[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Play Rough
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Knock Off / Thunder Punch
item: Mawilite
ability: Intimidate
nature: Adamant
evs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Mega Mawile is an extremely dangerous wallbreaker and sweeper in the National Dex metagame. Its Huge Power boosted Attack stat combined with Swords Dance and good coverage allows it to throttle many common defensive Pokemon, such as Slowbro, Tapu Fini, utility Clefable, and Reuniclus. Additionally, Sucker Punch gives it a decent offense matchup, allowing it to pressure faster Pokemon such as Heatran, Garchomp, Victini, and Kartana especially when boosted. Mega Mawile's decent natural bulk, great defensive typing, and access to Intimidate before it Mega Evolves also gives it set up opportunities against the likes of Weavile and Tyranitar. Knock Off offers good neutral coverage in conjunction with Play Rough, allowing Mega Mawile to pressure Play Rough resists such as Ferrothorn, Toxapex, Melmetal, Galarian Slowking, and Jirachi. Thunder Punch, on the other hand, hits Pokemon such as Toxapex, Tapu Fini, Corviknight, and Skarmory super effectively, although it loses coverage options onto Ferrothorn and can't pressure certain checks, such as Melmetal and Jirachi, as well. Intimidate is the preferred pre-Mega ability in order to weaken physical attackers such as Weavile, Rillaboom, and Tyranitar, therefore giving Mega Mawile more space to mega evolve. The given speed allows Mega Mawile to outrun 0 Speed Skarmory and Corviknight.
Mega Mawile can fit on balanced and bulky offensive teams that appreciate its wallbreaking capabilities while also having tools to pressure and even potentially sweep offensive teams. Mega Mawile enjoys pivoting support that can get it in safely while also potentially wearing down its checks. Options such as Landorus-T, Tapu Koko, Gliscor, Rotom-W, and Slowbro can safely get Mega Mawile on the field. Notably, these Pokemon do not have especially good matchups against bulkier teams, which Mega Mawile thrives against. Choice Scarf Landorus-T and Tapu Koko can also help out Mega Mawile against offensive builds. Additionally, the latter three can help out against Heatran, which Mega Mawile can struggle against. Mega Mawile highly appreciates Stealth Rock and Spikes support, as many of its already softer checks will find themselves under extreme pressure with hazards in the equation. Stealth Rock from a partner such as Clefable, Landorus-T, Garchomp, or Kommo-o or Spikes from Ferrothorn, Mew, or Ash-Greninja can chip down soft answers such as defensive Landorus-T, Ferrothorn, Corviknight, and Toxapex. This can force teams relying on these softer answer to sack a Pokemon. Notably, Clefable can set up Stealth Rock against Mega Sableye stall teams, making Mega Mawile even more difficult for them to deal with. These hazards can also wear down the many faster Pokemon that can take a +2 Sucker Punch from full and potentially allow Mega Mawile to sweep offensive teams. Ash-Greninja, Choice Specs Tapu Koko, Mega Lopunny, and Heatran all fall into this category. Many teams also enjoy Mega Mawile acting as a decent interim check to Weavile; this can give teams relying on physically defensive Pokemon that are weak to Weavile, such as Landorus-T and Zapdos, some breathing room.
[SET]
name: All Out Attacker
move 1: Play Rough
move 2: Ice Punch
move 3: Thunder Punch
move 4: Fire Fang / Brick Break
item: Mawilite
ability: Intimidate
nature: Adamant
evs: 52 HP / 252 Atk / 204 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
All Out Attacker Mega Mawile sacrifices some of its ability to deal with offensive teams in order to become extremely difficult for traditional defensive cores to wall and play around by virtue of its excellent coverage. Ice Punch allows Mega Mawile to hit Landorus-T, Gliscor, and Garchomp while also hitting Grass-types like Amoonguss, Tangrowth, and Rillaboom. Thunder Punch allows Mega Mawile to pressure Toxapex, Slowbro, Tapu Fini, and Corviknight. Fire Fang allows Mega Mawile to slam Mega Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Kartana as well as most Steels with the notable exception of Heatran. Brick Break, on the other hand, hits Heatran, Magnezone, and Melmetal while also allowing Mega Mawile to still hit Ferrothorn and Kartana for significant damage. Focus Punch is a more prediction reliant but rewarding option that hits most neutral targets for extreme damage while also allowing Mega Mawile to beat Mega Scizor without Fire Fang as well as Iron Defense Skarmory if you predict properly. Knock Off is an option for Dark-type coverage that hits Slowbro, Galarian Slowking, and Reuniclus harder while also potentially removing items from the likes of Melmetal and Landorus-T, but the coverage is overall inferior to the aforementioned moves. Intimidate is the preferred pre-mega ability to weaken attacks from the likes of Weavile, Mega Scizor, and Rillaboom. 204 Speed EVs allows Mega Mawile to outrun Mega Scizor; one can instead opt for 164 for 0 Speed Skarmory and Corviknight if not running Fire Fang or Focus Punch.
All Out Attacker Mega Mawile fits best on teams that appreciate its ability to break down common balance cores and allow faster teammates to take over once these walls have been taken care of. Late game cleaners, such as Ash-Greninja, Tapu Koko, Weavile, and Rillaboom appreciate Mega Mawile pressuring common components of defensive cores such as Landorus-T, Tapu Fini, and Ferrothorn; these Pokemon shore up Mega Mawile's subpar offense matchup. Ash-Greninja can also help Mega Mawile out by setting up Spikes, which makes it even more difficult to switch into; this is especially relevant considering how many Spike immune Pokemon, such as Corviknight, Landorus-T, Hydreigon, and Mega Latias, are not reliable answers to Mega Mawile. Other Spikes setters, like Ferrothorn, can also help out in this regard. Pivoting support from the likes of Landorus-T, Magnezone, Slowbro, and Rotom-W is very useful for Mega Mawile, as these teammates can help it get on the field safely. Notably, Landorus-T and Rotom-W can force out Heatran for Mega Mawile, and Rotom-W and Slowbro can pressure irritating Ground-types like Landorus-T and Gliscor, therefore reducing the need for Mega Mawile to predict these Pokemon switching in. Paralysis support from the likes of Ferrothorn, Serperior, or Blissey can also help out Mega Mawile against faster teams.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
176 Speed can be used on the Swords Dance set to outrun Shedinja with a neutral speed nature and dispose of it before it can burn Mega Mawile, but this is a very specific and not altogether common scenario. A SubPunch set with Ice Punch and Thunder Punch as the last two options is a decent option for pressuring defensive cores exceptionally hard, but this set can find issues setting up against offensive teams, and chip damage can rack up quickly between Rocky Helmet and Mega Mawile setting up substitutes. This set also has a difficult time getting past Clefable and Reuniclus. Magnet Rise is a niche option that can allow Mega Mawile to abuse Ground-types attempting to switch into it, but it sacrifices coverage to do this and most Ground-types have a hard time switching into Mega Mawile anyway. Sucker Punch might look like a decent option on the All Out Attacker set to shore up the offense matchup slightly, but offensive Pokemon that can take an unboosted Sucker Punch are plentiful in the metagame, and losing out on the coverage is definitely not worth it. Iron Head can OHKO Clefable unboosted but doesn't do much else while restricting Mega Mawile's coverage.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Faster Pokemon**: Many faster offensive Pokemon can check Mega Mawile offensively, although the vast majority of them cannot switch in safely. Ash-Greninja, Tapu Koko, Landorus-T, and Gliscor fall into this category, although they must be wary of being chipped into range of a boosted Sucker Punch. Tapu Lele can also use its Psychic-terrain to block Sucker Punch entirely, although it can't revenge kill Mega Mawile on its own without some chip damage. Additionally, faster defensive Pokemon, such as Zapdos, Landorus-T, and Moltres can outrun Mega Mawile and hit it super effectively; the aforementioned three also have ways of punishing Mega Mawile for making contact with them.
**Steel-types**: Certain Steel-types can greatly annoy Mega Mawile. Iron Defense Skarmory is one of the best ways to deal with Mega Mawile, as with speed investment it can outrun it and boost its Defense as Mega Mawile attempts to set up, therefore making it very hard to break without Focus Punch while also chipping it with Rocky Helmet. Heatran outruns Mega Mawile, resists Play Rough, and forces it out with the threat of an OHKO. This is especially problematic considering how dangerous Heatran is; giving such a threatening foe an opportunity is generally not ideal. However, Heatran must be cautious of Fighting coverage or Knock Off if attempting to switch in, and +2 Sucker Punch can take it down after some chip. Substitute+Z-Move Magnezone can also trap Mega Mawile fairly easily, although it must be careful of switching directly into Fire Fang or Fighting coverage. Melmetal is a decent check as well, but it can't safely switch into Fire Fang or Fighting coverage as Mega Mawile is faster, and it must avoid taking too much chip if it is attempting to deal with the Swords Dance set.
**Ground-types**: Ground-types such as Landorus-T, Gliscor, Garchomp, and Excadrill are capable of checking Mega Mawile offensively, and some, such as Landorus-T and the rarer Hippowdon, are capable of switching into certain Mega Mawile sets. They must be careful of being chipped into range of a boosted Sucker Punch, however, and many of them fear Ice Punch.
**Residual Damage**: Mega Mawile only uses attacks that make contact, so it is vulnerable to getting chipped down by Rocky Helmet and Iron Barbs. Additionally, it is chipped down heavily by Spikes. This can limit its longevity in certain matchups where it would otherwise be superbly threatening, such as against teams running Ferrothorn, Rocky Helmet Corviknight, or Rocky Helmet Landorus-T.
[CREDITS]
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