In-battle formes
Type | |
---|---|
Abilities | |
Tier |
HP: | 75 | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Attack: | 87 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Defense: | 63 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Sp. Atk: | 87 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Sp. Def: | 63 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Speed: | 98 |
|
Evolutions
- Ducklett
- Swanna
Strategies
- en
Overview
At first glance, Swanna looks mediocre at best, with no base stats over 100. However, believe it or not, she's definitely a threat to watch out for. In rain, Swanna becomes a powerhouse with Hurricane, a move that sets her apart from other rain sweepers. Swanna has amazing offensive stats and a great Speed of 98, which allows her to outspeed many threats in NU, such as Gardevoir and Braviary. She also has access to Roost as well as Rest, which pairs well with her Hydration ability.
Unfortunately, Swanna is far from invincible, and she faces many obstacles in NU. Stealth Rock happens to be one of them, as Swanna has a weakness to it. Swanna's movepool is decent but not amazing, leaving her with only one good set. Despite boasting one of the best typings in NU, Swanna's subpar bulk holds her back; 75 / 63 / 63 defenses are far from great. However, Swanna is still an amazing ally to any rain team.
Offensive
Move 1 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Move 2 | |||||
Move 3 |
| ||||
Move 4 |
Item | |
---|---|
Ability | |
Nature |
|
EVs |
|
This is Swanna's best set for the NU environment. Boasting two STAB moves that benefit greatly from rain and a great Speed stat, Swanna has immense potential as a sweeper. Surf is the primary STAB move, getting a power increase from rain. Hurricane is Swanna's secondary STAB move, and it boasts a high 120 Base Power, perfect accuracy in rain, and a 30% chance of confusing the foe; this is something that even the most defensive Pokemon in NU struggle to handle if they don't resist it.
For the final two moveslots, you should use the combination of either Rain Dance and Rest or Substitute and Roost. With the former, Swanna can heal herself to full HP at any time as long as the rain she provides is up thanks to Hydration, making her much more self-sufficient. Alternatively, the latter lets Swanna heal without rain up and ward off status with Substitute. Substitute also lets Swanna take advantage of obvious switches and dodge Sucker Punch. The downside of this combination is that once rain subsides Swanna doesn't have a way to summon it again, preventing her from healing herself if she is inflicted with a status and from boosting the power of her Surf and accuracy of her Hurricane.
While Leftovers is great for healing off damage Swanna takes, Swanna greatly appreciates Life Orb's increase in power; any damage she takes can easily be healed off with Rest or Roost anyway, making Life Orb the superior option in most cases. Big Pecks and Keen Eye aren't useful abilities in this metagame, making Hydration the only viable option. Ice Beam can be used for extra coverage, although it's usually not worth the slot in the long run, as it only deals with Altaria, which isn't common enough to justify running a move for it. Hidden Power Grass can be used to handle Seismitoad and Carracosta, Hidden Power Electric is an option to deal with Mantine and other Swanna, and Air Slash can be used in place of Hurricane if Swanna isn't used in rain.
As this set is best used in rain conditions, partners such as Volbeat and Electrode are great, as they can provide constant rain. Revenge killers, such as Choice Scarf Sawk, can outspeed Swanna and proceed to KO it. Choice Scarf Rotom-S is thus a good ally to handle Sawk and other revenge killers. Zebstrika and Raichu are also good partners, as they can absorb Electric-type attacks that Swanna attracts. Stealth Rock is a problem for Swanna as well; spinners such as Armaldo and Wartortle are good partners for this reason. Mold Breaker Sawk can also prevent Pokemon with the ability Sturdy from setting up Stealth Rock, something that aids Swanna greatly. Lickilicky and Miltank are bulky Pokemon that are difficult for Swanna to defeat; Fighting-types, such as Gurdurr, are good choices to use against them. Entry hazards are great to have on the field to aid Swanna in sweeping. Garbodor and Cacturne are both great Spikes users that also have good synergy with Swanna. Pokemon who can set up Stealth Rock, such as Cradily and Golurk, are good partners as well.
Other Options
Swanna doesn't have a very large movepool, so she doesn't have many other viable sets. Damp Rock is an option, but it wastes Swanna's offensive power, which should be taken advantage of whenever she is used due to her sad defenses. Brave Bird is plausible, but it doesn't have much use. Scald could be used in place of Surf for the burn chance, but the power drop is noticeable. Tailwind and Feather Dance could be used for support moves. Choice Scarf Swanna is one of the few viable options left for her and is the only option if she isn't used in rain.
Checks and Counters
Swanna has her fair share of checks. Choice Scarf Rotom-S is one of them, checking Swanna with Volt Switch. It can't switch in, however, as it is KOed by Surf in rain. The same applies for any Electric-type, specifically Ampharos and Electabuzz, that resist Hurricane and can OHKO Swanna. Bulky Pokemon, such as Musharna and Lickilicky, can take several STAB Hurricanes and proceed to do as they please. Altaria is a counter to any Swanna that doesn't carry Ice Beam, as it can wall her all day without it. Revenge killers can outspeed Swanna and easily KO her; an example would be Choice Scarf Sawk, which can get rid of Swanna with Stone Edge. Articuno, Regice, and Lapras can take any of Swanna's attacks due to their high Special Defense. The latter two have access to Thunderbolt, which OHKOes Swanna.
Credits
- Written by Governess
- Quality checked by Raseri, Sweet Jesus, and ebeast
- Grammar checked by melvni and GatoDelFuego