Shadow Annihilape
Attack
Defense
Stamina
Best Movesets
Offense
- Counter and Close Combat is easily the best moveset that Shadow Annihilape can use on offense.
- Shadow Ball is a great move, but Shadow Annihilape has no Fast Move to capitalize on it.
- Rage Fist is identical to Shadow Ball in raids.
- Low Kick, Low Sweep, Night Slash and Ice Punch are all pretty bad for Shadow Annihilape.... and objectively mediocre at best.
Defense
- Counter is outright better than Low Kick once again.
- Close Combat takes far too long to use and makes Shadow Annihilape easy to wall by anything that resists Fighting Type moves.
- Low Sweep comes out frequently, but it's another move that can leave Shadow Annihilape easy to wall.
- Night Slash has counter-coverage some of against Shadow Annihilape's counters and comes out frequently, making it a prime choice for defense.
- Ice Punch has a chance to fire once against Rayquaza and Mega Rayquaza, hardly even view Shadow Annihilape as a speed-bump. It's also got good coverage against a number of common gym-cleaners.
- Shadow Ball and Rage Fist are fairly easy to dodge, but they also boast perfect neutral coverage alongside Counter, making them very much worth considering.
Counter remains a solid Fast Move in Pokemon Go PvP, hitting hard and generating decent energy.
Rage Fist, Shadow Annihilape's Community Day move, is one of the best Charged Attacks in the game. It provides nearly unresisted damage when combined with Counter, and its low cost, decent DPE, and attack boosts make Shadow Annihilape a frightening sweeper. Close Combat is generally preferred for raw power, as Rage Fist already provides coverage. Ice Punch can be used to cover for certain threats. Shadow Ball is an option to provide even more deadly Ghost-type coverage, but Rage Fist + Shadow Ball does make Shadow Annihilape entirely reliant on Counter to get past Normal- and Dark-type Pokemon. Night Slash is a good move, but is outclassed entirely by Rage Fist.
Annihilape is a strong offensive Pokemon in the Great League that gains more defensive power from HP than Defense, so the Shadow boost actually allows it to do most of its job better than its basic forme. It will go down faster, but it can also score some wins that basic Annihilape can't quite muster.
