Swellow (Gen V Analysis)
- The Swallow Pokémon -
- The Swallow Pokémon -
Normal / Flying
60 HP / 85 ATK / 60 DEF / 50 SATK / 50 SPDEF / 125 SPD
Code:
[LEFT][LEFT][B]Ability 1:[/B] Guts
[/LEFT]
Attack raised by 1 stage when inflicted with burn, paralysis, sleep or poison.[/LEFT]
[LEFT][LEFT][B]Ability 2:[/B] Scrappy (Dream World)
[/LEFT]
Normal- and fighting-type moves can hit ghosts.
[LEFT]
[B]Level up-moves:[/B]
Lv1: Pluck
Lv1: Peck
[/LEFT]
Lv1: Growl
[LEFT]Lv1: Focus Energy
[/LEFT]
[B]Lv1: Quick Attack[/B]
[LEFT]Lv4: Focus Energy
[/LEFT]
[B]Lv8: Quick Attack[/B]
[LEFT]Lv13: Wing Attack
[/LEFT]
Lv19: Double Team
[LEFT][B]Lv28: Endeavor[/B]
[/LEFT]
Lv38: Aerial Ace
[LEFT][B]Lv49: Agility[/B]
[/LEFT]
Lv61: Air Slash
[LEFT]
[B]Egg moves:[/B]
[B]Pursuit[/B]
Supersonic
Refresh
Mirror Move
Rage
Sky Attack
Whirlwind
[B]Brave Bird[/B]
Roost
Steel Wing
[B]TMs/HMs:[/B]
TM06 – Toxic
[/LEFT]
TM10 - Hidden Power
TM11 - Sunny Day
[LEFT]TM15 - Hyper Beam
[/LEFT]
[B]TM17 – Protect[/B]
[LEFT]TM18 - Rain Dance
[/LEFT]
TM21 – Frustration
[LEFT][B]TM27 – Return[/B]
[/LEFT]
TM32 - Double Team
[LEFT]TM40 - Aerial Ace
[/LEFT]
[B]TM42 – Façade[/B]
[LEFT]TM44 – Rest
[/LEFT]
TM45 – Attract
[LEFT]TM46 – Thief
[/LEFT]
TM48 – Troll
[LEFT]TM49 - Echo Voice
[/LEFT]
TM68 - Giga Impact
[LEFT][B]TM83 - Cheer Up[/B]
[/LEFT]
TM87 – Swagger
[LEFT]TM88 – Pluck
[B]TM89 - U-Turn[/B]
[/LEFT]
[B]TM90 – Substitute[/B]
[LEFT]HM02 - Fly
[B]Troll [/B]– Normal / Special / PP: 15 / Power: 60 / Accuracy: 100
[/LEFT]
Raises BP the more pokémon you have with the attack.
[B]Echo Voice[/B] – Normal / Special / PP: 15 / Power: 40 / Accuracy: 100
[LEFT]Power increases each consecutive turn it is used by the Pokemon or its teammates.
[/LEFT]
[B]Cheer Up[/B] – Normal / -- / PP: 30
[LEFT]Raises ATK and SATK by one stage each.[/LEFT]
[/LEFT]+ Guts set – Swellow is notable for its Guts Activation set, combining Guts (activated via a Flame/Toxic Orb) with Façade, which not only gains increased power but also STAB.
+ A Speed stat of 125 – incredible base speed, and the second fastest in Gen IVs UU tier.
+ Good scouting capabilities – with it’s excellent speed, good attack, and access to U-Turn, this is a given.
- Residual damage – due to either poison or burn, an SR weakness, and Brave Bird’s recoil, Swellow racks up residual damage quickly, and will need to watch out if it’s planning on switching in and out or scouting via U-Turn.
- Poor move type coverage – flying, normal, dark, and bug… that’s it. No fighting-type moves; nothing to hit rock or steel types for SE damage, a rather crippling weakness as the two types resist both of Swellow’s STABs.
In Gen IV, Swellow was a powerful late-game sweeper and scout in UU, making use of its decent attack, STAB Façade and Guts in order to become a fearsome opponent. Perhaps the most disappointing thing in Gen V is that Swellow didn’t gain any interesting new offensive moves, not even Close Combat, which would have been a perfect fit. However, the question here is: what has Swellow gained this gen, and how will it fare in the new metagame?
Notable changes:
Scrappy – with Scrappy, a CB Swellow will no longer need to worry about ghosts blocking Return and attempting to stop its sweep.
Cheer Up – the only Attack-boosting move currently availabe to Swellow. It can be used either to allow for it to sweep, or be Baton Passed to another member on the team.
Suggested sets:
Scrappy Choice Band
Swellow @ Choice Band
Ability: Scrappy
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 6 SDef
- Brave Bird
- Return
- U-Turn
- Quick Attack / Pursuit
Swellow @ Choice Band
Ability: Scrappy
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 6 SDef
- Brave Bird
- Return
- U-Turn
- Quick Attack / Pursuit
Mostly unchanged from the Gen IV CB-set, the only change to the moves being that there is no use for Façade with Scrappy. There is no longer any need to fear a ghost switching into a Return, thanks to the new ability. Not much to comment on, unfortunately.
Some calcs vs. Ghosts, for the curious:
Mismagius, 48 HP / 0 Def: 103.7% - 122.3% OHKO
Mismagius, 252 HP / 0 Def: 87.3% - 103.1% OHKO with SR damage (almost always)
Rotom (Elec/Ghost), 0 HP / 0 Def: 96.3% - 113.7% OHKO (with SR damage)
Rotom (Elec/Ghost), 252 HP / 252 Def, Bold: 52.6% - 62.2% 2HKO
Froslass, 0 HP / 0 Def: 89.7% - 105.7% OHKO (with SR damage)
Froslass, 248 HP / 228 Def: 55.4% - 65.6% 2HKO
Drifblim, 12 HP / 252 Def: 53.4% - 62.8% 2HKO
Spiritomb, 252 HP / 252 Def, Bold: 41.8% - 49.7% 2-3HKO with SR damage (note that this is the bulkiest variant)
Gengar, 0 HP / 4 Def: 107.3% - 126.8% OHKO
Gen V Pokémon:
Shanderaa, 0 HP / 0 Def: 78.2% - 92.3% OHKO
Shanderaa, 252 HP / 252 Def, Bold: 44.4% - 52.8% 2HKO with SR damage
Burunkeru, 252 HP / 252 Def, Bold: 41.8% - 49.3% 2-3HKO with SR damage
Goruggo, 252 HP / 252 Def, Bold: 40.8% - 48.2% 2-3HKO with SR damage
Cheer Up Pass
Swellow @ Liechi / Petaya / Starf berry
Ability: Scrappy / Guts
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 6 Sdef
- Cheer Up
- Substitue
- Baton Pass
- Return
Ability: Scrappy / Guts
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 6 Sdef
- Cheer Up
- Substitue
- Baton Pass
- Return
A variant of the old SubPassEndeavor set: cheer up, sub down to where your berry activates, and then Baton Pass. Return is there for some kind of STAB attacking move. A note on the berries: I don’t recommend Salac, as you would be better off passing Agility than Cheer Up in that case. Swellow makes for a nice Baton Passer, due in large part to its excellent speed stat. If you want, you may also attempt a sweep after the boosts. In general, I’d say Scrappy > Guts for this set, as relying on prediction to get burned/poisoned is too risky, and ghosts could end your sweeping attempt.
Following set by DDRMaster:
Following set by DDRMaster:
DDRMaster said:
