[OVERVIEW]
Slowpoke is an interesting niche pick in RBY NU. It has access to the incredibly powerful combination of Thunder Wave and Amnesia, and its solid Water / Psychic typing lets it resist the plethora of Water-, Ice-, Fire-, and Psychic-type moves from attackers like Blastoise, Seadra, Charizard, and Venomoth. This provides it opportunities to spread paralysis and then boost with Amnesia, reapplying the Speed drop from paralysis and effectively raising its Speed, damage output, and special bulk all at once. This also ensures that it outspeeds foes even if they manage to paralyze it in return. Once boosted, Slowpoke becomes a decent attacker that can 3HKO most neutral targets at +2.
However, Slowpoke’s awful base stats cause it no end of problems - it is the slowest Pokemon in the entire game, and despite its high HP, it has only middling physical bulk and awful special bulk. It relies heavily on Amnesia to pad its longevity, but a critical hit Thunderbolt from foes like Mr. Mime, Clefable, and Electrode will quickly put it down. Slowpoke’s poor Special also limits it offensively - it can barely duel Mr. Mime even after a boost, and it’s unlikely to manage more than a single KO before being taken out. Slowpoke cannot realistically pull off Rest in most game states, unlike its evolved form, which limits it to one attempt to break through the opposing team. Still, Slowpoke can find setup chances against Blastoise and Seadra in particular, which can give it an opportunity to cause significant damage.
[SET]
name: Amnesia
move 1: Amnesia
move 2: Thunder Wave
move 3: Surf
move 4: Psychic / Rest
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Amnesia and Thunder Wave form the core of Slowpoke’s game plan, allowing it to hobble most foes before boosting in front of them. Surf and Psychic are useful STAB moves that allow it to cover most foes; at +2, it 2HKOes foes like Charizard, Venomoth, and Nidoking and 3HKOes neutral targets like Mr. Mime, Clefable, and Blastoise. Rest is an option over Psychic to stall out endgames against Pokemon like Blastoise and Seadra after paralyzing them, but it’s generally not usable early- to mid-game; Slowpoke risks allowing terrifying setup sweepers in for free and is unlikely to ever find a chance to wake if it’s forced out.
Slowpoke generally functions by coming in against Blastoise, Seadra, or Venomoth when Sleep Clause is active. It can then paralyze themand boost to break through. It can also come in freely after a teammate puts something to sleep, so Venomoth is a useful ally, but this risks an immediate wake, which leaves Slowpoke disadvantaged against foes like Clefable. Since Slowpoke baits in attackers that can remove it with Thunderbolt, allies like Nidoking and Golem that can punish these foes once they’re paralyzed are helpful. Slowpoke’s ability to break through the opposing team can provide space for teammates like Mr. Mime and Charizard to clean, or it can be used with several other Water-types to overwhelm defensive checks and provide space for allies like Blastoise, Seadra, and Kingler to finish the match.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/mrsoup.375193/
Grammar checked by:
Slowpoke is an interesting niche pick in RBY NU. It has access to the incredibly powerful combination of Thunder Wave and Amnesia, and its solid Water / Psychic typing lets it resist the plethora of Water-, Ice-, Fire-, and Psychic-type moves from attackers like Blastoise, Seadra, Charizard, and Venomoth. This provides it opportunities to spread paralysis and then boost with Amnesia, reapplying the Speed drop from paralysis and effectively raising its Speed, damage output, and special bulk all at once. This also ensures that it outspeeds foes even if they manage to paralyze it in return. Once boosted, Slowpoke becomes a decent attacker that can 3HKO most neutral targets at +2.
However, Slowpoke’s awful base stats cause it no end of problems - it is the slowest Pokemon in the entire game, and despite its high HP, it has only middling physical bulk and awful special bulk. It relies heavily on Amnesia to pad its longevity, but a critical hit Thunderbolt from foes like Mr. Mime, Clefable, and Electrode will quickly put it down. Slowpoke’s poor Special also limits it offensively - it can barely duel Mr. Mime even after a boost, and it’s unlikely to manage more than a single KO before being taken out. Slowpoke cannot realistically pull off Rest in most game states, unlike its evolved form, which limits it to one attempt to break through the opposing team. Still, Slowpoke can find setup chances against Blastoise and Seadra in particular, which can give it an opportunity to cause significant damage.
[SET]
name: Amnesia
move 1: Amnesia
move 2: Thunder Wave
move 3: Surf
move 4: Psychic / Rest
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Amnesia and Thunder Wave form the core of Slowpoke’s game plan, allowing it to hobble most foes before boosting in front of them. Surf and Psychic are useful STAB moves that allow it to cover most foes; at +2, it 2HKOes foes like Charizard, Venomoth, and Nidoking and 3HKOes neutral targets like Mr. Mime, Clefable, and Blastoise. Rest is an option over Psychic to stall out endgames against Pokemon like Blastoise and Seadra after paralyzing them, but it’s generally not usable early- to mid-game; Slowpoke risks allowing terrifying setup sweepers in for free and is unlikely to ever find a chance to wake if it’s forced out.
Slowpoke generally functions by coming in against Blastoise, Seadra, or Venomoth when Sleep Clause is active. It can then paralyze themand boost to break through. It can also come in freely after a teammate puts something to sleep, so Venomoth is a useful ally, but this risks an immediate wake, which leaves Slowpoke disadvantaged against foes like Clefable. Since Slowpoke baits in attackers that can remove it with Thunderbolt, allies like Nidoking and Golem that can punish these foes once they’re paralyzed are helpful. Slowpoke’s ability to break through the opposing team can provide space for teammates like Mr. Mime and Charizard to clean, or it can be used with several other Water-types to overwhelm defensive checks and provide space for allies like Blastoise, Seadra, and Kingler to finish the match.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/mrsoup.375193/
Grammar checked by:
Last edited:
