Swadloon are often considered extremely shy pokemon, for they spend much of the time with their faces hidden beneath their leaves. But in truth, these pokemon are outgoing creatures, quite different from the withdrawn and stationary Shellder; they will fight, love, and live exuberant lives spent primarily behind a one-way leafy shade which only their vision can penetrate.
Swadloon conceal their faces not to convey a specific sentiment or emotion, but to avoid doing so, for the sight of a Swadloon's face leads to frequent misunderstandings. Although Swadloon (and a few remarkably observant trainers) can distinguish between the tiny mouth movements which represent these pokemon's true facial expressions, the overwhelming majority of people and pokemon mistake their exposed face at all times for the expressions of grumpiness or displeasure in other species which their default faces resemble. Newly evolved Swadloon reveal their face as much as they had when Sewaddle, but as others notice their frown and respond with anger or unwarranted concern, Swadloon learn to withdraw their faces to prevent miscommunications, revealing them only on those rare occasions where they are genuinely feeling the annoyance which their face so strongly suggests.
For much of history, Swadloon's tendency to conceal themselves in their surroundings and never change facial expressions saw them associated with the ninja, and many a ninja tale describes them using techniques belonging in reality only to their pokemon – provided they trained a Swadloon, which was not a rare choice – and breaking their poker faces or tossing masks aside out of anger or before battles. Today, Swadloon are more commonly associated with frequent internet users, for they spend long periods of time talking to and playing games with one another, while rarely if ever revealing their face.