#527 - #528: Woobat & Swoobat

As you can see, Woobat is kind of an oddball, having only a
mouth and a nose, and no eyes whatsoever. Or would they be
hidden beneath those tufts of fur?

A new region and a new Pokédex also meant a new bat species for us to make fun of and be annoyed by, so instead of Zubat and Golbat we got Woobat and Swoobat.

Goddamn, even their names sound similar...

However, whereas Zubat and Golbat are malicious and annoying little shits looking to poison and/or confuse every Pokémon the player character decides to send out, Woobat and its evolution Swoobat seem to be all about the power of love. It's not difficult to see why 'woo' (a synonym for ' to court') and 'swoon' (to be overcome by admiration or adoration) are the key words to form their names, because they have such a strong connotation with this love thing these Pokémon are apparently all about. Like the fluffy Honduran white bat it is based on, Woobat has a piggish nose, but Game Freak gave a little twist to it by making its nostril heart-shaped - a literal interpretation of the heart-nosed bat, even though Woobat doesn't seem to resemble this species aesthetically. Woobat's nostril is used to produce ultrasonic waves for echolocation and also enables it to stick to cave walls when asleep, leaving a heart-shaped mark behind. If Woobat has been attached to a person's body, this mark is said to bring good fortune.

Swoobat and its kin chillin' at a graveyard, which isn't such a loving thing to do, in
my opinion. In fact, them smiling while hovering over people's graves is actually
pretty creepy. I guess they're not better than Zubat and Golbat after all. 

Swoobat, on the other hand, takes this whole courting thing - it is known as the 'Courting Pokémon' after all - a little bit too far. Not only its nostril is heart-shaped, the nose itself has the shape of a heart as well, and it can be used by courting male Swoobat to produce ultrasonic waves that can make people experience a positive mood shift. Its German name Fletiamo even contains the Italian phrase ti amo, meaning 'I love you'. In contrast, all Swoobat are able to emit multi-frequency sound waves that can become powerful enough to reduce rocks and even concrete to rubble. Swoobat's tail shakes vigorously when it produces these kinds of waves, so they're easy to see coming.

Another instance of a Trainer copying their Pokémon. This type
of art seems to be very popular around the web. 

You know what's also easy to see coming? Swoobat's strategy in competitive battles. Not that I'd recommend using it, because its best stat after its base 114 speed is its base 77 special attack, which is... very, very mediocre. Yikes. Fortunately, Swoobat isn't a complete letdown, as it has access to the amazing ability Simple - which doubles its stat changes - as well as the eloquent Calm Mind. This moves usually raises the special attack and special defense stats by one stage each every time it is used, but Simple allows Swoobat to raise these stats by two stages after every use. A moveset consisting of Calm Mind, Roost, Air Slash and Psychic isn't uncommon, and Psychic could even be replaced by Stored Power, a move that starts at a power of 20 and adds another 20 for every positive stat change on Swoobat. After just one Calm Mind, Stored Power has a power of 100, which is better than Psychic's base power of 90, although the latter is inarguably better when Swoobat doesn't have any stat changes on it. It literally comes down to preference, really, especially since one of Swoobat's STAB moves (preferably Air Slash) could easily be replaced by one of many neat coverage moves it has access to, including Shadow Ball, Giga Drain, Energy Ball, Heat Wave, Hidden Power, Signal Beam and even Shock Wave. As for natures, a Timid nature raises the speed stat and makes Swoobat a bit faster, while a Modest nature raises its special attack and makes it hit a little bit harder. You'd probably want the former, so that you don't get surprised by a certain Pokémon outspeeding your Swoobat. I do advise you to have Swoobat hold a Focus Sash in order to provent it from being OHKOed by any type of physical move, although Smogon strangely recommends a Salac Berry set, to make its speed stat increase in a pinch. To each their own, I guess.

GIF of Swoobat in the anime, emitting heart-shaped sound waves in order to
'woo' a Deerling.

At least it's a quick way to create a set-up sweeper, although you should ask yourself whether it's really worth it. Even after a Calm Mind, Swoobat doesn't hit awfully hard, and there are much better Pokémon that can make use of Calm Mind, even without this move being boosted by Simple. I like Swoobat well enough, though, and I'd even dare say it's cute to some extent, which can probably be attributed to it being inspired by fruit bats rather than the more daunting vampire bats Zubat and its evolutions seem to be based on. If only the Simple ability was available normally in-game, I'd definitely use it, but Simple is Swoobat's hidden ability and I absolutely refuse to run through the game with a Swoobat that has Klutz. It won't be affected by any of the opponent's positive stat changes if it has Unaware, which seems nice, but I really want my Pokémon to hit a little bit harder, and Simple provides just that. Alas, Swoobat has fallen into the realm of forgetfulness and it won't get out of there for the life of it.

But it's a fluffy bat; what more do you want?

Rating: 4/5