Shedinja (Japanese: ヌケニン Nukenin) is a dual-type Bug/Ghost Pokémon introduced in Generation III.
It is considered a special evolution of Nincada, appearing only when Nincada evolves into Ninjask starting at level 20, as long as there is an extra space in the player's party and an extra Poké Ball in the player's bag. An extra Poké Ball is not necessary to obtain Shedinja in Generation III.
Biology
Shedinja is a Pokémon based on a cicada's shed exoskeleton. Most of its body is light brown, but the abdomen is gray. It has four protrusions on its underside instead of legs; the top pair is brown, while the lower is gray. There are round protrusions on the side of its head with narrow slits for eyes. Two lines encircle its abdomen and a white halo floats above its head. On its back is a pair of tattered wings divided into three wingtips. A hole between its wings reveals that its body is completely hollow and dark, as it possesses no internal organs. It is said that looking into this empty space will steal one's spirit. Its shell is very hard, which gives it strong defense but renders it incapable of movement. It does not breathe and floats without moving its wings. It lives in tropical and temperate forests.
In the anime
Major appearances
Shedinja debuted in The Princess and the Togepi, under the ownership of Colonel Hansen. It was his main battling Pokémon. It reappeared in A Togepi Mirage!, where it was eventually defeated by Misty's Gyarados's Flamethrower.
Minor appearances
A Coordinator's Shedinja made cameos in Hi Ho Silver Wind! and Deceit and Assist, where it was seen competing in the Hoenn Grand Festival. Another Shedinja also appeared in a cameo in a visualization in the former episode.
A Coordinator's Shedinja appeared in The Saffron Con.
A Trainer's Shedinja appeared in A Relay in the Sky!, where it was a participant in the Pokémon Sky Relay. It was in a team also consisting of Vibrava and Ninjask.
Pokédex entries
In the manga
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
Shedinja first appeared in Can I Ninjask You a Question?, when Aqua Admin Amber, having been deprived of his Pokémon after being abandoned by Archie, borrowed a Nincada from his comrade Shelly, which then immediately evolves into a Ninjask, putting Wattson in quite a pinch with the incredible speed it gained by the minute. Although the old Gym Leader eventually managed to defeat it, a Shedinja formed from the shell Ninjask shed and attacked him from behind, sending him sinking into the ocean.
In Sneaky Like Shedinja, Greta used Shedinja to exploit its Wonder Guard Ability, as well as the fact that it has one base HP, requiring no items to resuscitate itself.
In A Dust-Up With Dusclops, a Shedinja was used by Emerald in his Battle Pyramid challenge.
A student's Shedinja appeared in Movie Panic.
In the TCG
- Main article: Shedinja (TCG)
Other appearances
Shedinja appears as a Spirit. In the Spirit Battle, Shedinja, depicted as a yellow Mr. Game & Watch, has only 1 HP, but Wonder Guard is depicted as giving Shedinja complete invincibility for 90% of the match. However, the invincibility is disabled periodically for about a second, allowing the player to KO Shedinja with just one hit.
Game data
Pokédex entries
| This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation III.
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| Generation III
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Hoenn
#044
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Kanto
#—
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| Ruby
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Shedinja's hard body doesn't move - not even a twitch. In fact, its body appears to be merely a hollow shell. It is believed that this Pokémon will steal the spirit of anyone peering into its hollow body from its back.
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| Sapphire
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Shedinja is a peculiar Pokémon. It seems to appear unsought in a Poké Ball after a Nincada evolves. This bizarre Pokémon is entirely immobile - it doesn't even breathe.
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| Emerald
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A peculiar Pokémon that floats in air even though its wings remain completely still. The inside of its body is hollow and utterly dark.
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| FireRed
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A most peculiar Pokémon that somehow appears in a Poké Ball when a Nincada evolves.
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| LeafGreen
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| Generation IV
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Sinnoh
#—
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Johto
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| Diamond
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A discarded bug shell that came to life. Peering into the crack on its back is said to steal one's spirit.
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| Pearl
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| Platinum
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| HeartGold
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A strange Pokémon--it flies without moving its wings, has a hollow shell for a body, and does not breathe.
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| SoulSilver
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| Generation V
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Unova
#—
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| Black
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A discarded bug shell that came to life. Peering into the crack on its back is said to steal one's spirit.
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| White
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| Black 2
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A discarded bug shell that came to life. Peering into the crack on its back is said to steal one's spirit.
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| White 2
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| Generation VI
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Kalos
Central #113
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Hoenn
#045
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| X
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A discarded bug shell that came to life. Peering into the crack on its back is said to steal one's spirit.
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| Y
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A most peculiar Pokémon that somehow appears in a Poké Ball when a Nincada evolves.
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| Omega Ruby
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Shedinja’s hard body doesn’t move—not even a twitch. In fact, its body appears to be merely a hollow shell. It is believed that this Pokémon will steal the spirit of anyone peering into its hollow body from its back.
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| Alpha Sapphire
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Shedinja is a peculiar Pokémon. It seems to appear unsought in a Poké Ball after a Nincada evolves. This bizarre Pokémon is entirely immobile—it doesn’t even breathe.
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Game locations
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In side games
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In events
Stats
Base stats
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Range
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| At Lv. 50
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At Lv. 100
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1
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1 - 1
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1 - 1
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90
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85 - 156
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166 - 306
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45
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45 - 106
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85 - 207
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30
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31 - 90
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58 - 174
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30
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31 - 90
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58 - 174
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40
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40 - 101
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76 - 196
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Total: 236
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Other Pokémon with this total
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- Minimum stats are calculated with 0 EVs, IVs of 0, and (if applicable) a hindering nature.
- Maximum stats are calculated with 252 EVs, IVs of 31, and (if applicable) a helpful nature.
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Pokéathlon stats
Type effectiveness
| Under normal battle conditions in Generation IX, this Pokémon is:
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Shedinja can also be damaged by Struggle and any of the Shadow moves from Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD. The moves Beat Up, Future Sight, and Doom Desire can hit Shedinja prior to Generation V.
In the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, the standard A-button tackle will do one HP damage. In Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team, foe Shedinja always has a maximum of 5 HP, whereas in Explorers of Time, Explorers of Darkness and Explorers of Sky, foe Shedinja always has a maximum of 10 HP. However, as a team member, Shedinja's HP is not capped.
Learnset
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- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Shedinja
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Shedinja
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see level-up moves from other generations
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- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Shedinja
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Shedinja
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see TM moves from other generations
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- Moves marked with an asterisk (*) must be chain bred onto Shedinja in Generation VII
- Moves marked with a double dagger (‡) can only be bred from a Pokémon who learned the move in an earlier generation.
- Moves marked with a superscript game abbreviation can only be bred onto Shedinja in that game.
- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Shedinja
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Shedinja
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see Egg moves from other generations
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- A black or white abbreviation in a colored box indicates that Shedinja can be tutored the move in that game
- A colored abbreviation in a white box indicates that Shedinja cannot be tutored the move in that game
- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Shedinja
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Shedinja
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see Move Tutor moves from other generations
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- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Shedinja
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Shedinja
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see moves from other generations
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Side game data
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Pokémon Ranger
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Poké Assist:
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Field move:
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None
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| Loops: 6
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Min. exp.: 36
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Max. exp.: 70
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Browser entry R-033
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| Shedinja is difficult to capture because it fades in and out of view.
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Evolution
Note: The Poké Ball has to be a regular Poké Ball.
Note: In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness, Shedinja will not be mentioned when evolving Nincada, but will subsequently appear in Chimecho's Assembly.
Sprites
| This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation III.
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Trivia
- From Generation IV onwards, a basic Poké Ball (a requirement for evolution) is removed from the Bag upon evolution to produce a Shedinja. In Generation III, Shedinja instead copied the ball Nincada was in; this is the only legitimate way to get a Shedinja in a non-standard Poké Ball.
- No other Pokémon has the same type combination as Shedinja.
- Shedinja has the lowest base stat total of all Ghost-type Pokémon, and the lowest base Special Defense stat of all Ghost-type Pokémon.
- Shedinja is the only evolved Pokémon that has a lower base stat total than its pre-evolved form.
- Shedinja is one of only three Pokémon (other than baby Pokémon) to have a different Egg Group than its evolutionary relatives, being in the Mineral Egg Group while Nincada and Ninjask are in the Bug Egg Group. (The other two Pokémon that share this trait are Nidorina and Nidoqueen, which are both in the Undiscovered group.) However, because it has no gender, it cannot breed with Pokémon other than Ditto.
- Shedinja inherits the same game of origin, personality value, IVs, EVs, OT, Trainer ID number and Secret ID number, and met location as the Nincada that shed it. It also inherits the Pokérus if the Nincada had it. Among other things, due to keeping the same game of origin, personality value, and Trainer and Secret ID numbers, Shedinja will be Shiny if and only if the Nincada was Shiny.
- The Shedinja shed from a Nincada has no nickname, and the player is not given an opportunity to nickname it. The only way to give Shedinja a nickname is for the Nincada's original Trainer to take it to a Name Rater.
- Shedinja's Wonder Guard Ability renders it immune to 13 of 18 attack types, the most of any Pokémon; four of these immunities (to Ice, Bug, Steel, and Fairy) are entirely unique to Shedinja. This also gives it a few further distinctions:
- Prior to Generation V, if Nincada learns a move upon evolving into Ninjask, Shedinja will also know this move. This means that Shedinja can learn any of Ninjask's level up moves starting at level 20, but can only simultaneously have multiple of them if they are learned at the same level. From Generation V onward, Shedinja starts with the moves Nincada knew prior to evolution.
- Shedinja is the only genderless Pokémon that can learn Egg Moves (as a Nincada). Staryu and Starmie have Egg Moves programmed into their data in Pokémon Gold and Silver, but there is no way for them to learn these moves.
- Even though looking into the crack on Shedinja's back is said to steal one's spirit, all of Shedinja's back sprites display it perfectly, yet no negative effects happen to the player in-game.
- Shedinja is the only Pokémon in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team to be able to change its name.
- In Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon, wild Shedinja will spawn on any tile where a wild Nincada was defeated after several turns have passed. They move once every two turns and do not attack. Additionally, other wild Pokémon will try to attack the wild Shedinja if they are nearby, allowing them to evolve without defeating the player or their allies if they succeed in causing it to faint.
- Shedinja is the only Pokémon with a base stat total of 236.
1 HP trivia
Shedinja has many unique characteristics derived from the fact that it has only 1 HP:
- Shedinja is the only Pokémon to have a stat not calculated by the standard formula; if it were, Shedinja would have at least 11 HP even at level 1.
- Shedinja is the only Pokémon that cannot gain any additional HP EVs.
- Having only 1 HP, Shedinja's Defense and Special Defense stats normally have no practical purpose in battle. However, if Shedinja receives a substitute through Baton Pass, its Defense and Special Defense are factored into damage the substitute takes. Shedinja's Defense and Special Defense stats also become relevant if a Pokémon uses Transform on it or if Shedinja uses Power Trick (via Mimic), or if an opponent has Download
- From Generation IV onward, Shedinja is the only Pokémon that can knock itself out from full health with the recoil damage from Struggle.
- Outside of battle, Shedinja immediately recovers from poison after four steps in Generation IV; in Generation III, it will immediately faint after four steps.
- Despite it being able to learn Substitute, Bide, and Rest, they will always fail; consequently, the only way Shedinja can have a substitute is via Baton Pass.
- Although Shedinja can learn Sandstorm, it cannot normally use it without making itself faint without Safety Goggles.
- If Shedinja uses Pain Split (via Mimic), it will cut the target's HP in half, similarly to Super Fang.
- Shedinja is the only Pokémon that has its HP restored to maximum when leveled up with a Rare Candy (prior to Generation VI) or revived with a Revive.
- In Generation V onward, if a Shedinja has Sturdy (for example, being hit by Worry Seed followed by Skill Swap with something with Sturdy), it can survive any damaging move or confusion damage.
- If a Shedinja is holding a Focus Sash, it can survive any single damaging move (unless it's multi-hit) or instance of confusion damage.
- Shedinja is the only Pokémon that will never recover HP using an HP-draining move.
Origin
Bulbanews has an article related to this subject:
It is based on the shed husk that cicadas leave behind when they finish their metamorphosis into adults. Concerning its species' ninja theme, it also appears to be a reference to the fabled ninjutsu technique 空蝉 utsusemi, where a ninja uses a dummy or replica of itself to evade and escape from threats, and where its namesake also alludes to the cast off shed husk of a cicada. It may also be based on a guardian angel, due to the halo-like object floating above its head. Its Ability Wonder Guard probably alludes to this.
Name origin
Shedinja is a combination of shed (to cast off skin or exoskeleton) and ninja.
Nukenin is a pun on 抜け忍 nukenin, a term for ninja who have abandoned their clan and lord. It also combines 抜け殻 nukegara (casting off skin) and ninja.
In other languages
| Language
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Title
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Meaning
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 Japanese
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ヌケニン Nukenin
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Pun on 抜け忍 nukenin, from 抜け殻 nukegara and ninja
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 French
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Munja
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From mue and ninja
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 Spanish
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Shedinja
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Same as English name
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 German
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Ninjatom
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From Ninja and Phantom
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 Italian
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Shedinja
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Same as English name
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 Korean
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껍질몬 Kkubjilmon
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From 껍질 kkeop'jil and monster
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 Mandarin Chinese
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脫殼忍者 / 脱壳忍者 Tuōkérěnzhě''
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Literally "Shedding ninja". May also be from 金蟬脫殼 Jīnchán tuōké
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 Cantonese Chinese
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| More languages
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 Hindi
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शेडिंजा Shedinja
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Transcription of English name
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 Russian
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Шединья Shedin'ya
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Transcription of English name
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External links
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This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.
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For other sprites and images, please see Shedinja images on the Bulbagarden Archives.
