Is there any chance of Rotom-W drop?
Possibly. Ask the Simple Questions, Simple Answers Thread (If it is still active).
Speaking of Slowbronite and Porygon-Z, I vehemently disagree with the latter for the reason stated above. However, I also disagree with PZ dropping as it is unpredictable. The word "unpredictable" gets tossed around a lot when discussing BL/Suspects but I believe it can apply rather well to the duck. Porygon really runs only one set; however, it is the ability to customise the set to your whims that really makes it broken. Need a way of recovering/dodging sucker punches? Use Recover. Need even MORE power? Use Nasty Plot. Fancy Electric typing more than Ghost? Place Thunderbolt as your first moveslot. Need to get past Blissey/Muk? Just Breakneck Blitz through them or, better yet, pair them with something that can retaliate/use the two as set up fodder (i.e mons such as the Fighting Mons (Cobalion, Infernape, Mienshao and Terrakion or hazard setters) to punish the switch-ins (keep in mind that Blissey and/or Alo-Muk are your go-to special walls; stuff like quag and Suicune don't necessarily want to come in).
Now I should preface this by saying, I'm lukewarm on letting Slowbro-Mega in. However, I found Amane Misa's points well articulated and I would like to pose a counter-response.
Speaking of potential retests, something that I would consider to retest is Slowbronite. We all know how bad regular Slowbro is right now - Breloom dropped, Scizor pretty much became a staple on Bulky Offense, the most prominent playstyle right now, and Mega Manectric and Serperior are everywhere. Mega Slowbro is also susceptible to any form of hazards, and most importantly - to Toxic.
Mega Slowbro will be nowhere as good as it was when it got banned, therefore I think there's no harm in retesting it.
Let's break this bit by bit.
Amane Misa mentioned Breloom and Scizor, which while I agree would constitute a check, still need to be wary of
switching in. Slowbro learns Ice Beam and Flamethrower, the former threating Breloom while the latter catching both on the switch.
Serperior and Mega Manectric are slightly better checks but are unreliable when weakened or when Slowbro is at +3 and +4, respectively. I also agree that Mega Bro is very susceptible to hazards. The calcs were both 3HKOs, however, after hazards, they can be easily reduced to guaranteed 2HKO's. However, the archetypes Slowbro will be found in (Bulky Offensive, Stall) all have methods of dealing with hazards and common hazard setters. While weaknesses do stack with many rapid spinners and defoggers, there are still plenty (Gliscor comes to mind) that can work somewhat well synergetically with it.
And lastly, you, Amane Misa, mentioned toxic as the 'most important' factor that can cut Slowbro's work. While I agree that toxic is a pain in the neck for the bro, there are ways to alleviate this. Teammates such as Gliscor and Breloom can provide status sponges. On stall and certain bulky offensive archetypes, clerics can be easily used. In fact, Slowbro pairs well with both Blissey and Sylveon. Slowbro can also alleviate status on its own with moves such as rest and safeguard.
This leads me to my final point. Remember how I talked about Porygon-Z being unpredictable and able to plough through its checks with certain moves, well a similar thing also applies to Slowbro. Slowbro has a veritable buffet of moves to select from to achieve its goals. I mentioned Flamethrower and Ice beam but it also gets access to moves such as Avalanche, Fire Blast, Grass Knot, Magic Coat, Iron Defense, Rest, Sleep Talk, Curse, Slack Off, Substitute, Trick Room (and even weirder moves such as Belly Drum) which all augment its offensive and defensive capabilities. Its ability, regarded to be generally lacklustre, is the cherry on top as it prevents the opposing Pokemon from critting it through. Now, I am not implying that all these moves would be able to be used nor that they would be viable; however, they add an extra dimension to Slowbro that needs to be accounted for when dealing with it.
What do I mean by this? To put it simply, Slowbro can mould itself into any team and scenario with little difficulty. I mentioned that with Porygon-Z but it applies even more so in Slowbro's case.
You do not know the Slowbro set until you have scouted it.
There is one problem. One tiny problem. Slowbro has an array of tools at its disposal and stats that can be tailored to help it fulfil many roles. However, it suffers from the crippling plague known as the infamous
Four Move Slot Syndrome. Truth be told, it's an issue you have to build and play around and one of the most damning arguments for slowbro's reintroduction to the tier. More than hazards, metagame trends and even the fabled toxic. This is Slowbro's true Achille's heel and my reason for ambivalence. Slowbro has the moves it needs for its job but the overall moveset tends to follow a pattern of Scald, Recovery and potentially Psychic STAB. This leaves very little room for experimentation and coverage/moves to deal with checks and counters. To some extent, this problem can be seen in the EV spreads as well as Slowbro is required to invest in Special Defense and HP which may not leave enough investment in SpA to obtain certain KO's. In some respects, it is a jack of all trades and a master of none.
To summarise, I would like to pose a question:
Does Slowbro's susceptibility to hazards, status/toxic and the current metagame trends as well as its 4MSS outweigh the sheer versatility and unpredictability it brings to the table as a deadly win-condition and a formidable wall?
Some other things I would like you, the reader, to consider are the conditions that resulted in the banning of slowbro and the conditions that have changed since; and the impact that slowbro had and could potentially have on the metagame.
Props to Amane Misa for suggesting the idea.
I might have missed something (yes, I didn't put the calcs) or might have made an error with my calc. Just notify me in my wall and I may be able to fix it. I also might be inaccurate with the information I presented here. Again, feel free to point it out on my profile.