Shandera
Status: Done, needs some feedback though, and again if you have a possible set, feel free to tell me and ill test it.
[Overview]
- Shandera is the only Fire / Ghost Pokemon in the game, and it also has an unbelievable Special Attack with decent Speed, making it a very hard Pokemon to switch in against.
- Shandera also has decent bulk, which means neutral hits will rarely take it out.
- Can Calm Mind to make his already incredible Special Attack go beyond anything else.
- Good Support movepool on Will-O-Wisp, Toxic, Taunt, Memento, Trick Room, and Haze.
- Low Speed is usually the main problem of Shandera, leaving it open to revenge killing.
name: Choice
move 1: Overheat
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Hidden Power Fighting
move 4: Flamethrower / Energy Ball
item: Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Set Description:
- Good enough Speed to beat most threats and smack them with insane power.
- Set is used to revenge kill troublesome Pokemon under the 80 Base Speed mark.
- Great coverage and decent bulk to switch in.
- If it manages to get a Flash Fire boost, it will rarely get stopped.
- Overheat hits incredibly hard, even stuff that resist it will take a big chunk of damage. Flamethrower can be used on the last spot to have a more reliable Fire STAB.
- Shadow Ball compliments Fire nicely, leaving only a few Pokemon that resist the combo.
- Hidden Power Fighting hits stuff that Shadow Ball and Overheat miss on, while Energy Ball can hit Waters that switch in on Fire for a 2HKO.
- Max Speed and Special Attack to enhance sweeping prowess.
- Weakness to all 3 Layers is horrible, therefore you must be very cautious when switching Shandera in.
- Rapid Spin support is needed, so things like Forretress that love to have a teammate that resists Fire are adviced.
- Shandera enjoys Water Pokemon out, so Grass types like Birijion, Jaroda, and Nattorei are good teammates, the latter can also set Layers so Shandera KOs much more easily.
- Wish Support is recommended in order to make Shandera last longer.
- Blissey will stop this Shandera set very comfortably, as will Snorlax, so Fighting type Pokemon also help.
- Its very prone to getting revenge killed by faster foes.
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Flamethrower
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Substitute / Hidden Power Fighting
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Timid / Bold
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe or 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 Speed
Set Description:
- Can get in on Fighting or Normal moves, or on its resistances and start setting up.
- 3 moves offer good enough coverage to let it sweep.
- Can be bulky to take on more foes and set up easier or offensive to start sweeping after only one boost.
- The first EV spread is used to take the offensive approach, while the second one is a more bulky spread with enough Speed EVs to beat Tyranitar and everything that tries to outspeed that by adding 4 or 5 extra EVs, with the rest dumped on Defense and Bold Nature to set up on physical threats.
- Last spot can be used for Substitute to block Status and a possible revenge kill, or the other 2 attacking moves to complete coverage.
- Stopped cold by faster stuff with Earthquake or a powerful Water move.
- Good idea to scout for faster threats first if you plan to sweep on it.
- Just as the Choice set, it appreciates Waters, Blissey, and Snorlax out of the way to sweep. Powerful Grass, Electric, and Fighting Pokemon are great partners.
- Layer support is important.
- Steel types are also recommended to lure in Fire moves and get a free Flash Fire boost.
- If it doesnt use HP Fighting, Tyranitar, Heatran, and Sazandora can give troubles.
- Swampert, Milotic, Futachimaru, Gyarados and other decently bulky Water Types can mess up big time with Shandera, as well as Salamence, Dragonite, and the dragons.
name: Support
move 1: Will-O-Wisp
move 2: Flamethrower
move 3: Shadow Ball / Pain Split / Haze / Clear Smog
move 4: Shadow Ball / Pain Split / Haze / Clear Smog
item: Leftovers
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpDef
Set Description:
- Shandera can work with a Support set used to help the team through a variety of moves.
- Very bulky, can take on a lot of pain and easily recover it with Pain Split.
- Its magnifique Special Attack means that even without any investment it still hits very hard.
- Max HP and Defense to emphasize on the Physical side, which means the usual Fighting Pokemon wont be passing Shandera with ease.
- Last 2 moves are based on preference. Pain Split is a good recovery move that will let Shandera replenish its health, Shadow Ball offers good coverage with Flamethrower, and Haze can be used for stuff that tries to set up. Clear Smog works like Haze, but its a Poison type move. While it cant be taunted and does damage, it wont affect Steel types.
- The Stealth Rock weakness limits the time it can switch in.
- This Shandera set is more prone to getting walled because it doesnt hit as hard as the other two.
- Water, Normal, Dragon, and other Fire types can easily wear off Shandera by taking its hits and hitting back, though if they are physical Will-O-Wisp will greatly hinder them.
- Appreciated on a Stall team that needs a Wall to take on Physical threats like Fighting types and a Spin Blocker.
- Great to work with a Layer set upper because of its ability to Spin Block and how it has a good typing to work with Forretress, Skarmory and Nattorei.
- Things with a very strong Ground, Water, Dark or Ghost move will hurt Shandera, so Heatran, Tyranitar, Empoleon, Sazandora, and Futachimaru can take it on well.
- Scizor, Forretress, Skarmory, Nattorei, and basically Pokemon with a Fire weak are loved by Shandera to grab free Flash Fire boosts.
- Jaroda, Zekrom, Borutorosu, and Birijion can easily help Shandera against common Water types.
- Sazandora, Terakion, Kirikizan, and other Fighting weak Pokemon go very well with Shandera, as it can switch in on those and threaten with a super powerful Overheat or a Burn.
- Fire Blast is an option over Flamethrower on the offensive sets, although the reliability of Flamethrower is usually superior.
- Toxic is another status move that can hinder Waters badly, but it doesn't have much use besides that.
- Curse is another support option, though Shandera's SR weak will leave it little to no time to abuse it.
- Using a Special Defensive spread instead of a Defensive one on Support Shandera is also possible.
- Blissey, Snorlax, and Water types are the best to take on Shandera, as they fear little from it.
- Tyranitar, Heatran, and Empoleon must be wary of Hidden Power Fighting, but besides that they can easily beat Shandera.
- Fast Ground types are able to OHKO Offensive Shandera, so it has to be cautious when setting up.
- Dragons like Salamence, Sazandora, Garchomp, and Dragonite can beat the Scarf and the Calm Mind set, but Overheat will hurt badly on the Specs set, and they are scared of Will-O-Wisp, too.
- Here's where things get interesting. Shandera's ability, Shadow Tag, makes it the perfect Set Up Pokemon and revenge killer. It can come in on a variety of things and start setting up with little to no problems, to then get a Substitute up and easily dispatch another Pokemon. Shadow Tag is the superior option on every Shandera set, as the Choice sets love to revenge kill things with no problem, the Calm Mind set is extremely dangerous once it gets enough boosts, and the Support set enjoys burning stuff that would like to switch out of Shandera.
- Choice - Shandera is going to now be able to revenge kill things like Lucario, Scizor, Metagross, Gengar, and basically everything weak to Fire or Ghost without the chance to bring in a Counter. Shadow Tag eliminates every single aspect of "Prediction" from Shandera, as now it doesnt have to be worried of facing a Water type or Blissey to stop its fun.
- Calm Mind - Oh dear. This one is monstruous, as it will get in on things like Nattorei, Forretress, locked Fighting / Normal / Fire / Grass / Electric / Bug type attacks and start Calm Minding up until it gets +6 and possibly a Substitute up. Not only it can get full set up on those and OHKO them, but it will also beat basically everything slower than it, since at +6 resistances to its moves barely do anything. Faster things can revenge kill Shandera easily, a fast Earthquake or Stone Edge will still dispatch it, but if it has a Substitute they will lose too. Also with the boosts it will basically be impossible to revenge kill with Special moves, so be sure to carry a fast Super Effective Physical move.
- Support - This one doesn't get a whole lot out of it except that it can burn things that would switch out and also OHKO some things like Scizor or Forretress.
