QC: Tokyo Tom / ben gay / Henry
GP: GatoDelFuego / P Squared
Overview
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By virtue of its good typing that offers a crucial Electric immunity, Mega Swampert is a good Pokemon on rain teams as a Swift Swim user with an immunity to Thunder Wave. Provided that rain is up, Mega Swampert is a very strong and fast Pokemon, and it has a wide movepool with all the coverage options it needs. However, Mega Swampert does not get the Swift Swim boost the turn it Mega Evolves, which means it is still quite slow for a turn. It also fails to outspeed common Choice Scarf users such as Keldeo and Latios, even in the rain. Nevertheless, Mega Swampert is one of the most dangerous rain sweepers.
Rain Sweeper
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name: Rain Sweeper
move 1: Waterfall
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Ice Punch
move 4: Power-Up Punch / Superpower
ability: Damp
item: Swampertite
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
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Waterfall hits incredibly hard, boosted by the rain and coming from a base 150 Attack. Earthquake is a solid secondary STAB attack and is also Mega Swampert's hardest-hitting attack outside of the rain. Ice Punch hits the Grass- and Dragon-types that resist Mega Swampert's STAB combination, most notably Celebi, Latios, Latias, and Dragonite. In the last moveslot there are two options. Power-Up Punch is not very useful as a coverage move but gives Mega Swampert a way to boost its Attack stat, allowing it to wallbreak more easily. However, Superpower hits Ferrothorn, Mega Gyarados, and Kyurem-B for relevant super effective damage and hits Rotom-W harder than Waterfall does outside of rain. If you cannot fit it somewhere else in your team, Stealth Rock can fill this moveslot.
Set Details
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Maximum Attack investment with an Adamant nature makes Mega Swampert hit as hard as possible. Maximum Speed investment allows Mega Swampert to outspeed the whole unboosted metagame, as well as some slower Choice Scarf users such as Landorus-T and Kyurem-B, under the rain. If outspeeding those two Pokemon is less of a priority and you would rather have more bulk, an alternative EV spread of 104 HP / 252 Atk / 152 Spe, which still outspeeds Mega Sceptile and Mega Beedrill, can be used. Though Damp is rarely useful, it is preferred over Torrent as Swampert's ability before Mega Evolving; Torrent is completely useless because Swampert will always Mega Evolve before attacking, while Damp can at least stop an Explosion from the occasional Azelf or Mega Glalie.
Usage Tips
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Mega Swampert can Mega Evolve for free against common Electric-types that cannot deal significant damage to Mega Swampert, such as Mega Manectric, Thundurus, and Raikou, or against Fire-types such as Victini and non-Solar Beam Heatran, as well as more passive Pokemon such as Klefki, Chansey, and non-Body Slam Jirachi. Try to avoid taking too much damage while Mega Evolving if you rely on Mega Swampert to take on a threat to your team. After the rain is up try to bring Mega Swampert in as soon as possible, as eight turns of rain is not a lot and you want to make the most of it. That does not mean that you should blindly switch it in, however, but instead with pivots or double switches. It can also be more helpful to get entry hazards up first or to send in another Swift Swim user at times. Burn and poison should always be avoided, because they make Mega Swampert easy to wall and easy to wear down, respectively. Late-game is when Mega Swampert works best, as it can clean up after its checks and counters are either gone or weakened. If rain is up, it is almost never a bad idea to click Waterfall, simply because of how strong it is.
Team Options
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Politoed is a mandatory teammate because it can provide rain for Mega Swampert without wasting a turn to do so. It can also create free turns for Mega Swampert with Encore or Perish Song, or by baiting in Electric-types that Mega Swampert can freely Mega Evolve against. Other rain setters such as Klefki, Tornadus-T, Thundurus, and Azelf are also good teammates despite needing a turn to set up rain. At least one other Swift Swim user such as Kabutops, Omastar, or Kingdra is necessary, because with only one Swift Swim user rain teams are not nearly as threatening. Kabutops and Omastar are the best choices, because they can take on Talonflame, which can set up against the obligatory Grass-type teammates rain teams carry. They also help with overwhelming Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Rotom-W, which are often relied on to take on rain offense, better than Kingdra does. Pokemon that can take on the Grass-types that check Mega Swampert, such as Tornadus-T, Talonflame, Thundurus, Latios, and Latias, are also good teammates. Like every Pokemon, Mega Swampert appreciates entry hazard support, because it helps to wear down Mega Swampert's checks and counters. It also helps Mega Swampert score some extra OHKOs and 2HKOs, such as the guaranteed 2HKO with Waterfall against standard Mandibuzz with Stealth Rock and rain up.
Other Options
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Low Kick can be used over Superpower for more consistent power or if stat drops are unappealing to you. When Mega Swampert is on the verge of fainting, Endeavor can bring down the health of a Pokemon it cannot break for an offensive partner. Substitute circumvents status, eases prediction, and makes Mega Swampert harder to play around. Yawn can shut down some of Mega Swampert's checks, which also aids other rain sweepers. However, it does waste turns of rain which you could also use to attack with Mega Swampert or to switch to another Pokemon. Protect gives Mega Swampert a free turn to Mega Evolve but unfortunately also uses up a turn of rain. Mega Swampert can use Rain Dance in the fourth moveslot if you want another rain setter, or as an independent sweeper outside of dedicated rain teams. A bulkier set with Waterfall, Earthquake, Rest, Sleep Talk and an EV spread of 208 HP / 252 Atk / 48 Spe makes better use of Mega Swampert's respectable bulk and typing while still outspeeding almost the whole unboosted metagame under rain.
Checks & Counters
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**Grass-types**: Bulky Grass-types such as Mega Venusaur, Celebi, and Chesnaught have little trouble switching into even an Ice Punch and can threaten Mega Swampert out with their super effective STAB moves or set up Nasty Plot or Spikes. Ferrothorn can also switch in against anything but a Superpower or Low Kick. Frailer ones such as Serperior and Mega Sceptile cannot switch in safely and lose if rain is up, but they can still defeat Mega Swampert outside the rain.
**Bulky Water-types**: Although not all of them can switch in safely, bulky Water-types such as (Mega) Slowbro, Suicune, Rotom-W, Gyarados, Alomomola, Manaphy, and Gastrodon can threaten Mega Swampert with rain-boosted STAB Water-type attacks. Slowbro and Suicune can also set up on it.
**Dedicated Physical Walls**: Dedicated physical walls such as Skarmory, Cresselia, and Porygon2 can wall Mega Swampert despite lacking a type advantage. Power-Up Punch Mega Swampert can, however, break through them if it has not taken a lot of prior damage.
**Faster Pokemon**: Opposing rain sweepers with higher Speed, such as Kingdra and Kabutops, can revenge kill Mega Swampert with rain-boosted STAB attacks. Very fast Choice Scarf users such as Keldeo and Latios can also outspeed Mega Swampert even in the rain and can deal heavy damage with Hydro Pump and Draco Meteor, respectively. Additionally, Mega Alakazam can revenge kill Mega Swampert with Psychic or Psyshock if Mega Swampert has been worn down enough by Tracing Swift Swim.
**Status**: Mega Swampert is immune to Thunder Wave but hates burn and poison because they make it easy to wall and easy to wear down, respectively. Other ways of paralyzing, such as Body Slam and Glare, also cripple Mega Swampert immensely.
**Other Weather**: Although no weather inducer can switch in safely against Mega Swampert, they can still remove the rain, taking Mega Swampert's Speed away.
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