RU Spotlight: Scrafty

By ScraftyIsTheBest. Art by brightobject.
« Previous Article Home Next Article »

History

Scrafty art by brightobject

Scrafty was one of the many Pokémon introduced in Pokémon Black and White, and it started off as one of the most interesting Pokémon to have entered the competitive scene. Aside from its interesing design that somewhat resembles a human stereotype, it boasted the then-unique Fighting / Dark type combination, which was notable for having unresisted coverage between the two types alone. Scrafty also boasted two boosting moves in Dragon Dance and Bulk Up and two great abilities in Moxie and Shed Skin, respectively, to complement those moves. It could use Dragon Dance in tandem with Moxie, which made it more powerful with every KO to sweep teams from the get-go with High Jump Kick and Crunch. It could also use Bulk Up in tandem with Shed Skin and Drain Punch to become an incredibly durable Pokémon with its decent 65 / 115 / 115 defenses. With these in mind, Scrafty initially started off BW as an OU Pokémon. It saw decent usage throughout BW due to this, but because its Attack and Speed fell short with only base 90 Attack and base 58 Speed, Scrafty turned out to be rather lacking in performance and easy to revenge kill, and being weak to two relatively common offensive types didn't help it at all either; therefore, it fell to UU as BW2 rolled along.

Scrafty performed decently in BW UU, doing the same things it did before, but its flaws still hurt it, albeit in a much lesser scale. However, its effectiveness as a Dragon Dance and Bulk Up user, both as a good Fighting-type sweeper with capable bulk, made it a solid Pokémon. Being outsped by Crobat and Choice Scarf Mienshao was a huge letdown, but Scrafty stood out with good bulk, Moxie, and the ability to effectively take on Cofagrigus and Chandelure, two prominent Ghost-types of the tier.

Following into XY, Scrafty remained in the UU tier, and it gained little besides a buffed Knock Off, which helped it to some extent. However, the introduction of Fairy-type Pokémon such as Florges and Aromatisse was in no way helpful to Scrafty, and the metagame had become significantly more powerful as a whole, leaving Scrafty to bite the dust. It performed even worse in the new ORAS metagame, so much to the point where it was widely considered the worst Pokémon in the UU tier.

While it took a long time, Scrafty's long-awaited fall to RU finally happened in May 2015. While little was initially expected out of it, as many expected it to be "just a good Pokémon", Scrafty has instead proven to be one of RU's deadliest threats. Its Dragon Dance set has proven itself a lethal sweeper, boasting good bulk and an excellent STAB combination that allow it to sweep teams very effectively, and its slew of viable items, abilities, and movepool options makes it a very flexible and deadly sweeper. While it may not be the most overpowered addition to RU, Scrafty has certainly shaped up to become an excellent addition to its new tier, and it is quite close to being what it was meant to be: the best.

Scrafty's qualities

Scrafty's most notable trait that allows it to stand out is its rather rare Dark / Fighting typing. This type combination gives Scrafty almost unresisted coverage, only being able to be stopped by Fairy-types, namely Aromatisse and Togetic. It notably boasts two powerful STAB moves: High Jump Kick and Knock Off, with the latter allowing Scrafty to remove items from its targets as a bonus. Scrafty also comes with the coveted Dragon Dance, allowing it to become a faster and stronger sweeper with boosts in tow by patching up its merely passable base 90 Attack and poor base 58 Speed. Scrafty's abilities are also quite excellent. Moxie allows Scrafty to become more powerful with each KO, making it much harder to stop as it sweeps through a team. Shed Skin, on the other hand, allows Scrafty to occasionally shrug off paralysis and burns that may neuter Scrafty's chances of sweeping. Its hidden ability, Intimidate, is also very good, as it allows Scrafty to be more flexible and potentially weaken physical attackers, which it then can capitalize on by using its STAB combination to pose a threat.

Playing with Scrafty

Scrafty

The most prominent way to play with Scrafty is with a Dragon Dance set. With such a set, Scrafty aims to set up on slower Pokémon or ones that it can force out, such as Choice-locked Psychic-types. After Scrafty has set up, make use of its powerful STAB combination with High Jump Kick and Knock Off to effectively sweep a team. Its respectable bulk will allow it to set up Dragon Dance boosts effectively, and while its weaknesses are quite bad, its Psychic immunity is certainly helpful.

One of Scrafty's greatest traits is its flexibility. Though it really has only one set, Scrafty's lone Dragon Dance set is incredibly flexible and can be catered to suit your team's sweeping needs. Scrafty is very versatile in the combinations of items and abilities it can use to be tailored to suit your team. It can run Lum Berry in tandem with Moxie in order to be a flat-out offensive sweeper that snowballs a team, or it can run Shed Skin with a Berry that neutralizes one of its weaknesses to avoid being revenge killed or even bypass Fairy-types. It can also run Intimidate to further ease setup.

Scrafty

Despite how incredible Scrafty's Dragon Dance set is, that's not all it can do. It can also run a Choice Band set to hit hard immediately, and it can run Intimidate to force switches and capitalize on them with a powerful High Jump Kick or Knock Off, putting a heavy dent in the switch-in. Scrafty also boasts good coverage in Iron Head or Poison Jab to hurt Aromatisse and Togetic. It can also utilize Drain Punch to hit fairly hard while slightly restoring its HP. In short, with such qualities, Scrafty can prove to be quite a capable wallbreaker.

Playing against Scrafty

Fairy-types are your best friends when it comes to taking down Scrafty. They resist its powerful STAB combination and can hit it extremely hard with their own STAB moves. Aromatisse and Togetic are both excellent examples of these. Aromatisse in particular walls Scrafty quite effectively and can OHKO it with Moonblast. Alternatively, revenge killing Scrafty is also a viable way to defeat it. Fletchinder in particular can OHKO Scrafty with its Gale Wings Acrobatics, stopping it from sweeping. Jolteon is naturally faster than even a boosted Scrafty and can revenge kill Scrafty if it has been sufficiently weakened. Psychic-types such as Mesprit and Uxie have access to Dazzling Gleam, making them good options to lure in Scrafty and OHKO it, as Scrafty may want to use both of these Pokémon as setup bait. Beyond that, the best way to stop Scrafty from sweeping is to stop it from boosting at all. In particular, Hitmonlee does this quite well, as do Virizion and Choice Scarf Emboar.

Fitting Scrafty onto your team

Because Scrafty is such a flexible Pokémon, it can fit on many different offensive builds. It can fit on hyper offensive teams with a set using Moxie and a Lum Berry. Alternatively, Scrafty can also fit on bulky offense archetypes with either more defensive Dragon Dance sets or a Choice Band set. With such flexibility and an overall threatening presence in the metagame, Scrafty will almost always be an excellent selection for your offensive team.

As far as teammates go, Mesprit makes for an incredible teammate for Scrafty, supporting it by setting up Stealth Rock and ultimately making use of Healing Wish to allow Scrafty a second chance at sweeping if needed. Mesprit can also handle Fighting-types such as Medicham and Hitmonlee fairly well, which could hinder Scrafty's chances of setting up. Likewise, Scrafty can support Mesprit by dealing with Dark-types such as Spiritomb and Drapion.

Scrafty also appreciates the presence of Pokémon that can effectively remove Fairy-types. Escavalier is an excellent choice to take down Aromatisse and Togetic, and it can also wallbreak with a strong Megahorn, making it easier for Scrafty to sweep a team. Mega Steelix is also an excellent teammate, as it can remove Fairy-types while also providing Stealth Rock support and a reliable counter to Jolteon and Braviary. Scrafty also appreciates wallbreakers to help weaken the opposing team, as it does not boast that much immediate power. Mega Glalie and Tyrantrum excel at wallbreaking while handling Flying-types such as Golbat and Braviary, which could threaten Scrafty.

Get out there!

As a Pokémon clearly designed to be the best, Scrafty's newfound home in RU gives it a chance to prove itself as such. It is, by far, the most customizable and flexible sweeper in the tier, and its incredible STAB combination makes it an incredibly dangerous one as well. So get out there and use Scrafty, and should you use it well, it will be what it was meant to be: the best.

« Previous Article Home Next Article »