Ash's Swellow

Ash's Swellow (Japanese: サトシのオオスバメ Satoshi's Ohsubame) was the first that   in the Hoenn region, and his twenty-first overall.

Hoenn
Ash caught Swellow as a Taillow in You Never Can Taillow!. It was the leader of a flock of Taillow. It stole Max's chocolate and challenged to a. It also led the entire flock on a ceaseless attack until and his  intervened and used  to drive them away. Taillow then showed up alone and challenged Pikachu, and even though it took countless s and a from Pikachu it still kept fighting. On Brock's advice, Ash captured Taillow to prevent it from getting hurt anymore. Ash then sent it out and Brock helped it recover.

Its first official battle was against Nicholai and his in In the Knicker of Time!. Taillow's impressive flying techniques allowed it to match Nicholai's newly caught Pokémon well. The winner of the battle though is unknown. It also fought against 's in You Said a Mouthful!, where it handled the battle well but lost when a  hidden inside Pelipper's bill used.

In Brave the Wave, Ash chose it to battle the Gym Leader Brawly's. Taillow managed to land several Wing Attacks on Machop, but Brawly's Pokémon managed to weather the attacks to land a devastating at the vital moment, taking Taillow out in a single hit. Taillow, with, and Pikachu, took up a meditation program to prepare for the rematch. However, Taillow was substituted for Corphish in the rematch.

In Pros and Con Artists, Ash used Taillow to battle Drew and his, as shown in a flashback later in the episode Ash was sure Taillow could beat Roselia due to Taillow having a type advantage. Taillow used Peck which hit Roselia, whom quickly counterattacked with. Taillow swiftly dodged it and Roselia used, which Taillow dodged by flying upwards. It then went for a Peck but Roselia used. Taillow attempted to dodge by flying upwards but it was hit by the Stun Spore anyways, it. then arrived at what Drew called the best part, Roselia used, and due to the paralysis Taillow was unable to dodge, causing the Solar Beam to hit Taillow and knock it out.

In That's Just Swellow, Ash entered Taillow in the Crossgate PokéRinger competition. Unbelievable determination allowed Taillow to shrug off attacks that defending champion Volt's  was using and it made a counterattack to fly to victory. In the final, Taillow went up against James and, starting strongly until a sand tornado kicked up. Determined to win, Taillow flew into the storm, but was too small against the gale. Desperate, it evolved into Swellow and easily broke through, using Wing Attack to flick the ring onto the goal and win the tournament, earning Ash of Crossgate Town. It then singlehandedly sent the sore losers blasting off. Several episodes later, in Sky High Gym Battle!, Swellow fought Winona's Swellow despite Winona's using more powerful attacks such as  and Aerial Ace. However, Ash quickly recovered from Hyper Beam and ordered Swellow to create a dust cloud to blind and slow Winona's Swellow down. It then struck with Wing Attack and knocked out Winona's Swellow, winning the battle for Ash. After this victory, Ash became determined to teach his Swellow Aerial Ace, beginning in Pokéblock, Stock, and Berry. Swellow initially struggled but with the help of Vladimir and his, Ash was able to teach Swellow the move in Lessons in Lilycove!.

In Solid as a Solrock it teamed up with Pikachu in a Double Battle against Tate and Liza, as Ash inspected the terrain and decided an aerial fighter would be necessary. The two of them struggled to defeat and, with Swellow only landing a Peck on  with little damage inflicted. Swellow came to Pikachu's rescue, bearing it into the air and away from the plummeting it was taking. Pikachu's Thunderbolt was sent back onto the team by Lunatone's, but Swellow managed to shrug off most of the damage. Swellow then used a newly learned Double Team to distract the duo while it flew above them. Pikachu used Thunder on some thunder clouds above with the clouds spitting the electricity back at Pikachu and Swellow. What should have hurt Swellow and Pikachu powered them up instead and turned them a metallic golden color, called Thunder Armor. Swellow easily diverted and  and then took Lunatone out with a supercharged Aerial Ace.

In Eight Ain't Enough, Ash used Swellow in the second round of his Sootopolis Gym battle, going up against Juan's. Swellow used Quick Attack but was caught by Whiscash's barbel's, and then used to weaken Swellow's. Whiscash then launched a Hyper Beam which Swellow was unable to dodge due to still being caught in Whiscash's barbels. Much to Juan's surprise Swellow got up and got free from the barbel's. Swellow launched Aerial Ace and Juan had Whiscash go underwater, but much to his surprise Swellow was able to dive underwater and hit Whiscash with the attack. Whiscash launched another Hyper Beam which Swellow dodged using its Quick Attack. It then transitioned into Aerial Ace. Whiscash attempted to dodge by diving underwater but Swellow was faster, hitting Whiscash and knocking it out. Juan then used his last and most powerful Pokémon,. Milotic used, which Swellow was able to dodge and landed an Aerial Ace, but it didn't do much damage to the Tender Pokémon. Milotic used which Swellow dodged by using Double Team, but Milotic used, destroying the copies and crashing Swellow into the roof, knocking Swellow out. In A Judgment Brawl, Ash used Swellow as his fifth Pokémon in his Full Battle against in the Victory Tournament part of the Ever Grande Conference, it went up against Katie's  since it had a  against it. Venomoth used, but Swellow was able to dodge it successfully and hit Venomoth with Peck, but Venomoth countered with , disabling Swellow's Peck for a while. Unconcerned as it had more moves than Peck Ash had Swellow use Aerial Ace, making a direct hit. Venomoth countered with, but Swellow used Quick Attack, dodging Supersonic and hitting Venomoth, knocking it out. It then went up against her. Both Pokémon used Quick Attack and clashed multiple times but neither was able to gain an advantage over the other. Swellow used Peck but this was countered by Scizor's Double Team who dodged the attack. Scizor, with the Double Team copies, used and Swellow countered with a Double Team of its own and dodged. It then used Aerial Ace with the Double Team copies, but Scizor transitioned into and destroyed the copies, but Swellow was able to dodge and used Quick Attack. Scizor then used Metal Claw but that Swellow was just a Double Team copy and the real Swellow used its Aerial Ace which was sped up by Quick Attack, successfully hitting Scizor and knocking it out. Katie then sent out her last Pokémon, her. Swellow used Quick Attack but it did nothing to Walrein and was deflected. Walrein used and although it didn't make a direct hit it hit one of Swellow's wings. Swellow used Peck but Walrein dodged by going underwater, as it was a water field. Walrein then came from behind and used Ice Beam, knocking Swellow out.

In Choose It or Lose It!, Ash used Swellow as his fifth Pokémon in his Full Battle against Morrison in the Victory Tournament, it went up against Morrison's. Gligar started out with, which was a one-hit knockout move, but Swellow used Double Team to avoid the attack. It used Peck but was dodged and Gligar used, but Swellow dodged with Quick Attack. Gligar then used instead and hit Swellow, but it was able to recover using Aerial Ace while Gligar used Steel Wing, with both of them taking the attack. They then repeated their attacks and dealt major damage. This is repeated a third time, with the collision ending their battle in a tie. In At the End of the Fray, Ash used Swellow as his fourth Pokémon in his Full Battle against in the Victory Tournament, it went up against his powerful, who had already defeated  and Corphish. Swellow used Peck, which the Arm Thrust Pokémon was able to catch in its hands. It then used, throwing Swellow into a rock. Hariyama followed up with but Swellow used Aerial Ace, allowing it to avoid Focus Punch and hit Hariyama to knock it out. It then went up against Tyson's who used, causing Ash to be unable to see Swellow. Swellow flapped its wings to remove the Sandstorm, but this gave Donphan the opportunity to use and knock Swellow to the ground. Donphan used multiple Rollout attacks hitting Swellow each time and getting more powerful with each successful attack. Donphan launched another Rollout, intending to finish Swellow off as it lay on the ground, but at the last second Swellow was able to catch Donphan using its legs. Swellow lifted off and then threw the Armor Pokémon into a rock, knocking it out. It then went up against Tyson's. The Iron Leg Pokémon used, dealing damage and trapping Swellow in the air, with it unable to break free until it used Quick Attack, but Metagross's high allowed it to deflect the attack and cause Swellow to take damage. Metagross then finished the battle with, knocking Swellow out. Despite the loss Swellow was able to make a crack in Metagross's body during the battle that would later be used by and Pikachu, the latter managing to defeat it.

Kanto Battle Frontier
Swellow went with Ash through the Kanto Battle Frontier and fought well against Frontier Brains. In Tactics Theatrics!!, it teamed up with to battle Dome Ace Tucker and his  and. Swellow launched a Quick Attack on Swampert, but Arcanine leapt forward and collided with Swellow, knocking it away from its intended target. It kept trying to attack Swampert, but Arcanine's speed proved too great and it continued to block it. Swellow managed to dodge Flamethrower with Double Team, but Arcanine powered up into a and hit Swellow dead on. After some maneuvering from Arcanine and Swampert, Swellow and Corphish were trapped inside a fire and water structure. After getting out, Swellow managed to smash Arcanine into Swampert for a direct hit on both, while Corphish protected Swellow from Fire Blast with. The smoke from the clash between bubbles and fire blinded both of Tucker's Pokémon and Swellow managed to hit Swampert in its blind spot. Swampert fainted just as Corphish finished off Arcanine, winning Ash the Tactics Symbol.

In Ka Boom with a View!, Swellow went up against Spenser's Venusaur, who had just flattened Ash's Heracross. Changing tactics, Ash ordered Swellow to fly towards the ocean. While flying, it could easily dodge 's and. On the beach battle recommenced with Swellow dodging all of Venusaur's attacks with Double Team and striking hard with Quick Attack. A final Aerial Ace took down Venusaur and Spenser replaced it with. Swellow was noticeably worried but fought on anyway with Quick Attack. However, Claydol dodged with and then knocked Swellow out of the air with. A follow-up Hyper Beam knocked Swellow out of the match.

In Slaking Kong, Swellow took on a giant robot long enough for  to rescue May. It then slammed it into the ground to permit others to attack it. In Aipom and Circumstance, it took on a whole flock of mechanical despite being outnumbered and managed to cause serious damage.

Ash left Swellow at 's lab when he set off for Sinnoh in Home is Where the Start Is!

In The Semi-Final Frontier!, Swellow was brought back to Ash's team where it battled against in the semi-finals of the Lily of the Valley Conference. Swellow was Ash's second Pokémon to battle Tobias's after Sceptile was defeated. It used Quick Attack on Latios, but the Eon Pokémon dodged it. Swellow then used Aerial Ace and flew from the sky towards Latios, coming down with great force. However, Latios used on Swellow, knocking it out.

It was mentioned in The Fires of a Red-Hot Reunion! by Professor Oak, who mentioned that Swellow would sometimes have air races with at the lab, and  would make a good addition to those races.

Swellow was later reunited with Ash in The Dream Continues!, where it and the rest of Ash's Pokémon posed in a group photo with him.

Personality and characteristics
Right from its debut as a Taillow, Swellow has been tough and persistent. It has been noted many times in the anime how Swellow was overly stubborn and would fight to its last breath in a battle, rather than give up. An example of Swellow’s determination was in Solid as a Solrock where Ash, knowing that Swellow would enjoy the challenge, ordered a attack on it. Swellow, determined to win their battle against Tate and Liza, took the attack and used it to win the Double Battle.

In the Ash & Pikachu manga
Swellow first appeared as a Taillow in I'll Win With My Own Battle Style!!. It later appeared as a Swellow in Battle Till The End! Drake, One Of The Elite Four! where it fought in a Double Battle alongside against Drake's  and. It was able to defeat the former but lost to the latter. Swellow reappeared in Start Of The Pokémon League!! where it fought against Morrison's and tied.

In the TCG
Ash's Swellow is featured in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The following is a list of related cards.

Trivia

 * Swellow was Ash's first Hoenn Pokémon to fully evolve.

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