Pokemon Shaymin event
Shaymin is now available to download via Mystery Gift for a limited time The Pokémon Company

The monthly mythical Pokemon giveaway continues and this month's legendary event creature is Shaymin – an adorable Grass-type available to download until X for on Pokémon X and Y and Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

A double bubble event saw Mew and Manaphy take the limelight in June, but Shaymin is a great addition to your Pokedex and battle-ready party. The leafy hedgehog is the latest, rare pocket monster to receive its own event thanks to a year-long celebration honouring the Pokémon franchises's 20th Anniversary.

The event runs until 24 July, so grab your Nintendo 3DS and follow these easy steps:

  1. Start any of the 6<sup>th Generation Pokémon games
  2. Select the Mystery Gift > Receive Gift options from the main menu
  3. Make sure your Nintendo 3DS is connected to Wi-Fi and choose Get Via Internet
  4. Once the download finishes start your game as normal
  5. Head to any Pokémon Center and speak with the special delivery NPC to receive Shaymin in-game

Your hedgehog friend will be pre-levelled to level 100 upon collection, although pro-trainers will want to save their game before collecting the critter as you can then reset your game until you get a nature and IV spread that suits a competitive build. If you are in the market for a pro-Shaymin then below are a few tips to get you started.

Shaymin best nature, IVs, EVs, moves, ability and Sky Forme tips

As with Mew, Manaphy and many of the cutesy event legendary Pokémon, Shaymin is hampered slightly by a 100 base stat spread. In its hog-form, Shaymin is relatively poor, although does find some utility in Sub-Seed builds thanks to its inherent resistances as a Grass-type (specifically Ground and Water attacks).

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Where Shaymin comes into its own is its 'Sky Forme'. With a Gracidea in hand, Shaymin transforms into the fearsome Grass/Flying and boasts some serious flower power. Commonly referred to as Shaymin-S, this winged menace is capable of frustrating most opposition Pokémon due to the flinch-heavy synergy between its ability Serene Grace and its 'STAB' Flying move Air Slash.

With Seed Flare also boasting a mammoth 120 damage power (and a 40% chance to drop the target's Special Defense), Shaymin-S is best used as a revenge-killer (holding a Choice Scarf) or an all-out wall-breaker (using a Life Orb). Earth Power and Hidden Power (Ice or Fire) are useful coverage options, although a Life Orb Shaymin-S also benefits from a Sub-Seed strategy.

IVs and EVs should all be aimed towards high Speed and Special Attack, with any remaining EVs pooled into HP for an extra bit of bulk.

With Shaymin out the way, next month trainers are in for a treat, as the closest thing the Pokémon world has to a 'God' returns – the "Alpha Pokémon" and the all-round strongest beast across the entire series, Arceus. We absolutely can't wait.

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