#213: Shuckle

Official Sugimori art of Shuckle.

This is a tricky Pokémon...

Shuckle is the one Pokémon with the most extreme stat distribution, being either the best or in the bottom three of every base stat category. First off, it is tied with Mega Steelix and Mega Aggron for the highest base defense stat and has the highest base special defense stat, period. Both sit at a monstrous 230, although they're offset by Shuckle's terrible base 20 HP stat. It kind of renders those defenses tricky to utilize, as it wears Shuckle down more easily than you'd like. But aside from its good defensive stats, Shuckle also has some atrocious other stats: it is tied with Munchlax for the lowest speed stat, tied with Feebas and Bonsly for the lowest special attack stat, and tied with Magikarp and Blissey for the second lowest attack stat (only Happiny and Chansey have a lower base attack stat). You'd think that Shuckle is impossible to use at all in competitive play, but that couldn't be any further from the truth. It's mainly used as a support Pokémon, sure, but a good support Pokémon despite the low HP stat that hardly backs up its defenses. And in spite of the fact that I love Shuckle for what it is, I'll never use it in competitive play (I'm not really a competitive battler to begin with), simply because I'm sure I'll never make good use of it and because I want a more reliable tank.

Amazing papercraft Shuckle.

While it wasn't used very often prior to X and Y, Gen. VI was kind to Shuckle and gave it access to Sticky Web, a move that lowers the speed of every opposing Pokémon by one stage when they enter the battlefield. That's handy to let the rest of your team get the edge they possibly need over faster foes. The rest of Shuckle's moveset should consist of Stealth Rock for setting up entry hazards on the opponent's side of the battlefield, Encore to lock the opposing Pokémon into some move, and either Infestation or Toxic. Toxic instantly inflicts the foe with bad poison, but Infestation does immediate damage and damages the foe significantly every turn while it also prevents said foe from switching out. Could be useful if you want a Pokémon to stay in if it can't hurt Shuckle all that much. Unfortunately, you'll have to choose between a physically or specially bulky Shuckle, because you need to invest in its HP. If physically defensive, go with a Bold nature, and if specially defensive, a Calm nature would be a good idea. Either way, Shuckle is slow and is very susceptible to Taunt, so give it a Mental Herb to remove the effects of that move. And don't worry about Shuckle getting one-shotted, because it has the Sturdy ability, which leaves it at 1 HP if attacked at full HP should the attack have knocked it out. Gluttony lets it consume a berry earlier than usual, which it doesn't need, while Contrary reverses stat changes, which is only handy if you have a Shuckle with Superpower - lowers attack and defense by one stage after use - or something. And that's a move it doesn't even learn.

A Shuckle wallpaper. Just because there isn't anything else to be found on the
Internet. 

It's such a shame Shuckle can't make use of some awesome moves it gets. Shell Smash lowers its defenses by one stage while it boosts everything else by two stages 'cept for HP. Too bad 'everything else' on Shuckle is downright terrible and disappoints even when maxed out (six stages). Power Trick is a nifty move that switches Shuckle's defense with its attack, which lets it temporarily get an attack stat equivalent to a base 230 stat. Unfortunately that means its defense will be paper-thin, but with Sturdy it should be able to live a hit. If you can pull it off, it's a nice gimmick. Substitute would only break Sturdy because it requires 25% of Shuckle's health, and Shuckle doesn't have any means of recovery except for Leftovers, which I don't recommend giving it. The Rest/Sleep Talk combo would only take the spotlight off of other, more handy moves Shuckle has. This Pokémon is basically a one-way road: everybody knows exactly where you're going with this thing.

A shiny Shuckle in the anime.

But I don't love Shuckle because of its competitive utility; no, I love it for its design. I know it's a bug Pokémon, but it's so adorable. There are some bug types that have a couple of features that make them look kind of cute, but can you name one bug type that's as cute as Shuckle (and no, the recently announced Cutiefly for Pokémon Sun and Moon doesn't count)? I didn't think so. Given the organisms it may be based on, it's no mean feat to make it appear cute, though: Shuckle is based on an endolith, an organism that lives inside porous rocks or animal shells, and possibly also scale insects - small, shelled parasites that produce a sweet fluid called honeydew that attracts other insects. Shuckle does a similar thing: it likes to collect berries and store them in its shell, then liquefies and ferments them with its digestive juices for it to consume or be used to dissolve rocks with so that it can hide under them. But wait, does Shuckle ferment the collected berries with digestive juices or does it turn said barries into a unique juice? Bulbapedia claims it's both, although that website is just a source that keeps information about what the anime and games explicitly say about Shuckle, so blame it on Game Freak. Or Nintendo. Or The Pokémon Company.

Whatever, one of the three.

More anime Shuckle. Don't you think it looks adorable?

Anyway, other organisms Shuckle may be based on are mollusks - due to the use of acids to receive foods or break obstacles, the liking for fermented foods, the tendency to live near water, and the seemingly limp but actually muscular feet - and, appearance-wise, turtles and vases/jars. The Japanese tsubo, the Korean danji, the Chinese hú and the German Pott all mean 'jar' and refer to Shuckles tendency to store berries in its shell. Shuckle's Japanese and Mandarin Chinese names, Tsubotsubo (ツボツボ) and Húhú (壺壺), contain the words fujitsubo and ténghú, respectively, and both mean 'barnacle'. It's probably the holes in its shells rimmed with white that make it look barnacle-like, but I think that's a bit of a stretch.

I love Shuckle. I know I said I wouldn't ever use it anymore, but that doesn't mean I never tried. I had a Shuckle in Black 2 or White 2 (I forgot which one) and carried it around on my team. It already had Power Trick upon capture and I tried the tactic over and over again, but it was just way too unreliable and I boxed it before I got to the Pokémon League. However, I adored this thing even before that: Gold and Silver were my first Pokémon games, and I remember a PokéManiac in Cianwood City would offer you to take of his Shuckle named Shuckie for a while because he was scared of Team Rocket and wanted Shuckie to be taken care of by an experienced Trainer. I realized it wasn't very good in battles, but I kept it anyway (who didn't?) and stored it in the PC. I felt like such a thief, but at the same time I didn't care because I loved everything about that thing. And because I still have a love for this adorable critter, I'm giving it a perfect rating.

Rating: 5/5