[Overview]
<p>Swellow is an extremely underrated threat in the RU metagame. Clocking in at a blazing base 125 Speed, it is one of the fastest Pokemon in the tier. Despite a relatively low base 85 Attack, Swellow is no pushover offensively. Swellow's ability, Guts, is fantastic for a physical sweeper, as Guts raises its damage output to incredible levels when Swellow is afflicted with a status condition. Coupled with its powerful STAB moves in Facade and Brave Bird, all the above characteristics enable Swellow to pack frightening power. This speedy bird does have one glaring weakness, however; it lacks a usable Ground- or Fighting-type move and is therefore walled by the many Steel- and Rock-type Pokemon in the RU tier. Swellow must also be mindful of residual damage; on top of its weakness to Stealth Rock, recoil from Brave Bird and status damage from a Flame or Toxic Orb will quickly drain its health. Do not let this fool you into thinking Swellow is useless though. If given proper support, this majestic bird can be a great asset to your team.</p>
[SET]
name: Guts
move 1: Facade
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: U-turn / Pursuit
move 4: Quick Attack / Protect
item: Toxic Orb / Flame Orb
ability: Guts
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set is Swellow's bread and butter. After a Guts boost, its Attack stat shoots up to an impressive 403. Additionally, Swellow's main STAB move, Facade, reaches a solid 140 Base Power. Brave Bird is Swellow's secondary STAB move, and provides coverage against Pokemon that resist or are immune to Facade such as Dusknoir. U-turn allows you to scout out for Swellow's counters, and can get Swellow out of unsafe matchups. Quick Attack is a fairly powerful STAB priority move, preying on weakened Choice Scarf foes, priority users, and, notably, non-Aqua Jet Sharpedo. Pursuit can rid your opponent of their Ghost- or Psychic-type, and pairs well with Swellow's immunity to Ghost-type moves. Lastly, Protect ensures a free turn to activate Swellow's status Orb and allows Swellow to scout for dangerous moves; it is often the best opening play for Swellow. Your choice of status Orb should be based on how you intend to use Swellow: a Toxic Orb will deal less damage than a Flame Orb over the first three turns, but any longer and the Flame Orb will be the less damaging choice.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Swellow enjoys entry hazard support from Pokemon such as Ferroseed and Steelix. Wynaut, Dugtrio, and Magneton are all excellent teammates, as they can trap and KO the Rock- and Steel-type Pokemon that plague Swellow, such as Steelix and Aggron. As a Flying-type, Swellow is weak to Stealth Rock, and needs Rapid Spin support to reach its full potential. This can be provided by Pokemon such as Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, Sandslash, and Claydol. These Pokemon also threaten Swellow's counters and can help keep your opponent on their toes when attempting to counter Swellow. Claydol has relatively good defensive synergy with Swellow and can take special hits well, Sandslash does the same and can take physical hits very well, and both can threaten Swellow's counters with a STAB Ground-type move. Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan provide a more offensive take on Rapid Spin, as their good offenses put pressure on the opposing team; they also cannot be spinblocked due to access to Foresight. In general, Fighting-type Pokemon such as Sawk, Primeape, and Hariyama have decent offensive synergy with Swellow, as their strong STAB can easily score super effective hits on the Rock- and Steel-type Pokemon that wall your blue bird.</p>
<p>Roost and Work Up are both great alternatives for the last two slots. You're rarely if ever going to use the last two slots if you're using Swellow late-game, and both moves come with often overlooked benefits. At +1 with a Guts boost, the damage output of Facade literally becomes insane; case in point, Swellow straight up 2HKOes Offensive Carracosta as well as Defensive Gligar, Dusknoir (with Brave Bird), Alomomola, and Uxie, where before Swellow would have just missed out on the 2HKO or only had a small chance of 2HKOing, allowing them to potentially stall Swellow out. Swellow rarely finds the time to set up Work Up, but in the situation where you can force a Pokemon out due to the fear of a STAB Brave Bird, that's a good time to do so. 2HKOing may not seem like a big thing either since most Pokemon can just OHKO in return after the first hit, but it makes it so they cannot switch into Swellow's attack once it's at +1, so they can only come in for the revenge kill. Roost may seem gimmicky too since most Pokemon OHKO Swellow, but against a Pokemon that likes to use Protect (such as Clefable) to outstall Swellow's residual damage, it can really catch your opponent off-guard and allow Swellow to continue its sweep more efficiently. It should be noted that Roost should only be used with a Flame Orb since the amount of damage taken each turn is constant and not increasing like Toxic poison.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>A Choice Band set can be used for immediate power, sacrificing the ability to switch moves for slightly increased longevity. Rapid Spin support is required for such a set, which will often be forced out due to Swellow's easily walled STABs. Endeavor can be used to get in a last-ditch hit when Swellow's health is low, but is unreliable and as such usually inferior to its other moves.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Most Rock- and Steel-types can easily counter Swellow. Aggron gets a special mention, as it 4x resists both of Swellow's STABs and can strike back with a powerful STAB Head Smash. Steelix and Ferroseed also give Swellow issues; although Ferroseed takes neutral damage from Swellow's Brave Bird, the already painful recoil is worsened by Ferroseed's Iron Barbs. Steelix and Regirock are both excellent counters too, as they take little damage from any of Swellow's attacks and can strike back with Gyro Ball or Stone Edge, respectively. Choice Scarf users and Sharpedo also have an easy time revenging Swellow, outspeeding and KOing it.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Swellow's Dream World ability is Scrappy. Though normally a great ability, it has little use on Swellow. It can run a gimmicky, unblockable F.E.A.R set, but in most cases, you should stick with Guts.</p>
