NU Sawk

Colonel M

I COULD BE BORED!
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Bert's Wrath:


[OVERVIEW]

Sawk stands as a solid Fighting-type with many unique traits that separate it from its brethren such as access to Mold Breaker, Sturdy, and diverse coverage options and a solid Speed tier. Mold Breaker helps Sawk hit Pokemon with Levitate such as Weezing and Rotom when it is locked into Earthquake, while Sturdy lets Sawk become an emergency check to dangerous threats such as Shell Smash Barbaracle. Sawk should be used for these perks, as it faces competition from other offensive Fighting-types such as Machamp, Virizion, and Hitmonlee.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Ice Punch
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Close Combat is Sawk's main move to pummel its foes with thanks to its perfect accuracy, high Base Power, and rather small drawback. Knock Off allows Sawk to take advantage of many of its switch-ins by removing items such as Eviolite from Golbat and Scyther as well as activating Colbur Berry from various Ghost- and Psychic-type Pokemon. Knock Off is also a great attack to scout out Pokemon that have Z-Crystals. Earthquake in combination with Mold Breaker lets Sawk hit Toxicroak, Rotom, and Weezing. Ice Punch rounds out the set by hitting Grass-types that resist Close Combat such as Whimsicott and Vileplume, as well as hitting Flying-types that may carry Colbur Berry such as Sigilyph and Xatu. Stone Edge is viable over Ice Punch to hit Flying-types harder than Ice Punch while also catching Accelgor.

Set Details
========

Maximum Speed investment with a Choice Scarf and a Jolly nature lets Sawk hit 442 Speed, allowing it to outspeed Sceptile and +2 Turtonator. From there, maximizing Attack is the most optimal choice to increase Sawk's power. Mold Breaker is the preferred ability thanks to it letting Sawk bypass Levitate when it is locked into Earthquake. Sturdy is a potential option if Sawk's team desperately requires it to be an emergency answer to setup sweepers, but the inability to touch Weezing and Colbur Berry Rotom can be rather annoying.

Usage Tips
========

Choice Scarf Sawk is used as a revenge killer as well as a potential option to clean up late-game if problematic Pokemon are removed from the field. Close Combat should be the primary attack to use due to its small drawbacks and STAB-boosted power. If Sawk is sent out early-game, Knock Off can be used instead to pressure switch-ins while removing their coveted items. Thanks to Mold Breaker, Earthquake can be a fairly safe attack to lock into if the opponent only has Pokemon with Levitate as their best answer.

Team Options
========

Choice Band Dark-types such as Sneasel and Drapion have excellent synergy with Sawk, as Sawk draws in a lot of Psychic- and Ghost-types and can use Knock Off to remove Colbur Berry to make it easier for them to Pursuit trap these threats. Sneasel is one of the best partners with Sawk, as it applies more pressure to faster Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Meloetta, Sigilyph, and Mismagius in comparison to Drapion. Drapion is still a fairly solid option though, as its superior bulk helps it switch into Sawk checks such as Vileplume and Golbat more easily. Entry hazards increase Sawk's capability of pressuring its checks and counters. Omastar is a great suicide lead that can lay both Stealth Rock and Spikes while also having Shell Smash to quickly apply offensive pressure in the early-game. Garbodor and Accelgor are also solid options to lay Spikes, though other Pokemon will have to assist with laying Stealth Rock. Powerful setup sweepers such as Virizion and Delphox break through bulkier teams to help Sawk clean up more efficiently late-game. Ghost-types such as Mismagius and Rotom are great assets to deter Rapid Spin. Mismagius provides a deadlier offensive presence with Nasty Plot, while Rotom can help Sawk switch in more easily with Volt Switch. Speaking of Volt Switch, Rotom-C is also a solid teammate that can get Sawk in more easily while being able to bypass a lot of Sawk's headaches such as Flying-types and Slowbro.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Poison Jab
move 4: Zen Headbutt
item: Choice Band
ability: Sturdy
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

With Choice Band, Close Combat is a very powerful attack to spam—even Pokemon that resist Close Combat such as Whimsicott take a tremendous amount of damage from the attack. Knock Off severely punishes switch-ins that covet their items or resist Close Combat such as Eviolite Golbat or Colbur Berry Sigilyph. Poison Jab lets Sawk bypass Fairy-types such as Whimsicott, Aromatisse, and Granbull more easily, while Zen Headbutt completes the set by nailing Poison-types such as Golbat, Toxicroak, and Weezing. Another option is removing Poison Jab and Zen Headbutt for Stone Edge and Earthquake, though mixing the moves is not recommended. Stone Edge does greater damage to Flying- and Bug-types such as Scyther and Golbat, while Earthquake hits Garbodor and Drapion harder than Zen Headbutt.

Set Details
========

Maximum Attack EVs with a Choice Band are preferred to give Sawk a large spike in power. Maximum Speed investment with a Jolly nature allows Sawk to outspeed positive-Speed natured threats such as Absol, Medicham, and Vanilluxe. Sturdy is the preferred ability, as it lets Sawk take one attack from full health and retaliate. This lets Sawk become a powerful check to boosted threats such as Barbaracle and Virizion. Adamant is a potential option over Jolly if outspeeding the listed threats above is of no concern. Adamant gives Sawk an even greater power spike with the potential to OHKO specially defensive Golbat with Stone Edge.

Usage Tips
========

Choice Band Sawk is used as an early- and mid-game breaker. Provided there are no Ghost-types, Close Combat is a fairly safe move to lock into that will still place a dent on Pokemon that resist the attack. The defensive drawback is of little concern so long as Sturdy remains intact. Knock Off is a fairly safe attack for Sawk to use, as it can catch a lot of Sawk's potential switch-ins and severely punish them while scouting for potential Z-Crystal users. Keeping Sturdy intact lets Sawk revenge kill dangerous threats while also allowing it to go toe-to-toe with some of its defensive checks. Specially defensive Golbat, for example, will KO itself if it steps into Stealth Rock, switches into Zen Headbutt or Stone Edge, and uses Brave Bird. Sturdy's upkeep is of utmost importance in some matchups, though bear in mind that hail matchups sometimes make it a little more difficult to keep Sturdy intact.

Team Options
========

Various late-game sweepers such as Virizion, Delphox, and Choice Specs Sceptile appreciate the dents that Choice Band Sawk provides for them while beating their lured-in checks and counters such as various Ghost-types for Virizion and Golbat for Sceptile. Golbat is an excellent teammate thanks to its defensive utility and access to Defog. Golbat can switch into various Fairy-type Pokemon such as Whimsicott and cripple physically defensive Pokemon such as Eviolite Rhydon and Quagsire with Toxic. Though Golbat can switch into various Poison-types such as Vileplume, it must beware of Knock Off users such as Drapion and Toxicroak. Other Defog users or Rapid Spin users such as Braviary, Kabutops, and Hitmonlee are great options to help preserve Sturdy for Sawk. Dark-types such as Weavile and Drapion still have fairly good synergy with Choice Band Sawk, as they can Pursuit trap some Psychic- and Ghost-type threats after they have been severely dented and deprived of their Colbur Berries. Skuntank is another option that can also Defog away entry hazards. Volt Switch from Rotom and Rotom-C can help Sawk switch in more easily while punishing various Flying-type switch-ins that Sawk may run into. Uxie is a potential U-turn partner that can provide Stealth Rock support as well. Steelix and Ferroseed take on a lot of Sawk's more problematic foes, namely Poison- and Fairy-types, while being able to lay entry hazards onto the field. Ferroseed can cripple threats with Thunder Wave or Leech Seed, while Steelix has Toxic to punish bulky Water-types.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Expert Belt lets Sawk bluff Choice sets while giving it the freedom to switch moves when necessary. Taunt is a viable option on non-Choice sets to prevent the foe from recovering health or crippling Sawk and its teammates. Z-Crystals, most notably Rockium Z and Darkinium Z, can be used to give Sawk extra protection from Knock Off while punishing some of its common switch-ins. When using Darkinium Z, remember to use Knock Off to remove Colbur Berry first before using the Z-Move. Toxic can be used on the Choice Scarf set to punish bulkier switch-ins such as Slowbro and Uxie. Double Kick is an option to break through suicide leads such as Omastar, Kabutops, and Aurorus.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types need to be careful of some of Sawk's coverage moves, but they are often the best switch-ins to Sawk, as they resist both Close Combat and Knock Off. Whimsicott, Aromatisse, and Granbull can shrug off the majority of Sawk's arsenal. Granbull gets a special mention, as Intimidate further weakens Sawk's attacks. All three fear Poison Jab from Sawk though, and Whimsicott also needs to be careful of Ice Punch.

**Flying-types**: Scyther and Golbat are two big Flying-types that have Eviolite to back up their bulk, though both need to be cautious of switching into Knock Off, Ice Punch, or Stone Edge, and Golbat must additionally avoid Zen Headbutt. Scyther can set up Swords Dance on Sawk locked into Close Combat and KO it with STAB Aerial Ace. Golbat can use its ridiculous bulk to use Roost, clear away hazards with Defog, or KO Sawk with STAB Brave Bird. Choice Scarf Braviary and Dodrio can also threaten Choice Band Sawk thanks to their higher Speed and STAB Brave Bird.

**Psychic-types**: Slowbro, Slowking, Xatu, Sigilyph, and Uxie can switch into the majority of attacks that Sawk throws with the exception of Knock Off, which all of these Pokemon bar Slowbro need to be extra careful of. Slowbro is never 2HKOed by Knock Off barring extremely rare critical hit circumstances. All of these Pokemon threaten Sawk with either STAB Psychic or Psyshock.

**Ghost-types**: Ghost-types such as Jellicent and Spiritomb can be rather problematic for Sawk, as they prevent it from spamming STAB Close Combat. Spiritomb either takes neutral damage or is flat out immune to any attack Sawk throws at it, but Jellicent needs to be extra careful of Choice Band-boosted Knock Off, as it will 2HKO.

**Poison-types**: Toxicroak, Vileplume, Garbodor, and Weezing can be rather annoying for Sawk to face, though they are not huge fans of Zen Headbutt and Mold Breaker Earthquake. Toxicroak does risk a Speed tie, though it can survive one hit that isn't Earthquake or Zen Headbutt while retaliating back with STAB Gunk Shot. Vileplume can check Sawk with Sleep Powder or by recovering its lost health with Moonlight or STAB Giga Drain. With Weak Armor, Garbodor can take advantage of Sawk's Close Combat to greatly improve its Speed while severely denting Sawk with STAB Gunk Shot. Weezing can tank almost anything that Sawk throws at it, cripple it with Will-O-Wisp, and use Sawk as a health fountain with Pain Split.
 
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Colonel M

I COULD BE BORED!
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
Figured I would at least get the OP started. Feel free to chime in if needed QC to discuss what should be added (was unsure about Choice Band but at least it has the advantage of a better Speed tier than some of the Fighting-types and Ice Punch in comparison to Hitmonlee).

You can tag me on Discord too if necessary, though I'm going to bed for now.
 
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QC talked and agreed Sturdy Band Sawk still has enough merit to warrant its own set, which should look like this:

name: Choice Band
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Poison Jab
move 4: Zen Headbutt
item: Choice Band
ability: Sturdy
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

Be sure to mention Earthquake and Stone Edge in moves as well, and emphasize that the two should always be used together in place of Poison Jab and Zen Headbutt.
 

Colonel M

I COULD BE BORED!
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
Litty litty

QC Ready

If there's too much info just let me know and I can cut down on it. Sometimes I can get carried away with examples (you can ask Hootie for reference on this).
 

Colonel M

I COULD BE BORED!
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
Removed mentions of Cofagrigus.

I might bump up Psychic-types a bit higher in C&C, but Choice Band Knock Off can do work to a lot of those with the exception of Z Crystal Slowbro. Still faces some competition from other Fighting-types (that much has not changed), so that line for now remains.

Also as mentioned before I can cut down on some of the talk in the analysis. I'm known to be wordy and detailed (sometimes too much) so don't be afraid to say "cut the shit down you fuck".
 
Bert's Wrath:


[OVERVIEW]

* Fairly strong Fighting-type with access to two unique abilities, fairly good Speed tier, and a good movepool.
* Mold Breaker bypasses Levitate which can be useful for niche situations where Earthquake is needed for coverage.
* Sturdy keeps Sawk as an emergency answer to dangerous threats such as Shell Smash Barbaracle.
* Faces severe competition from other Fighting-types. Virizion, Emboar, Machamp, and Toxicroak have much deadlier offensive presence while Hitmonlee has access to techs such as Unburden to act as a pseudo-Scarfer and Rapid Spin to clear away hazards.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Ice Punch
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Close Combat is Sawk's main STAB to use due to its perfect accuracy and huge power with a minor drawback to Sawk's Def and SpD stat.
* Knock Off allows Sawk to take advantage of some of its switch-ins by removing their items. Such examples include Eviolite from Golbat and Colbur Berry from various Ghost- and Psychic-types. Knock Off is also great for scouting Z Crystal Pokemon.
* Earthquake is mostly for Toxicroak, but it can be a great neutral coverage move that can bypass Levitate from Rotom-C, Rotom, and Weezing. It's also a bit stronger than Close Combat against targets such as Drapion and Garbador. Even Scarf CC still 2hkos Toxicroak after rocks most of the time, so i wouldn't place so much emphasis on it. Just mention that Earthquake is Sawk's most powerful attack versus Poison-types such as Garbodor, Toxicroak, and Drapion.
* Ice Punch bops Flying-types such as Xatu and Sigilyph for more consistent damage, though it also hits Grass-types that may otherwise resist Close Combat such as Whimsicott and the dreaded Vileplume. Xatu and especially Sigilyph get owned by Knock Off anyway, so Ice Punch is more for the grass-types you mentioned. Re-phrase this bullet to mention the grass-types first, and then after add that it can also hit xatu and sigilyph for super effective damage while bypassing a potential colbur berry.
* Stone Edge can be used over Ice Punch for higher damage output against Flying-types (including Scyther) and Accelgor.

Set Details
========

* Choice Scarf with a Jolly nature hits 442 Speed - enough to outspeed Sceptile and +2 Turtonator.
* Maximize Attack because, well, ever heard of a Choice Scarf user maxing out their Special Attack when their Special Attack stat is a base of 30?
* Mold Breaker allows Sawk to bypass Levitate for Earthquake. It can bypass other abilities such as Sturdy; however, common carriers of the ability such as Steelix and Shuckle are far too Sturdy (heh) for Sawk to OHKO.
* Sturdy can be used provided that Sawk has access to hazard removal, though in most cases Mold Breaker is the preferred ability. Sturdy can help Sawk and its teammates in a pinch against dangerous threats that may otherwise OHKO Sawk and friends.

Usage Tips
========

* Sawk should be used for revenge killing while also being a potential option to clean up lategame if problematic Pokemon are removed from the field.
* Close Combat should be the primary move to use. Earlier in the game if Sawk can pressure switch-ins Knock Off or any of its coverage moves are acceptable to use - especially on a predicted Ghost- or Psychic-type switch-in.
* Bear in mind that Mold Breaker gives Sawk a little more breathing room when using Earthquake. It also will do more damage to Poison-types than Close Combat would while not lowering Sawk's defenses.
* Though Sawk is rather quick with a Choice Scarf it still can fail to be slower than threats such as Unburden Hitmonlee, +2 Barbaracle, and +2 Omastar.

Team Options
========

* Choice Band Dark-types have great synergy with Sawk as Sawk not only draws in a lot of Psychic and Ghost-types, but Knock Off can remove Colbur Berry to make it easier to trap and KO. Drapion's bulk is more forgiving for taking on threats such as non-Z Crystal Mismagius. Sneasel is still exceptional to use as it is rather agile and its STABs can be difficult for many Pokemon to switch into freely.
* Entry hazard support, especially Stealth Rock and Spikes, help Sawk pressure its checks and counters much easier. Omastar is a great Pokemon as it can lay both Stealth Rock and Spikes as a suicide lead. Other Pokemon such as Garbador and Accelgor can be used to lay Spikes, though another Pokemon will need to be used for Stealth Rock.
* Powerful setup sweepers such as Virizion or Delphox helps Sawk by blowing holes through defensive cores and can take out a lot of Sawk's answers such as Golbat, Xatu, bulky Water-types, and various Ghost-types.
* Ghost-types can prevent Rapid Spin from being used against entry hazards. Mismagius can work alongside Sawk as it can switch into a lot of Psychic-types thanks to its higher Special Defense stat and set up Nasty Plot. Bulkier Ghost-types such as Jellicent or Spiritomb can also work alongside Sawk.
* Rotom-C is a great teammate with Sawk as it bypasses a lot of Sawk's issues such as Slowbro, Xatu, and Golbat while also having Volt Switch to get Sawk in a little easier.
* Meloetta is also a great teammate that can switch into most Ghost-types without any issues while being able to place heavy dents with its dual STABs or U-turn to bring Sawk in against a predicted Dark-type switch-in.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Poison Jab
move 4: Zen Headbutt
item: Choice Band
ability: Sturdy
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Close Combat is your primary STAB of choice as it does tremendous damage with Choice Band.
* Knock Off severely punishes switch-ins that covet their items or resist Sawk's STAB Close Combat.
* Poison Jam is p2 's favorite sauce. This blasts through Fairy-types such as Whimsicott, Aromatisse, and Granbull.
* Zen Headbutt nails Poison-types such as Golbat, Weezing, and Toxicroak. Specially Defensive Golbat can KO itself by the combination of Stealth Rock, Zen Headbutt, and Brave Bird's recoil with Sawk surviving thanks to Sturdy.
* Poison Jab and Zen Headbutt can be swapped out for Stone Edge and Earthquake. Sawk should use either Poison Jab + Zen Headbutt or Stone Edge + Earthquake - never mix the two together. Stone Edge does more damage to Flying-types like Scyther at the cost of doing less to Fairy-types. If Golbat's Eviolite is removed and Stealth Rock is on the field Stone Edge will always OHKO Golbat if it switches in - even if it is physically defensive. Earthquake is, again, mostly for Toxicroak as it otherwise walls the move combination. Toxicroak gets blown back by cc anyway, so eq is mainly for garbodor.

Set Details
========

* Maximum Attack with a Choice Band is used for maximum damage output with Sawk.
* Maximum Speed with a Jolly nature allows Sawk to outspeed threats such as Jolly Absol, Jolly Medicham, and Timid Vanilluxe.
* Sturdy is the preferred ability as it lets Sawk take at least one hit, provided Sawk is at full health, and retaliate. Such examples include a boosted Barbaracle and Virizion.
* Adamant is a viable nature choice since Jolly only outspeeds a few more threats than Adamant does while offering more raw power behind Sawk's attacks. Adamant Sawk, after Stealth Rock, OHKOes Specially Defensive Golbat with Stone Edge.

Usage Tips
========

* Choice Band Sawk should be used as an early- and mid-game breaker. Use STAB Close Combat to threaten Pokemon out while having Sturdy intact to prevent Sawk from being OHKOed by various threats, then either respond with said Close Combat or use Sawk's other attacks if predicting a switch.
* Close Combat has minimal drawbacks so long as Sturdy remains intact and no Ghost-types are present on the field.
* Knock Off can be a fairly safe attack to lock Sawk onto as it can catch a lot of Sawk's potential switch-ins and punish them severely by removing their items. Sawk can also scout for potential Z Crystal users this way as well. Be careful if the opponent is using Pokemon such as Virizion as Knock Off will give Virizion a free Attack boost thanks to Justified.
* Sawk isn't very sturdy, so it prefers having Pokemon assist it switching in such as Volt Switch or U-turn.
* Hazard removal should be stressed to keep Sturdy intact as much as possible.
* If Sawk is facing hail Sturdy will likely be broken due to hail's chip damage every turn for 5 turns. In scenarios such as this do not fall back on Sawk's ability to help out in these matchups unless it is used purely to set up Aurora Veil.

Team Options
========

* Various late-game sweepers such as Virizion, and Delphox appreciate the dents that Choice Band Sawk can place onto teams. Faster Pokemon such as Sceptile also appreciate the Poison-types that Sawk can lure in.
* Golbat is a great teammate that can switch into various Fair-type Pokemon such as Whimsicott and cripple physically defensive Pokemon such as Eviolite Rhydon and Quagsire with Toxic. It can also switch into a lot of Poison-types, but beware of Knock Off from some of them such as Drapion and Toxicroak. defog is probably golbat's main selling point as a sturdy sawk partner so mention that as well.
* Dark-types still have fairly good synergy with Sawk here as they can apply extra pressure with STAB Pursuit when being weakened by Sawk's Knock Off. Sneasel and Sawk make a fairly good combo as they can harass a lot of their switch-ins with Knock Off, can dent many defensive Pokemon with STAB Close Combat (Sawk) and STAB Icicle Crash (Sneasel), and Sneasel can provide trapping utility while Sawk can draw in bulky Water-types. Choice Scarf Drapion is also an option to help with Sawk's Speed problem while having Speed to revenge kill and Pursuit trap faster threats such as Meloetta and Sigilyph.
* U-turn and Volt Switch users can be beneficial for Sawk to have around. Uxie, Meloetta, and Rotom-C are great examples
* Steelix and Ferroseed can take advantage of some of the Fairy- and Poison-types in the tier and set up Stealth Rock. Ferroseed can also set up Spikes or Leech Seed as an added bonus while being able to handle Whimsicott better. Steelix is more useful for being able to take on threats faster with STAB Gyro Ball or cripple switch-ins with Toxic.

Hazard removal is just about necessary when using sturdy sawk, so definitley include a bullet for defogers / spinners in this section.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

* Double Kick can fuck up leads such as Omastar, Kabutops, and Aurorus.

Give Expert Belt a mention, 99% of people will always assume scarf when they see the damage so it can be useful for catching xatu's, garbodors, etc. off guard.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types need to be careful of some of Sawk's coverage moves, but they are often the best switch-ins to Sawk as they resist both Close Combat and Knock Off. Whimsicott, Aromatisse, and Granbull can take the majority of Sawk's arsenal and shrug it off. Granbull gets the honorary mention as Intimidate further weakens Sawk's attacks. Ice Punch is Whimsicott's fear, though all three need to be careful of repeated Poison Jabs from Choice Band.

**Weezing**: Still seen as one of Sawk's more dangerous checks, Weezing can take almost anything except Choice Band Zen Headbutt and, on the occasion that Weezing is weakened, Mold Breaker Earthquake. Weezing can cripple Sawk with Will-O-Wisp while using STAB Sludge Bomb to chip away at Sawk or Pain Split to use Sawk as a health fountain. I'd rather see this as a "Poison-type" section instead of just weezing. Other Poison-types such as garbodor and vileplume are similarly problematic for sawk to go up against and definitely need some shine here.

**Flying-types**: Scyther and Golbat are two big Flying-types that have Eviolite to back up their bulk, though both need to be cautious switching into Knock Off, Ice Punch, or Stone Edge (Zen Headbutt too for Golbat). Scyther can set up Swords Dance on Sawk locked onto Close Combat and KO with STAB Aerial Ace. Golbat can use its ridiculous bulk to Roost, clear away hazards with Defog, or KO Sawk with STAB Brave Bird. Scarf Braviary and Dodrio can also threaten Choice Band Sawk thanks to their higher Speed and STAB Brave Bird.

**Psychic-types**: Slowbro, Slowking, Xatu, Sigilyph, and Uxie can switch into the majority of attacks that Sawk throws with the exception of Knock Off - which all of these Pokemon barring Slowbro need to be extra careful of. Slowbro is never 2HKOed after two Knock Offs barring extremely rare critical hit circumstances. All of these Pokemon threaten with either STAB Psychic or Psyshock.

**Ghost-types**: Jellicent and Spiritomb can be rather problematic for Sawk as it cannot spam STAB Close Combat. Spiritomb takes either neutral damage or is flat out immune to any attack Sawk throws at it, which makes it another powerful switch-in to Sawk. Jellicent needs to be extra careful of Choice Band boosted Knock Off as it will 2HKO.

**Toxicroak**: Toxicroak takes almost every attack Sawk can throw at it barring Zen Headbutt and Earthquake. Toxicroak does need to exercise caution as Choice Band Sawk can do tremendous damage to Toxicroak with STAB Close Combat and then risks a Speed tie against Sawk.
Remove this and just mention Toxicroak in the Poison-type section.
this is very thorough nice work. 1/3
 
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erisia

Innovative new design!
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This is really good but there should probably be some more things in OO. Reversal + Sturdy should at least be mentioned, either on Choice Scarf or some other set with a Liechi berry or something. Hitmonlee mostly outclasses the latter thanks to Unburden but not having to run Endure can be nice. An Expert Belt or Z move set could also be used as a lure, since 110% of Sawk on ladder are choiced (I'm thinking Rockium-Z is probably best). The opportunity cost over using another Fighting-type or Z move user is probably a bit steep though. Sturdy + Z-move is an interesting combo however. Taunt could be mentioned for these sets since it's pretty surprising and Close Combat / Knock Off / coverage is usually decent enough on these types of sets. Toxic could also be mentioned for the Choice Scarf set if you're feeling particularly boring.

QC 2/3
 

Colonel M

I COULD BE BORED!
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
Written.

Still will cut down content if necessary. I tried to at least condense a lot more I promise.
 

Milak

Stoïque fierté
is a Site Content Manageris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Battle Simulator Staff Alumnus
Hi Colonel M, nice work! This is an amcheck

Additions (AC = Add comma)

Removals
Comments
[OVERVIEW]

Sawk stands as a solid Fighting-type with many unique traits that separate it from its brethren ,(AC) such as access to Mold Breaker, Sturdy, diverse coverage options, and a solid Speed tier. Mold Breaker helps Sawk when locked onto Earthquake to hit Pokemon with Levitate such as Weezing and Rotom ,(AC) while Sturdy lets Sawk it become an emergency check to dangerous threats such as Shell Smash Barbaracle. Sawk should be used for its perks as it faces competition from other offensive Fighting-types such as Machamp, Virizion, and Hitmonlee.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Ice Punch
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Close Combat is Sawk's main STAB ,(AC) it's used to pummel its opponents foes [opponent is usaually referred to the opposing player, not the opposing Pokémon] thanks to its perfect accuracy, high base power, and rather small drawback. Knock Off allows Sawk to take advantage of many of its switch-ins by removing items such as Eviolite from Golbat and Scyther as well as Colbur Berry from various Ghost- and Psychic-type Pokemon. Knock Off is also a great attack to scout out Pokemon that have Z Crystals. Earthquake ,(AC) in combination with Mold Breaker ,(AC) lets allows Sawk to hit Toxicroak, Rotom, and Weezing. Ice Punch rounds out the set to hit Grass-types that resist Close Combat such as Whimsicott and the dreaded Vileplume. ,(AC) furthermore Ice Punch it also hits Flying-types that may carry Colbur Berry such as Sigilyph and Xatu. Stone Edge is viable over Ice Punch to hit Flying-types harder than Ice Punch ,(AC) while also catching Accelgor.


Set Details
========

Choice Scarf with a Jolly nature lets Sawk hits hit 442 Speed, allowing Sawk it to outspeed Sceptile and +2 Turtonator. From there ,(AC) maximizing Attack is the most optimal choice to increase Sawk's power. Mold Breaker is the preferred ability thanks to it its ability of bypassing Levitate when locked onto Earthquake. Sturdy is a potential option if Sawk's team desperately requires it to needs be an emergency answer to setup sweepers, but the inability to touch Weezing and being more ineffective versus Colbur Berry Rotom can be rather annoying.

Usage Tips
========

Choice Scarf Sawk is used as a revenge killer as well as a potential option to clean up lategame late-game if problematic Pokemon are removed from the field. Close Combat should be the primary attack to use due thanks to its small drawbacks and powerful STAB. Earlier in the match if Sawk is sent out Knock Off can be used early in the game instead to pressure switch-ins while removing their coveted items. Thanks to Mold Breaker ,(AC) Earthquake can be a fairly safe attack to lock onto if the opponent only has Pokemon with Levitate as its best answer. answers

Team Options
========

Choice Band Dark-types have excellent synergy with Sawk. ,(AC) Sawk as not only it draws in a lot of Psychic- and Ghost-types, but with Knock Off it can remove Colbur Berry to make it easier to Pursuit trap these threats. Sneasel is one of the best partners with Sawk as it applies puts more pressure to faster Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Meloetta, Sigilyph, and Mismagius in comparison to Drapion. However, (AC) Drapion is still a fairly solid option as its improved bulk helps against it switch into Sawk Sawk's checks ,(AC) such as Vileplume and Golbat ,(AC) easier. more easily. Moreover, (AC) Entry entry hazards increase Sawk's capability of pressuring its checks and counters with much easier. ease. Omastar is a great suicide lead that can lay both Stealth Rock and Spikes while also having Shell Smash to apply offensive pressure faster in the earlygame. early-game. Garbodor and Accelgor are also solid options to lay Spikes, though other Pokemon will have to assist Sawk with laying Stealth Rock. Powerful setup sweepers such as Virizion and Delphox break through bulkier teams to help Sawk clean up more efficiently in lategame. late-game. Ghost-types such as Mismagius or Rotom are great assets to add to as they can deter Rapid Spin. Mismagius provides a deadlier offensive presence with Nasty Plot ,(AC) while Rotom can help Sawk switch in easier more easily with Volt Switch. Speaking of Volt Switch, Rotom-C is also a solid teammate that can get which can allow Sawk to switch in easier safely while being able to bypass a lot of Sawk's its headaches such as Flying-types and Slowbro.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Poison Jab
move 4: Zen Headbutt
item: Choice Band
ability: Sturdy
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

With Choice Band ,(AC) Close Combat is a very powerful attack to spam. Even Pokemon that resist Close Combat it such as Whimsicott still take a tremendous amount of damage from the attack. Knock Off severely punishes switch-ins that covet their items or resist Close Combat such as Eviolite Golbat or Colbur Berry Sigilyph. Poison Jab bypasses Fairy-types such as Whimsicott, Aromatisse, and Granbull easier more easily, (AC) while Zen Headbutt completes the set to nail Poison-types such as like Golbat, Toxicroak, and Weezing. Another option is removing Poison Jab and Zen Headbutt for Stone Edge and Earthquake, though mixing the moves is not recommended. Stone Edge does greater damage to Flying-types and Bug-types such as Scyther and Golbat while Earthquake does more damage hits Garbodor and Drapion harder than Zen Headbutt against Garbodor and Drapion.

Set Details
========

Maximum Attack EVs with a Choice Band are preferred to give Sawk a large spike in power. Maximum Speed investment with a Jolly nature allows Sawk to outspeed positive Speed nature threats such as Absol, Medicham, and Vanilluxe. Sturdy is the preferred ability as it lets Sawk take one attack from full health and retaliate. This lets Sawk and thus become a powerful check to boosted threats such as Barbaracle and Virizion. Adamant is a potential option over Jolly if outspeeding the listed threats above is of no concern. Adamant gives Sawk an even greater power spike with potential to OHKO Specially Defensive Golbat with Stone Edge.

Usage Tips
========

Choice Band Sawk is used as an early- and mid-game breaker. Provided there are no Ghost-types on the field, (AC) Close Combat is a fairly safe move to lock into that will still place a dent on Pokemon that resist the attack. it. The defensive drawback is of little concern so long as Sturdy remains intact as well. Knock Off is a fairly safe attack for Sawk to use as it can catch a lot of Sawk's potential switch-ins and severely punish them while scouting for potential Z Crystal users. Keeping Sturdy intact let Sawk revenge kill dangerous threats while also being able to go toe-to-toe with some of its defensive checks. Specially Defensive Golbat, for example, will KO itself if it steps into Stealth Rock, switches into Zen Headbutt or Stone Edge, and uses Brave Bird. Sturdy's upkeep is of utmost importance in some matchups, though bear in mind Hail matchups make it a little more difficult to keep Sturdy intact sometimes.

Team Options
========

Various late-game sweepers such as Virizion, Delphox, and Choice Specs Sceptile appreciate the dents Choice Band Sawk provides for them while luring in their checks and counters. Golbat is an excellent teammate thanks to its defensive utility and access to Defog. ,(AC) furthermore it Golbat can switch into various Fairy-type Pokemon such as Whimsicott and cripple physically defensive Pokemon such as like Eviolite Rhydon and Quagsire with Toxic. ;(AS) Though though it can switch into various Poison-types such as Vileplume ,(AC) beware of Knock Off users such as Drapion and Toxicroak. Other Defog users or Rapid Spin users such as ,(AC) including Braviary, Kabutops, or Hitmonlee are great options to help Sawk preserve Sturdy for Sawk. Dark-types such as Weavile and Drapion still have fairly good synergy with Choice Band Sawk as they can Pursuit trap some of the Psychic- and Ghost-type threats after they have been severely dented and deprived of their Colbur Berries removed. Skuntank is another option that can Defog away hazards as well. Volt Switch from Rotom and Rotom-C can help Sawk switch-in easier safely while punishing various Flying-type switch-ins that Sawk may run into. Uxie is a potential U-turn partner that can provide Stealth Rock support as well. Steelix and Ferroseed take on a lot of Sawk's problematic Pokemon, namely Poison-types and Fairy-types, while being able to lay entry hazards onto the field. Ferroseed can cripple threats with Thunder Wave or Leech Seed while Steelix has Toxic to punish bulky Water-types.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Expert Belt bluffs choice Choice sets while giving and gives the freedom to switch moves when necessary. Taunt is a viable option on non-choice Choice sets to as it prevent prevents the opponent from recovering health or cripple Sawk and its teammates. Z Crystals, mostly Rockium and Darkinium Z, can be used to give Sawk extra protection from Knock Off while punishing some of its common switch-ins. Remember with Darkinium to use Knock Off to remove Colbur Berry with Knock Off first before using the Z Move. Z-move. Toxic can be used on the Choice Scarf set to punish bulkier switch-ins such as Slowbro and Uxie. Double Kick is an option to break through suicide leads such as Omastar, Kabutops, and Aurorus.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types need to be careful of some of Sawk's coverage moves, but they are often the best switch-ins to Sawk as they resist both Close Combat and Knock Off. Whimsicott, Aromatisse, and Granbull can take the majority of Sawk's arsenal and shrug it off. Granbull gets the honorary mention as Intimidate further weakens Sawk's attacks. All three fear Poison Jab from Sawk, though Whimsicott also needs to be careful of Ice Punch.

**Flying-types**: Scyther and Golbat are two big Flying-types that have Eviolite to back up their bulk, though both need to be cautious when switching into Knock Off, Ice Punch, or Stone Edge (Zen Headbutt too for Golbat). Scyther can set up Swords Dance on Sawk locked onto Close Combat and KO with STAB Aerial Ace. Golbat can use its ridiculous bulk to Roost, clear away hazards with Defog, or KO Sawk with STAB Brave Bird. Scarf Braviary and Dodrio can also threaten Choice Band Sawk thanks to their higher Speed and STAB Brave Bird.

**Psychic-types**: Slowbro, Slowking, Xatu, Sigilyph, and Uxie can switch into the majority of Sawk's attacks that Sawk throws ,(AC) with the exception of Knock Off - which all of these Pokemon barring except Slowbro need to be extra careful of. Slowbro is never 2HKOed after two Knock Offs barring extremely rare critical hit circumstances. All of these Pokemon threaten Sawk with either STAB Psychic or Psyshock.

**Ghost-types**: Jellicent and Spiritomb can be rather problematic for Sawk as it cannot spam they prevent him from spamming STAB Close Combat. Spiritomb takes either neutral damage or is flat out immune to any attack Sawk throws at it, which makes it another powerful switch-in to Sawk. Jellicent needs to be extra careful of Choice Band boosted Knock Off as it will 2HKO.

**Poison-types**: Toxicroak, Vileplume, Garbodor, and Weezing can be rather annoying for Sawk to face, though they are not huge fans of Zen Headbutt nor Mold Breaker Earthquake. Toxicroak does risk a Speed tie, though it can survive one hit that isn't Earthquake or Zen Headbutt while retaliating back with STAB Gunk Shot. Vileplume can check Sawk with Sleep Powder or recovering its lost health with Moonlight or STAB Giga Drain. With Weak Armor ,(AC) Garbodor can take advantage of Sawk's Close Combat to greatly improve its Speed while severely denting Sawk with STAB Gunk Shot. Weezing tanks almost anything that Sawk throws at it, ,(AC) it can cripples cripple Sawk with Will-O-Wisp, and can use Sawk it as a health fountain with Pain Split.
 

GMars

It's ya boy GEEEEEEEEMARS
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Admin Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top CAP Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Milak sniped me, but I was halfway through my amcheck so I figured I'd finish up:
[OVERVIEW]

Sawk stands as a solid Fighting-type with many unique traits that separate it from its brethren such as access to Mold Breaker, Sturdy, diverse coverage options, and a solid Speed tier. Mold Breaker helps Sawk when locked onto Earthquake to hit Pokemon with Levitate such as Weezing and Rotom when it is locked into Earthquake, while Sturdy lets Sawk become an emergency check to dangerous threats such as Shell Smash Barbaracle. Sawk should be used for its perks, (AC) [consider changing "its" to "these," as the clause is a bit lacking in substance otherwise (the justifications for every Pokemon's use are their perks)] as it faces competition from other offensive Fighting-types such as Machamp, Virizion, and Hitmonlee.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Ice Punch
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Close Combat is Sawk's main STAB move to pummel its foesopponents with thanks to perfect accuracy, high base pBase Power, and rather small drawback. Knock Off allows Sawk to take advantage of many of its switch-ins by removing items such as Eviolite from Golbat and Scyther as well as Colbur Berry from various Ghost- and Psychic-type Pokemon. Knock Off is also a great attack to scout out Pokemon that have Z Crystals.-Crystals. (AH) Earthquake in combination with Mold Breaker lets Sawk hit Toxicroak, Rotom, and Weezing. Ice Punch rounds out the set to hitby hitting Grass-types that resist Close Combat such as Whimsicott and the dreaded Vileplume., (AC) [Vileplume is only B+ on the NU VR compared to Whimsicott's A+, why is it dreaded?] Ice Punch also hits as well as hitting Flying-types that may carry Colbur Berry such as Sigilyph and Xatu. Stone Edge is viable over Ice Punch to hit Flying-types harder than Ice Punch while also catching Accelgor.


Set Details
========

Maximum Speed investment with a Choice Scarf withand a Jolly nature lets Sawk hits 442 Speed, allowing Sawkit to outspeed Sceptile and +2 Turtonator. From there, (AC) maximizing Attack is the most optimal choice to increase Sawk's power. Mold Breaker is the preferred ability thanks to it bypassing Levitate when locked oSawk is locked into Earthquake. Sturdy is a potential option if Sawk's team desperately requires it to be an emergency answer to setup sweepers, but the inability to touch Weezing and being more ineffective [consider changing "being more ineffective" to a noun here to match "the inability to touch" for parallelism] versus Colbur Berry Rotom can be rather annoying.

Usage Tips
========

Choice Scarf Sawk is used as a revenge killer as well as a potential option to clean up late-game (AH) if problematic Pokemon are removed from the field. Close Combat should be the primary attack to use due to its small drawbacks and powerful STAB. Earlier in the match iSTAB-boosted power. If Sawk is sent out early-game, Knock Off can be used instead to pressure switch-ins while removing their coveted items. Thanks to Mold Breaker, (AC) Earthquake can be a fairly safe attack to lock ontointo [you lock onto a target and lock into a selection] if the opponent only has Pokemon with Levitate as its best answer.

Team Options
========

Choice Band Dark-types have excellent synergy with Sawk. Sawk not only, as it draws in a lot of Psychic- and Ghost-types, but Knock Off can and can use Knock Off to remove Colbur Berry to make it easier to Pursuit trap these threats. ["not only…but also" doesn't work well with subject changes (Sawk -> Knock Off)] Sneasel is one of the best partners with Sawk, (AC) as it applies more pressure to faster Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Meloetta, Sigilyph, and Mismagius in comparison to Drapion. Drapion is still a fairly solid option, (AC) as its improved bulk helps against it switch into Sawk checks such as Vileplume and Golbat easiermore easily. Entry hazards increase Sawk's capability of pressuring its checks and counters much easier. Omastar is a great suicide lead that can lay both Stealth Rock and Spikes while also having Shell Smash to apply offensive pressure faster in the early-game. (AH) Garbodor and Accelgor are also solid options to lay Spikes, though other Pokemon will have to assist with laying Stealth Rock. Powerful setup sweepers such as Virizion and Delphox break through bulkier teams to help Sawk clean up more efficiently late-game. (AH) Ghost-types such as Mismagius orand Rotom are great assets to add to deter Rapid Spin. Mismagius provides a deadlier offensive presence with Nasty Plot while Rotom can help Sawk switch in easiermore easily with Volt Switch. Speaking of Volt Switch, Rotom-C is also a solid teammate that can get Sawk in easiermore easily [adverbs vs adjectives] while being able to bypass a lot of Sawk's headaches such as Flying-types and Slowbro.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Poison Jab
move 4: Zen Headbutt
item: Choice Band
ability: Sturdy
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

With Choice Band, (AC) Close Combat is a very powerful attack to spam. E—even Pokemon that resist Close Combat such as Whimsicott take a tremendous amount of damage from the attack. Knock Off severely punishes switch-ins that covet their items or resist Close Combat such as Eviolite Golbat or Colbur Berry Sigilyph. Poison Jab bypasses Fairy-types such as Whimsicott, Aromatisse, and Granbull easiermore easily while Zen Headbutt completes the set to nailby nailing Poison-types such as Golbat, Toxicroak, and Weezing. Another option is removing Poison Jab and Zen Headbutt for Stone Edge and Earthquake, though mixing the moves is not recommended. Stone Edge does greater damage to Flying-types and Bug-types such as Scyther and Golbat, (AC) while Earthquake does more damage than Zen Headbutt against Garbodor and Drapion.

Set Details
========

Maximum Attack EVs with a Choice Band are preferred to give Sawk a large spike in power. Maximum Speed investment with a Jolly nature allows Sawk to outspeed positive Speed nature-Speed (AH) natured threats such as Absol, Medicham, and Vanilluxe. Sturdy is the preferred ability, (AC) as it lets Sawk take one attack from full health and retaliate. This lets Sawk become a powerful check to boosted threats such as Barbaracle and Virizion. Adamant is a potential option over Jolly if outspeeding the listed threats above is of no concern. Adamant gives Sawk an even greater power spike with the potential to OHKO Specially Dspecially defensive Golbat with Stone Edge.

Usage Tips
========

Choice Band Sawk is used as an early- and mid-game breaker. Provided there are no Ghost-types, (AC) Close Combat is a fairly safe move to lock into that will still place a dent on Pokemon that resist the attack. The defensive drawback is of little concern so long as Sturdy remains intact as well. Knock Off is a fairly safe attack for Sawk to use, (AC) as it can catch a lot of Sawk's potential switch-ins and severely punish them while scouting for potential Z Crystal-Crystal (AH) users. Keeping Sturdy intact lets Sawk revenge kill dangerous threats while also being able to go toe-to-toe with some of its defensive checks. Specially Ddefensive Golbat, for example, will KO itself if it steps into Stealth Rock, switches into Zen Headbutt or Stone Edge, and uses Brave Bird. Sturdy's upkeep is of utmost importance in some matchups, though bear in mind Hail matchupthat hail matchups sometimes make it a little more difficult to keep Sturdy intact sometimes.

Team Options
========

Various late-game sweepers such as Virizion, Delphox, and Choice Specs Sceptile appreciate the dents that Choice Band Sawk provides for them while luring in their checks and counters. Golbat is an excellent teammate thanks to its defensive utility and access to Defog. Golbat can switch into various Fairy-type Pokemon such as Whimsicott and cripple physically defensive Pokemon such as Eviolite Rhydon and Quagsire with Toxic. Though iGolbat can switch into various Poison-types such as Vileplume, (AC) beware of Knock Off users such as Drapion and Toxicroak. Other Defog users or Rapid Spin users such as Braviary, Kabutops, orand Hitmonlee are great options to help preserve Sturdy for Sawk. Dark-types such as Weavile and Drapion still have fairly good synergy with Choice Band Sawk, (AC) as they can Pursuit trap some of the Psychic- and Ghost-type threats after they have been severely dented and had their Colbur Berries removed. Skuntank is another option that can Defog away hazards as well. Volt Switch from Rotom and Rotom-C can help Sawk switch-in easiermore easily while punishing various Flying-type switch-ins that Sawk may run into. Uxie is a potential U-turn partner that can provide Stealth Rock support as well. Steelix and Ferroseed take on a lot of Sawk's problematic Pokemon, namely Poison-types and Fairy-types, while being able to lay entry hazards onto the field. Ferroseed can cripple threats with Thunder Wave or Leech Seed, (AC) while Steelix has Toxic to punish bulky Water-types.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Expert Belt bluffs cChoice sets while giving the freedom to switch moves when necessary. Taunt is a viable option on non-cChoice sets to prevent the opponentfoe from recovering health or crippleing Sawk and its teammates. Z Crystals,-Crystals, (AH) mostly Rockium Z and Darkinium Z, can be used to give Sawk extra protection from Knock Off while punishing some of its common switch-ins. Remember with Darkinium Z to use Knock Off to remove Colbur Berry first before using the Z Move.-Move. (AH) Toxic can be used on the Choice Scarf set to punish bulkier switch-ins such as Slowbro and Uxie. Double Kick is an option to break through suicide leads such as Omastar, Kabutops, and Aurorus.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types need to be careful of some of Sawk's coverage moves, but they are often the best switch-ins to Sawk, (AC) as they resist both Close Combat and Knock Off. Whimsicott, Aromatisse, and Granbull can takeshrug off the majority of Sawk's arsenal and shrug it off. Granbull gets the honorary mention, (AC) as Intimidate further weakens Sawk's attacks. All three fear Poison Jab from Sawk, though Whimsicott also needs to be careful of Ice Punch.

**Flying-types**: Scyther and Golbat are two big Flying-types that have Eviolite to back up their bulk, though both need to be cautious of switching into Knock Off, Ice Punch, or Stone Edge (Zen Headbutt too for Golbat), and Golbat must additionally avoid Zen Headbutt. Scyther can set up Swords Dance on Sawk locked ointo Close Combat and KO it with STAB Aerial Ace. Golbat can use its ridiculous bulk to Roost, clear away hazards with Defog, or KO Sawk with STAB Brave Bird. Choice Scarf Braviary and Dodrio can also threaten Choice Band Sawk thanks to their higher Speed and STAB Brave Bird.

**Psychic-types**: Slowbro, Slowking, Xatu, Sigilyph, and Uxie can switch into the majority of attacks that Sawk throws with the exception of Knock Off -, (AC) which all of these Pokemon barring Slowbro need to be extra careful of. Slowbro is never 2HKOed after two uses of Knock Offs barring extremely rare critical hit circumstances. All of these Pokemon threaten Sawk with either STAB Psychic or Psyshock.

**Ghost-types**: Jellicent and Spiritomb can be rather problematic for Sawk, (AC) as it cannot spam STAB Close Combat. Spiritomb takes either neutral damage or is flat out immune to any attack Sawk throws at it, which makes it another powerful switch-in to Sawk. Jellicent needs to be extra careful of Choice Band-boosted (AH) Knock Off, (AC) as it will 2HKO.

**Poison-types**: Toxicroak, Vileplume, Garbodor, and Weezing can be rather annoying for Sawk to face, though they are not huge fans of Zen Headbutt nor Mold Breaker Earthquake. Toxicroak does risk a Speed tie, though it can survive one hit that isn't Earthquake or Zen Headbutt while retaliating back with STAB Gunk Shot. Vileplume can check Sawk with Sleep Powder or by recovering its lost health with Moonlight or STAB Giga Drain. With Weak Armor, (AC) Garbodor can take advantage of Sawk's Close Combat to greatly improve its Speed while severely denting Sawk with STAB Gunk Shot. Weezing tanks almost anything that Sawk throws at it, cripples Sawk with Will-O-Wisp, and can use Sawk as a health fountain with Pain Split.

Really nice job man, main thing was commas. Use commas before "as" and "since" if you're using them to mean "because," and use commas after preposition clauses that start a sentence (i.e. "With Weak Armor," "With Choice Band,")
 

Colonel M

I COULD BE BORED!
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
I run like a train - commas are for people that got time and I don't got time.
[Vileplume is only B+ on the NU VR compared to Whimsicott's A+, why is it dreaded?]
This is why

Uh... I'll... implement the checks... somehow. @_@ Give me a little bit since I need to decide what to implement and what not to.
 

Colonel M

I COULD BE BORED!
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
Okay so for GP's clarification:

I implemented all of GMar's am check. It was a little easier for me to copy -> paste, and to be fair Milak and him had some similarities.

However, I did take a couple suggested changes from Milak:
...Golbat while Earthquake does more damagehits Garbodor and Drapion harder than Zen Headbutt against Garbodor and Drapion....
I actually prefer Milak's wording of this over mine, so I felt that this was a good change.
...some Psychic- and Ghost-type threats after they have been severely dented and deprived of their Colbur Berries
I also liked this change (I don't mind adding a little spice to an analysis, sometimes I'm a bit drone-ish), so I added this too.
 
Gotta get this before someone else does
[OVERVIEW]

Sawk stands as a solid Fighting-type with many unique traits that separate it from its brethren such as access to Mold Breaker, Sturdy, diverse coverage options, and a solid Speed tier. Mold Breaker helps Sawk hit Pokemon with Levitate such as Weezing and Rotom when it is locked into Earthquake, while Sturdy lets Sawk become an emergency check to dangerous threats such as Shell Smash Barbaracle. Sawk should be used for these perks, as it faces competition from other offensive Fighting-types such as Machamp, Virizion, and Hitmonlee.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Ice Punch
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Close Combat is Sawk's main STAB move to pummel its foes with thanks to perfect accuracy, high Base Power, and rather small drawbacks (it lowers Defense AND Special Defense by one stage, so that is multiple drawbacks). Knock Off allows Sawk to take advantage of many of its switch-ins by removing items such as Eviolite from Golbat and Scyther as well as Colbur Berry from various Ghost- and Psychic-type Pokemon. Knock Off is while also being a great attack to scout out Pokemon that have Z-Crystals. Earthquake in combination with Mold Breaker lets Sawk hit Toxicroak, Rotom, and Weezing. Ice Punch rounds out the set by hitting Grass-types that resist Close Combat such as Whimsicott and Vileplume, (RC) as well as hitting Flying-types that may carry Colbur Berry such as Sigilyph and Xatu. Stone Edge is viable over Ice Punch to hit Flying-types harder than Ice Punch while also catching Accelgor.


Set Details
========

Maximum Speed investment with a Choice Scarf and a Jolly nature lets Sawk hit 442 Speed, allowing it to outspeed Sceptile and +2 Turtonator. From there, maximizing Attack is the most optimal choice to increase Sawk's power. Mold Breaker is the preferred ability thanks to it bypassing Levitate when Sawk is locked into Earthquake. Sturdy is a potential option if Sawk's team desperately requires it to be an emergency answer to setup sweepers, but the inability to touch Weezing and Colbur Berry Rotom can be rather annoying.

Usage Tips
========

Choice Scarf Sawk is used as a revenge killer as well as a potential option to clean up late-game if problematic Pokemon (such as...) are removed from the field. Close Combat should be the primary attack to use due to its small drawbacks and STAB-boosted power. If Sawk is sent out early-game, Knock Off can be used instead to pressure switch-ins while removing their coveted items. Thanks to Mold Breaker, Earthquake can be a fairly safe attack to lock into if the opponent only has Pokemon with Levitate as its best answer.

Team Options
========

Choice Band Dark-types such as Sneasel and Drapion have excellent synergy with Sawk, as it Sawk draws in a lot of Psychic- and Ghost-types and can use Knock Off to remove Colbur Berry to make it easier to Pursuit trap these threats. Sneasel is one of the best partners with Sawk, as it applies more pressure to faster Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Meloetta, Sigilyph, and Mismagius in comparison to Drapion. Drapion is still a fairly solid option, as its improved superior bulk helps it switch into Sawk checks such as Vileplume and Golbat more easily. Entry hazards increase Sawk's capability of pressuring its checks and counters. Omastar is a great suicide lead that can lay both Stealth Rock and Spikes while also having Shell Smash to apply offensive pressure faster in the early-game. Garbodor and Accelgor are also solid options to lay Spikes, though other Pokemon (insert examples here) will have to assist with laying Stealth Rock. Powerful setup sweepers such as Virizion and Delphox break through bulkier teams to help Sawk clean up more efficiently late-game. Ghost-types such as Mismagius and Rotom are great assets to add to deter Rapid Spin. (RP); (ASC) Mismagius provides a deadlier offensive presence with Nasty Plot, (AC) while Rotom can help Sawk switch in more easily with Volt Switch. Speaking of Volt Switch, Rotom-C is also a solid teammate that can get Sawk in more easily while being able to bypass a lot of Sawk's headaches such as Flying-types and Slowbro.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Poison Jab
move 4: Zen Headbutt
item: Choice Band
ability: Sturdy
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

With a Choice Band, Close Combat is a very powerful attack to spam—even Pokemon that resist Close Combat such as Whimsicott take a tremendous amount of damage from the attack. Knock Off severely punishes switch-ins that covet their items or resist Close Combat such as Eviolite Golbat or and Colbur Berry Sigilyph. Poison Jab bypasses Fairy-types such as Whimsicott, Aromatisse, and Granbull more easily, (AC) while Zen Headbutt completes the set by nailing Poison-types such as Golbat, Toxicroak, and Weezing. Another option is removing Poison Jab and Zen Headbutt for Stone Edge and Earthquake, though mixing the moves is not recommended. Stone Edge does greater damage to Flying-types and Bug-types such as Scyther and Golbat (more damage than what?), while Earthquake hits Garbodor and Drapion harder than Zen Headbutt.

Set Details
========

Maximum Attack EVs with a Choice Band are preferred to give Sawk a large spike in power. Maximum Speed investment with a Jolly nature allows Sawk to outspeed positive-Speed natured threats such as Absol, Medicham, and Vanilluxe. Sturdy (it's the preferred ability, as itonly one you talk about) lets Sawk take one attack from full health and retaliate. This lets (RP), (AC) letting Sawk become a powerful check to boosted threats such as Barbaracle and Virizion. Adamant is a potential option over Jolly if outspeeding the listed threats above is of no concern. Adaman (RP), (AC) as it gives Sawk an even greater power spike with the potential to OHKO specially defensive (why does it matter if it is specially defensive? you're hitting it with a physical attack) Golbat with Stone Edge.

Usage Tips
========

Choice Band Sawk is used as an early- and mid-game breaker. Provided there are no Ghost-types, Close Combat is a fairly safe move to lock into that, (AC) as it will still place a dent on Pokemon that resist the attack. The defensive drawback is of little concern so long as Sturdy remains intact. Knock Off is a fairly safe attack for Sawk to use, as it can (you just used that for Close Combat) catches a lot of Sawk's potential switch-ins and severely punishes them while scouting for potential Z-Crystal users. Keeping Sturdy intact lets Sawk revenge kill dangerous threats while also being able to go toe-to-toe with some of its defensive checks. (RP) specially defensive Golbat, for example, will KO itself if it steps into after Stealth Rock, (RC) if it switches into Zen Headbutt or Stone Edge, (RC) and uses Brave Bird. Sturdy's upkeep is of utmost importance in some matchups, though bear in mind that hail matchups sometimes make it a little more difficult to keep Sturdy intact.

Team Options
========

Various late-game sweepers such as Virizion, Delphox, and Choice Specs Sceptile appreciate the dents in the opposing team (optional) that Choice Band Sawk provides for them while luring in their checks and counters. Golbat is an excellent teammate thanks to its defensive utility and access to Defog. Golba (RP); (ASC) it can switch into various Fairy-type Pokemon such as Whimsicott and cripple physically defensive Pokemon such as Eviolite Rhydon and Quagsire with Toxic. Though Golbat can switch into various Poison-types such as Vileplume, beware of Knock Off users such as Drapion and Toxicroak (why?). Other Defog users or and Rapid Spin users such as Braviary, Skuntank, Kabutops, and Hitmonlee are great options to help preserve Sturdy for Sawk. Dark-types such as Weavile and Drapion still have fairly good synergy with Choice Band Sawk, as they can Pursuit trap some Psychic- and Ghost-type threats after they have been severely dented and deprived of their Colbur Berries. Skuntank is another option that can Defog away hazards as well. Volt Switch from Rotom and Rotom-C can help Sawk switch-in more easily while punishing various Flying-type switch-ins (such as?) that Sawk may run into. Uxie is a potential U-turn partner that can provide Stealth Rock support as well. Steelix and Ferroseed take on a lot of Sawk's problematic Pokemon, namely Poison-types and Fairy-types, while being able to lay entry hazards onto the field. Ferroseed can cripple threats with Thunder Wave or Leech Seed, while Steelix has Toxic to punish bulky Water-types.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Expert Belt bluffs Choice sets while giving the freedom to switch moves when necessary. Taunt is a viable option on non-Choice sets to prevent the foe from recovering health or crippling Sawk and its teammates. Z-Crystals, mostly Rockium Z and Darkinium Z, can be used to give Sawk extra protection from Knock Off while punishing some of its common switch-ins. (RC); (ASC) remember with Darkinium Z to use Knock Off to remove Colbur Berry first before using the Z-Move. Toxic can be used on the Choice Scarf set to punish bulkier switch-ins such as Slowbro and Uxie. Double Kick is an option to break through suicide leads such as Omastar, Kabutops, and Aurorus.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types such as Whimsicott, Aromatisse, and Granbull need to be careful of some of Sawk's coverage moves, but they are often the best switch-ins to Sawk, as they resist both Close Combat and Knock Off. Whimsicott, Aromatisse, and Granbull can shrug off the majority of Sawk's arsenal. (isn't that just repeating the previous sentence?) Granbull gets the honorary mention, (AC) as Intimidate further weakens Sawk's attacks. All three fear Poison Jab from Sawk, though Whimsicott also needs to be careful of Ice Punch.

**Flying-types**: Scyther and Golbat are two big Flying-types that have Eviolite to back up their bulk, though both need to be cautious of switching into Knock Off, Ice Punch, or Stone Edge, and Golbat must additionally avoid Zen Headbutt. Scyther can set up Swords Dance on Sawk locked into Close Combat and KO it with STAB Aerial Ace. Golbat can use its ridiculous bulk to Roost, clear away hazards with Defog, or KO Sawk with STAB Brave Bird. Choice Scarf Braviary and Dodrio can also threaten Choice Band Sawk thanks to their higher Speed and STAB Brave Bird.

**Psychic-types**: Slowbro, Slowking, Xatu, Sigilyph, and Uxie can switch into the majority of attacks that Sawk throws with the exception of Knock Off, which all of these Pokemon bar Slowbro need to be extra careful of. Slowbro is never 2HKOed after two uses of Knock Off barring extremely rare critical hit circumstances. All of these Pokemon threaten Sawk with either STAB Psychic or Psyshock.

**Ghost-types**: Ghost-types such as Jellicent and Spiritomb can be rather problematic for Sawk (it isn't just those two that are problematic), as it cannot spam STAB Close Combat. Spiritomb takes either neutral damage or is flat out immune to any attack Sawk throws at it, which makes it another a (this is the first you've mentioned) powerful switch-in to Sawk. Jellicent needs to be extra careful of Choice Band-boosted Knock Off, as it will 2HKO.

**Poison-types**: Toxicroak, Vileplume, Garbodor, and Weezing can be rather annoying for Sawk to face, though they are not neither huge fans of Zen Headbutt nor Mold Breaker Earthquake. Toxicroak does risk a Speed tie, though it can survive one hit that isn't Earthquake or Zen Headbutt while retaliating back with STAB Gunk Shot. Vileplume can check Sawk with Sleep Powder or by recovering its lost health with Moonlight or STAB Giga Drain. With Weak Armor, Garbodor can take advantage of Sawk's Close Combat to greatly improve its Speed while severely denting Sawk with STAB Gunk Shot. Weezing tanks almost anything that Sawk throws at it, cripples Sawk with Will-O-Wisp, and can use Sawk as a health fountain with Pain Split.
 

Mr. Uncompetitive

Ugh Cough! Cough! Splutter!
is a Contributor Alumnus
Couldn't directly go over the amcheckers but they seemed to do a good job...reminder that if any of you want direct feedback, just hit us up on Discord.

GP 1/2

Additions, (AC) = add comma
Removals, (RC) = remove comma
Comments

[OVERVIEW]

Sawk stands as a solid Fighting-type with many unique traits that separate it from its brethren such as access to Mold Breaker, Sturdy, diverse coverage options, and a solid Speed tier. Mold Breaker helps Sawk hit Pokemon with Levitate such as Weezing and Rotom when it is locked into Earthquake, while Sturdy lets Sawk become an emergency check to dangerous threats such as Shell Smash Barbaracle. Sawk should be used for these perks, as it faces competition from other offensive Fighting-types such as Machamp, Virizion, and Hitmonlee.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Ice Punch
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Close Combat is Sawk's main STAB move to pummel its foes with thanks to its perfect accuracy, high Base Power, and rather small drawback. Knock Off allows Sawk to take advantage of many of its switch-ins by removing items such as Eviolite from Golbat and Scyther as well as Colbur Berry from various Ghost- and Psychic-type Pokemon (wait...doesn't the Colbur Berry activate before Knock Off gets the boost? Idk seeing this throughout the analysis has been bothering me a bit). Knock Off is also a great attack to scout out Pokemon that have Z-Crystals. Earthquake in combination with Mold Breaker lets Sawk hit Toxicroak, Rotom, and Weezing. Ice Punch rounds out the set by hitting Grass-types that resist Close Combat such as Whimsicott and Vileplume, as well as hitting Flying-types that may carry Colbur Berry such as Sigilyph and Xatu. Stone Edge is viable over Ice Punch to hit Flying-types harder than Ice Punch while also catching Accelgor.


Set Details
========

Maximum Speed investment with a Choice Scarf and a Jolly nature lets Sawk hit 442 Speed, allowing it to outspeed Sceptile and +2 Turtonator. From there, maximizing Attack is the most optimal choice to increase Sawk's power. Mold Breaker is the preferred ability thanks to it bypassing Levitate when letting Sawk bypass Levitate when it is locked into Earthquake. Sturdy is a potential option if Sawk's team desperately requires it to be an emergency answer to setup sweepers, but the inability to touch Weezing and Colbur Berry Rotom can be rather annoying.

Usage Tips
========

Choice Scarf Sawk is used as a revenge killer as well as a potential option to clean up late-game if problematic Pokemon are removed from the field. Close Combat should be the primary attack to use due to its small drawbacks and STAB-boosted power. If Sawk is sent out early-game, Knock Off can be used instead to pressure switch-ins while removing their coveted items. Thanks to Mold Breaker, Earthquake can be a fairly safe attack to lock into if the opponent only has Pokemon with Levitate as its their best answer.

Team Options
========

Choice Band Dark-types such as Sneasel and Drapion have excellent synergy with Sawk, as it Sawk draws in a lot of Psychic- and Ghost-types and can use Knock Off to remove Colbur Berry to make it easier for them to Pursuit trap these threats. Sneasel is one of the best partners with Sawk, as it applies more pressure to faster Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Meloetta, Sigilyph, and Mismagius in comparison to Drapion. Drapion is still a fairly solid option though, as its superior bulk helps it switch into Sawk checks such as Vileplume and Golbat more easily. Entry hazards increase Sawk's capability of pressuring its checks and counters. Omastar is a great suicide lead that can lay both Stealth Rock (s) and Spikes while also having Shell Smash to quickly ("apply offensive pressure faster" felt awkward imo...this might be a bit better?) apply offensive pressure faster in the early-game. Garbodor and Accelgor are also solid options to lay Spikes, though other Pokemon will have to assist with laying Stealth Rock. Powerful setup sweepers such as Virizion and Delphox break through bulkier teams to help Sawk clean up more efficiently late-game. Ghost-types such as Mismagius and Rotom are great assets to add to deter Rapid Spin. Mismagius provides a deadlier offensive presence with Nasty Plot, (AC) while Rotom can help Sawk switch in more easily with Volt Switch. Speaking of Volt Switch, Rotom-C is also a solid teammate that can get Sawk in more easily while being able to bypass a lot of Sawk's headaches such as Flying-types and Slowbro.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Poison Jab
move 4: Zen Headbutt
item: Choice Band
ability: Sturdy
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

With Choice Band, Close Combat is a very powerful attack to spam—even Pokemon that resist Close Combat such as Whimsicott take a tremendous amount of damage from the attack. Knock Off severely punishes switch-ins that covet their items or resist Close Combat such as Eviolite Golbat or Colbur Berry Sigilyph. Poison Jab bypasses lets Sawk bypass Fairy-types such as Whimsicott, Aromatisse, and Granbull more easily while Zen Headbutt completes the set by nailing Poison-types such as Golbat, Toxicroak, and Weezing. Another option is removing Poison Jab and Zen Headbutt for Stone Edge and Earthquake, though mixing the moves is not recommended. Stone Edge does greater damage to Flying-types and Bug-types such as Scyther and Golbat, while Earthquake hits Garbodor and Drapion harder than Zen Headbutt.

Set Details
========

Maximum Attack EVs with a Choice Band are preferred to give Sawk a large spike in power. Maximum Speed investment with a Jolly nature allows Sawk to outspeed positive-Speed natured threats such as Absol, Medicham, and Vanilluxe. Sturdy is the preferred ability, as it lets Sawk take one attack from full health and retaliate. This lets Sawk become a powerful check to boosted threats such as Barbaracle and Virizion. Adamant is a potential option over Jolly if outspeeding the listed threats above is of no concern. Adamant gives Sawk an even greater power spike with the potential to OHKO specially defensive Golbat with Stone Edge.

Usage Tips
========

Choice Band Sawk is used as an early- and mid-game breaker. Provided there are no Ghost-types, Close Combat is a fairly safe move to lock into that will still place a dent on Pokemon that resist the attack. The defensive drawback is of little concern so long as Sturdy remains intact. Knock Off is a fairly safe attack for Sawk to use, as it can catch a lot of Sawk's potential switch-ins and severely punish them while scouting for potential Z-Crystal users. Keeping Sturdy intact lets Sawk revenge kill dangerous threats while also being able allowing it to go toe-to-toe with some of its defensive checks. Specially defensive Golbat, for example, will KO itself if it steps into Stealth Rock, switches into Zen Headbutt or Stone Edge, and uses Brave Bird. Sturdy's upkeep is of utmost importance in some matchups, though bear in mind that hail matchups sometimes make it a little more difficult to keep Sturdy intact.

Team Options
========

Various late-game sweepers such as Virizion, Delphox, and Choice Specs Sceptile appreciate the dents that Choice Band Sawk provides for them while luring in beating their lured in checks and counters. (I wouldn't think Sawk is the one "luring in" their checks and counters, but I'd think it's the one actually beating them while they lure the checks in. This sentence is still a bit iffy though so you may want to restructure it...and maybe give examples :X) Golbat is an excellent teammate thanks to its defensive utility and access to Defog. Golbat can switch into various Fairy-type Pokemon such as Whimsicott and cripple physically defensive Pokemon such as Eviolite Rhydon and Quagsire with Toxic. Though Golbat can switch into various Poison-types such as Vileplume, it must beware of Knock Off users such as Drapion and Toxicroak. Other Defog users or Rapid Spin users such as Braviary, Kabutops, and Hitmonlee are great options to help preserve Sturdy for Sawk. Dark-types such as Weavile and Drapion still have fairly good synergy with Choice Band Sawk, as they can Pursuit trap some Psychic- and Ghost-type threats after they have been severely dented and deprived of their Colbur Berries. Skuntank is another option that can also (felt this was a bit less awkward and it should slightly improve the word variation anyways, since you use "as well" again very soon after this) Defog away entry hazards as well. Volt Switch from Rotom and Rotom-C can help Sawk switch-in switch in more easily while punishing various Flying-type switch-ins that Sawk may run into. Uxie is a potential U-turn partner that can provide Stealth Rock support as well. Steelix and Ferroseed take on a lot of Sawk's more problematic Pokemon foes ("Sawk's problematic Pokemon" felt awkward imo), namely Poison-types and Fairy-types, while being able to lay entry hazards onto the field. Ferroseed can cripple threats with Thunder Wave or Leech Seed, while Steelix has Toxic to punish bulky Water-types.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Expert Belt bluffs lets Sawk bluff Choice sets while giving it the freedom to switch moves when necessary. Taunt is a viable option on non-Choice sets to prevent the foe from recovering health or crippling Sawk and its teammates. Z -Crystals Z-Crystals, mostly most notably Rockium Z and Darkinium Z, can be used to give Sawk extra protection from Knock Off while punishing some of its common switch-ins. Remember with Darkinium Z When using Darkinium Z, remember to use Knock Off to remove Colbur Berry first before using the Z-Move. Toxic can be used on the Choice Scarf set to punish bulkier switch-ins such as Slowbro and Uxie. Double Kick is an option to break through suicide leads such as Omastar, Kabutops, and Aurorus.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types need to be careful of some of Sawk's coverage moves, but they are often the best switch-ins to Sawk, as they resist both Close Combat and Knock Off. Whimsicott, Aromatisse, and Granbull can shrug off the majority of Sawk's arsenal. Granbull gets the honorary a special mention (idk I feel like "the honorary mention" correlates to "honorable mention", which doesn't make sense since Granbull seems to be the best answer out of the Fairies), as Intimidate further weakens Sawk's attacks. All three fear Poison Jab from Sawk though, though and Whimsicott also needs to be careful of Ice Punch.

**Flying-types**: Scyther and Golbat are two big Flying-types that have Eviolite to back up their bulk, though both need to be cautious of switching into Knock Off, Ice Punch, or Stone Edge, and Golbat must additionally avoid Zen Headbutt. Scyther can set up Swords Dance on Sawk locked into Close Combat and KO it with STAB Aerial Ace. Golbat can use its ridiculous bulk to Roost, clear away hazards with Defog, or KO Sawk with STAB Brave Bird. Choice Scarf Braviary and Dodrio can also threaten Choice Band Sawk thanks to their higher Speed and STAB Brave Bird.

**Psychic-types**: Slowbro, Slowking, Xatu, Sigilyph, and Uxie can switch into the majority of attacks that Sawk throws with the exception of Knock Off, which all of these Pokemon bar Slowbro need to be extra careful of. Slowbro is never 2HKOed after two uses of by (repetitive) Knock Off barring extremely rare critical hit circumstances. All of these Pokemon threaten Sawk with either STAB Psychic or Psyshock.

**Ghost-types**: Ghost-types such as Jellicent and Spiritomb can be rather problematic for Sawk, as it cannot spam they prevent it from spamming STAB Close Combat. Spiritomb takes either takes neutral damage or is flat out immune to any attack Sawk throws at it, which makes it another powerful switch-in to Sawk (this seems like fluff to me...). (remove period) but Jellicent needs to be extra careful of Choice Band-boosted Knock Off, as it will 2HKO.

**Poison-types**: Toxicroak, Vileplume, Garbodor, and Weezing can be rather annoying for Sawk to face, though they are not huge fans of Zen Headbutt nor and Mold Breaker Earthquake. Toxicroak does risk a Speed tie, though it can survive one hit that isn't Earthquake or Zen Headbutt while retaliating back with STAB Gunk Shot. Vileplume can check Sawk with Sleep Powder or by recovering its lost health with Moonlight or STAB Giga Drain. With Weak Armor, Garbodor can take advantage of Sawk's Close Combat to greatly improve its Speed while severely denting Sawk with STAB Gunk Shot. Weezing tanks can tank almost anything that Sawk throws at it, cripples Sawk cripple it with Will-O-Wisp, and can use Sawk as a health fountain with Pain Split. (better consistency imo)
 
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P Squared

a great unrecorded history
is a Site Content Manageris a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
GP 2/2

[OVERVIEW]

Sawk stands as a solid Fighting-type with many unique traits that separate it from its brethren such as access to Mold Breaker, Sturdy, and diverse coverage options, (RC) and a solid Speed tier. Mold Breaker helps Sawk hit Pokemon with Levitate such as Weezing and Rotom when it is locked into Earthquake, while Sturdy lets Sawk become an emergency check to dangerous threats such as Shell Smash Barbaracle. Sawk should be used for these perks, as it faces competition from other offensive Fighting-types such as Machamp, Virizion, and Hitmonlee.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Ice Punch
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Close Combat is Sawk's main STAB move to pummel its foes with thanks to its ("STAB bonus," here if you wanna mention it) perfect accuracy, high Base Power, and rather small drawback. Knock Off allows Sawk to take advantage of many of its switch-ins by removing items such as Eviolite from Golbat and Scyther as well as activating Colbur Berry from various Ghost- and Psychic-type Pokemon. Knock Off is also a great attack to scout out Pokemon that have Z-Crystals. Earthquake in combination with Mold Breaker lets Sawk hit Toxicroak, Rotom, and Weezing. Ice Punch rounds out the set by hitting Grass-types that resist Close Combat such as Whimsicott and Vileplume, as well as hitting Flying-types that may carry Colbur Berry such as Sigilyph and Xatu. Stone Edge is viable over Ice Punch to hit Flying-types harder than Ice Punch while also catching Accelgor.

Set Details
========

Maximum Speed investment with a Choice Scarf and a Jolly nature lets Sawk hit 442 Speed, allowing it to outspeed Sceptile and +2 Turtonator. From there, maximizing Attack is the most optimal choice to increase Sawk's power. Mold Breaker is the preferred ability thanks to it letting Sawk bypass Levitate when it is locked into Earthquake. Sturdy is a potential option if Sawk's team desperately requires it to be an emergency answer to setup sweepers, but the inability to touch Weezing and Colbur Berry Rotom can be rather annoying.

Usage Tips
========

Choice Scarf Sawk is used as a revenge killer as well as a potential option to clean up late-game if problematic Pokemon are removed from the field. Close Combat should be the primary attack to use due to its small drawbacks and STAB-boosted power. If Sawk is sent out early-game, Knock Off can be used instead to pressure switch-ins while removing their coveted items. Thanks to Mold Breaker, Earthquake can be a fairly safe attack to lock into if the opponent only has Pokemon with Levitate as their best answer.

Team Options
========

Choice Band Dark-types such as Sneasel and Drapion have excellent synergy with Sawk, as Sawk draws in a lot of Psychic- and Ghost-types and can use Knock Off to remove Colbur Berry to make it easier for them to Pursuit trap these threats. Sneasel is one of the best partners with Sawk, as it applies more pressure to faster Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Meloetta, Sigilyph, and Mismagius in comparison to Drapion. Drapion is still a fairly solid option though, as its superior bulk helps it switch into Sawk checks such as Vileplume and Golbat more easily. Entry hazards increase Sawk's capability of pressuring its checks and counters. Omastar is a great suicide lead that can lay both Stealth Rock (s) (NOOOO) and Spikes while also having Shell Smash to quickly apply offensive pressure in the early-game. Garbodor and Accelgor are also solid options to lay Spikes, though other Pokemon will have to assist with laying Stealth Rock. Powerful setup sweepers such as Virizion and Delphox break through bulkier teams to help Sawk clean up more efficiently late-game. Ghost-types such as Mismagius and Rotom are great assets to deter Rapid Spin. Mismagius provides a deadlier offensive presence with Nasty Plot, while Rotom can help Sawk switch in more easily with Volt Switch. Speaking of Volt Switch, Rotom-C is also a solid teammate that can get Sawk in more easily while being able to bypass a lot of Sawk's headaches such as Flying-types and Slowbro.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Poison Jab
move 4: Zen Headbutt
item: Choice Band
ability: Sturdy
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

With Choice Band, Close Combat is a very powerful attack to spam—even Pokemon that resist Close Combat such as Whimsicott take a tremendous amount of damage from the attack. Knock Off severely punishes switch-ins that covet their items or resist Close Combat such as Eviolite Golbat or Colbur Berry Sigilyph. Poison Jab lets Sawk bypass Fairy-types such as Whimsicott, Aromatisse, and Granbull more easily, while Zen Headbutt completes the set by nailing Poison-types such as Golbat, Toxicroak, and Weezing. Another option is removing Poison Jab and Zen Headbutt for Stone Edge and Earthquake, though mixing the moves is not recommended. Stone Edge does greater damage to Flying- and Bug-types such as Scyther and Golbat, while Earthquake hits Garbodor and Drapion harder than Zen Headbutt.

Set Details
========

Maximum Attack EVs with a Choice Band are preferred to give Sawk a large spike in power. Maximum Speed investment with a Jolly nature allows Sawk to outspeed positive-Speed natured threats such as Absol, Medicham, and Vanilluxe. Sturdy is the preferred ability, as it lets Sawk take one attack from full health and retaliate. This lets Sawk become a powerful check to boosted threats such as Barbaracle and Virizion. Adamant is a potential option over Jolly if outspeeding the listed threats above is of no concern. Adamant gives Sawk an even greater power spike with the potential to OHKO specially defensive Golbat with Stone Edge.

Usage Tips
========

Choice Band Sawk is used as an early- and mid-game breaker. Provided there are no Ghost-types, Close Combat is a fairly safe move to lock into that will still place a dent on Pokemon that resist the attack. The defensive drawback is of little concern so long as Sturdy remains intact. Knock Off is a fairly safe attack for Sawk to use, as it can catch a lot of Sawk's potential switch-ins and severely punish them while scouting for potential Z-Crystal users. Keeping Sturdy intact lets Sawk revenge kill dangerous threats while also allowing it to go toe-to-toe with some of its defensive checks. Specially defensive Golbat, for example, will KO itself if it steps into Stealth Rock, switches into Zen Headbutt or Stone Edge, and uses Brave Bird. (all three of these things have to happen, right? just checking) Sturdy's upkeep is of utmost importance in some matchups, though bear in mind that hail matchups sometimes make it a little more difficult to keep Sturdy intact.

Team Options
========

Various late-game sweepers such as Virizion, Delphox, and Choice Specs Sceptile appreciate the dents that Choice Band Sawk provides for them while beating their lured-in checks and counters such as various Ghost-types for Virizion and Golbat for Sceptile. Golbat is an excellent teammate thanks to its defensive utility and access to Defog. Golbat can switch into various Fairy-type Pokemon such as Whimsicott and cripple physically defensive Pokemon such as Eviolite Rhydon and Quagsire with Toxic. Though Golbat can switch into various Poison-types such as Vileplume, it must beware of Knock Off users such as Drapion and Toxicroak. Other Defog users or Rapid Spin users such as Braviary, Kabutops, and Hitmonlee are great options to help preserve Sturdy for Sawk. Dark-types such as Weavile and Drapion still have fairly good synergy with Choice Band Sawk, as they can Pursuit trap some Psychic- and Ghost-type threats after they have been severely dented and deprived of their Colbur Berries. Skuntank is another option that can also Defog away entry hazards. (add period) Volt Switch from Rotom and Rotom-C can help Sawk switch in more easily while punishing various Flying-type switch-ins that Sawk may run into. Uxie is a potential U-turn partner that can provide Stealth Rock support as well. Steelix and Ferroseed take on a lot of Sawk's more problematic foes, namely Poison- and Fairy-types, while being able to lay entry hazards onto the field. Ferroseed can cripple threats with Thunder Wave or Leech Seed, while Steelix has Toxic to punish bulky Water-types.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Expert Belt lets Sawk bluff Choice sets while giving it the freedom to switch moves when necessary. Taunt is a viable option on non-Choice sets to prevent the foe from recovering health or crippling Sawk and its teammates. Z-Crystals, most notably Rockium Z and Darkinium Z, can be used to give Sawk extra protection from Knock Off while punishing some of its common switch-ins. When using Darkinium Z, remember to use Knock Off to remove Colbur Berry first before using the Z-Move. Toxic can be used on the Choice Scarf set to punish bulkier switch-ins such as Slowbro and Uxie. Double Kick is an option to break through suicide leads such as Omastar, Kabutops, and Aurorus.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types need to be careful of some of Sawk's coverage moves, but they are often the best switch-ins to Sawk, as they resist both Close Combat and Knock Off. Whimsicott, Aromatisse, and Granbull can shrug off the majority of Sawk's arsenal. Granbull gets a special mention, as Intimidate further weakens Sawk's attacks. All three fear Poison Jab from Sawk though, and Whimsicott also needs to be careful of Ice Punch.

**Flying-types**: Scyther and Golbat are two big Flying-types that have Eviolite to back up their bulk, though both need to be cautious of switching into Knock Off, Ice Punch, or Stone Edge, and Golbat must additionally avoid Zen Headbutt. Scyther can set up Swords Dance on Sawk locked into Close Combat and KO it with STAB Aerial Ace. Golbat can use its ridiculous bulk to use Roost, clear away hazards with Defog, or KO Sawk with STAB Brave Bird. Choice Scarf Braviary and Dodrio can also threaten Choice Band Sawk thanks to their higher Speed and STAB Brave Bird.

**Psychic-types**: Slowbro, Slowking, Xatu, Sigilyph, and Uxie can switch into the majority of attacks that Sawk throws with the exception of Knock Off, which all of these Pokemon bar Slowbro need to be extra careful of. Slowbro is never 2HKOed by Knock Off barring extremely rare critical hit circumstances. All of these Pokemon threaten Sawk with either STAB Psychic or Psyshock.

**Ghost-types**: Ghost-types such as Jellicent and Spiritomb can be rather problematic for Sawk, as they prevent it from spamming STAB Close Combat. Spiritomb either takes neutral damage or is flat out immune to any attack Sawk throws at it, but Jellicent needs to be extra careful of Choice Band-boosted Knock Off, as it will 2HKO.

**Poison-types**: Toxicroak, Vileplume, Garbodor, and Weezing can be rather annoying for Sawk to face, though they are not huge fans of Zen Headbutt and Mold Breaker Earthquake. Toxicroak does risk a Speed tie, though it can survive one hit that isn't Earthquake or Zen Headbutt while retaliating back with STAB Gunk Shot. Vileplume can check Sawk with Sleep Powder or by recovering its lost health with Moonlight or STAB Giga Drain. With Weak Armor, Garbodor can take advantage of Sawk's Close Combat to greatly improve its Speed while severely denting Sawk with STAB Gunk Shot. Weezing can tank almost anything that Sawk throws at it, cripple it with Will-O-Wisp, and use Sawk as a health fountain with Pain Split.
 
Last edited:

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