Sawk punches above its weight class thanks to Mold Breaker. It ignores opposing abilities when attacking, which is enough to make up for stats that don't impress on their own. Only weak to Flying, Psychic, and Fairy. Known as the Karate Pokemon.
The stat bars tell the story: Attack carries everything and Sp. Atk's dead weight. But this Karate Pokemon still yields 2 Attack EVs per fight on a medium-fast 1M XP curve.
If you see a Sawk training in the mountains in its single-minded pursuit of strength, it’s best to quietly pass by.
The karate chops of a Sawk that’s trained itself to the limit can cleave the ocean itself.
Sawk Weakness
AvgSawk's Fighting typing leaves it vulnerable to Flying, Psychic, and Fairy moves. With 75 HP and balanced defenses, Sawk can afford to eat a neutral hit or two.
What you see is what you get. Sawk sits outside any evolution chain, so focus on the egg moves and plenty of partners from one egg group. Eggs are average hatch time.
How to Evolve
Breed Sawk with 70 breeding partners from the Humanshape egg group.
Salacberry and Sturdy form the backbone. Sawk invests max Attack and Speed EVs to play its physical attacker role properly, and Jolly nature pushes Speed higher. Reversal handles the heavy lifting on offense. The remaining moves rounds it out.
Best Build
Best Sawk Moveset
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge
- Reversal
Recommended Teammates
STAB runs through Close Combat and Focus Blast for the basics, but Sawk's real strength is the 11-type coverage spread. Dark and Dragon hit common defensive types, and the movepool keeps going.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
STAB runs through Close Combat and Focus Blast for the basics, but Sawk's real strength is the 10-type coverage spread. Normal and Ground hit common defensive types, and the movepool keeps going.
STAB runs through Focus Punch and Close Combat for the basics, but Sawk's real strength is the 11-type coverage spread. Normal and Ground hit common defensive types, and the movepool keeps going.
The level-up pool is slim, so TMs matter here. Sawk's Normal and Ground coverage and more all comes from technical machines, built on top of Close Combat and Focus Blast for same-type damage. Close Combat and Earthquake are the payoff moves.
No wild encounters for Sawk in Legends: Z-A. It's available in Black, Black 2, or Sword and can be transferred over. The details below show where to find it.
Sawk is not available as a wild encounter in this game.
Also found in:
Sawk starts showing up in mid-game routes at moderate rates across 5 encounter spots. The list below is sorted so you can pick what fits your current progress without scrolling through everything.
Best Locations
Walking encounters at Lv. 22-43 across 5 spots for Sawk. Sorted by progression so you can see what's reachable at your current point in the game.
Sawk can't be caught in Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon. Bring it over from Black, Black 2, or Sword instead. The encounter info below covers the source games.
Sawk is not available as a wild encounter in this game.
Also found in:
No wild encounters for Sawk in Sun & Moon. It's available in Black, Black 2, or Sword and can be transferred over. The details below show where to find it.
Sawk is not available as a wild encounter in this game.
Also found in:
Sawk looks average on paper at 465 BST. But Mold Breaker is why it sees play — build around that and it pulls its weight. C-Tier cannon on our tier list.
Sawk doesn't evolve and has no evolutionary line. It's a Fighting-type Pokemon with a 465 base stat total.
Sawk gets Mold Breaker, Sturdy, and Inner Focus. But Mold Breaker is the one that matters — it's the centerpiece of every viable set. Build around that.
Sawk is a physical attacker with base 125 Attack. Enough bulk to take a hit or two, too. But the speed tells the real story — base 85 Speed is workable — faster than some, slower than many. Fits the cannon role.
Sawk appears in 8 games, including Black & White, Black 2 & White 2, and X & Y.
Since Black & White, Sawk has been obtainable in 8 games. A Generation 5 debut means a shorter history, but Sawk has appeared steadily across every generation since.
- Gen IY
Yellow - Gen IRB
Red & Blue - Gen IIGS
Gold & Silver - Gen IIC
Crystal - Gen IIIRS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen IIIFRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen IIIE
Emerald - Gen IVPt
Platinum - Gen IVHGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen IVDP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen VBWDebut
Black & White - Gen VB2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen VIXY
X & Y - Gen VIORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen VIIUSUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen VIISM
Sun & Moon - Gen VIILGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen VIIISwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen VIIIPLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen VIIIBDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen IXSV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen IXLZA
Legends: Z-A