http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/slowbro
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[SET]
name: Bulky Water
move 1: Slack Off
move 2: Surf
move 3: Psychic / Ice Beam
move 4: Thunder Wave / Toxic
item: Leftovers
ability: Own Tempo
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Slowbro is one of the physically bulkiest Water-types in the game, and with its useful resistances to Fighting, Water, and Fire, can check a lot of big threats in UU. Many dangerous physical sweepers, such as Azumarill, Hariyama, Feraligatr, Hitmonlee, Hitmontop, physically based Arcanine, and Qwilfish, are all brought to a grinding halt by the hermit crab, and they simply cannot hope to get past Slowbro by attacking alone.</p>
<p>Slack Off is a great asset, the reliable recovery it provides allowing Slowbro to wall physical attackers all game long, and is what sets it apart from numerous other Water-types in UU. Many physical sweepers cannot do over 50% to Slowbro even with super effective attacks, meaning it has little trouble alternating between attacking and recovering to stall them out. Surf utilizes Slowbro's primary Water STAB, and coming off its base 100 Special Attack stat can do a sizable chunk to things that don't resist it, making it an obvious move choice. However, choosing what attack to use to back it up isn't quite so straightforward.</p>
<p>Psychic is the preferred choice since it makes the best use of Slowbro's Psychic typing, and more importantly, allows it to hit the myriad Fighting and Poison-types of UU super effectively. Crobat can be annoying if Slowbro lacks Psychic, as it can gain a neutrality to Ice Beam when Roosting, and Surf only averages 40% against it. Psychic, on the other hand, hits for 70% damage minimum, meaning Crobat has no hope at all of threatening Slowbro. A strong Psychic STAB also makes quick work of Hitmonlee and Hitmontop, whose high Special Defense stats mean they can survive more Surfs than you'd care for, and it also means you can break the Substitutes of bulkier Hariyama and Azumarill. It also hits Roserade harder than Ice Beam does. Water and Psychic together have good neutral coverage in that the combination is only resisted by other Slowbro in UU, whereas Water and Ice are resisted by almost all Water-types. Ice Beam has a handful of advantages, though, since it gets super effective hits on Shaymin and Honchkrow, both of which can be quite threatening to Slowbro.</p>
<p>A status move in the last slot provides a way of threatening the Pokemon Slowbro cannot hurt significantly with its attacks. Both Thunder Wave and Toxic are equally valid and useful options, and it depends on the rest of the team as to which one you use. Thunder Wave brings many opposing Pokemon down to around Slowbro's Speed level, and is of particular use when playing with a team of other slower sweepers such as Azumarill and Hariyama. Toxic, on the other hand, gives Slowbro a greater ability to take things out itself without the support of its team, since with Slack Off and its high defenses it can outlast the majority of UU.</p>
<p>While Slowbro's Water/Psychic dual typing does bring it many valuable resistances, it also gives Slowbro quite a few exploitable weaknesses as well. Despite its bulk allowing it to usually survive a super effective attack, particularly on the physical side, you'll want to pair up Slowbro with a Pokemon that can take these hits without much bother. Shaymin is Slowbro's biggest nemesis, and so having a safe switchin to it can go a long way to keeping Slowbro alive. While it shares a common Electric weakness and provides similar resistances, Crobat can use Shaymin's Seed Flares as opportunities to come in for nearly free on its 4x Grass resist, and threaten it back with Brave Bird. Yanmega poses a similar threat to Slowbro with Bug Buzz, and Crobat handily 4x resists Bug too. Be wary of coming in on Psychics from both of them, though, as they can make quick work of the bat.</p>
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Slack Off
move 3: Surf
move 4: Psychic
item: Leftovers
ability: Own Tempo
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Slowbro usually plays the role of a passive, defensive bulky Water-type, Calm Mind provides a way for it to gradually become a very real offensive threat, while at the same time patching up Slowbro's less than stellar Special Defense. With access to Slack Off for instant recovery and good coverage with its STAB attacks, Slowbro makes for a reliable and powerful tank after a few Calm Minds.</p>
<p>Getting good coverage with only two attacks is of more importance here than the more defensive sets, since you will be relying on them heavily to do damage. Water and Psychic pair up for neutral coverage on all of UU apart from opposing Slowbro, and several NU Pokemon including Cacturne, Exeggutor, Sharpedo, and Slowking. Using Ice Beam alongside Surf will mean you can't get past other Water-types as easily, as neither Milotic nor Lanturn will be 2HKOed by a +6 Surf. Shaymin may seem like a good reason to run Ice Beam, but when you look at it closer and realize that a +1 Ice Beam will never OHKO Shaymin, and that a Life Orb Shaymin's Seed Flare still has a good chance to OHKO a +1 Special Defense Slowbro, you realize you're fighting a losing battle and it's better to simply switch out. When using Surf and Psychic, Special Attack investment is not really needed as Surf will 2HKO Chansey at +6, and Psychic will do the same to the aforementioned Milotic. Maximizing HP and Defense gives Slowbro the best physical hit-taking ability and will let it last a long time.</p>
<p>Although it looks hard to stop on paper, Calm Mind Slowbro runs into several problems in practice. The biggest one is status, in particular Toxic. Since Slowbro isn't running Rest, it becomes particularly vulnerable to Toxic from the likes of Milotic and Chansey, both of which can only be beaten by Slowbro after significant set up. Another problem is that strong Electric and Grass special attacks can still OHKO Slowbro even after it has started to set up. For these reasons, Roserade makes an excellent partner for a Calm Mind Slowbro - it resists both Electric and Grass, and comes with a very useful immunity to Toxic. A bulkier Roserade with Leech Seed, Toxic Spikes, and Sludge Bomb is probably the perfect compliment to Calm Mind Slowbro in terms of coming into the Pokemon that threaten it. Shaymin's Seed Flare will do miniscule damage, while Roserade threatens a 2HKO back with Sludge Bomb, even if it hasn't invested at all in Special Attack. Chansey and Milotic fail to leave much of a mark, and Roserade can use Leech Seed to drain their health (which can later be passed to Slowbro if need be) while setting up Toxic Spikes, which makes Slowbro's job in getting past Chansey and Water-types a lot easier.</p>
[SET]
name: Trick Room
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Slack Off
move 3: Surf
move 4: Ice Beam / Psychic / Hidden Power Electric
item: Leftovers
ability: Own Tempo
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
ivs: 3 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Slowbro and Slowking share a lot of things in common, and one of these is the ability to set up Trick Room. Since they are some of the more balanced and reliable Trick Room users in the game, this set is not designed specifically for UU play. When opting for one of them on a Trick Room team, it is important to choose the right one for your team's needs, as both do a slightly different job well. There is little use trying to use Slowbro to both set up Trick Room and sweep during it, since Slowking has access to Nasty Plot to increase its damage output exponentially, and become a threat much faster than Slowbro can with Calm Mind. Similarly, Slowbro is usually the preferable choice for a super bulky Trick Room supporter, as because of the physically inclined nature of the OU and UU metagames in general, as well as Slowbro's higher Defense stat making the most of its Fighting resistance, it does the job slightly better than its sibling.</p>
<p>Surf and Psychic once again make for the best two attack combination for use in UU, but they don't fare quite as well in OU, where there are many more Pokemon that resist the combination (Celebi, Empoleon, Latias, and Starmie). As such, using Ice Beam alongside Surf grants the ability to hit Celebi and Latias for super effective damage, but leaves Slowbro struggling against other Water-types. Ice Beam's saving grace is the ability to hit the common Dragon-types, Salamence and Flygon, for OHKOs, which because of their sheer power might be reason enough alone to recommend it. Another option is to run Hidden Power Electric as a secondary attack. While this won't help Slowbro touch Celebi or the Dragons, it does allow Slowbro to reliably counter Gyarados, who can often pose quite a threat to Trick Room teams using Water weak Pokemon such as Marowak and Rhyperior. A Speed IV of 3 is the lowest you can get while still obtaining a 70 base power Hidden Power and not compromising Slowbro's defenses.</p>
<p>In OU, Machamp and Rhyperior both pair up well with Slowbro for sweeping during Trick Room. Machamp's resistance to Dark and Bug can give it relatively safe switchins against several Pokemon that like to switch into Slowbro, such as Tyranitar and Scizor. A Life Orb DynamicPunch, coupled with a 100% accurate Stone Edge, allow it to muscle its way through a lot of opposing teams. Rhyperior is even slower and stronger, with Ground and Rock dual STABs getting excellent coverage in OU as it is, and the ability to come into Electric attacks aimed at Slowbro for free. In the lower tiers, Hariyama and Marowak both work in almost the same way as their OU counterparts.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Trick
move 2: Surf
move 3: Psychic
move 4: Grass Knot / Slack Off / Ice Beam
item: Choice Specs
ability: Own Tempo
nature: Modest
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Slowbro's biggest advantages over other more powerful Specs users is its ability to cripple Chansey and other special walls with a Tricked Choice Specs, and the surprise value involved when a cute, defensive hermit crab hits with enough power to 2HKO Clefable. That, and Slowbro's considerable bulk even with just HP investment making up for its abysmal Speed, make Slowbro a slow but powerful Choice Specs tank.</p>
<p>Surf and Psychic get great neutral coverage in UU by themselves, and this is a redeeming quality for Specs users in itself, since it will mean prediction is much less of an issue when you can just choose which of your powerful STAB attacks to throw out and catch the switch in. Trick is a self explanatory move, ruining the walling potential of any Chansey that come in to Toxic Slowbro. In the last slot, Slack Off will let Slowbro function more like a wall once it has tricked its Specs away, and even while it is still holding them in a pinch. Grass Knot completes the attacking combination for perfect coverage, 2HKOing the most specially defensive of Milotic and giving you an attack to hit opposing Slowbro and Slowking with as well. Ice Beam's singular use is for the inevitable Shaymin, and on average will OHKO minimally defensive ones after Stealth Rock damage.</p>
<p>Using Pokemon who can take advantage of weakened and Choice-locked special walls maximizes the potency of this set. Since Clefable is 2HKOed by Specs Surf, and if predicted right, Chansey will be locked into a single move, a Sub Roost Moltres can make for a deadly partner. Clefable is one of its biggest checks because of its pseudo-immunity to Toxic, and so once it is weakened, it can be removed easily with a Flamethrower. Chansey will be unable to touch Moltres at all once it is locked into a single attack, and will be stalled out by Roost and Pressure. If you can keep Stealth Rock off the field, Moltres makes a good defensive compliment to Slowbro, with the ability to come into both Shaymin's Seed Flare and Yanmega's Bug Buzz with ease and pose an immediate threat. In return, Slowbro helps out against Azumarill, who can use a combination of Waterfall and Aqua Jet to break Moltres' Substitute and then subsequently take it out.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Slowbro has a very wide movepool for a bulky Water, but unfortunately most of it is of little use. In addition to Surf, Psychic, Ice Beam, and Grass Knot, Slowbro can use Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Shadow Ball, Focus Blast, and Signal Beam. The Fire moves' only target in UU which isn't hit as hard by Ice Beam or Slowbro's STABs is Registeel, and it poses a minimal threat to Slowbro on account of Slowbro resisting its STAB and Registeel having no form of recovery bar Rest. Flamethrower has a bit more viability in OU since it allows Slowbro to OHKO Scizor and hits the other Steel-types very hard, and Focus Blast can be used to severely weaken Tyranitar.</p>
<p>There are also several viable support moves that Slowbro can use, and could be helpful depending on your team's needs. Light Screen provides a quick fix to Slowbro's relatively low Special Defense, while also supporting the rest of the team at the same time. Yawn can cause a lot of switches, and Slowbro has the bulk to use it effectively. Counter is an interesting choice against Pokemon such as Honchkrow and Drapion, who will try to overpower Slowbro on the physical side with super effective moves, but it is quite unreliable as most players tend to prey on Slowbro's weaker Special Defense. Curse is quite a gimmicky option, and is better left to Slowking anyway, as its superior Special Defense allows it to pull it off more effectively.</p>
<p>With Slowbro receiving physical Water STAB in the form of Aqua Tail from Platinum move tutors, a set utilizing Trick Room, Belly Drum, Aqua Tail and Zen Headbutt could be attempted. A Sitrus Berry is a good idea as it effectively halves the cost of using Belly Drum, and is more beneficial for the make or break type of sweep Slowbro attempts with this strategy as compared to Leftovers' more consistent recovery. Slowbro's other physical attacks include Earthquake and Drain Punch, the latter of which might still be viable alongside Aqua Tail, especially if a Chansey or Blissey comes in expecting a Surf as you Belly Drum. However, the entire strategy is very risky and situational, and so should not be relied on.</p>
[EVs]
<p>Putting 252 EVs into Slowbro's HP should be the first step for almost all the sets, since it maximizes its overall bulkiness. Then the remainder of the EVs should be allocated into Defense for the the more tankish sets, and Special Attack for the Specs set. Investing significantly in Special Defense is generally fruitless, as it detracts from Slowbro's physical hit-taking ability too much, or because Milotic or Slowking do it better. For example, the standard Blaziken's Fire Blast followed by a Hidden Power Grass will beat Slowbro after Stealth Rock damage. Guaranteeing survival against this, taking into account the damage Slowbro sustains from Stealth Rock upon entry, would require you to run almost max Special Defense alongside max HP, at which point you're just better off using Slowking or Milotic instead.</p>
<p>Running max HP and max Defense allows Slowbro to survive quite a few super effective physical attacks - with this investment, Slowbro is just guaranteed to never be OHKOed by a Choice Band Rhydon Megahorn after Stealth Rock damage, allowing Slowbro to retaliate with Surf. Maximum investment also allows Slowbro to take on Honchkrow in a pinch, surviving a Life Orb Drill Peck followed by Night Slash. In OU, with maximum investment, Slowbro is guaranteed to survive a once Dragon Danced Life Orb Outrage from Salamence after taking Stealth Rock damage, and can hit back with Ice Beam, making it one of the Dragon Dancer's few reliable counters. Reducing the HP stat down to 212 EVs and using a Leftovers number is not recommended, as it detracts from Slowbro's overall bulkiness, and the difference in Leftovers gain is insignificant when taking into account Stealth Rock.</p>
<p>If you are particularly worried about Spiritomb, 44 Speed EVs allow Slowbro to outspeed minimum Speed versions, but is rarely a worthwhile investment when it is solely for Spiritomb, and the fact that Slowbro won't really be beating the ghost even if it does outspeed it.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Slowbro tends to cause a lot of switches because of its ability to completely wall a lot of UU's physical sweepers, and so layering the opponent's field with entry hazards capitalizes on this. Almost all of Slowbro's common switch ins are grounded Pokemon, so Spikes can be used to wear them down over the course of the battle. Getting up Toxic Spikes onto the opponent's field can be greatly beneficial as well, as it frees up Slowbro's status moveslot for another support move, or for another attack such as Ice Beam or Grass Knot. Like already mentioned, Roserade is an excellent partner for Slowbro, on account of its high Special Defense and resistances to Grass and Electric. Being able to come in on Shaymin without too much trouble and threaten it out with Sludge Bomb is extremely helpful, as Shaymin is arguably Slowbro's biggest threat. Roserade can run both Spikes and Toxic Spikes on the same moveset, and can use Leech Seed to drain the HP of any Chansey that thinks it's coming in to counter the duo. Toxic Spikes also completely destroy the lasting potential of the only Pokemon in UU which resists the combination of Surf and Psychic: other Slowbro. On this note, take care to keep your own Slowbro away from nasty poison, as it cannot function effectively with its HP being depleted every turn. Roserade works well here as well, because of its intrinsic ability to absorb Toxic Spikes upon entry.</p>
<p>Roserade partners up well with Slowbro in covering its weaknesses, and as do the bulky Steel-types of UU, Steelix and Registeel. Steelix can take on the Pokemon that threaten Slowbro on the physical spectrum, such as Honchkrow, better than Registeel can, and Steelix also provides an Electric immunity for Slowbro. However, Steelix has even lower Special Defense than Slowbro, and is only neutral to Seed Flare, so you should ensure you pack a reliable answer for Shaymin if you choose to pair them up. Registeel, on the other hand, has a very respectable 150 base Special Defense stat and resistance to Grass, allowing it to take on Shaymin a lot better. Life Orb Earth Power can 3HKO though, so you should be careful once again. Because of its incredibly high Special Defense, Chansey pairs up nicely with Slowbro in taking Seed Flares and Leaf Storms that would otherwise take it out. Aromatherapy support can get rid of poison from Slowbro if need be, and in return, Slowbro resists Chansey's sole Fighting-type weakness.</p>
<p>While they share weaknesses to Electric with Slowbro, both Crobat and Moltres pair up well with it in lieu of their 4x resistances to Grass, giving them nearly free switch ins on Seed Flares aimed at Slowbro. Moltres is particularly helpful in that it has pressure to deplete two of Seed Flare's precious 8 PP with every switch in, but its 4x weakness to Rock can really bring it down if you fail to provide adequate spin support. Sub Roost Moltres can use Toxic and Roost to stall out many of the Pokemon that Slowbro has difficulty in taking on, and using Toxic Spikes here helps Moltres out considerably as well. Crobat's big selling point is its immunity to Toxic, and the ability to Taunt against foes such as Chansey and Clefable, effectively shutting them down. Being able to outspeed and OHKO both Shaymin and Roserade obviously has its benefits as well.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Slowbro is a bulky and reliable choice for many teams in UU, with its ability to check a large portion of the physical sweepers in the tier. It can fit in well into frail, offensive teams in need of a little insurance against the likes of Azumarill and Crobat, while also providing useful paralysis support and doing reasonable amounts of damage with its own attacks. Slowbro's low Speed is made up for by its good defenses, and this also makes it one of the most reliable users of Trick Room in the game. Instant recovery in the form of Slack Off sets it apart from many of its Water-type brethren, and adds to Slowbro's longevity.</p>
<p>While commonly seen only as a defensive threat, Slowbro can also go very quickly onto the offensive with Calm Mind or Choice Specs, making the most of its respectable Special Attack and wide movepool. While its great defensive stats allow it to check some of OU's biggest threats, such as Gyarados and Salamence, in the end its Psychic type hurts Slowbro more than it helps it, and Scizor's U-turn and Tyranitar's Crunch can make short work of it. It is in UU that Slowbro really gets to shine as a premier bulky Water.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Shaymin has been mentioned a few times, and for good reason. It is the biggest threat to Slowbro in UU for several reasons. Unlike many other Grass-types, Shaymin is not also part Poison, and so Slowbro does not hit it for super effective damage with Psychic. With naturally bulky 100/100 defenses, Shaymin isn't dying easily even to super effective Ice Beams, and because of Natural Cure, not only does it not mind the odd paralysis or poison, it can use Rest to bring itself bak up to full health and simply switch out to cure the Sleep. That, and the fact that Seed Flare is strong enough to OHKO Slowbro even after a Calm Mind, should be reason enough to always take it into account when using Slowbro on a team. Roserade works in a similar way to Shaymin with Natural Cure, but takes a large chunk from Psychic and so needs to be a bit wary of switching in randomly.</p>
<p>Ludicolo packs a 4x resistance to Surf, and has a high Special Defense for taking Psychics as well. With its Grass STAB, it can use Energy Ball or Grass Knot to quickly dispose of Slowbro. Chansey and Clefable are both undaunted by status, Chansey because of Natural Cure and Clefable because of Magic Guard and its tendency to hold Toxic Orb. Both have very high Special Defense, and threaten Slowbro with Toxics of their own. Lapras can come in on Slowbro's Surf to regain health with Water Absorb, and also has very high Special Defense to soak up Psychics as well. In return, Lapras has access to a super effective Thunderbolt. If Slowbro is carrying Thunder Wave over Toxic, Lanturn can similarly come in without much trouble.</p>
<p>Spirtomb doesn't mind Toxic unduly it almost always carries Rest, and threatens to come in on its Psychic immunity. Calm Mind versions are particularly dangerous to Slowbro as Spiritomb has 5 higher base Speed, and so can Calm Mind up to take less and less damage from Surf before it hits back with its own STAB super effective Dark Pulse.</p>
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Notes:
- I was hoping to find an EV spread for the Bulky Water that would allow it to survive a Blaziken's Fire Blast followed by HP Grass after SR damage. Turns out in order to do this, you need a spread of 252 HP / 148 SpD to survive on average - you still die to the combination 50% of the time. I think this is a futile pursuit and should be left to Slowking (who should really see a hell of a lot of more use, since it can still counter Azu and Hariyama while taking on Blaziken) and Slowbro should focus on physical defense. The max/max EV spread for the Bulky Water is explained in the EVs section.
- Do Slowbro's myriad other special attacks need more of a mention in each individual set? I'm talking about things like Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Grass Knot, Focus Blast, Shadow Ball, and Hidden Power Electric. Surf + Psychic is generally the best combination to use in UU (for the reasons expanded on in the Bulky Water comments), but now that I look at it it seems the majority of the sets just look like Surf/Psychic/Slack Off/filler. Is this a problem, or should I stick with it?
- I was suggested a Brave 252 HP / 252 Atk | Belly Drum / Trick Room / Aqua Tail / Zen Headbutt or Drain Punch @ Sitrus Berry set by a guy on shoddy, but I feel it's too gimmicky to get a set by itself, and so have only mentioned it in Other Options (Slowbro only got Aqua Tail through Plat tutors and it doesn't learn Waterfall). If anyone has an opinion on this please let it be known.
