[OVERVIEW]
Mega Mawile is a brutal wallbreaker; thanks to Huge Power, it has the highest Attack stat in the game. Solid coverage options like Knock Off, Ice Punch, Fire Fang, and Thunder Punch alongside a setup move in Swords Dance make it impossible to deal with defensively, while its access to Sucker Punch gives it the ability to threaten offensive teams. Its coverage and power give it the ability to really destroy defensive cores, making it one of the scariest wallbreakers in OU. Its typing, combined with Intimidate, grants it many opportunities to either set up or just attack against common Pokemon such as Clefable, Tapu Bulu, and Reuniclus, allowing it to punch holes in teams relatively consistently. However, because of its very poor speed, Mega Mawile heavily relies on Sucker Punch to deal with faster threats, which allows Pokemon like Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Ash-Greninja to revenge kill it relatively consistently; hence, it struggles more against offensive teams that can overwhelm it before it can get a strong hit off. While Mega Mawile's typing is great, it does give Mega Mawile two weaknesses to extremely common types, namely Ground and Fire, making it vulnerable to common Pokemon such as Heatran, Landorus-T, and Zygarde, which are also bulky enough to take a +2 Sucker Punch. Finally, Mega Mawile has slight issues with picking correct coverage, as it can't always run what it wants.
[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]
Moves
========
Swords Dance boosts Mega Mawile's Attack to incredibly high levels, allowing it to potentially OHKO everything in the tier, with the exception of Unaware users. Play Rough is Mega Mawile's strongest STAB move and hits Pokemon such as Tyranitar and Mega Latios super effectively. Sucker Punch gives Mega Mawile the means to hit faster Pokemon such as Landorus-T, Mega Alakazam, and Kartana. Knock Off allows Mega Mawile to net neutral coverage on Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Toxapex, usually OHKOing both after a layer of Spikes at +2. It also has nearly perfect neutral coverage with Play Rough. Thunder Punch can be used over Knock Off for its immediate damage on Pokemon such as Celesteela, Toxapex, and Gyarados. Finally, Fire Fang can be used to make Mega Scizor significantly less annoying and to OHKO Ferrothorn without any boosts.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack EVs and an Adamant nature make Mega Mawile as strong as possible, making its job as a wallbreaker easier. 164 Speed EVs allow Mega Mawile to outspeed Earthquake Mega Venusaur and everything below it. The rest of the EVs are put into HP to maximize its bulk. Intimidate softens up physical blows and gives Mega Mawile more setup opportunities. Huge Power is Mawile's post-Mega ability, doubling its Attack and making it insanely powerful. Mawilite is needed to allow Mawile to Mega Evolve.
Usage Tips
========
Mega Mawile is best used to soften up defensive teams early- to mid-game so that the rest of its team has an easier time dealing with the remaining Pokemon. Specifically, Mega Mawile is excellent at decimating defensive cores, so it should be used as much as possible to break through bulky cores for its teammates to take advantage of. Against offensive teams, it's advised to attempt to play aggressively, such as bringing it in on a predicted double switch, so that you can get value out of Mega Mawile in this matchup. Additionally, it's advised to only set up late-game, as in the early game Mega Mawile's checks will be too healthy for it to sweep through them. Mega Mawile is also good at wearing down Pokemon such as Heatran and Landorus-T so that the rest of its team can more easily deal with them. This is especially true with entry hazards on the field. Before Mega Evolving, Mawile can be useful with Intimidate pivoting to help soften blows from physical attackers like Zygarde, Hawlucha, Gyarados, Mega Heracross, and Kartana.
Team Options
========
Entry hazard setters such as Ferrothorn, Heatran, and both Greninja formes are good partners, as they can grant Mega Mawile an easier time breaking through defensive cores and wearing down Pokemon such as Landorus-T, Ferrothorn, and Toxapex. Additionally, Spikes and Stealth Rock can significantly aid Mega Mawile in sweeping late-game, as they can potentially put Pokemon such as Tapu Koko and Ash-Greninja in range of +2 Sucker Punch. Grass-types such as Tapu Bulu and Tangrowth pair well with Mega Mawile, as they resist Ground and therefore can check Pokemon such as Zygarde and defensive Landorus-T. U-turn and Volt Switch users such as Landorus-T, Tapu Koko, Tornadus-T, and Rotom-W pair well with Mega Mawile, as they can bring it in with U-turn and Volt Switch respectively so that it does not have to take any unnecessary damage, and thereby increase its longevity and ability to wallbreak. Rotom-W is an especially notable teammate, as it resists Fire and is immune to Ground, which allows it to check Pokemon that Mega Mawile struggles against, such as Landorus-T and Heatran; Rotom-W also has a tendency to bait in Grass-types like Tangrowth and Ferrothorn, allowing it to pivot out with Volt Switch and give Mega Mawile an opportunity to wallbreak. Choice Specs Magnezone can be a pretty good partner for Swords Dance Mega Mawile; Mega Scizor can be a nuisance to it, as can Ferrothorn if Mega Mawile chooses to run Thunder Punch, and Choice Specs Magnezone is pretty reliable at trapping both of these threats. Serperior is also a good teammate because Serperior can help wear down Heatran for Mega Mawile, and vice versa. Serperior is also great at spreading paralysis with Glare, which helps Mega Mawile secure setup opportunities and outspeed the opposing team. Dual screens Tapu Koko can provide momentum for Mega Mawile and also help grant it more setup opportunites to potentially sweep against any team archetype. Finally, Mega Mawile is a must-have on Trick Room teams, as it's nearly impossible to stop if it can manage to get a Swords Dance off under Trick Room.
[SET]
name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Play Rough / Iron Head
move 2: Thunder Punch
move 3: Ice Punch
move 4: Fire Fang
item: Mawilite
ability: Intimidate
nature: Adamant
evs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Play Rough is a strong STAB move that nets alright neutral coverage and hits Pokemon such as Tyranitar and Zygarde. Iron Head is a 100% accurate alternative that nets super effective coverage on Clefable and also hits Mega Venusaur neutrally, but it is slightly weaker. Thunder Punch hits Pokemon such as Toxapex, Celesteela, and Skarmory extremely hard. Ice Punch OHKOes Choice Scarf variants of Landorus-T and nets a minimum damage of 83% to defensive variants, alongside hitting other threats like Zapdos, Tangrowth, and Hippowdon hard. Fire Fang's main use is in its ability to OHKO Mega Scizor, Ferrothorn, and, after entry hazards, Magnezone. Focus Punch can be used to hit Heatran on the switch for an OHKO, but the listed coverage moves are generally more useful. Brick Break is a significantly weaker, but safer, version of Focus Punch that can still OHKO offensive Heatran variants and deal significant damage to more defensive ones.
Set Details
========
252 Attack EVs and an Adamant nature allow Mega Mawile to hit as hard as possible. 164 Speed EVs allow Mega Mawile to outspeed Skarmory and every Pokemon below it. The rest of the EVs are placed in HP to make Mawile more bulky. If running Play Rough, 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Spe is an option to get the jump on Celesteela while making Mega Mawile more bulky. Intimidate is the pre-Mega ability of choice, as it gives Mega Mawile additional chances to attack against foes such as Gyarados and Hawlucha. Hyper Cutter can also be used to ignore Intimidate from Landorus-T, but it has limited use otherwise. Huge Power doubles Mawile's Attack after Mega Evolving, making Mega Mawile incredibly powerful. Mawilite is needed to let Mawile Mega Evolve.
Usage Tips
========
Against defensive teams, attempt to get Mega Mawile in as much as possible so it can punch holes with its great power and coverage. Additionally, try to not let Mega Mawile too worn down by residual damage and entry hazards, as it needs to be at good HP to properly wallbreak. You must play aggressively against offensive teams in order to maximize Mega Mawile's potential, since it would normally be too pressured to get any damage off. Good ways to get Mega Mawile in against an offense team would be by double switching or bringing it in via U-turn or Volt Switch. One of the only ways to counter Mega Mawile is to predict its coverage moves and switch between Pokemon that resist its moves in order to get the correct Pokemon in on it, and therefore deal with it. Make sure to predict whenever the opponent tries to maneuver around Mega Mawile's coverage so that you can get the most value out of it. This set works best when Mega Mawile is predicting foes to switch into one move, only to be hit by a coverage move. This set is capable of hitting a large part of the meta super effectively; thus, it is advised to be very aggressive with this set, as it's quite prediction reliant and can be extremely deadly if played correctly.
Team Options
========
Entry hazard setters like Clefable, Ash-Greninja, and Landorus-T are great partners because they can soften up the opposing team for Mega Mawile to wallbreak more easily. Volt Switch and U-turn users like Rotom-W, Tornadus-T, Magnezone, and Tapu Koko are excellent partners because they can bring Mega Mawile in safely for it to punch holes, preventing any unnecessary damage to Mega Mawile. Magnezone can even trap Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Celesteela so that Mega Mawile does not have to take residual damage when KOing them. Grass-types like Tangrowth and Tapu Bulu make for excellent partners because of their ability to switch into Pokemon such as defensive Landorus-T and Zygarde, which are normally offensive checks to Mega Mawile. Since this Mega Mawile set lacks Sucker Punch, fast offensive Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Landorus-T, Ash-Greninja, and Weavile are good teammates for their ability to pressure offensive builds. Pokemon such as Shed Shell Toxapex, Gastrodon, and Rotom-W can help Mega Mawile out against Heatran, which Mega Mawile lacking Fighting-type coverage cannot deal with Mega Mawile can also be used as a deadly attacker on Trick Room teams, OHKOing a surprising amount of the meta and 2HKOing almost everything else.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Stealth Rock is a niche move choice that's generally a pretty bad move to run on a Pokemon like Mega Mawile because it needs all the coverage it can get, but it can work if you absolutely need to run it. A set consisting of Substitute, Play Rough, Thunder Punch, and Focus Punch can be used, as it eases prediction against Heatran and can take greater advantage of forced switches, but it wears Mega Mawile down and misses out on coverage, priority, or setup moves.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Faster Offensive Threats**: Pokemon such as Landorus-T, Choice Band Tyranitar, Zygarde, Tapu Koko, and Ash-Greninja can take a +2 Sucker Punch and retaliate for an OHKO with their respective STAB or coverage moves, but none of them can really switch into Mega Mawile. Tapu Lele gets a special mention for Psychic Terrain, which prevents Mega Mawile from using Sucker Punch.
**Will-O-Wisp**: Will-O-Wisp from Pokemon such as Heatran, Mew, and Rotom-W outspeed and cripple Mega Mawile by halving its Attack, meaning Mega Mawile must watch out for them.
**Physically Defensive Walls**: Pokemon such as Mega Venusaur, Toxapex, and Skarmory can wall Mega Mawile depending on its coverage, but they aren't guaranteed counters by any means. Physically defensive Volcarona can also be quite annoying without entry hazards up, as it isn't weak to any of Mega Mawile's coverage moves, consistently switching into it and threatening it out with a Fire-type STAB move, and it also has reliable recovery.
Mega Mawile is a brutal wallbreaker; thanks to Huge Power, it has the highest Attack stat in the game. Solid coverage options like Knock Off, Ice Punch, Fire Fang, and Thunder Punch alongside a setup move in Swords Dance make it impossible to deal with defensively, while its access to Sucker Punch gives it the ability to threaten offensive teams. Its coverage and power give it the ability to really destroy defensive cores, making it one of the scariest wallbreakers in OU. Its typing, combined with Intimidate, grants it many opportunities to either set up or just attack against common Pokemon such as Clefable, Tapu Bulu, and Reuniclus, allowing it to punch holes in teams relatively consistently. However, because of its very poor speed, Mega Mawile heavily relies on Sucker Punch to deal with faster threats, which allows Pokemon like Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Ash-Greninja to revenge kill it relatively consistently; hence, it struggles more against offensive teams that can overwhelm it before it can get a strong hit off. While Mega Mawile's typing is great, it does give Mega Mawile two weaknesses to extremely common types, namely Ground and Fire, making it vulnerable to common Pokemon such as Heatran, Landorus-T, and Zygarde, which are also bulky enough to take a +2 Sucker Punch. Finally, Mega Mawile has slight issues with picking correct coverage, as it can't always run what it wants.
[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]
Moves
========
Swords Dance boosts Mega Mawile's Attack to incredibly high levels, allowing it to potentially OHKO everything in the tier, with the exception of Unaware users. Play Rough is Mega Mawile's strongest STAB move and hits Pokemon such as Tyranitar and Mega Latios super effectively. Sucker Punch gives Mega Mawile the means to hit faster Pokemon such as Landorus-T, Mega Alakazam, and Kartana. Knock Off allows Mega Mawile to net neutral coverage on Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Toxapex, usually OHKOing both after a layer of Spikes at +2. It also has nearly perfect neutral coverage with Play Rough. Thunder Punch can be used over Knock Off for its immediate damage on Pokemon such as Celesteela, Toxapex, and Gyarados. Finally, Fire Fang can be used to make Mega Scizor significantly less annoying and to OHKO Ferrothorn without any boosts.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack EVs and an Adamant nature make Mega Mawile as strong as possible, making its job as a wallbreaker easier. 164 Speed EVs allow Mega Mawile to outspeed Earthquake Mega Venusaur and everything below it. The rest of the EVs are put into HP to maximize its bulk. Intimidate softens up physical blows and gives Mega Mawile more setup opportunities. Huge Power is Mawile's post-Mega ability, doubling its Attack and making it insanely powerful. Mawilite is needed to allow Mawile to Mega Evolve.
Usage Tips
========
Mega Mawile is best used to soften up defensive teams early- to mid-game so that the rest of its team has an easier time dealing with the remaining Pokemon. Specifically, Mega Mawile is excellent at decimating defensive cores, so it should be used as much as possible to break through bulky cores for its teammates to take advantage of. Against offensive teams, it's advised to attempt to play aggressively, such as bringing it in on a predicted double switch, so that you can get value out of Mega Mawile in this matchup. Additionally, it's advised to only set up late-game, as in the early game Mega Mawile's checks will be too healthy for it to sweep through them. Mega Mawile is also good at wearing down Pokemon such as Heatran and Landorus-T so that the rest of its team can more easily deal with them. This is especially true with entry hazards on the field. Before Mega Evolving, Mawile can be useful with Intimidate pivoting to help soften blows from physical attackers like Zygarde, Hawlucha, Gyarados, Mega Heracross, and Kartana.
Team Options
========
Entry hazard setters such as Ferrothorn, Heatran, and both Greninja formes are good partners, as they can grant Mega Mawile an easier time breaking through defensive cores and wearing down Pokemon such as Landorus-T, Ferrothorn, and Toxapex. Additionally, Spikes and Stealth Rock can significantly aid Mega Mawile in sweeping late-game, as they can potentially put Pokemon such as Tapu Koko and Ash-Greninja in range of +2 Sucker Punch. Grass-types such as Tapu Bulu and Tangrowth pair well with Mega Mawile, as they resist Ground and therefore can check Pokemon such as Zygarde and defensive Landorus-T. U-turn and Volt Switch users such as Landorus-T, Tapu Koko, Tornadus-T, and Rotom-W pair well with Mega Mawile, as they can bring it in with U-turn and Volt Switch respectively so that it does not have to take any unnecessary damage, and thereby increase its longevity and ability to wallbreak. Rotom-W is an especially notable teammate, as it resists Fire and is immune to Ground, which allows it to check Pokemon that Mega Mawile struggles against, such as Landorus-T and Heatran; Rotom-W also has a tendency to bait in Grass-types like Tangrowth and Ferrothorn, allowing it to pivot out with Volt Switch and give Mega Mawile an opportunity to wallbreak. Choice Specs Magnezone can be a pretty good partner for Swords Dance Mega Mawile; Mega Scizor can be a nuisance to it, as can Ferrothorn if Mega Mawile chooses to run Thunder Punch, and Choice Specs Magnezone is pretty reliable at trapping both of these threats. Serperior is also a good teammate because Serperior can help wear down Heatran for Mega Mawile, and vice versa. Serperior is also great at spreading paralysis with Glare, which helps Mega Mawile secure setup opportunities and outspeed the opposing team. Dual screens Tapu Koko can provide momentum for Mega Mawile and also help grant it more setup opportunites to potentially sweep against any team archetype. Finally, Mega Mawile is a must-have on Trick Room teams, as it's nearly impossible to stop if it can manage to get a Swords Dance off under Trick Room.
[SET]
name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Play Rough / Iron Head
move 2: Thunder Punch
move 3: Ice Punch
move 4: Fire Fang
item: Mawilite
ability: Intimidate
nature: Adamant
evs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Play Rough is a strong STAB move that nets alright neutral coverage and hits Pokemon such as Tyranitar and Zygarde. Iron Head is a 100% accurate alternative that nets super effective coverage on Clefable and also hits Mega Venusaur neutrally, but it is slightly weaker. Thunder Punch hits Pokemon such as Toxapex, Celesteela, and Skarmory extremely hard. Ice Punch OHKOes Choice Scarf variants of Landorus-T and nets a minimum damage of 83% to defensive variants, alongside hitting other threats like Zapdos, Tangrowth, and Hippowdon hard. Fire Fang's main use is in its ability to OHKO Mega Scizor, Ferrothorn, and, after entry hazards, Magnezone. Focus Punch can be used to hit Heatran on the switch for an OHKO, but the listed coverage moves are generally more useful. Brick Break is a significantly weaker, but safer, version of Focus Punch that can still OHKO offensive Heatran variants and deal significant damage to more defensive ones.
Set Details
========
252 Attack EVs and an Adamant nature allow Mega Mawile to hit as hard as possible. 164 Speed EVs allow Mega Mawile to outspeed Skarmory and every Pokemon below it. The rest of the EVs are placed in HP to make Mawile more bulky. If running Play Rough, 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Spe is an option to get the jump on Celesteela while making Mega Mawile more bulky. Intimidate is the pre-Mega ability of choice, as it gives Mega Mawile additional chances to attack against foes such as Gyarados and Hawlucha. Hyper Cutter can also be used to ignore Intimidate from Landorus-T, but it has limited use otherwise. Huge Power doubles Mawile's Attack after Mega Evolving, making Mega Mawile incredibly powerful. Mawilite is needed to let Mawile Mega Evolve.
Usage Tips
========
Against defensive teams, attempt to get Mega Mawile in as much as possible so it can punch holes with its great power and coverage. Additionally, try to not let Mega Mawile too worn down by residual damage and entry hazards, as it needs to be at good HP to properly wallbreak. You must play aggressively against offensive teams in order to maximize Mega Mawile's potential, since it would normally be too pressured to get any damage off. Good ways to get Mega Mawile in against an offense team would be by double switching or bringing it in via U-turn or Volt Switch. One of the only ways to counter Mega Mawile is to predict its coverage moves and switch between Pokemon that resist its moves in order to get the correct Pokemon in on it, and therefore deal with it. Make sure to predict whenever the opponent tries to maneuver around Mega Mawile's coverage so that you can get the most value out of it. This set works best when Mega Mawile is predicting foes to switch into one move, only to be hit by a coverage move. This set is capable of hitting a large part of the meta super effectively; thus, it is advised to be very aggressive with this set, as it's quite prediction reliant and can be extremely deadly if played correctly.
Team Options
========
Entry hazard setters like Clefable, Ash-Greninja, and Landorus-T are great partners because they can soften up the opposing team for Mega Mawile to wallbreak more easily. Volt Switch and U-turn users like Rotom-W, Tornadus-T, Magnezone, and Tapu Koko are excellent partners because they can bring Mega Mawile in safely for it to punch holes, preventing any unnecessary damage to Mega Mawile. Magnezone can even trap Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Celesteela so that Mega Mawile does not have to take residual damage when KOing them. Grass-types like Tangrowth and Tapu Bulu make for excellent partners because of their ability to switch into Pokemon such as defensive Landorus-T and Zygarde, which are normally offensive checks to Mega Mawile. Since this Mega Mawile set lacks Sucker Punch, fast offensive Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Landorus-T, Ash-Greninja, and Weavile are good teammates for their ability to pressure offensive builds. Pokemon such as Shed Shell Toxapex, Gastrodon, and Rotom-W can help Mega Mawile out against Heatran, which Mega Mawile lacking Fighting-type coverage cannot deal with Mega Mawile can also be used as a deadly attacker on Trick Room teams, OHKOing a surprising amount of the meta and 2HKOing almost everything else.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Stealth Rock is a niche move choice that's generally a pretty bad move to run on a Pokemon like Mega Mawile because it needs all the coverage it can get, but it can work if you absolutely need to run it. A set consisting of Substitute, Play Rough, Thunder Punch, and Focus Punch can be used, as it eases prediction against Heatran and can take greater advantage of forced switches, but it wears Mega Mawile down and misses out on coverage, priority, or setup moves.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Faster Offensive Threats**: Pokemon such as Landorus-T, Choice Band Tyranitar, Zygarde, Tapu Koko, and Ash-Greninja can take a +2 Sucker Punch and retaliate for an OHKO with their respective STAB or coverage moves, but none of them can really switch into Mega Mawile. Tapu Lele gets a special mention for Psychic Terrain, which prevents Mega Mawile from using Sucker Punch.
**Will-O-Wisp**: Will-O-Wisp from Pokemon such as Heatran, Mew, and Rotom-W outspeed and cripple Mega Mawile by halving its Attack, meaning Mega Mawile must watch out for them.
**Physically Defensive Walls**: Pokemon such as Mega Venusaur, Toxapex, and Skarmory can wall Mega Mawile depending on its coverage, but they aren't guaranteed counters by any means. Physically defensive Volcarona can also be quite annoying without entry hazards up, as it isn't weak to any of Mega Mawile's coverage moves, consistently switching into it and threatening it out with a Fire-type STAB move, and it also has reliable recovery.
Last edited:
