At first glance, Pawmi would appear to be Scarlet and Violet’s token Electric Mouse Pokemon. Even in the Generation 9 pocket monster games, it seems that this is a trend that can’t help but continue. But, Pawmi would prove to have an evolution with a Fighting typing added to it, therefore making it stand out from some of Pokemon’s other Pikachu clones. For now, let’s just analyze Pawmi as it is, and if it’s worth using early game on your team.

Like Smoliv, Pawmi is yet another Pokemon trained by your in-game friend Nemona, and is one of the first new Scarlet and Violet monsters you’ll encounter. Unlike Pikachu, whose electricity-discharging organs exist on its cheeks, Pawmi has similar organs in its forepaws. What’s particularly ironic to note is that the Pokemon Company’s profile on this Mouse Pokemon is that in order to generate the electricity in its forepaws, it first has to rub its cheeks. 

Its method of delivering its shocks, however, involves actually physically touching its opponents with the pads on its forepaws. This lore could be easily explained by Pawmi having the physical-attacking Electric move called Spark as part of its early moveset. Pawmi does learn Spark, but not until level 22, which would be after it evolves into Pawmo.

Next, the Pokemon Company also enlightens us to another small set of facts about Pawmi. Its thick fur that stores electricity also helps protect the Mouse Pokemon during the colder months in the Paldea region. Also, when it feels uneasy, it will rub its cheeks with its forepaws in order to prepare itself to discharge an electric shock. This sounds quite similar to Pikachu’s signature Thundershock attack from the very first generation of Pokemon, but suggests it could learn more powerful Special Attacking Electric moves such as Discharge. In fact, it does learn that move at level 38 if left unevolved.

The other two things we know about Pawmi have to do with its abilities. Pawmi you encounter can have one of two abilities: Static or Natural Cure. Both of these abilities have their uses in both competitive and adventure gameplay. The Static ability means Pawmi has a 30 percent chance of paralyzing an attacking Pokemon which makes contact with it. Paralysis is a very powerful status condition, which cuts the attacker’s speed in half with a 25 percent risk of being “fully paralyzed” and unable to move for a turn.

Natural Cure is Pawmi’s other potential ability, which means that as soon as Pawmi switches out, any status conditions on it are immediately healed. It also means that when the battle is finished, any status condition currently on it is also automatically healed. While this sounds like an extremely basic ability, it’s also one of the more strategically viable in competitive Pokemon. The other Pokemon who enjoy this ability include: Altaria, Blissey, Celebi, Chansey, Comfey, Corsola, Roselia, Roserade, Shaymin, Starmie, and Trevenant. Many of these are competitive Pokemon which use this ability to better absorb opposing status moves for their team.

In the main adventure of Scarlet and Violet, both Static and Natural Cure are welcome abilities. It’s likely that Pawmi will be a solid Electric-type Pokemon in the early game. Thanks to having not just one but two evolutions means it may even have some competitive viability in its final form. But, is Pawmi only just a solid early-game Pokemon and nothing more?

Pawmi does learn the incredibly handy Electric-type move Nuzzle. It’s weak at 20 base power, but it’s a guaranteed Paralysis. This is especially useful for catching Pokemon early on in the game, since a Pokemon with status is easier to catch and also moves much more slowly. It also learns Dig for Ground-type coverage and Bite to hit Ghosts and Psychic type Pokemon hard, both by level up. 

Yes, its stats are bad: 45 HP, 50 Attack, 20 Defense, 40 Special Attack, 25 Special Defense, and 60 Speed. But, it’s a first stage Pokemon, so you can’t really fault it for that. Still, 240 base stat total is pathetic even for a first stage Pokemon. It learns some good moves, but you better get this to level 18 as soon as possible for it to be an actual useful team member outside of clicking Nuzzle and hard switching into something better.

So, yes, Pawmi is a solid early-game Pokemon, if a rather derivative design as a Pikachu clone. But, it’s pretty weak, and I wouldn’t recommend even taking it into one of the first couple gyms of the game. As Pawmo, though, gaining a Fighting type and some OK stats, catching Pawmi as one of your first Pokemon isn’t a terrible plan at all.

Updated 11/19/22

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