Base Stats: 70 HP / 130 Attack / 100 Defense / 55 Special Attack / 80 Special Defense / 65 Speed
Abilities: Swarm | Technician | Light Metal (H)
Notable Moves (STAB moves are Bold):
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- U-Turn
Learned Moves:
Bullet Punch @ Evolution
False Swipe @ Lv. 1
Wing Attack @ Lv. 1
Leer @ Lv. 1
Agility @ Lv. 1
Quick Attack @ Lv. 1
Air Slash @ Lv. 1
Fury Cutter @ Lv. 1
Metal Claw @ Lv. 12
Double Team @ Lv. 16
Double Hit @ Lv. 20
Slash @ Lv. 24
Focus Energy @ Lv. 28
Iron Defense @ Lv. 32
Iron Head @ Lv. 36
X-Scissor @ Lv. 40
Swords Dance @ Lv. 44
TM Moves:
Swords Dance, Take Down, Hyper Beam, Agility, Light Screen, Swift, Rest, Substitute, Thief, Reversal, Protect, Scary Face, Sandstorm, Endure, False Swipe, Sleep Talk, Baton Pass, Metal Claw, Rain Dance, Sunny Day, Facade, Helping Hand, Brick Break, Air Cutter, Aerial Ace, Iron Defense, Tailwind, U-turn, Close Combat, Fling, Air Slash, X-Scissor, Bug Buzz, Giga Impact, Flash Cannon, Iron Head, Acrobatics, Struggle Bug, Steel Beam, Tera Blast, Pounce, Trailblaze
Bullet Punch @ Evolution
False Swipe @ Lv. 1
Wing Attack @ Lv. 1
Leer @ Lv. 1
Agility @ Lv. 1
Quick Attack @ Lv. 1
Air Slash @ Lv. 1
Fury Cutter @ Lv. 1
Metal Claw @ Lv. 12
Double Team @ Lv. 16
Double Hit @ Lv. 20
Slash @ Lv. 24
Focus Energy @ Lv. 28
Iron Defense @ Lv. 32
Iron Head @ Lv. 36
X-Scissor @ Lv. 40
Swords Dance @ Lv. 44
TM Moves:
Swords Dance, Take Down, Hyper Beam, Agility, Light Screen, Swift, Rest, Substitute, Thief, Reversal, Protect, Scary Face, Sandstorm, Endure, False Swipe, Sleep Talk, Baton Pass, Metal Claw, Rain Dance, Sunny Day, Facade, Helping Hand, Brick Break, Air Cutter, Aerial Ace, Iron Defense, Tailwind, U-turn, Close Combat, Fling, Air Slash, X-Scissor, Bug Buzz, Giga Impact, Flash Cannon, Iron Head, Acrobatics, Struggle Bug, Steel Beam, Tera Blast, Pounce, Trailblaze
Pros:
- Scizor is a very good revenge killer, thanks to its main priority move, Bullet Punch, getting boosted thanks to Technician. Aside from that, many threats in the metagame right now, such as Chien-Pao, are vulnerable to Bullet Punch.
- Scizor's Attack stat makes it terrifying as a revenge killer, at 130.
- Scizor has pretty decent physical bulk at 100.
- Bug/Steel is a very good defensive typing, being able to resist many types common in the current metagame, such as Dragon, and Ice, while also possessing an immunity to the Poison type.
Cons:
- Scizor, despite its decent physical bulk, lacks in its special bulk. That, combined with the prevalence of special attackers in the current metagame, means that Scizor sometimes has a hard time switching in.
- Scizor lacks decent longevity after losing Roost, meaning it has to often rely on Wish support.
- Due to a limited selection of decent moves, Scizor is a pretty one dimensional character, making it very predictable.
- Scizor, with its 65 Speed stat, gives it a big struggle in a metagame with speedy Pokémon, although this is slightly alleviated by its priority Bullet Punch.
Terastal Potential:
- Scizor's terastal potential is pretty straightforward. Tera-Water is the most obvious choice, eliminating its weakness to Fire-types, although Tera-Rock is also a good option if you want to Terastalize Scizor under Sand.
- Tera-Steel is also a reasonable Terastal choice, making Scizor's revenge-killing potential even scarier.
Potential Set:
Swords Dance
Scizor @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
Tera Type: Steel / Water / Rock
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Close Combat / Tera Blast
- U-Turn
This Scizor set utilizes its sweeping potential with Life Orb + Swords Dance, while still keeping some degree of utility with U-Turn. The third move depends on what Tera-type Scizor chooses to run. Close Combat is the preferred option for coverage against opposing Steel-types such as Iron Treads when running a Tera-Steel set, while Tera Blast is preferred when running Tera-Water or Tera-Rock sets in order to cover Fire-types.
To summarize, Scizor is a useful Pokémon to consider when a team needs a revenge killer, given its scary Attack stat. Coupled with Swords Dance, this gives Scizor some potential in sweeping, although a Trick Room team is where its sweeping potential can be truly seen, given the current metagame is filled with fast Pokémon.
How do you think Scizor will perform in Gen 9 OU? Will it remain an important revenge killer in the tier, or will it soon drop into lower tiers once better options have been discovered or if the metagame changes? Finally, how important is Scizor losing two of its most important moves in the transition to Gen 9, Roost and Knock Off, to its overall viability? Feel free to discuss.
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