[OVERVIEW]
Thanks to its great special bulk in tandem with Regenerator, an Assault Vest, and its typing, Slowking is a solid special wall capable of taking on strong special attackers like Diancie, Vanilluxe, and Magmortar. Unlike other defensive Pokemon, Slowking's solid Special Attack alongside its great coverage options means it isn't passive, making it harder for Pokemon like Heliolisk, Sneasel, and Dhelmise to take advantage of. Unfortunately, Slowking faces immense competition from Slowbro. Although Slowking differentiates itself with access to Dragon Tail and far better special bulk, Slowbro has greater physical bulk, letting it better take on Fighting- and Ground-types such as Passimian, Rhydon, and Steelix. Additionally, Slowking faces competition from other bulky Water-types like Vaporeon and Seismitoad that can provide more utility to their team in the form of cleric and entry hazard support, respectively. Slowking's typing and poor physical bulk also leave it prone to being Pursuit trapped by Pokemon such as Sneasel, Absol, and Aerodactyl, an issue other bulky Water-types struggle with far less.
[SET]
name: Assault Vest
move 1: Scald
move 2: Future Sight / Psyshock
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Dragon Tail
item: Assault Vest
ability: Regenerator
nature: Modest
evs: 212 HP / 252 SpA / 44 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Scald is Slowking's most spammable move, dissuading potential switch-ins like Dhelmise and Decidueye with its chance to burn. Future Sight is a strong Psychic-type attack that forces switches and thus disrupts the opponent's momentum. Psyshock is an alternative to Future Sight that lets Slowking immediately deal with Poison-types such as Garbodor and Vileplume while also dealing more damage to Heliolisk, Comfey, and Cryogonal. Fire Blast prevents Grass-types such as Sceptile and Whimsicott from easily switching into Slowking while also hitting Heliolisk, Vikavolt, and Silvally-Steel for solid damage. Dragon Tail forces the foe out and synergizes well with Future Sight because of this, preventing the opponent from easily switching in a Psychic-resistant or -immune Pokemon on the turn Future Sight hits. It's also useful for preventing setup sweepers like Slowbro and Vivillon from snowballing out of control. Ice Beam is an alternative to Fire Blast that can't miss and maintains Slowking's coverage against Grass-types while also hitting Guzzlord and Alolan Exeggutor for solid damage, although it is much weaker, missing out on OHKOing Sceptile even after Stealth Rock damage as well as Whimsicott.
Set Details
========
44 Speed EVs allow Slowking to outspeed uninvested Palossand. The remaining EVs alongside a Modest nature go towards strengthening Slowking's bulk and damage output. An Assault Vest lets Slowking take even Choice Specs-boosted attacks from Pokemon like Heliolisk, Vanilluxe, and Whimsicott. Regenerator provides Slowking with a source of recovery and lets it consistently check Pokemon such as Slowbro and Diancie.
Usage Tips
========
Early-game, Slowking should focus on spreading status with Scald as much as it can, which also dissuades Pokemon like Sneasel and Dhelmise from directly switching into Slowking. Due to Slowking's immense special bulk and Regenerator, it can be switched into strong Choice Specs wallbreakers like Heliolisk and Vanilluxe to scout what move they will lock themselves into, and Slowking can then switch out and regain health thanks to Regenerator. Due to Future Sight's great damage output, opponents will always try to switch a Psychic-resistant or -immune Pokemon into it. Using Dragon Tail on the turn Future Sight hits can prevent the opponent from doing so, and it can potentially net a KO on a Pokemon like Passimian or Vileplume. Because Pokemon like Heliolisk, Mega Abomasnow, and Alolan Exeggutor may try to switch into Slowking's Scald to get a favorable matchup, predicting such a switch by using the appropriate coverage move is a good idea. Hitting these Pokemon with Dragon Tail as they switch in is also an effective way to weaken them. Although Slowking can punish Pursuit users like Absol for switching in with a burn from Scald, it is advised to be very careful if the opponent has a Pursuit trapper, as Slowking's only average physical bulk makes it easy to successfully trap. If Slowking is getting low on health, pivoting it into a weaker special attacker like Vaporeon or Seismitoad and then switching it back out is a good way to restore HP.
Team Options
========
Spikes from the likes of Garbodor and Ferroseed synergizes extremely well with Slowking's combination of Future Sight and Dragon Tail, punishing switches very effectively by easily racking up chip damage. Spikes also helps to weaken Steel-types like Probopass and Silvally-Steel. Furthermore, Garbodor is a nice partner for Slowking thanks to it reliably checking Passimian. Other Fighting-resistant Pokemon such as Xatu, Vileplume, and Whimsicott are ideal partners for Slowking due to its inability to consistently stop Fighting-type Pokemon like Passimian and Hariyama. Switch-ins to Heliolisk like Rhydon, Rotom, and Torterra work well alongside Slowking. Slowking can switch into Heliolisk to scout what move it locks itself into and then pivot into the appropriate check. Pursuit trappers like Sneasel and Aerodactyl can remove problematic Ghost-types like Rotom and Decidueye for Slowking. In return, Slowking can switch into Scald from the likes of Slowbro and Seismitoad. Similarly, Pokemon like Incineroar, Diancie, and Passimian pressure Dark-types for Slowking. Pokemon like Braviary, Delphox, and Magmortar are also helpful to deal with Grass-types such as Sceptile and Decidueye. Fighting-types such as Passimian and Hariyama make for good partners, enjoying Slowking's ability to remove Poison-types with a lucky Dragon Tail into Future Sight or with Psyshock.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Signal Beam provides coverage against Slowbro, Guzzlord, Alolan Exeggutor, and opposing Slowking. However, dropping Fire Blast leaves Slowking more vulnerable to Heliolisk if lacking Psyshock and leaves it unable to do much to Silvally-Steel. Grass Knot hits Water-types such as Seismitoad and Vaporeon for solid damage but faces the same problems Signal Beam does. Slowking can run an offensive Trick Room + Nasty Plot set on non-Trick Room dedicated teams, although such a set forfeits much of Slowking's defensive utility. Slowking can also be run on Trick Room teams as either an offensive setter of Trick Room or a setup sweeper with Nasty Plot under Trick Room, but such sets face the same drawbacks as other offensive Slowking variants. Eject Button can be run alongside a Pursuit trapper such as Sneasel to eliminate Heliolisk. Slowking can survive any one hit with the proper investment and then immediately pivot into Sneasel to force a coinflip against Heliolisk. Slowking can use a physically defensive set alongside Slack Off and either Calm Mind or Toxic to become bulky both physically and specially, but this set faces great competition from Slowbro, as it has much better physical bulk than Slowking.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Grass-types**: Physical Grass-types such as Dhelmise, Torterra, and Decidueye can target Slowking's lesser physical bulk to OHKO it. Additionally, setup variants of Torterra and Decidueye can take advantage of Slowking switching out by setting up with Swords Dance. Even some strong special Grass-types like Choice Specs Sceptile and Alolan Exeggutor can muscle by Slowking's great special bulk with their strong Leaf Storm, OHKOing it with ease. Although Slowking walls specially offensive Mega Abomasnow variants, physical ones with Wood Hammer can easily OHKO Slowking. However, none of these can switch into Slowking safely, as they all fear Fire Blast or Ice Beam.
**Dark-types**: Guzzlord switches into any Slowking lacking Ice Beam or Signal Beam with ease and can pressure it with its strong Dark Pulse. Incineroar dislikes Scald, but it can switch into Slowking's other moves fairly easily and force it out. Other frailer Dark-types like Sneasel, Houndoom, and Absol struggle to switch into Slowking, but they can take advantage of Slowking's low physical bulk by trapping it with Pursuit.
**Toxic**: Even though Slowking has Regenerator, Pokemon such as Slowbro, Xatu, and Delphox can easily Toxic stall Slowking due to their reliable recovery.
**Electric-types**: Heliolisk can pivot into Scald thanks to Dry Skin and pressure Slowking with Choice Specs-boosted Thunderbolt. Neither Rotom nor Vikavolt want to switch into anything from Slowking, but Vikavolt can OHKO Slowking with Savage Spin-Out, while Z-Move variants of Rotom can remove Slowking if chipped enough.
**Strong Physical Attackers**: Because of its average physical bulk, Pokemon such as Passimian, Braviary, and Medicham heavily pressure Slowking with their strong physical attacks.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Rabia, 336073]]
- Earlier versions by: [[Eternally, 295647]]
- Quality checked by: [[Espeonage., 395065], [quziel, 297859], [Eternally, 295647]]
- Grammar checked by: [[fleurdyleurse, 195877], [A Cake Wearing A Hat, 388157]]
Thanks to its great special bulk in tandem with Regenerator, an Assault Vest, and its typing, Slowking is a solid special wall capable of taking on strong special attackers like Diancie, Vanilluxe, and Magmortar. Unlike other defensive Pokemon, Slowking's solid Special Attack alongside its great coverage options means it isn't passive, making it harder for Pokemon like Heliolisk, Sneasel, and Dhelmise to take advantage of. Unfortunately, Slowking faces immense competition from Slowbro. Although Slowking differentiates itself with access to Dragon Tail and far better special bulk, Slowbro has greater physical bulk, letting it better take on Fighting- and Ground-types such as Passimian, Rhydon, and Steelix. Additionally, Slowking faces competition from other bulky Water-types like Vaporeon and Seismitoad that can provide more utility to their team in the form of cleric and entry hazard support, respectively. Slowking's typing and poor physical bulk also leave it prone to being Pursuit trapped by Pokemon such as Sneasel, Absol, and Aerodactyl, an issue other bulky Water-types struggle with far less.
[SET]
name: Assault Vest
move 1: Scald
move 2: Future Sight / Psyshock
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Dragon Tail
item: Assault Vest
ability: Regenerator
nature: Modest
evs: 212 HP / 252 SpA / 44 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Scald is Slowking's most spammable move, dissuading potential switch-ins like Dhelmise and Decidueye with its chance to burn. Future Sight is a strong Psychic-type attack that forces switches and thus disrupts the opponent's momentum. Psyshock is an alternative to Future Sight that lets Slowking immediately deal with Poison-types such as Garbodor and Vileplume while also dealing more damage to Heliolisk, Comfey, and Cryogonal. Fire Blast prevents Grass-types such as Sceptile and Whimsicott from easily switching into Slowking while also hitting Heliolisk, Vikavolt, and Silvally-Steel for solid damage. Dragon Tail forces the foe out and synergizes well with Future Sight because of this, preventing the opponent from easily switching in a Psychic-resistant or -immune Pokemon on the turn Future Sight hits. It's also useful for preventing setup sweepers like Slowbro and Vivillon from snowballing out of control. Ice Beam is an alternative to Fire Blast that can't miss and maintains Slowking's coverage against Grass-types while also hitting Guzzlord and Alolan Exeggutor for solid damage, although it is much weaker, missing out on OHKOing Sceptile even after Stealth Rock damage as well as Whimsicott.
Set Details
========
44 Speed EVs allow Slowking to outspeed uninvested Palossand. The remaining EVs alongside a Modest nature go towards strengthening Slowking's bulk and damage output. An Assault Vest lets Slowking take even Choice Specs-boosted attacks from Pokemon like Heliolisk, Vanilluxe, and Whimsicott. Regenerator provides Slowking with a source of recovery and lets it consistently check Pokemon such as Slowbro and Diancie.
Usage Tips
========
Early-game, Slowking should focus on spreading status with Scald as much as it can, which also dissuades Pokemon like Sneasel and Dhelmise from directly switching into Slowking. Due to Slowking's immense special bulk and Regenerator, it can be switched into strong Choice Specs wallbreakers like Heliolisk and Vanilluxe to scout what move they will lock themselves into, and Slowking can then switch out and regain health thanks to Regenerator. Due to Future Sight's great damage output, opponents will always try to switch a Psychic-resistant or -immune Pokemon into it. Using Dragon Tail on the turn Future Sight hits can prevent the opponent from doing so, and it can potentially net a KO on a Pokemon like Passimian or Vileplume. Because Pokemon like Heliolisk, Mega Abomasnow, and Alolan Exeggutor may try to switch into Slowking's Scald to get a favorable matchup, predicting such a switch by using the appropriate coverage move is a good idea. Hitting these Pokemon with Dragon Tail as they switch in is also an effective way to weaken them. Although Slowking can punish Pursuit users like Absol for switching in with a burn from Scald, it is advised to be very careful if the opponent has a Pursuit trapper, as Slowking's only average physical bulk makes it easy to successfully trap. If Slowking is getting low on health, pivoting it into a weaker special attacker like Vaporeon or Seismitoad and then switching it back out is a good way to restore HP.
Team Options
========
Spikes from the likes of Garbodor and Ferroseed synergizes extremely well with Slowking's combination of Future Sight and Dragon Tail, punishing switches very effectively by easily racking up chip damage. Spikes also helps to weaken Steel-types like Probopass and Silvally-Steel. Furthermore, Garbodor is a nice partner for Slowking thanks to it reliably checking Passimian. Other Fighting-resistant Pokemon such as Xatu, Vileplume, and Whimsicott are ideal partners for Slowking due to its inability to consistently stop Fighting-type Pokemon like Passimian and Hariyama. Switch-ins to Heliolisk like Rhydon, Rotom, and Torterra work well alongside Slowking. Slowking can switch into Heliolisk to scout what move it locks itself into and then pivot into the appropriate check. Pursuit trappers like Sneasel and Aerodactyl can remove problematic Ghost-types like Rotom and Decidueye for Slowking. In return, Slowking can switch into Scald from the likes of Slowbro and Seismitoad. Similarly, Pokemon like Incineroar, Diancie, and Passimian pressure Dark-types for Slowking. Pokemon like Braviary, Delphox, and Magmortar are also helpful to deal with Grass-types such as Sceptile and Decidueye. Fighting-types such as Passimian and Hariyama make for good partners, enjoying Slowking's ability to remove Poison-types with a lucky Dragon Tail into Future Sight or with Psyshock.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Signal Beam provides coverage against Slowbro, Guzzlord, Alolan Exeggutor, and opposing Slowking. However, dropping Fire Blast leaves Slowking more vulnerable to Heliolisk if lacking Psyshock and leaves it unable to do much to Silvally-Steel. Grass Knot hits Water-types such as Seismitoad and Vaporeon for solid damage but faces the same problems Signal Beam does. Slowking can run an offensive Trick Room + Nasty Plot set on non-Trick Room dedicated teams, although such a set forfeits much of Slowking's defensive utility. Slowking can also be run on Trick Room teams as either an offensive setter of Trick Room or a setup sweeper with Nasty Plot under Trick Room, but such sets face the same drawbacks as other offensive Slowking variants. Eject Button can be run alongside a Pursuit trapper such as Sneasel to eliminate Heliolisk. Slowking can survive any one hit with the proper investment and then immediately pivot into Sneasel to force a coinflip against Heliolisk. Slowking can use a physically defensive set alongside Slack Off and either Calm Mind or Toxic to become bulky both physically and specially, but this set faces great competition from Slowbro, as it has much better physical bulk than Slowking.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Grass-types**: Physical Grass-types such as Dhelmise, Torterra, and Decidueye can target Slowking's lesser physical bulk to OHKO it. Additionally, setup variants of Torterra and Decidueye can take advantage of Slowking switching out by setting up with Swords Dance. Even some strong special Grass-types like Choice Specs Sceptile and Alolan Exeggutor can muscle by Slowking's great special bulk with their strong Leaf Storm, OHKOing it with ease. Although Slowking walls specially offensive Mega Abomasnow variants, physical ones with Wood Hammer can easily OHKO Slowking. However, none of these can switch into Slowking safely, as they all fear Fire Blast or Ice Beam.
**Dark-types**: Guzzlord switches into any Slowking lacking Ice Beam or Signal Beam with ease and can pressure it with its strong Dark Pulse. Incineroar dislikes Scald, but it can switch into Slowking's other moves fairly easily and force it out. Other frailer Dark-types like Sneasel, Houndoom, and Absol struggle to switch into Slowking, but they can take advantage of Slowking's low physical bulk by trapping it with Pursuit.
**Toxic**: Even though Slowking has Regenerator, Pokemon such as Slowbro, Xatu, and Delphox can easily Toxic stall Slowking due to their reliable recovery.
**Electric-types**: Heliolisk can pivot into Scald thanks to Dry Skin and pressure Slowking with Choice Specs-boosted Thunderbolt. Neither Rotom nor Vikavolt want to switch into anything from Slowking, but Vikavolt can OHKO Slowking with Savage Spin-Out, while Z-Move variants of Rotom can remove Slowking if chipped enough.
**Strong Physical Attackers**: Because of its average physical bulk, Pokemon such as Passimian, Braviary, and Medicham heavily pressure Slowking with their strong physical attacks.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Rabia, 336073]]
- Earlier versions by: [[Eternally, 295647]]
- Quality checked by: [[Espeonage., 395065], [quziel, 297859], [Eternally, 295647]]
- Grammar checked by: [[fleurdyleurse, 195877], [A Cake Wearing A Hat, 388157]]
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