[Overview]
<p>Although Shiftry would have previously never found itself on any serious OU team, Dream World changed that by giving Ninetales the ability Drought, allowing Shiftry to put its ability, Chlorophyll, to good use. With blazing fast
speed Speed and decent
100 / 90 offensive stats, Shiftry becomes a huge threat under the sun. Unlike most Chlorophyll sweepers, Shiftry has an outstanding movepool to help back up its impressive offensive stats, meaning that
Shiftry it is more than capable of running a successful mixed attacking set. On top of that, it even has access to Nasty Plot and Growth, making it a potent boosting sweeper. Shiftry's Dark typing allows it to beat Latias, who is
normally very problematic for many other Chlorophyll sweepers like Venusaur. In addition,
Shiftry Shiftry's fantastic movepool lets it beat a myriad of other threats such as Tyranitar, Jirachi, Heatran, and Gengar.</p>
<p>Shiftry is most definitely not without flaws. Its
Dark/Grass Grass / Dark typing is a
double edged double-edged sword, because offensively it's fantastic,
(remove comma) but defensively it gives it a weakness to very common
attack types such as Fighting, Bug, and Ice. This is only made worse by its terrible defenses and
a weakness to common priority moves. It also faces stiff competition from other Chlorophyll sweepers, particularly Venusaur and Sawsbuck. Even with all these flaws, its ability to beat Latias, its access to a fantastic movepool, and its great offensive stats make Shiftry a great choice for
most many sun teams.</p>
[SET]
name: Special Sweeper
move 1: Growth / Nasty Plot
move 2: Giga Drain
move 3: Dark Pulse
move 4: Low Kick / Nature Power / Focus Blast
item: Life Orb
nature: Naive
ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 72 HP / 252 SpA / 180 Spe
(72 + 252 + 180 = 504, so this should have 4 more EVs somewhere)
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With access to both Growth and Nasty Plot, it's no surprise that Shiftry can pose as a very threatening special sweeper. With
Shiftry's its fantastic offensive typing and a seemingly endless movepool,
Shiftry it can hit most of the metagame for super effective damage. The choice between Growth and Nasty Plot depends on whether you
want are using Shiftry
to become more of as a mixed sweeper or a full blown special sweeper. With Growth, Shiftry can boost both its Attack and Special Attack stat by +2 as long as it's in the sun. With Nasty Plot, Shiftry will always receive a +2 Special Attack boost, regardless of the weather conditions, so it's a more reliable boosting move altogether
and the clear choice if you choose to forgo Low Kick
and Nature Power. Giga Drain is a powerful STAB Grass-type move that decimates Water-types such as Jellicent, Politoed, and Vaporeon. It can also OHKO specially defensive Hippowdon at +2. Dark Pulse is Shiftry's secondary STAB
that and always
OHKOs OHKOes Gengar, Latios, and most importantly Latias at +2. Keep in mind that Shiftry's ability to beat Latias is one of its biggest advantages over Venusaur, who would otherwise give this set huge competition. The last moveslot
if is pretty interchangeable,
(remove comma) and
it all depends on what you want Shiftry to beat the most. With Low Kick, Shiftry has a
much more reliable Fighting-type move
which that KOes Tyranitar without any boosts and
which also does solid damage to both Blissey and Chansey. Nature Power has similar coverage,
(remove comma) but with the added bonus of hitting both Tentacruel and Jirachi for super effective damage. It can also always OHKO max HP Heatran without any Attack boosts. Last but not least, Focus Blast should be used if you decide to use Nasty Plot over Growth
despite its lower accuracy, as it gives Shiftry a special Fighting-type move to deal with everything that Low Kick normally would
, but comes with a major drop in accuracy. It should be noted that Focus Blast can OHKO Ferrothorn at +2, something that Low Kick cannot do.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Shiftry's EV spread is designed to outspeed Timid Choice Scarf Latios,
while and the rest is dumped into its Special Attack and bulk. If you are paranoid about not outpacing opposing Shiftry and Venusaur, then you could choose to fully invest in Speed, but it's not really worth the drop in bulk. If running Growth, Sucker Punch can be used over Dark Pulse to KO Mamoswine after Stealth Rock at +2, but it's a very unreliable STAB move
that and could potentially allow Latias and Gengar to set up a Substitute. Because the last moveslot is essentially expendable, Hidden Power Fire is usable if you want to OHKO Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Forretress without having to rely on Focus Blast, but
it lacks any sort of useful coverage beyond that. Grass Knot can be used to OHKO physically defensive Hippowdon and Tyranitar without a boost, but Giga Drain is a much more reliable choice.</p>
<p>Ninetales is obviously a required partner for Shiftry, or else there wouldn't be much of a reason to use it. Shiftry needs that permanent Sunny Day from Drought in order to make maximum use of Chlorophyll. Shiftry has amazing coverage, but there's always something out there that can wall it,
(remove comma) depending on no matter what you choose for its fourth moveslot. Most of the time, Shiftry will have a problem breaking through Skarmory and Forretress if it's not at +2, so pairing it with a Fire-type like Heatran, Victini, or Infernape can help alleviate the problem
, the latter being a fantastic partner in general. Infernape
is a fantastic partner in general, as it can also break through Blissey and Chansey with Close Combat.
Choice Scarf Chandelure
may might seem like an odd Pokemon to recommend as a partner, but it's actually pretty good. It's either immune or resistant to every form of priority that threatens Shiftry,
(remove comma) while and can threaten Breloom, Scizor, Lucario, and Mamoswine
are all threatened to be OHKOed by with a OHKO from a STAB Fire Blast.</p>
[SET]
name: All-Out Mixed Offense
move 1: Leaf Storm
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Low Kick / Nature Power
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Fire
item: Life Orb
nature: Naive
ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 76 Atk / 252 SpA / 180 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Shiftry can take advantage of its great attacking stats and amazing movepool by running an all-out mixed offensive set. Unlike
the sweeping Shiftry's boosting sets, this set isn't meant to sweep,
(change to semicolon) it's meant to put immense offensive pressure on the opposing team through coverage and speed. It's also one of the only Chlorophyll sweepers
sun has access to capable of beating every other permanent weather inducer in the tier,
(remove comma) with
just the help of
just four moves. Leaf Storm is the most powerful STAB Grass-type
moves Shiftry can learn, and its raw power can easily plow through Water-types like Politoed and Jellicent,
(remove comma) while KOing and KO physically defensive Hippowdon after Stealth Rock. Although the massive Special Attack drop will sometimes force Shiftry to switch out, this set doesn't mind
the drop nearly as much
as some others due to it not being strictly specially offensive. Sucker Punch is Shiftry's best Dark-type STAB move, and thanks to its boosted priority,
even outside of the sun, Shiftry can still pose a massive threat to Starmie, Latias, Latios, and Gengar
even outside of the sun, preventing it from being easily revenge killed. Low Kick is primarily for Tyranitar who can actually survive a Leaf Storm and threaten to KO
it with Stone Edge. It's also for the occasional Blissey, who will often try to switch in on a Leaf Storm. Nature Power misses out on KOing Tyranitar, but it can KO Heatran, which is a huge plus. It also hits Jirachi and Tentacruel harder than anything else. The last move depends on what you want Shiftry to handle the most. Hidden Power Ice gives this set a reliable answer to Dragon-types
and some other threats (add comma) easily KOing Dragonite, Garchomp, Salamence, and even Landorus-T. This is important because pretty much every single one of them can take at least one hit and KO back.
Hidden Power Ice changes that by easily KOing Dragonite, Garchomp, Salamence, and even Landorus-T. Hidden Power Fire is an option if you want Shiftry to deal with Steel-types more reliably, but its coverage is somewhat redundant, as most sun teams carry a lot of Fire-type moves anyway.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread is designed to outspeed Timid Choice Scarf Latios,
(remove comma) while investing and invests everything else into Special Attack and Attack. Because this set lacks the raw power of
the sweeping sets, Stealth Rock support
can go a long way goes a lot further in weakening the opponent to a point where Shiftry can secure
specific KOs
against certain threats, such as Volcarona, Dragonite, and Skarmory. Donphan and Forretress are good defensive options that can provide Stealth Rock support, and both have the added bonus of being able to use Rapid Spin. Ninetales is
once again something that should always be partnered up with Shiftry, or else it will remain slow throughout the entirety of the match. Mamoswine is a decent partner because it can KO Breloom with Ice Shard and can also handle Gliscor, Dragonite, and Landorus-T if Shiftry is running Hidden Power Fire instead of Hidden Power Ice.
Choice Scarf Chandelure is
still always something to consider partnering up with Shiftry, as it can come in on almost any priority move and threaten to fry the opponent with a STAB sun-boosted Fire Blast. Infernape is a decent partner because it can beat Blissey and Chansey.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>A Choice Specs set is viable, but it's outclassed overall by Tangrowth. An
all out all-out physical sweeping set with Swords Dance / Seed Bomb / Sucker Punch / Low Kick is also definitely viable, but it faces a lot of competition from both Sawsbuck and Jumpluff. Shiftry has a huge offensive movepool, but most of its moves are rather weak or provide redundant coverage. Energy Ball is slightly more powerful
then than Giga Drain, but it lacks the useful healing secondary effect that Giga Drain has. Unlike Low Kick, Brick Break deals a consistent amount of damage, but it can't OHKO certain things like Tyranitar and Heatran. X-Scissor can be used to hit opposing Grass- and Dark-types harder than anything else, but it overall provides redundant coverage. Synthesis restores 2/3 of Shiftry's HP in the sun, but Shiftry is too frail to ever find a good time to use it.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Like most Chlorophyll sweepers, Shiftry can be quite a problematic Pokemon to deal with while under the sun,
(remove comma) due to its extremely high Speed and near perfect coverage. By far, the easiest way to deal with Shiftry is through priority moves. Adamant Mamoswine has a chance to KO Shiftry after Stealth Rock with Ice Shard,
while and Breloom will always KO with Mach Punch. Scizor does a massive chunk to Shiftry with Bullet Punch, and if Shiftry lacks Hidden Power Fire,
then Scizor can just threaten to KO it with U-turn. The
Growth special sweeper set is pretty much impossible to counter, especially after it manages to set up a Growth or a Nasty Plot. Jirachi can tank at least one Dark Pulse and threaten to paralyze
it Shiftry with Body Slam, but it fears both Nature Power and Hidden Power Fire. Chansey is bulky enough to avoid the 2HKO from Low Kick and
threatens can threaten to paralyze Shiftry with Thunder Wave. Politoed, Tyranitar, and Abomasnow can cancel out the sun, thus
crippling neutralizing Shiftry's Speed. Keep in mind that Shiftry still has the potential to actually beat all three of them
one on one one-on-one. Bulky Dragonite can take any hit from Shiftry bar Hidden Power Ice and proceed to KO it the next turn with Fire Punch. Swords Dance Virizion is one of the best checks to Shiftry in the game, as Shiftry can only beat it with Hidden Power Fire,
(remove comma) and Virizion can switch into Dark Pulse to get a Justified boost. Toxicroak is another decent check to Shiftry because it resists both of its STAB moves, but it's heavily crippled by sun
anyway due to Dry Skin.</p>
