Swampert
VGC Guide
One weakness. Swift Swim doubles Speed in Rain. Water/Ground coverage hits nearly anything. In Rain, Swampert becomes one of the fastest physical attackers on the field — and its Electric immunity removes an entire category of opponent moves from the equation.
Swift Swim: Rain Speed Doubling
Swift Swim doubles Swampert's Speed stat during Rain. With 60 base Speed, Swampert reaches approximately 90 at Level 50 normally — but under Rain that doubles to roughly 180, outspeeding virtually every Pokémon not also using Swift Swim. Combined with Rain's 1.5× boost to Water-type moves, Swampert gains both Speed and power simultaneously in Rain turns.
| Scenario | Lv50 Speed Stat | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Normal (Adamant 252 Spe) | ~121 | Ordinary Speed — outsped by most common threats |
| Rain (Swift Swim active, Adamant) | ~180 | Outspeeds nearly everything not running Swift Swim |
| Trick Room (Brave 0 Spe IV) | ~40 | Acts first under TR; brute force replaces Speed advantage |
Water/Ground Typing: Near-Perfect Coverage
- • Fully immune to Electric (Ground)
- • Resists Fire, Rock, Steel
- • Resists Poison (Water)
- • Only one 2× weakness in the entire type chart
- • Water hits: Fire, Ground, Rock
- • Ground hits: Fire, Electric, Rock, Steel, Poison
- • Ice Punch covers: Grass, Dragon
- • Combined super-effective coverage vs 10+ types
Best Movesets
Life Orb maximizes per-hit damage but costs 1/10 HP each attack. Choice Band locks Swampert into one move but provides even greater Waterfall power. Assault Vest boosts Special Defense bulk — ideal for Trick Room variants or more defensive play styles.
Earthquake in Doubles: Partner Considerations
Earthquake is a spread move that hits all other Pokémon on the field — including your own partner. On Rain teams using Swampert's Earthquake, pairing a Flying-type or Levitate-ability partner is the cleanest solution, ensuring Earthquake only damages opponents.
Togekiss, Flygon, or any Flying-type is fully immune to Earthquake — Swampert can spam spread EQ freely.
Pokémon with Levitate ability are Ground-immune, solving the friendly-fire problem equally well.
The TR variant uses Muddy Water (special spread) instead, completely avoiding the Earthquake partner-damage issue.
Rain Team Synergy
Swampert pairs most naturally with Rain setters and fellow Swift Swim sweepers. When two Swift Swim sweepers are on the same team, opponents need multiple Grass-type answers active simultaneously — a near-impossible positioning task that creates constant offensive pressure.
Drizzle permanently maintains Rain while Politoed is on field, consistently triggering Swift Swim. The most reliable Rain setter for Swampert teams.
Pelipper's Drizzle activates Rain on switch-in and provides Follow Me support. Flying-type also means it's immune to Swampert's Earthquake.
Barraskewda is also a Swift Swim user — running both creates overwhelming dual sweeper pressure. Opponents need multiple active Grass answers simultaneously.
Flying-type grants complete Earthquake immunity, freeing Swampert to use spread EQ. Follow Me redirects attacks away from Swampert during setup turns.
Weaknesses & Counters
Frequently Asked Questions
Swampert has 60 base Speed, reaching approximately 121 at Level 50 with Adamant nature and 252 Speed EVs. Under Rain with Swift Swim active, this doubles to roughly 180 — outspeeding virtually every Pokémon not also using Swift Swim, making Swampert one of the fastest physical attackers on the field during Rain.
Swampert's Water/Ground typing has exactly one weakness in the entire type chart: Grass ×2. Electric moves are completely immune (Ground-type immunity). Fire, Rock, Steel, and Poison all deal 0.5× resisted damage. This near-perfect defensive typing is what makes Swampert such a reliable Rain sweeper.
Both are excellent and can run on the same team. Swampert provides broader coverage (Earthquake, Ice Punch) and near-perfect Water/Ground defensive typing. Barraskewda is faster with devastating Waterfall output but narrower coverage. Running both Swift Swim sweepers creates overwhelming offensive pressure — opponents cannot wall both simultaneously.
Rain Sweeper: Waterfall / Earthquake / Ice Punch / Protect, Life Orb, Adamant, 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP. Swift Swim doubles Speed to ~180 in Rain; Waterfall receives the additional 1.5× Rain boost. Trick Room variant: Muddy Water / Earthquake / Ice Punch / Protect, Assault Vest, Brave, 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def, 0 Speed IVs — acts first under TR and hits extremely hard.
Usage Rate & Meta Data
With 6.7% usage on Rain teams, Swampert is a significant physical sweeper in doubles — ~178 Speed under Swift Swim outspeeds most of the field, while Earthquake's spread damage hitting two targets simultaneously delivers exceptional offensive efficiency.
Key Damage Calculations
Rain's 1.5× boost pushes Liquidation's effective power to 127.5 — combined with Life Orb, this threatens an OHKO on uninvested Koraidon and confirms Swampert's Rain sweeping credentials.
Miraidon's ~167 max Speed at Lv50 falls below Swift Swim Swampert's ~178, meaning Swampert acts first in Rain — and its Ground-type Electric immunity makes Miraidon's Electric Terrain Electro Drift completely ineffective.
Earthquake takes a 0.75× spread penalty in doubles but hits both opponents simultaneously — the combined damage output across two targets makes it one of the most action-efficient moves in Rain team play.
Ready to Build Your Rain Team?
Calculate Swampert damage output under Swift Swim Rain, confirm your EV targets, and plan your complete Rain team composition.