Ubers Aegislash

Overview
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While Aegislash has a good defensive typing and an ability that allows it to switch between great bulk and power, it has several flaws that prevent it from doing its job consistently. While its signature move, King's Shield, lets it switch forms and check physical attackers like Zekrom, it also allows opponents a free turn to switch in or status it. Aegislash's unique typing and bulk make it the best counter to Geomancy Xerneas, but it lacks recovery outside of Leftovers and is weak to other common attacking types in the Ubers metagame, meaning it can be worn down easily. One key advantage Aegislash has over other walls is that it cannot be trapped by Mega Gengar, and is actually able to Pursuit trap it. Unfortunately, it lacks strong STABs and Speed, limiting it to a defensive role. Aegislash is a useful Pokemon, but should never be the first choice for a team due to its otherwise limited utility.

Specially Defensive
########
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: King's Shield
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Gyro Ball / Iron Head
move 4: Pursuit / Shadow Ball / Shadow Sneak
ability: Stance Change
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
nature: Sassy

Moves
========

King's Shield allows Aegislash to scout, get more Leftovers recovery, and most importantly, change back to its Shield forme. It also allows it to lower the physicalAttack of anything that hits it with a contact move, most importantly during an opponent using Outrage. Toxic allows Aegislash to beat walls such as support Arceus and Lugia and synergizes well with King's Shield. It also lets Aegislash beat Substitute Ho-Oh if it hits it on the switch. Head Smash also beats Ho-Oh on the switch and does a lot of damage to Yveltal and Shaymin-S but means Aegislash loses the ability to Toxic any wall. Gyro Ball easily OHKOes a boosted Xerneas and can do chip damage to many faster Pokemon switching in, such as Darkrai. Iron Head is much more reliable but can never OHKO Xerneas even after Stealth Rock, though it always 3HKOes defensive Xerneas, which is barely 4HKOd by Gyro Ball. Shadow Ball hits some frailer Pokemon hard, but is too weak uninvested to do any major damage to bulkier Pokemon, failing even to take out a Substitute from Ho-Oh. Do note, however, that it does a lot of damage to Mewtwo, specifically Bulk Up Mega Mewtwo X, which Aegislash can live any hit from when near full health. It also 3HKOes Groudon and 2HKOs Landorus-T and Hippowdon, meaning they must be careful while switching in. Pursuit allows Aegislash to damage Mega Gengar as it switches, as it can not trap or OHKO Aegislash most of the time, even with Shadow Ball. Shadow Sneak can be used over Shadow Ball to revenge kill very weakened sweepers like Arceus-Ghost, but will not do any major damage otherwise. It does limit leads like Deoxys-A to a single layer of entry hazards, however.

Set Details
========

Leftovers synergizes well with King's Shield and is Aegislash's only form of recovery. The EVs and Sassy nature give Aegislash maximum special bulk without compromising either attacking stat; they should be used even without Shadow Ball to increase the power of Gyro Ball and lower its chances of being hit in Blade forme. Running max HP and Speed with a Jolly nature and Head Smash destroys any Ho-Oh with under 100 EVs, acting as an amazing lure, but this causes a lot of recoil and significantly reduces bulk, as well as forcing Aegislash to run Iron Head over Gyro Ball and Shadow Sneak over Shadow Ball.

Usage Tips
========

Stance Change gives a well-played Aegislash great bulk and power, but defensive Aegislash should not be taking unnecessary hits in either form due to lack of recovery. Aegislash is not going to wall everything and should not be the only defensive Pokemon on your team, so do not keep it in against something that can overpower it, such as Kyogre. If you can look at the opponent's team and see Aegislash is useless, then feel free to let it faint, but using King's Shield and dropping the opponent's Attack the turn before fainting can give a teammate a chance to set up as they are the opponent is forced to switch. Aegislash's STABs are weak without investment, so stick to spreading Toxic until it has to attack, because you don't want Aegislash to be stuck in Blade forme; outside of Pokemon like Gengar or Xerneas, it will mostly be doing only chip damage. Switching when in Blade forme allows Aegislash to come back in Shield forme. Attacking then switching allows Aegislash to get chip damage, then switch out without needing to use King's Shield. Play conservatively and avoid a burn, especially if you see a Xerneas, until you can scout what it's using and play around it. If it is running Substitute, you must be very careful about using King's Shield, because then Xerneas, while weakened and in range of revenge killing, will beat Aegislash 1-on-1.

Team Options
========

Defensive Ho-Oh resists Fire, is immune to Ground, and has good Special Defense to take hits from Yveltal, and Aegislash can take Rock-type moves for Ho-Oh, but neither can handle Kyogre. Landorus-T is immune to Earthquake, beats many common Fire-types, and can also set up Stealth Rock. A defensive Yveltal can beat Excadrill and Arceus-Ghost. Arceus-Rock beats Ho-Oh but also loses to Yveltal that have Focus Blast. Palkia can beat Kyogre, and Aegislash can take Dragon-type attacks for Palkia. Do not build around Aegislash, though; it is a utility Pokemon before anything else and should only be added to a team that needs it.

Other Options
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Aegislash has the stats to go offensive, but not the movepool or Speed, and this is better left to Arceus-Ghost, as it can boost and recover and has the Speed to sweep. Using Flash Cannon as a Steel STAB would mean boosted Xerneas can wall and destroy Aegislash, and Shadow Ball hits everything Flash Cannon would. Sacred Sword can be useful to hit Ferrothorn, Arceus-Steel, or Arceus-Dark, but is very weak uninvested, and the other moves are much more important. You can try using a physically defensive set, but this means Aegislash is always 2HKOed by Hidden Power Fire from boosted Xerneas and loses to a Shadow Ball from Mega Gengar. Boosting sets such as Swords Dance or Autotomize should never be used, as Aegislash has coverage issues and weak moves.

Checks & Counters
########

**Yveltal**: Yveltal easily OHKOes Aegislash with Dark Pulse, but does not appreciate Toxic and takes massive damage from the rare Head Smash.

**Ho-Oh**: Ho-Oh sets up a Substitute on Toxic and can do a lot of damage to Aegislash while possibly burning it and not activating King's Shield. It only fears Head Smash.

**Groudon**: Groudon takes some damage from uninvested Shadow Ball but can always switch in and still KO Aegislash with Earthquake before fainting. It hates Toxic, but needs to be hit on the switch with it.

**Kyogre**: Aegislash does not have the bulk to take Water Spouts and defensive Kyogre can Rest if Toxic damage gets too high. Aegislash also fears Scald burns.

**Darkrai**: Darkrai takes decent damage from Gyro Ball, but Substitute variants set up on Aegislash and can then put it to sleep or just KO it with Dark Pulse.

**Arceus-Dark**: Arceus-Dark easily takes hits from Aegislash while getting rid of Toxic with Refresh or avoiding it with Substitute, and then can beat Aegislash with a Judgment.

**Arceus-Normal**: Arceus-Normal hates Toxic, but it can use Earthquake to get around King's Shield or set up on King's Shield. Aegislash can beat unboosted ones without Earthquake, but those are rare. Arceus-Normal occasionallyuses Lum Berry as well.

**Fire-types**: Aegislash requires prediction to beat Mega Charizard X and Blaziken. It loses to Mega Charizard Y, Heatran, Arceus-Fire, and Reshiram all the time, though.

**Dialga**: Dialga is immune to Toxic and doesn't take much from anything Aegislash can use against it; it can beat Aegislash with Fire Blast

**Toxic-Immune Arceus formes*: Arceus-Steel and Arceus-Poison are immune to Toxic; they can set up on Aegislash or burn it.

**Excadrill**: Excadrill is immune to Toxic and can Earthquake Aegislash.

**Gliscor**: Like Excadrill, Gliscor is immune to Toxic and can Earthquake itAegislash, but takes a decent amount of damage from Shadow Ball.

Overview
########

- Has a good defensive typing along with the ability to switch between great bulk and power
- King's Shield allows it to switch forms but this can be taken advantage of
- One of the better special walls due to completely countering Xerneas
- Good status absorber (except Burn)
- Lacks recovery
- Cannot be trapped
- Needs to focus on its defenses because it is outclassed if it goes fully offensive, it has the offenses, but not the movepool or Speed
- Bait for many Pokemon that it is completely forced out by, and is useful on teams looking for a complete stop to Fairies

Specially Defensive
########
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: King's Shield
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Gyro Ball / Iron Head
move 4: Shadow Ball / Shadow Sneak
ability: Stance Change
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
nature: Sassy

Moves
========

- Kings Shield allows Aegislash to scout for random coverage moves like HP Fire Xern, while allowing it to get more Leftovers recovery, and most importantly, change back to shield form. It also allows it to lower the physical attack of anything that hits it with a contact move, especially useful against anything in the middle of Outrage, Zekrom in particular
- Toxic cripples walls like support Arceus and tanks like Ho-Oh (especially Sub, if you hit it on the switch) and synergizes great with potential Kings Shield stalling
- Head Smash can allow Aegislash to beat Ho-Oh on the switch and do a ton to Yveltal/Shaymin but means you lose the ability to Toxic any wall
- Gyro Ball easily OHKOs a boosted GeoXern and can do chip damage to any faster Pokemon switching in, like Darkrai
- Iron Head is much more reliable but can never OHKO Xerneas even after SR, though is much better against defensive Xerneas, which always 3HKOs it, while Gyro Ball barely 4HKOs
- Shadow Ball hits some frailer Pokemon hard, but is too weak uninvested to do any major damage to bulkier Pokemon, failing even to take out a Substitute from Ho-Oh, while doing a lot to MMX, beating it if they lack EQ. It also does good damage to Groudon (3HKO), Landorus-T (2HKO), and Hippowdon (2HKO), which is huge because they lack recovery. (-Hippo)
- Shadow Sneak can be used over Shadow Ball to revenge kill a weakened sweeper like a MMY or CM Arceus-Ghost, but again, will not do any major damage

Set Details
========

- Leftovers synergizes well with Kings Shield and is Aegislashs only form of recovery
- EVs give max bulk etc
- Sassy should be used even when using Iron Head to reduce the chance of being hit in Blade form
- Running max HP and Speed Jolly with Head Smash desttoys any Ho-Oh with under 100 EVs, acting as an amazing lure, but this causes a ton of recoil and a lot less bulk, as well as forcing you to run Iron Head over Gyro Ball and Shadow Sneak over Shadow Ball.

Usage Tips
========

- Stance Change gives a well played Aegislash great bulk and power, but defensive Aegislash should not be taking unecesary hits in either form due to lack of recovery
- Aegislash is not going to wall everything and should not be the only defensive Pokemon on your team, do not keep it in against something like Kyogre because you just will never win
- If you can look at the opponents team and see Aegislash is useless then feel free to let it die, but using Kings Shield the turn before dying can give a teammate a chance to set up
- Your STABs have intended targets and are rarely useful otherwise. Outside of Pokemon like Gengar or Xerneas, they will be doing only chip damage mostly. Feel free to Toxic anything as long as you're in shield form.
- Switching when in Blade form allows you to come back in Shield form. Attacking then switching allows you to get chip damage, then switch out yourself without needing to use King's Shield
- Play conservatively and avoid a burn, especially if you see a Xerneas until you can scout what it's using and play around it

Team Options
========

- Defensive Ho-Oh resists Fire and is immune to Ground, and has good spdef to take hits from Yveltal
- Groudon/Landorus-T (watch out for random fire attacks like HP Fire Xern if using Groudon)
- Certain Yveltal beats Mold Breaker Excadrill, Arceus-Ghost, Blaziken, and Gliscor for it
- Defensive Arceus-Rock beats Ho-Oh but it's risky vs Yveltal that have Focus Blast
- This thing is a great Toxic/TWave absorber for teams having trouble with stuff like Lugia
- Palka cause screw Kyogre

Other Options
########

- Offensive set
- Flash Cannon > Gyro/Iron Head but you lose to Xerneas.
- Sacred Sword for coverage but it's weak uninvested
- Physically defensive
- Head Smash is a nice surprise for Yveltal switching in
- Pursuit, but you're not going to OHKO anything significant without max EVs
- SD or Autotomize
- Not much else pretty bad movepool

Checks & Counters
########

- Yveltal
- Ho-Oh
- Groudon
- Kyogre
- Darkrai
- Blaziken
- Arceus-Dark
- EKiller (especially Lum)
- Fire types (Zards, Heatran, Arc Fire, Reshiram, Blaziken)
- Dialga
- Arceus-Steel
- Arceus-Poison
- Excadrill
- Gliscor
 
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Lum Groudon, Landorus-T are also good counters for Aegislash. Lando-T doesn't like taking a Shadow Ball, though. Ferrothorn walls it without Sacred Sword.
An offensive set with 3 Attacks + King's Shield/Swords dance is also viable, though you can merge it with the specially defensive set.
 

shrang

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Few things:
- Slash Head Smash with Toxic IMO. Having a deterrence to Ho-oh (and sometimes just surprising switch-ins) is just awesome. The recoil really sucks, but you'd generally have enough left to tank Xerneas at least once afterward. I would have liked to say Rock Slide, but it can't OHKO Ho-oh, so that's off the table.
- I've recently come to discover that Jolly with max Speed (still max HP) along with Head Smash on the defensive set is really cool. It makes you MUCH less susceptible to Ho-oh switch-ins (yes, Toxic deters it, but it recovers pretty much all the damage taken from staying in from a couple of turns with Regnerator anyway). With it, you outspeed slower Ho-ohs (those that carry less than 100 Spe EVs) and kill it with Head Smash, no predictions are required unless you're facing a fast Ho-oh (in which you can gloat at the fact that you forced them to run a crapload of EVs). Obviously you can't use Gyro Ball with such a set, so Iron Head is a must. I'll leave it up to the rest of QC to decide where this spread should go, but a mention in AC is a must, IMO.
- Mention SD in OO. I like that you've left it out as a set because it's shit, but acknowledge it in OO. At that note, Aegislash also has Autonomize which you can also mention in OO.
 
shrang I like the idea, but

80 Atk Aegislash-Blade Rock Slide vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Ho-Oh: 356-420 (85.7 - 101.2%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

80 Atk with Jolly or

4+ Atk Aegislash-Blade Rock Slide vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Ho-Oh: 368-436 (88.6 - 105%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

4 with Adamant, both outspeed 8 Speed Ho-Oh, and have a small chance to KO with Rock Slide after something like Shadow Sneak, which wouldn't give the set away. It's obviously unreliable, but worth a mention?

Did everything else.

Asmodean Ferro walls it even with a weak Sacred Sword. No to an offensive SD 3 attacks set.
 
Swords Dance may not be such a good idea but KS + 3 Attacks is still good and deserves a mention imo.

Btw, Ferro and Chansey both take hefty damage from a LO Sacred Sword:
252+ Atk Life Orb Aegislash-Blade Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 187-221 (53.1 - 62.7%)
252+ Atk Life Orb Aegislash-Blade Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 413-489 (58.6 - 69.4%)

Pairing Aegislash with Xerneas helps as it takes care of these two checks to GeoXern. Head Smash for Ho-oh is also an option if you predict correctly.

I still feel there should be a physical/mixed offensive set for Aegislash to make best use of its attacking stats, however, the final decision is up to you.
 
I said weak Sacred Sword because with 0 Atk you don't ever come close to 2HKOing. LO Aegislash is not as "good" as it is in OU (even though I prefer Spooky Plate there)

I also don't see how Ferro checks Xerneas when Focus Blast/HP Fire variants win every time. Aegislash is just better off defensively, because it just lacks a STAB above 80 BP which limits it offensively, and that it loses its great bulk if it goes offensively. Ghost Arceus is better if you want an offensive Ghost type (especialy cause CM, better coverage moves, Speed, and recovery) I will add a pure offensive set if QC thinks its a good idea though.
 
Nah, I'm not seeing how an offensive set will help it punish switches better than Toxic + bulk already does.coverage is too limited and stabs are too weak so you'll end up having to stick toxic on it anyways to not be setup fodder for the likes of CM Arceus.
 
...and you aren't checking Xerneas nearly as reliably with an offensive set. When using Aegislash, who is highly specialized in that exact role, you can't really adventure your only solid niche like that:

+2 252+ SpA Xerneas Hidden Power Fire vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 204-242 (77.8 - 92.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
 

polop

Would you look at the time?
is a Contributor Alumnus
When you mention the decision between Gyro Ball and Iron Head, mention that while Gyro Ball OHKOes GeoXern it does pittance to defensive Xern (like barely 4HKOes o_O). Iron Head secures a solid 3HKO.

Shadow Ball outside of being strong STAB lets Aegislash sort of counter / annoy Mega Mewtwo X if it lacks Earthquake. Also does a VERY respectable amount of damage to opposing Lando / Groudon / Hippo, 2HKOes Lando after SR and 3HKOes the others.

This thing is also nice for dealing with all them crazy Lugia's that spam Toxic or Thunder Wave (nice status sponge), I feel this should be mentioned in Team Options since this thing is very nice for teams annoyed by Toxic / Lugia.

Add Arceus-Steel to counters. It can sit there and burn it or setup Calm Mind in its face if it wants to.
 

Fireburn

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Kyogre is a counter (resists Gyro, has the special bulk to take Shadow Ball, can Rest off Toxics if defensive, rain boosted Water attacks own Aegislash).

Dialga is a counter (resists Gyro, immune to Toxic, wrecks Aegi with Fire Blast)

Darkrai is a check (hates Gyro but resists Ghost and can pierce KS with Void)

Heatran/Reshiram/Zard formes are checks for obvious reasons as is Blaziken (Fire-types in general)

Arceus-Poison is a check since it can Wisp you and set up CM while you slowly die to burn and can't do anything back.

One of Aegi's major cons is that its bait for a lot of dangerous stuff (Kyogre, Fires, Grounds, Yveltal), I would mention that in the Overview. It's mostly useful on teams that need a hard Fairy counter.

In the same vein, a major pro is that MGengar can't trap Aegislash.
 

Blue Jay

The notorious Good Wife
is a Contributor Alumnus
Overview
Aegislash has GOOD defensive typing tbh. Sure it has some big weaknesses, but so do other Pokemon thought to have great typing (eg Heatran or Giratina-O) and 9 resistances and and 3 immunities is great. Remove the mention of how KS can be taken advantage of; I think it's going into too much detail for an Overview (and there's plenty of flaws already, we don't want to completely put people off using Aegislash). Instead mention how its movepool is quite barren/weak, its main limitation offensively (since between SD, Autotomize and 150 offenses it would otherwise seem viable enough).

Main Set
Mention for King's Shield how it reduces Attack for contact moves. This is not useful particularly often but can still be used at times to force out Zekrom or something. It's also great for scouting Choice mons before switching out.

The first point in Set Details belongs in Usage Tips. Also mention in Usage Tips that switching out reverts Aegislash to Shield Forme (when you don't want to give a free turn with KS) and about being wary of using KS (free switch, free set up turn, doesn't prevent WoW). Mention that it should be played conservatively if the opponent has a Xerneas (unless you establish that it's not Geo) and MUST avoid burns to check it reliably.

Palkia is an important teammate, since Specs Kyogre destroys you and you can't do much more than annoying Scarf Kyogre before dying, while RestTalk hard counters.

Other Options
Remove Head Smash since it's now on the main set.

I'm also not sure about Pursuit. You need almost 252 Atk EVs to OHKO a fleeing Mega Gengar after SR and 252+ Atk to have an 87.5% chance to OHKO it. And that's the frailest Pursuit-weak mon in the tier (OK bar Deo-A), and if the opponent doesn't flee with Mega Gengar you lose. But I'll let other QCs weigh in on this.

Weakness Policy may deserve a mention due to Aegislash having great defenses + offenses and a few weaknesses to give it a good chance of activation. But again other QC feedback pls, it's pretty gimmicky.

Checks & Counters
Be sure to order the list in approximate order of how well it checks Aegislash and how viable it is. For example Darkceus goes a lot higher (esp CM + Refresh)

Just mention Ho-Oh in general; even without sub it's a good check, since Regenerator helps it ignore Toxic and if it comes in on any other move Aegislash is forced out.

I can also think of some other things that could go on here but it's a pretty long list already so it might be unnecessary.


Looks pretty good to me though, pretty simple mon and you seem to emphasize well how it has a lot of flaws and meh utility outside checking Geomancy Xerneas, which it's amazing at.

QC: 1/3
 
Added, except Weakness Policy. Thanks for the check Blue Jay.

Kind of redid C&C quickly, so there are probably a lot out of order right now, will fix soon.
 
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I mentioned it with shrang before but I want more opinions form the QC team. I feel like head smash is too specialized to be worth a slash and should just have a moves mention. Especially being slashed with Toxic which is Aegislash's main way of punishing switches. (without it, it just becomes a niche check to a handful of mons and total setup fodder for arceus formes)
 

Fireburn

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I mentioned it with shrang before but I want more opinions form the QC team. I feel like head smash is too specialized to be worth a slash and should just have a moves mention. Especially being slashed with Toxic which is Aegislash's main way of punishing switches. (without it, it just becomes a niche check to a handful of mons and total setup fodder for arceus formes)
I agree
 
Removed it. Tried Head Smash and really wished I had Toxic over it (then got trolled by Shaymin-S the second I changed it back but still)
 
Mention more specifically how Sball Aegis fucks up Bulk Up MMX. Also mention how Sneak can anti-lead Deo-S/A and limit it to a single layer. I don't understand why Aegislash would want a slow U-Turn from Lando-T, remove that bit imo.

In general, make a stronger emphasis on how Aegislash is THE Xerneas counter but outside of that it doesn't do much else besides use its bulk to throw Toxic around a bit. (only remaining niches are checking BU MMX or anti-leading)
 

Inspirited

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I'm no QC but I thought that this was worth posting

As far as countering Xerneas goes, mention that Sub GeoXern has a chance to beat Aegislash 1 on 1 depending on when Xerneas subs and when Aegi King Shields so it is a bit unreliable even though Sub Geo isn't all that common. Xerneas will be severely weakened if it comes out on top and will be in the priority range of a lot of other pokes.
 
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I'm not QC, but Groudon also gives trouble to Aegislash, as it can 2HKO it while the best you can do is toxic it for three turns before you die. This is moot too if the Groudon is Lum.
 

PISTOLERO

I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
Not sure about this:

and actually OHKOs it with uninvested Shadow Ball 81.3% of the time while living one from Gengar.
If Gengar is hitting you with Shadow Ball then dying, it's done its job as now Aegis is weakened considerably for say, a Geomancied Moonblast to finish it in one hit?

also, you need a 0 speed IV for Gyro Ball - i think it's Smogon Standard to write the IVs if they are specific :)
 

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