In Adv, Swampert was the definition of a 'bulky water'. Brilliant typing that left him with only a single, uncommon weakness on the defensive side of things, plenty of invaluable resistances such as Rock and Fire, and two fantastic STAB attacks. It was Swampert alone that forced pretty much the entire metagame to carry Hidden Power Grass, to kill the bulky mudfish off.
In D/P, he initially seemed to have got considerably better. Stealth Rock, Waterfall, physical ice moves and the improved Stone Edge are all decent points in Swampert's favour. However, as the D/P metagame has shifted, people have shied away from Swampert in favour of many of the other bulky Grounds and Waters that have seemingly usurped Swampert's crown. Whether it be due to Swampert's lack of reliable recovery, the addition of Grass Knot to many powerful sweepers he would have otherwise been able to wall, or just his 100/90/90 defenses which, despite being decent, maybe aren't up to the standard of other available Pokemon.
Hippowdon seems to be one of the reasons Swampert seems to have become less useable. Whilst he misses out on Swampert's secondary Water typing and the useful resists it brings, he exchanges that for a reliable recovery move in the form of Slack Off, as well as vastly superior physical defensive capabilities (106/118) though Swampert does win in terms of special defense. His Sandstream ability is also a good asset to the numerous stall-based teams that both Pokemon are relatively common on.
Gliscor is another new addition that has in many ways overtaken Swampert in terms of physical walling. Whilst initially he lacks the Rock resist that is most valuable to the Ground type, he can quickly regain it with another asset, Roost. Whilst he lacks the required resistances to the aforementioned Stone Edge, he exchanges it for the arguably more useful Bug and Fighting resistances, the latter being particularly important due to the introduction of Close Combat.
Of course, Gastrodon is going to always draw comparisons between itself and Swampert; they share the same typing. Whilst Gastrodon initially seems to be the inferior Pokemon due to much lower stats (his 111/68/82 cannot compare to Swampert's 100/90/90) but however, he has one saving grace, in Recover. Whilst this has not been enough to swing most people away from using Swampert, it has certainly persuaded some, and may arguably be the preferable choice on teams without Wish support, or where they are relying on their bulky water/ground to counter several potent threats.
As Water types go, Slowbro, despite also falling in popularity as D/P has progressed, also has several points to recommend over Swampert. Most notably, superior physical defensive capabilities, as well as Slack Off to prolong his already decent longevity. Furthermore, he maintains an invaluable water resist, which Swampert would kill for, as well as a useful Fighting resistance. However, he loses out on the electric immunity and rock resist Swampert's typing brings to the table, which may be an important factor for many.
Vaporeon has also become very popular since Adv; it's water immunity and fantastic Hp alone makes it good competition for Swampert. When you factor in the Wish support it offers to any team, as well as not caring about Grass Knot due to his small weight, he certainly seems to be stiff competition for the other bulky waters. Milotic's popularity has dropped significantly since Adv as well; things just hit so much harder now, it's not the all-purpose wall that it was then. However, Hypnosis, Recover, Marvel Scale, and the ability to survive weaker Grass Knots are all positives that Swampert cannot boast; though again, Milotic does miss out on the resists of the Mudfish.
Suicune is another bulky water that has fallen in popularity since Adv, due to the fact that it also suffers from Swampert's biggest problem; no means of immediate recovery. Whilst his typing is certainly inferior to Swampert's, he boasts massively superior defensive stats (100/115/115 as opposed to Swampert's 100/90/90) make Suicune seem a decent option over 'Pert. Reflect helps a bit too.
Whilst I personally believe that Swampert's usefulness as a wall in OU is limited to ReSTalking and potentially the standard set with very reliable Wish support, I'm surprised many people don't opt for his more offensive sets. His base 110 Attack and STAB on two very good attacks makes him a potent offensive threat; whether it be a Choice Band set, a psuedo-Crocune set with Curse, or a Torrent-abusing Sub-puncher. Whilst Mixpert is certainly a useable set, I don't think it's really playing to Swampert's strengths as much as other sets do, mostly because it is in many ways outclassed by other bulky Grounds/Waters.
Discuss.
In D/P, he initially seemed to have got considerably better. Stealth Rock, Waterfall, physical ice moves and the improved Stone Edge are all decent points in Swampert's favour. However, as the D/P metagame has shifted, people have shied away from Swampert in favour of many of the other bulky Grounds and Waters that have seemingly usurped Swampert's crown. Whether it be due to Swampert's lack of reliable recovery, the addition of Grass Knot to many powerful sweepers he would have otherwise been able to wall, or just his 100/90/90 defenses which, despite being decent, maybe aren't up to the standard of other available Pokemon.
Hippowdon seems to be one of the reasons Swampert seems to have become less useable. Whilst he misses out on Swampert's secondary Water typing and the useful resists it brings, he exchanges that for a reliable recovery move in the form of Slack Off, as well as vastly superior physical defensive capabilities (106/118) though Swampert does win in terms of special defense. His Sandstream ability is also a good asset to the numerous stall-based teams that both Pokemon are relatively common on.
Gliscor is another new addition that has in many ways overtaken Swampert in terms of physical walling. Whilst initially he lacks the Rock resist that is most valuable to the Ground type, he can quickly regain it with another asset, Roost. Whilst he lacks the required resistances to the aforementioned Stone Edge, he exchanges it for the arguably more useful Bug and Fighting resistances, the latter being particularly important due to the introduction of Close Combat.
Of course, Gastrodon is going to always draw comparisons between itself and Swampert; they share the same typing. Whilst Gastrodon initially seems to be the inferior Pokemon due to much lower stats (his 111/68/82 cannot compare to Swampert's 100/90/90) but however, he has one saving grace, in Recover. Whilst this has not been enough to swing most people away from using Swampert, it has certainly persuaded some, and may arguably be the preferable choice on teams without Wish support, or where they are relying on their bulky water/ground to counter several potent threats.
As Water types go, Slowbro, despite also falling in popularity as D/P has progressed, also has several points to recommend over Swampert. Most notably, superior physical defensive capabilities, as well as Slack Off to prolong his already decent longevity. Furthermore, he maintains an invaluable water resist, which Swampert would kill for, as well as a useful Fighting resistance. However, he loses out on the electric immunity and rock resist Swampert's typing brings to the table, which may be an important factor for many.
Vaporeon has also become very popular since Adv; it's water immunity and fantastic Hp alone makes it good competition for Swampert. When you factor in the Wish support it offers to any team, as well as not caring about Grass Knot due to his small weight, he certainly seems to be stiff competition for the other bulky waters. Milotic's popularity has dropped significantly since Adv as well; things just hit so much harder now, it's not the all-purpose wall that it was then. However, Hypnosis, Recover, Marvel Scale, and the ability to survive weaker Grass Knots are all positives that Swampert cannot boast; though again, Milotic does miss out on the resists of the Mudfish.
Suicune is another bulky water that has fallen in popularity since Adv, due to the fact that it also suffers from Swampert's biggest problem; no means of immediate recovery. Whilst his typing is certainly inferior to Swampert's, he boasts massively superior defensive stats (100/115/115 as opposed to Swampert's 100/90/90) make Suicune seem a decent option over 'Pert. Reflect helps a bit too.
Whilst I personally believe that Swampert's usefulness as a wall in OU is limited to ReSTalking and potentially the standard set with very reliable Wish support, I'm surprised many people don't opt for his more offensive sets. His base 110 Attack and STAB on two very good attacks makes him a potent offensive threat; whether it be a Choice Band set, a psuedo-Crocune set with Curse, or a Torrent-abusing Sub-puncher. Whilst Mixpert is certainly a useable set, I don't think it's really playing to Swampert's strengths as much as other sets do, mostly because it is in many ways outclassed by other bulky Grounds/Waters.
Discuss.
