OU Spotlight: Mega Mawile

By Leo. Released: 2019/05/14.
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art

Art by internet.

Introduction

After 2 years of being confined to Ubers, Mega Mawile returned at the beginning of the 7th Generation to wreak havoc in the OU tier with its insane wallbreaking capabilities. Ever since its reintroduction to the tier, Mega Mawile has been acknowledged as a top-tier threat in the metagame both for defensive teams and offensive teams thanks to its sky-high Attack stat, wide movepool, and access to one of the strongest priority moves in the game in Sucker Punch. While the presence of Mega Metagross in the tier prevented Mega Mawile from being in the spotlight during the early stages of the SM OU metagame, it has slowly crawled its way back to the top of the food chain since the ban on Metagrossite and has established itself as one of the strongest Mega Evolutions in the tier as a result of other tier shifts such as the ban on Arena Trap, which allowed it to threaten stall without fear of Dugtrio.

Hot Sets

mawile

With the aid of Swords Dance, Mega Mawile can reach insane levels of power that allow it to pummel through most bulkier builds. It can obliterate passive walls that can't OHKO it like Clefable and Tangrowth with its STAB Play Rough and proceed to sweep the opposing team with boosted Sucker Punch. With limited moveslot options for coverage, this set opts for Knock Off as a high-Base Power move with amazing neutral coverage that can punish defensive walls that don't mind taking a Play Rough such as Celesteela, Ferrothorn, and Toxapex while crippling specially defensive Heatran upon switch in. Thunder Punch is an alternative coverage move aimed at Toxapex and Celesteela that allows Mawile to OHKO them after a boost but misses out on general coverage.

mawile

This set takes a different approach to dealing with defensive walls; instead of breaking through them with the sheer power of Swords Dance-boosted Play Rough and Thunder Punch, it opts to run as many coverage options as possible in order to pose an immediate threat to the likes of Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor and Landorus-T, which it can otherwise struggle to get past even after a Swords Dance boost. Play Rough is Mawile's highest-Base Power STAB move, and its coverage is complemented by Thunder Punch and Brick Break, which are aimed at common Fairy-resistant Pokémon such as Toxapex, Heatran, and Ferrothorn. Brick Break can be replaced by Fire Fang, dealing more damage to Ferrothorn while covering Mega Scizor. Sucker Punch gives Mega Mawile much-needed priority in the last slot, which prevents the likes of Mega Alakazam from revenge killing it after some prior damage, although Ice Punch can also be used instead if dispatching Landorus-T and Gliscor as they switch in is more beneficial to the team.

Good Cores

rotom

Rotom-W is an excellent partner for Mega Mawile for a number of reasons. For one, its Levitate ability allows it to switch into Ground-types like Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Gliscor and either cripple them with Will-O-Wisp or knock them out with Hydro Pump. But what makes it such a good teammate is its access to Volt Switch in combination with the aforementioned trait, as it's able to scare out Ground-types and draw in Grass-types like Tangrowth and Ferrothorn that Mawile has a field day against. Even though it lacks reliable recovery, Leftovers and Pain Split give it the longevity it needs to pivot around several times in a game and bring in Mega Mawile through Volt Switch as many times as possible.

greninija

Ash-Greninja is a premier offensive threat in the metagame and another great partner for Mega Mawile. Its ability to set up Spikes early-game allows it to soften up common switch-ins to Mega Mawile like Heatran and Ferrothorn and put them in range of Mawile's Brick Break as well as punish switches in general. If paired with a Swords Dance set, Spikes are useful for putting fast offensive threats such as Greninja and Garchomp in range of a boosted Sucker Punch. In return, Mega Mawile punishes common Ash-Greninja answers such as Toxapex, Tangrowth, and Tapu Bulu in order to facilitate a late-game sweep.

Replay

Talah vs Eternal Spirit

This replay showcases Eternal Spirit's Swords Dance Mega Mawile putting massive pressure on Talah's bulky team. After a first few turns of positioning and hazard exchange, Eternal Spirit brings his Mawile in on Chansey and uses Swords Dance on a predicted switch to Toxapex to KO two Pokémon. With Talah's defensive backbone severely crippled, there is no need for Mawile to risk a flinch against a Weavile trying to revenge kill it, so Eternal Spirit is able to play a safe game afterwards, only bringing his Mega Mawile back in 20 turns later after Landorus-T faints to pick apart at the remains of Talah's team and allow Kartana to clean up for the win.

Conclusion

Mega Mawile is a menace for pretty much every single playstyle and is not to be overlooked when building a team. Its Swords Dance set can punish defensive teams and sweep hyper offense, while the all-out attacker set can be a pain to switch into for any playstyle on the spectrum. Its versatility and sheer offensive power have allowed Mega Mawile to cement itself among the strongest Mega Evolutions in the metagame despite the many metagame shifts that have occurred since its surge in viability.

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