Overview
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Scrafty has a variety of tools that help it succeed in the metagame. The buff to Knock Off was incredible for Scrafty, giving it a powerful STAB attack that can cripple opposing Pokemon by removing their items. Assault Vest is another excellent addition to Scrafty's inventory, as it makes Scrafty hard to KO when combined with Intimidate. Scrafty still has important tools such as Drain Punch, Fake Out, and Intimidate, making it an excellent supportive threat in the metagame. While these changes make Scrafty a great Pokemon in Doubles, it still has several notable flaws that limit its viability. Fairy-types such as Togekiss and Gardevoir give it a large amount of trouble, as they not only resist Scrafty's STAB attacks but are easily able to OHKO it with their own STAB moves. Scrafty's typing also leaves it vulnerable to common attacking types such as Fighting- and Flying-type attacks. Hitmontop gives Scrafty heavy competition due to its faster Fake Out, as well as access to moves such as Close Combat and Wide Guard, making it a better pick on some teams. An average Attack stat and very low Speed stat also hinder Scrafty, as it can be hit hard by faster threats while also failing to retaliate with the same level of power.
Bulky Fake Out
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name: Bulky Fake Out
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Drain Punch
move 4: Stone Edge / Ice Punch / Detect
ability: Intimidate
item: Assault Vest / Sitrus Berry
evs: 240 HP / 224 Atk / 44 Def
nature: Impish
Moves
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This set allows Scrafty to make the most of its great offensive typing and good movepool to provide helpful Fake Out support to the team. Fake Out allows Scrafty to immobilize one of the opponents for a turn, which lets Scrafty's partner make a move without having to worry. Knock Off is a powerful STAB attack which hits Ghost- and Psychic-types for super effective damage, also removing the foe's item. Drain Punch is Scrafty's secondary STAB attack, hitting Pokemon such as Tyranitar and Bisharp for super effective damage; it also recovers Scrafty's health and gets great neutral coverage with Knock Off. Stone Edge is used to hit Flying-types such as Thundurus and Mega Charizard Y for super effective damage. Rock Slide is not recommended because it is far too weak and doesn't even OHKO Mega Charizard Y. Ice Punch is an option over Stone Edge to hit Landorus, Salamence, Shaymin-S, and Garchomp harder. Detect can be used if using a Sitrus Berry, as it allows Scrafty to scout for Fake Out and a potential super effective attack while also stalling Trick Room turns and weather conditions. It is used over Protect on the off chance that the opponent has Imprison and Protect, but still provides the same utility.
Set Details
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The suggested EV spread allows Scrafty to take a Life Orb-boosted Secret Sword from Keldeo or two Heat Waves from Mega Charizard Y if it is holding an Assault Vest. A spread of 248 HP / 196 Atk / 64 SpD should be used if using a Sitrus Berry as it allows Scrafty to survive a Modest Mega Charizard Y's Overheat. A Brave nature with 0 Speed IVs can be used if Scrafty is being used on a Trick Room team, as Scrafty's low Speed stat can be used to good effect on those teams. Assault Vest is the recommended item to increase Scrafty's Special Defense while the EV spread increases Scrafty's Defense stat. Sitrus Berry is also a very viable option as it allows Scrafty to survive some 2HKOs, such as Mega Kangaskhan's Double-Edge. An alternate spread of 252 HP / 180 Atk / 56 Def / 20 SpD could be used with a Sitrus Berry, as it allows Scrafty to avoid a 2HKO from Mega Charizard Y's Heat Wave and Mega Kangaskhan's Double-Edge as well as avoid an OHKO from a +1 Mega Kangaskhan's Return. Lum Berry is also an option to protect Scrafty from status moves such as Will-O-Wisp and Thunder Wave, while Chople Berry is another good item that allows Scrafty to survive powerful attacks such as Hitmontop's Close Combat.
Usage Tips
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Scrafty is best used early-game because of its ability to give free turns to Pokemon like Scizor, Heatran, and Garchomp with Fake Out and Intimidate. However, it can still work well later in the match as a pivot because of the utility that Fake Out and Intimidate can provide, and Assault Vest or Sitrus Berry both give Scrafty more staying power. When up against Will-O-Wisp users such as Rotom-W, it is best to switch out as Scrafty cannot OHKO them and becomes somewhat useless when burned, hitting for very little damage, although it can still support a team thanks to Knock Off, Fake Out, and Intimidate. Avoid switching into Pokemon with the Defiant ability such as Bisharp and Tornadus, as they gain a +1 Attack boost from Intimidate and can proceed to do a lot of damage to your team. Scrafty works well against Trick Room teams because it can beat common Trick Room setters with Fake Out and Knock Off, as most setters are either Ghost- or Psychic-types. It also works well on Trick Room teams due to Fake Out and Intimidate helping partners set up Trick Room with relative ease.
Team Options
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Aegislash is a good partner for Scrafty, as it resists Fairy- and Flying-type attacks and is immune to Fighting-type attacks while also being able to beat the users of these moves. Scrafty resists Dark- and Ghost-type attacks for Aegislash, so both Pokemon benefit. Bisharp is able to defeat Fairy-types with a STAB Iron Head and can deter Intimidate users from switching in with Defiant. However, it does share a Fighting-type weakness with Scrafty, so Pokemon like Keldeo can beat them both. Scizor is also a nice partner as it can defeat Fairy-types that give Scrafty trouble with Bullet Punch and appreciates Scrafty's ability to lure and remove Landorus-T and Mega Charizard Y with Ice Punch and Stone Edge, respectively. Scrafty can also create an opportunity for Scizor to set up a Swords Dance with Fake Out. Landorus-T is a decent partner, as it appreciates the free turns provides by Fake Out as well as Scrafty's ability to defeat Ice-types with Drain Punch. Landorus-T also covers Scrafty's Fighting-type weakness and can form a double Intimidate core with it. Scrafty can also beat Cresselia for Landorus-T. However, a double Intimidate core can be a disadvantage when facing Defiant Pokemon such as Bisharp, as they can gain a free +2 Attack boost. Scrafty works fairly well on Trick Room teams due to its great typing, Intimidate, and Fake Out, making Pokemon such as Cresselia and Aromatisse good partners to set up Trick Room while Scrafty supports their setup with Fake Out. They also resist the Fighting-type attacks that Scrafty is weak to. Mega Mawile is a good partner in Trick Room, as it resists Fairy- and Flying-type attacks. Rotom-W is also a strong partner as it can handle Flying-types such as Talonflame while also checking Fighting-types such as Terrakion and Hitmontop by using Will-O-Wisp.
Other Options
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Quick Guard can be used to protect Scrafty and its ally from priority attacks such as Mach Punch and Talonflame's Brave Bird, but it forces Scrafty to use Crunch as its main Dark-type STAB attack due to Knock Off being an illegal move combination with Quick Guard. High Jump Kick and Low Kick can be used as more powerful, albeit less consistent, Fighting-type STAB attacks. Drain Punch is the most reliable as it doesn't require prediction like High Jump Kick or rely on the opponent's weight like Low Kick. Taunt can be used to stop Trick Room setters such as Dusclops from supporting their team with Will-O-Wisp or Trick Room. Fire Punch is an option to hit Scizor, Genesect, and Mega Mawile for super effective damage, while Iron Head and Poison Jab are both viable options to hit Fairy-types for super effective damage. Iron Head is useful to hit Diancie for 4x super effective damage, and Poison Jab hits Azumarill hard.
Bulk Up and Dragon Dance can be used to allow Scrafty to function as a setup sweeper, but its Attack stat is too low to be able to fully utilize setup moves, as it still doesn't hit hard enough after a boost. Foul Play and Super Fang can be used on more defensive sets, but the utility of Knock Off will be sorely missed and Super Fang effectively gets weaker as you use it more. Zen Headbutt can be used to hit Fighting- and Poison-types such as Hitmontop and Mega Venusaur harder, the latter of which resists Scrafty's Fighting-type STAB attacks.
Checks & Counters
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**Intimidate and Burns**: Hitmontop and Mawile are the best Pokemon with Intimidate to check Scrafty, as they are not weak to any of its moves and can retaliate with a powerful Close Combat and Play Rough, respectively. Landorus-T and Gyarados are also good Intimidate users as they both resist Scrafty's Fighting-type STAB attacks, although both dislike taking Ice Punch and Stone Edge, respectively. Will-O-Wisp users such as Rotom-W and Sableye are able to completely cripple Scrafty, halving its already low Attack stat.
**Offensive Typing Advantage**: Fairy-types such as Togekiss, Gardevoir, Azumarill, and Mega Mawile resist both of Scrafty's STAB attacks and are able to easily OHKO Scrafty with their 4x super effective Fairy-type attacks. Flying- and Fighting-types such as Talonflame and Terrakion are also good checks, as they can hit Scrafty for super effective damage with their respective STAB moves. Terrakion also benefits from Knock Off thanks to Justified. However, both of these Pokemon might lose if Scrafty is able to use Fake Out on them, but that primarily depends on Scrafty's partner. Talonflame also needs to be wary of Stone Edge while Terrakion fears Drain Punch. Conkeldurr can take any hit from Scrafty and heal back the HP with a super effective Drain Punch. Tornadus can take advantage of Scrafty's Intimidate with Defiant and easily OHKO with Acrobatics at +1.
**Miscellaneous**: Mega Evolutions that are not weak to any of Scrafty's moves and are relatively bulky such as Mega Venusaur, Mega Heracross, and Mega Scizor are great checks, as they can switch into Knock Off and any of Scrafty's other attacks with ease and are able to deal a lot of damage in return.
**Utility Moves**: A faster Fake Out from Pokemon such as Mega Kangaskhan or Hitmontop can prevent Scrafty from offering Fake Out support, reducing its usefulness greatly.
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