#260: Swampert

Swampert

Swampert @ Yellow Scarf
Nature: Relaxed, Lax

- Rock Tomb
- Earthquake
- Surf
- Rock Smash

I can hear it now: "wtf Starry, two moves that do the same thing? why?" Well, if you'll notice, both Earthquake and Rock Smash give four hearts when used last. Rock Tomb allows you to perform last in the next turn, and Surf gives four hearts when used first.

So, the strategy here is to start out in front and then stay in the back the rest of the appeal time. It's fairly simple: Surf on the first turn, and if you get placed last, Earthquake or Rock Smash. You're likely to go last again, and if so, use the other move. If not, use Rock Tomb to ensure you go last on the final turn. Easy enough to grasp, I believe. This works best as a tough set, but can also work in Beauty contests, because I believe that in the new generation of contests, you only need one move of the type of contest you're doing in order to get the crowd going when necessary. But outside of that, the contests aren't as focused on appeal type as they used to be, so don't worry about that as much.

In battle, this Swampert doesn't do that much, but he should be able to do fine in-game. I recommend a Relaxed nature with an EV spread of 252 Atk / 126 SpA / 126 Defense. Focus on countering the type you're facing and switch Swampert if possible when facing the dreaded Grass type. This is obviously an all-offensive battling set, which isn't always Swampert's best game, but 110 base attack is definitely nothing to sneeze at, and is Swampert's highest base stat.