[OVERVIEW]
Swablu has great Special Defense and a wonderful ability in Natural Cure, which makes it a fine pivot into Scald and Thunder Wave users. Its Defense is lackluster when not invested in, but access to great boosting options in Cotton Guard and Agility make up for this. The combination of these two moves grants Swablu the ability to sweep and otherwise threaten offense teams. Access to recovery in Roost gives Swablu the ability to make use of these boosting options while also continually checking Abra. However, Swablu suffers from pitifully weak offensive stats, which is only partially compensated for by high Base Power attacks and a limited, though adequate, offensive movepool.
[SET]
name: Cotton Guard
move 1: Return
move 2: Roost
move 3: Cotton Guard / Heat Wave
move 4: Agility / Heat Wave
item: Eviolite
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Adamant
evs: 156 HP / 196 Atk / 156 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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Return is the highest power STAB move Swablu has access to that does not have downsides, allowing Swablu to secure as many 2HKOs and3HKOs as possible. Roost provides Swablu with recovery and lets it make use of its bulk and boosts. Cotton Guard allows Swablu to become a bulky monstrosity and prevents all priority moves from revenge killing it. Agility grants Swablu the ability to outspeed the unboosted metagame and sweep. With both Cotton Guard and Agility, Swablu can effectively overwhelm offensive teams. However, you can forgo one of these for Heat Wave, which gives Swablu the ability to lure and defeat Magnemite, Pawniard, and Ferroseed, though it is a weak attack.
Set Details
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The HP EVs give Swablu the most bulk possible while also allowing it to survive four Stealth Rock switch ins, and the Special Defense EVs allow Swablu to reach 16 Special Defense, the largest important benchmark for Swablu. These in tandem with Eviolite give Swablu enough bulk to actually pull off the set. Attack is maximized so Swablu has fighting chance of being a threat while Natural Cure allows for Swablu to heal potential burns. Natural Cure allows Swablu to absorb status for your team, such as Thunder Waves from Staryu or Ponyta's Will-O-Wisp, which can be very useful early-game (burns do limit Swablu's effectiveness until it can be healed off, however).
Usage Tips
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Swablu should find opportunities to set up versus weaker special attackers, or special attackers that have poor coverage against Swablu, such as Spritzee, Abra, or Choice-locked Gothita. However, status Pokemon prevent Swablu from sweeping and should not be set up against nor should Swablu set up before all of them are removed. Additionally, Swablu needs to keep its Eviolite to maintain opportunities to set up. In order to rack up damage on Swablu's counters, Swablu should come in several times to wear them down before attempting a sweep. Stealth Rock should be kept off your side of the field as much as possible to sustain Swablu's HP and allow for Swablu to pivot into Scald and Thunder Wave as much as possible.
Team Options
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Nosepass provides Swablu with ample switch-in opportunities thanks to its slow Volt Switch Switch and also provides entry hazard support. Nosepass also has similar checks and good coverage options to weaken them and pave way for Swablu's sweep. Seel resists Ice and can lure in and remove Chinchou and other Electric-types with Drill Run, which Swablu greatly appreciates. Seel can also weaken bulky Pokemon and can pick off faster, problematic threats like Elekid with its priority. Seel also needs a switch in to Grass-type Pokemon, which Swablu excels at handling despite missing out on having any Flying-type STAB moves. Nosepass, Seel, and Swablu form a dastardly core that can effectively fend off half of the metagame and provide a large and very defensive backbone to several team archetypes. Torchic can be beneficial to Swablu, aiding it by Baton Passing Attack and Speed boosts. Most trappers pair well with Swablu; Trapinch and Diglett are able to remove Steel- and Rock-types for Swablu, and Pursuit trappers such as Houndour, Stunky, and Pawniard are able to remove troublesome Ghost-types for Swablu. The former two Pursuit users can also be used to lure in bulky Ground- and Rock-types with Hidden Power Grass. Gothita can be effective for trapping and crippling Ferroseed and Rock-types that Diglett cannot and is able to cripple bulky Pokemon with Trick. Knock Off users like Pawniard, Mienfoo, and Abra, as well as Thief users such as Snubbull are able to help remove the Eviolites of bulky Pokemon for Swablu, aiding in its sweep later in the match. Entry hazard setters, chiefly Omanyte and Dwebble, can provide much needed support for Swablu and help it secure many 2HKOs with multiple layers. Both Omanyte and Dwebble can help with Knock Off support as well. Toxic Spikes support from Skrelp, Omanyte, or Skorupi allows Swablu to slowly beat out most attackers and helps wear down Swablu's best counters in Rock-types.
Fletchling has many options to support Swablu; Hidden Power Water Fletchling forms a fiendishly effective core with Swablu, luring in Archen and Pokemon with Ground / Rock and Steel / Rock typing. Likewise, Hidden Power Grass Fletchling can be ran to lure Tirtouga and Omanyte, which are both immediately more threatening than Archen, and still hits Ground- and Rock-type Pokemon. Salac or Durin Berry Fletchling with Natural Gift performs similarly; Salac Berry works against Steel-types and Shell Smashers at the expense of losing coverage on Archen, while Durin Berry works more effectively against Onix and hits Archen. Overheat Fletchling can be ran to remove all Steel-types for Swablu. Vullaby can also form an effective core with Swablu, weakening most of their shared checks rather effectively with Knock Off and a strong Brave Bird or U-turn.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
===================
Swablu can run Hidden Power Grass in place of Heat Wave to lure and remove Onix and Omanyte, which otherwise are perfect counters to Swablu. Ice Beam is an option to lure Archen and hit Drifloon mildly hard, though in both cases only the Berry Juice is consumed, which can more trouble than good. Moonblast can be used to hit Fighting-types slightly harder and allows for Swablu to win against Bulk Up Timburr, but is generally less useful than the both Cotton Guard and Agility. A special set with Hyper Voice over Return can also be used, though this is noticeably weaker than the physical set and loses many important 2HKOs and 3HKOs. A special set does give Swablu's coverage options much more power, however, while also allowing Swablu to function while burnt and overall increasing Swablu's ability as a Natural Cure pivot.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Rock-types**: Rock-types resist all of Swablu's attacks and can retaliate back with a super effective STAB option. Shell Smashers are especially dangerous, as they can boost freely on Swablu.
**Steel-types**: Swablu's best option versus Steel-type Pokemon is Heat Wave, which does barely enough to 2HKO Ferroseed and Magnemite. Steel-types are generally able to switch in to stop Swablu, either through Knock Off and Thunder Wave in the cases of Pawniard and Ferroseed or with powerful Thunderbolts in the case of Magnemite.
**Ghost-types**: Swablu typically only runs Return, meaning that Ghost-types can switch in unopposed frequently. Heat Wave also does minimal damage to every Ghost-type except Pumpkaboo and Phantump.
**Bulky Pokemon with recovery**: Porygon has high Special Attack and often carries super effective coverage versus Swablu; this coupled with Porygon's massive bulk means that Swablu struggles even to dent Porygon. Spritzee, Hippopotas with Rock-type moves, [ac] and Lickitung are other examples of bulky Pokemon that can outlast Swablu, though not quite as well as Porygon.
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