Pokémon Ability

Slow Start

For five turns, the Pokémon's Attack and Speed stats are halved.

In-depth effect

Attack and Speed is halved during the first five turns since sent out.

Pokémon with Slow Start

1 Pokémon known to have Slow Start (Gen 9 dataset)

Varoom

About the Slow Start ability

Slow Start is one of 112+ abilities in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Each Pokémon has one active ability at a time, drawn from a list of 1-3 possible abilities per species (the third slot, when present, is the Hidden Ability — only accessible via Tera raids, Mass Outbreaks, or Ability Patch).

Official game text: For five turns, the Pokémon's Attack and Speed stats are halved.

How it works: Attack and Speed is halved during the first five turns since sent out.

How to get a Pokémon with Slow Start

If Slow Start is a regular ability (not Hidden Ability), simply catch the Pokémon and it has a 50% chance per slot of having Slow Start. You can use an Ability Capsule (50 BP at Chansey Supply) to swap between regular ability slots. If Slow Start is the Hidden Ability of one of the 1 Pokémon listed above, you'll need either:

To catch the Pokémon from a 5-star or 6-star Tera raid
To use an Ability Patch (consumable from picnic crafting / raid rewards) on a Pokémon that already has Slow Start as a regular ability
To transfer a Pokémon with Hidden Ability via Pokémon HOME from older games

For the full list of abilities and their competitive impact, see our abilities reference. To check how an ability affects damage calculations, use our damage calculator.