Scrafty (Analysis)

Delta 2777

Machampion
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QC Approved 3/3

*PttP wrote [most of] the Dragon Dance set, I (Delta 2777) wrote the Bulk Up set as well as the overview/counters/etc. Please be sure to give him partial credit.

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[Overview]

<p>Blessed with Dark / Fighting typing and decent stats all around, Scrafty lives up to its reputation of being a bad-ass ghetto lizard. Sporting good defenses, decent Attack, and two different boosting moves in Bulk Up and Dragon Dance, Scrafty is a versatile threat, viable on both balanced and offensive teams. The combination of Rest and Shed Skin is another neat perk of Scrafty's that allows it to heal itself somewhat reliably and distinguish itself from similar Pokemon. While its low Speed and weakness to Fighting-type moves hold it back from being a top-tier threat, Scrafty has just the right moves, stats, and typing to find a niche in the standard metagame.</p>

[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Hi Jump Kick / Drain Punch
move 3: Crunch
move 4: Ice Punch / Taunt
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Moxie / Shed Skin
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Although its less-than-stellar Speed and average Attack make it an odd choice, Scrafty makes an excellent user of Dragon Dance. It is blessed with Dark- and Fighting-type STABs in Hi Jump Kick and Crunch that are resisted by only Heracross and Toxicroak, neither of which is extremely common. It also has the choice of two fantastic abilities in Moxie and Shed Skin. Moxie is preferred as it gives a +1 Attack boost after each kill, boosting Scrafty’s modest Attack to intimidating levels. On the other hand, Shed Skin allows Scrafty to set up on Pokemon that it otherwise could not, such as Will-O-Wisp Jellicent and Thunder Wave Ferrothorn, although this comes at the price of needing more boosts to sweep efficiently. Drain Punch is an acceptable option over Hi Jump Kick as it gives Scrafty some much-needed recovery and has a 100% hit rate, although there is a notable difference in power as Scrafty can no longer 2HKO physically defensive Hippowdon after a Dragon Dance. Ice Punch allows Scrafty to dispose of certain bulky Flying-types, such as Gliscor, Zapdos, and Dragonite. Taunt is useful when Moxie is used, as it prevents Scrafty from getting hit with status moves. Life Orb makes Scrafty an immediate power threat, while Leftovers can potentially allow him to gain more Dragon Dances under his belt.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>With a Jolly nature and maximum Speed investment, Scrafty is able to outrun up to positive-natured base 111s, most notably Thundurus and Tornadus, and obliterate them with Ice Punch. An alternate spread of 140 HP / 176 Atk / 192 Spe with an Adamant nature is usable as it actually makes Scrafty stronger and bulkier, but at the cost of Speed. For example, after one Dragon Dance it will only be able to outspeed neutral-natured base 100s at best, making Scrafty more susceptible to Pokemon such as Infernape and Terrakion. Even with no investment in defenses, Scrafty makes great use of its 65 / 115 / 115 base defenses in withstanding common priority, as even a Mach Punch from an Adamant Conkeldurr will never OHKO Scrafty.</p>

<p>Scrafty doesn't have many options other than the ones listed already. It can use Stone Edge for Gyarados, but other than that, Ice Punch vastly outclasses it. Scrafty can run a moveset of Dragon Dance / Rest / Drain Punch / Crunch with Shed Skin to reliably set up on weaker Pokemon, such as Gliscor, but it is susceptible on the turns Shed Skin does not activate. Scrafty faces much competition from other Dragon Dance users, such as Dragonite and Salamence, so it is important to make sure when you are making your team that you are fully utilizing Scrafty for its niche to hit many Pokemon with its great STAB attacks; otherwise you are probably better off using something else. Finally, Chople Berry deserves a special mention as an alternative item choice. This allows Scrafty to survive an otherwise fatal blow such as Terrakion's Close Combat or Conkeldurr's Drain Punch, provided that Scrafty has a reasonable amount of health left. However, it is situational, and in other instances you may miss out on valuable Leftovers recovery or the power boost provided by Life Orb.</p>

[SET]
name: Bulk Up
move 1: Bulk Up
move 2: Drain Punch
move 3: Crunch / Dragon Tail
move 4: Rest
item: Leftovers
ability: Shed Skin
evs: 252 HP / 8 Atk / 248 SpD
nature: Careful

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Scrafty's impressive bulk, in conjunction with its typing and ability, make it a fine user of the move Bulk Up. Drain Punch and Crunch, both of which recieve STAB, have excellent coverage together, hitting all but Heracross and Toxicroak for at least neutral damage. Drain Punch also has the advantage of restoring Scrafty's HP while simultaneously dishing out damage, making Scrafty even more difficult to KO. After accumulating enough boosts, Scrafty can simply use Rest to completely restore its HP, and thanks to Shed Skin, potentially wake up immediately after using the move with no consequences. The EVs maximize Scrafty's ability to take special attacks, as its Defense will be boosted by Bulk Up.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Payback is an option over Crunch; while it has 100 Base Power when going second, it no longer doubles in power on the switch and only hits for a meager 50 Base Power against notable threats such as Reuniclus and Cofagrigus. Dragon Tail is another viable option over Crunch, allong Scrafty to beat opposing stat boosters such as Conkeldurr, Salamence, and Suicune. Dragon Tail also has the advantage of hitting all Pokemon bar Shedinja for at least neutral damage alongside Drain Punch, although Dragon Tail will generally not hit as hard as Crunch.</p>

<p>Scrafty can also be EVed to outspeed certain threats such as Metagross, Scizor, and Vaporeon; however, you are usually better off simply investing in its defenses. While Scrafty's Special Defense is very good, it will still fold to powerful special attacks such as Virizion's Focus Blast, so exercise caution when setting up.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>An anti-lead set can work effectively, as Fake Out can be used to break any Focus Sash that the opposing Pokemon may hold, while having the rest of Scrafty's movepool to eliminate the opposing threat. However, with the advent of team preview, designated leads are practically non-existent.</p>

<p>In addition to what has been previously listed, Scrafty also has access to Head Smash, Stone Edge, Fire Punch, and ThunderPunch (among other moves). However, Scrafty is better suited to using Ice Punch on the Dragon Dance set, as it otherwise has difficulty defeating the omnipresent Gliscor, Dragonite, and Salamence. Finally, Hi Jump Kick is an option on the Bulk Up set for a boost in power, but is generally not worth the lack of reliability and self-healing.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Physically bulky Pokemon that can phaze Scrafty out, such as Hippowdon, Skarmory, and Swampert can force Scrafty out as long as it isn't the last Pokemon on its team. Powerful Flying- and Fighting-type moves can inflict serious damage on Scrafty, as long as it hasn't yet accumulated numerous Bulk Up boosts, or if they're special. Good users of these moves are Terrakion, Virizion, Staraptor, and Conkeldurr. Users of Trick and Encore will also cripple most Scrafty sets, as they can lock Scrafty into Bulk Up or Dragon Dance. While Scrafty has decent defenses, boosted hits from certain powerhouses such as Latios will often be too much for Scrafty to handle.</p>

[Dream World]

<p>Scrafty gets Intimidate as an alternative ability from Dream World; while still a great ability, it is often overshadowed by either either Moxie or Shed Skin, depending on the set. However, Intimidate is still viable on any set, as it may come in handy in some situations, particularly when trying to prevent a sweep by a physical attacker.</p>
 
Could there be room somewhere there for a Sub+Lum Berry set especially on the boosting ones? I think more especially for the Dragon Dancer?
 
Is Ice Punch worth a mention in OC ? It does hit Gliscor and Landlos whilst still retaining coverage on flying types not named Gyarados.
 
on the dd set, shed skin should be mentioned as its a way of removing toxic, and burn. Also on the DD set ice punch should be mentioned as a way of taking out Gliscor.
 
The Bulk Up set is nothing but a poor man's Roobushin. You shouldn't bother with it. In fact, fucking Roobushin comes in on it and just gets all it's hp back with Drain Punch : /. His HP does not complement his special defense. He's not Snorlax and it just doesn't work.
 
The Bulk Up set is nothing but a poor man's Roobushin. You shouldn't bother with it. In fact, fucking Roobushin comes in on it and just gets all it's hp back with Drain Punch : /. His HP does not complement his special defense. He's not Snorlax and it just doesn't work.
You're wrong, you're so wrong. Bulk Up Zuruzukin is a monster. You must not have faced a good player using one of these yet. He's not supposed to take hits like Snorlax, or dish out attacks like Roobushin, but instead take a middle of the road, "slow but steady wins the race" approach. I haven't run the calcs, but after one or two Bulk Ups Roobushin has a hard time stopping it anyway, even with his SE STAB. One of the most important distinctions is that while Roopushin has no real form of reliable recovery, Zuruzukin can viably make use of Rest thanks to Shed Skin.
 
Besides, Roopushin's much easier to predict. He's only viable when beefed up Specially via EVs and Bulked up Physical. Zuruzukin can be extremely Physically beefy, extremely Specially beefy, any combination of both, or a Dragon Dance sweeper. He also has the likes of Rest, Shed Skin, STAB dark, and all the other tools in his huge physical movepool. In fact, if Roopushin is Specially beefy (which he always is, so he doesn't get instaraped by Shandera) a +1 Zuruzugin with max Attack can drop Roopushin in 2 hits. (One before Bulk Up, and one after. If you anticipate Drain Punch and have the walling build, you can Bulk Up beforehand and move on from there.)

Of course, Bulk Up battling is redundant when Roopushin only has one viable set and is incredibly predictable, so you can easily just switch in and take him out with something else.

In other words, Zuruzugin has a LOT going for him. He can be a modified Roopushin or do several completely different sets, all of which are viable, and your opponent's not going to know which it is until it's too late.
 
You're wrong, you're so wrong. Bulk Up Zuruzukin is a monster. You must not have faced a good player using one of these yet. He's not supposed to take hits like Snorlax, or dish out attacks like Roobushin, but instead take a middle of the road, "slow but steady wins the race" approach. I haven't run the calcs, but after one or two Bulk Ups Roobushin has a hard time stopping it anyway, even with his SE STAB. One of the most important distinctions is that while Roopushin has no real form of reliable recovery, Zuruzukin can viably make use of Rest thanks to Shed Skin.
Here's something for you to think about. Zuruzukin at +2 has 4 less attack points than a + 0 Roobushin. Zuruzukin's HP is not worth a damn thing. Roobushin can come in and Bulk Up with it after it already has a Bulk Up because +1 Drain Punch from this pathetic thing does nothing. Roobushin being slower actually helps it as after it takes a "hit" it's going to get that HP back.

Now, this thing does have the benefit of not being walled by psychics but at what cost? A fighting weakness? That's not a good trade off.

Perhaps I haven't faced a good player with him because they all do try to tank hits like it's Snorlax. But i've tried using him before and people bust through his defenses. Things like SD Landlos or SD Garchomp. Zam's Life Orb Focus Blast really hurts it, Focus Blast in general does. Or Roobushin.

Besides, Roopushin's much easier to predict. He's only viable when beefed up Specially via EVs and Bulked up Physical. Zuruzukin can be extremely Physically beefy, extremely Specially beefy, any combination of both, or a Dragon Dance sweeper. He also has the likes of Rest, Shed Skin, STAB dark, and all the other tools in his huge physical movepool. In fact, if Roopushin is Specially beefy (which he always is, so he doesn't get instaraped by Shandera) a +1 Zuruzugin with max Attack can drop Roopushin in 2 hits. (One before Bulk Up, and one after. If you anticipate Drain Punch and have the walling build, you can Bulk Up beforehand and move on from there.)

Of course, Bulk Up battling is redundant when Roopushin only has one viable set and is incredibly predictable, so you can easily just switch in and take him out with something else.

In other words, Zuruzugin has a LOT going for him. He can be a modified Roopushin or do several completely different sets, all of which are viable, and your opponent's not going to know which it is until it's too late.
Easier to predict? It doesn't have to be unpredictable to work. Zuruzukin's Dragon Dance set is far more scarce than it's Bulk Up one. Everyone expects Zuruzukin to Bulk Up and if he does Dance you can get him Mach Punch(Roobushin is 20 something % used in battle and for a reason), or get Ghosts in on the Hi Jump Kick.

Not all Roobushin are specially maxed out even with the threat of Shandera. +1 Zuruzkin with max attack doesn't exist. Everyone maxes out HP and spdef because they think this is Snorlax. And as I mentioned +0 Roobushin is going to bust through that defense and get HP back because he's slower. Dark STAB is alright but ghosts don't do anything to Roobushin. What are they gonna do, burn him? Oh good idea. Roobushins main counters are Zapdos, Gyarados, and Salamence, because Thunderbolt hurts, Taunt stops you from Bulk Up, and Draco Meteor+Intimidate is going to get to you respectively. Dragonite stops Roobushin only if it's got a special move of some sort. You're better off with Stone Edge because Payback does poorly against these. Crunch from Zuruzukin is stronger than Payback from Roobushin in BP but Roobushin has more attack, so no it doesn't matter.

But then again Zuruzukin is stopped by status 70% of the time. Unless it uses rest which will allow things like Salamence to get in for the Draco Meteor.

I don't care how many times Zuruzukin is spelled wrong because it's like that planet Kashyyyk. Too many Ys and Ks Zuruzukin is too many Zs and Us.
 
Here's something for you to think about. Zuruzukin at +2 has 4 less attack points than a + 0 Roobushin. Zuruzukin's HP is not worth a damn thing. Roobushin can come in and Bulk Up with it after it already has a Bulk Up because +1 Drain Punch from this pathetic thing does nothing. Roobushin being slower actually helps it as after it takes a "hit" it's going to get that HP back.

Now, this thing does have the benefit of not being walled by psychics but at what cost? A fighting weakness? That's not a good trade off.

Perhaps I haven't faced a good player with him because they all do try to tank hits like it's Snorlax. But i've tried using him before and people bust through his defenses. Things like SD Landlos or SD Garchomp. Zam's Life Orb Focus Blast really hurts it, Focus Blast in general does. Or Roobushin.
Don't underestimante the Bulk Up set, trust me I use one and it is a monster, it has swept my oppenents 6-0 quite a few times and I've been using him for about two days. With 1 or 2 Bulk Ups his defence is amazing and with Rest and Shed Skin he has reliable recovery. If he can survive to get 3 or 4 Bulk Ups anything that doesn't resist Drain Punch almost always 1HKO's
 

Super Mario Bro

All we ever look for
You can't really compare Bulk-up Roobushin and Bulk-up Zuruzukin; they serve completely different purposes. You should use Roobushin if you want a STAB priority move to take down weakened Doryuzzu or Blaziken, while Zuruzukin has far superior special defense, and doesn't instantly lose to Rankurusu.

Also, Zuruzukin has Hi Jump Kick and Rest + Shed Skin. While Drain Punch may seem superior, Hi Jump Kick helps in so many scenarios against bulky Pokemon who would otherwise pHaze or set up on you (like Roobushin, Garchomp, and Skarmory).

Crunch should be the main option on Bulk Up Zuruzukin. It has better PP than Payback, has a defense dropping side effect, and hits Rankurusu for a nice 120 Base Power right off the bat.
 
You can't really compare Bulk-up Roobushin and Bulk-up Zuruzukin; they serve completely different purposes. You should use Roobushin if you want a STAB priority move to take down weakened Doryuzzu or Blaziken, while Zuruzukin has far superior special defense, and doesn't instantly lose to Rankurusu.

Also, Zuruzukin has Hi Jump Kick and Rest + Shed Skin. While Drain Punch may seem superior, Hi Jump Kick helps in so many scenarios against bulky Pokemon who would otherwise pHaze or set up on you (like Roobushin, Garchomp, and Skarmory).

Crunch should be the main option on Bulk Up Zuruzukin. It has better PP than Payback, has a defense dropping side effect, and hits Rankurusu for a nice 120 Base Power right off the bat.
Exactly. You can't tell someone to not list a set. Even if it sucked ass in higher tiers, it'd still be an option in lower tiers as long as it seems viable in any sense of the word. Roopushin v. Zuruzukin is not the name of the thread and thus it should not be debated.
 
Would Head Smash work? It has more BP than Stone Edge, though recoil would hurt. Also, would a Choice Band set be viable with Stone Edge/ Head Smash, Hi Jump Kick, Crunch, and maybe Ice Punch since it can't set up?
 
I'm a bad player. I build teams based more on which pokemon I find interesting than on strategy. That said, Zuruzukin with the first set is the reason I'm winning more than normal. Nothing to fear from roopushin with a couple of bulk ups, and especially good for a baton pass recipient. I've gotten my only 6-0's by passing a shell smash from a white herb huntail to this guy.
 
why is there no mention of the earthquake spiral Zuruzukin?

Zuruzukin (F) @ Leftovers Trait: Earthquake Spiral
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 6 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Drain Punch
- ThunderPunch
- Ice Punch
- Crunch


This works perfect with baton pass ninjask/blaziken 75% sweep of all teams after a SD and 2 or 3 speed boosts. Please consider this.
 
Overconfidence = Earthquake Spiral. It was a mistranslation when the spoilers came out.

Receiving a +2/+3 and sweeping the opposing team is true of basically every bulky physical pokemon there is. It may have nice coverage, but same can be achieved by using Metagross, who has considerably higher bulk and higher Attack. It's not really that Zuruzukin makes baton pass teams shine, but just about anything that fits the bill.
 
The DD set works pretty well in my own team, but I have a few other changes I use to that one, First and foremost I run a Lum berry cause if you can predict status coming just use the DD while they try and hey free DD. Another thing is running max attack which helps with some kills, and some other EVs i run that I have no idea if they work, too lazy to check any calcs
 
Personally, I stay away from anything other than Bulk Up Dragon Tail because otherwise Mach Punch and Ditto will most likely outclass it, and both ditto/roopushin are very prevalent in the current meta. On the other hand, Shandera has very good synergy with speedy sweeping Zuruzukin because a Ditto switch in will probably get choice locked into Drain Punch, which Shandera is immune to and traps with Shadow Tag. Bulky Mach Punchers will be able to take an Overheat and kill Shandera with Payback, but they'll be easy to finish off afterward. Zuruzukin is very good at staying healthy, so if you can take out his major counters then he'll be able to inflict some serious damage.

I tried the above set with Tpunch/Ipunch/Dpunch/Crunch and BP Blaziken (along with a Shandera) and it works quite well. Blaziken and Shandera's fire makes scaring away or trap killing Zuruzukin's walls quite easy. The only real problem with Overconfidence, in my opinion, is that it doesn't match Zuruzukin very well. He's not a very good revenge killer, and he's not very strong starting out. He's dependent on set-ups, but he has a stellar movepool otherwise. For this reason, Overconfidence isn't very good because all Zuruzukin's counters just switch in on his first turn 100% of the time because they have the security to do so. What I'm saying is that, basically, if Zuruzukin gets the opportunity to KO even a single pokemon then that means he's probably already in position to sweep the enemy team. (Regardless of additional Overconfidence boosts.)

The only thing Overconfidence really does is give Zuru a disproportionate Attack stat that makes him more vulnerable to being revenged by Ditto, whereas Shed Skin really helps Zuruzukin stay in the field. (Status effects can ruin his day, but usually won't come into play until AFTER you knock out offensive counters like Roopushin, because nobody wants Zuru to be setting up on their walls.) Intimidate is neat, but suffers a similar problem to Overconfidence. Almost ALL Zuru's counters will be switching in on him, which renders Intimidate pointless. Furthermore, if a Trace or Ditto switches in, then Intimidate becomes a weakness because it reduces your Attack.

It's too bad about DW abilities and Gen 4 Move Tutors being incompatible, because otherwise Honchkrow would have been a fantastic Overconfidence user.
 

Alexshiny94

Wi-Fi Blacklisted
Offensive Dragon-Drain


Item: Leftovers/Life Orb
Nature: Jolly (+Speed -SpAttk)
Ability: Overconfidence
Evs: 6 HP/ 252 Attk/ 252 Speed

- HeadSmash/Stone Edge
- Crunch
- DrainPunch
- DragonDance

No problem for Head Smash, because it restores Hp with drain punch and leftovers.
With one drago dance it has 524 speed and 418 attack, it surpasses all base 110 speed.
Hi jump kick is very strong, but the damage upon falling is too high
 
I suppose this is an OU analysis; so you have to remove all mentions of Uber Pokemon like Ho-Oh, Giratina, Kyogre in the analysis. You should also add a mention of Roobushin in the Counters section.

Otherwise, this is an excellent analysis. Good luck for getting this on-site soon.
 
I've been using a Dragon Dance set for a while, but using Shed Skin (And Leftovers) instead of Overconfidence. You can send him to a predicted poison or burn, and if your opponent feels safe (Which usually happens to me), you can set up enough DDs to either make Drain Punch to be able to overcome poison damage or compensate burn's effect (If you still have that status, unlucky you if that happens) and then sweep freely, since he may become too fast to handle (Without super-effective priority from Roobushin, of course). I've had many 6-0 because of that 'pity effect' (And because there was no Roobushin to stop my DD-sweep early). I didn't even need any other attacking moves rather than Drain Punch and Crunch because there are too few Dark/Fighting resists (Rest, a remnant of my first Bulk Up set, which did not satisfy me enough because of his low Speed, can be almost considered a filler move since he will be healing almost all the time through Drain Punch, and status isn't a big deal anyway with Shed Skin)

If we take into consideration DW abilities, the Dragon Dance set (And your entire team if you set up too many DDs and if it happens not to choose the Fighting move) is countered by Scarf Ditto easily (Could have a mention in Dream World section), but that's not surprising



Item: Leftovers
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Shed Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

- Dragon Dance
- Rest
- Drain Punch
- Crunch


Taunt could be an option over Rest. I started considering it since I've seen many Skarmory (Hippowdon too, but it's attacks are not as threatening as Skarmory's) seeking to phaze the Scoundrel Pokémon, and since you don't even need to have any DDs to have a faster Taunt over its Whirlwind... still, Brave Bird is a problem

At first I found Zuruzukin weird, but his ability to take varied roles and being an underrated threat (Sure, he's not as hard-hitting as those things called Roobushin and Doryuzuu and many others, but still...) made him become possibly my favorite Fighting-type pokémon, and that's what keeps him in my team
 
Nice analysis overall but, I think he also serves a mention on a SubPunch set I will post a sub punch set that I have used. but for example if he manages to 1hko a switch in or the opposing pokemon it can actually raise his attack not only that but it increases his power as well making it a very hard pokemon to wall. (I am on a crappy laptop will post an Ev Spread soon)
 

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