[DI-X: PRP] [ARTICLE] [GEN3OU] Swampert

[Guest TheGamer777]

Swampert:

Typing: Water/Ground

Swampert has fairly solid stats all around, with speed being its weakest attribute. In Gen 3 OU Swampert typically filled the position of a tank or wall, or to put it simply, he was one of the more common bulky water types in the meta. The most important thing Swampert had going for it is that it resisted a lot of common sweepers in the tier, and it was also immune to sandstorm, so unlike Suicune it could actually get recovery from Leftovers in the sand. Due to these two advantages Swampert is one of the best tanks in the meta.

Swampert sets tend to run rather similarly, but they can have some variability.

Common moves on Swampert include:

Ice Beam: Allows Swampert to check common threats like Salamence, Flygon, Aerodactyl, Claydol, and Dugtrio. It can also chunk Celebi on a switch in.

Earthquake: Lets Swampert hit many Electric types such as Raikou, Jolteon, Magneton, and also hits Metagross and Tyranitar for Super Effective damage.

Roar: Allows Swampert to phase out Pokemon like Calm Mind Suicune or Ddance Tyranitar, and also to force out the opponents Pokemon and inflict spikes damage on them.

Protect: Standard stuff, the extra turn of leftovers, and potential sandstorm damage can be life saving, plus it can help you scout out your opponents attacks, most notably what hidden power they have.

Surf/Hydro Pump: Provides Swampert with a powerful stab type move that can hit Aerodactyl, Claydol, Dugtrio, and Tyranitar for super effective damage. It also allows Swampert to hit some Steel type Pokemon like Skarmory more effectively as well as Gengar.

Toxic: Can be very effective for stalling out other walls such as Milotic, Regice, Suicune, Snorlax, Blissey, and of course other Swamperts.

Rest/Talk: Like many Pokemon in Gen 3 rest talk is an option for Swampert, as it provides decent recovery, and in combination with moves like EQ and Ice beam it still allows Swampert to tank as well as hit most of the metagame for at least neutral damage.

It is worth noting that whilst these are the most common moves, Swampert does have some other options, for example it gets access to Rock Slide, Hidden Power (Bug), Curse, Substitute, and several powerful Normal type attacks. You could also run Banded Swampert if you really want to surprise your opponent, but it is notably weaker than the bulky Swampert variants, and lacks the sustain that recover grants it, which can allow it to be taken out by Pokemon like Tyranitar.

Some Offensive Calcs:

Spoiler

0 Atk Swampert Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tyranitar: 219-258 (64.2 - 75.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

120 SpA Swampert Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Salamence: 333-392 (100.6 - 118.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

40 SpA Swampert Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Flygon: 302-356 (100.3 - 118.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

40 Atk Swampert Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dugtrio: 211-249 (100 - 118%) -- guaranteed OHKO

0 SpA Swampert Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Aerodactyl: 153-180 (50.8 - 59.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0 Atk Swampert Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Magneton: 493-580 (204.5 - 240.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

80 Atk Swampert Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Raikou: 321-378 (100 - 117.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Some Defensive Calcs:

Spoiler

252+ SpA Celebi Giga Drain vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Swampert: 309-364 (76.4 - 90%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+1 252+ Atk Tyranitar Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Swampert: 200-236 (49.5 - 58.4%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO

+1 252+ Atk Tyranitar Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Swampert: 155-183 (38.3 - 45.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

+1 252+ Atk Salamence Hidden Power Flying vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Swampert: 212-250 (52.4 - 61.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+1 252+ Atk Salamence Hidden Power Flying vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Swampert: 164-193 (40.5 - 47.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ SpA Raikou Hidden Power Grass vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Swampert: 265-312 (65.5 - 77.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Raikou Hidden Power Grass vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Swampert: 340-400 (84.1 - 99%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Jolteon Hidden Power Grass vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Swampert: 329-388 (81.4 - 96%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Ludicolo Giga Drain vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Swampert: 370-436 (91.5 - 107.9%) -- 50% chance to OHKO

252+ SpA Gengar Giga Drain vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Swampert: 316-372 (78.2 - 92%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

As you can see Swampert can take a lot of different hits from a lot of different threats, and depending on how it’s built it can even survive certain grass attacks. It can also hit quite a number of Pokemon fairly hard, even if it can’t OHKO them, it can usually take enough hits to take them out, and it can even threaten some pokemon with an OHKO.

General Strong Match Ups: Tyranitar, Salamence, Flygon, Claydol, Dugtrio, Aerodactyl, Jolteon, Magneton, Raikou, Metagross

General Counters: Celebi, Gengar, and it can also get countered by powerful Pokemon with HP Grass such as Zapdos, Raikou, Jirachi, and Special Tyranitar.

General Checks: Bulky Water types, Forretress, Skarmory, Snorlax, Regice, and Blissey

Sets:

It is worth noting that whilst a Special Wall Swampert is possible, and while it can tank quite a number of special attacks well, physical wall variants of Swampert are generally better. This is due in part to the fact that better Special Walls exist, such as Blissey, Regice, and Snorlax, but also in part due to the fact that even with Sp. Def investments most grass attacks will still 2 hit kill, and generally speaking you want your wall to be able to take several hits. Another reason in that Swampert is a better check to a lot of Physical threats, but not really a lot of Special ones.

Swampert @ Leftovers

Ability: Torrent

EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SpD

Relaxed Nature

- Earthquake

- Ice Beam

- Protect

- Toxic/Surf/Hydro Pump/Roar

Strengths: Metagross, Tyranitar, Jirachi, Salamence, Flygon, Dugtrio, Raikou, Jolteon, Magneton, Claydol, Aerodactyl

Weaknesses: Celebi, Zapdos, Variable (Depending on what two moves you take in the last two slots)

Explanation: EQ and Ice Beam give Swampert great coverage and let it hit most of the OU metagame, not to mention doing considerable damage, if not outright killing several prominent threats. Toxic helps give Swampert a better matchup against other bulkier Water types and walls, but rest variants for Pokemon such as Snorlax, Suicune, and Regice still pose problems for Swampert, and Blissey with the right EV’s can also effectively wall Swampert, whilst also having Natural Cure allowing it brush off toxic as well. Surf or Hydro Pump allows Swampert to hit Skarmory, Forretress, and Gengar for good damage (And potentially even kill if it’s in torrent range). Roar allows it to stop things from setting up in its face. Protect provides extra leftovers recovery, but it can also be traded out in favor of another move. Its most notable weak matchup is Celebi, Calm Mind Celebi can brush off Ice Beam, and threaten with stab Giga Drain, and even without Calm Mind Celebi can take several hits depending on its EV’s. Gengar can be very threatening if you don’t have Surf/Hydro Pump, Rest/Talk users can out stall Swampert, and HP Grass Zapdos can tank all of Swamperts attacks.

Swampert @ Leftovers

Ability: Torrent

EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SpD

Relaxed Nature

- Earthquake

- Ice Beam

- Rest

- Sleep Talk

Strengths: Metagross, Tyranitar, Jirachi, Salamence, Flygon, Dugtrio, Raikou, Jolteon, Magneton, Claydol, Aerodactyl

Weaknesses: Skarmory, Forretress, Gengar, Celebi, Zapdos, Set Up

Explanation: This set is very similar in concept to the one above it, but the addition of Rest/Talk gives Swampert more sustain so it can actually out sustain Pokemon like Blissey, Regice, and Snorlax, but using Rest/Talk means it can easily get set up on by things like curselax, calm mind Suicune, Ddance Gyarados, or anything else that might have set up and resists ice and ground. Swapping out one of those two attacks might help you cover that weakness, but it’s overall inferior as it fails to hit as many Pokemon for as much damage, and if you replace Sleep Talk then Swampert is even more vulnerable to being set up on.

Good Partners:

Skarmory: Skarmory is a great support for Swampert because it resists grass and also has a good matchup against several things Swampert struggles with, notably Celebi. It also has spikes, which roar variants of Swampert can make good use of.

Tyranitar: Tyranitar can set up the sand to nullify the leftovers of several Pokemon, which Swampert tends to appreciate as it is immune to the sand. The residual damage can also help Swampert secure kills, and not having to depend on your opponent sending out Tyranitar to get the sand going is nice.

Celebi: Celebi itself is a very good support for Swampert as it resists anything that might want to harm Swampert, and it can also switch in against bulky water types that might be giving Swampert a hard time.

Blissey: Blissey is also a good partner for Swampert, firstly these two form a fairly scary defensive core, and the second reason is that Blissey can use Wish to heal Swampert, since Swampert lacks the healing ability several other bulky water types like Vaporeon and Milotic have.

Alternatives:

Swampert falls into the category of Bulky Water Type, and as such it is often held in contention with Pokemon like Milotic, Cloyster, Starmie, and Suicune. The main advantage Swampert has over these Pokemon is its ground typing. This typing allows Swampert to hit a lot of Pokemon with stab EQ’s, and it also allows Swampert to keep its leftover recovery during sandstorm.

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