Shiftry
QC:[0/3]
GP:[0/1]
[OVERVIEW]
* Shiftry is one of the few viable Chlorophyll users in the tier.
* Its Dark STAB and mixed attacking potential give it an edge over fellow Chlorophyll user Venusaur.
* Thanks to its high-powered attacks, it is deceptively powerful for a Pokemon with rather average 100 / 90 offensive stats.
* Its decent amount of attacking options, between Leaf Storm, Leaf Blade, Sucker Punch, Hidden Power Fire, and Explosion, is a blessing and a curse, since it struggles to choose between them.
* Lastly, Shiftry is almost wholly reliant on sun support to have any sort of niche, confining its viability entirely to sun teams.
[SET]
Name: Mixed Sun Abuser
Move 1: Knock Off
Move 2: Solar Beam / Leaf Storm
Move 3: Growth
Move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Sucker Punch / Explosion / Leaf Blade
Item: Life Orb / Normalium Z
Ability: Chlorophyll
Nature: Naughty / Naive
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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* Growth raises Shiftry's Attack and Special Attack by two stages in the sun.
* Knock Off is an extremely spammable Dark STAB that has the game-changing effect of removing the opponent's item.
* Solar Beam is a deadly special Grass move that allows Shiftry to break through physically defensive targets that can eat a Knock Off, such as Suicune, Gliscor, and Krookodile.
* Leaf Storm is a bit more powerful than Solar Beam and allows Shiftry to be more than a bargain bin Bisharp once sun runs out, most notably allowing it to hit Hippowdon and Gigalith coming in to take its sun away. However, it comes with the nasty drawback of dropping Shiftry's Special Attack by 2 stages, reversing its Growth boosts.
* Sucker Punch allows Shiftry to go before Pokemon that attempt to revenge kill it with priority, as well as move first versus faster Pokemon when sun wears off.
* Hidden Power Fire allows Shiftry to OHKO Bisharp, Forretress, and Scizor at +2 with or without a sun boost, which none of its other moves can do without a Growth boost or chip damage. It must be in the sun, however, to OHKO Cobalion at +2.
* Explosion is an extremely powerful suicide move that OHKO's practically everything in the tier at +2 that doesn't resist Normal.
* Leaf Blade gives Shiftry a physical Grass STAB, but is generally redundant between Solar Beam and Knock Off. It is nice, however, if you need a Grass STAB without drawbacks.
Set Details
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* Max Attack and max Speed allow Shiftry to hit as fast and as hard as possible, while also maintaining at least some self-sufficiency out of the sun.
* The remaining 4 EVs are dumped into Special Attack to give Solar Beam or Leaf Storm a smidgen more power, and since Shiftry is too frail to appreciate defensive investment in any meaningful way.
* A Naughty nature allows Shiftry to OHKO standard bulky Scizor after Stealth Rock 100% of the time with +2 Knock Off, but leaves it slower than Choice Scarf Keldeo and Choice Scarf Infernape by one point in the sun. A Naive nature, on the other hand, allows Shiftry to outspeed the entire tier in the sun.
* A Special Defense reducing nature is used over a Defense reducing one because the majority of priority attacks are physical, meaning that a hair more damage will be required to revenge kill Shiftry with a Bullet Punch or Extreme Speed.
* A Life Orb is needed to give much needed extra power to all of Shiftry's moves. The cost in HP is negligible, since Shiftry is too frail to take most attacks regardless of its HP, meaning that Life Orb doesn't have a significant effect on its longevity.
* Normalium Z can be used with Explosion as a nuke versus a Pokemon that resist its STABs, such as Infernape, Hydreigon, and Whimsicott, that doesn't require Shiftry to sacrifice itself. Following it up with a regular Explosion, if at +2, will heavily dent if not KO most of the tier. However, the difference in power versus Life Orb for Shiftry's other moves is drastic, turning many OHKOs into 2HKOs.
Usage Tips
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* Use the switches that Shiftry forces to either boost with Growth or fire off an attack. Oftentimes, the former is preferred, since a Growth boost is needed to achieve important OHKOs, such as Scizor and Bisharp.
* Since Special Attack isn't invested in, even Pokemon weak to Solar Beam or Leaf Storm, such as the aforementioned Hippowdon and Suicune, need a bit of chip damage to be OHKOed.
* If carrying Leaf Storm, use it sparingly, since Special Attack drops rack up quite quickly, although Growth boosts mitigate this somewhat.
* Shitry is extremely frail, so being able to bring it in for free is absolutely crucial. Achieve this through aggressive switching and use of U-Turn or Volt Switch.
* If carrying Explosion, only use it if Shiftry is about to be KOed or you need a wall significantly weakened for a teammate.
Team Options
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* A sun setter, either Torkoal or Ninetales, is non-negotiable when using Shiftry, since Chlorophyll is the only reason you'd want to use it over another offensive Grass or Dark type.
* Venusaur, the only other viable Chlorophyll user, forms an offensively redundant, but effective pairing with Shiftry, allowing at least one of them to overwhelm typical checks to Grass types through brute force. Their secondary STABs, Poison and Dark, also have great offensive synergy, with the former threatening Fairy types that can stop Shiftry cold, and the latter doing significant damage to Steel-, Flying-, and Psychic-types that threaten Venusaur.
* Cleaners that appreciate walls being weakened or removed, especially Water types, such as Cobalion, Bisharp, Mega Aerodactyl, Zygarde-10%, and Mega Sharpedo, all benefit from Shiftry's ability to do so. The latter, however, must wait for sun to dissipate before its Water STAB can be at full power.
* If using a Naughty nature, a reliable switch-in to Choice Scarf Keldeo and Choice Scarf Infernape, such as Latias or bulky Starmie, is highly recommended, especially since the latter can turn sun against you, firing off devastating sun-boosted Flare Blitzes. Such Pokemon also provide the team with hazard removal, although the extremely offensive nature of sun teams generally means that hazard removal is more trouble than it's worth.
* Users of Volt Switch and U-turn, such as Hydreigon, Raikou, Scizor, Cobalion and Gliscor, can bring in Shiftry safely. The latter three are notable for being able to lure in Water types, which Shiftry can take advantage of, while also taking on a large number of Shiftry's checks in return.
Other Options
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* A fully physical set with Knock Off / Swords Dance / Leaf Blade / Sucker Punch or Explosion can be used, but even with Chlorophyll, you are almost always better off using Bisharp, since Shiftry's mixed attacking power is what allows it to break past most of what Bisharp cannot.
* Defog can be used if your team is desperate for a hazard remover, but it is rarely worth sacrificing an attack or the momentum to remove hazards for sun teams, due to how pressured Shiftry is to get off damage before sun fades. It should also be noted that Defog is illegal with Leaf Blade.
Checks and Counters
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**Opposing Weather**: Opposing weather setters can take away Shiftry's sun, slowing it down and making Growth less effective. Special mention goes to Aolan Ninetales since, unlike Hippowdon and Gigalith, it can outspeed and threaten to KO Shiftry.
**Fighting-types**: Once sun is down, Fighting types have a field day versus Shiftry, since they can either set up on it or resist Sucker Punch and KO it. Ones carrying Mach Punch, namely Infernape and Conkeldurr, can dispose of Shiftry even with sun up.
**Pokemon That Resist Its STAB**: Grass / Dark, while nice offensively, has many common resistances, including, but not limited to Hydreigon, Cobalion, Whimsicott, Lucario, Bisharp, Kommo-o, and Klefki. They can all be taken out by the appropriate coverage move, however.
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