Overview
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Although the loss of Steel Gem weakened Scizor by not allowing it to Bullet Punch snipe, Scizor is still an amazing Pokemon in the VGC metagame due to its great typing, which is only weak to Fire, as well as its decent bulk and many resistances. Scizor also boasts great offensive stats and Bug / Steel typing, which is a nice offensive typing due to the rise of Fairy-types such as Sylveon. Scizor, however, faces competition from similar Steel-types such as Bisharp, which is "immune" to Intimidate, and Mega Mawile. Scizor is also easily walled by common Pokemon in the metagame, such as Thundurus, Heatran, and Aegislash. Like most physical attackers, Scizor is severely crippled by Intimidate and Will-O-Wisp, both of which are very common.
Swords Dance
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name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Bullet Punch
move 3: Knock Off / Bug Bite
move 4: Protect
ability: Technician
item: Lum Berry / Scizorite / Life Orb
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
nature: Adamant
Moves
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Swords Dance boosts Scizor's Attack to scary levels and mitigates the effects of Intimidate and burn. Bullet Punch is Scizor's best priority move and works really well when combined with Swords Dance. Knock Off has more utility than Bug Bite, as some bulkier Pokemon such as Cresselia tend to run other items instead of Sitrus Berry, and it also allows Scizor to hit Aegislash, one of Scizor's biggest counters, for super effective damage. Bug Bite, however, has more power than Knock Off and is arguably a better answer to most Rotom-W variants, as it can steal the foe's Sitrus Berry instead of just knocking it off. Protect is an important move for Scizor because once it gets a Swords Dance boost, your opponent will most likely double target Scizor to take it out before it can do any major damage. In that case, using Protect will buy you a turn.
Set Details
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Maximum Attack EVs with an Adamant nature maximize Scizor's damage output. A Brave nature can be used over Adamant should you choose to run Scizor on a Trick Room team. Maximum HP EVs give Scizor more bulk; Speed investment isn't too necessary on Scizor, as it will be using Bullet Punch most of the time. Lum Berry is usually the preferred item, as it allows Scizor to heal from a status condition (more than likely a burn) which will come in handy quite a lot of times. Scizorite is another item choice that can help Scizor set up Swords Dance easier, as Mega Scizor has greater bulk. Finally, Life Orb is another option should you want to increase Scizor's damage output even more.
Usage Tips
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Most of the time, Scizor will rely on Bullet Punch as its main attacking move. Knock Off is another spammable move and should be used against bulky foes such as Thundurus or a Pokemon that will be crippled without its item, such as Choice Scarf Landorus-T. If running Bug Bite instead, it should be used when a Pokemon that resists Bullet Punch is out or when you suspect the Pokemon is carrying a Sitrus Berry. Due to Scizor's natural bulk as well as its Steel typing, it can switch into many Pokemon with ease, such as Sylveon, Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Metagross, and Mega Venusaur, and set up a Swords Dance.
Team Options
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Pokemon that can threaten out Fire-types are great partners for Scizor. For example, Landorus-T can provide Intimidate support, which further increases Scizor's bulk, as well as hit Fire-types such as Heatran super effectively with Earthquake and Rotom-H, Mega Charizard Y, and Talonflame with Rock Slide or Stone Edge. Scizor fits very well on a rain team due to the rain weakening Fire-type attacks. Bulky Water-types are wonderful partners for Scizor, too; Milotic is able to check many Fire-types as well as discourage Intimidate due to Competitive. Rotom-W and Suicune are also great partners that check Fire-types; the former is able to cripple physical attackers with Will-O-Wisp and the latter offers speed control and Snarl support. Dragon-types, such as Latios and Hydreigon, are good partners as well, as Scizor can switch into Fairy- and Dragon-type moves aimed at them with relative ease as well as check Fairy-types that threaten them.
Other Options
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Occa Berry is an option to mitigate Scizor's Fire weakness; however, even with it, Scizor still needs quite a lot of Special Defense investment to survive even common weaker Heat Waves. Choice Band is another option for maximum damage output; however, many common Pokemon,such as Heatran and Thundurus, resist Scizor's STAB and priority moves, so it isn't very helpful to be locked into one move.
Checks & Counters
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**Fire-types**: Fire-types completely counter Scizor, as they resist both of its STAB moves and can KO it with relative ease. Heatran, Rotom-H, and Mega Charizard Y are all major counters to Scizor.
**Steel-types**: Many common Steel-types, such as Aegislash and Heatran, can completely wall Scizor and can either KO it or use it as setup fodder. Other Pokemon include Excadrill and Mega Lucario, both of which resist Scizor's STABs. Ferrothorn, if Scizor does not carry Bug Bite, can be a big pain as well due to Iron Barbs as well as its ability to recover damage with Leech Seed.
**Intimidate/Burn**: Intimidate and burn are less of an issue due to Swords Dance, but they can still cripple Scizor, lessening its damage output.
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