How good is Mawile in Pokemon GO?

A shiny Mawile as it appears in Pokemon GO (Image via Niantic)
A shiny Mawile as it appears in Pokemon GO (Image via Niantic)

Many players have taken notice of Mawile's recent appearance in 3-Star Raids in Pokemon GO. Due to its newfound abundance, many of them may be wondering if the Deceiver Pokemon is worth using in the Battle League.

Being introduced in the third generation of Pokemon games, Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire and their respective remakes, Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, many gamers have used this Pokemon in their playthroughs.

However, Pokemon GO is entirely different. With a new battle system and reworks to Pokemon's stats and moves, many Pokemon that have previously been bad are actually really good in Pokemon GO.

Stunfisk is an excellent example of this.


Mawile in Pokemon GO: An Analysis

Mawile as it appears in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)
Mawile as it appears in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Mawile has one of the best typings in Pokemon GO. The tremendous defensive typing of Steel and Fairy gives it lots of resistance and only two weaknesses.

Mawile resists Poison, Normal, Flying, Rock, Grass, Psychic, Dark, Ice, Fairy, Bug, and Dragon-type attacks. It only takes super effective damage from Ground and Fire-type attacks.

Mawile's stats in Pokemon GO are sadly not very noteworthy. Its highest stat is its attack at 155. Its other stats are even worse, with its defense at 141 and its stamina at 137.

Despite this, Mawile performs surprisingly well in Great League. Due to its high resistances and boosted Fairy-type attacks, this Pokemon is good for countering the Dragon types in the tier.

However, there are better Fairy types that exist in the tier in terms of attacking power. Mawile earns a score of 3.5/5 in terms of how well it performs in Great League.

Other Leagues are where things start to get sad. Due to Mawile's low max combat power of 1,639, it is not viable in the other two tiers.

What some Pokemon GO players may not be aware of, however, is what makes Mawile such a great investment: Mega Evolution. It was granted this added benefit in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, and users quickly made use of it.

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In the main series, Mega Mawile shattered the metagame. On top of its defensive typing and its boosted stats, it had a new ability, Huge Power. This skill granted this Pokemon a massive 259 attack stat that is incredible in the main series.

Hence, Mega Mawile was put into the Uber tier, reserved for the most potent Legendary and Mythical Pokemon in the franchise.

Pokemon GO has slowly been adding new Mega Evolutions with each new month. With Mega Absol being the latest entrant as of writing, it will only be a matter of time before the powerful Mega Evolution of Mawile gets added, making investing in it now well worth the effort.

Mawile may not be worth using in Pokemon GO as of yet. However, its recent addition as a Raid Boss may be foretelling that its much-needed Mega Evolution could be right around the corner. So this Pokemon is worth the investment for hardcore players.

Note: This article reflects the author's views.

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