Slow Start
Gen IVThis Pokémon's Attack and Speed are halved for five turns upon entering battle. This ability also takes effect when acquired during battle. If this Pokémon loses its ability before the five turns are up, its Attack and Speed return to normal; if it then regains this ability without leaving battle, its Attack and Speed are halved again, but the counter keeps counting from where it was.
Slow Start in Battle
Slow Start is one of the most punishing abilities in competitive Pokemon, severely hampering a Pokemon's offensive presence during the crucial opening turns of battle. When a Pokemon with this ability enters the field, both its Attack and Speed stats are immediately cut in half for exactly five turns. This dramatic reduction affects all forms of Attack-based damage, including physical moves and moves that use the Attack stat for calculations, while the Speed reduction often relegates the Pokemon to moving last in most situations.
The ability's mechanics include several important interactions that can complicate battle scenarios. If the Pokemon loses Slow Start through moves like Skill Swap or abilities like Trace before the five-turn timer expires, its stats immediately return to normal levels. However, if it regains Slow Start while still in battle, the stat penalties resume but the original turn counter continues from where it left off rather than resetting. This means strategic ability manipulation can potentially minimize the duration of the debuff.
Competitively, Slow Start is most notorious for affecting Regigigas, whose incredible base stats are severely neutered by this ability. The legendary Pokemon becomes nearly unusable in standard play despite having some of the highest Attack and decent Speed stats in the game. Varoom, the other Pokemon with this ability, faces similar struggles in lower tiers, as the five-turn window often proves too long to survive in fast-paced battles where early momentum is crucial.
