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Old Feb 22nd, 2013, 6:33:49 PM   #1
ScraftyIsTheBest
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Default Scrafty (General Update) (GP 1/2)

Will tone this down, lol. Anyways, getting a head start on updating this to fit the current metagame.



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[Overview]

<p>With the transition to BW2, it's safe to say that Scrafty is not the Pokemon it once was. BW2 has brought forth a more fast paced and hard hitting metagame, and Scrafty's good 65 / 115 / 115 bulk is not always enough to stand up to the increase in power. Scrafty's ever present weaknesses to Fighting and Flying are more troublesome than ever, with the introduction of threats such as Keldeo and Technician Breloom, while Tornadus still rampages through the OU tier. This makes it more difficult for Scrafty to set up, and even after a Dragon Dance, common users of Choice Scarf can still outspeed it, particularly Terrakion. However, as grim as things may have become for Scrafty, its great Dark / Fighting STAB combo, two great abilities in Moxie and Shed Skin, and good boosting moves in Dragon Dance and Bulk Up allow Scrafty to remain viable. As such, although Scrafty struggles in the BW2 OU environment, with proper team support and smart playing, Scrafty can be successful. Scrafty may not be the most effective Pokemon, but it can be devastating in the right hands.</p>

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

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Although its less-than-stellar Speed and average Attack make it an odd choice, Scrafty makes a decent user of Dragon Dance. It is blessed with Dark- and Fighting-type STABs in Drain Punch and Crunch that are resisted by only Heracross and Toxicroak, neither of which is extremely common. Moxie is the preferred ability here, as it gives a +1 Attack boost after each kill, boosting Scrafty’s modest Attack to intimidating levels. Hi Jump Kick the preferred STAB choice here, as it provides much needed power to boot. However, Drain Punch is usable for its recovery and perfect accuracy, but its lower Base Power is often undesirable in many cases, as Scrafty does not hit hard enough without a couple boosts to its Attack. Crunch is chosen as Dark STAB and complements Drain Punch or Hi Jump Kick well, hurting Psychic- and Ghost-types as well as being solid and reliable. Ice Punch allows Scrafty to dispose of certain bulky Flying-types, notably Gliscor, Landorus-T, and Dragonite. Life Orb makes Scrafty an immediate power threat, while Leftovers can potentially allow it to gain more Dragon Dances under its 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 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, Keldeo, and Terrakion. Even with no investment in defenses, Scrafty makes great use of its 65 / 115 / 115 base defenses by withstanding common priority moves and attacks such as Latios's unboosted Draco Meteor and a rain-boosted Surf from Keldeo, and even a Mach Punch from an unboosted Adamant Conkeldurr will never OHKO Scrafty.</p>

<p>Scrafty doesn't have many options other than the ones listed already. It can use ThunderPunch 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. Shed Skin is also useful to remove burns or paralysis that may cripple Scrafty whilst it sets up. Taunt is useful if Ice Punch is not needed, as it can prevent Hippowdon or Skarmory from phazing Scrafty and also stop Ferrothorn from setting up Spikes or paralyzing with Thunder Wave; it also stops the use of Protect to deter Hi Jump Kick. Since 90 Attack may not always hit hard enough, it is important to pair Scrafty up with entry hazard users such as Froslass or Ferrothorn, the former attracting Dark- and Rock-type moves for Scrafty to set up on. Amoonguss is also a useful teammate to take on Breloom and Keldeo, while attracting Steel-types that Scrafty can use as setup fodder. 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 at best, 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
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 8 Atk / 248 SpD

[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 receive STAB, have excellent coverage together, hitting all but Heracross and Toxicroak, both of which are uncommon, 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 and Attack 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. Dragon Tail is another viable option over Crunch, allowing Scrafty to beat opposing stat boosters such as Conkeldurr, Salamence, and Suicune. Dragon Tail also has the advantage of hitting all Pokemon bar the irrelevant Shedinja for at least neutral damage alongside Drain Punch, although Dragon Tail will generally not hit as hard as Crunch and does not provide useful coverage.</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, not to mention Metagross and Vaporeon are not very common. While Scrafty's Special Defense is very good, it will still fold to powerful special attacks such as Keldeo's Hydro Pump, 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, thanks to Team Preview, dedicated leads are practically non-existent, not to mention Scrafty is not fast enough to handle most of them.</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. Head Smash may seem cool, but the heavy recoil is not worth it. Zen Headbutt is a usable option on the Dragon Dance set to be able to hit Toxicroak and, to a lesser extent, Heracross among other Fighting-types that Scrafty may have a hard time with. However, Ice Punch is more important to handle Dragonite, Gliscor, and Landorus-T.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Physically bulky Pokemon, such as Hippowdon and Skarmory, take little from anything Scrafty has to offer and can phaze Scrafty out as long as it isn't the last Pokemon on its team. Quagsire, albeit rare, can check Scrafty very well as it ignores all of its boosts thanks to Unaware. 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 the attacks are special. Good users of these moves are Terrakion, Keldeo, Tornadus, and Conkeldurr. Most users of Choice Scarf, especially Terrakion and Keldeo, will be able to outspeed Scrafty even after a Dragon Dance boost and can inflict a good amount of damage on it. Toxicroak and to a lesser extent Heracross resist both of Scrafty's STABs and can retaliate with super effective Fighting attacks. 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 and Keldeo will often be too much for Scrafty to handle.</p>

Summary of changes
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Last edited by Oglemi; May 19th, 2013 at 5:01:34 PM.
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Old Feb 22nd, 2013, 7:45:05 PM   #2
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In the checks and counters, we really not mentioning Skarmory? It beats him while setting up on him. The LO DD set, if it's using HJK, can MAYBE beat him and that's about it.
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Old Feb 22nd, 2013, 7:59:14 PM   #3
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Please flesh out the checks and counters section. You didn't mention a single counter to Scrafty, and there are plenty. Physically defensive Skarmory, physically defensive Hippowdon, RestTalk Gyarados, Conkeldurr, and any Toxicroak, counter any Scrafty with ease. As for checks there a ton that you have missed, especially for the BU set, such as SD or D-Tail Garchomp, Keldeo in rain, any Gyarados, SubDisable Gengar and more...

EDIT: Oh and Breloom doesn't need SD to check Scrafty. Adamant LO Mach Punch almost always OHKOes DD Scrafty after SR, while Breloom outspeeds BU Scrafty and then Spores it while 2HKOing with Low Sweep or setting up with SD.
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Old Feb 22nd, 2013, 8:46:04 PM   #4
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Intimidate deserves a slash alongside Moxie in the DD set to help it set up a sweep. Both abilities have been described as useful in the Gyarados and Salamence offensive DD sets, with it gaining preference over Moxie on the defensive Gyarados DD set.

I also prefer Expert Belt to LO on the same set to perserve Scrafty's bulk whilst still providing a strong attack boost (as with its coverage moves, it's usually hitting the opponent super-effective).
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Old Feb 22nd, 2013, 9:02:31 PM   #5
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I honestly believe that the only set that should be listed is the Dragon Dance. Only against the more defensive of leaning teams does Bulk Up Scrafty really get a chance to shine. Simply put, the amount of strong physical fighting types in OU and the omnipresence of powerful rain-boosed water attacks do not do it any favors. Keldeo, Terrakion, and Breloom are all A-tier threats that can smashed poor little Scarfty to pieces. Tonadus is also a powerful contender for stopping Bulk Up Scarfty from doing anything.

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Old Feb 25th, 2013, 11:47:33 PM   #6
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Hi, I don't really think Scrafty needs a revamp. BW2 just made it worse with the introduction of new fighting types (and the boost to Breloom), the sets have not really changed at all and its just average at best. Why does it need to be updated when nothing changed asside form it getting even worse at what it does?
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Old Feb 26th, 2013, 12:11:09 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fat ginganinja View Post
Hi, I don't really think Scrafty needs a revamp. BW2 just made it worse with the introduction of new fighting types (and the boost to Breloom), the sets have not really changed at all and its just average at best. Why does it need to be updated when nothing changed asside form it getting even worse at what it does?
Not sure tbh. It was on the list of revamps for a reason I do not know of.
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Old Feb 27th, 2013, 11:36:20 PM   #8
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Sorry, Scrafty hasn't changed to warrant a revamp

That said, if you're interested in editing Scrafty, you can edit the current analysis and i'll upload it onsite.
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Old Mar 23rd, 2013, 5:39:32 AM   #9
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Idk if I quite agree with Drain Punch > Hi Jump Kick. Scrafty is a DD Sweeper, meaning it's meant to sweep - it needs the power of HJK. It may even tie to Scrafty's longevity, since less Pokemon would survive to retaliate back. HJK also makes it a lot easier to achieve that first kill to initiate the Moxie snowball.

AC mention Fighting Gem to power its initial HJK that lacks Moxie boosts - explain that Scrafty's +1 Fighting Gem-boosted HJK OHKOs max HP Politoed and min HP Keldeo without entry hazards.

As for bulk of DD Scrafty you can give more examples. For instance, Scrafty survives a super effective Brave Bird from Skarmory, Rain-boosed Surf from Keldeo, and unboosted Draco Meteor from Latios. Rain-boosted Hydro Pump from Keldeo and SpecsToed kills it, though. If unboosted and area is clear of hazards, Scrafty may even survive a Secret Sword.

AC mention Taunt for DD Scrafty, a great stallbreaking option when facing the likes of Hippowdon. Also pairs well with HJK, since it prevents opponent from using Protect

Need more elaboration on Shed Skin - it's not merely useful when used with Rest. It can be used on the DD + 3 atk set, too, removing scald burns and paralysis that may come its way while setting up DD.

Please update the rest of the analysis, ScraftyIsTheBest! Checks and Counters especially needs a mighty revamp

Last edited by Pocket; Mar 23rd, 2013 at 5:54:00 AM.
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Old Mar 23rd, 2013, 9:29:59 AM   #10
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Mention amoonguss as teammate to beat keldeo, loom, and attract steel types to set up on.
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Old Mar 23rd, 2013, 9:51:20 AM   #11
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toxicroak is worth giving a mention as a pretty hard counter, resisting your stab and hitting back or setting up. alongside this, zen headbutt might be worth an OO spot as it lets you hit croak, breloom, and pony for super effective damage (although loom still checks scrafty near-perfectly).
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Old Mar 23rd, 2013, 1:18:07 PM   #12
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you definitely need to make a new overview; scrafty barely has a niche atm, and that overview makes it seem like a monster. also, you put </p> before the overview paragraph instead of <p>.
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Old Mar 23rd, 2013, 1:25:50 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fat pokemon0078 View Post
you definitely need to make a new overview; scrafty barely has a niche atm, and that overview makes it seem like a monster. also, you put </p> before the overview paragraph instead of <p>.
Yeah no worries, I already had plans in mind to tone down the overview by a large margin. I'm just handling the sets and OO and Checks and Counters first, then I'll get to toning down the overview. Oh, and I'm going to really tone it down once I get to it, lol.

Anyways, continuing work.
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Old Mar 26th, 2013, 7:42:37 AM   #14
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I am going to test this thing soon, but for now the only sure thing i have to say is to slash Hi Jump Kick before Drain Punch. Scarfty aims to sweep and Hi Jump Kick helps more in most cases. I would rather OHKO many opponents than take a hit and heal some of the damage back. Drain Punch is pathetically weak combined with Scrafty's mediocre Attack and it should only be used with Life Orb.
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Old Apr 19th, 2013, 5:49:53 AM   #15
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ScraftyITB, we can get this update moving along if you can make the changes I outlined in my earlier post. Also, since HJK is a primary slash now, you'd want your set comments and AC to reflect this and focus more on HJK rather than Drain Punch. For instance, when mentioning about Taunt, you can tell readers that it would prevent the opponent from using Protect to block HJK.

You mentioned an alternative DD spread. You could add on that this bulkier spread also has more Attack, thanks to Adamant.
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Old May 13th, 2013, 2:16:14 PM   #16
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This analysis should be ready for GP.
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Old May 18th, 2013, 1:19:29 PM   #17
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Hey just as a minor change can you make the ending of the overview a bit different? Unless I am mistaken it is copied word-for-word for the ending of UU Ambipom's, and if it isn't, then it is extremely similar. Also, it is a UU Pokemon getting an OU analysis, so ending off and starting off on such a negative note doesn't accomplish much.

Also, was Scrafty really ever a good Pokemon? I know it got worse, but earlier in BW it was regarded as the "Electivire of Gen V" before it dropped.
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Old May 18th, 2013, 6:17:53 PM   #18
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Old May 19th, 2013, 2:33:06 PM   #19
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Thanks for the GP check, I implemented it.

Also yes Scrafty was pretty decent in BW1, it got too much hate imo,

Anyways, let's get a second GP check goin'!
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Old May 21st, 2013, 5:38:28 AM   #20
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why is intimidate not even mentioned?
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Old May 21st, 2013, 10:38:45 AM   #21
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I don't really understand why it's safe to say that Scrafty is not the pokemon "he once was" considering he's exactly the same barely viable bonehead he always was. Yes he's even worse now in BW2 thanks to even more focus on strong special attacks to blow him out of the water but its not like he had a solid niche and playbase in BW1 or anything. Couldn't something be said in the overview along the lines of Scrafty continues to play his melody of mediocrity into a metagame that simply "drowns" him out with speedy fighting types and strong special attackers.
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