Is Swellow Good in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Playthrough?
Swellow at 125 Speed outpaces nearly everything in Hoenn. AbilityGuts boosted by burn or poison status turns Normal attacks into devastating hits. Handles Brawly, contributes through the E4, and the sheer speed keeps it relevant all the way to Steven.
Roxanne's team hits Taillow's weaknesses hard.
Taillow resists most of Brawly's coverage and hits back hard.
Wattson's team hits Taillow's weaknesses hard.
Swellow has the type edge here and should clean up Flannery's team.
Swellow trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.
Swellow trades roughly evenly with Winona's team.
Tate & Liza's team hits Swellow's weaknesses hard.
Swellow has the type edge here and should clean up Wallace's team.
Swellow has the type edge here and should clean up Sidney's team.
Swellow trades roughly evenly with Phoebe's team.
Swellow trades roughly evenly with Glacia's team.
Swellow trades roughly evenly with Drake's team.
Swellow trades roughly evenly with Steven's team.
Catch Taillow on Route 104 (walking, Lv 5-7, rare).
Your Taillow should hit Level 22 before you reach Flannery, at typical leveling pace.
How to Get Swellow in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
Swellow doesn't appear wild. Catch Taillow instead, it shows up at solid rates. Evolve it at level 22 to get Swellow. The 2-stage line is mapped in the step cards below.
How to Obtain Swellow in ORAS
To get Swellow, start by catching Taillow through walking encounters at Lv. 3-20. The chain covers 1 catchable stage before reaching the final form.
Step 1Catch TaillowRoute 104 - Area 2Lv.3-5GrassRate 15%Route 116Lv.6-8GrassRate 15%Route 104 - Area 1Lv.3GrassRate 5%Horde battlePetalburg WoodsLv.5GrassRate 5%Route 104 - Area 1Lv.5-7GrassRate 5%Route 115Lv.17-20GrassRate 40%
Step 2Swellow ✓
Swellow Weakness
Electric, Ice, and Rock moves hit Swellow for super-effective damage. The upside? Ground and Ghost-type moves can't touch it at all. At base 125 Speed, Swellow outspeeds most threats and doesn't need to tank what it can outrun.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Ice, Rock |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Bug |
| 0x (Immune) | Ground, Ghost |
What is Swellow Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Swellow
 Aerodactyl Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodRustboro City Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swellow View Aerodactyl builds →Rock Tomb 2x76-90% Ice Fang 2x56-66% Thunder Fang 2x56-66% | ||
 Archen Rock | C | |
Obtain MethodRustboro City Gift | ||
 Aron SteelRock | C | |
 Tyrunt RockDragon | C | |
Obtain MethodRustboro City Gift | ||
 Glaceon Ice | C | |
Aerodactyl Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodRustboro City Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swellow View Aerodactyl builds →Rock Tomb 2x80-95% Ice Fang 2x57-68% Thunder Fang 2x57-68% | ||
Aron SteelRock | C | |
 Cranidos Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodRustboro City Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swellow View Cranidos builds →Rock Tomb 2x89-106%KO Thunderbolt 2x39-46% | ||
Archen Rock | C | |
Obtain MethodRustboro City Gift | ||
 Solrock RockPsychic | C | |
Obtain MethodMeteor Falls Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swellow View Solrock builds →Rock Slide 2x93-110%KO Charge Beam 2x30-37% | ||
 Rampardos Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cranidos (Rustboro City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swellow View Rampardos builds →Rock Tomb 2x117-138%KO Thunderbolt 2x62-74% | ||
 Magnezone ElectricSteel | B | |
Aerodactyl Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodRustboro City Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swellow View Aerodactyl builds →Rock Tomb 2x82-97% Ice Fang 2x59-69% Thunder Fang 2x59-69% | ||
 Manectric Electric | C | |
Archen Rock | C | |
Obtain MethodRustboro City Gift | ||
Rampardos Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cranidos (Rustboro City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swellow View Rampardos builds →Rock Tomb 2x118-140%KO Thunderbolt 2x62-74% | ||
Magnezone ElectricSteel | B | |
 Lairon SteelRock | C | |
 Jolteon Electric | B | |
Aerodactyl Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodRustboro City Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swellow View Aerodactyl builds →Rock Tomb 2x83-98% Ice Fang 2x59-70% Thunder Fang 2x59-70% | ||
 Aggron SteelRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swellow View Aggron builds →Stone Edge 2x139-165%KO Thunderbolt 2x60-70% Blizzard 2x72-85% | ||
Rampardos Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cranidos (Rustboro City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swellow View Rampardos builds →Stone Edge 2x196-231%KO Thunderbolt 2x64-75% Blizzard 2x76-90% | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swellow View Rhydon builds →Stone Edge 2x161-189%KO Thunderbolt 2x48-57% Blizzard 2x60-70% | ||
 Archeops Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Archen (Rustboro City Gift) | ||
 Tyrantrum RockDragon | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Tyrunt (Rustboro City Gift) | ||
Aggron SteelRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swellow View Aggron builds →Stone Edge 2x134-158%KO Thunderbolt 2x57-67% Blizzard 2x70-83% | ||
Cranidos Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodRustboro City Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swellow View Cranidos builds →Head Smash 2x224-264%KO Thunderbolt 2x36-43% Blizzard 2x45-53% | ||
Rhydon GroundRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swellow View Rhydon builds →Stone Edge 2x154-182%KO Thunderbolt 2x47-56% Blizzard 2x57-67% | ||
Archeops Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Archen (Rustboro City Gift) | ||
Tyrantrum RockDragon | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Tyrunt (Rustboro City Gift) | ||
Rampardos Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cranidos (Rustboro City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swellow View Rampardos builds →Head Smash 2x292-344%KO Thunderbolt 2x61-72% Ice Beam 2x61-72% | ||
Aggron SteelRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swellow View Aggron builds →Stone Edge 2x137-161%KO Thunderbolt 2x58-69% Ice Beam 2x58-69% | ||
Tyrantrum RockDragon | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Tyrunt (Rustboro City Gift) | ||
 Relicanth WaterRock | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swellow View Relicanth builds →Head Smash 2x173-204%KO Ice Beam 2x47-55% | ||
Rhydon GroundRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swellow View Rhydon builds →Stone Edge 2x158-186%KO Ice Beam 2x47-55% Thunderbolt 2x47-55% | ||
In Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, Weavile can KO Swellow with Ice Shard (108-128%). Raikou threatens a KO with Thunderbolt (179-210%). Rhyperior's Stone Edge also KOs at 221-260%.
 Weavile DarkIce | A | |
Recommended Build AbilityPressure ItemChoice Band NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Swellow View Weavile builds →Knock Off87-103%KO Ice Shard 2x108-128%KO Pursuit54-64% | ||
 Raikou Electric | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityPressure ItemLeftovers NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Swellow View Raikou builds →Volt Switch 2x139-164%KO Thunderbolt 2x179-210%KO | ||
 Rhyperior GroundRock | B | |
Recommended Build AbilitySolidrock ItemLeftovers NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Swellow View Rhyperior builds →Stone Edge 2x221-260%KO | ||
Swellow Evolutions
Evolved from Taillow. Swellow is the final form in this two-stage line. Plenty of partners for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are quick to hatch. Sp.Atk grew the most through evolution (+45 over Taillow), and Swellow peaks at 455 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Swellow to get Taillow eggs easily using 51 partners from the Flying egg group. Notable egg moves include Boomburst, Brave Bird, Defog and 9 more.
ORAS Swellow Best Moveset
AbilityGuts boosts Attack through status, and Normal/Flying TermStab from 85 Attack fires at 125 Speed. Burned or poisoned, Guts-boosted attacks hit harder than the stats suggest. The moveset earns its slot as the fastest Guts user, though priority still shuts it down.
Best Build
Swellow best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Sweeper Moveset
- Facade
- Brave Bird
- Steel Wing
- Protect
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Without breeding, Swellow misses out on Boomburst and Brave Bird. That's 12 egg moves adding depth that the base kit lacks. STAB comes from Giga Impact and Hyper Beam, 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
Transfer Moves
Base Stats
Swellow flies high above our heads, making graceful arcs in the sky. This Pokémon dives at a steep angle as soon as it spots its prey. The hapless prey is tightly grasped by Swellow’s clawed feet, preventing escape.
Swellow is very conscientious about the upkeep of its glossy wings. Once two Swellow are gathered, they diligently take care of cleaning each other’s wings.
Swellow Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Guide
For Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, we rate Swellow C-Tier: a niche pick in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire's meta. At 455 BST, it fits the pivot role. Facade with Flame Orb is the standard set.
Guts increases Attack to 1.5× with a major status ailment. That's the one you want on Swellow. Scrappy is the hidden ability. Niche, but it has its uses.
Base 125 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. On offense, Swellow is a physical attacker with base 85 Attack. Best used as a pivot.
In Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, run Facade, Bravebird, Steelwing, and Protect on Swellow. Facade is the most common pick at 0% usage. Facade provides reliable STAB damage.
Game Availability
Available in 14 titles since its debut in Ruby & Sapphire, Swellow spans 8 generations of Pokemon games. It's accessible through wild encounters in a solid number of games.
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