http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/scyther
changes
- format
- removed scarf
- reworded stuff
- changed baton pass evs
- changed some moves around
- got rid of all the mentions of never seen UU pokemon
- fixed up counters
[OVERVIEW]
<p>Despite a crippling 4x weakness to Stealth Rock, Scyther is an extremely dangerous and often underestimated UU sweeper. Its great dual STABs provide excellent neutral coverage, and also hit many common defensive Pokemon for super effective damage (including Hitmontop, Uxie, Venusaur, and Slowbro). In addition, its high Speed and welcome resistances to Fighting and Grass means that it can check and revenge kill many common offensive Pokemon. However, Stealth Rock is hostile to Scyther, shaving off a substantial 50% of its HP; dedicated Rapid Spin support is nearly essential to ensuring success with Scyther. Despite this admittedly large flaw, mustering up the necessary support is definitely worth it when you consider Scyther’s destructive potential.</p>
[SET]
name: Sweeper
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Aerial Ace
move 3: Brick Break / Bug Bite
move 4: Quick Attack / Bug Bite
item: Life Orb
ability: Technician
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Scyther has naturally high Attack and Speed, and Swords Dance and Life Orb complement its stats to make it an extremely vicious physical sweeper in UU. Scyther packs resistances to Fighting- and Grass-type moves along with an immunity to Ground-type moves, which gives it set-up opportunities on quite a few popular Pokemon. However, due to its relative frailty, Scyther shines most when brought out in the late-game after its counters have been weakened and the other team has been scouted.</p>
<p>Aerial Ace is chosen as Scyther’s STAB move of choice over Bug Bite due to its superior neutral coverage; Electric-type Pokemon aren’t very common apart from Raikou (who is faster than Scyther) and Rotom (who also resists Bug Bite); most Rock-type Pokemon take more damage from Brick Break than they would from a neutral Bug Bite; finally, Steel-type Pokemon resist both Flying and Bug. Brick Break ensures Scyther isn’t walled by Steelix, Registeel, and Rhyperior, and in conjunction with Aerial Ace provides perfect neutral coverage in UU with the exception of Rotom. In the last slot, Quick Attack ensures quick but frail sweepers such as Alakazam or Dugtrio won’t end your sweep, and is a great way to pick off weakened set-up sweepers.</p>
<p>Bug Bite can be used over either of the last two attacks depending on what the rest of your team looks like—Brick Break isn’t as useful if Scyther has Rhyperior or Torterra at its side, ready to take advantage of Rock- and Steel-type Pokemon; on the other hand, Quick Attack may be dropped if you feel that you’re safe against speedy but frail sweepers.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>There is a multitude of options Scyther can use instead of the moves on this set. In terms of attacking moves, Reversal can be used over Brick Break if you don’t have Rapid Spin support, because its Base Power varies and it becomes more powerful when Scyther is under 34.4% HP. Night Slash is usable to hit defensive Rotom (Aerial Ace does a minimum of 87% to offensive Rotom after a Swords Dance anyway), but loses a huge amount of power against neutral targets. Baton Pass is also viable, especially if one intends to use this Scyther early in the game and has other Pokémon that would benefit greatly from a Swords Dance. Potential Baton Pass recipients should be adept at taking on Scyther’s common counters, so using a Fighting-type like Hitmonlee or Hitmontop or a Ground-type like Rhyperior or Torterra is recommended.p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Aerial Ace
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Quick Attack
move 4: Pursuit / Brick Break
item: Choice Band
ability: Technician
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Scyther frequently won't have time to Swords Dance and doesn't particularly appreciate Life Orb's recoil in tandem with Stealth Rock damage, so using a Choice Band is a logical alternative. The goal of this set is to chip away at the other team with repeated fast U-turns while simultaneously threatening to sweep with its powerful Aerial Ace. This means that while Rapid Spin support is appreciated by Scyther’s other sets, it is absolutely vital to the success of this set.</p>
<p>Aerial Ace and Bug Bite are still Scyther's strongest STAB attacks, but U-turn is preferred over Bug Bite despite its inferior Base Power due to its wonderful ability to scout. Quick Attack is useful for picking off weakened sweepers that have a Speed boost under their belts. Pursuit can trap the Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokemon who frequently flee from the prospect of eating Scyther’s STAB Bug Bite. Finally, Brick Break remains a perfect auxiliary attack for combating Steel- and Rock-types like Registeel, Steelix, and Rhyperior.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Donphan is a choice with great offensive synergy with Scyther since it can come into Steel- and Rock-types with the aid of Scyther’s U-turn and use Rapid Spin to clear the field for Scyther; in return, Scyther is an excellent check to Venusaur (watch out for Sleep Powder, however). Hitmontop has similarly useful synergy with Scyther’s U-turn, but is usually more effective on defensive teams. Cloyster doesn’t have much defensive synergy with Scyther, but has enormous physical bulk and can set up Spikes to make Scyther’s U-turns much more deadly.</p>
[SET]
name: Baton Pass
move 1: Baton Pass
move 2: Aerial Ace
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Swords Dance
item: Leftovers
ability: Technician
nature: Jolly
evs: 224 HP / 68 Def / 216 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Sweeping isn't the limit of Scyther's abilities; it can make an excellent dedicated Baton Passer, too. Substitute helps Scyther scout the opponent’s move at little risk to itself. It is also great Baton Pass fodder; even if Scyther hasn't used a boosting move yet, if it encounters an adversary it can't beat, it can Baton Pass to a suitable counter while the Substitute takes the hit in transition. Aerial Ace serves as Scyther’s requisite STAB attack due to its generous neutral coverage and is quite powerful after a Swords Dance, even with this set's lack of significant Attack investment.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Baton Pass targets should have good defensive and offensive synergy with Scyther. Rhyperior is a decent candidate because it easily beats opposing Registeel, Regirock, and Steelix, while resisting Rock and being immune to Thunder Wave. A Rock Polish Rhyperior can use Scyther’s Swords Dance to compensate for its inability to fit Swords Dance onto its moveset. Nidoking also boasts a Rock resistance and is much faster than Rhyperior, which means it doesn’t need to spend a turn just to boost its Speed. Azumarill can defeat most bulky Waters if it’s passed a Swords Dance, and patches up Scyther’s weaknesses to Fire and Ice.</p>
<p> While Scyther is also able to Baton Pass Agility, it is generally a better idea to Baton Pass Swords Dance; in the hands of a sweeper, an Attack boost is almost always more threatening than a Speed boost.</p>
<p>The Speed EVs given allow Scyther to outrun all Pokémon with 100 base Speed or less, including Ninetales and Charizard. Since this set’s main purpose is to stay alive in order to get a successful pass, Attack EVs aren’t needed. Instead, the remaining EVs are placed into its defenses. Since most of the priority attacks that Scyther is likely to try to survive are physical, the EVs reflect a bias towards physical Defense. 224 HP EVs yields a stat of 337 HP, which is just enough to give Scyther its maximum possible Leftovers recovery.</p>
[SET]
name: Salac Reversal
move 1: Reversal
move 2: Aerial Ace
move 3: Swords Dance
move 4: Substitute / Endure
item: Salac Berry
ability: Technician
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>The premise of this set is simple: use Substitute or Endure to lower Scyther's HP, Swords Dance along the way if possible, and attack as appropriate. Aerial Ace has good type coverage in tandem with Reversal and obliterates most Ghosts and Psychics that stand in Scyther's way, though defensive Rotom poses a quandary.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The question of whether to use Substitute or Endure is, in essence, a question of potential power versus reliability. Substitute makes it easier for Scyther to find an opportunity to use Swords Dance, but if Scyther takes some damage other than from Stealth Rock or Substitute, such as from a priority attack, its entire strategy might be ruined because it may become incapable of descending to a low enough HP. Endure functions well against all opponents, including those faster than Scyther, but is simpler for the opponent to play around than Substitute, because Endure is entirely reliant on the opposing Pokémon's actions.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Using a 29 HP IV on sweeper sets can give Scyther greater longevity in the long-term. This yields an HP stat of 279 instead of 281, which means Scyther loses 1 less HP from both Life Orb recoil and Stealth Rock damage. After two of these events (either a switch into Stealth Rock and a Life Orb recoil or two Life Orb recoils), Scyther breaks even; at three or more, Scyther with a 29 HP IV will actually have more HP than those with 31 HP IVs.</p>
<p>176 Speed EVs are a good guideline for Scyther, regardless of nature. With Adamant, it hits 290, which means Scyther can outrun Sharpedo, Jynx, and Primeape without Speed-boosting natures, while with Jolly it attains 319, which outruns all Pokémon with 95 base Speed or less. In Jolly's case, an extra 4 EVs allow Scyther to outrun Speed-neutral base 110 Speed Pokémon. Besides some specifics noted in the sets, aim for maximizing Attack and Speed. Ensure that Scyther's HP is odd, so it can switch into Stealth Rock twice. For most sets, the remaining 4 EVs are placed into Special Defense to ensure the rare Download Porygon2 won't receive a Special Attack boost.</p>
<p>Roost is in general a decent move, but Scyther doesn't quite have adequate defenses to use it effectively. Double Hit gets a Technician boost, so it's useful for breaking Substitutes. Thief also gets a Technician boost, but its power is still a paltry 60, and it may snag an item that is useless to Scyther.</p>
[Counters]
<p>As previously mentioned, Stealth Rock will destroy Scyther quickly, but there are also several Pokémon that can weather its assaults.</p>
<p>Steelix and Registeel resist both of Scyther’s STABs and can set up Stealth Rock to boot. Although they are both weak to Fighting, their high Defense stats mean they can easily survive even a Swords Dance boosted Brick Break easily; Steelix can KO Scyther with Gyro Ball or Explosion, and Registeel can cripple it with Thunder Wave and wear it down with Iron Head. Steelix has the added benefit of being able to Roar out the Baton Pass set. Although Rhyperior and Regirock don’t resist Bug, their physical bulkiness and STAB Rock attacks let them handle Scyther with relative ease. Rotom also resists both of Scyther's STAB attacks and can KO with Thunderbolt.</p>
<p>The few Pokémon that are naturally faster than Scyther can check it in a pinch, although they will all have to predict and avoid switching into a move that will OHKO them. Froslass, Swellow, and Raikou all sport super effective STAB attacks, while Jumpluff can come into a support move like Substitute or Swords Dance and use Encore to stall Scyther while it switches to an offensive Pokémon.</p>
<p>Priority moves such as Mach Punch, Fake Out, and Sucker Punch will beat the sets that focus on Reversal, while they can help wear down Life Orb versions for offensive teams.</p>
changes
- format
- removed scarf
- reworded stuff
- changed baton pass evs
- changed some moves around
- got rid of all the mentions of never seen UU pokemon
- fixed up counters
[OVERVIEW]
<p>Despite a crippling 4x weakness to Stealth Rock, Scyther is an extremely dangerous and often underestimated UU sweeper. Its great dual STABs provide excellent neutral coverage, and also hit many common defensive Pokemon for super effective damage (including Hitmontop, Uxie, Venusaur, and Slowbro). In addition, its high Speed and welcome resistances to Fighting and Grass means that it can check and revenge kill many common offensive Pokemon. However, Stealth Rock is hostile to Scyther, shaving off a substantial 50% of its HP; dedicated Rapid Spin support is nearly essential to ensuring success with Scyther. Despite this admittedly large flaw, mustering up the necessary support is definitely worth it when you consider Scyther’s destructive potential.</p>
[SET]
name: Sweeper
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Aerial Ace
move 3: Brick Break / Bug Bite
move 4: Quick Attack / Bug Bite
item: Life Orb
ability: Technician
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Scyther has naturally high Attack and Speed, and Swords Dance and Life Orb complement its stats to make it an extremely vicious physical sweeper in UU. Scyther packs resistances to Fighting- and Grass-type moves along with an immunity to Ground-type moves, which gives it set-up opportunities on quite a few popular Pokemon. However, due to its relative frailty, Scyther shines most when brought out in the late-game after its counters have been weakened and the other team has been scouted.</p>
<p>Aerial Ace is chosen as Scyther’s STAB move of choice over Bug Bite due to its superior neutral coverage; Electric-type Pokemon aren’t very common apart from Raikou (who is faster than Scyther) and Rotom (who also resists Bug Bite); most Rock-type Pokemon take more damage from Brick Break than they would from a neutral Bug Bite; finally, Steel-type Pokemon resist both Flying and Bug. Brick Break ensures Scyther isn’t walled by Steelix, Registeel, and Rhyperior, and in conjunction with Aerial Ace provides perfect neutral coverage in UU with the exception of Rotom. In the last slot, Quick Attack ensures quick but frail sweepers such as Alakazam or Dugtrio won’t end your sweep, and is a great way to pick off weakened set-up sweepers.</p>
<p>Bug Bite can be used over either of the last two attacks depending on what the rest of your team looks like—Brick Break isn’t as useful if Scyther has Rhyperior or Torterra at its side, ready to take advantage of Rock- and Steel-type Pokemon; on the other hand, Quick Attack may be dropped if you feel that you’re safe against speedy but frail sweepers.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>There is a multitude of options Scyther can use instead of the moves on this set. In terms of attacking moves, Reversal can be used over Brick Break if you don’t have Rapid Spin support, because its Base Power varies and it becomes more powerful when Scyther is under 34.4% HP. Night Slash is usable to hit defensive Rotom (Aerial Ace does a minimum of 87% to offensive Rotom after a Swords Dance anyway), but loses a huge amount of power against neutral targets. Baton Pass is also viable, especially if one intends to use this Scyther early in the game and has other Pokémon that would benefit greatly from a Swords Dance. Potential Baton Pass recipients should be adept at taking on Scyther’s common counters, so using a Fighting-type like Hitmonlee or Hitmontop or a Ground-type like Rhyperior or Torterra is recommended.p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Aerial Ace
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Quick Attack
move 4: Pursuit / Brick Break
item: Choice Band
ability: Technician
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Scyther frequently won't have time to Swords Dance and doesn't particularly appreciate Life Orb's recoil in tandem with Stealth Rock damage, so using a Choice Band is a logical alternative. The goal of this set is to chip away at the other team with repeated fast U-turns while simultaneously threatening to sweep with its powerful Aerial Ace. This means that while Rapid Spin support is appreciated by Scyther’s other sets, it is absolutely vital to the success of this set.</p>
<p>Aerial Ace and Bug Bite are still Scyther's strongest STAB attacks, but U-turn is preferred over Bug Bite despite its inferior Base Power due to its wonderful ability to scout. Quick Attack is useful for picking off weakened sweepers that have a Speed boost under their belts. Pursuit can trap the Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokemon who frequently flee from the prospect of eating Scyther’s STAB Bug Bite. Finally, Brick Break remains a perfect auxiliary attack for combating Steel- and Rock-types like Registeel, Steelix, and Rhyperior.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Donphan is a choice with great offensive synergy with Scyther since it can come into Steel- and Rock-types with the aid of Scyther’s U-turn and use Rapid Spin to clear the field for Scyther; in return, Scyther is an excellent check to Venusaur (watch out for Sleep Powder, however). Hitmontop has similarly useful synergy with Scyther’s U-turn, but is usually more effective on defensive teams. Cloyster doesn’t have much defensive synergy with Scyther, but has enormous physical bulk and can set up Spikes to make Scyther’s U-turns much more deadly.</p>
[SET]
name: Baton Pass
move 1: Baton Pass
move 2: Aerial Ace
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Swords Dance
item: Leftovers
ability: Technician
nature: Jolly
evs: 224 HP / 68 Def / 216 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Sweeping isn't the limit of Scyther's abilities; it can make an excellent dedicated Baton Passer, too. Substitute helps Scyther scout the opponent’s move at little risk to itself. It is also great Baton Pass fodder; even if Scyther hasn't used a boosting move yet, if it encounters an adversary it can't beat, it can Baton Pass to a suitable counter while the Substitute takes the hit in transition. Aerial Ace serves as Scyther’s requisite STAB attack due to its generous neutral coverage and is quite powerful after a Swords Dance, even with this set's lack of significant Attack investment.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Baton Pass targets should have good defensive and offensive synergy with Scyther. Rhyperior is a decent candidate because it easily beats opposing Registeel, Regirock, and Steelix, while resisting Rock and being immune to Thunder Wave. A Rock Polish Rhyperior can use Scyther’s Swords Dance to compensate for its inability to fit Swords Dance onto its moveset. Nidoking also boasts a Rock resistance and is much faster than Rhyperior, which means it doesn’t need to spend a turn just to boost its Speed. Azumarill can defeat most bulky Waters if it’s passed a Swords Dance, and patches up Scyther’s weaknesses to Fire and Ice.</p>
<p> While Scyther is also able to Baton Pass Agility, it is generally a better idea to Baton Pass Swords Dance; in the hands of a sweeper, an Attack boost is almost always more threatening than a Speed boost.</p>
<p>The Speed EVs given allow Scyther to outrun all Pokémon with 100 base Speed or less, including Ninetales and Charizard. Since this set’s main purpose is to stay alive in order to get a successful pass, Attack EVs aren’t needed. Instead, the remaining EVs are placed into its defenses. Since most of the priority attacks that Scyther is likely to try to survive are physical, the EVs reflect a bias towards physical Defense. 224 HP EVs yields a stat of 337 HP, which is just enough to give Scyther its maximum possible Leftovers recovery.</p>
[SET]
name: Salac Reversal
move 1: Reversal
move 2: Aerial Ace
move 3: Swords Dance
move 4: Substitute / Endure
item: Salac Berry
ability: Technician
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>The premise of this set is simple: use Substitute or Endure to lower Scyther's HP, Swords Dance along the way if possible, and attack as appropriate. Aerial Ace has good type coverage in tandem with Reversal and obliterates most Ghosts and Psychics that stand in Scyther's way, though defensive Rotom poses a quandary.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The question of whether to use Substitute or Endure is, in essence, a question of potential power versus reliability. Substitute makes it easier for Scyther to find an opportunity to use Swords Dance, but if Scyther takes some damage other than from Stealth Rock or Substitute, such as from a priority attack, its entire strategy might be ruined because it may become incapable of descending to a low enough HP. Endure functions well against all opponents, including those faster than Scyther, but is simpler for the opponent to play around than Substitute, because Endure is entirely reliant on the opposing Pokémon's actions.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Using a 29 HP IV on sweeper sets can give Scyther greater longevity in the long-term. This yields an HP stat of 279 instead of 281, which means Scyther loses 1 less HP from both Life Orb recoil and Stealth Rock damage. After two of these events (either a switch into Stealth Rock and a Life Orb recoil or two Life Orb recoils), Scyther breaks even; at three or more, Scyther with a 29 HP IV will actually have more HP than those with 31 HP IVs.</p>
<p>176 Speed EVs are a good guideline for Scyther, regardless of nature. With Adamant, it hits 290, which means Scyther can outrun Sharpedo, Jynx, and Primeape without Speed-boosting natures, while with Jolly it attains 319, which outruns all Pokémon with 95 base Speed or less. In Jolly's case, an extra 4 EVs allow Scyther to outrun Speed-neutral base 110 Speed Pokémon. Besides some specifics noted in the sets, aim for maximizing Attack and Speed. Ensure that Scyther's HP is odd, so it can switch into Stealth Rock twice. For most sets, the remaining 4 EVs are placed into Special Defense to ensure the rare Download Porygon2 won't receive a Special Attack boost.</p>
<p>Roost is in general a decent move, but Scyther doesn't quite have adequate defenses to use it effectively. Double Hit gets a Technician boost, so it's useful for breaking Substitutes. Thief also gets a Technician boost, but its power is still a paltry 60, and it may snag an item that is useless to Scyther.</p>
[Counters]
<p>As previously mentioned, Stealth Rock will destroy Scyther quickly, but there are also several Pokémon that can weather its assaults.</p>
<p>Steelix and Registeel resist both of Scyther’s STABs and can set up Stealth Rock to boot. Although they are both weak to Fighting, their high Defense stats mean they can easily survive even a Swords Dance boosted Brick Break easily; Steelix can KO Scyther with Gyro Ball or Explosion, and Registeel can cripple it with Thunder Wave and wear it down with Iron Head. Steelix has the added benefit of being able to Roar out the Baton Pass set. Although Rhyperior and Regirock don’t resist Bug, their physical bulkiness and STAB Rock attacks let them handle Scyther with relative ease. Rotom also resists both of Scyther's STAB attacks and can KO with Thunderbolt.</p>
<p>The few Pokémon that are naturally faster than Scyther can check it in a pinch, although they will all have to predict and avoid switching into a move that will OHKO them. Froslass, Swellow, and Raikou all sport super effective STAB attacks, while Jumpluff can come into a support move like Substitute or Swords Dance and use Encore to stall Scyther while it switches to an offensive Pokémon.</p>
<p>Priority moves such as Mach Punch, Fake Out, and Sucker Punch will beat the sets that focus on Reversal, while they can help wear down Life Orb versions for offensive teams.</p>
