Community POTW #022

[Serebii]

Time for the next Pokémon of the Week and this week we return to Paldea!

It's Pawmot!

Pawmot #923 - Serebii.net Pokédex

Pawmot Pokémon Serebii.net Pokédex providing all details on moves, stats, abilities, evolution data and locations for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet

www.serebii.net

 

[KyogreThunder]

Pawmot
Ability: Volt Absorb/Natural Cure/Iron Fist
Jolly nature
EVs: 252 Attack/252 Speed/4 HP
@Choice Band
-Close Combat
-Double Shock/Thunder Punch
-Ice Punch
-Crunch/Fake Out/Mach Punch/Fire Punch

 

[XaelOstigian]

Whenever a new generation comes down the pipe you can always bank on a few certainties. There will always be two box legendarys, there will always be three starters of the Grass, Fire, and Water types respectively, there will always be a starter Bug type, there will always be a pseudo-legendary with a total 600 in base stats (Usually a Dragon type), and there will always be a Pikachu clone that is next to useless in battle. Let's focus on that last one since it seems Gamefreak broke that trend by not only making the cute Electric plushie bait usable, but giving it two evolutions and a lot of nifty tools to rely on in the competitive metagame. While not a standard top tier threat, Pawmot still has a lot to offer, making it an excellent early game choice for your team that will carry you straight to the Elite Four and beyond. I'm sure Nemona can testify to that.

Muscle Marmot
Ability: Iron Fist/Natural Cure/Volt Absorb
Item: Life Orb/Magnet
Nature: Jolly
EVs: (HP 4) (Attack 252) (Speed 252)
Tera Type: Electric

Moves:
Bulk Up
Double Shock
Close Combat
Ice Punch

Set Details:
A sweeper set that utilizes Bulk Up to increase power output and fry the competition with Double Shock. Now Double Shock acts as a physical Electric type Burn Out, meaning Pawmot loses its Electric typing after use and the move becomes unusable afterward since you are no longer an Electric type. But if you Tera into a pure Electric type you actually will never lose your Electric typing, ergo you can just spam your now double STAB Double Shock with zero drawback! Close Combat offers powerful secondary STAB coverage, and Ice Punch counters the Ground types that laugh at your Double Shock while giving you a physical BoltBeam combo. EVs and nature go all into attack but mostly speed, Life Orb gives extra power but Magnet is an okay alternative if you don't like the recoil and are okay focusing mainly on Double Shock, and your ability is actually completely up to you since all three are actually very viable for different reasons. Iron Fist adds some much appreciated power to Ice Punch boosting base strength from 75 to 90, Natural Cure is good assurance to have in the event you get statused as a quick swap out will cure you, and Volt Absorb grants you a type immunity plus healing which opens the possibility to come in on an Electric attack for a free switch in.

Miracle Marmot
Ability: Iron Fist/Natural Cure/Volt Absorb
Item: Leppa Berry
Nature: Jolly
EVs: (HP 4) (Attack 252) (Speed 252)
Tera Type: Electric

Moves:
Revival Blessing
Double Shock/Thunder Punch
Close Combat
Ice Punch/Fire Punch

Set Details:
Pawmot has one more trick up its sleeve in addition to its signature move, and that's Revival Blessing. For the first time in Pokemon history, you can revive a fainted teammate in the competitive sphere. A move so game changing that Gamefreak had the sense to give it only 1 PP. And considering Pawmot's other competition for the healing move is the much slower Rabsca, it is the premier user of the move. Use Revival Blessing to bring back a fallen teammate you desperately need back into play, and thanks to the Leppa Berry you will gain one extra use of the move despite the 1 PP limitation. Double Shock is still standard as your STAB, but if you don't want to use your Tera slot on Pawmot to bypass the Electric type loss you could sub in Thunder Punch which becomes a steady 90 base power move with Iron Fist instead. Close Combat is still excellent for secondary STAB and coverage, and Ice Punch gives you Ground deterrence and BoltBeam coverage. Granted you could still sub in Fire Punch if the Bug/Steels really bug you. Attack and speed investment again for the fastest Revival Blessing possible and giving you enough power to still be useful once Revival Blessing has been exhausted. Ability choice is still yours depending on whether you want extra punching power, status healing, or an Electric immunity.

So definitely do not sleep on this Pikachu clone, for it has transcended the limitations of that title and become a truly worthy threat in the competitive sphere...all while still being cute as a button:

 

[Mestorn]

For a slight tangent, I am thankful that Gamefreak had the sense to give Revival Blessing to a Pokémon as frail as Pawmot... and to not give it Recycle, for games that have hacked movesets just have bulky stall teams that are impossible to take down because Recycle-Leppa Berry-Revival Blessing Ting-Lu just brings back the entire team again and again.

Pawmot just falls distressingly short of greatness. Base 105 Speed was fantastic in earlier generations, where breaking the base 100 benchmark was laudable. And while that is still a great benchmark to clear, don't get me wrong, there are so many others that clear that and Pawmot's base 105 Speed that give it trouble thanks to its poor 70/70/60 defenses. Electric Fighting isn't that fantastic either. 5 resistances to 3 weaknesses sounds ok, but when two of those weaknesses are Ground and Fairy and except for Rock and Dark, the resistances are rare and you get a better idea on how frail Pawmot is. Also Pawmot being a physical attacker is unfortunate given Electric's history with lack of viable Electric STABs and all of the best Electric and Fighting weak targets having more Defense than sense, which is again unfortunate given a semi-Viable Electric STAB in Double Shock and Pawmot bolstering Thunder Punch and Ice Punch to viable damage thanks to Iron Fist.

Double Shocker
Pawmot
-Fake Out
-Double Shock
-Close Combat
-Mach Punch/Protect
Ability: Natural Cure
Item Attached: Focus Sash
Tera Type: Electric
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature

Pawmot does have a small niche in doubles thanks to its potent STABs and decent priority/support tools. Fake Out is an amazing disruption tool in Doubles, breaking sashes, protecting an ally's setup, etc. Double Shock and Close Combat are amazing STABs, covering a majority of Double's most prominent threats including Dondozo, Chi-Yu, Ting-Lu, Tera Normal/Flying Dragonite, Chien-Pao, Iron Bundle, Palafin, Wo-Chien, Talonflame, Roaring Moon, etc. Last move is up to preference, but by far the best are Mach Punch and Protect. Protect is obvious, this is the best move in Doubles. Mach Punch is great for getting the jump on targets such as Chien-Pao, and Iron Bundle ignoring speed control and easily picking the two off.

Natural Cure is the ability of choice to counter errant Will-O-Wisps and has Pawmot act as a absorber for Amoongus' and Brute Bonnet's Spore. Tera Electric because of Double Shock.

Other Options
Encore -an incredibly terrifying move in doubles for good reason and Pawmot's high speed makes it far more reliable in locking an opponent into a worthless move.
Nuzzle -reliable Paralysis that can't be Taunted.
Revival Blessing -Bringing back a Chi-Yu, Iron Bundle or Flutter Mane that was KO'd early can be game changing and back breaking to your opponent.

 

[ThatDarnCabbage]

Hey, what is the recommended tera type for the VGC version? The official post says the tera type is focus sash lol.

 

[Divine Retribution]

Hey, what is the recommended tera type for the VGC version? The official post says the tera type is focus sash lol.

Electric is generally recommended, as it overrides Double Shock's loss of the Electric type and allows you to use the move multiple times in a row without being forced out.