physical walls (Skarmory, Hippowdon, Doublade, Slowbro, etc.)
-Zapdos resists both STABs and OHKOes
-Unaware Clefable and Quagsire ignore boosts
-Priority (especially from Talonflame and Mega Pinsir)
-Protect forces Hawlucha to lose 50% of its health from High Jump Kick
-Prankster users can easily cripple it, especially Thundurus since it resists both of Hawlucha's STABs and can easily cripple it with priority Thunder Wave
-Anything faster before the Unburden boost can check it before it gets the boost (beware of SubSD though, as it can use Substitute as a buffer and then use Substitute again on the same turn you attack)
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