Army of the Damned
Introduction
Yeah, that's a hell of a lot of Shedinja. You may know Shedinja as that cool-but-useless gimmick people really like to try to make work, but is ultimately Toxic/setup bait.
No longer.
Thanks to therules more like guidelines of Balanced Hackmons, Shedinja can bring his whole hive with him. Him? It? Whatever. Anyway, I'm sure you're familiar with the concept that one bee or fire ant isn't all that scary, but a swarm can send you to the hospital right quick. And that's pretty much what this team is. Six Shedinja with a variety of abilities and movepools that make the entire match a horrible guessing game for your opponent, and a grand old time for you.
Now, if you didn't follow the link in the last paragraph and are unfamiliar with Balanced Hackmons (BH), you are probably very confused right now. How can I have six of the same Pokémon? How can I have a variety of abilities on Shedinja? Follow the link. Don't worry, it's just one paragraph (it's a very simple format) and a short banlist, the latter of which you don't even need to read. Done that? Good. Now comes the good part.
The Team
Shedinja @ Lum Berry | Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Encore
- Endeavor
- Ice Shard
- Spiky Shield
Sturdy Shedinja is a house that is actually achievable legitimately in double and triple battles through ability-changing moves like Simple Beam, Entrainment, Skill Swap, and Role Play, but this is much easier. Shedinja just starts out invincible! The only move that can take this set out in one turn is Leech Seed, and while that isn't entirely uncommon, it isn't exactly ubiquitous either. This is the "classic" BH Shedinja that used to be very popular. Unfortunately, there are answers to it that aren't very specialized, so it has fallen out of favor. However, it still has many things to offer, and is very good when paired with some of the other Shedinja on the team for playing mind games. Lum Berry prevents one status ailment from affecting Shedinja, which eases prediction and is generally good for wasting your opponent's turns. Sturdy makes Shedinja impervious to damaging attacks. 252 Atk EVs ensure that Ice Shard does as much damage as possible, and a Brave Nature further increases Shedinja's attack, while lowering Shedinja's Speed. This along with 0 Speed EVs and IVs make absolutely sure that Shedinja goes last with Encore. Encore can lock the opponent into a boosting or attacking move, and is responsible for many KOs. Even if they switch to end the encore, Endeavor will hit whatever they switch into and then Ice Shard will kill that, so there really is no recourse for the opponent once they've received an Encore. Endeavor takes advantage of Shedinja's low HP to bypass all manner of defenses (besides Ghost typing) and cut the opponent to 1 HP, after which Ice Shard can KO before the opponent can respond. Ice Shard gets the nod over Shadow Sneak or Extreme Speed because no Pokémon is immune to it, and it doesn't make contact, so Rocky Helmets and Iron Barbs don't take effect. Spiky Shield is a superior Protect, scouting for moves and scoring chip damage that is usually irrelevant but can KO after Endeavor.
Shedinja @ Lum Berry | Sturdy
EVs: 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Encore
- Endeavor
- Spiky Shield
- Vacuum Wave
This set is identical to the last except for the fact that it runs Vacuum Wave over Ice Shard to KO physically bulky Pokémon running Leftovers.
Shedinja @ Focus Sash | Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 Atk
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Encore
- Endeavor
- Ice Shard
- Spiky Shield
This is like an opposite of the last two sets. It has the same moveset, but it runs Focus Sash, which lets it survive one damaging attack, and Magic Bounce, which makes it immune to all the status attacks people love throwing at Sturdy Shedinja. Unlike Sturdy Shedinja, this set is not expected, and it is exceptional at dealing with stall teams, hazard setters, and individual Pokémon that don't run a damaging attack. Because of the existence of both a Magic Bounce and Sturdy Shedinja, Encore becomes even more of a nightmare, because if Sturdy Shedinja Encores a status attack or Magic Bounce Shedinja Encores a damaging one, their items will let them survive, and then you can easily switch to the other and go to town.
Shedinja @ Focus Sash | Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Encore
- Endeavor
- Spiky Shield
- Vacuum Wave
Again we have a Vacuum Wave version of the above. These duplicate sets are very useful in case one Shedinja does die: it simply wouldn't do to be without at least one Sturdy or Magic Bounce Shedinja to switch in for each other.
Shedinja @ Focus Sash | Truant
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 SpA
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Endeavor
- Shadow Force
- Skill Swap
- Spiky Shield
This is one of of my favorite creations I have ever made. This is a superb counter to all those annoying Mold Breaker, Teravolt, and Turboblaze users out there. Because you can put any ability on any Pokémon, you end up with way more of these than you would otherwise, and they shut this team down completely. Mold Breaker Mega Gengar in particularis was very annoying. Most of the time, Pokémon running the offending abilities are trying to attack you to death, not use status, which is why this set runs a Focus Sash instead of a Lum Berry. The way this set works is you deal as much damage as you can with whatever you have out when the Mold Breaker/Teravolt/Turboblaze mon comes in, let it die so you get a free switch, then bring this out. First turn, use up the Focus Sash to Skill Swap Truant onto the opponent. Next turn Spiky Shield to block whatever they try to use, then Endeavor, Spiky Shield, and finally Shadow Force them dead. In the case of Mega Gengar, just don't use Endeavor. Shadow Force will line up with Truant in your favor, and because you're so slow, Gengar won't be able to hit you when actually attack.
Shedinja @ Focus Sash | Magic Guard
EVs: 252 Atk
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Defog
- Encore
- Endeavor
- Extreme Speed
If, somehow, your opponent was to get a damaging entry hazard up through the Magic Bouncers, you need a way for that not to be the end of the game. That's where this guy comes in. Magic Guard renders him immune to Stealth Rock or Toxic Spikes or what have you, and then he can Defog the stuff outta there. As always, this Shedinja retains the core combo of Endeavor and priority (Magic Guard means you can run Extreme Speed safely because you won't take contact damage), and Encore is there in case you need to use this set as a regular Shedinja for some reason. Focus Sash is used over Lum Berry because status won't kill until after you've had a chance to Defog, and Magic Guard blocks poison and burn damage anyway.
Conclusion
Shedinja is better than it seems, it just needed the right environment to thrive. Any comments and suggestions are welcome and appreciated. Thank you for checking this out!
Introduction
Yeah, that's a hell of a lot of Shedinja. You may know Shedinja as that cool-but-useless gimmick people really like to try to make work, but is ultimately Toxic/setup bait.
No longer.
Thanks to the
Now, if you didn't follow the link in the last paragraph and are unfamiliar with Balanced Hackmons (BH), you are probably very confused right now. How can I have six of the same Pokémon? How can I have a variety of abilities on Shedinja? Follow the link. Don't worry, it's just one paragraph (it's a very simple format) and a short banlist, the latter of which you don't even need to read. Done that? Good. Now comes the good part.
The Team
Shedinja @ Lum Berry | Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Encore
- Endeavor
- Ice Shard
- Spiky Shield
Sturdy Shedinja is a house that is actually achievable legitimately in double and triple battles through ability-changing moves like Simple Beam, Entrainment, Skill Swap, and Role Play, but this is much easier. Shedinja just starts out invincible! The only move that can take this set out in one turn is Leech Seed, and while that isn't entirely uncommon, it isn't exactly ubiquitous either. This is the "classic" BH Shedinja that used to be very popular. Unfortunately, there are answers to it that aren't very specialized, so it has fallen out of favor. However, it still has many things to offer, and is very good when paired with some of the other Shedinja on the team for playing mind games. Lum Berry prevents one status ailment from affecting Shedinja, which eases prediction and is generally good for wasting your opponent's turns. Sturdy makes Shedinja impervious to damaging attacks. 252 Atk EVs ensure that Ice Shard does as much damage as possible, and a Brave Nature further increases Shedinja's attack, while lowering Shedinja's Speed. This along with 0 Speed EVs and IVs make absolutely sure that Shedinja goes last with Encore. Encore can lock the opponent into a boosting or attacking move, and is responsible for many KOs. Even if they switch to end the encore, Endeavor will hit whatever they switch into and then Ice Shard will kill that, so there really is no recourse for the opponent once they've received an Encore. Endeavor takes advantage of Shedinja's low HP to bypass all manner of defenses (besides Ghost typing) and cut the opponent to 1 HP, after which Ice Shard can KO before the opponent can respond. Ice Shard gets the nod over Shadow Sneak or Extreme Speed because no Pokémon is immune to it, and it doesn't make contact, so Rocky Helmets and Iron Barbs don't take effect. Spiky Shield is a superior Protect, scouting for moves and scoring chip damage that is usually irrelevant but can KO after Endeavor.
Shedinja @ Lum Berry | Sturdy
EVs: 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Encore
- Endeavor
- Spiky Shield
- Vacuum Wave
This set is identical to the last except for the fact that it runs Vacuum Wave over Ice Shard to KO physically bulky Pokémon running Leftovers.
Shedinja @ Focus Sash | Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 Atk
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Encore
- Endeavor
- Ice Shard
- Spiky Shield
This is like an opposite of the last two sets. It has the same moveset, but it runs Focus Sash, which lets it survive one damaging attack, and Magic Bounce, which makes it immune to all the status attacks people love throwing at Sturdy Shedinja. Unlike Sturdy Shedinja, this set is not expected, and it is exceptional at dealing with stall teams, hazard setters, and individual Pokémon that don't run a damaging attack. Because of the existence of both a Magic Bounce and Sturdy Shedinja, Encore becomes even more of a nightmare, because if Sturdy Shedinja Encores a status attack or Magic Bounce Shedinja Encores a damaging one, their items will let them survive, and then you can easily switch to the other and go to town.
Shedinja @ Focus Sash | Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Encore
- Endeavor
- Spiky Shield
- Vacuum Wave
Again we have a Vacuum Wave version of the above. These duplicate sets are very useful in case one Shedinja does die: it simply wouldn't do to be without at least one Sturdy or Magic Bounce Shedinja to switch in for each other.
Shedinja @ Focus Sash | Truant
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 SpA
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Endeavor
- Shadow Force
- Skill Swap
- Spiky Shield
This is one of of my favorite creations I have ever made. This is a superb counter to all those annoying Mold Breaker, Teravolt, and Turboblaze users out there. Because you can put any ability on any Pokémon, you end up with way more of these than you would otherwise, and they shut this team down completely. Mold Breaker Mega Gengar in particular
Shedinja @ Focus Sash | Magic Guard
EVs: 252 Atk
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Defog
- Encore
- Endeavor
- Extreme Speed
If, somehow, your opponent was to get a damaging entry hazard up through the Magic Bouncers, you need a way for that not to be the end of the game. That's where this guy comes in. Magic Guard renders him immune to Stealth Rock or Toxic Spikes or what have you, and then he can Defog the stuff outta there. As always, this Shedinja retains the core combo of Endeavor and priority (Magic Guard means you can run Extreme Speed safely because you won't take contact damage), and Encore is there in case you need to use this set as a regular Shedinja for some reason. Focus Sash is used over Lum Berry because status won't kill until after you've had a chance to Defog, and Magic Guard blocks poison and burn damage anyway.
Conclusion
Shedinja is better than it seems, it just needed the right environment to thrive. Any comments and suggestions are welcome and appreciated. Thank you for checking this out!
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