Celestavian
Smooth
Pawniard
[Overview]
<p>Pawniard sits at a middle ground in the Little Cup metagame. It has a lot going for it, starting with its high Attack stat. This, combined with Swords Dance and Sucker Punch, makes Pawniard a fearsome sweeper that can floor most Pokemon before they have a chance to retaliate. Its Steel-type STAB is good for hitting every Fighting-type in the metagame neutrally on the switch, making them reluctant to try and come in on a Sucker Punch. With a Life Orb set, Pawniard becomes nigh unstoppable after a Swords Dance, as not even defensive Mienfoo can stomach a boosted Iron Head. Defensively, it has that wonderful Steel typing, which gives it a lot of opportunities to switch in on resisted hits with Eviolite, as well as Toxic. Its Defense stat is also above average, which allows it to take hits from powerhouses such as Murkrow and Guts-boosted Taillow with ease.</p>
<p>That same typing, however, gives Pawniard a fatal double weakness to Fighting-type moves, which are everywhere in this metagame. It also gives Pokemon that Pawniard should hard counter, such as Abra and Misdreavus, a chance to outpredict and slay it with Hidden Power Fighting. Its Special Defense is also somewhat dismal, which makes switching in on most special attacks a bad idea. It also competes with Murkrow for a team slot most of the time, due to Murkrow's better movepool, access to Prankster with Substitute and Roost, a STAB move that blows Fighting-types away, as well as shared access to Sucker Punch. Even with these downfalls, Pawniard has excellent potential in the Little Cup metagame and can clean up late-game like no other.</p>
[SET]
name: Eviolite Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Brick Break / Pursuit
move 4: Iron Head / Night Slash
item: Eviolite
ability: Defiant
nature: Jolly
evs: 156 Atk / 36 Def / 116 SpD / 196 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is Pawniard's best set in the current metagame. With an Eviolite, it grabs a much-needed defensive boost that lets it switch in on Brave Birds and other resisted hits much more easily, which is important due to Pawniard's lack of recovery. It also makes it very easy to set up on weak walls such as Lileep, which can't touch Pawniard at all. Swords Dance doubles Pawniard's Attack stat after one use to a whopping 34, allowing it to break through many of Little Cup's bulkiest walls. Sucker Punch is Pawniard's most powerful physical Dark-type attack, and also has increased priority, which is a main component to Pawniard's success. Without it, Pokemon such as Staryu, Choice Scarf Larvesta, and Drilbur would be sure stops to any Pawniard sweep; a +2 Sucker Punch is a guaranteed OHKO on all of them with a layer of entry hazards.</p>
<p>The last two moveslots can be customized to the role Pawniard is to fill on your team. With Brick Break in the third slot, it gains the ability to hit Steel-types such as Ferroseed and opposing Pawniard. This aids Pawniard a lot in sweeping as it wants the best coverage possible. The other option for this slot is Pursuit, which is best used if Pawniard's main purpose is to eliminate Snover for sand teams. It can switch in easily on Giga Drain and Blizzard, but is 2HKOed by Hidden Power Fire after one round of hail damage, so be wary of that. Pursuit would be good for opposing Ghost-types, but unfortunately, most of them outspeed Pawniard and have Hidden Power Fighting to KO it on the spot. For the last moveslot, it is advisable to choose another STAB move. Iron Head is the main choice to augment the coverage of the first two moves; no Fighting-type in LC resists both Steel- and Dark-type moves, so you will always have a move to hit them with. It also has the same Base Power as Sucker Punch, so you don't need to use it if you fear the opponent won't attack. Night Slash, on the other hand, gives you a reliable Dark STAB to use that doesn't require your opponent to choose an attacking move. This move is best for slower opponents such as Frillish and Slowpoke, as well as Bronzor, Elgyem, and Eviolite Chinchou. However, this gives Pawniard problems with Fighting-types which it can no longer hit very hard.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread gives Pawniard maximum Speed, while shoring up its weaker Special Defense to better take hits from Snover and Lileep. Adamant might seem like a good idea for a nature, but the extra point in Attack actually doesn't increase Pawniard's damage at all, so Jolly is superior. This allows it to always outspeed unboosted Scraggy, as well as neutral natured Houndour. As for partners, it's obvious that something to switch into Fighting-types is a good idea. Misdreavus is the best Ghost-type in the metagame, and pairs well with Pawniard on offensive teams to provide a strong special attacker to complement Pawniard's physical offense. Fire-types also scare Pawniard, and so Chinchou pairs well with it to take on Larvesta and Houndour which would otherwise pose problems. Ironically, Pawniard is probably the only Dark-type that Misdreavus can beat, so using Pawniard as your sole Misdreavus check is highly inadvisable. Murkrow provides good support as it can beat Misdreavus most of the time and crush Fighting-types with Brave Bird.</p>
[SET]
name: Life Orb Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Brick Break
move 4: Iron Head / Night Slash
item: Life Orb
ability: Defiant
nature: Jolly
evs: 236 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpD / 196 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While the Eviolite set focuses on taking hits and then setting up, this set is all about offense with a lot less bulk. The change to Life Orb from Eviolite is a significant one, and causes Pawniard to lose almost all of its defensive potential. However, in exchange, it gets a huge increase in power. For example, the standard Mienfoo tank set is demolished by a +2 Iron Head, while Life Orb Murkrow is OHKOed by a +2 Sucker Punch all the time if it has taken one round of Life Orb recoil beforehand.</p>
<p>As similar as this set and the Eviolite set may seem, their playstyles are very different. Whereas the Eviolite set uses its high defenses to set up boosts, this one sets up on forced switches such as against Lileep or Choice-locked Snover. Once you've set up one Swords Dance boost, there is almost nothing in the metagame that can stop Pawnaird. The main moveset stays the same from the Eviolite set, sans Pursuit. Pawniard is trying to boost when the opposing Pokemon switches out, not knock it out. For the last slot, Iron Head is highly recommended, but if you really need to ensure the KO on Slowpoke and Frillish and the 2HKO on Bronzor, then Night Slash will work too.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Maximum Attack and Speed with a Jolly nature are a must on this set to ensure that Pawniard can outspeed and KO as many threats as possible. The leftover EVs provide a one point boost to both defenses, which can be helpful sometimes. Some of the Fighting-types that plague Eviolite Pawniard, such as Mienfoo and Scraggy, are now blown away by its power, but Timburr and Croagunk still pose a threat with their priority Fighting-type moves. As Pawniard is much more frail this time around, it needs a bit more support to sweep than the Eviolite set. Misdreavus and Murkrow are still the best choices for opposing Fighting-types, while Chinchou handles Fire-types. A Fighting-type of your own, such as Knock Off Mienfoo, is very useful for weakening enemy walls such as Bronzor and Porygon which could otherwise take a hit and cripple Pawniard.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>A Choice Scarf set could be viable, but Mienfoo fills that role much better with its higher Speed, powerful STAB Hi Jump Kick, and Regenerator. Zen Headbutt scores a strong hit on most of the Fighting-types in the metagame, but since most of them have priority or are already beaten by Iron Head, it sees little use. For most of the BW1 metagame, Stealth Rock was illegal with Sucker Punch as Egg moves for Pawniard, but now that Stealth Rock is available through tutors, it can possibly utilize a bulky Stealth Rock support set.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Timburr and Croagunk are far and away the biggest threats to Pawniard, since they can put it down with their STAB priority Fighting-type moves. Mienfoo and other Fighting-types can also work well, but they need to be wary of Pawniard's boosted attacks. Basically, anything with a Fighting-type move that isn't weak to Sucker Punch can make an excellent Pawniard check. Magnemite can trap Pawniard while resisting Sucker Punch and Iron Head, but needs to be wielding a Choice Scarf to avoid a Brick Break, and can't break through the Eviolite set if Pawniard is at full health. Misdreavus initiates a deadly guessing game with Will-O-Wisp, Hidden Power Fighting, and Sucker Punch, where the wrong move will KO either Pawniard or Misdreavus. Most of the time, though, Misdreavus comes out on top due to its higher Speed and ability to take a burned Iron Head well.</p>