Slowbro (Analysis)

[Seven Deadly Sins]

Slowbro

[Overview]
While Slowbro was pretty effective in Generation 4, Generation 5 and Dream World turned Slowbro into an absolute monster. Not only is Scald incredible for Slowbro, giving it the ability to Burn opponents, but it also gets an incredible new ability. Regenerator’s 33% healing whenever it switches out is a godsend, because it keeps Slowbro in tip-top shape, and also allows it to abuse Scald’s burn rate to its fullest. Combine that with the presence of strong new Fighting-types such as Conkeldurr and Terrakion, as well as Slowbro’s access to Fire attacks which it can use to ward off Ferrothorn, and Slowbro is a force to be reckoned with in Generation 5.

[SET]
name: Physical Tank
move 1: Scald
move 2: Psychic / Ice Beam
move 3: Flamethrower / Fire Blast / Ice Beam
move 4: Slack Off
item: Leftovers
nature: Bold
ability: Regenerator
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef

[SET COMMENTS]

- Ridiculously bulky- up to 394 HP and 350 Defense with fantastic defensive typing.
- Regenerator is absurdly effective, as it allows Slowbro to spend its time attacking and doing damage instead of having to heal as soon as you switch in
- Scald can burn the opponent, making it even more effective defensively
- Psychic gives great secondary coverage/STAB
- Fire attack makes it effective in Sun as well as making it powerful against Ferrothorn and Skarmory
- Ice Beam hits Garchomp, Dragonite, Haxorus, and other Dragon-types
- Slack Off gives great staying power when staying in more than 1 turn

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

- Thunder Wave is an option, but Slowbro generally wants to be running as much coverage as possible
- Heal Bell and Aromatherapy users can be extremely effective in tandem with Slowbro, as it’s susceptible to Toxic and Burn. Celebi is the most effective user, as it resists Electric and Grass, two of Slowbro’s most notable weaknesses, and Slowbro resists Fire.
- Blissey/Chansey also works very well with Slowbro, as it can take strong special attacks aimed at Slowbro while Slowbro shrugs off strong Fighting-type attacks

[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Surf
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Psychic / Psyshock
move 4: Grass Knot / Ice Beam
item: Choice Specs
nature: Modest
ability: Regenerator
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SAtk

[SET COMMENTS]

- 100 Special Attack works extremely well with Specs
- Regenerator gives Slowbro the ability to switch in repeatedly
- The combination of Surf and Fire Blast allows Slowbro to function equally well in Sun and Rain
- Psychic / Psyshock provides solid secondary STAB- Psychic is stronger but Psyshock is more effective against Blissey/Chansey and other specially defensive opponents
- Grass Knot hits opposing Slowbro as well as Jellicent, Suicune, and some other Water-types. Stick to Psychic against Rotom-W, though, as it only gets hit for 20 BP by Grass Knot
- Ice Beam hits Dragon-types, especially Hydreigon, which is immune to Psychic

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

- Trick is illegal with Regenerator, so it’s not advised
- If using Psychic, a way around Blissey is suggested

[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Scald
move 3: Psychic / Psyshock
move 4: Slack Off
item: Leftovers
nature: Bold
ability: Regenerator
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk

[SET COMMENTS]

- Abuses Slowbro’s high physical defense and STAB Scald
- After a couple CMs, can be extremely hard to shut down
- Instant recovery and no 4x weakness makes it tough to take down after setup
- Scald complements Calm Mind by sometimes Burning opponents attempting to hit it on the physical side
- Psychic does much more damage, but Psyshock guarantees wins against opposing Calm Mind users

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

- Blissey with Toxic is a huge issue for Slowbro, as is anything else with Toxic
- Strong super-effective special or physical attacks can break through Slowbro’s defenses before it can get set up enough- examples are Thundurus and Scizor

[Other Options]
- Slowbro’s pretty good at setting up Trick Room, especially since it ran come in and set it up repeatedly
- Trick Room + Belly Drum is gimmicky but can be extremely lethal if the opponent lets it set up
- Counter is gimmicky but it can completely wreck opponents if they U-Turn on Slowbro with Scizor, since the switchin will be hit hard- it also guaranteed beats Fighting-types with Payback such as Conkeldurr

[Counters]
- Blissey with Toxic beats all Slowbro sets
- Toxic Spikes ruin Slowbro’s day, though Slowbro can counteract them for the most part by switching in as soon as the user sets up one layer
- Thundurus does tons of damage, but has issues switching in

 

[Husky]

Celebi and Slowbro share an annoying Bug-type weakness, however it's still the best option in terms of a heal bell / armoatherapy partner. Maybe Shaymin also deserves mention here as it's not 4x weak to it..
In OO, I would also mention that Slowbro can make good use of Yawn to force some switches, even if it works a bit counterproductive to Scald.
Else, this seems pretty much perfect to me, I couldn't made this one better =3

 

[zdrup15]

I think Trick Room deserves its own set. Thanks to its great ability and reliable recovery, Slowbro can set up TR multiple times and is therefore one of the best at that job.

 

[Forte.EXE]

Celebi and Slowbro share an annoying Bug-type weakness, however it's still the best option in terms of a heal bell / armoatherapy partner. Maybe Shaymin also deserves mention here as it's not 4x weak to it..

Well, there's also Dragonite, who resists Bug and Grass-types attacks, though Heal Bell and Multiscale aren't compatible with one another.

 

[PK Gaming]

QC APPROVED (1/3)

A lot more people should be using Slowbro, its incredible...

 

[Iconic]

I think Fire Blast can be removed from the first set, since Flamethrower always 2HKOes max Special Defense Ferrothorn after Stealth Rock. It also 2HKOes standard Skarm, and Fire Blast doesn't 2HKO max Special Defense Skarmory anyways. This would clean up the analysis, especially since you have Ice Beam slashed twice. You might want to mention Toxic somewhere in the AC or OO sections, since it's quite useful for beating the likes of Jellicent and Rotom-W, both of whom can be incredibly annoying. Looks good otherwise.

QC Approve 2/3

 

[Delta 2777]

I'd strongly consider adding a Trick Room set but it's your call.

QC Approved (3/3)

EDIT: I agree that Fire Blast is AC-mention only for the first set for the same reasons.

 

[Miao]

Given slowbro is a poster child for trick room teams, leaving it out would be a tragedy.

Adding set for copy paste speedyness:

[SET]
name: Trick Room
move 1: Scald
move 2: Psychic / Psyshock
move 3: Trick Room
move 4: Slack Off
item: Leftovers
nature: Quiet
ability: Regenerator
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SAtk

That said, awesome work, and popping in for saying thank you for giving slowbro some love and doing such a quick thorough job of it. :)

 

[GtM]

You should probably note that a Slowbro running Trick Room, Belly Drum and Regenerator cannot have Aqua Tail or Drain Punch due to illegalities. Since Slowbro lacks Waterfall, Own Tempo seems like the best option for Belly Drum Slowbro.

 

[twash]

When it comes to the write-up, I'd give a small mention somewhere that a bit of Speed can be used (especially on the Specs set) so that you outspeed Reuniclus, as it's otherwise a speed tie. Surf 2HKOes 252HP/0SpD Reuniclus, and still has a small chance at KOing it if Reuniclus Calm Minds after the first Surf. If Reuniclus gets lucky with a speed tie and Calm Minds first, then you will definitely need a critical hit to win. This is especially useful if Reuniclus is slightly weakened, guaranteeing the KO, as you can prevent it from coming in, Calm Minding, and then healing up.

 

[prem]

maybe you want to lower the speed ivs to 19 to outslow conkeldurr , so you take less payback damage

 

[Bugbot]

maybe you want to lower the speed ivs to 19 to outslow conkeldurr , so you take less payback damage

This. I also recommend (like pretty much everybody else) Trick Room having its own set. It can set up Trick Room for himself (Same SpA as Starmie, slow like hell, Fire Blast and Surf? Yes please) or for fellow sweepers (Regenerator helps a lot, too!) with its nice bulk.

 

[Seven Deadly Sins]

I talked to QC about TR, and we kinda agreed that Trick Room just... isn't that good right now. It's definitely going to be a major mention in OO, but not a main set.\

As for the Speed thing, there's advantages and disadvantages to being faster and slower than Conkeldurr. Faster means you can Psychic a dented Conkeldurr and finish it off, but slower means you take less damage from Payback. From my personal experience, I'd actually much rather outspeed it and hit it first, because you don't OHKO it, and if it 2HKOs you with Payback (very, very doable, even from a 50 BP move), you lose to it anyway even if you're slower than it. If you're slower, it also means that it gets to hit you twice before you hit it twice, which is really, really nasty.

I'll put 19 IVs in AC, but I really don't suggest you run slower than Conkeldurr.

 

[prem]

wait how will this work now, by usage stats slowbro is uu. so does this just still be witten the same way, or will something different happen?

 

[Seven Deadly Sins]

Obviously yes. Anything good enough to get an OU set will have an OU writeup. When the time comes it'll also have a UU one.

 

[Immoral Wombat]

I would like to point out that Fire Blast still has something over Flamethrower: with stealth rocks up it is capable guaranteeing the OHKO on the special defensive swords dance Scizor set that is all the rage lately, whereas Flamethrower only has a small chance.

0 Slowbro Flamethrower vs. 252/216 Scizor: 75.6% - 89.5%
0 Slowbro Fire Blast vs. 252/216 Scizor: 95.3% - 112.8%

EDIT: While Scizor can't OHKO Slowbro,

0 Scizor Technician Bug Bite vs 252/252+ Slowbro: 46.2% - 54.8%
252+ Scizor Choice Band U-Turn vs 252/252+ Slowbro: 64.5% - 76.6%

it still does a lot of damage (especially the CB'er) and can get the hell out with U-Turn. Therefore this is only relevant when you predict it switching in, Scizor has Bug Bite over U-Turn and Slowbro is healthy enough to take it, or Trick Room is up, which is one of Slowbro's niches.

 

[Smokingpaper]

Doesn't Yawn deserve a mention? It makes Slowbro a nice switchin to CM Reuniclus as long as you have something else on board that can take it out while it's asleep.

 

[Darthenos]

Very nice work, in the first set however, I don't think that pysychic is really neccessary for two reasons.

1-Is because that set employs no special attack EVs so the STAB probably will not make a large difference.

2-Dragons (Off the top of my head) are the only pokemon that resistthe fire/water combo so Ice Beam is the better choice, in my opinion.

I really like all of your sets, and I think I will be running the first or second set you posted on my Rain team which is need of a bulky pokemon who resists Ice moves. Again, good job and keep it up!

 

[Shenkomi]

2-Dragons (Off the top of my head) are the only pokemon that resistthe fire/water combo so Ice Beam is the better choice, in my opinion.

You might want to consider other Water types, since I know they'll resist Water, Ice, and Fire. Psychic is doable in that sense, but I also agree dragons are a great target to remove. I guess it's a matter of fearing Dragons or other Bulky Waters.

 

[axc201]

Wow, I just started using the first set as my bulky water over Jellicent and it has been superb. I think it is awesome that many old pokemon got huge boosts with hidden abilities.

 

[Setsuna]

This needs to be finished. Would hate to bump it again.

 

[iSwaggzPoketmon]

Very nice work, in the first set however, I don't think that pysychic is really neccessary for two reasons.

1-Is because that set employs no special attack EVs so the STAB probably will not make a large difference.

2-Dragons (Off the top of my head) are the only pokemon that resistthe fire/water combo so Ice Beam is the better choice, in my opinion.

Slowbro needs the psychic, or at least a psyshock in his moveset somewhere. Fighting types are a standard in the meta with Conkeldurr being prevalent. Slowbro has the great advantage of being slow, so payback won't OHKO him like most other psychics that go toe to toe with Conkeldurr.

Here's the Numbers:
Bold Slowbro 252 HP/252 Def/4 Sp.Def Vs. Adamant Conkeldurr 252 Atk/120 Hp/136 Sp.Def

Payback is doing 32.49-38.58% Hp and with a 0 spd IV Slowbro, he'll outspeed you every time even if he has a 0 spd IV. This effectively makes it useless, as you can Slack off the Hp back later.

Psychic from slowbro is 60.63-71.65% Hp with no Sp.Atk Investment. Even if he goes for drain punch to add some Hp and has Leftovers, it's a 2HKO.

As for what should be taken out for ice beam, my vote is for Flamethrower. while it is useful for taking out scizors and can surprise your opponent in some situations, Sandstorm teams have much more support in the form of Landorus and Excadrill. with Sand Force/Rush these become powerhouses. and difficult to take out if you can't live through Earthquake, which Slowbro can. A 252 atk Life orb Landorus will only OHKO slowbro on a Crit, and a 252 atk Excadrill will 3HKO unless it lands a crit, in which case there is a 7.69% to OHKO. a 0 Sp.Atk Slowbro Vs. both of these is a OHKO with surf. Ice beam will take out dragons before they can do too much damage or set up, and slack off is there for recovery purposes.

 

[Seven Deadly Sins]

Okay, just so I can get this started...

Do all the sets still look good, or are there alterations that should be made? If I'm gonna be writing this stuff I wanna write it with the most up to date info.

 

[Lemonade]

Yeah everything is pretty much the same, although CM should probably go in front of Specs because Specs is nearly nonexistent. Also, probably Yawn in OO for like predicting something that eats Slowbro switching in and potentially sleeping it for less danger. But you can test stuff yourself to make the final decision.

 

[His Eminence Lord Poppington II]

remove all mentions of garchomp, mention thunder wave / yawn in OO?