[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Flip Turn
move 2: Stealth Rock
move 3: Earthquake / Earth Power
move 4: Toxic / Roar
item: Rocky Helmet
ability: Regenerator
nature: Relaxed
evs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Swampert's great natural bulk and excellent typing make it one of the best defensive pivots in the metagame. It soft checks numerous threats such as Genesect, Talonflame, and Tapu Koko as well as providing Stealth Rock, which lets it fit on a wide variety of balance and offense teams. Flip Turn is Swampert's main attack, letting it keep momentum, especially against Defoggers, and regain health with Regenerator. Earth Power is an option over Earthquake to be less crippled by burn, or if the team has a Grassy Terrain setter. Toxic punishes sweepers that would like to use Swampert as setup fodder, as well as a major Defogger in Tapu Fini. Roar is an option over Toxic to phaze foes, especially Magic Guard Pokemon, which don't fear Toxic. Regenerator keeps Swampert healthy throughout the game, and Rocky Helmet chips opposing pivots while punishing physical threats. Moreover, Swampert's Ground type outright blocks Volt Switch pivoting from Cobalion. Lastly, the 0 Speed IVs and Relaxed nature allow it to slow pivot on Corviknight.
Swampert's capacity to sponge physical moves makes Pokemon such as Blissey or users of Assault Vest good partners. Coupled with Corviknight, Swampert can check almost all physical threats in the tier and, if you add Blissey, create a strong defensive core. Offensively, strong wallbreakers such as Terrakion and Sheer Force Tapu Lele appreciate Swampert bringing them safely against Pokemon that they can threaten, such as Zapdos or Corviknight, respectively. Solid answers to Grass-types like Zarude and Dhelmise are required when using Swampert, like Cobalion, as they can come in relatively freely on an expected Earthquake or Stealth Rock and threaten it. In addition, Swampert appreciates secondary switch-ins to Fire-types such as Volcarona, Talonflame, and Desolate Land Heatran, as it cannot reliably check most of them, so physically defensive Water-types such as Tapu Fini or specially defensive Pokemon like Blissey and RegenVest Silvally-Dragon are appreciated.
[SET]
name: RegenVest
move 1: Flip Turn
move 2: Mirror Coat / Counter
move 3: Earthquake / Earth Power
move 4: Stone Edge / Scald
item: Assault Vest
ability: Regenerator
nature: Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
With Assault Vest equipped, Swampert becomes a solid special wall against various threats such as Zapdos and Azelf. Flip Turn keeps the momentum and lets Swampert recover health while doing decent damage due to its respectable Attack. Beyond Flip Turn, this set's moveset is quite flexible. Its secondary STAB move can be either Earthquake, for greater damage overall, or Earth Power, as Swampert is prone to being burned and sometimes pairs with Grassy Terrain setters. Thanks to its insane special bulk, RegenVest Swampert can use Mirror Coat to punish special threats that it cannot hit hard such as Zapdos or Tapu Fini; however, Counter is a neat option to punish U-turn from Genesect or Flip Turn from Barraskewda, which it handles thanks to its great overall bulk. Counter can also punish opposing Swampert's Flip Turn if you don't want to risk the Speed tie. Stone Edge is a great option to hit Primordial Sea Zapdos, as well as punishing Volcarona and Talonflame, but Scald can be used instead to burn defensive Pokemon such as Corviknight or opposing Swampert, and it also prevents physical threats such as Zarude from coming in freely. 0 Speed IVs and a Sassy nature allow Swampert to slow pivot on Corviknight.
Swampert and Corviknight cover each other's typing weaknesses quite well, combine to handle both special and physical threats, and form a pivoting core. Tapu Fini is also a good teammate, providing Defog support and soft checking many of the physical threats of the tier, while Swampert checks most of the special threats. Offensively, all the Pokemon that greatly appreciate safe entry from slow pivoting make good partners, like Terrakion, Barraskewda, and Heatran. This set's main weakness is its dependence on Assault Vest to check special threats, which makes it particularly vulnerable to Knock Off. Pokemon that can absorb Knock Off such as Zamazenta-C and Kommo-o make great partners, and both usefully resist Grass for Swampert as well.
Other Options
=============
Utility Umbrella can be used over Rocky Helmet to check Primordial Sea Barraskewda, but it's a niche option and should be used only if your team is really weak to Barraskewda, as losing Rocky Helmet makes Swampert really passive. Several other move options are possible on the RegenVest set, depending on what you want to cover. Whirlpool allows Swampert to wear down or eliminate passive threats such as Tapu Fini and Skarmory that think they are safe against it—especially when they know it’s running Assault Vest. Ice Beam and Ice Punch hit Garchomp to prevent it from setting up in front of Swampert, as well as hitting Desolate Land Landorus, which would like to block Swampert from pivoting. Lastly, in offensive teams, Eject Button can be used to grab some huge momentum and immediately bring a powerful wallbreaker onto the field, but it too is a niche option.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Grass-types and Grass-type Coverage**: With Swampert's 4x weakness Grass, any Grass-type move will usually KO it. Zarude, Solar Beam Heatran, and Energy Ball Tapu Lele are all huge threats for Swampert.
**Knock Off**: Without its Assault Vest, RegenVest Swampert's special bulk is significantly decreased and it's much harder to answer special attackers such as Zapdos, so Knock Off from Pokemon like Tapu Fini or Incineroar cripples it.
**Magic Bounce**: Magic Bounce users such as Garchomp and Blissey can prevent Swampert from setting Stealth Rock. However, Swampert can freely chip them with Flip Turn and keep the momentum.
**Desolate Land**: Desolate Land blocks Swampert's Flip Turn, resulting in a a loss of momentum. However, Swampert can threaten most Desolate Land users with its other moves.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Osake, 524664]]
- Quality checked by: [[UT, 523866], [Think, 375662]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429]]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Flip Turn
move 2: Stealth Rock
move 3: Earthquake / Earth Power
move 4: Toxic / Roar
item: Rocky Helmet
ability: Regenerator
nature: Relaxed
evs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Swampert's great natural bulk and excellent typing make it one of the best defensive pivots in the metagame. It soft checks numerous threats such as Genesect, Talonflame, and Tapu Koko as well as providing Stealth Rock, which lets it fit on a wide variety of balance and offense teams. Flip Turn is Swampert's main attack, letting it keep momentum, especially against Defoggers, and regain health with Regenerator. Earth Power is an option over Earthquake to be less crippled by burn, or if the team has a Grassy Terrain setter. Toxic punishes sweepers that would like to use Swampert as setup fodder, as well as a major Defogger in Tapu Fini. Roar is an option over Toxic to phaze foes, especially Magic Guard Pokemon, which don't fear Toxic. Regenerator keeps Swampert healthy throughout the game, and Rocky Helmet chips opposing pivots while punishing physical threats. Moreover, Swampert's Ground type outright blocks Volt Switch pivoting from Cobalion. Lastly, the 0 Speed IVs and Relaxed nature allow it to slow pivot on Corviknight.
Swampert's capacity to sponge physical moves makes Pokemon such as Blissey or users of Assault Vest good partners. Coupled with Corviknight, Swampert can check almost all physical threats in the tier and, if you add Blissey, create a strong defensive core. Offensively, strong wallbreakers such as Terrakion and Sheer Force Tapu Lele appreciate Swampert bringing them safely against Pokemon that they can threaten, such as Zapdos or Corviknight, respectively. Solid answers to Grass-types like Zarude and Dhelmise are required when using Swampert, like Cobalion, as they can come in relatively freely on an expected Earthquake or Stealth Rock and threaten it. In addition, Swampert appreciates secondary switch-ins to Fire-types such as Volcarona, Talonflame, and Desolate Land Heatran, as it cannot reliably check most of them, so physically defensive Water-types such as Tapu Fini or specially defensive Pokemon like Blissey and RegenVest Silvally-Dragon are appreciated.
[SET]
name: RegenVest
move 1: Flip Turn
move 2: Mirror Coat / Counter
move 3: Earthquake / Earth Power
move 4: Stone Edge / Scald
item: Assault Vest
ability: Regenerator
nature: Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
With Assault Vest equipped, Swampert becomes a solid special wall against various threats such as Zapdos and Azelf. Flip Turn keeps the momentum and lets Swampert recover health while doing decent damage due to its respectable Attack. Beyond Flip Turn, this set's moveset is quite flexible. Its secondary STAB move can be either Earthquake, for greater damage overall, or Earth Power, as Swampert is prone to being burned and sometimes pairs with Grassy Terrain setters. Thanks to its insane special bulk, RegenVest Swampert can use Mirror Coat to punish special threats that it cannot hit hard such as Zapdos or Tapu Fini; however, Counter is a neat option to punish U-turn from Genesect or Flip Turn from Barraskewda, which it handles thanks to its great overall bulk. Counter can also punish opposing Swampert's Flip Turn if you don't want to risk the Speed tie. Stone Edge is a great option to hit Primordial Sea Zapdos, as well as punishing Volcarona and Talonflame, but Scald can be used instead to burn defensive Pokemon such as Corviknight or opposing Swampert, and it also prevents physical threats such as Zarude from coming in freely. 0 Speed IVs and a Sassy nature allow Swampert to slow pivot on Corviknight.
Swampert and Corviknight cover each other's typing weaknesses quite well, combine to handle both special and physical threats, and form a pivoting core. Tapu Fini is also a good teammate, providing Defog support and soft checking many of the physical threats of the tier, while Swampert checks most of the special threats. Offensively, all the Pokemon that greatly appreciate safe entry from slow pivoting make good partners, like Terrakion, Barraskewda, and Heatran. This set's main weakness is its dependence on Assault Vest to check special threats, which makes it particularly vulnerable to Knock Off. Pokemon that can absorb Knock Off such as Zamazenta-C and Kommo-o make great partners, and both usefully resist Grass for Swampert as well.
Other Options
=============
Utility Umbrella can be used over Rocky Helmet to check Primordial Sea Barraskewda, but it's a niche option and should be used only if your team is really weak to Barraskewda, as losing Rocky Helmet makes Swampert really passive. Several other move options are possible on the RegenVest set, depending on what you want to cover. Whirlpool allows Swampert to wear down or eliminate passive threats such as Tapu Fini and Skarmory that think they are safe against it—especially when they know it’s running Assault Vest. Ice Beam and Ice Punch hit Garchomp to prevent it from setting up in front of Swampert, as well as hitting Desolate Land Landorus, which would like to block Swampert from pivoting. Lastly, in offensive teams, Eject Button can be used to grab some huge momentum and immediately bring a powerful wallbreaker onto the field, but it too is a niche option.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Grass-types and Grass-type Coverage**: With Swampert's 4x weakness Grass, any Grass-type move will usually KO it. Zarude, Solar Beam Heatran, and Energy Ball Tapu Lele are all huge threats for Swampert.
**Knock Off**: Without its Assault Vest, RegenVest Swampert's special bulk is significantly decreased and it's much harder to answer special attackers such as Zapdos, so Knock Off from Pokemon like Tapu Fini or Incineroar cripples it.
**Magic Bounce**: Magic Bounce users such as Garchomp and Blissey can prevent Swampert from setting Stealth Rock. However, Swampert can freely chip them with Flip Turn and keep the momentum.
**Desolate Land**: Desolate Land blocks Swampert's Flip Turn, resulting in a a loss of momentum. However, Swampert can threaten most Desolate Land users with its other moves.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Osake, 524664]]
- Quality checked by: [[UT, 523866], [Think, 375662]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429]]
Last edited:
