Cassie
giant claw
Swanna
QC: 2/2
GP: 2/2
[OVERVIEW]
<p>Although Swanna is cursed with mediocre offensive and defensive stats, it can support its team in several ways. Swanna is great at setting up hail, rain, and Tailwind thanks to its good Speed, making it a useful asset to a variety of teammates. Moves that can inflict status are preferred, which makes it easier Swanna to turn situations around in its favor. All in all, Swanna should not be underestimated at supporting its team.</p>
[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Tailwind / Hail / Rain Dance
move 2: Scald
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Air Slash / Hurricane
item: Focus Sash / Lum Berry
nature: Timid
ability: Big Pecks
evs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Swanna can't do much other than support its team, so Tailwind, Hail, or Rain Dance should be used accordingly. Tailwind is the dominant choice, supporting all of Swanna's teammates. Scald is the preferred STAB Water-type move that Swanna can choose from, because of Scald's ability to burn. With Hurricane, Swanna can 2HKO Amoonguss and OHKO Jolly Virizion; the possibility of confusing the opponent supports Swanna's teammates too. Air Slash is the better choice if Rain Dance is not used; without the boosted accuracy, Hurricane isn't reliable. Air Slash's ability to flinch can also be useful in tough situations. Ice Beam is for coverage, hitting most common Pokemon in VGC 2011 for super effective damage. Ice Beam doesn't OHKO anything of significance, but it can take down quite a few things that were damaged beforehand, Swanna can really only finish off what its partner leaves. Although these moves don't have much coverage, and are walled by Pokemon such as Jellicent, Swanna can be threatening when it has good synergy with its teammates. Big Pecks is chosen over Keen Eye as Swanna's defenses already suffer enough, and some Pokemon take advantage of stat lowering moves. Timid is preferred to allow Swanna to be able to set up as soon as possible since it's not going to be attacking much.</p>
[ADDITONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Many Pokemon outclass Swanna and have the ability to set up more consistently. There will rarely be a chance to do much other than set up with Swanna, so a bulkier Pokemon may be preferred. The EVs mentioned allow Swanna to take quite a few common attacks. With this EV Spread, Swanna survives anything Amoonguss throws at it and handles a few non-STAB Rock Slides. Swanna also has the ability to take anything Chandelure, Jellicent, or Tornadus decide to dish out. The ever common Fighting-types, Conkeldurr and Scrafty, can only 2HKO Swanna with Rock Slide without any boosts, while Swanna deals serious damage in return.</p>
<p>Unless hail is being set up, Focus Sash is usually the best choice of item to use on Swanna, as most teams have something that can OHKO it, while Lum Berry helps with Amoonguss, which is extremely common in VGC 2011. Relying on secondary effects is Swanna's biggest offensive tactic because it needs two super effective hits for it to take out anything. Note that other Pokemon can do this better, such as Thunder Wave Thundurus and Whimsicott because of their priority from Prankster.</p>
<p>Pokemon with Rage Powder and Fake Out are excellent choices to pair with Swanna, as they give Swanna a chance to set up. Amoonguss can handle anything that is super effective against Swanna, so it's definitely the preferred one of the two Rage Powder users in VGC 2011. A Fake Out user can flinch a Taunt user aiming to ruin Swanna's ability to set up. Any partner benefits from Swanna's Tailwind. Jellicent, Vanilluxe, and other Blizzard users prefer Swanna's ability to set up Hail. With Rain Dance, Seismitoad, the only usable Swift Swimmer in VGC 2011, should be considered as well as several of the other Water-type Pokemon. Earthquake users are also viable partners for Swanna thanks to its immunity to Ground-type moves. It's also important to draw attention away from Swanna so it can help. Haxorus is a great distraction because of its sky-high Attack stat. To make sure Swanna does not die, switch it in on predicted Earthquakes.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>4 Attack EVs, a Jolly nature, and physical moves could be used instead, but the many status affliction possibilities from the special set would be missed. Though Brave Bird has better accuracy than Hurricane, the recoil damage hinders Swanna's usefulness. If a physical set is being used, Dive would be the only possible Water-type STAB. Protect could be used over Ice Beam if Swanna's partners already have it covered or if a physical Swanna is being used. Protect can definitely come in handy in tough situations; if Swanna is meant to survive for multiple turns, it should definitely be considered. The only point of a physical Swanna would be for Pokemon with low Defense, which isn't common. The special set would definitely be more useful. Surf can be used over Scald, as it can restore health to a Water Absorb partner. Swanna's movepool isn't very good, and other Pokemon such as Samurott can set up Hail more consistently without a 4x weakness to Electric-type moves or 2x weakness to Rock Slide. If Swanna is being used, the rest of the team is usually built around it.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Swanna is KOed by several common types, so it can usually only set up. Even if it lives past the first turn, Swanna can't do much else. Swanna's typing isn't very useful in a metagame with Pokemon such as Thundurus being common. Terrakion, Thundurus, and Eelektross with STAB Rock Slides and Thunderbolts easily KO a Swanna that isn't holding a Focus Sash. Taunt, commonly carried by Tornadus and Whimsicott, prevents Swanna from setting up. Fake Out users can break Swanna's Focus Sash. Due to their inability to OHKO anything, Swanna are usually considered inferior to other choices, though Swanna does have the ability to take a hit from quite a few of the common VGC 2011 Pokemon, ultimately deciding Swanna's life on Speed.</p>
