Skill Swappers Guide V3
What are Skill Swappers?
Similar to the Ability Capsule introduced in Pokemon XY, Skill Swappers are an item that allows certain Pokemon to change their abilities. When given to a Pokemon, a menu pops up showing the possible abilities a Pokemon can have. When Swapping a skill, the Skill Level and current experience of the new Skill will be reset to 1, although when changed back, the original level of the skill will avert to it's level prior to having it's skill swapped. This allows you to switch between skills when needed while not having to worry about losing valuable skill levels. See more on Skill Levels here. Skill Swappers give new life to previously unviable Pokemon, giving some an extraordinary ability, while not so useful to some. Please note that the viability of a Pokemon to be Skill Swapped should not be confused as it’s viability to be Raise Max Levelled. As of June 28, 2016, there are currently 26 Pokemon that can have their Skills changed and 2 Pokemon what have multiple options for Possible Skills. On September 6, 2016, 25 more Pokemon were given new abilities, bumping the total up to 51. Furthermore, 22 new Pokemon were given new abilities on November 1, 2016, giving us 73 total Skill Swapped Pokemon.
How do we get Skill Swappers?
Skill Swappers occasionally are given out during release periods. They can also be found by completing Mission Card 9, 13 and 16. Moreover, Skill Swappers can be found in future escalation stages and are sometimes prizes for competitive stages in the future!
Which Pokemon can use Skill Swappers?
Below are the current list of Pokemon that can have their Skill Swapped (Reddit really needs a show/ hide option):
| Pokemon | Base Power | Max Power | Max Level | Current Ability | Possible Abilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulbasaur | 40 | 90 | 15 | Power of 4 | Mega Boost+ |
| Charmander | 40 | 90 | 15 | Power of 4 | Mega Boost+ |
| Squirtle | 40 | 90 | 15 | Power of 4 | Mega Boost+ |
| Pidgey | 30 | 55 | 10 | Opportunist | Shock Attack |
| Pidgeotto | 50 | 80 | 12 | Flap | Sky Blast |
| Espurr | 40 | 90 | 15 | Opportunist | Sleep Charm |
| Meowstic-M | 50 | 100 | 15 | Mega Boost | Hitting Steak |
| Meowstic-F | 50 | 100 | 15 | Mega Boost | Hitting Steak |
| Togepi | 30 | 85 | 15 | Opportunist | Block Smash++ |
| Eevee | 40 | 90 | 15 | Mega Boost | Eject+ |
| Jolteon | 50 | 100 | 15 | Mega Boost | Eject+ |
| Flareon | 50 | 100 | 15 | Mega Boost | Eject+ |
| Espeon | 50 | 100 | 15 | Mega Boost | Eject+ |
| Umbreon | 50 | 100 | 15 | Mega Boost | Eject+ |
| Leafeon | 50 | 100 | 15 | Mega Boost | Eject+ |
| Glaceon | 50 | 100 | 15 | Mega Boost | Eject+ |
| Sylveon | 50 | 100 | 15 | Mega Boost | Eject+ |
| Audino | 50 | 70 | 10 | Opportunist | Mega Boost+ |
| Liepard | 60 | 80 | 10 | Counterattack | Swap++ |
| Ampharos | 70 | 90 | 10 | Dancing Dragons | Mega Boost/ Paralysis Combo |
| Rotom | 60 | 105 | 15 | Paralyze | Mega Boost+ |
| Phanphy | 50 | 100 | 15 | Opportunist | Power of 4+ |
| Donphan | 60 | 92 | 13 | Quake | Ground Forces |
| Lopunny | 50 | 115 | 20 | Opportunist | Swap++ |
| Kangaskhan | 50 | 115 | 20 | Power of 4 | Rock Break+ |
| Azumarill | 60 | 120 | 20 | Opportunist | Risk-Taker |
| Zoroark | 70 | 99 | 13 | Sinister Power | Hitting Streak |
| Chandelure | 60 | 80 | 10 | Mega Boost | Power of 4+ |
| Sableye | 50 | 100 | 15 | Risk-Taker | Swap+ |
| Surskit | 40 | 105 | 20 | Opportunist | Power of 4+ |
| Masquerain | 60 | 105 | 15 | Opportunist | Nosedive |
| Slowpoke | 50 | 100 | 15 | Stabilize | Swap++ |
| Lapras | 50 | 100 | 15 | Power of 4 | Shock Attack |
| Vanillite | 40 | 60 | 10 | Opportunist | Barrier Bash++ |
| Hawlucha | 50 | 100 | 15 | Rock Break | Cloud Clear+ |
| Mawile | 50 | 115 | 20 | Steely Resolve | Risk-Taker |
| Gengar | 70 | 90 | 10 | Power of 5 | Spookify |
| Cubone | 50 | 85 | 13 | Rock Break | Mega Boost+ |
| Dedenne | 60 | 105 | 15 | Mega Boost | Shock Attack |
| Scyther | 70 | 125 | 20 | Swarm | L-Boost |
| Throh | 60 | 105 | 15 | Power of 5 | Barrier Bash+ |
| Sawk | 60 | 105 | 15 | Power of 4 | Rock Break+ |
| Stunfisk | 60 | 105 | 15 | Damage Streak | Sleep Combo |
| Aerodactyl | 60 | 80 | 10 | Cloud Clear | Swap++ |
| Raikou | 70 | 110 | 15 | Power of 5 | Barrier Bash+ |
| Entei | 70 | 110 | 15 | Power of 5 | Rock Break+ |
| Suicune | 70 | 110 | 15 | Power of 5 | Block Smash+ |
| Yveltal | 80 | 115 | 15 | Power of 5 | Block Smash+ |
| Mewtwo | 80 | 130 | 20 | Swap | Power of 4 |
| Mew | 50 | 100 | 15 | Power of 5 | Block Smash+/ Eject+/ Barrier Bash+/ Power of 4+ |
| Pachirisu | 50 | 85 | 13 | Mega Boost | Cheer |
| Farfetch’d | 50 | 100 | 15 | Quirky | Power of 4+ |
| Druddigon | 60 | 105 | 15 | Power of 4 | Risk-Taker |
| Keldeo-Ordinary | 60 | 105 | 15 | Block Smash | Flash Mob |
| Chespin | 50 | 85 | 13 | Damage Streak | Rock Break+ |
| Snorlax | 70 | 90 | 10 | Brute Force | Stabilize++ |
| Onix | 50 | 100 | 15 | Eject | Power of 5+ |
| Feebas | 30 | 55 | 10 | Opportunist | Barrier Bash++ |
| Salamence | 80 | 115 | 15 | Hitting Streak | Mega Boost |
| Tangela | 50 | 85 | 13 | Stabilize | Constrict |
| Tangrowth | 70 | 90 | 10 | Cloud Clear | Sleep Combo |
| Sharpedo | 60 | 120 | 20 | Eject | Mega Boost |
| Celebi | 50 | 100 | 15 | Stabilize | Cheer |
| Regirock | 70 | 90 | 10 | Last-Ditch Effort | Rock Break+ |
| Manaphy | 70 | 90 | 10 | Swap+ | Eject++ |
| Emboar | 70 | 110 | 15 | Barrier Bash | Risk-Taker |
| Wobbuffet | 60 | 80 | 10 | Counterattack | Rock Break+ |
| Ho-Oh | 80 | 100 | 10 | Power of 5+ | Pyre |
| Diancie | 70 | 110 | 15 | Barrier Bash+ | Mega Boost+ |
| Dusknoir | 70 | 110 | 15 | Last-Ditch Effort | Sleep Combo |
| Machamp | 70 | 125 | 20 | Eject | Risk-Taker |
| Infernape | 70 | 90 | 10 | Hitting Streak | Shock Attack |
| Zygarde-Complete | 90 | 110 | 10 | Power of 5+ | Block Smash+ |
Italics - Personalized Skill Booster farmable in the Main Stages (Repeat Stages after 400)
Bold - Personalized Skill Booster farmable in the Special Stages
Which Pokemon should I use my Skill Swappers on?
Here is the list in which you should use your Skill Swappers on, these are arguable and can be subject to change:
S Rank:
New: Machamp
These Pokemon should be the first candidates for your Skill Swappers. A Pokemon in S rank should be unique and fill a niche that no other Pokemon can do, while also being extremely versatile and high base power.
| Pokemon | Reason |
|---|---|
| Yveltal | Finally a Dark type to deal with the pesky Ghost and Psychic stages! And 115 Max Power to boot when maxed. |
| Raikou | With Jumpluff remaining in the 530 S rank tier for a BB+ option, Raikou remains a solid option in dealing with Water types for players who do not have a strong option. |
| Suicune | An invaluable asset that will be of great use to you throughout the main stages. Considering Ferrothorn comes very late, Suicune is an excellent Block Smash+ Pokemon which will help you through many Ground and Rock type Pokemon. |
| Machamp | Great ability when farmable, which it is, potentially more powerful than Landorus-T when fully invested. Fighting coverage gives it more versatility against common matchups. |
A Rank:
New: Throh, Manaphy, Mawile, Salamence
These Pokemon are either extremely effective with their new abilities or fills a unique niche that can be useful more often than not.
| Pokemon | Reason |
|---|---|
| Manaphy | As one of the few Eject++ Pokemon, Manaphy gains a multitude of uses ranging from Sunday Meowth farming to Survival Mode grinding. As an end-game player, Eject++ would definitely be of use to you as Swap+ becomes increasingly redundant. |
| Ho-Oh | Strong Ability in Pyre, although only 10 Base Power over Delphox, it appears to be vastly accepted as a great Pokemon to swap. Skill farmable, but Pyre already has great activation rate, so it’s about as useful as training BB+/ BS+. |
| Throh | A great choice for beginners with no great event Barrier Bash+ support. For end-game players, Throh will be of great use against Normal types and extra support against other effective types. |
| Salamence | Mega Boost gives Salamence the potential to be one of the fastest Mega of it's ability, with Max candies and Mega Boost, Salamence could potentially evolve in 2 matches, paired with Sky Blast for insane damage on clear boards. Also better than Mewtwo for Sunday Meowth. It does come very late in the game though, so save your Skill Boosters if you're not close to it's stage yet. |
| Mawile | Much better than Steely Resolve, but unable to be farmed currently. Mawile still possesses great damage capabilities when invested. Late-game players only. |
| Mew - Block Smash+ | With the advent of repeat main stages, Mew certainly has more utility as a Block Smash+ Pokemon to take care of Fighting and Poison types. However with the release of M-Alakazam and Golurk (RML), BS+ Mew becomes a little more redundant than what it used to be. |
B Rank:
New: Flareon, Sharpedo, Togepi, Emboar, Keldeo-O, Mewtwo
Moved: Zygarde-Complete, Ampharos, Donphan, Gengar
These Pokemon have great potential but are oftentimes situational or only useful in specific teams, the value they bring towards those teams can be argued. Overall, B ranks are more novelty picks over actual necessities.
| Pokemon | Reason |
|---|---|
| Zygarde-Complete | A Dragon typing may be a bit situational, but it will do work when given the opportunity. Considering repeat stages are a thing, Skill Swapped Zygarde might have great utility in the future. |
| Mew - Power of 4+ | Strong Ability in general. Nice boost to Psychics, but Psychics already have many options in terms of abilities. Greatest potential when MAXed in Skill Level, but only if you're dedicated to grind Mew up. |
| Ampharos - Mega Boost | Turns Ampharos into a Mega Medicham, helps it’s slow evolving rate. |
| Rotom | Great Ability, but only 2 candidates of it’s use (Ampharos and Manetric). Good 105 Max Power too. |
| Umbreon | An Eject+ Pokemon against Ghost and Psychic types is always useful. However, Dark has one of the most strongest Pokemon (paired with Ghosts) in the game. |
| Flareon | One of the better coverages for Eject+. |
| Tangrowth | To be used in tandem with Shaymin, boosts the capabilities of Mega-Sceptile teams. May look great on paper, but oftentimes there's not enough space to use it over the standard Shaymin/ Zekrom/ Raikou team. |
| Squirtle | Mega Boost+ is always nice, with strong Megas such as the Gyaradoses and Blastiose to make use of. However, Clamperl also has Mega Boost+ for Water, so if you're looking for a stronger variant you could go with Squirtle. |
| Charmander | The Fire Megas are by far the most popular out of the 3. Depending on how often you use the 2, Charmander is a great addition to evolve Charizard-Y and Blaziken (and Houndoom in the future). |
| Slowpoke | Slowpoke is in an interesting spot, competing with Deoxys for a place on Psychic teams. However, a MAX Skill Swapped Slowpoke will be able to outperform Deoxys so if you’re willing to invest the resources it will be a good addition to Psychics. |
| Sharpedo | Sharpedo has an average mega ability, but Mega Boost would be better than Eject. |
| Togepi | Our first Block Smash++ Pokemon, but once again at the cost of a low BP Pokemon. With investments, it can reach a respectable max of 85 Power, great if you have the resources to spare. |
| Donphan | Unique ability Ground Forces gives ground teams a combo starter, but only 1.2x with a 20/60/80 activation rate unboosted makes it useful in specific situations such as 3 Pokemon stages or Timed stages. |
| Gengar | Great Ability, but will only activate once or none at all assuming it’s Mega. Good on M-Banette teams, and can delay disruptions on activation. |
| Emboar | While Emboar will be skill farmable, it competes with Houndoom as a Risk-Taker Fire type. The 25 Power with investments will be up to you if it is worth it or not. |
| Keldeo-O | Flash Mob is a new ability which can potentially be extremely powerful when skill boosted, excellent on Mega Swampert/ mono-Water teams. However, it competes with many other great Water types giving it the same syndrome as Tangrowth. |
| Mewtwo | With the release of the Mewtwo special stage, Power of 4 seems to be the widely accepted skill to use on Mewtwo. With max investments, Mewtwo will be able to do massive damage despite only being Power of 4. |
C Rank:
New: Infernape, Feebas, Lapras, Diancie, Azumarill, Espeon, Sylveon, Glaceon
Moved: Jolteon, Leafeon, Bulbasaur, Entei, Mew – Eject+, Pidgeotto
These Pokemon fill a niche but is often outclassed or on par with another Pokemon, they can be useful very occasionally but not worth spending your Skill Swappers on.
| Pokemon | Reason |
|---|---|
| Entei | Unique Fire Rock Break+ on a 110 Base Power, but it is Rock Break+. Has it’s niche against Ice types. |
| Mew - Eject+ | Gives Mew a more utilized role. Allows you to run M-Mewtwo team on Fightings with additional support (Previously best with Lugia/ Sky Blast Team) and Poisons. If you want to keep Block Smash+, use it on Espeon instead. |
| Vanillite | Our first Barrier Bash++ Pokemon, while the ability is amazing, coming off a 60 Power is lackluster indeed. GS will very likely introduce stronger Pokemon with Barrier Bash++ in the near future, or give Vanillite some RMLs. But for now, save your Skill Swapper unless in dire emergency. |
| Liepard | Swap++ on Liepard is interesting. Despite being an amazing ability, Dark already has great versatility and Hydreigon with a slightly weaker Swap+ and a higher attack power. |
| Dusknoir | Although similar to Tangrowth, the only effect Sleep Combo will have use for is against Psychics, which comboed with Darkrai can be very powerful, but with it and Sleep Charm's unreliable activation rate, makes it much less viable. |
| Cubone | Great Ability, but once again only 2 candidates (Garchomp and Camerupt). And with extremely strong Ground types already, there is little room for Cubone to use. |
| Aerodactyl | Since Aerodactyl’s Mega ability gets rid of rocks and blocks, Swap++ actually hinders Aerodactyl’s damage output. However, due to it’s extremely slow evolving time, Swap++ helps it in dealing with disruption in the early moves of the match. But most of the times you'd Mega Start it anyways. |
| Infernape | Shock Attack might actually have some use on Infernape, most effective types aren’t immune to paralysis. However, with low activation rates, and there are many better options for Fire. |
| Feebas | Same situation with Vanillite, great ability on a low BP. |
| Lapras | What’s up with all these random Pokemon getting Shock Attack? Again same situation with Infernape. |
| Diancie | This one is personal preference, a fully candied Mega Boost+ Diancie can evolve in 1 match, but most of the time, Barrier Bash+ is infinitely more useful that using Mega Diancie. |
| Azumarill | Unfortunately, Azumarill is currently unfarmable this making Risk-Taker not as potentially great as it could be. Great power and typing though. |
| Jolteon | Niche coverage in Water and Flying, has potential. Either swap this or Glaceon for Flying coverage. |
| Espeon | Can be used while keeping Block Smash+ Mew, if you want full coverage for your M-Mewtwo Y team, you can swap this. |
| Sylveon | Dragon – covered, Fighting – Mew/ Espeon, can be used as coverage against Dark. |
| Glaceon | While great coverage over the rest of the Eeveelutions, it’s can be covered by the rest of the B ranks (or Jolteon) and currently released Eject+ Pokemon. |
| Leafeon | Slightly more powerful Winking Whimsicott, up to your own digression. |
| Bulbasaur | With M-Venusaur being used about once every 300 stages and Sceptile Grass-teams already being full as it is, Mega Boost+ Bulbasaur doesn’t find itself being too great of an option on any team. Budew also covers it’s niche. |
| Pidgeotto | Weaker version of Braviary, only in C because of the fact that it's skill farmable. |
D Rank:
New: Hawlucha, Wobbuffet, Sawk
Moved: Eevee, Kangaskhan, Lopunny, Snorlax, Audino, Tangela, Phanpy, Regirock, Farfetch’d
These are the worst possible option for your Skill Swappers. They either get an ability that is worse than what they already have, so situational that you’d never use it, or is completely outclassed by another Pokemon.
| Pokemon | Reason |
|---|---|
| Zoroark | No. |
| Celebi | Although Celebi is not a bad Pokemon in itself (with RMLs), a meager 5% activation increase from Cheer's effect makes it not so appealing as an ability. You might as well match a Pokemon in both turns over using Cheer and still have a higher chance of it activating. |
| Pachirisu | Similar deal with Celebi. Can be coupled with Angry Pikachu but 5% increase only makes it's probability 15%/ 25%/ 55%. Thus not worth activating Cheer over. |
| Chandelure | Weaker version of Giratina (-20 Power), maybe if it got some RMLs. |
| Druddigon | How much support do we have against Dragon already? |
| Sableye | Copy of Hydreigon, without the 5 Raise Max Levels. Risk-Taker itself is not a bad ability and it'll only get so much usage before it mega evolves. |
| Surskit | All that investment while also competing with tough competition such as Genesect diminishes its worth to invest. |
| Masquerain | Again, with many great options for Bug teams out there, there is really no good reason to invest so much resources on Masquerain. |
| Meowstic-M/F | I think they really like giving feline Pokemon Hitting Streak. |
| Pidgey | Great one, GS. |
| Stunfisk | Really can’t think of a good place for Stunfisk combo’d with a Sleep Charm Pokemon. |
| Espurr | Weaker version of Mespirit and more investment, so unless you really like Espurr. |
| Onix | Weren’t most Skill Swappers done to replace the useless Power of 5+? |
| Scyther | Unfortunately, both of Scyther's abilities are not too useful. If you really wanted to train him up, Swarm is probably the better option for him. |
| Ampharos - Paralysis Combo | As well as being completely outclassed by Mega Boost, there won't be many uses for Paralysis Combo with Flying immune to Paralysis and Shaymin for Water types. |
| Dedenne | So how is Shock Attack different from Paralyze again? |
| Chespin | Grass Rock Break+, not too useful. |
| Mew - Barrier Bash+ | Copy of Cresselia, just without the 5 Raise Max Levels. |
| Hawlucha | Until we get an actual use for Cloud Clear+, you’re even better off using Rock Break. |
| Wobbuffet | We have Fearow for Flying and Flygon for Poison. |
| Sawk | Could be better than Hitmontop, but too much investment for a lackluster ability. |
| Kangaskhan | While Rock Break++ is a decent ability, given to a Normal Pokemon, especially a mega really hinders it’s viability. |
| Lopunny | Same deal with Kangaskhan. Not even 10RMLs and a great ability makes up for a Normal typing and a mediocre Mega ability. |
| Snorlax | Stabilize++, while an amazing ability in itself, is wasted on a Normal type like Snorlax. |
| Audino | While arguably the best Normal Mega for move based stages, and being the first mega to be able to potentially Mega Evolve in a single match, Audino should only be used on Double Normal teams, which unfortunately are not that common. Especially with no RML capabilities. |
| Tangela | Decent ability, but outclassed by Sunflora. |
| Phanpy | Ground already has great support and the release of Claydol was the nail on the coffin. |
| Regirock | Other Pokemon can cover it’s effectiveness. (Walrein for Flying, Flygon for Fire) |
| Farfetch’d | Great ability, but just a stronger version of Shaymin-S (+10 Max Power), with a lot more investment. |
| Eevee | We already have Exploud if you ever happen to need a Normal Eject+. However, with Eevee being used as a 5th support for many stages, it could have it's use once in a while. |
Ranking system debatable, please contribute to the ranking system to make it as accurate as possible! Also, if you know of a great new team combination, feel free to post it below!
Changelog:
11/01/16
Machamp moved from B to A (Multiple users)
Mew - Eject+ moved from B to C (Thanks u/G996)
Ampharos - Mega Boost moved from A to B
Jolteon moved from B to C (Thanks u/skippingmud)
Minor number fixes
Ho-oh returned from B to A (Multiple Users)
Keldeo-O moved from B to A (Thanks u/Benjaminooo)
11/02/16
Mawile moved from B to A (Multiple Users)
Donphan moved from A to B
11/04/16
Machamp moved from A to S (Results from survey)
11/06/16
Gengar moved from C to B (Multiple Users)
12/04/16
Description changes to match with recent updates.
12/12/16
Emboar moved from C to B
Keldeo-O moved from A to B
12/19/16
Description changes to match recent discoveries (Manaphy)
Slight reordering of S and A tiers to match viability
12/26/16
Salamence moved from B to A to match recent updates.
01/05/17
Pidgeotto moved from D to C
Mewtwo moved from D to B
Raikou description changed to match recent updates
Posted Nov 1, 2016, 8:48 PM UTC · edited