How to Negate Wonder Guard: A Comprehensive Guide

Wonder Guard is an incredibly unique and powerful ability in the Pokémon world, belonging exclusively to Shedinja. It essentially grants immunity to all non-super-effective attacks and any indirect damage sources like poison or burn, making it seem almost invincible at first glance. However, like any seemingly unbreakable defense, Wonder Guard has its weaknesses and can be negated through several strategic approaches. This article provides a comprehensive guide on how to circumvent Wonder Guard, along with related FAQs to deepen your understanding.

Direct and Comprehensive Answer: How to Negate Wonder Guard

Wonder Guard’s power stems from its strict limitation of damage sources. To bypass it, you essentially need to either hit Shedinja with moves that are super-effective against its typing (Bug/Ghost) or exploit abilities and moves that ignore abilities or deal indirect damage. Here’s a breakdown of the most effective strategies:

Super-Effective Attacks

This is the most straightforward approach. Because Shedinja is a Bug/Ghost-type, it’s weak to:

• Fire-type moves
• Flying-type moves
• Rock-type moves
• Ghost-type moves
• Dark-type moves

Any of these types of attacks, when used by an opponent, will deal damage to Shedinja, potentially knocking it out since it has only 1 HP.

Abilities That Ignore Abilities

Several abilities can completely bypass Wonder Guard. The most prominent are:

• Mold Breaker: This ability allows attacks from Pokémon with Mold Breaker to hit through abilities that would otherwise nullify or hinder their moves.
• Teravolt: Similar to Mold Breaker, Teravolt allows moves to ignore opposing Pokémon abilities.
• Turboblaze: Like the other two, Turboblaze negates the effects of opposing abilities.

If a Pokémon with any of these abilities uses a direct attack against Shedinja, regardless of type effectiveness (except for Normal and Fighting types, to which Shedinja is immune), it will cause damage.

Moves That Ignore Abilities

Certain moves are designed to bypass abilities. Examples include:

• Sunsteel Strike: This is a powerful move used by Solgaleo and Dusk Mane Necrozma that directly bypasses abilities.
• Moongeist Beam: Lunaala and Dawn Wings Necrozma can use this move, which also ignores opposing abilities.

These moves deal damage to Shedinja regardless of whether the move is super-effective or not.

Indirect Damage

Wonder Guard protects against most sources of indirect damage; however, some exceptions exist:

• Entry Hazards: Spikes and Stealth Rock will deal damage to Shedinja upon switching into battle.
• Weather Effects: Hail and Sandstorm will inflict damage on Shedinja.
• Status Conditions: Poison (including Toxic) and Burn will also chip away at Shedinja’s health.
• Leech Seed: This move will damage Shedinja and heal the user each turn.

Specific Moves that Bypass Wonder Guard

• Beat Up, Bide, Doom Desire, Fire Fang, Future Sight, and Struggle will hit a Pokemon with Wonder Guard even if they are not super-effective.

By employing these strategies, you can effectively counteract the power of Wonder Guard and defeat Shedinja.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What happens if Wonder Guard is copied?

Role Play and Skill Swap do not work on Wonder Guard, as the ability prevents them from swapping or copying. However, if an opposing Pokémon uses Transform into a Pokémon with Wonder Guard, it will copy the ability.

2. Can Wonder Guard be Traced?

Yes, Trace can copy Wonder Guard. This means that a Pokemon with the Trace ability, upon entering the battle with a Shedinja, will copy its ability Wonder Guard.

3. Does Wandering Spirit work on Wonder Guard?

No, Wandering Spirit will not swap abilities with Wonder Guard. The ability prevents this.

4. Can Shedinja be made invincible with Sturdy?

While the idea of combining Sturdy with Wonder Guard for invincibility is enticing, it’s not a practical strategy. The moves and setup required to skill swap Sturdy onto a Shedinja are incredibly situational, difficult to perform, and not consistent enough to make Shedinja truly invincible.

5. Why does Shedinja have only 1 HP?

Shedinja is intentionally designed with only 1 HP to balance its incredibly powerful Wonder Guard ability. This prevents Shedinja from being an unstoppable force and ensures it can be defeated using super-effective moves or indirect damage.

6. Does holding an Air Balloon make Shedinja unkillable?

Holding an Air Balloon can make Shedinja immune to Ground-type moves for the short time that the balloon is available, which is advantageous as it’s only weak to 5 types. However, an Air Balloon is not a reliable strategy to make Shedinja unkillable, because it can be popped by a direct attack or entry hazards. Further, an air balloon does not make it immune to direct super-effective hits.

7. Is it difficult to catch Shedinja?

In Pokémon GO, Shedinja is indeed difficult to catch due to its high capture rate and extremely high capture circle. In core Pokemon games, Shedinja appears automatically when you evolve Nincada, therefore it’s not difficult to catch them.

8. How do you get Shedinja?

You obtain Shedinja by evolving Nincada into Ninjask at level 20. If you have an open slot in your party and at least one Pokéball in your bag, a level 1 Shedinja will automatically appear in your party as well.

9. Can Shedinja use a Master Ball?

Shedinja does not require a specific Poké Ball; any Pokéball will work, and they will automatically appear when you evolve Nincada.

10. Does Wonder Guard work with Substitute?

Yes, if Shedinja has a Substitute, the Wonder Guard ability will still protect it against non-super-effective attacks. Damage will be applied to the substitute as usual for non-wonder guard bypassing moves.

11. Is Wonder Guard the most powerful ability?

While Wonder Guard is undeniably powerful, it’s not without counters. Other abilities like Huge Power, Prankster, Speed Boost and Intimidate can be considered stronger due to their broad impact and versatility in battle. However, the article sourced actually ranked it at #4 making it one of the most powerful abilities.

12. Does Mold Breaker Ignore Shell Armor?

Yes, Mold Breaker ignores a variety of abilities, including Shell Armor. It essentially negates the defensive effect that Shell Armor provides, allowing for critical hits against Pokémon using it.

13. What abilities are not ignored by Mold Breaker?

Mold Breaker does not ignore the effects of Aura Break, Magic Guard, Comatose, Shields Down, Full Metal Body, Shadow Shield, and Prism Armor.

14. Is Shedinja a good Pokémon?

Shedinja is a very niche Pokémon. Its Wonder Guard ability can make it incredibly powerful under certain circumstances. However, it also has very common weaknesses (Fire, Flying, Dark, Ghost, and Rock), and its 1 HP makes it very fragile to those weaknesses.

15. What Pokémon has the fewest weaknesses?

Pokemon like Spiritomb, Aegislash, Bronzong, Aggron and Lapras are known to have very few type weaknesses.

By understanding the nuances of Wonder Guard and the various strategies that can negate it, you can effectively counter Shedinja in battle and utilize these strategies for yourself. This knowledge provides a significant advantage in Pokémon battles.