Slowking is a pink, bipedal Pokémon with a Shellder clamped firmly onto its head like a crown. It's got a pale yellow muzzle, a scaled belly, and single clawed digits on both hands and feet (though the hands also sport a clawless thumb). Around its neck sits a spiky ruff with alternating red and white stripes. The Shellder itself is spiral-shaped with two horns near the base and a red gem at its center; you can see the creature's eyes on the back of the shell.
The magic of Slowking comes from Shellder's venom. When it bites into Slowpoke's brain, it triggers a chemical reaction that unlocks serious intelligence and power. Each time Slowking yawns, more venom gets pumped in, and the more venom it receives, the sharper it becomes. Strip the Shellder away, though, and Slowking loses all that knowledge and reverts back to being a regular Slowpoke. The crown itself has shown some unsettling side effects—it can apparently control any human who puts it on. Slowking's intelligence rivals that of people, and it's constantly trying to learn more thanks to its naturally sharp intuition and unflappable calm. It can solve basically anything. (The games suggest its speech is unintelligible, but the anime has shown it can understand and speak human language just fine.)
Slowking has an easygoing vibe and never seems stressed. It's uncommon in the wild but hangs out near water, eating seaweed and drinking coconut milk. In Alola, locals call it "the sage of the sea," and it's known to have wit-matching competitions with Oranguru on the beach. Oddly, according to Pokémon Sleep, Slowking dreams up world-changing ideas while sleeping but forgets every single one the moment it wakes up.
Galarian Slowking
In Galar, things are different. The Galarica spices in Galarian Slowpoke's diet cause Shellder's venom to trigger a completely different reaction. Galarian Slowking comes out looking wild—the top half of its body and tail tip are purple, draped in a long dark cloak. The Shellder has become the dominant partner, grown much larger and rougher-textured in dark gray, now covering the eyes and nostrils. It's covered in purple spots with a large central one housing a green gem and two black eyes. The spikes are blunter, and two purple horn-like tubes jut out on either side, leaking poison. Even the teeth have changed; they're broad and flat instead of sharp.
The real difference is that Galarian Slowking's Shellder gets incredibly intelligent and can actually control the body now, wielding psychic powers that rival other Psychic-types. It chants strange spells and incantations during battle or to communicate, and it uses these same chants while brewing bizarre potions from its own toxins mixed with whatever it eats. The potions come out of those horn tubes, but here's the thing—even Galarian Slowking has no idea what they'll do. It just tests them on whatever Pokémon it feels like. Like its Johto counterpart, the Shellder crown can also control humans who wear it.
Evolution
Slowking is a final form that evolves from Slowpoke, with Slowbro being its other final form option. Galarian Slowking evolves from Galarian Slowpoke and exists as one of two final forms alongside Galarian Slowbro.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
