Shiftry - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle

This is a strategy guide for using Shiftry in competitive play for the games Pokemon Sword and Shield. Read on for tips on the best Nature, EV spreads, Movesets, and Held Items to use with Shiftry, as well as its strengths and weak points.

Shiftry - Related Guides
Evolution and Learnset	Build for Ranked Battle

Basic Information for Shiftry

Types and Abilities

Pokemon	Type 1	Type 2
Shiftry
Abilities
Early Bird	The Pokemon awakens quickly from sleep.
Chlorophyll	Boosts the Pokemon's Speed in sunshine
Pickpocket (Hidden)	Steals an item when hit by another Pokemon.

Shiftry Weaknesses and Resistances

	Type
Takes 4x damage
Takes 2x damage
Takes 0.5x damage
Takes 1/4x damage	-
Takes 0x damage

What is Type Effectiveness?

Base Stats

HP	Attack	Defense	Sp. Atk	Sp. Def	Speed
90	100	60	90	60	80

Best Nature for Shiftry

Best Natures
Jolly (+Spd, -Sp. Atk)	Adamant (+Atk, -Sp. Atk)

What are Natures?

Singles Movesets for Shiftry

Swords Dance Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Adamant (+Atk, -Sp. Atk)
EV Spread	Atk 252/ Def 4 / Spd 252
Final Stat Values	HP 165 / Atk 167 / Def 81 / Sp.Def 80 / Spd 132
Ability	Chlorophyll
Held Item	Leftovers or Black Glasses
Moveset	・Substitute ・Swords Dance ・Leaf Blade ・Sucker Punch

Shiftry's high attacking stat makes it a good backup physical sweeper especially after you boost it with Swords Dance. The Grass and Dark-typing makes it so it has a number of options for offensive moves.

About Shiftry's Moves

Substitute is a good move that allows you to use a free Swords Dance at least once.

Swords Dance is the main set-up move for Shiftry. As much as possible, try to get at least one off before attacking as a boosted Shiftry can potentially sweep against certain team builds.

Leaf Blade is going to be your Grass STAB move. With high damage and a high crit-ratio, Leaf Blade counters prominent Pokemon like Tyranitar, Excadrill, Blastoise, etc. It also turns into Max Overgrowth once Dynamaxed, which helps in recovering the HP you loss after Substitute.

Sucker Punch is your Dark STAB move in addition to your priority move. A Swords Dance boosted Sucker Punch can knockout strong Pokemon like Dragapult, Indeedee, Hatterene, and the likes.

About Shiftry's EV Spread

We're going with a standard physical attacker set for the EVs. We maximize attack and speed to make sure we can capitalize on the strong STAB moves Shiftry has as well as to add on to its Adamant nature. The remaining 4 EV will be alloted to defense to give it some form of bulk.

About Shiftry's Ability

Chlorophyll gives Shiftry unmatched speed under the sun. It is recommended to bring out Shiftry after setting the weather to maximize its sweeping capabilities.

About Shiftry's Held Item

Leftovers allows Shiftry to recover loss HP from Substitute. While Black Glasses goes all-in on the offensive side; specifically Sucker Punch.

Other Viable Moves

Throat Chop	A good substitute for Sucker Punch. It is stronger although it is not a priority move like Sucker Punch.
Bounce	A coverage move that gives Shiftry ways to avoid offensive threats for a turn. It also turns into Max Airstream which boosts Shiftry's speed withour relying on sun.
Low Kick	A coverage move against threats like Incineroar as well as other Steel-type Pokemon. It also turns into Max Knuckle once Dynamaxed which benefits Shiftry as it further increases its attack stat.

Mixed Sun Attacker Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Naughty (+Atk, -Sp.Def)
EV Spread	Atk 252 / Sp.Atk 4 / Spd 252
Final Stat Values	HP 165 / Atk 167 / Def 81 / Sp. Atk 111/ Sp.Def 72 / Spd 132
Ability	Chlorophyll
Held Item	Life Orb
Moveset	・Growth ・Solar Blade ・Throat Chop ・Heat Wave

This is a mixed attacking Shiftry set that relies on sun support. We're going to be taking full advantage of Chlorophyll to out speed most of the opposing Pokemon. It's best used as a backup sweeper on an a sun based team.

About Shiftry's Moves

Growth is the perfect move for this build as it boosts both Shiftry's attack and special attack stat. Under the sun, it is essentially a Swords Dance that boosts both Shiftry's offensive stat.

Solar Blade is your primary Grass STAB move. Under the sun, it does not need to charge and is a physical and stronger variant of Solar Beam.

Throat Chop is going to be your main Dark STAB move. It is a solid physical move that prevents opposing Pokemon from using sound based moves as well.

Heat Wave is going to be your coverage move against Ice, Bug, and Steel-type Pokemon. It gets a major boost from the weather and Growth which makes it a strong special attacking move for Shiftry.

About Shiftry's EV Spread

We're going with a standard attacking EV spread with a little bit of Sp. Atk boost. This spread maximizes Shiftry as a mixed attacking threat with Growth.

About Shiftry's Ability

Chlorophyll makes it so that Shiftry is faster than most Pokemon under sunlight. It ties the whole build up nicely.

About Shiftry's Held Item

Life Orb increases Shiftry's attacking prowess. It allows you to go all-in on the sweeping nature of a sun + Growth boosted Shiftry.

Other Viable Moves

Leaf Storm	A stronger move compared to Solar Blade. Use Leaf Storm if you prioritize damage more than accuracy. It is also a better choice if the weather is neutralized.
Lash Out	A strong alternative choice to Throat Chop as Lash Out's base power gets doubled from 75 to 150 if any of Shiftry's stats are lowered. Use this if you're running into a lot of Intimidate users.
Dark Pulse	A good special attack Dark STAB move which can cause flinching. You can go this route if you want to maximize Shiftry's special attack more than its physical one.

Doubles Movesets for Shiftry

Sun Sweeper Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Naughty (+Atk, -Sp.Def)
EV Spread	Atk 252 / Sp.Atk 4 / Spd 252
Final Stat Values	HP 165 / Atk 167 / Def 81 / Sp. Atk 111/ Sp.Def 72 / Spd 132
Ability	Chlorophyll
Held Item	Life Orb
Moveset	・Growth ・Solar Blade ・Throat Chop ・Heat Wave

This is the same set as Shiftry's singles build. However, this time you can set up sun easier using Pokemon like Torkoal and Ninetales.

About Shiftry's Moves

Growth is the perfect move for this build as it boosts both Shiftry's attack and special attack stat. Under the sun, it is essentially a Swords Dance that boosts both Shiftry's offensive stat.

Solar Blade is your primary Grass STAB move. Under the sun, it does not need to charge and is a physical and stronger variant of Solar Beam

Throat Chop is going to be your main Dark STAB move. It is a solid physical move that prevents opposing Pokemon from using sound based moves as well.

Heat Wave is going to be your coverage move against Ice, Bug, and Steel-type Pokemon. It gets a major boost from the weather and Growth which makes it a strong special attacking move for Shiftry.

About Shiftry's EV Spread

We're going with a standard attacking EV spread with a little bit of Sp. Atk boost. This spread maximizes Shiftry as a mixed attacking threat with Growth.

About Shiftry's Ability

Chlorophyll makes it so that Shiftry is faster than most Pokemon under sunlight. It ties the whole build up nicely.

About Shiftry's Held Item

Life Orb increases Shiftry's attacking prowess. It allows you to go all-in on the sweeping nature of a sun + Growth boosted Shiftry.

Other Viable Moves

Leaf Storm	A stronger move compared to Solar Blade. Use Leaf Storm if you prioritize damage more than accuracy. It is also a better choice if the weather is neutralized.
Lash Out	A strong alternative choice to Throat Chop as Lash Out's base power gets doubled from 75 to 150 if any of Shiftry's stats are lowered. Use this if you're running into a lot of Intimidate users.
Dark Pulse	A good special attack Dark STAB move which can cause flinching. You can go this route if you want to maximize Shiftry's special attack more than its physical one.
Rock Slide	Rock Slide allows you to hit both opponents. It also acts as coverage against Bug, Fire, and Flying-type Pokemon.

How to Use Shiftry Effectively

A Strong Offensive Pivot

Shiftry is a straight up offensive Pokemon. Take advantage of its strong offensive stats by switching in onto favorable situations wherein it can take a hit and trade.

A Mixed Attacking Sweeper

A Shiftry with Chlorophyl is most likely outspeeding its opponents. Fully utilize this by building a team that can support it via sun and defense. If you can set up an attack or special attack boost with Shiftry, it has the potential to sweep the entire opposing team.

How to Build a Team with Shiftry

Shiftry's combination of strong offensive stats and Chlorophyl means you can slap him onto a sun team in which he can be the main sweeper.

Mixed Sweeper for a Sun team

With its access to Growth, Swords Dance, and Nasty Plot, Shiftry has a lot of choices when it comes to set up. However, Growth is the most optimal one when it comes to sun teams as it benefits from the weather change as well.

The following team is dedicated to supporting Shiftry as the main sweeper on a sun team.

Example Sun Team

Weather Setter	Mixed Attacking Sweeper	Revenge Killler/Utility Counter
Torkoal	Shiftry	Charizard

Mixed attacking Shiftry needs the sun to be up in order to properly set up to sweep. This team allows him to do so as Torkoal can come in with Shiftry while Charizard can switch-in in order to tank super effective hits.

Use Growth while the sun is up in order to get a boost in both attack and special attack. Afterwards knocking out a couple of the opposing Pokemon, try and clean up with Charizard as it also benefits heavily from the sun due to it being a Fire-type.

How to Build a Weather Team

Counters for Shiftry

Weakness

Take Advantage of Its Many Weaknesses

Shiftry has low defenses and seven type weaknesses to very common types. This makes it vulnerable to OHKO's.

Without proper group support and defense boosts, Shiftry is vulnerable to getting outsped and knocked out by faster attackers.

Best Pokemon to Use

Pokemon	Description
Scizor	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Does quadruple damage with Bug-type moves ・Resists most of Shiftry's moves Moveset & Best Build for Scizor
Incineroar	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Hits with super effective Fire-type moves ・Resists both of Shiftry's typing Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Incineroar
Urshifu Single-Strike Style	Ranking: ★★★★ ・Super effective Fighting-type moves ・Resists Shiftry's Dark-type moves Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Urshifu Single-Strike Style
Togekiss	Ranking: ★★★★ ・Both typing is super effective against Shiftry ・Resists both of Shiftry's dual STABs Moveset & Best Build for Togekiss
Dragonite	Ranking: ★★★★ ・Hits effectively with its Flying-type moves ・Boasts quadruple resistance to Grass-type moves Moveset & Best Build for Dragonite)

Related Links

All Competitive Builds for Ranked Battle

Competitive Guides for Pokemon Sword and Shield

Competitive Pokemon Battle Guides
Tier List		Best Builds		Series 10 List of Contenders
Doubles Tier List		Team Building		Rental Teams

Best Builds for Returning Pokemon

Movesets & Best Builds for Returning Pokemon
Mimikyu	Wash Rotom	Gyarados
Ferrothorn	Aegislash	Excadrill
Tyranitar	Hydreigon	Heat Rotom
Arcanine	Mamoswine	Toxapex
Togekiss	Cloyster	Durant
Snorlax	Charizard	Sylveon
Lucario	Hippowdon	Umbreon
Conkeldurr	Quagsire	Gastrodon
Lapras	Whimsicott	Rhyperior
Goodra	Haxorus	Glaceon
Mow Rotom	Type: Null	Gengar
Milotic	Gardevoir	Flygon
Chandelure	Lanturn	Torkoal
Bisharp	Seismitoad	Silvally
Butterfree	Primarina	Incineroar
Blastoise	Decidueye	Venusaur
Darmanitan	Alolan Ninetales	Gothitelle
Crawdaunt	Clefable	Reuniclus
Kommo-o	Terrakion	Cobalion
Virizion	Noivern	Fan Rotom
Toxicroak	Pelipper	Jellicent
Celebi	Clefairy	Hitmontop
Diggersby	Ditto	Raichu
Hawlucha	Shiftry	Tsareena
Ludicolo