Pokémon Scrafty

Status
Not open for further replies.
The Pope

The Pope

2otLFNa.gif


Generation VI brought Scrafty a handful of both boons and burdens. The most noticeable of problems for him is his new 4x Weakness to Fairy-type moves. You'd consider that to be a deal-breaker to keep him out of OU, but there's one important new toy he gained this generation: Assault Vest. But before we go into him more, let's go over the basics.

Type: Fighting/Dark
Base Stats: 65/90/115/45/115/58 (488 total)
Abilities: Shed Skin / Moxie / Intimidate (Hidden Ability)

Notable Moves

Low Kick
Brick Break
Payback
Chip Away
High Jump Kick
Crunch
Focus Punch
Head Smash
Dragon Claw
Roar
Bulk Up
Low Sweep
Fling
Stone Edge
Rock Slide
Dragon Tail
Poison Jab
Power-Up Punch
Detect
Dragon Dance
Drain Punch
Fake Out
Fire Punch
Ice Punch
Quick Guard
Thunder Punch
Zen Headbutt
Iron Head (B2W2 Move Tutor)
Knock Off (B2W2 Move Tutor)


Overview

In Gen V, Scrafty was relegated to UU. While he has fantastic sweeping potential with Dragon Dance and the Moxie ability, he just isn't fast enough to guarantee a sweep, even with a D-Dance. Shed Skin could act as a potential Lum, but the 30% chance wasn't quite so viable. He got Intimidate in B2/W2, which helped somewhat, but he still had to worry about special threats. But now with the addition of Assault Vest, Scrafty has been upgraded to an incredibly viable tank.

Movesets:

Assault Vest Tank

Drain Punch
Power-Up Punch
Fire Punch/Ice Punch/Thunder Punch/Crunch/Stone Edge
Fake Out/Crunch
Ability:Intimidate
Item: Assault Vest
Nature: Adamant/Impish
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def

This is Scrafty's ideal defensive set. It works best in Doubles/Triples, but it still does wonders in Singles. Drain Punch helps Scrafty maintain his overall tankiness, keeping him healthy and fighting fit. Power-Up Punch is an excellent move to either take out weak Pokemons or to use on an expected switch-in, since it raises Scrafty's Attack while still keeping his Assault Vest boost. The elemental punches are great coverage options, but Crunch gains STAB, so if you need a Dark move or don't need one of the elemental punches, you may want to go with Crunch. Stone Edge is also beneficial, if you choose to run it. For the fourth move, Fake Out is a great stall move, especially if you're battling weather teams and want to run out their clock, but it's also good for finishing off weak opponents or just getting some extra damage in. However, if you don't feel like you need it and you have one of the elemental punches, you can use that slot for Crunch.

Some quick damage calculations:

252 SpA Choice Specs Latios Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 189-223 (56.5 - 66.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Scrafty Crunch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Latios: 270-318 (89.4 - 105.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO (certain kill after Fake-Out)

-1 252+ Atk Technician Mega Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Scrafty: 72-85 (21.5 - 25.4%) -- 0.3% chance to 4HKO
252+ Atk Scrafty Fire Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Scizor: 212-252 (61.6 - 73.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+1 252+ Atk Aegislash-Blade Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Scrafty: 318-376 (95.2 - 112.5%) -- 75% chance to OHKO (assuming Swords Dance)
252+ Atk Scrafty Crunch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Blade: 390-458 (120.3 - 141.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Greninja Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 118-140 (35.3 - 41.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Scrafty Thunder Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 194-230 (67.8 - 80.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

And that's assuming you haven't been Power-Up Punching at all.

That being said, Scrafty's main gimmick will most likely be switching in and out and providing Fake Outs while lowering enemy attack. Intimidate cripples physical beaters, while his Assault Vest weakens special attacks to the point where Drain Punch makes up for any damage lost.

More sets to come later

Conclusion
Scrafty is going to be absolutely terrifying in Doubles and Triples, since Fake Out and Intimidate make him a Hitmontop-level horror. And while he may not have Hitmontop's Wide Guard, he does have far greater bulk, and can perform his fair share of kills much better than Hitmontop can. In Singles, he'll be just as good; he'll just need a good Steel, Poison, or Fire teammate to suck up those scary Moonblasts.
 
Personally I'd run knock off over PuP. Like you said this Scrafty will be switching around a lot so attack boosts are not only hard to maintain, but also hard to set up since Scrafty tends to want to use a different move. Besides, stab Knock off is just too good to pass up. Dragon Tail might also be viable somewhere.
Also EV wise, 252 defense, 252 attack might be more efficient since you can maximise the % of HP gained in drain punch. But maybe I'm wrong.
 
Knock Off is incredibly viable, but I was mostly going off moves naturally found in X/Y. And yeah, Dragon Tail is also viable.

Also, did calculations, you withstand much more attacks when you invest in HP. Intimidate is good enough at cutting off their attack.
 
Scrafty has higher overall bulk, as well as Intimidate, and a MUCH higher Special Defense to be abused by Assault Vest.
 
I CTRL+F'd Knock Off immediately after clicking this thread and didn't see it in your recommended set OP. What gives?
 
AV scrafty is cool, but it's super weak. YOu need HJK or super fang to deal significant damage. Drain Punch / HJK / Knock off are mandatory. Dragon tail, Super Fang, Ice Punch, Poison Jab and Stone Edge are all good moves to pack after that. Dragon Tail is nice to shuffle against setup users, most importantly charizard X. Super Fang + knock off really pisses off all kinds of walls, ice punch to snipe lando/gliscor, poison jab for fairies who otherwise counter you, and stone edge to snipe pinsir who otherwise sets up on you.

Power up punch is fucking useless btw, just use a bulk up set.
 
Last edited:
Ash Borer said:
AV scrafty is cool, but it's super weak. YOu need HJK or super fang to deal significant damage. Drain Punch / HJK / Knock off are mandatory. Dragon tail, Super Fang, Ice Punch, Poison Jab and Stone Edge are all good moves to pack after that.

Power up punch is fucking useless btw, just use a bulk up set.
Click to expand...

And TIL that Scrafty gets super fang...

With that in mind, I think this could work for an AV set

Scrafty @ Assault Vest
Intimidate
Adamant/Impish
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Super Fang
Dragon Tail
Drain Punch
Knock Off

This has real potential to benefit Aegislash or a priority abusing sweeper as a partner. Despite the very unfortunate weaknesses to fairy, flying and fighting, scrafty is still a real pain for several physical and special attackers, notably genesect who don't immediately click U-turn and Aegislash, who hates scrafty's typing and intimidate. This allows you to force out those pokemon and others, and have the switch-in crippled; either by phazing in dragon tail, knock off their item, or halve their health with super-fang, which could potentially ruin counters/checks who might stop your sweeping.

Since Scrafty will attract a lot of faeries in, aegislash (particularly variants with iron head/flash cannon) make perfect sense as a partner, as using super-fang on the switch will weaken the fairy in question, which will then consider scrafty's switch out a good time to regain health. This of course gives you the perfect switch-in for aegislash, who doesn't overly fear faeries, or perhaps other notable steel pokes such as heatran/scizor.

Notable calcs
+1 252 SpA Genesect Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 83-98 (24.8 - 29.3%) -- 100% chance to 4HKO
Unless genesect run bug buzz, this is the strongest attack it can throw against scrafty, if specially offensive
-1 252 Atk Choice Band Genesect U-turn vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Scrafty: 96-114 (28.7 - 34.1%) -- 49.3% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock
Not bad for a bug neutral pokemon against one of the most powerful U-turn's the game has to offer.

-1 252+ Atk Life Orb Aegislash-Blade Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Scrafty: 185-218 (55.3 - 65.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
A 2HKO, but from quiet aegislash, you can outspeed it and KO with Knock off before it can hit you again (you don't even need any attack investment to ensure knock off KO's, which is nice). I'm not even sure this is the most attack aegislash even run.
252+ SpA Life Orb Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 61-73 (18.2 - 21.8%) -- possible 5HKO after Stealth Rock
That's pretty good considering how often shadow ball is spammed.

-1 252+ Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Scrafty: 115-136 (34.4 - 40.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Dragonite Outrage vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Scrafty: 195-231 (58.3 - 69.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Outrage vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Scrafty: 226-267 (67.6 - 79.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Life Orb Starmie Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 117-138 (35 - 41.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
(showdon's damage calc doesn't seem to have a way to include analytic sadly)
-1 252+ Atk Life Orb Mamoswine Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Scrafty: 138-164 (41.3 - 49.1%) -- 11.7% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
-1 252+ Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Scrafty: 109-129 (32.6 - 38.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock

So you might not always avoid 2HKO's but its really worth noting some of them as if you can keep somewhat healthy, you can act as an check to some of those sweeps with dragon tail. Some movement of attack EVs to defense can also help turning a 2HKO into a 3HKO as well (notably mamoswine).

Other options: If you fancy your prediction skills, slashing rock slide or stone edge might be worth it, as you can survive +1 volcarona and KO it in return, while predicting a talonflame switch in wouldn't go astray either. You're probably better off trying to keep SR up and using dragon tail though, as each of scrafty's moves offers an important piece of utility. Shed skin has some merit but is too unreliable. Ice punch can be worth it with all those quad weak ice types, which may hold more merit over super-fang, but really you should be using faeries to deal with dragons rather than an emergency check in scrafty.

EDIT: Cleric support is also highly advised, as scrafty can switch into a fair bit more, but things like Rotom-W, Heatran and Trevenant can all burn, which is a pain.
 
...sure Assault Vest may help, but Play Rough exists. So...Scrafty may be good, but there are just better Pokemon now that are just better than it. The metagame has advanced and Scraggy has stayed behind.
 
Haze Milotic said:
...sure Assault Vest may help, but Play Rough exists. So...Scrafty may be good, but there are just better Pokemon now that are just better than it. The metagame has advanced and Scraggy has stayed behind.
Click to expand...

Yeah, from about a grand total of 2 OU-Viable pokemon, maybe 3 if we count mega-absol. There are better pokemon, but one move isn't ruining things for scrafty yet.
 
Personally I would never use AV Scrafty over Conk. Yes it doesn't have to worry about Psychic-types, but as Ash Borer said Scrafty's biggest problem is how pathetically weak it is. Conkeldurr has a whopping 140 base Attack compared to Scrafty's measly 90. Because of this, Scrafty isn't going to be getting nearly as much HP back with Drain Punch as Conkeldurr is, and although it's significantly bulkier, it's not really worth the massive drop in power. Conk also has priority Mach Punch, which is super clutch and very important in many situations to pick off weakened sweepers. Power-Up Punch is garbage because you have to sacrifice a coverage move for it, and because of its low damage output it's still very easy to switch into, even at +1. Scrafty also has an unfortunate 4x weakness to the Fairy-type, and a weakness to Fighting. We also can forget that Scrafty's abilities aren't nearly as useful as Conkeldurr's Guts for the AV role, because with Shed Skin, it misses out on the Attack drop from Intimidate and only has a 30% to cure its status, and with Intimidate it can't absorb status reliably at all, which is something one of the reasons Conk is so deadly. All in all, AV Scrafty is a poor man's Conkeldurr and shouldn't really be used on any serious team, because it is outclassed in almost every way by it.
 
Last edited:
Haze Milotic said:
...sure Assault Vest may help, but Play Rough exists. So...Scrafty may be good, but there are just better Pokemon now that are just better than it. The metagame has advanced and Scraggy has stayed behind.
Click to expand...
Landorus-T has a quadruple weakness to Ice. More at 11.

Anyway, I personally disagree with Gary2346 - AV Scrafty is clutch as fuck. It's mostly its absolutely insane bulk - with Intimidate, 16 Defense EVs, and an Impish nature, it is guaranteed to tank a Return from Jolly Mega Pinsir after Stealth Rock. It's also a hard counter to Aegislash - weak to Sacred Sword sure, but that doesn't do enough to scare Scrafty out. With Wish support it can keep this up all day. The main downside is being unable to switch in on Bisharp - Knock Off removes the vest and it gives Bisharp an attack boost :(
 
4 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 172-208 (51.4 - 62.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
4 SpA Togekiss Dazzling Gleam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 180-216 (53.8 - 64.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 4 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 264-312 (79 - 93.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Agreed, AV Scrafty is great.
 
Chesnaught said:
4 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 172-208 (51.4 - 62.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
4 SpA Togekiss Dazzling Gleam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 180-216 (53.8 - 64.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 4 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 264-312 (79 - 93.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Agreed, AV Scrafty is great.
Click to expand...

252 SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 540-640 (161.6 - 191.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Mega Gardevoir Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 436-520 (130.5 - 155.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 400-472 (119.7 - 141.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Mega Gardevoir Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 328-388 (98.2 - 116.1%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

Sure it is.... Sure it is...
 
Regiultima115 said:
252 SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 540-640 (161.6 - 191.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Mega Gardevoir Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 436-520 (130.5 - 155.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 400-472 (119.7 - 141.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Mega Gardevoir Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 328-388 (98.2 - 116.1%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

Sure it is.... Sure it is...
Click to expand...

252 Atk Adaptability Mega Lucario Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tyranitar: 768-912 (190 - 225.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Man tyranitar is such a piece of shit for dying to a move it is 4x weak to from the equivalent of a <150 Atk stat. Why would I want to use this piece of trash on my team
 
Regiultima115 said:
252 SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 540-640 (161.6 - 191.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Mega Gardevoir Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 436-520 (130.5 - 155.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 400-472 (119.7 - 141.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Mega Gardevoir Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 328-388 (98.2 - 116.1%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

Sure it is.... Sure it is...
Click to expand...
this is a pretty flimsy argument for AV scrafty not being very good. what scrafty set can take on a megagardevoir? DD with poison jab? if it already has a speed boost under its belt? and it loses coverage on other things since it's running poison jab.
not necessarily saying poison jab is bad for scrafty, just saying that one pokemon that already checks/counters pretty well isn't evidence that AV is bad
 
Regiultima115 said:
252 SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 540-640 (161.6 - 191.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Mega Gardevoir Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 436-520 (130.5 - 155.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 400-472 (119.7 - 141.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Mega Gardevoir Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 328-388 (98.2 - 116.1%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

Sure it is.... Sure it is...
Click to expand...

Megardevoir's Hyper Voice is absurd, it's the single strongest fairy attack in the game and one of the strongest special attacks in general. And scrafty is 4x weak to it. It'll just never be a good match-up ever.
 
Regiultima115 said:
252 SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 540-640 (161.6 - 191.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Mega Gardevoir Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 436-520 (130.5 - 155.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 400-472 (119.7 - 141.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Mega Gardevoir Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 328-388 (98.2 - 116.1%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

Sure it is.... Sure it is...
Click to expand...

Yep, a 178 Base Power move off of a 165 SpA from something it is 4x weak to means it sucks.
 
Chesnaught said:
4 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 172-208 (51.4 - 62.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
4 SpA Togekiss Dazzling Gleam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 180-216 (53.8 - 64.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 4 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 264-312 (79 - 93.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Agreed, AV Scrafty is great.
Click to expand...
I can't tell if you're being serious or not, because I don't know what you expect him to do back in return with an uninvested base 90 Atk stat and Clefable resisting both of his STABs, and Togekiss 4x resists one of them. Oh, and Scrafty is slower than everything too.

Scrafty's measly HP stat means Conkeldurr is comparably bulky physically, and in practice from a huge advantage in power for Drain Punch, effectively lasts longer. His natural special bulk is indeed better, so MAYBE you could get by with a max SpD build with Bulk Up and Shed Skin which allows you to use Leftovers. It's really his only shot, and you'd still best not use him against Fairies period. Assault Vest may let you survive one very weak Fairy attack but that's hardly worth the cost of his numerous boosting moves if you actually intend to do damage. Otherwise he will make a decent partner for Mega Venusaur or something as a Psychic immunity with Intimidate+AV, but they are both weak to Flying. At best he can be a mediocre pivot with Intimidate+AV to rack up switches and use STAB Knock Off as punishment, or Dragon Tail on predicted switches for further hazard damage. But he simply doesn't have good staying power or damage output without significant boosts and his weaknesses do not allow him that luxury.
 
When factoring in intimidate and assault vest, 252HP 252+atk 4 def Scrafty is really, really bulky. Far more physically bulky than Conkeldurr when intimidate is factored in, and still more physically bulky when intimidate isn't activated. To top it off it's more specially bulky. Note, I'm comparing this to a 252SpD 4 def assault vest Conkeldurr spread.
 
Jaroda said:
I can't tell if you're being serious or not, because I don't know what you expect him to do back in return with an uninvested base 90 Atk stat and Clefable resisting both of his STABs, and Togekiss 4x resists one of them. Oh, and Scrafty is slower than everything too.

Scrafty's measly HP stat means Conkeldurr is comparably bulky physically, and in practice from a huge advantage in power for Drain Punch, effectively lasts longer. His natural special bulk is indeed better, so MAYBE you could get by with a max SpD build with Bulk Up and Shed Skin which allows you to use Leftovers. It's really his only shot, and you'd still best not use him against Fairies period. Assault Vest may let you survive one very weak Fairy attack but that's hardly worth the cost of his numerous boosting moves if you actually intend to do damage. Otherwise he will make a decent partner for Mega Venusaur or something as a Psychic immunity with Intimidate+AV, but they are both weak to Flying. At best he can be a mediocre pivot with Intimidate+AV to rack up switches and use STAB Knock Off as punishment, or Dragon Tail on predicted switches for further hazard damage. But he simply doesn't have good staying power or damage output without significant boosts and his weaknesses do not allow him that luxury.
Click to expand...

What I'm trying to show is that having that weakness to Fairy doesn't automatically mean it instantly dies to their moves, contrary to popular belief. I do however agree with your statement that it shouldn't even stay in on them for the most part. I believe that the standard should be Drain Punch / Knock Off / Ice Punch / Dragon Tail on AV Scrafty, as Dragon Tail gives it a niche over Conkeldurr, while also having a ton more bulk. Just for reference:
4 Atk Scrafty Knock Off vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Abomasnow: 82-97 (25.5 - 30.2%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
4 Atk Conkeldurr Knock Off vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Abomasnow: 80-95 (24.9 - 29.5%) -- 100% chance to 4HKO
Even with STAB, their Knock Offs are roughly the same, with just 48 EVs in Attack, however, Conkeldurr has a more powerful Knock Off. And I believe the standard Conkeldurr build with AV is 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD with Adamant, isn't it? If so, then yeah, even with STAB, Knock Off is more powerful on Conkeldurr. In case anyone was wondering if STAB made it more powerful.


 
It seems great on paper, in the same way Machamp does, but like Machamp it has a major downside in its vulnerability to status. Conkeldurr fits onto so many teams because it can come in on really common Pokémon like Rotom-W, Lava Plume Heatran and any bulky water with Scald, with no fear of getting burned. Scrafty may take less damage from an initial hit, but then it can do little more than harass while it gets worn away. Its Attack isn't high enough, it doesn't have that status-absorbing utility and if you want to run AV then you're forgoing two of its best options to actually damage something, namely Dragon Dance and the Bulk Up/Shed Skin combination. Though with things like CB Talonflame and Azumarill as common as they are, neither of those are truly viable either unfortunately. Scrafty's problem has never been that it can't switch into Special attacks well enough. The Knock Off improvement is nice but it doesn't outweigh the new 4x weakness and the fact it's generally overshadowed.
 
Porce said:
When factoring in intimidate and assault vest, 252HP 252+atk 4 def Scrafty is really, really bulky. Far more physically bulky than Conkeldurr when intimidate is factored in, and still more physically bulky when intimidate isn't activated. To top it off it's more specially bulky. Note, I'm comparing this to a 252SpD 4 def assault vest Conkeldurr spread.
Click to expand...
105/90 is comparable physically to 65/115 at the most basic level, that's the point I'm making. obviously with EVS you can manipulate these to be comparable or outright skewed however you like but innately Conk is as physically bulky and Scrafty is specially so. It's that simple. and nobody is saying Scrafty can't take a special hit well, nor an initial physical one with Intimidate but in practice Conk Is almost universally superior in damage output and durability on top of having Guts for status and priority to boot. Scrafty can make a better pivot especially against psychic and ghost moves but the advantages cease there.
Whatever weird niche we can contort him into doing better than Conk in a vacuum, it doesn't change the fact that Conk is still unilaterally a better choice for almost every team.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top