Community POTW #18

[Serebii]

Reno's busy writing the last one so here's the next one



This week we'll be doing Swalot, one of the more forgotten HoennPokémon

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/317.shtml

Swalot hasn't been done as PotW on Serebii.net since 2004 so we haven't dealt with its sets since the Physical/Special split before so go nuts

Go nuts.

[SomeoneIGuess]

Unexpected. I don't even have a keyboard to write with. My phone sucks.

Swalot @ Leftovers
Ability: Sticky Hold / Liquid Ooze
Nature: Careful (+SDef, -SAtk)
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Atk / 216 SDef - Not sure. I can't check the final jump point for SDef here. It's 216, right?
-Substitute / Yawn / Encore
-Curse
-Pain Split
-Ice Punch / Gunk Shot

Substitute, Yawn and Encore help you set up Curse.
Curse increases your Defense and Attack!
Pain Split for recovery.
Ice Punch and Gunk Shot because... It has no other moves.

Other Options: Amnesia, Acid Armor, Elemental Punches, Explosion, Destiny Bond, Earthquake, Toxic, Stockpile, Seed Bomb, Sludge Bomb, Ice Beam,

That's all I'm posting for now. No computer = fail.

[MudkipsAreAwesome]

This... IS UNEXPECTED! Trust the RNG to bring something so random into the POTW that half the active contributors won't contribute!
Oh, give the Swalot Black Sludge instead.

Counters: EARTHQUAKE. That's all we need, and all we ever need. To a lesser extend, Psychic... For a Pokemon, any Steel types carrying those attacks will do. That brings... METAGROSS!

[twcopal]

Swalot@ Black Sludge
Stick hold Ability
Substitute
Protect
Toxic
Giga Drain
Modest Nature
IVS: 252 HP, 124 Def, 10 SP ATK, 124 SP DEF,
The goal here is to set up a 101HP substitute and to Toxic/Health Stall, after the toxic is up Use protect (via Black sludge) and Giga Drain to Get HP back for more substitutes while toxic inflict damage.

[TheAwesomeOne]

This is the magic of the RNG, this is why it is being used, not a Poll, Swalot would be picked last in a Poll, but it is being picked 18th.

[Diamond Eagle]

Swallot@Leftovers
Ability-Any
Nature-Careful
EVs- 252 HP,52 Sp. Attack , 200 Sp. Defense
-Toxic
-Venoshock
-Pain Split
-Protect

A common stall set. You poison the opponent with toxic, and protect. To heal, use pain split, and use Venoshock to deal serious damage to your victims of toxic.


Other options- Gunk shot,Destiny bond, Attract, Rest (with chesto berry), yawn, Swagger.

[TheAwesomeOne]

Swalot@Black Sludge
Careful
4 HP, 252 Def, 252 SpD
-Encore
-Pain Split
-Yawn
-Ice Beam
IMO, the best set it has.
Encore is to trap the foe into a set up move, or a rubbish move.
Pain Split is unreliable, but is a healing move none the less.
yawn is to force switches, and Ice Beam is to actually do something if you are Taunted.

[SomeoneIGuess]

Lefties vs Black Sludge: Lefties if you don't want someone else on your team to get black sludge.

[Frahugganiffle]

Goody, I love it when the POTW is so NU!

Trick Room Sweeper:
Swalot @ Black Sludge
Ability: whatever
Nature: Brave (+Atk, -Spe)
EVs: 4 Atk, 252 Def, 252 Sp. Def
-Curse
-Toxic / Fire Punch
-ThunderPunch
-Ice Punch
A simple set that works best in doubles & triples. Have another Pokemon set up Trick Room, Curse it up with Swalot, and sweep. Toxic as an obligatory status move, while Fire Punch is useful for Steel-types. ThunderPunch and Ice Punch are solely for BoltBeam coverage. EVs & Nature to give a little extra oomph to its mediocre base 73 Attack.

[TimmahX]

Swalot @ Black Sludge
Careful -> Calm
4 HP, 252 Def, 252 SpDef
-Encore
-Pain Split
-Yawn
-Ice Beam

You made a mistake that I cleaned up, but you got the gist of it. Giving a SpAtk lowering nature when he is running a SpAtk and no Physical ones is a rather bad decision.

Counters

Swalot is too slow to handle most fast Psychic types. First off, you have Espeon and Xatu, for their Magic Bounce. They can send Encore right back to Swalot, forcing a switch. Or they can just kill him, either way. Almost any Psychic type comes to name though, as well as most other Ground types in the UU. The Nido duo is another great choice for countering Swalot as well, as long as you can take it out before an Ice Beam. Swalot can't expect to see higher tiers, but it can make a nice wall in lower ones.

[Spacial Rend]

I'm going to make the two most random sets ever! Choiced Swalots. They can probably actually leave a dent in the UU tier, but Swallot isn't a sweeper.

Swalot@Choice Band
Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk 128 Def 128 SpDef
Ability: It doesn't matter, they all do little justice
Gunk Shot
Explosion
Ice Punch
Earthquake

Gunk Shot is STAB. Explosion is a last resort move that could kill something. Ice Punch might possibly dent a Ground type that would be used as a counter. Earthquake has coverage against a lot of things (most notably Steels and other Poisons) which makes it good. The EV investments could be played with, as I just split them in the defences.

Other Options: Thunder Punch can kill bulky waters, but is still much less powerful than Gunk Shot. Fire Punch can kill Steels, but Earthquake seems to do that better. Seed Bomb can kill Waters and Grounds, so it could definately be used. Other than that, Swalot has a tiny physical move pool.

Swallot@Choice Specs
Modest
EVs: 252 SpAtk 128 Def 128 SpDef
Sludge Wave/Sludge Bomb
Ice Beam
Giga Drain
Shadow Ball

Sludge Wave and Sludge Bomb are STAB options. Ice Beam kills Flying types, Ground types, and the (uncommon in UU) dragons. Giga Drain hurts Waters and Grounds, while also providing a heal for Swalot. Shadow Ball can destroy Psychics, if they don't 1HKO you. Other than that, its Special movepool is non-existant, so I'm not even making an Other Options. Again, you can play with the defensive EVs, since I just split them.

[Ne0n-H!tch'd]

Swalot is actually a coOl looking pokemon. If only it had better defensive stats. OK here we go...

Stoppin, Stompin Swalot
Swalot
- needs to be of the Relaxed nature.
- should have the Liquid Ooze ability
- should be holding Black Sludge
- should have the following moveset
1. Bulldoze
2. Toxic
3. Venoshock
4. Protect

Swalot is slow so its OK to make it slower with the relaxed nature, thus making it durable with upping its defenses. Toxic will slowly take Health from its foes. Venoshock will have extra power after the foe is poisoned making the slow faint quicker. Protect is a staller in between every Venoshock so that you can heal from Black Sludge and attack with durability. Bulldoze is for those steel types as well as slowing foes down (not counting Skarmory or Crobat)

[Missingno. Master]

Lefties vs Black Sludge: Lefties if you don't want someone else on your team to get black sludge.

Also if Swalot lacks Sticky Hold, which it really has no business doing. Nobody's going to try a draining move on Swalot, Liquid Ooze or no Liquid Ooze. They're Grass moves, and Swalot is a Poison-type.

Now then!

Swalot, an oft-overlooked Poison-type. Not deserving of the lack of attention it's forced to endure, I think. First off, 100/83/83 defenses are nothing to sneeze at. This thing was clearly meant to take hits.

Swalot@Black Sludge
Sticky Hold
Careful nature
252 HP/252 Sp.Def/4 Def
~Curse
~Gunk Shot/Fire Punch/ThunderPunch
~Earthquake
~Rest/Pain Split

The EVs and nature are intended to max out Swalot's special bulk, allowing Curse to do what it does, and beef up Swalot physically. After a Curse or two, Swalot can take physical hits more effectively, and with the upped Attack, can even attempt to sweep. Earthquake has power and coverage, so that's obvious. Gunk Shot gets STAB, and is arguably the most powerful move a Swalot can boast. That said, you run Gunk Shot+Earthquake, Skarmory walls you to hell and back. Of course, since Skarmory is a physical wall, it would do that anyway. Still, Fire Punch and ThunderPunch are decent options if you feel they'll help out against aforementioned steel bird. Now, slight Black Sludge recovery won't sustain Swalot forever- it needs a more reliable form of recovery. What it gets, however, is Rest and Pain Split. Bleh. This one's up to you. Shaky but immediate recovery versus immediate and full recovery followed by two turns of sleep. Your call.

Black Sludge is a given. It's like Leftovers, but for Poison-types only. Sticky Hold prevents the potential issue of a Trick user taking your Black Sludge, then pawning it off on a non-Poison-type teammate of yours. Granted, most of what I use are Poison-types to begin with, so this wouldn't be much of an issue with me, but then again, I'm not most people. Swalot has no business running Liquid Ooze, as the only draining move that anyone would bother using on it is Leech Seed, and that will not compensate for the possibility of Swalot losing its Black Sludge to Trick users.

Swalot@Black Sludge
Modest nature
Sticky Hold
252 Sp.Atk/252 HP/4 Speed
~Stockpile
~Sludge Wave/Venoshock/Protect
~Ice Beam
~Shadow Ball

Poison-types get a bad rep for having bad coverage offensively. This may be admittedly somewhat true, but by no means does it make Poison a bad type. It can still hold its own defensively. Add to that, some Poison-types can still kick butt using the other types of moves they learn. Here's a decent example right here. Stockpile boosts both defenses simultaneously with each use. Swalot's defenses aren't bad by any means, and this only helps them. Sludge Wave is the Poison equivalent of Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, and Flamethrower. Nice and powerful. Alternatively, if you have Toxic Spikes support up, there's no reason to not go with Venoshock, as it will be more powerful against poisoned foes. If you're one of those people who feel that the sheer power of a STAB Poison move doesn't compensate for the crappy coverage, Protect is always an option, allows you to stall for some Black Sludge recovery. And then, for the actual attacking, there's Ice Beam and Shadow Ball. This one's walled by pretty much every Steel-type your opponent can hope to throw at you, but nothing's perfect.

Again, Black Sludge and Sticky Hold are obvious.

Swalot@Black Sludge
Sticky Hold
Careful nature
252 HP/252 Sp.Def/4 Def
~Curse
~Ice Punch
~Sleep Talk
~Rest

Here's the idea. Curse up. Rest when you need recovery. Then spam Sleep Talk like there's no tomorrow! You'll either get Curse (more bulk and power), Ice Punch (the attack; I chose Ice Punch because nothing is immune to it, unlike Gunk Shot, Earthquake, ThunderPunch, and Fire Punch), or Rest (will fail if you're already asleep). Sleep Talk is the glue that holds this set together. It means that Swalot won't be dead weight while it sleeps off injury. Walled by Steel-types, and Ice-types of all things, but then, after enough Curses, an opponent's resistance to Ice will start to become moot as Swalot's attack reaches (g)astronomical levels, making its Ice Punch the equivalent of getting hit by a frozen truck.

And do I really need to explain, AGAIN, why I suggest Black Sludge and Sticky Hold?

[ASB]

Awesome. Though it's relatively one of the least useful pokemon imaginable, it's still one of my favorites, possibly because of its mustache. Needs a powerful third form in Gen 6 imo to make it sorta useful.

Claydol is good at wrecking it, having STAB on its two weaknesses. All steel-types laugh at it. Skarmory and Bug/Steels aren't weak to anything it has outside of 4th gen moves.

[SomeoneIGuess]

Also if Swalot lacks Sticky Hold, which it really has no business doing. Nobody's going to try a draining move on Swalot, Liquid Ooze or no Liquid Ooze. They're Grass moves, and Swalot is a Poison-type.

Leech Seed. That's why we like Liquid Ooze.

    Spoiler:- DontReadme:

Show Spoiler

 
I've read your fanfic. Trapinch has Gust as an egg move.
 

[Ghost Cat]

Swalot@Black Sludge
Quiet (+sAtk,-Spe)
Sticky Hold
Acid Spray
Earthquake
Ice Beam/Sludge Bomb
Shadow Ball/Sludge Bomb

Acid Spray is used to deal damage as well as lower the opponents special defense to hopefully cause a switch. Earthquake to deal damage to the steel switch-ins. Ice Beam can be used for any flying types, while Shadow Ball is for any levitating ghost. Sludge could be used if you want a STAB attack.

This set is stopped completely by any non-grounded steel.

[Meowmeow]

I am going to start with a personal announcement: I will no longer protest the non-selection of Eelektross.

Since I can't really give a good overview of Swalot, I'm going straight to the sets. But I will say this: unless you really want Liquid Ooze, use Muk instead. As such, Liquid Ooze is probably the best choice for ability. Leech Seeds will be kinda reversed and that is awesome.

"I am the inside of a Snorlax"
Nature: Relaxed/Sassy
EVs: 252 HP, 128 Def and special defense
@: Black Sludge

Toxic
Block
Venoshock
Pain Split

Quite simple. Use Block, Toxic, and Venoshock in that order. Pain Split is for healing. You can drop Pain Split for Fire Punch or Earthquake for Steel coverage.

[-Unicorno-]

Well, Swalot is a cool, but bad pokemon. I've always liked him and used to love swallow, spit up, stockpile, but that moveset sucks. Here's the best moveset that I can come up with.

Swalot @ Focus Sash
Timid/Sticky Hold
252 HP/252 Def/4 Sp. Def
-Acid Armor
-Sludge Wave
-Ice Beam
-Shadow Ball

The EV's and item are self explanatory. Stay Alive. The nature because . Acid Armor to boost his Defense so he can once again stay alive. Sludge Wave for STAB, Ice beam to take care of ground types, Shadow Ball to take care of psychic types. The focus sash gives him a guarntee blow with one of his moves and can hopefully KO the opponent.

That's the best set I can think of for Swalot.

[UsernameSayWha?]

Dual Defenses

Swalot @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 Hp/128 Def/128 SDef
Nature: Bold [+ Def - Atk]/Calm [+ SDef - Atk]
-Amnesia
-Acid Armor
-Toxic
-Venoshock/Pain Split

Find a way to switch in, and use either Amnesia or Acid Armor depending on your opponent, and Toxic. Venoshock so you're not taunt bait, and its power gets boosted after Toxic. But Pain Split can be used to heal and do some damage.

IDK. It was random!

[Pokeman Man]

Fatter than usual
- Stockpile
- Toxic
- Venoshock / Protect / Substitute / Fire Punch
- Pain Split / Fire Punch
Item Attached: Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 128 SpD / 128 Def
Bold (+Def, -SpA) / Careful (+SpD, -SpA) / Impish (+Def, -SpA) / Calm (+SpD, -SpA)

Stockpile brings both of your defenses up, keeping you bulky. Toxic is for stalling. Venoshock combined with Toxic is awesome. Protect is for Toxic stalling. Substitute blocks status and stuff, and you get 101 HP Subs. Fire Punch hits them pesky steels. Pain Split is your only way of healing. The nature depends on if you're running Venoshock or Fire Punch, but I can't really suggest running both. If you do, maybe Relaxed / Sassy could work.

Choice Band
- Gunk Shot
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch / Ice Punch
- Explosion / Ice Punch
Item Attached: Choice Band
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)

Gunk Shot dominates. Earthquake hits Steels, Fire Punch hits floating/Balloon steels. Ice Punch hits Grounds. Explosion with CB is amazingly strong.


Counters
Simple. Ground types packing a STAB Earthquake, such as Mamoswine, Golurk, Donphan, Swampert, Hippowdon, Garchomp, Landorus, or basically anything packing Earthquake. The list goes on; Metagross, Tyranitar, Gyarados, Salamance, it barely ends. Psychic types also counter Swalot easily. Espeon, Alakazam, Reuniclus, Victini, etc. Steel types that are immune to Gunk Shot like Bisharp, Magnezone, Ferrothorn and great threats, just watch for Fire Punch / Earthquake.

Partners
Anything that resists Ground and Psychic. Hydreigon, Celebi, Honchkrow, Xatu, Mandibuzz, Bronzong, and Levitating Psychics, etc. Mainly Dark types as well too such as Umbreon and Scrafty, since Ground will only be doing neutral damage. Bulky dual walls like Bronzong, Suicune, Eviolite-Porygon2, Dusknoir, and Cresselia work fine. Taunt also ruins most Swalot sets since most are support/walls.

Other Options
Yawn + Block, Gastro Acid, Bulldoze, Destiny Bond.

Yawn can go for some phazing options, and Yawn + Block could let you set up a couple Stockpiles / Curses too.
Gastro Acid is cool for ruining Pokemon that rely on their ability, such as Swift Swimmers, Speed Boost Blaziken, No Guard Machamp, and Prankster Pokemon.
Bulldoze lowers Speed.
Destiny Bond can be the opposite of Pain Split, do you wanna go or stay?