FakeSpeed Standard Slaking

Slaking is the premier Priority user in the meta, able to Revenge Kill practically all non-WG sweepers after they Shell Smash. Left unchecked, Slaking will Extreme Evoboost and will easily blow past opposing Offense teams. However, it still has issues breaking bulkier teams as it usually doesn't carry any notable coverage and is thus walled by all common physical walls.

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Slaking can be utilized in a multitude of ways. First and foremost is as a priority clicker, being able to easily pick off most frail Mons with ease by utilizing its monstrous 160 Attack and STAB FakeSpeed. This is extremely useful against common No Guard's and fast but frail attackers like Deoxys-Speed, Deoxys-Attack, Pheromosa and more. Secondly, as mentioned in the description it can be used as a physical sweeper by simply clicking Shell Smash or Evoboost and killing things. Due to the nature of Slaking it is quite easy to find opportunities to setup with it as you can click your setup on the turn your opponent switches out their offensive Mon (because they are afraid of getting FakeSpeeded).

One of the biggest strengths of Slaking is just its sheer threat level. If you predict just a single switch (i.e switching Slaking in while they switch in their MMX), your opponent will be practically forced to switch because of how strong Slaking can be. This means you can very easily get clean double switches while using Slaking. If you don't think your opponent is mind-gaming on that level you can affirm their fears by clicking FakeSpeed against them and either killing them or bringing them to low enough HP that hazards will finish the job on their next switch in.

Slaking also has decent set variability as its item and half of its moves are relatively customizable. The general consensus for its item is Lum Berry to prevent WG's that wall it burning it and thus neutering it but there are other options. Focus Sash guarantees setup if your team has good enough hazard control, Leppa Berry lets you muscle through even the bulkiest of Wonder Guards and Chople Berry can aid greatly in the Arceus matchup. Note that if you choose to run Leppa Berry you will have to eliminate Imposter before setting up with Slaking as if Imposter gets to +6 no Improof except Innards can save you. While Evoboost is generally preferred, Shell Smash can also be useful as you have a better Imposter matchup and its much harder for your opponent to mind-game you into wasting your setup potential. Finally, while Slaking's main role is clicking FakeSpeed, you can run a multitude of things instead of Fake Out to improve your matchup into whatever Mon you want.

There is a world of customization available with Slaking's coverage as it can run practically any physical move with a decent enough Base Power. The most coverage attainable is on 4-Attack sets which forgo setup in exchange for more utility or coverage. The most notable moves are as follows; Plasma Fists to hit bulky Waters and Flyings (MBro, Celesteela, POgre, Yveltal etc.), Pursuit to catch offensive Mons on the switch out as well as Meloetta which is becoming more and more popular, V-Create or Sacred Fire to hit Steels which otherwise wall Slaking and finally, Close Combat to hit the aforementioned Steels as well as having a better Arceus matchup.

Finally, it is pertinent to mention that Regigigas acts as a pretty 1-1 sidegrade for Slaking, trading 40 Base HP for 10 extra defense points and a huge 45 point boost in Special Defense. While the decision may seem lopsided towards Regigigas as their offensive stats are identical, the HP difference plays quite a large factor as it enables Slaking to safely OHKO most mid-tier Innards (Xerneas, Giratina-Origin, Lunala, Kyurem-White etc.) safely. Consider the choice wisely as there is no definitive correct choice.

As mentioned previously, with the correct play your opponent can waste your Evoboost use and Slaking will be unable to do much against basically all Sunsteel walls for the rest of the game. Next, although Slaking has an insane Attack stat, there are still random offensive Mons which will live either its FakeSpeed combo or its Sunsteel. The most notable of this is that Jolly Slaking will not KO MMX with FakeSpeed and will then get KO'd back. While Adamant fares slightly better it is still far from a guaranteed kill. For this reason, you will need to apply some sort of chip on MMX's and other similarly bulky offensive Mons.

While Slaking physical defense is good its special defense leaves something to be desired at a meager 65, meaning if you aren't FakeSpeed you will lose to most MMY sets and you have a tough matchup against Triage MRay which out-priorities you and deals heavy damage with Oblivion Wing back. On the topic of MMY, PsySurge teams will mostly stop Slaking in its tracks as it is unable to use FakeSpeed under Psychic Terrain which means it is mostly neutered unless it manages to setup. As well as this, PsySurge typically carries many strong special attackers, which as mentioned previously, Slaking does not deal especially well with. It goes without saying but you also must play around Innards as you are strong enough that any move you use will OHKO minimum defense Innards.

As with all Mons you should never assume Slaking can OHKO everything at +2. For example, a +2 Jolly Slaking will never OHKO Wonder Guard Arceus sans hazards and will either a) die if Slaking is Shell Smash as Arceus outspeeds after a Shell Smash and will OHKO with Fighting Judgment or b) take 50% if Slaking is Evoboost which will leave it susceptible to dying to other streams of damage. Ghost types (specifically Gengar) are an issue because they can't be FakeSpeeded and may hit back with either a strong special Fighting move like Secret Sword or Focus Blast or an OHKO move.

Finally, as mentioned in the opening statement, Slaking generally has a lot of trouble breaking bulky teams as it basically only has 2 moves it can change to coverage unless you forgo ESpeed or Sunsteel which is not advised (though this barely matters as non-STAB random coverage won't break bulky teams unless you bring the exact coverage required). The most utility you will get out of Slaking is potentially killing a Steel like Celesteela with surprise factor. Still, this is unlikely as they will likely scout you with Imposter first.

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