Skip to content

Slow Start ability usage across Smogon and VGC formats

Slow Start — ability usage across every Smogon and VGC format on Pokékipe. Description, top users per format, monthly trends.

Slow Start

Temporarily halves Attack and Speed.

This page is the cross-format home for Slow Start : rather than a single tier, it rolls up everywhere Slow Start sees competitive play, from the Smogon singles ladders to Doubles OU and the live VGC regulations. The format tabs above jump straight to any of them, while this view answers the bigger question first : which metagames Slow Start actually matters in, and how heavily it is leaned on in each.

Open a format and you get the full breakdown : the Pokémon that run Slow Start and how often, the moves, items and abilities it pairs with, the EV spreads and sets built around it, and a month-over-month usage trend. Because the meta never sits still, Slow Start can be a staple in one format and a niche pick in another, so the per-format split is where the real story lives, not a single blended number.

Every figure is derived from Smogon's public monthly usage statistics, built from millions of rated Pokémon Showdown battles and refreshed as soon as a new snapshot lands, no editorial picks, no curation, just what high-rated players are running right now. The data is free, needs no account, and is also available through Pokékipe's public read API for analysts and team-builders.

FAQ · SS Doubles OU

What's the most-used Pokémon in SS Doubles OU?

Dracovish leads SS Doubles OU with a 77.0% usage rate in July 2026, followed by Whimsicott (77.0%) and Heatran (73.2%).

Which Pokémon rose the most this month?

Regieleki climbed the fastest in SS Doubles OU this July 2026, with a +63.1% change in usage.

How many battles inform these SS Doubles OU stats?

498 rated battles played on Pokémon Showdown ladder at ELO 1760+ during July 2026. Aggregated monthly from Smogon's public chaos JSON dump.

Where does the SS Doubles OU data come from?

Pokémon Showdown's monthly ladder snapshot (chaos JSON), refreshed each month. For VGC formats, official tournament results are also surfaced when available via Pokémon Company's Pokedata feed.

When was the SS Doubles OU data last updated?

The SS Doubles OU usage snapshot above reflects July 2026. New monthly data drops a few days after the end of each month.