Aegislash

 

Aegislash is a Pokémon that has already experienced a pretty wild existence in this relatively short-lived format. After Honedge was first revealed with its unique typing, the final evolution with its equally unique Ability was always going to be a popular choice, so let's have a look at how useful Aegislash is, and the options it has.

Stance Change is Aegislash's signature Ability, swapping from base stats 60/50/150/50/150/60 to 60/150/50/150/50/60 upon making an attacking move (and can not be Skill Swapped away from it). Signature move King's Shield resets the Pokémon back to the Shield form and also protects it from direct damage, lowering the opponents Attack stat two stages if physical contact was made with the Shield. It does however still leave Aegislash vulnerable to status and other such non-damaging moves. This adds an element of predictability to how the Pokémon plays, but is not necessarily detrimental to its viability.

At the birth of the VGC 2014 metagame, the majority of Aegislash were physically based with moves such as Shadow Sneak (79.05%), Sacred Sword (54.34%) and Iron Head (38.13%), setting up with Swords Dance (49.86%). With so many powerful physical attackers emerging in the format, the likes of Intimidate, Will-O-Wisp and even Charm became a requirement to handle threats such as Kangaskhan and Mawile. This soon had a knock-on effect to the usage of Aegislash, and the rise of mixed and Special Aegislash.

It seems somewhat of a waste to have two massive base 150 offensive stats and use only a half of it. People started to see this, and create some new sets. Swords Dance's usage between November and December dropped from almost half of all Aegislash (49.86%) to under a third (31.88%) and Special attacks showed significant leaps, with Shadow Ball (27.97% to 46.41%) and Flash Cannon (21.43% to 37.01%) most common.

A new Item for X and Y; Weakness Policy (27.03% avg.) has been a consistently popular choice for Aegislash, and with good reason. With its monster base 150 defences, it will usually be surviving at least one Super Effective hit. With 252/76 investment, it is even guaranteed to survive a Timid, Sun-boosted Mega Charizard Y Heat Wave and deal massive damage back.

Perhaps the biggest change in usage between November and December is the rise of Substitute (<4.83% to 19.68%). It seems apparently instinctive for Rotom to attempt to Burn Aegislash, and the ever-present threat of a -2 from King's Shield often leaves Aegislash a free turn to set up a useful Substitute. December saw Leftovers (30.62%) overtake Weakness Policy (26.84%) as most popular Item, to back up the usage of Substitute.

The story doesn't end here for Aegislash. With the release of Pokémon Bank, a new chain of breeding has become available for Honedge to inherit Wide Guard. With its Steel typing, it is a magnet for Heat Waves and Earthquakes, which can be blocked turn after turn with the new mechanics of Wide Guard. This gives Aegislash more of a supporting option and adds more of a mind game to playing with or against this Pokémon.

Aegislash is on one hand predictable with its need to use King's Shield to revert back to its defensive form, but with the heavy penalty for touching that King's Shield, the option for it to Wide Guard, Substitute, or eat a Super Effective hit and retaliate at +2 via Weakness Policy means Aegislash is a threat to approach with caution. In this relatively short time, within the metagame, it has turned from a Pokémon easily neutered with a Burn and an Intimidate to a multi-levelled tank with a fair amount of utility and versatility.

- BazAnderson