OU Spotlight: Aegislash

History

As one of the most hyped new additions of Pokémon X and Y, Aegislash has definitely marked itself as one of the biggest threats in the metagame, and it is arguably the most defining Pokémon of Generation VI. It has received high usage ever since its introduction for its ability to run a multitude of sets and the fact that it has very few true counters. It is often a staple on many teams, whether they are offensive, balanced, or even in some cases, stall. The metagame has adapted around it to some extent, but Aegislash still has all of the tools it needs to keep wreaking havoc, and more and more ways to utilize its virtues are being discovered all the time.

Aegislash's Qualities

The main reason why Aegislash was so popular during the advent of XY was because of its ability, Stance Change, which effectively let it have 150 / 150 offenses while simultaneously having 150 / 150 defenses, at least when in the hands of a skilled player. Aegislash will always start in Shield forme, allowing it to enter battle most likely unscathed, while it will go in to its offensive variant, Blade forme, whenever it uses an attacking move. To revert back into Shield forme, it can simply use King's Shield, which also prevents it from being damaged by an attacking move. This means that Aegislash can easily create mindgames through the combination of its attacking moves and King's Shield. King's Shield also differentiates itself from Protect in that if the opponent uses a contact move against Aegislash while it is under the protection of King's Shield, the opponent's Attack stat will be halved. Another one of Aegislash's biggest plus points is its typing. Its unique Ghost / Steel typing is both potent offensively and effective defensively. In terms of resistances, Aegislash has 12, as the natural resistances of the Steel-type are augmented by the Ghost-type, giving it an immunity to the Fighting-type, which would otherwise be a weakness. While it is weak to Ghost- and Dark-type moves due to the XY type effectiveness changes, these changes also benefit it, as they make Aegislash's own Ghost-type STAB hit for neutral damage against Steel-types.

Aegislash also has an expansive movepool, packed to the brim with the moves it needs to fulfill its many roles. It has a variety of STAB and coverage moves from both the physical and special sides, which allow it to be an effective mixed attacker. In terms of physical coverage, Aegislash gets Shadow Claw, Iron Head, Sacred Sword, and the priority STAB move Shadow Sneak, as well as Pursuit, which can be used to trap Pokémon such as Latios and Gengar. On the special side, it has Shadow Ball and Flash Cannon, so it certainly won't be useless against common physical walls. It even has a boosting move, Swords Dance, which doubles Aegislash's Attack stat, letting it function as an effective wallbreaker.

Playing with Aegislash

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 244 HP / 12 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Shadow Sneak
- King's Shield
- Pursuit / Sacred Sword

Arguably the most well known Aegislash set is the Tank set, which aims to take hits by means of its great bulk while in Shield forme and then attack back in Blade forme, so it takes perfect advantage of its impressive stat spread and tying. The goal is to function as a hit-and-run Pokémon by coming in on a resisted attack and then beating down the opponent with a strong STAB move. After you have KOed what needed to be removed, you can then use King's Shield to revert back to Shield forme and continue to take attacks very well. Try to use King's Shield with caution, as it could lead to the opponent bringing in a check to Aegislash while you effectively waste your turn. The Tank set commonly utilizes Shadow Ball as a strong STAB move with Shadow Sneak as priority, King's Shield for changing forme, and Pursuit to trap foes such as Latios, or Sacred Sword so that Bisharp can't Pursuit trap Aegislash itself. While the given EV spread may seem odd, it guarantees that Aegislash survives an Adamant, fully invested, Landorus-T's Earthquake.

Aegislash @ Life Orb
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Shadow Sneak
- Flash Cannon
- Sacred Sword

Another very popular Aegislash set is the Life Orb set, which boosts Aegislash's power while still functioning as a mixed attacker. It is quite similar to the Tank set, but here the EVs are invested in its offensive stats and Speed instead of its HP. This is because you compromise Aegislash's good bulk with the use of a Life Orb, so HP investment isn't necessary, and being able to outspeed Mandibuzz, Heatran, and defensive Landorus-T is a godsend, as you can 2HKO them while they switch in. A necessary move is Shadow Ball, as it has tremendous wallbreaking power. Shadow Sneak is also recommended to finish off weakened foes, while the remaining slots should be used for coverage, such as Sacred Sword or Flash Cannon. This set forces a lot of offensive pressure on the opponent, and it works well at punching holes in the opponents team, creating a situation that is perfect for a sweeper to capitalize on, though it comes at the price of sacrificing a lot of Aegislash's intrinsic defensive capabilities.

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 244 HP / 12 Def / 242 SpA
Modest Nature
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Shadow Ball
- King's Shield

As mentioned before, an excellent way of using Aegislash is the SubToxic set. This set uses Substitute to ensure Aegislash is immune to status and cannot be revenge killed, and then uses the Substitute to provide a temporary "safety barrier" while the opponent attacks. During this turn, you can use Toxic, which will wear the foe down over time, which is great for beating the defensive answers to Aegislash, as they will not be able to wall your Pokémon if their health is constantly being depleted. An example of a Pokémon that Aegislash can beat with this set is Mandibuzz. Mandibuzz can usually switch in on all of Aegislash's attacks and then KO it with Foul Play or Roost off the damage. If Aegislash can get in a Toxic on Mandibuzz, Mandibuzz will be constantly worn down, and it will not be as effective as a wall. Another great feature of this set is that it allows Aegislash to avoid being Pursuit trapped by Bisharp if its Substitute is up.

Aegislash @ Life Orb
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- Iron Head
- Head Smash

Swords Dance sets were the most popular Aegislash sets when XY started, and while they have declined in popularity, they can still be very effective. By using Swords Dance, Aegislash can double its Attack stat, which makes it a fearsome wallbreaker. The reason why this set gradually stopped seeing usage is because it gave up all of Aegislash's potential as a mixed attacker, which means its pool of checks and counters is much larger. Nevertheless, after a Swords Dance, Aegislash hits ferociously hard, OHKOing Pokémon such as Excadrill, Keldeo, and Thundurus with its priority move, Shadow Sneak. In addition, Aegislash's coverage moves are a lot more powerful now, as most of them are physical, and with the moves in the above set, you cover almost all Pokémon neutrally. While this set is powerful enough to OHKO Skarmory with a +2 Head Smash after Stealth Rock it must be known that it is a lot easier to handle than mixed sets.

Playing against Aegislash

While finding a check or a counter to Aegislash may seem like a hopeless endeavor, you can't look past a Pokémon that rose from the depths of NU straight to OU by simply being the most effective check to Aegislash that there is. I'm talking about Mandibuzz, a Pokémon that counters almost all variants of Aegislash, with its great defensive stats and typing. Mandibuzz can comfortably tank an array of Aegislash's assault options, from its STAB moves to its coverage, none of which hits Mandibuzz super effectively. Mandibuzz can then proceed to recover off lost health with Roost, heavily damage Aegislash with Knock Off or Foul Play, the latter of which will OHKO it in its Blade Forme, or simply take advantage of free turns to get off a Defog. Of course, with Aegislash's versatility, even Mandibuzz can be played around by means of Substitute + Toxic or Swords Dance + Head Smash. Nevertheless, it is one of the safest and most effective counters to Aegislash there is, so it is incredibly important to preserve it so that Aegislash can be taken down. Another decently safe check to Aegislash is Hippowdon, which only needs a specially defensive spread to be able to survive Aegislash's onslaught, and it can Slack Off the lost damage as well as OHKO Aegislash with Earthquake while it is in Blade forme. Specially defensive Heatran is in a similar vein, except it threatens Aegislash with its STAB Fire-type attacks, not Ground-type ones. There are a variety of Pokémon that outspeed Aegislash can threaten it with a powerful Earthquake, such as Landorus-T, Garchomp, Excadrill, and Diggersby. Bisharp is also a pretty good check, as it can come in and Knock Off Aegislash, and thanks to its ability Defiant, it doesn't have to worry about King's Shield's Attack-dropping effect. Aside from Pokémon that counter Aegislash, a lot of its sets rely on King's Shield, which allows you to play around its reliance on it in order to benefit yourself. This could involve setting up with Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, or really any setup move, crippling it with status, or switching out to an appropriate check without fear of it taking damage as it switches in.

Fitting Aegislash onto your team

Because of the multitude of roles it can fulfill, Aegislash is often an excellent partner on a large number of teams, but there are certainly many Pokémon that benefit a great deal from its presence more so than others, and there are definitely some that can help patch up its flaws as well. A common hyper offense core which was frequently seen in early XY was the Deoxys-D + Aegislash + Bisharp core, which is featured in a team in the XY RMT archive, which was created by Sinclair and can be seen here. The purpose of this core was to set up entry hazards with Deoxys-D, and then use Aegislash and Bisharp to ward off Rapid Spinners and Defog users,respectively. Pokémon that really help Aegislash specifically are ones that can deal with its unfortunate Ground- and Fire-type weaknesses, while also being able to function as effective pivots. Rotom-W can get Aegislash safely into battle with Volt Switch, is immune to Ground- and Fire-types, and comfortably checks troublesome Pokémon such as Heatran and Hippowdon, while it is also able to cripple the common physical checks to Aegislash with the use of Will-O-Wisp. Mega Charizard Y and Landorus both love the fact that Aegislash checks Latias and Latios, two big troubles for them, while they can effortlessly switch in on Earthquakes aimed at Aegislash. Keldeo also loves having Latias gone, and in return it can get rid of Hippowdon for Aegislash. Speaking of Hippowdon, it is also a good partner, as it loves Latias and Latios gone, while it can also provide Aegislash with support by switching in on the various Ground-type attacks aimed at it, while also being able to check Bisharp, which can become a real nuisance for Aegislash to deal with.

Get out there!

Aegislash is definitely a great Pokémon to use, and to some it is considered the best Pokémon in the current OU metagame. It is powerful, bulky, has an excellent movepool, fantastic typing, andit provides a wealth of support to its teammates. Its versatility makes it surprisingly difficult to counter, and it is therefore one of the most defining threats in today's metagame. Every OU player needs to use Aegislash so they can fully see what makes it so brilliant, and its uncanny knack for fitting so perfectly in many teams makes this not at all difficult to accomplish. Go out there and use it now; it most assuredly won't let you down.