Pokémon Aegislash

[Hexadiagon]

I would like to share the moveset of my aegislash
Item: Kasib berry.
Ability: Stance Change

King's shield
Swords dance
Shadow sneak
Iron head

Swords dance is there for obvious reasons.

King's shield is the only move that I know of that can switch aegislash to shield form from his other from. It sharply reduces the attack stat of those that make contact woth it. Because of its priority, it is good for scouting as well as crippling the opponent's attack if timed correctly. However, it does not protect against status moves like thunder wave and will o wisp which is a disappointment given that he latter can cripple aegislash.

Shadow sneak works wonders. I prefer it over shadow claw and shadow ball. WHy? Because it is a priority move. though not powerful on its own, Aegislash's above exceptional attack stat in Sword Forme plus a swords dance or two is bound to doom almost any pokemon not prepared for it. With aegislash's marvelous defensive stats in shield forme (not to mention its typing), aegislash will almost always get in a swords dance. In many occasions, you may be able to set up two swords dances, or even three. Shadow sneak after a swords dance will allow you to be able to enjoy the benefits of an attack boost no matter how fast the other pokemon is and after 2 to three swords dances, it can eliminate most sweepers on one hit.

Iron head. THis is a last resort, should shadow sneak fail, this is another option to attack the opponent with. Iron head gets STAB and is formidable against rock types, ice types, and the new fairy type. I have ran this move on aegislash but I think that Sacred Sword is a superior option thanks to the coverage you get with it. With sacred sword, you can eliminate threats such as tyranitar that loves to use earthquake. other threts are not limited to tyranitar.

Kasib Berry: Since a lot of pokemon can learn shadow ball, this berry is great to use. It works great to ensure that a special sweeper using shadow ball wont KO aegislash, giving room for aegislash to use swords dance and a shadow sneak to hopefully knock it out or prepare it to be KO'd by the next pokemon. I dont like using life orb because Aegislash's ability to survive powerful hits and set up a sweep is too precious for me to use a life orb that could potentially throw away this pokemon due to the recoil it receives upon use of the item.

 

[ShadowMarioGalaxy64]

I will agree that Aegislash is one of the coolest Pokemon ever made, both design-wise and strategy-wise.
I'm curious as to how he'll do in Ubers. Not saying he's too good for OU or anything, but he's number one in usage right now and for obvious reasons, so it's evident that he'll hit both. He could be a good check or switch-in to several Pokemon there--he can easily switch into a Modest Specs Kyurem-W Draco Meteor for example.

One thing I would like to know about is how Sleep Talk would work on Aegislash. I can't test this myself anytime soon (3DS is a little...weird towards me right now) and I'd like to know how Sleep Talk works. Would Aegislash change forms on Sleep Talk if it uses an attacking move? Would a ResTalxiStall (Rest, Sleep Talk, Toxic) be viable? Just a few things that are boggling me about how it would work with those moves.

 

[Zazazaki]

King's shield is the only move that I know of that can switch aegislash to shield form from his other from.

Just because you mentioned it, Swords Dance also reverts him back, as far as I remember at least. Non-attackin moves revert him back in Shield stance.
Now, that aside, this is basically the standard physical variant, xcept it has kasib berry. I personally think that Sacred sword is more useful overally, as it hits Normals for SE damage, as well as providin perfect neutral coverage alongside Shadow sneak. Iron Head's still viable, tho, has stab, and as far as I can remember, very good neutral coverage too, plus it hits fairies.

 

[Mozilla Fennekin]

Just because you mentioned it, Swords Dance also reverts him back, as far as I remember at least. Non-attackin moves revert him back in Shield stance.
Now, that aside, this is basically the standard physical variant, xcept it has kasib berry. I personally think that Sacred sword is more useful overally, as it hits Normals for SE damage, as well as providin perfect neutral coverage alongside Shadow sneak. Iron Head's still viable, tho, has stab, and as far as I can remember, very good neutral coverage too, plus it hits fairies.

Only King's Shield puts him back.

One thing I would like to know about is how Sleep Talk would work on Aegislash. I can't test this myself anytime soon (3DS is a little...weird towards me right now) and I'd like to know how Sleep Talk works. Would Aegislash change forms on Sleep Talk if it uses an attacking move? Would a ResTalxiStall (Rest, Sleep Talk, Toxic) be viable? Just a few things that are boggling me about how it would work with those moves.

Most likely, because if you manually use a move like Shadow Sneak while you're sleeping, it changes formes anyway.

 

[Pac-man9]

How is a mixed set gonna sweep when it is too slow and has no kings shield to put it back in defensive form

 

[MagnetBoy]

We weren't discussing ways to deal with aegislash, we were discussing counters. A counter is something that can switch in and force the pokemon out or KO with almost certainty. You mentioned gliscor as being one of the best counters to aegislash, then it was brought up that gliscor isn't a fool-proof counter because aegislash can hit it with HP ice on the switch in. If you need to bring in rotom-w to throw up a light screen before you bring in gliscor, then it isn't a counter. Gliscor is a check to aegislash but not "a definitive counter."

it is a definitive counter because he hard counters the physical variation. If you are forced to go special, the much shittier aegislash just because gliscor exists then it is definitely a counter. Special aegislash has no priority and easily just rolls over and dies to anything faster then it. Not that hard to comprehend.

 

[Thorhammer]

How is a mixed set gonna sweep when it is too slow and has no kings shield to put it back in defensive form

Automize solves the speed problem. Traditionally, Pokemon with base 150 attacking stats don't need a shield form in order to sweep.

 

[Pac-man9]

I was referring to the ones without automize, but okay. What nature could you run on an aegislash that needs both attacking and defensive stats, along with speed

 

[Sheriff_K]

ShadowMarioGalaxy64 , If you attempt to use a Move while Asleep, it changes Formes, then fails.

An Autotomize set does seem interesting. I was considering Weakness Policy, with enough HP EVs to ensure he survives an Earthquake, around 88 I believe, and the rest in Speed.

Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Modest Nature
88 HP / 252 Sp.Atk / 164 Speed
- Autotomize
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon / HP Ice
- Sacred Sword / Shadow Sneak (Base 150 Atk and +2 from Weakness Policy makes it not utterly useless without Atk investment)

Though it requires there to be no Hazards and to be hit by a Super-Effective attack, so if you fail at predicting or get unlucky, this set is kind of useless..

 

[Time Mage]

it is a definitive counter because he hard counters the physical variation. If you are forced to go special, the much shittier aegislash just because gliscor exists then it is definitely a counter. Special aegislash has no priority and easily just rolls over and dies to anything faster then it. Not that hard to comprehend.

Switch in on a resisted hit, hit hard whatever comes, switch out when the opponent gets a counter in. Rinse and repeat. That's the use of Aegislash on special or mixed sets. They work great, because a) Good opponents make setting up actually hard, and b) Shadow sneak is too weak even at +2. A mixed or special set, heck, even a physical CB set, doesn't care about set up, just about hitting hard whatever comes its way. I assure you that, outside of resistances and immunities, few pokémon take well a LO or specs Shadow Ball to the face.

 

[Pac-man9]

ShadowMarioGalaxy64 , If you attempt to use a Move while Asleep, it changes Formes, then fails.

An Autotomize set does seem interesting. I was considering Weakness Policy, with enough HP EVs to ensure he survives an Earthquake(From What Pokemon though?), around 88 I believe, and the rest in Speed.

Aegislash Weakness Policy
Modest
88 HP / 252 Sp.Atk / 164 Speed
- Autotomize
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon / HP Ice
- Sacred Sword / Shadow Sneak (Base 150 Atk and +2 from Weakness Policy makes it not utterly useless without Atk investment)

I wouldn't use flash cannon or shadow sneak since steel moves are used for fairies now and most fairies are specially defensive, and shadow sneak isn't needed for priority if you are already outspeeding your opponent. And why modest if you are using the attack stat?
I would run:

Weakness Policy
-Automize
-Shadow Claw
-Sacred Sword
-HP Ice

You already kill faires like Florges with shadow claw, and faires like azumarill and M-Mawile take neutral hits from iron head so u don't need it.

 

[crazy_man]

I was referring to the ones without automize, but okay. What nature could you run on an aegislash that needs both attacking and defensive stats, along with speed

Naive or Hasty

Mixed without Autotomize could only work as a pivot with a surprise factor (for now)

 

[Nysyr]

If you are scarred of Lando-T and gliscor just slap a Mega Lucario on your team, seriously. Mixed HP Ice still loses to ground types like Hippowdown, and Rotom-W.

 

[UltiMario]

autotomize is a cleaner lol

If those things aren't in kill range you don't set up.

 

[LittleTLK]

I got a sturdy avalugg with avalanche. Good enough?

Good enough for what? Countering Aegislash?

For physical Aegislash:

252 Atk Aegislash Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg: 102-120 (25.88 - 30.45%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
+2 252 Atk Aegislash Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg: 202-238 (51.26 - 60.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

If it sets up a SD, don't even try to switch in.
Also, Avalanche with no att investment is only a 2hko most of the time, plus you're giving Aegislash another turn to do whatever, turning it into a 3 or 4hko.

For mixed:

252 SpA Aegislash Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Avalugg: 268-316 (68.02 - 80.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Suicide to switch in avalugg, especially since it's slower.


If you're talking about a partner for Aegislash for Gliscor and MegaLucario, then I'd say avalugg is good for dealing with gliscor, but watch out for AuraSphere on MegaLucario.

 

[Pac-man9]

Good enough for what? Countering Aegislash?

For physical Aegislash:

252 Atk Aegislash Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg: 102-120 (25.88 - 30.45%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
+2 252 Atk Aegislash Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg: 202-238 (51.26 - 60.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

If it sets up a SD, don't even try to switch in.
Also, Avalanche with no att investment is only a 2hko most of the time, plus you're giving Aegislash another turn to do whatever, turning it into a 3 or 4hko.

For mixed:

252 SpA Aegislash Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Avalugg: 268-316 (68.02 - 80.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Suicide to switch in avalugg, especially since it's slower.


If you're talking about a partner for Aegislash for Gliscor and MegaLucario, then I'd say avalugg is good for dealing with gliscor, but watch out for AuraSphere on MegaLucario.

I was talking about a partner for aegislash for countering gliscor and landorus

 

[LittleTLK]

I was talking about a partner for aegislash for countering gliscor and landorus

I'd say it's a good counter for gliscor and Landorus.
MegaLucario is still a problem, but those two have a hard time with it.

 

[Pac-man9]

Mega lucario is handled by my gliscor

 

[Sheriff_K]

And why modest if you are using the attack stat?

Because I'm not using the Attack stat? I had 252 Sp.Atk EVs in that set. But I guess you're right about Fairies being specially defensive.

 

[LittleTLK]

Mega lucario is handled by my gliscor

Just a note, I'm not trying to be a dick or anything.

Mega Lucario is one of those pokemon that can run both a physical and special set, so keep that in mind.

That aside, I've still not run into any of these mixed Aegislash on BattleSpot, though I assume they'll rise in popularity.
Aegislash is already a very popular pokemon from the looks of it.

The variants that run Shadow Sneak, Shadow Ball, Sacred Sword, and Automotize nead to watch out for certain pokemon like Clefable that can get a surprise KO with Fire Blast/Flamethrower. Iron Head might be considered in there, though idk where.

 

[Kriptini]

The variants that run Shadow Sneak, Shadow Ball, Sacred Sword, and Automotize nead to watch out for certain pokemon like Clefable that can get a surprise KO with Fire Blast/Flamethrower. Iron Head might be considered in there, though idk where.

Physical Aegislashes don't have too much to worry about from Clefable because Clefable's physical defense is meh, even with investment. Special Aegislashes, on the other hand... good luck.

 

[Pac-man9]

Because I'm not using the Attack stat? I had 252 Sp.Atk EVs in that set. But I guess you're right about Fairies being specially defensive.

But i saw sacred sword...but i guess you're right.
LittleTLK
I wasn't mad if that's what you felt, but yeah, im a bit Leery about using mixed aegislash as well, but with ask the bashing of kings shield for the last 4 pages, i just decided to go mixed. Im considering physical again though. Also, not many lucarios out there go special any more, and those who do, don't run a move that kills a sturdy avallugg with earthquake.

 

[hotcoldyay7]

I've been using this bulky sweeper set:

Aegislash@Leftovers
Impish, 31/31/31/X/31/31
252 HP/48 Def/ 208 SDef
-Swords Dance
-King's Shield
-Shadow Sneak
-Sacred Sword

Yeah, it's basically Ferrothorn's standard spread. But it's so dang effective. Aegislash gets a lot of oppurtunities to set up, and with added defenses, it can squeeze in one or two more under its belt and sweep joyfully when set. It won't hit as hard as a +Atk nature, which can certainly be run, but its longevity is definitely prolonged.

ATM, though, what is the most effective set to run? I've been using this one the whole time, not knowing if there were any other options.

 

[LittleTLK]

I've been using this bulky sweeper set:

Aegislash@Leftovers
Impish, 31/31/31/X/31/31
252 HP/48 Def/ 208 SDef
-Swords Dance
-King's Shield
-Shadow Sneak
-Sacred Sword

Yeah, it's basically Ferrothorn's standard spread. But it's so dang effective. Aegislash gets a lot of oppurtunities to set up, and with added defenses, it can squeeze in one or two more under its belt and sweep joyfully when set. It won't hit as hard as a +Atk nature, which can certainly be run, but its longevity is definitely prolonged.

ATM, though, what is the most effective set to run? I've been using this one the whole time, not knowing if there were any other options.

I'd replace King's shield with automotize.
Even with a boost, Shadow Sneak doesn't really hit hard enough to prevent something like Lucario from taking it and KOing you back. Speed's important for a sweeper.

 

[hotcoldyay7]

I'd replace King's shield with automotize.
Even with a boost, Shadow Sneak doesn't really hit hard enough to prevent something like Lucario from taking it and KOing you back. Speed's important for a sweeper.

So what would be the better spread since defense seems to be out of the question for aegislash now?