1v1 Mega Scizor [GP 1/1]

[bigtalk]

[OVERVIEW]
Mega Scizor's brilliant Bug / Steel typing and excellent mixed bulk allow it to handle notable offensive threats in 1v1 including Mega Metagross, Kartana, Magearna, and Meloetta. Access to Iron Defense and reliable recovery in Roost lets it beat most physical setup sweepers that can't 2HKO it, including Swords Dance Mega Mawile and Landorus-T, Dragon Dance Dragonite, and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados. Mega Scizor's moveset also gives it a very high PP count, allowing it to outstall certain defensive Pokemon like non-Hidden Power Fire Mega Venusaur, Mega Aggron, and Porygon2. However, Mega Scizor's glaring 4x weakness to Fire means that it is easily beaten by Fire-type Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Heatran. Furthermore, this weakness is exploited by threats like Kommo-o, Naganadel, Necrozma, and Mew that carry Fire-type coverage. Mega Scizor competes with other tanky Steel-types like Magearna, Mega Metagross, Mega Mawile, and Aegislash, which give up a neutrality to Ground for a reduced weakness to Fire that lets them handle foes with Fire-type coverage more reliably and have greater offensive presence and access to a wider variety of coverage moves. Registeel, in particular, gives Mega Scizor stiff competition as a stall Pokemon. It similarly has a Double Dance set, access to recovery in Rest, and the ability to PP stall defensive Pokemon; however, it also sports superior defensive stats and the ability to hold Leftovers. Mega Scizor should mainly be considered over Registeel for its ability to handle Ground- and Fighting-types in addition to the range of Pokemon that are handled by Steel-types.

[SET]
name: Stall
move 1: Roost
move 2: Bullet Punch
move 3: Iron Defense
move 4: Struggle Bug / Bug Bite
item: Scizorite
ability: Light Metal
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Roost sustains Mega Scizor's health, letting it set up on and beat most offensive Pokemon that can't 2HKO it. Bullet Punch is Mega Scizor's main attacking move, which is boosted by Technician and hits foes like Crustle, Golem, and Mega Gardevoir super effectively. Iron Defense boosts Mega Scizor's Defense to nearly impenetrable levels, letting it wall most physical attackers that can't hit it super effectively, including setup sweepers like Mega Mawile, Landorus-T, Dragon Dance Dragonite, and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados. Struggle Bug lets Mega Scizor actually beat Magearna instead of being setup fodder for it and softens blows from other special attackers like Meloetta and Porygon-Z. Bug Bite is another option that is boosted by Technician and hits Psychic-types like offensive Deoxys-S hard. It also allows Mega Scizor to beat certain Pokemon that avoid the 2HKO from Bullet Punch and can 2HKO it in return like Mega Tyranitar and Mega Medicham.

Set Details
========
252 HP and 68 Special Defense EVs ensure that Mega Scizor survives Hydro Cannon from Choice Specs Greninja. The rest of the EVs are placed into Defense with a Relaxed or Impish nature to maximize its physical walling capabilities, nearly guaranteeing that it survives Earthquake followed by Tectonic Rage from Jolly Landorus-T. An Impish nature is used even if Struggle Bug is opted for so that Mega Scizor outspeeds Mega Tyranitar. Scizor should immediately Mega Evolve, so for the most part its pre-Mega ability is irrelevant. However, Light Metal has circumstantial use to avoid giving a useful ability to Trace users like Hidden Power Fire Mega Alakazam.

Usage Tips
========
Mega Scizor matches up well against most non-Fire-type physical attackers such as Landorus-T, Mega Lopunny, and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados, as well as common Sturdy users like Crustle, Golem, and Donphan. Against most physical setup sweepers like Dragon Dance Dragonite and Mega Gyarados, Swords Dance Landorus-T, and Shell Smash Crustle, Mega Scizor should attempt to fully set up with Iron Defense and then chip away at them with Bullet Punch. Likewise, against most special attackers like Magearna, Meloetta, and Z-Conversion Porygon-Z, Mega Scizor should lower their Special Attack as necessary with Struggle Bug until it can comfortably take their hits, then use Bullet Punch to break through them. Mega Scizor can also be used to beat certain stall Pokemon such as Mega Venusaur, Mega Aggron, Clefable, and Chansey due to its moveset's very high PP count. Be aware that Pokemon such as Tapu Lele, Magearna, Dragonite, and Greninja occasionally carry Fire-type coverage, which will allow them to beat Mega Scizor. This may be likely if the opposing team appears to be luring in threats that are weak to Fire-type moves. Rest stallers such as Registeel, Type: Null, and Mega Audino should be avoided, as they will win the PP war against Mega Scizor. Taunt users such as Mega Sableye and Kee Berry Mew can also beat it with ease. Mega Scizor should also watch out for hard-hitting special attackers such as Substitute + Torrent Greninja, Tail Glow Manaphy, and Metal Sound Aegislash and Magnezone, as they tend to overwhelm it. If Mega Scizor is running Bug Bite over Struggle Bug, it should be used in scenarios where the opposing Pokemon can 2HKO Mega Scizor and two Bullet Punches will not knock them out but two Bug Bites or the combination of Bug Bite + Bullet Punch will. This is the case against foes like Mega Tyranitar, Mega Medicham, and Choice Specs Greninja. Against Kartana, Mega Scizor should not bother using Iron Defense because Kartana will ignore its Defense boosts with Sacred Sword. Instead, it should use Struggle Bug or Bug Bite twice and then follow up with Bullet Punch, which will nearly always knock out an uninvested Kartana. Against Rock-type Sturdy users like Crustle and Golem, Mega Scizor should initially avoid using Bullet Punch, since they can potentially knock it out with Counter. Instead, it should boost up with Iron Defense against Crustle and use Struggle Bug until these foes are within KO range of Bullet Punch. Against Greninja, use Roost turn one. If Greninja uses Hydro Cannon, spam Roost until Choice Specs Greninja depletes itself of Hydro Cannon PP or until Life Orb Greninja wears itself down sufficiently from recoil. If Choice Specs Greninja does not use Hydro Cannon, Mega Scizor should use Struggle Bug, as it will 2HKO Greninja if it locks itself into Dark Pulse, and if not then Mega Scizor will comfortably tank any other hit Greninja can throw at it. Note that Greninja is far from a guaranteed matchup, since Mega Scizor will lose to Substitute + Torrent and Hidden Power Fire variants regardless of what it does. Against Zeraora, use Iron Defense first if you predict it to be running a purely physical set. Struggle Bug should be used if you predict it to be running a mixed set, as even if Zeraora uses Charge turn one, a Special Attack drop will nearly guarantee that Mega Scizor survives both Electrium Z-boosted Thunder and Electrium Z-boosted Plasma Fists from it the following turn. Use Roost on turns after Zeraora uses Charge so that Mega Scizor isn't put into KO range from the boosted damage.

Team Options
========
Bulky Water-types such as Tapu Fini, Mega Gyarados, and Primarina are excellent teammates, as they can reliably take on Fire-types Mega Charizard X, Heatran, and Mega Gyarados for Mega Scizor; Tapu Fini can also take on Mega Charizard Y if it's running Z-Rain Dance. In return, Mega Scizor deals with Grass-types like Kartana, Tapu Bulu, and Serperior and bulky special tanks like Mega Gardevoir and Tapu Lele for them. Dragon-types like Garchomp, Zygarde-C, Kommo-o, and Mega Altaria can also handle Fire-types well, and they appreciate Mega Scizor's ability to deal with Fairy-types such as Magearna, Mega Gardevoir, and Mega Mawile, as well as Choice Specs Greninja and Porygon-Z. Mega Tyranitar is another great partner that can deal with both Charizard formes, Heatran, and Pokemon with Fire-type coverage such as Naganadel and Mew. In return, Mega Scizor can take on many of the Fighting-, Steel-, and Ground-types that trouble it like Mega Lopunny, Mega Metagross, and Donphan. Specially offensive Steel-types like Celesteela, Genesect, and Aegislash give Mega Scizor trouble, so Fire-types like Heatran, Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Incineroar are appreciated for their ability to break past them. Heatran can also deal with both Charizard formes for Mega Scizor and wall Pokemon such as Naganadel and Choice Scarf Tapu Lele that use Fire-type coverage to hit Steel-types. In return, Mega Scizor can take care of Ground- and Rock-types that trouble these Pokemon like Landorus-T, Garchomp, Crustle, and Golem. Mega Scizor also tends to struggle with hard-hitting special attackers such as Substitute + Torrent Greninja, Tail Glow Manaphy, and mixed Shell Smash Carracosta, so Pokemon that can deal with them are appreciated. Zeraora can be an effective partner, as it's able to outspeed and beat these Pokemon in addition to many of Mega Scizor's defensive answers such as Mega Charizard Y, Mega Gyarados, and Mega Slowbro. If it's running Outrage, it can also lure in Dragon-types that trouble Mega Scizor such as Mega Charizard X and Naganadel. In return, Zeraora greatly appreciates Mega Scizor's ability to deal with Ground-types like Landorus-T, Golem, and Donphan. Chansey can handle most non-setup special attackers well and appreciates Mega Scizor's ability to deal with most physical attackers, including Fighting-types like Sawk, in return.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Swords Dance can be used with Bug Bite and an Adamant nature to let Mega Scizor pose an offensive threat, potentially letting it win matchups against Pokemon like Mega Audino, Mega Slowbro, Kee Berry Mew, and Stored Power Necrozma. However, Mega Scizor will lose its ability to check setup sweepers, and it's generally outclassed as a Swords Dance user by the likes of Kartana and Mega Mawile, since they can hit much harder right off the bat. A set with Curse + Laser Focus allows Mega Scizor to reliably break Pokemon that boost their defenses such as Ferrothorn and Bulk Up Adamant Landorus-T. Mega Scizor struggles to find room for both of these moves, however, and using Curse over Iron Defense means that Mega Scizor won't be able to reliably beat Swords Dance users like Landorus-T and Garchomp.

Checks and Counters
===================
**Fire-types and Fire-type Coverage**: Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, Heatran, and Volcarona can easily OHKO Mega Scizor with their STAB moves. Pokemon like Tapu Lele, Naganadel, Necrozma, and Mew often carry Fire-type coverage, and others such as Dragonite, Garchomp, and Mega Mawile occasionally run it as well.

**Strong Special Attackers**: Pokemon like Substitute + Torrent Greninja, Tail Glow Manaphy, mixed Shell Smash Carracosta, and Metal Sound Aegislash and Magnezone can overwhelm Mega Scizor with their strong neutral attacks.

**Rest Stallers**: Stall Pokemon like Registeel, Type: Null, and Mega Audino will win the PP war against Mega Scizor thanks to Rest.

**Taunt**: Pokemon such as certain Mega Gyarados variants, Mega Sableye, Kee Berry Mew, and stall Deoxys-S don't mind Bullet Punch or Bug Bite and can prevent Mega Scizor from setting up boosts or recovering with Taunt.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[bigtalk, 466663]]
- Quality checked by: [[Osra, 239997], [Alakazam, 276708], [pqs, 425798]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [, ]]

 

[bigtalk]

Ok, this should be ready for qc

 

[The Official Glyx]

Red = change
Red strikethrough = remove
Purple = belongs elsewhere
Blue text = my commentary
Green = elaborate
Orange = insert here

QC

[OVERVIEW]

• Mega Scizor has a brilliant Bug / Steel typing and excellent mixed bulk to go with it, allowing it to handle notable threats including Mega Metagross, Mega Mawile, Kartana, Magearna, and Meloetta.
• Access to boosting moves in Curse and Iron Defense and reliable recovery in Roost allows it to beat most physical attackers that cannot 2HKO it such as physical Z-move banded sometimes runs fire punch Dragonite, Mega Lopunny, and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados.
• Thanks to its priority Bullet Punch and high Defense stat, it also has a good matchup against some Sturdy users like Crustle, Golem, Donphan, and Sawk.
• add a bullet about how scizor's moveset gives it a high enough PP count to outstall multiple defensive pokemon. examples being slowbro, non-taunt sableye, venusaur, etc.
• However, Mega Scizor's glaring 4x weakness to Fire means that it is easily beaten by threats like Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Heatran.
• Furthermore, this weakness is exploited by threats like Tapu Lele, Naganadel, Necrozma, and offensive Mew that carry Fire-type coverage, causing Mega Scizor to lose these matchups and forcing its team to acquire a secondary answer to these Pokemon that Steel-types would normally take care of.
• Mega Scizor faces competition from other tanky Steel-types like Magearna, Mega Metagross, Mega Mawile, and Aegislash, which trade a neutrality to Ground for a reduced weakness to Fire that lets them handle the aforementioned foes more reliably and have access to a wider variety of coverage moves.

[SET]
name: Bulky Setup
move 1: Curse / Iron Defense
move 2: Bullet Punch
move 3: Confide / Bug Bite / Struggle Bug
move 4: Roost
move order listed in order of importance to the set. Make sure the Moves section has them listed in the same order, as well.
move 1: Roost
move 2: Bullet Punch
move 3: Iron Defense Curse has been removed because it has been discovered that the atk boost isn't really saving you any matchups that you don't already win by stalling
move 4: Struggle Bug / Bug Bite Confide has been removed because you'd only ever use it alongside Curse, on account of Struggle Bug + Curse not being a legal combination
item: Scizorite
ability: Light Metal
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 8 Atk / 56 Def / 104 SpD / 88 Spe
evs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Curse boosts Mega Scizor's Defense and Attack stats simultaneously, letting it tank hits from Pokemon like Mega Lopunny and Choice Scarf Landorus-T more easily and allowing it to pose an offensive threat after a few boosts.
• Iron Defense can be is used instead of Curse to boost Mega Scizor's Defense in order to more reliably take on Swords Dance users like Landorus-T and Garchomp, but since it doesn't increase Mega Scizor's damage output, Mega Scizor will have more trouble breaking through bulky Pokemon like Kartana and Porygon2.
• Bullet Punch is Mega Scizor's main attacking move that is boosted by Technician and hits foes like Crustle, Golem, and Mega Gardevoir super effectively.
• Confide Struggle Bug lets Mega Scizor actually beat Magearna and Stored Power Necrozma Stored Power is still killing you with +6 Def and SpD instead of being setup fodder for them and softens blows from other special attackers like Meloetta and Porygon-Z.
• Bug Bite is another option that hits Psychic-types like Meloetta, Deoxys-S, and Mega Slowbro this does not matter for the slowbro matchup super effectively and significantly eases the Kartana and Serperior matchups. It allows Mega Scizor to beat certain Pokemon that avoid the 2HKO from Bullet Punch and can 2HKO it in return like Mega Tyranitar, Choice Specs Greninja, and Choice Scarf Porygon-Z, as well as Taunt Tapu Lele.
• Struggle Bug is incompatible with Curse, but it should be used over Confide if Mega Scizor is running Iron Defense.
• Roost sustains Mega Scizor's health and, in tandem with Curse or Iron Defense, allows it to comfortably set up on and beat Pokemon that cannot 2HKO it like physical Dragonite and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados.

Set Details
========

• 252 HP EVs maximize Mega Scizor's mixed bulk.
• 56 Defense EVs with an Impish nature ensure that Mega Scizor survives Supersonic Skystrike followed by Earthquake from physical Dragonite as well as Fire Punch from Mega Tyranitar. 188 Def with impish is for withstanding Earthquake + Z Earthquake from Landorus-T
• 104 Special Defense EVs allow Mega Scizor to tank All-Out Pummeling from special Pheromosa this matchup is not reliable for multiple reasons between them being able to use Lunge and/ or running Modest. They also ensure that it lives Hydro Cannon from Choice Specs Greninja 68 SpD does this exactly, Hidden Power Fire from Choice Scarf Porygon-Z, and Hidden Power Fire from Choice Specs Deoxys-S roughly half of the time, letting it beat said foes if it's running Bug Bite. you don't need bug bite for ninja, and now deos is even less reliable to be worth mentioning
• 88 Speed EVs allow Mega Scizor to outspeed Jolly Crustle and Golem so that it can use Roost first if they are not within KO range of Bullet Punch. now you just bulk crustle with iron defense so this isn't important
• The remainder of the EVs are placed into Attack.
• Most of the time, Scizor should immediately Mega Evolve, so its pre-Mega ability is irrelevant. However, Light Metal has circumstantial use to reduce damage taken from Counter users like Crustle and Golem, against which Scizor should initially hold off on Mega Evolving, and to avoid giving a useful ability to Trace users like Hidden Power Fire Mega Alakazam. now you're using struggle bug, so you don't need to worry about counter damage, and alakazam is just not prevalent enough to matter at all, let alone with hidden power fire

Usage Tips
========

• Mega Scizor matches up well against most physical attackers that do not carry super effective coverage for it such as physical Dragonite, Choice Scarf Landorus-T, and Mega Lopunny, as well as certain Sturdy users like Crustle, Golem, and Donphan.
• However, in addition to Fire-types, there are other Pokemon that Mega Scizor should watch out for.
  • Be wary of sending it out against Pokemon that may carry Fire-type coverage such as Tapu Lele, Naganadel, Necrozma, and Mew you'd never want to send out Scizor against these. Replace with risk factors like HP Fire Greninja, Fire Punch Dragonite, Choice Specs HP Fire Magearna, Fire Punch Zeraora, etc. unless you are sure that they do not have it.
  • Mega Scizor has unfavorable matchups against many stall Pokemon that can boost their Defense and have access to recovery such as Ferrothorn, Type: Null, and (if Bug Bite is not used) Mega Slowbro only Type:Null beats you. Better examples are Registeel, Kyurem, and Mega Audino, so try to avoid sending it out against those.
  • Mega Scizor should also watch out for hard-hitting special attackers such as Substitute + Torrent Greninja, Electrium Z Zeraora with Charge + Thunder you actually win this matchup, given confide/struggle bug, though it requires careful enough play that it should be a usage tip (confide/struggle bug, then roost. Scizor is bulky enough to survive Z-Plasma Fists even if they use Bulk Up turn 1, so long as you follow up with Iron Defense on the next turn.) better examples are mixed Shell Smash Carracosta or Tail Glow Manaphy, and Metal Sound Aegislash and Magnezone, as they tend to overwhelm it.
  • Finally, note that although Mega Scizor can usually beat Mega Gyarados and Tapu Lele lacking Hidden Power Fire, it will lose to variants of them with Taunt.
• Against most physical attackers like Mega Gyarados and physical Dragonite, Mega Scizor should attempt to set up fully with Curse Iron Defense and then break past them with boosted Bullet Punch.
• Against most special attackers like Meloetta and Z-Conversion Porygon-Z, Mega Scizor should use Confide Struggle Bug as much as necessary until it can comfortably take their hits, then start setting up on them with Curse chipping away at them with Bullet Punch.
• Roost should be used frequently in order to keep Mega Scizor healthy while it is setting up. Against faster attackers, you should use Roost if Mega Scizor is within 2HKO range of an attack.
• Against very strong wallbreakers like Mega Medicham this overwhelms you with HJK and must be taken care of with bug bite into bullet punchand Swords Dance Garchomp, Mega Scizor should only use Curse as necessary until the opposing Pokemon is within 2HKO range of Bullet Punch. Otherwise, they will be able to overwhelm Mega Scizor before it is able to set up enough Defense boosts.
  • It may be necessary to predict when Swords Dance users like Garchomp and Landorus-T will use their Z-Move and use Roost on the same turn. not anymore! my spread allows you to withstand the combination of earthquake + z earthquake from these two (particularly jolly landorus-t). All you need to do is use roost to avoid being 3hkod and eventually chip them down (make sure to use struggle bug against garchomp in order to avoid rough skin)
  • Curse should also be used sparingly against Choice Band Kartana, which ignores Mega Scizor's Defense boosts with Sacred Sword and can deplete Mega Scizor of Roost PP if it is not played around properly. you would just 2/3hko with 2 struggle bug + bullet punch here
  • Note that if Mega Scizor is running Iron Defense over Curse, it will be able to take on Swords Dance users more comfortably. redundant, now that Iron Defense is the only defense boosting move
• Be cautious of Counter from Sturdy users like Crustle and Golem, as it can potentially result in a knocked-out Mega Scizor if it is played around carelessly. Against these foes, Scizor should first stay in its regular forme to use Bullet Punch in order to keep its pre-Mega ability and lower Attack stat. On the second turn, it should Mega Evolve and use Roost or Bullet Punch as appropriate. change this to just boosting up with iron defense and then damaging with struggle bug to avoid counter
• Make sure to put a bullet somewhere about the zeraora matchup, plus something about PP stalling, since it is a massive portion of scizor's niche.

Team Options
========

• Checks to Fire-types are mandatory.
  • Bulky Water-types such as Tapu Fini, Mega Gyarados, and Primarina are excellent teammates in this regard, as they can reliably take on the likes of Mega Charizard X, Heatran, and Mega Gyarados for Mega Scizor; Tapu Fini can also take on Mega Charizard Y if it's running Z-Rain Dance. In return, Mega Scizor deals with Grass-types like Kartana, Tapu Bulu, and Serperior for them.
  • Dragon-types like Garchomp, Zygarde-C, Kommo-o, and Mega Altaria can also handle Fire-types well, and they appreciate Mega Scizor's ability to deal with Fairy-types such as Magearna, Mega Gardevoir, and non-Fire Fang Mega Mawile.
  • Mega Tyranitar is another great partner that can deal with both Charizard formes, Heatran, and Pokemon with Fire-type coverage such as Naganadel and offensive Mew. In return, Mega Scizor can take on many of the Fighting-, Steel-, and Ground-types that trouble it like Mega Lopunny, Mega Metagross, and Donphan.
• Certain Steel-types like Ferrothorn Genesect, Celesteela, and Aegislash give Mega Scizor trouble, so Fire-types like Heatran, Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y are appreciated for their ability to break past them. Heatran can also deal with both Charizard formes for Mega Scizor and wall Pokemon such as Tapu Lele and Naganadel that use Fire-type coverage to hit Steel-types.
• Mega Scizor also tends to struggle with hard-hitting special attackers such as Substitute + Torrent Greninja and Electrium Z Zeraora with Charge + Thunder , mixed Shell Smash Carracosta, and Manaphy, so Pokemon that can deal with them are appreciated.
  • Electrium Z Zeraora with Outrage can be an effective partner, as it's able to outspeed and beat these Pokemon in addition to many of Mega Scizor's defensive answers such as Mega Gyarados, Mega Slowbro, and both Charizard formes. In return, Zeraora greatly appreciates Mega Scizor's ability to deal with Ground-types like Donphan and Choice Scarf Landorus-T.
  • Chansey can handle most special attackers well and appreciates Mega Scizor's ability to deal with most physical attackers, including Fighting-types, in return.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

• Laser Focus can be used in order to guarantee a critical hit on Pokemon like Coil Zygarde-C that have accumulated Defense boosts. However, Iron Defense Magearna and Stored Power Necrozma nope are already handled with Confide anyway, and it will not help against Type: Null or Mega Slowbro due to their abilities preventing critical hits.
• Hidden Power Ice can be used with Special Attack investment and a Relaxed nature in order to deal with Ground-types like Swords Dance Landorus-T, Swords Dance Garchomp, and Coil Zygarde-C more reliably as well as to KO Kartana more quickly.

Checks and Counters
===================
**Fire-types and Fire-type Coverage**: Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, Heatran, and Volcarona can easily OHKO Mega Scizor with their STAB moves. Pokemon like Tapu Lele, Naganadel, Necrozma, and offensive Mew often carry Fire-type coverage, and others such as Dragonite, Garchomp, and Mega Mawile occasionally run it as well.

**Strong Special Attackers**: Pokemon like Substitute + Torrent Greninja, Electrium Z Zeraora with Charge + Thunder mixed Shell Smash Carracosta and Manaphy nice copy and paste from usage tips-, and Metal Sound Aegislash and Magnezone can overwhelm Mega Scizor with their strong neutral attacks.

**Certain Stall Pokemon**: Mega Scizor has difficulty breaking past certain stall Pokemon that can boost their Defense and have access to recovery like Ferrothorn, Type: Null, and (if Bug Bite is not used) Mega Slowbro. Registeel, Kyurem, and Mega Audino nice copy and paste from usage tips x2-

**Faster Taunt Users**: Faster Pokemon that don't mind Bullet Punch such as Mega Gyarados, Tapu Lele Struggle Bug is a main move, replace with Sableye, Krookodile, and Kee Berry Mew can prevent Mega Scizor from setting up boosts or recovering with Taunt, causing it to lose these matchups. Mega Scizor can beat some of them if it's running Bug Bite, however. not really

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[bigtalk, 466663]]
- Quality checked by: [[Osra, 239997], [, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]

gonna be a bit of work, since a lot of stuff about scizor is kinda only being thought of just now. Alakazam and I agree that a few set changes were in order, you'll see the explanation behind the spread in the qc as you go, but here's the optimal build we're looking at now:

Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 SpD
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Bullet Punch
- Iron Defense
- Struggle Bug / Bug Bite

 

[bigtalk]

Red = change
Red strikethrough = remove
Purple = belongs elsewhere
Blue text = my commentary
Green = elaborate
Orange = insert here

QC

[OVERVIEW]

• Mega Scizor has a brilliant Bug / Steel typing and excellent mixed bulk to go with it, allowing it to handle notable threats including Mega Metagross, Mega Mawile, Kartana, Magearna, and Meloetta.
• Access to boosting moves in Curse and Iron Defense and reliable recovery in Roost allows it to beat most physical attackers that cannot 2HKO it such as physical Z-move banded sometimes runs fire punch Dragonite, Mega Lopunny, and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados.
• Thanks to its priority Bullet Punch and high Defense stat, it also has a good matchup against some Sturdy users like Crustle, Golem, Donphan, and Sawk.
• add a bullet about how scizor's moveset gives it a high enough PP count to outstall multiple defensive pokemon. examples being slowbro, non-taunt sableye, venusaur, etc.
• However, Mega Scizor's glaring 4x weakness to Fire means that it is easily beaten by threats like Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Heatran.
• Furthermore, this weakness is exploited by threats like Tapu Lele, Naganadel, Necrozma, and offensive Mew that carry Fire-type coverage, causing Mega Scizor to lose these matchups and forcing its team to acquire a secondary answer to these Pokemon that Steel-types would normally take care of.
• Mega Scizor faces competition from other tanky Steel-types like Magearna, Mega Metagross, Mega Mawile, and Aegislash, which trade a neutrality to Ground for a reduced weakness to Fire that lets them handle the aforementioned foes more reliably and have access to a wider variety of coverage moves.

[SET]
name: Bulky Setup
move 1: Curse / Iron Defense
move 2: Bullet Punch
move 3: Confide / Bug Bite / Struggle Bug
move 4: Roost
move order listed in order of importance to the set. Make sure the Moves section has them listed in the same order, as well.
move 1: Roost
move 2: Bullet Punch
move 3: Iron Defense Curse has been removed because it has been discovered that the atk boost isn't really saving you any matchups that you don't already win by stalling
move 4: Struggle Bug / Bug Bite Confide has been removed because you'd only ever use it alongside Curse, on account of Struggle Bug + Curse not being a legal combination
item: Scizorite
ability: Light Metal
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 8 Atk / 56 Def / 104 SpD / 88 Spe
evs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Curse boosts Mega Scizor's Defense and Attack stats simultaneously, letting it tank hits from Pokemon like Mega Lopunny and Choice Scarf Landorus-T more easily and allowing it to pose an offensive threat after a few boosts.
• Iron Defense can be is used instead of Curse to boost Mega Scizor's Defense in order to more reliably take on Swords Dance users like Landorus-T and Garchomp, but since it doesn't increase Mega Scizor's damage output, Mega Scizor will have more trouble breaking through bulky Pokemon like Kartana and Porygon2.
• Bullet Punch is Mega Scizor's main attacking move that is boosted by Technician and hits foes like Crustle, Golem, and Mega Gardevoir super effectively.
• Confide Struggle Bug lets Mega Scizor actually beat Magearna and Stored Power Necrozma Stored Power is still killing you with +6 Def and SpD instead of being setup fodder for them and softens blows from other special attackers like Meloetta and Porygon-Z.
• Bug Bite is another option that hits Psychic-types like Meloetta, Deoxys-S, and Mega Slowbro this does not matter for the slowbro matchup super effectively and significantly eases the Kartana and Serperior matchups. It allows Mega Scizor to beat certain Pokemon that avoid the 2HKO from Bullet Punch and can 2HKO it in return like Mega Tyranitar, Choice Specs Greninja, and Choice Scarf Porygon-Z, as well as Taunt Tapu Lele.
• Struggle Bug is incompatible with Curse, but it should be used over Confide if Mega Scizor is running Iron Defense.
• Roost sustains Mega Scizor's health and, in tandem with Curse or Iron Defense, allows it to comfortably set up on and beat Pokemon that cannot 2HKO it like physical Dragonite and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados.

Set Details
========

• 252 HP EVs maximize Mega Scizor's mixed bulk.
• 56 Defense EVs with an Impish nature ensure that Mega Scizor survives Supersonic Skystrike followed by Earthquake from physical Dragonite as well as Fire Punch from Mega Tyranitar. 188 Def with impish is for withstanding Earthquake + Z Earthquake from Landorus-T
• 104 Special Defense EVs allow Mega Scizor to tank All-Out Pummeling from special Pheromosa this matchup is not reliable for multiple reasons between them being able to use Lunge and/ or running Modest. They also ensure that it lives Hydro Cannon from Choice Specs Greninja 68 SpD does this exactly, Hidden Power Fire from Choice Scarf Porygon-Z, and Hidden Power Fire from Choice Specs Deoxys-S roughly half of the time, letting it beat said foes if it's running Bug Bite. you don't need bug bite for ninja, and now deos is even less reliable to be worth mentioning
• 88 Speed EVs allow Mega Scizor to outspeed Jolly Crustle and Golem so that it can use Roost first if they are not within KO range of Bullet Punch. now you just bulk crustle with iron defense so this isn't important
• The remainder of the EVs are placed into Attack.
• Most of the time, Scizor should immediately Mega Evolve, so its pre-Mega ability is irrelevant. However, Light Metal has circumstantial use to reduce damage taken from Counter users like Crustle and Golem, against which Scizor should initially hold off on Mega Evolving, and to avoid giving a useful ability to Trace users like Hidden Power Fire Mega Alakazam. now you're using struggle bug, so you don't need to worry about counter damage, and alakazam is just not prevalent enough to matter at all, let alone with hidden power fire

Usage Tips
========

• Mega Scizor matches up well against most physical attackers that do not carry super effective coverage for it such as physical Dragonite, Choice Scarf Landorus-T, and Mega Lopunny, as well as certain Sturdy users like Crustle, Golem, and Donphan.
• However, in addition to Fire-types, there are other Pokemon that Mega Scizor should watch out for.
  • Be wary of sending it out against Pokemon that may carry Fire-type coverage such as Tapu Lele, Naganadel, Necrozma, and Mew you'd never want to send out Scizor against these. Replace with risk factors like HP Fire Greninja, Fire Punch Dragonite, Choice Specs HP Fire Magearna, Fire Punch Zeraora, etc. unless you are sure that they do not have it.
  • Mega Scizor has unfavorable matchups against many stall Pokemon that can boost their Defense and have access to recovery such as Ferrothorn, Type: Null, and (if Bug Bite is not used) Mega Slowbro only Type:Null beats you. Better examples are Registeel, Kyurem, and Mega Audino, so try to avoid sending it out against those.
  • Mega Scizor should also watch out for hard-hitting special attackers such as Substitute + Torrent Greninja, Electrium Z Zeraora with Charge + Thunder you actually win this matchup, given confide/struggle bug, though it requires careful enough play that it should be a usage tip (confide/struggle bug, then roost. Scizor is bulky enough to survive Z-Plasma Fists even if they use Bulk Up turn 1, so long as you follow up with Iron Defense on the next turn.) better examples are mixed Shell Smash Carracosta or Tail Glow Manaphy, and Metal Sound Aegislash and Magnezone, as they tend to overwhelm it.
  • Finally, note that although Mega Scizor can usually beat Mega Gyarados and Tapu Lele lacking Hidden Power Fire, it will lose to variants of them with Taunt.
• Against most physical attackers like Mega Gyarados and physical Dragonite, Mega Scizor should attempt to set up fully with Curse Iron Defense and then break past them with boosted Bullet Punch.
• Against most special attackers like Meloetta and Z-Conversion Porygon-Z, Mega Scizor should use Confide Struggle Bug as much as necessary until it can comfortably take their hits, then start setting up on them with Curse chipping away at them with Bullet Punch.
• Roost should be used frequently in order to keep Mega Scizor healthy while it is setting up. Against faster attackers, you should use Roost if Mega Scizor is within 2HKO range of an attack.
• Against very strong wallbreakers like Mega Medicham this overwhelms you with HJK and must be taken care of with bug bite into bullet punchand Swords Dance Garchomp, Mega Scizor should only use Curse as necessary until the opposing Pokemon is within 2HKO range of Bullet Punch. Otherwise, they will be able to overwhelm Mega Scizor before it is able to set up enough Defense boosts.
  • It may be necessary to predict when Swords Dance users like Garchomp and Landorus-T will use their Z-Move and use Roost on the same turn. not anymore! my spread allows you to withstand the combination of earthquake + z earthquake from these two (particularly jolly landorus-t). All you need to do is use roost to avoid being 3hkod and eventually chip them down (make sure to use struggle bug against garchomp in order to avoid rough skin)
  • Curse should also be used sparingly against Choice Band Kartana, which ignores Mega Scizor's Defense boosts with Sacred Sword and can deplete Mega Scizor of Roost PP if it is not played around properly. you would just 2/3hko with 2 struggle bug + bullet punch here
  • Note that if Mega Scizor is running Iron Defense over Curse, it will be able to take on Swords Dance users more comfortably. redundant, now that Iron Defense is the only defense boosting move
• Be cautious of Counter from Sturdy users like Crustle and Golem, as it can potentially result in a knocked-out Mega Scizor if it is played around carelessly. Against these foes, Scizor should first stay in its regular forme to use Bullet Punch in order to keep its pre-Mega ability and lower Attack stat. On the second turn, it should Mega Evolve and use Roost or Bullet Punch as appropriate. change this to just boosting up with iron defense and then damaging with struggle bug to avoid counter
• Make sure to put a bullet somewhere about the zeraora matchup, plus something about PP stalling, since it is a massive portion of scizor's niche.

Team Options
========

• Checks to Fire-types are mandatory.
  • Bulky Water-types such as Tapu Fini, Mega Gyarados, and Primarina are excellent teammates in this regard, as they can reliably take on the likes of Mega Charizard X, Heatran, and Mega Gyarados for Mega Scizor; Tapu Fini can also take on Mega Charizard Y if it's running Z-Rain Dance. In return, Mega Scizor deals with Grass-types like Kartana, Tapu Bulu, and Serperior for them.
  • Dragon-types like Garchomp, Zygarde-C, Kommo-o, and Mega Altaria can also handle Fire-types well, and they appreciate Mega Scizor's ability to deal with Fairy-types such as Magearna, Mega Gardevoir, and non-Fire Fang Mega Mawile.
  • Mega Tyranitar is another great partner that can deal with both Charizard formes, Heatran, and Pokemon with Fire-type coverage such as Naganadel and offensive Mew. In return, Mega Scizor can take on many of the Fighting-, Steel-, and Ground-types that trouble it like Mega Lopunny, Mega Metagross, and Donphan.
• Certain Steel-types like Ferrothorn Genesect, Celesteela, and Aegislash give Mega Scizor trouble, so Fire-types like Heatran, Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y are appreciated for their ability to break past them. Heatran can also deal with both Charizard formes for Mega Scizor and wall Pokemon such as Tapu Lele and Naganadel that use Fire-type coverage to hit Steel-types.
• Mega Scizor also tends to struggle with hard-hitting special attackers such as Substitute + Torrent Greninja and Electrium Z Zeraora with Charge + Thunder , mixed Shell Smash Carracosta, and Manaphy, so Pokemon that can deal with them are appreciated.
  • Electrium Z Zeraora with Outrage can be an effective partner, as it's able to outspeed and beat these Pokemon in addition to many of Mega Scizor's defensive answers such as Mega Gyarados, Mega Slowbro, and both Charizard formes. In return, Zeraora greatly appreciates Mega Scizor's ability to deal with Ground-types like Donphan and Choice Scarf Landorus-T.
  • Chansey can handle most special attackers well and appreciates Mega Scizor's ability to deal with most physical attackers, including Fighting-types, in return.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

• Laser Focus can be used in order to guarantee a critical hit on Pokemon like Coil Zygarde-C that have accumulated Defense boosts. However, Iron Defense Magearna and Stored Power Necrozma nope are already handled with Confide anyway, and it will not help against Type: Null or Mega Slowbro due to their abilities preventing critical hits.
• Hidden Power Ice can be used with Special Attack investment and a Relaxed nature in order to deal with Ground-types like Swords Dance Landorus-T, Swords Dance Garchomp, and Coil Zygarde-C more reliably as well as to KO Kartana more quickly.

Checks and Counters
===================
**Fire-types and Fire-type Coverage**: Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, Heatran, and Volcarona can easily OHKO Mega Scizor with their STAB moves. Pokemon like Tapu Lele, Naganadel, Necrozma, and offensive Mew often carry Fire-type coverage, and others such as Dragonite, Garchomp, and Mega Mawile occasionally run it as well.

**Strong Special Attackers**: Pokemon like Substitute + Torrent Greninja, Electrium Z Zeraora with Charge + Thunder mixed Shell Smash Carracosta and Manaphy nice copy and paste from usage tips-, and Metal Sound Aegislash and Magnezone can overwhelm Mega Scizor with their strong neutral attacks.

**Certain Stall Pokemon**: Mega Scizor has difficulty breaking past certain stall Pokemon that can boost their Defense and have access to recovery like Ferrothorn, Type: Null, and (if Bug Bite is not used) Mega Slowbro. Registeel, Kyurem, and Mega Audino nice copy and paste from usage tips x2-

**Faster Taunt Users**: Faster Pokemon that don't mind Bullet Punch such as Mega Gyarados, Tapu Lele Struggle Bug is a main move, replace with Sableye, Krookodile, and Kee Berry Mew can prevent Mega Scizor from setting up boosts or recovering with Taunt, causing it to lose these matchups. Mega Scizor can beat some of them if it's running Bug Bite, however. not really

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[bigtalk, 466663]]
- Quality checked by: [[Osra, 239997], [, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]

gonna be a bit of work, since a lot of stuff about scizor is kinda only being thought of just now. Alakazam and I agree that a few set changes were in order, you'll see the explanation behind the spread in the qc as you go, but here's the optimal build we're looking at now:

Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 SpD
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Bullet Punch
- Iron Defense
- Struggle Bug / Bug Bite

^ Alright, implemented; feel free to look this over again.

Re Ferrothorn matchup: I haven't tested this myself, but shouldn't you lose if you're running bug bite? You would both waste all your iron defense pp, then leech + barbs should force scizor to start burning a lot of roosts. Same for Slowbro, if they burn you close to turn 1 that means you have to deal with about 96 burn turns = waste 12 extra roosts in addition to taking 24 scalds before they start to struggle.

 

[The Official Glyx]

Re Ferrothorn matchup: I haven't tested this myself, but shouldn't you lose if you're running bug bite? You would both waste all your iron defense pp, then leech + barbs should force scizor to start burning a lot of roosts. Same for Slowbro, if they burn you close to turn 1 that means you have to deal with about 96 burn turns = waste 12 extra roosts in addition to taking 24 scalds before they start to struggle.

Fair enough on Ferrothorn, though with slowbro, even if they get a turn 1 burn, they'd need to land an ungodly amount of crits in order for it to matter, or otherwise use Calm Mind and eventually get free boosts on the turn Scizor has to Roost off the burn chip. The only threat from Slowbro after that is Rest.

Also really appreciate that you put actual research into this unlike some writers

2/3 E: 1/3, I'm dum

 

[Ginger Princess]

Bolded is additions, strikethrough is stuff that should be removed, underline needs to be edited in some way, red is comments. All information I bring are based on 1630 Usage stats (considering anything at or above 6% as of October 2019 usage relevant) and Calcs.

QC Check 2 part 1

[OVERVIEW]

• Mega Scizor has a brilliant Bug / Steel typing and excellent mixed bulk to go with it, allowing it to handle notable offensive threats in 1v1 including Mega Metagross, Kartana, Magearna, and Meloetta.
• Access to boosting moves like Iron Defense and Curse and reliable recovery in Roost lets it beat most physical setup sweepers that can't 2HKO it, including Swords Dance Mega Mawile and Landorus-T, Dragon Dance Dragonite, and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados.
• Mega Scizor's moveset gives it a very high PP count, allowing it to outstall certain defensive Pokemon like Mega Venusaur, Mega Aggron, and Porygon2.
• However, Mega Scizor's glaring 4x weakness to Fire means that it is easily beaten by Fire-type threats like Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Heatran.
• Furthermore, this weakness is exploited by threats like Tapu Lele, fire-coverage lele isn't very common, i would use Genesect or Kommo-o Naganadel, Necrozma, and Mew that carry Fire-type coverage, causing Mega Scizor to lose these matchups and forcing its team to acquire a secondary answer to these Pokemon that Steel-types would normally take care of.
• Mega Scizor faces competition from other tanky Steel-types like Magearna, Mega Metagross, Mega Mawile, and Aegislash, which trade a neutrality to Ground for a reduced weakness to Fire that lets them handle the aforementioned foes more reliably, and have greater offensive presence and access to a wider variety of coverage moves. none of these steel-types can beat any of the fire-type pokemon mentioned, although they do have a goodish matchup against Pokemon running fire coverage. maybe better examples could be Pokemon like Heatran and Mega Aggron, as well as Magearna for having a stall-ish playstyle

[SET]
name: Stall
move 1: Roost
move 2: Bullet Punch
move 3: Iron Defense
move 4: Struggle Bug / Bug Bite
item: Scizorite
ability: Light Metal
nature: Relaxed / Impish unless you need speed i see no reason not to run relaxed with struggle bug. It also 2hkos dark pulse gren with struggle bug, which can get sketchy with flinches + rolls
evs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Roost sustains Mega Scizor's health, letting it set up on and beat most offensive Pokemon that can't 2HKO it.
• Bullet Punch is Mega Scizor's main attacking move, which is boosted by Technician and hits foes like Crustle, Golem, and Mega Gardevoir super effectively.
• Iron Defense boosts Mega Scizor's Defense to nearly impenetrable levels, letting it wall most physical attackers that can't hit it super effectively including setup sweepers like Mega Mawile, Landorus-T, physical Dragonite, and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados.
• Struggle Bug lets Mega Scizor actually beat Magearna instead of being setup fodder for it and softens blows from other special attackers like Meloetta and Porygon-Z.
• Bug Bite is another option that hits Psychic-types like Meloetta and Deoxys-S hard. It also allows Mega Scizor to beat certain Pokemon that avoid the 2HKO from Bullet Punch and can 2HKO it in return like Mega Tyranitar and Mega Medicham.

Set Details
========

• 252 HP EVs maximize Mega Scizor's mixed bulk.
• 252 HP and 68 Special Defense EVs ensure that Mega Scizor survives Hydro Cannon from Choice Specs Greninja.
• The rest of the EVs are placed into Defense with an Impish nature to maximize its physical walling capabilities, nearly guaranteeing that Mega Scizor lives Earthquake followed by Tectonic Rage from Jolly Landorus-T.
• mention why light metal is run pre-mega (basically because technician before pre-mega is completely pointless in every way, and at least having a different ability before that can aid in rare matchups, like a trace user using Hidden Power.)

Usage Tips
========

• Mega Scizor matches up well against most physical attackers that do not carry super effective coverage so this isn't rlly true for physical non-fire types with fire type coverage - fire punch mega ttar can be beaten with bug bite into bullet punch, for example. Maybe change it to ' non-Fire type physical attackers' for it such as Landorus-T and Mega Lopunny, and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados as well as common Sturdy users like Crustle, Golem, and Donphan.
• It can also be used to beat particular stall Pokemon that don't carry Rest or Taunt, such as Mega Venusaur, Mega Aggron, Clefable, and Chansey, due to its moveset's very high PP count. Rest stallers, like Registeel, Type: Null, Mega Audino, and Mega Slowbro, however, should be avoided, as they will avoid using up their PP through rest
• However, in addition to Fire-types, there are other Pokemon that Mega Scizor should watch out for. filler text
  • Be aware that Pokemon such as Tapu Lele, Magearna, Dragonite, and Greninja occasionally carry Fire-type coverage, which will allow them to beat Mega Scizor.
  • Mega Scizor has unfavorable matchups against many stall Pokemon that can boost their Defense and have access to recovery such as Registeel, Type: Null, Kyurem no lol you easily PP stall that and lower its spa with struggle bug to nullify attacks, and Mega Audino, so try to avoid sending it out against those. this is covered by the 'no rest + taunt' point, combine this with that tip
  • Mega Scizor should also watch out for hard-hitting special attackers such as Substitute + Torrent Greninja, Tail Glow Manaphy, and Metal Sound Aegislash and Magnezone, as they tend to overwhelm it.
  • Mega Gyarados isn't necessarily a bad matchup for Mega Scizor despite walling its STAB combination, but it will lose to variants with Taunt.
• Against most physical setup sweepers like Dragon Dance Dragonite and Mega Gyarados, Swords Dance Landorus-T, and Shell Smash Crustle, Mega Scizor should attempt to fully set up with Iron Defense and then chip away at them with Bullet Punch.
• Likewise, against most special attackers like Magearna, Meloetta, and Z-Conversion Porygon-Z, Mega Scizor should lower their Special Attack as necessary with Struggle Bug until it can comfortably take their hits, then use Bullet Punch to break through them. move these two right underneath the first point, they should be one of the primary points to describe mega scizor with
• Roost should be used frequently in order to keep Mega Scizor healthy while it is setting up. Against faster attackers, you should use Roost if Mega Scizor is within 2HKO range of an attack. this is a bit obvious/no metagame knowledge required to know this
• If Mega Scizor is running Bug Bite over Struggle Bug, it should be used in scenarios where the opposing Pokemon can 2HKO Mega Scizor and two Bullet Punches will not knock them out, but two Bug Bites or the combination of Bug Bite + Bullet Punch will. This comes into play against foes like Mega Tyranitar, Mega Medicham, and Choice Specs Greninja.
• Against Kartana, Mega Scizor should not bother using Iron Defense because Kartana will ignore its Defense boosts with Sacred Sword. Instead, it should use Struggle Bug or Bug Bite twice and then follow up with Bullet Punch, which will nearly always knock out an uninvested Kartana.
• Against Rock-type Sturdy users, like Crustle and Golem, Mega Scizor should initially avoid using Bullet Punch since they can potentially knock it out with Counter. Instead, it should boost up with Iron Defense against Crustle, use Struggle Bug until these foes are within KO range of Bullet Punch, then use Bullet Punch. filler
• Against Greninja, Mega Scizor should spam Roost until Choice Specs Greninja depletes itself of Hydro Cannon PP or until Life Orb Greninja wears itself down sufficiently from recoil. sentence not wrong but its only covering one play of gren. You could instead say something like 'Against Greninja, use Roost turn one. If they use Hydro Cannon, spam roost until its runs out of PP, or, in Life Orb Greninja's case, when it gets in range of a Struggle Bug/Bug Bite + Bullet Punch." and then carry on with If Choice Specs Greninja does not lock itself into Hydro Cannon, then Mega Scizor should be able to lower its Special Attack with Struggle Bug until it can comfortably tank Greninja's hits, then retaliate with Bullet Punch 2HKOing Greninja if they choose to Dark Pulse or comfortably living any other hit it can throw at Mega Scizor with any other move. Note that Greninja is far from a guaranteed matchup, since Mega Scizor will lose to Substitute + Torrent and Hidden Power Fire variants regardless of what it does.
• Against Zeraora, Mega Scizor should first use Struggle Bug if you don't know what set it's running. This will nearly guarantee that, if Zeraora is running a mixed set and uses Charge on the first turn, Mega Scizor survives both Z-Thunder and Z-Plasma Fists from it the following turn. Use Roost on turns after Zeraora uses Charge so that Mega Scizor isn't put into KO range from the boosted damage. If Zeraora reveals Bulk Up on the first turn, it will still be possible for Mega Scizor to win the matchup with accurate prediction. If you predict Zeraora to use Gigavolt Havoc the following turn, you should use Roost; if you predict it to use Bulk Up again, use Iron Defense. While this point isn't incorrect, the issue is that mixed sees 80% less usage than bulk up/physical, and using struggle bug does not guarantee the matchup if they choose to z-thunder immediately. I think you should just say 'Against Zeraora, you're going to want to primarily Iron Defense. If you predict the alternative mixed set, use Struggle Bug to maximize your chances of winnning, followed by a roost.'

Team Options
========

• Checks to Fire-types are mandatory. filler
  • Bulky Water-types such as Tapu Fini, Mega Gyarados, and Primarina are excellent teammates in this regard, as they can reliably take on the likes of Mega Charizard X, Heatran, and Mega Gyarados for Mega Scizor; Tapu Fini can also take on Mega Charizard Y if it's running Z-Rain Dance. In return, Mega Scizor deals with Grass-types like Kartana, Tapu Bulu, and Serperior for them, as well as bulky special tanks like Mega Gardevoir and Tapu Lele
  • Dragon-types like Garchomp, Zygarde-C, Kommo-o, and Mega Altaria can also handle Fire-types well, and they appreciate Mega Scizor's ability to deal with Fairy-types such as Magearna, Mega Gardevoir, and Mega Mawile, as well as Choice Specs Greninja and Porygon-Z.
  • Mega Tyranitar is another great partner that can deal with both Charizard formes, Heatran, and Pokemon with Fire-type coverage such as Naganadel and Mew. In return, Mega Scizor can take on many of the Fighting-, Steel-, and Ground-types that trouble it like Mega Lopunny, Mega Metagross, and Donphan.
• Certain Specially offensive Steel-types like Celesteela, Genesect, and Aegislash give Mega Scizor trouble, so Fire-types like Heatran, Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y are appreciated for their ability to break past them. Heatran can also deal with both Charizard formes for Mega Scizor and wall Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Tapu Lele and Naganadel that use Fire-type coverage to hit Steel-types. what does Scizor do in return?
• Mega Scizor also tends to struggle with hard-hitting special attackers such as Substitute + Torrent Greninja, Tail Glow Manaphy, and mixed Shell Smash Carracosta, so Pokemon that can deal with them are appreciated.
  • Zeraora can be an effective partner, as it's able to outspeed and beat these Pokemon in addition to many of Mega Scizor's defensive answers such as Mega Charizard Y, Mega Gyarados, and Mega Slowbro. If it's running Outrage, it can also lure in Dragon-types that trouble Mega Scizor such as Mega Charizard X and Naganadel. In return, Zeraora greatly appreciates Mega Scizor's ability to deal with Ground-types like Landorus-T, Golem, and Donphan.
  • Chansey can handle most special attackers this isn't rlly true, a bunch of common special attackers can blast past chansey with stuff like metal sound or tail glow. Maybe change to 'non-setup Special Attackers'? well and appreciates Mega Scizor's ability to deal with most physical attackers, including Fighting-types like Sawk, in return.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

• Swords Dance can be used with Bug Bite and an Adamant nature to let Mega Scizor pose an offensive threat, potentially letting it win matchups against Pokemon like Kyurem, pp stall Mega Audino, Mega Slowbro, Kee Berry Mew, and Stored Power Necrozma. However, Mega Scizor will lose its ability to check setup sweepers, and it's generally outclassed as a Swords Dance user by the likes of Kartana and Mega Mawile since they can hit much harder right off the bat.
• Hidden Power Ice can be used to dispatch Ground-types like Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Zygarde-C more quickly, giving them less opportunities to break through Mega Scizor with a stray critical hit. It has little use otherwise, however.
• include Curse + laser focus for Pokemon like Bulk Up Adamant Landorus-T

Checks and Counters
===================
**Fire-types and Fire-type Coverage**: Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, Heatran, and Volcarona can easily OHKO Mega Scizor with their STAB moves. Pokemon like Tapu Lele, Naganadel, Necrozma, and Mew often carry Fire-type coverage, and others such as Dragonite, Garchomp, and Mega Mawile occasionally run it as well.

**Strong Special Attackers**: Pokemon like Substitute + Torrent Greninja, Tail Glow Manaphy, mixed Shell Smash Carracosta, and Metal Sound Aegislash and Magnezone can overwhelm Mega Scizor with their strong neutral attacks.

**Certain Stall Pokemon**: Mega Scizor has difficulty breaking past certain stall Pokemon that can boost their Defense and have access to recovery like Registeel, Type: Null, Kyurem, and Mega Audino.

**Taunt**: Pokemon such as Mega Gyarados variants, Mega Sableye, Kee Berry Mew, and stall Deoxys-S don't mind Bullet Punch and can prevent Mega Scizor from setting up boosts or recovering with Taunt.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[bigtalk, 466663]]
- Quality checked by: [[Osra, 239997], [, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]

pretty nice. work on the usage tips to truncate it and cut out any filler text, tho the specific matchups i didn't tell to combine with others are fine.

also unless i'm crazy you definitely beat kyurem with pp stall, just spam struggle bug until ep does nothing,

tag me when this is implemented

 

[bigtalk]

Alakazam did

 

[Ginger Princess]

Qc Check 2 part 2

[OVERVIEW]

• Mega Scizor has a brilliant Bug / Steel typing and excellent mixed bulk to go with it, allowing it to handle notable offensive threats in 1v1 including Mega Metagross, Kartana, Magearna, and Meloetta.
• Access to boosting moves like Iron Defense and Curse from last time and reliable recovery in Roost lets it beat most physical setup sweepers that can't 2HKO it, including Swords Dance Mega Mawile and Landorus-T, Dragon Dance Dragonite, and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados.
• Mega Scizor's moveset gives it a very high PP count, allowing it to outstall certain defensive Pokemon like Mega Venusaur, Mega Aggron, and Porygon2.
• However, Mega Scizor's glaring 4x weakness to Fire means that it is easily beaten by Fire-type Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Heatran.
• Furthermore, this weakness is exploited by threats like Kommo-o, Naganadel, Necrozma, and Mew that carry Fire-type coverage, causing Mega Scizor to lose these matchups and forcing its team to acquire a secondary answer to these Pokemon that Steel-types would normally take care of. thats not really true, they run fire coverage to beat steel types like Scizor, but also stuff like aegislash mega mawile and mega metagross. You could say that its fire-type weakness is more pronounced than other steel-type Pokemon, but you already mention that in the next line, so you can probably just cut this line
• Mega Scizor faces competition from other tanky Steel-types like Magearna, Mega Metagross, Mega Mawile, Registeel, and Aegislash, which trade a neutrality greater weakness to Ground for a reduced weakness to Fire that lets them handle foes with Fire-type coverage more reliably, and have greater offensive presence and access to a wider variety of coverage moves.
• I would mention registeel explicitly as a Pokemon with an extremely similar niche, a doubledancer with recovery and PP stalling mechanics, and the pros and cons mega scizor and registeel have over one another

[SET]
name: Stall
move 1: Roost
move 2: Bullet Punch
move 3: Iron Defense
move 4: Struggle Bug / Bug Bite
item: Scizorite
ability: Light Metal
nature: Relaxed / Impish
evs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Roost sustains Mega Scizor's health, letting it set up on and beat most offensive Pokemon that can't 2HKO it.
• Bullet Punch is Mega Scizor's main attacking move, which is boosted by Technician and hits foes like Crustle, Golem, and Mega Gardevoir super effectively.
• Iron Defense boosts Mega Scizor's Defense to nearly impenetrable levels, letting it wall most physical attackers that can't hit it super effectively including setup sweepers like Mega Mawile, Landorus-T, physical Dragonite, and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados.
• Struggle Bug lets Mega Scizor actually beat Magearna instead of being setup fodder for it and softens blows from other special attackers like Meloetta and Porygon-Z.
• Bug Bite is another option that hits Psychic-types like Meloetta would change example bc the better struggle bug also beats melo, use an example to better set it apart like maybe defensive specs hoopa-u and Deoxys-S hard. It also allows Mega Scizor to beat certain Pokemon that avoid the 2HKO from Bullet Punch and can 2HKO it in return like Mega Tyranitar and Mega Medicham.

Set Details
========

• 252 HP and 68 Special Defense EVs ensure that Mega Scizor survives Hydro Cannon from Choice Specs Greninja.
• The rest of the EVs are placed into Defense with a Relaxed or Impish nature to maximize its physical walling capabilities, nearly guaranteeing that Mega Scizor lives Earthquake followed by Tectonic Rage from Jolly Landorus-T.
• Scizor should immediately Mega Evolve, so for the most part its pre-Mega ability is irrelevant. However, Light Metal has circumstantial use to avoid giving a useful ability to Trace users like Hidden Power Fire Mega Alakazam.

Usage Tips
========

• Mega Scizor matches up well against most non-Fire-type physical attackers such as Landorus-T, Mega Lopunny, and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados, as well as common Sturdy users like Crustle, Golem, and Donphan.
• Against most physical setup sweepers like Dragon Dance Dragonite and Mega Gyarados, Swords Dance Landorus-T, and Shell Smash Crustle, Mega Scizor should attempt to fully set up with Iron Defense and then chip away at them with Bullet Punch.
• Likewise, against most special attackers like Magearna, Meloetta, and Z-Conversion Porygon-Z, Mega Scizor should lower their Special Attack as necessary with Struggle Bug until it can comfortably take their hits, then use Bullet Punch to break through them.
• Mega Scizor can be used to beat certain stall Pokemon such as Mega Venusaur, Mega Aggron, Clefable, and Chansey, due to its moveset's very high PP count.
• Be aware that Pokemon such as Tapu Lele, Magearna, Dragonite, and Greninja occasionally carry Fire-type coverage, which will allow them to beat Mega Scizor. To predict this, see if the opposing team appears to be luring in threats weak to Fire-type moves.
• Rest stallers such as Registeel, Type: Null, and Mega Audino should be avoided, as they will win the PP war against Mega Scizor. Taunt users such as Mega Sableye and Kee Berry Mew can also beat it with ease.
• Mega Scizor should also watch out for hard-hitting special attackers such as Substitute + Torrent Greninja, Tail Glow Manaphy, and Metal Sound Aegislash and Magnezone, as they tend to overwhelm it.
• If Mega Scizor is running Bug Bite over Struggle Bug, it should be used in scenarios where the opposing Pokemon can 2HKO Mega Scizor and two Bullet Punches will not knock them out, but two Bug Bites or the combination of Bug Bite + Bullet Punch will. This comes into play against foes like Mega Tyranitar, Mega Medicham, and Choice Specs Greninja.
• Against Kartana, Mega Scizor should not bother using Iron Defense because Kartana will ignore its Defense boosts with Sacred Sword. Instead, it should use Struggle Bug or Bug Bite twice and then follow up with Bullet Punch, which will nearly always knock out an uninvested Kartana.
• Against Rock-type Sturdy users like Crustle and Golem, Mega Scizor should initially avoid using Bullet Punch since they can potentially knock it out with Counter. Instead, it should boost up with Iron Defense against Crustle, use Struggle Bug until these foes are within KO range of Bullet Punch.
• Against Greninja, use Roost turn one. If Greninja uses Hydro Cannon, spam Roost until Choice Specs Greninja depletes itself of Hydro Cannon PP or until Life Orb Greninja wears itself down sufficiently from recoil. If Choice Specs Greninja does not use Hydro Cannon, then Mega Scizor should use Struggle Bug, as it will 2HKO Greninja if it locks itself into Dark Pulse, and if not then Mega Scizor will comfortably live any other hit Greninja can throw at it. Note that Greninja is far from a guaranteed matchup, since Mega Scizor will lose to Substitute + Torrent and Hidden Power Fire variants regardless of what it does.
• Against Zeraora, use Iron Defense first if you predict it to be running a purely physical set. Struggle Bug should be used if you predict it to be running a mixed set, as even if Zeraora uses Charge turn one, a Special Attack drop will nearly guarantee that Mega Scizor survives both Z-Thunder and Z-Plasma Fists from it the following turn. Use Roost on turns after Zeraora uses Charge so that Mega Scizor isn't put into KO range from the boosted damage.

Team Options
========

• Bulky Water-types such as Tapu Fini, Mega Gyarados, and Primarina are excellent teammates, as they can reliably take on Fire-types Mega Charizard X, Heatran, and Mega Gyarados for Mega Scizor; Tapu Fini can also take on Mega Charizard Y if it's running Z-Rain Dance. In return, Mega Scizor deals with Grass-types like Kartana, Tapu Bulu, and Serperior and bulky special tanks like Mega Gardevoir and Tapu Lele for them.
• Dragon-types like Garchomp, Zygarde-C, Kommo-o, and Mega Altaria can also handle Fire-types well, and they appreciate Mega Scizor's ability to deal with Fairy-types such as Magearna, Mega Gardevoir, and Mega Mawile, as well as Choice Specs Greninja and Porygon-Z.
• Mega Tyranitar is another great partner that can deal with both Charizard formes, Heatran, and Pokemon with Fire-type coverage such as Naganadel and Mew. In return, Mega Scizor can take on many of the Fighting-, Steel-, and Ground-types that trouble it like Mega Lopunny, Mega Metagross, and Donphan.
• Specially offensive Steel-types like Celesteela, Genesect, and Aegislash give Mega Scizor trouble, so Fire-types like Heatran, Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y are appreciated for their ability to break past them. Heatran can also deal with both Charizard formes for Mega Scizor and wall Pokemon such as Naganadel and Choice Scarf Tapu Lele that use Fire-type coverage to hit Steel-types. In return, Mega Scizor can take care of Ground- and Rock-types that trouble these Pokemon like Landorus-T, Garchomp, Crustle, and Golem.
• Mega Scizor also tends to struggle with hard-hitting special attackers such as Substitute + Torrent Greninja, Tail Glow Manaphy, and mixed Shell Smash Carracosta, so Pokemon that can deal with them are appreciated.
• Zeraora can be an effective partner, as it's able to outspeed and beat these Pokemon in addition to many of Mega Scizor's defensive answers such as Mega Charizard Y, Mega Gyarados, and Mega Slowbro. If it's running Outrage, it can also lure in Dragon-types that trouble Mega Scizor such as Mega Charizard X and Naganadel. In return, Zeraora greatly appreciates Mega Scizor's ability to deal with Ground-types like Landorus-T, Golem, and Donphan.
• Chansey can handle most non-setup special attackers well and appreciates Mega Scizor's ability to deal with most physical attackers, including Fighting-types like Sawk, in return.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

• Swords Dance can be used with Bug Bite and an Adamant nature to let Mega Scizor pose an offensive threat, potentially letting it win matchups against Pokemon like Mega Audino, Mega Slowbro, Kee Berry Mew, and Stored Power Necrozma. However, Mega Scizor will lose its ability to check setup sweepers, and it's generally outclassed as a Swords Dance user by the likes of Kartana and Mega Mawile since they can hit much harder right off the bat.
• Hidden Power Ice can be used to dispatch Ground-types like Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Zygarde-C more quickly, giving them less opportunities to break through Mega Scizor with a stray critical hit. It has little use otherwise, however. realistically theres no reason to run HP ice, matchup wise, in the sense that the opportunity cost of sacrificing any other one move is much too great
• A set with Curse + Laser Focus can be used, allowing Mega Scizor to reliably break Pokemon that boost their defenses such as Ferrothorn and Bulk Up Adamant Landorus-T. Mega Scizor struggles to find room for both of these moves, however, and using Curse over Iron Defense means that Mega Scizor won't be able to reliably beat Swords Dance users like Landorus-T and Garchomp.

Checks and Counters
===================
**Fire-types and Fire-type Coverage**: Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, Heatran, and Volcarona can easily OHKO Mega Scizor with their STAB moves. Pokemon like Tapu Lele, Naganadel, Necrozma, and Mew often carry Fire-type coverage, and others such as Dragonite, Garchomp, and Mega Mawile occasionally run it as well.

**Strong Special Attackers**: Pokemon like Substitute + Torrent Greninja, Tail Glow Manaphy, mixed Shell Smash Carracosta, and Metal Sound Aegislash and Magnezone can overwhelm Mega Scizor with their strong neutral attacks.

**Rest Stallers**: Stall Pokemon like Registeel, Type: Null, and Mega Audino will win the PP war against Mega Scizor thanks to Rest.

**Taunt**: Pokemon such as certain Mega Gyarados variants, Mega Sableye, Kee Berry Mew, and stall Deoxys-S don't mind Bullet Punch and can prevent Mega Scizor from setting up boosts or recovering with Taunt.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[bigtalk, 466663]]
- Quality checked by: [[Osra, 239997], [, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]

so this is very good, but the one sorta major thing left will be to specifically talk about the pros and cons it has over Registeel; Mega Scizor and Registeel have extremely similar niches, a doubledance stall Steel-type, and you should probably bring that up in overview.

After thats done, tag me again

 

[Ginger Princess]

bigtalk how's this going?

 

[bigtalk]

Alakazam I can probably get to this later today

 

[bigtalk]

Alakazam done

 

[Ginger Princess]

[OVERVIEW]

• However, Mega Scizor's glaring 4x weakness to Fire means that it is easily beaten by Fire-type Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Heatran.
• Furthermore, this weakness is exploited by threats like Kommo-o, Naganadel, Necrozma, and Mew that carry Fire-type coverage, causing Mega Scizor to lose these matchups and forcing its team to acquire a secondary answer to these Pokemon. at this point i would combine these two, remove the ending

Team Options
========

• Specially offensive Steel-types like Celesteela, Genesect, and Aegislash give Mega Scizor trouble, so Fire-types like Heatran, Mega Charizard X, Incineroar, and Mega Charizard Y are appreciated for their ability to break past them. Heatran can also deal with both Charizard formes for Mega Scizor and wall Pokemon such as Naganadel and Choice Scarf Tapu Lele that use Fire-type coverage to hit Steel-types. In return, Mega Scizor can take care of Ground- and Rock-types that trouble these Pokemon like Landorus-T, Garchomp, Crustle, and Golem.

after this, qc 2/3

 

[pqs]

Add Remove Comment

bigtalk, post: 8270432, member: 466663

[OVERVIEW]
Mega Scizor has a brilliant Bug / Steel typing and excellent mixed bulk to go with it, allowing it to handle notable offensive threats in 1v1 including Mega Metagross, Kartana, Magearna, and Meloetta all of these examples also lose to genesect, so i'd give something that msciz exclusively beats to make it really differentiate from the crowd. Access to Iron Defense and reliable recovery in Roost lets it beat most physical setup sweepers that can't 2HKO it, including Swords Dance Mega Mawile and Landorus-T, Dragon Dance non-Fire-move Dragonite, and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados. Mega Scizor's moveset also gives it a very high PP count, allowing it to outstall certain defensive Pokemon like non-Hidden Power Fire Mega Venusaur, Mega Aggron, and Porygon2. However, Mega Scizor's glaring 4x weakness to Fire means that it is easily beaten by Fire-type Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Heatran. Furthermore, this weakness is exploited by threats like Kommo-o, Naganadel, Necrozma, and Mew that carry Fire-type coverage. Mega Scizor competes with other tanky Steel-types like Magearna, Mega Metagross, Mega Mawile, and Aegislash, which give up a neutrality to Ground for a reduced weakness to Fire that lets them handle foes with Fire-type coverage more reliably, and have greater offensive presence and access to a wider variety of coverage moves. Registeel, in particular, gives Mega Scizor stiff competition as a stall Pokemon. It similarly has a double dance set, access to recovery in Rest, and the ability to PP stall defensive Pokemon; however, it also sports superior defensive stats and the ability to hold Leftovers. Mega Scizor should mainly be considered over Registeel for its ability to handle Ground- and Fighting-types in addition to the range of Pokemon that are handled by Steel-types. also mention bug type coverage

[SET]
name: Stall
move 1: Roost
move 2: Bullet Punch
move 3: Iron Defense
move 4: Struggle Bug / Bug Bite
item: Scizorite
ability: Light Metal
nature: Relaxed / Impish
evs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Roost sustains Mega Scizor's health, letting it set up on and beat most offensive Pokemon that can't 2HKO it. Bullet Punch is Mega Scizor's main attacking move, which is boosted by Technician and hits foes like Crustle, Golem, and Mega Gardevoir super effectively. Iron Defense boosts Mega Scizor's Defense to nearly impenetrable levels, letting it wall most physical attackers that can't hit it super effectively including setup sweepers like Mega Mawile, Landorus-T, physical non-Fire Punch Dragonite, and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados. Struggle Bug lets Mega Scizor actually beat Magearna instead of being setup fodder for it and softens blows from other special attackers like Meloetta and Porygon-Z. Bug Bite is another option on the brim of being boosted by Technician that hits Psychic-types like non-setup Deoxys-S hard. It also allows Mega Scizor to beat certain Pokemon that avoid the 2HKO from Bullet Punch and can 2HKO it in return like Mega Tyranitar and Mega Medicham.

Set Details
========
252 HP and 68 Special Defense EVs ensure that Mega Scizor survives Hydro Cannon from Choice Specs Greninja. The rest of the EVs are placed into Defense with a Relaxed or Impish nature to maximize its physical walling capabilities, nearly guaranteeing that Mega Scizor lives Earthquake followed by Tectonic Rage from Jolly Landorus-T. Scizor should immediately Mega Evolve, so for the most part its pre-Mega ability is irrelevant. However, Light Metal has circumstantial use to avoid giving a useful ability to Trace users like Hidden Power Fire Mega Alakazam. give reasoning for natures -- relaxed for gren mu, impish for fire punch ttar mu

Usage Tips
========
Mega Scizor matches up well against most non-Fire-type physical attackers such as Landorus-T, Mega Lopunny, and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados, as well as common Sturdy users like Crustle, Golem, and Donphan. Against most physical setup sweepers like Dragon Dance Dragonite and Mega Gyarados, Swords Dance Landorus-T, and Shell Smash Crustle, Mega Scizor should attempt to fully set up with Iron Defense and then chip away at them with Bullet Punch. Likewise, against most special attackers like Magearna, Meloetta, and Z-Conversion Porygon-Z, Mega Scizor should lower their Special Attack as necessary with Struggle Bug until it can comfortably take their hits, then use Bullet Punch to break through them. Mega Scizor can be used to beat certain stall Pokemon such as Mega Venusaur, Mega Aggron, Clefable, and Chansey, due to its moveset's very high PP count. Be aware that Pokemon such as Tapu Lele, Magearna, Dragonite, and Greninja occasionally carry Fire-type coverage, which will allow them to beat Mega Scizor. This may be likely if the opposing team appears to be luring in threats that are weak to Fire-type moves. Rest stallers such as Registeel, Type: Null, and Mega Audino should be avoided, as they will win the PP war against Mega Scizor. Taunt users such as Mega Sableye and Kee Berry Mew can also beat it with ease. Mega Scizor should also watch out for hard-hitting special attackers such as Substitute + Torrent Greninja, Tail Glow Manaphy, and Metal Sound Aegislash and Magnezone, as they tend to overwhelm it. If Mega Scizor is running Bug Bite over Struggle Bug, it should be used in scenarios where the opposing Pokemon can 2HKO Mega Scizor and two Bullet Punches will not knock them out, but two Bug Bites or the combination of Bug Bite + Bullet Punch will. This comes into play against foes like Mega Tyranitar, Mega Medicham, and Choice Specs Greninja. Against Kartana, Mega Scizor should not bother using Iron Defense because Kartana will ignore its Defense boosts with Sacred Sword. Instead, it should use Struggle Bug or Bug Bite twice and then follow up with Bullet Punch, which will nearly always knock out an uninvested Kartana. Against Rock-type Sturdy users like Crustle and Golem, Mega Scizor should initially avoid using Bullet Punch since they can potentially knock it out with Counter. Instead, it should boost up with Iron Defense against Crustle, use Struggle Bug until these foes are within KO range of Bullet Punch. Against Greninja, use Roost turn one. If Greninja uses Hydro Cannon, spam Roost until Choice Specs Greninja depletes itself of Hydro Cannon PP or until Life Orb Greninja wears itself down sufficiently from recoil. If Choice Specs Greninja does not use Hydro Cannon, then Mega Scizor should use Struggle Bug, as it will 2HKO Greninja if it locks itself into Dark Pulse, and if not then Mega Scizor will comfortably live any other hit Greninja can throw at it. Note that Greninja is far from a guaranteed matchup, since Mega Scizor will lose to Substitute + Torrent and Hidden Power Fire variants regardless of what it does. Against Zeraora, use Iron Defense first if you predict it to be running a purely physical set. Struggle Bug should be used if you predict it to be running a mixed set, as even if Zeraora uses Charge turn one, a Special Attack drop will nearly guarantee that Mega Scizor survives both Z-Thunder and Z-Plasma Fists from it the following turn. Use Roost on turns after Zeraora uses Charge so that Mega Scizor isn't put into KO range from the boosted damage.

Team Options
========
Bulky Water-types such as Tapu Fini, Mega Gyarados, and Primarina are excellent teammates, as they can reliably take on Fire-types Mega Charizard X, Heatran, and Mega Gyarados for Mega Scizor i'd also mention they resist fire coverage; Tapu Fini can also take on Mega Charizard Y if it's running Z-Rain Dance. In return, Mega Scizor deals with Grass-types like Kartana, Tapu Bulu, and Serperior and bulky special tanks like Mega Gardevoir and Tapu Lele for them. Dragon-types like Garchomp, Zygarde-C, Kommo-o, and Mega Altaria can also handle Fire-types well, and they appreciate Mega Scizor's ability to deal with Fairy-types such as Magearna, Mega Gardevoir, and Mega Mawile, as well as Choice Specs Greninja and Porygon-Z. Mega Tyranitar is another great partner that can deal with both Charizard formes, Heatran, and Pokemon with Fire-type coverage such as Naganadel and Mew. In return, Mega Scizor can take on many of the Fighting-, Steel-, and Ground-types that trouble it like Mega Lopunny, Mega Metagross, and Donphan. Specially offensive Steel-types like Celesteela, Genesect, and Aegislash give Mega Scizor trouble, so Fire-types like Heatran, Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Incineroar are appreciated for their ability to break past them. Heatran can also deal with both Charizard formes for Mega Scizor and wall Pokemon such as Naganadel and Choice Scarf Tapu Lele that use Fire-type coverage to hit Steel-types. In return, Mega Scizor can take care of Ground- and Rock-types that trouble these Pokemon like Landorus-T, Garchomp, Crustle, and Golem. Mega Scizor also tends to struggle with hard-hitting special attackers such as Substitute + Torrent Greninja, Tail Glow Manaphy, and mixed Shell Smash Carracosta, so Pokemon that can deal with them are appreciated. Zeraora can be an effective partner, as it's able to outspeed and beat these Pokemon in addition to many of Mega Scizor's defensive answers such as Mega Charizard Y, Mega Gyarados, and Mega Slowbro. If it's running Outrage, it can also lure in Dragon-types that trouble Mega Scizor such as Mega Charizard X and Naganadel. In return, Zeraora greatly appreciates Mega Scizor's ability to deal with Ground-types like Landorus-T, Golem, and Donphan. Chansey can handle most non-setup special attackers well and appreciates Mega Scizor's ability to deal with most physical attackers, including Fighting-types like Sawk, in return.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Swords Dance can be used with Bug Bite and an Adamant nature to let Mega Scizor pose an offensive threat, potentially letting it win matchups against Pokemon like Mega Audino, Mega Slowbro, Kee Berry Mew, and Stored Power Necrozma. However, Mega Scizor will lose its ability to check setup sweepers, and it's generally outclassed as a Swords Dance user by the likes of Kartana and Mega Mawile since they can hit much harder right off the bat. A set with Curse + Laser Focus can be used, allowing Mega Scizor to reliably break Pokemon that boost their defenses such as Ferrothorn and Bulk Up Adamant Landorus-T. Mega Scizor struggles to find room for both of these moves, however, and using Curse over Iron Defense means that Mega Scizor won't be able to reliably beat Swords Dance users like Landorus-T and Garchomp.

Checks and Counters
===================
**Fire-types and Fire-type Coverage**: Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, Heatran, and Volcarona can easily OHKO Mega Scizor with their STAB moves. Pokemon like Tapu Lele, Naganadel, Necrozma, and Mew often carry Fire-type coverage, and others such as Dragonite, Garchomp, and Mega Mawile occasionally run it as well.

**Strong Special Attackers**: Pokemon like Substitute + Torrent Greninja, Tail Glow Manaphy, mixed Shell Smash Carracosta, and Metal Sound Aegislash and Magnezone can overwhelm Mega Scizor with their strong neutral attacks.

**Rest Stallers**: Stall Pokemon like Registeel, Type: Null, and Mega Audino will win the PP war against Mega Scizor thanks to Rest.

**Taunt**: Pokemon such as certain Mega Gyarados variants, Mega Sableye, Kee Berry Mew, and stall Deoxys-S don't mind Bullet Punch or Bug Bite and can prevent Mega Scizor from setting up boosts or recovering with Taunt.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[bigtalk, 466663]]
- Quality checked by: [[Osra, 239997], [Alakazam, 276708], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]

implement then you ready for gp

 

[bigtalk]

Thanks :) Couple of questions before I implement this

Dragon Dance non-Fire-move Dragonite

This is already implied by "Dragon Dance" no?

also mention bug type coverage

Could you give an example of what Bug-type coverage lets it beat that Registeel can't; looking at the stuff I mentioned under struggle bug/bug bite (Magearna, Meloetta, Porygon-Z, offensive deos, Mega Tyranitar, Mega Medicham), most of these are also beaten by Registeel

give reasoning for natures -- relaxed for gren mu, impish for fire punch ttar mu

There's no tradeoff between matchups going on here-- you still win against specs gren regardless of whether you have sb or not. The nature is just chosen according to the slashed move, which is why I thought it was self-explanatory and left it out

 

[pqs]

sorry about not getting to this last night

• i'd say you should still mention FP in the first quote you had because dragonite sometimes runs dd/outrage/eq/espeed instead of fire punch
• mega scizor can beat subtorrent greninja and mega tyranitar(if running impish)
• if you win against greninja regardless then why not just use impish so you can outspeed mttar and beat it as well?

 

[bigtalk]

sorry about not getting to this last night

• i'd say you should still mention FP in the first quote you had because dragonite sometimes runs dd/outrage/eq/espeed instead of fire punch
• mega scizor can beat subtorrent greninja and mega tyranitar(if running impish)
• if you win against greninja regardless then why not just use impish so you can outspeed mttar and beat it as well?

• Exactly, the dd set doesn't run fire punch. So saying "Dragon Dance Dragonite" should imply it doesn't have fire punch? (only reason i'm fussing over this so much is bc "Dragon Dance Dragonite lacking Fire Punch" seems pretty wordy, and I can't omit "Dragon Dance" since that could mean special sets too)
• I think sciz always loses to subtorrent gren because bullet punch doesn't do 25 and they always kill you when they're in torrent range. So then the only example of what bug bite lets you beat over registeel is mega ttar (which is not even guaranteed with the analysis spread for ttar - 0 Atk Technician Scizor-Mega Bug Bite vs. 248 HP / 72 Def Tyranitar-Mega: 186-218 (46.1 - 54%) -- 46.5% chance to 2HKO)
• Good point, I'll deslash relaxed

Did everything besides the stuff I mentioned above

 

[pqs]

True about the Dragonite point i guess but versus mega tyranitar since you outspeed it with impish you just iron defense + roost spam and win

 

[Lumari]

remove add / fix (comments); (AC=add comma; RC=remove comma; SC=semicolon)
GP 1/2

check

[OVERVIEW]
Mega Scizor's has a brilliant Bug / Steel typing and excellent mixed bulk to go with it, allowing allow it to handle notable offensive threats in 1v1 including Mega Metagross, Kartana, Magearna, and Meloetta. Access to Iron Defense and reliable recovery in Roost lets it beat most physical setup sweepers that can't 2HKO it, including Swords Dance Mega Mawile and Landorus-T, Dragon Dance Dragonite, and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados. Mega Scizor's moveset also gives it a very high PP count, allowing it to outstall certain defensive Pokemon like non-Hidden Power Fire Mega Venusaur, Mega Aggron, and Porygon2. However, Mega Scizor's glaring 4x weakness to Fire means that it is easily beaten by Fire-type Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Heatran. Furthermore, this weakness is exploited by threats like Kommo-o, Naganadel, Necrozma, and Mew that carry Fire-type coverage. Mega Scizor competes with other tanky Steel-types like Magearna, Mega Metagross, Mega Mawile, and Aegislash, which give up a neutrality to Ground for a reduced weakness to Fire that lets them handle foes with Fire-type coverage more reliably (RC) and have greater offensive presence and access to a wider variety of coverage moves. Registeel, in particular, gives Mega Scizor stiff competition as a stall Pokemon. It similarly has a Double Dance set, access to recovery in Rest, and the ability to PP stall defensive Pokemon; however, it also sports superior defensive stats and the ability to hold Leftovers. Mega Scizor should mainly be considered over Registeel for its ability to handle Ground- and Fighting-types in addition to the range of Pokemon that are handled by Steel-types.

[SET]
name: Stall
move 1: Roost
move 2: Bullet Punch
move 3: Iron Defense
move 4: Struggle Bug / Bug Bite
item: Scizorite
ability: Light Metal
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Roost sustains Mega Scizor's health, letting it set up on and beat most offensive Pokemon that can't 2HKO it. Bullet Punch is Mega Scizor's main attacking move, which is boosted by Technician and hits foes like Crustle, Golem, and Mega Gardevoir super effectively. Iron Defense boosts Mega Scizor's Defense to nearly impenetrable levels, letting it wall most physical attackers that can't hit it super effectively, (AC) including setup sweepers like Mega Mawile, Landorus-T, Dragon Dance Dragonite, and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados. Struggle Bug lets Mega Scizor actually beat Magearna instead of being setup fodder for it and softens blows from other special attackers like Meloetta and Porygon-Z. Bug Bite is another option that is boosted by Technician and hits Psychic-types like offensive Deoxys-S hard. It also allows Mega Scizor to beat certain Pokemon that avoid the 2HKO from Bullet Punch and can 2HKO it in return like Mega Tyranitar and Mega Medicham.

Set Details
========
252 HP and 68 Special Defense EVs ensure that Mega Scizor survives Hydro Cannon from Choice Specs Greninja. The rest of the EVs are placed into Defense with a Relaxed or Impish nature to maximize its physical walling capabilities, nearly guaranteeing that Mega Scizor lives it survives Earthquake followed by Tectonic Rage from Jolly Landorus-T. An Impish nature is used even if Struggle Bug is opted for so that Mega Scizor outspeeds Mega Tyranitar. Scizor should immediately Mega Evolve, so for the most part its pre-Mega ability is irrelevant. However, Light Metal has circumstantial use to avoid giving a useful ability to Trace users like Hidden Power Fire Mega Alakazam.

Usage Tips
========
Mega Scizor matches up well against most non-Fire-type physical attackers such as Landorus-T, Mega Lopunny, and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados, as well as common Sturdy users like Crustle, Golem, and Donphan. Against most physical setup sweepers like Dragon Dance Dragonite and Mega Gyarados, Swords Dance Landorus-T, and Shell Smash Crustle, Mega Scizor should attempt to fully set up with Iron Defense and then chip away at them with Bullet Punch. Likewise, against most special attackers like Magearna, Meloetta, and Z-Conversion Porygon-Z, Mega Scizor should lower their Special Attack as necessary with Struggle Bug until it can comfortably take their hits, then use Bullet Punch to break through them. Mega Scizor can also be used to beat certain stall Pokemon such as Mega Venusaur, Mega Aggron, Clefable, and Chansey (RC) due to its moveset's very high PP count. Be aware that Pokemon such as Tapu Lele, Magearna, Dragonite, and Greninja occasionally carry Fire-type coverage, which will allow them to beat Mega Scizor. This may be likely if the opposing team appears to be luring in threats that are weak to Fire-type moves. Rest stallers such as Registeel, Type: Null, and Mega Audino should be avoided, as they will win the PP war against Mega Scizor. Taunt users such as Mega Sableye and Kee Berry Mew can also beat it with ease. Mega Scizor should also watch out for hard-hitting special attackers such as Substitute + Torrent Greninja, Tail Glow Manaphy, and Metal Sound Aegislash and Magnezone, as they tend to overwhelm it. If Mega Scizor is running Bug Bite over Struggle Bug, it should be used in scenarios where the opposing Pokemon can 2HKO Mega Scizor and two Bullet Punches will not knock them out (RC) but two Bug Bites or the combination of Bug Bite + Bullet Punch will. This comes into play is the case against foes like Mega Tyranitar, Mega Medicham, and Choice Specs Greninja. Against Kartana, Mega Scizor should not bother using Iron Defense because Kartana will ignore its Defense boosts with Sacred Sword. Instead, it should use Struggle Bug or Bug Bite twice and then follow up with Bullet Punch, which will nearly always knock out an uninvested Kartana. Against Rock-type Sturdy users like Crustle and Golem, Mega Scizor should initially avoid using Bullet Punch, (AC) since they can potentially knock it out with Counter. Instead, it should boost up with Iron Defense against Crustle (RC) and use Struggle Bug until these foes are within KO range of Bullet Punch. Against Greninja, use Roost turn one. If Greninja uses Hydro Cannon, spam Roost until Choice Specs Greninja depletes itself of Hydro Cannon PP or until Life Orb Greninja wears itself down sufficiently from recoil. If Choice Specs Greninja does not use Hydro Cannon, then Mega Scizor should use Struggle Bug, as it will 2HKO Greninja if it locks itself into Dark Pulse, and if not then Mega Scizor will comfortably live tank any other hit Greninja can throw at it. Note that Greninja is far from a guaranteed matchup, since Mega Scizor will lose to Substitute + Torrent and Hidden Power Fire variants regardless of what it does. Against Zeraora, use Iron Defense first if you predict it to be running a purely physical set. Struggle Bug should be used if you predict it to be running a mixed set, as even if Zeraora uses Charge turn one, a Special Attack drop will nearly guarantee that Mega Scizor survives both Z-Thunder Electrium Z-boosted Thunder and Z-Plasma Fists Electrium Z-boosted Plasma Fists from it the following turn. Use Roost on turns after Zeraora uses Charge so that Mega Scizor isn't put into KO range from the boosted damage.

Team Options
========
Bulky Water-types such as Tapu Fini, Mega Gyarados, and Primarina are excellent teammates, as they can reliably take on Fire-types Mega Charizard X, Heatran, and Mega Gyarados for Mega Scizor; Tapu Fini can also take on Mega Charizard Y if it's running Z-Rain Dance. In return, Mega Scizor deals with Grass-types like Kartana, Tapu Bulu, and Serperior and bulky special tanks like Mega Gardevoir and Tapu Lele for them. Dragon-types like Garchomp, Zygarde-C, Kommo-o, and Mega Altaria can also handle Fire-types well, and they appreciate Mega Scizor's ability to deal with Fairy-types such as Magearna, Mega Gardevoir, and Mega Mawile, as well as Choice Specs Greninja and Porygon-Z. Mega Tyranitar is another great partner that can deal with both Charizard formes, Heatran, and Pokemon with Fire-type coverage such as Naganadel and Mew. In return, Mega Scizor can take on many of the Fighting-, Steel-, and Ground-types that trouble it like Mega Lopunny, Mega Metagross, and Donphan. Specially offensive Steel-types like Celesteela, Genesect, and Aegislash give Mega Scizor trouble, so Fire-types like Heatran, Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Incineroar are appreciated for their ability to break past them. Heatran can also deal with both Charizard formes for Mega Scizor and wall Pokemon such as Naganadel and Choice Scarf Tapu Lele that use Fire-type coverage to hit Steel-types. In return, Mega Scizor can take care of Ground- and Rock-types that trouble these Pokemon like Landorus-T, Garchomp, Crustle, and Golem. Mega Scizor also tends to struggle with hard-hitting special attackers such as Substitute + Torrent Greninja, Tail Glow Manaphy, and mixed Shell Smash Carracosta, so Pokemon that can deal with them are appreciated. Zeraora can be an effective partner, as it's able to outspeed and beat these Pokemon in addition to many of Mega Scizor's defensive answers such as Mega Charizard Y, Mega Gyarados, and Mega Slowbro. If it's running Outrage, it can also lure in Dragon-types that trouble Mega Scizor such as Mega Charizard X and Naganadel. In return, Zeraora greatly appreciates Mega Scizor's ability to deal with Ground-types like Landorus-T, Golem, and Donphan. Chansey can handle most non-setup special attackers well and appreciates Mega Scizor's ability to deal with most physical attackers, including Fighting-types like Sawk, in return.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Swords Dance can be used with Bug Bite and an Adamant nature to let Mega Scizor pose an offensive threat, potentially letting it win matchups against Pokemon like Mega Audino, Mega Slowbro, Kee Berry Mew, and Stored Power Necrozma. However, Mega Scizor will lose its ability to check setup sweepers, and it's generally outclassed as a Swords Dance user by the likes of Kartana and Mega Mawile, (AC) since they can hit much harder right off the bat. A set with Curse + Laser Focus can be used, allowing allows Mega Scizor to reliably break Pokemon that boost their defenses such as Ferrothorn and Bulk Up Adamant Landorus-T. Mega Scizor struggles to find room for both of these moves, however, and using Curse over Iron Defense means that Mega Scizor won't be able to reliably beat Swords Dance users like Landorus-T and Garchomp.

Checks and Counters
===================
**Fire-types and Fire-type Coverage**: Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, Heatran, and Volcarona can easily OHKO Mega Scizor with their STAB moves. Pokemon like Tapu Lele, Naganadel, Necrozma, and Mew often carry Fire-type coverage, and others such as Dragonite, Garchomp, and Mega Mawile occasionally run it as well.

**Strong Special Attackers**: Pokemon like Substitute + Torrent Greninja, Tail Glow Manaphy, mixed Shell Smash Carracosta, and Metal Sound Aegislash and Magnezone can overwhelm Mega Scizor with their strong neutral attacks.

**Rest Stallers**: Stall Pokemon like Registeel, Type: Null, and Mega Audino will win the PP war against Mega Scizor thanks to Rest.

**Taunt**: Pokemon such as certain Mega Gyarados variants, Mega Sableye, Kee Berry Mew, and stall Deoxys-S don't mind Bullet Punch or Bug Bite and can prevent Mega Scizor from setting up boosts or recovering with Taunt.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[bigtalk, 466663]]
- Quality checked by: [[Osra, 239997], [Alakazam, 276708], [pqs, 425798]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]

 

[Ginger Princess]

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