Slowking (Analysis) [QC 0/3]

Done. Ready for QC checks. Also, forgive my bad grammar. And Merry Christmas.
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Slowking


[Overview]

• Slowking, the forgotten brother of Slowbro is back for another Generation. However, this time, it seems that Slowbro is outclassing him even more than before, even though they got the same great toys named Regenerator and Scald.
• This is due the prevalence of physical sweepers like Conkeldurr, Excadrill and Haxorus, which Slowbro can handle fairly well because of his good Defense stat.
• While for Slowking, most of the special sweepers introduced is this generation have a super effective move against him, such as Chandelure, Volcanora and Hydreigon.
• Even with the aforementioned flaws, Slowking is still a good Pokemon, either by taking some special attacks with his good 110 base Special Defense or setting up Trick Room or Nasty Plot (one of a few moves that Slowking has that his sibling doesn't). Slowking is also one a very few selected group of bulky Waters that can beat Ferrothorn (via Fire Blast or Flamethrower).

[SET]
name: Special Wall
move 1: Slack Off
move 2: Scald / Surf
move 3: Thunder Wave / Yawn
move 4: Fire Blast / Ice Beam / Grass Knot
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
Nature: Calm / Sassy
Evs: 212 HP / 44 SpA / 252 SpD


Set comments

• This is Slowking's best set as a Bulky Water.
• Unlike his brother Slowbro, who is more physically defensive oriented, Slowking takes Special hits better.
• Slack Of is for health recovery.
• Scald is a cool move that may inflict a Burn, very helpful in most of cases. If you feel that a burn is unappealing, Surf is a good replacement.
• Thunder Wave cripples fast sweepers that aren't immune to Electric, while Yawn is a good phazing move (keep in mind that both can't be used if the foe is affected by a status condition)
• Fire Blast puts Slowking apart most specially defensive Bulky Waters because it hits for super effective damage the biggest counter to most Water-type pokémon: Ferrothorn (It can 2HKO a 252 HP / 252 SpD Sassy Nattorei). If Ferrothorn isn't a big deal, either Ice Beam or Grass Knot can be used in the last slot, either Ice Beam or Grass Knot can be used.

Additional comments

• Dragon Tail can be used for phazing.
• The Evs grants maximun special bulk and a good offensive power.
• If you don't mind the offensive power drop, then a 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD is recommended.
• A Sassy Nature can be used to be slower than 0 Spe IV Brave Conkeldurr, therefore taking a 50 Base Power Payback.
• Some calculus to prove:

Teammate and counters

• Slowking is slow, has quite bad Defense and is weak to very common types.
• Ferrothorn is a great partner because it can take out most of Slowking's counters or set up in their face. Ferrothorn can take the Grass, Electric, Dark and Ghost moves aimed at Slowking, while Slowking walls the Fighting and Fire moves that plague Ferrothorn.

[SET]
name: Nasty Plot
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Slack Off
move 3: Surf
move 4: Psyshock / Flamethrower / Ice Beam / Grass Knot
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
Nature: Modest
Evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 SpD


Set comments

• Slowking has something that his sibling Slowbro doesn't: The mighty Nasty Plot.
• Slack Off is a way to recover Slowking's health.
• Surf is his main STAB move, hitting most things in the OU metagame hard with a Special Attack of 656 after a boost.
• The last slot has a plethora of options.
• Psyshock is another STAB move that hits Blissey and Eviolite Chansey harder than any other of Slowking's moves. Flamethrower massacres Ferrothorn, the ultimate Water counter. Ice Beam deals with Dragon- and Grass-types that doesn't take enough from Surf. Finally, Grass Knot helps against opposite Waters such as Jellicent.

Additional comments

• Other moves can go in the last slot. Hidden Power Electric helps against Gyarados and Vaporeon, and Psychic is stronger than Psycho Shock against Conkeldurr.
• Calm Mind can be used over Nasty Plot, but Slowbro outclasses him because of the former's higher Defense stat.
• The Evs here are for a bulky sweeper with the remaining in the HP. If a more bulky Slowking is what you want, then a 212 HP / 44 SpA / 252 SpD.

Teammates and counters

• Slowking coverage is somewhat limited. With Fire Blast, not only opposite Water-types but Dragon-types wall Slowking. With Psycho Shock, Hydreigon and Ferrothorn smack him. With Ice Beam, opposite Waters and Ferrothorn are a pain for him. Finally, with Grass Knot, Ferrothorn and Dragons fare very well against the royal pokémon.
• Slowking fears Toxic Poison a lot, and because of it, Toxic Spikes are troublesome. Thinking this, Forretress is a very good partner. Not only can he Rapid Spins away the pesky Spikes, but also set up all kinds of entry hazards, helping Slowking's sweep.
• Physical sweepers are also good partners because Slowking can defeat most of the physical walls such as Skarmory and Nattorei.

[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Surf
move 2: Psyshock
move 3: Flamethrower
move 4: Ice Beam / Grass Knot
Item: Choice Specs
Ability: Regenerator
Nature: Modest
Evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD


Set comments

• Not always people expect Slowking, and when they expect him, they think that is either a Nasty Plot sweeper or a Bulky Water variant.
• Surf is a strong and reliable STAB move that severely damages everything most part of the metagame.
• Psyshock is an interesting move that hits the opponents using their Defense stat. It's Slowking's best bet against Blissey, Eviolite Chansey, Snorlax, Tentacruel and alike.
• Flamethrower is an answer to Ferrothorn mainly, but also murders Scizor, Forretress and Skarmory.
• Ice Beam is useful for dealing with Dragons, in particular Hydreigon who walls this entire set. Grass Knot, on the other hand, is useful for dealing with opposite Water-types such as Swampert and Jellicent.

Additional comments

• Regenerator is the key of this set since, like most other Choice users, Slowking has to switch often.
• Trick and Signal Beam can also be used, but they are illegal with Regenerator.

Teammates and counters

• Slowking is slow and has a Pursuit weakness.
• Forretress is again a good partner because of the same reasons explained in the previous set.

[SET]
name: Trick Room Sweeper
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Nasty Plot
move 3: Surf
move 4: Flamethrower / Psychic / Slack Off
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
Nature: Quiet
Evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Ivs: 0 Spe


Set comments

• Slowking's low Speed and good overall defenses just scream for a Trick Room set.
• You may opt for Slowbro, but there is one thing that Slowking has that his sibling doesn't: Nasty Plot.
• With 656 Special Attack (after a boost from Nasty Plot), and the ability of attacking before most opponents (Barring Ferrothorn and may speed tie with Trick Room Reuniclus and Trick Room Slowbro) is something that puts him apart Slowbro.
• Surf is his main STAB move.
• Flamethrower is preferred in the last slot to deal with Ferrothorn, but Slowking can also use Psychic for a strong STAB move or Slack Off for quick recovery.

Additional comments

• Me First is an option since Slowking will be faster than most things under Trick Room.
• Max HP is crucial since he tends to switch more than often, thus recovering HP with Regenerator. Max Special Attack is to grab some KOs. The remaining 4 evs can be put in Slowking's Special Defense.
• This is an offensive Trick Room set, with the aforementioned offensive evs. If you want Slowking to be more defensive, then consider a 252 HP / 44 SpA / 212 SpD spread.

Teammates and counters

• Slowking usualy works better if Trick Room had already been set up by another teammate. Good pokémon that can set up Trick Room early in game include Bronzong, Eviolite Dusclops and Banette.
• Conkeldurr is an excellent partner for Slowking. Not only the circus clown destroys Ferrothorn and Special Walls, but is also a beast under Trick Room due his low Speed.

[Team options]

• Slowking has trouble with two proeminent special walls: Blissey and Eviolite Chansey. Roobushin can either set up a Bulk Up on their face or attack with Drain Punch or Mach Punch. Conkeldurr can take the Bug and Dark moves that plague Slowking while the royal pokémon can sponge the Psychic moves that the circus clown fears.
• Slowking also fears Toxic Spikes (as well the poison status). Forretress can Rapid Spin away Toxic Spikes while also can set up all kinds of entry hazards, which are extremely useful for all sets with a special merit for the Nasty Plot set.
• Clerics are also good partners for Slowking because of the reasons previously explained. Shaymin and Celebi are good examples of Clerics that go well with Slowking.

[Optional changes]

• Slowking is a decent user of Curse with his good Special Defense stat and moves like Aqua Tail, Avalanche, Zen Headbutt, Earthquake, Drain Punch, Return and Dragon Tail.
• Speaking of Dragon Tail, this is a great phazing move that Slowking has and his sibling doesn't, therefore should be considered in the Special Wall set, but it's generally outclassed by Milotic at that.
• Power Gem is good agaisnt Volcanora, but everything else is already hit hard by Surf or Psychic.
• Shadow Ball is strong against Reuniclus, but only for that.
• Focus Blast can 2HKO Blissey and Eviolite Chansey after a +2 boost from Nasty Plot, but its accuracy is terrible.
• Slowking has a good support movepool for doubles and triple battles such as Postpone, Telekinesis and Healing Beam.
• Disable and Psych Up are two good but extremely situational moves that Slowking also has.

[Counters]

• Blissey and Eviolite Chansey sponges everything Slowking has to offer bar Psycho Shock and boosted Surfs.
• Most of Slowking's set barring the Choice Specs one only has two offensive moves (mainly Surf and something else), so if you figure out what move Slowking is carrying, then it'll be very easy to counter him.
• If Slowking lacks Flamethrower or Fire Blast, then Ferrothorn and Celebi will stop him and kill Slowking with a super effective Power Whip and Grass Knot respectively. If Ice Beam is absent, Hydreigon, as well as most Grass-types, will wall Slowking all day. If Grass Knot was forgotten, then most Water-types, especially Jellicent, can come and sponge Slowking.
• Slowking has a considerably lower Defense stat and weakness to Dark, Bug and Electric, among Grass and Ghost. With that in mind, powerful physical attackers that have STAB in one of that moves can counter Slowking, such as Tyranitar, Scizor, Electivire, Abomasnow and Dusknoir.

[Dream World]

• Regenerator Slowking had already been released.
• Regenerator has already been discussed above, and is a great ability for Slowking, even better for the Specs set.
• However, with Dream World, there comes a great counter: Shadow Tag Chandelure.

I have been using a choice specs version for a long time in B/W. From personal experience alone, I can tell you that I run a Surf/Ice Beam/Flamethrower/Psycho Shock set with A LOT of success. You wouldn't believe how specially (and to an extent, physically) bulky he can become with just a 252 ev investment in HP. Regeneration allows him to hang around as long as you want him to, really. In most of my games, it comes down to the enemy having to play mind games to get my slowking in a check-mate position.
One of, if not THE most underrated pokemon of the new generation. People seem to have looked him over, despite his perfect stat distribution and movepool

I think a Trick Room set should be included. Slowking is a great Trick Room Pokemon with Nasty Plot/Trick Room/Surf/Ice Beam

Ice Beam could be replaced by Fire Blast, Grass Knot, or Slack Off.

Done. Ready for QC checks and feedback.

Why is Flamethrower listed before Psychic on the choice set? Hit Nattorei and Celebi (and friends), or hit almost every Water and Dragon in the game...I pick the latter.

Also, shouldn't there be a defensive TR set? Or a mention of more defensive evs.

For the Nasty Plot set, a +2 Flamethrower will already OHKO 252 HP/252 SpD Sassy Nattorei, so you can use it over Fire Blast.

Some calculus to prove:

Click to expand...

That is ''calculations''.

On the support set, mention the fact that entry hazard support will work well in tandem with Yawn.

If Nattorei isn't a big deal, either Ice Beam or Grass Knot can be used in the last moveslot.

Click to expand...

You are repeating the same thing twice in the sentence, thus making it sound redundant. Correction in Bold.

It might be better to simplify the points in the Teammates and Counters section for each set, and add them to their respective Additional Comments.

Are those calculations with 4 or 44 SpA?

I think I would mention one advantage which Slowking has over something like Blissey or Chansey as a special wall and it's the resistance against Psycho Shock and solid enough physical bulk with Max HP to take those boosted hits (However I think it would be important to check if it's not worth to invest a bit into physical bulk too in this case). For example it resists all moves on Offensive Nasty Plot Mew, which carries most of time Psycho Shock, Fire Blast and Aura Sphere for offensive moves (quite annoying if you run stall). It looks quite similar with other Psycho Shock users. It's really specific niche, but if someone wants to use Slowbro as a special wall, you must point out it's advantages, as normally Blissey/Chansey totally IMO outclass it in this role, except Fire Blast power against Ferrothorn. Just my two cents.

Friar reserved this. Moving to L&O.