This sub has been dead for about a year, and I doubt anyone will ever see this post UNLESS they seek out this obscure little subreddit. This post will go over strategy for Shedinja in Singles. Keep in mind a couple things: First, Shedinja in itself is a gimmick, if you’re looking for a quirky, unpredictable, and fun to use Pokemon, try these sets. If you hate gimmicks and slightly unreliable strategies, find another Pokemon. Second, EV’s and movesets are subject to change based on preference and what your team needs. Third, I'm posting teams in Pokemon Showdown format for clarity. Here we go.

Before I go onto the sets, I'd like to introduce you to Shedinja's Hate List. These are the things to watch out for when using Shedinja.

Hate List

#1: Super-Effective damage. Wonder Guard blocks all damage that isn't super-effective, but if you get hit by a fire, rock, flying, dark, or ghost attack, you're going down in 1 hit (2 hits if carrying Focus Sash).

#2: Status. Namely, burn and poison. Will o' Wisp and Toxic are both common moves, and many fire type moves have a chance to burn. Holding a Lum Berry will save you once, but that means giving up a Focus Sash. In doubles, it's an option to paralyze your own Shedinja to avoid burn and poison. Safeguard also works to stop status.

#3: Confusion. Technically it's still a status, but I want to address it separately. If Shedinja is confused, it has a 50% chance every turn to kill itself. This means you have a chance to survive confusion until it wears off, or the ability to switch out and get rid of it. Confusion can be blocked by Lum Berry, same as poison or burn. Confusion can still be applied even if you are already statused harmlessly (paralyzed), meaning it is a more dangerous status if you can’t afford to switch out. #4: Weather. Sandstorm and Hail will both kill you at the end of the turn if you stay in. Holding Safety Goggles will save you from weather, but that means giving up Lum Berry or Focus Sash.

#5: Entry Hazards. Stealth Rocks and Spikes will kill you instantly if you come out after they are placed. Toxic Spikes will kill you at the end of the turn if you don't have Lum Berry. This is the reason Shedinja is often used as a lead - you don't have to worry about switching in. If you aren't using Shedinja as a lead, you NEED to have a Rapid Spinner or a Defogger on your team. No exceptions.

#6: Recoil Damage. Iron Barbs, Aftermath, Rough Skin, Rocky Helmet. If you kill (or sometimes just touch) these guys, you're going to go down afterwards. In doubles, you can deal with these threats with Knock Off, Trick, Skill Swap, Entrainment, Worry Seed, Gastro Acid, Simple Beam, or let them die to status.

#7: Mold Breaker. Also includes Terravolt and Turboblaze. If you get hit by a move, Wonder Guard isn't gonna help you out. In singles, you better hope you brought a Focus Sash. In doubles, this can be dealt with through ability changing moves - Skill Swap, Entrainment, Worry Seed, Gastro Acid, or Simple Beam.

#8: Leech Seed. If Shedinja gets Leech Seeded, he will die at the end of the turn assuming his opponent is still alive.

#9: Curse, Perish Song, and Destiny Bond. If a ghost type uses Curse, they will cut their own HP and put a Curse on Shedinja which will cause him to die at the end of the turn. Perish Song means you have to switch out or die. Destiny Bond takes you down with the foe you KO. The only real way to deal with these ghostly moves is to kill or Taunt an opponent before they can use them.

#10: Phazing. Roar, Whirlwind. While they are normal type moves, they will still affect Shedinja and force him to switch out. This can seriously mess up a Shedinja strategy, and the only way to counter it is to Baton Pass Ingrain to Shedinja (a very unsafe move, as it prevents switching out completely). Roar and Whirlwind go through Protect, but can be Taunted.

#11: Ability Neutralizing Moves. These moves are both your friend and foe because they can remove threats like Mold Breaker or Iron Barbs, but if used on Shedinja can replace his critical ability with something like Simple (Simple Beam), Insomnia (Worry Seed), change it to an opponent's ability (Entrainment or in some cases, Skill Swap) or suppress it altogether (Gastro Acid). This leaves Shedinja highly vulnerable.

#12: Trapping moves. Fire Spin and Magma Storm are the two to watch out for, though with some strategies you have to watch out for Infestation and Whirlpool as well. These trapping moves will kill Shedinja at the end of the turn even if he survives the initial move.

SINGLES SETS

In singles, Shedinja has four distinct options, with some variation.

This is the Standard or Offensive Set, the easiest to use, and the most popular. If you're just picking up Shedinja, try this:

Shedinja @ Focus Sash

Ability: Wonder Guard

EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Jolly or Adamant Nature

- Swords Dance / Hone Claws

- Sucker Punch

- Shadow Claw / Shadow Sneak / Phantom Force

- X-Scissor

This set is rather straight forward. It's a decent lead since you don't have to worry about entry hazards. However, if you can bring out this Shedinja late in the game when your opponent has nothing left to hit it, you're in luck. Swords Dance is the best option for setting up, if you can get it (by either playing on Showdown! or leveling up a Nincada past the time it will evolve, learning Swords Dance, then evolving - this is only available in generations 3-4), but Hone Claws is the next best thing, pushing Attack and Accuracy up one stage. Alternatively, if you just want to run another attacking move instead of a stat boost, take Aerial Ace or Dig for super-effective coverage. Shadow Claw is if you want reliable STAB damage, Shadow Sneak if you want priority (Shadow Sneak is recommended if you want to run Adamant nature). Phantom Force gives the most damage, but takes an extra turn to land, meaning your opponent can switch into a normal type. X-Scissor also gives you a hard hitting STAB attack. Sucker Punch hits fast and hard, but only if your opponent is going to attack you directly. If you can't get Sucker Punch, you can go for Night Slash, Aerial Ace, or Dig instead.

Item alternatives: If you don't want to run Focus Sash, Lum Berry and Safety Goggles are both viable options.

Defensive Set

Shedinja @ Focus Sash / Lum Berry / Safety Goggles

Ability: Wonder Guard

EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Protect

- Baton Pass

- Swagger / Confuse Ray

- Shadow Claw / Shadow Sneak / Will o' Wisp

This is a defensive setup that gives you much less offensive options, but a great deal better survivability and switching options. Normally, Baton Pass is used for passing stat boosts. With Shedinja, if you know your opponent will switch out, you can use Baton Pass to switch after your opponent, meaning you can pick against your opponent's pokemon. They withdrew their Thundurus to send in Bisharp? You can easily switch into your Keldeo. It's a simple and effective way to play singles support Shedinja. Protect lets you scout for moves. That's about it. You can switch to a suitable counter the next turn. Swagger (if not playing under Swagger clause) can screw up your opponent while becoming 50% safer and possibly force a switch. Shadow Sneak gives nice priority to finish off a sashed pokemon. Shadow Claw gives a bit more damage. Will o' Wisp might be the best option if playing a more supportive role - not to stall, Shedinja is horrible at that due to its 1hp - but to cripple a physical threat, Protect, then switch out. Overall, supportive defensive Shedinja is an interesting set. You don't have the survivability most supports do, but you can mindgame your opponent and create a favorable matchup for yourself. If you really want to go nuts with defensive Shedinja, you have Double Team as an option, though it's probably the riskiest Shedinja strategy out there.

Weakness Policy Set

Wait a second, Weakness Policy doesn't give you x2 Atk and SpA unless you get hit by a super-effective move, and without Focus Sash, you'll die in one hit! Well, you would, except for Endure, which allows you to survive an attack at 1 (full) hp.

Shedinja @ Weakness Policy

Ability: Wonder Guard

EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Adamant Nature

- Agility / Hone Claws

- Endure

- Shadow Claw / Phantom Force

- X-Scissor

If you can get your speed up first turn with Agility, then Endure the super-effective move that comes next, you're ready to do some serious damage. I don't recommend this set if you have access to Swords Dance, since Weakness policy essentially gives you the same stat boosts but forces you use up another move slot with Endure. If you run Hone Claws, swap out Shadow Claw and X-Scissor for Sucker Punch and Shadow Sneak, you'll need the priority since you won't have any speed.

Baton Pass Recipient Set

Shedinja @ Focus Sash

Ability: Wonder Guard

EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Adamant Nature

- Shadow Claw

- X-Scissor

- Aerial Ace

- Dig

If you can Baton Pass some speed onto Shedinja as well as a Swords Dance or two, you can sweep pretty darn effectively. If you can't pass any offensive boosts, you can either run Swords Dance or Endure/Weakness Policy. Moves are pretty self explanitory, Shadow Claw and X-Scissor for STAB and coverage on Psychic, Dark, Ghost, Grass; Aerial Ace for coverage vs Fighting and Bug; and Dig for coverage vs Fire, Electric, Poison, Rock, and Steel.

Recommended Baton Passers:

Ninjask @ Leftovers or Combusken @ Eviolite *or Scolipede @ Leftovers

Ability: Speed Boost

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD (Can put more toward SpD if desired)

Impish Nature

- Protect

- Substitute

- Swords Dance / Agility

- Baton Pass

These guys can reliably pass some speed or offensive power to Shedinja. If going for a Shedinja sweep, remember to get rid of enemy entry hazards and to set up as many of your own as you can.

This concludes strategy for Shedinja in Singles play. For Doubles strategy (which gets a lot more interesting), click HERE. For Triples, click HERE.