The Water-Psychic Pokémon has been there since the beginning of the franchise, with its popularity increasing only further in Pokémon Sword and Shield, when it was given a Galarian form.
The Hermit Crab Pokémon is best used as a Defender in Pokémon Unite. Still, in this guide, you will see that whilst it is a formidable Defender, Slowbro is capable of supporting the team endlessly, too.
Before going into the build in detail, here’s the breakdown of how to make the best Slowbro build in Pokémon Unite:
- Role: Top Lane Defender
- First Move: Surf
- Second Move: Telekinesis
- Battle Item: Potion
- Held Items: Aeos Cookie, Rocky Helmet, Shell Bell
Optimum role of Slowbro in Pokémon Unite
To use this Slowbro build, press ZL in the pre-game lobby, bringing up the Battle Prep page, or access the Battle Prep sections from the main menu.
With built-in hindrances in its abilities, the Defender Slowbro is best used as a front-liner during team fights and skirmishes. This build is capable of negating a lot of damage taken as well as utilising its area-of-effect damage, causing a lot of problems for the opposition.
Truly a flexible pick, Slowbro possesses four-star endurance, making him it of the sturdiest Pokémon in the game. It also boasts a solid four-star support rating due to its astounding ability to hinder foes and leave a group of enemies stunned for prolonged periods of time.
Optimum moveset of the Slowbro build in Pokémon Unite
Assembled to make the most of its kit, this Slowbro build will allow you to turn the Defender into a tricky problem for your opponents. Along with hindrance-causing abilities on low cooldowns, the ability to choose a target to lockdown with its Unite Move makes Slowbro a very strong pick for your team composition.
- Basic Attack: “Becomes a boosted attack with every third attack. When this boosted attack hits, it deals damage to nearby opposing Pokémon and decreases their movement speed for a short time.”
- Passive Ability, Oblivious:“When the Pokémon receives damage, the HP loss is gradual. When damaging an opposing Pokémon with a move, the Pokémon nullifies some of this pending damage before it takes effect, and it also decreases the opposing Pokémon’s Sp. Def for a short time.”
- Unite Move, Slowbeam: “Has the user stare at one of the opposing team’s Pokémon and attack continually, dealing damage and binding it. Grants the user a shield and makes the user immune to hindrances while it’s using this move.”
Being able to close the gap on squishy damage dealers is simple when using Surf, with three waves moving toward the opposition. The first wave is a throw. The second and third each cause the opposing Pokémon’s movement speed to decrease for a short period of time. This ability brings fantastic crowd control and is a great way to engage a team fight.
At Level 11, Surf+ becomes even more powerful, adding to the size of waves two and three and adding the effect of knocking up opponents to enhance the crowd control of Slowbro’s packed kit.
Another hindrance move, Telekinesis, causes an opposing Pokémon to float. Once the Pokémon is subject to this ability, Slowbro is able to pull them towards itself. Capable of singling out individual Pokémon who are causing issues during team fights is a vital part of being a Defender, and Telekinesis is arguably the best ability for this task.
At Level 13, Telekinesis+ increases the speed at which the Pokémon fires the move and increases the move’s range.
Best battle item for the Slowbro build in Pokémon Unite
Official Description: “Restores some of your Pokémon’s HP.”
Being a defender is risky business, even if you are as durable as Slowbro. So, taking a Potion into battle can be the difference between staying alive or not during a team fight. Given the importance of your role to the team, having the ability to regain HP in dire situations is essential to living up to Slowbro’s potential.
Whilst the cooldown of the Potion is relatively low (30 seconds), be sure that it isn’t on cooldown when you need it most. So, don’t just use the battle item for the sake of it while roaming around.
Best held items for the Slowbro build in Pokémon Unite
Official Description: “When the Pokémon scores a goal, its max HP increases by 200.”
The ultimate goal as a Defender is to stay alive and soak up damage for your team; receiving 200 extra HP with every goal scored not only benefits Slowbro’s build, but also makes the game more interactive. The more goals that you score, the more HP the Aeos Cookie grants you.
Official Description: “When the Pokémon receives a certain amount of damage, damage is dealt to nearby opposing Pokémon equal to 5% of those Pokémon’s max HP.”
Going with the theme of soaking up damage for your team, the Rocky Helmet punishes opponents for attacking you. When in team fights, it increases the damage that you do by reflecting it upon your opponents, synergising perfectly with this Slowbro build.
Official Description: “When the Pokémon hits with a move, it recovers a minimum of 75 HP. The higher the Pokémon’s Sp. Atk, the more HP it recovers.”
In order to sustain in skirmishes and team fights, it is vital to keep your health pool topped up. Taking the Shell Bell into battle is a great way to keep your HP up without having to withdraw and heal, keeping you on the frontlines for longer.
How to use the best Slowbro build in Pokémon Unite
In order to be an effective frontline Defender in Pokémon Unite, it is important to seize opportunities to engage your opponents. With this Slowbro build, you can do exactly that to great effect.
The optimal engage is to choose the right moment to go in and target their carries (Attackers, Supports, and Speedsters).
When this time comes, use Surf to get close to the opposing Pokémon, throwing them in the process. From here, basic attack a couple of times before using Telekinesis to drag the opponent towards your teammates for an easy pick-up.
If it’s just yourself scrapping away, use your third basic attack to decrease their movement speed and decrease their chance of escape.
If there is a team-fight happening, it sometimes works best to use your Unite Move to single out the desired target, followed by Telekinesis to ensure that the carry has been removed from the fight. Doing this can drastically increase your chance of success.
Don’t forget about your Potion, either, as it will sustain Slowbro more often than you’d think.
