Aegislash, The Royal Sword Pokémon. In this defensive stance, Aegislash uses its steel body and a force field of spectral power to reduce the damage of any attack. Its potent spectral powers allow it to manipulate others. It once used its powers to force people and Pokémon to build a kingdom to its liking. This stance is dedicated to offense. It can cleave any opponent with the strength and weight of its steel blade. Once upon a time, a king with an Aegislash reigned over the land. His Pokémon eventually drained him of life, and his kingdom fell with him.
Overview
Aegislash has had a rough generation 8. A series of nerfs reducing its stats (the only time in Pokémon history that has happened), the debuff on King’s Shield and the loss of a reliable punish option in Pursuit have all drastically impacted Aegislash’s performance. Knock Off being so prevalent on top of the popularity of Cinderace, and Landorus-Therian mean that answers to Aegislash are everywhere. Furthermore, the Steel type is more popular than ever and Aegislash finds heavy competition for a team slot.
However, Aegislash at its lowest is still miles above other Pokémon. As a bulky setup sweeper, Aegislash can reliably setup in front of opponents thanks to its stellar defenses and typing. Its balanced offenses make offensive and mixed sets of both sides of the spectrum viable, making it difficult to counter every set. Aegislash has its flaws but brings a unique typing and role compression to the table that few Pokémon can match.
Positives
Base 140 Attack and Special Attack allow Aegislash to hit incredibly hard.
Steel/Ghost is a fantastic type defensively, and with Base 140 Defenses and King’s Shield makes Aegislash difficult to break through
Ghost and Steel have very wide neutral coverage and the few that resist it don’t like Sacred Sword
Negatives
Lack of Reliable recovery hampers Aegislash’s ability as a wall and often gives it only one chance to setup
Low Speed often ensures that Aegislash will take a hit before being attacked and the few opponents slower than Aegislash have a good chance of striking its frail Blade Form
Weaknesses to common types in Ground, Fire and Knock Off
Movesets
Phantom Knight
-King's Shield
-Shadow Ball
-Iron Head
-Close Combat/Shadow Sneak
Item Attached: Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 148 Atk / 108 SAtk
Brave Nature
A Weakness Policy mixed sweeper that works in or out of Dynamax. Shadow Ball is the Ghost STAB of choice, being significantly stronger than Shadow Claw, and providing a mixed aspect that makes the set more difficult to wall. Iron Head is the Steel STAB of choice, to contrast with Shadow Ball and hits the weaker Defense of Fairy types. Close Combat provides coverage against Bisharp and Crawdaunt who otherwise resist Aegislash's moves and provides a devastating Max Knuckle while Dynamaxed, while Shadow Sneak provides valuable priority for picking off weakened opponents, preventing Aegislash from accruing more damage. King's Shield is to keep Aegislash in the game longer and preventing your opponent from an easy revenge KO with a faster
DYNAMAX:
Aegislash is bulky enough in Shield form to take a hit and activate weakness policy, but certainly enjoys the bulk and power boost that Dynamax provides. Shadow Ball's Max Phantasm may not snowball with each use but does provide scaling with Aegislash's physical moves for a nasty one-two punch. Max Knuckle from Close Combat provides more traditional snowballing. Max Steelspike is there for STAB, though the extra defense boost is appreciable.
EVs and Items:
Max HP to make Aegislash as bulky as possible. 108 Special Attack on a neutral nature is the minimum required to guarantee a OHKO a Dragapult with no defensive investment, with the Nature and remaining EVs going into Attack to pump up Aegislash's other moves as much as possible. Weakness Policy is the crux of the set, providing Aegislash setup.
Partners:
Tapu Fini makes for an excellent partner, being a reliable answer to Cinderace, Landorus-Therian, other Fire and Dark types and a reliable pivot into Dark moves. Setting up Misty Terrain also provides Aegislash valuable status protection, something that King's Shield does not stop. Other Water types like Swampert and Dracovish can fill similar roles, cleaning out threatening Fire and Ground types that would otherwise threaten an Aegislash sweep.
Salamence provides a pivot into Ground and Fire moves and Intimidate gives Aegislash more effective bulk. Landorus-Therian provides a similar role, and can soften up teams with Stealth Rock.
On the Blade’s Edge
-Swords Dance
-Iron Head
-Shadow Sneak
-King’s Shield/Close Combat
Item Attached: Leftovers/Life Orb
Ability: Stance Change
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
Swords Dance set takes advantage of Aegislash’s tremendous bulk to setup safely while in Shield form before going for the sweep in Blade Form. Iron Head provides STAB. Shadow Sneak is STAB priority. King’s Shield enables switching between forms at will and makes Aegislash much bulkier, while Close Combat provides wide coverage and hits the few not bothered by Ghost and Steel.
DYNAMAX:
Aegislash enjoys Dynamaxing after a Sword’s Dance to bolster its low HP and patch up the lower power of its STAB moves. Max Phantasm is weak but now properly snowballs with the induced Defense Drop alongside a Close Combat Max Knuckle. Max Steelspike is an alternative STAB that further emphasizes Aegislash’s bulk.
EVs and Items:
Max HP to ensure Aegislash survives setting up and Max Attack to get the most out of the Sword’s Dance boost. Other options would be to invest in Speed so that Aegislash wipes out as many as possible after the boost (especially if lacking King’s Shield) while an investment in Special Defense to complement the physical bulk buffs in King’s Shield and Max Steelspike. Leftovers gives Aegislash more Longevity while Life Orb provides extra power for sealing the sweep.
Partners:
Tapu Fini makes for an excellent partner, being a reliable answer to Cinderace, Landorus-Therian, other Fire and Dark types and a reliable pivot into Dark moves. Setting up Misty Terrain also provides Aegislash valuable protection against Will-o-Wisp, something that King’s Shield does not stop. Other Water types like Swampert and Dracovish can fill similar roles, cleaning out threatening Fire and Ground types that would otherwise threaten an Aegislash sweep.
Wish Passers like Clefable and Blissey provide an answer for its lack of recovery, enabling Aegislash to take on a more defensive role, coming in multiple times throughout the match before going for the sweep. Their ability to pivot into Dark and Ghost moves respectively also provides nice synergy.
Countering Aegislash
Bisharp is the closest thing to an Aegislash counter, comfortably taking on any set that does not have Close Combat, getting an Attack boost off of King’s Shield via Defiant and threatening Aegislash back with STAB Dark moves.
Mandibuzz can easily take even a boosted Iron Head, roost off the damage and strike back with its Dark STABs.
Faster Ground and Fire types can easily revenge KO Aegislash with their STABs, but are often far too fail to take a boosted hit. Landorus-Therian will KO Aegislash with STAB Earthquake and some chip damage, taking little from Shadow Sneak thanks to Intimidate but would not like switching into a Boosted Shadow Ball or getting an Attack Drop from King’s Shield. Cinderace is even frailer, but similarly melts Aegislash with Pyro Ball.
Locations in Games
Red/Blue/Yellow:
Not in game
Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Not in game
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in game
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Not in game
Colosseum/XD:
Not in game
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Not in game
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Not in game
Black/White:
Not in game
Black 2/White 2:
Not in game
X/Y:
Evolve Doublade
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Trade from X/Y
Sun/Moon:
Evolve Doublade
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Evolve Doublade
Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Not in game
Sword/Shield:
Giant's Cap
Max Raid Battles: Watchtower Ruins
Anime Appearences
