Sawsbuck, the Season Pokémon. It seems that a Sawsbuck with many flowers on its antlers will grow at a slightly slower pace because the flowers absorb the Pokémon’s nutrients. This Pokémon's leaves can be made into a black tea, the taste of which varies depending on the region of origin. Paldea's is especially aromatic. Sawsbuck in their Autumn Form are known for having very short tempers. The males fight each other incessantly. It’s said that Sawsbuck are calm and easy to tame during the season when they take on this form, so it’s the perfect time to make one your partner.
Overview
Sawsbuck’s claim to fame has long been that of its gimmick, having a different form for each season, though ironically this is not an all weather Pokémon despite the gimmick. Sawsbuck was rather proficient as a Physical Chlorophyll sweeper, having potent Normal STAB alongside its Grass and decent coverage in Jump Kick and Stomping Tantrum. Couple this with access to Swords Dance and Sawsbuck was able to put on the hurt. Horn Leech is another impressive STAB being a Physical Draining move that keeps Sawsbuck healthy while not letting up on the offense.
However, the generational shifts have been brutal to Sawsbuck. Sawsbuck had its movepool gutted, losing valuable STAB in Return and coverage in Jump Kick. Sawsbuck’s role as a physical Sun Sweeper has also been robbed from it, with the plethora of new Scarlet Paradox Pokémon all far more capable of abusing the Sun than Sawsbuck. Power Creep has done no favors either, leaving Sawsbuck’s middling stats and weakness laden typing by the wayside. Keep Sawsbuck for the Gimmick, but there are far better Grass or Normal types to consider.
Positives
Base 100 Attack coupled with Swords Dance, enables Sawsbuck to put out considerable damage if able to setup.
STABs coupled with coverage in Stomping Tantrum, Wild Charge and Zen Headbutt enables Sawsbuck to hit a wide variety of targets.
Base 95 Speed is decent with options in Chlorophyll and Trailblaze to boost it further, allowing Sawsbuck to outspeed most defensive and some offensive Pokémon.
Negatives
Poor 80/70/70 defenses and many common weaknesses don’t leave Sawsbuck much staying power
Grass Normal STABs have many resists, making it difficult for Sawsbuck to fit all the coverage it wants
Loss of Return and Jump Kick cuts deeply into Sawsbuck’s Power and durability.
Movesets
The Green Knight
-Swords Dance
-Double Edge
-Horn Leech
-Tera Blast
Ability: Chlorophyll
Item: Life Orb
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Chlorophyll Swords Dance Sawsbuck uses its good coverage and incredible Speed when under the Sun to push for a late game sweep or to punch holes into the opposing team. Give Sawsbuck a free switch in and have it setup Swords Dance in the Sun before going on the offensive. STAB Double Edge has incredible power hitting any non-Rock, Steel or Ghost type for considerable damage. Horn Leech synergizes amazingly with Double Edge, not only covering Rock and some Ghost types but also recovering off the recoil Sawsbuck accrues, keeping it healthy throughout the sweep. Tera Blast rounds out the set as Tera Fire offers insanely valuable coverage, taking care of Steel types, while most Fire and Dragon types do not like getting hit by Double Edge and even when not Terastalized, offers a secondary Normal STAB that does not incur Recoil
Tera Types:
Tera Fire is a must for this set, not only giving Sawsbuck incredibly valuable coverage against Steel types, but also takes care of the problems Chlorophyll sweepers have in taking increased Fire damage by giving a Fire resistance on top of resisting many other Grass weaknesses including Bug and Ice, while Water, Ground and Rock types want nothing to do with Tera Fire Sawsbuck due to Grass STAB.
EVs and Items:
Standard Sweeper array of Max Speed and Attack to ensure Sawsbuck does as much damage as possible, in and out of Sunny Day. If one is concerned about being able to setup in the Sun, one can decrease Speed investment for more HP and bulk. 124 Speed with a Neutral Nature is sufficient to outspeed Base 106 Choice Scarfers in Sun, or 40 Speed with Jolly Nature is enough to outspeed almost anything unboosted. Life Orb is recommended for more power, but added recoil can add up quickly. Protective Pads is worthwhile given that the bulk of Sawsbuck’s moves are contact, while Leftovers and Big Root can give Sawsbuck more staying power while/after setting up.
Partners:
Any ally that can setup the sun is non-negotiable for Sawsbuck who can’t afford the loss in coverage and time to setup sun on its own. Torkoal is undoubtably king thanks to Drought effortlessly setting up Sun and garnering setup opportunities with Yawn, but other options like Murkrow and Grafaiai also excel in setting up sun and providing setup opportunities for Sawsbuck.
Other Sun abusers also make great partners. Charizard is a clear standout, its Solar Power boosted offense great for melting walls that might otherwise stop Sawsbuck and has complimentary offense while enjoying Sawsbuck’s ability to threaten Water and Rock types.
Other Options:
tomping Tantrum -if not running Tera Blast, this is Sawsbuck’s best option to hit Steel types that otherwise wall Sawsbuck’s STABs with the added bonus of hitting Poison types.
Wild Charge -hits Flying types that may otherwise resist Sawsbuck’s STABs like Drifblim and Corviknight.
Zen Headbutt -hits Poison types like Haunter who resists both STABs and Stomping Tantrum alongside hitting most other Poison types harder than Stomping Tantrum.
Play Rough -counters Dragon and Fighting types
Serene Stag
-Headbutt
-Horn Leech
-Stomping Tantrum
-Thunder Wave
Ability: Serene Grace
Item: Silk Scarf
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Fun Fact: Headbutt has the same Flinch Chance as Air Slash. Second fun fact: Sawsbuck is faster than Togekiss. So this set aims to emulate Togekiss by spamming Headbutt to abuse the generous 60% Flinch Chance to beat opponents Sawsbuck otherwise has no business beating. Horn Leech is Sawsbuck’s best physical Grass STAB; offering generous recovery and preventing Rock types from walling Headbutt all day. Stomping Tantrum offers invaluable coverage against Steel, Poison and Fire types. Thunder Wave rounds out the set, giving Sawsbuck speed control for faster targets as well as increasing the odds of an opponent not acting to a horrifying 70% after a Serene Grace Headbutt.
Tera Types:
Tera Normal is recommended for boosting Headbutt’s otherwise lacking power into something appreciable. Otherwise, Tera Fire is viable for the great defensive synergy and immunity to Burns it provides.
EVs and Items:
Max Speed and Attack are recommended. You need to be as fast as possible to ensure Headbutt Flinches and you want Headbutt to hit as hard as possible. Silk Scarf is recommended for bolstering Headbutt’s power without sacrificing move variety or Sawsbuck’s health. Life Orb is still viable for the extra power, while one can forego Speed Control for Choice Scarf to just start flinching right away.
Partners:
Since the name of Sawsbuck’s game is to spam Headbutt, answers to Ghost types that can stop this strategy are greatly appreciated. Houndoom stands out, able to eviscerate Ghost types with Dark STAB, while also answering opposing Grass, Steel and Bug types that offensively threaten Sawsbuck. Honchkrow is also recommended for similar reasons.
As with most Grass types, Water and Fire types make for great partners, creating a solid Grass-Fire-Water core, each able to answer each other’s weaknesses. Golduck and Basculin make for good Water type partners, able to exploit the targets softened by Sawsbuck. Pyroar and Charizard make great Fire type partners, leveraging their greater speed and searing power to answer checks that Sawsbuck struggles with.
Other Options:
Trailblaze -STAB option that helps bolster Sawsbuck’s Speed, which can make Sawsbuck harder to directly answer as the speed advantage persists even if the opponent switches out, though Sawsbuck’s team doesn’t benefit from the Speed.
Countering Sawsbuck
While Grass and Normal STABs are rather easily resisted, Sawsbuck’s coverage causes wild variance in its counters.
Any sets lacking Stomping Tantrum or an appropriate Tera Blast are outright walled by Steel types whose high Defense makes weathering non Super Effective moves easy. Perrserker, Magneton and Revraroom are all excellent examples that can tank even Swords Dance boosted attacks and 1-2HKO Sawsbuck with ease.
Sets lacking Wild Charge can struggle against Flying types. Drifblim, Oricorio-Sensu and Corviknight stand out for walling even Double Edge, but other Flying types like Masquerain and Honchkrow can easily tank an unboosted Normal STAB and OHKO back with their own moves.
Ghost types are recommended against Serene Grace sets, whose game plan revolves around Headbutt. Grass resistant Ghost types like Hisuian Typhlosion, and Decuideye, are of particular note, leaving Sawsbuck to rely on its non STAB coverage, though do be wary of Thunder Wave.
Otherwise best way to deal with Sawsbuck is to revenge kill it. Outside of Sun, Sawsbuck is easily handled by most Choice Scarfers and other faster Pokémon, such as Pyroar, Sneasel, and Charizard, also outspeeding Serene Grace Headbutt Shenanigans. In the Sun, Sawsbuck’s high base Speed coupled with Chlorophyl make it a nightmare to handle, especially after a Swords Dance. Applying pressure so that Sawsbuck does not get its Swords Dance off enables a fast attacker to take a hit and OHKO back. Also worth noting that Sawsbuck’s power without Double Edge is unimpressive and with Double Edge, Sawsbuck becomes exposed to priority thanks to it tearing itself to pieces.
Locations in Games
Red/Blue/Yellow:
Not in game
Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Not in game
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in game
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Not in game
Colosseum/XD:
Not in game
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Not in game
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Not in game
Black/White:
Dragonspiral Tower
Black 2/White 2:
Dragonspiral Tower
X/Y:
Friend Safari
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Evolve Deerling
Sun/Moon:
Transfer required
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Transfer required
Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Not in game
Sword/Shield:
Not in game
Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl:
Not in game
Legends: Arceus:
Not in game
Scarlet/Violet:
Spring Form: Evolve Deerling or change Form
Summer Form: Evolve Deerling or change Form
Autumn Form: Socarrat Trail, West Province Area Three
Winter Form: Dalizapa Passage, Glaseado Mountain, North Province Area One
Fixed: South Province Area Four, Glaseado Mountain
Tera Raid Battles: 4 Star Raid Battles
Anime Appearences
