How does Nincada lose so much defense after evolving?

Jan. 22, 2015

From 90 to 45! How?

Pleaselog inorregisterto add a comment.

Because it sheds its husk to become lighter and faster and leaves the husk behind. It sacrifices toughness for flight and speed. Interestingly, both Ninjask and Shedinja have a base Defense of 45, exactly half of Nincada’s.

I personally believe that Nincada’s Defense is just naturally high, but when it evolves, it splits into two parts: Ninjask and Shedinja. Its high Defense as a young Pokemon must be split equally between its two evolutions to keep a balance. Also, Nincada’s priority was storing power for evolution, so it had to be defensive often, while Ninjask’s only priority is to go fast. Shedinja has no soul and no priorities. Period. It just maintains the balance between the two. (I mean, seriously. Imagine a Ninjask that could actually take hits well… With that high Speed and Swords Dance, it’d be GG to the metagame.)