Swampert is one of the best tools any trainer can have in GO Battle League for Pokemon GO.
Whether it’s in the Ultra League where it dominates, or the Master League where it still sees some play, Swampert seems to impact the meta wherever it goes. A large part of this is due to how great the Water and Ground-typing is; it has plenty of resistances and only Grass can threaten it. Swampert also gets access to some hard hitting moves.
Which moves should this Generation III Pokemon be using?
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To use Swampert in PvP to its maximum potential, trainers will want to run Mud Shot. This is simply because it’s superior for energy charging.
Yes, Water Gun is only a half a second while Mud Shot takes a full second to use. Even while being faster, though, Water Gun still can’t catch up to Mud Shot.
Water Gun charges 3 energy per use. With a duration of 0.5 seconds, that means it will end up charging 6 EPS. This doesn’t reach Mud Shot’s 9 EPS. The key to Swampert’s moveset is its charge moves, and Mud Shot helps Swampert use them more often.
As for Swampert’s charge moves, it gets one of the best weapons in the game in Hydro Cannon. 80 power is nothing to laugh at when it only needs 40 energy to use. This move is from an old Community Day, so it is a legacy move, but it’s probably the best move any Elite TM can be used on.
With Hydro Cannon, Swampert is never out of the game. Even when the Pokemon is brought to low HP, it likely will have enough time to fire off a Hydro Cannon that will score significant damage on any opponent.
Swampert can pair Hydro Cannon with either Earthquake for more neutral damage on many Pokemon, or Sludge Bomb to cover Grass-types and Fairy-types. Out of these options, though, Earthquake is usually the way to go.
Since it’s Water-type and Ground-type, Swampert takes 256% damage from Grass moves. Therefore, the odds of Swampert surviving long enough to charge a Sludge Wave against a Grass-type Pokemon are slim to none.
Earthquake, however, gives Swampert a decent match up against Giratina, who usually sits at the top of the Ultra League meta. When building around Swampert, trainers should definitely pair it with a Registeel, Venusaur, or other Pokemon that can deal with Grass-types, as well as Fairies.
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