Hawlucha - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle

This is a strategy guide for using Hawlucha in competitive play for the games Pokemon Sword and Shield. Read on for tips on the best Nature, EV spreads, Movesets, and Held Items to use with Hawlucha, as well as its strengths and weak points.

Hawlucha - Related Guides
Evolution and Learnset	Build for Ranked Battle

Basic Information for Hawlucha

Types and Abilities

Pokemon	Type 1	Type 2
Hawlucha
Abilities
Unburden	Raises Speed if a held item is used.
Limber	The Pokemon is protected from paralysis.
Mold Breaker (Hidden)	Moves can be used regardless of Abilities.

Hawlucha Weaknesses and Resistances

	Type
Takes 4x damage	-
Takes 2x damage
Takes 0.5x damage
Takes 1/4x damage
Takes 0x damage

What is Type Effectiveness?

Base Stats

HP	Attack	Defense	Sp. Atk	Sp. Def	Speed
78	92	75	74	63	118

Best Nature for Hawlucha

Best Natures
Adamant (+Atk, -SpAtk)	Jolly (+Spe, -SpAtk)

What are Natures?

Singles Movesets for Hawlucha

Electric Seed + Max Lightning Sweeper Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EV Spread	Atk 252 / Def 4 / Spe 252
Final Stat Values	HP 153 / Atk 158 / Def 96 / Sp.Atk 84 / Sp.Def 83 / Spe 170
Ability	Unburden
Held Item	Electric Seed
Moveset	・Thunder Punch ・Acrobatics ・High Jump Kick ・Poison Jab

Most strategies involving Hawlucha will take advantage of its Ability Unburden, as it boosts its Speed if its held item is used. This build utilizes Unburden by having Hawlucha hold Electric Seed and Dynamax on the first turn and use Max Lightning for it to spawn Electric Terrain.

About Hawlucha's Moves

Thunder Punch is used to setup Electric Terrain by Dynamaxing Hawlucha and using Max Lightning, using up Electric Seed which activates Unburden.

For STAB moves, Acrobatics builds up on the setup mentioned as its power is doubled since Hawlucha is not holding an item anymore. High Jump Kick is a great Fighting-type STAB move but be aware of the damage Hawlucha will get if it misses.

Poison Jab is a coverage move against Fairy-types that Hawlucha is vulnerable to.

About Hawlucha's EV Spread

Hawlucha's EVs are maximized on Attack and Speed for it to be able to attack as hard and as fast as possible, with the remaining EVs given to Defense to help improve its durability.

About Hawlucha's Held Item

Electric Seed is consumed once Electric Terrain is set up by Max Lightning. This boosts Hawlucha's Defense, improving its durability.

Other Viable Moves

X-Scissor	Physical Bug-type move against Psychic-types.
Close Combat	More accurate but less powerful alternative to High Jump Kick. Lowers Defense and Special Defense.
Stone Edge	Powerful Rock-type move against Flying-types. Has low accuracy.
Taunt	Stops any attempt of an opponent setting up walls.
Iron Head	Effective against Fairy-types. Can also be used as Max Steelspike to boost Defense.
Flying Press	Hawlucha's signature move that is both Fighting and Flying-type.
Swords Dance	Boosts the Attack stat to become even more dangerous.

Weakness Policy Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EV Spread	Atk 252 / Def 4 / Spe 252
Final Stat Values	HP 153 / Atk 158 / Def 96 / Sp.Atk 84 / Sp.Def 83 / Spe 170
Ability	Unburden
Held Item	Weakness Policy
Moveset	・Acrobatics ・High Jump Kick ・Stone Edge ・Drain Punch

This build lets Hawlucha hold Weakness Policy to boost its Attack by baiting your opponents to hit it with a super-effective move. To successfully execute this strategy, Dynamax Hawlucha so it can survive such attacks. Using up Weakness Policy activates Unburden as well, boosting Hawlucha's Speed.

About Hawlucha's Moves

Acrobatics and High Jump Kick acts as your main attacks for Hawlucha to utilize STAB. Can also be used as Max Moves to boost Speed and Attack respectively.

Stone Edge is useful against common Hawlucha Flying-type counters such as Zapdos.

Drain Punch takes advantage of Weakness Exploit's attack boost and can be used to recover HP.

About Hawlucha's EV Spread

Hawlucha's EVs are maximized on Attack and Speed for it to be able to attack as hard and as fast as possible, with the remaining EVs given to Defense to help improve its durability.

About Hawlucha's Held Item

Weakness Policy activates when Hawlucha is attacked with a super-effective move. Be sure to Dynamax so Hawlucha can survive these attacks.

Other Viable Moves

X-Scissor	Physical Bug-type move against Psychic-types.
Close Combat	More accurate but less powerful alternative to High Jump Kick. Lowers Defense and Special Defense.
Taunt	Stops any attempt of an opponent setting up walls.
Iron Head	Effective against Fairy-types. Can also be used as Max Steelspike to boost Defense.
Flying Press	Hawlucha's signature move that is both Fighting and Flying-type.
Swords Dance	Boosts the Attack stat to become even more dangerous.

Doubles Movesets for Hawlucha

Tapu Koko + Electric Seed (Doubles) Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EV Spread	Atk 252 / Def 4 / Spe 252
Final Stat Values	HP 153 / Atk 158 / Def 96 / Sp.Atk 84 / Sp.Def 83 / Spe 170
Ability	Unburden
Held Item	Electric Seed
Moveset	・Acrobatics ・High Jump Kick ・Stone Edge ・Rock Slide

Hawlucha synergizes well with Tapu Koko because of the latter's Ability Electric Surge. Letting Tapu Koko lead with Hawlucha will immediately consume Electric Seed (thus Dynamaxing Hawlucha for Max Lightning is no longer necessary).

Tapu Koko can also face Flying-type Pokemon that threatens Hawlucha.

About Hawlucha's Moves

Acrobatics and High Jump Kick are your main STAB moves, with Acrobatics getting more powerful once Electric Seed is consumed.

Stone Edge is used against Flying-types that Hawlucha is vulnerable against.

Rock Slide acts as Hawlucha's multi-target move that may flinch your opponents.

About Hawlucha's Held Item

With Tapu Koko's Ability whipping up Electric Terrain as soon as it is on the field, Electric Seed is used by Hawlucha, raising its Defense and at the same time activating Unburden.

Other Viable Moves

Zen Headbutt	Psychic-type move that works against Poison-types that Tapu Koko might face.
X-Scissor	Physical Bug-type move against Psychic-types.
Close Combat	More accurate but less powerful alternative to High Jump Kick. Lowers Defense and Special Defense.
Taunt	Stops any attempt of an opponent setting up walls.
Iron Head	Effective against Fairy-types. Can also be used as Max Steelspike to boost Defense.
Flying Press	Hawlucha's signature move that is both Fighting and Flying-type.
Swords Dance	Boosts the Attack stat to become even more dangerous.

How to Use Hawlucha Effectively

Lose Hawlucha's Held Item for Unburden

Hawlucha's Ability Unburden boosts its Speed whenever it uses its held item, which makes it a very powerful attacker once it reaches that point.

To maximize Unburden's potential, let Hawlucha hold items that raise its stat once it is used. For offensive options, you can use Weakness Policy, while Terrain Seeds such as Electric Seed and Grassy Seed boost its Defense which Hawlucha needs.

Additionally, the Flying-type move Acrobatics works well with Unburden. Not only does it act as Hawlucha's Flying-type STAB move, its Power is also doubled once Hawlucha uses its held item.

How to Build a Team with Hawlucha

Unburden Attacker with Terrains

Letting Hawlucha hold any Terrain Seed while teaming it up with a terrain setter lets it consume its item on the first turn and immediately activate Unburden. This is faster compared to any other Pokemon (or Hawlucha itself) setting up the terrain with a Max Move.

The following team utilizes this strategy.

Example Terrain + Unburden Team

Electric Terrain Setter	Physical Attacker	Lightning Rod Support
Tapu Koko	Hawlucha	Alolan Marowak

Tapu Koko's Electric Surge lets it whip out Electric Terrain as it is sent out, which lets Hawlucha consume its Electric Seed immediately. Setting up Electric Terrain also prevents any of your Pokemon from getting asleep.

With Hawlucha not holding any items, it can then use Acrobatics to its full potential, as well as take advantage of its STAB. Tapu Koko on the other hand can assist Hawlucha in dealing damage.

In dealing with Hawlucha's counters, you can use Tapu Koko to take out any fellow Flying-types that can threaten Hawlucha, or send out Alolan Marowak to redirect Electric-type attacks towards it as those are boosted by Electric Terrain.

Learn more about building Offense-oriented teams by checking out our full guide below.
How to Build an Offensive Team

Counters for Hawlucha

Weakness

Cripple Hawlucha with status effects

Inflicting Hawlucha with either a burn to reduce its Attack or paralysis to cut its Speed in half is a great way to stunt its potential as an effective attacker. Use either Pokemon with the Prankster Ability or those capable of using Trick.

Best Pokemon to Use

Pokemon	Description
Grimmsnarl	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Able to use Prankster-boosted Thunder Wave to slow down Hawlucha. ・Can setup Reflect to soften Hawlucha's physical attacks. ・Can use super-effective Fairy-type moves. Moveset & Best Build for Grimmsnarl
Sableye	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Able to use Prankster-boosted Will-O-Wisp to reduce Hawlucha's Attack stat. ・Can hold Flame Orb and use Trick to remove Unburden's effects as well as inflict burn to it. ・Unaffected by Fighting-type moves. Moveset & Best Build for Grimmsnarl
Clefairy	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Can be built exclusively for Trick + Flame Orb. ・Can redirect opponent's attacks or assist your attacker with Helping Hand. ・Can use super-effective Fairy-type moves. Moveset & Best Build for Clefairy

Wall its attacks with defensive Pokemon

Hawlucha relies on physical attacks to be useful. It will have no difficulty dealing with offensive attackers, but the same cannot be said against highly-defensive Pokemon.

Best Pokemon to Use

Pokemon	Description
Toxapex	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Has high Defense stat and able to tank physical attacks. ・Resists Hawlucha's Fighting-type moves. Moveset & Best Build for Toxapex
Tapu Fini	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Resists Hawlucha's Fighting-type moves. ・Can use super-effective Fairy-type moves. Moveset & Best Build for Tapu Fini
Ferrothorn	Ranking: ★★★ ・Has high Defense stat. ・Vulnerable to Fighting-type moves. Moveset & Best Build for Ferrothorn
Rhyperior	Ranking: ★★★ ・Has high Defense stat. ・Can use Thunder Punch. ・Can resist Flying-type attacks but vulnerable to Fighting-type moves. Moveset & Best Build for Rhyperior

Related Links

All Competitive Builds for Ranked Battle

Competitive Guides for Pokemon Sword and Shield

Competitive Pokemon Battle Guides
Tier List		Best Builds		Series 10 List of Contenders
Doubles Tier List		Team Building		Rental Teams

Best Builds for Returning Pokemon

Movesets & Best Builds for Returning Pokemon
Mimikyu	Wash Rotom	Gyarados
Ferrothorn	Aegislash	Excadrill
Tyranitar	Hydreigon	Heat Rotom
Arcanine	Mamoswine	Toxapex
Togekiss	Cloyster	Durant
Snorlax	Charizard	Sylveon
Lucario	Hippowdon	Umbreon
Conkeldurr	Quagsire	Gastrodon
Lapras	Whimsicott	Rhyperior
Goodra	Haxorus	Glaceon
Mow Rotom	Type: Null	Gengar
Milotic	Gardevoir	Flygon
Chandelure	Lanturn	Torkoal
Bisharp	Seismitoad	Silvally
Butterfree	Primarina	Incineroar
Blastoise	Decidueye	Venusaur
Darmanitan	Alolan Ninetales	Gothitelle
Crawdaunt	Clefable	Reuniclus
Kommo-o	Terrakion	Cobalion
Virizion	Noivern	Fan Rotom
Toxicroak	Pelipper	Jellicent
Celebi	Clefairy	Hitmontop
Diggersby	Ditto	Raichu
Hawlucha	Shiftry	Tsareena
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