[Overview]
<p>Sceptile's
brilliant excellent Speed and
wide vast movepool allow him to perform a variety of jobs well. Sceptile can slowly wear down the enemy using Leech Seed or can go
for a the more offensive route and attempt to KO the opposing team. However, Sceptile faces problems due to his poor defenses. He takes large amounts of damage even from neutral hits and is especially weak to priority and opposing Choice Scarf Pokémon. Despite these shortcomings, when used correctly, Sceptile can be a nuisance to your opponent's team.</p>
[SET]
name: SubSeed
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Leech Seed
move 3: Grass Knot
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Hidden Power Ice
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
ivs: 7 HP
evs: 252 SpA / 28 SpD / 228 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Sceptile's position as fastest SubSeeder was
at one point usurped by Shaymin-S. However, with Shaymin-S being
moved banned to Ubers, Sceptile can once again do what he does best: slowly wear down the opponent with Leech Seed. This set works similarly to his UU counterpart.</p>
<p>Substitute not only scouts for attacks, but can also protect Sceptile from taking heavy damage because of his mediocre defenses. Leech Seed serves a twofold purpose: to restore Sceptile's HP
, to allow
ing him to create more Substitutes
, and slowly drain the opponent's HP. Grass Knot is the preferred STAB
source attack to scare away bulky Water-type Pokémon like Swampert and Suicune. Alternatively, Energy Ball can be used, as it hits lighter enemies like
Jolteon Vaporeon and Rotom-A for more damage. Leaf Storm also deserves a mention as Sceptile should be spending most of its time setting up Substitutes, and two Leaf Storms will out-damage two Grass Knots or Energy Balls unless Grass Knot is hitting for 120 Base Power. Unfortunately, Leaf Storm does leave Sceptile's Hidden Power severely weakened. The last moveslot is mainly used to hit Sceptile's
problematic Pokémon primary counters, along with Grass-type Pokémon that are immune to Leech Seed. Hidden Power Fire hits Scizor, Forretress, and Skarmory, while Hidden Power Ice
targets OHKOes Salamence, Dragonite, and Flygon.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A 7 HP IV allows Sceptile to attain the lowest Leftovers number + 1 possible in order to maximize the percentage gained from Leech Seed. The EVs listed allow Sceptile to outspeed Choice Scarf Tyranitar and also attain an OHKO on Choice Band Scizor after Stealth Rock. 4 additional Speed EVs are required due to the IV drop from Hidden Power Fire, though. The remaining EVs go into Special Defense to take Surfs and Thunderbolts better. If you choose to use Hidden Power Ice, then an EV spread of 252 SpA / 32 SpD / 224 Spe should be used to OHKO Gliscor after Stealth Rock damage with Hidden Power Ice. An EV spread of 32 HP / 220 SpA / 28 SpD / 228 Spe with a 31 HP IV can also be used in order to not have his Substitutes be broken by Vaporeon's, Suicune's, and Swampert's Surfs along with defensive Rotom-A's Thunderbolts.</p>
<p>This set is notorious for causing switches, which means entry hazard support is useful to further wear down your opponent's team. Heatran is a good choice to set up Stealth Rock as he resists all of Sceptile's weaknesses while Sceptile resists all of Heatran's except for Fighting. Both Forretress and Skarmory can be used to set up Spikes. Forretress has the additional benefit of setting up Toxic Spikes and removing entry hazards with Rapid Spin, while Skarmory has Roost to lengthen its
vitality longevity and Whirlwind to scout the opponent's team and rack up more entry hazard damage. Toxic Spikes are especially helpful as it allows Sceptile to beat Blissey. As with all entry hazard
users abusers, a good partner would be a Ghost-type Pokémon to block Rapid Spin. Rotom-A is a good choice as it can use its super effective moves to scare away Rapid Spinners. If you choose to use Hidden Power Ice, then Rotom-H would be a good choice to smash Scizor and Forretress.</p>
<p>Sceptile appreciates likes switching in on bulky Water-type Pokémon that he can easily switch in on, namely bulky Water-type Pokémon. As previously mentioned, Heatran is a good partner because he can lure out Water-type Pokémon and hit them with Toxic. Depending on which Hidden Power you use, you will have problems with either Dragon-type Pokémon or Steel-type Pokémon. With Hidden Power Fire, Salamence and Dragonite with Roost are problematic because they can heal away the Leech Seed damage. Mamoswine works as a failsafe to beat these Pokémon, but he doesn't bring any useful resistances to the table. Scizor can hit a weakened Dragon with a powerful Bullet Punch. A bulky Water-type, such as Swampert or Suicune, can also work provided it doesn't sustain too much damage beforehand. If you opt to use Hidden Power Ice, Steel-types become an issue problematic. Forretress and Skarmory can come in and set up entry hazards while Scizor has no fear of U-turning out. Magnezone can be used to trap and KO these Pokémon and also has good synergy with Sceptile. Heatran can come in and threaten them with a STAB Fire move, while Substitute Gengar can lure them in and KO them with Hidden Power Fire or Thunderbolt. Tentacruel and Starmie are both good partners to Rapid Spin away any entry hazards, most notably Toxic Spikes as they can reduce Sceptile's effectiveness.</p>
[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Leaf Storm
move 2: Earthquake / Focus Blast / Protect
move 3: Dragon Pulse
move 4: Hidden Power Fire
item: Life Orb
nature: Hasty / Timid
evs: 28 Atk / 252 SpA / 228 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set abuses Sceptile's blazing Speed along with high-powered moves in order to decimate the opponent's team. With
the Sceptile's wide type coverage
Sceptile has, many teams without Blissey or Snorlax will have problems
defeating switching into it
safely.</p>
<p>Leaf Storm is Sceptile's main attack on this set, hitting for 210 Base Power including STAB. Combined with Life Orb and a potential Overgrow boost
, and anything that doesn't resist it is going to get slaughtered. Earthquake with the given Attack EVs allows Sceptile to always KO 0 HP Heatran after Stealth Rock. Focus Blast can be used because it isn't affected by Intimidate and doesn't
compensate require the sacrifice of Sceptile's Defense
by using a Hasty nature. It also hits Blissey and Snorlax harder than Earthquake would. Protect is an option to scout against Scizor and either
OHKO him with Hidden Power Fire or switch out
depending on his selected move. Dragon Pulse hits Dragon-types and any weakened Pokémon
, and while Hidden Power Fire hits Steel-types sans Heatran, who is hit by both Earthquake and Focus Blast.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs of this set allow Sceptile to outspeed everything up to Choice Scarf Tyranitar and still hit as hard as possible. The remaining EVs are put into Attack in order to
OHKO 0 HP Heatran 100% of the time. If using a Timid nature, then those EVs can be moved into HP in order to soften some attacks.</p>
<p>With
the wide his great type coverage, only dedicated tanks can take a hit and retaliate. Both Blissey and Snorlax can take a Focus Blast and cripple Sceptile, while Cresselia can sponge a Leaf Storm and hit Sceptile back with
an Ice Beam. Choice Band Scizor can threaten all three with either U-turn, Superpower, or Pursuit. Tyranitar can also scare away all three provided that he has the moves
with which to hit them
with. Heatran and Infernape are also good choices to get rid of Blissey and Snorlax because not only do they threaten to
OHKO them
, but Sceptile can switch into
the Water- and Ground-type moves aimed at them.</p>
<p>Once something is sacrificed to Sceptile, most notably after a Leaf Storm, Scizor can easily come in and threaten him with a Bullet Punch or Pursuit. Magnezone is a good partner because it easily removes
a Scizor
locked into any of the moves Sceptile will lure. which prevents the user from having to predcit Scizor's move. With Scizor gone
due thanks to Magnezone and bulky Water-types gone due to Sceptile, Salamence
is will be a huge threat to the opposing team, as many teams rely on bulk or Scizor to stop
Salamence him.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Sceptile doesn't have the greatest defensive stats in the world. With this in mind, it would be a good idea to have a Fire-type Pokémon that can lure in Surfs from Water-type Pokémon for Sceptile to switch
into. Heatran and Infernape are both good teammates as they both lure in Pokémon such as Suicune, Vaporeon, and Swampert,
leaving allowing Sceptile to come in on a
predicted Surf or Earthquake. Sceptile also fears Pokémon such as Scizor, who can U-turn out and leave Sceptile without a Substitute. Magnezone can trap and KO Scizor while Heatran can wall all of Scizor's attacks except for Superpower. Magnezone and Heatran can also handle Forretress and Skarmory switch-ins. If they do manage to get up entry hazards, Tentacruel and Starmie are both good Rapid Spinners because they both resist Fire- and Ice-type attacks.</p>
<p>Salamence and Dragonite are problematic if Sceptile doesn't carry Hidden Power Ice or Dragon Pulse, meaning that Scizor, Mamoswine, or a bulky Water-type Pokémon
of your own with Ice Beam are all good
teammates. choices to help combat those Pokémon. Additionally, Sceptile will often need a powerful physical attacker to take care of Blissey and Snorlax, both of whom
can wall Sceptile's special attacks.
Any Fighting-type Pokémon, such as Infernape and Machamp, can handle both of them with their STAB moves.</p>
<p>Entry hazard support is
also useful for slowly taking down the opponent's team. Stealth Rock, Spikes, and Toxic Spikes are all recommended due to the number of switches Sceptile will cause. Heatran is a good choice for Stealth Rock, while Forretress can set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes easily. Skarmory can also set up
its own Spikes. A Rotom appliance, most notably Rotom-H, would be a good partner in order to block Rapid Spin from removing your entry hazards.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Sceptile can use a Swords Dance set composed of Leaf Blade, Earthquake, and Rock Slide as attacking moves. Unfortunately, Sceptile's defenses are poor so he is easily revenge killed. Additionally, he has no effective way to hit Skarmory, who can easily Brave Bird or outstall the Life Orb Damage. Also, because he has no way of boosting both his Attack and Speed in one move, virtually any Choice Scarf user faster than base 65 Speed will outspeed him. Additionally, Scizor can
also bypass Sceptile's impressive Speed by using Bullet Punch. Sceptile can also use a Choice Scarf set consisting of Leaf Storm, Focus Blast, and your choice from Dragon Pulse and Hidden Power Fire
, or Grass Knot
, and Hidden Power Ice. However, Sceptile's poor Defense means that he takes a lot of damage from Pursuit.</p>
<p>An Endeavor set can also be used with Sceptile using either Substitute or Endure to bring his HP down. This will
also activate Overgrow, making Leaf Storm extremely powerful. Quick Attack can be used with Endeavor to finish off any opponents. However, due to the prevalence of sandstorm and priority moves in the metagame, Sceptile has difficulty pulling this off. Sceptile's other options aren't very viable.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Sceptile without a Substitute is very fragile because his defenses are so poor. Choice Scarf Heatran can switch into a Grass-type move and KO Sceptile with his STAB
Fire-type attacks. Scizor can come in on anything except for Hidden Power Fire and either U-turn out, Bullet Punch for the KO, or use Pursuit if he predicts a switch
ing Sceptile. Tyranitar fears Sceptile's Grass-type moves along with Focus Blast, but sandstorm wears Sceptile down faster and also hinders its SubSeeding strategy.</p>
<p>For the SubSeed set, depending on the Hidden Power type, either Dragon- or Steel-type Pokémon wall it. Salamence and Dragonite can both set up in front of Sceptile and heal away any Leech Seed damage. Forretress and Skarmory can set up entry hazards while Scizor and Jirachi can proceed to use U-turn to leave Sceptile without a Substitute.</p>
<p>Blissey is a major problem for any set that doesn't have Leech Seed or Toxic Spikes support. She can come into any of Sceptile's special attacks and
hit cripple him with
a Toxic or Thunder Wave. Snorlax also causes problems and can Rest off any damage he might have taken. For Sceptile without Focus Blast or Earthquake, Heatran is a good counter because Sceptile has nothing that he can hit Heatran for heavy damage with.</p>
