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Swords Dance

Normal · Status · 27 Pokémon in Reg M-B
Normal
Swords Dance
TypeNormal
CategoryStatus
Base power—
Accuracynever misses
PP20
Priority0
PokémonTypes Its usageCarries it
Kingambit 47.2% 36.4% Garchomp 34.0% 1.1% Excadrill 4.6% 2.6% Mega Mawile 3.3% 28.7% Lycanroc-Dusk 2.7% 0.3% Ceruledge 2.4% 7.1% Talonflame 2.1% 4.3% Scizor 1.8% 75.4% Mega Blaziken 1.7% 2.9% Mega Scrafty 1.1% 4.5% Aegislash 0.94% 2.9% Mimikyu 0.84% 31.9% Samurott-Hisui 0.57% 3.5% Gliscor 0.43% 10.1% Mega Feraligatr 0.25% 10.9% Decidueye-Hisui 0.25% 9.8% Skarmory 0.25% 16.1% Overqwil 0.20% 40.9% Lycanroc 0.19% 0.6% Mega Barbaracle 0.13% 0.9% Mega Beedrill 0.10% 8.3% Mega Scolipede 0.08% 52.2% Lucario 0.06% 15.7% Beartic 0.04% 7.6%

What it does

Raises the user's Attack by 2 stages.

Who carrys it

27 of the 277 Pokémon measured on the Regulation M-B ladder carry Swords Dance. The one that matters most is Kingambit, which is on 47.2% of teams and carrys it on 36.4% of its sets. The full list is above, ordered by how much of the format each one is.

What it hits

As a Normal move it is super effective against nothing, resisted by Rock and Steel, and does nothing at all to Ghost. 16 other Normal moves appear in this format: Protect, Fake Out, Weather Ball, Encore, Hyper Voice, Helping Hand and others.

Who could and does not

71 Pokémon legal in this regulation can learn Swords Dance at all, against the 27 that actually bring it. The gap is the interesting number: it is the set of Pokémon that have the option and decline it. The most-played of those are Incineroar, Sneasler, Archaludon, Venusaur, Kommo-o and Weavile — each of them measured on the ladder, each of them leaving this move on the shelf.

How concentrated it is

Across the ladder, Swords Dance accounts for an expected 0.21 of the six slots on an average team, which makes it the 25th most-brought of the 121 moves this format runs. 82% of that comes from Kingambit alone, so it is really one Pokémon’s move rather than the format’s. Its carriers are mostly Steel (7), Dark (5) and Fighting (5).

Where these numbers come from

Usage is Smogon's published statistics for the Regulation M-B VGC ladder, and the description is the one shipped in the Pokémon Showdown data set. Both are regenerated on every build rather than written by hand, so this page follows the format instead of trailing it. Take any of it to the team builder or the damage calculator.

Where this goes next

Build

Open the builder with Kingambit seated — Kingambit brings Swords Dance to more teams than any of the other 26 Pokémon that carry it.

More

All 121 moves the format runs, ordered by how many copies an average team carries.