Competitive Information for Swellow [Sun/Moon]
Normal / Flying
Abilities:
Movesets for Singles
What is a good competitive moveset for Swellow? These builds have been optimized for Pokemon competing in Sun/Moon Single Battles. The movesets and EVs have been specifically calibrated to deal the most amount of damage to the largest group of potentially common opponents and typing threats for the Sun/Moon generation metagame.
IncineroarSwampertGyarados-MegaZeraoraBeedrill-MegaSandslashEspeonMagnezoneScizorMuk-Alola
Swellow is a spectacular Normal and Flying-typed Pokemon. Swellow are common Pokemon to see in the SM metagame. Swellow is weak to Electric, Ice, and Rock-typed attacks.
Item: Flame Orb / Normalium Z
Ability: Guts
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 156 Hp / 252 Atk / 56 SpD / 44 Spe
Moveset:
- Facade / Double-Edge
- Brave Bird / Sky Attack
- U-turn
- Protect
Physical Sweeper Swellow (Guts)
Swellow is a decent Physical Sweeper. The purpose of this moveset is to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Flame Orb will burn Swellow at the end of the turn which will activate Swellow's Guts ability. Use Protect to help guarantee the Orb activates on your first turn. With Guts, if Swellow is statused its attack is 1.5x; ignores burn halving physical damage. Facade's damage doubles when the user has a status affliction. Combine that with Guts to seriously give Swellow a sweet boost.
♦ Double-Edge is a physical STAB-boosted 120-base power Normal-type move (has 33% recoil).
♦ Brave Bird is a physical STAB-boosted 120-base power Flying-type move (has 33% recoil).
♦ Sky Attack is a physical STAB-boosted 140-base power Flying-type move (charges, then hits turn 2. 30% flinch. high crit).
♦ U-turn is a physical 70-base power Bug-type move (Swellow switches out after damaging the target).
♦ Protect is a status move (prevents moves from affecting your Swellow this turn).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/hs10a115
Item: Normalium Z / Focus Sash
Ability: Scrappy
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
EVs: 156 Hp / 252 SpA / 56 SpD / 44 Spe
Moveset:
- Boomburst / Hyper Beam
- Air Cutter / Air Slash
- Heat Wave
- Ominous Wind
Special Sweeper Swellow (Scrappy)
Swellow is pretty popular Special Sweeper. It's designed to take down the opponent's team with high-damaging special attacks. Focus Sash helps protect Swellow from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. With Scrappy, Swellow can hit ghost types with normal- and fighting-type moves.
♦ Hyper Beam is a special STAB-boosted 150-base power Normal-type move (Swellow cannot move next turn).
♦ Air Cutter is a special STAB-boosted 60-base power Flying-type move (high critical hit ratio. hits adjacent foes).
♦ Air Slash is a special STAB-boosted 75-base power Flying-type move (30% chance to flinch the target).
♦ Heat Wave is a special 95-base power Fire-type move (10% chance to burn the foes).
♦ Ominous Wind is a special 60-base power Ghost-type move (10% chance to raise all stats by 1 stage (not acc/eva)).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/hs11a115
Item: Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
Nature: Impish (+Def, -SpA)
EVs: 111 Hp / 222 Atk / 64 SpD / 111 Spe
Moveset:
- Brave Bird
- Facade
- Return
- Protect
Swellow Physical Tank (Swellow Burn)
Swellow is a notable Physical Tank. It's designed to take a substantial amount of physical hits while dealing some decent damage. Flame Orb will burn Swellow at the end of the turn which will activate Swellow's Guts ability. Use Protect to help guarantee the Orb activates on your first turn. With Guts, if Swellow is statused its attack is 1.5x; ignores burn halving physical damage. Facade's damage doubles when the user has a status affliction. Combine that with Guts to seriously give Swellow a sweet boost.
♦ Facade is a physical STAB-boosted 70-base power Normal-type move (power doubles if Swellow is burn/poison/paralyzed).
♦ Return is a physical STAB-boosted 0-base power Normal-type move (max 102 power at maximum happiness).
♦ Protect is a status move (prevents moves from affecting your Swellow this turn).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/hs12a115
Item: Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 222 Hp / 241 Atk / 47 SpD
Moveset:
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Facade
- Return
Swellow Physical Tank (Burned Guts)
Swellow is a stupendous Physical Tank. It's purpose is to take a large amount of physical hits while dealing some decent damage. Flame Orb will burn Swellow at the end of the turn which will activate Swellow's Guts ability. With Guts, if Swellow is statused its attack is 1.5x; ignores burn halving physical damage. Facade's damage doubles when the user has a status affliction. Combine that with Guts to seriously give Swellow a sweet boost.
♦ Roost is a status move (heals 50% hp. flying-type removed until turn ends).
♦ Facade is a physical STAB-boosted 70-base power Normal-type move (power doubles if Swellow is burn/poison/paralyzed).
♦ Return is a physical STAB-boosted 0-base power Normal-type move (max 102 power at maximum happiness).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/hs13a115
Movesets for Doubles
What is a good doubles moveset for Swellow? These builds have been optimized for Sun/Moon Double Battles. They have movesets and EVs specifically calibrated to generally work best versus multiple Pokemon at once as well as helping to support other team members and allys in the Sun/Moon generation metagame.
IncineroarSwampertGyarados-MegaZeraoraBeedrill-MegaSandslashEspeonMagnezoneScizorMuk-Alola
Item: Flame Orb / Normalium Z
Ability: Guts
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 156 Hp / 252 Atk / 56 SpD / 44 Spe
Moveset:
- Facade / Double-Edge
- Brave Bird / Sky Attack
- U-turn
- Protect
Doubles Physical Sweeper Swellow (Guts)
Swellow is a marvelous Physical Sweeper. It's meant to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Flame Orb will burn Swellow at the end of the turn which will activate Swellow's Guts ability. Use Protect to help guarantee the Orb activates on your first turn. With Guts, if Swellow is statused its attack is 1.5x; ignores burn halving physical damage. Facade's damage doubles when the user has a status affliction. Combine that with Guts to seriously give Swellow a sweet boost.
♦ Double-Edge is a physical STAB-boosted 120-base power Normal-type move (has 33% recoil).
♦ Brave Bird is a physical STAB-boosted 120-base power Flying-type move (has 33% recoil).
♦ Sky Attack is a physical STAB-boosted 140-base power Flying-type move (charges, then hits turn 2. 30% flinch. high crit).
♦ U-turn is a physical 70-base power Bug-type move (Swellow switches out after damaging the target).
♦ Protect is a status move (prevents moves from affecting your Swellow this turn).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/hd10a115
Item: Normalium Z / Focus Sash
Ability: Scrappy
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
EVs: 156 Hp / 252 SpA / 56 SpD / 44 Spe
Moveset:
- Boomburst / Hyper Beam
- Air Cutter / Air Slash
- Heat Wave
- Twister
Doubles Special Sweeper Swellow (Scrappy)
Swellow is a phenomenal Special Sweeper. This moveset attempts to take down the opponent's team with high-damaging special attacks. Focus Sash helps protect Swellow from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. With Scrappy, Swellow can hit ghost types with normal- and fighting-type moves.
♦ Hyper Beam is a special STAB-boosted 150-base power Normal-type move (Swellow cannot move next turn).
♦ Air Cutter is a special STAB-boosted 60-base power Flying-type move (high critical hit ratio. hits adjacent foes).
♦ Air Slash is a special STAB-boosted 75-base power Flying-type move (30% chance to flinch the target).
♦ Heat Wave is a special 95-base power Fire-type move (10% chance to burn the foes).
♦ Twister is a special 40-base power Dragon-type move (20% chance to flinch the foes).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/hd11a115
Movepool
Wondering what moves can Swellow learn? Here is the list of moves this Pokemon can learn in this selected generation.
Sort and organize the learnset by move type, category, accuracy, and power. Bolded moves will gain the same-type attack bonus (STAB) if this Pokemon uses them.
Damage Modifiers:
Combo List
These are a list of several common move combinations Swellow can perform in Sun/Moon. Not every combo going to be game-changing, but some can be pretty fun to play with. Sometimes these can be easily overlooked or forgotten, hence why we find and list them here. Discover what items, abilities, and moves this Pokemon can use in combination with each other to gain a strategic advantage in competitive battles.
Competitive SM Move and Ability Combos for Swellow
- Moves: Endure + Reversal
- Moves: Endure + Endeavor
- Moves: Rest + Sleep talk
- Moves: Rest + Snore
- Moves: Substitute + Reversal
- Ability: Guts + Item: Flame orb
- Move: Swagger + Item: Mirror Herb
- Move: Facade + Item: Flame Orb
- Move: Facade + Item: Toxic Orb
- Move: Endeavor + Item: Focus Sash
- Moves with Priority: Endure, Protect, Quick Guard, Quick Attack
- Moves that Break Screens: Defog
- Moves that inflict status: Toxic
Moves that boost Swellow's stats
- Agility
- Ominous Wind
- Rage
- Steel Wing
- Work Up
Most notable and possible best moves for Swellow
- Air Slash
- Baton Pass
- Boomburst
- Brave Bird
- Facade
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power
- Hidden Power Ground
- Hurricane
- Protect
- Protect
- Quick Attack
- Rest
- Roost
- Sleep Talk
- Steel Wing
- Toxic
- U-turn
Common Effort Values for Swellow in Sun and Moon
- Timid Nature ( 0/0/0/252/4/252/ )
- Modest Nature ( 4/0/0/252/0/252/ )
- Optimize Swellow's EV spread for Pokemon Sun and Moon
Related Videos
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Here are the best movesets for Swellow. Top rated Swellow Sun/Moon movesets. You can find Swellow builds Sun/Moon. Swellow movesets Sun/Moon are listed here. VGC Swellow Competitive Movesets can be found here. Find various EV spreads, find the best nature for Swellow in Sun/Moon along with competitive movesets. Basic info and Movesets for evolution