LC Spotlight: Pawniard

Type: Dark / Steel
Abilities: Defiant / Inner Focus / Pressure
Base Stats: 45 HP / 85 Atk / 70 Def / 40 SpA / 40 SpD / 60 Spe

Pawniard's Beginning

When Pawniard was introduced last generation with the wave of BW additions, it was a decent Pokémon. Its Dark typing and access to Swords Dance and a STAB-boosted Sucker Punch made it somewhat formidable to face, and its Steel typing adding on a myriad of resistances as well as neutralizing Pawniard's would-be weakness to Bug-type attacks. However, there were several huge disadvantages that Pawniard also suffered from... Fighting-types swarmed the tier, with Mienfoo being incredibly popular but also with other notable threats such as Timburr and Riolu, and Pawniard's 4x weakness to Fighting meant that it pretty much lost to them 100% of the time. As if that weren't enough, sand was a highly used playstyle (auto-weather abilities produced permanent weather then), centering around Sand Stream Hippopotas as a weather summoner and Sand Rush Drilbur as a fast and powerful sweeper; Pawniard's Steel typing did it no favors in combating against these important threats, as it provided Pawniard with a painstaking weakness to Earthquake, and thus Pawniard was no match for them at all. In short, Pawniard was only mildly threatening when it first entered Little Cup and simply could not compete against the metagame's top threats due to its defensive typing, and so it was largely overlooked and generally was not beating any important things out for a teamslot.

Rise to Power

Pawniard's fate has taken a sharp turn in XY Little Cup, however. A ton of newly introduced threats and moves, and a few changes to pre-existing moves, have increased Pawniard's usefulness drastically enough that its weaknesses that once cursed it with low usage are now considered merely just light inconveniences. Firstly, Pawniard's decent Speed and secondary Steel typing make it one of the few Dark-types in the tier that can stand up to Fairy-type powerhouses such as Spritzee, as well as annoyers such as Cottonee and Mime Jr. There are several things this Pokémon has going for it that make it a fearsome contender this time around.

The new Sticky Web entry hazard is used to put opposing teams at a crippling Speed disadvantage and can really apply offensive pressure in battle. Pawniard, however, has the ability Defiant, which increases its Attack by +2 (essentially a free Swords Dance) upon having its Speed lowered by Sticky Web. In addition, it gets STAB on Sucker Punch, which deals an obscene amount of damage after the boost and also overrides Pawniard's lack of Speed due to Sticky Web, making it not matter at all in this instance. Pawniard benefits immensely from this entry hazard and is a huge enough threat to deter players from even employing the strategy despite how well it works in just about any other circumstance. The move Defog also got a buff, allowing it to remove entry hazards from both sides of the battlefield upon use, but also lowering the evasion of its target. Pawniard can switch into a predicted Defog and punish the enemy for removing entry hazards by receiving a +2 Attack boost from the move's stat drop for free. This allows Pawniard to strike fear into the hearts of those who use these tactics, as it can easily turn an opponent's efforts to gain the upper hand into a nightmare.

In addition to Pawniard's awesome typing and its impressive offensive and defensive stats, it has a dangerous new move in the form of the buffed Knock Off, which received an insane jump to 65 Base Power this generation as well as a 1.5x damage bonus if its target is holding an item. Because it additionally gets STAB from this attack, Pawniard has a 146.25 Base Power attack against anything that's holding an item (and everything has an item), and then still wields a whopping 97.5 Base Power attack on everything that's already had their item forcibly removed. Everything hates switching into a Knock Off and losing their precious Eviolite, Berry Juice, Life Orb, or Choice Item, especially one that hurts as much as Pawniard's. One somewhat forgotten reason why Pawniard wasn't used very much in past generations of Little Cup is that Steel-types resisted both of its STABs, and thus it was easily threatened by things such as Magnemite and Bronzor. But this generation, Steel-types no longer resist Dark- or Ghost-type moves, and this combined with Knock Off's buff means that the Steel-types that could once punk Pawniard by walling it are now hard-pressed to even switch in, giving Pawniard a new offensive edge and making it a lot harder to deal with.

Playing With Pawniard

Even being the phenomenal offensive threat that Pawniard is in the current metagame, it still cannot afford to be used recklessly; prediction is very important in many cases when using it, and so is maintaining its health. Pawniard can easily adjust to many playstyles simply by changing its item. Berry Juice can be used on Pawniard to provide more health in the long run, as well as allow an important one-time cushion to fall back on should you make a mistake in predicting an opponent's play (as long as it doesn't knock you out). However, Eviolite offers security in making Pawniard able to survive incredibly hard hits while still being able to retaliate. Eviolite is also the better option if Pawniard has a teammate that provides Wish support, like Spritzee, as it can maintain its defensive boosts while continuously restoring health. Pawniard and Spritzee also cover each other's weaknesses to form a strong resistance core. A Life Orb set makes Pawniard's STAB attacks sting that much harder, but the immediate offensive gain is often short-lived due to its lack of an item that aids in its survivability. Pawniard can even make effective use of a Choice Scarf set to catch opponents off-guard and also quickly remove its foes' items before they get to see any use with them, and this can come in handy particularly to surprise OHKO Misdreavus before it has the chance to get a burn with Will-O-Wisp. Additionally, if you're going to use Pawniard, you'll want to not only maintain its health, but also keep it free of status. Bring a cleric or just absolutely do not let it get burned, as its effectiveness is greatly hindered after that happens.

Pawniard's strongest position and by far most dreaded moment for its opponents is when it gains offensive momentum and is threatening the active foe with an OHKO, and this happens more often than you would think. Knock Off can be used almost thoughtlessly and without any risk in this scenario, as the opponent is forced to choose between either letting their active Pokémon bite the dust or switching out to something else that will have to take a 146.25 Base Power Dark-type attack in addition to item removal—something that no Pokémon wants to have happen to them as soon as they come in, without even being able to fight back in that turn. Another important part of Pawniard's arsenal, Sucker Punch, can be used to play mind games against quicker foes such as Taillow, Gastly, and Choice Scarf Bunnelby, especially after an Attack boost via Swords Dance or Defiant. If the foe uses an attacking move, it risks being slammed with STAB Sucker Punch... if they use a status move or make a switch in an attempt to avoid it, they risk getting smacked hard by Knock Off and having their item removed in the process... This makes a boosted Pawniard a huge headache to play against, because outprediction means death, but the case is not always the same if Pawniard is misplayed. Iron Head outright destroys Fairy-types, and anything it hits neutrally will also take huge damage from it after a boost. The offensive EV spread for Pawniard is 76 HP / 236 Atk / 196 Spe, but a bulkier spread such as 76 HP / 76 Atk / 36 Def / 116 SpD / 196 Spe can be used, relying on Swords Dance and Defiant to boost Attack power; a Jolly nature is used with both spreads to achieve the highest Speed possible, which is a respectable stat of 16.

Playing Against Pawniard

By all means, no matter what you do, refrain from doing anything to lower Pawniard's stats, as it can very well cost you the match. This includes but is not limited to Defog, Sticky Web, Icy Wind, Intimidate, and so on. It's also worth noting that moves with a secondary chance of lowering a stat, such as Shadow Ball and Play Rough, have the unfortunate side-effect of potentially triggering Defiant as well. Very little can take STAB Sucker Punch or Knock Off from a +2 Pawniard, and so you must be extremely careful not to activate its ability.

Keep your Fighting-type(s) in good health, and preferably with its item intact, as it will often serve as your win condition against a competent player who is using Pawniard. If you're using Timburr or Croagunk, make sure that it stays alive at least until Pawniard goes down, and remember that Mach Punch / Vacuum Wave won't save the situation if Timburr or Croagunk is at low health, because Pawniard's superior Speed will allow Sucker Punch to move before them. There are many things to be considered when facing the complicated threat that Pawniard is, but the main thing is being sure you have one thing intact that can beat it. Your opponent will probably be doing all they can to get rid of your Pawniard checks before letting Pawniard just run loose and score KOs, so it's an interesting tug-of-war that will require a good bit of thinking to overcome in most cases.

This is Pokémon, and sometimes in battle, depending on how things unfold, a Pokémon might get a free turn while having no consequences. Pawniard is one of the Pokémon you absolutely do not want to grant this opportunity to, as one free Knock Off or Swords Dance can mean a huge momentum shift or even a flat-out loss. Be very careful and keep as much pressure on Pawniard as you can by leaving yourself openings to threaten its weak points. Larvesta is an excellent Pokémon for applying pressure on Pawniard, as it has Flame Body to punish it for making contact, Will-O-Wisp to burn it on demand, and U-turn to punish it for switching out to avoid Flare Blitz or burn status, while keeping momentum out of reach for the opposing Pawniard and its team.

Summary

While it entered competitive play during a time when its weaknesses happened to be easy to pick on by the popular threats of the BW era, it has held its own over time and has truly evolved into a monster and stepped up to become what is unquestionably one of the most dominant offensive giants of XY Little Cup. Pawniard went from being a punk in Little Cup to a gangster that calls the shots, and a threat that is impossible to overlook. Now that Pawniard is back on its feet and has made its mark in the metagame, it is showing no mercy to the ones who kicked it when it was down, and it has returned in a violent wake to make heads roll with its blades of glory.

« Previous Article

Home