Moves
Close Combat is Sawk's main STAB move and severely dents even Pokemon neutral to it. Knock Off deals with Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Uxie and Jellicent, which resist or are immune to Close Combat, in addition to providing useful utility in depriving the foe of its item. Poison Jab targets Fairy-types such as Granbull, Togetic, and Aromatisse, which resist both Close Combat and Knock Off. Zen Headbutt hits Poison-types such as Weezing, Venusaur, and Qwilfish.
Set Details
Choice Band greatly improves Sawk's damage output, making it a fearsome wallbreaker. An Adamant nature in tandem with maximum Attack investment makes Sawk extremely powerful, as it needs all the power it can get, while 252 Speed EVs make Sawk as fast as possible. Sturdy allows Sawk to take any one hit and retaliate. A Jolly nature is generally preferred as outspeeding Venusaur is extremely important.
Usage Tips
Close Combat is an extremely spammable move and, coupled with its high Base Power and Choice Band, it will severely dent even Pokemon neutral to it. As Sawk has quite underwhelming bulk, try to bring it in on a double switch or after a teammate has fainted to preserve Sturdy. Try to predict opposing Pokemon switching in—for example, use Knock Off as the opponent switches to Uxie—as Sawk does not have too many chances to attack and mispredicting means Sawk will get forced out. Entry hazards will break Sturdy, so it is advised to remove them. If Sturdy is intact, Sawk can function as a good emergency stop to opposing setup sweepers such as Drapion and offensive Trick Room Diancie.
Team Options
Entry hazard support from the likes of Qwilfish, Mesprit, and Rhyperior is helpful, as Sawk appreciates the extra damage on the ample switches it forces. Sawk does not like entry hazards breaking Sturdy, so entry hazard removers such as Flygon and Blastoise are appreciated; in particular, Flygon pressures hazard setters such as Qwilfish with its Ground-type coverage. Sawk is a great wallbreaker, so late-game cleaners such as Fletchinder, Jolteon, and Sneasel are good partners to take advantage of the large dents Sawk puts in the opponent's team. As Sawk has poor bulk and switches in and out a lot, pivots such as Magneton and Rotom-C can provide Sawk with free switches. Fast Fighting-types, such as Swords Dance Virizion and Choice Scarf Medicham, are good partners, as Sawk can punch holes in the opponent's team early on for them to clean up. Uxie is a great partner in general, providing momentum with U-turn, Stealth Rock support to whittle down switch-ins, and Thunder Wave to slow down faster threats such as Mega Glalie. Pursuit support from the likes of Drapion and Sneasel is also appreciated to deal with Psychic-types that take Close Combat relatively easy. Pokemon that resist Flying, such as Magnetons, Registeel, and Aerodactyl, are good partners to mitigate Sawk's weakness to Flying-types such as Fletchinder and Braviary.