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Attack vs SpAttack

So this is actually something me and a friend of mine were arguing about earlier. And to help out, I am going to stick with the Swampert example.

So Swampert is one of my favorite pokemon out there. And I use him as a Physical attacker. But my friend has been saying that he would actually be better as a special attacker instead. Not because he does more damage, he overall does less, but because he would surprise the opponent enough to be able to beat them. Now those weren't words directly from him, but that's basically what he was saying.

Now what do you think? I am still personally a fan of Physical Swampert still because even if the opponent throws a wall in, which was another argument of his, then he can still do a decent chunk of damage.
 
Some Pokes are great for surprise tactics like that and some are simply built for one or two jobs and that's it. You can do many things with a Nidoking or a Venusaur, but you aren't going to make a physical attacker out of an Alakazam.

It really depends on the Pokemon.
 

Shiny Motley

2016 Singles Football
It really depends on your play style and, like what @glaman5266 said, the Pokemon you're talking about. Though not everything's determined by stats, you can't really make a special attacker out of someone who has a miserable stat. Also, after the reveal that you have a special Swampert, would you be able to keep using it in-battle? By the second or third turn it's not as much of a surprise. If you've already demolished a good portion of their team by then (or their core team members), then it's not as big a deal. However, it's still a risk, and soon they'll be able to adapt to the so-called "surprise" and counter you.

I'm not saying it's a bad idea, and I've seen it pulled off before. However, I don't really recommend such a tactic unless you REALLY know what you're doing.
 
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