Shuckle
[Overview]
<p>Shuckle is a true Rock-type. It has gargantuan defenses, and walling almost any opponent without a boosting move or super effective STAB. Unfortunately, Shuckle is cursed with a rock-like feature that you would not want in your Pokemon. Namely, Shuckle is extremely passive and has no way to threaten the opposition directly. By extension, it gives setup opportunities to an extremely wide variety of sweepers. Shuckle's weakness to Stealth Rock, lack of reliable recovery, and its pathetic HP means that it cannot be relied on to take hits for too long. Shuckle has the "rock hard defense and determination," but nothing more.</p>
[SET]
name: Utility
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Encore
move 4: Rest
item: Leftovers
ability: Sturdy
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Shuckle has non-existent offenses, so it has to rely on Toxic in order to inflict any meaningful damage. Stealth Rock is an incredible support move, and Shuckle certainly has the bulk to set it up multiple times a match, even if the opponent carries a Rapid Spinner. Because it is such great setup fodder, Encore is very useful to lock the opponent into a setup move. Without Encore, your team will consistently be swept by the likes of Shell Smash Huntail. Finally, Rest rounds out the set as Shuckle's only method of healing. Because of the new mechanics, Rest is incredibly unreliable even with cleric support. Thankfully, only a few things can outright overpower Shuckle for the 3HKO.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs are designed for maximum special bulk, and Leftovers is an obvious choice for a sturdy wall like Shuckle. A physically defensive spread is also viable; Shuckle's poor typing leaves little resistances for it to work with, so it should invest fully in either Defense depending on the rest of your team. As previously mentioned, Shuckle appreciates teammates that can neuter the setup sweepers that drool all over it. Unaware Quagsire, for example, is an excellent choice to shut down Huntail, Dragon Dance Altaria, and a host of other boosting threats. Rapid Spin and Wish support is much appreciated to keep Shuckle in mint condition. Weakness to Stealth Rock is crippling for a wall without recovery, so Rapid Spinners such as Cryogonal and Torkoal help immensely. However, do note that most Rapid Spinners are weak to Stealth Rock themselves, and have poor synergy with Shuckle. Wish users such as Alomomola are incredible teammates, as their Wish will heal Shuckle to full health in one fell swoop. With Wish support, Knock Off is a viable alternative over Rest in order to cripple switch-ins.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>As a true fan favorite, Shuckle has multiple fun options. Acupressure can turn Shuckle into a monstrous tank, but it is ultimately a luck-based move, and Shuckle will often not have enough time to set up properly unless it gets a lucky evasion boost or a moronic opponent. Wrap and Bide can turn Shuckle into a Pseudo-Wobbuffet, but Wynaut does it infinitely better thanks to Eviolite, larger HP, and Shadow Tag. Power Split averages the offensive stats of two Pokemon, and can be useful as it essentially halves the foe's offensive stats. Finally, Power Trick Shuckle may work in Trick Room, but Marowak and other conventional abusers are far superior, as they don't need to waste valuable Trick Room turns with a setup move.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Shuckle has multiple hard counters, but most of them tend to be specific moves rather than Pokemon. Taunt or Trick renders Shuckle useless, and Substitute prevents it from doing anything. Any status absorber, especially RestTalk users, will render Shuckle relatively useless. Stealth Rock is another good check to Shuckle, who hates losing 25% of its health every time it switches in. Setup sweepers are also good checks, as a single misprediction can cost the opposition the game. Setup sweepers with Substitute, such as SubCM Mesprit, are the best at setting up against Shuckle as they don't fear its Toxic. Also, recovery moves and careful switching prevents the Toxic counter from stacking too high. Finally, Steel- and Poison-types such as Probopass and Muk can switch in easily, as they are immune to Toxic, and proceed to do whatever they want.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Shuckle's hidden ability is Contrary. Given that Shuckle is not OHKOed by any common attack in the tier, Contrary is certainly the more useful ability to prevent stat drops due to attacks such as Crunch and Shadow Ball. However, Stealth Rock is incompatible with Contrary, and Shuckle cannot do anything notable with the free moveslot. Stick with Sturdy.</p>
[Overview]
<p>Shuckle is a true Rock-type. It has gargantuan defenses, and walling almost any opponent without a boosting move or super effective STAB. Unfortunately, Shuckle is cursed with a rock-like feature that you would not want in your Pokemon. Namely, Shuckle is extremely passive and has no way to threaten the opposition directly. By extension, it gives setup opportunities to an extremely wide variety of sweepers. Shuckle's weakness to Stealth Rock, lack of reliable recovery, and its pathetic HP means that it cannot be relied on to take hits for too long. Shuckle has the "rock hard defense and determination," but nothing more.</p>
[SET]
name: Utility
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Encore
move 4: Rest
item: Leftovers
ability: Sturdy
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Shuckle has non-existent offenses, so it has to rely on Toxic in order to inflict any meaningful damage. Stealth Rock is an incredible support move, and Shuckle certainly has the bulk to set it up multiple times a match, even if the opponent carries a Rapid Spinner. Because it is such great setup fodder, Encore is very useful to lock the opponent into a setup move. Without Encore, your team will consistently be swept by the likes of Shell Smash Huntail. Finally, Rest rounds out the set as Shuckle's only method of healing. Because of the new mechanics, Rest is incredibly unreliable even with cleric support. Thankfully, only a few things can outright overpower Shuckle for the 3HKO.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs are designed for maximum special bulk, and Leftovers is an obvious choice for a sturdy wall like Shuckle. A physically defensive spread is also viable; Shuckle's poor typing leaves little resistances for it to work with, so it should invest fully in either Defense depending on the rest of your team. As previously mentioned, Shuckle appreciates teammates that can neuter the setup sweepers that drool all over it. Unaware Quagsire, for example, is an excellent choice to shut down Huntail, Dragon Dance Altaria, and a host of other boosting threats. Rapid Spin and Wish support is much appreciated to keep Shuckle in mint condition. Weakness to Stealth Rock is crippling for a wall without recovery, so Rapid Spinners such as Cryogonal and Torkoal help immensely. However, do note that most Rapid Spinners are weak to Stealth Rock themselves, and have poor synergy with Shuckle. Wish users such as Alomomola are incredible teammates, as their Wish will heal Shuckle to full health in one fell swoop. With Wish support, Knock Off is a viable alternative over Rest in order to cripple switch-ins.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>As a true fan favorite, Shuckle has multiple fun options. Acupressure can turn Shuckle into a monstrous tank, but it is ultimately a luck-based move, and Shuckle will often not have enough time to set up properly unless it gets a lucky evasion boost or a moronic opponent. Wrap and Bide can turn Shuckle into a Pseudo-Wobbuffet, but Wynaut does it infinitely better thanks to Eviolite, larger HP, and Shadow Tag. Power Split averages the offensive stats of two Pokemon, and can be useful as it essentially halves the foe's offensive stats. Finally, Power Trick Shuckle may work in Trick Room, but Marowak and other conventional abusers are far superior, as they don't need to waste valuable Trick Room turns with a setup move.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Shuckle has multiple hard counters, but most of them tend to be specific moves rather than Pokemon. Taunt or Trick renders Shuckle useless, and Substitute prevents it from doing anything. Any status absorber, especially RestTalk users, will render Shuckle relatively useless. Stealth Rock is another good check to Shuckle, who hates losing 25% of its health every time it switches in. Setup sweepers are also good checks, as a single misprediction can cost the opposition the game. Setup sweepers with Substitute, such as SubCM Mesprit, are the best at setting up against Shuckle as they don't fear its Toxic. Also, recovery moves and careful switching prevents the Toxic counter from stacking too high. Finally, Steel- and Poison-types such as Probopass and Muk can switch in easily, as they are immune to Toxic, and proceed to do whatever they want.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Shuckle's hidden ability is Contrary. Given that Shuckle is not OHKOed by any common attack in the tier, Contrary is certainly the more useful ability to prevent stat drops due to attacks such as Crunch and Shadow Ball. However, Stealth Rock is incompatible with Contrary, and Shuckle cannot do anything notable with the free moveslot. Stick with Sturdy.</p>
[Overview]
• Strongth!
• Defenses are very decent, bad HP
• Just sits there…
• Encore Nerf Sucks?
• Taunt used ggGG
[SET]
name: Utility
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Encore
move 4: Rest
item: Leftovers
ability: Sturdy
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
• Uses bulk to… do some (often pointless) Toxic Stalling
• Reliable SR thanks to Sturdy
• Encore to be not set-up bait, and Toxic is its only way of damaging things
• Rest is unreliable even with Cleric, but thank god few things can outright overpower it.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
• Alternative Physically Defensive Spread. Actually, which one gets the nod over the other?
• Lefties are obvious
• Resters and status absorbers own Shuckle
• So do Taunters
• So do Steels and Poisons
• And So does Stealth Rock
• Rapid Spinners like Wartortle helps with its painful SR weakness
• Knock Off is viable over Encore or Rest
• Likes Wish support. Just about every wish will heal him to 100%. Alomomola.
[Other Options]
• Wrap and Bide. Enough said =(
• Accupressure Shuckle!
• Power Trick. Power Split. Rollout and Defense Curl =(
[Checks and Counters]
• Taunt / Trick = gg
• Substitute auto-wins
• Steels, e.g Klinklang, Magneton & Poison types like Muk
• Recovery Moves and careful switching to prevent Toxic counter from stacking too high
• SR
• Status Absorbers
• Set-up Sweepers
• Strongth!
• Defenses are very decent, bad HP
• Just sits there…
• Encore Nerf Sucks?
• Taunt used ggGG
[SET]
name: Utility
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Encore
move 4: Rest
item: Leftovers
ability: Sturdy
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
• Uses bulk to… do some (often pointless) Toxic Stalling
• Reliable SR thanks to Sturdy
• Encore to be not set-up bait, and Toxic is its only way of damaging things
• Rest is unreliable even with Cleric, but thank god few things can outright overpower it.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
• Alternative Physically Defensive Spread. Actually, which one gets the nod over the other?
• Lefties are obvious
• Resters and status absorbers own Shuckle
• So do Taunters
• So do Steels and Poisons
• And So does Stealth Rock
• Rapid Spinners like Wartortle helps with its painful SR weakness
• Knock Off is viable over Encore or Rest
• Likes Wish support. Just about every wish will heal him to 100%. Alomomola.
[Other Options]
• Wrap and Bide. Enough said =(
• Accupressure Shuckle!
• Power Trick. Power Split. Rollout and Defense Curl =(
[Checks and Counters]
• Taunt / Trick = gg
• Substitute auto-wins
• Steels, e.g Klinklang, Magneton & Poison types like Muk
• Recovery Moves and careful switching to prevent Toxic counter from stacking too high
• SR
• Status Absorbers
• Set-up Sweepers
