I didn't know we could post our opinions of Sceptile here D: might as well get started, got a large opinion
Sceptile has two main sets, I know it can run Substitute but by running Substitute you lose out on Leaf Storm power (Leaf + Sub is silly) and you lose out on coverage. I don't think the benefits of Sub from avoiding Sucker Punch or status are truly worth losing the two of the things that Sceptile has that make it overwhelming in my opinion. The two sets are Mixed Attacker and Swords Dance, they are used so differently than one another so I'll talk about them separately.
Special Attacker
@ Life Orb
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Hidden Power Ice / Focus Blast
I personally run different EV Spreads on both that have different purposes, mainly more attack on Sceptile in order to get a 100% 2hko on bulky Xatu with Leftovers instead of Colbur since we lost Gurdurr/Sawk, but that's not important for this situation. With Sceptile's 120 Base Speed, it outpaces probably 95% of all the Pokemon you're allowed to use in the NU tier. Once you factor in the viability of all the Pokemon that outpace Sceptile without a Scarf, Swellow is the only Pokemon that outpaces it. After you factor in the inability for Swellow to effectively revenge kill without Choice Specs, allowing for easy capitalization post-death; I think that makes mixed Sceptile the most elite revenge killer we currently have in the tier. Like Teddeh said, its switch-ins are basically Sliggo, Abomasnow, Vileplume, Skuntank, Weezing, /Hariyama/, Ferroseed, and Gourg-XL (I added a few in based on set), with Sliggo being the best switchin to all of them. A lot of the Pokemon I mentioned are soft-checks to Sceptile; and by that I mean they're probably only good for one switch-in against Sceptile. Pokemon like Weezing, Hariyama, and Skuntank (Shuca or shaky) are often one time switch-ins due to the sheer power of Leaf Storm doing a lot to these Pokemon. While Abomasnow, Vileplume, Ferroseed, and Gourg-XL are able to take Leaf Storms like nothing, but risk Hidden Power Ice or Focus Blast that can 2hko their sets depending on EV Spread (worth saying a SpD invested Vileplume that doesn't mind tanking Sceptile Hidden Powers takes around 40 minimum from Lix Heavy Slam). To sum this paragraph up, while there are a fair amount of switch-ins to Sceptile, I find that a majority of them of those switch-ins that are easily worn down over the course of a game if they are being used to take on Sceptile attacks. And while the other switch-ins to have access to reliably recovery, those switch-ins are at risk at being 2hko'd by common moves on a Life Orb Sceptile set.
I run Naive on my Sceptiles due to people using priority as their main way to threaten and check Sceptile, while Hasty means I take more from the Mach Punches, Ice Shards, Fake Outs, Sucker Punches, and things of that nature. While offensive teams should not cannot solely rely on the ability to outpace Pokemon in order to threaten them out, and priority is the next most common way of checking offensive Pokemon. Sceptile's bulk without heavy HP investment is probably the largest thing it has going against it, not having large opportunities to switch into play without risk and not being able to live Sucker Punch from Shiftry occasionally after Stealth Rock damage are two examples of Sceptile's bad bulk and non-beneficial typing. The only flaw I find in this argument is how these Pokemon get into play against Sceptile, the Pokemon that I believe are able to threaten Sceptile with their priorities are Kangaskhan, Hariyama, Skuntank, Hitmonchan, Shiftry, Liepard, Piloswine and Abomasnow. Out of all of these Pokemon, the only Pokemon that is able to come in comfortably on Sceptile would be Hariyama. While Skuntank/Abomasnow can switch-in in a pinch like I said before, Skuntank takes a lot from Earthquake if it doesn't have the popular Shuca Berry, while it takes a solid chunk from Leaf Storm regardless, and Abomasnow doesn't enjoy taking Leaf Storm or Rock Slide, and if it's a mixed spread, it may run a -Def/-SpD nature if it decides Speed is important (imo it's vital to its success), so taking attacks wouldn't be its forte. While I concede that priority is a perfectly viable way to deal with Sceptile, but I do think it's unhealthy that in order to bring in those Pokemon who can check Sceptile, you would need to wait until after a death. Even though the priority from all of these Pokemon do not kill Sceptile, they all do at least 50% to Sceptile, and once you factor in Life Orb damage and possible hazards, Sceptile doesn't have much health left (then you get into Overgrow arguments and stuff and then the argument just gets weird). But yeah just to sum this paragraph up, while priority is a solid way of dealing with Sceptile, those users have a general inability to switch in effectively, and the priority from a majority of those Pokemon doesn't do an overwhelming amount that could force Sceptile out on a consistent basis.
Just for the record, the reason I didn't include Choice Scarf Pokemon revenging Sceptile in my priority/revenging paragraph is because Choiced items are supposed to aid Pokemon in doing things, . Specs/Band allow Pokemon to break through walls they previously weren't, and Scarf allows Pokemon to outpace Pokemon they weren't made to outpace originally. Mesprit, Jynx, Kabutops are all examples of relevant Choice Scarf Pokemon that have an ability to revenge Sceptile at any point.
Swords Dance
@ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 220 HP / 252 Atk / 36 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
While everybody has their certain preference upon how much HP their SD Sceptile runs in order to tank hits it normally doesn't take as well, this set is the premier late-game sweeper in the current tier. I also know a lot of people run SubSD Sceptile with Acrobatics, or even Acro > Rock Slide, but this is the set I've had the most success with, and I can only really talk from my experiences using this Pokemon. This set often does not come in play more than once per game, due to Sitrus Berry only having a one-time use to boost it's very slow Speed without investment, and you often don't want to reveal your set by bringing this in so early. Swords Dance may not aid Sceptile the power to break through Weezing, Steelix, and other Pokemon who have high Defense, it gives Sceptile enough power to break through once everything is weakened down. While I don't think is the broken set for Sceptile, the mixed attacker set is what gives this Pokemon its surprise value and set-up opportunities it may not find if this was the set everybody prepared for. Coverage wise this set is very strong since it carries almost the same coverage that mix Sceptile, and the extra bulk definitely allows it to live attacks easier, and even means revenging with priority is a tougher job since the HP investment of this set (220 HP) decreases the priority attacks by around 12-15% + Sitrus Berry creates an awkward scenario for all priority users, since 25% extra health means bulky Sceptile is harder to kill at that point. There are a plethora of Pokemon in the current tier that Sceptile can set-up a Swords Dance on at any time thanks to the 220 HP (or whatever you choose), and thanks to the Sitrus Berry, you gain 25% of health (If Steelix Heavy Slams this Sceptile and it does the max 72%, Sitrus Berry brings Sceptile back to 53% health which is very impressive). To sum this paragraph up, SD Sceptile finds multiple set-up opportunities late in the game thanks to its HP investment and amount of Pokemon it can set-up Swords Dances on without regret. Sitrus Berry is what allows Sceptile to not be worried about taking strong attacks, since the 25% HP addition doubles its Speed to unreachable heights and makes it harder for priority Pokemon to revenge.
If you guys hate creating/reading walls of text like I do, I summed up all my paragraphs in the last sentence of every one and turned it into my broad thoughts on Sceptile as a Pokemon. Read below if you skimmed this too, because this basically sums everything up,
Summary:
Sceptile is a fantastic Pokemon with blazing Speed that has redefined the offensive Speed tier in NU. There are a fair amount of switch-ins to Sceptile. I find that a majority of them of those switch-ins that are easily worn down over the course of a game if they are being used to take on Sceptile attacks. And while the other switch-ins to have access to reliably recovery, those switch-ins are at risk at being 2hko'd by common moves on a Life Orb Sceptile set. Priority is a solid way of dealing with Sceptile, except those users have a general inability to switch in effectively, creating a situation where you'd need to fodder something in order to effectively check Sceptile with these Pokemon. Priority from a majority of those Pokemon doesn't do an overwhelming amount that could force Sceptile out on a consistent basis. Swords Dance Sceptile acts as an incredible late-game cleaner thanks to its padded bulk and ability in Unburden that makes it near impossible to revenge after absorbing Sitrus Berry. SD Sceptile finds multiple set-up opportunities late in the game thanks to its HP investment and amount of Pokemon it can set-up Swords Dances on without regret. Sitrus Berry is what allows Sceptile to not be worried about taking strong attacks, since the 25% HP addition doubles its Speed to unreachable heights and makes it harder for priority Pokemon to revenge. I believe the pros of Sceptile outweigh the cons very heavily, resulting in my preference to
Ban Sceptile.
Man I wrote a lot I'm sorry ;_;
