Swellow (Update)

[Oglemi]

Swellow (Update)
Status: Complete / Possible grammar checks needed

Taking this over for franky. I'm throwing it back through QC though, as I question the viability of the SubPassEndeavor set. His thread can be locked here.

http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/swellow


__________________________________________________ ______________

[OVERVIEW]

<p>Swellow is fast. Really fast. However, Swellow is a struggle to use early-game because Steel- and Rock-types can easily force it out, and if the opponent has Stealth Rock, then Swellow's HP can dwindle quite quickly, rendering it ineffective. It's not all bad news though, the amazing Speed it has enables Swellow to become an excellent sweeper late-game, since it can outrun just about everything in UU unboosted. With STAB 140 Base Power Facade and Brave Bird added to the mix, Swellow becomes one of the premier threats in UU. Though Swellow's movepool is very limited, this is more than made up for by its capability to hit hard and fast with what it has.</p>

[SET]
name: Guts Activation
move 1: Facade
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: U-turn / Pursuit
move 4: Quick Attack / Protect
item: Toxic Orb / Flame Orb
ability: Guts
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[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. Thanks to Toxic Orb, Facade has 140 Base Power, and is a great move when paired with the ability Guts, while Brave Bird allows you to hit the Ghost-types that Facade cannot. Brave Bird will 2HKO both Spiritomb and Rotom that don't invest heavily in Defense, as well as OHKO Mismagius. Protect is a great move if you decide to use Swellow as a lead. It allows you to activate Guts without any risk and scout with a more powerful U-turn. Quick Attack, however, hits faster Pokemon, such as Electrode or a Choice Scarf Pokemon, and allows Swellow to revenge kill and activate Guts in one fell swoop; killing two birds with one stone so to speak. Pursuit will allow you to hit fleeing Mismagius, Rotom, and Chansey.</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 stats and maximize its ability to sweep.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>This set is perfect for destroying teams late-game and taking care of the more fragile Pokemon in UU, but it is completely walled by Steel- and Rock-types. Swellow works great alongside Magneton, who can come in on Rock-, Electric-, and Ice-type attacks and trap Steel-types. Fire-types like Blaziken, Houndoom, Typhlosion, and Magmortar can also force Steel-types out, but be careful not to switch any of the last three into a Rock-type attack aimed at Swellow. Nidoqueen and Nidoking can also scare away Rock-types with their powerful STAB. Defensively, a good partner to take out Rock-types for Swellow is Hitmontop, whose access to Intimidate will enable it to efficiently take the physical attacks directed at Swellow. Hitmontop also has access to Rapid Spin, which helps Swellow by removing Stealth Rock, thus increasing Swellow's survivability. Steel-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 which enables it to come in comfortably on Rock and Electric attacks. Registeel is another option due to the tremendous bulk it has on both sides. Dugtrio is a true blessing for Swellow due to its exclusive ability to trap Rock- and Steel-types. Swellow's U-turn can safely bring in Dugtrio to trap the opponent's Pokemon if used on the switch.</p>

[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Return / Facade
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: U-Turn
move 4: Quick Attack / Pursuit
item: Life Orb
ability: Guts
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[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 Life Orb. Your main STAB options are Return and Facade. If you are sure you can come in on a status attack, then Facade is appealing for its higher power output; however, Return is more reliable and has a relatively high Base Power regardless of whether you manage to switch into status or not. For example, Return OHKOes Manectric after Stealth Rock, 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 Mismagius, Rotom, and Chansey.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>This set is walled by Steel- and Rock-types. Magneton traps Steel-types, while Fighting-types threaten both Steel- and Rock-types, often causing them to switch out. Fire-types can also come in and force Steel-types to switch out. Blaziken is a good candidate because it has access to both STAB Fire- and Fighting-type 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 single sweat.</p>

[Team Options]

<p>Swellow's biggest obstacles when it comes to sweeping are Rock- and Steel-types. Any Pokemon who can easily remove these Pokemon, such as Dugtrio or Milotic, will be Swellow's best friend. A good U-turn partner to pair with Swellow is Primeape. Swellow easily draws out threats such as Aggron and Registeel whom Primeape can easily OHKO with Close Combat. In return, Swellow can absorb any status attacks aimed at Primeape, and threaten the Ghost-types that may switch into Primeape's Close Combat. Swellow works wonders in the late-game when many of the opponent's walls have been weakened. A good way to ensure that they have been softened up is to set up entry hazards such as Stealth Rock and Spikes. Good candidates to set up these entry hazards include Cloyster, Omastar, Uxie, or Qwilfish. Uxie makes another good U-turn partner for Swellow as well, and can even set up dual screens to give Swellow a little more protection against priority attacks. Cloyster and Qwilfish threaten most of the Rock- and Steel-types that wall Swellow and can use Explosion on walls that Swellow would normally only be able to 2HKO, such as Milotic or Weezing.</p>

[Optional Changes]

<p>A SubPassEndeavor set consisting of Substitute / Baton Pass / Endeavor / Return can be used, with a pinch Berry of your choice, but this set leaves Swellow utterly exposed to priority moves, and with Return as its only attacking option, Swellow has little hope against Rock- , Ghost-, or Steel-types. Sleep Talk is an option to absorb sleep, but Facade does not get the boost it does from other status conditions, so Return is a more reliable move in this case. Steel Wing is another option to hit Rock-types, but it is too feeble to dent even the least defensive of Rock-types in UU. Roost can be used to replenish health, but Swellow will find little opportunity to use it with its low defensive stats, and will likely lose too much health from Stealth Rock, status, and Brave Bird recoil to make it useful.</p>

[Counters]

<p>As stated in the additional comments section for both sets, Swellow is walled by most Rock- and Steel-types. Aggron, Probopass, Steelix, Rhyperior, Relicanth, and Registeel are all good examples of counters. Ghost-types can come in on Normal-type attacks, 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>

 

[bugmaniacbob]

AAAAAAAAAAAH I DIDN'T SEE THE QUALITY CONTROL TAG

...meh, whatever. I'll finish this now, minus the SPE set, and add the stamp once it passes the quality control stage.

REMOVE
ADD
COMMENT

Swellow (Analysis)

[OVERVIEW]

<p>Swellow is a struggle to use early game 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. [This doesn't really work as a first sentence... most times, the first sentence of the overview should be a really general run-over of Swellow's positive points, so as to avoid throwing off the reader - starting on a negative is really disorientating.] The amazing Speed it has should not be taken as a joke lightly because it enables Swellow to become becomes an excellent sweeper late game late-game, since it can outrun just about everything in UU unboosted. With STAB Facade and Brave Bird added to the mix and high Speed, Swellow is an immediate threat one of the premier threats to watch out for in UU. Swellow's movepool is very limited but being able to hit hard and fast with what it has an excellent sweeper late game makes up for that.</p>

[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,(comma) Guts. Swellow is a fearsome sweeper late game late-game, with excellent Speed and access to strong STAB attacks. Thanks to Toxic Orb, Facade with has 140 Base Power, and is a great move when paired with the ability Guts, while Brave Bird allows you to hit the Ghost-types that Facade can't hit cannot. 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 without any risk 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 Pokemon. Pursuit will allow you to hit fleeing Mimagius, Rotom, and Chansey.</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>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>This set is perfect for destroying Pokemon late game 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 Rock-, Electric-, and Ice-type attacks 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 Rock-type attack aimed at Swellow. Nidoqueen and Nidoking can also come in to scare away Rock-types. Defensively, a good pairing with partner to 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 by removing 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 most attacks directed at Swellow. Perfect candidates for this job would be would be Steelix and Registeel [Registeel isn't a Ground-type... do you want to say Steel-types above?]. 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 on both sides.</p>

<p>Dugtrio is a true blessing for Swellow due to its exclusive ability to trap Rock- and Steel-types. Swellow's U-turn can come in handy, as it can safely bring in Dugtrio to trap the opponent's Pokemon if used on the switch. While Dugtrio won't OHKO every single Rock- and Steel-type, this is where Spikes and Stealth Rock support will come in handy for the former two.</p>

[SET]
name: Choice Band
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 If you are sure you can come in on a status attack, Facade is more appealing for its higher power output; however, Return is more reliable and has a relatively high Base Power regardless of whether you manage to switch into status or not. 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 Mismagius, Rotom, and Chansey.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>This set is walled by Steel Steel- and Rock-types. Magneton traps Steel-types, while Fighting-types threaten both Steel- and Rock-types, oftentimes often causing them to switch out. Fire-types can also come in and force Steel- and Rock-types to switch out [Fire-types force Rock-types out? Really?]. Blaziken is a good candidate to force out both Registeel and Regirock because it has access to both STAB Fire and Fighting Fire- and Fighting-type 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 single sweat.</p>

[IGNORING THE FOLLOWING SET UNTIL IT PASSES QC]

[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>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<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 arbitrarily on Steelix because you can't take it out in one hit, therefore grab the kill when its HP significantly low.</p>

[Team Options]

<p>Swellow is a magnificent late game 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,(comma) Guts, making it a capable status absorber. Swellow is a good status absorber because of the ability Guts, it also threatens fragile sweepers due to its excellent Speed stat, and will usually force them to switch out, making it useful as a revenge killer due to Swellow's magnificent Speed. Swellow's sweeping capabilities can be helped with entry hazards, which can turn many of Swellow's 2HKOes 2HKOs into OHKOes OHKOs. Swellow helps you scare away the most many common threats, such as today which are Alakazam, Mismagius, and Venusaur , and many more. Swellow has a base Speed stat of 125 and it can take full advantage of it by outspeeding these common threats, which will usually force them to switch out. U-turn will hit Alakazam for super effective damage in case they switch out to an appropriate counter for Swellow [This sentence makes literally no sense whatsoever, if Alakazam switches out it will not be hit by U-turn so the fact that it is super effective is irrelevant.]. Swellow can come in on a Shadow Ball, Nasty Plot, or Will-O-Wisp from Mismagius and will most likely force Mismagius it to switch out because Brave Bird will OHKO Mismagius. One physical wall that Swellow doesn't mind switching into is Spiritomb. Swellow can come in on Will-O-Wisp and is immune to Spiritomb's Ghost Ghost-type attacks. Swellow can switch in on Alakazam as it Calm Minds and Venusaur’s Sleep Powder assuming its Orb has activated, and 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.</p>

[I don't really see the relevance of any of this to Team Options - in fact most of this is utterly irrelevant. Please either move or delete.]

<p>A common strategy for using Swellow in a middle of the match is to utilize U-turn to scout out for incoming Steel 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 from the match. Both Nidoking and Blaziken can frighten opposing Rock- and Steel-types and can force them to switch out. Swellow will serve a better purpose as a late-game cleaner once its counters are removed.</p>

[Optional Changes]

<p>Sleep Talk is an option to absorb status but Facade does not get the boost so Return is a more reliable move alongside it. 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 least defensive of Rock-types in OU. 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>

[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 Normal-type 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>

 

[Oglemi]

OH NOES!

Thanks buggy, changes made. (Just as a side note, I didn't write this, franky did, so all of the stupid mistakes go to him, ;P)

EDIT: I fixed the Overview too.

 

[YaM]

Personally, I feel Quick Attack should be the primary option over Protect on the Guts set. It helps against other priority which Swellow does not enjoy.

oh, and here's heysup's QC comments

HeYsUp's Round 3 QC Assignments: Swellow
http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73525

Guts Activation:

Pre-test: Well not only does this need an update in the worst way, but it also has the slashes fucked up. Quick Attack is a must, Protect can be mentioned, and Pursuit deserves to be slashed next to Brave Bird imo.
Post-test: Yep.

Choice Bander:

Pre-test: Going to test this. Regardless of weather or not I can switch into status often, I think a Life Orb set would be better. Which brings me to...
Post-test: Life Orb was better.

Life Orb:

Pre-test: Going to test this set out and probably replace the CBer with it. If switching into status is as easy as I think, this should be fine.
Post-test: Works pretty good. U-turn / Frustration / Brave Bird / Quick Attack. I even ran Hidden Power Water to nail Aggron and Rhyperior, but that was a little gimmicky.

SubPassEndeavor:

Pre-test: Sounds like a big gimmick. Will test.
Post-test: It worked like once out of 10 matches. Remove.

Testing:
- Choice Band vs Life Orb - Life Orb is effective. CB isn't.
- SubPassEndeavor - remove.

 

[Oglemi]

Ahh, thanks for finding that YaM, I guess I'll make the changes accordingly. I remember reading that now that you brought it up too, lol.

EDIT: Fixed Team Options section too.

 

[Bluewind]

I see nothing wrong, so:

 

[Oglemi]

Thanks Bluewind! One down, one to go.

 

[Folgorio]

eh me and a couple of other guys think that Brave bird is too important to be slashed in with pursuit so slashing it with quick attack and/or u-turn for stuff like mismagius+spiritomb+tangrowth etc. is probably a better idea. But besides that everything else is fine

 

[Oglemi]

Yeah, I kind of thought the same thing, so I'll slash Pursuit with... U-turn. I guess. *shrugs*

Anyway, thanks folgorio!

 

[bugmaniacbob]

I guess this passes the Quality Control stage now.

Most of the analysis is the same, the new sentences I gave a quick check to and didn't find anything sticking out. One last nitpick:

Pursuit will allow you to hit fleeing Mimagius Mismagius, Rotom, and Chansey...

 

[Oglemi]

Nitpick picked. Thanks bmb!

 

[Aeron Ee1]

Proofread everything but the Life Orb set, completely rewrote some sentences I found awkward.:
Additions in blue
Removals in red
Comments in green

Overview

[OVERVIEW]

<p>Swellow is fast. Really fast; but it . However, Swellow is a struggle to use early-game because Steel- and Rock-types can easily force it you to switch (you should only be used to refer to the battler, not the Pokemon) out, and if the opponent has Stealth Rock, its your HP can dwindle quite quickly, rendering it Swellow ineffective. It's not all bad news though, the amazing Speed it has enables Swellow to become an excellent sweeper late-game, when its checks are weakened, since it can outrun just about everything in UU unboosted. With STAB 140 base power Facade and Brave Bird added to the mix, Swellow becomes is one of the premier threats in UU. Though Swellow's movepool is very limited, but being able to hit fast and hard with what it has more than makes up for that.</p>

Guts Activation

[SET]
name: Guts Activation
move 1: Facade
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: U-turn / Pursuit
move 4: Quick Attack / Protect (you seem to recommend Protect in your set comments, so either swap these, or edit the comments)
item: Toxic Orb / Flame Orb
ability: Guts
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This set is designed to takes advantage of Swellow's ability, Guts. Swellow is a fearsome sweeper late-game, with excellent Speed and access to strong STAB attacks. Thanks to Toxic Orb, Facade has 140 Base Power, and is a great move when paired with the ability Guts, while Brave Bird allows you to hit the Ghost-types that Facade cannot. Brave Bird will 2HKO both Spiritomb and Rotom that don't invest heavily in Defense, and as well as OHKO Mismagius. Protect is a great move if you decide to use Swellow as a lead. It allows you to activate Guts without any risk and scout out with a more powerful U-turn for extra damage. Quick Attack can be used to hit faster Pokemon, such as Electrode or a Choice Scarf Pokemon. Pursuit will allow you to hit fleeing Mismagius, Rotom, and Chansey.</p>

<p>Toxic Orb does equal or less damage to Swellow for the first three two turns it is out, but after that, Flame Orb becomes the better choice. 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 EVs are in spread is a simple spread to take advantage of Swellow's highest base stats and maximize its ability to sweep.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>This set is perfect for destroying teams Pokemon late-game, and also taking care of the slower, more fragile Pokemon in UU, but it is completely walled by Steel- and Rock-types. Swellow works great alongside Magneton, who can come in on Rock-, Electric-, and Ice-type attacks aimed at Swellow, 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. (not magneton's analysis =]) 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-type attack aimed at Swellow. Nidoqueen and Nidoking can also come in to scare away Rock-types with their powerful STAB. Defensively, a good partner to Swellow that also to takes out Rock-types is Hitmontop, whose access to Intimidate will enable it to efficiently take physical attacks directed at Swellow. Hitmontop also has access to Rapid Spin, which helps Swellow by removing Stealth Rock, increasing Swellow's survivability which can add up alongside status coming from its held item and recoil damage coming from Brave Bird. Steel-types in general can come in on attacks directed at Swellow. Perfect candidates for this job would be would be Steelix and Registeel. Steelix's has a great typing, and excellent physical defenses allow it to come in comfortably on attacks directed at Swellow. Registeel does the same, but with is another option due to the tremendous bulk it has on both sides.</p>

<p>Dugtrio is a true blessing for Swellow due to its exclusive ability to trap both Rock- and Steel-types. Swellow's U-turn can come in handy to , as it can safely bring in Dugtrio to trap the opponent's Pokemon if used on the switch. While Dugtrio won't OHKO every single Rock- and Steel-type, his general utility can't be denied, and entry hazard support is always a good option this is where Spikes and Stealth Rock support will come in handy.</p>

Other schtuff

[Team Options]

<p>Swellow's biggest obstacles, when it comes to sweeping, are Rock- and Steel-types. A, and any Pokemon who can easily remove check or eliminate them would se Pokemon, such as Dugtrio or Milotic, will be Swellow's best friend. Excellent examples of such Pokemon being those like Dugtrio or Milotic. A good U-turn partner to pair up with Swellow can also prove beneficial, and is Primeape is an excellent one, easily OHKOing many of the Steel- and Rock-types that Swellow has trouble with with his STAB Close Combat. Swellow easily draws out threats such as Aggron and Registeel whom Primeape can easily OHKO with Close Combat. In return, Swellow can absorb any status attacks aimed at Primeape, and can threaten the Ghost-types that may switch into Primeape's Close Combat. Swellow works wonders in the late-game when many of the opponent's walls have been weakened. A good way to ensure that they your opponent's walls have been, softened up is to set up entry hazards such as Stealth Rock and Spikes. Good candidates to set up these entry hazards include Cloyster, Omastar, Uxie, or Qwilfish. Uxie makes another good U-turn partner for Swellow as well, and can even set up dual screens to give Swellow a little more protection against priority attacks. Cloyster and Qwilfish threaten most of the Rock- and Steel-types that wall Swellow, and can use Explosion on walls that Swellow would normally only 2HKO, such as Milotic or Weezing.</p>

[Optional Changes]

<p>A SubPassEndeavor set can be used, consisting of Substitute / Baton Pass / Endeavor / Return, with a pinch Berry of your choice, but this set leaves Swellow utterly exposed to priority moves, and with Return as its the only attacking option, Swellow has little hope against Rock- , Ghost-, or Steel-types. Sleep Talk is an option to absorb sleep, but Facade does not get the boost it does from other status conditions, so Return is a more reliable move alongside it. Steel Wing is another option to hit Rock-types but it is too feeble to dent even the least defensive of Rock-types in UU. Roost is also another option to replenish health, but Swellow will find little opportunity to use it with its low defensive stats most likely lose too much health from Stealth Rock, status, and Brave Bird recoil to make it useful.</p> (that's not the problem with Roost.. O_o)

[Counters]

<p>As stated in both sets, Swellow is walled by most Rock- or Steel-types. Aggron, Probopass, Steelix, Rhyperior, Relicanth, and Registeel are all good examples of counters. Ghost-types can come in on Normal-type attacks, but switching into Brave Bird will 2hko all of them, even Rotom who resists itOHKO most of them (Rotom is 2HKOed, despite resisting Flying-type attacks). Finally, many priority moves will come close to OHKO-ing Swellow, and with a little residual damage, will always do so Priority moves combined with residual damage can often lead to a KO thanks to Swellow's poor defenses.</p>

After-Edits

EDIT: Okie dokie, I make lots of unnecessary changes. Glad I could help. Also, thanks for reminding me about that. So many PokeGrammar rules >_> can't remember them all. T_T

EDIT2:

Swellow is becomes one of the premier threats in UU

This looks familiar..

 

[Oglemi]

Thanks Aeron, I made a number of your changes, but there were a lot that I didn't agree with. Just be careful with some pokegrammar stuff like: Base Power is always capitalized, 2HKO is capitalized, and OHKOing is one word and no hyphen. Thanks for pointing out the comment on Roost and Quick Attack though!

As a side note, more to myself than anyone else, I fixed the spacing errors too.

edit: <woot> post 333.

 

[Banedon]

I don't know if this is worth pointing out, but it caught my eye - Registeel's standard tank set (on the analysis page) cannot do anything to Swellow except Seismic Toss.

Now Swellow normally has 261 HP, so Seismic Toss does 100/261 * 100% = 38.3%. Add 12% damage from Flame Orb and you get 50.3%, which is almost exactly the amount of healing you get if you Roost every turn. Therefore, if you also have some HP investment, you might be able to score a net gain of health every turn. If this works, Swellow would beat one of its worst foes, which is especially significant since Registeel is by far the most common Swellow counter.

I can see two major problems with this, however:

1. Seismic Toss has twice as much PP as Roost (probably most important).
2. Swellow can't gain HP fast enough to attack consistently, which is really bad because Registeel will be holding Leftovers. Given that Jolly Swellow Guts boosted Facade does 24.7% - 29.1% to 252/4 Registeel, this means that you need to attack once every four turns just to negate Leftovers recovery. Going Adamant helps a little (now Facade does 27.2% - 32.1%), but even so I highly doubt Swellow can KO Registeel before it runs out of Roost PP.

On the other hand if you can somehow remove Registeel's Leftovers, for example by burning it or Tricking it something, you might be able to squeeze a win. I haven't analyzed this in detail, but perhaps a solution here exists. Of course against other Swellow counters like Omastar, Regirock and Steelix, Roost is beyond hopeless ... so it's a very niche-based counter at best, and a completely useless one at worst. Still, just throwing the idea out there.

 

[Fatecrashers]

why do birds
suddenly appear
every time
you are near

GP CHECK 2/2

delete
add

Hide

[OVERVIEW]

<p>Swellow is fast. Really fast. However, Swellow is a struggle to use early-game because Steel- and Rock-types can easily force it out, and if the opponent has Stealth Rock, then Swellow's HP can dwindle quite quickly, rendering it ineffective. It's not all bad news though, the amazing Speed it has enables Swellow to become an excellent sweeper late-game, since it can outrun just about everything in UU unboosted. With STAB 140 Base Power Facade and Brave Bird added to the mix, Swellow is becomes one of the premier threats in UU. Though Swellow's movepool is very limited, being able this is more than made up for by its capability to hit fast and hard and fast with what it has more than makes up for that.</p>

[SET]
name: Guts Activation
move 1: Facade
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: U-turn / Pursuit
move 4: Quick Attack / Protect
item: Toxic Orb / Flame Orb
ability: Guts
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[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. Thanks to Toxic Orb, Facade has 140 Base Power, and is a great move when paired with the ability Guts, while Brave Bird allows you to hit the Ghost-types that Facade cannot. Brave Bird will 2HKO both Spiritomb and Rotom that don't invest heavily in Defense, as well as OHKO Mismagius. Protect is a great move if you decide to use Swellow as a lead. It allows you to activate Guts without any risk and scout out with a more powerful U-turn for extra damage. Quick Attack, however, hits faster Pokemon, such as Electrode or a Choice Scarf Pokemon, and allows Swellow to revenge kill Pokemon and activate Guts in one fell swoop; killing two birds with one stone so to speak. Pursuit will allow you to hit fleeing Mismagius, Rotom, and Chansey.</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 stats and maximize its ability to sweep.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>This set is perfect for destroying teams late-game and taking care of the more fragile Pokemon in UU, but it is completely walled by Steel- and Rock-types. Swellow works great alongside Magneton, who can come in on Rock-, Electric-, and Ice-type attacks and trap Steel-types. 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 Rock-type attack aimed at Swellow. Nidoqueen and Nidoking can also scare away Rock-types with their powerful Ground STAB. Defensively, a good partner to Swellow to take out Rock-types for Swellow is Hitmontop, whose access to Intimidate will enable it to efficiently take the physical attacks directed at Swellow. Hitmontop also has access to Rapid Spin, which helps Swellow by removing Stealth Rock, thus increasing Swellow's survivability. Steel-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 which enables it to come in comfortably on Rock and Electric attacks attacks directed at Swellow. Registeel is another option due to the tremendous bulk it has on both sides. Dugtrio is a true blessing for Swellow due to its exclusive ability to trap Rock- and Steel-types. Swellow's U-turn can come in handy to safely bring in Dugtrio to trap the opponent's Pokemon if used on the switch.</p>

[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Return / Facade
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: U-Turn
move 4: Quick Attack / Pursuit
item: Life Orb
ability: Guts
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[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 Life Orb. Your main STAB options are Return and Facade. If you are sure you can come in on a status attack, then Facade is appealing for its higher power output; however, Return is more reliable and has a relatively high Base Power regardless of whether you manage to switch into status or not. For example, Return OHKOes Manectric after with Stealth Rock, 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 Mismagius, Rotom, and Chansey.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>This set is walled by Steel- and Rock-types. Magneton traps Steel-types, while Fighting-types threaten both Steel- and Rock-types, often causing them to switch out. Fire-types can also come in and force Steel-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-type 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 single sweat.</p>

[Team Options]

<p>Swellow's biggest obstacles when it comes to sweeping are Rock- and Steel-types. Any Pokemon who can easily remove these Pokemon, such as Dugtrio or Milotic, will be Swellow's best friend. A good U-turn partner to pair with Swellow is Primeape. Swellow easily draws out threats such as Aggron and Registeel whom Primeape can easily OHKO with Close Combat. In return, Swellow can absorb any status attacks aimed at Primeape, and threaten the Ghost-types that may switch into Primeape's Close Combat. Swellow works wonders in the late-game when many of the opponent's walls have been weakened. A good way to ensure that they have been softened up is to set up entry hazards such as Stealth Rock and Spikes. Good candidates to set up these entry hazards include Cloyster, Omastar, Uxie, or Qwilfish. Uxie makes another good U-turn partner for Swellow as well, and can even set up dual screens to give Swellow a little more protection against priority attacks. Cloyster and Qwilfish threaten most of the Rock- and Steel-types that wall Swellow and can use Explosion on walls that Swellow would normally only be able to 2HKO, such as Milotic or Weezing.</p>

[Optional Changes]

<p>A SubPassEndeavor set can be used consisting of Substitute / Baton Pass / Endeavor / Return can be used, with a pinch Berry of your choice, but this set leaves Swellow utterly exposed to priority moves, and with Return as its only attacking option, Swellow has little hope against Rock- , Ghost-, or Steel-types. Sleep Talk is an option to absorb sleep, but Facade does not get the boost it does from other status conditions, so Return is a more reliable move in this case alongside it. Steel Wing is another option to hit Rock-types, but it is too feeble to dent even the least defensive of Rock-types in UU. Roost is also another option can be used to replenish health, but Swellow will find little opportunity to use it with its low defensive stats, and will likely lose too much health from Stealth Rock, status, and Brave Bird recoil to make it useful.</p>

[Counters]

<p>As stated in the additional comments for both sets, Swellow is walled by most Rock- and or Steel-types. Aggron, Probopass, Steelix, Rhyperior, Relicanth, and Registeel are all good examples of counters. Ghost-types can come in on Normal-type attacks, 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>

done

 

[Oglemi]

@ Banedon - Hmm, that seems more like something that I would have added in the days before conciseness if anything. It is pretty situational, but it does allow Swellow to theoretically defeat one of its biggest counters. I think if you found a way to write it and then submitted it to the Subjective changes thread, they would add it. But, imo, it seems too situational to be worth mentioning.

@ Fate - Changes made!

This bird has officially flown the coop.

 

[Rising_Dusk]

This stupid bird can't be any good deleting this topi-- Oh, I mean, uploading.

EDIT: This is now uploaded, but take note that I had to add a lot to the counters section because the content was severely lacking. Please be careful with that in the future.