Swellow
[Overview]
<p>Swellow has always been one of the fastest Pokemon around, using its remarkable base 125 Speed to jet around the opposition. Guts makes Swellow a very strong Pokemon, bold enough to take on the opposition even when all hope is gone! People who are new to NU often ask "Why does every team have a Rock-type," and the answer is simple: Swellow. Swellow long ago cemented itself as a top-tier offensive threat that must be prepared for. It has an enormous influence on the metagame, as any team without a Rock-type will be destroyed. However, despite being so defining, it has not been as common as of late due to the rise of other powerful Normal-types, such as Zangoose, Braviary, and Cinccino. The usage of other Normal- and Flying-types has made Swellow anti-metagame—that is— a Pokemon that functions very well in the tier without being as popular as it should be. Swellow is an excellent answer to the aforementioned threats, revenge killing all of them. However, not everything is great for this swell bird, as it has little coverage to speak of and is always on a timer due to its Toxic Orb, which when combined with its Stealth Rock weakness makes it difficult to take advantage of Swellow's strengths.</p>
[SET]
name: Guts
move 1: Facade
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Quick Attack / Protect
item: Toxic Orb
ability: Guts
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is the only set that Swellow should ever run, as it takes advantage of all of Swellow's perks. Guts turns Swellow into an offensive powerhouse, steamrolling through everything in its path. Facade is truly monstrous and is the move that you will use most of the time, as it reaches a remarkable 210 Base Power after STAB, OHKOing threats such as Cinccino, Fraxure, and Gardevoir. Brave Bird should be used sparingly due to the heavy amount of recoil, but is a necessity to KO Pokemon that are weak to Flying-type attacks such as Serperior, Amoonguss, and Gurdurr. U-turn is a handy move to have, as it allows you to weaken the opposition with light blows—and hopefully hazard support—until they are weak enough for Swellow to defeat them with Facade. The choice between Quick Attack and Protect is a tough one; Quick Attack is generally preferable as priority will be more useful throughout the entire match, whilst Protect is primarily used as a way to activate Toxic Orb for free. Quick Attack can also be used to dodge Sucker Punch from Pokemon such as Absol, allowing you to win one on one with proper prediction.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Maximum Attack and Speed EVs are standard for physical sweepers, while a Jolly nature is used to outspeed threats such as Zebstrika and Cinccino that lack a Choice Scarf. Adamant should never be considered, as the drop in Speed is not worth the increase in strength. A Flame Orb is also an option if Swellow is going to stay in for more than a few turns, but Swellow is a hit-and-run Pokemon and generally won't stay in the battle for very long.</p>
<p>Swellow needs Stealth Rock off the field to function at its full potential, so running a Rapid Spin user is a necessity. Armaldo is without a doubt the best possible partner for Swellow, as it removes opposing Rock-types for Swellow while also keeping Stealth Rock off the field. If for some reason Armaldo is not an option, packing a Pokemon that can prohibit Stealth Rock from being used in the first place, whether it be a Mold Breaker Pokemon—such as Rampardos—or multi-hitting Pokemon that can OHKO through Sturdy, such as Marowak or Torterra. All three work very well with Swellow, OHKOing many Rock-type leads such as Golem, one of the most popular user of Stealth Rock in the tier, while providing their own entry hazards. Swellow also appreciates Spikes support, as it forces many switches and can take advantage of the residual damage to gain even more KOs with Facade. Zangoose makes a great sweeping partner for Swellow, as it can remove Rock-types from the match with ease, yet struggles with fast Pokemon like Cinccino, which Swellow swiftly OHKOes. Ludicolo also works wonders with Swellow, as it decimates nearly every possible Swellow check with its powerful STAB Hydro Pump. In reality, any of the many common Pokemon that can defeat the ever common Rock-types will work great with Swellow. Sawk has its devastating Close Combat, while Mantine, Samurott, and Simipour have a useful Water-type STAB. Sawsbuck also works well with Swellow as it can defeat Rock-types with Horn Leech and use Alomomola as setup bait, allowing it to sweep in a pinch. Gurdurr also appreciates Swellow support as it struggles against powerful special attackers, many of which Swellow can easily handle. In return, Gurdurr has a powerful Fighting-type STAB to defeat most of Swellow's common counters. Absol works well as it has a powerful Superpower to hit Rock-types as well as STAB Dark-type attacks to hit Misdreavus, a huge problem for Swellow. Calm Mind Serperior also defeats most of Swellow's counters and appreciates weakened special walls. Ground-types such as Golem and Golurk work well as they can hit Rock-types super effectively and beat Electric-types, many of which carry a Choice Scarf and can OHKO Swellow. Magnet Pull Probopass also works exceptionally well, as it can trap and defeat opposing Probopass, Klang, and Bastiodon, while also providing Stealth Rock for Swellow. It is worth noting that running Armaldo along with Probopass is not recommended, as they share many weaknesses and have similar roles on the team, so a different way to keep hazards off the field will need to be found.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Realistically, you shouldn't be using anything that isn't a part of the main set. However, if you are not a gutsy user then a set that uses Scrappy along with Choice Band is viable to hit Ghost-types. The lack of a boosted Facade is somewhat disheartening, as Swellow must rely on the much weaker Return as a Normal-type STAB. Endeavor is somewhat usable, but with Toxic Orb recoil it will be difficult to time it right; waiting too long will mean the demise of Swellow. If you want to potentially 4HKO Regirock with a super effective move you can use Steel Wing, which hits Rock-types harder than any other move Swellow has, although it still does laughable damage to most of them. Pursuit is among the more viable options, as hitting a Haunter as it tries to escape can bring great joy; however, it is very difficult to fit onto the main set, as the standard moves are quite necessary. A SubRoost set would allow Swellow to scout and maintain its health. In fact, Roost is a handy move as Swellow is always on a timer, and with Flame Orb can be used to recover HP in a pinch.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Due to Swellow's lack of any real coverage options, anything that resists its STAB combination is a counter. The many Rock-types in the tier are able to destroy Swellow, limiting its usefulness until they are defeated. Probopass, Golem, and Regirock are among the most common Rock-types and are all capable of walling Swellow to oblivion. But that's not all! Bastiodon, Carracosta, Gigalith, and Armaldo also don't care about Swellow and can retaliate with STAB super effective attacks. Klang is a great answer to Swellow, as it resists every move it can viably use and can set up with Shift Gear. It is one of the best answers to Swellow that an offensive team can ask for, as Swellow makes a Klang user very happy. Alomomola can take on Swellow thanks to its sheer bulk, using Wish and Protect to rack up Toxic Orb damage on Swellow. Misdreavus cannot do anything back to Swellow, but can force it to kill itself with a combination of Stealth Rock, Brave Bird, and Toxic Orb damage. Nearly all of the common Choice Scarf Pokemon in NU are capable of revenge killing Swellow. The most common Choice Scarf Pokemon, Electric-types, are also able to hit Swellow super effectively. Rotom-S, Electabuzz, and Zebstrika can all KO with Volt Switch or Thunderbolt, while other Choice Scarf Pokemon such as Braviary can OHKO with Brave Bird. Ghost-types such as Golurk and Drifblim can force Swellow to use Brave Bird, meaning that Swellow will practically kill itself in order to combat them due to Brave Bird's recoil being based on the damage to their enormous HP stats. Powerful priority wrecks Swellow, as it is incredibly frail and relies on its Speed to be successful. Priority from the likes of Absol, Skuntank, or Samurott is capable of defeating Swellow, although the first two must look out for Quick Attack, which can dodge Sucker Punch. Piloswine is a great switch-in as it can tank a hit and OHKO with Ice Shard. Most importantly, one of the easiest ways to defeat Swellow is to keep Stealth Rock on the field. Between Stealth Rock damage, Toxic Orb damage, and Brave Bird recoil, Swellow's wings will swiftly be clipped.</p>
