Shiftry
Base Stats: 90 HP / 100 Atk / 60 Def / 90 Sp.Atk / 60 Sp.Def / 80 Speed (480 BST)
Abilities: Chlorophyll | Wind Rider | Pickpocket (Hidden Ability)
Learnset:
| 1 | Air Cutter |
| 1 | Hurricane |
| 1 | Payback |
| 1 | Sunny Day |
| Move Reminder | Whirlwind |
| Move Reminder | Tackle |
| Move Reminder | Absorb |
| Move Reminder | Mega Drain |
| Move Reminder | Growth |
| Move Reminder | Razor Leaf |
| Move Reminder | Harden |
| Move Reminder | Explosion |
| Move Reminder | Rollout |
| Move Reminder | Swagger |
| Move Reminder | Synthesis |
| Move Reminder | Beat Up |
| Move Reminder | Fake Out |
| Move Reminder | Torment |
| Move Reminder | Astonish |
| Move Reminder | Extrasensory |
| Move Reminder | Sucker Punch |
| Evolution | Leaf Blade |
| TM001 | Take Down |
| TM006 | Scary Face |
| TM007 | Protect |
| TM012 | Low Kick |
| TM017 | Confuse Ray |
| TM018 | Thief |
| TM020 | Trailblaze |
| TM022 | Chilling Water |
| TM025 | Facade |
| TM027 | Aerial Ace |
| TM029 | Hex |
| TM030 | Snarl |
| TM032 | Swift |
| TM033 | Magical Leaf |
| TM034 | Icy Wind |
| TM036 | Rock Tomb |
| TM039 | Low Sweep |
| TM040 | Air Cutter |
| TM043 | Fling |
| TM047 | Endure |
| TM049 | Sunny Day |
| TM050 | Rain Dance |
| TM055 | Dig |
| TM056 | Bullet Seed |
| TM057 | False Swipe |
| TM058 | Brick Break |
| TM062 | Foul Play |
| TM065 | Air Slash |
| TM066 | Body Slam |
| TM070 | Sleep Talk |
| TM071 | Seed Bomb |
| TM081 | Grass Knot |
| TM085 | Rest |
| TM086 | Rock Slide |
| TM087 | Taunt |
| TM088 | Swords Dance |
| TM091 | Toxic Spikes |
| TM092 | Imprison |
| TM094 | Dark Pulse |
| TM103 | Substitute |
| TM105 | X-Scissor |
| TM107 | Will-O-Wisp |
| TM111 | Giga Drain |
| TM113 | Tailwind |
| TM114 | Shadow Ball |
| TM118 | Heat Wave |
| TM119 | Energy Ball |
| TM128 | Amnesia |
| TM134 | Reversal |
| TM137 | Grassy Terrain |
| TM140 | Nasty Plot |
| TM152 | Giga Impact |
| TM158 | Focus Blast |
| TM159 | Leaf Storm |
| TM160 | Hurricane |
| TM163 | Hyper Beam |
| TM168 | Solar Beam |
| TM171 | Tera Blast |
| TM177 | Spite |
| TM181 | Knock Off |
| TM184 | Vacuum Wave |
| TM190 | Solar Blade |
| TM191 | Uproar |
| TM193 | Weather Ball |
| TM194 | Grassy Glide |
| TM199 | Lash Out |
| Take Down |
| Leech Seed |
| Quick Attack |
| Worry Seed |
| Night Slash |
| Defog |
Notable Moves:
Physical: Brick Break, Explosion, Fake Out, Foul Play, Knock Off, Leaf Blade, Low Kick, Rock Slide, Sucker Punch, Trailblaze, Solar Blade
Special: Air Slash, Dark Pulse, Energy Ball, Focus Blast, Grass Knot, Leaf Storm, Shadow Ball, Tera Blast, Weather Ball
Status: Defog, Swords Dance, Synthesis, Tailwind, Taunt, Toxic Spikes, Growth
Notable Changes from Previous Gens:
- Wind Rider: Definitely one of the biggest Changes Shiftry received was its new second Ability. Not only does Wind Rider replace the comparatively less useful ability Early Bird, but Wind Rider is also a good ability for Shiftry in itself, by protecting it from a good chunk of super-effective Moves. It also makes Tailwind a considerable option, by boosting both of its best stats even further.
- TM 190 Solar Blade: As Solar Blade was added as a TM in the DLC, Shiftry once again has access to that Move for Chlorophyll Builds, which speaking off...
- Past Paradox Pokémon: The Past Paradox Mons of SV like Sunny Weather just as much as Chlorophyll Shiftry does. With this new importance of Sunny Weather, Chlorophyll Shiftry has received an indirect boost through better conditions, though how much it will be affected remains to be seen, as a lot of Paradox Mons might prefer to use
Booster Energy. - TM 193 Weather Ball: Weather Ball makes an interesting addition to Chlorophyll Shiftry's Arsenal. While it probably won't find much use, as it is a Special Move, it does play into the Weather-based Advantage mentioned before.
- Terastalization: Naturally, Terastalization is a huge change to the Game, and Shiftry has a few Tera Options to its name. Probably not the biggest win for Shiftry, but it could lead to some interesting strategies.
- TM 020 Trailblaze: Trailblaze is a decent move, allowing the user to boost their Speed while still dealing Damage. Naturally, Shiftry can benefit from it.
Pros:
- Varied Movepool: Shiftry has a variety of moves aiding it's Playstyle, and with it's comparatively decent Sp. Atk stat, it could even use it's variety of Special Moves. In general, it's moves give it a decent array of Type Coverage, with Rock Slide in particular dealing with some of it's Weaknesses. Foul Play, Grass Knot and Low Kick are Wall-Breaking Options as well, leaning into it's Sweeping Playstyle. It also has a variety of Setup moves, and could theoretically even use Explosion as well as Toxic Spikes and/or Taunt as a Lead. Defog makes it a potential Choice as offensive Defogger. Lastly, having STAB Knock Off is also a very valuable tool. Overall, Shiftry's Movepool gives it a variety of tools, allowing for varied builds.
- Tailwind/Wind Rider: Tailwind, in combination with Wind Rider gives Shiftry a unique Niche, raising the Speed of any Allies for 4 turns, while furthering its own game plan. Despite that, it has to be seen if that ability will prove better than Chlorophyll, as the Setup for Chlorophyll can be done by other Mons, and Growth provides a better Attack Boost during Sun.
- Solar Blade: Solar Blade is a powerful Option for Chlorophyll Shiftry, as it naturally plays well with it's Sun-based Playstyle.
- Poor Defensive Typing: While Grass/Dark has some good resistances in Ghost, Ground, Dark and of course it's Psychic Immunity, with 7 Weaknesses, its defensive typing does have its issues. Fairy and Fighting in particular can be very devastating with
Iron Valiant around, though Fire, Flying and Ice are also noticeable weaknesses. (Flying is somewhat mitigated by Wind Rider, though) It's 4x Weakness to Bug, while probably not the biggest issue, is also not neglectable thanks to U-Turn in particular. And only being Neutral to Steel is particularly devastating with 
Kingambit and 
Gholdengo in OU, especially with Shiftry's lackluster Bulk. Speaking off... - Below Average Stats: While Shiftry has decent options to boost its Attack and Speed, that doesn't change the fact that these stats are still below average. Add to that its pretty miserable bulk, and you have a Glass Cannon at best, and just Glass at worst. It needs setup to get it's Speed and Attack high enough, but it likely won't live long enough to really reach that point.
- Over-reliance on Weather: Chlorophyll Shiftry is going to be very reliant on Weather, so Weather Setters like
Tyranitar and 
Politoed can easily disrupt Shiftry's Gameplan - Meowscarada:
Meowscarada does pretty much everything Shiftry would want to do, but better. The only exception may be Tailwind, but I doubt that's enough to establish Shiftry as a worthwhile alternative.
Tera Potential:
- Tera Grass: Sometimes the easiest Solution is one of the Best. By boosting it's already decent STAB, Chlorophyll Shiftry has an easier time sweeping, while also removing some of the bigger weaknesses it had through Dark.
- Tera Dark: In a very similar vein, Tera Dark is a decent option to improve it's Dark STAB, and to lose a lot of the Weaknesses that come with Grass. The presence of Iron Valiant and
Great Tusk makes Tera Grass the better Option, but Tera Dark can better deal with 
Heatran and 
Iron Moth. - Tera Ghost: Anti-Spinner Option for Hazard Lead builds. Probably not your main Tera Mon, but can be used if needed. The least useful Option, to be honest, but not bad
- Summary: Shiftry has some decent Tera Options, but it might not be the best choice as your main Tera Mon. Still, it might be able to take advantage of the new mechanic, and it could easily exploit it to become a better Sweeper. It's lacking bulk will make Defensive Tera less worthwhile though.
Sets:
Wind Rider SweeperShiftry @ Life Orb
Ability: Wind Rider
Tera Type: Grass / Dark
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature / Jolly Nature
- Tailwind
- Leaf Blade / Trailblaze
- Knock Off / Sucker Punch
- Low Kick / Foul Play
This is a simple build, using Tailwind in combination with Wind Rider to set up. Foul Play and Low Kick are both Wall-Breaking Tools, and Sucker Punch and Trailblaze are good Options if you don't have time to use Tailwind. Using an Adamant Nature is preferable to kill more reliably, but a Jolly Nature can be used to make setting up Tailwind easier.
Chlorophyll SweeperShiftry @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
Tera Type: Grass / Dark
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature / Jolly Nature
- Growth
- Solar Blade
- Knock Off / Trailblaze
- Low Kick / Foul Play / Weather Ball
It's pretty much the same build Shiftry had in SwSh RU, just with some more options. Growth and Solar Blade obviously play into the Sun-based Gameplan, Trailblaze can be used to set up Shiftry's Speed once the Sun is gone. Low Kick and Foul Play are again Wall Breaking options. Weather Ball is another Weather option, though Solar Blade is clearly the superior Option. A Jolly Nature isn't as useful for this build, as Shiftry should already enter the Field with the Speed Bonus of Chlorophyll.
Explosion LeadShiftry @ Focus Sash
Ability: Wind Rider
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Explosion
This is a pretty unusual build, and very experimental. But by using Shiftry's decent Attack stat, it makes for a surprise Explosion Lead. It's biggest issue is its lack of better setting moves, so it is probably not your best option, however, Taunt can be used to disrupt the opposing Support Mons. With Explosion, Shiftry can create a dent in your Opponent's Team once it is done setting up. A Jolly Nature and a
Focus Sash should guarantee that Shiftry always gets one turn to explode, while Wind Rider buys Shiftry more time by protecting it from some super-effective Moves.Conclussion: While Shiftry has some potential as a Physical Sweeper, it will have a hard time carving out a Niche for itself, and will likely settle in lower Tiers. It has a varied Movepool, and Wind Rider gives it some security against Flying types, as well as a powerful option in Tailwind. Despite that, its tools don't make up for the lackluster stat-line, neither having the Speed to be a proper Sweeper, nor having the Bulk to be more of a Wall. Shiftry is definitely stronger than in previous Gens, but it's still unlikely that it will establish itself in OU.
Meowscarada in particular will push Shiftry out of any Niche it could realistically have, being a better alternative in most regards.Well, this was certainly a learning experience. This was the first time I wrote an analysis on a Pokémon like this, and I hope that, despite my inexperience, this is good enough of an Analysis to start off this discussion. If there are any issues, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it.
"[...]Weather Setters like
Tyranitar and *checks notes* Politoed? Didn't see that one coming lol"
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