At these days, it is been incredibely difficult for the adv playerbase. A new era of offense has ushered through our modern times. This is what we call "Slop" though many of the top players debate on what truly consists "Slop". As one of the main creators of said type of offense alongside my good pal Giraffe, who introduced me to many of its core strats from which I have been trying to perfect, I am here to clarify what truly consists a team that is "Slop"
Disclaimer that this guide is more for experienced players and also the intermediary level. I would not reccomend people to start out their mons journey w Slop. U will suffer. A lot. Even I had trouble w truly piloting the style
First however, it is needed that we have a historical background on Mixed Offense, more specifically from 2024 which is Slop's infancy stages
1) Introduction:
Mixed Offense on end of 2023-2024 was a thing that was developing. Its objective was to have a solid bulky offense usually centered around Bulky DD Tar and Twave Zapdos. One of the many theorems of 24 Mix Off is that Twave Zapdos lead was used to equalize games vs opp Zapdos and that Zapdos+Bulky Ttar counted as a special wall (the same idea that makes El Classico possible as a structure) and thus was its main special backbone allowing for potency while keeping a defensively sound structure that wasnt "weak to Spikes" cuz it was able to forgo Snorlax, a historically spike bait pokemon for Skarm and keep the "defensive consistencies".
Of course, this isnt new. Many CMPass teams used this metric and obviously if you look back other teams did this as well. Matter of fact this principle is still behind many Spikes Offense that were used throught 2024 and many that still are used that use Zapdos+Ttar as their sole special backbone, usually alongside a steel type (Meta/Jirachi) though these have been on a downward spiral in regards to popularity mainly due to the rise of Raikou.
24 Mix Off is mainly just "good stuff" as it was made up of just inherently solid all around pokemon which its main goal was using the bulkiness to check opp offense and good setup to check fat, usually centered on getting the perfect Bulky DD Tar win-path or as it was more commonly done, have Bulky DD Tar uses its bulk and setup power to trade up pieces for a DDMence endgame. Slop still uses the 2nd idea most often but it also is somewhat less rigid and has more breaking power than these used to. OffPert was commonly used because of the idea of tapping into both Bulkiness and Power together, often used with Curse as a way to break through Fat water-types and press Bliss in one move. The main theory was always to use mons that offered both breaking power and ability to stay in vs many threats. Metagross was considered essential and mainly used its Mixed set for more flexible breaking and to not be Spikes bait. However this type of offense had a lot of issues.
2) Why did 24 Mix Off Fail and its relationship to Slop's development:
24 Mix Off didnt succeed for long. The first issue is that in MUs where Zapdos was at the back unless your structure had Cele (which usually meant less breaking power by default and less playability vs Skarm due to Cele's flaws) you were at a terrible disadvantage. 24 Mix Off was rigid because it wanted too much flexibility and that much of flexibility meant death. It meant compromising breaking and defense in one which for a archetype wout Spikes was astoundingly difficult to do. It was either lacking in how to progress or was defensively flawed. It couldnt do both in a satisfactory matter.
To exemplify this, we can use the TW Zapdos equalizer from earlier. On non-offense MUs, Zap found it hard to truly progress. It used Toxic as its progress tool but the team wasnt bulky enough to hold up Toxic for its maximum effect, not only that but Tar+Bliss still thudded it quite effectively and the fact it wanted Ice (or else those teams were actually bad into Cele) meant Pert was a obstacle as well. Of course, toxicing Swampert was one of the goals but at the same time Zap was often the best play into Pert for most of these 24 Mix Offs. Bulky DD Tar sometimes didnt do enough damage and then DD Mence couldnt kill the chipped Swampert, offensive waters were a immense pain (yes its true for Slop too but Slop is insanely better vs every one of em except for Pert which the MU spread is mostly equal) and it was rigid in a sense it tried to do too much in one team and tried to be "too balanced". It is necessary that offense is water. Rigidity is death for offense. If a offense has too few paths of victory, it is not a good offense. And while it may appear that this is true for most offenses in ADV, in most of the in game contexts, this is definitely not true.
The other key part of 24 Mix Off is that it tried to divide and conquer MUs. While yes, Slop uses that concept sometimes, it usually prefers the "synergistic" approach where mons add up to themselves, like how DD Tar and End Pert converge into its trading goals for DD Mence. It is rather the "simplest" form of Offense but its also the best as it isnt too rigid and can still employ MU division to some degree, but the best part abt Slop is its emphasis on Synergy above MU division. Ie make ur pieces work together, instead of relying on a mon to really win you a matchup, make it a combined effort, the same goes for defense. Although, in case of defense, this "combined effort" concept was already explored in the Zap+Ttar example but ppl dont think this way on a offensive level. Instead of using Suicune and relying on Rest lastmon to help you win TSS, Slop tries to get the right sequencing to get a DDTar+Endpert midgame breaking into setting good conditions for DDMence or special sweeper in the back vs TSS. 24 Mix Off is unable to do that to the highest degree of efficiency due to set choices that emphasizes bulkiness. Slop also uses a lot of Trading, ie it uses DDTar, EndPert and booms with the sole objective of trading up pieces in which usually said pieces are more important. A synergistic approach may look rigid at first glance due to the sets it usually requires but is the most flexible when it comes to in game decisions and is rather a focused offense instead of a scattered one that comes from MU division, it isnt forced, it flows.
Think for example of how you concentrate. There are 2 type of focus, the forced and the flow. 24 Mix Off is like a forced focus, it burns out rather quickly and tries to fight the river. It tries to do too much, it skips over basics of synergy, like how you do a perfect routine to follow only to realize after 1 week the routine is too exhausting and you give up on improving your life afterwards. It tries to be different. Slop doesnt really try to be different, it is rather a flow. It goes within the gamestate and tries to flow w it, in that it uses the most efficient sets in getting the momentum (which is the flow), thus it looks rigid from a outsider perspective since it follows rather specific sets and sometimes rather specific lines, like how a super disciplined person looks like for one whos undisciplined. In reality, its anything but rigid, it simply complies w the river instead of trying to go against it. This is Slop's biggest sucess. It goes to its fixed point, its goal, which is to enable DDMence or special sweeper at winning and then tries to create its own river, its own flow instead of bathing into the enemy's. Its the most proactive strategy in the whole of ADV. Instead of trying to have answers defensively, it simply tries to flow offensively to the pt defensive flaws dont quite matter. For that to be possible, some sets are needed so this flexibility, this flow can be achieved. This is not to mean that Slop needs perfect conditions to suceed but rather much like Focus, it can be adaptative to conditions like how the best can focus even with distractions such as noise, annoying people and the like and create its sense of flow, create "The Zone" for which it thrives through, thus comes the core concept of Slop and is what defines Slop philosophically, what I call "The Trifecta"
3) The Trifecta
Here comes what to me is the Slop essential. These 3 pokemon are what make Slop truly achievable, not only that but said 3 usually should play rather specific sets to converge advantage. For example, the Ttar should usually (90%) be Lum DD Max Atk Max Spe Adamant with Double Edge, and the Pert should always be Endeavor, although you can go 50/50 on the choice of Toxic or Roar and Hydro Pump or Surf and Mence should always (ok maybe 98%) be some variant of DD however DD's coverage choice is very flexible and variable while also being dependent on the other 3 of the team, I will go later over how to carefully tread and choose DDMence's coverage.
While yes this is a Trifecta , it is technically possible to drop Endeavor Swampert on said builds usually as a means to fit Claydol or a jankier extra mon. That said, I would like to adress that dropping EndPert really isnt reccomended and loses a crucial part of what truly is Slop, ie its philosophy of focused offense and trading which EndPert encapsulates perfectly. Also, Dol is still good to be used alongside EndPert most often, although I would like to caveat that Dol usually isnt a good fit on Slop due to its inability to truly progress vs Skarm and its reliance on Explosion for actual progress. It does have great synergies with multiple Slop members but it usually comes to the fact that its hard to truly fit Pert switch-ins with it.
DD Tar is the best "general" progress maker. Its able to trade vs anything and anyone at +1, Pert/Meta/Cune/fighters and others. Its ability to trade up and do as much damage as possible is exactly what makes it so potent, while not truly a requirement, the best Slop use Lead DDTar as it is because its the most forceful off the bat and the easiest to setup. The secret is to DD T1 almost always (except vs Fighters/Meta/Mence) and just click attacks. Vs cune? DD. Vs ttar? DD. Vs zap? DD. Max Max means no power issues and the natural bulk of Ttar means it can pull off a midgame breaking or even sometimes one-time check as a secondary plan. The main plan will always be trading up aggresively with it to keep the momentum (flow) and to create scenarios where the other 2 from your trifecta can thrive.
It is possible to use other sets when it comes to Ttar and Mence. However one must recognize that the strenght of the trifecta is its ability to wallbreak all types of cores if played w precision and discipline. Such changes as using MixTar over DD for more immediacy vs Pert and threat level vs TSS ends up costing at the general threat level for the sake of "MU dividing" often, which is not the point of Slop. However, if put correctly, said sets can be benefitial, they are exceptions that usually prove the norm, not actual substitutes. The same goes for MixMence which is "doable" due to giving a Swampert switch-in (in the same way Gengar does, though) however Slop's strenght comes from either supporting the DDMence or using the DDMence as the breaker. Oftentimes, the Trifecta can actually circle around its roles, which creates the in game flexibility I was talking about. It is possible to have MUs where EndPert is the cleaner (though rare) or that DDMence breaks for Ttar, or even that both EndPert and DDMence end up trading for a DDTar sweep. Said scenarios are usually rarer than the usual EndPert/DDTar break into DDMence/alternative 2nd sweeper clean-up, however it shows that Slop archetype isnt as rigid as it looks. It is also imperative however that DD Mence always runs SpD on these cores to maximize its potential trading may it run into a MU where cleaning up wont really be possible or a MU where its best to Brick Break sack itself into Blissey. While doable without, Brick Break should also be ran on Mence 90% of the time due to its simplifying nature in Bliss MUs and ability to OHKO Ttar at +1 and be able to be used as a makeshift Lax check. I have not found a Slop build where classical DD Mence makes sense.
To clarify, Ttar and Mence are non negotiable mandatory members and while yes its possible to drop EndPert, Slop builds are significantly worse wout it and it only should be a at maximum 5% case and only to be replaced by Dol/Starmie/Suicune. Either way I strongly reccomend to stick to Trifecta unless you are a Slop pro.
4) The Fourth Piece: Momentum reversal and Blissey checking
This is actually the most important slot after Trifecta as it is actually quite limited and by far the most inflexible part of Slop, however compared to 24 Mix Off which this slot was only Metagross, this has become far less rigid and has opened up space for more teams and more flexible "in game"
These are now your options. It is quite clear why it was thought Metagross was the only option for a great time. It does everything a Offense will need at this teambuilding stage, it checks Blissey while keeping up progress and it can check any threat in a reversal style like Lax/Dol by clicking Boom. All of that and it also helps check Ttar! But why then just accept that like we did with Trifecta and just run it all the time and make it our mandatory 4th? Its quite simple really. Trifecta itself is already very special weak, this has always been a issue since 24 Mix Offs iterations and that doesnt mean Meta is suddenly a bad option but it no longer is undisputed mandatory as its roles are able to be replaced.
To go further into this, let's briefly analyze Registeel. Registeel has great bulk, TW and Boom. This means its perfect at being a reversal mon and being super reliable from a defensive standpoint. But the problem was always about how it just didnt have enough offense, however with the Trifecta providing enough wallbreaking prowess and the fact Explosion is A) strong enough to leave its targets super low, sucessfully trading up and B) its able to lure down extremely strong defensive mons such as the natural cures, as they are the only surefire answers to Registeel's TW+Stoss trade-up combo and C) its ability to trade vs phys checks via Counter or Toxic (Dol/Pert hate both options). This makes it a great synergy to EndPert (vs natural cure mons) and to DDMence+DDTar (vs phys checks) while being a incredible special check meaning with great play, The Trifecta's weakness is practically negated. This makes Registeel a incredibely potent alternative to the usual Metagross. It needs a disclaimer that you need a very good way to plan vs Gar, which usually isnt straightforward
Now, what about Regirock? At the surface, it still is as special weak as Meta alternative, perhaps even more so and it is still Spikes bait. What is special about it? Well, its better at being a reversal vs physicals specifically, meaning it doesnt need to stay fully healthy to handle DDers and can still break as efficiently as CB Meta with CB Superpower, which combined with Pert speed is able to atcually get a great amount of chip into Pert meaning it can work just like Meta does, not only does that but CB Spower does just a bit more than CB Meta's Mash. That and its rock typing gives it better MUs vs firebirds/mixmence/zapdos and its also able to lure in Cele and Boom/HPBug it, making once again for a excellent EndPert partner. It is also able to make sure Metagross doesnt need to spend HP or its boom like it usually used to, which is great benefit for offense and especially AgiGross. It is possible however to use Rock wout Meta but its needed to say that Rock needs a steel type alongside it. If it is not Meta, it must be Jirachi. It is needed to say that Rock has took quite a hit with the latest AgiPass Zap ban, which was its greatest partner, as Rock actually liked the flexible and role compress idea of Zapdos in defense while AgiPass made up for Zapdos's offensive shortcomings on Spikeless while also giving a great tool vs El Classico type styles and Dug Fat, Jirachi on Slop and CuneDol alike was similarly affected thus both have become drastically worse than what they used to be due to Spikeless Zap's current unviability. CB Rock has kinda of a bad MU into Gar because of how it actually uses Superpower as its spammable move, therefore one must be wary of it and plan accordingly just like Registeel. Strongly advise against pairing em together, Gar and Pert planning usually becomes way too complicated and unsmooth to be worth any effort (imo)
Now, once again we go to Metagross. Meta isnt by itself a bad choice, however Meta is a bit dissapointing when you start thinking about it. Its boom never truly hits the targets ur looking for all that well and its kinda mediocre vs Skarm or even Pert. Mixed sets always have trouble w coverage and even power issues at times. It is also the fact Meta needs to be at 70-100% with bulk investment to be a effective momentum reversal, which is a bit of a meh task and sometimes it needs Boom to really get the OHKOs its looking for. Basically speaking it somewhat has a lot of issues that 24 Mix Off's Zapdos used to have. Ie its kinda rigid at gameplay despite flexibility in theory. This is not to say Meta still isnt excellent on Slop, it just isnt the mandatory mon it used to be. It has never been easier to build Offense wout Meta thanks to the Regis. Meta still has its incredible traits however, its way better at checking Bliss than both, has more set variety due to being able to run Mixed and can be both a alternative sweeper and a momentum reversal with the Agility set. I dont like CB on Slop because I think its too rigid and doesnt actually work all that well, the best it can do is 1 on 1 but it never usually goes past that point vs good teams and ud rather have the sweep potential of Agility or the immediate threat of TP+Grass of Mixed. It might be worth going Bulkless on Mixed btw, just a thought. Wonder if 0 hp 0 spdef survives mixmence or something silly and u shud just run -def bc u arent living dders +1 wout huge invest anyway so might as well have the extra (huge chunk) of atk investment so ur mashes sting more. Worth a shout. Also always run 168 hp 16 def on Meta for Slop (unless discussing this theoretical Mixed EV variant) as this achieves the best way to be a momentum reversal (lives +1 DDer EQ from full). Again, Meta is still excellent on Offense due to its many obvious qualities of momentum reversal, strong boom that can wallbreak and ability to check Bliss/Lax while also helping vs Ttar. It is just that its qualities used to be overstated and are not mandatory in any shape or way. It is to be said however, that one of those three must always be ran on Slop (and to me any spikeless offense) for that matter
Bonus: The Odd Child
Yes, you heard it right. I consider this to be the secret "4th option" for expert gamers looking to have fun. The set is Sub/Endeavor/Taunt/Rock Slide @ Salac Berry with Max atk max speed jolly. It is able to wallbreak quite efficiently and its the only mon to be sand immune while having the combo of Taunt+Endeavor. It is also able to worn down the phys checks in a very satisfactory matter. The speed kinda sucks but no one uses 328 stuff so its OK. It is def a option for Expert-only and its somewhat worse than the Big 3 (The Regis+Meta) but its pretty alright. Taunt+speed also denies Skarm layers and its one of the best Dol lures
5) Mence coverage, filler slots and special checks
Now that we have gone over the core 4, its time to decide on the last 2. First, the core basic is that ur last 2 must have good synergy with Trifecta. Thus it is usual that one of the last 2 helps at handling specials. This means one must add a Zapdos check (unless you have Registeel, it must be a Gar check instead, altho its often that those overlap). Your choices usually are Raikou or Celebi, dont bother with Jolteon/Lax/even Regice (altho maybe theres smth) because these mons either lack breaking or are just asynergistic w slop in general. Whereas Raikou/Celebi can also fill the alternative sweeper role and often have sneaky focused synergistic approachs with DD Brick Mence, as DD Brick Mence at +1 can sack Bliss itself into range of the CMer or the other synergy that is randomly attacking w the CMer and putting Bliss on what I call "sweet spot". What that means is that Bliss is hit by a special move but doesnt feel the need to Soft Boiled AND they are on +1 Brick range. This is by far one of the most potent applications and its the fact that these two specifically fill the special check role. Offcune/offmie can do similar but wont provide special check. These special attackers provide alternative sweepers but also are able to actually provide MU division aspects in disguise while having synergistic value with the main plan (DDMence) by their ability to own Spikes Off due to their also distributed backbone and the fact they setup on many of its defensive and offensive threats
It is also imperative that the team has a Pert check. This is important because Pert itself is the most complicated MU to map out for Slop. Not hardest, but most complicated. In my humble opinion, you must have a Pert switchin. I feel there are few ways to do this, the classical way was using SuperCele, who can provide a Pert pivot thats still dangerous in most scenarios, the next more "modern" ways are using OffCune and Grass Registeel. Grass Registeel is able to pivot on most of Pert's actual spammable attacks (toxic, water stab, icebeam) and shrug em off. It is also able to convince Pert to stay in and take heavy damage. Suicune can switch it in and also do the "sweet spot" thing, it can also autowin vs many Spikes Off with a Timid 3a set. It must be said that OffCune is best on Slop with Timid+Hydro+IB+HPGrass+CM. Using anything else is throwing, you have been warned. Slop used to have the option of AgiPass Zap for Pert switchin but that was tragically taken away (it was also the only possible way to perhaps justify dropping Mence)
After that, you just decide on your last, which usually is just a breaker that helps through your Fat and TSS MUs (Machamp, Jirachi) or a utility mon looking to boom something specific / achieve a specific function (Gengar, Claydol) or just another alternative sweeper (Aerodactyl, Celebi, Raikou, Suicune)
After all this work, its time to decide on your Mence set, usually you can work this step before setting on your 2 last slots, however by doing on this order, you can see how I decide Mence sets, my first thing is that I always use Brick no matter the set. There are too many good things that Brick does for Slop to be able to drop it. After that, its 2 coverage moves that synergize the most with your team. If your pieces are built in a way that damages Metagross super efficiently, for example using Regirock to boom vs it and leaving it at low HP or MixMeta for the same reason or Machamp who trades up with Meta and forces damage onto it alongside Ttar, or even stuff like Double Water (Cune+Pert) which usually forces Meta to boom onto one while still having the other for safety, I would reccomend DD/HPFly/BB/Slide. Though this set has been less used for me mostly because its the Golden Standard and sometimes a bit too predictable. If your team is very safe vs Cele and is able to lure it and Claydol with raw efficiency, using sets such as Crunch Raikou, Machamp, WoW Boom Gar alongside EndPert+DDTar or forcing Dol to boom and answering Cele offensively like your own SuperCele, then you use Penguin Mence (DD/EQ/RS/BB). If you want your Mence to be more of a breaker for your alternative sweeper (usually physical like AgiMeta or Aero) and have excellent ways to chip Aero onto range (Cele comes to mind) or luring Zapdos/answering it robustly (Registeel+Zapdos, Boom Gar, Meta) then you run DD/Fly/BB/Fire Blast to enhance your phys threats by luring and heavily denting SkarmPert, by far my favorite DD set on Slop and most splashable due to its anti Skarm properties, easing up on piloting skills required and on the Fat MU. If you are able to lure Zapdos extremely well but have trouble w steels and dont need the anti-Skarm/wallbreaker property but rather more of a sweeping Mence, you use DD/Fly/BB/EQ. There are many options but it must be emphasized that your team must have a cohesion and synergy with the chosen set or else your Mence will be underwhelming. The Mence coverage choice can make or break a Slop, think carefully about how your team actually sequences out and choose what wins the most
Sub, Refresh are usable but Slop is always better with a 3rd coverage move I have found. Said moves are too situational and they dont give enough surprising value. EQ owns Wish Jira which is the only thing im really worried abt if im using Sub or Refresh so I can just DD/Fly/BB/EQ but I suppose Claydol can be annoying so maybe Sub is OK but Sub on Sand feels meh. Must also add about Raikou that Sub is usually 95% not the correct choice either. Sub and Sand are incredibely unsynergistic and end up not huming as efficiently as you would want. Crunch means it can lure Dol and also beat up Cele teams brutally, ensuring better MU vs Cele Spike Off. Dug protection is overrated when you can get good sequencing into a eventual DDMence win anyway if played correctly and its not like your Raikou does anything special in the Fat MU outside of the "sweet spot", which any special attacker can really. Either way I wouldnt reccomend Sub on either Kou or Mence but it can be worked on. Sub Agili Meta on the other hand I can honestly see working very well with Liechi Berry but usually I prefer the reversal of Boom over the dedicatedness
6) Conclusion
Here is a guide onto how truly build Slop and what it is. I was originally planning on discussing its "anti element" on Spikeless, which was becoming rather developed but since the takeaway of AgiPass Zap that playstyle of Cune Dol, Special Offense or even just Sandless Goodstuff (spinless) is rather gone. I do not think it can come back with "better innovation". The style was on its end days and becoming better overtime. But this comparison also shows that Slop is the least affected by AgiPass Zap ban out of all offenses. To me its the only truly viable Spikeless Offense. Sandless goodstuff (mag lax cune teams, or even those janky zap into cune wak without sand) is rather dead wout Speedpass, outside of save 1 good take on Mag Off thats rather a bit fishy too, Special Offense has become a fish again thats too physical weak and unironically a Slop victim, while Cune Dol is the most solid out of all these, its still quite mediocre and is plagued for a lot of issues especially on breaking, defensive issues, and the fact Cune is notoriously unreliable and needs too much of perfect conditions to really work at its peak, being the sheer opposite of 24 Mix Off, but still have the same rigidity issue considering it needs Rest to be a effective sweeper. Said takes are fine but I have a disdain for em and I think they are best left as just about "I will use this once or twice so people respect the threat of Suicune" rather than anything reliable. Compared to Slop, which can actually noobfarm quite well and also do super well in high end tours, it is way more mediocre. Anyway I guess I end up making a brief summary of what I was planning to write but I must conclude this. After all, the objective is to talk about Slop, not the ramifications of the Speedpass ban on the variety of Offense as a whole. Just saying here however that I firmly stand that Slop is the singular best Spikeless style and to me it rather does not look close
Thats it. This is Slop.
Disclaimer that this guide is more for experienced players and also the intermediary level. I would not reccomend people to start out their mons journey w Slop. U will suffer. A lot. Even I had trouble w truly piloting the style
First however, it is needed that we have a historical background on Mixed Offense, more specifically from 2024 which is Slop's infancy stages
1) Introduction:
Mixed Offense on end of 2023-2024 was a thing that was developing. Its objective was to have a solid bulky offense usually centered around Bulky DD Tar and Twave Zapdos. One of the many theorems of 24 Mix Off is that Twave Zapdos lead was used to equalize games vs opp Zapdos and that Zapdos+Bulky Ttar counted as a special wall (the same idea that makes El Classico possible as a structure) and thus was its main special backbone allowing for potency while keeping a defensively sound structure that wasnt "weak to Spikes" cuz it was able to forgo Snorlax, a historically spike bait pokemon for Skarm and keep the "defensive consistencies".
Of course, this isnt new. Many CMPass teams used this metric and obviously if you look back other teams did this as well. Matter of fact this principle is still behind many Spikes Offense that were used throught 2024 and many that still are used that use Zapdos+Ttar as their sole special backbone, usually alongside a steel type (Meta/Jirachi) though these have been on a downward spiral in regards to popularity mainly due to the rise of Raikou.
24 Mix Off is mainly just "good stuff" as it was made up of just inherently solid all around pokemon which its main goal was using the bulkiness to check opp offense and good setup to check fat, usually centered on getting the perfect Bulky DD Tar win-path or as it was more commonly done, have Bulky DD Tar uses its bulk and setup power to trade up pieces for a DDMence endgame. Slop still uses the 2nd idea most often but it also is somewhat less rigid and has more breaking power than these used to. OffPert was commonly used because of the idea of tapping into both Bulkiness and Power together, often used with Curse as a way to break through Fat water-types and press Bliss in one move. The main theory was always to use mons that offered both breaking power and ability to stay in vs many threats. Metagross was considered essential and mainly used its Mixed set for more flexible breaking and to not be Spikes bait. However this type of offense had a lot of issues.
2) Why did 24 Mix Off Fail and its relationship to Slop's development:
24 Mix Off didnt succeed for long. The first issue is that in MUs where Zapdos was at the back unless your structure had Cele (which usually meant less breaking power by default and less playability vs Skarm due to Cele's flaws) you were at a terrible disadvantage. 24 Mix Off was rigid because it wanted too much flexibility and that much of flexibility meant death. It meant compromising breaking and defense in one which for a archetype wout Spikes was astoundingly difficult to do. It was either lacking in how to progress or was defensively flawed. It couldnt do both in a satisfactory matter.
To exemplify this, we can use the TW Zapdos equalizer from earlier. On non-offense MUs, Zap found it hard to truly progress. It used Toxic as its progress tool but the team wasnt bulky enough to hold up Toxic for its maximum effect, not only that but Tar+Bliss still thudded it quite effectively and the fact it wanted Ice (or else those teams were actually bad into Cele) meant Pert was a obstacle as well. Of course, toxicing Swampert was one of the goals but at the same time Zap was often the best play into Pert for most of these 24 Mix Offs. Bulky DD Tar sometimes didnt do enough damage and then DD Mence couldnt kill the chipped Swampert, offensive waters were a immense pain (yes its true for Slop too but Slop is insanely better vs every one of em except for Pert which the MU spread is mostly equal) and it was rigid in a sense it tried to do too much in one team and tried to be "too balanced". It is necessary that offense is water. Rigidity is death for offense. If a offense has too few paths of victory, it is not a good offense. And while it may appear that this is true for most offenses in ADV, in most of the in game contexts, this is definitely not true.
The other key part of 24 Mix Off is that it tried to divide and conquer MUs. While yes, Slop uses that concept sometimes, it usually prefers the "synergistic" approach where mons add up to themselves, like how DD Tar and End Pert converge into its trading goals for DD Mence. It is rather the "simplest" form of Offense but its also the best as it isnt too rigid and can still employ MU division to some degree, but the best part abt Slop is its emphasis on Synergy above MU division. Ie make ur pieces work together, instead of relying on a mon to really win you a matchup, make it a combined effort, the same goes for defense. Although, in case of defense, this "combined effort" concept was already explored in the Zap+Ttar example but ppl dont think this way on a offensive level. Instead of using Suicune and relying on Rest lastmon to help you win TSS, Slop tries to get the right sequencing to get a DDTar+Endpert midgame breaking into setting good conditions for DDMence or special sweeper in the back vs TSS. 24 Mix Off is unable to do that to the highest degree of efficiency due to set choices that emphasizes bulkiness. Slop also uses a lot of Trading, ie it uses DDTar, EndPert and booms with the sole objective of trading up pieces in which usually said pieces are more important. A synergistic approach may look rigid at first glance due to the sets it usually requires but is the most flexible when it comes to in game decisions and is rather a focused offense instead of a scattered one that comes from MU division, it isnt forced, it flows.
Think for example of how you concentrate. There are 2 type of focus, the forced and the flow. 24 Mix Off is like a forced focus, it burns out rather quickly and tries to fight the river. It tries to do too much, it skips over basics of synergy, like how you do a perfect routine to follow only to realize after 1 week the routine is too exhausting and you give up on improving your life afterwards. It tries to be different. Slop doesnt really try to be different, it is rather a flow. It goes within the gamestate and tries to flow w it, in that it uses the most efficient sets in getting the momentum (which is the flow), thus it looks rigid from a outsider perspective since it follows rather specific sets and sometimes rather specific lines, like how a super disciplined person looks like for one whos undisciplined. In reality, its anything but rigid, it simply complies w the river instead of trying to go against it. This is Slop's biggest sucess. It goes to its fixed point, its goal, which is to enable DDMence or special sweeper at winning and then tries to create its own river, its own flow instead of bathing into the enemy's. Its the most proactive strategy in the whole of ADV. Instead of trying to have answers defensively, it simply tries to flow offensively to the pt defensive flaws dont quite matter. For that to be possible, some sets are needed so this flexibility, this flow can be achieved. This is not to mean that Slop needs perfect conditions to suceed but rather much like Focus, it can be adaptative to conditions like how the best can focus even with distractions such as noise, annoying people and the like and create its sense of flow, create "The Zone" for which it thrives through, thus comes the core concept of Slop and is what defines Slop philosophically, what I call "The Trifecta"
3) The Trifecta
Here comes what to me is the Slop essential. These 3 pokemon are what make Slop truly achievable, not only that but said 3 usually should play rather specific sets to converge advantage. For example, the Ttar should usually (90%) be Lum DD Max Atk Max Spe Adamant with Double Edge, and the Pert should always be Endeavor, although you can go 50/50 on the choice of Toxic or Roar and Hydro Pump or Surf and Mence should always (ok maybe 98%) be some variant of DD however DD's coverage choice is very flexible and variable while also being dependent on the other 3 of the team, I will go later over how to carefully tread and choose DDMence's coverage.
While yes this is a Trifecta , it is technically possible to drop Endeavor Swampert on said builds usually as a means to fit Claydol or a jankier extra mon. That said, I would like to adress that dropping EndPert really isnt reccomended and loses a crucial part of what truly is Slop, ie its philosophy of focused offense and trading which EndPert encapsulates perfectly. Also, Dol is still good to be used alongside EndPert most often, although I would like to caveat that Dol usually isnt a good fit on Slop due to its inability to truly progress vs Skarm and its reliance on Explosion for actual progress. It does have great synergies with multiple Slop members but it usually comes to the fact that its hard to truly fit Pert switch-ins with it.
DD Tar is the best "general" progress maker. Its able to trade vs anything and anyone at +1, Pert/Meta/Cune/fighters and others. Its ability to trade up and do as much damage as possible is exactly what makes it so potent, while not truly a requirement, the best Slop use Lead DDTar as it is because its the most forceful off the bat and the easiest to setup. The secret is to DD T1 almost always (except vs Fighters/Meta/Mence) and just click attacks. Vs cune? DD. Vs ttar? DD. Vs zap? DD. Max Max means no power issues and the natural bulk of Ttar means it can pull off a midgame breaking or even sometimes one-time check as a secondary plan. The main plan will always be trading up aggresively with it to keep the momentum (flow) and to create scenarios where the other 2 from your trifecta can thrive.
It is possible to use other sets when it comes to Ttar and Mence. However one must recognize that the strenght of the trifecta is its ability to wallbreak all types of cores if played w precision and discipline. Such changes as using MixTar over DD for more immediacy vs Pert and threat level vs TSS ends up costing at the general threat level for the sake of "MU dividing" often, which is not the point of Slop. However, if put correctly, said sets can be benefitial, they are exceptions that usually prove the norm, not actual substitutes. The same goes for MixMence which is "doable" due to giving a Swampert switch-in (in the same way Gengar does, though) however Slop's strenght comes from either supporting the DDMence or using the DDMence as the breaker. Oftentimes, the Trifecta can actually circle around its roles, which creates the in game flexibility I was talking about. It is possible to have MUs where EndPert is the cleaner (though rare) or that DDMence breaks for Ttar, or even that both EndPert and DDMence end up trading for a DDTar sweep. Said scenarios are usually rarer than the usual EndPert/DDTar break into DDMence/alternative 2nd sweeper clean-up, however it shows that Slop archetype isnt as rigid as it looks. It is also imperative however that DD Mence always runs SpD on these cores to maximize its potential trading may it run into a MU where cleaning up wont really be possible or a MU where its best to Brick Break sack itself into Blissey. While doable without, Brick Break should also be ran on Mence 90% of the time due to its simplifying nature in Bliss MUs and ability to OHKO Ttar at +1 and be able to be used as a makeshift Lax check. I have not found a Slop build where classical DD Mence makes sense.
To clarify, Ttar and Mence are non negotiable mandatory members and while yes its possible to drop EndPert, Slop builds are significantly worse wout it and it only should be a at maximum 5% case and only to be replaced by Dol/Starmie/Suicune. Either way I strongly reccomend to stick to Trifecta unless you are a Slop pro.
4) The Fourth Piece: Momentum reversal and Blissey checking
This is actually the most important slot after Trifecta as it is actually quite limited and by far the most inflexible part of Slop, however compared to 24 Mix Off which this slot was only Metagross, this has become far less rigid and has opened up space for more teams and more flexible "in game"
These are now your options. It is quite clear why it was thought Metagross was the only option for a great time. It does everything a Offense will need at this teambuilding stage, it checks Blissey while keeping up progress and it can check any threat in a reversal style like Lax/Dol by clicking Boom. All of that and it also helps check Ttar! But why then just accept that like we did with Trifecta and just run it all the time and make it our mandatory 4th? Its quite simple really. Trifecta itself is already very special weak, this has always been a issue since 24 Mix Offs iterations and that doesnt mean Meta is suddenly a bad option but it no longer is undisputed mandatory as its roles are able to be replaced.
To go further into this, let's briefly analyze Registeel. Registeel has great bulk, TW and Boom. This means its perfect at being a reversal mon and being super reliable from a defensive standpoint. But the problem was always about how it just didnt have enough offense, however with the Trifecta providing enough wallbreaking prowess and the fact Explosion is A) strong enough to leave its targets super low, sucessfully trading up and B) its able to lure down extremely strong defensive mons such as the natural cures, as they are the only surefire answers to Registeel's TW+Stoss trade-up combo and C) its ability to trade vs phys checks via Counter or Toxic (Dol/Pert hate both options). This makes it a great synergy to EndPert (vs natural cure mons) and to DDMence+DDTar (vs phys checks) while being a incredible special check meaning with great play, The Trifecta's weakness is practically negated. This makes Registeel a incredibely potent alternative to the usual Metagross. It needs a disclaimer that you need a very good way to plan vs Gar, which usually isnt straightforward
Now, what about Regirock? At the surface, it still is as special weak as Meta alternative, perhaps even more so and it is still Spikes bait. What is special about it? Well, its better at being a reversal vs physicals specifically, meaning it doesnt need to stay fully healthy to handle DDers and can still break as efficiently as CB Meta with CB Superpower, which combined with Pert speed is able to atcually get a great amount of chip into Pert meaning it can work just like Meta does, not only does that but CB Spower does just a bit more than CB Meta's Mash. That and its rock typing gives it better MUs vs firebirds/mixmence/zapdos and its also able to lure in Cele and Boom/HPBug it, making once again for a excellent EndPert partner. It is also able to make sure Metagross doesnt need to spend HP or its boom like it usually used to, which is great benefit for offense and especially AgiGross. It is possible however to use Rock wout Meta but its needed to say that Rock needs a steel type alongside it. If it is not Meta, it must be Jirachi. It is needed to say that Rock has took quite a hit with the latest AgiPass Zap ban, which was its greatest partner, as Rock actually liked the flexible and role compress idea of Zapdos in defense while AgiPass made up for Zapdos's offensive shortcomings on Spikeless while also giving a great tool vs El Classico type styles and Dug Fat, Jirachi on Slop and CuneDol alike was similarly affected thus both have become drastically worse than what they used to be due to Spikeless Zap's current unviability. CB Rock has kinda of a bad MU into Gar because of how it actually uses Superpower as its spammable move, therefore one must be wary of it and plan accordingly just like Registeel. Strongly advise against pairing em together, Gar and Pert planning usually becomes way too complicated and unsmooth to be worth any effort (imo)
Now, once again we go to Metagross. Meta isnt by itself a bad choice, however Meta is a bit dissapointing when you start thinking about it. Its boom never truly hits the targets ur looking for all that well and its kinda mediocre vs Skarm or even Pert. Mixed sets always have trouble w coverage and even power issues at times. It is also the fact Meta needs to be at 70-100% with bulk investment to be a effective momentum reversal, which is a bit of a meh task and sometimes it needs Boom to really get the OHKOs its looking for. Basically speaking it somewhat has a lot of issues that 24 Mix Off's Zapdos used to have. Ie its kinda rigid at gameplay despite flexibility in theory. This is not to say Meta still isnt excellent on Slop, it just isnt the mandatory mon it used to be. It has never been easier to build Offense wout Meta thanks to the Regis. Meta still has its incredible traits however, its way better at checking Bliss than both, has more set variety due to being able to run Mixed and can be both a alternative sweeper and a momentum reversal with the Agility set. I dont like CB on Slop because I think its too rigid and doesnt actually work all that well, the best it can do is 1 on 1 but it never usually goes past that point vs good teams and ud rather have the sweep potential of Agility or the immediate threat of TP+Grass of Mixed. It might be worth going Bulkless on Mixed btw, just a thought. Wonder if 0 hp 0 spdef survives mixmence or something silly and u shud just run -def bc u arent living dders +1 wout huge invest anyway so might as well have the extra (huge chunk) of atk investment so ur mashes sting more. Worth a shout. Also always run 168 hp 16 def on Meta for Slop (unless discussing this theoretical Mixed EV variant) as this achieves the best way to be a momentum reversal (lives +1 DDer EQ from full). Again, Meta is still excellent on Offense due to its many obvious qualities of momentum reversal, strong boom that can wallbreak and ability to check Bliss/Lax while also helping vs Ttar. It is just that its qualities used to be overstated and are not mandatory in any shape or way. It is to be said however, that one of those three must always be ran on Slop (and to me any spikeless offense) for that matter
Bonus: The Odd Child
Yes, you heard it right. I consider this to be the secret "4th option" for expert gamers looking to have fun. The set is Sub/Endeavor/Taunt/Rock Slide @ Salac Berry with Max atk max speed jolly. It is able to wallbreak quite efficiently and its the only mon to be sand immune while having the combo of Taunt+Endeavor. It is also able to worn down the phys checks in a very satisfactory matter. The speed kinda sucks but no one uses 328 stuff so its OK. It is def a option for Expert-only and its somewhat worse than the Big 3 (The Regis+Meta) but its pretty alright. Taunt+speed also denies Skarm layers and its one of the best Dol lures
5) Mence coverage, filler slots and special checks
Now that we have gone over the core 4, its time to decide on the last 2. First, the core basic is that ur last 2 must have good synergy with Trifecta. Thus it is usual that one of the last 2 helps at handling specials. This means one must add a Zapdos check (unless you have Registeel, it must be a Gar check instead, altho its often that those overlap). Your choices usually are Raikou or Celebi, dont bother with Jolteon/Lax/even Regice (altho maybe theres smth) because these mons either lack breaking or are just asynergistic w slop in general. Whereas Raikou/Celebi can also fill the alternative sweeper role and often have sneaky focused synergistic approachs with DD Brick Mence, as DD Brick Mence at +1 can sack Bliss itself into range of the CMer or the other synergy that is randomly attacking w the CMer and putting Bliss on what I call "sweet spot". What that means is that Bliss is hit by a special move but doesnt feel the need to Soft Boiled AND they are on +1 Brick range. This is by far one of the most potent applications and its the fact that these two specifically fill the special check role. Offcune/offmie can do similar but wont provide special check. These special attackers provide alternative sweepers but also are able to actually provide MU division aspects in disguise while having synergistic value with the main plan (DDMence) by their ability to own Spikes Off due to their also distributed backbone and the fact they setup on many of its defensive and offensive threats
It is also imperative that the team has a Pert check. This is important because Pert itself is the most complicated MU to map out for Slop. Not hardest, but most complicated. In my humble opinion, you must have a Pert switchin. I feel there are few ways to do this, the classical way was using SuperCele, who can provide a Pert pivot thats still dangerous in most scenarios, the next more "modern" ways are using OffCune and Grass Registeel. Grass Registeel is able to pivot on most of Pert's actual spammable attacks (toxic, water stab, icebeam) and shrug em off. It is also able to convince Pert to stay in and take heavy damage. Suicune can switch it in and also do the "sweet spot" thing, it can also autowin vs many Spikes Off with a Timid 3a set. It must be said that OffCune is best on Slop with Timid+Hydro+IB+HPGrass+CM. Using anything else is throwing, you have been warned. Slop used to have the option of AgiPass Zap for Pert switchin but that was tragically taken away (it was also the only possible way to perhaps justify dropping Mence)
After that, you just decide on your last, which usually is just a breaker that helps through your Fat and TSS MUs (Machamp, Jirachi) or a utility mon looking to boom something specific / achieve a specific function (Gengar, Claydol) or just another alternative sweeper (Aerodactyl, Celebi, Raikou, Suicune)
After all this work, its time to decide on your Mence set, usually you can work this step before setting on your 2 last slots, however by doing on this order, you can see how I decide Mence sets, my first thing is that I always use Brick no matter the set. There are too many good things that Brick does for Slop to be able to drop it. After that, its 2 coverage moves that synergize the most with your team. If your pieces are built in a way that damages Metagross super efficiently, for example using Regirock to boom vs it and leaving it at low HP or MixMeta for the same reason or Machamp who trades up with Meta and forces damage onto it alongside Ttar, or even stuff like Double Water (Cune+Pert) which usually forces Meta to boom onto one while still having the other for safety, I would reccomend DD/HPFly/BB/Slide. Though this set has been less used for me mostly because its the Golden Standard and sometimes a bit too predictable. If your team is very safe vs Cele and is able to lure it and Claydol with raw efficiency, using sets such as Crunch Raikou, Machamp, WoW Boom Gar alongside EndPert+DDTar or forcing Dol to boom and answering Cele offensively like your own SuperCele, then you use Penguin Mence (DD/EQ/RS/BB). If you want your Mence to be more of a breaker for your alternative sweeper (usually physical like AgiMeta or Aero) and have excellent ways to chip Aero onto range (Cele comes to mind) or luring Zapdos/answering it robustly (Registeel+Zapdos, Boom Gar, Meta) then you run DD/Fly/BB/Fire Blast to enhance your phys threats by luring and heavily denting SkarmPert, by far my favorite DD set on Slop and most splashable due to its anti Skarm properties, easing up on piloting skills required and on the Fat MU. If you are able to lure Zapdos extremely well but have trouble w steels and dont need the anti-Skarm/wallbreaker property but rather more of a sweeping Mence, you use DD/Fly/BB/EQ. There are many options but it must be emphasized that your team must have a cohesion and synergy with the chosen set or else your Mence will be underwhelming. The Mence coverage choice can make or break a Slop, think carefully about how your team actually sequences out and choose what wins the most
Sub, Refresh are usable but Slop is always better with a 3rd coverage move I have found. Said moves are too situational and they dont give enough surprising value. EQ owns Wish Jira which is the only thing im really worried abt if im using Sub or Refresh so I can just DD/Fly/BB/EQ but I suppose Claydol can be annoying so maybe Sub is OK but Sub on Sand feels meh. Must also add about Raikou that Sub is usually 95% not the correct choice either. Sub and Sand are incredibely unsynergistic and end up not huming as efficiently as you would want. Crunch means it can lure Dol and also beat up Cele teams brutally, ensuring better MU vs Cele Spike Off. Dug protection is overrated when you can get good sequencing into a eventual DDMence win anyway if played correctly and its not like your Raikou does anything special in the Fat MU outside of the "sweet spot", which any special attacker can really. Either way I wouldnt reccomend Sub on either Kou or Mence but it can be worked on. Sub Agili Meta on the other hand I can honestly see working very well with Liechi Berry but usually I prefer the reversal of Boom over the dedicatedness
6) Conclusion
Here is a guide onto how truly build Slop and what it is. I was originally planning on discussing its "anti element" on Spikeless, which was becoming rather developed but since the takeaway of AgiPass Zap that playstyle of Cune Dol, Special Offense or even just Sandless Goodstuff (spinless) is rather gone. I do not think it can come back with "better innovation". The style was on its end days and becoming better overtime. But this comparison also shows that Slop is the least affected by AgiPass Zap ban out of all offenses. To me its the only truly viable Spikeless Offense. Sandless goodstuff (mag lax cune teams, or even those janky zap into cune wak without sand) is rather dead wout Speedpass, outside of save 1 good take on Mag Off thats rather a bit fishy too, Special Offense has become a fish again thats too physical weak and unironically a Slop victim, while Cune Dol is the most solid out of all these, its still quite mediocre and is plagued for a lot of issues especially on breaking, defensive issues, and the fact Cune is notoriously unreliable and needs too much of perfect conditions to really work at its peak, being the sheer opposite of 24 Mix Off, but still have the same rigidity issue considering it needs Rest to be a effective sweeper. Said takes are fine but I have a disdain for em and I think they are best left as just about "I will use this once or twice so people respect the threat of Suicune" rather than anything reliable. Compared to Slop, which can actually noobfarm quite well and also do super well in high end tours, it is way more mediocre. Anyway I guess I end up making a brief summary of what I was planning to write but I must conclude this. After all, the objective is to talk about Slop, not the ramifications of the Speedpass ban on the variety of Offense as a whole. Just saying here however that I firmly stand that Slop is the singular best Spikeless style and to me it rather does not look close
Thats it. This is Slop.
