Edit July 30: Updated, removed Shaymin references and added in Dugtrio.
Status: Complete / Possible grammar checks needed
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/swellow
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Changes
- Added update to set 1 and 2 and re-wrote it
- Edited some parts for Counters and Other Options
- Removed 'Ninjask' from set 3
- Expanded Team Options
[SET]
name: Guts Activation
move 1: Facade
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Protect / Quick Attack / Pursuit
item: Toxic Orb / Flame Orb
ability: Guts
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Speed
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set is designed to take advantage of Swellow's ability Guts. Swellow is a fearsome sweeper late game, with excellent
Speed and access to strong STAB attacks. Facade with 140
Base Power, is a great move when paired with the ability Guts, while Brave Bird allows you to hit Ghost-types that Facade can't hit. Brave Bird will 2HKO both Spiritomb and Rotom that
don't invest heavily in
Defense, and OHKO Mismagius. Protect is a great move if you decide to use Swellow as a lead. It allows you to activate Guts and scout out with U-turn for extra damage
. Quick Attack can be used to hit faster Pokemon, such as Electrode or a Choice Scarf holder. Pursuit will allow you to hit fleeing Hypno, Grumpig, Chansey, Uxie and Mespirit. </p>
<p>Toxic Orb does less damage to Swellow for the first two turns it is out, but on the third turn, it is tied with Flame Orb for total damage done. If you think you can keep Swellow in for more than three turns, you'll want to use Flame Orb, otherwise, use Toxic Orb. The EV spread is a simple spread to take advantage of Swellow's highest base stats and maximize its ability to sweep.</p>
<p>This set is perfect for destroying Pokemon late game and taking care of fragile Pokemon in UU, but it is completely walled by
Steel- and Rock-types. Swellow works great alongside Magneton, who can come in on Swellow's weaknesses and trap Steel-types. Magneton can utilize the Magnet Rise set to avoid its nasty 4x weakness to Earthquake, which Steelix and Registeel commonly use. Fire-types like Blaziken, Houndoom, Typhlosion, and Magmortar can also force Steel-types out, but you must be careful not to switch any of the last three into a
super effective Rock attack aimed at Swellow. Nidoqueen and Nidoking can come in to scare away Rock-types. Defensively, a good pairing with Swellow to take out Rock-types is Hitmontop, whose Intimidate will enable it to take physical attacks directed at Swellow. Hitmontop also has access to Rapid Spin, which helps Swellow from losing HP from Stealth Rock, which can add up alongside status coming from its held item and recoil damage coming from Brave Bird. Ground-types in general can come in on attacks directed at Swellow. Perfect candidates for this job would be would be Steelix and Registeel. Steelix has a great typing to come in comfortably on attacks directed at Swellow. Registeel is another option to take attacks directed at Swellow due to the tremendous bulk it has.</p>
<p>The greatest partner Swellow could ask for in order to function on offensive teams is Dugtrio. Dugtrio normally functions on offense teams therefore pairing them together can be a great tactic which lets Dugtrio remove Rock- and Steel-types. However, Dugtrio will not OHKO
Steelix so get the kill when its health is reduced. Three layers of Spike can be accomidating for both Dugtrio and Swellow, allowing Dugtrio to kill Steelix easier and Swellow to sweep better late game.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Bander
move 1: Facade / Return
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: U-Turn
move 4: Quick Attack / Pursuit
item: Choice Band
ability: Guts
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Speed
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set has potential and is very simple to use. If you manage to come in on Toxic or Will-O-Wisp you will activate Guts
, which allows you to boost your
Attack to a greater extent with Choice Band. Your main STAB options are Facade and Return. Facade guarantees you the
Base Power boost if you come in on status, while Return is the more reliable option for hitting Electric-types. For example, Return OHKOes Manectric, whereas an unboosted Facade falls short. U-turn is to scout for incoming
Steel- and Rock
-types so that you can switch to an appropriate counter. Quick Attack is preferred to hit Choice Scarf users while Pursuit traps weakened Clefable, Uxie, Mespirit, Hypno, and Grumpig.</p>
<p>This set is walled by Steel and Rock-types. Magneton traps Steel-types, while Fighting-types threaten both
Steel- and Rock-types, oftentimes causing them to switch out.
Fire-
types can also come in and force
Steel- and Rock-types to switch out. Blaziken is a good candidate to force out both Registeel and Regirock because it has access to both STAB Fire and Fighting moves to scare away Swellow's counters. Dugtrio can remove Steel- and Rock-types
early in the match, allowing Swellow to sweep without breaking a sweat.</p>
[SET]
name: SubPassEndeavor
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Baton Pass
move 3: Endeavor
move 4: Return
item: Liechi Berry / Starf Berry
ability: Guts
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Speed
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Substitute down to activate whichever
Berry Swellow is holding, Endeavor your opponent, and then finish them with your attack move. Return is better for sweeping (in cases where you can kill your opponent without needing to Endeavor first), while Quick Attack is helpful for Electrode, Choice Scarfers and slower enemies who also carry priority attacks. Agility is also a decent option since Swellow will then be able to pass both a Speed boost and a boost from the
Berry of your choice; beware of faster Taunt users such as Electrode, since you are now without a solid attacking option. Liechi Berry is a direct boost to Swellow, as it can enable a sweep with Return. However, Starf Berry makes it more of a team player, as you have more options to benefit from the stat boost. If you managed to keep Stealth Rock off the field, you can Baton Pass a
Berry boost (and possibly a Substitute) rather than Endeavor immediately. Then you can send Swellow out later and Endeavor something before it dies.</p>
<p>Ghost-types are a bane to this set because unlike the previous sets, you are limited to one
attack. Mismagius can come in this set with relative ease, and begin to set up Substitute or Calm Mind. It is advised that you pack someone to take Mismagius'
hits and at the same time utilize Pursuit to beat it. Drapion with loads of Special Defense EVs is a great candidate due to its unique typing, which lets it cushion Mismagius' hits and strike back with Pursuit. If you plan to sweep with the set, Steel-types are a bit troublesome. Slip in Dugtrio on your team, and let it finish the job with a STAB Earthquake. Don't use Earthquake arbritarily on Steelix because you can't take it out in
one hit, therefore grab the kill when its HP significantly low. This set in particular won't mind 8-turn dual screens to cushion hits for your next switch-ins</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Swellow is a magnificent late game sweeper once its counters are removed. Its role in the team is to come in on a status move and take advantage of its ability Guts. Swellow is a good status absorber because of the ability Guts, it threatens fragile sweepers and will usually force them to switch out due to Swellow's magnificent
Speed. Swellow's sweeping capabilities can be helped with entry hazards, which can turn many of Swellow's
2HKOes into
OHKOes. Swellow helps you scare away the most common threats today which are Shaymin, Espeon, Mismagius and Roserade. Swellow has a base
Speed of 125 and it can take full advantage by outspeeding these common threats which will usually force them to switch out.
U-
turn will hit Espeon for super effective damage in case they switch out to an appropriate counter for Swellow. Swellow can come in on a Shadow Ball from Mismagius and will most likely force Mismagius to switch out because Brave Bird will OHKO Mismagius. One physical wall that Swellow doesn't mind switching in to is Spiritomb. Swellow can come in on Will-O-Wisp and is immune to Spiritomb's Ghost attacks. Swellow can switch in on Espeon on a Calm Mind, and Roserade's Sleep Powder which will usually force them to switch out. Swellow will serve a better purpose as a revenge killer or used in conjunction with a slow pokemon who utilizes U-turn to bring in Swellow safely. A common strategy for using Swellow in a middle of the match is to utilize
U-
turn to scout out for incoming Steel or Rock-types and bring in Blaziken or Nidoking. Mentioned previously, Dugtrio can be great if you want to remove Steel- and Rock-types out of the match. Both Nidoking and Blaziken can frighten opposing
Rock- and Steel-types and can will force them to switch out. Swellow will serve a better purpose as a late-game cleaner once its counters are removed. </p>
[Other Options]
<p>Sleep Talk is an option to absorb status but Facade does not get the boost so Return is a more reliable move.
Steel Wing is another option to hit Rock-types but it is too feeble to dent even the common Rock-types in both UU and OU [you contradict the usefulness of Steel Wing in this sentence]. Roost is also another option to replenish health, but Swellow will most likely lose too much health from Stealth Rock, status, and Brave Bird recoil to make it useful. </p>
[EVs]
<p>Swellow always need maximum Attack and Speed to maximize Swellow's sweeping capabilities. Jolly can be used on any set to outspeed Pokemon like Espeon and Froslass.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Swellow is a struggle to use early game because
Steel- and Rock-types can force you to switch out, and if the opponent has Stealth Rock your HP can dwindle quite quickly, rendering Swellow ineffective. The amazing Speed it has should not be taken as a joke because Swellow becomes an excellent sweeper late game. With STAB Facade and high Speed, Swellow is an immediate threat in UU. Swellow's movepool is very limited but being an excellent sweeper late game makes up for that.</p>
[Counters]
<p>As stated in nearly all the sets, Swellow is walled by most
Rock- or Steel-types. Aggron, Probopass, Steelix, Relicanth, and Registeel are all good examples of counters. Ghost
-types can come in on Normal attacks from the Choice Bander, and they're immune to Endeavor, but switching into Brave Bird will OHKO most of them (Rotom is 2HKOed, despite resisting
Flying-type attacks). Priority moves combined with residual damage can often lead to a KO thanks to Swellow's poor defenses.</p>
