LRXC
ADV 1v1 Pioneer
[OVERVIEW]
Mega Swampert possesses one of the best defensive typings in the game in Water / Ground, with resistances to Fire, Rock, and Steel and a critical immunity to Electric-type moves, the bane of most Water-type Pokemon. This great defensive typing is further fortified by Mega Swampert's amazing bulk, allowing it to survive a hit from powerful attackers like Porygon-Z, Dragonite, and Pheromosa and put them to sleep with the combination of Yawn + Protect. Mega Swampert's Ground / Ice coverage in Earthquake and Ice Beam hits many common Fire-, Steel-, Dragon-, and Ground-type Pokemon super effectively like Victini, Magnezone, Dragonite, and Garchomp. However, Mega Swampert's main selling point in Yawn is also its biggest downfall, as its reliance on sleep turns makes it a shaky check to Pokemon that can 2HKO it like Dragonite, Mega Medicham, and Mega Lopunny, relying on the 66% chance that opposing Pokemon stay asleep for at least two turns. Furthermore, with a lack of usable stat-boosting moves and an over reliance on sleep turns, Mega Swampert is usually countered by a plethora of stall-oriented Pokemon with access to Taunt like Deoxys-S, Mew, and Mega Sableye or Defense-boosting moves like Mega Slowbro and Mega Altaria. Lastly, Mega Swampert's Water / Ground typing gives it a glaring 4x Grass-type weakness, making it susceptible to Grass-type Pokemon like Serperior and Grass-type coverage like Solar Beam from Mega Charizard Y and Grass Knot from Greninja.
[SET]
name: Yawn + Protect
move 1: Yawn
move 2: Protect
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Ice Beam
item: Swampertite
ability: Damp
nature: Brave
evs: 208 HP / 16 Atk / 36 SpA / 248 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Yawn should be used against Pokemon like Charizard, Sawk, Crustle, and Haxorus. Protect is used in combination with Yawn to ensure that the foe falls asleep the next turn by preventing Mega Swampert from getting attacked or being affected by Encore, status conditions, or Encore from Pokemon like Mega Lopunny. Earthquake is Mega Swampert's most powerful STAB move, hitting extremely hard with investment and a base 150 Attack stat. This allows it to KO Pokemon it doesn't need Yawn to win against, like Zeraora, Magnezone, and Blacephalon. Ice Beam allows Mega Swampert to deal with the many Flying-types that are immune to Earthquake and hit specific Pokemon 4x super effectively, including metagame staples like Landorus-T, Garchomp, Dragonite, and Zygarde.
Set Details
========
208 HP EVs are used to maximize Mega Swampert's great mixed bulk by allowing it to take a Dragonium Z-boosted Outrage from Dragonite, as well as anything physical nukes like Mega Medicham and Mega Lopunny can throw at it so it can use Yawn against them on turn 1. 248 Special Defense EVs paired with this HP investment allow Mega Swampert to beat both Normalium Z and Choice Scarf Porygon-Z by taking Breakneck Blitz and preventing Uproar from Choice Scarf variants from 2HKOing it. 36 Special Attack EVs are needed to guarantee that Ice Beam 2HKOes maximum HP Dragonite. The Attack stat is where the remaining EVs go. A Brave nature allows Mega Swampert to not hinder its Special Attack while increasing its Attack at the expense of its Speed, a stat it does not need very much. This still gives it enough Speed to outspeed uninvested base 60s like bulky Primarina and Incineroar. An alternative EV spread of 248 HP / 28 Atk / 232 SpA with a Brave nature can be used to guarantee that Ice Beam will OHKO Landorus-T and Garchomp and 2HKO Groundium Z Zygarde without having to worry about potential Substitute mind games.
Usage Tips
========
Do not send Mega Swampert into versatile Pokemon like Mega Charizard Y, Greninja, and Hoopa-U, as they can try to lure in Mega Swampert with their Grass-type coverage. Usually, it's not a good idea to pick Mega Swampert versus stall Pokemon like Mega Sableye, Type: Null, and Registeel, as they can nullify Yawn's usefulness and boost their defenses. Sadly, bulky Dragon Dance Mega Charizard X and Mega Gyarados can forgo Mega Evolving and immunize themselves to Earthquake while shaking off Ice Beam with ease thanks to their secondary typings, so picking Mega Swampert into common Fire / Water / Grass cores with these Pokemon is not advised. During battle, using Yawn turn 1 is usually your best course of action, as the idea of Yawn + Protect Mega Swampert is to tank a hit, use Yawn followed by Protect, and 2HKO Pokemon like Genesect and Pheromosa. Don't bother using Yawn against offensive foes you can simply out-damage, like Blacephalon, as they could take advantage of your status move with their own Substitute. Using Protect on turn 1 is advised versus powerful Fake Out users like Mega Medicham and Flail Mega Lopunny to prevent chip damage that might otherwise let them OHKO Mega Swampert. It is also important to use Protect turn 1 when facing off against Porygon-Z, as this allows you to scout if it uses Uproar, in which case you can proceed to use Earthquake twice, as Uproar does not 2HKO Mega Swampert, and Earthquake will always 2HKO Porygon-Z. If Porygon-Z uses Breakneck Blitz or Hyper Beam, Mega Swampert should continue with the normal process of using Yawn turn 2 and Protect turn 3, and then using Earthquake to 2HKO Porygon-Z. If using the alternate EV spread of 248 HP / 28 Atk / 232 SpA with a Brave nature, Mega Swampert is a solid choice against teams with Zygarde, Garchomp, and Landorus-T, and Ice Beam is the move of choice in those matchups, as it will always 2HKO Zygarde and OHKO both Landorus-T and Garchomp, with them not being able to KO Mega Swampert back.
Team Options
========
Fire-types like Mega Charizard X and Mega Charizard Y deserve a special mention for their ability to counter Steel- and Grass-types that Mega Swampert struggles with such as Magearna, Registeel, Tapu Bulu, Serperior, and Ferrothorn, as well as Will-O-Wisp users such as Mew and Volcarona. Mega Swampert, in return, can take care of Ground- and Rock-type Pokemon that counter them such as non-Magnet Rise Mega Diancie, Donphan, Garchomp, and Archeops. Grass + Steel types like Kartana and Ferrothorn are fitting partners for Mega Swampert, as they counter opposing Grass- and Water-types such as Whimsicott, Tapu Bulu, Mega Gyarados, and Tapu Fini with their secondary STAB options. Furthermore, their secondary Steel typing helps versus Fairy-type Pokemon that Mega Swampert struggles with such as Clefable and Taunt / Will-O-Wisp Mega Gardevoir. Mega Swampert, in return, takes care of most of the Fire-, Poison-, and Fighting-types that threaten them such as Blacephalon, Nagandel, and Mega Lopunny. Along with that, Pokemon that carry multi-hit moves and sound-based moves to get through Substitute, a direct counter to Yawn, match well with Mega Swampert. Notable examples include Mega Heracross and Volcarona, with the former being a great Will-O-Wisp absorber thanks to its pre-Mega ability in Guts and access to Bullet Seed and Pin Missile to hit Water- and Grass-types hiding behind Substitute like Greninja, Primarina, Serperior, and Whimsicott, as well as access to Close Combat to counter bulky Normal-types like Chansey, Porygon2, and Type: Null. Mega Swampert, in return, can deal with Pokemon Mega Heracross struggles against including Flying-types like Flyinium Z Dragonite, Flyinium Z Landorus-T, and non-Substitute Mega Pinsir, as well as some offensive Fire-types including Mega Blaziken and Victini. Volcarona also helps take care of Steel-types not hit hard by Earthquake and problematic Psychic-types such as Celesteela, Magnet Rise Mega Metagross, Mega Mawile, Mew, and Necrozma thanks to its unique Fire / Bug typing while also utilizing Bug Buzz to hit through Substitute and inflicting special damage to complement Mega Swampert's physical attacking prowess. Mega Swampert, in return, helps counter Rock-type Pokemon like Golem and Crustle and Pokemon carrying Rock-type coverage such as Stone Edge Sawk and Stone Edge Garchomp.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Mega Swampert can utilize Counter or Mirror Coat thanks to its great mixed bulk, potentially baiting Mega Charizard X into using Outrage and surprising some special attackers like Choice Specs Latios. However, using Yawn + Protect and attacking twice usually accomplishes what these moves are trying to do with less prediction needed against powerful Pokemon that can run physical or special movesets like Hoopa-U and Pheromosa. Waterfall also seems like a good option, as it is boosted by STAB, but Ground / Ice coverage already hits everything that Water-type coverage hits, with Waterfall only being useful to surprise for Substitute + Magnet Rise Mega Metagross as well as Levitate users and Flying-type Pokemon that resist Ice Beam such as Rotom-H and Dragon Dance Mega Charizard X before it Mega Evolves.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Grass-type Moves**: Mega Swampert's 4x weakness to Grass-type moves means that it gets OHKOed by most of them. Grass-types such as Kartana, Serperior, and Tapu Bulu along with Pokemon carrying unexpected Grass-type coverage such as Bloom Doom Heatran, Grass Knot Greninja, and Hoopa-U directly counter Mega Swampert.
**Physically Oriented Stall Pokemon**: As Mega Swampert is unable to raise its Attack, Iron Defense users like Registeel, Mega Slowbro, and Necrozma along with Will-O-Wisp users like Mega Sableye and Kee Berry Mew can cripple Mega Swampert and beat it.
**Bulky Taunt Users**: Taunt effectively shuts down Mega Swampert's main strategy in Yawn, especially from bulky Pokemon that commonly utilize the move such as Tapu Fini, Mega Gyarados, Kommo-o, and Whimsicott.
**Substitute**: Substitute also blocks Yawn and provides an extra obstacle of mind games for Mega Swampert to break through. This move in and of itself makes matchups versus Garchomp, Landorus-T, Mega Lopunny, and Greninja tricky.
**Bulky Ground-immune Pokemon**: Magnet Rise users like Mega Metagross and Aegislash can be troublesome for Mega Swampert, as can bulky Flying-type Pokemon like Skarmory and Mega Pidgeot and Levitate users such as Mega Latias and Rotom-W.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[LittleRunnerXC, 289008]]
- Quality checked by: [[Alakazam, 276708], [MaceMaster, 302951], [Freddy Kyogre, 321529]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Estronic, 240732]]
Mega Swampert possesses one of the best defensive typings in the game in Water / Ground, with resistances to Fire, Rock, and Steel and a critical immunity to Electric-type moves, the bane of most Water-type Pokemon. This great defensive typing is further fortified by Mega Swampert's amazing bulk, allowing it to survive a hit from powerful attackers like Porygon-Z, Dragonite, and Pheromosa and put them to sleep with the combination of Yawn + Protect. Mega Swampert's Ground / Ice coverage in Earthquake and Ice Beam hits many common Fire-, Steel-, Dragon-, and Ground-type Pokemon super effectively like Victini, Magnezone, Dragonite, and Garchomp. However, Mega Swampert's main selling point in Yawn is also its biggest downfall, as its reliance on sleep turns makes it a shaky check to Pokemon that can 2HKO it like Dragonite, Mega Medicham, and Mega Lopunny, relying on the 66% chance that opposing Pokemon stay asleep for at least two turns. Furthermore, with a lack of usable stat-boosting moves and an over reliance on sleep turns, Mega Swampert is usually countered by a plethora of stall-oriented Pokemon with access to Taunt like Deoxys-S, Mew, and Mega Sableye or Defense-boosting moves like Mega Slowbro and Mega Altaria. Lastly, Mega Swampert's Water / Ground typing gives it a glaring 4x Grass-type weakness, making it susceptible to Grass-type Pokemon like Serperior and Grass-type coverage like Solar Beam from Mega Charizard Y and Grass Knot from Greninja.
[SET]
name: Yawn + Protect
move 1: Yawn
move 2: Protect
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Ice Beam
item: Swampertite
ability: Damp
nature: Brave
evs: 208 HP / 16 Atk / 36 SpA / 248 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Yawn should be used against Pokemon like Charizard, Sawk, Crustle, and Haxorus. Protect is used in combination with Yawn to ensure that the foe falls asleep the next turn by preventing Mega Swampert from getting attacked or being affected by Encore, status conditions, or Encore from Pokemon like Mega Lopunny. Earthquake is Mega Swampert's most powerful STAB move, hitting extremely hard with investment and a base 150 Attack stat. This allows it to KO Pokemon it doesn't need Yawn to win against, like Zeraora, Magnezone, and Blacephalon. Ice Beam allows Mega Swampert to deal with the many Flying-types that are immune to Earthquake and hit specific Pokemon 4x super effectively, including metagame staples like Landorus-T, Garchomp, Dragonite, and Zygarde.
Set Details
========
208 HP EVs are used to maximize Mega Swampert's great mixed bulk by allowing it to take a Dragonium Z-boosted Outrage from Dragonite, as well as anything physical nukes like Mega Medicham and Mega Lopunny can throw at it so it can use Yawn against them on turn 1. 248 Special Defense EVs paired with this HP investment allow Mega Swampert to beat both Normalium Z and Choice Scarf Porygon-Z by taking Breakneck Blitz and preventing Uproar from Choice Scarf variants from 2HKOing it. 36 Special Attack EVs are needed to guarantee that Ice Beam 2HKOes maximum HP Dragonite. The Attack stat is where the remaining EVs go. A Brave nature allows Mega Swampert to not hinder its Special Attack while increasing its Attack at the expense of its Speed, a stat it does not need very much. This still gives it enough Speed to outspeed uninvested base 60s like bulky Primarina and Incineroar. An alternative EV spread of 248 HP / 28 Atk / 232 SpA with a Brave nature can be used to guarantee that Ice Beam will OHKO Landorus-T and Garchomp and 2HKO Groundium Z Zygarde without having to worry about potential Substitute mind games.
Usage Tips
========
Do not send Mega Swampert into versatile Pokemon like Mega Charizard Y, Greninja, and Hoopa-U, as they can try to lure in Mega Swampert with their Grass-type coverage. Usually, it's not a good idea to pick Mega Swampert versus stall Pokemon like Mega Sableye, Type: Null, and Registeel, as they can nullify Yawn's usefulness and boost their defenses. Sadly, bulky Dragon Dance Mega Charizard X and Mega Gyarados can forgo Mega Evolving and immunize themselves to Earthquake while shaking off Ice Beam with ease thanks to their secondary typings, so picking Mega Swampert into common Fire / Water / Grass cores with these Pokemon is not advised. During battle, using Yawn turn 1 is usually your best course of action, as the idea of Yawn + Protect Mega Swampert is to tank a hit, use Yawn followed by Protect, and 2HKO Pokemon like Genesect and Pheromosa. Don't bother using Yawn against offensive foes you can simply out-damage, like Blacephalon, as they could take advantage of your status move with their own Substitute. Using Protect on turn 1 is advised versus powerful Fake Out users like Mega Medicham and Flail Mega Lopunny to prevent chip damage that might otherwise let them OHKO Mega Swampert. It is also important to use Protect turn 1 when facing off against Porygon-Z, as this allows you to scout if it uses Uproar, in which case you can proceed to use Earthquake twice, as Uproar does not 2HKO Mega Swampert, and Earthquake will always 2HKO Porygon-Z. If Porygon-Z uses Breakneck Blitz or Hyper Beam, Mega Swampert should continue with the normal process of using Yawn turn 2 and Protect turn 3, and then using Earthquake to 2HKO Porygon-Z. If using the alternate EV spread of 248 HP / 28 Atk / 232 SpA with a Brave nature, Mega Swampert is a solid choice against teams with Zygarde, Garchomp, and Landorus-T, and Ice Beam is the move of choice in those matchups, as it will always 2HKO Zygarde and OHKO both Landorus-T and Garchomp, with them not being able to KO Mega Swampert back.
Team Options
========
Fire-types like Mega Charizard X and Mega Charizard Y deserve a special mention for their ability to counter Steel- and Grass-types that Mega Swampert struggles with such as Magearna, Registeel, Tapu Bulu, Serperior, and Ferrothorn, as well as Will-O-Wisp users such as Mew and Volcarona. Mega Swampert, in return, can take care of Ground- and Rock-type Pokemon that counter them such as non-Magnet Rise Mega Diancie, Donphan, Garchomp, and Archeops. Grass + Steel types like Kartana and Ferrothorn are fitting partners for Mega Swampert, as they counter opposing Grass- and Water-types such as Whimsicott, Tapu Bulu, Mega Gyarados, and Tapu Fini with their secondary STAB options. Furthermore, their secondary Steel typing helps versus Fairy-type Pokemon that Mega Swampert struggles with such as Clefable and Taunt / Will-O-Wisp Mega Gardevoir. Mega Swampert, in return, takes care of most of the Fire-, Poison-, and Fighting-types that threaten them such as Blacephalon, Nagandel, and Mega Lopunny. Along with that, Pokemon that carry multi-hit moves and sound-based moves to get through Substitute, a direct counter to Yawn, match well with Mega Swampert. Notable examples include Mega Heracross and Volcarona, with the former being a great Will-O-Wisp absorber thanks to its pre-Mega ability in Guts and access to Bullet Seed and Pin Missile to hit Water- and Grass-types hiding behind Substitute like Greninja, Primarina, Serperior, and Whimsicott, as well as access to Close Combat to counter bulky Normal-types like Chansey, Porygon2, and Type: Null. Mega Swampert, in return, can deal with Pokemon Mega Heracross struggles against including Flying-types like Flyinium Z Dragonite, Flyinium Z Landorus-T, and non-Substitute Mega Pinsir, as well as some offensive Fire-types including Mega Blaziken and Victini. Volcarona also helps take care of Steel-types not hit hard by Earthquake and problematic Psychic-types such as Celesteela, Magnet Rise Mega Metagross, Mega Mawile, Mew, and Necrozma thanks to its unique Fire / Bug typing while also utilizing Bug Buzz to hit through Substitute and inflicting special damage to complement Mega Swampert's physical attacking prowess. Mega Swampert, in return, helps counter Rock-type Pokemon like Golem and Crustle and Pokemon carrying Rock-type coverage such as Stone Edge Sawk and Stone Edge Garchomp.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Mega Swampert can utilize Counter or Mirror Coat thanks to its great mixed bulk, potentially baiting Mega Charizard X into using Outrage and surprising some special attackers like Choice Specs Latios. However, using Yawn + Protect and attacking twice usually accomplishes what these moves are trying to do with less prediction needed against powerful Pokemon that can run physical or special movesets like Hoopa-U and Pheromosa. Waterfall also seems like a good option, as it is boosted by STAB, but Ground / Ice coverage already hits everything that Water-type coverage hits, with Waterfall only being useful to surprise for Substitute + Magnet Rise Mega Metagross as well as Levitate users and Flying-type Pokemon that resist Ice Beam such as Rotom-H and Dragon Dance Mega Charizard X before it Mega Evolves.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Grass-type Moves**: Mega Swampert's 4x weakness to Grass-type moves means that it gets OHKOed by most of them. Grass-types such as Kartana, Serperior, and Tapu Bulu along with Pokemon carrying unexpected Grass-type coverage such as Bloom Doom Heatran, Grass Knot Greninja, and Hoopa-U directly counter Mega Swampert.
**Physically Oriented Stall Pokemon**: As Mega Swampert is unable to raise its Attack, Iron Defense users like Registeel, Mega Slowbro, and Necrozma along with Will-O-Wisp users like Mega Sableye and Kee Berry Mew can cripple Mega Swampert and beat it.
**Bulky Taunt Users**: Taunt effectively shuts down Mega Swampert's main strategy in Yawn, especially from bulky Pokemon that commonly utilize the move such as Tapu Fini, Mega Gyarados, Kommo-o, and Whimsicott.
**Substitute**: Substitute also blocks Yawn and provides an extra obstacle of mind games for Mega Swampert to break through. This move in and of itself makes matchups versus Garchomp, Landorus-T, Mega Lopunny, and Greninja tricky.
**Bulky Ground-immune Pokemon**: Magnet Rise users like Mega Metagross and Aegislash can be troublesome for Mega Swampert, as can bulky Flying-type Pokemon like Skarmory and Mega Pidgeot and Levitate users such as Mega Latias and Rotom-W.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[LittleRunnerXC, 289008]]
- Quality checked by: [[Alakazam, 276708], [MaceMaster, 302951], [Freddy Kyogre, 321529]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Estronic, 240732]]
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