http://www.smogon.com/rs/pokemon/shelgon
[Overview]
Shelgon stands out in the NU tier as the only usable Dragon-type (Dragonair is there but not really usable), giving it a unique defensive and offensive niche. Access to Dragon Dance makes it very dangerous, and setting up is pretty easy overall thanks to its typing and good physical bulk. It's also a very durable defensive option with access to Wish to keep it and its teammates healthy throughout the match. A huge weakness to Ice and being specially frail hurts it, though, and it lacks a usable STAB move. Still, for teams looking for a good surprise offensive or defensive option, Shelgon is certainly a viable candidate.
[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Double-Edge
move 3: Rock Slide
move 4: Brick Break / Hidden Power Ground
item: Leftovers
ability: Rock Head
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Bring Shelgon in late-game on something that can't really hurt it, like Flareon or Hidden Power Grass Plusle, set up with Dragon Dance, and pummel the foe with the appropriate move. Double-Edge will be Shelgon's main weapon and comes with no recoil thanks to Rock Head. Rock Slide and Brick Break give the best possible coverage against the Ghost-, Rock-, and Steel-types that resist Double-Edge. Brick Break can be replaced with Hidden Power Ground, though, to trade a super effective hit on Lickitung for a 4x super effective hit on Magcargo and a super effective hit on Metang.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
A Jolly nature is needed to outpace Raticate and the numerous base 95s at +1, although Adamant can be used, as Shelgon will then have a chance to OHKO Pidgeot with Rock Slide and a much higher chance to OHKO Hitmonchan after a layer of Spikes with Double-Edge. Speaking of which, Spikes is really important for the success of this set, as Shelgon is just on the cusp of a lot of OHKOs and 2HKOs at +1, making Glalie and Cacturne highly recommended offensive Spiking teammates. Shelgon's movepool is pretty tiny, so there's not a lot to use in the moveslots over the choices given, although Substitute is available and could prove useful to ease setting up and protect Shelgon from debilitating status or priority.
Shelgon excels at cleaning up weakened teams, as it can 2HKO a large portion of the tier but normally won't be OHKOing much, especially bulky Pokemon like Graveler, Sudowoodo, defensive Tangela, Lickitung, and Whiscash. Shelgon's only relevant type weakness is to Ice-type attacks, which are few and far between, but having a defensive backbone to absorb them is a good idea, particularly specially defensive Normal-types like Lickitung and Kecleon and Pokemon that will beat Dewgong one-on-one like Sableye and Hitmonchan.
[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Wish
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Protect / Roar
move 4: Body Slam / Dragon Claw
item: Leftovers
ability: Rock Head
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Shelgon is physically defensive enough to avoid the 2HKO from Choice Band Hitmonchan's Sky Uppercut after a turn of Protect, and that fact combined with a lack of physical weaknesses gives Shelgon a nice defensive niche in the tier. While Shelgon's Defense is high, it has little in the way of a supportive movepool outside of Wish, but it certainly makes do with what it's got. The main reason you'd choose Shelgon over Lickitung as a Wish passer is its lack of Fighting weakness, while Shelgon's appeal over Flareon is its higher physical Defense and lack of Water and Ground weaknesses.
Protect is super nice for scouting Choice Band attacks, racking up Toxic damage, and guaranteeing Wish recovery, but it can be forgone for Roar, which not only is rare in the tier but also prevents the opponent from using Shelgon as complete setup fodder. Roar also pairs nicely with the defensive nature of this set by exposing the opponent's team and racking up Spikes damage. Body Slam is pretty weak, especially without STAB or Attack investment, but it's nice for a chance to paralyze, which completely cripples a couple of the Pokemon Shelgon can wall, namely Pidgeot and Raticate. There's not a lot available that can go in its place; Dragon Claw is available and will get roughly the same amount of damage on targets with equal defenses like Pidgeot, but it lacks a paralysis chance, will be significantly weaker against specially defensive targets like Hitmonchan and Flareon, and still leaves Shelgon walled by Steel-types like Mawile; however, the higher damage against Rock-types like Sudowoodo could prove useful if your team is weak against them.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
While Shelgon's typing is better suited for a specially defensive set, as it resists key special types in Water, Fire, Electric, and Grass, it simply doesn't have the bulk to pull it off, so it's not a good idea to take Shelgon in that direction. Hidden Power Ghost can be used somewhere on the set to ensure that Haunter can't just switch into Shelgon for free, but Haunter isn't super hard to counter and Shelgon will normally be passing Wish to its teammates anyway. Switching up the set and replacing Wish and Protect with RestTalk is an option that gives Shelgon a lot of longevity, but Shelgon just doesn't have the defensive or offensive presence on the battlefield to really make it worth it in the long run.
Spikes support can really make or break the effectiveness of this set, making Glalie and defensive Roselia great teammates worth strong consideration. Bulky Water-types, particularly RestTalk Dewgong and Whiscash, will walk all over this set thanks to Ice Beam and the fact they won't mind being hit by status. Due to this, bulky Bellossom and offensive teammates to shatter these Pokemon such as Plusle and Haunter are needed. Chimecho with Taunt or Heal Bell can set up on this set pretty easily, making Dark-types good teammates as well.
Finally, defensive Shelgon is best used in a defensive core with specially defensive teammates to cover those offensive Pokemon it cannot beat itself. Flareon stands out from the pack due to its access to Wish, resistance to Ice, and good synergy with Shelgon all around; the only issue with this core is the fact they are both weak to offensive Water-types like Seadra and Huntail. Other specially defensive candidates include Kecleon and Dewgong, both of which enjoy Wish support and Shelgon's ability to take on Hitmonchan.
[Other Options]
A bulky Dragon Dance set is certainly possible, but not focusing on Shelgon's Speed can lead to it being ineffective against offensive teams, and not focusing on its Attack can leave its overall damage output much to be desired, even at +2.
Beyond that, Shelgon actually has a surprisingly wide movepool; it just can't make use of a lot of it. Hydro Pump and Fire Blast can both prove to be very useful on either the Dragon Dance or defensive set, with the former easily OHKOing Graveler and the latter 2HKOing Mawile, but the unique KOs they get pretty much stop there. Iron Defense can make Shelgon nigh untouchable physically and could make very good use of the last slot on the Dragon Dance set, but it does nothing to protect Shelgon from special attacks or critical hits. Finally, Shelgon has access to both Rain Dance and Sunny Day, meaning it could be a useful defensive teammate to weather sweepers, especially when also running Wish.
[Checks and Counters]
Bulky Water-types, particularly Dewgong and Whiscash with Ice Beam, will prove to be the best switch-ins to Shelgon, with the former only being 2HKOed at best by any of Shelgon's attacks at +1, and the latter not even facing a 2HKO from Double-Edge even at +2 (assuming it's fully physically defensive). Offensive Water-types like Seadra and Huntail won't be able to switch in as easily, but they'll cleanly OHKO even defensive Shelgon with Ice Beam after a layer of Spikes. It should be mentioned here as well that Glalie will easily outspeed any Shelgon and cleanly OHKO it with Ice Beam as well.
Mawile and Metang probably make the next best switch-ins, as they resist Double-Edge and won't take much damage from Brick Break or Hidden Power Ground. They do need to be careful of Shelgon just boosting in their faces, though, and they need to watch out for Fire Blast, but it's super rare on Shelgon overall. Defensive Tangela also avoids the 2HKO from Double-Edge even at +2, and it can hit Shelgon with Leech Seed and Stun Spore quite easily. Finally, any strong special attacker will be able to break through even defensive Shelgon without much trouble, including Haunter, Chimecho, Plusle with Hidden Power Ice, and Crawdaunt.
Last edited by a moderator:
