Why Speed Isn't Everything - The Slowbro Theorem

[@Missiletainn]

Chilly Reception doesn't have negative priority, it's just exclusively on the Slows so always goes last

[@sh0shin]

Pretty important in trick room where teleport would still go last for instance but yeah

[@Dabrick47]

What did the ice man say to the bird boy? Stay COOL!!!😂😂😂 😅🌨️

[@nullpoint3346]

Can we get a Stakataka vs Slowbro match to confirm?

[@laprasrules12]

Its actually only on both Slowkings. The bros get nothing

[@oopsie-dazy]

​@@laprasrules12 Which makes it ironic that the theorem is named after Slowbro, since king is the bigger benefactor while bro fell off without Teleport in gen 9

[@PedroHenrique-mk5zi]

I find funny how the rebuttal to the Deoxys Theorem took 1 year to arrive. Slowbro takes things slowly, true to its name.

[@DarkSymphony777]

Reminds me of a thread post where a guy said he would wait a year to finish a reply Then on a year to the day, DID

[@shimogane2474]

iits not named fastbro its slowbro science after all

[@Nameless_mixes]

Slowbro uses Internet Explorer

[@justaperson8381]

Merry christmas

[@mrmeu3480]

​@@DarkSymphony777 you would have been memorable if you took a year to finish this story

[@freddyP300]

"Domain Expansion Trick Room. Now you're too slow, bro." - Slowbro 2006

[@jamieweir645]

The infamous Saturo Slowjo 😎

[@FirstlyMe]

Opponent: 1809+ speed

[@polarissolaris-q3x]

Regieleki: Nah, I'd outspeed.

[@armorbearer9702]

@@jamieweir645 Are you Saturo Slowjo cause you're the slowest, or are you Saturo Slowjo because you are the slowest?

[@FirstlyMe]

@@armorbearer9702 nah Are u regiyomen elekuna cuz ur the fastest? Or are you the fastest cuz you’re regiyomen elekuna?

[@njivwathomassilavwe2056]

Everyone is gangster until trick room goes up

[@XanXinGames]

Until they get hit with a prankster

[@Ben-jl2rh]

Regileki don't give af

[@tomatogenesis]

Regieleki while everyone moves in slow motion: "Oh no, anyway-"

[@BlackHanzo]

My Hisuian Goodra can handle it

[@epicwuexcaliburumbra1736]

@@XanXinGamesyeah untill psy terrain is up.

[@donkarasu-9644]

Remembering how certain players would have Groudon/Kyogre slower on purpose to override the other weather Pokemon's, well, weather.

[@natnew32]

That was a lot more specific because it was only relevant on the first turn.

[@RaventhortheWarrior]

​@natnew32 but that's VERY relevant in vgc

[@konbkob4156]

Even to the point of using Level 49 Groudon

[@BEEEES]

​@@konbkob4156 and then level 48 kyogre

[@wonderfulrose477]

@@BEEEESand then level 47 groudon

[@sekaihunter9378]

The Slowbro and Slowking family are such CHADs that: - They have always stayed competitive ever since their debuts all the way in Gen 1 and Gen 2 (never fall below RU while the frauds Snorlax and Tauros went to ZU and Untiered) - Oblivious to all forms of power creeps, always grinding in the gym to become their better selves (Regenerator in Gen 5, Mega Slowbro in Gen 6, Teleport in Gen 8, Chilly Reception in Gen 9) - Are so CHAD that the only one who could power creep their roles are their cousin in Galar!

[@Miguel_I_guess]

Slow regen pivot, another water type comes to mind (dr tox)

[@SolaricAngel116]

What happened in Gen 7?

[@YourHumbleNarrator]

@SolaricAngel116 Being one of the best pokemon in lgpe ou count?

[@onebear6504]

​​@@SolaricAngel116 Toxapex

[@sephikong8323]

But ....... Slowking and Slowbro have both been NU at least once though. Slowking was NU in Gen 4 and Slowbro was NU in Gen 7

[@brandontherabboat4850]

I’m ngl, I’m REALLY glad that there’s a bunch of moves, Abilities, Pokémon and viable strategies that hinge on you being slower that your opponent. It just shows that higher numbers aren’t the end-all be-all.

[@reginaldkelly5962]

But they are. As trick room is making the lower number the "higher stat" in this instance

[@PauloHenrique-op9zw]

Remember "Why Stats aren't Everything or The Quagsire Theorem"? This game is more than "I do bazillion damage, I win"

[@lvl5Vaporeon]

I like thinking slowbro becomes the flash and gains alakazams IQ under trick room; then proceeding to spout the most unhinged philosophical hot takes during those 5 turns.

[@dylanbuchanan6511]

I always thought slowking was like that while its brother Slowbro was the um…slow one

[@nullpoint3346]

Technically Slowpoke is the smartest of them but cannot use it because there is too much, Slowbro and Slowking are more active and aware because the pain of the "Shellder" bite forces them to prioritize what is immediately around them rather than perceiving everything all at once.

​@@nullpoint3346Was that not just a fan theory?

[@nullpoint3346]

It's still in Head canon territory, but it has more canonical support than you'd expect.

[@Mikescool444]

So he basically becomes Xavier?

[@singingcrow439]

Mons with weather setting abilities also benefit from being slower because if they enter the same turn as an opposing weather setter, the faster mons ability activates first, only for their weather to be canceled out by the slower one. This means being slower is an advantage as you can get your weather up while preventing theirs.

[@skeetermania3202]

This also applies to terrains. This interaction is also most common in VGC, and it’s one of the main reasons Torkoal is such a menace there.

[@nullpoint3346]

Almost makes weather fusions worth considering, real world weather can be pretty crazy. Raining _upwards_ in a plain biome is just the beginning.

[@sephikong8323]

​@nullpoint3346 That's how you create Acid Rain you fool

[@spunchbob.]

Slowbro and Deoxys-S confirmed beef?!

[@sekaihunter9378]

​@HieuMai-go1cx and I'm imagining Slowking coming out of the shed to defend his bro, forcing Deoxys-S to call for help from his other forms.

[@Mashu-tw7yf]

Slowbro: im sped naow

[@Afrochilla]

@HieuMai-go1cxIt'll start as a friendly fade, then Slowbro will out Deoxys as a sex offender that is truly not like us. Craziest rap beef of 2025 get ready for it.

[@therickestmaverick2713]

Them psycho boost getting neutralized I can only watch in silence. The famous lead we once knew just got paralyzed and I'm smiling. You spiking just like a degenerate the uber council think you might be distasteful. I calculate you not as calculated I can even predict your angle. Fabricating lies on the smogon forms cause you hate scarf darkrie.

[@Mr-rr5qw]

I'd like to imagine how the beef started was Deoxy's S showing off his speed and then Slowbro just sets up trick room, that's it

[@Nadid_Dhrabb]

"You can consider this video to be SLOW CINEMA" I see you BKC

[@darklightning2730]

I’m surprised he didn’t talk about Aegislash, as in that video, he acknowledged how great going second was.

[@hosni4064]

and not a single mention of Stakataka, probably THE modern face of trick room.

[@june9914]

@@hosni4064*faces of trick room. Stackattacka is made of a bunch of,,, attackas? I think

[@skeetermania3202]

@@hosni4064Well, after Cresselia.

[@dhans9662]

And with 150 offense stats even if he had to go first he had a decent chance of an OHKO

[@mistahanansi2264]

FSG: “Speed isn’t everything.” **GYRO BALL liked that**

[@HMZeroTwo]

I had a feeling this would come out, after all speed is ALMOST everything

[@IndigoZacc]

Taking Slowking even further beyond - I made a kinda goofy gen 9 trick room singles team, and my Slowking was the trick room setter. Chilling reception does not have lower priority like teleport does, and the slows dont have teleport in gen 9. This means after Trick Room is set, Slowking would normally go first with Chilling Reception the following turn. To ensure that the Chilling Reception instead went second, I used a Lagging Tail, allowing something like an Assault Vest Iron Hands or a Guts-Flame Orb-Facade Ursaluna getting in safely so they can immediately get to work with the remaining 3 turns of Trick Room.

[@12jswilson]

In draft, I suggested lagging tail tailwind uturn Whimsicott to a buddy and he's used the strategy multiple times to great success.

[@gaster666_]

I think we all must now agree that speed is the single most important stat in pokemon, whether high or low

[@RandalfElVikingo]

HP is the most important, without it you lose.

[@jonahbrown5669]

​@@RandalfElVikingo I can't tell if this is a bait

[@RandalfElVikingo]

@@jonahbrown5669 If you think about it, every stat is constructed around reducing or preserving HP. Every win condition is based on who has more HP at the end of the battle, so it is the most important.

[@nullpoint3346]

@@jonahbrown5669 HP is the win condition. The amount doesn't matter, so long as it is not zero, you "can" still win. In Yu-Gi-Oh, the only life point that matters is the last one. (Unless you're in a shadow game with ontological inertia, then you just die when the game ends.)

[@noukan42]

One thing i noticed is that a "mid" speed is far worse than low speed because you still won't outspeed anything relevant, are worse in trick room, and are wasting BST that was better off in any other stat...

[@Connowot387]

Can’t wait for the Regieleki Theorem: Why Trick Room isn’t everything (and why it can be ignored if you’re fast enough).

[@DarkSymphony777]

Always been confused about regileki and trick room. Mind explaining?

[@drunkidiot8364]

If I am not mistaken the gist of it was that the trick room operates on a formula that subtracts the speed value (-10k I think), and then makes it a positive number, what that does is that the smaller numbers from the slowest pokemon turns into a very negative number that later becomes a big positive number thus reversing the turn order, but since regieleki is so friggin fast his number remains positive even after subtraction wich makes him still the fastest pokemon in the order

[@cross-layered8538]

@@DarkSymphony777regieleki is so absurdly fast that due to how tricky room works, it’s speed stat overflows and ends up still faster than everything out regardless. I’d recommend looking up a video, it’s really interesting.

[@mr.sniffly5297]

⁠@@DarkSymphony777because of the way the game calculates trick room turn order, Regieleki can get a high enough speed stat that it still goes first in it’s priority bracket. Specifically, Trick Room converts speed stats to (10000-(og speed)), but 8191 is the maximum possible speed value before it reverts back to 0. Most pokemon have less than 1809 speed, so their trick room speed is “reset” after passing the 8191 mark and looks like a somewhat normal amount. However, Regieleki with speed investment and a couple boosts from Agility can reach 2192 speed, so it’s trick room speed can be in the 7000s

[@nullpoint3346]

@@DarkSymphony777 Without giving the math. Regieleki is fast enough that Trick Room makes it _faster than naturally possible._

[@justinnzamora5366]

TFW speed is NOT key and slow and steady can win the race. I'm glad that Pokémon such as Slowbro, Slowking, Ferrothorn, and Reuniclus can thrive despite their slow speed.

[@nullpoint3346]

Speed is almost everything, but nobody said that you had to be _fast._

[@prof.reuniclus21]

@@nullpoint3346this, it’s all about minmaxing. If you’re bulky and strong you can take a hit and deal MASSIVE damage, and priority doesn’t matter.

[@redwings13400]

Very generally speaking, the bulkier you are, the more you can afford going second, and bulky pivots actively want to go second. If you're frail though, you'd better be going first, otherwise you're in trouble. Also, wow, I had no idea about gen 2 phasing mechanics, that's hilarious. I never thought Raikou would want a set that would lower its speed.

[@justindekoning9988]

Another great example of this is the occasinal instances steelix was actually used in Gen 4 OU. It exceled at compa ting roles. Like it could rocks, explode, constantly switch into twaves and toxics, if you gave it an iron ball with 0 speed investment it could also be trickroom and trick punish while getting the benfit having 150 power gyro balls agaisnt a lot of targets. Straight up OHKO'd most latias and did 50% to Rotom

[@YourHumbleNarrator]

We need a How GREAT was Slowbro actually

[@xeruexe1624]

You forgot to mention the impact of speed on the weather wars, which had huge impacts on the turbulent Generation 5 competitive scene, but also on the Gen 6 to 7 Unrestricted VGCs. Since the faster setter lost their weather to the slower one, players were trying to set their speed to beat the other setter, but not too slow to be a liability when facing other Pokémon. This was especially true with the Primal VGCs, as Kyogres and Groudons specced each other to be slower than the opposing weather setter. I also think this is the reason why ultimately the Ray-ogre core gained an advantage, as Rayquaza Mega Evolving AFTER the weather has been set makes it unconcerned about speed ties with the other two weather legendaries.

[@daphenomenalz4100]

Chilly Reception is a such a funny move lol, it's literally a japanese joke 😂 Also, the animation lmao

[@manicornianfilmis6874]

Stakataka is good at representing this therom as once it gets trick room, it can snowball out of control, and it has great bulk. It can even use a focus sash to live fighting or ground moves just in case

[@Hax_R_Us]

0:39 I just love when I can hear BKC through the script

[@bladedasher]

Bkc sneaking "slow cinema" into the script sent me, this video makes me wanna use forretress and ferrothorn now

[@snapclub8751]

I’ve never seen such a horrifying Slowbro in my life. 😱

[@wzrdchkn]

This could still be considering speed being everything…considering it’s still a video on how GOOD speed is. Now, if the first video was why “going first” was everything-then you could make an argument

[@paganiniishere]

11:58 Articuno used Roar. Suicune : No U

[@Nyadlabaoth]

slow cinema reference? no kidding BKC writes these

[@yati426]

6:44 The pokeball has scizor written over it

[@shun1255]

I thought that the Slowbro Theorem was the idea that no matter who you fall in love with, there would always be some dissenters towards who you are because that's who people were.

[@lick1330]

Ferrothorn can cope all he wants. Love is love

[@june9914]

How HOMOPHOBIC was Ferrothtorn actually?

[@ryangallagher9723]

least esoteric competitive pokemon joke

[@mr.cauliflower3536]

Losing speed ties or not, The way I see it, Kyogre is surrounded. What's under the ocean? That's right, more earth.

[@skeetermania3202]

Another example which is applicable to VGC is with Incineroar. If paired with another Intimidator with a switch move (like Landorus-T), you can have this interaction: Turn 0: Both opponents will be at -2 attack from both Intimidates Turn 1: Lando-T uses U-turn and switches out, then Incineroar moves after the opponents and brings Lando-T back in for another Intimidate. If Parting Shot was used, one of those Pokémon will be left with -4 Attack and -1 Sp Atk at the end of the turn, while the other is left with -3 Attack. This is all enabled because Incineroar is as slow as it is.

[@RandomGuy-us9go]

Ditto also wants to underspeed opposing ditto so they dont transform and keep more pp on the move, effectively meaning you get a win-win scenario where the opponent switches out their ditto and you immediatly transform, or they stay in and burn 5 pp before you burn 16 of your own transform, making them use struggle several turns before you

[@dragonflarefrog1424]

I would be shocked if this video did not mention wobbuffet.

[@BotSupportIronValiant]

No mention of the weather wars where VGC players brought in level 49 Groudon to set up Sun

[@Wither64]

never knew my favorite pokémon had an entire theorem named after it, really great video!!

[@seisveintiocho-x9e]

It did not. These names are made up for these videos. Anyone can make them up. "Why poison is something, the Weedle Theorem"

[@Wither64]

@@seisveintiocho-x9e oh rip

[@vannsylten6765]

Anyone remember people using Lv 99 (or lower) Slowbro and Slowking for slower Teleports? Cause I sure do.

[@riccardocasu5576]

In tiers where Cofagrigus was a decent Pokémon and used as Trick Room sweeper some people used lv.99 Cofagrigus to make sure the opponent's Cofagrigus can't outspeed in Trick Room and do a counter sweeping.

[@herbmaaster]

slowpoke and dragapult in one thumbnail im sold. two classics, dragapult a new classic

[@Toomanian]

Bro really made the BKC reference with slow cinema

[@thel-iteralone4592]

You know what they say: slow and steady wins the race! Unless the speed tie happens, which definitely will with certain Pokemon. Speed not being a factor in accuracy is a huge reason why it can be just as important to dump it as much as possible. Unlike in Pokemon Conquest, where speed determines accuracy, and accuracy sure as heck is everything.

[@timothymccormack9927]

How trapping is almost everything, otherwise known as the dugtrio theorem

[@sampletext02]

The mention of slow cinema all but guarantees the GOAT BKC helped write this one. lol

[@pacoramon9468]

Speed is the only stat that you can benefit from being lower.

[@burritoman2k]

Pure special attackers benefit from having attack as low as possible to take minimal damage from confusion self damage and Foul Play

[@prof.reuniclus21]

Low def could be useful for counter

[@DonNextDoor286]

Can’t wait to watch why Pokemon isn’t everything, the Pokemon theorem

[@cradiculous]

the nintendo stans would cry

[@Jianichie]

Good lord that thumbnail. ☠️

[@justinnzamora5366]

That poor Dragapult

[@seisveintiocho-x9e]

you must have big thumbs

[@chainlinkwarden]

speed isn't everything. It's just almost everything.

[@razorfgc]

Something that wasnt mentioned is how if both people send out weather setters, the slower pokemon's weather stays up.

[@DarkBlackGod14]

When i hear "Game for children" about pokemon, i always remember videos like this one, whitch just show how 395D Chess of a geme Pokemon is.

[@Ilikecheese-bx2ds]

Why size isn’t everything - the gamer theorem

[@charvisaur4184]

Hot take. Trick Room Zong was underrated in Gen 6 OU. You could threaten most of the meta game with it. EQ, Gyro Ball, Hp Ice, Trick Room. Heatran, Clef, Chomp, Lando, Latis, TTar. None of them eat hits well from you. He carried me pretty high up the ladder because no one expected the funny bell to sweep once the team was weakened.

[@abraham-kun4144]

We need a theorem about why HP isn't everything.

[@drunkidiot8364]

Elaborate, cuz the only examples I can think of is shedinja wich is something very exclusive because of wonder guard, the pain split that works best on pokemon with lower base health, and the f.e.a.r strat that has its own video

[@galaxystudios370]

The Guzzlord Theorem

[@xaropevic7918]

Wigglytuff syndrom, where the pokémon has high HP but no bulk in either defense

[@glacierwolf2155]

The Shedinja Theorem

[@june9914]

So, bastiodon theorem?

[@crownedshyness9656]

Slow & steady wins the race.

[@aminita2834]

slow cinema.. bkc was here

[@Phoenix-xh9cd]

I though you would have talked about primal groudon they often ran minimum speed so that they would get weather dominance over Kyogre

[@Eddie_Enfer]

Speed is almost everything, low or high

[@indigodegelder]

I believe for a time in gen 7 clefable and the slow twins used to even drop a level down to 99 to become even more slow for their negative priority teleport. Stakataka used to do something similar for trickroom aswell. But after this became the norm peopele tried dropping down even another level to outslow again but this proved to be too much wasted stats and everyone returned to lvl 100 again because it always ends up being a speed tie anyways so they preferred having their full stats.

[@seankeller1560]

This feels like why speed is everything part 2

[@MegaLEEDLE]

put fling on da slowbro wit a heavy ball

[@Kiternino]

Could you look at the competitive history of “snatch”? I feel like this was a hidden move nobody was ever expecting and low key the most versatile move created

[@sh0shin]

Worth noting that in speed tie metas like this where levels arent forced, you can run lvl 99 slowtwin or mirror match to guaranteed out slow a lvl 100

[@ekman2095]

There is always payback and avalanche who's negative prio and double damage if moving last

[@HulaShark]

This also makes me think about how have a low speed stat is a saving grace for low BST mons. Having an extra 20-50 to put into stats other than speed is what some low BST mons to have a chance and helps them min max their stats. Some mons that come to mind are the Slow twins, Amoongus, and Amomamola

[@cwynwyn2934]

I adore chilly reception to bring out belly drum cetitan. it works 20% of the time but it's really funny

[@deadriccow]

Also another point of being slower is in abilities procing, an example is the weather war and the slower mon for their ability to set off second so Kyogre would set rain over Groudon but it eventually came down to people bringing level 49 Groudons in order to under speed level 50 Kyogre just to set sun over the rain

[@Tine_of_Nice_Dreams]

Im surprised the famous lv49 groudon wasnt mentioned! Love the video thumbnail, cool vid

[@drunkidiot8364]

5:30 some Slowbro/ Slowking were used in lower levels such as 99 or 98 in order to guarantee that they were the slowest thus bypassing the speed tie

[@WolfHideANT]

Breaks down strategies, super useful !!

[@playersnake]

Perhaps the next theorem video could be why move sets (like mix attacking, fast physical, bulky special, etc) are close to everything or the Dragonite theorem

[@garryoak]

Back in my days, I would run a bastiadon with metal burst. A full Xerneas counter, but the best part was the red card.

[@TheTruePk2]

Gen 5 using fusion bolt/flare after the other was really cool. I once had a battle where I faced a double NPC who used after you on my reshiram, used fusion flare, then I got a boosted fusion bolt and fusion flare. It's a shame the visual effect never continued

[@davidpopolizio3781]

The control of speed is the most important part of battles, at least in VGC. The turn order can completely change the outcome

[@riccardocasu5576]

One of the most crazy speed tech I saw in VGC was using Pokémon with a neutral nature and a specific IVs (usually a middle ground) to keep the speed advantage against both standard variants of the Pokémon (using Trick Room) and Trick Room variants (outside Trick Room). The first was Ray Rizzo in the BW era with Metagross (Adamant 14 IV) (also part of a strategy with Cresselia that is exactly one point slower than Metagross. Protect + Trick Room, then Cresselia uses Swagger on Metagross, that heals with Lum Berry and start hitting things at +2 attack) and later was recycled by some players in formats where Primal Groudon was available (12-13 IV with neutral nature).

[@kyra4942]

im surprised you didnt mention focus punch

[@the_archwizard1083]

I'm surprised you didnt mention HIGH priority moves, one of the first lessons I learned and give is how a slow ratata can be better. Quick attack is just a weak move on the faster ratata but on the slower one it's a chance to move twice essentially. If you manage to pick up a ko this way the opponent's switch in even if faster has to manage the threat of High priority, regular priority or switch options.

[@gloomba3312]

Didn't mention how people would actually run underlevelled Slowbro/king purely so they could consistently get their teleport to go off second in the mirror

[@GrouchyRaccoon]

I used to run a hideous trick room belly drum Greedent set. It was gimmicky as anything but as soon as it was set up the battle was over.

[@ThePeasantRock16]

Finally NOW WHERES POPULAR ISNT EVERYTHING THEOREM?!

[@mrsuperheatran2794]

Charizard theorem. Dude sucks for a mon that's the golden child of pandering.

[@ThePeasantRock16]

@@mrsuperheatran2794 INDEED EVEN INCINEROAR SUCKS ASS

[@june9914]

@@mrsuperheatran2794at least he’s solid in some gen lower tiers with belly drum. I feel pikachu would be the better candidate, with nice contrast with eevee and clefable

[@peepoweird]

Ah yes, the Mienshao theorem

[@ThePeasantRock16]

@@june9914 STILL FUCKIN SUCKS

[@DanteCrowlley]

I have a cruel angel thesis

[@codemonkies]

Going second is an absolute god-send in the case where you team-build somewhat defensively pike i do, where tanks and bulky sweepers are vastly favored over pure sweepers

[@RondoRory]

Would've loved to see you add to the Slowbro teleport speed tie with how some people started running their slowbro at level 99 to get the speed even lower, and in response others put theirs at level 98 and so on. I think it only really got down to 97 as after that the returns weren't worth it considering you were dropping too many defense stats

[@thefirespecialist9007]

I've ran Counter + Mirror Coat on Gastrodon before. Very fun since Gastrodon only has 1 weakness, and with it's bulkier sets, you can do chunks of damage, and then Recover when you need to.

[@FaeQueenCory]

Milotic with Mirror Coat is some harsh and fun tech.

[@bdt2002gaming]

Potentially hot take: certain recovery moves (Recover, Soft-Boiled, etc.) should also have negative priority similarly to Teleport. The idea here is that this would remove situations where a faster but frail Pokémon, such as Magic Guard Alakazam, uses Recover to heal 50% (or less) and takes more than the amount healed in retaliation on the same turn. Negative priority would, at least mathematically, help recovery move users get the most out of each use of their healing as possible.

[@GundamDragonLord]

It's amazing that you left out the most basic strategy where Speed isn't everything. That is the Move Dig. A geodude will out dig a Charmander in Pokemon Stadium, for example.

[@darko-man8549]

Although always niche, I’ve loved trying singles trick room, nearly every gen for bulky offence.

[@HighMightyWeasel]

In gen 8, there were a few instances of people running lvl 99 versions of the slow family just so they could outslow them. Losing the speed tie was just that important.

[@Earthboundmike]

I'm so happy this is here lol, speed is important but it so doesn't win everything. That's without even getting to trick room.

[@CiabanItReal]

Man rapid spins increasing speed would have made those fortress battles hilarious.

[@DaikoruArtwin]

Aegislash is also a special case that wants to move second. It transforms into the frail Blade Form upon attack, so it wants to tank a hit under Shield form first. In fact, in Ubers, there's an Aegislash set that uses Iron Ball to further lower his speed for the sole purpose of countering Xerneas. Whenever Xerneas shows up, you know he's going to Geomancy and attempt to sweep your team. Aegislash can just casually switch in, take whatever Geomancy-boosted attack Xerneas throws in Shield form, and one-shot back with a powerful Gyro Ball in Blade form. The Iron Ball is needed for that Gyro Ball to reach max power and one-shot Xerneas, without the drawbacks of Life Orb and Choice Band.

[@skeetermania3202]

Jamie Boyt also won a regional in 2016 with a Power Anklet Aegislash, again used with the purpose of beating Xerneas.

[@neduegeh5859]

We need a video discussing 4 moveslot syndrome

[@carlkoopa7389]

Hell yeah, slowbro got spotlight baby!

[@youtubeuniversity3638]

Wobbuffet: Encore, Counter, Mirror Coat, and Destiny Bond, the ultimate prediction game.

[@GliscorCODM]

The Slow Family also like to sometimes be level 99/98/97 in singles to ensure they get the slower switch out (Very common in Gen 8 tournaments)

[@banan9377]

don't know if I missed it being mentioned but sometimes having a level 99 pokemon to guarantee having a lower speed was an option that were used sometimes

[@Simontheking-e7i]

A theorem about nerfs and buffs would be great.

[@mothmyszalgo]

for moves that switch the pokemon out (your pokemon not the opponents) you should be able to choose what pokemon you want to switch to BEFORE the move goes off. gives gameplay just a little bit more rng

[@biggswigg2613]

Lagging Tail on Galarian Slowking means you always win mirrors. Final action in priority bracket means you always get the slow pivot. And higher natural speed means you win any damage races.

[@Zeo--]

Sometimes fainting first is beneficial to get a set up sweeper in.

[@joshuaharmon6684]

I remember the brief point in time when Galarian Slowpoke was OU, before the Isle of Armor DLC released.

[@bmac4]

BKC using this chance to slip in his love for slow cinema