haunter
Banned deucer.
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/sceptile
[SET]
name: SubLiechi
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Swords Dance
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Rock Slide / Earthquake
item: Liechi Berry
ability: Overgrow
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
ivs: 30 HP
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set aims to make full use of Sceptile's excellent ability, Overgrow, by abusing its sky-high Speed stat and its aptitude to force switches. Being able to outspeed every Pokémon in its tier barring Electrode, Swellow and Dugtrio (the latter of which shares the same base Speed with Sceptile) allows Sceptile to sweep effectively late-game without needing to boost its already impressive Speed stat. Substitute forms the crux of this set, allowing Sceptile to disregard status, while also ensuring the activation of both the Liechi Berry and Overgrow. The strategy is very simple: set up a Substitute on a Pokémon that is scared off by Sceptile (bulky Water- and Ground-types are good examples), then Swords Dance while your opponent breaks the Substitute, and proceed to Substitute again until you have activated both the Liechi Berry and Overgrow. If this set is used correctly, then after a single Swords Dance and the Attack boost granted by the Liechi Berry, you will be sweeping with +3 attack and a deadly Overgrow-boosted Leaf Blade. A Salac Berry can also be used in place of the Liechi Berry: it lets Sceptile outspeed every Pokémon in UU, and is an insurance against random Pokémon holding a Choice Scarf such as Hitmonlee and Rotom; although it should be noticed that without the Liechi Berry boost you will feel the loss in power and will miss some important OHKOs (Spiritomb is the most notable).</p>
<p>Leaf Blade is Sceptile's main form of attack, dealing massive damage to every Pokémon which doesn't resist it. The second attacking move is up to preference, although the Grass / Rock combo gives the best neutral coverage, being resisted only by Steel-types, while scoring super effective hits on both Fire and Flying-types, such as Moltres and Altaria. Rock Slide also comes with an appealing 30% flinch rate.</p>
<p>SubLiechi Sceptile can be a deadly sweeper if supported correctly. To demonstrate how powerful Leaf Blade is, here are some calculations:</p>
<h3>Damage Calculations</h3>
<pre>
+3 Overgrow boosted Leaf Blade vs. min HP / max Def Calm Chansey - 100%
+3 Overgrow boosted Leaf Blade vs. max HP / max Def Impish Torterra - 75.00% - 88.28%
+3 Overgrow boosted Leaf Blade vs. max HP / min Def Careful Steelix - 62.99% - 74.58%
+3 Overgrow boosted Leaf Blade vs. max HP / min Def Careful Regirock - 100%
+3 Overgrow boosted Leaf Blade vs. max HP / max Def Bold Spiritomb - 92.76% - 109.54%
+3 Overgrow boosted Leaf Blade vs. max HP / max Def Impish Uxie - 69.77% - 82.49%
+3 Overgrow boosted Leaf Blade vs. max HP / max Def Impish Donphan - 100%
</pre>
<p>Since the Grass / Rock combination is completely walled by Registeel, and has troubles with Drapion (and, to a lesser extent, Toxicroak), it's highly recommended to pair this Sceptile with Dugtrio, to trap and eliminate the aforementioned Pokémon before attempting to sweep. Like every other sweeper in the game, this Sceptile highly benefits from Spikes and Stealth Rock support; as an example: two layers of Spikes on the field ensure the OHKO on a max HP / max Def Impish Torterra with Leaf Blade. Finally, given its massive Speed but its frail Defense, Sceptile is often revenge killed by Pokémon like Ambipom and Hitmontop, that have access to powerful priority moves, hence it's suggested to run a bulky Ghost-type like Spiritomb to deal with them.</p>
<p>The EVs on this set are self-explanatory - maximize Speed and Attack to fully utilize Sceptile's physical offensive potential. With a HP IV of 30 you can activate both the Liechi Berry and Overgrow on the third Substitute, because your HP stat is divisible by 4.</p>
[SET]
name: SubLiechi
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Swords Dance
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Rock Slide / Earthquake
item: Liechi Berry
ability: Overgrow
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
ivs: 30 HP
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set aims to make full use of Sceptile's excellent ability, Overgrow, by abusing its sky-high Speed stat and its aptitude to force switches. Being able to outspeed every Pokémon in its tier barring Electrode, Swellow and Dugtrio (the latter of which shares the same base Speed with Sceptile) allows Sceptile to sweep effectively late-game without needing to boost its already impressive Speed stat. Substitute forms the crux of this set, allowing Sceptile to disregard status, while also ensuring the activation of both the Liechi Berry and Overgrow. The strategy is very simple: set up a Substitute on a Pokémon that is scared off by Sceptile (bulky Water- and Ground-types are good examples), then Swords Dance while your opponent breaks the Substitute, and proceed to Substitute again until you have activated both the Liechi Berry and Overgrow. If this set is used correctly, then after a single Swords Dance and the Attack boost granted by the Liechi Berry, you will be sweeping with +3 attack and a deadly Overgrow-boosted Leaf Blade. A Salac Berry can also be used in place of the Liechi Berry: it lets Sceptile outspeed every Pokémon in UU, and is an insurance against random Pokémon holding a Choice Scarf such as Hitmonlee and Rotom; although it should be noticed that without the Liechi Berry boost you will feel the loss in power and will miss some important OHKOs (Spiritomb is the most notable).</p>
<p>Leaf Blade is Sceptile's main form of attack, dealing massive damage to every Pokémon which doesn't resist it. The second attacking move is up to preference, although the Grass / Rock combo gives the best neutral coverage, being resisted only by Steel-types, while scoring super effective hits on both Fire and Flying-types, such as Moltres and Altaria. Rock Slide also comes with an appealing 30% flinch rate.</p>
<p>SubLiechi Sceptile can be a deadly sweeper if supported correctly. To demonstrate how powerful Leaf Blade is, here are some calculations:</p>
<h3>Damage Calculations</h3>
<pre>
+3 Overgrow boosted Leaf Blade vs. min HP / max Def Calm Chansey - 100%
+3 Overgrow boosted Leaf Blade vs. max HP / max Def Impish Torterra - 75.00% - 88.28%
+3 Overgrow boosted Leaf Blade vs. max HP / min Def Careful Steelix - 62.99% - 74.58%
+3 Overgrow boosted Leaf Blade vs. max HP / min Def Careful Regirock - 100%
+3 Overgrow boosted Leaf Blade vs. max HP / max Def Bold Spiritomb - 92.76% - 109.54%
+3 Overgrow boosted Leaf Blade vs. max HP / max Def Impish Uxie - 69.77% - 82.49%
+3 Overgrow boosted Leaf Blade vs. max HP / max Def Impish Donphan - 100%
</pre>
<p>Since the Grass / Rock combination is completely walled by Registeel, and has troubles with Drapion (and, to a lesser extent, Toxicroak), it's highly recommended to pair this Sceptile with Dugtrio, to trap and eliminate the aforementioned Pokémon before attempting to sweep. Like every other sweeper in the game, this Sceptile highly benefits from Spikes and Stealth Rock support; as an example: two layers of Spikes on the field ensure the OHKO on a max HP / max Def Impish Torterra with Leaf Blade. Finally, given its massive Speed but its frail Defense, Sceptile is often revenge killed by Pokémon like Ambipom and Hitmontop, that have access to powerful priority moves, hence it's suggested to run a bulky Ghost-type like Spiritomb to deal with them.</p>
<p>The EVs on this set are self-explanatory - maximize Speed and Attack to fully utilize Sceptile's physical offensive potential. With a HP IV of 30 you can activate both the Liechi Berry and Overgrow on the third Substitute, because your HP stat is divisible by 4.</p>