Shedinja Report

Shedinja (the Shed Pokémon) is an exceptionally rare Bug/Ghost-type Pokémon found among forests within the Hoenn, Kalos and Galar regions as well as the Johto and Sinnoh regions on rare occasions. Though certainly not among the sturdiest of combatants, Shedinja are surprisingly dangerous creatures that truly push the limits of scientific knowledge in relation to Ghost-types far off the edge of comprehension. No one may know what they are truly after or what they even are, but for a one-trick pony, Shedinja aren’t too bad; after all, it’s not like there are any other Pokémon out there that are naturally immune to 13 different types!

When Nincada go aboveground and evolve into Ninjask, they end up leaving behind about half of their original exoskeleton in the form of an empty husk. Under most circumstances, this chitin construct simply crumbles apart shortly after evolution and becomes integrated into the underlying soil. In extremely rare cases in the wild and if a trainer has an empty slot in their team and a spare Poké Ball, however, something bizarre will happen: the empty shell will become a Shedinja. Even among Ghost-types, Shedinja stick out like a sore thumb for their incredible bizarreness: They don’t breathe, eat, or move a single portion of their body without moving the entire shell. The reason for this, as recent studies seem to indicate, is that Shedinja are in effect lost spirits that are merely ‘borrowing’ the empty husk as a body. Since the chitin comprising the husk is extremely brittle, movement of any kind will likely destroy it and force the lost spirit to find another one, which doesn’t appear to be an easy task. In addition, the husk has its own physical limitations that restrict the spirit from doing a whole lot; while it can still attack, the spirit must generate temporary limbs out of spiritual energy in order to use physical attacks and must constantly generate a shield of spiritual energy in order to ensure that any attack that does hit the shell doesn’t destroy it. More importantly, although Shedinja inherit the higher base Attack stat of Ninjask, they also inherit their base Defense stat (since they possess half of the original exoskeleton) and maintain all of their pre-evolved form’s other base stats with the exception of HP, which is automatically and permanently reduced to 1 HP (due to the extreme brittleness of the shell). Shedinja learn a few interesting Ghost and Psychic-type attacks and techniques as they develop (namely the Spite, Confuse Ray, Shadow Sneak, Shadow Claw, Grudge, Phantom Force and Shadow Ball moves), but overall their combat abilities are exceptionally poor and would seemingly make them useless in battle.

Shedinja do, however, have a secret weapon that is so unique and complex that it is the only Pokémon known to possess it: the Wonder Guard Ability. It appears that because the spirit occupying a Shedinja is still unconnected to the shed shell as a physical, organic body, it has the ability to channel its natural abilities completely within the construct without damaging it (since it’s nonliving); in short; the spirit can transfer its natural immunities to the shell. The unique energy ‘barrier’ that results is a powerful weapon that can seemingly deflect physical blows and dissipate projectile attacks if the damage they deal is not super-effective to Shedinja. Since Shedinja are constructs consisting of an insect exoskeleton and a spirit, this means that they can only be naturally damaged by Fire, Flying, Rock, Ghost and Dark-type attacks, granting them complete immunity to the other 13 types. In regards to natural abilities alone, this means that the majority of Pokémon can’t even hurt Shedinja unless they have been taught moves of those five types via TM, and even then there are still some Pokémon that can’t damage them at all. This makes Shedinja extremely dangerous creatures to face in battle and almost insurmountable without proper knowledge of their Ability, in turn giving them a reputation of being “a scourge against the unenlightened”. Unfortunately, this Ability is not completely fool-proof. Shedinja can still be damaged by adverse weather conditions, status conditions, moves like Spikes or Struggle and Abilities that cause direct damage from physical contact like Rough Skin and Iron Barbs. It is duly noted that this Ability cannot be exchanged via Skill Swap or Role Play nor is it affected by the otherwise devastating Mummy, Turboblaze and Teravolt Abilities, but a Trace Ability will still copy it normally. Lastly, it should be noted that, despite their Wonder Guard Ability, Shedinja still have one huge weakness: the hole in their backs where the adult Ninjask crawled out. From here, it would be possible to actually see the spirit and exorcise it if such skills are known by an individual; the spirit occupying Shedinja is more than aware of this, though, and will actively remove the spirit of anyone who tries to peer into the hollow interior of the shell.

They might be nothing more than an odd quirk to most, but Shedinja are truly devastating creatures that can often prove to be absolute nightmares in battle if a super-effective attack is not available to use. For trainers that are used to complex strategies, dealing with these floating shells shouldn’t be too much of a problem…but for the average trainer, having to face one of these creatures in battle unprepared is probably one of the worst things that can happen. If you think you can handle that kind of issue and make something out of such an odd beast, though, go ahead and raise a Nincada to adulthood and stick around for the shell; just try not to watch the process as it unfolds, or you might see something frightening enough to literally scare the spirit right out of you!

Professor Wormwood