Shuckle
Status: Awaiting QC Checks
Shuckle: Until B/W, Shuckle could do nothing but wall his opponent. Granted, it was one of the best walls in the game, with 230/230 defenses (the highest in the game); and with Sandstorm up, Shuckle boosts his already godly Special Defense. Its only problem? Those are its only good stats, with the lowest Speed in the game, 20 base HP and 10/10 Atk and Sp. Atk.
But B/W was kind to this tiny turtle: with Sturdy, there's no such thing as OHKO, and Shuckle got one good move that takes away much of its weakness in offense: Power Share. With this move, Shuckle can share his offense with any Pokemon. With its low offensive prowess, that equals at least one cripple and the ability to set up. If the opponent sends out a powerful attacker, and with some luck, Shuckle may be in line for an unlikely sweep.
[SET]
name: Sharing is Caring
move 1: Power Share
move 2: Gyro Ball / Stone Edge / Encore
move 3: Wrap / Earthquake
move 4: Toxic
nature: Relaxed
item: Leftovers
ability: Sturdy
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 SpA / 0 Spe
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Set Comments
Under Trick Room, Shuckle is godly. Outspeeding essentially anything due to it having the lowest Speed in the entire game, Shuckle has the ability to go first against anything without a priority move. These EVs give the ability to wall better than it already does, and under Sandstorm, Sp. Def EVs aren't as necessary. The IVs might seem strange, but under Trick Room, low Speed is a necessity, and 0 offensive IVs give the ability to cripple better than it already does.
The idea of the set is to have Trick Room set up and then proceed to Power Share or Toxic before you can be Taunted. Power Share cripples any offensive Pokemon that tries to come in and set up or sweep. At that point, if you predict a switch, you can either Toxic, attack, or try a double switch. Power Share won't work again unless you switch, unfortunately. If you don't predict a switch, try Wrapping it, to up your residual damage and trap it as well. Earthquake is for those pesky Steels and Poisons who get the better of Toxic. Gyro Ball and Stone Edge are both options, but Stone Edge's 80% accuracy can become a problem. Still, Shuckle can be surprisingly effective with Power Share. If you want to forego all of these, however, then Encore can be used, but that removes potential for attack, and makes this Pokemon much more of a wall. Pick this based on your team.
With this set, Shuckle has the ability to cripple offensive sweepers with Power Share and wear them down with Toxic, and Sandstorm to boot, which both ups its already legendary Special Defense and causes more residual damage to the switch in. This Shuckle set can stand to be an unlikely force to those who aren't prepared for it.
Additional Comments
Wrap and Earthquake are interchangable, depending on your team make-up. Earthquake is a much more risky venture, but has the ability to hit Steels for good damage: for example: it can 3HKO a Power Shared Metagross, while Bullet Punch will only 6HKO. Wrap is good for keeping residual damage slowly wearing down Shuckle's opponent and stopping any switching out of Power Share. Leftovers can be exchanged for a Lum Berry, to prevent Toxic, but Leftovers holds too good a recovery for a Pokemon that desperately needs one. Protect is always good for a wall with residual damage and Leftovers. Rest is also good as it gets rid of troubling status conditions, and can be used alongside with Lum or Chesto Berry. Mental Herb can work to prevent Taunt and Encore and give it some valuable set-up time, but is usually inferior to Leftovers.
[SET]
name: Under Pressure
move 1: Acupressure
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Rest
move 4: Power Share
nature: relaxed
item: Leftovers
ability: Sturdy
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 SpA
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Set Comments
This set is much more of a wall than the previous set, but can be a very strong force. The idea of this set is to cripple any offensive Pokemon that switches in and to spread Toxic around. Acupressure is a big part of this set, as it can boost its already legendary Defense and Special Defense, and so further its incredible walling status. When Shuckle gets low on health or statused, then Rest off the damage and further the Toxic stalling. This set can make a very surprising Toxic staller in a stall team. The IVs are again used to further the usage of Power Share.
Additional Comments
Again, this set should be used with Sandstorm, in order to boost its Special Defense and wear out any Pokemon that isn't Rock, Steel or Ground or has Dustproof or Magic Guard. Magic Guard and Steel-type Pokemon in particular wall this set with ease. Any Hazers or pseudo-Hazers can also shut down Shuckle, so taking them out is a big plus for Shuckle. This set really shouldn't have any other moves; all of these are integral to the set. On the subject of items, Lum or Chesto Berry can be used instead of Leftovers, but they only work once and Leftovers is a big part of the stalling.
Team Options: A decent Trick Roomer makes this Pokemon a force to be reckoned with, as Shuckle is the slowest in the game. Bronzong is a very good user of Trick Room and Stealth Rock, the latter of which is very good for a walling Shuckle that can force switches. If need be, it can Explode on demand. Both Hippowdon or Tyranitar can set up a permanent sandstorm to slowly wear down Shuckle's enemies, which is almost essential for this set. Shuckle is weak to Stealth Rock and heavily dependent on not being poisoned, so a good Rapid Spinner will do very well in Shuckle's case. Starmie is a quick user of Rapid Spin, and covers Shuckle's weakness to Water with Thunderbolt. Vaporeon can also Baton Pass a 101+ HP Substitute as well as Wish or Aqua Ring to Shuckle, which will usually allow it to set up. It also is immune to Shuckle's Water weakness with Water Absorb, resists its Steel weakness, and can hit its Rock counters super effectively. Finally, special mention goes to Claydol, who resists Shuckle's Rock weakness and can do all four of Trick Room, Rapid Spin, Stealth Rock and Explosion, though probably not all on the same set.
Counters: Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rock are both major problems for Shuckle, as Shuckle hates poison and is weak to Stealth Rock. Forretress can set up both of these, and is immune to Toxic Spikes and Sandstorm, as well as Rapid Spinning away any entry hazards. Skarmory can also set up entry hazards, is immune to both Toxic and Earthquake, resists Gyro Ball, and can Whirlwind away any set up Shuckle had. Gengar also walls any Shuckle without Stone Edge or Gyro Ball. A standard Doryuuzu with +2 Atk can generally OHKO with Earthquake and Stealth Rock support and always 2HKOs, but is crippled by Power Share and an Encored Swords Dance. A Roarer or Whirlwinder can get rid of Power Share and further Shuckle's Stealth Rock weakness, as previously mentioned with Skarmory. Anything with Night Shade or Seismic Toss is a real hassle for Shuckle. Abomasnow can also set up Hail, removing Sandstorm and essentially negating Leftovers, but is weak to both Gyro Ball and Stone Edge.
Dream World: While Shuckle does not directly benefit from Perversity, it does benefit from any stat-drops that may incidentally come Shuckle's way. If a hax Sp. Def stat drop comes from Psychic, for example, it's just another boost for Shuckle's mighty defenses. Not much will OHKO Shuckle, so this ability can have its uses.
