#276 - #277: Taillow & Swellow

Top row from left to right: Fletchling, Pidove and Pidgey.
Bottom row from left to right: Hoothoot, Starly and
Taillow.

Only now, after a dark-type hyena and two grass-type yōkai evolutionary lines, we meet the generic normal/flying-type birds of this region. Taillow is a feisty and gutsy little bird inspired by - based on its forked tail, pointy wings and color scheme - a barn swallow. It essentially behaves like a newborn baby bird, as it will weaken and start to cry loudly when it gets hungry, probably asking mama or papa Swellow to bring it food. It migrates to warm lands when it gets cold, traveling almost 180 miles a day. God, could its flavor be any more boring? We know that birds migrate, and we know that hatchlings get squeaky when they get hungry or thirsty, but we don't need to see it in a Pokédex entry. It's dull almost to the point that it gets a bit irritating. You're creating magical creatures one after the other and this is all you can come up with, Game Freak? It doesn't even matter that Taillow is brave and never backs down even if it faces a tough opponent, because its evolution Swellow has the ability Guts as well (which is an awesome ability, but more about that later), which indicates that Swellow is as courageous as its pre-evolution. Its predatory behavior actually make it reminiscent of a swallow-tailed kite, a bird of prey that has the same forked tail as a swallow, hence its name. Just like a bird of prey, Swellow is a fantastic dive-bomber and never misses a target. It is also very conscientious about the upkeep of... its glossy plumage. And it occasionally cleans the feathers of others of its species.

So we have a vain predatory bird? I'm giving up already.

Swellow flying about with a flock of Taillow. 

Ash had a Swellow in the anime, and it could sometimes be overly stubborn and persistent, even to the point it was willing to take a Thunder from Ash's Pikachu in order to defeat Tate and Liza's Solrock and Lunatone in a two-on-two battle. This, and Swellow's Pokédex entries, leads me to think these characteristics are any Swellow's standard personality traits, which is why it has Guts. That brings us to the competitive scene, where it could either excel or be a total letdown. Swellow has a pretty low base stat total of 430, so it's a pretty straightforward Pokémon. Its excellent speed and decent attack are the stats you should invest in, as its attack gets a 50% boost when Swellow has a status condition, due to Guts. That's why most Swellow have a Jolly nature, holding a Flame Orb or Toxic Orb to burn or poison themselves, respectively, even though having such a status condition significantly wears them down fast. That is especially the case when Swellow is rocking Brave Bird, which is a 120-power flying-type move that deals recoil damage. On top of that, Brave Bird and Facade (a 70-power move that gets doubled when the user suffers from a status condition) are the only good competitively viable physical moves it has access to, although you could make use of U-Turn. As for the fourth slot, you could give Swellow Protect in order for it to stall for one turn and see what the opponent is gonna go for (and activate the Orb item it is holding if it hasn't activated yet), or maybe Quick Attack to finish off opposing Pokémon that are at low health. Additionally, Roost heals half of Swellow's HP, but that means it has to take hit afterwards unless the opponent is switching out.

For some reason there's also a special Choice Specs moveset for Swellow to be found on Smogon, but its abysmal base 50 special attack renders it kind of useless. Why in the name of God would you run a special set on Swellow when its much better physical attack can easily be boosted by letting it hold a Flame Orb? Guts even negates the attack drop from the subsequent burn. I don't understand, but whatever.

A Trainer and his shiny Swellow.

It's such a shame Swellow's flavor is so bland, honestly, because I actually really, really like its design; and if played well, it can even be a powerhouse in competitive play. However, aside from these things there is actually nothing that makes Swellow stand out to other generic bird Pokémon. Because of that, I'll have to deprive it of a perfect rating or even a 4.5-star rating, but I guess 4 stars aren't bad, either.

Rating: 4/5