Shedinja

Well here is my favorite Pokemon of Generation 3.

Shedinja_by_sushiekat.png

Name: Shedinja
Ability: Wonder Guard [Its ability wouldn't and shouldn't change in Dream World. The fact that it does not change in between worlds is actually a good thing, considering that I was worried about that the most when imagining Shedinja in combat, especially Ubers]

TMs and HMs it can learn: TM 01 Claw Sharpen
TM 06 Toxic
TM 10 Hidden Power
TM 11 Sunny Day
TM 15 Hyper Beam
TM 17 Protect
TM 19 Telekenesis
TM 21 Frustration
TM 22 Solarbeam
TM 27 Return
TM 28 Dig
TM 30 Shadow Ball
TM 32 Double Team
TM 37 Sandstorm
TM 40 Aerial Ace
TM 42 Facade
TM 44 Rest
TM 46 Thief
TM 48 Sing-A-Round
TM 54 False Swipe
TM 61 Will-o-Wisp
TM 65
Shadow Claw
TM 68 Giga Impact
TM 70 Flash
TM 76 Bug Opposition
TM
81 X-Scissor
TM 85 Dream Eater
TM 87 Swagger
TM 90 Substitute
HM 01 Cut


Moves it can learn by leveling up:
Lv. - Scratch
Lv. - Harden
Lv. 5 Leech Life
Lv. 9 Sand Attack
Lv. 14 Fury Swipes
Lv. 19 Mind Reader
Lv. 25 Spite
Lv. 31 Confuse Ray
Lv. 38 Shadow Sneak
Lv. 45 Grudge
Lv. 52 Heal Block
Lv. 59 Shadow Ball

Egg Moves:
- Endure
- Faint Attack
- Gust
- Silver Wind
- Bug Buzz
- Night Slash
- Bug Bite
- Life Gamble

Pre-Evo only moves:
- False Swipe
- Mud Slap
- Metal Claw
- Dig
- Baton Pass [from Ninjask]
- Swords Dance [from Ninjask]

Hmph, so far so... okay. My only issue is Shedinja not learning Dragon Claw yet. =/ (or Agility! -.-')

Anyway, let's assert a set for my good ol' Hoenn friend here.

Set 1: The Lonely Guardian

Shedinja @ Focus Sash
EV Spread: 255 Atk, 255 Spe
Ability: Wonder Guard
Nature: Lonely
Moveset:
1. Claw Sharpen [Dark]
2. Shadow Sneak [Ghost]
3. Dig [Ground] / Baton Pass [Normal]
4. X-Scissor [Bug]

Reasons behind Movepool:

1. Claw Sharpen raises Attack AND Accuracy. It's already better than Swords Dance, and is cool considering Shedinja can't afford to miss against other Pokemon in Ubers.

2. Shadow Sneak is for priority and STAB. It has to go first against Ghost-types or else it will be toast.

3a. Shedinja cannot afford to die so quickly. Dig acts as a pseudo-proctect and will damage the next turn unless the opponent has the Ability Levitate or is a Flying-type. And in Dream World...

3b. Baton Pass the Claw Sharpen (or the Dutch) up on the left hand side, and other Pokemon will definitely feel grateful for him.

4. X-Scissor is another STAB move that Shedinja can use.



It hasn't changed all too much, but Claw Sharpen and Life Gamble help it a little. With Stealth Rock not a TM, we'll definitely be seeing a lot more of this awesome guy around in Ubers/UU/BL battles, hopefully. Maybe not OU...

Base Stats:
HP - 1
Atk - 90
Def - 45
SpAtk - 30
SpDef - 30
Speed - 40

EDIT: Yeah, I got it. Life Gamble is stupid on Shedinja...
 
Isn't Life Gamble the one that takes your current HP away from the opponent and kills you? That would be the least useful move in Shedinja's movepool if I'm remembering it right...
 
Your set makes no sense. You didn't list any move with low accuracy so no point in using Claw Sharpen instead of Swords Dance, and Life Gamble will kill Shedinja for an astounding, hey, 1 point of damage.

I don't think any of Shedinja's movepool additions are better than what it already has. It'll probably stay unchanged from Gen IV.
 
Life Gamble, also known as Desperation, is explained (to the best of our knowledge) and discussed here: http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79040

It is useless on Shedinja for reasons that will no doubt amuse you.

Shedinja's biggest improvement in BW comes in the form of Politoed and Ninetales automatically clearing the skies for him.
 
Uuuum. Why go Claw Sharpen when IIRC, Nincada evolving at lvl 25, will learn Swords Dance as a Ninjask, thus passing the move onto Shedinja. Wich moves of Shedinja have imperfect accuracy anyway?
 
Life Gamble, also known as Desperation, is explained (to the best of our knowledge) and discussed here: http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79040

It is useless on Shedinja for reasons that will no doubt amuse you.

Shedinja's biggest improvement in BW comes in the form of Politoed and Ninetales automatically clearing the skies for him.

Ok. So Life Gamble is not what Shedinja should have and not nearly as good as I thought it's be.

Well, it has a good niche in Ubers still.
 
Interestingly, Claw Sharpen is legal with Baton Pass (pre-evo move), whereas Swords Dance never was. This means that Shedinja has a very unique niche in baton passing Claw Sharpen boosts. Not that I expect it to be very viable with sandstorm becoming even better and entry hazards, but it is worth noting in any case.
 
With more sun and more rain, I don't think sand is going to be an issue for Shedinja. Also note that Shedinja's a good Lead in Ubers just from Wonder Guard and people's obsession with Kyogre and Drizzle back in Gen 4.
 
Yeah, Drizzle + Drought helps Sheddy, but an unsuspecting Tyranitar can come in to ruin the fun. Sheddy is gonna get a bit more use, but not a lot more.
 
With revealed teams, getting out of NU will be an uphill battle for sheddy. Keep in mind that if the opponent knows you have one there will be rocks up or a pokemon that can touch him being kept in the wings.
 
Shedinja still seems like a situational Pokemon at best; If they no SE attacks, you win. If they have Sandstorm, or Fire/Ghost/etc. attacks you lose.
 
I have a feeling Shedinja has seen the end of its usage in Ubers. Reshiram and Zekrom's new abilities let them hit Sheddy with whatever attack they want. It doesn't make a difference for Reshiram since it has STAB fire moves, but Zekrom can hit Shedinja with any attack it wants without having to resort to choosing a super effective move.
 
I have a feeling Shedinja has seen the end of its usage in Ubers. Reshiram and Zekrom's new abilities let them hit Sheddy with whatever attack they want. It doesn't make a difference for Reshiram since it has STAB fire moves, but Zekrom can hit Shedinja with any attack it wants without having to resort to choosing a super effective move.
That's what a Focus Sash is for. There have always been Ubers that can hit Shedinja, so not a big difference there. STAB isn't really an issure when dealing with Shedinja.

Being that there's probably still very little sand in Ubers, and Shedinja's immune to the most powerful attack in ubers (Kyogre's Water Spout, not to mention the rest of it's movepool), I think Shedinja still has it's niche.

Also Mold Breaker is getting around more so even more can beat shedinja.
Mold Breaker is announced as soon as the Pokemon switches it, so it's not like they'll be surprising Shedinja.

The biggest threat to Shedinja is still Hail and Sandstorm. On a weather team, if Tyranitar/Abomasnow are dealt with early, I can see Shedinja being a good late game Pokemon.
 
... Since when does Shedinja get Baton Pass? Last I checked, Ninjask does not evolve into Shedinja.
Unless I'm missing something, Shedinja can't BP.

With revealed teams, getting out of NU will be an uphill battle for sheddy. Keep in mind that if the opponent knows you have one there will be rocks up or a pokemon that can touch him being kept in the wings.
Revealed teams sucks for Shedinja, but in another way it doesn't, as it allows it to "Forecast" threatening weather.
 
Smogon lists Baton Pass in some of Shedinja's Gen IV sets, but I can't find any information about it actually learning the move anywhere.
 
Smogon lists Baton Pass in some of Shedinja's Gen IV sets, but I can't find any information about it actually learning the move anywhere.

When Nincada evolves into Ninjask, it learns certain moves at certain levels. One of these is Baton Pass (level 45), along with Swords Dance (level 25) and Agility (level 38). The resulting Shedinja will have Ninjask's moveset, so this includes whatever level up moves it may have had from the actual evolution. This was the only way for it to learn Swords Dance, as it does not via TM. Up until now, this has meant it can't pass anything with Baton Pass, since you can't evolve into Ninjask twice. However, it can now potentially pass Claw Sharpen, though with sand setters on every team for Garchomp and Doryuuzu I don't see it having any more potential than Shuckle (even less, Shuckle loves the sand boosts).
 
You have to evolve Nincada at the level Ninjask learn the desired move for Shedinja to copy it, for example if I want an Baton Pass Shedinja I have to evolve Nincada at level 45 and then immediately learn Baton Pass to the newly evolved Ninjask.

EDIT: ninja'd
 
Hmph. Well, I heard something about a resistance team on a different thread that Shedinja will help handsomely with, if nothing else.

BatonPassing Claw Sharpens > SwordsDance noPassing anyday.
 
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