[OVERVIEW]
Suitable for a sword and shield, Aegislash operates as a fantastic pivot into common Ice-, Psychic-, Rock-, and Steel-type moves, safely taking minimal damage and threatening a big hit in return. Thanks to its ability, Stance Change, Aegislash functionally has amazing all-around stats with base 150 offenses and defenses. Sadly, this comes with a few drawbacks. To change formes, Aegislash must use King's Shield, which is superior to Protect in that it also sharply lowers an offending foe's Attack, but inferior due to failing to block status moves such as Taunt, Leech Seed, and Spore. Aegislash also must play carefully to avoid taking hits in its Blade forme, which is too frail to benefit from Aegislash's great defensive typing and thus forces Aegislash to use King's Shield more often than other Pokemon might need to use Protect. Aegislash's low Speed works in its favor here, making it more common for Aegislash to take hits in Shield forme, but this low Speed can also inhibit its ability to be a true offensive powerhouse. Still, Aegislash's diverse movepool and good role compression provide it a strong place in the metagame. With a decent degree of versatility in its moves and item choices, including access to the sparingly distributed Wide Guard, Aegislash is rarely deadweight and can adapt to fit most teams.
[SET]
name: Bulky Attacker
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Flash Cannon
move 3: Wide Guard / Substitute
move 4: King's Shield
item: Spooky Plate / Leftovers
ability: Stance Change
nature: Quiet
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Shadow Ball and Flash Cannon provide great neutral coverage, with Incineroar being the only notable target that resists both and many common threats, including Mega Metagross, Tapu Bulu, and Tapu Lele, taking super effective damage. Wide Guard allows Aegislash to stay in Shield forme while it supports its team and helps weaken the impact of its weakness to common spread moves such as Thousand Arrows, Heat Wave, and Earthquake. Alternatively, Substitute may be used to take advantage of Aegislash's sizable bulk and ability to force switches. Substitute also solves the major shortcomings that come with a reliance on King's Shield; specifically, when behind a Substitute, Aegislash doesn't have to worry about many status moves that pass through King's Shield, and remaining in Blade forme to attack again becomes much safer. King's Shield is required to shift Aegislash into its Shield forme, both protecting it for that turn and improving its ability to take a hit until it next attacks. Hidden Power Ice can be used in place of Flash Cannon or its utility move if Aegislash's team would appreciate it hitting Landorus-T, Zygarde, and Mega Salamence.
Set Details
========
Aegislash's EV spread is left simple, helping it take hits and counter with a strong attack. Speed is minimized on this set to make sure Aegislash is least likely to be hit after attacking. A Spooky Plate boosts Shadow Ball's damage output, notably guaranteeing the OHKO on Mega Metagross and the 2HKO on Zygarde. If Aegislash is using Substitute, you may wish to give it Leftovers instead for passive recovery. Z-Crystals, especially Steelium Z, are also decent item options for Aegislash, with Corkscrew Crash offering an OHKO on Tyranitar, Assault Vest Kyurem-B, and all Tapu Bulu. With Tailwind support, Aegislash can instead use a Modest nature and 168 Speed EVs to outrun Mega Gengar in Tailwind. Alternatively, a bulkier spread of 244 HP / 72 Def / 148 SpA / 44 SpD with a Quiet or Modest nature allows Aegislash to avoid the 2HKO from non-Choice Band Zygarde's Thousand Arrows or survive Kingdra's Hydro Vortex in rain, with only a small decrease in power.
Usage Tips
========
Aegislash operates best early- and mid-game as a pivot that takes hits, forces a switch, and deals respectable damage to a foe on its way in. However, if Aegislash is your primary check to a threatening Pokemon like Deoxys-A, make sure you keep it healthy enough to keep that threat in check. Watch out for slow attackers like Scrafty, as Aegislash is unlikely to survive a super effective or strong neutral hit in Blade forme. King's Shield helps with protection there, so use it to restore Aegislash's bulk while keeping in mind that it won't protect from status moves. If Aegislash is running Wide Guard, use it primarily to protect a teammate from a spread move instead of just to help Aegislash; that way, the target of the foe's spread move is able to get off a strong hit. If Aegislash itself is the primary target of an expected spread move, King's Shield will usually be a better move. If Aegislash carries Substitute, use it when the opponent can't break it or on a predicted switch. However, don't bother setting Substitute if the opponent has a Hoopa-U, as it will be able to KO Aegislash through the Substitute and you will waste Aegislash's HP.
Team Options
========
Aegislash easily fits onto a variety of teams, so it doesn't need much support to function well. That said, its best teammates tend to be those that match up against Ground-, Dark-, and Fire-types that are offensive checks to Aegislash, making Tapu Fini, Kyurem-B, Tapu Bulu, and Mega Swampert solid partners. Additionally, any teammate that dislikes common spread moves appreciates the support of Wide Guard Aegislash. As such, Zygarde, which fears Icy Wind, and Flying-types such as Zapdos and Mega Charizard Y, which fear Rock Slide, can be more effective with Aegislash by their side. Since Deoxys-A's extreme frailty allows even fairly weak spread moves to KO, it's often the target of such spread moves, allowing it to take advantage of Aegislash's Wide Guard.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Aegislash has a variety of alternative item choices to be aware of. Ghostium Z is a solid choice, trading Spooky Plate's consistent slight boost for a one-time doubling in power, valuable for more neutral hits than Corkscrew Crash can achieve. Life Orb takes the idea behind Spooky Plate and uses it to boost Aegislash's other attacks as well, with the slight cost of a bit of its HP. A Weakness Policy allows Aegislash to take advantage of its unique ability to take powerful hits and then dole out strong damage, but this forces Aegislash to take a super effective hit before it can hit especially hard. Wiki Berry offers healing like Leftovers but won't give away Aegislash's using of Substitute and can offer a bit of a safety net for letting Aegislash get worn down too early, but it's not very consistent. Outside of additional items, Aegislash has the option to run Shadow Sneak, letting it pick off weakened or otherwise susceptible foes with a Spooky Plate-boosted priority attack and circumvent its low Speed. Substitute sets can also opt for Toxic instead of running a second attack, taking a more defensive approach and wearing down the opposition. Finally, Head Smash offers a surprise strong hit on would-be switch-ins like Incineroar and Misty Seed Zapdos, and when used in conjunction with Rockium Z, it can OHKO both of them. However, Aegislash often has trouble making room on its moveset for these more niche options.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Dark-types**: Dark-types in the Doubles metagame tend to be specially bulky, making it difficult for Aegislash to break through them and leaving Aegislash a bit of a sitting duck for their super effective STAB attacks. Hoopa-U is especially threatening for attacking through King's Shield and a potential Substitute, while Incineroar and Scrafty can potentially underspeed Aegislash to attack it in its much frailer Blade forme.
**Fire-types**: Fire-types such as Volcanion and Mega Charizard Y resist Flash Cannon and can roast Aegislash with super effective STAB moves. With three popular Steel-types in the Doubles metagame being 4x weak to Fire-type moves, some Pokemon like Zapdos and Kommo-o also carry Fire-type coverage moves that Aegislash should watch out for.
**Ground-types**: Though they might not resist Aegislash's attacks, if Ground-types such as Landorus-T and Zygarde are left free to attack it, Aegislash is in danger. Mega Camerupt is especially dangerous due to its ability to OHKO Aegislash even in Shield forme and circumvent Wide Guard.
**Taunt and Encore**: Any move that inhibits Aegislash's ability to control which forme it is in makes its job a lot harder, so Taunt users such as Tapu Koko and Encore users such as Politoed must be played around carefully.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[talkingtree, 232101]]
- Earlier versions by: [[talkingtree, 232101]]
- Quality checked by: [[GenOne, 306383], [Level 51, 118474]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [A Cake Wearing A Hat, 388157]]
Suitable for a sword and shield, Aegislash operates as a fantastic pivot into common Ice-, Psychic-, Rock-, and Steel-type moves, safely taking minimal damage and threatening a big hit in return. Thanks to its ability, Stance Change, Aegislash functionally has amazing all-around stats with base 150 offenses and defenses. Sadly, this comes with a few drawbacks. To change formes, Aegislash must use King's Shield, which is superior to Protect in that it also sharply lowers an offending foe's Attack, but inferior due to failing to block status moves such as Taunt, Leech Seed, and Spore. Aegislash also must play carefully to avoid taking hits in its Blade forme, which is too frail to benefit from Aegislash's great defensive typing and thus forces Aegislash to use King's Shield more often than other Pokemon might need to use Protect. Aegislash's low Speed works in its favor here, making it more common for Aegislash to take hits in Shield forme, but this low Speed can also inhibit its ability to be a true offensive powerhouse. Still, Aegislash's diverse movepool and good role compression provide it a strong place in the metagame. With a decent degree of versatility in its moves and item choices, including access to the sparingly distributed Wide Guard, Aegislash is rarely deadweight and can adapt to fit most teams.
[SET]
name: Bulky Attacker
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Flash Cannon
move 3: Wide Guard / Substitute
move 4: King's Shield
item: Spooky Plate / Leftovers
ability: Stance Change
nature: Quiet
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Shadow Ball and Flash Cannon provide great neutral coverage, with Incineroar being the only notable target that resists both and many common threats, including Mega Metagross, Tapu Bulu, and Tapu Lele, taking super effective damage. Wide Guard allows Aegislash to stay in Shield forme while it supports its team and helps weaken the impact of its weakness to common spread moves such as Thousand Arrows, Heat Wave, and Earthquake. Alternatively, Substitute may be used to take advantage of Aegislash's sizable bulk and ability to force switches. Substitute also solves the major shortcomings that come with a reliance on King's Shield; specifically, when behind a Substitute, Aegislash doesn't have to worry about many status moves that pass through King's Shield, and remaining in Blade forme to attack again becomes much safer. King's Shield is required to shift Aegislash into its Shield forme, both protecting it for that turn and improving its ability to take a hit until it next attacks. Hidden Power Ice can be used in place of Flash Cannon or its utility move if Aegislash's team would appreciate it hitting Landorus-T, Zygarde, and Mega Salamence.
Set Details
========
Aegislash's EV spread is left simple, helping it take hits and counter with a strong attack. Speed is minimized on this set to make sure Aegislash is least likely to be hit after attacking. A Spooky Plate boosts Shadow Ball's damage output, notably guaranteeing the OHKO on Mega Metagross and the 2HKO on Zygarde. If Aegislash is using Substitute, you may wish to give it Leftovers instead for passive recovery. Z-Crystals, especially Steelium Z, are also decent item options for Aegislash, with Corkscrew Crash offering an OHKO on Tyranitar, Assault Vest Kyurem-B, and all Tapu Bulu. With Tailwind support, Aegislash can instead use a Modest nature and 168 Speed EVs to outrun Mega Gengar in Tailwind. Alternatively, a bulkier spread of 244 HP / 72 Def / 148 SpA / 44 SpD with a Quiet or Modest nature allows Aegislash to avoid the 2HKO from non-Choice Band Zygarde's Thousand Arrows or survive Kingdra's Hydro Vortex in rain, with only a small decrease in power.
Usage Tips
========
Aegislash operates best early- and mid-game as a pivot that takes hits, forces a switch, and deals respectable damage to a foe on its way in. However, if Aegislash is your primary check to a threatening Pokemon like Deoxys-A, make sure you keep it healthy enough to keep that threat in check. Watch out for slow attackers like Scrafty, as Aegislash is unlikely to survive a super effective or strong neutral hit in Blade forme. King's Shield helps with protection there, so use it to restore Aegislash's bulk while keeping in mind that it won't protect from status moves. If Aegislash is running Wide Guard, use it primarily to protect a teammate from a spread move instead of just to help Aegislash; that way, the target of the foe's spread move is able to get off a strong hit. If Aegislash itself is the primary target of an expected spread move, King's Shield will usually be a better move. If Aegislash carries Substitute, use it when the opponent can't break it or on a predicted switch. However, don't bother setting Substitute if the opponent has a Hoopa-U, as it will be able to KO Aegislash through the Substitute and you will waste Aegislash's HP.
Team Options
========
Aegislash easily fits onto a variety of teams, so it doesn't need much support to function well. That said, its best teammates tend to be those that match up against Ground-, Dark-, and Fire-types that are offensive checks to Aegislash, making Tapu Fini, Kyurem-B, Tapu Bulu, and Mega Swampert solid partners. Additionally, any teammate that dislikes common spread moves appreciates the support of Wide Guard Aegislash. As such, Zygarde, which fears Icy Wind, and Flying-types such as Zapdos and Mega Charizard Y, which fear Rock Slide, can be more effective with Aegislash by their side. Since Deoxys-A's extreme frailty allows even fairly weak spread moves to KO, it's often the target of such spread moves, allowing it to take advantage of Aegislash's Wide Guard.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Aegislash has a variety of alternative item choices to be aware of. Ghostium Z is a solid choice, trading Spooky Plate's consistent slight boost for a one-time doubling in power, valuable for more neutral hits than Corkscrew Crash can achieve. Life Orb takes the idea behind Spooky Plate and uses it to boost Aegislash's other attacks as well, with the slight cost of a bit of its HP. A Weakness Policy allows Aegislash to take advantage of its unique ability to take powerful hits and then dole out strong damage, but this forces Aegislash to take a super effective hit before it can hit especially hard. Wiki Berry offers healing like Leftovers but won't give away Aegislash's using of Substitute and can offer a bit of a safety net for letting Aegislash get worn down too early, but it's not very consistent. Outside of additional items, Aegislash has the option to run Shadow Sneak, letting it pick off weakened or otherwise susceptible foes with a Spooky Plate-boosted priority attack and circumvent its low Speed. Substitute sets can also opt for Toxic instead of running a second attack, taking a more defensive approach and wearing down the opposition. Finally, Head Smash offers a surprise strong hit on would-be switch-ins like Incineroar and Misty Seed Zapdos, and when used in conjunction with Rockium Z, it can OHKO both of them. However, Aegislash often has trouble making room on its moveset for these more niche options.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Dark-types**: Dark-types in the Doubles metagame tend to be specially bulky, making it difficult for Aegislash to break through them and leaving Aegislash a bit of a sitting duck for their super effective STAB attacks. Hoopa-U is especially threatening for attacking through King's Shield and a potential Substitute, while Incineroar and Scrafty can potentially underspeed Aegislash to attack it in its much frailer Blade forme.
**Fire-types**: Fire-types such as Volcanion and Mega Charizard Y resist Flash Cannon and can roast Aegislash with super effective STAB moves. With three popular Steel-types in the Doubles metagame being 4x weak to Fire-type moves, some Pokemon like Zapdos and Kommo-o also carry Fire-type coverage moves that Aegislash should watch out for.
**Ground-types**: Though they might not resist Aegislash's attacks, if Ground-types such as Landorus-T and Zygarde are left free to attack it, Aegislash is in danger. Mega Camerupt is especially dangerous due to its ability to OHKO Aegislash even in Shield forme and circumvent Wide Guard.
**Taunt and Encore**: Any move that inhibits Aegislash's ability to control which forme it is in makes its job a lot harder, so Taunt users such as Tapu Koko and Encore users such as Politoed must be played around carefully.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[talkingtree, 232101]]
- Earlier versions by: [[talkingtree, 232101]]
- Quality checked by: [[GenOne, 306383], [Level 51, 118474]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [A Cake Wearing A Hat, 388157]]
Last edited:
