Shadow Rider Calyrex Tends to Be More Useful In Battle

As a passionate Pokemon gamer and content creator myself, I love analyzing the stats, moves, and viability of new legendary Pokemon. And when it comes to Crown Tundra‘s mighty leader Calyrex, its Shadow Rider fusion is generally considered the superior form for competitive play for several reasons.

Unmatched Speed and Special Attack

Shadow Rider Calyrex reaches staggering levels of Speed and Special Attack – critical stats for sweeping teams in today‘s metagame. With max investment, it hits Speed and Sp. Atk stats of 150 and 167 respectively:

This allows it to outpace the vast majority of the metagame and hit opposing teams extremely hard before they can react. And with solid 100/100/100 bulk backing it up, Shadow Rider Calyrex can take a hit or two as well.

Its signature move, Astral Barrage, hits hard coming off that sky-high Special Attack too. And thanks to its excellent Psychic/Ghost STAB combination, it has fantastic neutral coverage to plow through teams.

Snowballs Matches with As One Ability

Shadow Rider‘s exclusive As One ability provides a unique snowball effect as well. After every knockout, its Attack and Special Attack rise to build up its sweeping power.

After just a couple of quick knockouts, Shadow Rider Calyrex hits devastating stat levels that can break through entire teams. This ability synergizes perfectly with its fast and hard-hitting Astral Barrages.

Excellent Typing and Movepool

Beyond raw stats and abilities, Shadow Rider Calyrex also benefits tremendously from its Psychic/Ghost typing granted by Spectrier. This gives it:

• Solid STAB priority in Shadow Ball/Shadow Claw
• Immunity to Normal and Fighting
• Key resistances to Bug, Poison, Psychic, etc.
• Only 2 weaknesses to Dark and Ghost

Compared to Ice Rider‘s 4 weaknesses and less useful STAB priority in Glacial Lance, Shadow Rider clearly pulls ahead in defensive utility as well.

Add in fantastic coverage options like Nasty Plot, Substitute, Calm Mind, and more that accentuate its sweeping potential and it‘s easy to see why Shadow Rider Calyrex is often the competitive fusion of choice over its Ice Rider counterpart.

Casual Players May Still Enjoy Ice Rider‘s Unique Pros

Now I don‘t want to discount Ice Rider Calyrex too much – it still boasts fantastic stats and can play more of a tank role with significantly greater Defense and HP thanks to Glastrier. So more casual players may enjoy its unique strengths and playstyle as well.

But when it comes to competitive viability, Shadow Rider Calyrex overshadows with its unparalled mix of speed, power, and coverage that dominates Dynamax-less metagames. So while both legendaries have their niche, Shadow Rider stands above in Smogon OU and Battle Stadium Singles formats.

Those are my in-depth thoughts on why Shadow Rider Calyrex tends to be the superior fusion for veteran competitive players. Let me know in the comments which form you prefer to use and why! I‘m always eager to hear other gamers‘ perspectives.