QC Checks: Magnemite, Montsegur, galbia
GP Checks: fleurdyleurse, frenzyplant
Overview
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In a tier littered with entry hazard users, Swanna cements itself as the best offensive Defoggers. A strong Water / Flying STAB combination allows it to hit the majority of the tier for good damage, and a nice Speed tier allows Swanna to outspeed Pokemon such as Mr. Mime, Chatot, and Frogadier. While Swanna has only an average Special Attack stat, its powerful STAB Hurricane and Life Orb can help to remedy this. Unfortunately, Swanna has poor bulk, meaning it can find itself getting KOed early in a match. It's also weak to Stealth Rock, which it's meant to remove, meaning it can get worn down easily if it needs to Defog a lot during the match.
Offensive Defog
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name: Offensive Defog
move 1: Hurricane
move 2: Scald
move 3: Defog
move 4: Roost
ability: Hydration
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
nature: Timid
Moves
========
Hurricane is Swanna's most powerful Flying-type STAB move, dealing with Pokemon such as Roselia, Gourgeist-XL, Throh, and Gogoat. Scald provides a Water-type STAB attack that complements Hurricane well, hitting Pokemon such as Golem, Bastiodon, and Rampardos, which resist Hurricane. It also has a nice 30% chance to burn the foe, punishing switch-ins. Defog helps distinguish Swanna from other offensive Pokemon, allowing it to clear entry hazards for its teammates. Roost keeps Swanna healthy, especially considering Swanna will usually be taking Life Orb recoil and switching into Stealth Rock. If Swanna is being used on a rain team, Rest can be used with Hydration to fully heal it. It is, however, reliant on rain to be effective.
Set Details
========
Maximum Special Attack and Speed investment with a Timid nature gives Swanna as much power and Speed as possible. Life Orb is used to power up Swanna's moves and makes it much harder to switch into. Hydration helps Swanna deal with status when playing against or being used on a rain team.
Usage Tips
========
Swanna should try to clear entry hazards for its teammates whenever possible, as Defog is one of the main reasons to use it. When Swanna is not clearing entry hazards, its main job will be to hit as hard as possible with its offensive moves. Try to use Roost often, or Swanna might find itself getting worn down too quickly. Lastly, if Swanna is out against a special wall and there are no entry hazards to remove, fishing for a Scald burn is usually the best option.
Team Options
========
As Swanna's role is to clear entry hazards for its team, Pokemon that dislike entry hazards appreciate Swanna's support; these include Scyther, Sneasel, and Flareon. Swanna also is a powerful offensive Pokemon, making entry hazard support from the likes of Golem, Marowak, and Camerupt is helpful. Do note, however, that Defog will also clear your own entry hazards, meaning that suicide leads such as Garbodor and Whirlipede are not recommended. Swanna hates Electric-types, making Pokemon such as Piloswine and Camerupt good partners to deal with them. Swanna also finds it difficult to break through Lickilicky, making Fighting-types such as Poliwrath and Throh helpful teammates. Sneasel and Mightyena make for good partners, as they appreciate Swanna's ability to deal with Poliwrath and Throh. Finally, if being used on a rain team, Rain Dance setters such as Volbeat can make Hurricane's accuracy 100% and power up Scald. Rain also allows Swanna to use Rest in combination with Hydration to fully heal itself.
Other Options
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Air Slash is a nice move for when Swanna doesn't want to risk Hurricane's 70% accuracy, though it's quite weak. Surf can be used over Scald for its higher Base Power, but it doesn't achieve any notable KOs that Scald doesn't. Rain Dance is a decent option on rain teams to make Hurricane's accuracy 100% while also powering up Scald. Tailwind is an option to boost your teammates' Speed, but it's hard to find room for it on the set. Substitute can protect Swanna from status and other attacks, while Roost can heal up any damage taken from Substitute. However, this would mean that Swanna would have to give up Defog, which is the main reason to run it.
Checks & Counters
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**Special Walls**: Special walls such as Lickilicky, Togetic, and Articuno have no trouble eating up Swanna's attacks and stalling it out with their recovery options. Articuno can use Freeze-Dry to hit Swanna 4x super effectively, while Lickilicky can phaze Swanna with Dragon Tail. However, unless the former two have Toxic, Roost Swanna will be difficult to take down.
**Electric-types**: Electric-types such as Rotom-F, Raichu, Zebstrika, and Electabuzz can either take a hit or outspeed Swanna and OHKO it with STAB Thunderbolt. They can also gain momentum against Swanna with Volt Switch. None of them like switching directly into a Life Orb-boosted STAB Scald, however.
**Faster Pokemon**: Due to Swanna's poor bulk, most faster offensive threats that can hit Swanna decently hard can deal with it relatively easily. These include Sneasel, Tauros, Purugly, Stoutland in sand, Rapidash, Dodrio, and many more. Purugly can also switch into Defog and receive a +2 Attack boost due to Defiant. However, none of them like switching into Swanna's attacks.
GP Checks: fleurdyleurse, frenzyplant
Overview
########
In a tier littered with entry hazard users, Swanna cements itself as the best offensive Defoggers. A strong Water / Flying STAB combination allows it to hit the majority of the tier for good damage, and a nice Speed tier allows Swanna to outspeed Pokemon such as Mr. Mime, Chatot, and Frogadier. While Swanna has only an average Special Attack stat, its powerful STAB Hurricane and Life Orb can help to remedy this. Unfortunately, Swanna has poor bulk, meaning it can find itself getting KOed early in a match. It's also weak to Stealth Rock, which it's meant to remove, meaning it can get worn down easily if it needs to Defog a lot during the match.
Offensive Defog
########
name: Offensive Defog
move 1: Hurricane
move 2: Scald
move 3: Defog
move 4: Roost
ability: Hydration
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
nature: Timid
Moves
========
Hurricane is Swanna's most powerful Flying-type STAB move, dealing with Pokemon such as Roselia, Gourgeist-XL, Throh, and Gogoat. Scald provides a Water-type STAB attack that complements Hurricane well, hitting Pokemon such as Golem, Bastiodon, and Rampardos, which resist Hurricane. It also has a nice 30% chance to burn the foe, punishing switch-ins. Defog helps distinguish Swanna from other offensive Pokemon, allowing it to clear entry hazards for its teammates. Roost keeps Swanna healthy, especially considering Swanna will usually be taking Life Orb recoil and switching into Stealth Rock. If Swanna is being used on a rain team, Rest can be used with Hydration to fully heal it. It is, however, reliant on rain to be effective.
Set Details
========
Maximum Special Attack and Speed investment with a Timid nature gives Swanna as much power and Speed as possible. Life Orb is used to power up Swanna's moves and makes it much harder to switch into. Hydration helps Swanna deal with status when playing against or being used on a rain team.
Usage Tips
========
Swanna should try to clear entry hazards for its teammates whenever possible, as Defog is one of the main reasons to use it. When Swanna is not clearing entry hazards, its main job will be to hit as hard as possible with its offensive moves. Try to use Roost often, or Swanna might find itself getting worn down too quickly. Lastly, if Swanna is out against a special wall and there are no entry hazards to remove, fishing for a Scald burn is usually the best option.
Team Options
========
As Swanna's role is to clear entry hazards for its team, Pokemon that dislike entry hazards appreciate Swanna's support; these include Scyther, Sneasel, and Flareon. Swanna also is a powerful offensive Pokemon, making entry hazard support from the likes of Golem, Marowak, and Camerupt is helpful. Do note, however, that Defog will also clear your own entry hazards, meaning that suicide leads such as Garbodor and Whirlipede are not recommended. Swanna hates Electric-types, making Pokemon such as Piloswine and Camerupt good partners to deal with them. Swanna also finds it difficult to break through Lickilicky, making Fighting-types such as Poliwrath and Throh helpful teammates. Sneasel and Mightyena make for good partners, as they appreciate Swanna's ability to deal with Poliwrath and Throh. Finally, if being used on a rain team, Rain Dance setters such as Volbeat can make Hurricane's accuracy 100% and power up Scald. Rain also allows Swanna to use Rest in combination with Hydration to fully heal itself.
Other Options
########
Air Slash is a nice move for when Swanna doesn't want to risk Hurricane's 70% accuracy, though it's quite weak. Surf can be used over Scald for its higher Base Power, but it doesn't achieve any notable KOs that Scald doesn't. Rain Dance is a decent option on rain teams to make Hurricane's accuracy 100% while also powering up Scald. Tailwind is an option to boost your teammates' Speed, but it's hard to find room for it on the set. Substitute can protect Swanna from status and other attacks, while Roost can heal up any damage taken from Substitute. However, this would mean that Swanna would have to give up Defog, which is the main reason to run it.
Checks & Counters
########
**Special Walls**: Special walls such as Lickilicky, Togetic, and Articuno have no trouble eating up Swanna's attacks and stalling it out with their recovery options. Articuno can use Freeze-Dry to hit Swanna 4x super effectively, while Lickilicky can phaze Swanna with Dragon Tail. However, unless the former two have Toxic, Roost Swanna will be difficult to take down.
**Electric-types**: Electric-types such as Rotom-F, Raichu, Zebstrika, and Electabuzz can either take a hit or outspeed Swanna and OHKO it with STAB Thunderbolt. They can also gain momentum against Swanna with Volt Switch. None of them like switching directly into a Life Orb-boosted STAB Scald, however.
**Faster Pokemon**: Due to Swanna's poor bulk, most faster offensive threats that can hit Swanna decently hard can deal with it relatively easily. These include Sneasel, Tauros, Purugly, Stoutland in sand, Rapidash, Dodrio, and many more. Purugly can also switch into Defog and receive a +2 Attack boost due to Defiant. However, none of them like switching into Swanna's attacks.
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