Pokémon Galarian Slowbro

What tier do you think Galarian Slowbro will end up in?

  • OU

    Votes: 30 9.0%
  • UU

    Votes: 143 43.1%
  • RU

    Votes: 132 39.8%
  • NU

    Votes: 17 5.1%
  • PU

    Votes: 10 3.0%

  • Total voters
    332
What nature would be the best for a galarian slowbro??
Probably a speed-lowering one. If Shell Side Arm ever decides that physical would be stronger (like against a Chansey) it will deal more damage than if you were Modest or something.

No, it does not pick from your highest attacking stat. Nor does it pick from your opponent's defending stats. It compares Att->Def and SpA->SpD and picks the stronger one, though it doesn't take into account some effects like screens.
 
I'm posting here for the first time in a long time, Galarian Slowbro is low-key my new obsession. I love the guy too much.

I've been playing a lot with him since he dropped on showdown, and created a bunch of different sets for him (I've tried to leave out sets that have already been posted here) - I'm not the best when it comes to calculations, so any adjustment to stats from people who are better at that stuff would be amazing.

They might not all be viable, some might be out and out bad, but I've tried to experiment with as many different ideas as I can.

Few notes before my list of sets:
1. Quick Claw/Draw has been useful and helped me out in a pinch a fair few times, however so far, I'm finding regenerator to be more consistently useful because of how good Slowbro is at hit and running. I prefer claw/draw when I'm planning on staying in though.

2. Galarian Slowbro's best partner is Urshifu-Single Strike. The two of them work wonders together, Urshifu covers not only his weaknesses to Dark and Ghost with Wicked Blow and Close Combat, but also handles Rock and Steel types that resist Slowbro's STABS. I personally run Ice Punch on Urshifu, to deal with Slowbro's weakness of ground. Slowbro deals with Urshifu's 4x Fairy weakness (and his fighting weakness), so I don't find Poison Jab or Iron Head necessary. The synergy between the two of them is excellent, especially with Urshifu's U-Turn and Slowbro's regenerator.


Calm Mind:
Slowbro-Galar @ Quick Claw
Ability: Quick Draw
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Shell Side Arm
- Psychic
- Slack Off

This, so far has been my go to set, but once Slowbro's in, he's in. So any counters need to be gone before sending him out.

Nasty Plot:
Slowbro-Galar @ Quick Claw/Expert Belt
Ability: Quick Draw/Regenerator
EVs: 212 HP / 252 SpA / 44 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Shell Side Arm
- Psychic
- Flamethrower

Quick Draw or Regenerator depending on if you want recovery option or additional offence. Flamethrower takes out Scizor + Ferrothorn.


Trick Room Sweeper
Slowbro-Galar @ Expert Belt
Ability: Quick Draw
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 1 Spe
- Nasty Plot
- Shell Side Arm
- Expanding Force
- Flamethrower

Partner with Trick Room/Psychic Surge Indeedee. It's similar to Pincurchin/Raichu's combo,

Belly Drum Trick Room Sweeper
Slowbro-Galar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 SpD
Brave Nature
- Belly Drum
- Poison Jab
- Zen Headbutt
- Drain Punch/Slack Off

By taking quick draw/claw completely out of the equation and using trick room, Slowbro becomes fast and hits hard.


Defensive Slowbros:
I don't want to close the book too early on defensive Slowbro sets, but based on my experience so far - I'm not really sure they work that well. They work to a degree, but I felt as though I was playing Slowbro in a less useful way.

A Sort of Stally Slowbro
Slowbro-Galar @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Curse
- Poison Jab
- Ice Punch
- Slack Off

So my idea here was to make a stall slowbro in a similar vein to Toxapex or Ferrothorn. The issue however, is to my horror, Slowbro doesn't actually learn toxic. That's definitely a problem when trying to use Slowbro like this as poison jab isn't reliable.

Stored Power Slowbro
Slowbro-Galar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Quick Draw
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Calm Mind
- Iron Defense
- Stored Power
- Slack Off

Running a special slowbro without coverage is a bit too spooky for me, but this was what I cobbled together for it.


So that is my list of sets so far. I'm not sure about whether he'll be OU by usage, but so far he feels at least OU viable to me, especially when paired with Urshifu and/or Indeedee.
 
From the way Shell Side Arm works, there will never be a circumstance where it does less damage than Sludge Bomb would have, unless you are Choice Specs, correct? So you would only run Sludge Bomb on a Specs set or because of the extra 10% poison chance, right?
 
From the way Shell Side Arm works, there will never be a circumstance where it does less damage than Sludge Bomb would have, unless you are Choice Specs, correct? So you would only run Sludge Bomb on a Specs set or because of the extra 10% poison chance, right?
With how SSA works, Burns can actually cripple it.

This is because when SSA does the comparison, it only checks the stats of Pokemon (after abilities like Huge Power and Fur Coat) and the stat stages, and not other factors like Burns or Damage Reduction such as Fluffy.
 
With how SSA works, Burns can actually cripple it.

This is because when SSA does the comparison, it only checks the stats of Pokemon (after abilities like Huge Power and Fur Coat) and the stat stages, and not other factors like Burns or Damage Reduction such as Fluffy.
Oh I see, so screens and AV etc could also be a problem.

It's still smarter than Photon Geyser but I wish it were even more "smart" so to speak.
 
Per the Battle Mechanics Thread, Quick Draw activated exactly 30.0% of the time in a sample size of 1120 attacks. Stacking this with Quick Claw's 20% chance of activation leads to a combined 44% chance that either one will activate, as 1 - (1-30%)*(1-20%) = 44%.
That's neat. I could see some stupid Iron Defense / CM or NP / Stored Power set getting really lucky. 44% isn't reliable but we all know Scald burns every fucking time you don't want it to so this could be a fun gimmick.

+4 252+ SpA Slowbro-Galar Stored Power (140 BP) vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 399-469 (56.7 - 66.7%)

Being immune to Toxic is pretty cool as well.
 
Quick Draw+Quick Claw is definitely a good pick over Regenerator+Leftovers/Assault Vest, but the latter ability is still worth noting because of this nice Poison/Psychic typing, which is "a thing" defensively.

In your opinion, which ability is generally better onto this monster?
In my opinion, Regenerator is still better 75% of the times because Quick Draws locks you on using Quick Claw as item, with no room of unpredictability.
On the other hand, Regenerator still offers a huge room of innovation and the low Spe of this Galarian-Slowbro can still force you from switchig this monster out.
 
Quick Draw+Quick Claw is definitely a good pick over Regenerator+Leftovers/Assault Vest, but the latter ability is still worth noting because of this nice Poison/Psychic typing, which is "a thing" defensively.

In your opinion, which ability is generally better onto this monster?
In my opinion, Regenerator is still better 75% of the times because Quick Draws locks you on using Quick Claw as item, with no room of unpredictability.
On the other hand, Regenerator still offers a huge room of innovation and the low Spe of this Galarian-Slowbro can still force you from switchig this monster out.
If Slowbro was given Dragon Tail, I would definitely see it using Quick Draw+Quick Claw.
It raises your priority to the highest priority so that means Dragon Tail and Circle Throw will always go first.
 
I'd still pick Regenerator over Quick Draw. It makes Slowbro-Galar more versatile. Especially in the higher ELO whereas you run into a lot of bulky offense/stall. In most cases, I've managed to force my opponent out due to Bro's typing (i.e. vs. Pex/Corvi/Tangrowtth/Ferrothorn). Enabling to set up a free Yawn on the incoming mon. Launch a hit depending on the mon that came in, gain a couple of HP w/Black Sludge, and then switch out for recovery.
 
If Slowbro was given Dragon Tail, I would definitely see it using Quick Draw+Quick Claw.
It raises your priority to the highest priority so that means Dragon Tail and Circle Throw will always go first.
Maybe Quick Draw works differently, but Quick Claw doesn't work like that at all. It just makes you move first within your priority bracket. Think of it as increasing your priority by 0.5
 
Maybe Quick Draw works differently, but Quick Claw doesn't work like that at all. It just makes you move first within your priority bracket. Think of it as increasing your priority by 0.5
So I did some research and unfortunately Quick Claw does not increase your priority at all.
It’s more like Quick Claw gives you a temporary [Your speed]+[Max speed you can achieve in game] for your 1 attack after activating.
The wording on Bulbapedia is very confusing.
So now if Galarian Slowbro got Dragon Tail in the future, there isn’t really a reason to abuse Quick Draw/Claw over Regenerator.
 
To confirm: If Shell Side Arm uses Attack in cases where Slowbro-G attacks a Pokemon with higher Special Defense, does that mean we shouldn't use an attack-decreasing natures like Modest? In that case, what nature and EV spread would be ideal? We can't put EVs into Attack just for situational reasons, right? I was under the impression that SSA always uses Special Attack (like Psyshock), but that doesn't seem to be the case.
 
So I did some research and unfortunately Quick Claw does not increase your priority at all.
It’s more like Quick Claw gives you a temporary [Your speed]+[Max speed you can achieve in game] for your 1 attack after activating.
The wording on Bulbapedia is very confusing.
So now if Galarian Slowbro got Dragon Tail in the future, there isn’t really a reason to abuse Quick Draw/Claw over Regenerator.
Yeah, that's probably a more accurate way of thinking about it.

To confirm: If Shell Side Arm uses Attack in cases where Slowbro-G attacks a Pokemon with higher Special Defense, does that mean we shouldn't use an attack-decreasing natures like Modest? In that case, what nature and EV spread would be ideal? We can't put EVs into Attack just for situational reasons, right? I was under the impression that SSA always uses Special Attack (like Psyshock), but that doesn't seem to be the case.
It's not just based on the opponent's defenses. It chooses which of physical or special will deal more damage. I would say to use a Quiet nature, though since Shell Side Arm doesn't take into account burns (among other things) and it deals pitiful damage to Chansey uninvested, you'd probably be better off just using Sludge Bomb/Wave.

Nice name, btw.
 
To confirm: If Shell Side Arm uses Attack in cases where Slowbro-G attacks a Pokemon with higher Special Defense, does that mean we shouldn't use an attack-decreasing natures like Modest? In that case, what nature and EV spread would be ideal? We can't put EVs into Attack just for situational reasons, right? I was under the impression that SSA always uses Special Attack (like Psyshock), but that doesn't seem to be the case.
It’s a little bit complex to understand.

So the way SSA works is this;
((((2 * the user's level / 5 + 2) * 90 * X) / Y) / 50)
reduced:
((3,780 * X) / Y)/50
X being the respective offensive stat of the user after stages and Y being the respective defensive stat of the target after stages.

In most scenarios, SSA will be doing absolutely the most damage it can.
To illustrate, here is a +2 Sludge Bomb vs a Poison Jab (90 BP to be accurate)
0- Atk Slowbro-Galar Poison Jab (90 BP) vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Eviolite Chansey: 285-336 (40.5 - 47.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+2 252+ SpA Slowbro-Galar Sludge Bomb vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Chansey: 126-148 (17.9 - 21%) -- possible 5HKO
In this scenario, despite being +2 and invested, 90 BP Poison Jab will be doing more, so Shell Side Arm will become a physical attack.

How ever, this actually can be tricked as Shell Side Arm does not factor in things such as Burns, Fluffy, Tough Claws (as SSA will be contact based when physical), ect.
Basically, if a Burned SSA will do less as a Physical move than a Special one, and a Healthy SSA will do more damage than that Special SSA, Shell Side Arm will still become Physical.
0- Atk Slowbro-Galar Poison Jab (90 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 117-138 (16.6 - 19.6%) -- possible 6HKO
252+ SpA Slowbro-Galar Sludge Bomb vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 85-102 (12 - 14.5%) -- possible 7HKO
0- Atk burned Slowbro-Galar Poison Jab (90 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 58-69 (8.2 - 9.8%) -- possibly the worst move ever
In this case, Sludge Bomb should be doing more damage than the 90 BP Poison Jab, but SSA doesn’t realize Slowbro is burned and still thinks 90 BP Poison Jab will be doing more, so it will become Physical.

So in better conditions, SSA will be doing the most damage it can do, but with something like Burns screwing it over and damage reducing abilities screwing it over too, you might as well still use Sludge Bomb imo, as you’re not a Special Attacker worried about Burns (and in lower tiers, Fluffy too).
You do sacrifice the extra damage on Special Walls, but it’s so little without investment and you’ll be screwed over more my them if you get burned.
 
In most scenarios, SSA will be doing absolutely the most damage it can.
To illustrate, here is a +2 Sludge Bomb vs a Poison Jab (90 BP to be accurate)
0- Atk Slowbro-Galar Poison Jab (90 BP) vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Eviolite Chansey: 285-336 (40.5 - 47.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+2 252+ SpA Slowbro-Galar Sludge Bomb vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Chansey: 126-148 (17.9 - 21%) -- possible 5HKO
In this scenario, despite being +2 and invested, 90 BP Poison Jab will be doing more, so Shell Side Arm will become a physical attack.
I know you were just trying to give a clear example, but since spdef Chansey isn't a thing, it's important to remember what the actual calc would look like.

0 Atk Slowbro-Galar Shell Side Arm vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 129-153 (18.3 - 21.7%) -- possible 5HKO

It also becomes special at +2, though it still isn't strong enough to crack the egg.
 
Might update the movesets to be Sludge Bomb with Psychic / Psyshock. I was under the impression that SSA would function like Psyshock if the user had higher SpD when I made this thread. Thoughts?
 
Might update the movesets to be Sludge Bomb with Psychic / Psyshock. I was under the impression that SSA would function like Psyshock if the user had higher SpD when I made this thread. Thoughts?
Yeah, for as cool as Shell Side Arm is, Sludge is probably better. Shell Side Arm would probably be more suited for physical sets.
 
OK, have swapped out Shell Side Arm for Sludge Bomb on special sets. The Nasty Plot set has Psyshock listed as the STAB, while Specs still has Psychic (Shock doesn't 2HKO Chansey anyway, and it can still wreck it by Tricking it into Specs). I've also added a Belly Drum set, which I have stressed is probably outclassed by Azumarill but could work in the lower tiers. The Nasty Plot set also has Quick Draw and Quick Claw slashed in, though they are the inferior options.

Peace.
 

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