Doubles Pokemon Comparison (Round 1)

[ThePillsburyDoughBoy]

The Project

In doubles, nearly every Pokemon has an effective niche. However, some Pokemon's roles and niches vary only slightly when comparing them. Naturally, this can create a challenge when teambuildling to decide which Pokemon is the best fit for your team. Doubles Pokemon comparison aims to alleviate this issue!

Every round, which is an arbitrary time period, I will decide upon Pokemon we will compare. During the period of discussion, we will discuss which Pokemon is better through its niche and what teams it fits on. In the discussion, we should illustrate why a Pokemon fits in on certain teams more than others through its niche. In the beginning, we will use a simple comparison with a small amount of options. Depending on how well the discussion goes, I will expand the amount of options to be more complex accordingly.

Round 1

vs

Hitmontop                             Scrafty
Typing: Fighting                      Typing: Dark / Fighting
Ability: Intimidate / Technician      Ability: Intimidate / Moxie / Shed Skin
HP:50                                 HP: 65
Atk: 95                               Atk: 90
Def: 95                               Def: 115
SpA: 35                               SpA: 45
SpD: 110                              SpD: 115
Spe: 70                               Spe: 58

Hitmontop's classic combo of Intimidate+Fake Out made it a staple on the VGC scene. The ability to lower the opponent's attack passively and neuter one of their Pokemon for 1 turn has enormous utility. This continues into Smogon Doubles, but we have a new kid gangster on the block that competes for the same role: Scrafty. Scrafty can pull off the same Intimidate+Fake Out combo that Hitmontop can, but with plenty of more bulk on both spectrums. In addition, it has an additional Dark-STAB that it can use to dent the bulky Psychics that roam the tier such as Creeselia. However, Hitmontop is not without its advantages. Scraty's Dark-type also acts as a curse because it makes it susceptible to opposing Fighting-types like Terrakion, Hitmontop, and Scrafty. Hitmontop is also more powerful. While it's base attack is only 5 more than Scrafty's, it can use Close Combat to lay the pain on the opponent, while Scrafty is stuck with Drain Punch (no one would risk Hi Jump Kick in a game with so many Protects). Hitmontop also has a much better movepool than Scrafty, especially in the support department. Mach Punch or Sucker Punch can act as additional priority options for a team. Hitmontop has a support movepool that Scrafty could only dream of. It has the mouth-watering Wide Guard to protect from spread moves, Helping Hand to augment the power of your own spread moves, and even Role Play to reactivate weather.

Let the round begin!

[ThePillsburyDoughBoy]

reserved

[Darkmalice]

I feel that Scrafty is an underrated threat, with many people jumping to choose Hitmontop will little thought over Scrafty. I will try not to repeat anything in the OP.

Perks of Scrafty
Scrafty possesses a better stat spread. Its greater bulk overweighs its lower Speed stat. It can invest 96 Spe EVs to gain the same Speed stat as Hitmontop, and even if these EVs are taken from HP, Scrafty still has a higher HP stat than Hitmontop. So Scrafty can be both more bulky and faster than the standard 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe Hitmontop should it wish to. Of course, Hitmontop can invest more EVs in Speed should it wish to outspeed 252 Spe Scrafty, but it's not worth it. The lower Spe may also come in handy when using a TR team. And as you said, the Attack difference is negligible.

Hitmontop does possess a much better support movepool, with some options even missing from the OP like Feint. Scrafty, however, has better offensive coverage options should you ever want a Fake Out + 3 attacks set. It has access to the elemental punches (Ice Punch is especially good, as it hits so many Pokemon super-effectively, both 2x and 4x), Head Smash, Stone Edge, Rock Slide, Dragon Tail (good for preventing TR from going up), and Super Fang (could be used on a fully defensive set). Note that Hitmontop has Rock Slide and Stone Edge too, as well as Sucker Punch for priority. However, Scrafty's Crunch is much better for dealing with Psychic- and Ghost-types than Sucker Punch. Most Psychic- and Ghost-types are generally bulky mons that use support moves, like Cresselia. The most common exceptions are Metagross, who doesn't fear Sucker Punch, and Latios, but Sucker Punch doesn't deter Latios from using Substitute or Tailwind. Mind you, Close Combat + Sucker Punch + Stone Edge / Rock Slide still provides great coverage.

Whilst Scrafty is weak to Fighting-type attacks, its immunity to Psychic-type attacks is very helpful when Psychic types are so common. And Intimidate aids Scrafty overcome its Fighting-type weakness; Intimidate only helps Hitmontop's Psychic type weakness against the rare physical Psychic type attack that isn't coming from Metagross.


Perks of Hitmontop
In my opinion, the key advantage that Hitmontop has over Scrafty is Close Combat. It is significantly stronger than Scrafty's Drain Punch, and can net many more key KOs than Scrafty's Drain Punch. For example, assuming both attacks have a Fighting Gem, Top's CC will always OHKO Chople Berry 252 HP / 0 Def Ttar, whilst Scrafty's will never do so. Gem Top's CC even has a chance to OHKO 252 HP Politoed. Top may 2HKO 252 HP Metagross (not guaranteed) but Scrafty can't. Without the Gem, Top can still OHKO Terrakion, but Scrafty can't. The defensive drops are easily neglected with a switch (which, by the way, is strongly encouraged with both Pokemon to reset Intimidate and Fake Out).

Technitop can also be used should the user wish, which generally has more reason for use over Intimidate than Moxie or Shed Skin. Intimidate is still generally better than Technician, but the boost to Mach Punch can't be ignored. It, coupled with LO or Gem, enables you to outspeed and OHKO Pokemon simultaneously that you wouldn't otherwise be able to outspeed, whilst they could hit you hard before you attack, such as Excadrill and Terrakion (you need a Gem to OHKO Terrakion). Even when not aiming to KO specific Pokemon, the power boost is always nice. Fake Out, Sucker Punch, and Wide Guard are good reasons to use Top over Breloom, amongst others. Tech also lets you use a strong Aerial Ace if you really want to cover Grass-types on rain teams or to hit the many Fighting-types super-effectively.


On the whole, I would say Top > Scrafty, primarily because of CC and better support movepool. However, I will end by repeating what I said in my 1st line that Scrafty is underrated. It should see more usage than what it currently has.

[ThePillsburyDoughBoy]

Interesting points Darkmalice! I've never thought about Dragon Tail as an anti-trick room move. It seems very handy, seeing as how it is untauntable, affects all types, and can bring the opponents Pokemon out unexpectedly. If you're lucky enough that your opponent brings in a Pokemon weak to one or two of yours, you can buy a free turn with it as well!

After extensively trying out the two, I can safely say that I prefer Hitmontop. The added bulk Scrafty does have is noticeable, but man-o-man is it weak. The more immediate power of Close Combat, especially one with Fighting Gem, has always been able to achieve a KO or at least facilitate a KO for a partner in a match. Hitmontop can do some real damage to the opponent, while normally I find Scrafty sitting doing nothing after the initial Fake Out. Again, Hitmontop prevents "just sitting there" after CC by providing handy Wide Guard support. The extra priority Hitmontop has usually been a non-factor for me.

Also it is my fave Poke :)