I’m Luke Summerhayes and I love Hawlucha.
The Aztec Empire was a loose collective of city states ruled by those with the strongest warriors. The center, Tenochtitlan, stood where modern Mexico City is and at the center of that stood the majestic Tempo Mayor, a pyramid temple. Nearby was the House of eagles, where mighty warriors dressed as eagles and their comrades the Jaguars made prayers with their own blood before going off to battle. A statue of one of these Eagle warriors, or cuāuhtli, made its way to Japan as part of a touring museum exhibit from Mexico and it remained a fearsome sight.
Centuries after the Aztec culture was destroyed by colonialists, the fledgling Mexican wrestling scene adopted a gimmick popular in the USA, and first pioneered by French performer Theobaud Bauer, of masked wrestlers. The masked men at these free fights, or lucha libre, became icons and their masks became intertwined with the historical masks of Aztec eagle warriors, omecca animal shamans and dead Mayan kings.
Hawlucha, a flying and fighting Pokemon, is an anthropomorphic eagle in the colors of the Mexican flag, with a determined mouth below his beak which suggests it may be wearing a mask.
Shield
It always strikes a pose before going for its finishing move. Sometimes opponents take advantage of that time to counterattack.

Hawlucha is every bit a Luchadore as much as a Cuatli, explaining why this extremely Mexican Pokemon originated in Kalos, a region based on France. Just as in Lucha Libre the heroic tecnicos fight villainous Rudos, Hawlucha deals with rowdy troublemakers too.
Violet
Hawlucha live quietly without flocking together. They fight constantly with their natural enemies: noisy groups of Primeape.

The name Hawlucha, and the Japanese Luchabull, of course also come from Luchadores and Lucha Libre.
X
Although its body is small, its proficient fighting skills enable it to keep up with big bruisers like Machamp and Hariyama.

Y
With its wings, it controls its position in the air. It likes to attack from above, a maneuver that is difficult to defend against.

Ultra Moon
In combat, Hawlucha leaps nimbly about, taking advantage of its opponents' blind spots. It's also skilled at using superb submission holds.

Hawlucha has a signature move, flying press, which is the only dual-type attack in the whole series, with both flying and fighting attributes. In practice though, far more significant is Hawlucha’s unburden ability, which boosts speed when the Pokemon loses its item. This was useful when it could eat berries, but became absolutely clutch when Hawlucha could hold a seed item and pair with a partner who sets terrain.
Ultra Sun
It overwhelms opponents with quick moves, but sometimes it showboats for too long when it's using a special move and gets itself into a pinch.

Despite a few prominent appearances, Hawlucha never quite made it to the top of competitive videogames. Ash did have a Hawlucha in the anime, which celebrated its trainers’ victory in becoming the World Champion.
I’ve had an interest in wrestling since I was a young lad, and a fascination with Mesoamerican history for a long time. Now that I also have a Mexican fiancé, Hawlucha feels like a very important pokemon to me indeed.
Music for Luke Loves Pokemon is by Jonathan Cromie. Artwork for the show is by Katie Groves. If you enjoy the podcast, find out about my other shows at podcastiopodcastius.org, get in touch on bluesky @podcastpodcast, or support the show at patreon.com/podcastiopodcastius.
I love hearing from Listeners! Up next are Dedenne and Carbink, so hit me up about those or any other Pokemon. Even if you don’t feel like doing any of that, thank you so much for listening.
I love Hawlucha. And remember, I love you too