[Overview]
<p>Scrafty stands out as the only fully evolved Pokemon with a Dark / Fighting typing, meaning it gets neutral coverage against everything in UU bar Heracross with its STAB moves alone. In addition to this, it gets two useful abilities, Shed Skin and Moxie, with the former preventing status moves such as Will-O-Wisp from crippling it and the latter allowing it to gain extra Attack boosts easily. With 65 / 115 / 115 defenses, it can also set up Dragon Dance or Bulk Up easily. However, don't think Scrafty doesn't have any flaws. Its base 90 Attack leaves much to be desired, making its damage output low without any Attack boosts. Its base 58 Speed doesn't make this any better, as this leaves it prone to fast Pokemon such as Crobat and Choice Scarf Heracross. However, despite these flaws Scrafty is a very threatening sweeper that every team should be prepared for.</p>
[SET]
name: Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Hi Jump Kick / Drain Punch
move 3: Crunch
move 4: Ice Punch / Zen Headbutt
item: Lum Berry / Life Orb
ability: Moxie / Shed Skin
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With such a low Speed stat, it is only natural that a Dragon Dance set would be considered. With one Dragon Dance boost, Scrafty hits 354 Speed, which allows it to outspeed threats such as Cobalion, Mienshao, and Zapdos, which otherwise it wouldn't be able to. Hi Jump Kick is the preferred Fighting-type STAB move, as it will deal a lot of damage to anything that doesn't resist it after a Dragon Dance boost; however, Drain Punch is more reliable and provides some healing. Crunch is used in order to get past the Ghost- and Psychic-types who resist Hi Jump Kick and Drain Punch, and also allows it to hit almost every Pokemon in UU for at least neutral damage. For the last move, Ice Punch hits Zapdos and Gligar for super effective damage, while Zen Headbutt can be used to hit Heracross on the switch. It is worth noting that either move will also deal heavy damage to Crobat.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Dragon Dance Scrafty should always use as much Attack and Speed as possible, with the leftover EVs placed into Special Defense in order to prevent Download users from gaining a Special Attack boost. It should also always use a Jolly nature, as otherwise at +1 it would lose out on outspeeding Cobalion, Mienshao, and Zapdos. If Moxie is used as the ability, Lum Berry is the preferred item choice, as this gives it a one-time insurance policy against any status move, especially Will-O-Wisp. However, if using Shed Skin as the ability, Life Orb should be used in order to increase Scrafty's damage output. An advantage to using Shed Skin is that it works however many times you want it to, albeit slightly unreliably, while Lum Berry only works once.</p>
<p>Although Dragon Dance boosts its subpar Speed to a respectable level, there are still a handful of Pokemon that outspeed Scrafty after it has used Dragon Dance. The most notable examples are Crobat and Choice Scarf Heracross. Gligar walls Heracross thanks to its massive bulk with Eviolite and resistance to both of its STAB moves, and can also support Scrafty's team further by providing Stealth Rock support. Gligar also sponges any hit from Crobat, although it cannot do much back. Zapdos is another great choice for a partner due to its resistance to Brave Bird, allowing it to take down Crobat with Thunderbolt, and it also serves as a decent check to Heracross if necessary. Because many Fighting-type attacks will be aimed at Scrafty, using a Ghost-type Pokemon on your team, such as Cofagrigus or Chandelure, is a good idea in order to switch in on these attacks.</p>
[SET]
name: Bulk Up
move 1: Bulk Up
move 2: Drain Punch
move 3: Crunch
move 4: Rest
item: Leftovers
ability: Shed Skin
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Scrafty has access to another boosting move as well: Bulk Up. By utilizing Bulk Up, Scrafty sponges any non-super effective move with ease and can simultaneously deal lots of damage in return. In fact, with two Bulk Up boosts, it can even take a Life Orb-boosted Hi Jump Kick from Mienshao, a testament to how bulky it is. To add on to this, Scrafty boasts nearly unresisted STAB coverage, giving it a huge advantage over other users of Bulk Up. However, Shed Skin truly is Bulk Up Scrafty's ace in the hole. With Shed Skin, it gains a chance of waking up from Rest early, reducing the consequences of using the move. For its STAB moves, Drain Punch is used instead of Hi Jump Kick because survivability is preferred over power on this set, and Crunch allows it to cover Pokemon such as Chandelure, Mismagius, and Slowbro.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The given EV spread is intended to improve Scrafty's Special Defense, allowing it to take special attacks. If your team does not need the additional coverage from Crunch, Dragon Tail is an option to allow Scrafty to phaze, giving it the ability to rack up entry hazard damage on the opponent. If Dragon Tail is used, an EV spread of 252 HP / 232 SpD / 24 Spe gives Scrafty just enough Speed to prevent Swampert from phazing it out.</p>
<p>Although Bulk Up improves Scrafty's physical bulk considerably, Mienshao can still OHKO it with Hi Jump Kick after a single Bulk Up boost, and any Heracross deals heavy damage to it with Close Combatwhile resisting both Drain Punch and Crunch. Gligar works as a teammate, as it walls Heracross, while Slowbro is another good teammate that can handle Mienshao. Ghost-types can also switch in on the Fighting-type attacks that scare off Scrafty, so Pokemon such as Cofagrigus and Chandelure are also good teammates here.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Besides what's already listed, Scrafty does not have many other viable options. Stone Edge is notable for doing more damage to Crobat on the switch than Ice Punch or Zen Headbutt, and also does more damage to all other Flying-types bar Gligar. Head Smash always OHKOes Crobat after Stealth Rock, something Stone Edge doesn't always do, even with Stealth Rock. However, Head Smash's recoil means it hurts Scrafty more than it helps it. Taunt prevents Roar users such as Suicune from phazing Scrafty and also blocks status moves, although it is not good coverage-wise. Substitute is an option to allow it to set up on Dragon Tail users such as Blastoise and Milotic, although these Pokemon may instead use Roar or Haze, respectively.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Crobat is your best bet at taking care of Scrafty. Assuming Crobat has 252 HP EVs, it can switch in on any of Scrafty's unboosted attacks, including Ice Punch and Zen Headbutt, outspeed even after Scrafty has used one Dragon Dance and scare it off with Brave Bird. To top it off, Crobat can even use Roost to recover from damage taken while switching in on Scrafty's attacks. If Scrafty does not use Ice Punch, Gligar walls it to no end thanks to its massive Defense with Eviolite, its resistance to Hi Jump Kick, and its neutrality to Crunch. RestTalk Suicune can force Scrafty out with Roar, but be aware that Suicune will likely take massive damage from a +1 Hi Jump Kick in the process. Intimidate Hitmontop can take Scrafty's Hi Jump Kick as well as any of its other moves and retaliate with Close Combat.</p>
<p>Due to its meager base 58 Speed, Scrafty is outsped by any viable Choice Scarf user, making it easy to revenge kill. Heracross and Mienshao are both notable for this due to their Fighting-type STAB moves to use against it, and Choice Scarf Mienshao outspeeds Scrafty even after it has used Dragon Dancetwice. Pokemon such as Weavile and Crobat outspeed a boosted Scrafty even without a Choice Scarf, although Weavile cannot safely switch in on Scrafty and none of Weavile's Fighting-type attacks will KO Scrafty without it being weakened first.</p>
[Unreleased]
<p>Intimidate is not a bad ability by any means, but when released, Intimidate Scrafty is unlikely to see much use as Shed Skin and Moxie are both much more useful abilities on Scrafty. Gaining the ability to evade status or gain a lot of Attack boosts are both much more useful than getting a temporary Attack drop on the opponent's Pokemon. Not to mention that Intimidate Hitmontop is generally more useful as it can use support moves such as Rapid Spin.</p>
