Is Swablu Good in Black & White Playthrough?
Normal/Flying with AbilityNatural Cure. Breed-only. Altaria at level 35 shifts to Dragon/Flying. A modest Dragon option postgame.
Swablu has the type edge here and should clean up Cilan's team.
Swablu trades roughly evenly with Chili's team.
Swablu trades roughly evenly with Cress's team.
Swablu trades roughly evenly with Lenora's team.
Swablu has the type edge here and should clean up Burgh's team.
Elesa's team hits Swablu's weaknesses hard.
Clay's team hits Swablu's weaknesses hard.
Swablu trades roughly evenly with Skyla's team.
Swablu trades roughly evenly with Brycen's team.
Swablu trades roughly evenly with Drayden's team.
Swablu trades roughly evenly with Shauntal's team.
Grimsley's typing presses Swablu's defenses.
Swablu trades roughly evenly with Caitlin's team.
Swablu trades roughly evenly with Marshal's team.
Swablu trades roughly evenly with Alder's team.
Swablu cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four.
How to Get Swablu in Black & White
Can't catch Swablu directly. Start with Swablu in the wild from the locations below, then evolve at level 35. The 2-stage line from Swablu to Swablu is where the leveling time goes.
How to Obtain Swablu in BW
The path to Swablu starts with Swablu at Lv. 49-59 via walking encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.
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 |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Swablu Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Swablu
 Blitzle Electric | C | |
 Roggenrola Rock | C | |
Roggenrola Rock | C | |
Blitzle Electric | C | |
 Cranidos Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodNacrene City Gift | ||
 Boldore Rock | C | |
 Zebstrika Electric | C | |
 Aerodactyl Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodNacrene City Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Aerodactyl builds →Rock Tomb 2x74-87% Thunder Fang 2x64-75% Ice Fang 2x64-75% | ||
 Anorith RockBug | C | |
Obtain MethodNacrene City Gift | ||
 Rampardos Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cranidos (Nacrene City Gift) | ||
Aerodactyl Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodNacrene City Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Aerodactyl builds →Rock Tomb 2x74-88% Thunder Fang 2x65-77% Ice Fang 2x65-77% | ||
Boldore Rock | C | |
 Archen Rock | C | |
Obtain MethodNacrene City Gift | ||
Zebstrika Electric | C | |
Rampardos Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cranidos (Nacrene City Gift) | ||
 Crustle BugRock | C | |
Aerodactyl Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodNacrene City Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Aerodactyl builds →Rock Tomb 2x76-90% Thunder Fang 2x66-78% Ice Fang 2x66-78% | ||
Boldore Rock | C | |
Archen Rock | C | |
Obtain MethodNacrene City Gift | ||
Rampardos Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cranidos (Nacrene City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Rampardos builds →Rock Slide 2x159-188%KO Thunderbolt 2x53-63% Blizzard 2x67-79% | ||
 Archeops Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Archen (Nacrene City Gift) | ||
 Eelektross Electric | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Eelektross builds →Thunderbolt 2x117-138%KO Rock Slide 2x77-92% | ||
 Beartic Ice | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Beartic builds →Icicle Crash 2x148-175%KO Rock Slide 2x86-102%KO | ||
Aerodactyl Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodNacrene City Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Aerodactyl builds →Rock Slide 2x108-128%KO Thunder Fang 2x64-75% Ice Fang 2x64-75% | ||
Rampardos Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cranidos (Nacrene City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Rampardos builds →Rock Slide 2x165-194%KO Thunderbolt 2x54-65% Blizzard 2x70-82% | ||
Archeops Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Archen (Nacrene City Gift) | ||
Eelektross Electric | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Eelektross builds →Thunderbolt 2x118-140%KO Rock Slide 2x81-95% | ||
 Kabutops RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Kabuto (Nacrene City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Kabutops builds →Rock Slide 2x121-143%KO Blizzard 2x70-82% | ||
 Carracosta WaterRock | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Tirtouga (Nacrene City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Carracosta builds →Rock Slide 2x113-134%KO Blizzard 2x82-97% | ||
Rampardos Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cranidos (Nacrene City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Rampardos builds →Head Smash 2x327-386%KO Ice Beam 2x54-64% Thunderbolt 2x54-64% | ||
 Tyranitar RockDark | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Tyranitar builds →Stone Edge 2x183-216%KO Thunderbolt 2x73-86% Ice Beam 2x73-86% | ||
 Kyurem DragonIce | B | |
Obtain MethodGiant Chasm Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Kyurem builds →Ice Beam 2x142-168%KO Stone Edge 2x118-139%KO | ||
Crustle BugRock | C | |
Archeops Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Archen (Nacrene City Gift) | ||
In Black & White, Tyranitar's Crunch hits Swablu for 45-53%. Raikou's Thunderbolt hits Swablu for 70-82%. Weavile deals 56-67% with Ice Shard.
Tyranitar RockDark | A | |
Recommended Build AbilitySand Stream ItemChopleberry NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Tyranitar builds →Pursuit23-27% Crunch45-53% Superpower45-53% | ||
 Raikou Electric | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityPressure ItemLife Orb NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Raikou builds →Thunderbolt 2x70-82% Aura Sphere21-25% | ||
 Weavile DarkIce | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityPressure ItemLife Orb NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Swablu View Weavile builds →Ice Shard 2x56-67% | ||
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 39 breeding partners from the Dragon and Flying egg groups. Pass egg moves like Agility, Dragon Rush, Feather Dance and 7 more to offspring.
BW Swablu Best Moveset
Normal/Flying pre-evolution with AbilityNatural Cure clearing status on the switch. 75 Sp. Def absorbs special hits for the stage. The moveset has nothing offensive at 40 in both Attack stats. Altaria one evolution away adds Dragon typing.
Best Build
Swablu best EVs are Sp. Def and HP
Wall Moveset
- Heal Bell
- Roost
- Heat Wave
- Ice Beam
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Without breeding, Swablu misses out on Agility and Dragon Rush. That's 10 egg moves adding depth that the base kit lacks. STAB comes from Take Down and Fly, with coverage across 7 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
It can’t relax if it or its surroundings are not clean. It wipes off dirt with its wings.
Swablu Black & White Guide
In Black & White, 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