Introduction
So, hi, everyone. This post is about, of course, a Shedinja team.
For those of you who don't know, Shedinja is a really odd mon. It has the awesome Wonder Guard ability, and can only take direct damage from super effect moves. Downside is: he only has 1 HP. So any Bug, Fire, Rock, Ghost or Dark move will take it down for sure. It is also really vulnerable to status and you to weather conditions, which is bad.
Anyway, I always liked Shedinja and always wanted to make a strong team with it. When I saw this Shedinja team, posted by DMT for UU, I decided to try it out and I really liked (and I also recommend for you guys to look).
http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/dmts-shedinja-team-peaked-8.3517271/
So, I decided to "transport" that team to NU, which wasn't a hard thing, since 3 of the 6 pokés are NU.
After a few adaptations and a lot of tests, I finally got a really nice team. Just before I show it, keep in mind: this is a Shedinja team, so naturally requires hazard removers and a lot of prediction:
Archeops @ Choice Band
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Switcheroo
- Defog
- U-turn
- Rock Slide/Stone Edge
Kicking off the list, we have the lead, Archeops. You could run Scarfed, like the original set, but I prefer banded. Ayway, his first move is Switcheroo. So much power there, can ruin so many different things, but I specially like to give his item to some shell smasher. It's priceless, but, again, it can ruin a large variety of stuff. Defog is to keep Shedinja alive. U-turn for momentum. It can kill some things right away, such as Liepard, while dealing heavy damage to Uxie and Mesprit. For the fourth slot, I like to use Rock Slide, cause at some point I got tired of missing with Stone Edge. Only problem is that now, I run it banded to make up for the damage loss, so I can no longer outspeed other archeops, and now I depend on speed tie. It's not the end of the world, though.
Xatu @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 232 Def / 28 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- U-turn
- Night Shade
- Heat Wave/Grass Knot
- Roost
Next, we have Xatu, whose main purpose is to keep hazards out of the way with its amazing ability. I put 28 Spe to outspeed something, but I don't remember what it was. Anyway, U-turn for momentum, Night Shade to try to deal some damage and Roost is quite obvious. I run this set with Heat Wave, which helps against Ferroseed and Vivillon, besides the chance to burn, but Grass Knot is just as useful, specially to counter Seismitoad. I like Heat Wave better because I already have a Grass poké. Rocky Helmet gives a nice final touch.
Tentacool @ Eviolite
Ability: Liquid Ooze
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 240 HP / 16 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Toxic Spikes
- Confuse Ray
- Rapid Spin
The original team has Tentacruel. In NU, we can only have access to Tentacool. and that's not really a bad thing. This thing is a really nice special wall, and can take 3-4 Mismagius' Tbolts, while setting up hazards. He is also a good counter to Typhlosion and pyroar. Of course you should try to avoid being hit by Tbolt, but your main concern should be physical attacks in general, specially earthquake and good-old-stupid-Knock Off. In his moveset, the obvious Rapid Spin, Toxic Spikes and Scald to try burning something. Confuse Ray might be useful, though it clearly isn't the best move ever. I guess one can try using either Rest, to give it some form of recovery, or Knock Off.
Vileplume @ Black Sludge
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 28 SpA / 16 SpD
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Synthesis
- Sludge Bomb
- Leech Seed/Toxic
Until now, everything was pretty much the same as DMT's team. Well, this guy changes stuff a little. He is the best stuff I could find for this place, and I tried lots of other pokés, such as Ditto, Ferroseed, Haryiama and so on (Zorua was really fun, though he is really weak). All in all, he is a good pair to Tentacool, resisting both Electric and Ground type moves. They are both week to psychic, but, well, Shedinja can take that psychic hit, or even Xatu. Anyway, pretty standard set, Giga Drain and Sludge Bomb are useful STAB moves, Synthesis helps it to stay alive, as does Leech Seed, though Toxic is an option. Both are alright.
Ursaring @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Quick Feet
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Facade
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
Next, comes a poké whose function is to try to take some annoyng stuff down. I really like to run it with Quick Feet, so it's faster than most non-scarfed pokés - 344 Spe is a lot. And look at that amazing Atk. It's impressive. Bring it after U-turn and you have a reliable sweeper. Facade hits really really hard, while StoneQuake is for coverage. This guy with SD is amazing, so strong and fast, though I guess it can make room for some other move, like Night Slash, to take down ghost types. Actually, you can put pretty much whatever you want: Hone Claws, elemental punch, Aerial Ace. I just like SD because this guys' job is just to tear stuff apart and he already have nice coverage.
Shedinja @ Focus Sash
Ability: Wonder Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
IVs: 0 Def
- Swords Dance/Protect
- X-Scissor
- Shadow Sneak
- Sucker Punch
Finally, we have him, the star of the team, the almighty Shedinja. "With pitiful stats, 3 of which are useless, Shedinja is usually a hard sell to players who call themselves 'competitive'. However, with a little
bit of predictions hax, this team can sneak wins vs even the best of UU players [NU, in this case]". OMG, this guy is so awesome. Focus sash is to make sure he can take at least one hit. Sucker Punch hits harder than Shadow Sneak, but shadow sneak is to use when the opponent has no moves against Shedinja and has to switch, so it's some nice and cheap damage. X-scissor as is a good STAB move and SD is for lategame. You can also try Protect to be a little more secure. The original set has no sucker punch, which I think is a mistake, cause a little damage can make the difference between defeating the oponent and getting defeated.
Threats to this team and conclusion
I guess the main threat I can think of, though not common, would have to be weather inducers. The only one in NU is Hippopotas, and he is a really pain in the ass.
Aside from that, Knock off is everywhere, so watch out. Haryiama usually gives me a hard time, though Vileplume usually handles stuff. Sandslash is often a little trouble, though not exactly hard, specially when you get to switcheroo him. Steelix is more annoying: make sure you switcheroo Steelix. Besides that, Mismagius is scary, but is not that much. Shedinja can 2HKO it with shadow sneak, so make sure to destroy any subs before facing it. Ursaring outspeeds it and can take it down with Stone Edge.
I guess I can also name Muk and Vileplume, both of which can remove your toxic spikes. Vileplume is more annoyng due to it's stupid effect spore, which can take down shedinja tragically. Often, though, Vileplumes can't touch shedinja, so just SD like crazy, hit it really hard and pray you don't get poisoned. Ursaring can take it down safer.
Also, you might wanna try to use Ditto, so you can check out all your opponents moves - it's so nice when you find out they have nothing against Shedinja.
But, yeah, all in all, this is a really fun team, which I have enjoyed a lot. And I hope whoever tries this set has as much fun as I'm having!