Community POTW #18

[Sweep Freak]

What the hell is a Swalot?
Swalot doesn't have anything going for it. Bad attacks, abilities, you'd be lucky to salvage anything but a Swallor or Choice Band set.

[Blue Harvest]

The only Swalot I would ever use in OU..

Swalot @ Shuca Berry / Leftovers
252 HP / 252 Defense / 4 Special Defense
Relaxed
Liquid Ooze

Earthquake
Ice Beam
HP Fire / Encore
Sludge Bomb / Pain Split / Yawn

If I was to use Swalot in OU this would be it. It has enough speed to outrun Roobushion so you can Encore it but if you run 0 Speed EVs you takes 22% max from a +1 Payback. This can check a surprising amount. It takes out virtually every fighting type at worst as a revenge kill while beating the majority of Grass types (Celebi Earth Power 3HKOs without Shuca Berry). Swalot survives a +1 hit from any Dragon except Haxorus and can OHKO Salamence after Stealth Rocks with Ice Beam assuming you have a Shuca Berry (it usually survives +1 LO Outrages from Salamence). Ferrothorn who tries to set up on you will either eat an HP Fire, get Encored or Leech Seed you not knowing about Liquid Ooze. HP > Fire Punch because practically all of its targets (Ferrothorn, Scizor, Skarmory) take more damage from it. Sludge Bomb can strike Celebi hard and is a good STAB, but Pain Split can also beat Celebi and is reasonable healing / lets you take on Blissey. Earthquake strikes down Lucario, Infernape, Heatran and so on. It also gets Yawn, and Swalot has a decent amount of free turns to use it.

Swalot has inferior stats to Swampert in all areas but its poison type lets it sponge fighting moves and absorb Toxic Spikes. Its not nearly as bad as it appears at first glance, but... its still not good.

[Zachmac]

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.

Why does everyone say careful with special attacks? It lowers special attack.

Because of liquid ooze, it makes a good subseeder counter. To bad it's outclassed by tentacruel. Other then that, it's worthy of NU.

Who was I again?
Relaxed or Sassy/252HP/252Sp.Def
Black Sludge or Leftovers/Liquid Ooze
-Amnesia
-Sludge Bomb
-Earthquake
-Pain Split

Get up Amnesia, and wall. Pain Split is one of it's only recovery moves, while Earthquake is the best coverage it gets. Could also work with max sp.def+ Acid Armor.

Snorlax Wannabe
Careful or Impish/252HP/252def
Black Sludge or Leftovers/Liquid ooze
-Curse
-Pain Split/Rest
-Gunk Shot/Sleep Talk/ThunderPunch
-Earthquake/Ice Punch

The point is to set up curses. Pain Split and rest are it's only recovery moves. Gunk Shot is STAB, along with Earthquake for coverage, but Thunder/Ice punch has better coverage. Sleep talk is if you want to play it like the famous RestTalk Suicune.

[TheAwesomeOne]

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.

Oops, forgot, I was in a rush.

[Cryochronic]

Should I Stay or Should I Go?
@Leftovers/Salac Berry/Air Balloon
Ability: Stick Hold if using Air Balloon or Leftovers/Gluttony if using Salac Berry
Nature:Timid/Bold/Calm/Modest
EVs: 252 HP/88 Def/76 Sp Atk/88 Sp D.
-Stockpile
-Swallow/Explosion
-Earthquake/Ice Beam
-Sludge Wave

Stockpile for +1/+1 Def and Sp. D bulk.
Swallow if you want to stay around. Explosion if you don't.
Earthquake hits Poison and Steel types who are resistant/immune to Sludge Wave. Ice Beam is if you want to take out Dragon and Flying types.
Sludge Wave is there as the main attacking STAB move.

[Skevengal]

NAME: Swalot
TYPE: Poison
HEIGHT: 5' 7"
WEIGHT: 176.4 lbs.
Species Name: Poison Bag Pokemon
EVOLUTION: evolves from Gulpin at level 26
Very effective:
Grass
Less effective:
Ghost
Ground
Poison
Rock
Steel, can't hit
Resistance to:
Bug
Fighting
Grass
Poison
Susceptible to:
Ground
Psychic
Abilities:
Sticky Hold Swalot's item cannot be removed
Liquid Ooze Leeching moves (Leech Seed, Dream Eater...etcs)
DW! Gluttony Swalot will held berry earlier than usual (At 50% HP rather than 25%)
Swalot...Outclassed by Muk but I prefer Swalot better

I see many other people have Swalot as a stall, and I actually use similar Stall sets over mine but I wanted to contribute

RestTalk @ Black Sludge/ Leftovers
Nature: Calm (+ Sp. Def, - Atk), Careful (+ Sp. Def, - Sp. Atk)
Ability: Liquid Ooze/ Sticky Hold
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Ice Beam
- Shadow Ball/ Earthquake

EVs: 252 HP/ 144 Def/ 112 Sp. Def

For this set, Black Sludge is of course more preferable over Leftovers but the basic idea is there. The natures of course will help make Swalot more bulkier as do the EV set. The ability really doesn't matter that much, in this case the DW ability won't help you since of course...you don't have a berry as a held item. You can have Liquid Ooze for the chance that you will switch into a leeching move or you can have Sticky Hold if you really want you're Black Sludge. The moveset of course has Rest and Sleep Talk which are the core. Ice Beam, well I have a lot of ice moves because I have a tendency to run into a lot of dragons. And you can choose between Shadow Ball and Earthquake either will work in this set.
That's it from me.

[Diaglio]

Swalot @ Muscle Band/Scope Lens/Choice Scarf
Jolly/Adamant
Sticky Hold/Liquid Ooze
252 Atk, 252 Speed, 4 Hp
-Gunk Shot
-EQ
-Body Slam/Return
-Explosion

Gunk Shot for STAB. EQ for coverage. Body Slam/Return for neutral coverage. Explosion for suicide.

[grantholomew]

I don't see why people should forget Swalot. Although I never used him, I thought he was one of the coolest poison types.
If you want an offensive Swalot, I would say go for Special Attack, as his only good physical attacks are Gunk Shot and Earthquake. For an offesnive, I would say:
Sludge Wave/Venoshock
Ice Beam
Shadow Ball/Wring Out
Sludge Bomb/Toxic/Wring Out
Sludge Wave is STAB. Ice Beam and Shadow Ball would take care of Swalot's weaknesses. Sludge Bomb is another STAB attack, but if you have Toxic instead then you can make use of Venoshock. Wring Out also works with Swalot's high HP stat, but it can really only be used once, so it's not the best choice.
For EV's I would say, 252 HP if you are going with Wring Out, otherwise 224 HP, 128 Sp. Attack if you are going with Wring Out otherwise 156 Sp. Attack, and 128 for either Defense or Sp. Defense, or you can divide it up. Have a Modest or Quiet Nature.
For a more defensive Swalot I would go with:
Toxic
Pain Split/Yawn
Protect/Yawn
Sludge Wave/Venoshock/Yawn
Toxic is for poisoning. Pain Split is when your HP is low. Protect is for...protecting. Sludge Wave is for attacking, but Venoshock goes better with Toxic. Yawn is an option for sleeping but it wouldn't work as well if you are using Toxic and Venoshock, and I would prefer the other options.
For EV's I would say 240 HP, 134 Defense and 134 Sp. Defense. Depending on which defense you want to raise more, have either Bold or Clam nature, or if you don't care about speed, you could go with either a Relaxed or Sassy nature.
I would say the Liquid Ooze ability for both Swalot sets.
For items I would hold a Black Sludge, or if you want, WiseGlasses in the case of the offensive Swalot.

[Zachmac]

Should I Stay or Should I Go?
@Leftovers/Salac Berry/Air Balloon
Ability: Stick Hold if using Air Balloon or Leftovers/Gluttony if using Salac Berry
Nature:Timid/Bold/Calm/Modest
EVs: 252 HP/88 Def/76 Sp Atk/88 Sp D.
-Stockpile
-Swallow/Explosion
-Earthquake/Ice Beam
-Sludge Wave

Stockpile for +1/+1 Def and Sp. D bulk.
Swallow if you want to stay around. Explosion if you don't.
Earthquake hits Poison and Steel types who are resistant/immune to Sludge Wave. Ice Beam is if you want to take out Dragon and Flying types.
Sludge Wave is there as the main attacking STAB move.

Swallow deletes all stat boost from Stockpile, just so you know. Not really suggested, most set's you'll see have nothing to do with Swallow/Spit Up.

And why Salac? It doesn't have enough speed, use the cutsap.

[Razor Shiftry]

Doesn't Liquid Ooze injure Drain Punch users as well as Giga drain/leech seed? Add in its fighting type resistance and it can be a half-decent check to fighting types. Beware Guts abusers is all I'd say though.

[The_Heir_of_Madness]

Swalot
Item: black sludge
Nature: relaxed
EVs: 252 hp 128 def 128 sp def

Earthquake/Venoshock (do want to fight or avoid steels?)
Stockpile
Protect/Swallow (stall or recover)
Toxic

[Tollen]

With Whimsicott and some of the other painfully annoying Subseeders, even Ferrothorn, it would be nice to have a Liquid Ooze on him so you can switch in to a subseeder. Besides the fact that he's part poison and his moves make it a fantastic counter against any Subseed.

[Jeggyg]

Hmmm ok...
Had this guy in my original sapphire team.... it was a real surprise when my Gulpin evolved... I was a noob then...

Stallot.
Item: Blacksludge
Nature: Sassy/ Relaxed
Ability: Liquid Ooze
Moves:
Stockpile
Swallow
Substitute
Sludge Bomb or wave/ Gunk Shot
This is a pretty foolproof set, i say that, it's ok. Substitute is great for this guy due to 101 subs with a maxed out health stat, the stockpile for your defences etc Swallow when your Hp gets low and Sludge Bomb/Gunk shot to stop you being taunt bait
Invest IVs in health, then both defences evenly.

There is scope for a choice band/specs set...

[B]Swalotband
[/B]
Ability: Sticky Hold/ Liquid Ooze
Nature: Timid/ Adamant
Item: Choice Band
Moves:
Explosion/Return
Gunk Shot
Earthquake
Ice Punch/Seed Bomb

Not an amazing attack, but useable in the lower tiers, with the choice band boost he gets a respectable 404 attack, which is ok.
Explosion for a one hit death kinda thing, or Return if you expect to be staying alive for a bit.
Gunk Shot is the only physical STAB move that he can get
Earthquake deals with those pesky steels and other poisons.
Ice punch and seed bomb are both moves that he can only get from 4th gen, so you have to reeaaallyy want this set :L
timid if you want some speed, or adamant if you want top end attack.
Invest IV's in Attack and then Hp (his only decent stat) and then speed.

Specs-swalot
Ability: Sticky Hold/ Liquid Ooze
Nature: Modest/Timid
Item: Choise Scarf
Moves:
Sludge Bomb or wave
Wring Out
Ice Beam
Shockwave/ Water Pulse/ Shadow Ball

Basically the same as the physical one, same idea at least, except no explosion.
Sludge Bomb is your STAB
Wring Out is a nice move to use with "new" opponents
Icebeam and Shockwave give a mock BeamBolt combo kinda thing, but you have to go back to the 4th gen to do that, if you don't want to faff around with that then use shadow ball to deal with psyshics.
Modest if you want higher Sp Attack, Timid for high speed.
Invest in Sp attack, then speed then Hp

The annoying Swalot
Ability: Gluttony/Liquid Ooze/ Sticky Hold
Nature: Timid
Item:
Moves:
Stockpile
Toxic/Destiny Bond
Encore/Gastro Acid/ Pain Split
Venoshock/ Sludge Bomb or wave/ Gunk Shot

Ok, so here's the deal you use stockpile to boost your defences, this is important.
Toxic can be used if you think that the enemy is likely to switch, Destiny Bond if you have Little faith in your Swalot, haha.
Encore is to keep them spamming a useless move like a stat booster, whilst you get your stockpiles in, Gastro Acid can be used in a variety of ways, but mainly against people who use their pokemon's abilities and such like, for instance a reuniclus in a hail/sandstom team, Pain Split is your reliable recovery move, aaand it does a nice bit of damage also.
Venoshock should only be used in conjunction with Toxic, otherwise you decide what move you want

Counters:
Most Ground types, or steel types should have not trouble with him, just watch out for his vast move pool, Bronzong due to it's typing and levitate etc etc.

[Dragonite's]

Swalot

Force Switch

Yawn
Giga Drain
Acid Spray
Wring Out

Ev's 252:HP 252:Sp Atk 2:def 2:Sp Def Item: Black Sludge
Nature: Modest Ability: Liquid Ooze

Yawn is your sleeping/force switch move. Wring out if they switch. Acid Spray as your stab and makes them want to switch even when they're asleep. Giga Drain for recovery and ground types.

Defensive

Curse
Amnesia
Earthquake/Explosion
Gunk Shot

Evs 252:Atk 252:HP Def:4 Item:Black Sludge
Nature: Adamant Ability: Liquid Ooze
Amnesia and Curse to raise your Defenses. Curse also boosts your attack. Earthquakes is an awesome move. Explosions is much stronger but knocks you out. Gunk Shot is your stab move w/ a nice chance to poison. Watch out for Skarmory!!!

Counters: Skarmory, Forretress, Escvlier, and Durant are great. Most steel and poison types are good if they watch out for earthquake. Psychic types are good if they're faster. Pretty much anything that can hit him fast and hard w/ a super effective move.

[Porgon-XYZ]

The Amazing Slug... Thingy...
Swalot@Black Sludge
Nature: Relaxed/Sassy
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252Hp/120def/120spd/16atk
Moveset:
- Stockpile
- Encore
- Toxic/Pain Split
- EarthQuake

The gimmick is to switch in on a Subseeder using leech seed. The rest is simple. Stockpile to give you defensive capabilities, Encore to get them doing something they don't want to do, Pain Split can be used for recovery while Toxic adds extra damage each turn, and finally Earthquake for steel types.

Swalot doesn't have much going for it, being a pure poison type with bad offensive stats and decent defensive stats. It is a solid counter for most subseeders though, thanks to Liquid Ooze. That's mainly it...o3o

[Vodka Haze]

EVs:
252HP/128Def/128SpD
Ability:
Liquid Ooze
Nature:
Bold (+Def, -Atk) or Calm (+SpD, -Atk)
Item:
Black Sludge
Attacks:
Stockpile
Protect
Toxic
Venoshock

Toxic Stalling Set. Toxic is a set up, Protect is there to heal a bit, Stockpile allows you to live a lot longer, Venoshock has boosted power due to Toxic. Black Sludge > Leftovers since some Trickers might reconsider using Trick, as you can stall them with this set. Counters to Swalot are pretty much Psychic and Earthquake, Steel and Poison types, and that's pretty much them in a nutshell.

[Pichu47]

Hope somebody hasn’t done this set yet. Sorry if you did.
Swalot@Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EV’s: 252 HP 252 SP. Defense
Nature: Careful

Moves:
1. Curse
2. Sleep Talk
3. Rest
4. Gunk Shot

Basic Rest-Talk set. Curse is to beef up. Rest and sleep talk are for healing. Gunk Shot is powerful. Black Sludge heals. Liquid Ooze prevents leech seed. Nature and EV’s maximize Sp. Defense.

[Piemonster24]

Counters:

Air balloom Aggron stops it dead. Switch in on a poison move or earthquake, then kill with earthquake. Easy. Basically any steel type can switch in on a poison move then kill with earthquake. Also, taunters stop stockpile and rest sets.

[knuckles1299]

This is so epic. Swalot is so awesome. So glad it wasn't like ninetales or something.

Swalot @Black Sludge
Nature: Sassy/Relaxed
EV's: HP 252/ Sp. D 252/ Sp.A 6
- Explosion
- Sing
- Dream Eater
- Stockpile

This set is for the lolz even more epic lolz if this is actually posted.

[DiScrafty123]

Sorry I'm late I Just ate a Munchlax
Stockpile/Amnesia
Swallow/Rest/Toxic
Acid Armor
Sludge Bomb/Earthquake/ Explosion
Nature Careful (+SpD, -SpA)
Item: Leftovers
Evs: 252 HP, 128 Def and 128 SpD
Ability Sticky Hold
Start w/ the defensive move needed to wall the opposing pokemon. If you do it correctly it will force the switch out and you can get a defensive boost on both ends. Stockpile and swallow allow for HP restoring but Rest/Amnesia is more reiable when ur time is up Explode away or use STAB Sludge Bomb to get a final blow. Earthquake is for if you're afriad of pesky Sandstorm Steels

Counters
anything that can learn Earthquake

Partners
Bulky Flying types such as Skarmory or Bulky Water types like Seismtoad