Is Shuckle a Good Defender, or Just a Joke?
So yeah...I'm just wondering if Shuckle is actually a viable defender with its #1 defense stat, or if people only put him into gyms as a troll move. I haven't really battled one before, so I don't know how long he actually lasts in battle.
Answers
That'd work better, though i'd recommend not adding another normal tank if Blissey's there but no pokemon between them that resists fighting (for machamp) or steel (to slow metagross users), (Gyarados does both of these and has a fair bit of bulk) Chansey's a bit preferred over lax because its tankier, but snorlax does threaten damage much more.
Yes, Blissey and Snorlax are the supreme defenders. Even Chansey too for long term defense. After that if there are already those 2 mons in the gym, my next choice is Charizard. Some may argue on this but it's strong against Metagross, and resists Machamp usually, if the Champ doesn't know Rock Slide. Milotic is a great defender. So is Gyarados.
I'd say Snorlax isnt the supreme defender, at least not know, mostly due to effectiveness change, metagross and its loss of some defense. T2 defenders are metagross and milotic (and possibly still dragonite?). ITs still good, but it seems gyms are better made with more diverse types not just the full loaded normal tanks
With the addition to Snorlax's movepool, Outrage, I feel like it still should be considered a top tier defender, especially when paired with Blissey. A lot of pokemon can be great defenders in my opinion when they are paired with the right mons in the gyms.
But the gym system is attacker orientated. All you need to do is just tap relentlessly for a couple minutes then the gym is taken over. I'd like to see the gym system reworked and made tougher for the attackers, making certain pokemon who are generally better defenders more meta useful.
The gym system should be attacker oriented, after all, it's an AR game and your location is supposed to matter. The attacker is there in person, while the defender usually is not.
But the gym system has deeper flaws than the fact that all defenders are kinda bad if they aren't fed golden razz berries.
Also Outrage is pretty bad for defense due to being so slow. Anyone can dodge it easily.
In this game, HP is more important for tanking. Its low attack helps it a bit, as attackers gain energy a little slower, so they may need an extra fast move or two. But over all its not a tanky defender, but can stall enough to mildly annoy attackers, and the low CP makes it good for long term, as its something that wont lose motivation as fast and can give an extra second or two to GRB the big tanks. Though there are better tanky options, as its weak to the high DPS MM metagross and RS Rampardos
The best part about Shuckle as a Gym Defender is that it's virtually guaranteed to take 3 battles to take it out. Also, you can almost always toss a Shuckle onto a Gym. Can't say the same with most other "good" defenders. So if you're moving by a gym that has an open spot and you can't take much time to put a Defender on, if you have a Shuckle named in a way that it's on the top of your Named screen you are virtually guaranteed to get in the gym in the second or two that you have to put a Pokémon on there.
Other than those? No, Shuckle is not a good defender. I love putting it on because it always takes 3 Battles to remove it, but it's nothing more than an annoyance.
