Swoobat Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Substitute allows Swoobat to set up on Pokemon Choice-locked into moves that can't break its Substitute or passive Pokemon attempting to afflict it with status conditions. The Choice-locked Pokemon can include Golem, Electivire, and Torterra locked into Earthquake, while passive Pokemon that are vulnerable to Swoobat include Pyukumuku, Bronzor, and Dusclops. Stored Power becomes extremely powerful if Swoobat accrues all the boosts it is aiming to; it reaches 140 Base Power after one Calm Mind and the Salac Berry boost. Heat Wave provides the best coverage alongside Stored Power, as it hits most of the tier's Psychic-resistant Pokemon neutrally and notably hits Bronzor, Pawniard, and Metang super effectively. Set Details Salac Berry gives Swoobat +2 to its Speed thanks to Simple, making it extremely fast and juicing up Stored Power even more. 4 HP EVs allow Swoobat to get into range of its Salac Berry after three uses of Substitute from full health. Usage Tips Swoobat is a very all-or-nothing sweeper; it usually only gets one chance to sweep, and it will achieve very little if the field is not prepared for it. Therefore, heavily weakening or removing checks and counters like Silvally-Dark and Pawniard is highly recommended before sending out Swoobat. Attempt to use Swoobat as a mid-game wallbreaker if a sweep looks unlikely. Using it mid-game can also bait out checks like Kecleon and Silvally-Dark that can be capitalized on by its teammates if you switch intelligently. Deciding when to use Calm Mind or Substitute is key to using Swoobat properly. Calm Mind can be used in the face of some of the tier's weaker special attackers and against slower special attackers that don't run coverage for Swoobat. These can include Servine, Exeggutor, and special Combusken, but you should keep in mind that directly switching into these threats is out of the question. Substitute, on the other hand, can be used on passive Pokemon such as Altaria, Pyukumuku, and Mareanie. Swoobat will often find itself behind a Substitute and unboosted while a faster Pokemon like Choice Scarf Electivire or Choice Scarf Rotom-S is in front of it. If this is the case, continuously use Substitute on the anticipated attacks to get Swoobat into Salac Berry range while behind a Substitute. While Swoobat is pretty weak without a boost, it can use its Speed stat to revenge kill certain weakened threats such as Leafeon, Mawile, and Simisage in an emergency. Team Options Swoobat fits best on hyper offense teams that can wear down the opposition for Swoobat and get it in. Dual screens support is very useful for Swoobat, as the damage reduction gives it many more opportunities to set up and actually allows it to make use of its resistances to an extent. Electrode is a standout option, as it can also get Swoobat in safely via Volt Switch. Other hyper offense staples make for good teammates for Swoobat. Dugtrio, Golem, and Crustle are all good leads; Dugtrio and Golem can potentially give Swoobat a free switch via Memento and Explosion, although this usually won't happen, as Swoobat is usually not seen early-game and these Pokemon are almost always dispatched within the first few turns. Crustle can also set Spikes, chipping down Swoobat's checks even more. Hyper offense sweepers include Rock Polish Torterra, Combusken, and Swords Dance Bibarel. These can help Swoobat out by breaking down checks like Bronzor, Silvally-Dark, and Kecleon, therefore allowing Swoobat to clean up easily. Swoobat can also potentially break down the opposing team early-game by getting rid of Silvally-Fighting, Gourgeist-XL, and Mareanie for them. Directly switching Swoobat in is not recommended, as it needs to be as healthy as possible to start a sweep and even hard resisted hits will do a ton of damage to it. Pivoting it in via U-turn or Volt Switch from the likes of Electrode and Silvally is a good idea. Bringing it in after Dugtrio's Memento or after one of your Pokemon has fainted is another way to do this.

Swoobat works as a great Calm Mind sweeper with its fantastic Speed, solid movepool, and its ability Simple. Stored Power is Swoobat's best Psychic-type STAB move, since it can accrue boosts quickly with Kee Berry + Calm Mind, surpassing Psychic's power after a single Calm Mind. However, Psychic can be used for more immediate damage and to revenge kill weakened or frailer foes like Simisage and Simipour. Signal Beam helps it hit the likes of Krokorok, Bronzor, and Duosion. Roost gives Swoobat a reliable recovery option to ease setting up, whereas Substitute blocks status from Pokemon like Servine, Klang, and Carbink and protects Swoobat from Sucker Punch from the likes of Furfrou and Pignite. Taunt takes on a similar status-blocking role like Substitute, but it has the added benefit of shutting down other utility moves like Calm Mind from Duosion, RestTalk from Klang, and Haze from Dusclops. Kee Berry boosts Stored Power more quickly and works around strong physical attackers like Persian and Pignite, whereas Leftovers helps Swoobat gain some passive recovery while it boosts up against slower attackers or is behind a Substitute. Swoobat works best on hyper offensive teams that are looking for a sweeper. Meowstic is a great support Pokemon alongside Swoobat, with its dual screens giving Swoobat a much easier time at boosting in front of strong foes. Special wallbreakers like Magmar and Simipour help break down walls like Klang, Scraggy, and Dusclops, giving Swoobat an easier job at sweeping. Physical wallbreakers like Pignite, Sawsbuck, and Krokorok can make Swoobat's sweep easier, since they can help chip down threats like Gigalith, Politoed, and Bronzor. Entry hazard removers like Vibrava and Dustox as well as Taunt users like Pignite and Krokorok are vital, since they help Swoobat avoid taking too much chip damage. Hazard setters like Marshtomp, Whirlipede, and Gigalith help ease Swoobat's sweep, letting it hit KO ranges like OHKOing Offensive Stealth Rock Krokorok with +2 Signal Beam after Stealth Rock and a layer of Spikes.

Swoobat sets itself apart as a special wallbreaker and revenge killer with its incredible Speed stat, outpacing other fast Pokemon like Electabuzz, Jumpluff, and Simipour. Swoobat's offensive STAB moves are only resisted by the few Steel-types in the tier, making it very hard to switch into. U-turn gives Swoobat the ability to pivot out of these Steel-types like Lairon and Klang so its teammates can chip them down. Shadow Ball hits Bronzor and Duosion for big damage. Trick is an option to cripple the Steel-types trying to switch into it as well as Dusclops, which would otherwise wall it. Hidden Power Ground gives Swoobat an option to 3HKO Klang and OHKO Lairon, but having no way around Bronzor and Duosion is less than ideal. Special sweepers like Simipour, Servine, and Vanilluxe appreciate Swoobat's ability to break through or cripple special walls like Duosion and Klang. Pokemon like Scraggy, Pignite, and Magmar make great partners, since they can be brought into favorable matchups versus the Steel-types that like to switch into Swoobat. Swoobat can check Grass-types like Servine, Simisage, and Quilladin, so the likes of Huntail and Gigalith appreciate it as a teammate. Entry hazard removers like Dustox and Vibrava are beneficial, since they provide Swoobat more longevity and give reliable entry against the opposing team with their slow pivot. Due to Swoobat's mediocre defensive stats, it is susceptible to getting revenge killed by Persian and Choice Scarf users like Krokorok; it really needs teammates that can take on these threats like Carbink and Meganium, respectively. VoltTurn teams get the most out of Swoobat because it has such a hard time hitting the field with its defensive profile, so pivots like Electabuzz, Furfrou, and Frogadier are helpful partners.

Psychic does solid neutral damage to a large portion of the tier, making it a strong spammable option. Signal Beam is also crucial, bypassing the defensive boosts of Calm Mind Beheeyem and Duosion while also hitting Dark-types such as Shiftry. U-turn allows Swoobat to slot effectively into offensive VoltTurn teams. The last slot is versatile and depends on what threats Swoobat needs to shut down for your specific team. Air Slash stops Scraggy from safely setting up, whereas Heat Wave stops Shift Gear Klang. Trick is also an option for shutting down any wall that might try and stop Swoobat, such as Audino or Articuno. Swoobat is an effective anti-setup option for offensive teams, beating setup sweepers such as Beheeyem thanks to Unaware. Swoobat also checks Monferno especially well, as it is one of the few checks that does not fear a boosted Mach Punch. However, despite having Choice Specs, Swoobat is a subpar dedicated wallbreaker. Pairing Swoobat with other wallbreakers such as Choice Band Monferno and Swords Dance Torterra is an excellent decision, as both of those choices threaten common Swoobat counters like Audino, while Swoobat can use U-turn to safely bring them in. Another factor to consider is that Swoobat's Speed is just barely not enough; as such, having priority, a bulky teammate, or a Choice Scarf user to outspeed possible threats like Zebstrika is necessary. Mach Punch Monferno and Stunfisk are potential options. Swoobat also must choose between beating Scraggy or Klang, so having a partner like Jumpluff or Stunfisk that can threaten what Swoobat can't will also be beneficial. Remember that Swoobat's primary job is to beat setup threats and threaten frail and slower offensive Pokemon, not to wallbreak. Checks and Counters Specially Defensive Pokemon: Threats such as Audino and Articuno can consistently wall Swoobat throughout a match. Even Scraggy and Klang can wall Swoobat if it lacks the proper coverage move. All of these Pokemon do fear the rare Trick, but not enough to dissuade them from coming in whenever Swoobat is out. Faster Pokemon: Swoobat is exceptionally fast, but Pokemon such as Zebstrika and Sneasel are even faster and easily revenge kill it with their STAB moves. Similarly, common Choice Scarf users such as Dodrio and Golduck can also outspeed and prey upon Swoobat. Very few of these fast threats want to switch into Swoobat directly, but when they are able to come in safely, they easily force Swoobat out. Dark-types: Psychic is usually a safe move to lock into, but a Dark-type such as Shiftry or Scraggy can make use of the opportunity to set up or threaten Swoobat. Dark-types do have to fear Swoobat's coverage, however, as even a U-turn can be crippling to Shiftry. Priority Attacks: Threats such as Purugly can ignore Swoobat's superior Speed and KO it with priority attacks like Fake Out and Sucker Punch. It is also noteworthy that most offensive users of Sucker Punch, such as Shiftry, can cleanly KO Swoobat with it after just one round of Stealth Rock damage.