Swampert Review!

At the beginning of every single Pokemon journey, you will be given a choice of three starter Pokemon. One of them being a grass type, another being a fire type and the last being a water type. It's your choice which one you pick to go to the very end with. In Generation 3 of the Pokemon games, there was one starter that truly stood out to me as brilliant. That Pokemon is Swampert.

As I mentioned earlier, Swampert is a starter in the Hoenn region, which is Generation 3 of the Pokemon games. Judging by its colour being blue, you can tell that this Pokemon is a water type. This Pokemon's first evolution is Mudkip. Then at level 16 it evolves into Marshtomp. Then finally at level 32 it evolves into the god known as Swampert! Mudkip is a pure water type, then when it evolves into Marshtomp, it becomes a water/ground type, and Swampert is also water/ground.

Onto the main review now, Swampert's typing for starters is fantastic as he is only weak to one Pokemon type, which is the grass type. Every other type will be hitting him for neutral damage or less, and in Pokemon battling, learning the oppositions types is key to winning the battles. This Pokemon has a fantastic attack stat which is base 110, which is very solid and well balanced for a starter. His HP is also base 100. Which gives him great survival skills, as well as blended in to his base 90 defense and special defense, he can be a great tank with great offensive power. Also on top of that he has a decent 85 base special attack stat. So you don't have to be just a physical attacker to use Swampert effectively! The best way to put it is you can practically use Swampert in any way possible.

In Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, Swampert was fantastic against most of the gym leaders, so he was easy to use back then when those games first came out. His cry is also amazing (I just had to touch on that...) He also has a great design. Some people may call him hideous in a lot of ways, but to me he is truly majestic and special.

Swampert in competitive battling currently stands in the UU (Under Used) tier, because of his great stats and his access to STAB Earthquake and Stealth Rocks. However he hasn't quite got the substantial stats to fit him into the OU (Over Used) tier, however you can use him there if you want, but he won't be as successful and rewarding as he is standing in the UU tier. Some certain Pokemon can scare Swampert out in the UU tier. Such Pokemon include Abomasnow, Roserade, Shaymin and Virizion. These Pokemon can deal nasty grass attacks that can most likely OHKO your Swampert.

Swampert's move pool is surprisingly great. With access to diverse moves such as Waterfall, Earthquake, Ice Beam, Stone Edge, Superpower and more. His abilities are torrent which every water type starter has, but his Dream World ability is Damp. Damp is very handy for Pokemon that are going to use moves like Explosion on you. So Pokemon in the UU tier that are most likely going to explode like Snorlax and Registeel, this can be very handy.

One way I like to use Swampert is to have the moves Waterfall, Roar, Stealth Rocks and Earthquake. Waterfall and Earthquake are there for attacking moves and STAB, Stealth Rocks are there to make their defenses much more crippling and give you the advantage, and Roar is one this moveset to force switches and rack up some more Stealth Rocks damage to the opposition. My EV's I usually have are 252 HP, 252 defense, 4 attack. This is my bulky set.

However, Swampert does have it's drawbacks. No Pokemon is perfect. This Pokemon doesn't have the greatest speed in the world, so if you're in a situation where you have no choice but to go toe-to-toe with a grass Pokemon, chances are they are going to outspeed you and OHKO you. Also this Pokemon's movesets are rather predictable sometimes. People are almost guaranteed to know you're going to use Stealth Rocks first turn, so using this Pokemon in different ways can bring a great twist and trick the opponent, but it can also cost you... big time. Also why haven't GameFreak made a Mega Evolution on him?! :( In addition, more Pokemon have been given access to moves like Energy Ball, and SolarBeam, so his role is somewhat diminished compared to the older days.

All and all, this Pokemon has a great typing, fantastic stats for a starter, great movepool, and useful tactics. With its rather challenging drawbacks, there is no denying the fun and creativity you can do with Swampert! My review for Swampert is a 8/10. Stay tuned for more reviews.