Slowbro [QC 2/2] [GP 1/2] (going over with QC+making a few updates before GP check 2)

[Martin]

[Overview]

Slowbro is a potent physical wall thanks to its excellent typing and physically defensive stats alongside access to Regenerator and Teleport, which mean it can almost always grab momentum with minimal risk to itself. These traits pair well with Future Sight, which lets Slowbro prey on passive teams that struggle to stop it passing off multiple per game and is one of the few viable ways of making progress in the format. However, Slowbro's weaknesses to U-turn and Knock Off and susceptibility to Toxic can cause problems against Pokemon like Landorus-T, Urshifu-R, and Hippowdon that it commonly switches into. Slowbro's defensive role also commonly overlaps with Pokemon like Landorus-T and Corviknight, which can also keep physical Ground-types in check. As such, it is difficult to justify using over Slowking, which notably trades Slowbro's good matchup versus Urshifu-R, which can be very hard to cover otherwise, for a superior matchup against Pokemon like Heatran and Tapu Lele.

[SET]
name: Physically Defensive Pivot
move 1: Scald
move 2: Future Sight
move 3: Slack Off
move 4: Teleport
item: Heavy-Duty Boots / Rocky Helmet
ability: Regenerator
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Scald potentially burns physical attackers like Rillaboom, Kartana, and Melmetal and hits Heatran super effectively. Future Sight is one of the few viable ways of making progress versus defensive Pokemon and is a good general-use tool for helping wallbreakers like Kartana, Urshifu-R, Weavile, and Dracozolt pressure their defensive responses. Teleport brings partners in safely and synergises very well with Slowbro's excellent bulk, low Speed, Regenerator, and Future Sight. Ice Beam can be used over Scald to more reliably beat Garchomp and Hawlucha while as punishing potential Grass- and Dragon-type switch-ins like Rillaboom, Dragapult, and Hydreigon, though it makes Slowbro very passive and has less widely-applicable utility. Heavy-Duty Boots is generally Slowbro's preferred item because it shuts down entry hazard pressure, making Slowbro very difficult to KO, but Rocky Helmet is also useful for pressuring Pokemon like Melmetal, punishing U-turn from Pokemon like Landorus-T, and dealing a little chip damage when Slowbro is forced to absorb Knock Off. It is a particularly notable option if Slowbro is your only answer to Urshifu-R, which can otherwise use U-turn with little recourse until Slowbro is too weak to do its job. 28 Special Defense EVs avoid a 2HKO from Timid Choice Specs Tapu Lele's Psychic, and 0 Speed IVs are used alongside a Relaxed nature to try to move after opposing Slowbro and Slowking in Teleport wars.

Offensive Pokémon like Dragapult, Zeraora, Kartana, and Weavile appreciate Future Sight's offensive pressure and Teleport bringing them in safely against exploitable Pokemon. Urshifu is particularly notable, as Future Sight lets it option-select a number of common defensive cores with Close Combat and heavily pressures Pokemon like Toxapex and Amoonguss that resist both of its STABs. Melmetal similarly appreciates Future Sight giving it more opportunities to use Double Iron Bash against Toxapex teams, and Teleport helps to alleviate issues caused by its low Speed stat. Slowbro is a useful option on sand teams because it can keep opposing Excadrill in check, brings Excadrill and Dracozolt in safely against Pokemon like Clefable and Slowking, and pressures problematic Pokemon like Landorus-T and Tangrowth with Future Sight. Slowbro cannot check Heatran, so a more reliable answer like Garchomp or Hydreigon is vital. Blissey forms a very hard-to-pressure Teleport core with Slowbro that blanket checks both physical and special attackers, with Blissey notably switching into Dragapult, Hydreigon, and Nidoking and acting as a status absorber and cleric. Tornadus-T, Tangrowth, Amoonguss, and Galarian Slowking form potent Regenerator cores with Slowbro; the first three fare well against offensive Grass-types like Rillaboom and Kartana, with Tornadus-T also providing Defog support, whereas Galarian Slowking can blanket check special attackers and absorb Toxic Spikes. Heatran and Ferrothorn have good type synergy with Slowbro, benefitting from it checking Pokemon like Urshifu-R while respectively checking Pokemon like Volcarona and Electric-types like Zeraora and Tapu Koko. Rillaboom and Tapu Bulu's Grassy Terrain subsidizes Slowbro's lack of Leftovers and helps it more reliably check physical Ground-types. Bulky Flying-types like Corviknight, Mandibuzz, Zapdos, and Skarmory cover offensive Grass-types and relieve pressure put onto Slowbro to check offensive Ground-types, with the former three also being good Defog users. Bulky Ground-types like Hippowdon, Landorus-T, and Garchomp cover Electric-types like Zeraora, Zapdos, and Tapu Koko and shut down their Volt Switch attempts.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====

Psychic immediately threatens Pokemon like Toxapex, Urshifu-R, and Hawlucha, but it is only useful if your team has no need for Future Sight. Fire Blast is an option for immediately punishing Steel-types like Ferrothorn and is its best option to hit Melmetal, but it is typically less useful than Slowbro's other offensive options. Thunder Wave is a useful option for punishing potential Slowbro switch-ins like Dragapult, Kyurem, and Hydreigon and to support Hex users like Dragapult, but Slowbro's lack of available moveslots mean it is typically outshined by Scald for status-spreading. Colbur Berry lets Slowbro stay in on Pokemon like Bisharp and Weavile to fish for a Scald burn but otherwise has little utility.

Checks and Counters
====

**Poison**: Pokemon that Slowbro commonly switches into, such as Landorus-T and Hippowdon, often carry Toxic to force it to pivot out more often than it may otherwise like. Defensive Pokemon like Toxapex and Blissey also commonly carry Toxic and can easily pivot into Slowbro, and the former can even set Toxic Spikes to punish Slowbro without Heavy-Duty Boots. Slowbro must also beware Sludge Bomb's poison chance when using Future Sight against Galarian Slowking.

**Grass-, Electric-, and Ghost-types**: Pokemon like Rillaboom and Kartana are able to force Slowbro out with Wood Hammer or Leaf Blade, though they need to be wary of Scald burns and the former is weak to Ice Beam. Zapdos, Rotom-W, and Tapu Koko are similarly scary for Slowbro. Slowbro can take Plasma Fists fairly comfortably but still needs to be wary around Zeraora due to Toxic and Knock Off. Dracozolt can compromise Slowbro's typically good matchup against sand teams by OHKOing with Bolt Beak, but it needs to be wary of Scald burns. Dragapult can fairly reliably switch in on Scald and forces Slowbro out with Hex or Shadow Ball, and special Aegislash resists Future Sight, fears little from Scald, and can threaten Slowbro back with Shadow Ball.

**Specially-Offensive Dragon-types**: Hydreigon is immune to Future Sight, avoids a 2HKO from Ice Beam, and can use Slowbro to set up Nasty Plot safely or recover health with Roost. Kyurem takes very little damage from Ice Beam, letting it use Slowbro as Substitute fodder and consequently shutting down Future Sight pressure, and forces Slowbro out with the threat of Freeze Dry. Both of these Pokémon resist Scald and care little about being burned.

**Special Wallbreakers**: Choice Specs Tapu Lele forces Slowbro out with Moonblast, though its Psychic Terrain boosts Future Sight. While Volcarona needs to be wary of switching in on Scald or Future Sight, it can force Slowbro out with Bug Buzz or win one-on-one with Quiver Dance and Roost. Heatran doesn't challenge Slowbro head-on, but it can make Slowbro's life difficult if Fire-resistant partners are weakened or eliminated, as it traps Slowbro with Magma Storm, disables Teleport and Slack Off with Taunt, and often wins one-on-one if it carries Toxic or Protect.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Martin, 173240]]
- Quality checked by: [[ausma, 360720], [DKM, 402001]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

 

[Martin]

OK I think this is QC ready

 

[DKM]

AM Check

Heavy Duty Boots is generally preferred to shut down Spikes pressure,

I don't see any reason to say Spikes rather than entry hazards. I get that Spikes are the worst but rocks and even Tspikes are really bad.

Tornadus-T, Tangrowth, Galarian Slowking, and Amoonguss have naturally good synergy with Slowbro as they form Regenerator cores while covering each other's responses fairly well, with all three notably faring well against offensive Grass-types like Rillaboom and Kartana.

All three?
Also Galarian Slowking is a pretty poor answer to these Grass types, especially since it's OHKO'd by Knock Off from both of them.

If anything it's a good partner for helping vs the special attackers that overwhelm Slowbro.

If you choose to use Psyshock, Calm Mind is an option that takes advantage of Slowbro's high Defense stat and good Toxapex matchup to function as a win condition on balanced teams

Is the Toxapex matchup really good though? It can Toxic you and Haze away CM boosts.

 

[Martin]

I don't see any reason to say Spikes rather than entry hazards. I get that Spikes are the worst but rocks and even Tspikes are really bad.

Edited

All three?
Also Galarian Slowking is a pretty poor answer to these Grass types, especially since it's OHKO'd by Knock Off from both of them.

If anything it's a good partner for helping vs the special attackers that overwhelm Slowbro.

I added Glowking after writing line and forgot to fix the rest of it. Edited Glowking detail.

Is the Toxapex matchup really good though? It can Toxic you and Haze away CM boosts.

I must’ve calc’d something else and mixed it up in my head ‘cuz I thought it did WAY more dmg to pex than it does lol. You can chunk it if you hit it on whatever side it’s not invested in but I’ve just removed the Pex mention altogether bc it has like 6 billion viable spreads lol.

 

[ausma]

my bro is slow, bro

comments in orange
additions/changes in purple
removals will be striked

[Overview]

• Access to Regenerator and Teleport, excellent defensive typing, and a sky-high Defense stat make Slowbro one of the best defensive pivots and generic physical walls in the game, and it will almost always gain momentum when using Teleport due to being the slowest fully-evolved user alongside Slowking. Generic isn't really a good way to word it, and the last part is just fluff.
• When coupled with Heavy Duty Boots, these traits mean Slowbro is a very difficult Pokemon to make meaningful progress against if you lack good wallbreakers or a Toxic user. Knock Off makes progress as well.
• Access to Future Sight makes it a valuable partner both for wallbreakers that need an extra sting behind their attacks and for more defensive balance teams that struggle to make progress between the ubiquity of Heavy Duty Boots and Toxapex's ability to shut and punish the vast majority of passive pressure, and it is a particularly strong tool versus defensive teams struggle to prevent Slowbro setting up and passing off multiple Future Sights over the course of a game. The biggest reason why its Future Sights are so effective, though, are because of Teleport backing them and letting wallbreakers actually get that opportunity to get in in the first place.
• As amazing as Slowbro's typing is, it leaves it vulnerable U-turn, which often deals more damage than Regenerator can recover and is particularly problematic long-term versus Landorus-T and Urshifu-R. Knock Off weakness really sucks too
• Its mediocre Special Defense stat and susceptibility to Toxic mean it can't consistently function as a short-term defensive response to Heatran or a reliable switch-in versus strong Psychic-types like Tapu Lele and Latios.
• The Toxic weakness is particularly problematic given that many of the physical attackers Slowbro will often carry it for targets like Landorus-T and Tangrowth as well as Slowbro.
• It faces competition from Slowking, which can use its monstrous Special Defense to better take on the aforementioned Psychic-types, Heatran, Nidoking, and other special attackers in exchange for a substantial drop in Defense and consequent inability to reliably check physical Ground-types and Melmetal. I don't think it really does too much to compare sets here, we want to explain Slowbro's operations specifically as a physically defensive Futureport user.

[SET]
name: Teleport Pivot
move 1: Teleport
move 2: Future Sight
move 3: Slack Off
move 4: Scald / Ice Beam
item: Heavy Duty Boots / Rocky Helmet
ability: Regenerator
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

• Teleport is a very useful tool for bringing partners in safely and synergises very well with Slowbro's stat spread and Regenerator.
• Future Sight is one of the few consistent and viable ways of enforcing progress versus Toxapex teams and is a good general-use tool for helping wallbreakers like Kartana, Urshifu-R, and Dracozolt muscle past some of their defensive responses. Like I said, Future Sight in tandem with Teleport is what makes it so good, not just Future Sight alone.
• Scald lets Slowbro potentially punish Pokemon like Rillaboom and Kartana if they try to switch in on Slowbro directly and deals decent damage to Heatran.
• Ice Beam's primary use is to avoid risking bad burn rolls when checking Pokemon like Garchomp, Dragonite, and Hawlucha. It is also useful to hit Pokemon like Tangrowth and Rillaboom hard as they switch in. [Note for QC: please tell me if there's another major target that I forgot] Given that Scald's burn chance alone makes Rillaboom/Chomp/Dnite incapable of really dealing with it well, I don't really see Ice Beam being anything particularly helpful especially without Zygarde running around.
• Heavy Duty Boots is generally preferred to shut down entry hazard pressure, which makes Slowbro very difficult to KO in tandem with Regenerator, but Rocky Helmet is a useful option for pressuring Pokemon like Melmetal and Urshifu-R, punishing Landorus-T's U-turns, and dealing a little chip damage when absorbing Knock Off.
• 28 Special Defense EVs let Slowbro survive two Choice Specs-boosted Psychics from Tapu Lele from full health. However, more investment can be run if taking certain attackers in a pinch is important, with 120 EVs surviving one Choice Specs-boosted Draco Meteor from Latios and 140 EVs taking the aforementioned Lele hit after Stealth Rock damage. Such spreads are notable for somewhat improving Slowbro's matchup against Heatran. [Note for QC: let me know if you can think of any other good benchmarks; you can't have too much information in a generic "more investment can be run" section] Move these into Other Options

• Tornadus-T, Tangrowth, Amoonguss, and Galarian Slowking have naturally good synergy with Slowbro as they form Regenerator cores while covering each other's responses fairly well like what, with the first three notably faring well against offensive Grass-types like Rillaboom and Kartana and the latter blanket checking special attackers and absorbing Toxic Spikes. Lele's Psyshock still blows down Gking though so be wary of that
• Slowbro forms a very hard-to-pressure Teleport core with Blissey thanks to the pair's ability to blanket check both physical and special attackers. Blissey can notably pivot through or otherwise wall special Dragapult, Nasty Plot Hydreigon, and Nidoking that lack Focus Punch or Superpower, and Slowbro appreciates it acting as a status absorber and cleric with Natural Cure and Aromatherapy respectively.
• Defensively-competent Fire- and Grass-types like Heatran, Rotom-H, Ferrothorn, and the aforementioned Tangrowth and Amoonguss pair naturally well with Slowbro to form Fire/Water/Grass cores, with both types helping to check Grass-types like Rillaboom and Kartana, depending on their set choices. Grass-types are particularly notable for their Electric-type resistance. I feel Rotom-H is a bit too niche in such a Knock Off prevalent metagame to really be a good partner. I'd also move this point beneath the Regenerator core bullet point so there's more fluency given the Tang/Amoonguss mentions.
• Speaking of Grass-types, Rillaboom and Tapu Bulu are also excellent Grass-type partners as Grassy Terrain helps to subsidize Slowbro's lack of Leftovers while further improving its ability to act as a universal response to Ground-types. It is worth noting, however, that the terrain they summon means alternative responses to Kartana and Rillaboom are necessary. This sentence implies that Slowbro is checking these two which it obviously isn't. Besides, you're naturally going to want an answer to these Pokemon anyway if you're running bro so it's just not worth saying.
• Bulky Flying-types like Corviknight, Skarmory, and Mandibuzz help to take on physical Grass-types like Rillaboom and Kartana consistently while also reducing the pressure on Slowbro to singlehandedly cover Ground-types throughout the game. and In tandem with these Pokemon, bulky Ground-types like Hippowdon, Landorus-T, and Garchomp are useful to cover Electric-types like Zeraora and Tapu Koko that can cause problems for these cores while shutting down the former's Volt Switch attempts. Helped to phrase this a bit better so you make the sentiment of the bullet point more clear. Also, Koko pretty much exclusively runs U-turn unless running Specs, which is becoming increasingly less common, so I changed the phrasing to cover that.
• Pokemon like Garchomp and Roost Hydreigon that can check Heatran are vitally important alongside Slowbro, as it can not reliably switch into Heatran despite resisting Magma Storm. Keldeo is an uncommon but nonetheless noteworthy option that appreciates Slowbro's Future Sight support versus Toxapex. Keldeo I don't think is worth mentioning here; and the way you phrase it is somewhat confusing too, which can make it seem out of place in this bullet point given the focus on defensively checking Heatran.
• Fast, somewhat-frail attackers like Dragapult, Kartana, Nidoking, and Urshifu-R appreciate the safe switch-ins provided by Teleport and the additional offensive pressure Future Sight generates. Can Slowbro pivot into them against any specific targets?
• Slowbro is a useful option for Sandstorm teams due to Teleport helping to bring Dracozolt and Excadrill onto the field safely and helping to pressure problem Pokemon like Landorus-T, Rillaboom, Tangrowth, and Hippowdon with Future Sight.
• Melmetal appreciates having Future Sight when faced with Toxapex as it gives it more opportunities to click Double Iron Bash or Toxic instead of Earthquake. Can Slowbro pivot into Melmetal against any key targets? I'd probably also compress and highlight this bullet point into the Future Sight bullet point.

In general, I think I would rearrange the teammates section just a bit. Emphasize Futureport more by putting that bullet point near the beginning of the section, and then get into increasingly defensive partners over the passage of the section.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====

• Psychic or Psyshock is an option that deals more immediate damage against Pokemon like Toxapex and Hawlucha but is otherwise largely outclassed by Future Sight. Explain how losing Future Sight is a major cost given how much utility it provides for bulky offense.
• If you choose to run Psyshock or Psychic, Calm Mind is an option that takes advantage of Slowbro's high Defense stat to function as a win condition on balanced teams. Above implies this is staying in bullet point form, but obviously we know it's not.
• Thunder Wave is a useful option for punishing Pokemon like Kartana, Hydreigon, and Latios that may try to switch in on Slowbro directly and Toxic gives Slowbro a way of pressuring Pokemon like Tangrowth and Slowking. While both of these options are useful when paired with Hex users like Dragapult, Slowbro's lack of available move slots mean that they're typically outshined by Scald.
• A more offensive set with Choice Specs takes advantage of Slowbro's decent Special Attack, excellent coverage, and access to Regenerator to punish players who try to punish Slowbro reactively, but it is typically less consistent than standard defensive variants. [Note to QC: mentioning this here because Specs Bro appeared in this tour game and pulled its weight extremely well. If you think it's too fringe let me know and I'll cut it out, but it doesn't seem that out there.] I personally am against running it here simply because this seems to have only been run once or at least very very infrequently. I'd moreso prefer to see an emphasis on options that have seen considerable use prior.
• Shed Shell can be used if pivoting through Heatran's Magma Storm without worrying about Taunt is paramount, but it is inconsistent and serves little purpose versus more fringe trappers like Block+Spite Toxapex because Slowbro can escape with Teleport regardless. [Note for QC: this might be too fringe, but it seems in line with something like Shed Shell Toxapex so I figured I'd mention it] I'm fine with this, personally. I've seen this a few times and it does relieve the pressure against Heatran quite well for teams that want Slowbro's physical bulk but can't afford a different Heatran answer. Regardless, though, I think highlighting that dropping off Helmet/HDB is a pretty blegh cost as opposed to focusing on checking Block+Spite Toxapex.

I wouldn't mind seeing Ice Beam here, but highlighting moreso that it can punish Dragapult and Hydreigon thinking they can freely swap into it as opposed to anything else.

Checks and Counters
====

**Toxic**: Pokemon that Slowbro commonly acts as a switch-in for, such as Landorus-T, Melmetal, and Tank Garchomp, very commonly carry Toxic to put it on a timer, forcing it to pivot out more often than it may otherwise like. Slowbro is unlikely to be afflicted with the more immediately-threatening regular poison due to its poor matchup versus most offensive Sludge Bomb users, but it will sometimes cause problems when trying to set up Future Sight against an opposing Galarian Slowking. The Glowking matchup is becoming increasingly less common, so emphasizing Toxic is a lot more important I think.

**Grass- and Electric-types**: Pokemon like Rillaboom and Kartana are able to force Slowbro out with the threat of Wood Hammer or Leaf Blade. Zapdos, Rotom, and Tapu Koko are similarly scary for Slowbro as Thunderbolt, Discharge, and Volt Switch all hit Slowbro super effectively on its weak side. Dracozolt can one-shot Slowbro with Bolt Beak but needs to be wary of switching in on Scald. Slowbro can take Plasma Fists fairly comfortably but still needs to be wary around Zeraora due to the threats of Toxic and Knock Off.

**Ghost-types**: Dragapult can fairly reliably switch in on Scald and forces Slowbro out with the threat of Hex or Shadow Ball. It needs to be somewhat wary of Scald burns, however, especially if it carries Dragon Darts. Gengar can force Slowbro out and set up Substitute or Nasty Plot, but it needs to be wary of a looming Future Sight. Special Aegislash resists Future Sight, fears little from Scald, and can threaten Slowbro back with Shadow Ball.

**Special Dragon-types**: Hydreigon fears little from Slowbro, taking less than 50% from Ice Beam and being immune to Future Sight, and can take advantage of Slowbro to set up Nasty Plot safely or to recover health with Roost. Latios similarly resists Future Sight, takes even less from Ice Beam, and can one-shot Slowbro from full with a Choice Specs-boosted Draco Meteor. Kyurem similarly resists Scald while not remotely fearing Ice Beam and forces a 50/50guessing game regarding what Slowbro switches out to, as Choice Specs variants can OHKO with both Draco Meteor and Freeze Dry.

**Special Wallbreakers**: If Tapu Lele comes in versus Slowbro, it can force it out with the threat of Choice Specs Moonblast. This is a double-edged sword, however, as Psychic Terrain bolsters Future Sight if Slowbro uses it while Tapu Lele comes in. While Volcarona needs to be wary of switching in on Scald or Future Sight, it can force Slowbro out with the threat of Bug Buzz, and if it lacks that it can still bolster its special bulk to win out in a 1v1 with Quiver Dance.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Martin, 173240]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

lmk when you implement

 

[Martin]

my bro is slow, bro

comments in orange
additions/changes in purple
removals will be striked



lmk when you implement

Implemented most of this+made a few other minor edits of my own, such as adding detail and splitting up one or two bullets for the time being, but there are a few things I disagree with that I'll expand on here (and I've made partial/concessional implementations related to most of those disagreements anyway, so it's whatever). Mostly saying this stuff for transparency and so you can respond directly if you/QC are particularly adamant about anything.

I disagree that the end of the first overview bullet is fluff because it is very relevant versus Blissey, but I have added a little detail to make that more explicit.

I didn't feel the need to add the "respectively" after Natural Cure and Aromatherapy because Aromatherapy technically makes Blissey an even better status absorber by letting it clear+reset Toxic pressure without first switching out if the situation demands it; it's obviously secondary to Natural Cure for that purpose, but it doesn't feel clear-cut enough to delineate like that imo.

I don't really get how the line about Grassy Terrain implies that Slowbro checks Kart/Rilla, especially given the context in the earlier sentence about Grass-types, but I've re-worded it to say "the terrain they summon means they can't check Kartana and Rillaboom for Slowbro" just in case. Even if the need to bring checks to them on Slowbro teams sounds like a given, I think it's important to explicitly suggest looking for alternatives considering it's a key weakness of the core, and I don't want to mislead people considering I'd mentioned that Grass-types can check them literally one or two sentences prior.

I agree with the Volt Switch thing re: Specs Koko, but instead of specifying Zera's Volt I've chosen to change it from "their Volt Switch attempts" to a broader "Volt Switch attempts" just 'cuz, IMO, it's useful to imply the existence of Specs Koko, Volt Zap, choiced Thundy-T, Rotom etc. without shouting them out to future-proof the analysis in case any of them become more relevant with a future meta trend. Obviously, this stuff can be CMS edited down the line, but it often doesn't (esp. when it's a tiny wording detail like this) and it doesn't hurt imo.

I think removing the Glowking mention in the poison section and having it only cover Toxic is weird considering Glowking had 16.4% usage in the 1825 stats for last month and because regular poison is much more problematic in games where Slowbro's usually only staying in for 1–3 turns at a time. Poison as a whole is the threat here IMO, with Toxic just being the most common form. I've added a mention of T-Spikes tho as it's relevant to both regular and bad poison and I forgot to mention it.

I don't personally think Dracozolt is necessarily irrelevant enough to remove from the grass/elec section in C&C considering it's B+ on the VR and hurts Slowbro's otherwise-great Sandstorm matchup, and the section isn't massive so it's not like it's drowning anything out. I have moved it after Zeraora though 'cuz obviously it is a less relevant Pokemon, and I've been a bit more specific about why it's noteworthy despite only being UUBL.

I've reworded the Kyurem sentence to sound better 'cuz it was horribly verbose and clunky, but I'm not keen on throwing the term "50:50" around just because it's technically only a 50:50 when guessing wrong leaves you checkmated (for lack of a better word). This is obviously just me being anal about my writing, but either way I think the sentence is better now.

Fuck Americans for using "ize" instead of "ise"

 

[Martin]

Re-slashed Ice Beam.

Moving it around made me write a better bullet point for it at least

 

[Martin]

ausma stamped this 1/2 on Discord

Log

[19:52] ausma is kinda ok i guess: Martin qc 1/2 but a couple comments that i would like to make
[19:55] ausma is kinda ok i guess: Grass-types are particularly notable for their Electric-type resistance, and Rillaboom and Tapu Bulu are other excellent examples as Grassy Terrain helps to subsidize Slowbro's lack of Leftovers while further improving its ability to act as a universal response to Ground-types. It is worth noting, however, that the terrain they summon means they can't check opposing Rillaboom and Kartana for Slowbro.
[19:55] ausma is kinda ok i guess: add that
[19:55] ausma is kinda ok i guess: and uh
[19:56] ausma is kinda ok i guess: honestly i think that's mainly it from me, and that was super nitpicky so, great job
[19:56] ausma is kinda ok i guess: you're good to stamp
[19:58] ausma is kinda ok i guess: and also re: your disagreements
[19:59] ausma is kinda ok i guess: your counterpoints are fair enough and the comments i made that you addressed were mostly nitpicky so i really don't care about you keeping them in if you have a valid reason to, especially because they seem to work a lot better with everything else i suggested to be implemented
[19:59] ausma is kinda ok i guess: so you're good unless the next qc member wants you to integrate/remove the other things i told you to

I've implemented their last comment and am just about to edit the credits; I'll expand the bullets into paragraphs at some point over the next day or two when I have some time to look over at the sentence links/conjunctions/etc. to make sure it doesn't gel completely horribly.

 

[Martin]

OK, I've removed the bullet points on this. Not very happy with that team options paragraph but it is what it is.

I might just re-write the whole paragraph because it's so goddamn chunky+I can't figure out how to make it shorter without cutting detail (I think they're all important things to mention) aside from maybe reworking some of the bit in the middle with FWG/Grass-types, but I don't have time to do it now+probably won't be able to until either this weekend or sometime next week, so if QC doesn't mind it being as long as it is or can direct me wrt the best way to trim it down, that would be fine too if only to speed up the process a bit. Otherwise, I will just re-write from scratch it when I get a spare hour or two.

This is why I hate writing full sentences in the bullet point phase…

 

[DKM]

comments in orange
additions/changes in purple
removals will be striked

[Overview]

Access to Regenerator and Teleport, excellent defensive typing, and a sky-high Defense stat make Slowbro one of the best defensive pivots and physical walls in the game, and it will almost always gain momentum when using Teleport, notably winning Teleport wars with Pokemon like Blissey due to being the slowest fully-evolved user alongside Slowking. When coupled with Heavy Duty Boots, these traits mean Slowbro is a very difficult Pokemon to make meaningful progress against if you lack good wallbreakers or a user of Knock Off or Toxic that Slowbro likes to switch in on. This seems unnecessary and potentially confusing if someone thinks Slowbro likes to switch into something using Toxic or Knock Off. Future Sight makes it a valuable partner both for wallbreakers that need an extra sting behind their attacks and for more defensive balance teams that struggle to make progress between the ubiquity of Heavy Duty Boots and Toxapex's ability to shut down and punish the vast majority of passive pressure. This makes Slowbro particularly strong versus defensive teams that struggle to stop it setting up and passing off multiple Future Sights over the course of a game, and it is further bolstered by Teleport's ability to bring the very wallbreakers that it buffs into the game with minimal risk.

However, as amazing as Slowbro's typing is, it leaves it vulnerable U-turn, which often deals more damage than Regenerator can recover and is particularly problematic long-term versus Pokemon like Landorus-T and Urshifu-R. Ausma's check said to mention Knock Off too, unless you discussed something else. Regardless I believe you should make a point that U-turn (and maybe Knock Off) are very common and often safe to use which is what makes this an actual problem. In addition, its mediocre Special Defense stat and susceptibility to Toxic mean it also can't consistently function as a short-term defensive response to Heatran or a reliable switch-in versus strong Psychic-types like Tapu Lele and Latios. The aforementioned Toxic weakness is particularly problematic as many of the physical attackers Slowbro will often switch into will regularly carry it for targets for other targets like Landorus-T and Tangrowth as well as Slowbro. I'd prefer you give examples of these physical attackers rather than other Pokemon they carry Toxic for. (Landorus-T and Melmetal come to mind)

[SET]
name: Teleport Pivot
move 1: Teleport
move 2: Future Sight
move 3: Slack Off
move 4: Scald / Ice Beam
item: Heavy Duty Boots / Rocky Helmet
ability: Regenerator
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Teleport is a very useful tool for bringing partners (especially wallbreakers) in safely and synergises very well with Slowbro's stat spread low Speed stat and Regenerator. This couples extremely well with Future Sight, which is one of the few consistent and viable ways of enforcing progress versus Toxapex teams and is a good general-use tool for helping wallbreakers like Kartana, Urshifu-R, and Dracozolt muscle past some of their defensive responses. Scald lets Slowbro potentially punish Pokemon like Rillaboom, Kartana, and Dragon Darts Dragapult if they try to switch in on Slowbro directly, lets Slowbro pressure Pokemon like Hawlucha and Garchomp with the threat of a burn, This feels clunky. Just start by saying it can punish physical attackers with a burn then give some examples and deals decent damage to Heatran. On the other hand, Ice Beam provides a more immediate way of threatening Pokemon like Garchomp and Hawlucha that can overwhelm Slowbro late-game with Substitute or a couple of failed Scald burn attempts which allows Slowbro to beat them more reliably, punishes specially frail Grass-types like Rillaboom and Tangrowth that may try to switch in on Slowbro, and lets Slowbro deal decent damage to somewhat-frail Dragon-types like Dragapult and Hydreigon that can otherwise switch into Slowbro with little or no risk. Heavy Duty Boots is generally Slowbro's preferred item as it shuts down entry hazard pressure, which makes Slowbro very difficult to KO, but Rocky Helmet is also useful for pressuring Pokemon like Melmetal and Urshifu-R, punishing Landorus-T's U-turns, and dealing a little chip damage when absorbing Knock Off. 28 Special Defense EVs let Slowbro survive two Choice Specs-boosted Psychics from Tapu Lele from full health, and 0 Speed IVs are used alongside a Relaxed nature to try to move after opposing Slowbro and Slowking in Teleport wars.

Fast, somewhat-frail attackers like Dragapult, Kartana, Nidoking, and Urshifu-R appreciate Teleport bringing them in on Pokémon they can force out without the risk of eating stray attacks, Knock Offs, or status, particularly liking Slowbro's ability to scout switches into defensive Pokemon like Blissey, Slowbro, Slowking, Galarian Slowking, and Ferrothorn that try to capitalise on Slowbro's low immediate threat level; they further benefit from the offensive pressure Future Sight generates. This first point feels a little clunky and hard to comprehend. Just say they like being brought in safely with Teleport against certain Pokemon and appreciate FS pressure. Melmetal is another noteworthy wallbreaker that can takes advantage of Teleport bringing it in safely versus Pokemon like Blissey, Clefable, and Rillaboom that it forces out, and Future Sight gives it more opportunities to use Double Iron Bash and Toxic versus Toxapex teams. Slowbro is a useful option on Sandstorm teams as it can keep opposing Excadrill in check, Teleport helps to bring Dracozolt and Excadrill in safely versus Pokemon like Clefable and Slowking, and Future Sight Helps to pressure problematic Pokemon like Landorus-T, Rillaboom, Tangrowth, and Hippowdon. Pokemon like Garchomp and Roost Hydreigon that can check Heatran are vitally important alongside Slowbro, as it can not reliably switch into Heatran despite resisting Magma Storm. Blissey forms a very hard-to-pressure Teleport core with Slowbro thanks to the pair's ability to blanket check both physical and special attackers. Blissey can notably pivot through or otherwise wall special Dragapult, Nasty Plot Hydreigon, and Nidoking that lack Focus Punch or Superpower, and Slowbro appreciates it acting as a status absorber and cleric with Natural Cure and Aromatherapy. Tornadus-T, Tangrowth, Amoonguss, and Galarian Slowking have naturally good synergy with Slowbro as they form Regenerator cores with Slowbro; the first three notably fare well against offensive Grass-types like Rillaboom and Kartana and the latter can blanket check special attackers and absorb Toxic Spikes, though both it and Slowbro need to be wary of Tapu Lele's Psyshock what? Slowbro takes very little from Psyshock. It needs to worry about Specs Psychic and Moonblast. Defensively-competent Fire- and Grass-types like Heatran, Ferrothorn, and the aforementioned Tangrowth and Amoonguss pair naturally well with Slowbro to form Fire/Water/Grass cores, with both types helping to check Grass-types like Rillaboom and Kartana, though Ferrothorn and Heatran need to be wary of Swords Dance, Fighting-type coverage and, in the latter's case, Knock Off. This kind of stuff is clunky and makes it awkward to read. Just say Amoonguss and Tangrowth can check those specific Grass-types reliably. Grass-types are particularly notable for their Electric-type resistance, and Rillaboom and Tapu Bulu are other excellent examples as Grassy Terrain helps to subsidize Slowbro's lack of Leftovers while further improving its ability to act as a universal response to physical attacking Ground-types (special ones like Nidoking beat it and don't care about Terrain). It is worth noting, however, that the terrain they summon means they can't check opposing Rillaboom and Kartana for Slowbro. Bulky Flying-types like Corviknight, Skarmory, and Mandibuzz can help cover them consistently while also reducing the pressure on Slowbro to singlehandedly cover Ground-types throughout the game. Finally, Bulky Ground-types like Hippowdon, Landorus-T, and Garchomp are useful to cover Electric-types like Zeraora, Zapdos, and Tapu Koko and to shut down Volt Switch attempts, and they are especially useful when Slowbro is paired with the aforementioned Flying-types due to the stacked type weakness.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====

More specially defensive EV spreads can be run if taking certain attackers in a pinch is important, with 120 EVs surviving one Draco Meteor from Choice Specs Latios (as well as Life Orb variants after Stealth Rock) and 140 EVs taking the aforementioned Lele hit after Stealth Rock damage. Such spreads are notable for somewhat improving Slowbro's matchup against Heatran but are usually outshined by the more specialised Slowking. Add that these can somewhat hurt its ability to act as a blanket physical wall. Psychic or Psyshock is an option that deals more immediate damage against Pokemon like Toxapex, Amoonguss, and Hawlucha but is otherwise largely outclassed by Future Sight, which is a big sacrifice particularly for bulky offence teams and makes it a more passive Pokemon overall. Calm Mind can be used alongside one of those moves to take advantage of Slowbro's high Defense stat and function as a wincon on balance teams, but Reuniclus typically does this better despite the bulk disparity due to its higher base Special Attack and superior Toxapex matchup thanks to Magic Guard. Thunder Wave is a useful option for punishing Pokemon like Kartana, Hydreigon, Dragapult, and Latios that may try to switch in on Slowbro directly and Toxic gives Slowbro a way of pressuring Pokemon like Tangrowth and Slowking. While both of these options are useful when paired with Hex users like Dragapult, Slowbro's lack of available moveslots mean that they're typically outshined by Scald for the express purpose of spreading status. Shed Shell can be used if pivoting through Heatran's Magma Storm without worrying about Taunt is paramount, but sacrificing Heavy Duty Boots or Rocky Helmet is a heavy cost for an item that's useful versus one common Pokemon while making Slowbro even more susceptible to Knock Off.

Checks and Counters
====

**Poison**: Pokemon that Slowbro commonly acts as a switch-in for, such as Landorus-T, Melmetal, and Tank Garchomp, very commonly carry Toxic to put it on a timer, forcing it to pivot out more often than it may otherwise like. Defensive Pokemon like Toxapex and Blissey also commonly carry Toxic and can easily pivot into Slowbro, and the former can even lay Toxic Spikes to punish Slowbro if it carries Rocky Helmet or has its Heavy Duty Boots removed. Slowbro is unlikely to be afflicted with the more immediately-threatening regular poison aside from Toxic Spikes due to its poor matchup versus most offensive Sludge Bomb users, but it will sometimes cause problems when trying to set up Future Sight against an opposing Galarian Slowking.

**Grass- and Electric-types**: Pokemon like Rillaboom and Kartana are able to force Slowbro out with the threat of Wood Hammer or Leaf Blade, though they need to be wary of Scald burns and the former is weak to Ice Beam. Zapdos, Rotom-W, and Tapu Koko are similarly scary for Slowbro as Thunderbolt, Discharge, and Volt Switch all hit Slowbro super effectively on its weak side. Slowbro can take Plasma Fists fairly comfortably but still needs to be wary around Zeraora due to the threat of Toxic and Knock Off. Dracozolt can compromise Slowbro's typically good matchup versus Sandstorm teams by OHKOing with Bolt Beak, but it needs to be wary of the risk of burns when switching into Scald.

**Ghost-types**: Dragapult can fairly reliably switch in on Scald and forces Slowbro out with the threat of Hex or Shadow Ball. It needs to be somewhat wary of Scald burns, however, especially if it carries Dragon Darts. Gengar can force Slowbro out and set up Substitute or Nasty Plot, but it needs to be wary of a looming Future Sight. Special Aegislash resists Future Sight, fears little from Scald, and can threaten Slowbro back with Shadow Ball.

**Special-Attacking Dragon-types**: Hydreigon is immune to Future Sight, takes no more than 50% from Ice Beam, and can take advantage of Slowbro to set up Nasty Plot safely or to recover health with Roost. Latios similarly resists Future Sight, takes even less from Ice Beam, and can one-shot Slowbro from full health with a Choice Specs-boosted Draco Meteor, meanwhile Kyurem takes very little damage from Ice Beam and forces the Slowbro user to guess its next attack, as Choice Specs variants can OHKO with both Draco Meteor and Freeze Dry. All of these Pokémon resist Scald and don’t care much about being burned.

**Special Wallbreakers**: If Tapu Lele comes in versus Slowbro, it can force it out with the threat of Choice Specs Moonblast. This is a double-edged sword, however, as Psychic Terrain bolsters Future Sight if Slowbro uses it while Tapu Lele comes in. While Volcarona needs to be wary of switching in on Scald or Future Sight, it can force Slowbro out with the threat of Bug Buzz, and it can still win 1v1 with Quiver Dance if it carries Roost over Bug Buzz. Heatran doesn't challenge Slowbro head-on, but it can make its life a living hell harder if other Fire-type resists are weakened to a point where they can no longer switch into it directly, as it traps Slowbro with Magma Storm, disables Teleport and Slack Off with Taunt, and will often win 1v1 if it carries Toxic or Protect.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Martin, 173240]]
- Quality checked by: [[ausma, 360720], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

Let me know when this is implemented.

 

[Martin]

comments in orange
additions/changes in purple
removals will be striked



Let me know when this is implemented.

I think I've implemented all of this. Let me know if I missed anything by mistake.

Ausma's check said to mention Knock Off too, unless you discussed something else.

I must've missed it. I did the initial implementation very out of order and in between other work, so I wouldn't be surprised lol.

what? Slowbro takes very little from Psyshock. It needs to worry about Specs Psychic and Moonblast

This is an artefact that I expect got missed/not properly edited when I merged some lines together; the idea was that the core has a Lele weakness because it can circumvent Slowking-G's obscene special bulk with Psyshock. I've just cut any mention of Lele's moves here and just left it at "both it and Slowbro need to be wary of Choice Specs Tapu Lele" 'cuz any sentence ends up being long or confusing if I start talking about how Lele breaks the game's rules lol.

This kind of stuff is clunky and makes it awkward to read. Just say Amoonguss and Tangrowth can check those specific Grass-types reliably.

I've just removed any mention of that cuz I mentioned them checking Rilla and Kart in the bit about Regen. IDK why I included that detail in hindsight and removing it lets me solve just about every structural issue I was having when de-bulleting it. The full section about Fire- and Grass-types now reads like this:

Defensively-competent Fire- and Grass-types like Heatran, Ferrothorn, and the aforementioned Tangrowth and Amoonguss pair naturally well with Slowbro to form Fire/Water/Grass cores, with Grass-types being particularly notable for their Electric-type resistance. Rillaboom and Tapu Bulu are other excellent examples as Grassy Terrain helps to subsidize Slowbro's lack of Leftovers while further improving its ability to act as a universal response to physical Ground-types. It is worth noting, however, that the terrain they summon means they can't check opposing Rillaboom and Kartana for Slowbro.

 

[Martin]

Added a few unintrusive mentions of Defog whenever I happen to mention a user in team options. No point in adding a full sentence when most of the relevant ones are already covered.

 

[DKM]

comments in orange
additions/changes in purple
removals will be striked

[Overview]

Access to Regenerator and Teleport, excellent defensive typing, and a sky-high Defense stat make Slowbro one of the best defensive pivots and physical walls in the game, and it will almost always gain momentum when using Teleport, notably winning Teleport wars with Pokemon like Blissey due to being the slowest fully-evolved user alongside Slowking. When coupled with Heavy Duty Boots, these traits mean Slowbro is a very difficult Pokemon to make meaningful progress against if you lack good wallbreakers or a user of Knock Off or Toxic. Future Sight makes it a valuable partner both for wallbreakers that need an extra sting behind their attacks and for more defensive balance teams that struggle to make progress between the ubiquity of Heavy Duty Boots and Toxapex's ability to shut down and punish the vast majority of passive pressure. This makes Slowbro particularly strong versus defensive teams that struggle to stop it setting up and passing off multiple Future Sights over the course of a game, and it is further bolstered by Teleport's ability to bring the very wallbreakers that it buffs into the game with minimal risk.

However, as amazing as Slowbro's typing is, it leaves it vulnerable to the U-turn and Knock Off, both of which are very common and safe to use while often dealing more damage than one round of Regenerator can recover, which is particularly problematic long-term versus Pokemon like Landorus-T and Urshifu-R. In addition, its mediocre Special Defense stat and susceptibility to Toxic mean it also can't consistently function as a short-term defensive response to Heatran or a reliable switch-in versus strong Psychic-types like Tapu Lele and Latios. The aforementioned Toxic weakness is particularly problematic as many of the physical attackers that Slowbro functions as a switch-in for, such as Landorus-T and Melmetal, commonly run Toxic.

[SET]
name: Teleport Pivot
move 1: Teleport
move 2: Future Sight
move 3: Slack Off
move 4: Scald / Ice Beam
item: Heavy Duty Boots / Rocky Helmet
ability: Regenerator
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Teleport is a very useful tool for bringing partners (especially wallbreakers) in safely and synergises very well with Slowbro's excellent bulk, low speed, and Regenerator. This couples extremely well with Future Sight, which is one of the few consistent and viable ways of enforcing progress versus Toxapex teams and is a good general-use tool for helping wallbreakers like Kartana, Urshifu-R, and Dracozolt muscle past some of their defensive responses. Scald lets Slowbro potentially burn physical attackers like Rillaboom, Kartana, and Melmetal and hits Heatran super effectively. Ice Beam, on the other hand, provides a more immediate way of threatening Pokemon like Garchomp and Hawlucha, letting Slowbro beat them more reliably, punishes specially frail Grass-types like Rillaboom and Tangrowth that may try to switch in on Slowbro, and lets Slowbro deal decent damage to somewhat-frail Dragon-types like Dragapult and Hydreigon that can otherwise switch into Slowbro with little or no risk. Heavy Duty Boots is generally Slowbro's preferred item as it shuts down entry hazard pressure, which makes Slowbro very difficult to KO, but Rocky Helmet is also useful for pressuring Pokemon like Melmetal and Urshifu-R, punishing Landorus-T's U-turns, and dealing a little chip damage when absorbing Knock Off. 28 Special Defense EVs let Slowbro survive two Choice Specs-boosted Psychics from Timid Tapu Lele from full health, and 0 Speed IVs are used alongside a Relaxed nature to try to move after opposing Slowbro and Slowking in Teleport wars.

Fast, somewhat-frail attackers like Dragapult, Kartana, Nidoking, and Urshifu-R appreciate Teleport bringing them in safely against Pokémon they can force out have a favourable matchup against and the offensive pressure Future Sight generates. Melmetal is another noteworthy wallbreaker that can takes advantage of Teleport bringing it in safely versus Pokemon like Blissey, Clefable, and Rillaboom that it forces out, and Future Sight gives it more opportunities to use Double Iron Bash and Toxic versus Toxapex teams. Slowbro is a useful option on Sandstorm teams as it can keep opposing Excadrill in check, Teleport helps to bring Dracozolt and Excadrill Excadrill and Dracozolt in safely versus Pokemon like Clefable and Slowking respectively, and Future Sight Helps to pressure problematic Pokemon like Landorus-T, Rillaboom, Tangrowth, and Hippowdon The rest are way better examples. Pokemon like Garchomp and Roost Hydreigon that can check Heatran are vitally important alongside Slowbro, as it can not reliably switch into Heatran despite resisting Magma Storm. Blissey forms a very hard-to-pressure Teleport core with Slowbro thanks to the pair's ability to blanket check both physical and special attackers. Blissey can notably pivot through or otherwise wall special Dragapult, Nasty Plot Hydreigon, and Nidoking that lacks Focus Punch or Superpower Fighting coverage, and Slowbro appreciates it acting as a status absorber and cleric with Natural Cure and Aromatherapy. Tornadus-T, Tangrowth, Amoonguss, and Galarian Slowking have naturally good synergy with Slowbro as they form Regenerator cores with Slowbro; the first three notably fare well against offensive Grass-types like Rillaboom and Kartana, with Tornadus-T also supplying Defog support, whereas Galarian Slowking can blanket check special attackers and absorb Toxic Spikes, though both it and Slowbro need to be wary of Choice Specs Tapu Lele I know Ausma implied you should add something like this but it seems unnecessary to mention a specific exception, especially since the same wasn't done with Blissey (besides a "blanket check" isn't supposed to be a perfect answer to all special attackers and I could list other exceptions anyway). Defensively-competent Fire- and Grass-types like Heatran, Ferrothorn, and the aforementioned Tangrowth and Amoonguss pair naturally well with Slowbro to form Fire/Water/Grass cores, with Grass-types being particularly notable for their Electric-type resistance. Rillaboom and Tapu Bulu are other excellent examples as Grassy Terrain helps to subsidize Slowbro's lack of Leftovers while further improving its ability to act as a universal response to physical Ground-types. It is worth noting, however, that the terrain they summon means they can't check opposing Rillaboom and Kartana for Slowbro. Bulky Flying-types like Corviknight, Mandibuzz, and Skarmory can help cover them consistently while also reducing the pressure on Slowbro to singlehandedly cover Ground-types throughout the game, with the first two also providing Defog support. Finally, Bulky Ground-types like Hippowdon, Landorus-T, and Garchomp are useful to cover Electric-types like Zeraora, Zapdos, and Tapu Koko and to shut down Volt Switch attempts, and they are especially useful when Slowbro is paired with the aforementioned Flying-types due to the stacked type weakness.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====

More specially defensive EV spreads can be run if taking certain attackers in a pinch is important, with 120 EVs surviving one Draco Meteor from Choice Specs Latios (as well as Life Orb variants after Stealth Rock) and 140 EVs taking two Psychics from Tapu Lele after Stealth Rock damage. Such spreads are notable for somewhat improving Slowbro's matchup against Heatran, but they significantly cut into Slowbro's trademark physical bulk and are usually outshined by the more specialised Slowking. Psychic or Psyshock is an option that deals more immediate damage against Pokemon like Toxapex, Amoonguss, and Hawlucha but is otherwise largely outclassed by Future Sight, which is a big sacrifice particularly for bulky offence teams and makes it a more passive Pokemon overall. Calm Mind can be used alongside one of those moves to take advantage of Slowbro's high Defense stat and function as a wincon on balance teams, but Reuniclus typically does this better despite the bulk disparity due to its higher base Special Attack and superior Toxapex matchup thanks to Magic Guard. Thunder Wave is a useful option for punishing Pokemon like Kartana, Hydreigon, Dragapult, and Latios that may try to switch in on Slowbro directly and Toxic gives Slowbro a way of pressuring Pokemon like Tangrowth and Slowking. While both of these options are useful when paired with Hex users like Dragapult, Slowbro's lack of available moveslots mean that they're typically outshined by Scald for the express purpose of spreading status. Shed Shell can be used if pivoting through Heatran's Magma Storm without worrying about Taunt is paramount, but sacrificing Heavy Duty Boots or Rocky Helmet is a heavy cost for an item that's useful versus one common Pokemon while making Slowbro even more susceptible to Knock Off. I don't see how this makes it more susceptible.

Checks and Counters
====

**Poison**: Pokemon that Slowbro commonly acts as a switch-in for, such as Landorus-T, Melmetal, and Tank Garchomp, very commonly carry Toxic to put it on a timer, forcing it to pivot out more often than it may otherwise like. Defensive Pokemon like Toxapex and Blissey also commonly carry Toxic and can easily pivot into Slowbro, and the former can even lay Toxic Spikes to punish Slowbro if it carries Rocky Helmet or has its Heavy Duty Boots removed. Slowbro is unlikely to be afflicted with the more immediately-threatening regular poison aside from Toxic Spikes due to its poor matchup versus most offensive Sludge Bomb users, but it will sometimes cause problems when trying to set up Future Sight against an opposing Galarian Slowking.

**Grass- and Electric-types**: Pokemon like Rillaboom and Kartana are able to force Slowbro out with the threat of Wood Hammer or Leaf Blade, though they need to be wary of Scald burns and the former is weak to Ice Beam. Zapdos, Rotom-W, and Tapu Koko are similarly scary for Slowbro as Thunderbolt, Discharge, and Volt Switch all hit Slowbro super effectively on its weak side. Slowbro can take Plasma Fists fairly comfortably but still needs to be wary around Zeraora due to the threat of Toxic and Knock Off. Dracozolt can compromise Slowbro's typically good matchup versus Sandstorm teams by OHKOing with Bolt Beak, but it needs to be wary of the risk of burns when switching into Scald.

**Ghost-types**: Dragapult can fairly reliably switch in on Scald and forces Slowbro out with the threat of Hex or Shadow Ball. Gengar can force Slowbro out and set up Substitute or Nasty Plot, but it needs to be wary of a looming Future Sight. Special Aegislash resists Future Sight, fears little from Scald, and can threaten Slowbro back with Shadow Ball.

**Special-Attacking Dragon-types**: Hydreigon is immune to Future Sight, takes no more than 50% from Ice Beam, and can take advantage of Slowbro to set up Nasty Plot safely or to recover health with Roost. Latios similarly resists Future Sight, takes even less from Ice Beam, and can one-shot Slowbro from full health with a Choice Specs-boosted Draco Meteor, meanwhile Kyurem takes very little damage from Ice Beam and forces the Slowbro user to guess its next attack, as Choice Specs variants can OHKO with both Draco Meteor and Freeze Dry. All of these Pokémon resist Scald and don’t care much about being burned.

**Special Wallbreakers**: If Tapu Lele comes in versus Slowbro, it can force it out with the threat of Choice Specs Moonblast. This is a double-edged sword, however, as Psychic Terrain bolsters Future Sight if Slowbro uses it while Tapu Lele comes in. While Volcarona needs to be wary of switching in on Scald or Future Sight, it can force Slowbro out with the threat of Bug Buzz, and it can still win 1v1 with Quiver Dance if it carries Roost over Bug Buzz. Heatran doesn't challenge Slowbro head-on, but it can make its life harder if other Fire-type resists are weakened to a point where they can no longer switch into it directly, as it traps Slowbro with Magma Storm, disables Teleport and Slack Off with Taunt, and will often win 1v1 if it carries Toxic or Protect.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Martin, 173240]]
- Quality checked by: [[ausma, 360720], [DKM, 402001]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

QC 2/2 when implemented. Message me on discord if you have any questions.

 

[Martin]

comments in orange
additions/changes in purple
removals will be striked



QC 2/2 when implemented. Message me on discord if you have any questions.

Implemented

 

[Martin]

Heya, just posting to say if GP’s not checking this bc of its length I’ll probably go through and cut some details out (esp from TO) sometime in the next week; ideally LMK if u want me to do so ahead of that, but either way if it’s not checked by the time I hand my current a-level assignment in and if nobody else says otherwise I’ll just go ahead and spend an evening doing it.

 

[Martin]

OK, so I went through and cut out a few points that in hindsight were sorta superfluous and reworded a few sentences to make them a little more concise, but ultimately I've not been able to reduce the length by much and am struggling to find where I can make changes without cutting into useful content. I've also split offensive and defensive partners into two paragraphs to just make the wall of text a little less… intimidating.

If a QC/GP member looks over this at any point and sees smth they think I can remove just say so.

 

[Katy]

[Overview]

Access to Regenerator and Teleport, excellent defensive typing, and a sky-high Defense stat make Slowbro a potent physical wall and a defensive pivot that can almost always grab momentum. When coupled with Heavy Duty Boots, these traits mean Slowbro is a very difficult Pokemon to make meaningful progress against if you lack good wallbreakers or a user of Knock Off or Toxic. to wear down. Furthermore, its access to Future Sight makes it a valuable partner both for wallbreakers that need an extra sting behind their attacks and for more defensive balance teams that struggle to make progress between the ubiquity of Heavy Duty Boots and Toxapex's ability to shut down and punish the vast majority of passive pressure. This makes Slowbro particularly strong versus defensive teams that struggle to stop it setting up and passing off multiple Future Sights over the course of a game, and it is further bolstered by Teleport's ability to bring the very wallbreakers that it buffs into the game with minimal risk. to bring wallbreakers in safely

However, as amazing as Slowbro's typing is, it leaves it vulnerable to U-turn and Knock Off, both of which are very common and safe to use while often dealing more damage than Regenerator can recover, which is particularly problematic long-term versus Pokemon like Landorus-T and Urshifu-R. In addition, its mediocre Special Defense stat and susceptibility to Toxic mean it also can't consistently function as a short-term defensive response to Heatran or a reliable switch-in versus strong Psychic-types like Tapu Lele and Latios. The aforementioned Toxic weakness is particularly problematic as many of the physical attackers that Slowbro functions as a switch-in for, such as Landorus-T and Melmetal, commonly run Toxic.

[SET]
name: Teleport Pivot
move 1: Teleport
move 2: Future Sight
move 3: Slack Off
move 4: Scald / Ice Beam
item: Heavy Duty Boots / Rocky Helmet
ability: Regenerator
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Teleport is a very useful tool for bringing partners (especially wallbreakers) in safely and synergises very well with Slowbro's excellent bulk, low speed, and Regenerator. This couples extremely well with Future Sight, which is one of the few consistent and viable ways of enforcing progress versus Toxapex against teams and is a good general-use tool for helping wallbreakers like Kartana, Urshifu-R, Weavile, and Dracozolt muscle past some of their defensive responses. Scald lets Slowbro potentially burn physical attackers like Rillaboom, Kartana, and Melmetal and hits Heatran super effectively. Ice Beam, on the other hand, provides a more immediate way of threatening Pokemon like Garchomp and Hawlucha, letting Slowbro beat them more reliably, punishes specially frail Grass-types like Rillaboom and Tangrowth that may try to switch in on Slowbro, and lets Slowbro deal decent damage to somewhat-frail Dragon-types like Dragapult and Hydreigon that can otherwise switch into Slowbro with little or no risk. Heavy Duty Boots is generally Slowbro's preferred item as it shuts down entry hazard pressure, which makes Slowbro very difficult to KO, but Rocky Helmet is also useful for pressuring Pokemon like Melmetal and Urshifu-R, punishing Landorus-T's U-turns, and dealing a little chip damage when absorbing Knock Off. 28 Special Defense EVs let Slowbro survive two Choice Specs-boosted Psychics from Timid Tapu Lele from full health, and 0 Speed IVs are used alongside a Relaxed nature to try to move after opposing Slowbro and Slowking in Teleport wars.

Fast, somewhat-frail attackers Teampartners like Dragapult, Kartana, Nidoking, and Urshifu-R appreciate Teleport bringing them in safely against Pokémon they have a favorable matchup against and the offensive pressure Future Sight generates. Melmetal is another noteworthy wallbreaker that can takes advantage of Teleport bringing it in safely versus against Pokemon like Blissey, Clefable, and Rillaboom, and Future Sight gives it more opportunities to use Double Iron Bash and Toxic versus against Toxapex teams. Slowbro is a useful option on Sandstorm teams as it can keep opposing Excadrill in check, Teleport helps to bring Excadrill and Dracozolt in safely versus against Pokemon like Clefable and Slowking, respectively, and Future Sight Helps to pressure problematic Pokemon like Landorus-T, Tangrowth, and Hippowdon.

Pokemon like Garchomp and Roost Hydreigon that can check Heatran are vitally important alongside Slowbro, as it Slowbro can not reliably switch into Heatran despite resisting Magma Storm. Blissey and Slowbro forms a very hard-to-pressure Teleport core with Slowbro thanks to the pair's their ability to blanket check both physical and special attackers, with Blissey notably pivoting through special Dragapult, Nasty Plot Hydreigon, and Nidoking that lack Fighting-type coverage while also acting as a status absorber and cleric thanks to Natural Cure and Aromatherapy. Tornadus-T, Tangrowth, Amoonguss, and Galarian Slowking form potent Regenerator cores with Slowbro; the first three notably fare well against offensive Grass-types like Rillaboom and Kartana, with Tornadus-T also supplying providing Defog support, whereas Galarian Slowking can blanket check special attackers and absorb Toxic Spikes. Heatran and Ferrothorn have naturally a good type synergize well with Slowbro, benefitting from it checking Pokemon like Urshifu-R while respectively checking Pokemon like Bug Buzz Volcarona and Electric-types like Zeraora and Tapu Koko. Rillaboom and Tapu Bulu supply offer Grassy Terrain to subsidize Slowbro's lack of Leftovers while further improving its ability to act as a universal response to check physical Ground-types. Bulky Flying-types like Corviknight, Mandibuzz, Zapdos, and Skarmory help to cover offensive Grass-types and relieve pressure put onto Slowbro to singlehandedly cover offensive check Ground-types throughout the game, with the first three also providing Defog support. Finally, Bulky Ground-types like Hippowdon, Landorus-T, and Garchomp are useful to cover Electric-types like Zeraora, Zapdos, and Tapu Koko and to shut down their Volt Switch attempts.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====

More specially defensive EV spreads can be run if taking certain attackers in a pinch is important, with 120 EVs surviving one Draco Meteor from Choice Specs Latios (as well as Life Orb variants after Stealth Rock) and 140 EVs taking two Psychics from Choice Specs Tapu Lele after Stealth Rock damage. Such spreads are notable for somewhat improving Slowbro's matchup against Heatran, but they significantly cut into Slowbro's trademark physical bulk and are usually outclassed by shined by the more specialised Slowking. Psychic and Psyshock are options that let Slowbro immediately threaten Pokemon like Toxapex, Amoonguss, and Hawlucha, but Future Sight is more useful the vast majority of the time, particularly on bulky offence offense teams, and forgoing it makes Slowbro a more passive Pokemon overall. Calm Mind can be used alongside one of those moves to take advantage of Slowbro's high Defense stat and function as a wincon on balance teams, but Reuniclus typically does this better despite the bulk disparity due to its higher base Special Attack and superior Toxapex matchup thanks to Magic Guard. I would just say that Reuniclus does the job better overall Thunder Wave is a useful option for punishing Pokemon like Kartana, Hydreigon, Dragapult, and Latios that may try to switch in on Slowbro directly and Toxic gives Slowbro a way of pressuring Pokemon like Tangrowth and Slowking. While both of these options are useful when paired with Hex users like Dragapult, Slowbro's lack of available moveslots mean that they're typically outshined by Scald for the express purpose of spreading status. Shed Shell can be used if pivoting through Heatran's Magma Storm without worrying about Taunt is paramount, but sacrificing Heavy Duty Boots or Rocky Helmet is a heavy cost for an item that's only useful versus against Heatran. one common Pokemon.

Checks and Counters
====

**Poison**: Pokemon that Slowbro commonly acts as a switch-in for, such as Landorus-T, Melmetal, and Tank Garchomp, very commonly carry Toxic to put it on a timer, forcing it to pivot out more often than it may otherwise like. Defensive Pokemon like Toxapex and Blissey also commonly carry Toxic and can easily pivot into Slowbro, and the former can even lay Toxic Spikes to punish Slowbro if it carries Rocky Helmet or has its Heavy Duty Boots removed. Slowbro is unlikely to be afflicted with the more immediately-threatening regular poison aside from Toxic Spikes due to its poor matchup versus most offensive Sludge Bomb users, but it will sometimes cause problems when trying to set up Future Sight against an opposing Galarian Slowking.

**Grass- and Electric-types**: Pokemon like Rillaboom and Kartana are able to force Slowbro out with the threat of Wood Hammer or Leaf Blade, though they need to be wary of Scald burns and the former is weak to Ice Beam. Zapdos, Rotom-W, and Tapu Koko are similarly scary for Slowbro as Thunderbolt, Discharge, and Volt Switch all hit Slowbro super effectively on its weak side. Slowbro can take Plasma Fists fairly comfortably but still needs to be wary around Zeraora due to the threat of Toxic and Knock Off. Dracozolt can compromise Slowbro's typically good matchup versus Sandstorm teams by OHKOing with Bolt Beak, but it needs to be wary of the risk of burns when switching into Scald.

**Ghost-types**: Dragapult can fairly reliably switch in on Scald and forces Slowbro out with the threat of Hex or Shadow Ball. Gengar can force Slowbro out and set up Substitute or Nasty Plot, but it needs to be wary of a looming Future Sight. Special Aegislash resists Future Sight, fears little from Scald, and can threaten Slowbro back with Shadow Ball.

**Special-Attacking Dragon-types**: Hydreigon is immune to Future Sight, takes no more than 50% from Ice Beam, and can take advantage of Slowbro to set up Nasty Plot safely or to recover health with Roost. Latios similarly resists Future Sight, takes even less from Ice Beam, and can one-shot Slowbro from full health with a Choice Specs-boosted Draco Meteor, meanwhile Kyurem takes very little damage from Ice Beam and forces the Slowbro user to guess its next attack, as Choice Specs variants can OHKO with both Draco Meteor and Freeze Dry. All of these Pokémon resist Scald and don’t care much about being burned.

**Special Wallbreakers**: If Tapu Lele comes in versus Slowbro, it can force it out with the threat of Choice Specs Moonblast. This is a double-edged sword, however, as Psychic Terrain bolsters Future Sight if Slowbro uses it while Tapu Lele comes in. While Volcarona needs to be wary of switching in on Scald or Future Sight, it can force Slowbro out with the threat of Bug Buzz, and it can still win 1v1 with Quiver Dance if it carries Roost over Bug Buzz. Heatran doesn't challenge Slowbro head-on, but it can make its life harder if other Fire-type resists are weakened to a point where they can no longer switch into it directly, as it traps Slowbro with Magma Storm, disables Teleport and Slack Off with Taunt, and will often win 1v1 if it carries Toxic or Protect.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Martin, 173240]]
- Quality checked by: [[ausma, 360720], [DKM, 402001]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

Not too sure about the C&C section but I feel some points can be cut short there too. In overall the content is good but a lot of times the sentences are pretty wordy, although they provide the correct content, but they can be could short, I feel.

1. Also its always "against" in an analysis, not "versus".
2. Heavy-Duty Boots have the dash between the 2 first words.
3. I would read carefully over it and implement commas, dashes, etc where they are needed.

I tried to help out a bit with cutting down fluff and unnecessary content, and helping a bit out with wording and also showing you some points which where a little bit off. Once again, just read carefully through it again and fix some grammatical errors, especially correct itemnames and such.

 

[Martin]

Not too sure about the C&C section but I feel some points can be cut short there too. In overall the content is good but a lot of times the sentences are pretty wordy, although they provide the correct content, but they can be could short, I feel.

1. Also its always "against" in an analysis, not "versus".
2. Heavy-Duty Boots have the dash between the 2 first words.
3. I would read carefully over it and implement commas, dashes, etc where they are needed.

I tried to help out a bit with cutting down fluff and unnecessary content, and helping a bit out with wording and also showing you some points which where a little bit off. Once again, just read carefully through it again and fix some grammatical errors, especially correct itemnames and such.

I went through with this open next to my editing window and, while a number of the specific changes I made didn't end up exactly matching what you'd suggested, ur post was very helpful for spotting particularly wordy sentences that I'd not thought hard enough about when reading over this earlier, so thank you. In most cases, I have either implemented your suggestion or found an alternative implementation. There were a handful that I didn't implement as I felt they were subjective, altered the nuance of the sentence in a way that worsened it, or cut out/altered detail that I felt was important to highlight, but in the vast majority of cases (and one or two you didn't mention that I spotted while working through the check) I found other ways of rewording/cutting stuff. I can't remember every change I made/didn't make, but for transparency's sake, here are the main things I remember disagreeing about:

…which is one of the few consistent and viable ways of enforcing progress versus Toxapex against teams…

This is a content change imo. I want to highlight the move's specific utility vs these teams, as Pex teams are the main thing that Future Sight is actually forceful against, and simplifying it to anything more generic just makes what follows the "and" a functional repeat of what precedes it.

…and are usually outclassed by shined by the more specialised Slowking.

Unless there is a GP precedent I don't know about relating to "outshined" or it's considered informal or whatever—I'm fairly sure I've used outshined in analyses before, but I may be misremembering—the change to "outclassed" is completely subjective and not one I personally like. I've also left the mention of it being more specialised just 'cuz it qualifies the statement a bit and OO wasn't one of the paragraphs I was concerned about anyway (my main focus was overview/TO/C&C).

…Reuniclus typically does this better despite the bulk disparity due to its higher base Special Attack and superior Toxapex matchup thanks to Magic Guard. I would just say that Reuniclus does the job better overall

I removed the mention of bulk/SpA disparity, but I've left the mentions of Toxapex and Magic guard in as I feel it's important to be explicit about why Reuniclus is better—because, let's be real, Toxapex and Toxic are, like, 80% of why CM Bro is kinda bleh; Slowbro has everything a phat CMer would want at a glance).

I'm prolly gonna look over this one more time tomorrow, assuming it doesn't get GP'd by then. I prolly won't post again unprompted as it'll prolly just be small changes from here if i make any at all.

 

[CryoGyro]

GP 1/2

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[Overview]

Access to Regenerator and Teleport, excellent defensive typing, and a sky-high Defense stat Regenerator, Teleport, an excellent defensive typing, and sky-high Defense make Slowbro a potent physical wall and a defensive pivot that can almost always grab momentum. When coupled With Heavy-Duty Boots, these traits mean Slowbro is a very difficult Pokemon to make meaningful progress against if you lack a user of Knock Off or Toxic. Furthermore, its access to Future Sight makes it a valuable partner both for wallbreakers that need an extra sting pressure behind their attacks and for more defensive balance teams that struggle to make progress between the ubiquity of Heavy-Duty Boots and Toxapex's ability to shut down and punish the vast majority of passive pressure. This makes Slowbro particularly strong against defensive teams that struggle to stop it from setting up and passing off multiple Future Sights over the course of a game using Future Sight multiple times, and it is further bolstered by Teleport's ability to bring wallbreakers in safely.

However, as amazing as Slowbro's typing is, it leaves it Slowbro vulnerable to U-turn and Knock Off, both of which are very common, (comma) are safe to repeatedly use, and often deal and safe to use while often dealing more damage than Regenerator can recover, which is particularly problematic long-term against Pokemon like Landorus-T and Urshifu-R. In addition, Its mediocre Special Defense stat and susceptibility to Toxic mean it also can't consistently function as a short-term defensive response to Heatran or a reliable switch-in to strong Psychic-types like Tapu Lele and Latios. The aforementioned Its Toxic weakness is particularly problematic as many of the physical attackers that Slowbro functions as a switch-in for, such as Landorus-T and Melmetal, commonly run Toxic because of Toxic's ubiquity on physical attackers that Slowbro switches into, including Landorus-T and Melmetal.

[SET]
name: Teleport Pivot
move 1: Teleport
move 2: Future Sight
move 3: Slack Off
move 4: Scald / Ice Beam
item: Heavy-Duty Boots / Rocky Helmet
ability: Regenerator
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Teleport is very useful for bringing brings partners in safely and synergises very well with Slowbro's excellent bulk, low Speed, and Regenerator, (comma) and Future Sight. This couples extremely well with Future Sight, which Future Sight is one of the few consistent and viable ways of enforcing making progress against Toxapex teams and is a good general-use tool for helping wallbreakers like Kartana, Urshifu-R, Weavile, and Dracozolt muscle past some of their defensive responses. Scald lets Slowbro potentially burns physical attackers like Rillaboom, Kartana, and Melmetal and hits Heatran super effectively. Ice Beam, on the other hand, provides a more immediate way of threatening Pokemon like Garchomp and Hawlucha, letting Slowbro beat them more reliably, and more reliably punishes Grass- and Dragon-types like Rillaboom, Dragapult, and Hydreigon that may try to switch in on Slowbro lets Slowbro more reliably beat Garchomp and Hawlucha as well as punishing potential Grass- and Dragon-type switch-ins like Rillaboom, Dragapult, and Hydreigon. Heavy-Duty Boots is generally Slowbro's preferred item as because it shuts down entry hazard pressure, making Slowbro very difficult to knock out KO, but Rocky Helmet is also useful for pressuring Pokemon like Melmetal and Urshifu-R, punishing U-turn from Landorus-T, and dealing a little chip damage when Slowbro is forced to absorb Knock Off. 28 Special Defense EVs let Slowbro survive two Choice Specs-boosted Psychics from Timid Tapu Lele from full health avoid a 2HKO from Timid Choice Specs Tapu Lele's Psychic, and 0 Speed IVs are used alongside a Relaxed nature to try to move after opposing Slowbro and Slowking in Teleport wars.

Wallbreakers like Dragapult, Kartana, Nidoking, and Urshifu-R appreciate Future Sight's offensive pressure and Teleport bringing them in safely against Pokémon they have a favorable matchup against and the offensive pressure Future Sight generates exploitable Pokemon. Melmetal is another noteworthy wallbreaker that can takes advantage of Teleport bringing it in safely against Pokemon like Blissey, Clefable, and Rillaboom, and Future Sight gives it more opportunities to use Double Iron Bash and Toxic against Toxapex teams. Slowbro is a useful option on Sandstorm sand teams as because it can keep opposing Excadrill in check, Teleport helps to brings Excadrill and Dracozolt in safely against Pokemon like Clefable and or Slowking, respectively, and Future Sight Helps to pressures problematic Pokemon like Landorus-T, Tangrowth, and Hippowdon with Future Sight.

Partners that can reliably check Heatran, such as Garchomp or Hydreigon, are vital because Slowbro can not switch into it despite resisting Magma Storm. Slowbro cannot check Heatran, so a more reliable answer like Garchomp or Hydreigon is vital. Blissey forms a very hard-to-pressure Teleport core with Slowbro thanks to the pair's ability to that blanket checks both physical and special attackers, with Blissey notably pivoting through switching into Dragapult, Hydreigon, and Nidoking while also and acting as a status absorber and cleric. Tornadus-T, Tangrowth, Amoonguss, and Galarian Slowking form potent Regenerator cores with Slowbro; the first three notably fare well against offensive Grass-types like Rillaboom and Kartana, with Tornadus-T also providing Defog support, whereas Galarian Slowking can blanket check special attackers and absorb Toxic Spikes. Heatran and Ferrothorn have naturally good type synergy with Slowbro, benefitting from it checking Pokemon like Urshifu-R while respectively checking Pokemon like Volcarona and Electric-types like Zeraora and Tapu Koko. Rillaboom and Tapu Bulu's Grassy Terrain subsidizes summon Grassy Terrain to subsidize Slowbro's lack of Leftovers while helping and helps it more reliably check physical Ground-types. Bulky Flying-types like Corviknight, Mandibuzz, Zapdos, and Skarmory help to cover offensive Grass-types and relieve pressure put onto Slowbro to check offensive Ground-types, with the first former three also being good Defog users. Finally, Bulky Ground-types like Hippowdon, Landorus-T, and Garchomp are useful to cover Electric-types like Zeraora, Zapdos, and Tapu Koko and to shut down their Volt Switch attempts.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====

More specially defensive EV spreads can be run if taking checking certain attackers in a pinch is important, with 120 EVs surviving one Draco Meteor from Choice Specs Latios (as well as Life Orb variants after Stealth Rock) and 140 EVs taking two Psychics from Choice Specs Tapu Lele's Psychic twice after Stealth Rock damage. Such spreads are notable for somewhat improving somewhat improve Slowbro's matchup against Heatran, but they significantly cut into its trademark physical bulk and are usually outshined by the more-specialised Slowking. Psychic and Psyshock are options that let Slowbro immediately threaten Pokemon like Toxapex, Amoonguss, and Hawlucha, but Future Sight is more useful the vast majority of the time as Slowbro is markedly more passive without it Future Sight. Calm Mind can be used alongside one of those moves to take advantage of Slowbro's high Defense stat and function as a wincon cleaner on balance teams, but Reuniclus typically does this better due to its superior Toxapex matchup and access to Magic Guard. Thunder Wave is a useful option for punishing Pokemon potential Slowbro switch-ins like Kartana, Hydreigon, Dragapult, and Latios that may try to switch in on Slowbro directly, and Toxic gives Slowbro a way of pressuring Pokemon like Tangrowth, Hydreigon, and Slowking. While both of these options moves are useful when paired with Hex users like Dragapult, Slowbro's lack of available moveslots mean that they're typically outshined by Scald for the express purpose of at spreading status. Shed Shell can be used if pivoting through switching into Heatran's Magma Storm without worrying about Taunt is paramount, but sacrificing Heavy Duty Boots or Rocky Helmet is a heavy cost for an item that's only useful against one common Pokemon its applications end there.

Checks and Counters
====

**Poison**: Pokemon that Slowbro commonly acts as a switch-in for switches into, such as Landorus-T, Melmetal, and tank Garchomp, very commonly carry Toxic to put it on a timer, forcing force it to pivot out more often than it may otherwise like. Defensive Pokemon like Toxapex and Blissey also commonly carry Toxic and can easily pivot into Slowbro, and the former can even lay set Toxic Spikes to punish Slowbro if it carries Rocky Helmet or has its Heavy Duty Boots removed without Heavy-Duty Boots. It is also important to be wary of Sludge Bomb's poison rate when trying to set up Future Sight against Galarian Slowking. Slowbro must also beware Sludge Bomb's poison chance when using Future Sight against Galarian Slowking.

**Grass- and Electric-types**: Pokemon like Rillaboom and Kartana are able to force Slowbro out with the threat of Wood Hammer or Leaf Blade, though they need to be wary of Scald burns and the former is weak to Ice Beam. Zapdos, Rotom-W, and Tapu Koko are similarly scary for Slowbro as Thunderbolt, Discharge, and Volt Switch all hit it super effectively on its weak defense. Slowbro can take Plasma Fists fairly comfortably but still needs to be wary around Zeraora due to the threat of Toxic and Knock Off. Dracozolt can compromise Slowbro's typically good matchup against Sandstorm sand teams by OHKOing with Bolt Beak, but it needs to be wary of the risk of burns when switching into Scald burns.

**Ghost-types**: Dragapult can fairly reliably switch in on Scald and forces Slowbro out with the threat of Hex or Shadow Ball. Gengar can force Slowbro out and set up Substitute or Nasty Plot, but it needs to be wary of a looming Future Sight. Special Aegislash resists Future Sight, fears little from Scald, and can threaten Slowbro back with Shadow Ball.

**Special-Attacking Specially Offensive Dragon-types**: Hydreigon is immune to Future Sight, takes less than half avoids a 2HKO from Ice Beam, and can take advantage of use Slowbro to set up Nasty Plot safely or to recover health with Roost. Latios similarly resists Future Sight, takes even less damage from Ice Beam, and can one-shot Slowbro from full health with a OHKO Slowbro with Choice Specs-boosted Draco Meteor,. (period) meanwhile Kyurem takes very little damage from Ice Beam and forces the Slowbro user to guess its next attack, as Choice Specs variants can OHKO with both Draco Meteor and Freeze-Dry. All of these Pokémon resist Scald and don’t care much about being burned.

**Special Wallbreakers**: If Tapu Lele comes in on Slowbro, it can force it out with the threat of Choice Specs Moonblast. It is worth noting, however, that its Psychic Terrain bolsters Slowbro's Future Sight. Choice Specs Tapu Lele forces Slowbro out with Moonblast, though its Psychic Terrain boosts Future Sight. While Volcarona needs to be wary of switching in on Scald or Future Sight, it can force Slowbro out with the threat of Bug Buzz, (comma) and it can still win 1v1 with Quiver Dance if it carries Roost over Bug Buzz or win one-on-one with Quiver Dance + Roost. Heatran doesn't challenge Slowbro head-on, but it can make its Slowbro's life difficult if other Fire-resistant partners are weakened or unconcious eliminated, as it traps Slowbro with Magma Storm, disables Teleport and Slack Off with Taunt, and will often win 1v1 wins one-on-one if it carries Toxic or Protect.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Martin, 173240]]
- Quality checked by: [[ausma, 360720], [DKM, 402001]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]

 

[Adeleine]

let me know when the above check is implemented and i'll provide check 2

 

[ausma]

Analysis dropped by Martin, archiving