Ready for QC checks.
QC Checks: 1/3 Iconic, 2/3 Delta 2777, 3/3 Bloo
---------------------------------------------------------------------
[Overview]
<p>Scizor is a
great tank terrific threat in today's metagame.
Sporting one of the best typings both offensively and defensively, along with a great ability in Technician, Scizor is comfortable taking hits with its respectable bulk and various resistances, before hitting back with strong attacks from it's immense base 130 attack stat. Its Bug- and Steel-type combination gives is a host of useful resistances to utilize alongside its respectable bulk. Scizor has a great offensive ability, Technician, to abuse in tandem with its 130 base Attack to make it a real offensive terror. While neither STAB is particularly impressive in terms of coverage, they grant power boosts to key moves like the incredibly useful U-turn, and Scizor's terrifying Bullet Punch. Technician Bullet Punch, when boosted by a Choice Band or Swords Dance
, is a great asset to Scizor, allowing it to KO certain threats before they can KO him back is a terrifically powerful priority move, granting Scizor revenge killing and sweeping potential sure to be valued by any team. Scizor can also make an excellent scout with a STAB U-Turn, which does huge damage to opposing Pokemon whilst giving teammates a free switch-in.
Scizor is the only Bug-type to get U-turn while lacking a weakness to Stealth Rock, making it arguably the greatest abuser of the move in the game.</p>
<p>
All in all, if Whether Scizor is sweeping with Swords Dance, scouting with Choice Band U-Turn
, or picking
things off
opponents with a Technician Bullet Punch,
Scizor it will
surely be a great asset to any team,
including those which especially teams that struggle against threats such as Latios, Reuniclus and Tyranitar. Scizor can be fit
ted on almost any team, as it accomplishes many jobs and provides a team with
a whole host of beneficial qualities fantastic offensive and defensive support.</p>
[SET]
name: Bulky Swords Dance
move1: Swords Dance
move2: Bullet Punch
move3: Bug Bite / Superpower
move4: Roost
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
nature: Adamant
ability: Technician
evs: 252 HP / 40 Atk / 216 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Scizor's flagship set for the new generation, the Bulky Swords Dance set is able to set up on many common threats in the
common metagame, including Ferrothorn, Reuinclus and Specs Latios locked into Draco Meteor. Scizor's great
base Attack stat allows it to deal out huge damage with Bullet Punch and Bug Bite, even with minimal attack investment
. as Swords Dance
and an Adamant nature will still boost Scizor's attack to sky-high levels will boost Scizor's Attack to truly threatening levels, while the bulk of this set will assure easy setup.</p>
<p>Bullet Punch is
the one of the main reason's to use Scizor, and
this set is no different its priority and tremendous power makes it the main sweeping move of this set as well. Bug Bite gives Scizor another STAB option to add to its arsenal, and
packs greater brute force to allow Scizor to it handily deal
s with
slower, bulky Pokemon such as
Ferrothorn Reniunclus after a few boosts. Superpower can also be used
on this set as it does serious damage to
common walls to this set on the switch in many Pokemon that otherwise wall this set,
notably Steel-type foes such as Skarmory and Heatran.
Catching these threats on the switch-in with Superpower can dramatically swing the game in one's favor. Finally, Roost rounds out this set, giving Scizor a means of reliable recovery whilst making it able to heal off the damage that it will take from various resisted attacks.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs provide Scizor with great bulk, both Physically and Specially.
252 HP EVs gives great bulk to both sides HP is maximized to enhance its overall bulk, whilst 216 Special Defense EVs make sure that Scizor isn't 2HKOed by a Focus Blast from
both Reuniclus
and or Virizion. The re
maining EVs are used in Attack st is put into attack to allow Scizor to hit a little harder after set up. A more defensive EV spread can be utili
zed to allow Scizor to wall more effectively, but the extra
Attack
is well missed after setting up is generally more valuable than the small boost in bulk. When multiplying your power with Swords Dance, just a small investment in Attack can bring dramatic results.</p>
<p>Scizor can use other moves on this set as well. U-Turn can be used to scout for Scizor's counters early game, weakening them and setting up Scizor for a Bullet Punch sweep later on.
This is best abused with entry hazards as Scizor will then have even weaker counters Entry hazards will allow you to make the best use of U-turn, forcing more damage on the enemy Scizor checks as they switch in and out of battle trying to chase after Scizor.
Keep in mind that U-turn lacks synergy with Swords Dance, as its switching will cause you to lose your hard-earned Attack boosts. Scizor can
also make use
of Brick Break over Bug Bite
, but Bug Bite allows Scizor to do greater damage over time.
Fighting has better coverage with Steel than Bug does, granting at least neutral coverage against the many Steel-Types of OU. Keep in mind that despite its poor type coverage, the power granted to Bug Bite by STAB and Technician are not to be underestimated. A resisted Bug Bite is only slightly weaker than a neutral Brick Break. Furthermore, without Bug Bite, Scizor will have trouble acting as a Reniunclus check, which is one of its most valuable roles in BW OU. Scizor can utili
ze different items on this set, all to great effect.
Leftovers gives Scizor a little extra durability that is greatly appreciated by this Scizor as it commonly switches into resisted attacks The healing granted by Leftovers will be greatly appreciated by Scizor as it aims to set up Swords Dance on resisted attacks.
In contrast, the power boost granted by Life Orb can be critical to Scizor in successfully sweeping, especially whens aiming to surmount bulky enemies like Gliscor. While its low Speed makes it hard to find a free turn, Scizor can always fall back on Roost to recover health lost to Life Orb should it find an opportunity to use it. Life Orb allows Scizor to hit harder, and this may be prefered as Scizor still has Roost for recovery. Finally, a Lum Berry can be used to allow Scizor to shrug of status such as a burn from Jellicent's Will-o-Wisp or a burn from Scald. </p>
<p>This Scizor appreciates entry hazard support,
as when it switches into something that it walls, they will take great damage when they switch out as it is very capable of forcing many enemy threats out, and subsequently forcing them to take more entry hazard damage upon their next switch-in.
In this case, Do keep in mind that Ferrothorn
's similar typing would compound the team's Fire-type weakness, making it a less than ideal partner unless your team is well equipped to handle powerful Fire-type attacks. is not really a good option, as their typing is very similar Tyranitar is a good choice to set up Stealth Rock
, as they have great synergy and they both counter a lot of common threats, making a good core.
Tyranitar and Scizor have good synergy, being able to cover each other's weaknesses relatively well, while Tyranitar backs Scizor up with some extra special bulk, and provides a sandstorm that makes it easier for Scizor to break through foes like Blissey and bulky Water-types.Heatran can also do a great job, as it
takes eagerly switches into Fire-type attacks aimed at Scizor whilst getting a free boost to its
Special Attack Fire-type attacks. Bulky Water-types are also great teammates,
as with a key resistance to Fire, they are able to set up on lots of things that can take advantage of Scizor using their great bulk and resistance to Fire allowing them to defeat or set up against foes greedy to strike at Scizor's weakness.
Slowbro is one such example, as is has great synergy with Scizor, and it walls many common physical threats. Gyarados is a great example of a teammate capable of capitalizing of Scizor's Fire-type weakness, by switching in and setting up Dragon Dance, crippling a foe with Thunder Wave, or pushing the momentum with Dragon Tail. Additionally, Gyarados is a fantastic check to Ground- and Fighting-types that think they can muscle through Scizor. Politoed is also very effective, as it halves the damage that Scizor takes from Fire-type attacks, making it even harder to take down.
Do be wary that rain strengthens your opponent's Water-type attacks as well, and Scizor will likely be unable to hold up against STAB rain-boosted attacks from enemy Water-types (who will also resist Bullet Punch). If you use Politoed, be sure to pack a teammate that can hold up to powerful Water-type attacks. This set must also be wary of Pokemon that resist Bullet Punch
, whilst being able to deal back huge damage are effective counters to this set and have effective methods of attacking Scizor. Pokemon such as Heatran and Rotom-H can easily switch in and beat this set. Also, Steel-types such as Skarmory can easily phaze Scizor away if it
is without lacks Superpower.
Beware though, as if Scizor is the last Pokemon, it will be able to be Skarmory with a +6 Bullet Punch One should note though that Scizor will beat Skarmory one-on-one if Scizor is left as the last Pokemon. Magnezone can trap
both Skarmory and weakened Heatran, killing them both off with Thunderbolt. Other Electric-type Pokemon such as Thundurus can more or less accomplish the same feat.</p>
(You can't just say something has good synergy without explaining WHY it has good synergy. Also, the more I thought about it, the more Gyarados seems like a better example than Slowbro. Actually, Roar/Dragon Tail Gyarados should probably also have been mentioned as a threat to this set)
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move1: U-turn
move2: Bullet Punch
move3: Superpower
move4: Pursuit / Quick Attack
item: Choice Band
nature: Adamant
ability: Techinician
evs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>The menace from
generation four DPP returns, and retains its status as a top tier Pokemon.
Still an amazing scout, with great bulk, phenomenal Attack and a Choice Band, this Scizor hurts; a lot. U-Turn is the crux of this set, allowing Scizor to deal out huge damage to incoming switch-ins and allowing you
to switch into a counter to their Pokemon of your own keep the momentum by using U-turns switch-in to grab additional favorable match-ups.
Bullet Punch is once more a great move on this Scizor, as with Technician, its base power rises to 90, and this Choice Band boosted Bullet Punch is incredibly powerful even with no setup, and allows Scizor to revenge kill many dangerous threats such as Salamence locked into Outrage,
a Nasty Plot Zoroak Choice Scarf Hydreigon and "Double Dance" Terrakion.</p>
(There's got to be a better example than a UU Pokemon...)
<p>The other two moves on this set, Superpower and Pursuit, serve to give Scizor some added utility. Superpower does huge damage to Scizor's main counters, OHKOing Heatran, Magnezone and Ferrothorn expecting a Bullet Punch.
Specially defensive Skarmory also takes
collosal significant damage, and it can be OHKOed if it Roosts. Pursuit offers Scizor more utility, allowing it to KO or do huge damage to a fleeing Reuniclus, along with hurting Life Orb Starmie and Slowbro.
It also checkmates Choice Specs Latios locked in Draco Meteor. Quick Attack can be a good option over Pursuit, as
, depending on the circumstances, it
can give provides Scizor
with a more effective to revenge kill Pokemon which resist Bullet Punch, such as opportunities to beat certain threats that resist Bullet Punch, like Infernape, Thundurus and weakened Gyarados.
Kingdra It also comes with the added benefit of OHKOing 4/0 Volcarona after Stealth Rock. </p>
(Are you sure about Skarmory? My calcs say it can only do 43% MAX to Physically Bulky Skarmory, meaning it can't OHKO against roost, and it DEFINITELY can't do it at -1 Attack)
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A few other moves for Scizor may be considered. Night Slash is a good move to hit Ghost-
types and Psychic-types hard
, off the bat such as most notably Jellicent, but U-Turning to a counter is almost always the better option.
One should also note that Night Slash's base power is 70, only 10 more points than Technician boosted Pursuit, which has 60 base power even if the opponent doesn't switch. Bug Bite
can also be used to hit something with Scizor's great STAB if you don't want to switch, but U-Turn is almost always the better option as you can scout for switch-ins and bring in a counter is almost 30% more powerful than U-turn, but the effectiveness of U-turn's switching ability cannot be overstated, and U-turn is generally the superior Bug-type STAB move. The Adamant nature gives Scizor a huge power boost, allowing it to hit as hard as possible. The EVs maximi
ze Attack,
furthermore giving it great strength granting this set tremendous power.
252 HP EVs would make Scizor's HP divisible by 4, so 248 HP EVs
are used to maximize Scizor's bulk while giving it one additional opportunity to switch into Stealth Rock give Scizor great bulk, whilst allowing it to switch into Stealth Rock one extra time. The rest of the EVs are put into speed so that Scizor can outrun other Scizor, and other random
0 speed base 65
Speed Pokemon running no Speed EVs. A
more bulky spread may be used, as this Scizor can also be used somewhat as a wall for common threats such as Specs Latios and Calm Mind Reuniclus, however, Scizor benefits greatly from more attack as it maximises Bullet Punch's revenge killing prowess. bulkier EV spread, similar to the spread for the Bulky Swords Dance set could be used to make Scizor a more effective trapper against special attackers like Latios, Latias, Reniunclus, Gengar and Starmie. Unfortunately, the loss in power will severely weaken Scizor's attacks, most notably Bullet Punch, losing much of Scizor's potential for sweeping and revenge killing.</p>
<p>This Scizor benefits a lot from
a Rapid Spinner Rapid Spin support.
If both a Spikes and Stealth Rock are set up, this Scizor is going to take a beating everytime it U-Turns out Spikes and Stealth Rock punish repeated switching, and Scizor will be unable to utilize U-turn to its full capacity when faced with a field littered with entry hazards. Life Orb Starmie is
almost the perfect a very effective Rapid Spinner to pair with Scizor, as it beats all common spin blockers,
such as defeating Jellicent with Thunderbolt and Gengar with Hydro Pump. Also, Starmie resists Fire, Scizor's only weakness, while Scizor resists
the Dark-, Ghost-, Grass- and Bug-type attacks
, all of which Starmie is weak to that plague Starmie. Finally, if Scizor can remove Ferrothorn or Chansey with a surprise Superpower, Starmie will be able to sweep late game, making them
almost a perfect a lethal offensive duo. A Stealth Rock or Spikes user of your own makes Scizor even more effective, as it tends to
cause force a lot of switches with
its powerful attacks and U-Turn
antics. Once more, Tyranitar
can is a good choice to set up Stealth Rock, while Skarmory
makes a good user of is a good choice to supply Spikes. Skarmory can
also wall a lot of the common Physical threats that can set up on this Scizor, such as Excadrill
when Scizor is locked into Bullet Punch looking to shrug off resisted Bullet Punches.
Beware though, as adding a Skarmory to your team will bring an extra weakness to Fire, so think carefull before this is done Skarmory's relatively similar typing can cause problems, notably compounding the team's weakness to fire.
When using Skarmory with Scizor, the other four Pokemon should be chosen with care. Pokemon that resist Scizor's weaknesses, such as Jellicent and Heatran
also make good teammates, and they can also break holes into the opposing team by use of Taunt and Toxic or powerful moves respectively are good choices to cover Scizor's Fire weakness, with Jellicent spin blocking and spreading status, while Heatran can aid Scizor's sweep by battering the enemy with its powerful special attacks. They
also make light work of check the Steel-types that
are almost completely hard counters give trouble to this Scizor
, and other teammates such as Magnezone can help out here. Other counters to this set include Jellicent and Gliscor, thanks to their resistances and great defenses. Pokemon that can take advantage of these two also make great teammates. Examples include Rotom-W, Gengar and Latios.</p>
[SET]
name: Offensive Swords Dance
move1: Swords Dance
move2: Bullet Punch
move3: Superpower / Brick Break
move4: Bug Bite
item: Life Orb
nature: Adamant / Jolly
ability: Technician
evs: 252 Atk / 4SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While the
Scizor listed above was meant to act as a Bulky Swords Dance set is meant to wall
to dangerous certain threats while threatening a sweep, this Scizor is an all out sweeper. With maximum investment in Attack, along with a
Swords Dance boost, Life Orb and Technician, Bullet Punch can almost OHKO 0/0 Garchomp, one of the bulkiest
offensive Pokemon in OU. Hippowdon is easily 2HKOed by Bug Bite, and Gliscor is
also 2HKOed with Bullet Punch,
meaning that most walls are easily disposed of indicating this Scizor's ability to break some of the bulkiest walls in the tier.</p>
<p>Swords Dance is self
-explanatory
on this set, boos
ting Scizor's Attack to sky-high levels. Bullet Punch is Scizor's main move, bypassing Scizor's mediocre speed to deal huge damage to anything that doesn't resist it.
It also allows Scizor to revenge kill weakened Pokemon mid-game, and it makes Scizor the formidable sweeper that it is. Superpower is on this set to deal with the Steel-types that plague Scizor,
and it can act as a lure to switch-ins such as Heatran and Magnezone allowing Scizor to lure in and destroy powerful foes like Heatran and Magnezone. It also allows Scizor to deal with Skarmory when at +2, and it makes switching into Scizor even more difficult. Finally, Bug Bite is the last move on the set, as it does huge damage to slower walls such as Hippowdon and Slowbro, 2HKOing and OHKOing respectively at +2.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Scizor can run a few other moves on this set.
Firstly, Brick Break can be used over Superpower for a more reliable
Fighting attack, but Superpower
's superior power is needed to is able to OHKO Heatran and Magnezone on the switch-in. Also, Pursuit is a decent choice for a moveslot, as it can OHKO Jellicent, while allowing Scizor to damage fleeing Reuniclus. The item of choice for this set is Life Orb, as it gives Scizor a great power boost. Leftovers
can also be used for some more longevity, but if you want to go that route, it is better to use the first set could be used for greater longevity, but its performance will ultimately be inferior to the Bulky Swords Dance set. A Metal Plate can also be used to boost the power of Bullet Punch while feigning a Choice Band, but Scizor works better with a boost to all of its attacks. The EVs
are used maximi
ze Scizor's attacking power, while allowing it to outspeed max speed Tyranitar and
at least tie with other Scizor. The Adamant nature also boosts Scizor's attack, further increasing its damage output.
If outspeeding other Pokemon is not needed for this Scizor Alternatively,
using the spread of 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
is another option could be used to focus on bulk instead of Speed for surviviability.</p>
<p>Entry hazards are really important for a sweeping Scizor. Stealth Rock from Heatran
and or Tyranitar is good support, while Spikes from Skarmory can also help a lot. With a few layers of Spikes, Scizor is able to OHKO Hippowdon with Bug Bite
, meaning that Scizor cannot be phazed away after setting up. When countering this Scizor,
having relying on strong defensive Pokemon
are is often not the best way to defeat it. Most walls are KOed by a combination of Bullet Punch and Bug Bite, with Steel-types being taken care of by Superpower.
For this reason, the best way to defeat this Scizor is by packing a revenge killer that can take a Bullet Punch When facing down offensive Swords Dance Scizor, a powerful offensive Pokemon that resists Bullet Punch will be much more valuable. Examples include Thundurus, Scarf Magnezone, Scarf Heatran
, Gyarados and Rotom-H. These Pokemon can switch in on a Swords Dance or a revenge kill, and proceed to KO
Scizor with
super effective Fire attacks or high powered STAB moves. To guarantee a sweep with this Scizor, these Pokemon need to be removed. Wobbuffet can switch into a scarfer, and use Mirror Coat or Counter to remove it.
On the whole, to have success with this Scizor, you need to apply pressure to their revenge killer, and if it is removed, you can near guarantee a victory unless they have a highly specialised counter Generally speaking, removing enemies that resist Bullet Punch and hit hard will almost guarantee a Scizor sweep.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>
Scizor lacks many other options to use effectively There are few viable alternative sets to those listed above. A Choice Scarf set can be quite an effective scout, hurting
things foes with a quick and powerful U-Turn while being an effective revenge killer, much like Choice Band Scizor. Also, a
Roost set with Life Orb + 3 attacks
set is viable,
with Roost making Scizor able to stick around and offer great coverage granting Scizor durability and coverage, in exchange for losing the wall-shattering power that would be offered by Swords Dance. Scizor can also run an effective Baton Pass set with Agility or Swords Dance, but on the whole this is outclassed by
Gorebyss and Huntail as they have access to the much better the Shell Smash
passing sets Gorebyss or Huntail could use.
On some of the more offensive sets, Swarm can be used over Technician for an extra kick when Scizor goes down to low health, but then Scizor loses out on the ability to abuse Bullet Punch. Finally, Iron Head is a stronger move to use for Scizor's Steel STAB, but it is largely outclassed by Bullet Punch
, though it would be the STAB move of choice when trying to abuse the gimmick Choice Scarf set.</p>
(Swarm is not even worth mentioning, as Technician's boost to Bug Bite just outclasses Swarm's boost to X-Scissor in terms of usefulness)
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Most defensive Steel-types are good counters to Scizor, as long as they don't switch into a super effective Superpower or Brick Break. Skarmory is probably the best initial switch-in to Scizor, as it is easily able to wall it and it can even begin to set up Spikes on it. Furthermore, if Scizor acquires too many boosts, Skarmory can just phaze it away with Whirlwind. Bulky Water-types such as Jellicent and Rotom-W can safely wall Scizor, and
they can cripple it with Will-o-Wisp.
However, if Scizor is at +2, it can 2HKO and OHKO the latter Pokemon respectively with Bug Bite, so they must tread carefully They must be wary that with enough Swords Dance boosts, it still has a chance to break through them.
Rotom-W often carries Hidden Power Fire to surprise Ferrothorn, and can OHKO Scizor while laughing at Bullet Punch thanks to its 4x resistance to Steel. Gyarados resists Bug-, Steel- and Fighting- Attacks, completely resisting Scizor's offensive and further shutting its Attack down with Intimidate. It can batter Scizor with its powerful STAB Waterfall, or phaze it with Dragon Tail or Roar. While it has fallen from popularity in BW, Zapdos also resists Bug-, Steel- and Fighting- Attacks, and will destroy Scizor with Heat Wave or STAB Thunderbolt. While its inferior defenses make it less capable of freely switching in, Thundurus shares the same resistances and will make quick work of Scizor once it has switched in safefly. Thudurus is one of many fast and powerful sweepers that can shrug off a Bullet Punch and successfully revenge kill Scizor, including Infernape, Hidden Power Fire Starmie, and Victini.Finally, any faster Pokemon that resists Bullet Punch and can OHKO Scizor is a great reasonable check, and this is a great way for most offensive teams to deal with Scizor.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Scizor's Dream World abiltiy, Light Metal
, halves its weight.
This means that Scizor will take less damage from Grass Knot - which is 4x resisted - and Low Kick In terms of competitive relevance, all it does is weaken an enemy's Low Kick. Scizor's Technician ability is
a lot more useful to Scizor one of its greatest assets,
and as such Light Metal should not be used in so Light Metal will never see competitive play.</p>