Swampert
PvE Analysis
Thanks to Hydro Cannon's supreme power, Swampert is a a powerful threat in raids, though it's still outclassed by the top Shadows by a fair margin. On top of that, its Water/Ground typing gives it a very interesting niche in raids; it's a water type that actually resists the fairly common Electric Type moves that raid bosses tend to wield for coverage. This alone can situationally put Swampert in a really good spot in some raids. Just keep it the heck away from anything that can throw leaves around!
Best PvE Offensive Moveset
Water Gun + Muddy Water* | Best |
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Mud Shot + Earthquake | Good |
- Water Gun should be paired with Hydro Cannon*. This set is better than the Ground-type set against most targets, including Rock-types.
- Mud Shot should be paired with Earthquake. This set has an advantage against Steel, Electric, and Poison-types.
- Sludge Wave is underwhelming in every aspect.
- Surf has been replaced by Swampert's Community Day move.
- Muddy Water as a 3-bar move can be used in a pinch right before Swampert faints, but otherwise is inferior to even Surf.
Best PvE Defensive Moveset
Mud Shot + Muddy Water* or Muddy Water | Best |
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- Mud Shot is slightly superior to Water Gun, offering slightly better coverage and cross-weather benefits.
- Hydro Cannon* is superior to Sludge Wave and Surf, having a lower energy cost than the former and earlier dodge window than both.
- Muddy Water can be used more often as a 3-bar move, though it has a later dodge window than Hydro Cannon.
- Sludge Wave offers counter coverage against Grass-types, however.
- Earthquake is underwhelming in every aspect despite having STAB.
PvP Analysis
Mud Shot + Muddy Water* and Earthquake Or Sludge Wave |
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Mud Shot offers a solid energy generation at the cost of low damage output. Due to how powerful Swampert's charge moves are, this move is recommended. Water Gun offers more damage output and is meant more for general coverage, but is not recommended due to its inferior energy generation.
Hydro Cannon is a move limited to specific events such as Community Day, as well as Elite TMs, and is mandatory due to its lesser energy cost and very high Damage Per Energy value. It also completely blows Surf out of the water. Earthquake and Sludge Wave are both viable options, with Earthquake giving more power against Steel-types and Sludge Wave letting you hit Fairy-types harder.
What about Muddy Water?
Muddy Water is a very disappointing addition to Swampert for PvP. Hydro Cannon deals roughly 257% of the damage that Muddy Water can do, for only extra 5 energy. While Muddy Water does have a perk of reducing the opponent's ATK stage by 1, the 30% chance to proc the debuff makes it unreliable to use for consistent results.
Great League | 3.5 / 5 |
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Swampert was one of Great League's most feared Pokemon due to the insane spamminess of its powerful Hydro Cannons. Its presence often called for Grass-type Pokemon or Altaria to be slotted into teams just to keep it down, as its sheer power was too difficult for most Pokemon to handle. Swampert's usage fell when Whiscash received Scald and Quagsire received Aqua Tail, as these bulkier Pokemon were even more oppressive options overall. Additionally, the looming presence of Feraligatr has taken over Swampert's role when it comes to spamming Hydro Cannons. | |
Ultra League | 3/5 / 5 |
Without Quagsire or Whiscash competing for the same role, Swampert finds itself more free to roam. However, Feraligatr still exists to give Swampert competition when it comes to raw Hydro Cannon power. Swampert's viability largely comes from its secondary Ground-type that lets it better punish Pokemon such as Tentacruel and Registeel. The Mud Shot changes in Pokemon GO: Max Out are not ideal for Swampert, slowing down it s Hydro Cannon spam and making it more difficult for Swampert to reach its expensive Earthquake. As a result, Swampert has a tougher time breaking past Giratina and opposing Water-type Pokemon/ | |
Master League | 2 / 5 |
Swampert's relatively low max CP prevents it from maintaining its dominance from the other two formats. While its incredibly powerful moveset gives it some wins against common Steel-types in both Open Format and Premier versions of Masters, its general lack of stats and poor matchups against some incredibly meta Pokémon leaves the mudboi outclassed. |