Why Slaking is So Overpowered in Pokemon
At first glance, Slaking looks like it should be one of the most powerful Pokemon. But between its unusual abilities and poor moveset, this lazy Normal-type is essentially unusable competitively. As a Pokemon expert who has analyzed Slaking across generations, I‘ll explain what makes it overpowered on paper, why it underperforms in battle, and potential ways it could be improved.
Slaking‘s Impressive Stat Spread
With base stats totaling a massive 670, Slaking has the fourth highest base stat total of all non-legendary Pokemon. This includes a titanic base 160 attack stat, which is higher than Pokemon legends like Mewtwo, Lugia, and Ho-Oh. Slaking also has great bulk with 150 HP and 100 defense.
For comparison, here are the base stats of some other powerful Pokemon:
| Pokemon | HP | Attack | Defense | Sp. Atk | Sp. Def | Speed | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slaking | 150 | 160 | 100 | 95 | 65 | 100 | 670 |
| Dragonite | 91 | 134 | 95 | 100 | 100 | 80 | 600 |
| Tyranitar | 100 | 134 | 110 | 95 | 100 | 61 | 600 |
| Garchomp | 108 | 130 | 95 | 80 | 85 | 102 | 600 |
| Hydreigon | 92 | 105 | 90 | 125 | 90 | 98 | 600 |
As you can see, no other non-legendary comes close to Slaking‘s astronomical attack, HP, and overall stat total. These stellar stats translate to a max CP of 4548 in Pokemon GO – once again higher than any other non-legendary. So what prevents Slaking from dominating with these overpowered stats?
Slaking‘s Crippling Abilities
The biggest factor holding Slaking back is its ability Truant, which all Slaking possess. Truant causes Slaking to loaf around every other turn, preventing it from attacking. This essentially cuts Slaking‘s offensive capabilities in half.
In Pokemon GO, Truant manifests as Slaking only being able to use its fast move Yawn every other turn. So Slaking can‘t gain energy or do damage consistently, rendering it useless for raids and PVP.
Back in the main series games, Truant allows opponents to freely switch out or set up stat boosts on the turns Slaking is loafing around. And Slaking lacks the speed or movepool to punish this. As a Pokemon expert, I have painful memories of opponents using Swords Dance or Dragon Dance safely against my Slaking!
Slaking‘s Lacklustre Moveset
On top of its Truant ability, Slaking is further hampered by an ineffective movepool. Its fast move Yawn does no damage and minimal energy gain – it‘s essentially a worse version of Splash. This forces Slaking to rely solely on charge moves for damage.
Unfortunately, even Slaking‘s charge moves fail to impress:
- Hyper Beam: Slaking‘s only decent charge move, but lacks STAB. Mediocre due to Slaking‘s average 90 special attack.
- Play Rough: Only 70 power without STAB. Weak coming off just 95 special attack.
- Earthquake: Again no STAB and hampered by Slaking‘s pitiful base speed of 100.
Unlike pseudo-legendaries like Dragonite or Tyranitar, Slaking lacks the coverage, power, or reliability in its movepool to effectively leverage its stats.
Slaking‘s History of Underperforming
Throughout its history across generations, Slaking has consistently underperformed and been outclassed by other powerhouses:
- Gen 3 (RU/Untiered): Truant limited it despite high stats. Counter, Shadow Ball, and Mach Punch caused problems.
- Gen 4 (NU): Strong priority like Mach Punch and Aqua Jet prevailed over it.
- Gen 5 (NU): Set up opportunities for foes while Slaking loafed. Dominated by boosting sweepers like Tauros.
- Gen 6 (Untiered): Knock Off removed its item. Mega Sableye trapped and crippled it.
- Gen 7 (NU): Z-moves allowed safe setup on its Truant turns.
- Gen 8 (NU): Dynamax allowed opponents to force it out after Truant activated.
Across multiple generations, Slaking failed to rise above NU tier due to crippling passivity and constant setup opportunities for foes. Even with its stats, abilities like Truant render it a liability instead of an asset. As a longtime Pokemon expert, I can confirm Slaking is simply outclassed by more well-rounded threats.
How Could Slaking Be Improved?
In my opinion, here are some potential changes that could make Slaking more viable:
- Change its ability to Huge Power to double its massive Attack stat.
- Give it multi-turn attacks like Outrage or Thrash to offset Truant.
- Introduce a hold item to nullify Truant.
- Prevent opponents from switching on its loafing turns.
- Improve its physical movepool with coverage like Earthquake and Stone Edge.
Stat-wise, Slaking is a beast. With some ability adjustments and movepool additions, it could potentially live up to its towering stats. However, Game Freak seems unlikely to ever implement changes to improve Slaking.
Conclusion
On paper, Slaking looks like one of the most formidable Pokemon with its sky-high stats. However, crippling abilities combined with a mediocre movepool render it passive and easily exploitable. Across generations, powerful priority, setup opportunities, and outclassing by other threats have kept Slaking firmly out of top-tier play. While Slaking will likely remain forever gimped by Truant, its towering attack stat indicates untapped potential that Game Freak could unlock someday.