"im MEGA COOL"
Overview
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Though he lacks the immediate power of some other Pokemon in the format, Scizor comfortably occupies his niche as the bulkiest booster in the Doubles metagame. His base stats protect him from the attacks of more defensive Pokemon, and his access to an incredibly strong Bullet Punch allows him to get the first hit on his faster, stronger, but frailer foes. In addition, his Bug Bite can steal Sitrus Berry from bulkier Pokemon, serving as an unreliable but incredibly efficient healing mechanism. His Steel typing allows him to switch in on many attacks and shrug them off, so unlike other setup sweepers, he need not be treated like fine china. He also serves as an interesting anti-Trick Room Pokemon, able to OHKO most non-Ghost-type setters, attack first under Trick Room with Bullet Punch, and survive most hits even if he moves second. For all of these reasons, he is a great choice for bulky teams.
However, he does suffer from a couple crippling weaknesses. Most notable is his abysmal neutral coverage; being unable to hit some of the format's strongest special attackers, such as Aegislash, Thundurus, Charizard, and Heatran for neutral damage, makes him no more than setup fodder until these Pokemon are severely weakened. In addition, his exploitable weakness to Fire means that he is only one surprise Hidden Power away from being beaten by any ostensibly Scizor-weak team. Finally, though he can handle Rotom-W, most other Will-O-Wisp users are able to safely burn him. These weaknesses unfortunately pigeonhole him into a late-game role, greatly reducing his effectiveness.
Swords Dance
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name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Bullet Punch
move 3: Bug Bite
move 4: Protect
ability: Technician
item: Scizorite
evs: 164 HP / 252 Atk / 92 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
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Swords Dance is awesome because it doubles Scizor's attack power and overrides the bane of all physical attackers, Intimidate. Bullet Punch is a powerful priority move, allowing Scizor to always get the first hit and hopefully KO his prospective attacker. Bug Bite is his strongest STAB attack after Technician, and can also steal Sitrus Berries from his targets, providing pseudo-recovery. Protect is a necessity for any offensively oriented Pokemon, buying a turn to maneuver to a better position whenever a Scizor counter comes out.
Set Details
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The EVs help Scizor outspeed 0 Speed Rotom-W so that he can Bug Bite (for a KO if at +2) before eating Will-O-Wisp. Scizor's Attack is maximized, as he is an offensive Pokemon, and the rest is put into HP. Scizorite greatly increases Scizor's bulk and slightly increases his power and Speed, so it's the best option by far. Non-Mega Scizor is pretty underwhelming, but if you really want to use Scizor and already have another Mega Pokemon, Lum Berry is the best item as it cures burns, sleep, and paralysis, all of which cripple him. Scizor can try to replace Protect with Superpower to hit Steel-types, but will have a really rough time without Protect.
Usage Tips
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It's tempting to use Swords Dance whenever possible, but this is hardly necessary and forces Scizor to take a lot of chip damage. Simply attack and Protect unless Swords Dance is necessary (because an Intimidate user is switching in) or you suspect Scizor will get a free turn. Especially avoid using Swords Dance before the opponent's Fire-types are eliminated or it will almost always be a wasted turn. Some Pokemon can ignore Scizor's STAB attacks and are incredibly dangerous once they get rolling, including Heatran, Charizard, and Thundurus. If your opponent has one of these, keep Scizor light on his feet to avoid giving them free turns. If the opponent's team looks like it has Scizor trouble, it's probably packing Hidden Power Fire. Know the common users, such as Cresselia and Latios, and scout for it with Protect (or KO them). Try to avoid dry switching Scizor in to take hits, especially before he Mega Evolves. Even resisted hits can deal near 50% to normal Scizor, which makes sweeping much harder.
Team Options
========
Pokemon that can destroy Fire-types, such as Garchomp, Tyranitar, and Politoed, are a necessity for Scizor. Not only can they scare them from switching in on Scizor, but they can reclaim momentum if the Fire-types do get a free turn. Follow Me users seem like a good option to redirect Will-O-Wisp and strong attacks at first, but most Follow Me users complement Scizor's offensive coverage poorly (and cannot redirect the main Fire-type STAB move in the metagame, Heat Wave). As such, Pokemon that directly defeat common Will-O-Wisp users, such as Shaymin-S, are typically better picks. Supporting Scizor is awkward because he wants Grass-types to handle Rotom-W yet also wants partners that smash Fire-types. Mold Breaker Excadrill can make a good partner, being able to KO both, but can switch in on neither. Scizor works very well on teams lacking in speed control; his Bullet Punch is the second strongest priority move in the game and his STAB options are super effective on most of the common Trick Room users. He can also work well on semi-Trick Room, as he functions well both in and outside the effect, though full Trick Room teams are typically better off with Escavalier. As Scizor is an efficient Fairy-killer, it makes a great member of teams that struggle with Hyper Voice spam, and a partner for Pokemon such as Hydreigon and Conkeldurr that despise Togekiss's Follow Me.
Other Options
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It would be nice to have the reliable recovery of Roost on the Swords Dance set, but it simply cannot replace any of Mega Scizor's other moves. A more support-oriented set could put to use Scizor's good bulk and many utility moves, such as Tailwind, Quick Guard, U-turn, Knock Off, and Light Screen. Lastly, Swords Dance could be dropped for Superpower or Feint. The former beats Heatran and other Steel-types while the latter provides some extra utility, but dropping Swords Dance makes offensive Scizor more vulnerable to Attack drops.
Checks and Counters
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**Fire-type Moves**: Anything that carries a reasonably powerful Fire-type move can serve as a counter to Scizor, including Hydreigon, Manectric, and of course any Fire-type Pokemon. Only strong Hidden Powers (such as Life Orb Latios's) will OHKO, though.
**Defensive Type Advantage**: Many Pokemon resist both of Scizor's STAB attacks and are able to set up on him, hit him hard, or just plain ignore him. These include every major Fire-type, most Steel-types, Thundurus, and Zapdos.
**Intimidate and Burn**: Intimidate can slow Scizor down, forcing him to Swords Dance and thus buying you a turn to maneuver into a better position, but it cannot stop him. Burns can pretty effectively end his effect on the game, however.
**Strong Special Attacks**: Scizor has amazing physical Defense but only mediocre Special Defense. Pokemon that can survive his hits (or move first), such as Keldeo, and smack him with strong special attacks will eventually knock him down.
- Very strong Bullet Punch picks off a lot of more frail offensive Pokemon like Skymin, Latios, Deo-A
- Hits Fairies (Aromatisse, Togekiss) and Psychics (Reuniclus, Slowking, Cresselia) for SE STAB, so it's pretty good anti-TR.
- Great bulk when Mega Evolved makes it a better Swords Dance user than last generation
- Can switch in on Dragons even better than before, but dragons are less common
- Very bad neutral coverage
- Setup fodder for Heatran, Thundurus, and Charizard
- Exploitable 4x fire weakness (Hidden Power)
Swords Dance
########
name: Swords Dance
move1: Swords Dance
move2: Bullet Punch
move3: Bug Bite
move4: Protect
ability: Technician
item: Scizorite
evs: 164 HP / 252 Atk / 92 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
-Swords Dance is amazing because it overrides Scizor's worst enemy: Intimidate. Landorus-T thinks it's cute switching in, letting Scizor get a free +1
-Bullet Punch and Bug Bite provide priority and power respectively, and hit some of the best behemoths in the tier (Cresselia, Terrakion) for Super Effective
-Protect because it's Protect
-Superpower can be run in the last slot; Superpower greatly improves coverage, problem being protect is fucking protect.
Set Details
========
-Trying to maximize damage output, since that's basically what Scizor is there for, and has no real use for Speed investment so HP.
-Scizorite greatly increases Scizor's bulk and slightly increases his power and Speed so it is the best option for a setup Pokemon—use it unless you have another mega on your team.
-If you already have another Mega but REALLY WANNA USE SCIZOR, you should run Lum Berry, as Scizor is a common Will-o-Wisp target.
-However, the difference in bulk is amazing and makes non-mega scizor fold really easily.
-92 Speed is so you beat min Cresselia and Rotom-W, which should make you less dependent on team support to outplay their Will-o-Wisp/Hidden Power Fire
Usage Tips
========
-Scizor hardly needs to set up a Swords Dance every time it comes in—his STABs are plenty strong at +0, just use offensive moves until you suspect you'll have a free turn.
-Counteracting the above point, it's wise to SD if you suspect an intimidate is coming your way, because they're not plenty strong at -1
-Be wary of giving free turns to certain Pokemon that don't care about Scizor's STAB—Thundurus, Heatran, Charizard are the big three.
-Remove Fire-types before Swords Dancing or it's a wasted turn usually
-Know common Hidden Power Fire users (Latios, Shaymin-S, Cresselia) and if you suspect the opponent's team has Scizor troubles, scout for it so that you avoid heartbreak.
-It's best to give Scizor free switches as much as possible; save the hard switch-ins for when he really needs to tank a hit for a teammate.
-Generally the two biggest team support things are contradictory—you want grasses for Rotom-W yet you want things that don't lose to Fire-types. It's a struggle to juggle, do your best.
Team Options
========
-Obviously Pokemon that beat Fire-types handily—Garchomp, Tyranitar, Politoed, and more can not only scare Fire-types from switching into Scizor but clean up the mess if Scizor does give the Fire-types a free turn.
-Shaymin-Sky can remove Rotom-W and Gourgeist, the most common Will-o-Wisp users, while still carrying Earth Power and Air Slash to not be setup fodder for Heatran / Charizard Y respectively
-Can work well on semi-Trick Room which has problems with Pokemon like Cresselia that run Trick Room specifically to undo it; full Trick Room is better off with Escavalier usually
-Very good on teams lacking in speed control; has Bullet Punch for faster Pokemon, but also Bug Bite and Bullet Punch to beat common Trick Room setters/abusers
-Follow Me saves Scizor from Will-o-Wisps but has a couple problems with Fire-Types: for one, none of the Follow Me users can touch them, and for two, Heat Wave is a spread move.
-Ruins Fairy-types so Pokemon that don't like Fairies enjoy his presence (especially ones who don't like Togekiss's Follow Me support, like Conkeldurr and Hydreigon)
Other Options
########
-Roost would be nice but Mega Scizor cannot sacrifice a moveslot to run it
-Tailwind, Quick Guard, U-turn, Knock Off, and Light Screen could be used on a more utility set.
-A three attacks set with Superpower or Feint over Swords Dance—former option makes you less of a setup fodder for Heatran but does little to stop Charizard, latter option gives you general extra utility.
Checks and Counters
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-Fire-types (Talonflame, Heatran, Charizard Y, Volcarona, Rotom-H) don't fear its STAB and threaten a KO
-Steel-types / Thundurus don't fear its STAB; can't do as much directly back but can set up / troll Scizor's partner
-Intimidate can slow scizor down, but cannot effectively stop it since it runs Swords Dance, so don't bank on it.
-Will-o-Wisp
-Scizor's not THAT bulky so he'll usually fall to a few strong neutral hits
-Bulkier pokemon that can do decent damage or burn it (Water-types often)
- Hits Fairies (Aromatisse, Togekiss) and Psychics (Reuniclus, Slowking, Cresselia) for SE STAB, so it's pretty good anti-TR.
- Great bulk when Mega Evolved makes it a better Swords Dance user than last generation
- Can switch in on Dragons even better than before, but dragons are less common
- Very bad neutral coverage
- Setup fodder for Heatran, Thundurus, and Charizard
- Exploitable 4x fire weakness (Hidden Power)
Swords Dance
########
name: Swords Dance
move1: Swords Dance
move2: Bullet Punch
move3: Bug Bite
move4: Protect
ability: Technician
item: Scizorite
evs: 164 HP / 252 Atk / 92 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
-Swords Dance is amazing because it overrides Scizor's worst enemy: Intimidate. Landorus-T thinks it's cute switching in, letting Scizor get a free +1
-Bullet Punch and Bug Bite provide priority and power respectively, and hit some of the best behemoths in the tier (Cresselia, Terrakion) for Super Effective
-Protect because it's Protect
-Superpower can be run in the last slot; Superpower greatly improves coverage, problem being protect is fucking protect.
Set Details
========
-Trying to maximize damage output, since that's basically what Scizor is there for, and has no real use for Speed investment so HP.
-Scizorite greatly increases Scizor's bulk and slightly increases his power and Speed so it is the best option for a setup Pokemon—use it unless you have another mega on your team.
-If you already have another Mega but REALLY WANNA USE SCIZOR, you should run Lum Berry, as Scizor is a common Will-o-Wisp target.
-However, the difference in bulk is amazing and makes non-mega scizor fold really easily.
-92 Speed is so you beat min Cresselia and Rotom-W, which should make you less dependent on team support to outplay their Will-o-Wisp/Hidden Power Fire
Usage Tips
========
-Scizor hardly needs to set up a Swords Dance every time it comes in—his STABs are plenty strong at +0, just use offensive moves until you suspect you'll have a free turn.
-Counteracting the above point, it's wise to SD if you suspect an intimidate is coming your way, because they're not plenty strong at -1
-Be wary of giving free turns to certain Pokemon that don't care about Scizor's STAB—Thundurus, Heatran, Charizard are the big three.
-Remove Fire-types before Swords Dancing or it's a wasted turn usually
-Know common Hidden Power Fire users (Latios, Shaymin-S, Cresselia) and if you suspect the opponent's team has Scizor troubles, scout for it so that you avoid heartbreak.
-It's best to give Scizor free switches as much as possible; save the hard switch-ins for when he really needs to tank a hit for a teammate.
-Generally the two biggest team support things are contradictory—you want grasses for Rotom-W yet you want things that don't lose to Fire-types. It's a struggle to juggle, do your best.
Team Options
========
-Obviously Pokemon that beat Fire-types handily—Garchomp, Tyranitar, Politoed, and more can not only scare Fire-types from switching into Scizor but clean up the mess if Scizor does give the Fire-types a free turn.
-Shaymin-Sky can remove Rotom-W and Gourgeist, the most common Will-o-Wisp users, while still carrying Earth Power and Air Slash to not be setup fodder for Heatran / Charizard Y respectively
-Can work well on semi-Trick Room which has problems with Pokemon like Cresselia that run Trick Room specifically to undo it; full Trick Room is better off with Escavalier usually
-Very good on teams lacking in speed control; has Bullet Punch for faster Pokemon, but also Bug Bite and Bullet Punch to beat common Trick Room setters/abusers
-Follow Me saves Scizor from Will-o-Wisps but has a couple problems with Fire-Types: for one, none of the Follow Me users can touch them, and for two, Heat Wave is a spread move.
-Ruins Fairy-types so Pokemon that don't like Fairies enjoy his presence (especially ones who don't like Togekiss's Follow Me support, like Conkeldurr and Hydreigon)
Other Options
########
-Roost would be nice but Mega Scizor cannot sacrifice a moveslot to run it
-Tailwind, Quick Guard, U-turn, Knock Off, and Light Screen could be used on a more utility set.
-A three attacks set with Superpower or Feint over Swords Dance—former option makes you less of a setup fodder for Heatran but does little to stop Charizard, latter option gives you general extra utility.
Checks and Counters
########
-Fire-types (Talonflame, Heatran, Charizard Y, Volcarona, Rotom-H) don't fear its STAB and threaten a KO
-Steel-types / Thundurus don't fear its STAB; can't do as much directly back but can set up / troll Scizor's partner
-Intimidate can slow scizor down, but cannot effectively stop it since it runs Swords Dance, so don't bank on it.
-Will-o-Wisp
-Scizor's not THAT bulky so he'll usually fall to a few strong neutral hits
-Bulkier pokemon that can do decent damage or burn it (Water-types often)
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