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Moves Close Combat is Sawk's primary STAB move and is useful for both taking down numerous Steel- and Rock-types in the tier and for inflicting heavy damage when used as All-Out Pummeling. Knock Off is good for getting rid of items from Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Gardevoir and is also used to hit Psychic- and Ghost-types like Metagross, Bronzong, and Mismagius. Taunt cripples defensive Pokemon such as Mandibuzz and Bronzong, and Poison Jab rounds off the set, hitting Fairy-types like Gardevoir and Florges super effectively. Earthquake can be used to hit Poison-type Pokemon that otherwise resist Sawk's STAB move such as Toxicroak, Dragalge, and Salazzle, as well as to hit Fire-types such as Alolan Marowak and Arcanine. Set Details Sturdy is the ability of choice due to its utility against setup sweepers like Barbaracle and Nasty Plot Ninetales. A Jolly nature lets Sawk outspeed Pokemon such as non-Choice Scarf Goodra and, more importantly, Mega Blastoise. Fightinium Z turns Close Combat into an extremely powerful All-Out Pummeling, capable of KOing Mega Blastoise after Stealth Rock the majority of the time, while also making Sawk rely less on prediction due to the lack of Choice-locking. Usage Tips It's usually best not to directly switch Sawk in due to its frailty and the risk of breaking its Sturdy. It is especially not recommended to switch Sawk in when there are entry hazards or status users on the field or when a hail or sand setter such as Gigalith or Mega Abomasnow is present. Sawk's Sturdy ability can be utilized to safely get a hit in on any Pokemon, even Pokemon that hit it super effectively. Taunt is most effectively used when a defensive Pokemon such as Mandibuzz or Bronzong is on the field, preventing them from using moves like Toxic, Defog, or Stealth Rock in the case of the latter. Finally, All-Out Pummeling should be utilized when you want to unleash a powerful STAB attack against the opponent, but note that using it when a Pokemon that resists it is on the field is not recommended. Team Options Sawk fits wells on more offensive teams due to its frailty and lack of defensive presence. Sawk's Sturdy ability can most commonly be broken with entry hazards like Stealth Rock and Spikes. To combat this, hazard removers such as Mega Blastoise, Sigilyph, and Tsareena are a must. Pokemon such as Raikou, Mega Ampharos, and Noivern can easily pivot Sawk into play, giving it free turns to break down teams and keep Sturdy intact. Since Flying-types are a thorn in Sawk's side, checks to these Pokemon such as Tyrantrum, Barbaracle, and Raikou can be useful partners.

Moves STAB Close Combat nails foes like Mega Lopunny and Greninja. Stone Edge hits Flying- and Bug-type Pokemon that resist Close Combat like Mega Charizard Y and Volcarona for super effective damage. Ice Punch allows Sawk to reliably hit Dragon-type Pokemon like Naganadel and Choice item Dragonite. Poison Jab punishes pesky Fairy-type Pokemon like Mega Gardevoir and Whimsicott. Counter can be run to punish opposing physically offensive Pokemon, such as Choice item Garchomp and Landorus-T. Set Details Maximum Attack and Speed investment with a Jolly nature ensures that Sawk can hit as hard as possible while outspeeding Mega Lopunny and Choice Scarf Dragonite. Adamant can also be run if Mega Lopunny is not an issue for better rolls against Pokemon like Garchomp. Choice Scarf allows Sawk to outspeed most Pokemon up to Pheromosa. Sturdy allows Sawk to fire off any hit it wants to granted that the foe does not have Mold Breaker. Usage Tips Use Sawk against threats that it can lure in, like Choice item Dragonite; non-Choice Scarf variants normally lose to this. Don't send Sawk in on bulky threats like Zygarde and Kommo-o, even though Ice Punch hits them super effectively, as Sawk isn't strong enough to break through these Pokemon. Team Options Type: Null and Mega Sableye are good partners to Sawk, as Sawk can beat hyper offensive Pokemon like Mega Lopunny and Torrent Greninja for them, while they cover for bulky offensive Pokemon like Donphan and Z-Move Dragonite. Sawk also pairs well with Ghost-type Pokemon like Aegislash and Z-Conversion Porygon-Z, as they can break through Psychic-type Pokemon like Mega Slowbro, while Sawk handles Mega Charizard Y, Heatran, Magnezone, and Volcarona for them. Aegislash and Porygon-Z are also great at threatening physical walls like Tapu Fini and Mega Altaria, while Sawk punishes special walls like Meloetta in return.

Moves Close Combat along with Fightinium Z allows Sawk to punch holes in foes like Magearna, Mega Tyranitar, and Incineroar. Laser Focus lets Sawk power through Pokemon that rely on boosting their Defense to win, such as Magearna and Quagsire. Rock Tomb OHKOes Volcarona and uninvested Mega Charizard Y and lets Sawk outspeed Magnezone even after it uses Electroweb. Sawk has a few options for the last slot. Counter lets Sawk force mind games against Mega Mawile and Substitute Mega Metagross, as well as dealing with other Choiced physical attackers like Choice Band Dragonite and Garchomp. Protect is an option that blocks any potential Fake Out Pokemon from breaking Sawk's Sturdy, letting it potentially gain the upper hand against non-Substitute + Flail Mega Lopunny and Zeraora. Bulk Up gives Sawk a chance to beat Mega Gyarados and works nicely with Laser Focus to take on Defense-boosting foes like stall Deoxys-S. Set Details Maximum Attack and Speed investment with a Jolly nature lets Sawk hit as fast and hard as possible. Notably, it can OHKO standard Magearna with All-Out Pummeling after using Laser Focus while also outspeeding Smeargle and bulky Mega Charizard X, something it cannot do with an Adamant nature. Fightinium Z turns Close Combat into a powerful All-Out Pummeling while also giving Sawk the option of Z-Bulk Up to increase its Attack further and bypass Taunt in order to get the best odds against Mega Gyarados. Sturdy is an incredible ability in 1v1, allowing Sawk to take a hit from most Pokemon. Usage Tips Naganadel can usually be taken down by using Rock Tomb turn one, followed up by an All-Out Pummeling, although Naganadel can sometimes survive given low rolls. Magnezone can use Zap Cannon to fish for paralysis against Sawk, which could make it an unreliable matchup against experienced players. Be aware that Fake Out users have countermeasures if they predict a Protect, as Mega Lopunny can potentially use Substitute, and Zeraora and Ambipom can use their Z-Move during the turn that Sawk uses Protect, breaking Sturdy. With Bulk Up, Sawk has a decent chance against Gyarados. Use Z-Bulk Up Turn 1, then use Rock Tomb followed by Close Combat if they do not Mega Evolve; otherwise, use Close Combat to KO them. Team Options Specially offensive Pokemon like Mega Gardevoir and Greninja with moves effective against Fairy pair well with Sawk, as they cover each other's weaknesses. Sawk can beat specially defensive Pokemon like Magearna, Registeel, and Mega Charizard Y for them, as well as fast physical attackers like Choice Scarf Archeops and Darmanitan, while Greninja and Mega Gardevoir beat Mega Slowbro, and Dragonite reliably for Sawk. Greninja and Mega Gardevoir can take care of different Ghost- and Fairy-type Pokemon for Sawk; Greninja handles Aegislash and Tapu Bulu, while Mega Gardevoir handles Mega Sableye and Tapu Lele, and both can beat Z-Conversion Porygon-Z, Tapu Fini, and Primarina. Pokemon that beat bulky offensive Pokemon like Donphan and Primarina are good partners for Sawk. Celesteela and Serperior beat most Sturdy users reliably, besides Crustle, which Sawk is good against. Both of them also beat Mega Gyarados and Aegislash, and Celesteela also deals with troublesome Fairy-type Pokemon like Tapu Lele and Mega Gardevoir, while Serperior fares well against stall-oriented Pokemon like Mega Sableye.

Set Description Sawk's biggest strength is its Sturdy ability, which lets it get at least one Choice Band-boosted attack off in most circumstances. Close Combat is Sawk's strongest move and OHKOes many Fighting-weak and neutral threats, such as Snorlax, offensive Genesect, and Porygon-Z. Sawk's Ice Punch OHKOes Thundurus-T, Zapdos, Tornadus, Latios, and Landorus-T. Bulldoze lets Sawk beat Raikou, while Earthquake is better against Custap Berry Chandelure sets. Sawk's Stone Edge OHKOes Volcarona sets that do not both outspeed and have Substitute. EVs Choice Band Sawk always wants to use maximum Attack and Speed EVs with an Adamant nature, as Sturdy allows it to attack at least once against almost any Pokemon. Usage Tips Choice Band Sawk is very straightforward: use the move that does the most damage to the foe. There are exceptions to this; against Raikou, Sawk should always use Bulldoze if it has it to work around potential Pressure stall sets.

Set Description Choice Scarf sacrifices Sawk's raw power with Choice Band to freely hit many targets twice with its Sturdy ability and Speed. Close Combat is Sawk's strongest move and can be used against Porygon-Z, Snorlax, and Meloetta. Ice Punch lets Sawk beat Taunt + Charge Thundurus, Landorus-T, Tornadus, Tornadus-T, and non-Yache Berry Garchomp variants. Stone Edge lets Sawk beat most Volcarona sets if it hits twice. Earthquake beats Raikou and Chandelure. EVs Choice Scarf Sawk always wants to use maximum Attack and Speed EVs with an Adamant nature, as Sturdy allows it to attack at least once against almost any Pokemon. Usage Tips Choice Scarf Sawk should click the move that does the most damage against its foe. Due to Sturdy, Sawk does not have to fear Counter from any Pokemon other than Scrafty, which can break Sawk's Sturdy with its Fake Out. Choice Scarf also makes Sawk harder to PP stall with Pokemon like Aerodactyl due to it moving before a potential use of Substitute.

Sawk can make good Choice Scarf user due to his two abilities. With Sturdy, if you mess up once, Sawk is still in the game. Inner Focus ensures that Fake Out does not prevent Sawk attacking on the first turn, potentially leading to a surprise KO. As with the first set, Close Combat and Rock Slide will be your main attacking moves. Payback is Sawk's best option against bulky Psychic- and Ghost-types, especially those which resist Rock Slide such as Golurk. Reversal is also an option; after Sawk is brought down to between 1 and 13 HP, you can switch out and when you come back in, you have the option to use a Fighting-type move which will outdamage Payback against Psychic-types. Jolly with 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe and a Choice Scarf is enough to outspeed Accelgor and allows some extra bulk. Having two Rock-Type attacks looks redundant, but Earthquake offers redundant coverage with Close Combat and as mentioned above Sawk needs a way to hit through Wide Guard.

Sawk is a pretty straightforward but formidable physical attacker. Close Combat and Rock Slide both give good coverage. Stone Edge is usable over Rock Slide, having more Base Power and hitting through Wide Guard. Thanks to Sawk’s middling Speed, he works great in teams running both Tailwind and Trick Room. When Tailwind is up, he will almost always outspeed the opposing team, but if they set up Tailwind too, set up Trick Room and Sawk will probably have the Speed advantage even when the opposing team's Tailwind runs out. Combined with Sturdy's guarantee of surviving one hit, Sawk can be very menacing. While Sawk is not the fastest user, Taunt is generally a helpful move. Quick Guard and Protect both have their uses, and either one is a good choice depending on your team. Payback hits Psychic- and Ghost-types harder than any other move Sawk has. Although somewhat redundant due to his Fighting-type STAB, Earthquake is a strong spread attack good for damaging both of your opponent's Pokemon. The EV spread assumes you run an Adamant nature and lets Sawk outrun the fastest Pokemon he can, Timid Samurott. If using Jolly, an alternate EV spread of 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe should be run, allowing Sawk to outspeed Adamant Krookodile and Haxorus, and Speed tie with Modest Hydreigon. Focus Sash can be used when using Inner Focus due to Sawk’s feeble defenses. If Amoonguss is using a Mental Herb, it can negate Taunt the first time it is used, and put Sawk to sleep. For this reason, running Lum Berry is also an option. Fighting Gem is for raw power on the first hit. As mentioned above, Sawk fits well into teams running both Tailwind and Trick Room due to his middling speed. Fast Guard makes him a good partner for something trying to set up without being stopped by Fake Out such as a Trick Room user. It is recommended that you pack something fast that can cover Sawk's weaknesses to Psychic- and Flying-type attacks such as Thunderous or Krookodile. A Wide Guard user is always welcome as with field attacks, your opponent won’t have to double attack Sawk to break Sturdy. Fast Guard or Anger Powder users can also help protect a Sturdy Sawk from a revenge kill.