POTW Pokémon of the Week #68: Swinub, Piloswine, & Mamoswine

Enzap · Nov 12, 2017

In the World of Pokémon, there lives a vast number and variety of amazing creatures to befriend and collect. Every week, we will be focusing on a single one of these Pokémon or evolutionary line and talking about what makes it special. This week's Pokémon of choice is the Swinub line!

Since it's starting to get colder here in the States, I've started wishing I had a thick coat of fur like Swinub and its evolutions. Taking inspiration from several furry animals such as guinea pigs, wild boars, and mammoths, the Ice/Ground type Swinub and Mamoswine are covered in a hair that hides nearly all of their features except for their tusks and pink noses. They are famous in the Pokémon world for this nose, which gives them an extremely keen sense of smell useful for finding food under thick snow and ice as well as hot springs. They don't appear to be commonly dispersed since they have so far only been found by normal means in three locations across all of the regions. This is possibly the result of their population declining as the planet warmed after the last Ice Age.

In Generation IV, Piloswine was given the ability to evolve into Mamoswine by leveling up while knowing the move Ancientpower. Mamoswine draws more heavily upon mammoths and mastodons in its size and massive tusks, though it still has the characteristic stubby pig nose. Though Swinub currently has the lowest base stat total of all Ice-type Pokémon, Mamoswine is quite a powerhouse. It boasts high HP and monstrous Attack power, which makes it a force to be reckoned with when you take into account its powerful movepool including moves such as Earthquake, Double Edge, Stone Edge, Superpower, and Icicle Crash. Its moveset can also be rounded out with some other interesting attacks such as the priority-granting Ice Shard, the deadly combination of Hail and Blizzard, set up moves like Stealth Rock, or Freeze Dry for those pesky Water types.

This evolutionary line has made several significant appearances in various types of Pokémedia. Piloswine is the strongest Pokémon of Gym Leader Pryce in both the anime and the games, though it appears to have evolved in the rematch with Pryce in HGSS. In the Diamond and Pearl era of the anime, Dawn catches a Swinub which very quickly evolves all the way to Mamoswine. Though it had some obedience problems at first and preferred a more aggressive fighting style than most of Dawn's other cutesy or graceful Pokémon, the two eventually bonded well enough that Dawn trusted Mamoswine enough to use it in the Sinnoh Grand Tournament. She made particular use of its Ice Shard attack in combinations with her Pachirisu and Cyndaquil to invent new attacks such as Ice Chandelier.

Here are some questions to consider to get conversation rolling. You don't have to answer all of them or any of them in your post as long as you're staying on topic and within global forum rules.

Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?
How is this Pokémon in-game?
How is this Pokémon in competitive play? Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for them?
Do you like this Pokémon's representation in the anime? Are there any moments or qualities in particular you enjoy/dislike?
How do you think this Pokémon would interact with our world?
If given the power to, would you change anything about this Pokémon and if so, what would you change?
How do Piloswine and Mamoswine compare to other Pokémon with their types?
Would you like to see their unique type combination used again on a new Pokémon? If so, how else could both types be represented?
Mamoswine is described as having ice tusks, but what about Swinub and Piloswine make them Ice types other than where they're found?
How do you feel about Pokémon gaining evolutions in later generations? Are there any other Pokémon who should receive one?

Previous Pokémon of the Week:

DoctorWhy · Nov 13, 2017

Swinub is so cute! I like it a lot. I also really like Mamoswine. They have a good typing and they're pretty strong. Though I would love to tweak Mamoswine's design - it's a little too round and simple-shaped. I wish it was a little more similar in shape (and face/snout) to actual mammoths. But overall I'm still a fan. Piloswine, like many of the weak Pokemon in Gen 2, needed an evolution.

Zexy · Nov 13, 2017

Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?
Like. Interesting type combination, design, concept...
How is this Pokémon in-game?
Haven't used it ever, to be honest... it tends to come a bit too late for my liking.
How is this Pokémon in competitive play? Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for them?
Ice Shard Mamoswine is a boss.
Do you like this Pokémon's representation in the anime? Are there any moments or qualities in particular you enjoy/dislike?
Dawn's Mamoswine was nice, it had a nice character arc... I just feel like the timing of its evolutions was a bit forced, but it mirrored Charizard I guess.
How do you think this Pokémon would interact with our world?
Most people wouldn't interact with it because of its habitat. Reserachers would be very interested in Mamoswine because of how old it is. Mamoswine would serve as a good Ride Pokemon in the snow just like it was shown in Kalos.
If given the power to, would you change anything about this Pokémon and if so, what would you change?
Better stats, focus more in Attack and less in Special Attack, better ability.
How do Piloswine and Mamoswine compare to other Pokémon with their types?
Piloswine's a bit underwhelming, but Mamoswine is quite good compared to some much less bulky Ice-type counterparts... even for a Ground-type it's pretty bulky I guess, and its secondary type makes it very good.
Would you like to see their unique type combination used again on a new Pokémon? If so, how else could both types be represented?
Not really, I think I'm pretty satisfied with them being unique.
Mamoswine is described as having ice tusks, but what about Swinub and Piloswine make them Ice types other than where they're found?
Their habitat is enough to be Ice-types I believe, perhaps some internal organs that evolve into tusks are ice-based too.
How do you feel about Pokémon gaining evolutions in later generations? Are there any other Pokémon who should receive one?
Piloswine certainly deserved it. Lots of Pokemon should receive one, better not get started on a list... it won't end today

Gengarzilla · Nov 13, 2017

-Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?
Mamoswine is perhaps one of my favourite Ice types. I really enjoy the results of its type combination.

-How is this Pokémon in-game?
I haven't used it here, but I would really like to. If only its harder hitting Physical Ice moves weren't exclusive to breeding...

-How is this Pokémon in competitive play? Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for them?
I used Mamoswine early on during my competitive stint in Gen V, where Thick Fat and Earthquake made it a great asset.

-Do you like this Pokémon's representation in the anime? Are there any moments or qualities in particular you enjoy/dislike?
The interactions between Pryce and his Piloswine were really sweet to see. Dawn's own Piloswine/Mamoswine was quite an ass at first, but they've worked through this great.

-If given the power to, would you change anything about this Pokémon and if so, what would you change?
I mentioned earlier that I want stronger Physical Ice moves in its level movepool. Ice Shard may have priority but I don't like relying on those moves without Technician to fix their middling power.

-Would you like to see their unique type combination used again on a new Pokémon? If so, how else could both types be represented?
Oh yes, Ice and Ground are both strong offensive types in their own right. I just hope future Pokémon with this combination don't have any defensive leans. Neither type is suited for this role beyond Ground's immunity to Electric.

-How do you feel about Pokémon gaining evolutions in later generations? Are there any other Pokémon who should receive one?
I really like the idea, most of my favourite Gen IV Pokémon happen to be cross-generational evolutions (Togekiss, Yanmega, Magmortar, Rhyperior, etc.). Any others? I'm not certain; regional variants seem to be the hip thing this gen.

Nicolas721 · Nov 13, 2017

Swinub and Piloswine are Ok. They have a nice concept and a very cool type combination, but they don't have the spark and the vibrant colors of other Johto Pokemon. Mamoswine has a weird shape, but it looks quite cool and fluffy.
In the anime, they were used by Dawn, and it was my favorite Pokemon of her, because he wasn't there for selling plushies but rather to push her as a trainer. It was handled similar to Charizard, but it was worth it in the end.

ocelotlrama jaguar · Nov 16, 2017

One of my favorite Ground-type lines in the game! Being pigs helps since I love these animals, but just the concept of them along with being Ice-types helps. Mamoswine was a much-needed evolution for Piloswine, so that helps. In-game, they're not too shabby. They're not super slow as you would think they would look, but the speed isn't great. Not good to battle Fire-types, but everything else they can hold their ground very well. Competitively, Mamoswine is excellent, especially when it has access to Ice Shard and the ability, Thick Fat. Snow Cloak is okay if you intend on working with a Snowstorm team, but I much prefer Thick Fat. Oblivious is worthless. I wouldn't even bother with it.

I loved Dawn's Mamoswine! While not as interesting as Charizard, I guess they figured since Dawn was not going to be a permanent character, they made it obey her faster. I guess I liked that. Dawn is not a bad character herself and to see her with a cool Pokemon like Mamoswine was nice.

Mamoswine and its line would be rare and live in much colder regions. I'd expect they'd be dangerous like any other large-sized animal. With warming a continuing trend, I'd also expect them to be endangered.

I'd probably beef up this line's Special Attack, but then again, I'd much rather beef up its defenses more since its Attack power is good enough for me.

Mamoswine is an excellent Pokemon that stands out on its own, especially as an Ice-type. It takes a good portion of damage from some pretty common types, it's only immune to one type, and is also resistant to one type. Still, for an Ice-type, that's not too terrible. Probably the best Ice-type there is outside of Frost Rotom, which is outclassed by the other Rotom types.

I guess? Mamoswine and its line is unique to me since they are ancient Pokemon that lived in a time where ice was everywhere. To see it again on another Pokemon, they'd have to be better than Mamoswine otherwise I wouldn't give them a second thought.

I really don't know too much why Swinub and Piloswine are Ice-types. Maybe Game Freak thought Gen II lacked Ice-types and felt they needed to make these two part Ice. I wouldn't know if they were Ice-types just by looking at them.

I'm one of those people who felt some Pokemon did need an evolution and some didn't in Gen IV. Piloswine definitely needed one. Piloswine is not terrible, but it certainly wouldn't hold up in today's competitive environment. It didn't even hold up in Gen III's competitive environment. As for some who do need one, yes, there are a few that are in desperate need of one. Farfetch'd is one of them. Even though it's one of my favorite feline Pokemon of all-time, I'd love to see what they can do with Persian. I'm not against Pokemon getting an evolution as long as it is actually useful and doesn't look like an eyesore.

Gengarzilla · Nov 17, 2017

ocelotlrama jaguar said:
Oblivious is worthless. I wouldn't even bother with it.

Hm? Oblivious protects the Pokémon from Taunt as of Gen VI, which gives Mamoswine greater ease in setting up Stealth Rock. I'd still use Thick Fat but Oblivious would have been my second choice; Snow Cloak is just not consistent enough for me to bother with it even with hail teams.

Camille · Nov 18, 2017

I like Mamoswine quite a lot. Thick Fat is a great ability on it, since it makes it resistant to the BoltBeam combo and weakens Fire-type moves. It is a shame you couldn't get a Piloswine with its HA in Black 2/White 2, I really wish they put a Piloswine instead of a Sneasel with the useless Pickpocket in the Hidden Grotto in Giant Chasm. Swinub and Piloswine, on the other hand, never appealed to me. It doesn't help Swinub is a pain to raise because of its poor stats and the large amount of experience it needs to grow.

SirOni · Nov 20, 2017

I like how Piloswine, along with Yanma, evolves into a prehistoric animal when knowing Ancientpower. It's a neat idea that I wouldn't mind seeing again. It's kinda one reason that I like the fangame Pokemon Sage since it makes effective use of this idea with a few of its original species.

Mamoswine was one of my mainstays when I got into competitive battling during XY. I had a U.S. presidents naming theme so I named it Roosevelt. He was my sneaky pebbles setter and my dragon slayer. He was pretty good and I ended up breeding a few more Mamoswine to use other move sets.

I like how this family are Ice-types that are not predominately blue or white in color. It's pretty nice when there's some variety when looking only members of a single type.

SerenaToAlola · Nov 25, 2017

alolan_swinub__piloswine__mamoswine_by_mrsketchees_by_mrsketchees-dbjktvl.png

I just wish this was real, its so cute

POTW Pokémon of the Week #68: Swinub, Piloswine, & Mamoswine

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Enzap

No thoughts, head empty

DoctorWhy

Long Lost Member

Zexy

Quaxly Boy

Gengarzilla

"What do you mean, my Gengarite is contraband?!"

Nicolas721

Well-Known Member

ocelotlrama jaguar

Fluffy with 80% more spots!

Gengarzilla

"What do you mean, my Gengarite is contraband?!"

Camille

Call of Fate

SirOni

Driving You Batty

SerenaToAlola

Well-Known Member

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