Overview
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Sigilyph possesses the amazing Magic Guard ability, and it possesses enough Speed to outrun almost every defensively inclined Pokemon in the tier and some offensive ones, giving it a solid niche over Reuniclus. Sigilyph's combination of usable bulk, reliable recovery, and immunity to residual damage makes it a huge pain for defensive teams to take down. It has a movepool wide enough to have varying checks and counters to each of its sets, which can make it tricky to handle. However, Sigilyph faces stiff competition from the numerous other Psychic-types that reside in the tier. Delphox shares much of Sigilyph's movepool but has superior offensive stats and stronger typing, while Cresselia and Reuniclus possess vastly superior bulk, with Cresselia sharing Sigilyph's respectable Speed and Reuniclus also having Magic Guard. However, Sigilyph has its collective advantages over all of them that warrants its use, and is a powerful standalone threat in its own right.
Attacker
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name: Attacker
move 1: Psyshock / Psychic
move 2: Heat Wave
move 3: Energy Ball / Shadow Ball
move 4: Roost
ability: Magic Guard
item: Life Orb
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Timid
Moves
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Psyshock is a STAB move that lets Sigilyph hit specially defensive Pokemon such as Gallade, Delphox, and Cryogonal harder, while also guaranteeing the OHKO on Virizion. Psychic can be used instead if physically bulky Pokemon such as Druddigon and Gligar are of greater concern. Heat Wave roasts Steel-types such as Escavalier, Registeel, and Doublade, and can deal respectable amounts of damage against Dark-types such as Drapion and Shiftry. Energy Ball hits physically bulky Pokemon such as Rhyperior, Omastar, and Alomomola which tank Psyshock well, or specially defensive Pokemon such as Gastrodon, Slowking, and Jellicent harder. Shadow Ball is a perfectly viable alternative as it 2HKOes Delphox and Reuniclus while still hitting Slowking and Jellicent, but it misses out on Sharpedo. Roost keeps Sigilyph healthy, letting it survive against defensive teams for much longer.
Set Details
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Life Orb induces no recoil thanks to Magic Guard, effectively providing Sigilyph a free boost in power. Maximum Speed and Special Attack investment helps to maximize Sigilyph's sweeping potential. Immunity to Stealth Rock means Sigilyph does not have to care about Stealth Rock numbers, so the remaining EVs can be placed anywhere.
Usage Tips
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Sigilyph can be a royal pain for offensive teams to deal with due to its limited switch-ins and wide coverage. It's very simple to use: get in, then hit everything as hard as it can with its strong coverage without any Life Orb recoil. Those switches can be obtained with ease from the opponent's defensive Pokemon, but remember that Sigilyph is only unfazed by damaging status; Thunder Wave and Spore still affect it. This Sigilyph can threaten almost everything slower than it, which makes Sticky Web support an appealing choice, with the nature accordingly changed to Modest. Sigilyph can afford to play a bit recklessly as staying healthy usually isn't Sigilyph's main concern, thanks to its immunity to passive damage.
Team Options
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Sigilyph can have issues against the likes of Cresselia and Reuniclus, making teammates such as Escavalier and Drapion solid partners to dispose of the bulky Psychic-types that trouble Sigilyph. Sigilyph has some problematic weaknesses, most notably to Electric and Dark, both of which are resisted by Virizion, Shiftry, and Whimsicott, the former two providing strong offensive support while the latter can generate momentum for Sigilyph with Encore and U-turn. Other Pokemon that resist Sigilyph's weaknesses make good partners as well, including Exploud with its Ghost immunity, Doublade with its Ice and Rock resistances, and Drapion with its Dark resistance. Sticky Web can benefit Sigilyph greatly, as it renders many offensive checks to Sigilyph much less potent. Any user of Sticky Web can do the trick and offer other forms of support: Leavanny has decent offensive presence due to high Speed and decent dual STABs, Ariados has Toxic Spikes, Kricketune has Knock Off, and Masquerain has QuiverPass.
Calm Mind
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name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Psychic / Psyshock
move 3: Heat Wave
move 4: Roost
ability: Magic Guard
item: Life Orb
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Timid
Moves
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Calm Mind boosts Sigilyph's power and special bulk, allowing it to steamroll slower teams that have difficulty weathering its attacks or KOing it in return. Psychic is Sigilyph's main STAB move and has good Base Power. Heat Wave allows Sigilyph to hit Steel-types and maintains decent neutral coverage on the tier. Roost keeps Sigilyph healthy and maintain its boosts. Psyshock can be used to hit physically frail Pokemon, but it doesn't give Sigilyph the edge in Calm Mind wars against opposing bulkier Calm Mind users such as Reuniclus and Cresselia, and exposes Sigilyph to Rhyperior and physically bulky Druddigon, which it preferably wants to take down more effectively.
Set Details
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The spread is straightforward, with max Speed and Special Attack investment for optimum sweeping potential. Life Orb gives Sigilyph a good boost in power, allowing it to hit hard even without setting up.
Usage Tips
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Calm Mind Sigilyph is designed to exploit a weak defensive link in balanced teams, then dismantling them with its boosted power, Speed, and coverage. One boost is usually enough to spell trouble for most teams. This Sigilyph combines Delphox's powerful offensive combo with Reuniclus's survivability. Sigilyph easily exploits defensive Pokemon, such as Alomomola, Golbat, Slowking, and Aromatisse, that cannot threaten Sigilyph with paralysis, sleep, or damage.
Team Options
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Virizion resists Electric-, Rock-, and Dark-type moves for Sigilyph, while Sigilyph can pick apart defensive cores that prevent Virizion from doing much sweeping, especially cores which contain Gligar, Doublade, Aromatisse, and Amoonguss. Offensive sweepers such as Durant, Hitmonlee, Sharpedo, and Cinccino appreciate Sigilyph's ability to weaken defensive cores, while covering for Sigilyph against opposing offensive Pokemon. Sticky Web support can be considered, allowing Sigilyph to clean through teams at an even better caliber.
Flame Orb
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name: Flame Orb
move 1: Psycho Shift
move 2: Roost
move 3: Calm Mind
move 4: Air Slash
ability: Magic Guard
item: Flame Orb
evs: 252 HP / 16 Def / 240 Spe
nature: Timid
Moves
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Psycho Shift allows Sigilyph to burn opponents, essentially being a pseudo-Will-O-Wisp. It weakens physical attackers and annoys bulky walls by nullifying Leftovers recovery. Roost allows Sigilyph to remain healthy and keep its boosts. Calm Mind is primarily used to boost Sigilyph's Special Defense, which works well with Psycho Shift burns, while also boosting its Special Attack. The mono-attack of choice is Air Slash, which has no immunities and has STAB.
Set Details
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Flame Orb gives Sigilyph immunity to sleep and paralysis, and lets it burn physical attackers and walls with Psycho Shift. 240 Speed EVs with Timid allow Sigilyph to outspeed positive natured base 95s such as Tinted Lens Yanmega and Drapion, giving it the chance to act accordingly. Max HP investment is used to maximize bulk, while the remaining EVs go into Defense as Sigilyph cannot actively boost it. An alternative offensive spread of 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe can be used, although it makes it harder for Sigilyph to acquire boosts, and this Sigilyph does not have Life Orb to augment its power to justify the spread.
Usage Tips
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Flame Orb Sigilyph was viewed in a bad light in the previous generation, but it strikes back with a vengeance. It has an absurdly good matchup against almost anything defensively inclined, preferably with Flame Orb activated beforehand; opponents such as Amoonguss, Alomomola, Aromatisse, and Bronzong are setup bait. Sigilpyh can easily spread burns onto physical attackers such as Skuntank and Rhyperior to weaken their attacks and cripple them, or burn bulky foes such as Slowking and Registeel to make it easier to break through them. Calm Mind, on the other hand, softens the blows of special attackers and strengthens Sigilyph at the same time. This Sigilyph is meant to steamroll through the opponent's defenses while meeting little, if any, resistance. If Sigilyph cannot find time to set up, simply focus on spreading burns or chipping away with Air Slash.
Team Options
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Flame Orb Sigilyph detests Knock Off, not primarily because of its weakness, but it robs Sigilyph of its status immunity and burning method. Knock Off absorbers make great teammates because of this, Cobalion and Virizion topping the list due to Justified and their advantage against Dark-types and Rock-types. Opposing Delphox and Moltres pose problems due to their burn immunity and power; Stealth Rock does a great job at limiting these two from switching in freely, while more direct responses such as Alomomola, Druddigon, Jellicent, Regirock, and Lanturn can work, though it should be noted that no Pokemon can safely counter both of them at once. Faster sweepers with super effective attacks, such as Heliolisk, Zoroark, Cincinno, Durant, and Mismagius, can threaten Sigilyph; Virizion makes a good partner at handling Sigilyph's Electric and Dark weakness, while Doublade keeps faster physical attackers in check. Powerful special attackers can potentially overwhelm Sigilyph regardless of Calm Mind, so a backup against them is recommended; Assault Vest Escavalier, Amoonguss, and Gastrodon perform well against them. This Sigilyph's offensive presence can be a bit lacking, so offensive sweepers such as Hitmonlee, Sharpedo, Cobalion, and other such Pokemon that can threaten offensive teams are highly appreciated as teammates.
Other Options
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Sigilyph seems to be able to wield Choice items effectively, given its access to Trick and Magic Guard giving it free room for repeated switches regardless of entry hazards. However, Magic Guard Life Orb already outclasses Choice Specs as it provides a similiar boost for free, while Choice Scarf Sigilyph has no way to boost its power of its attacks, its best STAB only topping 90 BP, leaving it rather weak. Tinted Lens looks appealing, but giving up Magic Guard is painful (especially when Stealth Rock is concerned), and even then Sigilyph faces competition from Yanmega, which does not deal with the thought of its STAB type having an immunity. Sigilyph has some other attacking options at its disposal. Ice Beam is nice for neutral coverage and hits Druddigon, but Sigilyph already has the coverage options to hit what it needs to, making Ice Beam unnecessary. Dazzling Gleam lets Sigilyph hits Spiritomb for good damage, but most other Dark-types are either faster or aren't weak to it, lessening its value. Finally, there is the infamous Cosmic Power and Stored Power combination, also known as the combination that tarnished the Flame Orb set's reputation and potential. The combo is frowned upon as it is criminally weak during the first few turns and is forced out incredibly easily, pretty much throwing away Sigilyph's best traits.
Checks & Counters
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**Dark-types**: Being immune to Sigilyph's strongest STAB moves, Dark-types make for powerful responses against it. The problem is that a good majority of Dark-types detest being burned or are too frail to repeatedly switch into Sigilyph, if at all. However, Knock Off removes Flame Orb indefinitely, so Dark-types with cleric support can shut down the Flame Orb set as well. RestTalk + Calm Mind Spiritomb does not fear Sigilyph at all for the most part, easily setting up on it. Zoroark and +1 Sharpedo are faster than Sigilyph, meaning they can go for the KO outright without risking the burn, but cannot safely make a direct switch-in.
**Psychic-types**: Versatility in movesets makes Sigilyph tricky to counter, but Psychic-types tend to be a thorn by Sigilyph's side. Delphox resists most of Sigilyph's attacks and is immune to burn, while also outspeeding Sigilyph and packs a solid punch; Shadow Ball hurts but only knocks Delphox into Blaze range. Slowking has the bulk to shrug off unboosted super effective attacks, and can use Dragon Tail to prevent Calm Mind Sigilyph from turning the tables on it. Reuniclus is also powerful and immune to burn, while being bulky enough to shrug off repeated assaults and even beats Sigilyph in Calm Mind wars, although switching directly into Life Orb Shadow Ball usually means it loses. Cresselia either annoys Sigilyph with Thunder Wave or Ice Beam, or beats Sigilyph in a Calm Mind war, although Cresselia is annoyed by burn.
**Faster Pokemon**: While defensive Pokemon are at an inherent disadvantage against Sigilpyh, speedy offensive Pokemon have considerably less trouble with it, as their strong attacks pressure Sigilyph to choose between attacking or healing. Those with super effective attacks, such as Jolteon, Sharpedo, and Cincinno, fare even better against Sigilyph, retaliating for a swift KO. Keep in mind that most faster attackers are greatly hindered by Sticky Web, and special attackers risk being unable to revenge Calm Mind Sigilyph should it have gained boosts and kept its health high.
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