How to Evolve Axew

Axew evolves into Fraxure precisely at level 38. Fraxure then evolves into Haxorus at level 48.

This linear, level-based evolution line requires no evolutionary stones, trading, or friendship mechanics. Players looking to accelerate this process in modern titles like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet should utilize Exp. Candies L and XL obtained from high-tier Tera Raids.

Equipping a Lucky Egg increases experience yield by 50% for standard battles. Pokedex.me is an unofficial Pokémon fan-site, and our testing confirms these evolution thresholds remain unchanged across all generations since Black and White.

We rate Haxorus a solid 7.5/10 for competitive singles. It operates strictly as a physical wallbreaker or setup sweeper.

With a massive base 147 Attack stat, Haxorus hits harder than legendary staples like Groudon right out of the gate. However, its base 97 Speed tier is a significant liability in higher tiers.

Falling short of the crucial base 100 benchmark means Haxorus gets outsped and OHKOed by common threats like Garchomp, Salamence, and Charizard before it can act. You must secure a Dragon Dance boost to sweep effectively.

Mold Breaker is the only ability you should run. Rivalry is inconsistent due to gender mechanics, and Unnerve offers negligible utility. Mold Breaker allows Haxorus to ignore defensive abilities entirely.

Mold Breaker defines Haxorus's niche in competitive play. This ability nullifies Levitate, allowing Earthquake to hit Rotom-Wash, Latios, and Bronzong for super effective damage.

It also bypasses Sturdy, guaranteeing One-Hit Knockouts against Skarmory or Golem at +1 Attack. More importantly, Mold Breaker ignores Unaware.

Defensive walls like Clefable, Quagsire, and Skeledirge typically ignore stat boosts from setup sweepers. Haxorus slices straight through Unaware, applying its Dragon Dance attack boosts directly to the damage calculation.

Mold Breaker even negates Mimikyu's Disguise. An Earthquake or Iron Tail will deal direct HP damage on the first hit, completely bypassing the free substitute.

A standard Haxorus set requires Dragon Dance to fix its middling speed. Outrage is the primary STAB option, dealing unparalleled neutral damage at the cost of locking the user in for two to three turns.

Dragon Claw provides a safer, albeit weaker, alternative if you want to avoid Fairy-type switch-ins trapping your Pokémon. Earthquake is mandatory coverage.

Paired with Mold Breaker, Ground-type coverage hits Steel-types that resist Dragon attacks. Poison Jab rounds out the moveset to punish Fairy-types like Azumarill and Togekiss.

Close Combat is a viable alternative to Poison Jab, specifically targeting Ferrothorn, Corviknight, and Kingambit. Equip a Lum Berry to cure the confusion from Outrage or to shrug off a random Will-O-Wisp.

Always select a Jolly Nature (+Speed, -Special Attack) for Axew and its evolutions. An Adamant Nature (+Attack, -Special Attack) yields higher raw damage but causes Haxorus to lose speed ties against base 95 and 96 Pokémon like Kyurem and Mimikyu.

Allocate 252 Effort Values (EVs) to Attack and 252 EVs to Speed. Place the remaining 4 EVs into Special Defense to ensure Porygon2 receives an Attack boost rather than a Special Attack boost from its Download ability.

In Generation 9, Tera Steel is the optimal Terastallization choice. Tera Steel flips Haxorus's weaknesses to Ice, Dragon, and Fairy into resistances.

This defensive typing creates setup opportunities, allowing Haxorus to survive a hit, use Dragon Dance, and retaliate. Tera Ground is a secondary option to boost Earthquake damage for guaranteed OHKOs on bulky Steel-types.

For story playthroughs, Axew requires patience. Evolving at level 38 means you will carry a relatively frail base stage Pokémon through a large portion of the mid-game.

Fraxure holds its own with an Eviolite equipped, but the jump to level 48 for Haxorus usually happens right before the Elite Four. Once evolved, Haxorus trivializes endgame content by sweeping entire NPC teams with Dragon Dance.

• Pros: Unmatched raw physical damage, Mold Breaker utility creates unique offensive pressure, unresisted Dragon/Ground coverage.
• Cons: Base 70/90/70 bulk makes it difficult to switch in safely. Vulnerable to priority moves like Ice Shard and Mach Punch.
• Best Matchups: Rotom forms, Unaware walls, slow bulky offense teams.
• Worst Matchups: Dragapult, Choice Scarf Gholdengo, priority users like Dragonite.

Players looking to optimize Axew from birth should focus on its Egg Moves. First Impression is the most critical Egg Move to pass down.

This +2 priority Bug-type attack gives Haxorus a powerful tool to pick off faster threats like Meowscarada or Roaring Moon before they can move. Axew inherits First Impression by breeding with Farfetch'd or Sirfetch'd.

Night Slash and Counter are other available Egg Moves, though they see zero competitive use compared to First Impression. Use a Destiny Knot on a high-IV Ditto to ensure Axew hatches with perfect Attack and Speed Individual Values (IVs).

Assign an Everstone to the parent with a Jolly nature to guarantee the offspring inherits the correct stat modifiers.