Utility
Trick Room
CTier
40Speed · Very Slow

Stats & Training

Attack leads and HP gets almost nothing. That's Shedinja's stat line in a nutshell. 1 stats sit in respectable range, but the spread is brutal. Tough to catch and yields 2 HP EVs.

Base Stats
Below
HP1
F
Attack90
B
Defense45
D
Sp. Atk30
F
Sp. Def30
F
Speed40
D
Total236
Details
Catch Rate
Challenging45 / 255
Growth Rate
Erratic600,000 XP
Height0.8 m
2'07"Small
Weight1.2 kg
2.6 lbsFeather
Base XP83
Low Yield
Abilities
Wonder GuardTop Pick
Protects against damaging moves that are not super effective.
Wonder Guard: Only super effective hits
EV Yield
HP+2AtkDefSpASpDSpe
HP training target
Pokedex Entries

A most peculiar Pokémon that somehow appears in a Poké Ball when a Nincada evolves.

Shedinja Weakness

Shedinja is weak to Fire, Flying, Rock, Ghost, and Dark. On the flip side, it's immune to Normal and Fighting-type moves entirely. 4 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Wonder Guard makes Shedinja immune to all non-super-effective damage.

Shedinja Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
2x (Weak)Fire, Flying, Rock, Ghost, Dark
0.5x (Resist)Grass, Poison, Ground, Bug
0x (Immune)Normal, Fighting
Type ChartGood
5Weak
4Resist
2Immune
Score0
4xCritical
None
2xWeak
FireFlyingRockGhostDark
½xResist
GrassPoisonGroundBug
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
NormalFighting
STAB (4)
GrassPsychicDarkGhost
How to Beat Shedinja in Sword & Shield (Best Counters)

In Sword & Shield, Celesteela threatens a KO with Air Slash (452-533%). Weavile's Knock Off also KOs at 262-308%.

Heatran
Heatran
FireSteel
S
Recommended Build
AbilityFlashfire
ItemLeftovers
NatureTimid
Moves
  • Earth Power
  • Magma Storm
  • Stealth Rock
  • TauntUtility
View Heatran builds →

Sword & Shield Evolution

Nincada's line splits into 2 evolutions, and Shedinja is a unique condition. Each sibling form needs a different method to obtain. Breed through Nincada to get eggs. Ninjask has 220 more total stats, but Shedinja makes up for it with a stronger Attack gain (+45 from Nincada). View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Evolutions
Nincada
#290Nincada
Ninjask
#291NinjaskLevel 20
Shedinja
#292ShedinjaLevel 20
Stat Comparison 3 Stages
Nincada
BugGround
Ninjask
BugFlying
Shedinja
BugGhost
HP
31
61+30
1-30
ATK
45
90+45
90+45
DEF
90
45-45
45-45
SP.ATK
30
50+20
30
SP.DEF
30
50+20
30
SPE
40
160+120
40
BST
266D-Tier
456C-Tier+190
236C-Tier-30
ROLE
Balanced
Pivot
Trick Room
TYPE
Utility
Physical
Physical

Breeding

Challenging

Shedinja is genderless — breed with Ditto to produce Nincada eggs. Part of the Mineral egg group.

Egg Groups
Mineral
Gender
GenderlessDittoDitto only
Hatch Time
15 cycles·3,855 steps
Quick~4 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
5moves

Sword & Shield Shedinja Best Moveset

utility options is what separates a good sweep from a wasted boost. After Swords Dance, Shedinja threatens a wide range with max Attack and Speed EVs and Focus Sash backing every hit.

Best Build

Experimental
Ability
Wonder Guard
Item
Focus SashSURVIVAL
Best Nature for Shedinja
Naive+SPE

Shedinja best EVs are Attack and Speed

EVs

Doubles Physical Setup Sweeper Moveset

  • ProtectFAST +4
  • MimicUtility
  • Ally Switch
  • Swords Dance

Recommended Teammates

Arcanine
ArcanineDecent
Audino
AudinoDecent
Araquanid
AraquanidDecent

Moves

Egg moves make a real difference. Shedinja gets Bug Bite and Final Gambit exclusively through breeding, filling gaps that TMs and level-up can't touch. Coverage across 7 types rounds out the picture alongside Poltergeist and Phantom Force.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Dig
C8010010Ground
Lv 1
False Swipe
D4010040Normal
Lv 1
Grudge
———5Ghost
Lv 1
Harden
———30Normal
Lv 1
Metal Claw
D509535Steel
Lv 1
Mud-Slap
D2010010Ground
Lv 1
Sand Attack
D—10015Ground
Lv 1
Scratch
—4010035Normal
Lv 1
Shadow Claw
A7010015Ghost
Lv 15
Confuse Ray
D—10010Ghost
Lv 23
Absorb
—2010025Grass
Lv 29
Shadow Sneak+1
A4010030Ghost
Lv 36
Fury Swipes
—188015Normal
Lv 43
Mind Reader
———5Normal
Lv 50
Shadow Ball
D8010015Ghost
Lv 57
Spite
D—10010Ghost
Lv 64
Phantom Force
B9010010Ghost

TM Moves

TM
TR12
Agility
C——30Psychic
TR83
Ally Switch+2
A——15Psychic
TR61
Bug Buzz
D9010010Bug
TM15
Dig
C8010010Ground
TR26
Endure+4
C——10Normal
TM39
Facade
C7010020Normal
TM94
False Swipe
D4010040Normal
TM28
Giga Drain
D7510010Grass
TM09
Giga Impact
B150905Normal
TM77
Hex
B6510010Ghost
TM08
Hyper Beam
D150905Normal
TR18
Leech Life
C8010010Bug
TM86
Phantom Force
B9010010Ghost
TM25
Protect+4
A——10Normal
TM21
Rest
C——10Psychic
TM76
Round
D6010015Normal
TM32
Sandstorm
D——10Rock
TR33
Shadow Ball
D8010015Ghost
TM65
Shadow Claw
A7010015Ghost
TR27
Sleep Talk
C——10Normal
TM24
Snore
—5010015Normal
TM11
Solar Beam
D12010010Grass
TR20
Substitute
C——10Normal
TM34
Sunny Day
C——5Fire
TM23
Thief
D6010025Dark
TR38
Trick
C—10010Psychic
TM38
Will-O-Wisp
S—8515Fire
TR60
X-Scissor
B8010015Bug

Egg Moves

Egg
Egg
Bug Bite
C6010020Bug
Egg
Final Gambit
D—1005Fighting
Egg
Flail
D—10015Normal
Egg
Gust
D4010035Flying
Egg
Night Slash
C7010015Dark

Tutor Moves

Tut
Tutor
Poltergeist
B110905Ghost
Tutor
Skitter Smack
C709010Bug

How to Get Shedinja in Sword & Shield

Shedinja doesn't appear wild. Catch Nincada instead, it shows up at solid rates. Evolve it through a special method to get Shedinja. The 2-stage line is mapped in the step cards below.

How to Obtain Shedinja in Sword & Shield

The path to Shedinja starts with Nincada at Lv. 7-18 via walking encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.

  1. Nincada
    Step 1Catch Nincada
    South Lake Miloch
    ShieldGrass Lv.11-13 Water
    40%Early
    Sandstorm
    South Lake Miloch
    SwordGrass Lv.11-13 Water
    40%Early
    Sandstorm
    West Lake Axewell
    SwordGrass Lv.7-11 Cave
    30%Early
    Sandstorm
    West Lake Axewell
    ShieldGrass Lv.7-11 Cave
    30%Early
    Sandstorm
    South Lake Miloch
    ShieldGrass Lv.11-13 Water
    10%Early
    Intense Sun
    South Lake Miloch
    SwordGrass Lv.11-13 Water
    10%Early
    Intense Sun
    Route 5
    SwordGrass Lv.16-18 Route
    5%Mid
    All Weather
    Route 5
    ShieldGrass Lv.16-18 Route
    5%Mid
    All Weather
  2. Shedinja
    Step 2Shedinja ✓

Shedinja Guide

  • In Sword & Shield, Shedinja's biggest threats include Arcanine (Fire), Salamence (Flying), and Golem (Rock), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Ghost and Dark-type attackers are also a problem. With 5 weakness types, most competitive teams carry at least one counter. At base 40 Speed, Shedinja won't outrun any of these threats so switching to a resist is usually the safer play.

  • In Sword & Shield, Nincada evolves into Shedinja at level 20. Shedinja is the final evolution in a 3-stage line starting from Nincada.

  • Honestly, in Sword & Shield Shedinja is a tough sell at 236 BST. Plenty of stronger Bug/Ghost options exist. Fun pick, not a practical one.

  • In Sword & Shield, Wonder Guard changes the entire equation for Shedinja. The 236 BST doesn't tell the full story. Ranked C-Tier as a trick room. Protect with Focus Sash is the standard set.

  • Wonder Guard is what you want on Shedinja. Every competitive set worth running is built with that ability in mind.

Game Availability

Available in 14 titles since its debut in Ruby & Sapphire, Shedinja spans 8 generations of Pokemon games. It's accessible through wild encounters in a solid number of games.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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