Mawile PvP Guide

In-depth guide to using Mawile in Trainer Battles. Best moves, best IVs and IV spread, Great League placement, best and worst match ups.

Pokemon GO Mawile Raid Shiny
Pokemon GO Mawile Raid Shiny

Mawile was released back in December of 2017 as a Tier 2 Raid Boss and among the first shiny variants introduced. Mawile has been a consistent Tier 2 option since its release back in 2017, giving plenty of opportunity to find that elusive shiny form. However, with very mediocre attack and defense stats along with poor stamina, there was very little reason to spend that raid pass on a Mawile raid other than in the hopes of finding a shiny.

In December 2018, Niantic introduced Trainer Battles potentially giving Mawile a chance to shine in the Great League tier. Unfortunately, with below average stats accompanied by a poor move pool, Mawile has been left on the bench. Luckily, the most recent move shake up in September 2019 has finally given Mawile a chance to shine. Prepare for an intense look at Mawile’s place in the Great League.

Stats and Moves

Mawile

Mawile has a maximum CP of 1634. Mawile is currently the only Steel and Fairy type in the game and will remain unique until generation 6. This unique typing boasts 11 resistances, while only having two weaknesses, Fire and Ground. Mawile’s stats are as follows:

Attack  155
Defense 141
HP 137

Mawile has access to the following moves:

Fast Moves Charged Moves
Astonish Ghost Vice Grip Normal
Bite Dark Play Rough Fairy
Fire Fang (NEW!) Fire Iron HeadSteel
Ice Fang (NEW!) Ice Power-Up Punch (NEW!) Fighting

Best IV Spread

Mawile is currently only available through raid battles and hatching from 10 km eggs, therefore, finding that ideal IV spread can be tricky. Since Mawile maxes above the 1500 CP limit for Great League battles, the ideal IV spread will have 1 attack and 15 defense and stamina. If you were lucky enough to attend Pokemon Go Fest 2019, then you likely caught a handful of wild Mawile increasing your chance of finding that perfect PvP IV spread.

In addition, Mawile was available in the wild for one week in September 2019 along with Absol, Alolan Sandrew, and Alolan Vulpix as part of the Ultra Bonus Week 2. If you weren’t among the lucky Go Fest attendees are happened to miss Ultra Bonus Week 2, then your best method for finding a good IV spread for PvP is through trading. Ideally, it is best to trade with a good friend, but there are some decent IV spreads with best friends as well. Look to maximize defense and stamina stats and minimize the attack stat.

Use a shiny Mawile for extra style points. With the right IV spread maxing at level 40 and a steep 75k stardust cost for a second charge move, make sure you are happy with the Mawile you choose to power up.

Related guide: Trainer Battles Academy: Best IVs for PvP

Best Movesets

Mawile has always been an interesting pick for PvP due to its unique typing and hefty 11 resistances, but has suffered from a less than average move pool. With the most recent move pool shake up, Mawile was given much needed versatility.

Fast moves

Let’s begin with Mawile’s fast moves. Originally, it only had access to Bite Dark and Astonish Ghost. Bite is a decent move, offering 4 DPT, but does not have the STAB bonus and only has an energy gain of 2 EPT. Astonish is definitively the worst Ghost type fast attack with a meager 1.67 DPT and a better, but still lackluster 3 EPT. Having two fast attacks without a STAB bonus and minimal energy gain, Mawile had very limited use. With the introduction of Fire Fang and Ice Fang, Mawile was given great type coverage with solid damage output (4 DPT) and better energy gain (2.5 EPT) than Bite (2.0 EPT).

Charge moves

Mawile’s charge moves have always been decent, but lacked a fast move with the right synergy to make them effective. With the introduction of Fire Fang and Ice Fang, Mawile can now reach those charge moves a little quicker while still dealing a lot of damage. Play Rough and Iron head are solid choices and provide the STAB bonus from Mawile’s Fairy and Steel typing. Vice grip is not a very good option and should not be used. Last but not least, Mawile was given access to Power-Up Punch in the September shake-up. Power-Up Punch is a low energy, attack boosting charge move that allows Mawile to utilize it’s high damaging fast moves and apply serious pressure with decent coverage.

Before the September move pool shake-up, Mawile was a lackluster pick due to its less than ideal moveset. With the introduction of Ice Fang and Fire Fang, Mawile can now apply serious pressure to meta relevant Pokemon like Altaria, Venusaur and Steelix. Its unique typing makes it especially lethal to Dragon types and Ice Fang solidifies this role along with providing super-effective coverage for one of it’s two weaknesses (Ground).

The best moveset will feature Bite, Ice Fang, or Fire Fang with Play Rough and Power-Up Punch. Iron head might replace Play Rough in certain metas, but Play Rough has better damage and DPE. Which fast move you choose to run will depend entirely on the team you develop and the current meta of Silph Arena themed cups or other tournaments.

Conclusion

Before the most recent move pool shake-up, Mawile was a niche battler at best due to its unimpressive move set. There were just other Pokemon that did it’s job better. Mawile now has a unique battling style with access to Fire Fang, Ice Fang, and Power-Up Punch. Counter used to be the only fast move you would see in conjunction with Power-Up Punch (except for bubble with Poliwrath), but now there is added versatility with Mawile. This was the versatility needed to make Mawile a viable option in the Great League.

Mawile is now equipped to take down heavy hitters like Altaria, Steelix, and Venusaur with only taking a quarter of its health down. If you don’t have good PvP Mawile, then get out there and raid a few and trade with friends for a good IV spread. Again, you will want to make sure you are happy with the Mawile selected to power up because it is very costly.

Lastly, Mawile is a solid option for the Silph Arena Sinister cup this month and expect to see a few in your local tournaments.

Pro Tip: You will want to lead with Mawile or at the very least save a shield for it due to its low stamina.

3kkoIogy
I am an environmental scientist from Sacramento, CA. I was given my first Charmander Pokemon card by a friend in the 4th grade in 1999 and was hooked ever since. I was ranked Ace trainer in season 1 of Silph League's world rankings for PvP.