Metagame SS OU Metagame Discussion Thread v7 (Usage Stats in post #3539)

[BolTingBlazie]

So once spectrier and ttar are gone, do you think it is worth looking into kommo-o? It may be a worthwhile addition to ou after ttar goes, being another bulky psuedo with more setup options, recovery in drain punch, and being able to set up rocks. And hippowdon is just a bulkier sandstorm setter than ttar. Basically, everything tyranitar does is either outclassed by hippowdon, or kommo-o, am I correct?

 

[Jordy]

So once spectrier and ttar are gone, do you think it is worth looking into kommo-o? It may be a worthwhile addition to ou after ttar goes, being another bulky psuedo with more setup options, recovery in drain punch, and being able to set up rocks. And hippowdon is just a bulkier sandstorm setter than ttar. Basically, everything tyranitar does is either outclassed by hippowdon, or kommo-o, am I correct?

I don't think this could be much further from the truth. Tyranitar still has a lot of unique qualities; it's a good check to Dragapult, Heatran, and Galarian Slowking, keeps Stealth Rock up against most Defog users, and has a very diverse movepool that makes it quite punishing to switch into. I reckon Tyranitar will definitely get worse, but it will certainly not be entirely outclassed by either of these Pokemon.

Either way, this is not really the thread to discuss hypotheticals like this. Our time is better spent on the actuality of things.

 

[death dreigon]

So once spectrier and ttar are gone, do you think it is worth looking into kommo-o? It may be a worthwhile addition to ou after ttar goes, being another bulky psuedo with more setup options, recovery in drain punch, and being able to set up rocks. And hippowdon is just a bulkier sandstorm setter than ttar. Basically, everything tyranitar does is either outclassed by hippowdon, or kommo-o, am I correct?

Kommo is demolished by so many viable special atckers in the tier like tapu lele, dragapult,mage,koko, hydreigon, nidoking,tornt,etc. While it doesn't really checks anything notable and can be easily counterplayed . For a physical wall it loses to garchomp,dnite,gapdos. It gets walled by so many threats like clef,mage,fini,hippow,zapdos,etc that its not really worth using. And its only viable set faces stiff competition from garchomp which makes kommo a fringe pick so I don't see it getting better.

 

[Contrary Servine]

I’d like to share a Zeraora set I’ve been having some fun with.

Zeraora @ Choice Band
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 8 SpD / 248 Spe
Naive Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Close Combat
- Grass Knot
- Knock Off/Play Rough

So, with defensive mons like Blissey, Slowbro, Pex and Corv being common right now, Banded Plasma Fists destroys a good chunk of defensive cores OHKOing or 2HKOing all of the above. CC does more to Blissey and hits Ferro, Melmetal and Heatran for clean 2HKOs as well as OHKOing Excadrill and T-Tar. Grass Knot allows Zeraora to 2HKO Hippowdon the switch, while also hitting Pert and Gastro. The last move can be changed depending on the team, although I prefer Knock Off for mid-ground plays and item removal. Play Rough does hit a few things harder, though, most notably Chomp and Lando-T. Naive ensures the 2HKO on Hippo since it lowers Spdef rather than Spatk-you can run Hasty instead if you prefer, but Naive means you live two Sucker Punches from Ace.
Here is a list of the OU viable Pokémon Zeraora can’t 2HKO with this set:

Lando-T: Omnipresent but gets chipped down and doesn‘t like losing its item to Knock Off.
Spdef Hippodown: 192 Evs and a Spdef boosting nature are required to always live two Grass Knots after rocks.
Buzzwole: Hardly ever used in the post-Shifu meta, gets destroyed with future sight support.
Tangrowth: Rare and loses to CC with future sight up.
Amoongus : Rare, also loses to future sight.

(Let me know if I’ve missed something)
Choice Band Rillaboom can also come in, tank a CC and OHKO with Grassy Glide, but it can only do this once.

I’ve had great fun using this set on balance and BO, Slowbro makes for a great partner with Future Sight and Teleport. In many late game scenarios you can just click Plasma Fists and get a KO every time. Zeraora being the third fastest mon in the tier means it can also revenge kill things like Spectrier and Ace.

 

[kosecant]

I’d like to share a Zeraora set I’ve been having some fun with.

Zeraora @ Choice Band
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 8 SpD / 248 Spe
Naive Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Close Combat
- Grass Knot
- Knock Off/Play Rough

So, with defensive mons like Blissey, Slowbro, Pex and Corv being common right now, Banded Plasma Fists destroys a good chunk of defensive cores OHKOing or 2HKOing all of the above. CC does more to Blissey and hits Ferro, Melmetal and Heatran for clean 2HKOs as well as OHKOing Excadrill and T-Tar. Grass Knot allows Zeraora to 2HKO Hippowdon the switch, while also hitting Pert and Gastro. The last move can be changed depending on the team, although I prefer Knock Off for mid-ground plays and item removal. Play Rough does hit a few things harder, though, most notably Chomp and Lando-T. Naive ensures the 2HKO on Hippo since it lowers Spdef rather than Spatk-you can run Hasty instead if you prefer, but Naive means you live two Sucker Punches from Ace.
Here is a list of the OU viable Pokémon Zeraora can’t 2HKO with this set:

Lando-T: Omnipresent but gets chipped down and doesn‘t like losing its item to Knock Off.
Spdef Hippodown: 192 Evs and a Spdef boosting nature are required to always live two Grass Knots after rocks.
Buzzwole: Hardly ever used in the post-Shifu meta, gets destroyed with future sight support.
Tangrowth: Rare and loses to CC with future sight up.
Amoongus : Rare, also loses to future sight.

(Let me know if I’ve missed something)
Choice Band Rillaboom can also come in, tank a CC and OHKO with Grassy Glide, but it can only do this once.

I’ve had great fun using this set on balance and BO, Slowbro makes for a great partner with Future Sight and Teleport. In many late game scenarios you can just click Plasma Fists and get a KO every time. Zeraora being the third fastest mon in the tier means it can also revenge kill things like Spectrier and Ace.

Banded zeraora is really cool, but I'd still at least consider having volt switch as an option, pivot moves are super good on something as fast as zeraora, and it can help with being choice locked

 

[Roy]

I'm still not quite sure why were are suspect testing Spectrier before Magearna - though that isn't the point of this point - and I'm going to go ahead and get ahead of its (should be) inevitable suspect test.

We can all agree Specs, AV, TR, etc. are all sets that need to be dealt with appropriately - and they can be. These sets make Magearna a staple in OU on their own.

NOW, let's consider the most broken set since perhaps QD Pheromosa:

Magearna @ Leftovers
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Iron Defense
- Calm Mind
- Draining Kiss
- Stored Power

on a rain team (or most of the time even not!)

Let's assume rain is up for just 2 more turns. A completely reasonable assumption, and again isn't necessary most of the time.

1. The opponent has one of the following OU Pokemon out:

Blissey
Chansey
Slowking - Galar
Slowbro
Moltres
Rilaboom
Tornadus - Therian
Mandibuzz
Hawlucha
Kartana switched into/sent in after losing Pokemon when Kart is locked into Leaf Blade/Knock Off
Latios
Corvinight
Buzzwole
Tyranitar
non-specs Dragapult (or locked in Draco Meteor/Fire Blast)
Swampert
AV Magearna (or locked into specs -2 Fleur Cannon - which you can also switch into/send in after another one of your Pokemon dies)
Non-HJK or locked in Pyro Ball Cinderace
Hydreigon locked/switched into Draco Meteor, or Draco Meteor & Fire Blast after losing one of your own Pokemon
Pelipper

Many of these Pokemon will stay in. In that case, Magearna can begin setting up against one of these Pokemon with extremely low risk. Once they see you're this set, they will switch to their "counter." If their "counter" is a physical attacker, you will Iron Defense twice - once on the switch, and once after they use their physical move. If their "counter" is a special attacker, you will Calm Mind twice. Let's take a look at these "counters." Many of these Pokemon (generally the the walls) will oftentimes times stay in for one turn for a variety of reasons or purposely try to sac that Pokemon, but let's disregard those points for now.

2. The "counters" ONLY if they stay in and 1v1 Mag.

The biggest kicker: Magearna's health is brought back to 100% after killing these Pokemon and more often than not leads to an auto-win!

Zapdos
Specs Dragapult
Dragonite
Garchomp
Tapu Koko
Zapdos
Zapdos - Galar
Tapu Lele
Spectrier
non-CB Landorus

252 SpA Zapdos Discharge vs. +1 252 HP / 4 SpD Magearna: 76-90 (20.8 - 24.7%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
252 SpA Zapdos Discharge vs. +2 252 HP /4 SpD Magearna: 57-67 (15.6 - 18.4%) -- possible 6HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. +1 252 HP / 4 SpD Magearna: 97-115 (26.6 - 31.5%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. +2 252 HP / 4 SpD Magearna: 73-87 (20 - 23.9%) -- guaranteed 5HKO

252 Atk Dragonite Earthquake vs. +1 252 HP / 252+ Def Magearna: 98-116 (26.9 - 31.8%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252 Atk Dragonite Earthquake vs. +2 252 HP / 252+ Def Magearna: 74-88 (20.3 - 24.1%) -- guaranteed 5HKO

252 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Earthquake vs. +1 252 HP / 252+ Def Magearna: 140-166 (38.4 - 45.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO (Magearna can Draining Kiss to recover its health)

I'm not going to keep going. Just believe me that, when using the appropriate defense/special defense upping move on the switch - especially if they are a turn too late - they will be beaten and all of Mag's health will be recovered.


3. Pokemon that can counter, and this assumes they are at full health and not paralyzed - which often is not the case with a tiny bit of support.

Heatran
Ferrothorn
Toxapex
Barraskewda in rain (probably isn't switching into Magearna anyway, but Mag can handle if Barra switched in on +4 iron defense)
Excadrill
Roar Hippodown
Whirlwind Skarmory
Melmetal (can actually sometimes deal with AV set)
Nidoking (who is actually 63% of the time KO'd by Stored Power if you're looking to get rid of him)
Urshifu-Rapid-Strike can hit 4/5 times both times - otherwise loses and Mag recovers all of its health
Thunder Regielki (can sometimes beat and recover most of its health)
Volcarona
Tapu Fini
(Not including Tapu Lele because we aren't relying on multiple focus blasts hitting)

Only 31% of Pokemon (USING EXTREMELY CONSERVATIVE ASSUMPTIONS - THAT FIGURE IS IN REALITY MUCH LOWER, NOT TO MENTION THE OPPONENT NOT ACCOUNTING FOR EVERY OTHER SET THE ENTIRE GAME) can switch into Magearna and must do so immediately, or they are at serious risk to auto-lose. You can still auto-win in many cases against these "counters."

This set is so incredibly broken. I got to 1900 on the ladder clicking 1 button. There are so many factors that result in an auto-win, and your opponent must still account for other sets when facing it beforehand. It unequivocally should be banned.

 

[Pokeron]

Magearna @ Leftovers
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Iron Defense
- Calm Mind
- Draining Kiss
- Stored Power

[...]

This set is so incredibly broken. I got to 1900 on the ladder clicking 1 button. There are so many factors that result in an auto-win, and your opponent must still account for other sets when facing it beforehand. It unequivocally should be banned.

Just want to add to this: Try it with any team mate which provides screens, be it Grimmsnarl/Regieleki/whatever you want. And laugh, because you are guaranteed easy victories.

Also Life Orb Cinderace is kinda incredible powerful. I ran Zen Headbutt > U-Turn and it kinda doesn't care: Two or even three 120+ Moves with STAB is kinda insane.

Finally I can also attest to Zeraora being surprisingly effective: I know HDB is the most popular item, Choice Band is also a neat tech to guarantee knock out Toxapex. But with its ability Volt Absorb I really enjoy Life Orb on it. Wouldn't be surprised if it rises up in OU(viability)

 

[ausma]

Hey all, I'm glad you guys are experimenting with different options in the metagame, but I want to remind you all that this is not a thread to discuss ability and calculator semantics. If you'd like to discuss such subjects, please discuss it in DMs or in the OU Discord.

Additionally, please remember to make sure that your posts have substance and are not just one liners; we just recently had an announcement regarding it, which I implore that you read here. I fully encourage discussion about interesting meta picks, as well as metagame development as a whole, but please make sure that your posts have substance, have relevance to the metagame, and add something of value to discussion. I had to delete a decent amount of posts here, so let's try to minimize potential deletions as much as possible going forward.

Thank you, and happy discussing!

 

[Katy]

Hello guys,

there are 2 Pokemon in specific I want to talk about, first off I feel like really deserves some attention as it is currently an underrated but very viable threat in the current metagame. And second off I want to talk about a great Pokemon in as this Pokemon I feel is really good right now.

​

Dragapult is a really great Pokemon in the current metagame as it sets itself apart from a vast majority of Pokemon with an instant great speed tier of 142, which is enormous, its great typing also sets it apart from most Pokemon in Ou which is Ghost and Dragon and this typing is really great and alongside its STAB options it has great utility- and attacking-options.
The best Set I think is the Hex Set with either Will-O-Wisp or Thunder Wave as both its options have their individual merits, Will-O-Wisp cripples strong physicall attacker and Thunder Wave slows down an opposing team and furthermore hits Heatran so Dragapult has it way easier to not only Hex this down with a solid damage output, bit it can also help versus Cinderace, Volcarona, and Moltres.

Dragapult @ Leftovers / @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hex
- Draco Meteor
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave / Will-O-Wisp​

This set is currently the strongest and can take advantage of its naturally great Speed tier and its great utility options, which also allow it to U-turn out on threats which can check it, such as Blissey, Tapu Fini, Clefable, and the less common Aassault Vest Magearna. DRaco Meteoer coming from a decent Special Attack isn't a bad STAB either and hits plenty of Pokemon for a solid damage baring Steel- and Fairy-types. I feel this Pokemon is pretty solid and should be explored more and will shot up, after Spectrier gets banned as 1 of the main-Ghost-types to use in the OU tier.
On a sidenote: I also feel that and will make a return on many more OU teams and they really have potential when Spectrier left the building.

​

I think this Pokemon is really great in the Metagame with checking the ever dangerous Magearna and other specially attacking hard hitters such as Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Heatran, and Latios, which are not easy to switch into, but Slowking-Galar does that job pretty well, and therefore will stay in the OU tier as a Top Pokemon and Pivot in the tier. Future Sight enables it to force switchins and a more specific way to play around that, which is a really great tool to have in the arsenal. Furthermore it has plenty of coverage options to hit the entire OU tier for at least neutral damage. The Assault Vest Set is currently the best and with regenerator it isn't easy for teams to deal with it, especially not for the aforementioned Pokemon. Other options could be Black Sludge as it increases its longevity to a top level.

Slowking-Galar @ Assault Vest / @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 176 SpA / 80 SpD
Calm Nature
- Future Sight
- Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower
- Scald / Slack Off ​

Galarian Slowking benefits from the fact that its Sludge Bomb has a 30% Chance to poison incoming targets, which make it a difficult Pokemon to switch into. This Pokemon I feel is worth to explore more in the upcoming future with other Sets such as Nasty Plot and 2 Attacks with Slack Off or nasty Plot with 3 Attacks, which I feel can work on more offensive oriented teams, which appreciate a late-gamer cleaner.

I feel these 2 Pokemon in particular are worth a shot and Dragapult will cement itself as a great Ghost-type option in the tier and Galarian Slowking is an incredible defensive tool for teams in need of a check towards Magearna, Tapu Koko and Heatran.

Thank you for reading and I hope we can spread more discussion about these 2 fellas, as I feel their potential is really great. Have a great day everyone!​

 

[glava222]

Hello guys,

there are 2 Pokemon in specific I want to talk about, first off I feel like really deserves some attention as it is currently an underrated but very viable threat in the current metagame. And second off I want to talk about a great Pokemon in as this Pokemon I feel is really good right now.

​

Dragapult is a really great Pokemon in the current metagame as it sets itself apart from a vast majority of Pokemon with an instant great speed tier of 142, which is enormous, its great typing also sets it apart from most Pokemon in Ou which is Ghost and Dragon and this typing is really great and alongside its STAB options it has great utility- and attacking-options.
The best Set I think is the Hex Set with either Will-O-Wisp or Thunder Wave as both its options have their individual merits, Will-O-Wisp cripples strong physicall attacker and Thunder Wave slows down an opposing team and furthermore hits Heatran so Dragapult has it way easier to not only Hex this down with a solid damage output, bit it can also help versus Cinderace, Volcarona, and Moltres.

Dragapult @ Leftovers / @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hex
- Draco Meteor
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave / Will-O-Wisp​

This set is currently the strongest and can take advantage of its naturally great Speed tier and its great utility options, which also allow it to U-turn out on threats which can check it, such as Blissey, Tapu Fini, Clefable, and the less common Aassault Vest Magearna. DRaco Meteoer coming from a decent Special Attack isn't a bad STAB either and hits plenty of Pokemon for a solid damage baring Steel- and Fairy-types. I feel this Pokemon is pretty solid and should be explored more and will shot up, after Spectrier gets banned as 1 of the main-Ghost-types to use in the OU tier.

I think the choice specs set gives this set a run for it's money in the current meta, as it's faster than unscarfed spectrier and able to OHKO it with shadow ball, and a blissey dragapult core can stuff any spectrier set even without blissey running shadow ball, while still being very good at doing other stuff.

Since the only 2 mandatory moves on this set are draco and shadow ball, it is very customizable: u-turn can help with keeping momentum, scald OHKOes cinderace(and since dragapult's typing means it resists basically everything cinderace can throw out,and its great speed tier makes it able to break annoying uturn chains easily) and can help spread burn, hydro pump is a water move with more power, flamethrower makes kartana,rilla and ferro go away(again ghost/dragon is just such a nice typing for resisting grassy glides), thunderbolt helps deal with vincune very nicely, maybe hex if you got team support for it... the options are really limitless, and it makes specs really splashable on basically any team(it even learns solarbeam and thunder for the rare weather team).

The great thing about dragapult's speed tier is that it can afford to run a +spa nature while still outrunning opposing cinderace and spectriers' set up sets, which really helps its' punching ability. I do think a +spa nature is decent though since it helps a lot of those OHKO's happen, but it does leave you vulnerable to fully invested spectrier and other dragapult.

I do think katy's set will be best if spectrier gets banned, but for now I just gotta stan mah specs pult

 

[Goodbye & Thanks]

​

I think this Pokemon is really great in the Metagame with checking the ever dangerous Magearna and other specially attacking hard hitters such as Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Heatran, and Latios, which are not easy to switch into, but Slowking-Galar does that job pretty well, and therefore will stay in the OU tier as a Top Pokemon and Pivot in the tier. Future Sight enables it to force switchins and a more specific way to play around that, which is a really great tool to have in the arsenal. Furthermore it has plenty of coverage options to hit the entire OU tier for at least neutral damage. The Assault Vest Set is currently the best and with regenerator it isn't easy for teams to deal with it, especially not for the aforementioned Pokemon. Other options could be Black Sludge as it increases its longevity to a top level.

Slowking-Galar @ Assault Vest / @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 176 SpA / 80 SpD
Calm Nature
- Future Sight
- Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower
- Scald / Slack Off ​

Galarian Slowking benefits from the fact that its Sludge Bomb has a 30% Chance to poison incoming targets, which make it a difficult Pokemon to switch into. This Pokemon I feel is worth to explore more in the upcoming future with other Sets such as Nasty Plot and 2 Attacks with Slack Off or nasty Plot with 3 Attacks, which I feel can work on more offensive oriented teams, which appreciate a late-gamer cleaner.

I feel these 2 Pokemon in particular are worth a shot and Dragapult will cement itself as a great Ghost-type option in the tier and Galarian Slowking is an incredible defensive tool for teams in need of a check towards Magearna, Tapu Koko and Heatran.

I agree with what you wrote but I want to add that I feel like Galarian Slowking really should run, or at least consider, Earthquake, especially if you're relying on it to check Heatran. Without EQ, Galarian Slowking can get trapped and picked off by Heatran with Magma Storm + Earth Power/Protect. I prefer to run an AV set with Sassy 252 HP/+252 SpDef and Sludge Bomb/Future Sight/Scald/Earthquake, and it's so absurdly bulky on the special side that it almost acts like a lure for Heatran, but the set that you posted is good as well. Anyway, here are some calcs to show the difference between Scald damage from your set and an uninvested EQ versus Heatran:

176 SpA Slowking-Galar Scald vs. 252 HP / 128+ SpD Heatran: 112-134 (29 - 34.7%) -- 99.8% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Slowking-Galar Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 196-232 (50.7 - 60.1%) -- 82.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Obviously though, you do lose out on either Scald or Fire coverage with EQ on Galarian Slowking, so it's up to you and what your team needs, but I wanted to mention why EQ is fairly common to allow for Galarian Slowking to handle specially defensive Heatran with Magma Storm, since as you mentioned, that's one of the most notable things that Galarian Slowking is often trying to check.

 

[musiquepkmn]

I agree with what you wrote but I want to add that I feel like Galarian Slowking really should run, or at least consider, Earthquake, especially if you're relying on it to check Heatran. Without EQ, Galarian Slowking can get trapped and picked off by Heatran with Magma Storm + Earth Power/Protect. I prefer to run an AV set with Sassy 252 HP/+252 SpDef and Sludge Bomb/Future Sight/Scald/Earthquake, and it's so absurdly bulky on the special side that it almost acts like a lure for Heatran, but the set that you posted is good as well. Anyway, here are some calcs to show the difference between Scald damage from your set and an uninvested EQ versus Heatran:

176 SpA Slowking-Galar Scald vs. 252 HP / 128+ SpD Heatran: 112-134 (29 - 34.7%) -- 99.8% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Slowking-Galar Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 196-232 (50.7 - 60.1%) -- 82.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Obviously though, you do lose out on either Scald or Fire coverage with EQ on Galarian Slowking, so it's up to you and what your team needs, but I wanted to mention why EQ is fairly common to allow for Galarian Slowking to handle specially defensive Heatran with Magma Storm, since as you mentioned, that's one of the most notable things that Galarian Slowking is often trying to check.

Another mon I really like EQ on right now is the rarer Life Orb Latios. In the past, LO EQ Latios was mostly used as a gimmicky lure for Heatran when you didn't want to use Golem or something. However, now, EQ Latios has a lot more use with the rise of AV Slowking-Galar. It can also hit Magearna for an amount of damage comparable to Mystical Fire, and it hits even the AV sets for a 2HKO.

24 Atk Life Orb Latios Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 338-400 (87.5 - 103.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

24 Atk Life Orb Latios Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Slowking-Galar: 213-252 (54 - 63.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

24 Atk Life Orb Latios Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Magearna: 159-187 (52.8 - 62.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
( 232 SpA Life Orb Latios Mystical Fire vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Magearna: 187-221 (62.1 - 73.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO )

EQ hits many of the tier's special walls for pretty great damage. It's especially strong on LO 4 attacks sets, which has Aura Sphere or Mystical Fire last in order to smack Melmetal and Ferrothorn, who can wall EQ Roost + STAB sets. Of course, LO 4 attacks loses out on the longevity that is the draw of most LO sets, but the ability to invalidate some of Latios's best and most common walls definitely makes up for the lost moveslot. One could even pair this mon up with Volcarona, non-HJK Cinderace, or even the gimmicky sun teams to facilitate their breaking and sweeping abilities.

 

[Zneon]

Hi everyone, Katy mentioned Galarian Slowking in a great post so I figured to talk about it as well with a set that I've been loving.

Nasty Plot

Slowking-Galar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 212 HP / 252 SpA / 44 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower / Scald

Galarian Slowking is one of my favourite Pokemon to use because its just so consistent and effective and I've been using this set that people have been talking about and I think that Nasty Plot Galarian Slowking is really really good. This Pokemon just easily sets up on the stuff that it usually checks and takes advantage of, like Toxapex and Clefable very well, and after an NP it's pretty hard to wall it at all, especially Sludge Bomb. Sludge Bomb was already a complete nuisance to Pokemon with its AV set and at +2 it's even harder to deal with. Not only this, but because of Regenerator it can find opportunities to set them up while also not really losing much in return due to switching out and regenerating the damage off from hazards or an attack, also because of Regenerator, it can outlast stuff pretty easily, so Pokemon like Heatran, Garchomp and Landorus-T can be outlasted by Galarian Slowking, which would be able to check it, and Pokemon that don't get worn down so quickly will most likely be defensive, which is what Galarian Slowking is able to really well.

I feel Galarian Slowking has so much room for experimentation and I highly recommend you guys to use this set. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

 

[AM]

Not that this isn't something totally new as far as techs since I've seen it used by some but OST SS > SPL SS for neat techs like this.

Slowking used Whirlpool!
(The opposing Slowking lost 4% of its health!)
The opposing Slowking became trapped in the vortex!

The opposing Slowking used Future Sight!
The opposing Slowking foresaw an attack!

Slowking restored a little HP using its Black Sludge!
The opposing Slowking is hurt by Whirlpool!

Eventually the trapped G-King died to combination of Psychic, Slack Off, Whirlpool from the opposing G-King.

The OST games have been way more enjoyable to watch with people trying out new things and concepts. It was paired with Keldeo so it made sense on team structure.

 

[musiquepkmn]

Not that this isn't something totally new as far as techs since I've seen it used by some but OST SS > SPL SS for neat techs like this.

Slowking used Whirlpool!
(The opposing Slowking lost 4% of its health!)
The opposing Slowking became trapped in the vortex!

The opposing Slowking used Future Sight!
The opposing Slowking foresaw an attack!

Slowking restored a little HP using its Black Sludge!
The opposing Slowking is hurt by Whirlpool!

Eventually the trapped G-King died to combination of Psychic, Slack Off, Whirlpool from the opposing G-King.

The OST games have been way more enjoyable to watch with people trying out new things and concepts. It was paired with Keldeo so it made sense on team structure.

real gs would run EQ on this set to deal like 35% to the opposing slowking. That doesn't sound like much but seeing how common Gslowking wars are, being able to nullify the opponent's regenerator recovery is impactful for any special attackers in the back, or even for Slowking's attacks itself.

0 Atk Slowking-Galar Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Slowking-Galar: 124-146 (31.4 - 37%) -- 77.4% chance to 3HKO

 

[ausma]

Hello guys,

there are 2 Pokemon in specific I want to talk about, first off I feel like really deserves some attention as it is currently an underrated but very viable threat in the current metagame. And second off I want to talk about a great Pokemon in as this Pokemon I feel is really good right now.

​

Dragapult is a really great Pokemon in the current metagame as it sets itself apart from a vast majority of Pokemon with an instant great speed tier of 142, which is enormous, its great typing also sets it apart from most Pokemon in Ou which is Ghost and Dragon and this typing is really great and alongside its STAB options it has great utility- and attacking-options.
The best Set I think is the Hex Set with either Will-O-Wisp or Thunder Wave as both its options have their individual merits, Will-O-Wisp cripples strong physicall attacker and Thunder Wave slows down an opposing team and furthermore hits Heatran so Dragapult has it way easier to not only Hex this down with a solid damage output, bit it can also help versus Cinderace, Volcarona, and Moltres.

Dragapult @ Leftovers / @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hex
- Draco Meteor
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave / Will-O-Wisp​

This set is currently the strongest and can take advantage of its naturally great Speed tier and its great utility options, which also allow it to U-turn out on threats which can check it, such as Blissey, Tapu Fini, Clefable, and the less common Aassault Vest Magearna. DRaco Meteoer coming from a decent Special Attack isn't a bad STAB either and hits plenty of Pokemon for a solid damage baring Steel- and Fairy-types. I feel this Pokemon is pretty solid and should be explored more and will shot up, after Spectrier gets banned as 1 of the main-Ghost-types to use in the OU tier.
On a sidenote: I also feel that and will make a return on many more OU teams and they really have potential when Spectrier left the building.

​

I think this Pokemon is really great in the Metagame with checking the ever dangerous Magearna and other specially attacking hard hitters such as Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Heatran, and Latios, which are not easy to switch into, but Slowking-Galar does that job pretty well, and therefore will stay in the OU tier as a Top Pokemon and Pivot in the tier. Future Sight enables it to force switchins and a more specific way to play around that, which is a really great tool to have in the arsenal. Furthermore it has plenty of coverage options to hit the entire OU tier for at least neutral damage. The Assault Vest Set is currently the best and with regenerator it isn't easy for teams to deal with it, especially not for the aforementioned Pokemon. Other options could be Black Sludge as it increases its longevity to a top level.

Slowking-Galar @ Assault Vest / @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 176 SpA / 80 SpD
Calm Nature
- Future Sight
- Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower
- Scald / Slack Off ​

Galarian Slowking benefits from the fact that its Sludge Bomb has a 30% Chance to poison incoming targets, which make it a difficult Pokemon to switch into. This Pokemon I feel is worth to explore more in the upcoming future with other Sets such as Nasty Plot and 2 Attacks with Slack Off or nasty Plot with 3 Attacks, which I feel can work on more offensive oriented teams, which appreciate a late-gamer cleaner.

I feel these 2 Pokemon in particular are worth a shot and Dragapult will cement itself as a great Ghost-type option in the tier and Galarian Slowking is an incredible defensive tool for teams in need of a check towards Magearna, Tapu Koko and Heatran.

Thank you for reading and I hope we can spread more discussion about these 2 fellas, as I feel their potential is really great. Have a great day everyone!​

I'm definitely inclined to agree that Slowking-Galar is a rising threat, with even more sets to come. I am incredibly excited to see just how people make use of Slowking-Galar's really great movepool, as a ton of really cool options are being employed that it can make great use of thanks to its good power, natural bulk, and surprisingly great one-of-a-kind defensive typing. We've been seeing a lot of Slowking-Galar in SPL and it's able to cover a lot of bases, whether you need a good special wall, a Future Sight wallbreaker, a Nasty Plot wallbreaker, a bulky pivot. For sure it is worthy of all of the praise it's getting, and I imagine that if Spectrier leaves the tier, a lot less pressure will be put on it to conform to certain roles, and further encourage exploring its vast options.

To add onto the Nasty Plot Glowking discussion, I've used it a fair bit myself, and I can definitely say that it is a legitimate threat, and one that I imagine will become even stronger with time. However, I feel as though Glowking should be running Focus Blast as its primary coverage option nearly all of the time. This is because it is able to consistently nuke a majority of targets that are able to take on its dual STAB onslaught. Things like Ferrothorn, Melmetal, Heatran, and Tyranitar get beaten down by it, so long as you hit your blasts. Blissey hates it, too, and is very decisively 2hko'd by it, which is another major standout for it in comparison to its other coverage options.

--

I'd also like to stimulate a bit more discussion on Latios, a Pokemon that has been really awkward from the get go, but one that has a wealth of potential in the tier. What do you guys feel about it? What do you think is its best set?

While I don't think it's necessarily its best set (not by a long shot), I've had a lot of fun toying with this:

Latios (M) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Future Sight
- Ice Beam
- Aura Sphere
- Roost

It appears very awkward at a glance, and you are fair to think that; however, I think it is a wealth of fun and can be a really interesting enabler on Balance Offense teams in need of a good Speed tier, general purpose wallbreaker, and Fighting-/Ground-type check that doesn't need HDB to succeed. In my experience, Latios is a very cool Future Sight user because it is able to abuse its own Future Sight with its great coverage options, and also get them off with ease thanks to how potent it is at forcing switches. Ice Beam + Aura Sphere is a very effective coverage combo that covers quite a bit of bases in the tier, nuking Future Sight switch-ins like Mandibuzz, Tyranitar, and Ferrothorn, and reliably smashing Garchomp and Landorus-T. An Expert Belt lets Latios keep itself healthy without forcing Life Orb recoil (which Future Sight isn't even boosted by), however confirms vital 2hkoes against standard Mandibuzz and PhysDef Ferrothorn.

 

[SuperiorTroodon]

I'm definitely inclined to agree that Slowking-Galar is a rising threat, with even more sets to come. I am incredibly excited to see just how people make use of Slowking-Galar's really great movepool, as a ton of really cool options are being employed that it can make great use of thanks to its good power, natural bulk, and surprisingly great one-of-a-kind defensive typing. We've been seeing a lot of Slowking-Galar in SPL and it's able to cover a lot of bases, whether you need a good special wall, a Future Sight wallbreaker, a Nasty Plot wallbreaker, a bulky pivot. For sure it is worthy of all of the praise it's getting, and I imagine that if Spectrier leaves the tier, a lot less pressure will be put on it to conform to certain roles, and further encourage exploring its vast options.

To add onto the Nasty Plot Glowking discussion, I've used it a fair bit myself, and I can definitely say that it is a legitimate threat, and one that I imagine will become even stronger with time. However, I feel as though Glowking should be running Focus Blast as its primary coverage option nearly all of the time. This is because it is able to consistently nuke a majority of targets that are able to take on its dual STAB onslaught. Things like Ferrothorn, Melmetal, Heatran, and Tyranitar get beaten down by it, so long as you hit your blasts. Blissey hates it, too, and is very decisively 2hko'd by it, which is another major standout for it in comparison to its other coverage options.

--

I'd also like to stimulate a bit more discussion on Latios, a Pokemon that has been really awkward from the get go, but one that has a wealth of potential in the tier. What do you guys feel about it? What do you think is its best set?

While I don't think it's necessarily its best set (not by a long shot), I've had a lot of fun toying with this:

Latios (M) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Future Sight
- Ice Beam
- Aura Sphere
- Roost

It appears very awkward at a glance, and you are fair to think that; however, I think it is a wealth of fun and can be a really interesting enabler on Balance Offense teams in need of a good Speed tier, general purpose wallbreaker, and Fighting-/Ground-type check that doesn't need HDB to succeed. In my experience, Latios is a very cool Future Sight user because it is able to abuse its own Future Sight with its great coverage options, and also get them off with ease thanks to how potent it is at forcing switches. Ice Beam + Aura Sphere is a very effective coverage combo that covers quite a bit of bases in the tier, nuking Future Sight switch-ins like Mandibuzz, Tyranitar, and Ferrothorn, and reliably smashing Garchomp and Landorus-T. An Expert Belt lets Latios keep itself healthy without forcing Life Orb recoil (which Future Sight isn't even boosted by), however confirms vital 2hkoes against standard Mandibuzz and PhysDef Ferrothorn.

I agree that Latios is super good, but it has a hard time in ou. Its power and coverage means its a great wallbreaker that most mons cant switch into, but mons like blissey, mandibuzz, volcarona, dragapult and now especially spectrier give it just too much issue. If and when spectrier is banned, we may see a rise in something like expert belt Latios, but for now its best to run it scarfed. Also future sight is probably better for its bulkier sibling latias, so just stick to physic or psyshock. Also you're missing out on the nuking power of draco meteor, one of Latios' calling cards. For this reason I think using soul dew might be better than either life orb or expert belt. Latios is and mostly should be a nuke, but I can understand if people want to play around with his sets.

 

[Contrary Servine]

I'd also like to stimulate a bit more discussion on Latios, a Pokemon that has been really awkward from the get go, but one that has a wealth of potential in the tier. What do you guys feel about it? What do you think is its best set?

While I don't think it's necessarily its best set (not by a long shot), I've had a lot of fun toying with this:

Latios (M) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Future Sight
- Ice Beam
- Aura Sphere
- Roost

It appears very awkward at a glance, and you are fair to think that; however, I think it is a wealth of fun and can be a really interesting enabler on Balance Offense teams in need of a good Speed tier, general purpose wallbreaker, and Fighting-/Ground-type check that doesn't need HDB to succeed. In my experience, Latios is a very cool Future Sight user because it is able to abuse its own Future Sight with its great coverage options, and also get them off with ease thanks to how potent it is at forcing switches. Ice Beam + Aura Sphere is a very effective coverage combo that covers quite a bit of bases in the tier, nuking Future Sight switch-ins like Mandibuzz, Tyranitar, and Ferrothorn, and reliably smashing Garchomp and Landorus-T. An Expert Belt lets Latios keep itself healthy without forcing Life Orb recoil (which Future Sight isn't even boosted by), however confirms vital 2hkoes against standard Mandibuzz and PhysDef Ferrothorn.

I’ve seen a lot of cool Latios sets on ladder, it’s definitely a versatile option that you can do some fun stuff with. A lot of sets run Psyshock and/or Trick to beat Blissey and enable other special breakers. It obviously faces competition from Lele which can do much the same thing with Psyshock, but Latios has a superior speed tier and movepool to set it apart. In regards to SuperiorTroodon’s point about the nuking power of Draco Meteor, while it‘s definitely an important part of many Latios sets, the spatk drop can often make Latios set-up fodder for things like Magearna and CM Clef. And while Future Sight sets may lack bulk, the higher spatk means Future Sights will be much more powerful than those coming off Latias.

 

[theotherguytm]

WARNING: This idea came to me while I was half-asleep, so it might be completely terrible.

Has anyone tried Spectrier+Doom Desire/U-turn Jirachi?
Since Spectrier's checks are mostly Dark-types, FuturePort support doesn't do a whole lot for it. But with Doom Desire:
0 SpA Jirachi Doom Desire vs. 252 HP / 216+ SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 152-180 (37.6 - 44.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Spectrier Mud Shot vs. 252 HP / 216+ SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 98-116 (24.2 - 28.7%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery (3.1% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and min roll DD, 96.9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and max roll DD)

Yeah, that. Some other calcs vs Spectrier checks:
0 SpA Jirachi Doom Desire vs. 248 HP / 144 SpD Mandibuzz: 135-160 (31.9 - 37.8%) -- 94.5% chance to 3HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Spectrier Shadow Ball vs. 248 HP / 144 SpD Mandibuzz: 96-113 (22.6 - 26.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after all DD rolls (2HKO after rocks if boots are Knocked)
252 SpA Choice Specs Spectrier Hex (130 BP) vs. 248 HP / 144 SpD Mandibuzz: 155-183 (36.6 - 43.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after burn damage and all DD rolls (roll to OHKO after rocks if boots are Knocked)

0 SpA Jirachi Doom Desire vs. 164 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 165-195 (45 - 53.2%) -- 89.1% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery (though Jirachi takes 60+% from Dark Pulse and is usually outsped...)
252 SpA Choice Specs Spectrier Shadow Ball vs. 164 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 116-137 (31.6 - 37.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock, Leftovers recovery and min roll DD
252 SpA Choice Specs Spectrier Shadow Ball vs. 164 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 116-137 (31.6 - 37.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock and max roll DD

0 SpA Jirachi Doom Desire vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey: 117-138 (16.3 - 19.3%) -- possible 6HKO (ok, no lol)

Ok, so pros:
Choice Specs Spectrier can break Dark types with Doom Desire support, perhaps with a little SpA investment on Jirachi.
Doom Desire is stronger than Future Sight
Jirachi can use this setup to potentially pass Wishes
Spectrier is broken lol
Cons:
Jirachi and Spectrier stack weaknesses to these Dark-types
Jirachi may struggle to prevent the Dark types coming in on it, shutting down the strategy (though they have to beware U-turn, potentially Thunder Wave/Body Slam, a coverage move or, in Tyranitar's case, a possible Iron Head assault)
Blissey still stonewalls this pair
It's one of my ideas

Potential Jirachi set:
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Doom Desire
- U-turn
- Wish
- Protect/Iron Head/Body Slam
Any thoughts?

 

[Martin]

Has anyone tried Spectrier+Doom Desire/U-turn Jirachi?

I was actually using this earlier this week (with a different Rachi set to the one listed) and have been very happy with how much work Doom Desire has been putting in, even when it's not just helping Spectrier break. Just having a Future Sight clone that deals damage in a type that's not Psychic is super valuable if you have something that people often rely on Dark-types or frailer Magearna sets to respond to. I don't have any replays bc I don't make a habit of saving them, so please just take my word for it when I say it's been working fairly well so far, though as a disclaimer my experience has mostly been in mid ladder rather than upper ladder 'cuz I've not played that much recently.

The core I was using

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 124 HP / 224 SpA / 160 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Doom Desire
- U-turn
- Healing Wish

Spectrier @ Choice Specs
Ability: Grim Neigh
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Hex
- Will-O-Wisp
- Mud Shot

I think I prefer offensive Rachi here because it just hits that bit harder with Doom Desire while not being quite as passive, which is especially important if you have Spect in, though it could also just be a team dependent thing. You could probably run Heavy Duty Boots too if your team has Spikes issues, but I like Leftovers more personally and any boosting item isn't that useful when a lot of your damage will be coming from Doom Desire anyway.

The listed EVs always one-shot Nidoking with Psychic, which was very important for my team as it's one less thing for Ice Beam Nidoking to exploit/gives me a bit of freedom if I want to RK it with something other than Spectrier, while being fast enough to Healing Wish in front of unboosted Excadrill; you could get away with 184 Spe to outrun jolly Lando too, which is probably actually worthwhile bc then HW stops knocked scarf Lando U-turning in your face, and max Speed lets you U-turn in front of Obstagoon/Hydreigon, though both the Lando and max Speed benchmarks do eat into its bulk a bit. Don't go slower than Nidoking.

The other benefit of having heavy SpA investment is that it means you can bypass Tyranitar, Mandibuzz, etc. a lot more easily—two Specs Mud Shots + Doom Desire is enough to KO SpD Tar, meaning it can't switch in, and if Tar has at least one sleep turn of Rest left as it switches in, you can just spam a sleep-bolstered Specs Hex to 3HKO with the help of Doom Desire. Hydreigon just drops to 2 Shadow Balls or even unboosted Hexes with the help of Doom Desire, and Mandibuzz stops being a response once it's been burned. Also, if someone uses Obstagoon as their Spect response, it takes upwards of 67% from doom Desire, which coupled with burn/potential Helmet chip is going to really take its toll. Healing Wish is a very valuable tool for this set because it's another way of getting Spectrier in for free while also letting you play a bit more aggro with it/other attackers through the match.

Something I've theorised but haven't actually tested yet is running both Future Sight and Doom Desire on the same set and just changing which one you use according to the matchup. This does, however, mean you're sacrificing either a direct attacking move or another utility move for something that fills loosely the same role, and you could also just pair it with something like Slowbro for Future Sight support instead if you really wanted to go down the dual delay-chunker route.

I think Doom Desire will still be useful even once Spect is gone, as delayed breaking moves seem to be very valuable tools this gen and there are a lot of structures that people use to prep for Future Sight that then kinda struggle versus Doom Desire, though obviously, this is dependent on breakers being able to punish common Steel-type resists, which are definitely more common than Psychic responses. I think Rachi is very underexplored in this format, and I'd personally love to see more people experiment with sets other than the traditional Scarf/SpD sets—it's just a shame that it faces so much competition from Magearna.

 

[RufflesPro]

Since people are talking about Slowking-galar, I want to talk about how versatile its Assault Vest set can be, as I have been trying and experimenting a lot with the last coverage option of Slowking-galar.


Slowking-Galar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 176 SpA / 80 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Future Sight
- Flamethrower
- Scald / Hydro Pump / Earthquake / Power Gem / Icy Wind / Body Slam

Slowking has so many options that it can fit to suit the team's preferences. Luring, checking certain pokemon, or spreading certain status.

Scald and Hydro Pump are pretty explanatory. Scald is if you want to spread burns and Hydro Pump is if you wanna hurt bulky ground/fire types. More and more people have started to use Earthquake as their 4th move to lure and weaken Heatran.

Personally, I started using Power Gem as my last option on some of my teams that are weak to Volcarona, which is getting more and more common especially in high ladder. Power Gem actually is quite a decent check to Volcarona if you keep slowking healthy

176 SpA Slowking-Galar Power Gem vs. +1 0 HP / 0 SpD Volcarona: 188-224 (60.4 - 72%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Icy Wind is nice to lure in Garchomp / Lando-T which might switch on Slowking-galar, especially Garchomp since many Garchomps come in and SD on the forced switch, by Icy Wind completely neutralizes chomp.

Body Slam is what I've been using the most recently, it's really fun that can catch many off guard and cripple some of Slowking's checks. Garchomp and Heatran are common switchins for example that don't appreciate a para, or maybe even paralyze a Volcarona or a Magearna and neuter them. It's like scald but for paralysis.

There are more options, like Grass Knot, Foul Play, or just a good old Psychic/Psyshock, which all serve to do different things.

 

[gye5]

Since people are talking about Slowking-galar, I want to talk about how versatile its Assault Vest set can be, as I have been trying and experimenting a lot with the last coverage option of Slowking-galar.


Slowking-Galar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 176 SpA / 80 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Future Sight
- Flamethrower
- Scald / Hydro Pump / Earthquake / Power Gem / Icy Wind / Body Slam

Slowking has so many options that it can fit to suit the team's preferences. Luring, checking certain pokemon, or spreading certain status.

Scald and Hydro Pump are pretty explanatory. Scald is if you want to spread burns and Hydro Pump is if you wanna hurt bulky ground/fire types. More and more people have started to use Earthquake as their 4th move to lure and weaken Heatran.

Personally, I started using Power Gem as my last option on some of my teams that are weak to Volcarona, which is getting more and more common especially in high ladder. Power Gem actually is quite a decent check to Volcarona if you keep slowking healthy

176 SpA Slowking-Galar Power Gem vs. +1 0 HP / 0 SpD Volcarona: 188-224 (60.4 - 72%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Icy Wind is nice to lure in Garchomp / Lando-T which might switch on Slowking-galar, especially Garchomp since many Garchomps come in and SD on the forced switch, by Icy Wind completely neutralizes chomp.

Body Slam is what I've been using the most recently, it's really fun that can catch many off guard and cripple some of Slowking's checks. Garchomp and Heatran are common switchins for example that don't appreciate a para, or maybe even paralyze a Volcarona or a Magearna and neuter them. It's like scald but for paralysis.

There are more options, like Grass Knot, Foul Play, or just a good old Psychic/Psyshock, which all serve to do different things.

Why icy wind instead of ice beam

 

[RufflesPro]

Because I value the speed drop more than the damage. Things like Latios, Nidoking, and Hydreigon are way more crippled when they have a -1 speed, while also being useful vs. stuff like opposing Slowking-galar, Moltres, Zapdos Corvikinight, and Mandibuzz as you can outspeed them after 2-3 Icy Wind and come out in the 1v1 (especially with the conjunction of sludge bomb poison). Like I said only for certain teams. I'd rather use Power Gem or Body Slam 7/10 times.

 

[SuperiorTroodon]

Because I value the speed drop more than the damage. Things like Latios, Nidoking, and Hydreigon are way more crippled when they have a -1 speed, while also being useful vs. stuff like opposing Slowking-galar, Moltres, Zapdos Corvikinight, and Mandibuzz as you can outspeed them after 2-3 Icy Wind and come out in the 1v1 (especially with the conjunction of sludge bomb poison). Like I said only for certain teams. I'd rather use Power Gem or Body Slam 7/10 times.

That's a solid point, but ice beam is still a decent option. With it your guaranteed a kill on max health lando, have a good chance to ohko max health garchomp, and have a chance to two shot latios, zapdos and hydreigon, mons that without set-up cant even do much to slowking. Granted, the speed drop from icy wind is especially helpful in certain situations, like slowing down moltres, kartana and possibly heatran hoping for a free switch, so its up to personal preference, as both of these move are useful, yet compete with all the other moves on the set. This does prove though that g-slowking is not to be taken likely, as its versatility makes it tricky to work around.

 

[OneSmogonCopyer]

That's a solid point, but ice beam is still a decent option. With it your guaranteed a kill on max health lando, have a good chance to ohko max health garchomp, and have a chance to two shot latios, zapdos and hydreigon, mons that without set-up cant even do much to slowking. Granted, the speed drop from icy wind is especially helpful in certain situations, like slowing down moltres, kartana and possibly heatran hoping for a free switch, so its up to personal preference, as both of these move are useful, yet compete with all the other moves on the set. This does prove though that g-slowking is not to be taken likely, as its versatility makes it tricky to work around.

Why would you stay Glowking into those threats and why would Chomp or Lando-T come in on Glowking? Chomp could get burned by Scald and Lando-T could get poisoned by Sludge bomb making both of their jobs useless.