Base Stats: 78 HP / 92 Atk / 75 Def / 74 SpA / 63 SpD / 118 Spe
Abilities: Limber | Unburden | Mold Breaker (H)
Notable moves:
- Acrobatics
- Brave Bird
- Close Combat
- Defog
- Encore
- Fire Punch
- High Jump Kick
- Iron Head
- Poison Jab
- Roost
- Stone Edge
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Taunt
- Tera Blast
- Thunder Punch
- U-turn
Pros:
- Becomes one of the fastest Pokemon in the metagame once Unburden activates, allowing it to be an effective late-game cleaner.
- Strong STAB attack combination allows it to hit the majority of the tier hard for neutral effectiveness.
- Is the only Defog Pokemon that can clear hazards in front of Gholdengo thanks to Mold Breaker.
Cons:
- 92 base Attack means it often fails to pick up KOs without a Swords Dance boost.
- Frail defenses limit it's opportunities to set-up, leaving it vulnerable to being revenge killed with priority moves.
- Needs to be paired with a terrain setter to reliably get the Unburden boost, all of which are fairly underwhelming in their own right.
Terastalizing Potential:
Potential Movesets:
Unburden Sweeper
Hawlucha @ Electric Seed / Grassy Seed / Psychic Seed
Ability: Unburden
Tera Type: Fighting/Flying/Electric
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Acrobatics
- Taunt / Tera Blast
The classic Hawlucha set that it has run to great effect in OU for the past 2 generations. Your item is dependent on which terrain you choose to pair it with as it is consumed once you enter the battle; activating your ability and giving you a boost to either your Defense or Sp. Defense. Swords Dance is required to boost your attack, and your strategy should be based around finding opportunities for Hawlucha to come in and set up freely. Close Combat and Acrobatics give you an almost unresisted, powerful STAB combination that allow you to easily pick up OHKOs, further helped by an Adamant nature, which you can afford to run thanks to the Unburden speed boost. Taunt is useful in the last slot to prevent Status from bulkier Pokemon that you can't beat in one move, whereas (Electric) Tera Blast helps beat Corviknight and Dondozo, especially under Electric Terrain.
Offensive Pivot
Hawlucha @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Mold Breaker
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Defog
- U-turn
- Close Combat / Brave Bird
- Taunt / Encore / Roost
Hawlucha's solid support movepool and hazard removal niche can allow it to operate as a fairly effective offensive pivot. Due to it's hidden ability, Hawlucha can freely click Defog without it being blocked, only fearing Defiant/Competitive Pokemon who might try and switch in to take advantage. U-turn is useful to maintain momentum whilst running either Close Combat or Brave Bird ensure you aren't too passive - the former lets you beat common HO leads like Glimmora, whereas the latter helps against Ghost types like Annihilape. The last slot is very flexible, and can be selected based on the other utility you'd like Hawlucha to perform for your team. Taunt helps prevent hazards from going up in the first place, and is also useful against more defensive teams. Encore prevents you from becoming set-up fodder, and gives you opportunities to set-up of your own, whilst Roost gives you more longevity, although Hawlucha is unlikely to be tanking many hits in the long term.
Other Options:
There are other set-up methods that could be explored to allow Hawlucha to run outside of terrain, such as Substitute + Sitrus Berry or Endure + Weakness Policy, although these are far less reliable and would potentially leave you even more vulnerable to being revenge killed.
