[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 4 onwards
**Price Range**: 13-14 points
**Overview**: Slowking is a strong defensive pivot, with key resistances from its Water typing, good defensive stats, and reliable recovery backed by Regenerator. It is very adept at positioning its offensive teammates due to Chilly Reception and its ability to occasionally force switches through its own offensive capabilities, having respectable special attacking stats and a surprisingly good movepool. It is, however, held back by crippling weaknesses to Dark and Ghost and its lower Defense and is thus harder to fit onto teams compared to other defensive Water-types.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Defensive Pivot**: Slowking has very good Special Defense and often uses this paired with its longevity to switch in multiple times a game to absorb special attacks and switch out into its offensive teammates. It can also spread burn and paralysis through Scald and Thunder Wave, respectively, allowing it to provide even more utility to its offensive partners. Something of note here is the ability to use Future Sight to help control what the opponent has to switch in, allowing the user of Slowking to apply even more pressure.
**Tank**: This role takes advantage of Slowking's strong Special Attack to deal lots of damage back to its opponents. With its vast amount of coverage, it will often have a move to be able to hit an offensive threat super effectively while still being able to withstand their hits. These sets prefer items that help make up for the lack of defensive EV investment, such as resistance Berries and Assault Vest. However, Heavy-Duty Boots can still be valuable due to the ubiquitous nature of hazards.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Scald, Surf, Hydro Pump, Future Sight, Psychic, Psyshock, Psychic Noise
**Setup Moves**: Calm Mind, Iron Defense, Amnesia, Nasty Plot
**Utility Moves**: Chilly Reception, Slack Off
**Coverage**: Flamethrower, Power Gem, Ice Beam, Foul Play, Grass Knot, Shadow Ball, Blizzard, Fire Blast, Focus Blast
Niche Moves
========
**Trick Room**: Slowking can do one of two things with Trick Room. It can either pivot into its teammates, allowing them to sweep, or it can set Trick Room for itself with damage-boosting options like Life Orb and Nasty Plot.
**Stored Power**: This is a rare but fun option on a Slowking set that uses both Calm Mind and Iron Defense to brutalize opponents. Setting this up, however, is very difficult.
Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: The quintessential item of any Regenerator pivot, Heavy-Duty Boots allows Slowking to maintain a consistent presence throughout the game in the face of entry hazards. The item works on almost any imaginable Slowking set that could be faced with hazards, as almost every Slowking set is expected to come in multiple times per game. This comes at the cost of passive recovery, but more often than not the effect of this will be negligible.
**Resistance Berries**: These allow Slowking to stay in on pivotal turns to either finish off an opposing threat or safely bring in another teammate with Chilly Reception. The most notable of these is Colbur Berry, as it mitigates Slowking's weakness to Knock Off.
Niche Items
========
**Assault Vest**: Notable on tank sets, this boosts Slowking's already high Special Defense to astronomical levels to check opposing special attackers even better, trading Chilly Reception and other utility for more coverage.
**Leftovers**: Leftovers should only be run when Slowking will not be faced with entry hazards or if it is absolutely necessary to achieve favorable rolls.
**Damage-boosting Items**: While primarily a defensive Pokemon, Slowking's respectable offensive stats mean that it can benefit well from an item like Choice Specs in the correct matchups. Life Orb can also be viable on Trick Room sets where Slowking is intended to be the main Trick Room attacker.
**Rocky Helmet**: Slowking's usable Defense stat allows it to occasionally use Rocky Helmet to punish physical attackers.
Tera
========
Slowking is not a very effective user of Tera, as its natural typing will often be more than enough in most matchups. However, (add comma) if you so choose, Slowking benefits from Tera types that allow it to neutralize its weaknesses such as Fairy, Grass, and Poison, the latter of which also gives it a Poison immunity. You may also use either Tera Water or Psychic to boost its STAB moves on offensive sets, as Slowking's excellent natural coverage rarely necessitates a different Tera type.
Draft Strategy
========
Slowking is primarily a bulky pivot and thus fits well on teams that benefit from its longevity and defensive profile. Pairing it with strong attackers is vital, as it is able to support them well with its ability to pivot and spread status. Defensively, having options to help support its common weaknesses, such as its crippling Knock Off weakness, will also increase its effectiveness.
**Wincons**: As a primarily defensive Pokemon, Slowking will often not be able to close out games on its own, preferring to support powerful cleaners and wallbreakers that appreciate its toolkit. Faster threats like Meowscarada and Iron Valiant and heavy hitters like Enamorus and Kyurem are always useful. Kyurem in particular benefits from the Defense boost given by snow set by Slowking's Chilly Reception.
**Defensive Partners**: Slowking is often unable to be a team's sole defensive threat, with notable weaknesses to Dark and Ghost separating it from many of the other bulky Water-types that are commonplace on many teams. Partners like Ting-Lu, Mandibuzz, and even Zarude can help to lift this pressure. Slowking also likes physically bulky Pokemon like Great Tusk to help support its own lower Defense stat. It is also very good at supporting Ice-weak Pokemon like Landorus-T and Gliscor.
**Entry Hazard Removal**: While Slowking is comfortable running Heavy-Duty Boots in most matchups, strong hazard removal options such as Corviknight and Great Tusk can enable it to run other items effectively when needed.
Checks and Counters
========
**Wallbreakers**: While Slowking has respectable overall bulk, it is vulnerable to many physical and special wallbreakers such as Urshifu-S, Chi-Yu, and Kyurem due to its many notable weaknesses.
**Knock Off**: Compared to many other bulky Water-types, Slowking has a relatively unique weakness to Knock Off, which is even more threatening when paired with its relatively poor Defense.
**Entry Hazards**: If Slowking has lost or forgone Heavy-Duty Boots, its usefulness decreases drastically in the face of hazards, as they limit its healing from Regenerator.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/celestiial.613399/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/olivia.620359/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/nyx.564960/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/aurora.109385/
**Draft Order**: Round 4 onwards
**Price Range**: 13-14 points
**Overview**: Slowking is a strong defensive pivot, with key resistances from its Water typing, good defensive stats, and reliable recovery backed by Regenerator. It is very adept at positioning its offensive teammates due to Chilly Reception and its ability to occasionally force switches through its own offensive capabilities, having respectable special attacking stats and a surprisingly good movepool. It is, however, held back by crippling weaknesses to Dark and Ghost and its lower Defense and is thus harder to fit onto teams compared to other defensive Water-types.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Defensive Pivot**: Slowking has very good Special Defense and often uses this paired with its longevity to switch in multiple times a game to absorb special attacks and switch out into its offensive teammates. It can also spread burn and paralysis through Scald and Thunder Wave, respectively, allowing it to provide even more utility to its offensive partners. Something of note here is the ability to use Future Sight to help control what the opponent has to switch in, allowing the user of Slowking to apply even more pressure.
**Tank**: This role takes advantage of Slowking's strong Special Attack to deal lots of damage back to its opponents. With its vast amount of coverage, it will often have a move to be able to hit an offensive threat super effectively while still being able to withstand their hits. These sets prefer items that help make up for the lack of defensive EV investment, such as resistance Berries and Assault Vest. However, Heavy-Duty Boots can still be valuable due to the ubiquitous nature of hazards.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Scald, Surf, Hydro Pump, Future Sight, Psychic, Psyshock, Psychic Noise
**Setup Moves**: Calm Mind, Iron Defense, Amnesia, Nasty Plot
**Utility Moves**: Chilly Reception, Slack Off
**Coverage**: Flamethrower, Power Gem, Ice Beam, Foul Play, Grass Knot, Shadow Ball, Blizzard, Fire Blast, Focus Blast
Niche Moves
========
**Trick Room**: Slowking can do one of two things with Trick Room. It can either pivot into its teammates, allowing them to sweep, or it can set Trick Room for itself with damage-boosting options like Life Orb and Nasty Plot.
**Stored Power**: This is a rare but fun option on a Slowking set that uses both Calm Mind and Iron Defense to brutalize opponents. Setting this up, however, is very difficult.
Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: The quintessential item of any Regenerator pivot, Heavy-Duty Boots allows Slowking to maintain a consistent presence throughout the game in the face of entry hazards. The item works on almost any imaginable Slowking set that could be faced with hazards, as almost every Slowking set is expected to come in multiple times per game. This comes at the cost of passive recovery, but more often than not the effect of this will be negligible.
**Resistance Berries**: These allow Slowking to stay in on pivotal turns to either finish off an opposing threat or safely bring in another teammate with Chilly Reception. The most notable of these is Colbur Berry, as it mitigates Slowking's weakness to Knock Off.
Niche Items
========
**Assault Vest**: Notable on tank sets, this boosts Slowking's already high Special Defense to astronomical levels to check opposing special attackers even better, trading Chilly Reception and other utility for more coverage.
**Leftovers**: Leftovers should only be run when Slowking will not be faced with entry hazards or if it is absolutely necessary to achieve favorable rolls.
**Damage-boosting Items**: While primarily a defensive Pokemon, Slowking's respectable offensive stats mean that it can benefit well from an item like Choice Specs in the correct matchups. Life Orb can also be viable on Trick Room sets where Slowking is intended to be the main Trick Room attacker.
**Rocky Helmet**: Slowking's usable Defense stat allows it to occasionally use Rocky Helmet to punish physical attackers.
Tera
========
Slowking is not a very effective user of Tera, as its natural typing will often be more than enough in most matchups. However, (add comma) if you so choose, Slowking benefits from Tera types that allow it to neutralize its weaknesses such as Fairy, Grass, and Poison, the latter of which also gives it a Poison immunity. You may also use either Tera Water or Psychic to boost its STAB moves on offensive sets, as Slowking's excellent natural coverage rarely necessitates a different Tera type.
Draft Strategy
========
Slowking is primarily a bulky pivot and thus fits well on teams that benefit from its longevity and defensive profile. Pairing it with strong attackers is vital, as it is able to support them well with its ability to pivot and spread status. Defensively, having options to help support its common weaknesses, such as its crippling Knock Off weakness, will also increase its effectiveness.
**Wincons**: As a primarily defensive Pokemon, Slowking will often not be able to close out games on its own, preferring to support powerful cleaners and wallbreakers that appreciate its toolkit. Faster threats like Meowscarada and Iron Valiant and heavy hitters like Enamorus and Kyurem are always useful. Kyurem in particular benefits from the Defense boost given by snow set by Slowking's Chilly Reception.
**Defensive Partners**: Slowking is often unable to be a team's sole defensive threat, with notable weaknesses to Dark and Ghost separating it from many of the other bulky Water-types that are commonplace on many teams. Partners like Ting-Lu, Mandibuzz, and even Zarude can help to lift this pressure. Slowking also likes physically bulky Pokemon like Great Tusk to help support its own lower Defense stat. It is also very good at supporting Ice-weak Pokemon like Landorus-T and Gliscor.
**Entry Hazard Removal**: While Slowking is comfortable running Heavy-Duty Boots in most matchups, strong hazard removal options such as Corviknight and Great Tusk can enable it to run other items effectively when needed.
Checks and Counters
========
**Wallbreakers**: While Slowking has respectable overall bulk, it is vulnerable to many physical and special wallbreakers such as Urshifu-S, Chi-Yu, and Kyurem due to its many notable weaknesses.
**Knock Off**: Compared to many other bulky Water-types, Slowking has a relatively unique weakness to Knock Off, which is even more threatening when paired with its relatively poor Defense.
**Entry Hazards**: If Slowking has lost or forgone Heavy-Duty Boots, its usefulness decreases drastically in the face of hazards, as they limit its healing from Regenerator.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/celestiial.613399/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/olivia.620359/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/nyx.564960/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/aurora.109385/
Last edited:
