Status: Submitted
So this my first and probably only BL analysis, unless UU changes further. Shaymin was a good deal of fun to write about.
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/shaymin
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Seed Flare
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Air Slash
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Hidden Power Ice / Grass Knot
item: Choice Specs
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Modest
EVs: 6 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Shaymin has a relatively limited move pool, but it's just diverse enough for it to effectively make use of Choice Specs. Seed Flare is the primary selling point and even Blissey won't enjoy switching in if it drops her Special Defense when she makes an appearance. Earth Power is to damage grounded Steel- types, in particular Heatran. Air Slash helps to pick off Fighting-types such as Breloom, Heracross, and Infernape who may be tempted to come in on a Seed Flare. Air Slash is also your best option against opposing Grass-types, such as Celebi. Hidden Power Fire is a good complement to this set and allows Shaymin to take on non-grounded Steel Pokemon such as Skarmory and Bronzong. Hidden Power Ice is a decent option to OHKO Salamence and Dragonite but Air Slash will 2HKO both most of the time anyway. The final option is Grass Knot due to Seed Flare's low PP and shaky accuracy.</p>
<p>Rest can also be used in the final slot to abuse Natural Cure, however, it will be difficult to find time to use it. As with any Choice Specs user, Shaymin can effectively make use of Choice Scarf as a surprise as well. Be careful not to use this as an inferior Shaymin-S, you should be using this for its greater defensive abilities since offensively Shaymin-S outclasses this entirely.</p>
<p>As with all Choice Specs users, this set is walled by Blissey, since you need a Special Defense drop from Seed Flare to gain a 2HKO, a task which is made more problematic by the 85% accuracy of the move. Therefore, you should incorporate mixed attackers into your team that are capable of defeating a stall team. Heatran is capable of using Explosion to take out Blissey if necessary, and Shaymin is bulky enough to take the Ground and Water attacks that are aimed at it, while Heatran takes the Bug, Fire, and Ice attacks aimed at Shaymin. Gengar's typing has good synergy with that of Heatran, and a Life Orb boosted Explosion from it can take out a Blissey as well.</p>
<p>It's worth mentioning that using Hidden Power Fire forces you to have 30 Speed IVs, meaning that you lose the speed tie with other base 100s. Therefore, if you use Hidden Power, you may wish to invest 76 EVs in HP, which (with the rest of the EVs invested in Speed) will ensure that you still stay ahead of Adamant Lucario.</p>
<p>Other than that, you will need a way to deal with opposing Salamence, Dragonite, and Gyarados, who can set up a Dragon Dance on Earth Power (and even Seed Flare, in the case of the former two). A Choice Scarfed Gengar can outspeed them even after a Dragon Dance and OHKO with either Thunderbolt or Hidden Power Ice. The same can be said for Starmie and Latias, whose typings synergize better with that of Shaymin, although your weakness to Bug-type attacks could be problematic with Scizor being the most popular Pokemon in OU at the time of writing. Speaking of which, the metal bug can come in on a 4x resisted Seed Flare (or Hidden Power Ice) and U-turn, which could prove costly to you. Fortunately, Heatran is a decent check on Scizor, and Gengar can come in on a 4x resisted U-turn, although the latter is a very risky stratagem, as Scizor can use Bullet Punch to end Gengar's life. Finally, opposing Heatran are a problem, but you cannot simply use a Blissey and call it a day, because this set is meant for offensive teams. Therefore, you may wish to use a Swampert, Snorlax, or Suicune to deal with this threat while maintaining offensive pressure.</p>
[SET]
name: Sweeping Shaymin
move 1: Seed Flare
move 2: Hidden Power Fire / Hidden Power Ice / Earth Power
move 3: Leech Seed
move 4: Rest
item: Life Orb
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
EVs: 32 HP / 252 SpA / 224 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Shaymin's purpose here is to use its 320 Speed to systematically wreak utter havoc on the opponent's team with Seed Flare and its 40% chance to lower the opponent's Special Defense by 2 stages. Leech Seed is chosen because it gives Shaymin the upper hand against Blissey and Snorlax with their massive HP. Rest is to heal off residual Life Orb recoil damage and any damage Shaymin might accrue throughout the course of the battle.</p>
<p>In the second slot either a Hidden Power or Earth Power can be used for additional coverage. Hidden Power Fire is a nice complement to Leech Seed, and it helps Shaymin beat Steel Pokémon like Skarmory and Bronzong. Hidden Power Ice should be used if Salamence and Dragonite are huge threats to the rest of the team. Either Hidden Power gives you coverage against Celebi, who otherwise walls you. Earth Power is useful against Fire-types and grounded steels such as Heatran, who otherwise wall Shaymin.</p>
<p>Timid is chosen to allow Shaymin to outspeed all positive Speed natured base 90 Pokemon like Roserade and Lucario, and all positive Speed natured base 95 Pokemon like Gliscor. Modest can be chosen if outspeeding those Pokemon is less important than the added power. 32 HP EVs reach 349 HP, the perfect number for a Life Orb set, which yields 11 uses of Life Orb, as opposed to 10. Also noteworthy is that Shaymin's Natural Cure ability allows it to heal the Sleep status (along with any other status) when it switches out, meaning it can Rest with little to no concern.</p>
<p>This set is also an offensively minded set, and the partners of this set generally mirror those of the previous sets. However, you are allowed a bit more leeway in dealing with Salamence and Dragonite, as Hidden Power Ice can deal with them quite easily and you are not locked by Choice Specs into a particular move. If you don't use Hidden Power Ice, make sure that you employ a check capable of dealing with both of them after they have used Dragon Dance, such as a Choice Scarfed Starmie, Latias, or Gengar.</p>
<p>Because of Leech Seed, this set gives you the potential to defeat a Blissey if a Special Defense drop is obtained, but you should watch Seed Flare's PP very closely. Regardless, you should still employ some way of dealing with her, even if it simply means luring her in with Gengar, Starmie, Latias, or Rotom-A and Tricking a choice item onto her. It is recommended, however, to have more reliable wallbreaking methods on your team, such as an Infernape or a Heatran with Explosion.</p>
[SET]
name: Support Shaymin
move 1: Seed Flare / Grass Knot
move 2: Rest
move 3: Aromatherapy
move 4: Leech Seed / Grasswhistle / Hidden Power Fire
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>A change of pace here, with the focus being on Defense and support rather than all out attack. As this version of Shaymin should stick around for quite some time, Grass Knot is listed as option over Seed Flare due to issues with PP. Rest and Natural Cure work very well together, although it requires Shaymin to switch out to remove the sleep status. Aromatherapy is a rare and useful commodity which Shaymin uses quite effectively. In the last slot you can choose Leech Seed for some extra healing for Shaymin and its team mates; Grasswhistle has a mediocre 55% chance of sleeping the foe, but given Shaymin’s defenses, it’s not that bad. Finally, you can opt for Hidden Power Fire to hit Steels and Grassers. HP Ice or Ground are also viable options.</p>
<p>The EVs give you enough speed to outpace Jolly Tyranitar and Adamant Breloom. You cannot rely on this set to counter a Tyranitar, but you can defeat it if it comes in on you, something that Celebi cannot do because of its weakness to Crunch.</p>
<p>Since the point of this set is support, Blissey is not a primary concern, and the partners of this set are somewhat different. However, you will still need a way to deal with Dragonite, Salamence, and Heatran. Swampert does a good job of defeating Heatran and luring the dragons into an Outrage. At that point, a Skarmory or Forretress can set up Spikes as a boosted Outrage fails to 2HKO. Or, you can use a revenge killer as mentioned above. Snorlax has Fire and Ice resistances (Thick Fat) and can work excellently as a special wall alongside Shaymin.</p>
<p>This set can work on a stall team similarly to Celebi, but the lack of Perish Song means that you will need to employ a user of Encore or a Calm Mind to deal with Crocune. Latias and Jirachi work well in this capacity.</p>
[SET]
name: SubSeed
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Leech Seed
move 3: Seed Flare
move 4: Hidden Power Fire
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
EVs: 252 HP / 6 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>SubSeeding is a strategy unique to Grass-types, and Shaymin performs quite well at it. The principle behind this set is simple: come in and force a switch, set up a Substitute, and use Leech Seed to get back your health. Shaymin's strengths include its excellent defenses and base 100 speed, not to forget its 2x weakness to U-turn (Celebi has a 4x weakness), which can wreck the SubSeed strategy.</p>
<p>But once again, it is Seed Flare which helps to differentiate Shaymin from other Grass-types. This strategy is notorious for causing switches, and with Seed Flare's chance of slashing the opponents Special Defense, Shaymin may cause even more switching. Hidden Power Fire is recommended in the last slot so you can wear down Skarmory, who could otherwise switch in freely and Whirlwind away your Subs. It also maims Scizor who can hinder your strategy with U-turn.</p>
<p>This set, unlike the Support set, has little defensive or anti-metagame utility, and it is inherently offensively minded due to the nature of the SubSeed strategy being to beat down the opponent by virtue of your superior speed. However, as it does a great job of forcing switches, you should use Spikes and maybe even Toxic Spikes to increase the residual damage inflicted upon the foe. A Skarmory with Taunt works well to accomplish this, as does a Froslass or a Smeargle. All do an excellent job of setting up Spikes. For Toxic Spikes, you will have to use a Forretress or a Tentacruel, so make sure that they can work well on your team. Other than that, make sure you can check any Pokemon that can potentially outpace you, such as Gengar, Starmie, Infernape, Salamence, and Gyarados (the latter two after a Dragon Dance). Flygon, with U-turn, is a major problem for this set, as it ruins the entire Subseed strategy and minimizes residual damage. Additionally, Choice Scarf Heatran can finish off this set with ease.</p>
<p>To deal with these threats, a Choice Scarf Latias or a Starmie is highly recommended, as they can strike all of the aforementioned threats for super effective damage. Additionally, Trick can be used to cripple Blissey, making it even easier to force switches against stall. If you choose to use a Starmie, you may wish to forgo Skarmory, as the metal bird has a lacklustre offensive presence. A Vaporeon or Latias can pass Wish to Shaymin as well, making it easier to set up a Substitute. Additionally, they can employ Protect to scout out the intentions of an opposing Heatran. Gyarados also benefits from having Shaymin around to take the inevitable Electric attacks and Thunder Waves aimed at it. It also loves having Leech Seed around, which can help it recover off some of the Stealth Rock damage and set up Dragon Dances.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Field conditions are of vital importance to the success or failure of Shaymin. As with almost all Pokemon, Stealth Rock is a necessity to punish the opponent for switching and score vital OHKOs and 2HKOs that would have otherwise been missed. Spikes help out Shaymin more than they help Celebi, because Seed Flare is a powerful tool to use to force switches. You should take care not to employ Tyranitar, Abomasnow, or Hippowdon, though, as sandstorm and hail really hurt Shaymin sets, quickly wearing down offensive sets and nullifying Leftovers recovery on the defensive ones. Good candidates for the role of Stealth Rock user include Swampert, Heatran, and Metagross. Solid Spikes users include Froslass, Skarmory, (the stallbreaker variant with Taunt) and Smeargle. This is because Shaymin is usually played offensively (unlike Celebi), and its teammates should be able to maintain offensive pressure on the opponent. Forretress can do well, but it should provide some other necessary role to your team as well, such as screen support or countering a physical threat. Earthquake on Forretress can be useful to lure in and defeat Heatran and Infernape.</p>
<p>Grass is generally considered a poor attacking type, and for good reason. With the numerous Steel and Dragon types dominating OU, you get very shoddy attacking coverage. However, being a Grass type does give you access to the SubSeed strategy, which is a potent tool against many Pokemon in the OU environment, especially in conjunction with Seed Flare. Pokemon such as Starmie, Latias, Heatran, and Gengar make excellent offensive partners for Shaymin, due to their synergistic typing and excellent coverage with their attacks.</p>
<p>Defensively speaking, Shaymin's typing isn't great, but in today's metagame, it's at least superior to that of its friend Celebi. Celebi resists Fighting-type attacks (Psychic-type attacks are rarely seen), but at a cost of a Dark-type weakness and a crippling 4x weakness to Bug-type attacks. In the matter of Shaymin, the pure Grass-type gives weaknesses to Fire, Ice, Bug, Flying, and Poison attacks, though the latter two are rarely seen. Heatran takes all of these types of attacks, and a Heatran-Shaymin pairing works very much the same as the fabled Celetran combination. However, unlike the Celetran combination, you have no resistance to Fighting-type attacks, so again Gengar works well here. When using Shaymin, be sure that you are capitalizing on the Water, Electric, and Ground resistances that only the Grass type can provide.</p>
<p>The main Pokemon that give Shaymin trouble are Heatran, Salamence, Dragonite, and Blissey. Heatran is generally partnered by Scizor, Celebi, and Salamence. Therefore, a Heatran of your own works well here, as does a Starmie or Latias to revenge kill Salamence. Salamence is often seen alongside Scizor, Gyarados, and Heatran. Again, Starmie works well against Gyarados and Heatran, and Heatran does well against Scizor. What is true for Salamence tends to be true for Dragonite as well. Blissey tends to be partnered by powerful physical walls such as Hippowdon and Skarmory, but Seed Flare and Hidden Power Fire work wonders against them.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Not much. Synthesis is available for instant recovery, but with the prevalence of Sandstorm in OU play it only heals a meager 25% with each use. Growth can be used to raise its respectable Special Attack, but that role is better left to Shaymin-S who's higher Speed and Special Attack make it a superior user of the move. Grasswhistle can be used as a sleep move, but the low accuracy rarely makes it worth it. A physical sweeper set can work with Swords Dance, Seed Bomb, and Zen Headbutt, but Shaymin-S and Celebi do this better. Toxic has some utility on the defensive set as well.</p>
[EVs]
<p>For Choice Specs sets, max out Special Attack and Speed. Modest provides more power, but with Timid you have the option of outrunning the likes of neutral natured Salamence, Zapdos and Staraptor. Timid also guarantees Shaymin will outrun the likes of Porygon-Z, Gliscor, and Lucario.</p>
<p>For the Tank/Support set, focus your EVs in HP and Defense, with a Bold nature.</p>
<p>The SubSeeder works best with max HP and Speed.</p>
<p>If using HP Fire, you will lose the Speed tie with other base 100s because of the IV of 30, so you may wish to use a neutral nature or invest only 180 Speed EVs to make sure you beat an Adamant Lucario.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Shaymin’s movepool is relatively limited, and, as such, is almost a subset of Celebi’s, with Seed Flare and a subpar sleeping move thrown in. Because of this, everything that Shaymin can do is done by Celebi as well, and usually, the GSC legend does it better. Furthermore, with the addition of Shaymin-S it now appears that even the SubSeed strategy or sweeping role is better left to its more offensive counterpart. Generally, when using Shaymin, you'll want to capitalize on its defensive prowess to avoid making it an inferior Shaymin-S.</p>
<p>However, Shaymin's typing, great defenses, and Seed Flare mean that it can still be salvaged. Seed Flare is not to be underestimated; it has a large base power and has a good chance to pack twice the punch in the following turn because of its secondary effect, even if the first hit was resisted, which can make it rather difficult for the opponent to switch into Shaymin. Shaymin's pure Grass type means that it is not weak to Pursuit, unlike Celebi, and makes it able to take Gengar's Shadow Balls and maybe even a Bug move, since Shaymin is only 2x weak to Bug-type attacks. When comparing it to Shaymin-S, Shaymin seems entirely outclassed as a sweeper. While this is true to some extent, Shaymin's superior defensive typing and lack of weakness to Stealth Rock still makes it a reliable option for most teams, even if it doesn't pack quite the punch of Shaymin-S.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Heatran can come in on anything but Earth Power with ease. Salamence or Dragonite work if Shaymin isn't carrying Hidden Power Ice, although Choice Specs Psychic has a good chance to 2HKO the Dragons. Skarmory and Scizor can all handle everything barring Hidden Power Fire, and can screw up the SubSeeder with Whirlwind or U-turn, respectively. Shaymin-S makes a very good counter with its 4x resistance to Seed Flare and its ability to hit it with STAB Super Effective Air Slashes. However, Shaymin-S cannot come in on Hidden Power Ice.</p>
<p>The SubSeeder set is also countered by any faster Pokémon, especially one that has a super effective move on Shaymin. Pokémon with the move U-turn can remove the Substitute and switch out to a Pokémon that can counter Shaymin.</p>
<p>Against the Support and the Choice Specs set, Blissey and Cresselia can switch into Shaymin and threaten to Ice Beam it. Registeel and Regice make great counters with their high Special Defense, resistance to Shaymin's STAB attack, and Clear Body to prevent a drop in their Special Defense from Seed Flare. If it has Grasswhistle, any Sleep Talker with a strong supereffective move can switch in and scare Shaymin away.</p>
So this my first and probably only BL analysis, unless UU changes further. Shaymin was a good deal of fun to write about.
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Seed Flare
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Air Slash
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Hidden Power Ice / Grass Knot
item: Choice Specs
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Modest
EVs: 6 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Shaymin has a relatively limited move pool, but it's just diverse enough for it to effectively make use of Choice Specs. Seed Flare is the primary selling point and even Blissey won't enjoy switching in if it drops her Special Defense when she makes an appearance. Earth Power is to damage grounded Steel- types, in particular Heatran. Air Slash helps to pick off Fighting-types such as Breloom, Heracross, and Infernape who may be tempted to come in on a Seed Flare. Air Slash is also your best option against opposing Grass-types, such as Celebi. Hidden Power Fire is a good complement to this set and allows Shaymin to take on non-grounded Steel Pokemon such as Skarmory and Bronzong. Hidden Power Ice is a decent option to OHKO Salamence and Dragonite but Air Slash will 2HKO both most of the time anyway. The final option is Grass Knot due to Seed Flare's low PP and shaky accuracy.</p>
<p>Rest can also be used in the final slot to abuse Natural Cure, however, it will be difficult to find time to use it. As with any Choice Specs user, Shaymin can effectively make use of Choice Scarf as a surprise as well. Be careful not to use this as an inferior Shaymin-S, you should be using this for its greater defensive abilities since offensively Shaymin-S outclasses this entirely.</p>
<p>As with all Choice Specs users, this set is walled by Blissey, since you need a Special Defense drop from Seed Flare to gain a 2HKO, a task which is made more problematic by the 85% accuracy of the move. Therefore, you should incorporate mixed attackers into your team that are capable of defeating a stall team. Heatran is capable of using Explosion to take out Blissey if necessary, and Shaymin is bulky enough to take the Ground and Water attacks that are aimed at it, while Heatran takes the Bug, Fire, and Ice attacks aimed at Shaymin. Gengar's typing has good synergy with that of Heatran, and a Life Orb boosted Explosion from it can take out a Blissey as well.</p>
<p>It's worth mentioning that using Hidden Power Fire forces you to have 30 Speed IVs, meaning that you lose the speed tie with other base 100s. Therefore, if you use Hidden Power, you may wish to invest 76 EVs in HP, which (with the rest of the EVs invested in Speed) will ensure that you still stay ahead of Adamant Lucario.</p>
<p>Other than that, you will need a way to deal with opposing Salamence, Dragonite, and Gyarados, who can set up a Dragon Dance on Earth Power (and even Seed Flare, in the case of the former two). A Choice Scarfed Gengar can outspeed them even after a Dragon Dance and OHKO with either Thunderbolt or Hidden Power Ice. The same can be said for Starmie and Latias, whose typings synergize better with that of Shaymin, although your weakness to Bug-type attacks could be problematic with Scizor being the most popular Pokemon in OU at the time of writing. Speaking of which, the metal bug can come in on a 4x resisted Seed Flare (or Hidden Power Ice) and U-turn, which could prove costly to you. Fortunately, Heatran is a decent check on Scizor, and Gengar can come in on a 4x resisted U-turn, although the latter is a very risky stratagem, as Scizor can use Bullet Punch to end Gengar's life. Finally, opposing Heatran are a problem, but you cannot simply use a Blissey and call it a day, because this set is meant for offensive teams. Therefore, you may wish to use a Swampert, Snorlax, or Suicune to deal with this threat while maintaining offensive pressure.</p>
[SET]
name: Sweeping Shaymin
move 1: Seed Flare
move 2: Hidden Power Fire / Hidden Power Ice / Earth Power
move 3: Leech Seed
move 4: Rest
item: Life Orb
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
EVs: 32 HP / 252 SpA / 224 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Shaymin's purpose here is to use its 320 Speed to systematically wreak utter havoc on the opponent's team with Seed Flare and its 40% chance to lower the opponent's Special Defense by 2 stages. Leech Seed is chosen because it gives Shaymin the upper hand against Blissey and Snorlax with their massive HP. Rest is to heal off residual Life Orb recoil damage and any damage Shaymin might accrue throughout the course of the battle.</p>
<p>In the second slot either a Hidden Power or Earth Power can be used for additional coverage. Hidden Power Fire is a nice complement to Leech Seed, and it helps Shaymin beat Steel Pokémon like Skarmory and Bronzong. Hidden Power Ice should be used if Salamence and Dragonite are huge threats to the rest of the team. Either Hidden Power gives you coverage against Celebi, who otherwise walls you. Earth Power is useful against Fire-types and grounded steels such as Heatran, who otherwise wall Shaymin.</p>
<p>Timid is chosen to allow Shaymin to outspeed all positive Speed natured base 90 Pokemon like Roserade and Lucario, and all positive Speed natured base 95 Pokemon like Gliscor. Modest can be chosen if outspeeding those Pokemon is less important than the added power. 32 HP EVs reach 349 HP, the perfect number for a Life Orb set, which yields 11 uses of Life Orb, as opposed to 10. Also noteworthy is that Shaymin's Natural Cure ability allows it to heal the Sleep status (along with any other status) when it switches out, meaning it can Rest with little to no concern.</p>
<p>This set is also an offensively minded set, and the partners of this set generally mirror those of the previous sets. However, you are allowed a bit more leeway in dealing with Salamence and Dragonite, as Hidden Power Ice can deal with them quite easily and you are not locked by Choice Specs into a particular move. If you don't use Hidden Power Ice, make sure that you employ a check capable of dealing with both of them after they have used Dragon Dance, such as a Choice Scarfed Starmie, Latias, or Gengar.</p>
<p>Because of Leech Seed, this set gives you the potential to defeat a Blissey if a Special Defense drop is obtained, but you should watch Seed Flare's PP very closely. Regardless, you should still employ some way of dealing with her, even if it simply means luring her in with Gengar, Starmie, Latias, or Rotom-A and Tricking a choice item onto her. It is recommended, however, to have more reliable wallbreaking methods on your team, such as an Infernape or a Heatran with Explosion.</p>
[SET]
name: Support Shaymin
move 1: Seed Flare / Grass Knot
move 2: Rest
move 3: Aromatherapy
move 4: Leech Seed / Grasswhistle / Hidden Power Fire
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>A change of pace here, with the focus being on Defense and support rather than all out attack. As this version of Shaymin should stick around for quite some time, Grass Knot is listed as option over Seed Flare due to issues with PP. Rest and Natural Cure work very well together, although it requires Shaymin to switch out to remove the sleep status. Aromatherapy is a rare and useful commodity which Shaymin uses quite effectively. In the last slot you can choose Leech Seed for some extra healing for Shaymin and its team mates; Grasswhistle has a mediocre 55% chance of sleeping the foe, but given Shaymin’s defenses, it’s not that bad. Finally, you can opt for Hidden Power Fire to hit Steels and Grassers. HP Ice or Ground are also viable options.</p>
<p>The EVs give you enough speed to outpace Jolly Tyranitar and Adamant Breloom. You cannot rely on this set to counter a Tyranitar, but you can defeat it if it comes in on you, something that Celebi cannot do because of its weakness to Crunch.</p>
<p>Since the point of this set is support, Blissey is not a primary concern, and the partners of this set are somewhat different. However, you will still need a way to deal with Dragonite, Salamence, and Heatran. Swampert does a good job of defeating Heatran and luring the dragons into an Outrage. At that point, a Skarmory or Forretress can set up Spikes as a boosted Outrage fails to 2HKO. Or, you can use a revenge killer as mentioned above. Snorlax has Fire and Ice resistances (Thick Fat) and can work excellently as a special wall alongside Shaymin.</p>
<p>This set can work on a stall team similarly to Celebi, but the lack of Perish Song means that you will need to employ a user of Encore or a Calm Mind to deal with Crocune. Latias and Jirachi work well in this capacity.</p>
[SET]
name: SubSeed
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Leech Seed
move 3: Seed Flare
move 4: Hidden Power Fire
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
EVs: 252 HP / 6 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>SubSeeding is a strategy unique to Grass-types, and Shaymin performs quite well at it. The principle behind this set is simple: come in and force a switch, set up a Substitute, and use Leech Seed to get back your health. Shaymin's strengths include its excellent defenses and base 100 speed, not to forget its 2x weakness to U-turn (Celebi has a 4x weakness), which can wreck the SubSeed strategy.</p>
<p>But once again, it is Seed Flare which helps to differentiate Shaymin from other Grass-types. This strategy is notorious for causing switches, and with Seed Flare's chance of slashing the opponents Special Defense, Shaymin may cause even more switching. Hidden Power Fire is recommended in the last slot so you can wear down Skarmory, who could otherwise switch in freely and Whirlwind away your Subs. It also maims Scizor who can hinder your strategy with U-turn.</p>
<p>This set, unlike the Support set, has little defensive or anti-metagame utility, and it is inherently offensively minded due to the nature of the SubSeed strategy being to beat down the opponent by virtue of your superior speed. However, as it does a great job of forcing switches, you should use Spikes and maybe even Toxic Spikes to increase the residual damage inflicted upon the foe. A Skarmory with Taunt works well to accomplish this, as does a Froslass or a Smeargle. All do an excellent job of setting up Spikes. For Toxic Spikes, you will have to use a Forretress or a Tentacruel, so make sure that they can work well on your team. Other than that, make sure you can check any Pokemon that can potentially outpace you, such as Gengar, Starmie, Infernape, Salamence, and Gyarados (the latter two after a Dragon Dance). Flygon, with U-turn, is a major problem for this set, as it ruins the entire Subseed strategy and minimizes residual damage. Additionally, Choice Scarf Heatran can finish off this set with ease.</p>
<p>To deal with these threats, a Choice Scarf Latias or a Starmie is highly recommended, as they can strike all of the aforementioned threats for super effective damage. Additionally, Trick can be used to cripple Blissey, making it even easier to force switches against stall. If you choose to use a Starmie, you may wish to forgo Skarmory, as the metal bird has a lacklustre offensive presence. A Vaporeon or Latias can pass Wish to Shaymin as well, making it easier to set up a Substitute. Additionally, they can employ Protect to scout out the intentions of an opposing Heatran. Gyarados also benefits from having Shaymin around to take the inevitable Electric attacks and Thunder Waves aimed at it. It also loves having Leech Seed around, which can help it recover off some of the Stealth Rock damage and set up Dragon Dances.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Field conditions are of vital importance to the success or failure of Shaymin. As with almost all Pokemon, Stealth Rock is a necessity to punish the opponent for switching and score vital OHKOs and 2HKOs that would have otherwise been missed. Spikes help out Shaymin more than they help Celebi, because Seed Flare is a powerful tool to use to force switches. You should take care not to employ Tyranitar, Abomasnow, or Hippowdon, though, as sandstorm and hail really hurt Shaymin sets, quickly wearing down offensive sets and nullifying Leftovers recovery on the defensive ones. Good candidates for the role of Stealth Rock user include Swampert, Heatran, and Metagross. Solid Spikes users include Froslass, Skarmory, (the stallbreaker variant with Taunt) and Smeargle. This is because Shaymin is usually played offensively (unlike Celebi), and its teammates should be able to maintain offensive pressure on the opponent. Forretress can do well, but it should provide some other necessary role to your team as well, such as screen support or countering a physical threat. Earthquake on Forretress can be useful to lure in and defeat Heatran and Infernape.</p>
<p>Grass is generally considered a poor attacking type, and for good reason. With the numerous Steel and Dragon types dominating OU, you get very shoddy attacking coverage. However, being a Grass type does give you access to the SubSeed strategy, which is a potent tool against many Pokemon in the OU environment, especially in conjunction with Seed Flare. Pokemon such as Starmie, Latias, Heatran, and Gengar make excellent offensive partners for Shaymin, due to their synergistic typing and excellent coverage with their attacks.</p>
<p>Defensively speaking, Shaymin's typing isn't great, but in today's metagame, it's at least superior to that of its friend Celebi. Celebi resists Fighting-type attacks (Psychic-type attacks are rarely seen), but at a cost of a Dark-type weakness and a crippling 4x weakness to Bug-type attacks. In the matter of Shaymin, the pure Grass-type gives weaknesses to Fire, Ice, Bug, Flying, and Poison attacks, though the latter two are rarely seen. Heatran takes all of these types of attacks, and a Heatran-Shaymin pairing works very much the same as the fabled Celetran combination. However, unlike the Celetran combination, you have no resistance to Fighting-type attacks, so again Gengar works well here. When using Shaymin, be sure that you are capitalizing on the Water, Electric, and Ground resistances that only the Grass type can provide.</p>
<p>The main Pokemon that give Shaymin trouble are Heatran, Salamence, Dragonite, and Blissey. Heatran is generally partnered by Scizor, Celebi, and Salamence. Therefore, a Heatran of your own works well here, as does a Starmie or Latias to revenge kill Salamence. Salamence is often seen alongside Scizor, Gyarados, and Heatran. Again, Starmie works well against Gyarados and Heatran, and Heatran does well against Scizor. What is true for Salamence tends to be true for Dragonite as well. Blissey tends to be partnered by powerful physical walls such as Hippowdon and Skarmory, but Seed Flare and Hidden Power Fire work wonders against them.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Not much. Synthesis is available for instant recovery, but with the prevalence of Sandstorm in OU play it only heals a meager 25% with each use. Growth can be used to raise its respectable Special Attack, but that role is better left to Shaymin-S who's higher Speed and Special Attack make it a superior user of the move. Grasswhistle can be used as a sleep move, but the low accuracy rarely makes it worth it. A physical sweeper set can work with Swords Dance, Seed Bomb, and Zen Headbutt, but Shaymin-S and Celebi do this better. Toxic has some utility on the defensive set as well.</p>
[EVs]
<p>For Choice Specs sets, max out Special Attack and Speed. Modest provides more power, but with Timid you have the option of outrunning the likes of neutral natured Salamence, Zapdos and Staraptor. Timid also guarantees Shaymin will outrun the likes of Porygon-Z, Gliscor, and Lucario.</p>
<p>For the Tank/Support set, focus your EVs in HP and Defense, with a Bold nature.</p>
<p>The SubSeeder works best with max HP and Speed.</p>
<p>If using HP Fire, you will lose the Speed tie with other base 100s because of the IV of 30, so you may wish to use a neutral nature or invest only 180 Speed EVs to make sure you beat an Adamant Lucario.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Shaymin’s movepool is relatively limited, and, as such, is almost a subset of Celebi’s, with Seed Flare and a subpar sleeping move thrown in. Because of this, everything that Shaymin can do is done by Celebi as well, and usually, the GSC legend does it better. Furthermore, with the addition of Shaymin-S it now appears that even the SubSeed strategy or sweeping role is better left to its more offensive counterpart. Generally, when using Shaymin, you'll want to capitalize on its defensive prowess to avoid making it an inferior Shaymin-S.</p>
<p>However, Shaymin's typing, great defenses, and Seed Flare mean that it can still be salvaged. Seed Flare is not to be underestimated; it has a large base power and has a good chance to pack twice the punch in the following turn because of its secondary effect, even if the first hit was resisted, which can make it rather difficult for the opponent to switch into Shaymin. Shaymin's pure Grass type means that it is not weak to Pursuit, unlike Celebi, and makes it able to take Gengar's Shadow Balls and maybe even a Bug move, since Shaymin is only 2x weak to Bug-type attacks. When comparing it to Shaymin-S, Shaymin seems entirely outclassed as a sweeper. While this is true to some extent, Shaymin's superior defensive typing and lack of weakness to Stealth Rock still makes it a reliable option for most teams, even if it doesn't pack quite the punch of Shaymin-S.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Heatran can come in on anything but Earth Power with ease. Salamence or Dragonite work if Shaymin isn't carrying Hidden Power Ice, although Choice Specs Psychic has a good chance to 2HKO the Dragons. Skarmory and Scizor can all handle everything barring Hidden Power Fire, and can screw up the SubSeeder with Whirlwind or U-turn, respectively. Shaymin-S makes a very good counter with its 4x resistance to Seed Flare and its ability to hit it with STAB Super Effective Air Slashes. However, Shaymin-S cannot come in on Hidden Power Ice.</p>
<p>The SubSeeder set is also countered by any faster Pokémon, especially one that has a super effective move on Shaymin. Pokémon with the move U-turn can remove the Substitute and switch out to a Pokémon that can counter Shaymin.</p>
<p>Against the Support and the Choice Specs set, Blissey and Cresselia can switch into Shaymin and threaten to Ice Beam it. Registeel and Regice make great counters with their high Special Defense, resistance to Shaymin's STAB attack, and Clear Body to prevent a drop in their Special Defense from Seed Flare. If it has Grasswhistle, any Sleep Talker with a strong supereffective move can switch in and scare Shaymin away.</p>
