Swinub Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Stealth Rock breaks enemies' Sturdy and Focus Sashes, which helps sweepers. Ice Shard is a good priority move to use when Endeavor is not appropriate. Earthquake is Swinub's strongest STAB move and can be used if Swinub has not yet had its Sash broken. Endeavor is used when Swinub is down to 1 HP and it outspeeds its opponent. Set Details The given EV spread and nature maximize Swinub's Speed and Attack. Oblivious prevents Swinub's from being Taunted, and therefore not being able to set up Stealth Rock. Focus Sash ensures that Stealth Rock will be set unless the foe has Fake Out or a multi-hit move. Usage Tips When Swinub has only 1 HP left, use Endeavor if it is faster than its opponent. Use Ice Shard otherwise. After setting up Stealth Rock, Earthquake should be utilized in most situations, as it is Swinub's strongest attack. Swinub is a lead with Stealth Rock and should be setting it up as soon as possible. If the opposing Pokemon has Fake Out or a multi-hit move, such as Aipom or Dwebble, do not try and set up Stealth Rock, as Swinub's sash will be broken. Team Options Swinub works well with a spinblocker such as Pumpkaboo. Pawniard appreciates being Defogged and discourages the use of Defog thanks to its ability, Defiant. Setup sweepers such as Scraggy or Tirtouga appreciate Stealth Rock's ability to break Sturdy and Focus Sashes.

This set makes the best use of what Swinub has to offer. Earthquake gets STAB, and Swinub can spam it thanks to its great coverage and high base power. Superpower is amazing coverage to hit Ferroseed and is a good option over Icicle Spear now that it became legal. Icicle Spear is still a good powerful STAB to be using when facing Subs or just getting more power on attacks than with Ice Shard. Icicle Shard is great for picking off sweepers and any faster Pokemon that survives one of Swinub's first moves. Stealth Rock is on the set as Swinub can set it up easily, since Swinub causes many switches. Using Life Orb ties up the set by boosting Swinub's offensive prowess to sky high levels. Snow Cloak is the preferred ability when using Swinub. As such, Snover pairs well with Swinub, as Swinub's Grass-type weakness is covered by Snover. Snover brings out the permanent hail that will kick Swinub's ability into use. Jolly is generally the preferred nature for the extra speed to speed tie with the common benchmark of 15 Speed, although Adamant is a suitable alternative considering Swinub's low Attack. Rock Slide can be used as a filler move, but it won't see much use otherwise. Icicle Crash can be used over Icicle Spear for more consistent damage, although low accuracy and inability to break Substitutes aren't helpful.

With a movepool just right for leading, Swinub can fend off most leads while setting up Stealth Rock. Protect prevents Fake Out leads such as Meowth and Aipom from breaking Swinub's Focus Sash. Ice Shard allows Swinub to pick off several Pokemon, most notably leads that have activated their Focus Sash. Stealth Rock should be set up as soon as possible so that it can take effect right off the bat. Earthquake is Swinub's primary STAB attack, which can deal immerse damage to most leads. Since the combination of Earthquake and Ice Shard KOes Meowth but not Aipom, Superpower can be used in Earthquake's place for the KO on Aipom; Superpower is also able to dent Bronzor. Focus Sash guarantees that you will set up Stealth Rock, as well as granting another turn to use Ice Shard. The given EVs maximize Swinub's Attack and Speed stats, while increasing Swinub's bulk. There are several leads that can easily take down Swinub, such as Machop and Drifloon. Machop can smack Swinub with a super effective Dynamic Punch, which also causes Swinub to only have a 50% chance of moving, due to the confusion effect. Drifloon can survive Ice Shard while denting Swinub back with Shadow Ball; it can then finish Swinub off with Sucker Punch, which out-prioritizes Ice Shard. Pokemon like Duskull, Slowpoke, and Munchlax can easily eliminate those leads. Duskull is immune to Fighting and can burn Machop with Will-O-Wisp, Slowpoke has a Fighting-type resistance and can OHKO Machop with Zen Headbutt, and Munchlax has great special bulk to take on Drifloon with and Pursuit to remove the balloon.