[OVERVIEW]
Swellow has access to Scrappy Boomburst, and coupled with its incredible Speed and decent Special Attack stat, makes Swellow one of the most troublesome Pokemon for offensive teams to deal with. Swellow also has coverage moves that can hit Pokemon that resist Boomburst and U-turn to give it momentum, allowing it to perform well even against defensive teams. However, Swellow is incredibly frail and is almost always 2HKOed if not OHKOed by most neutral hits. Furthermore, being a Flying-type hinders its ability to spam U-turn when Stealth Rock is on the field.
[SET]
name: Boomburst
move 1: Boomburst
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Heat Wave
move 4: Air Slash
item: Choice Specs
ability: Scrappy
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Boomburst is the premier move for Swellow to use, as it can 2HKO almost all Pokemon in the tier that do not resist it. U-turn is very useful for Swellow, as opponents tend to switch to a Normal-resistant Pokemon when faced with it, allowing it to gain momentum for the team. Heat Wave, despite usually being very weak, is used to hit Escavalier, Bronzong, and Registeel, as they resist Boomburst. Air Slash can be used to KO Kommo-o, which tends to check Swellow by running Soundproof, after a bit of damage and OHKO Virizion. Alternatively, Hidden Power Grass can be used in order to KO Rhyperior after it has been lured in.
Set Details
========
Full Special Attack and Speed investment with a Timid nature maximizes Swellow's ability to break through teams while making it very fast. Choice Specs further complements Swellow's wallbreaking capabilities, and Scrappy allows Swellow to hit Ghost-types such as Doublade, Hoopa, and Dhelmise with its powerful Boomburst.
Usage Tips
========
The main purpose for using Swellow is to be able to use Boomburst as often as possible. Due to this, Swellow can be used both as a wallbreaker and as a late-game cleaner due to its Speed and power. It should be used as a wallbreaker versus teams that have Doublade as the premier Steel-type and no bulky Rock-types like Gigalith and Rhyperior. However, if the opposing team has Normal-type checks, use U-turn in order to pivot out of them and switch to a Pokemon that fares well against those checks. Also, having entry hazards on the opposing field makes it easier for Swellow to wear its checks down, as most of them are grounded.
Team Options
========
Nidoqueen is a fantastic partner for Swellow, as it can beat almost every check to Swellow, mainly Gigalith, Diancie, Rhyperior, Registeel, and Mantine. It can also set up Stealth Rock and has an Electric-type immunity. Heracross is a great partner for Swellow as well, as it can deal with Swellow's checks easily as well as break the opposing team with its Flame Orb set or clean late-game with its Choice Scarf Moxie set. Aside from Heracross, Choice Scarf users such as Flygon, Tyrantrum, and Gardevoir appreciate Swellow weakening the team for them to clean. Zoroark is also a useful teammate, as it can lure Swellow's checks such as Bronzong, Doublade, and Registeel by disguising itself as Swellow.
Defensively, Escavalier and Registeel are good teammates, as they can check Ice Shard users like Mega Glalie and Sneasel. In addition, Chesnaught, Roserade, Dragalge, and Froslass complement Swellow's ability to break teams by providing Spikes and Toxic Spikes support. Finally, Donphan, Cryogonal, Dhelmise, Gligar, and Mantine support Swellow by removing entry hazards, which hamper its potential. Since Swellow benefits from Spikes stacking, having a Rapid Spin user over a Defog user is recommended.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Flame Orb with Guts and Facade is an option, but it is weaker than Choice Specs and has more checks. Life Orb can be used over Choice Specs with Work Up over the last move to punish certain specially defensive Pokemon such as Mantine, Porygon2, and Umbreon. Tailwind or Defog can also be used as the last move on the Choice Specs set, the former allowing Swellow's teammates to be more threatening by doubling their Speed, and the latter providing an emergency removal of hazards should the team's main hazard remover go down.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Rock- and Steel-types**: Gigalith, Rhyperior, Diancie, and Registeel can tank Boombursts and attempt to set up entry hazards or hit Swellow hard with their STAB moves.
**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Mantine, Umbreon, and Snorlax can tank a Boomburst and hit Swellow hard. Mantine has to be careful of not switching into Swellow with Stealth Rock up, as it can then be 2HKOed.
**Choice Scarf Pokemon**: Heracross, Tyrantrum, Gardevoir, and Flygon outspeed Swellow and can KO it, although none of them would like to switch into Boomburst.
**Priority Users**: Zoroark, Honchkrow, Bruxish, Mega Glalie, and Sneasel can KO Swellow with their priority moves, but they cannot switch into Boomburst.
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