Is Swablu Good in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Playthrough?
Underground Normal/Flying. Altaria is Dragon/Flying with AbilityNatural Cure removing status on switch-out. Decent but outclassed by Garchomp and Salamence for the Dragon slot.
Swablu trades roughly evenly with Roark's team.
Swablu has the type edge here and should clean up Gardenia's team.
Swablu trades roughly evenly with Maylene's team.
Crasher Wake's team hits Swablu's weaknesses hard.
Swablu trades roughly evenly with Fantina's team.
Byron's team hits Altaria's weaknesses hard.
Altaria has the type edge here and should clean up Candice's team.
Altaria trades roughly evenly with Volkner's team.
Altaria has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Altaria trades roughly evenly with Bertha's team.
Altaria trades roughly evenly with Flint's team.
Altaria trades roughly evenly with Lucian's team.
Altaria has the type edge here and should clean up Cynthia's team.
Catch Swablu on Route 211 (Poké Radar, Lv 27-28, common).
Your Swablu should hit Level 35 before you reach Byron, at typical leveling pace.
How to Get Swablu in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
high spawn rates in mid-game routes across 12 locations. Swablu's one of the easier catches on the list. Two different catch methods are in play here. Knock it out fast and save your time for harder targets.
Where To Catch Swablu in BDSP
The path to Swablu starts with Swablu at Lv. 16-63 via walking and special encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.
Step 1Swablu ✓Fountainspring CaveLv.16-63CaveRate 30%Unique encounterRoute 211 - EastLv.27-28Using PokeRadarRate 22%Glacial CavernLv.58-63CavePost-gameIcy CaveLv.58-63CavePost-gameSpacious CaveLv.58-63CavePost-gameWhiteout CaveLv.58-63CavePost-game
Step 2Evolve into Altaria
Swablu Weakness
Electric, Ice, and Rock moves hit Swablu for super-effective damage. The upside? Ground and Ghost-type moves can't touch it at all.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Ice, Rock |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Bug |
| 0x (Immune) | Ground, Ghost |
What is Swablu Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Swablu
 Magnezone ElectricSteel | B | |
 Pikachu Electric | C | |
 Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
 Abomasnow GrassIce | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Abomasnow builds →Ice Beam 2x100-118%KO Rock Slide 2x65-76% | ||
 Probopass RockSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Probopass builds →Power Gem 2x75-88% Thunderbolt 2x56-67% | ||
Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
 Rhydon GroundRock | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Rhydon builds →Stone Edge 2x177-209%KO Avalanche 2x71-84% Thunderbolt 2x39-46% | ||
 Jynx IcePsychic | C | |
Magnezone ElectricSteel | B | |
Probopass RockSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Probopass builds →Power Gem 2x75-89% Thunderbolt 2x57-67% | ||
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Weavile's Ice Shard hits Swablu for 48-57%. Tyranitar threatens a KO with Stone Edge (211-248%). Raikou's Thunderbolt also KOs at 100-118%.
 Weavile DarkIce | A | |
Recommended Build AbilityPressure ItemHeavy-Duty Boots NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Weavile builds →Knock Off39-46% Ice Shard 2x48-57% | ||
 Tyranitar RockDark | A | |
Recommended Build AbilitySand Stream ItemChoice Band NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Tyranitar builds →Crunch84-99% Stone Edge 2x211-248%KO | ||
 Raikou Electric | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityPressure ItemLeftovers NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Raikou builds →Thunderbolt 2x100-118%KO Scald29-35% Aura Sphere29-35% | ||
Swablu Evolutions
Swablu evolves into Altaria. It's a two-stage chain with the method shown below. A decent partner pool for breeding via two egg groups. Eggs are average hatch time. The evolved forms gain up to 180 total stats over Swablu. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Swablu easily with 30 breeding partners from the Dragon and Flying egg groups. Pass egg moves like Agility, Astonish, Dragon Rush and 6 more to offspring.
BDSP Swablu Best Moveset
Normal/Flying pre-evo with AbilityNatural Cure clearing status on every switch. 40/60/75 across offenses and defensive stats at 50 Speed. The moveset can't compete. One evolution from Altaria where Dragon/Flying typing and 105 Sp. Def create a different defensive identity.
Best Build
Swablu best EVs are Attack and Speed
Utility Moveset
- Fly
- Hyper Voice
- Protect
- Take Down
Moves List
Without breeding, Swablu misses out on Agility and Astonish. That's 9 egg moves adding depth that the base kit lacks. STAB comes from Take Down and Fly, with coverage across 8 types rounding things out.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Its wings are like cotton tufts. If it perches on someone’s head, it looks like a cotton hat.
Swablu Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Guide
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Swablu does the job early-game if you need a Normal/Flying type on your team. Evolve it into Altaria before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.
Game Availability
Swablu first appeared in Ruby & Sapphire and has been available in 16 games across 8 generations. Obtainable through catching or hatching as a base form in most titles where it appears.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RSDebut
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves