Shaymin
[Overview]
<p>It's safe to say that Shaymin is a mixed bag of good and bad. Good, well-rounded stats, all lying at a solid base 100, give Shaymin good Speed, bulk, and respectable power. One should not forget about the power behind Shaymin's signature move, Seed Flare, and its great side effect. However, while it has these good attributes, Shaymin faces stiff competition for the Grass-type spot on a team from one of the top tier Pokemon in UU: Roserade. Roserade outclasses Shaymin at everything that is named support, having access to key moves such as Sleep Powder, Spikes, and Toxic Spikes, a much higher Special Attack stat, and a powerful STAB Sludge Bomb to rely on. Shaymin is also threatened by the many Fire-types in the tier, such as Victini, Darmanitan, Houndoom, and Arcanine; powerful Flying- and Bug-type Pokemon, such as Zapdos, Togekiss, Heracross, and Venomoth, also give it all sorts of trouble. However, with its greater Speed and overall bulk, and better offensive movepool, including moves such as Earth Power and Air Slash, Shaymin can still trump Roserade offensively and hit the many Pokemon that threatens it hard, even with a resited Seed Flare.</p>
[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Seed Flare
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Air Slash / Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Rest / Synthesis
item: Life Orb
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is what Shaymin does best. With Seed Flare, Shaymin can put offensive pressure on the opponent, even hitting Pokemon that resist the move hard; one should not forget about the 40% chance of lowering the opponent's Special Defense by two stages. Earth Power lets Shaymin deal heavy damage to Steel- and Fire-types, such as Registeel and Victini, switching in on a predicted Seed Flare to force Shaymin out. Air Slash is Shaymin's best bet against opposing Grass- and Bug-types, more notably Roserade and Heracross. However, Hidden Power Fire is still a safe bet against opposing Grass- and Bug-types, also hitting Bronzong and Escavalier for super effective damage. Rest and Synthesis are great options for recovery. Rest does put Shaymin to sleep, but cures status and fully restores Shaymin's health; the sleep status is also cured immediately when Shaymin switches out, thanks to Natural Cure. Synthesis, however, still works great with Shaymin's bulk and doesn't force Shaymin to switch out. The occasional sandstorm will reduce its effectiveness, but Synthesis is still a good choice if you don't worry too much about sand.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Hidden Power Ice lets Shaymin hit Flying-types, such as Zapdos, Crobat, and Togekiss, for super effective damage; it can effectively 2HKO Zapdos and hit oppsoing Grass-types hard. Psychic is also a good choice, as it will hit Crobat, Roserade, and Heracross hard, while retaining good coverage with Shaymin's other moves. Though it might not sound like a good choice on a set like this, Leech Seed is still a viable option, as it will restore Shaymin's and its teammates' health, almost nullifying the Life Orb recoil and easily forcing switches. Choice Specs is a decent option over Life Orb, trading the freedom to switch between moves for more power. However, what makes Choice Specs inferior to Life Orb is that it doesn't work well on a Grass-type of Shaymin's stature; it is a better option for Grass-type Pokemon such as Sceptile. When it comes to the choice of nature, Timid is preferred, as it allows Shaymin to at least Speed tie with positive natured base 100 Speed Pokemon, such as Victini and Zapdos; however, keep in mind that Hidden Power Fire will lower Shaymin's Speed IVs by one point, making it lose the Speed tie with the aforementioned Pokemon. This makes an EV spread of 32 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 220 Spe a viable option when using Hidden Power Fire; this gives Shaymin a little extra bulk and maintains its ability to outspeed the likes of Sigilyph and Arcanine, while preventing Porygon-Z from getting a Special Attack boost from Download.</p>
<p>Entry hazard support is really helpful for Shaymin, as Spikes and Stealth Rock can help it break down its most common switch-ins, such as Zapdos. Deoxys-D makes a great teammate as it is able to set up both Stealth Rock and Spikes; however, keep in mind that they share a weakness to Bug-type moves, as well as Houndoom and Chandelure. This makes Nidoqueen and Froslass good candidates as well, as the former can set up Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes, while the latter can set up Spikes and also block Rapid Spin. If you're not concerned about using two Grass-types on the same team, Roserade makes an excellent choice as well, being able to set up both Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Pokemon such as Gligar and Claydol can also effectively set up Stealth Rock. Shaymin is weak to Fire-, Flying-, Ice-, and Bug-type moves, so teammates that can take these moves with ease are a must. With its great special bulk and Steel typing, Empoleon has no trouble taking Bug-, Ice-, Flying-, and even Fire-type moves from Pokemon such as Yanmega, Froslass, Togekiss, and Houndoom, while it can utilize Roar to force them out. Snorlax is another great Pokemon for taking on Fire- and Ice-type Pokemon thanks to Thick Fat, as well as special attackers in general. Snorlax, together with Porygon2, is the biggest counter to Chandelure, as it resists Chandelure's Fire-type STAB and is immune to its Ghost-type ones. Slowbro, thanks to its great physical bulk, has no trouble taking on the likes of Victini, Darmanitan, and Arcanine. The same applies to Flash Fire users, such as Arcanine and Chandelure, who are able to switch in on the aforementioned Pokemon's Fire-type moves. Chandelure can also deal with Heracross with relative ease, while Bronzong is the absolute best answer to Weavile.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>There are few viable options that have not been covered yet. The infamous combination of Substitute + Leech Seed is a possibility, but it can be, more often than not, underwhelming due to the lack of Pokemon Shaymin can effectively take advantage of, mainly Chansey. However, Shaymin is able to create 101 HP Substitutes, which counts for something. Giga Drain is a viable option for a STAB move that restores Shaymin's health when used. However, it can be a rather unreliable option over Rest and Synthesis, while using over Seed Flare makes Shaymin incredibly weak overall. Shaymin has a few interesting support moves as well, and can actually make use of them thanks to its bulk. These moves include GrassWhistle, Toxic, and Sweet Kiss for inflicting various status ailments on the opponent, and Aromatherapy and Healing Wish for a more cleric support-oriented approach. Growth is also an option, but with so many threats to Shaymin in the tier, it can be hard for to set up. Although gimmicky, a Swords Dance set with an EV spread of 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD, a Careful nature, and Seed Bomb can be used to make an effective counter to Calm Mind users, most notably Raikou, for defensive teams. Shaymin also has Zen Headbutt to hit Roserade, Heracross, and Crobat for super effective damage, but that is the extent of its physical movepool, besides Return. Choice Scarf can be used, allowing Shaymin to effectively revenge kill opponents expecting to outspeed it, but it is incredibly weak without either Choice Specs or Life Orb, even with its powerful Seed Flare, making a Choice Scarf set a poor choice.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Shaymin might be bulky and powerful, but there are several ways to take it on. The first thing that comes to mind is to hit Shaymin with one of the many moves it is weak to. Fire-types are a great threat to Shaymin. Victini, at the very least, ties with Shaymin in terms of Speed and can easily OHKO it with a super effective V-create. Arcanine, Houndoom, and Darmanitan can only outspeed Modest Shaymin without Choice Scarf, and Chandelure is even slower, but with the right prediction and tools, they can effectively take Shaymin down. Houndoom, Arcanine, and Chandelure can even take advantage of a predicted Hidden Power Fire. Another type of Pokemon that can easily dispatch of Shaymin are Bug-types. Heracross is only 3HKOed by Seed Flare at best, with Escavalier, Venomoth, and Yanmega taking even less damage; all four can easily KO Shaymin with their STAB moves. However, they need to be careful of getting hit by Air Slash and Hidden Power Fire. Weavile and Froslass outspeed Shaymin, and can effectively take it down by various means. Weavile hits extremely hard with its Ice-type STAB moves, while Froslass can aim to KO Shaymin with either Ice Beam or Destiny Bond. Flying-types, such as Zapdos, Crobat, and Togekiss, all give Shaymin trouble due to their bulk and resistance to its various moves. They need to be wary of the occasional Hidden Power Ice, but otherwise they should have no trouble taking Shaymin down. Not only does Roserade give Shaymin competition as a Grass-type supporter or attacker, it can also take it on in battle. With its typing, Roserade 4x resists Seed Flare, only fears Hidden Power and Air Slash, and can do heavy damage with a super effective Sludge Bomb. Two specially defensive behemoths that can take Shaymin head-on are Empoleon and Snorlax. Empoleon is at worst 2HKOed by a Choice Specs Earth Power, while it can do respectable amounts of damage with Ice Beam. Snorlax can take Seed Flares with ease if it avoids the Special Defense drops, while it can effectively stall out all of Seed Flare's PP with Rest or wear it down with repeated Body Slams.</p>
