QC: Tone114, Raiza, Anty
GP: P Squared, GatoDelFuego
[OVERVIEW]
Pawniard is an incredibly threatening attacker thanks to its great Attack stat and STAB Knock Off and Sucker Punch in a metagame where Dark-resistant Pokemon are few and far between. It can also fulfill multiple roles as a Swords Dance sweeper, trapper, or Stealth Rock setter. Additionally, Pawniard has a solid defensive typing, resisting Normal, Grass, and Ice, allowing it to check many of PU's most threatening attackers. However, Pawniard has mediocre Speed and bulk, even with Eviolite, making it fairly reliant on Sucker Punch to deal with faster attackers. Pawniard is also susceptible to trapping by Probopass or the rare Trapinch, and it suffers from a few omnipresent checks counters such as Stunfisk and Monferno that leave every team with multiple ways to deal with it.
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Iron Head
move 4: Swords Dance / Pursuit
item: Eviolite
ability: Defiant
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Knock Off is Pawniard's main Dark-type STAB move and comes with the added bonus of removing items, and Sucker Punch is its main cleaning move at +2. Iron Head hits Dark- and Fairy-types such as Vullaby and Clefairy, and does more damage to Machoke. Swords Dance can be used to set up a sweep, while Pursuit can get chip damage on Pokemon that Pawniard forces out such as Dusknoir and Dodrio. Stealth Rock can be fit into the last slot on teams that lack a Stealth Rock setter. Brick Break can also be used to OHKO opposing Pawniard and 2HKO Probopass.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack investment and an Adamant nature let Pawniard sweep more easily, and maximum Speed investment helps Pawniard beat out as much as possible without resorting to Sucker Punch. Eviolite helps Pawniard check a number of Pokemon, such as Stoutland and Leafeon, when combined with its great natural resistances. Defiant helps Pawniard discourage Defog and gives Pawniard an automatic Attack boost versus Sticky Web teams.
Usage Tips
========
Knock Off is Pawniard's best move to use in most scenarios, as it can cripple teams late-game and remove Eviolites from switch-ins. Pawniard can be brought in on predicted Defogs for the Defiant boost, but be careful, as Swanna and Vibrava can do significant damage to Pawniard with Scald and Earthquake, respectively. Pawniard can set up a Swords Dance early-game to weaken bulky foes such as Vullaby to ease late-game sweeps. If running Pursuit, try to not be too predictable, as most foes that Pawniard forces out, such as Dusknoir, can stay in predicting Pursuit, take the weaker attack, and cripple or KO Pawniard. You should also beware of getting Pawniard trapped by Probopass or Trapinch; avoid giving them a free switch in or being too predictable with switching Pawniard in.
Team Options
========
Entry-hazard stacking teammates such as Golem and Venipede can help to wear down Pawniard's switch-ins while Pawniard deters Defoggers from removing the entry hazards. Physical wallbreakers and cleaners such as Dodrio and Fraxure can be paired with Pawniard to break down each other's counters. Pokemon that benefit from Ghost- and Psychic-types being Pursuit trapped such as Bouffalant and Monferno also pair well with Pawniard. Fighting-type checks such as Grumpig and Clefairy are essential to take on Pawniard's biggest weakness. Status absorbers such as Machoke or clerics such as Audino can also help to keep Pawniard healthy. Floatzel is a notable offensive partner, as it threatens Ground- and Fire-types and absorbs Will-O-Wisp for Pawniard, and Pawniard checks Grass-types for Floatzel.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Low Kick can OHKO Probopass, unlike Brick Break, but it misses out on the KO against opposing Pawniard. Magnet Rise allows Pawniard to beat Golem one-on-one more reliably, but it is fairly worthless otherwise.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fighting-types**: Monferno and Machoke can both take multiple hits from Pawniard while easily OHKOing it. Neither appreciates losing their Eviolite and can be worn down with repeated attacks, but Monferno can also pivot out of Pawniard with U-Turn and more reliably beat a +2 Pawniard by Mach Punching it first.
**Ground-types**: Bulky Ground-types such as Stunfisk and Gabite can reliably switch into Pawniard a few times and KO it with their Ground-type STAB moves, although they are ultimately worn down thanks to their lack of recovery. Trapinch can also trap and KO Pawniard as long as it has a free switch, as it cannot survive two Knock Offs.
**Status**: Burn prevents Pawniard from doing any serious damage, while paralysis forces it to use the unreliable Sucker Punch to hit first. Status moves can also work around a predicted Sucker Punch, allowing foes such as Sleep Powder Jumpluff and Will-O-Wisp Rapidash to work around Pawniard's priority.
**Strong Special Attackers**: Due to Pawniard's mediocre special bulk, most special attackers can either OHKO or 2HKO it fairly easily. Although they need to be at a high enough health to survive a Sucker Punch, Pokemon such as Floatzel, Raichu, and Gorebyss are all effective checks to Pawniard.
GP: P Squared, GatoDelFuego
[OVERVIEW]
Pawniard is an incredibly threatening attacker thanks to its great Attack stat and STAB Knock Off and Sucker Punch in a metagame where Dark-resistant Pokemon are few and far between. It can also fulfill multiple roles as a Swords Dance sweeper, trapper, or Stealth Rock setter. Additionally, Pawniard has a solid defensive typing, resisting Normal, Grass, and Ice, allowing it to check many of PU's most threatening attackers. However, Pawniard has mediocre Speed and bulk, even with Eviolite, making it fairly reliant on Sucker Punch to deal with faster attackers. Pawniard is also susceptible to trapping by Probopass or the rare Trapinch, and it suffers from a few omnipresent checks counters such as Stunfisk and Monferno that leave every team with multiple ways to deal with it.
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Iron Head
move 4: Swords Dance / Pursuit
item: Eviolite
ability: Defiant
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Knock Off is Pawniard's main Dark-type STAB move and comes with the added bonus of removing items, and Sucker Punch is its main cleaning move at +2. Iron Head hits Dark- and Fairy-types such as Vullaby and Clefairy, and does more damage to Machoke. Swords Dance can be used to set up a sweep, while Pursuit can get chip damage on Pokemon that Pawniard forces out such as Dusknoir and Dodrio. Stealth Rock can be fit into the last slot on teams that lack a Stealth Rock setter. Brick Break can also be used to OHKO opposing Pawniard and 2HKO Probopass.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack investment and an Adamant nature let Pawniard sweep more easily, and maximum Speed investment helps Pawniard beat out as much as possible without resorting to Sucker Punch. Eviolite helps Pawniard check a number of Pokemon, such as Stoutland and Leafeon, when combined with its great natural resistances. Defiant helps Pawniard discourage Defog and gives Pawniard an automatic Attack boost versus Sticky Web teams.
Usage Tips
========
Knock Off is Pawniard's best move to use in most scenarios, as it can cripple teams late-game and remove Eviolites from switch-ins. Pawniard can be brought in on predicted Defogs for the Defiant boost, but be careful, as Swanna and Vibrava can do significant damage to Pawniard with Scald and Earthquake, respectively. Pawniard can set up a Swords Dance early-game to weaken bulky foes such as Vullaby to ease late-game sweeps. If running Pursuit, try to not be too predictable, as most foes that Pawniard forces out, such as Dusknoir, can stay in predicting Pursuit, take the weaker attack, and cripple or KO Pawniard. You should also beware of getting Pawniard trapped by Probopass or Trapinch; avoid giving them a free switch in or being too predictable with switching Pawniard in.
Team Options
========
Entry-hazard stacking teammates such as Golem and Venipede can help to wear down Pawniard's switch-ins while Pawniard deters Defoggers from removing the entry hazards. Physical wallbreakers and cleaners such as Dodrio and Fraxure can be paired with Pawniard to break down each other's counters. Pokemon that benefit from Ghost- and Psychic-types being Pursuit trapped such as Bouffalant and Monferno also pair well with Pawniard. Fighting-type checks such as Grumpig and Clefairy are essential to take on Pawniard's biggest weakness. Status absorbers such as Machoke or clerics such as Audino can also help to keep Pawniard healthy. Floatzel is a notable offensive partner, as it threatens Ground- and Fire-types and absorbs Will-O-Wisp for Pawniard, and Pawniard checks Grass-types for Floatzel.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Low Kick can OHKO Probopass, unlike Brick Break, but it misses out on the KO against opposing Pawniard. Magnet Rise allows Pawniard to beat Golem one-on-one more reliably, but it is fairly worthless otherwise.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fighting-types**: Monferno and Machoke can both take multiple hits from Pawniard while easily OHKOing it. Neither appreciates losing their Eviolite and can be worn down with repeated attacks, but Monferno can also pivot out of Pawniard with U-Turn and more reliably beat a +2 Pawniard by Mach Punching it first.
**Ground-types**: Bulky Ground-types such as Stunfisk and Gabite can reliably switch into Pawniard a few times and KO it with their Ground-type STAB moves, although they are ultimately worn down thanks to their lack of recovery. Trapinch can also trap and KO Pawniard as long as it has a free switch, as it cannot survive two Knock Offs.
**Status**: Burn prevents Pawniard from doing any serious damage, while paralysis forces it to use the unreliable Sucker Punch to hit first. Status moves can also work around a predicted Sucker Punch, allowing foes such as Sleep Powder Jumpluff and Will-O-Wisp Rapidash to work around Pawniard's priority.
**Strong Special Attackers**: Due to Pawniard's mediocre special bulk, most special attackers can either OHKO or 2HKO it fairly easily. Although they need to be at a high enough health to survive a Sucker Punch, Pokemon such as Floatzel, Raichu, and Gorebyss are all effective checks to Pawniard.
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