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XY/ORAS Singles A Shedinja lead Idea?

Green Dragon

Formerly supertrainer300
I personally don't competitively battle, but i'm planning to. I have a strategy that could use some fine-tuning. I'm fine if you tell me it's absolute #$%^.

Shedinja@Quick Claw
Destiny Bond
Shadow Claw??
Bug Buzz??
??????
I really don't know Shedinja's movepool.
Max Speed
The goal is to lead with this, and attack if I find something that can't hit me. If it can it me, I will use Destiny Bond, and hope to outspeed, taking it down if it does go for the supereffective move.
 

KoL

Expert FPS Player
Staff member
Moderator
I like the idea, but there's a few things to note. First off, Shedinja's Sp.Atk is terrible, making Bug Buzz a weak option. Physically Shedinja is much stronger, so you should be relying on physical moves such as your already-present Shadow Claw, and moves like X-Scissor and Shadow Sneak. Shedinja's also too slow to reliably pull off Destiny Bond (Base 40 Speed is lower than almost every likely lead in the game) but Shedinja does have other options.

Try something like this:

Shedinja @ Focus Sash/Safety Goggles
Adamant
252 Attack/No other stat matters
Wonder Guard

- Shadow Sneak
- X-Scissor
- Will-O-Wisp/Toxic
- Protect

The item choice is up to you. Focus Sash is the more reliable pick as it allows you to survive a single super-effective attack, while Safety Goggles provides some line of defense against Tyranitar, who leads often and will instakill you with his sandstorm otherwise. Will-O-Wisp allows Shedinja to cripple a physical attacker lead right off the bat, while X-Scissor hits pretty hard and Shadow Sneak can land a quick, finishing blow against an enemy on low HP. Protect allows you to scout your opponent's moveset for attacks that can KO you, although do note that this move is all but mandatory on Shedinja and a smart opponent can predict your use of it and react accordingly if you're not careful. Also consider moves such as Toxic or Confuse Ray for further residual damage and disruption.

Shedinja doesn't really have many tools to function as a lead, but since leading off with him allows him to avoid entry hazards on his first turn, he can usually do something at least and survive long enough to return to the fray later - assuming you have Rapid Spin or Defog.
 

Green Dragon

Formerly supertrainer300
Yeah, here's my new one based on what you said:
Shedinja@Focus Sash
Adamant
252 Attack
Wonder Guard

-X-Scissor
-Shadow Sneak
-Will-O-Wisp
-Confuse Ray

Now he's a troll Shedinja!
I don't have Protect because i'm guessing people will prodict that and set up on my face. I'll be sure to use him with Excadrill or Mandibuzz or something. Thanks!
 

Ruko

Bearded Trout Warrior
I personally prefer Safety goggles on Shedinja, as it allows you to avoid sandstorm leads [and less common hail leads] as well as Spore and Sleep Powder. Not a bad exchange as long as you're familiar with what pokemon learn the moves that can kill Shedinja.
If you can worm Destiny bond back into the set, you can use this to help defend yourself when they're forced to switch, or against leads like Tyranitar which will assume you're going to die to sandstorm and may set up their stealth rocks instead of attacking you immediately.
 
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