Introduction
Axew has an interesting place in LC, a fantastic ability in mold breaker, combined with decent speed, and 87 attack, (the tenth highest in LC) make it a threat. On the other hand, pure dragon typing means no secondary stab, and a reliance on outrage to seriously dent walls makes it vulnerable to fairies even after a DD or two. It can be a potent win con, but it is so reliant on support, and provides relatively little in return, that usually it will either ein the game, or contribute nothing. Thus, I would usually prefer BD zigzagoon or DD corphish, both of which can provide priority for revenge killing weakened Pokémon, and so can help somewhat throughout the match if need be.
When I decided to build an Axew team, I wanted to use a set that could act as a late game cleaner, while simultaneously providing me with enough utility to justify using axew over another sweeper. I believe to a certain extent I have achieved this.
Teambuilding Process
My Axew team started as most Axew teams do, with Axew
Axew murders bird checks, in particular; pawniard, magnemite, and onix, so might as well add some birds to take advantage, vullaby helps with the mienfoo matchup as Axew has trouble with it, it also gives me an answer to foongus, and other bulky pokemon, knock off support is also appreciated by Axew as without a boost it has trouble with bulky pokemon.
I needed something to best fairy types, and a general answer to fighting types. (vullaby takes neutral from fighting type moves.) Croagunk seemed to be a perfect fit as he synergizes nearly perfectly with vullaby, and gave me priority and a water immunity.
I wanted a fast scarf user who could take on most frail threats like abra and diglett (with sash broken) while also giving me something to use against bird spam teams. I chose scarf chinchou, as it gives me a birds check, and a blanket offensive check to most of the meta.
Next, I needed a rocks user, preferably one that could beat Dangerous setup sweepers like zigzagoon, shellder, and the like. Ferroseed was the obvious choice.
Finally, I figured I could use something to blast holes in the enemy team, I had a defogger in vullaby and a solid answer to lead onix in axew who combine to keep rocks off most of the time, so I decided on ponyta.
The Team
Adamant | 148 HP / 220 Atk / 140 Spe
• Aqua Tail
• Outrage
• Poison Jab
• Superpower
Overview:
My centerpiece and the only real innovation on the team, this is cleaner scarf Axew. As previously stated, Axew has numerous qualities that give it a niche in the metagame, but in my mind it is outclassed in most of the roles I would want for it. This set is different, as it can legitimately do things no other pokemon can. For one, it is the best anti lead for opposing onix, outspeeding and OHKO’ing the sturdy set without trouble, as most Axew sets don’t carry a move to OHKO onix it tends to stay in turn one. With this set, Axew can provide offensive support throughout the match, and is rarely deadweight. Not bad.
The set:
Ev’s give me maximum attack hitting 19 with an adamant nature, this allows for an OHKO on Onix, and magnemite, as well as a 2hko on ferroseed. The set hits that magical fourteen speed, which is nice, I could go faster with more investment, but I have 17 speed scarf chinchou, so I decided to invest in HP so I could bring it in more. This set usually survives psychic from sash abra with the extra hp, if the sash is broken I out speed and kill with outrage.
Aqua tail can OHKO sturdy juice onix even if it has maximum physical bulk investment, which really helps as it keeps rocks off, of course the eviolite set could live if given enough investment, but un-invested it also dies if I hit. Besides onix, this move hits ponyta hard without forcing me to lock myself into outrage, always 2hkoing. It’s a solid coverage move, hitting fire, rock, and ground types for heavy damage without locking me into outrage.
Speaking of outrage, this move lets me take on weakened teams, and sweep late game, or break midgame if the enemy has no fairies. Outrage has very high BP to complement Axew’s already high attack and combined with STAB, it means that a neutral outrage will often hit harder than a SE poison jab or aqua tail. If Axew is going to sweep, it will probably be with outrage.
Poison jab is the least useful of the moves on the set, as it only helps against the two fairy types that commonly find their way onto teams these days. With prediction, you can punish them on the switch, but you really won’t be killing them without substantial prior damage. I chose this over Iron tail as it has 100% accuracy, thus it is the only move with 100% accuracy that I can use without locking me into outrage, or reducing my attack. This means Poison jab can be used to sweep late game, against severely weakened teams late game, as though it won’t hit as hard as outrage, it has the potential to hit several Pokémon without me risking confusion.
Speaking of attack drops, superpower is a good move for breaking early game, it 2hko’s ferro even with the drop, and lets me OHKO sturdy mag, and the ever present pawniard. Of course, those mon’s will probably not stay in if they think you have it, as though axew is rare most axew pack superpower. Still the speed might surprise them.
Impish | 116 HP / 76 Atk / 236 Def / 76 SpD
• Roost
• Knock Off
• Brave Bird
• Defog
Vullaby is one of the best pokemon in the metagame, and can run several great sets ranging from special sweeper to support, and in most of these roles, it is the king. For this reason, vullaby has found it’s way onto most of my teams since gen 6. This time around I opted for a defensive utility vullaby, which allows me to beat most of the bulky stuff that axew can’t. vullaby provides knock off support, defog, and bulk, as well as a switch in to things like foongus’s spore thanks to overcoat.
The set:
EV’s and nature give me a combination of bulk and power, to allow me to support the team throughout the game. It avoids the 2hko from bulky mienfoo’s HJK (without rocks), while doing massive damage with brave bird in return. (be mindful of recoil however) as this is a defensive/supportive set, I opted for overcoat, letting me take spore/stunspore in stride, and not reducing my defense with contact moves.
Roost lets me recover off prior damage, particularly important as vullaby is rock weak. And I want to be able to check relevant threats throughout the game.
Knock off is one of the best dark type moves in lc, and is a big part of why dark types like vullaby and pawniard are so good in the meta. Removing items in a tier where Pokémon rely on eviolites just to survive? Yes please. Not to mention knocking off berry juice makes most onix and magnimites weary to switch in, which is great as they are often the best answers to brave bird on teams.
Brave bird, is my main stab move, it lets me beat foongus, and fighting types. Obviously, recoil is a problem, but I have roost so it isn’t disabling.
Defog support is a requirement if I’m going to put two rocks weak Pokémon on the same team. And vullaby is one of the better users in the tier, so I might as well take advantage of that.
Quiet | 132 HP / 28 Atk / 116 Def / 108 SpA / 116 SpD
• Knock Off
• Sludge Bomb
• Vacuum Wave
• Drain Punch
Croagunk forms a defensive core with vullaby, who is immune to both of croagunk’s weaknesses. Croagunk is a secondary check to the tiers’s premier fighting types. I opted for the mixed utility set as it is a solid attacker, has priority, and checks many of the threatening pokemon in the tier.
The set:
This set is very standard, you can find it on the smogon page, but there’s a reason it’s standard.
Dry skin gives me a scald switch in, which synergises well with ponyta, and helps axew to avoid potential burns.
The EV’s are directly from the smogon entry, so I’m not 100% sure what they do. (hey I’m being honest)
Knock off is a very spammable move, and as vullaby pawniard and ferroseed share few counters, each of them are generally able to remove eviolites for axew or chinchou late game.
Sludge bomb is for fighting types like foo or timbur, as well as fairies, hitting them very hard if they decide to stay in, this move is obligatory if I want to best fighting types.
Vacuum wave is priority, and does things like OHKO pawniard. Who would otherwise threaten me as it comes in on vullaby for free. It also comes in on axew locked into anything bar superpower.
Drain punch is for recovery, and improved power against the likes of munchlax, and ferroseed.
Timid | 52 Def / 228 SpA / 220 Spe
• Hydro Pump
• Volt Switch
• Ice Beam
• Scald
Overview:
Scarf chinchou is another set I have used since gen 5, it really is nice to have quick volt switch, and an electric type that can beat digglet as long as I scald/ice beam on the switch. Late game the combination of axew and chinchou is very good, as few teams can withstand the combined offensive pressure. Axew provides the raw power, while chinchou brings the speed and finesse.
The set:
I opted for max speed and power, as axew can’t outrun most scarfers with adamant nature and bulk investment, chinchou as a 17 speed scarfer is very fast, and so covers for axew as few scarfers in the tier really enjoy a hydro pump to the face.
Hydro pump is a very powerful move, and serves as my nuke, shoddy accuracy is a problem, but If I connect I can often deal massive damage. It’s also the better option against timbur in the switch as I don’t risk giving him a guts boost.
Volt switch is excellent if I don’t manage to volt switch on the incoming diglett, if the enemy team has no ground types, I’m free to take advantage of the free momentum this move brings me. It also lets me break sashes on something like abra and come back later to pick up a kill after a sack.
Ice beam is a powerful move with 100% accuracy, and importantly the ability to hit foongus who seems to be a favorite switch in for my opponents.
Finally scald is a secondary stab move with the potential to burn things, honestly scald is a really good move and is generally worth consideration on any water type special attacker that learns it. Against weakened threats late game, scald is preferred over hydro pump because it has 100% accuracy.
Impish | 84 HP / 36 Atk / 108 Def / 228 SpD / 36 Spe
• Bullet Seed
• Knock Off
• Thunder Wave
• Stealth Rock
*Overview:
Rocks are a requirement in most tiers, and I feel LC is the same, there should always be a cost to switching around, and having that chip every time something wants to come in means axew and chinchou will have a better time late game. Ferroseed, dispite its lack of recovery gives me rocks, and an emergency stop to boosting sweepers like smash shellder and zigzagoon. Which is nice.
The set:
Bullet seed keeps me from being passive, and kills enemy shell smash users, punished onix, staryu, and drillbur, who might try to remove my hazards or set up their own.
This is my third knock off user, which is nice as removing eviolites is the best way to weaken teams in lc, particularly when combined with rocks, few pokemon will want to take an outrage or a hydro without an item and with rocks damage. Knock off is very important to my strategy, throughout the game.
Thunder wave cripples fast pokemon and gives me momentum, ferroseed is a particularly good user as it can bullet seed chinchou, and most of the ground types that are immune to the move.
Stealth rock is, as previously mentioned, a very useful move. Particularly on teams aimed at wearing the enemy down with offensive pressure, getting that chip damage is crucial for turning 2hko’s into OHKO’s and 3hko’s into 2hko’s. As this team is very good at preventing rocks thanks to axew, having my own rocks compounds my advantage.
Timid | 76 Def / 236 SpA / 196 Spe
• Solar Beam
• Flamethrower
• Flame Charge
• Hypnosis
I had a fair bit of trouble deciding on a pokemon for the final spot, I wanted something to break for my cleaners, which might be able to sweep if the enemy is slow. I decided on bloomdoom pony. Pony draws in water type attacks, which I can handle with croagunk. And it can lure in and kill bulky waters with bloomdoom, also nice. It also receives a boost from fire type moves aimed at croagunk or ferroseed thanks to flash fire.
The set:
Pony hits the prodigious 19 speed tier, which is a select club in lc. I decided to take advantage of this with timid nature, and put what remained into special attack.
Solar beam + grassium z is a 190 bp bloom doom, which is threatening levels of power. Ponyta draws in bulky water types which would ordinarily tank pony’s fire type moves, chinchou takes nothing from wild charge, and so really likes to switch into pony, only to be destroyed by bloom doom.
Flamethrower is my main stab move, which has a nice 100% accuracy, nothing to snuff at. I could opt for the higher power from fireblast, but I would rather do some damage reliably, than more damage unreliably.
Flame charge boosts my speed making me ridiculously difficult to RK without priority. At +1 I outpace even smash mons, and ever relevant scarf user and I have little difficulty in killing them (the very weak attack is enough to break sturdy without giving them juice.) of course this move is very weak, and so you can’t expect to kill with it.
Hypnosis is the final move in this set it really is only usable as a last resort against something that ponyta cannot otherwise kill. The accuracy is horrible.
Conclusion
This team is my attempt at showcasing a very interesting Axew set that has served me well on this and other teams, I hope you guys get the chance to try this out, or feel inspired to use a pokemon or a set that doesn’t get much love in the lc metagame. Please let me know what I should change to improve the team. Thanks!
-mecoptera
the AXE (Axew) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
Level: 5
EVs: 148 HP / 220 Atk / 140 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Tail
- Outrage
- Poison Jab
- Superpower
Vullaby @ Eviolite
Ability: Overcoat
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 76 Atk / 236 Def / 76 SpD
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Knock Off
- Brave Bird
- Defog
Croagunk @ Eviolite
Ability: Dry Skin
Level: 5
EVs: 132 HP / 28 Atk / 116 Def / 108 SpA / 116 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Knock Off
- Sludge Bomb
- Vacuum Wave
- Drain Punch
Chinchou @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Volt Absorb
Level: 5
EVs: 52 Def / 228 SpA / 220 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Ice Beam
- Scald
Ferroseed @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 5
EVs: 84 HP / 36 Atk / 108 Def / 228 SpD / 36 Spe
Impish Nature
- Bullet Seed
- Knock Off
- Thunder Wave
- Stealth Rock
Ponyta @ Grassium Z
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 5
EVs: 76 Def / 236 SpA / 196 Spe
Timid Nature
- Solar Beam
- Flamethrower
- Flame Charge
- Hypnosis
Ability: Mold Breaker
Level: 5
EVs: 148 HP / 220 Atk / 140 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Tail
- Outrage
- Poison Jab
- Superpower
Vullaby @ Eviolite
Ability: Overcoat
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 76 Atk / 236 Def / 76 SpD
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Knock Off
- Brave Bird
- Defog
Croagunk @ Eviolite
Ability: Dry Skin
Level: 5
EVs: 132 HP / 28 Atk / 116 Def / 108 SpA / 116 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Knock Off
- Sludge Bomb
- Vacuum Wave
- Drain Punch
Chinchou @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Volt Absorb
Level: 5
EVs: 52 Def / 228 SpA / 220 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Ice Beam
- Scald
Ferroseed @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 5
EVs: 84 HP / 36 Atk / 108 Def / 228 SpD / 36 Spe
Impish Nature
- Bullet Seed
- Knock Off
- Thunder Wave
- Stealth Rock
Ponyta @ Grassium Z
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 5
EVs: 76 Def / 236 SpA / 196 Spe
Timid Nature
- Solar Beam
- Flamethrower
- Flame Charge
- Hypnosis
