Moves

Pursuit punishes switches from Pokemon like Reuniclus, Latios, and Alakazam and forces them into a dangerous guessing game: stay in and get KOed by Bullet Punch, or switch and get KOed by Pursuit. Pursuit also has the notable benefit of hitting Jellicent super effectively. Superpower provides good neutral coverage against Pokemon like Keldeo, Politoed, and Skarmory and OHKOes Heatran, Magnezone, and Ferrothorn.

Quick Attack can also be used over one of the coverage moves, most commonly Superpower, to better threaten faster Pokemon that resist Bullet Punch, like Thundurus-T, Keldeo, and Volcarona. Bug Bite lets Scizor OHKO Reuniclus at +2 and Latios unboosted, and it provides a reliable STAB move to hit Water-types like Rotom-W and Gastrodon. However, dropping Superpower leaves Scizor walled by common Steel-types, while dropping Pursuit causes the same with Jellicent.

Set Details

Scizor can run a Jolly nature to outspeed all Magnezone lacking Choice Scarf, Jellicent, Adamant Breloom, and defensive Jirachi. However, the lack of power compared to Adamant is generally not worth it.

Team Options

Scizor best fits on weatherless hyper offense teams that need a check to Psychic-types while performing as a sweeper. Pursuit trapping Choice Scarf Latios is especially critical for sweepers such as Dragonite, Garchomp, and Volcarona to function, while breaking Alakazam's Focus Sash and weakening Reuniclus opens up Swords Dance Breloom and Terrakion. Garchomp and Dragonite can wear down and remove checks like Heatran, Keldeo, and Rotom-W so Scizor can sweep with Bullet Punch late-game. Lum Berry Volcarona appreciates Alakazam's Focus Sash being broken so it can't stop it with Thunder Wave and Tyranitar being worn down. Breloom pressures Water-types like Gastrodon and Rotom-W and can work with Scizor to remove faster threats with Mach Punch. Air Balloon Starmie removes entry hazards so Scizor can more easily set up on and take attacks from Pokemon like Latios and Kyurem-B; Scizor also benefits from Starmie wearing down Keldeo. Offensive Spikes users like Custap or Salac Berry Skarmory also fit well alongside Scizor, as entry hazards help put foes in range of a boosted Bullet Punch. Stealth Rock from setters like Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Jirachi can chip Pokemon like Volcarona and Skarmory into KO range of Scizor's boosted attacks.

Moves

U-turn and Pursuit form the crux of this set's niche in trapping frailer Psychic-types such as Latios and Alakazam, as it now outspeeds them and either OHKOes them if they stay in with U-turn or on the switch out with Pursuit. Pursuit also helps force damage on other frail foes threatened by Scizor's coverage, such as Mamoswine and Dragonite. Having a Pursuit user faster than Alakazam can be incredibly important for removing it; this quality is not replicated by the more common Choice Scarf Tyranitar. Superpower helps Scizor revenge kill Steel-types like Excadrill, Ferrothorn, Magnezone, and Heatran while 2HKOing Keldeo. Another option is Double Hit, which KOes Alakazam through Focus Sash and hits Substitute users, such as Thundurus-T, Keldeo, Tentacruel, and Tornadus. Aerial Ace is able to deal solid damage to Volcarona, but it is mostly useless outside of this matchup.

Set Details

A Jolly nature is run to outspeed Keldeo, Latios, Starmie, and Alakazam.

Team Options

This Scizor primarily fits on rain teams looking to better defend against Alakazam and Latios while also opening up some rain sweepers like Keldeo and Thundurus-T for setup opportunities thanks to U-turn. Politoed sets rain and is more easily able to run a physically defensive set to check Pokemon like Tyranitar and Mamoswine with Scizor removing Alakazam. Tentacruel and specially defensive Excadrill can spin away entry hazards to improve Scizor's longevity. Ferrothorn provides important resistances to Water and Dragon, sets entry hazards, and can Knock Off checks like Heatran. Keldeo appreciates Scizor removing Latios for it so it can more easily wallbreak while covering Heatran for Scizor. Thundurus-T can more easily sweep after setting up an Agility if Latios is taken out and is a strong wallbreaker in its own right. Furthermore, Scizor can also bring Thudurus-T and Keldeo onto the field safely with U-turn.

Choice Scarf Scizor can be used alongside other Volt Switch users such as Rotom-W to form a VoltTurn core on sand teams with Hippowdon. Hippowdon can be used more easily thanks to Scizor removing the Psychic-types Tyranitar is usually tasked with handling. While these teams are relatively uncommon, Scizor still enjoys similar support on rain teams: Excadrill for Rapid Spin support, Pokemon like Poison Heal Breloom and Terrakion to take advantage of the removal of Psychic-types, and bulky Pokemon such as Slowking and Skarmory to take the strong hits that Scizor cannot take. Choice Scarf Latios can also act as a backup Choice Scarf user to handle offensive teams and Speed-boosting setup sweepers like Dragonite and Volcarona, while Air Balloon Heatran can assist against Volcarona and has good type synergy with Scizor.

Moves

When it's armed with a Choice Band, Scizor becomes an excellent pivot, scouter, and revenge killer in the metagame thanks to STAB U-turn and Technician Bullet Punch, which hit incredibly hard when backed by its massive Attack stat. Bullet Punch allows Scizor to revenge kill faster Pokemon such as Terrakion, Alakazam, and Latios. It can also revenge kill weakened setup sweepers such as Dragonite and Salamence from higher health thanks to Choice Band. Choice Band-boosted STAB U-turn hits most Bug-neutral Pokemon hard, and its switching property also allows Scizor to scout opposing switches while circumventing Choice Band's drawback. Superpower allows it to target Steel-types such as Heatran, Ferrothorn, and Excadrill while also hitting Keldeo hard. Pursuit rounds out the set, and thanks to its typing as well as the threat of Bullet Punch and U-turn, it effectively allows Scizor to trap Psychic-type Pokemon such as Alakazam, Latias, and Reuniclus. Quick Attack can be run over Pursuit to allow Scizor to revenge kill faster Steel-resistant Pokemon such as Thundurus-T and Volcarona. However, dropping Pursuit sacrifices Scizor's ability to trap Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokemon.

Set Details

Maximum Speed allows Scizor to outspeed everything up to Rotom-W, Jellicent, and Modest Magnezone. Alternatively, Scizor can run a different EV spread of 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD, which can allow Scizor to maximize bulk while also underspeeding Skarmory so that Scizor can hit it with Superpower super effectively upon it using Roost.

Team Options

Choice Band Scizor fits best on fast-paced teams such as rain, weatherless offense, and sand teams with VoltTurn cores as a way to keep dangerous Psychic-types such as Alakazam, Reuniclus, and Latios and other threats such as Dragonite and Kyurem-B in check. Politoed brings rain and synergizes well with Scizor, as it can switch into Fire-type attacks aimed at Scizor from Pokemon like Heatran and Volcarona. Politoed's rain also lessens Scizor's Fire weakness, which can allow it to tank a Hidden Power Fire in a pinch from Pokemon it's supposed to check such as Latios and Alakazam. Keldeo is one of Scizor's best partners, as Scizor can deal with faster Psychic-types that would otherwise pose a problem to Keldeo. In return, it can benefit from Scizor's U-turn pivoting it in and forcing out the aforementioned Psychic-types in addition to being a very strong offensive Pokemon that can check dangerous Fire-types like Volcarona and Heatran. Thundurus-T similarly enjoys Scizor removing Psychic-types, so it can more freely sweep with Agility or wallbreak with Nasty Plot. Offensive Starmie can clear hazards and answer Heatran and Ground-types like Hippowdon and Landorus-T in addition to being able to check Keldeo for Scizor. Scizor particularly appreciates hazards being cleared, as its frequent use of U-turn will rapidly rack up hazard damage. In return, it can pivot into resisted attacks from the likes of Tyranitar and faster Pokemon like Alakazam and Choice Scarf variants of Latios and Latias for Starmie. Latios similarly can answer Heatran and Ground-types as well as being a Water-resistant teammate. On weatherless offense, Garchomp can provide hazards, which allow Scizor to revenge kill Pokemon like Dragonite and Latios more easily; in return, Scizor can revenge kill faster Pokemon such as Terrakion and Alakazam for Garchomp to sweep later in the game. Magnezone synergizes well with Scizor, since it can bait in Skarmory and Ferrothorn with U-turn so that Magnezone can successfully trap them. Dragonite and Salamence pair well with Scizor, as Scizor can handle Alakazam and Latios, allowing them to sweep more effectively, while they can handle dangerous checks to Scizor such as Volcarona and Keldeo. Kyurem-B also appreciates Scizor removing Latios and Alakazam so that it can wallbreak and revenge kill more easily; in return, Kyurem-B can threaten Ground-types such as Gliscor and Landorus-T and rain teams that would otherwise all give Scizor a hard time. Scizor can also fit on sand teams that have other U-turn and Volt Switch users such as Landorus-T and Rotom-W to form VoltTurn cores. Rotom-W and Scizor can force out each other's checks and chain pivot moves together, allowing them to form a VoltTurn core. Landorus-T can also chain pivot moves with Scizor while also being able to check Garchomp and Excadrill. Scizor can compensate by trapping foes like Latios and Alakazam, which could otherwise be annoying for Landorus-T to deal with. Latios and Latias can excellently check Keldeo and Thundurus-T for Scizor as well as being able to deal with Ground-types such as Gliscor and Garchomp, while Scizor can check foes such as Alakazam and Mamoswine in addition to being able to pivot around Tyranitar for both teammates. Excadrill can clear hazards to improve Scizor's longevity while also being able to check Jirachi for Scizor. Keldeo is also an amazing teammate on sand teams since it can function the same way as Terrakion and benefits from Scizor's presence on such teams.