ORAS UU Shedinja lovin'

[Arised]

Hey all,

Arised here, but most of you have probably seen me as SO GIMMICK on pokemon showdown. For awhile I tried to try hard with mediocre success. Then I gave up and tried using pokemon that I thought would be incredibly niche like shedinja and lo' and behold I realized there is something called a metagame and I should probably learn what that was. This team has been around for almost a year now and it yielded some decent success.

Unfortunately some changes in the metagame (re: Everything from OU be droppin) has decreased the viability of this set, and a ladder reset (rq?) made me realize that I should probably play less, so I'll be sharing my much beloved shedinja set in the hopes of actually getting good (L>someone else's team I can steal and win).

Anyways, without further ado I present to you my team, (if it had a name it would probably be not DMT)

I need 6 pokemon...Here they are

The Lead

Yanmega @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Air Slash
- Bug Buzz
- Giga Drain
- Protect

Yanmega is a staple in terms of dishing damage to a lot of stealth rock hazard setters such as Cobalion, Mamoswine, and Krookodile. There are a couple problems with this however in that Yanmega needs one turn to outspeed all these pokemon, meaning that all of these pokemon will probably get stealth rocks up. However, as long as you have a good hazard remover I wouldn't consider this a huge problem, your priority is to eliminate hazard setters as fast as possible and Yanmega does a great job with this. In terms of moveset, Giga Drain to take care of ground types, Bug Buzz handles the plethora of dark types out there and breaks through sub, Air Slash to 2hko forry and cobalion plus flinch con = win con. Despite this being my only way of deterring hazard setters I find it to be an outstanding special sweeper in the metagame as well. You might want to take advantage of the fact that your opponent probably thinks you're gonna protect on the first turn to dish some damage, but that's kind of a big risk/reward.

I SUPPORT YOUR ENTIRE TEAM

Gligar @ Eviolite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Taunt
- Defog

The burden of having a Shedinja on your team is that it literally needs so much support. Hazard setters are everywhere and the moment they see shedinja they will literally clamor for rocks to be up to keep that thing out. The nice part is that most hazard setters are physical (krok, forretress, coba) and thus gligar acts as a hard check. Even scald from swampert needs a 3hko, BUT KEEP THIS THING ALIVE. If hazards are up your entire team goes down. I've really debated putting roost on this for extended life, but this moveset is pretty crucial for the momentum of the team. Defog is obvious. Stealth rock wears down flying types and fire types that threaten sheddy, taunt shuts down slower hazard setters like swampert and forretress as well as prevents faster ones from setting up again. U-turn keeps the momentum after a taunt and works as an incredible pivot to scout out switches.

Pivot to the Left!

Rotom-Heat @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Overheat
- Trick

This poke has lost a little love lately. Scarf Rotom-H and U-Turn gligar kind of allowed for a volt-turn pairing that's not quite effective as say heliolisk and mega bee but the slowness of gligar can let it take a hit from say, mega aero and then safely switch to rotom-h. This is basically my unfinished answer to fire types. You switch this in and wear down the opposing fire type. You could trade this out for Rotom-C if you really hate bulky waters but the addition of zapdos and mamo kinda make me prefer Rotom-H, plus non-toxic waters can't hit shedinja. However, although Rotom-H does act as a check against zapdos and mamo rotom-H also lose its pivot luster and forces it to make predictable moves against these pokemon like thunderbolt and overheat (zapdos doesn't really have a reason to switch out against rotom-H cause of roost) . Trick can be a game changer against walls and mixed special attackers.

Offensive Bouncer

Absol @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch​

Gamefreak's answer to Blissey. Justified turns it into a great lure for knock off and dark pulse users who want to use it on sheddy. It's def stats aren't great enough for it to take multiple hits but most poke also really don't want to deal with a +1 sucker. Mega Absol can also sometimes work as a lead as well against Empoleon leads, discouraging it from rocks and 2hkos with no scald burn. +2 Play rough takes out most dark and fighting types. Otherwise a standard mega absol set. Yay magic bounce.

I CAN STILL SWEEP

Cloyster @ Focus Sash
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Rock Blast
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard

Man, this thing never gets any love. Yes, there are probably better sweepers out there. I mostly use this because under the assumption that hazards out of the way sash really gives it the potential for either a late game sweep, but also it can sacrifice it's hit as a means of taking on fire and flying threats to shedinja. (Unboosted rock blast doesn't ohko entei or arcanine, but hey, gotta wear them down somehow right?). Also, it's always really satisfying to predict through a taunt lead and icicle spear them to death or ice shard the unsuspecting boosted salamence. If you hate the world give it Kings Rock.

Captain Obvious

Shedinja @ Focus Sash
Ability: Wonder Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- X-Scissor
- Will-O-Wisp

This is a pretty standard set except I traded out protect to scout moves for will-o-wisp. My reasoning is that any pokemon that switches into shedinja probably is going to set up hazards, roar, or has a way of dealing with shedinja. Shedinja is not really here to sweep. It's here to force switches. Will-o-wisp cripples a wide variety of switch-ins aka anything with knock off and a means of wearing down the rest. Swords dance/sneak can be a means of a late game sweep. X-scissor can also be used to occasionally predict the dark switch-in, or you can sacrifice a sash hit. DMT does a great description of all the ways Sheddy dies so honestly just don't hit things until you are 101% sure you can.

This team dies so quick​

Okay first of all the list of threats to this team is so expansive one wrong play is a quick loss. However, I don't want to be too hard on myself. Shedinja's effectiveness is that it stops key threats and other dominant sets (Suicune and Snorlax come to mind, volturn, choice items, bulky waters and clerics) and forces predictable switches - with will-o-wisp to cripple key switch-ins.

• Fire Types: Okay the threat of Entei (and a little bit of Arcanine) is so high it just makes me cry. When you play against an Entei the reality is that you probably will have to sack one of your pokemon. You could switch out taunt or u-turn for earthquake on gligar but you either lose out on stopping slower hazard setters (swampert, empoleon, and forretress) or the momentum of having a pivot. I recommend relying on Gligar as a defensive counter and using combind special hits from rotom-h and yanmega to wear it down (one of those poke will have to get sacked).
• Zapdos: The addition of this pokemon to the metagame has caused huge problems. Heat wave means another way to take care of shedinja. It's bulk makes it able to take a wide array of hits from my team. Man, I can't even sack my sash cloyster cause it just volt switches out. Rotom-H can serve as a check but it's thunderbolt doesn't hit hard enough to outroost it, so this may be one of the pokemon where passing it's choice scarf can prove to be advantageous. Mega Absol can take a hit from bulkier variants and use the opportunity to setup SD.
• Mold Breaker: (Ampharos and Haxorus) - Earthquake on gligar seems like a realllllyy attractive option. Cloyster works as a revenge killer although it can't ohko amphy without a boost, Mega Absol can also hit with play rough.
• Weather: (Mega Abomasnow) - Another pokemon that just makes me cry. Rotom-H is a counter but the overheat is easily predictable. Yanmega also works well if it has higher hp.

Occasionally I win?
Honestly it's a lot of prediction, flinch/win conditions and keeping gligar alive. But nothing is more gratifying than resisting entire sets.
(vs. another shedinja team)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-268429827

(this whole team is a shedinja counter)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-270464794

(i hate zapdos)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-296635138

 

[Manipulative]

Hey there! Not a bad team you have there, and it actually looks like it could be pretty fun to use. I'm just gonna suggest a quick change here that should probably help the team out a lot. So on a shedinja team, you would want as many opportunities to cover its weaknesses as possible. One thing I noticed was that you don't have a fire/entei check, and this could be easily fixed by changing Rotom-Heat to a defensive set. Overall, this should help a shit ton, giving you a solid fire/flying check as well as something for Mamoswine and Abomasnow who could each severely dent your team. It's also just gonna be a pest in general haha. Losing the scarf shouldn't hurt too much as you have Yanmega and Mega Absol. Feel free to try it out and let me know how it works out for you!

Rotom-Heat @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp

 

[Lord Wallace]

I feel like you're putting a lot of pressure on a Gligar that 1. Isn't an amazing Defogger to begin with imo, 2. Is weak to the same things as the rest of your team (mainly Ice and Water types in the tier, Mega Pert and Mamoswine in particular give you trouble because Gligar can't really Defog on them), and 3. Doesn't have Roost, which is obviously a huge problem.

I would honestly just replace Gligar entirely as it's complete set up fodder for fast sweepers like Salamence, performs miserably against basically every Stealth Rocker with your set, and gives up way too many free switches. Also, with Pokemon like Absol and Yanmega who enjoy having their hazards up Defog isn't too ideal to begin with.

If anything, Cloyster is actually a pretty cool offensive spinner for your team because it's a hard check to Salamence, a soft check to the physical Fire types your team loathes, and can dent common hazard setters like Mamoswine Forretress, Krookodile, and Donphan with Hydro Pump, and can even set up Spikes which your Yanmega and Absol greatly appreciate.

Heres an adaptation of the Ubers support set you can play around with should you take my suggestion:

Hide

Cloyster @ Focus Sash
Ability: Skill Link / Shell Armor
EVs: 204 Atk / 60 SpA / 244 Spe
Naive Nature
- Icicle Spear / Ice Shard
- Hydro Pump
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin

60 SAtk EVs guarantee the 2HKO on Forretress after a layer of Spike, the rest go into attack and speed since bulk investment does pretty much nothing for Cloyster. 244 Speed EVs with a positive nature outspeeds neutral base 80s like Mamoswine.
Ice Shard if you're concerned about consistently revenging DD Mence and punishing Mega Bee, or Icicle Spear to maim Fat Mence, Chesnaught, Mega Ampharos, and Mandibuzz, or even Hydreigon if your Sash is intact.
Hydro Pump is ideal over a physical Water or Rock move so you can still damage Entei severely after a Sacred Fire burn.

Role compression 101 imo, now you have a free slot to do whatever you want with. You get blown away by bulky Water types right now. Crocune especially can just win against your team (Shedinja isn't really an acceptable answer to either because it just dies to Rocks if they do get set up). Feraligatr is also a pretty huge threat still.
SD Toxicroak isn't a bad idea as it's an additional win condition for your team, beats the Water types that your team doesn't already cover, gives you more priority which doesn't hurt, and compliments Absol really well by threatening Fairy types and weakening Steels like Forry and Mega Aggron for it. You're also sort of weak to stall which Croak can help with thanks to it's excellent dual STABs. Toxicroak also benefits greatly from Cloyster's Spikes.
Set:

Hide

Toxicroak @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Low Kick / Drain Punch
- Sucker Punch
- Gunk Shot
- Swords Dance

I prefer Low Kick over Drain on this team to really smack Mega Aggron, Swampert, and Forretress, but thats honestly your preference.

Lastly I would definitely take xVarsity's suggestion to change Rotom-H to a defensive set to help patch up gaping holes in your team.

This is still a team with room to be improved and optimized but hopefully I got you in the right direction without changing your team too much.

tl:dr
Offensive Support Cloyster > Gligar
SD Toxicroak > Shell Smash Cloyster
Defensive Rotom > Scarf Rotom as suggested by xVarsity

Hope I helped

 

[feen]

Hi there, quite an interesting team you have here. I like the idea of Shedinja being used because it forces a lot of switches and can work really well if played properly. Here are some of the changes:

• What your team seems to have is a giant weakness to Stealth Rocks and the Gligar set makes it a setup fodder for a plethora of setup sweepers: Salamence, Aerodactyl, Swampert, as well as Slurpuff. I also think Gligar is a poor defogger since having Defog gives you poor coverage and you didn't run Roost so it would be worn down easily. Your team also appreciates hazards, especially since Shedinja forces switches a lot. Therefore, I think your best choice is to run Tentacruel over Gligar, because it can setup Toxic Spikes which will wear down the opponent and is a great combination with Shedinja. It also has access to Rapid Spin which is perfect because you won't remove the hazards you set on the opponent.
  
• With Tentacruel on your team, I think having a Cloyster gives you a huge weakness to Electric-type spam and also you need something to switch into Volt Switch, as well as revenge kill dangerous threats such as Salamence and Aerodactyl. You also need Stealth Rock on your team as it is a great hazard and works great with Shedinja. Therefore, I believe Mamoswine over Cloyster is ideal since it can wall-break as well as set Stealth Rock which helps your team.
• I'd also suggest running Superpower over Play Rough on Absol since you'd wanna KO Empoleon as well as pressure Cobalion. Play Rough only hits Dark-types and so does Superpower, and most of the time Fighting-types like Heracross are checked by Tentacruel and Shedinja so running Play Rough is not worth it.

Sets

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 248 HP / 164 Def / 96 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Toxic Spikes
- Scald
- Rapid Spin

Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Icicle Crash

Goodluck

 

[Arised]

Hey all! Thanks for the advice. I realize that there's a lot of trade-offs when it comes to switching around sets and spreads. I still heavily defend the set for my eviolite gligar. In regards to the fact that does act as set-up fodder for salamence and aerodactyl especially, the advantage of gligar being a slow u-turner is that it can easily take a +1 hit from these poke and safely u-turn into a different pokemon.

For example
Turn 1 - Aero sets up Hone Claws, Gligar Defogs
Turn 2 - +1 248+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Aerodactyl Aqua Tail vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Gligar: 202-238 (60.6 - 71.4%), Gligar u-turns into Rotom-H
(most Aero sets I've seen are hone claws, roost, stone edge, and aerial ace so aqua tail is worst case scenario)

Having a defogger is really important to me because the existence of spin blockers like doublade really threaten my guarantee that I'll eventually be able to remove them. However, moving stealth rock from gligar to another pokemon may free it up for roost which would be a huge help. Gligar is the only pokemon that can defog without being stealth rock weak, although Zapdos bulkiness has started to make it look more and more attractive.

Some other quick thoughts

• Definitely really like the idea of defensive rotom-h against mamoswine, although it eliminates my ability to handle mega-aero in the example above.
• However, having Mamo instead of Cloyster would really help to remove some threats (like mega aero), and maybe even running a sash on it might help since I've been arguing sash cloyster as a potential revenge killer in addition to set-up sweeper.

 

[Manipulative]

So I somehow didn't notice that Gligar lacked Roost the first time I viewed this thread. I highly recommend replacing taunt with it if you're keeping Gligar. Being able to keep healthy is much more important than taunting. Also, for future reference, Empoleon is also a common defogger (who can also lay stealth rocks) and actually resists rocks instead of being neutral against it. Unfortunately, replacing Gligar with Empoleon on your team makes you lose a ground type, which causes you to be vulnerable to Volt Switch + U-turn cores.