Tomohawk - By: @Vryheid
Tomohawk was originally designed as the ultimate tool for momentum control, being able to switch in easily to many threats and reset the pacing of the match. While much has changed for Tomohawk since the transition to Gen 6, it remains one of the most effective team anchors and defensive pivots in existence, and is arguably the most influential Pokemon in the entire CAP meta.
Tomohawk is typically used as a physically bulky utility tank, making use of it's good 105/90/80 bulk and excellent Flying/Fighting type to switch into common threats such as Colossoil, Necturna, Revenankh and Arghonaut. From there, it can proceed to either set up with one of its many utility moves or whittle down the opponent with Air Slash. 115 Sp. Atk is more than enough to deal damage even without any investment, and it has a nice array of coverage moves to hit many common Pokemon super-effectively. While 105/90 bulk might not sound like quite enough to take on powerful threats like Garchomp and Mega Gyarados, two incredible abilities in Intimidate and Prankster make it one of the most physically bulky Pokemon in the tier. The Prankster Reflect set is so devastatingly effective in this role that it's borderline impossible to take down on the physical side bar some of the hardest hitting Flying and Fairy-type attackers.
Because it's so versatile, using Tomohawk effectively mainly depends on how you customize it to suit the needs of your team. For instance, if you're running Mollux or Colossoil, you probably don't need to give Tomohawk Rapid Spin and would be better off with another utility move like Haze or Reflect instead. On the other hand, if you're running bulky offense, a Taunt Tomohawk may be just what your team needs to break through stall. Hyperoffensive teams may not need a bulky Tomohawk at all and would appreciate its ability to provide offensive pressure with a Prankster Rain Dance/Sunny Day or priority Nature Power. Tailoring Tomohawk's offensive movepool to help improve your overall team coverage is also significant- for instance, if you're partnering it with Aegislash to form a defensive core, it would help immensely to give it Earth Power to deal with inevitable Mollux switchins.
Gen 6 has brought with it a number of changes both good and bad for Tomohawk. Specially bulky Fairy types such as Sylveon and Clefable counter it handily, and new threats such as the everpresent Talonflame can easily force it out. In addition, the nerfs to both Hurricane and permanent rain make offensive sets much more difficult to use effectively. On the other hand, the Knock Off buff has given Tomohawk a useful niche as an excellent absorber of the move, able to switch into resisted hits repeatedly and healing off any damage with Roost. The general special attack nerf and severe drop in weather team usage has also made Tomohawk much more effective defensively, as it is much more difficult now to overwhelm on the special side.
Sets:
Physically Bulky Wall:
Tomohawk @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 96 SDef / 4 Spd
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Earth Power/Haze/Aura Sphere
- Reflect/Stealth Rock
- Roost
Tomohawk is one of the most effective counters to physical setup sweepers such as Mega Charizard X, Dragonite, and Lucario. The combination of Prankster Reflect and Roost allows it to instantly become one of the most physically bulky Pokemon in the game as well as being able to heal off damage from attacks that could threaten to 2HKO. Even some physical attacks which hit it super effectively, such as Mega Medicham's Psycho Cut, cannot 2HKO this set while Reflect is up, while the attacker slowly is taken down by Rocky Helmet damage. Reflect is also a fantastic move for maintaining momentum, as it allows specially bulky Pokemon such as Mollux to switch into typical Tomohawk checks while brushing off physical attacks for several turns. Earth Power is typically preferred for coverage, but Haze is a useful option which allows Tomohawk to counter Belly Drum Cawmodore, act as an emergency check to Tail Glow sweepers, and force resets on Baton Pass chains. While Aura Sphere is a potential STAB option, it fails to do any significant extra damage against targets Tomohawk will typically wall, and Earth Power is far more useful for hitting the likes of Krilowatt, Kitsunoh, Aegislash and Cyclohm on the switchin.
The best partners for this set generally form defensive cores that have nice type synergy. Physically defensive Cyclohm is a great option, being able to wall Talonflame, Cawmodore, Mega Pinsir, and many other physical attackers that Tomohawk has a difficult time against. Aegislash is another good choice, resisting all of Tomohawk's weaknesses bar Electric and being able to take on the Fairy types which wall Tomohawk easily. Both of these Pokemon also greatly appreciate Tomohawk's ability to repeatedly switch into Knock Off and Earthquake.
Bulky Pivot:
Tomohawk @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 Spd / 252 HP / 172 Def / 80 SDef
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Aura Sphere/Earth Power
- Rapid Spin
- Roost
With an Intimidate drop, Tomohawk cannot be OHKOd by any unboosted physical attack- even Choice Band Azumarill's Play Rough does 84.5% damage at most. This makes it an excellent Rapid Spinner, able to support offensive teams needing a reliable way to keep hazards of the field with very little effort. In addition, Intimidate turns Tomohawk from a bulky wall to an aggressive pivot, giving offensive teams lacking easy switchins to hard hitting physical attackers like Kyurem-B or Excadrill a way to maintain momentum. Generally this set should be switching into predicted physical attackers and switching out immediately afterwards, but the standard Air Slash/Roost combination ensures that it can stay healthy and deal reliable damage to the many Pokemon it walls. This is the only set where Aura Sphere is preferred as a coverage move, mainly due to its ability to hit opposing Dark/Steel type sweepers that will try to set up on it for significantly more damage.
Bulky setup sweepers appreciate the Intimidate drop immensely and serve as good teammates. Mega Pinsir, Mega Mawile, Revenankh and Cawmodore all appreciate being able to switch in and set up on a greater variety of attacks. Bulky special attackers such as Krilowatt and Volkraken also make nice pivot targets, being able to absorb many of the attacks which would normally be aimed at Tomohawk.
Offensive:
Tomohawk @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SAtk / 64 HP / 192 Spd
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane/Air Slash
- Earth Power/Aura Sphere
- Nature Power
- Roost
Tomohawk's ability to absorb Sucker Punch, Knock Off and Earthquake gives it great utility on teams looking for a bulky offensive pivot. It's important not to use this set as simply a weaker, slower Tornadus- Tomohawk needs to abuse its excellent typing and access to priority Nature Power to justify the use of an offensive set. Nature Power effectively acts as a specially offensive Extremespeed (with +1 priority), allowing Tomohawk to land KOs on threats which other special attackers could only dream of. The one-two punch of Hurricane and Nature Power is enough to take down Latias, Salamence, Garchomp, Landorus-T, and even Thundurus (so much for being a check!). Earth Power and Aura Sphere are equally use as coverage moves with this set, as stopping a potential Cawmodore sweep can be just as valuable on offensive teams as powering through Mollux. Air Slash is an option if you don't like the inaccuracy of Hurricane, though the damage drop is noticeable. Roost is still heavily recommended due to its ability to heal off Life Orb damage and giving Tomohawk more opportunities to switch in.
Offensive Stealth Rock users such as Stratagem and Deoxys-S are some of the best partners for this set, as hazards immensely helps Tomohawk's sweeping potential and both appreciate Tomohawk's ability to absorb Fighting and Dark type attacks. Hard hitting wallbreakers like Landorus and Kyurem-B also make nice partners, threatening many of the specially defensive walls which stop Tomohawk in its tracks.
Baton Pass:
Tomohawk @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 212 SDef / 44 Def
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Baton Pass
- Substitute
- Taunt
- Bulk Up
Choosing Tomohawk over Vaporeon as a physically bulky Baton Passer may seem questionable due to its significantly larger number of weaknesses and inability to boost Defense more than one stage at a time. However, Prankster Taunt allows it to set up in the face of Haze/Taunt users and stop deadly setup sweepers such as Syclant or Cawmodore which could otherwise threaten to smash through the entire chain. After two speed boosts, Prankster Baton Pass is faster than Talonflame, allowing it to easily bypass its Brave Bird weakness. Tomohawk functions best when it has a few special defense boosts already under its belt, as its decent special bulk allows it to set up reliably on a much larger variety of Pokemon.
Because Mega Pinsir and Talonflame threatens this set so heavily, Zapdos is practically mandatory as a partner in the final slot. Other than that, Tomohawk does not require much support outside of the standard Baton Pass core. Mega Mawile can be used as a Baton Pass target to take advantage of the attack boosts, but replacing Sylveon is difficult and could compound the team's weakness to specially offensive Landorus.
Stallbreaker:
Tomohawk @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 200 SDef / 252 HP / 52 Def / 4 Spd
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Toxic/Earth Power
- Taunt
- Roost
Tomohawk can do wonders against a variety of stall cores thanks to its decent special bulk and access to priority Taunt. Mega Venusaur, Chansey, Arghonaut, Quagsire, Cyclohm and Mollux are some of the walls which can be reliably taken down with proper application of its utility moves. The given EV spread allows Tomohawk to avoid being 2HKOd by even some super-effective special attacks, such as uninvested Clefable's Moonblast, while allowing it to easily wall Electric attacks from Krilowatt and Cyclohm thanks to Roost cutting out its Ice and Electric weaknesses. The choice between Earth Power and Toxic is primarily down to how much of an issue Heatran, Mollux, and Aegislash are for your team- if you have trouble dealing with them, Earth Power is probably a better option, otherwise Toxic allows Tomohawk to reliably take down a greater variety of threats.
Since balanced offense teams tend to have the biggest trouble against stall, flexible attackers like Krilowatt and Stratagem greatly appreciate Tomohawk's ability to shut down the walls which typically give them problems. Chansey also makes a nice partner due to its ability to remove any status Tomohawk might take as it switches in and its ability to handle opposing Tomohawk which can give it problems.
Rain Support:
Tomohawk @ Damp Rock
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SAtk / 192 Spd / 64 HP
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane
- Nature Power/Earth Power/Aura Sphere
- Rain Dance
- Roost
Tomohawk's role as a weather supporter is a somewhat niche option that should not see use outside of dedicated Rain teams, but access to a powerful STAB Hurricane in addition to Prankster means it has a very easy time getting Rain up and quickly taking advantage of it. This set is designed similarly to the offensive set, but makes use of a perfectly accurate Hurricane to deal large amounts of damage to whatever tries to switch in. Generally Rain Dance is best kept as a surprise, used late game when your main weather setter (usually Politoed) has already been knocked out. However, Tomohawk still has the bulk to switch in repeatedly throughout the game to take on a variety of physical threats.
Politoed is an obvious partner for the set, helping keep up rain for the entire team when Tomohawk does not have a chance to switch in. Hard hitting water type Pokemon such as Keldeo and Krilowatt make nice partners, as do Swift Swim abusers such as Kingdra and Kabutops. Scizor and Ferrothorn are two Pokemon that appreciate the halving of fire damage and cover many of Tomohawk's weaknesses.
Other Options:
Prankster Memento can be used to allow a sweeper- usually Cawmodore- to set up on practically anything, but its counters must be removed before this sweep is attempted. Whirlwind may be a useful coverage move on stall teams looking to rack up hazard damage. Prankster Yawn can be used as an emergency stop to practically any opposing sweeper, but Tomohawk will likely get knocked out in the process of using it. A sun support set with Sunny Day/Morning Sun/Heat Wave/Solar Beam can be used, but Tomohawk benefits from it less than rain and sun teams in general are less effective in Gen 6.
Checks and Counters:
Specially bulky fairy types- Sylveon, Clefable, and Mega Gardevoir being the main contenders- all easily tank whatever moves Tomohawk uses and hit back hard with a supereffective attack. Chansey/Blissey can outstall any Tomohawk lacking Taunt and beat it with Toxic. Krilowatt and specially defensive Cyclohm are bulky enough to tank multiple Earth Powers and can hit hard with Thunderbolt. Thundurus and Zapdos resist everything in Tomohawk's arsenal and can force it out with their STAB attacks. Offensive Latias/Latios can tank a few Air Slashes and will eventually beat Tomohawk with Psychic. Skarmory can threaten any Tomohawk lacking Aura Sphere, while Mollux will wall any Tomohawk lacking Earth Power.
Tomohawk is easily checked by any hard hitting special attacker in the tier that can hit it super effectively. Syclant and Aurumoth in particular can use Tomohawk as an opportunity to set up as it switches out before going on the offensive. Landorus will nearly OHKO with a Life Orb boosted Psychic. Talonflame is also an excellent check, as it outspeeds Prankster Reflect and can OHKO most non-Intimidate Tomohawks with a Choice Banded Brave Bird.