Strype McClaine
09-20-2009, 10:29 PM
Swalot
http://www.arkeis.com/images/pokemonfactory/swalot.png
Summary:
Most Used Set:
Encore, not only is it Swalot's best way to sneak into formats where he does not truly belong, it also lets him shine in other ways in the lower tiers. Muk is the obvious comparison, and for good reason, but with Encore, he can begin to make his support nitch more and more apparent. Be wary of Encore, Yawn, and likely Ice Beam.
Usual Counters:
In OU, ol Swalot has a tough time dealing with sturdy psychic Pokemon such as Mesprit, Celebi, Cressselia, and even Jirachi. Anything with a good earthquake also poses a threat, Tyranatar, Heatran, and even swampert.
In UU, well, see above. Bulky psychics and good earthquakes can stop the swalot in his tracks. If you run with a poison move in the encore set, steels stop you dead cold. Scyther can come in and eat your lunch. All based on what your attacking moves are.
Types of Teams Pokemon Is Used In:
Swalot is best used as a support defensive pokemon in UU and OU, and thus function in that role in his team. In NU and in the teams of the epic uber leet, he can be a sturdy attacker, and thus, functions in that role even Physical, Special, and mixed forms.
It is however worth talking about it's two abilities, Sticky Hold and Liquid Ooze.
Sticky Hold is by far the superior option (making it immune to switcharoo and knock off, ect), however in the case of Liquid Ooze (Leeching moves cause the enemy to lose HP instead.) can be strong, and effectively kick the rectum of a sub-seeder, so it is not entirely a worthless ability.
In Depth:
http://veekun.com/dex-images/platinum/female/frame2/317.png Encore! Encore!@Leftovers
Ability: Sticky Hold - or – Liquid Ooze
Evs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Nature: Calm / Careful
-Encore
-Yawn
-Pain Split
-Ice Beam / Shadow Ball / Earthquake / Gunk Shot
Straight up his best set period. In the lower sets, you do things muk can't. In higher tiers you can support your team effectively.
The last move, well, is the most important choice on the set. Why? Well, as your one attacking moves, it is the choice that lets you decide what will kill you. Fear steels? Rock earthquake. Fear Dragons? Ice Beam destroys Altaria and even bigger dragons. Shadow Ball ***** up gengar, azelf, and the psychic switch in.
Want to be do more damage? Gunk Shot for STABBB!
http://veekun.com/dex-images/platinum/female/frame2/317.pngSleep Talker@Leftovers
Ability: Sticky Hold - or – Liquid Ooze
Evs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Nature: Calm / Careful
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Ice Beam
- Shadow Ball / Earthquake
Lets face it kids, Pain split is not very reliable at all. So why not lock up two of your moves to have reliable recovery but unreliable attacking? Sounds awesome right? Sure it does. Ice beam kills things, and then you have....another move....to do...things.
http://veekun.com/dex-images/platinum/female/frame2/317.pngSpecial Attacker@Leftovers/Choice Specs
Ability: Sticky Hold
Evs: 252 SpAttk / 144 Def / 112 SpD / 4HP
Nature: Modest
- Sludge Bomb
- Shadow Ball
- Ice Beam
- Yawn \ Water Pulse \ Pain Split \ Wring Out \ Hyper Beam \ Shock Wave
Well now that we are getting into the Choice sets, lets go ahead and talk about the special side. Sludge Bomb is the best stab move it gets, and thankfully, it isn't bad. Ice Beam, as always has solid coverage, and shadow ball is good. Now at the end of the special move pool we have interesting options. If you arnt going choice, why not add in a useful support move. Yawn gets switches. Water pulse has a chance of confuse, Pain Split can be Recovery, Wring out, is an INTERESTING move, when the opponent has max health it is a base 110 power special move, then going down in power as they loose power. Hyper Beam is always a choice for shoop-da-woop action.
Realy, the last slot is filler, and you can do a lot of interesting things WITH that filler, just not great moves.
http://veekun.com/dex-images/platinum/female/frame2/317.pngCyinide@Leftovers/Choice Band
Ability: Sticky Hold
Evs: 252 Attk / 144 Def / 112 SpD / 4HP
Nature: Brave
- Gunk Shot
- Return \ Giga Impact \ Body Slam \ Explosion
- Earthquake
- Ice\Thunder\Fire Punch \ Seed Bomb
Gunk shot again is the best stab you can muster, from there you slide into what ever sort of coverage you want. Giga Impact is for Woop-Da-Shoop ing, earthquake is just good, elemental punches are always good, and you can even slide in a support move or two. This is just a physically tilted set. Just rembember, Swalot's speed is abysmal, so why worry about it. No points into it.
http://veekun.com/dex-images/platinum/female/frame2/317.pngBLOBFISH @Leftovers/Life Orb
Ability: Sticky Hold
Evs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Nature: Quiet / Brave
- Sludge Bomb / Gunk Shot
- Shadow Ball / Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Explosion / Pain Split
If I was about to use a Swalot, I would probably use something like this. It's attacking stats, while very mediocre, are very even, so mix them up a little. Add in a good 4th move like explosion, pain split, or any other number of useful utility move, and the other moves just for attack.
Other Options:
Toxic, Body Slam, Rain Dance/Sunny Day. Solar Beam, shock wave are all cool options.
Perhaps Counter would make an interesting build and set up.
Secret Power is also a cool lesser known option, it works just like a special Body Slam.
An interesting option COULD be Amnesia/Acid Armor (or even stock pile) if you had toxic spike support, and then have nice support stall moves, in which case dynamic punch could then be usable for the 50% to hit and the confuse.
Opinion:
Swalot, has a bad inferiority complex. He looks to muk, and sees something that much much more powerful. When using him, make sure you don't let it be a bad muk. What he can do, however, is attack from both sides of the spectrum and be a fairly well built tank, that just has a very shallow move pool, that has just enough to do something on each side of the attack spectrum, just don't do anything with his speed. Seriously, it is just that bad.
I can add that once again, this is actually a Pokemon based on a real world, what the ****.
http://atblueskies.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/blobfish.jpg
http://www.arkeis.com/images/pokemonfactory/swalot.png
Summary:
Most Used Set:
Encore, not only is it Swalot's best way to sneak into formats where he does not truly belong, it also lets him shine in other ways in the lower tiers. Muk is the obvious comparison, and for good reason, but with Encore, he can begin to make his support nitch more and more apparent. Be wary of Encore, Yawn, and likely Ice Beam.
Usual Counters:
In OU, ol Swalot has a tough time dealing with sturdy psychic Pokemon such as Mesprit, Celebi, Cressselia, and even Jirachi. Anything with a good earthquake also poses a threat, Tyranatar, Heatran, and even swampert.
In UU, well, see above. Bulky psychics and good earthquakes can stop the swalot in his tracks. If you run with a poison move in the encore set, steels stop you dead cold. Scyther can come in and eat your lunch. All based on what your attacking moves are.
Types of Teams Pokemon Is Used In:
Swalot is best used as a support defensive pokemon in UU and OU, and thus function in that role in his team. In NU and in the teams of the epic uber leet, he can be a sturdy attacker, and thus, functions in that role even Physical, Special, and mixed forms.
It is however worth talking about it's two abilities, Sticky Hold and Liquid Ooze.
Sticky Hold is by far the superior option (making it immune to switcharoo and knock off, ect), however in the case of Liquid Ooze (Leeching moves cause the enemy to lose HP instead.) can be strong, and effectively kick the rectum of a sub-seeder, so it is not entirely a worthless ability.
In Depth:
http://veekun.com/dex-images/platinum/female/frame2/317.png Encore! Encore!@Leftovers
Ability: Sticky Hold - or – Liquid Ooze
Evs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Nature: Calm / Careful
-Encore
-Yawn
-Pain Split
-Ice Beam / Shadow Ball / Earthquake / Gunk Shot
Straight up his best set period. In the lower sets, you do things muk can't. In higher tiers you can support your team effectively.
The last move, well, is the most important choice on the set. Why? Well, as your one attacking moves, it is the choice that lets you decide what will kill you. Fear steels? Rock earthquake. Fear Dragons? Ice Beam destroys Altaria and even bigger dragons. Shadow Ball ***** up gengar, azelf, and the psychic switch in.
Want to be do more damage? Gunk Shot for STABBB!
http://veekun.com/dex-images/platinum/female/frame2/317.pngSleep Talker@Leftovers
Ability: Sticky Hold - or – Liquid Ooze
Evs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Nature: Calm / Careful
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Ice Beam
- Shadow Ball / Earthquake
Lets face it kids, Pain split is not very reliable at all. So why not lock up two of your moves to have reliable recovery but unreliable attacking? Sounds awesome right? Sure it does. Ice beam kills things, and then you have....another move....to do...things.
http://veekun.com/dex-images/platinum/female/frame2/317.pngSpecial Attacker@Leftovers/Choice Specs
Ability: Sticky Hold
Evs: 252 SpAttk / 144 Def / 112 SpD / 4HP
Nature: Modest
- Sludge Bomb
- Shadow Ball
- Ice Beam
- Yawn \ Water Pulse \ Pain Split \ Wring Out \ Hyper Beam \ Shock Wave
Well now that we are getting into the Choice sets, lets go ahead and talk about the special side. Sludge Bomb is the best stab move it gets, and thankfully, it isn't bad. Ice Beam, as always has solid coverage, and shadow ball is good. Now at the end of the special move pool we have interesting options. If you arnt going choice, why not add in a useful support move. Yawn gets switches. Water pulse has a chance of confuse, Pain Split can be Recovery, Wring out, is an INTERESTING move, when the opponent has max health it is a base 110 power special move, then going down in power as they loose power. Hyper Beam is always a choice for shoop-da-woop action.
Realy, the last slot is filler, and you can do a lot of interesting things WITH that filler, just not great moves.
http://veekun.com/dex-images/platinum/female/frame2/317.pngCyinide@Leftovers/Choice Band
Ability: Sticky Hold
Evs: 252 Attk / 144 Def / 112 SpD / 4HP
Nature: Brave
- Gunk Shot
- Return \ Giga Impact \ Body Slam \ Explosion
- Earthquake
- Ice\Thunder\Fire Punch \ Seed Bomb
Gunk shot again is the best stab you can muster, from there you slide into what ever sort of coverage you want. Giga Impact is for Woop-Da-Shoop ing, earthquake is just good, elemental punches are always good, and you can even slide in a support move or two. This is just a physically tilted set. Just rembember, Swalot's speed is abysmal, so why worry about it. No points into it.
http://veekun.com/dex-images/platinum/female/frame2/317.pngBLOBFISH @Leftovers/Life Orb
Ability: Sticky Hold
Evs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Nature: Quiet / Brave
- Sludge Bomb / Gunk Shot
- Shadow Ball / Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Explosion / Pain Split
If I was about to use a Swalot, I would probably use something like this. It's attacking stats, while very mediocre, are very even, so mix them up a little. Add in a good 4th move like explosion, pain split, or any other number of useful utility move, and the other moves just for attack.
Other Options:
Toxic, Body Slam, Rain Dance/Sunny Day. Solar Beam, shock wave are all cool options.
Perhaps Counter would make an interesting build and set up.
Secret Power is also a cool lesser known option, it works just like a special Body Slam.
An interesting option COULD be Amnesia/Acid Armor (or even stock pile) if you had toxic spike support, and then have nice support stall moves, in which case dynamic punch could then be usable for the 50% to hit and the confuse.
Opinion:
Swalot, has a bad inferiority complex. He looks to muk, and sees something that much much more powerful. When using him, make sure you don't let it be a bad muk. What he can do, however, is attack from both sides of the spectrum and be a fairly well built tank, that just has a very shallow move pool, that has just enough to do something on each side of the attack spectrum, just don't do anything with his speed. Seriously, it is just that bad.
I can add that once again, this is actually a Pokemon based on a real world, what the ****.
http://atblueskies.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/blobfish.jpg