Overview
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Shieldon's access to the Sturdy + Berry Juice combination, great bulk, and resistances carve it a niche as a reliable Stealth Rock setter in the Little Cup metagame. While Shieldon's typing grants it notable resistances such as a 4x resistance against Flying, it also curses Shieldon with crippling 4x weaknesses to common types in Fighting and Ground. This, combined with its low offensive presence and speed, leaves Shieldon struggling to find a slot on most teams.
Support
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name: Support
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Heavy Slam
move 3: Rock Blast
move 4: Earthquake / Roar
ability: Sturdy
item: Berry Juice
evs: 116 HP / 20 Atk / 212 Def / 132 SpD
nature: Impish
Moves
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Shieldon's bulk and resistances, as well as Sturdy, allow it to reliably set up Stealth Rock. Heavy Slam is a STAB attack that is decently powerful against most of the tier, given Shieldon's high weight; unlike Iron Head, it always 2HKOs Spritzee, one of the main Pokemon Shieldon is called on to check. Rock Blast is used as a secondary STAB move, and is notably super effective against the most common Defog users, Archen and Vullaby. The last move is mainly filler; Earthquake provides coverage on Steel-types such as Pawniard, while Roar can phaze setup sweepers attempting to take advantage of Shieldon.
Set Details
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Sturdy and Berry Juice are obvious choices, ensuring that Shieldon takes at least two hits before going down. The EVs on this set allow Shieldon to hit 21 HP for optimized recovery from Berry Juice, with most of the remaining EVs invested in Shieldon's defenses, as investing heavily in its meager offenses or Speed is wasteful.
Usage Tips
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Take advantage of SturdyJuice to set up Stealth Rock as soon as possible, as this should be Shieldon's first priority. However, sacrificing Shieldon may not be wise if you rely on Shieldon to wall something on the opposing team, such as Fletchling.
Team Options
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Ghost-types such as Frillish are not only able to spinblock for Shieldon, but are also immune to Fighting, though they will have trouble switching into Fighting-types due to Knock Off. Rapid Spin support is a good option to preserve Shieldon's Sturdy, and Drilbur and Staryu are the most notable spinners in the tier. Foongus and Cottonee have great synergy with Shieldon, being able to switch in on Shieldon's biggest counter in Drilbur, while Shieldon takes on Flying-types for them. Shieldon forms a decent defensive core with Spritzee. Eviolite is a viable item choice if Shieldon is used in this core, as Spritzee provides Wish support for it.
Other Options
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Shieldon can use Metal Burst to take a hit from full health and OHKO the attacker. Toxic can be used to wear down bulky Pokemon, as Shieldon cannot threaten them with its attacks. Iron Head is a more consistent STAB option, but it doesn't 2HKO Spritzee. Shieldon has a good special movepool that includes Fire Blast, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt, though they usually provide less utility than the moves listed. An Eviolite set is possible, but Shieldon's lack of reliable recovery means it will be worn down very quickly. If Shieldon uses Magnet Rise, it will have the ability to beat Diglett 1v1 if Shieldon has Sturdy intact.
Checks & Counters
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**Fighting-types**: Almost every Fighting-type can easily switch in and OHKO Shieldon if Sturdy is broken. Mienfoo, Scraggy, Timburr, and Croagunk can Knock Off Berry Juice to prevent recovery.
**Ground-types**: See above, except with Ground-types. Diglett and Drilbur deserve special mentions for trapping it and having Mold Breaker to negate Sturdy, respectively.
**Hazard Prevention**: Drilbur and Staryu can both force it out and spin away Stealth Rock. Taunt users such as Mienfoo can also prevent Shieldon from setting up Stealth Rock and force it out.
**Miscellaneous**: Pretty much anything with a Fighting-, Ground-, or STAB Water-type attack can deal with Shieldon once Sturdy is broken.
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