Gen 1 Scyther Rewrite [Done]

[gastlies]

[OVERVIEW]

Scyther's incredible Speed, tied with Rapidash for the fastest in the tier, makes it one of only two Pokemon that outspeeds the ubiquitous Fearow, giving it a near-unique ability to revenge kill it. Scyther's excellent Speed is complemented by a fantastic Attack stat and access to Slash. It can further increase its attacking prowess with the combination of Swords Dance and Hyper Beam; with just one boost, it's capable of outright OHKOing many of the tier's frailer Pokemon, such as Staryu and Drowzee. With two boosts, it becomes near-unstoppable, as its high Speed also makes it extremely difficult to revenge kill. However, Scyther is held back by its terrible coverage and a subpar typing. Scyther's offensive movepool is limited to Normal-type moves and the extremely weak Wing Attack, meaning it is completely walled by Graveler and Omanyte, and it also has trouble breaking through Gastly unboosted. Although Scyther's typing gifts it with a handy immunity to Ground-type moves, every Earthquake user has a move that hits it super effectively. Scyther is also weak to the common Fire-type moves in the tier; notably, Rapidash and Arcanine have a 61.5% chance to OHKO it with Fire Blast. Lastly, Scyther's power falls just short of some crucial damage thresholds. For example, Scyther's Hyper Beam at +2 attack is unable to OHKO Arcanine and Seaking, and can only OHKO Fearow 30.8% of the time; for example, Slash followed by a +2 Hyper Beam isn't a guaranteed KO on Nidoqueen. Scyther also faces competition from Pinsir; although they have different roles on a team, they are often incompatible due to their shared weaknesses, most notably to the common Fire Blast. Scyther boasts higher Speed, while Pinsir has higher physical bulk and power, allowing it to get the damage thresholds that Scyther barely misses out on.

name: Swords Dance Sweeper
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Hyper Beam
move 3: Slash
move 4: Wing Attack

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Scyther boasts the deadly combination of Swords Dance and Hyper Beam, which allows it to set up and sweep an opposing team. Scyther needs to set up on Pokemon that are unable to paralyze or OHKO it, such as Fearow, Nidoqueen, Pinsir, Machamp, unboosted Seaking, and Gastly. Unfortunately, Scyther fails to KO many of these foes at +2 Attack, meaning they must be weakened first. As such, setting up with Scyther often requires baiting one of these Pokemon in, dealing enough damage to put it in KO range of Scyther's +2 Hyper Beam, and then allowing your own Pokemon to faint so Scyther may enter the field safely. At this point, Scyther can use Swords Dance, take a hit, and potentially sweep. Arguably the most important Pokemon that Scyther can set up on Fearow, since its high Speed makes it otherwise difficult to check offensively. However, Scyther must be wary of an OHKO from Fearow's Drill Peck on a critical hit.

Slash is a very good option for Scyther if it is unable to find a turn to set up. It can KO frailer Pokemon such as Drowzee and Staryu from 51% and 56.6%, respectively. Most importantly, it does a minimum of 41.1% to Fearow, which is enough to KO Fearow after Nidoqueen or Seaking's Blizzard, and it is favored to KO after Gastly's Thunderbolt. This gives Scyther a safer option to revenge kill Fearow without risking the OHKO from a critical hit Drill Peck. Wing Attack allows Scyther to hit Gastly, notably 2HKOing it at +2 Attack. This means if Gastly switches into Scyther as it sets up Swords Dance, it has to land Hypnosis in order to beat Scyther. If Sleep Clause is already active, the odds become even better for Scyther, as Gastly has to fish for either a critical hit or paralysis from Thunderbolt.

Scyther fits best on fast offensive teams that appreciate its Speed and ability to revenge kill Fearow. Seaking is a good teammate that can switch into Fire-types and Graveler. Seaking's Blizzard also gets Fearow into KO range for Scyther's Slash. Porygon can switch into Graveler and Omanyte to wall them and set up Agility. Porygon's Psychic also gets Gastly into KO range for Scyther's Wing Attack at +2. Sleepers such as Gastly, Drowzee, and Vileplume can help Scyther find setup opportunities on sleeping Pokemon. Fire-type allies can trade with opposing Fire-types and Gastly to ease pressure for Scyther. Scyther also fits well on hyper offensive teams that sacrifice utility Pokemon in favor of damage output, as it benefits a lot more from foes being at low HP than from them being paralyzed. As a result, Pokemon such as Nidoqueen, Rapidash, Arcanine, Pinsir, and Machamp are good teammates. It is possible to drop Nidoqueen on these teams as well, since teams lacking Nidoqueen generally focus on stacking Pokemon with high Speed, and Scyther can alleviate the Fearow weakness that a team lacking Nidoqueen often suffers.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
If Scyther pursues other options, Wing Attack should be dropped, although it is usually not recommended due to completely losing the Gastly matchup. Scyther's most common other option is Agility; it can be used to negate the Speed drop from paralysis. This increases the pool of Pokemon that Scyther can set up on, adding foes such as Staryu, Drowzee, and Vileplume to its list of options. This can also be used to win certain endgames that Scyther would otherwise lose by taking paralysis. However, the chance for full paralysis reduces Hyper Beam's accuracy to an effective 67.1%, and considering Scyther typically has to hit multiple Hyper Beams in a row, this sweep can be halted by one unfortunate miss or full paralysis. In addition, Agility can be used to outpace other Agility users, such as Seaking, Dragonair, and Porygon, while also allowing Scyther to not worry about speed ties against opposing Scyther or Rapidash.

Substitute can be used to punish switches, such as a weakened Fearow switching out of a predicted Slash, but Scyther can still be paralyzed behind a Substitute. Double-Edge can be used as a midground between Slash and Hyper Beam but it is only useful in highly specific situations and is generally not recommended.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Rock-types**: Graveler and Omanyte can switch into all of Scyther's attacks and wall it. The former takes up to 17.8% from Slash and OHKOes with Rock Slide, while the latter takes up to 22.7% from Slash and 2HKOes with Blizzard. Graveler can also freely set up Substitute on Scyther, making it very tricky to switch into.

**Gastly**: Gastly is completely immune to Slash and Hyper Beam, and it 2HKOes Scyther with Thunderbolt. Scyther has to rely on the weak Wing Attack to hit Gastly, which does very little when unboosted. However, the move 2HKOes at +2 Attack, meaning Gastly has to hit Hypnosis if it switches into Scyther as it uses Swords Dance, but it can use Thunderbolt instead to get Scyther into KO range for a teammate. Even at +4 Attack, Scyther fails to OHKO Gastly most of the time.

**Fire-types**: Arcanine and Rapidash have a 61.5% chance to OHKO Scyther with Fire Blast; Arcanine always survives a +2 Hyper Beam and Rapidash survives 84.6% of the time. Magmar has higher odds to OHKO Scyther with an 82.1% chance, but Scyther also has an 82.1% chance to OHKO Magmar at +2 Attack, meaning Magmar is better suited for checking an unboosted Scyther.

**Paralysis**: Since Scyther is heavily reliant on its Speed, it must avoid paralysis, especially if it lacks Agility. A paralyzed Scyther is very easy to revenge kill due to its poor bulk and weakness-laden typing. Because of this, it should switch out of Thunder Wave users such as Staryu and Drowzee unless it can KO them. Thunder Wave variants of Porygon are overwhelmingly favored to survive a +2 Hyper Beam, and they cleanly 2HKO Scyther with Blizzard. Vileplume's bulk also lets it survive a +2 Hyper Beam from full HP, although it has to rely on the less accurate Stun Spore.

**Ground-types**: Nidoqueen and Sandslash are bulky enough to beat Scyther one-on-one. They both easily survive a +2 Hyper Beam and 2HKO Scyther in return. However, Scyther can pair up with other physical attackers checked by them, such as Fearow, to break through, overwhelming these checks with offensive power.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gastlies.540559/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/volk.530877/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
[/SPOILER]
[/QUOTE]

 

[gastlies]

qc time yayyyyy

 

[Gangsta Spongebob]

Great work, QC 1/2 when implemented

QC 1/2

[OVERVIEW]
Scyther's incredible Speed makes it one of only two Pokemon that outspeed the ubiquitous Fearow, giving it a near-unique ability to revenge kill Fearow even from high HP. Scyther's excellent Speed is complemented by a fantastic Attack stat and access to Slash. It can further increase its attacking prowess with the combination of Swords Dance and Hyper Beam; with just one boost, it's capable of outright OHKOing many of the tier's frailer Pokemon, such as Staryu and Drowzee. With two boosts, it becomes near-unstoppable, as it's high Speed also makes it extremely difficult to revenge kill. However, Scyther is held back by its terrible coverage and a subpar typing. Scyther's offensive movepool is limited to Normal-type moves and the extremely weak Wing Attack, meaning it has trouble breaking through Graveler, Omanyte, and Gastly. I'd say for the former 2 it is completely stonewalled, and I'd emphasize how bad that mu is here Although Scyther's typing gifts it with a handy immunity to Ground-type moves, it also gives weaknesses to the common Fire- and Ice-type moves, as well as a weakness to Fearow's Drill Peck. I'd mention the Fire-types can outright OHKO it, and that pretty much every user of Ground-type moves have the coverage to target Scyther Lastly, Scyther's power is just short of getting some crucial damage tresholds thresholds. For example, Scyther's Hyper Beam at +2 attack is unable to OHKO Arcanine and Seaking, and can only OHKO Fearow 30.8% of the time; a +2 Hyper Beam followed up by Slash isn't a guaranteed KO on Nidoqueen. Scyther also faces compeititon competition from Pinsir; althogugh although they have different roles on a team, Pinsir has higher Attack and bulk, as well as the coverage to break through Rock-types and Gastly. However, Pinsir is notably slower than Fearow and the Fire-types, meaning Scyther still has a unique advantage. Overall, Scyther is a fantasic fantastic revenge killer and Swords Dance sweeper, but it has several critical flaws that keep it from being one of the top threats in the metagame. Is this last sentence needed? You're mostly reiterating what was said.

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Slash
move 2: Swords Dance
move 3: Hyper Beam
move 4: Wing Attack

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Slash is Scyther's most spammable move. It 2HKOes frail Pokemon such as Drowzee and Staryu, and it does a minimum of 41.1% to Fearow. This is enough damage to KO Fearow after it is hit by Nidoqueen or Seaking's Blizzard, and it is favored to KO after Gastly's Thunderbolt. Scyther also boasts the combination of Swords Dance and Hyper Beam, allowing it to revenge kill a healthier Fearow and sweep a weakened team. Scyther can come in after Fearow KOes a teammate, set up Swords Dance as Fearow hits it with Drill Peck, then use Hyper Beam the next turn, doing a minimum of 90%, which is often enough to KO after Double-Edge recoil. However, the turn Scyther takes to set up does leave it vulnerable to be OHKOed by a critical hit Drill Peck. Wing Attack allows Scyther to hit Gastly, notably 2HKOing it at +2 Attack. This means if Gastly switches into Scyther as it sets up Swords Dance, it has to land Hypnosis in order to beat Scyther, since if it misses Scyther will 2HKO it.

Scyther fits best on fast offensive teams that appreciate its Speed and ability to revenge kill Fearow. Teams lacking Nidoqueen generally focus on stacking Pokemon with high Speed, and the lack of Nidoqueen makes Fearow more difficult to deal with, so Scyther is an excellent choice for these types of teams. Seaking is also a good teammate that can switch into Fire Types, Graveler, and Omanyte and force them out, While forcing out the Rocks are nice it's not like Scyther can do anything to them. I'd moreso talk about Seaking's ability to double switch into the Rocks to actively punish their use. while also getting Fearow into KO range for Scyther's Slash with Blizzard. Sleep move users such as Gastly, Drowzee, and Vileplume are good teammates since Scyther can find setup opportunities on sleeping Pokemon. Fire-types are also good teammates that can trade with opposing Fire-types and Gastly to ease pressure from Scyther.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
If Scyther pursues other options, Wing Attack should be dropped, although it is usually not reccomended recommended due to completely losing the Gastly matchup. Agility can be used to negate the Speed drop from paralysis, as the status is crippling to Scyther, but the move has little other use since Scyther is tied for the fastest pokemon in the tier. Substitute can be used to punish switches, such as a low-health Fearow switching out of a predicted Slash, but Scyther can still be paralyzed behind a Substitute. Double-Edge can be used as a midground between Slash and Hyper Beam, since the move is stronger than Slash at +2 Attack while still being 100% accurate and not requiring a recharge turn, but it is only ever used in specific situations and is generally not recommended.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Rock-Types Rock-types**: Graveler and Omanyte can switch into all of Scyther's attacks. The former takes up to 17.8% from Slash and OHKOes with Rock Slide, while the latter takes up to 22.7% from Slash and 2HKOes with Blizzard. Graveler can also freely set up Substitute on Scyther, making it very tricky to switch into. What you say isn't wrong, but I'd emphasize that these 2 just completely stonewall Scyther.

**Gastly**: Scyther has to rely on the weak Wing Attack to hit Gastly; the move 2HKOes at +2 attack, meaning Gastly has to hit Hypnosis if it switches into Scyther as it uses Swords Dance, but it can use the weaker but more consistent Thunderbolt instead to get Scyther in KO range for a teammate. Even at +4 attack, Scyther fails to OHKO Gastly most of the time. I'd first talk about Gastly in terms of how TBolt 2HKOes and how unboosted Wing Attack does little. What you say here is by no means wrong, but I feel it's imperative to talk about how Gastly beats Scyther first before talking about how Scyther can get past it.

**Fire-Types**: Arcanine and Rapidash have a 61.5% chance to OHKO Scyther with Fire Blast, while Arcanine always survives a +2 Hyper Beam and Rapidash survives 84.6% of the time. Magmar has higher odds to OHKO Scyther with an 82.1% chance, but Scyther also has an 82.1% chance to OHKO Magmar at +2 Attack, meaning Magmar is better suited for checking an unboosted Scyther. Mention that Rapidash Speed ties Scyther too

**Paralysis**: Since Scyther is heavily reliant on its Speed, it must avoid paralysis. Because of this, it should switch out of Thunder Wave users such as Staryu and Drowzee unless it can KO them, and it has to be careful when taking Body Slam from Pokemon such as Machamp. I recommend talking moreso about what happens once Scyther is paralyzed, i.e. it's super easy to revenge kill

I recommend adding Nidoqueen here. While Queen likely would rather save its HP for other mus, in a pinch it can 2HKO Scyther with Blizzard or Fire Blast and can even tank a +2 Hyper Beam.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gastlies.540559/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/

Grammar checked by:

 

[gastlies]

done qc 2 time

 

[Volk]

Slash Slash.

Scyther's incredible Speed makes it one of only two Pokemon that outspeed the ubiquitous Fearow, giving it a near-unique ability to revenge kill Fearow even from high HP.

I don't think "revenge kill from high HP" makes any sense. To me, revenge killing requires the initial offending Pokemon to be knocked out without it being able to attack first. Scyther can't reliably do this unless Fearow is under 50% HP, which doesn't meet the definition of high HP. Semantics aside, I still don't think this is a great point to make. If you are sending in Scyther to face a Fearow that is not in immediate KO range of Hyper Beam or Slash, you are accepting a roughly 20% chance that your Scyther will just faint to a critical hit Drill Peck. Forcing Scyther to take this risk is something you do if you have to, not really something you just want to casually do most of the time. I think just cutting "even from high HP" make this sentence better.

With two boosts, it becomes near-unstoppable, as it's high Speed also makes it extremely difficult to revenge kill.

Change "it's" to "its." You could also probably be a bit more specific here just say an unparalyzed Scyther is impossible to revenge kill without winning a Speed tie with a Rapidash or another Scyther. I see that you mention it later in the analysis, but "Scyther is the fastest Pokemon in PU" should probably headline this analysis.

Although Scyther's typing gifts it with a handy immunity to Ground-type moves, every Ground-type has a move that hits it super-effectively.

Rather than "every Ground-type," I'd say "every Pokemon that carries Earthquake." This holds true for not just Nidoqueen, Graveler, Sandslash, and Marowak (I guess people are trying to make Marowak work?), but also for Machamp and Arbok. Furthermore, you can probably just say "Earthquake" over "Ground-type moves" because Earthquake is basically the only one.
Fun fact, every Pokemon that learns Earthquake has at least one move that can hit Scyther for super effective damage.

Lastly, Scyther's power is just short of getting some crucial damage thresholds. For example, Scyther's Hyper Beam at +2 attack is unable to OHKO Arcanine and Seaking, and can only OHKO Fearow 30.8% of the time; a +2 Hyper Beam followed up by Slash isn't a guaranteed KO on Nidoqueen.

Ditch the semicolon and start a new sentence, perhaps with a transition word if you want one. I'm confused as to why I'd use a +2 Hyper Beam and then a Slash against Nidoqueen. Are we assuming that the Nidoqueen user correctly predicted the Hyper Beam and caught it? Because otherwise, you'd use Slash first (or better yet, use Swords Dance again and then click a +4 Hyper Beam). More of a reason to break this clause off the rest of the sentence, because it seems weird to put this caught Hyper Beam scenario is the same breath as OHKOs Scyther would score during a sweep.

Scyther also faces competition from Pinsir; although they have different roles on a team, Pinsir has higher Attack and bulk, as well as the coverage to break through Rock-types and Gastly.

This should also be two sentences, and it should explain why Scyther is facing competition from a Pokemon that "has a different role on a team." They aren't really competing for a slot on a team so much as they are just somewhat incompatible together on some teams. For me, the issue is probably the shared typing, as you really leave yourself strained on switches into Fire Blast (or, more broadly, you just lack a real defensive backbone and need to accept the fact that you will not be switching very much and will struggle in many straight head-to-head matchups). That said though, there is definitely some merit to running them together.
Also, Pinsir only has higher physical bulk. Scyther actually wins on the special end, albeit by a small amount.

It 2HKOes frail Pokemon such as Drowzee and Staryu, and it does a minimum of 41.1% to Fearow.

I think framing Scyther in terms of #HKOs isn't really that helpful. Realistically, Scyther should be using its unrivaled Speed to pick these targets off, rather than facing them in a straight head-to-head (which is what an #HKO implies). What I mean by this is that "Scyther is guaranteed to KO a Staryu at or below 56.6% HP" carries more relevant information than "Scyther can 2HKO Staryu." You obviously don't need to write it exactly like that, but I think you get what I mean.
In general, I think this whole section kind of under-emphasizes some key points about Scyther. Scyther usually wants to do as much damage as possible, usually via revenge killing (or hitting a switch with Slash) or just sweeping outright, while taking as little damage as possible itself. Aside from the matchup against Fearow, this trait is kind of under-described in the analysis. Also, which Pokemon Scyther can, or cannot, set up on are conspicuously absent from this analysis. Maybe it's obvious, but I think it's strange that this analysis never actually mentions what kind of Pokemon Scyther wants to face, aside from Fearow.

Scyther also boasts the combination of Swords Dance and Hyper Beam, allowing it to revenge kill a healthier Fearow and sweep a weakened team.

Again, maybe it's a nitpick, but if you have to boost first before attacking, you aren't revenge killing.
Something unrelated that could be worth mentioning at some point is how Swords Dance can clear the Attack drop from burns. This plus Slash critical hit mechanics make it so Scyther is a physical attacker not ruined by burn, though the move that inflicted the burn probably did a lot.

This means if Gastly switches into Scyther as it sets up Swords Dance, it has to land Hypnosis in order to beat Scyther, since if it misses Scyther will 2HKO it.

A critical hit or paralysis from Thunderbolt will also do the trick, and Gastly will go for this if Scyther has protection from sleep clause. Surprisingly, Gastly will pull this off just under about a quarter of the time.

Teams lacking Nidoqueen generally focus on stacking Pokemon with high Speed, and the lack of Nidoqueen makes Fearow more difficult to deal with, so Scyther is an excellent choice for these types of teams.

While I am a fan of these sorts of teams in principle, they haven't really been developed or tested yet.

Agility can be used to negate the Speed drop from paralysis, as the status is crippling to Scyther, but the move has little other use since Scyther is the fastest pokemon in the tier.

I suppose you can say it allows you to avoid some speed ties during sweeps. While Agility can be a bit risky, I ultimately think it's a pretty good option because it can potentially allow Scyther to set up against Pokemon it really shouldn't be able to. Like if your game plan for Scyther is to paralyze it and then KO it with something else, Agility can just dash that entirely.

Checks and Counters

I'm not sure if it's relevant enough to qualify, but Sandslash is also a pretty big headache for Scyther. Two Slash clicks followed by a Hyper Beam is not a guaranteed KO. Heck, even if you get your Scyther to +4 Attack, you have less than a 50% chance to OHKO Sandslash while Rock Slide does over 70%.

**Paralysis**: Since Scyther is heavily reliant on its Speed, it must avoid paralysis. A paralyzed Scyther is very easy to revenge kill due to its poor bulk and weaknes-laden typing. Because of this, it should switch out of Thunder Wave users such as Staryu and Drowzee unless it can KO them, and it has to be careful when taking Body Slam from Pokemon such as Machamp.

Porygon absolutely needs to be mentioned here. Porygon takes Scyther's hits much better than Staryu and Drowzee, notably having good odds to tank a +2 Hyper Beam from full health (it also will never be OHKOed by a critical hit Hyper Beam, so Scyther can't cheese it either). Blizzard is also a clean 2HKO after. Vileplume, ironically because of its typing, might actually be even better still as it can't be OHKOed by anything until Scyther hits +4. However, you have to rely on the accuracy of Stun Spore and you lack a strong follow-up option.
It may also be worth stating directly that Scyther should avoid engaging with Body Slam users unless it absolutely has to because paralysis is really rough for it, especially without Agility. Though realistically, Machamp is probably the main user of Body Slam here, aside from niche stuff like Primeape. Also, Machamp specifically may also just go for Rock Slide in certain game states, considering it will be doing somewhere between 88% and 103.7%.

Call it there for now. I'll QC after revisions.

 

[gastlies]

implemented

 

[Volk]

Round 2.

Scyther's incredible Speed, tied with Rapidash for the highest in the tier, makes it one of only two Pokemon that outspeed the ubiquitous Fearow, giving it a near-unique ability to revenge kill Fearow.

This should be "outspeeds."

Scyther also boasts the combination of Swords Dance and Hyper Beam, allowing it to set up on a healthier Fearow and sweep a weakened team.

Something I think that should come up in this paragraph is a list of Pokemon that Scyther can actually set up on. It can either be worked into the analysis before this sentence, or come at the end. Here's an example:
"Scyther also boasts the combination of Swords Dance and Hyper Beam, which allows it to set up and sweep through an opposing team. To set up, Scyther needs to face a Pokemon that can neither reliably paralyze it or OHKO it. This leaves a deceptively narrow list of Pokemon that Scyther can actually set up on, consisting primarily of Fearow, Nidoqueen, Gastly, Pinsir, Machamp, unboosted Seaking, and some variants of Dragonair. Many of these Pokemon can still KO Scyther before it can KO them, so they will need to be weakened before Scyther can comfortably set up in front of them, or even simply revenge kill them with Slash. As such, setting up with Scyther often means baiting one of these Pokemon in, getting some damage on them, and then allowing one's own Pokemon to faint so Scyther may enter the field safely thereafter. Arguably the most important Pokemon on this list is Fearow, given how its high Speed makes it otherwise difficult to check offensively."
This ending will allow you to transition nicely into the blurb you have already written about Scyther versus Fearow. If you want to go into more detail about some other Pokemon that Scyther can set up on, I'm all for it. For the sake of pacing, it might not be a bad idea to just give Wing Attack it's own little paragraph after that.

Teams lacking Nidoqueen generally focus on stacking Pokemon with high Speed, and the lack of Nidoqueen makes Fearow more difficult to deal with, so Scyther is an excellent choice for these types of teams.

If we're going to keep this, I think we should elaborate. I don't think these sorts of teams need to lack Nidoqueen, and regardless of whether they do, I think the more important aspect of these high-speed hyper offensive teams is the general lack of utility Pokemon. If you are going to build a team primarily based on dealing damage (which is explicitly to Scyther's benefit, as it tends to care more if a foe is weakened than if it is paralyzed), the fact that you are eschewing Pokemon like Porygon, Drowzee, Dragonair, and perhaps even Staryu and Gastly is at least as important to note. In addition to explaining the rationale behind these teams — like I said earlier, Scyther really likes honest progress-makers like Nidoqueen, Arcanine, Rapidash, Machamp, Pinsir, and sometimes Graveler, because damage outweighs status when sweeping with Scyther (which is in contrast to sweeping with something like Nidoqueen or Seaking or outlasting the opponent with Porygon) — you should namedrop these strong teammates (which I just did).

Agility can be used to negate the Speed drop from paralysis, as the status is crippling to Scyther, but the move has little other use since Scyther is the fastest pokemon in the tier, meaning the speed boost only prevents Speed ties with opposing Scyther and Rapidash.

Okay, I really want to make the case for Agility, because it honestly deserves much better than this and frankly I wouldn't even be opposed to putting it in the main set. The most important thing about Agility is that it greatly extends the list of Pokemon on which Scyther may set up. There are a lot of Pokemon that can paralyze Scyther but cannot consistently take it out before it takes them out, such as Staryu, Drowzee, Vileplume, and sometimes Dragonair. To illustrate the importance of this, I've tried to construct what I think is a reasonable endgame where Agility would thrive. Suppose you have a Fearow out on the field trying to wallbreak so your unrevealed Scyther can sweep. Your opponent has an Arcanine, a Nidoqueen that won the Nidoqueen ditto, and a healthy Staryu (perhaps they think your unrevealed last is a Seaking, so they've deliberately left it healthy for the matchup). Your Fearow picks something off on the opposing team and Arcanine comes in after that. You click Drill Peck and then Hyper Beam to bring Arcanine into range of Slash before dropping to the second Fire Blast. You reveal Scyther to get your revenge kill. They go Staryu, with the hope to paralyze you, click Thunderbolt, and then finish you off with Nidoqueen's Blizzard. Thanks to Agility, you can click Swords Dance first, take the paralysis, take a Thunderbolt, click Agility, and then win with Hyper beam, provided you avoid full paralysis. I know this is a convoluted constructed scenario, but I don't think it is an unreasonable one. I think it's illustrative of the sorts of endgames that Agility opens the door for. At the very least, you should mention that Agility can allow Scyther to win endgames that it really shouldn't be able to and list what new Pokemon it can get away with setting up on now.
And aside from endgames like these, you also get the more niche stuff of avoiding speed ties against opposing Scyther and Rapidash as well as a way to outmaneuver opposing Agility users, mainly Seaking and Porygon, in certain scenarios. It's a good move, and I think that running it can be worth losing to Gastly.

We'll leave it there and I'll likely QC after this stuff is implemented. Feel free to discuss this with me over Discord.

 

[Volk]

Okay. This analysis still has some grammar/flow issues here and there, but I think GP is better suited to fix that than I am.

Porygon is also a good teammate that can switch into Graveler and Omanyte, giving it a chance to set up Agility.

This is slightly unclear because, in context, it kind of sounds like Porygon gives Scyther a chance to set up Agility.

**Paralysis**: Since Scyther is heavily reliant on its Speed, it must avoid paralysis.

Add, "especially if it lacks Agility" at the end of this sentence.

Looks good. Sorry for the delay. QC 2/2.

 

[gastlies]

implemented GP Team

 

[Sabelette]

GP 1/1 GP Team done, as usual will double check after implementation

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[OVERVIEW]

Scyther's incredible Speed, tied with Rapidash for the highest (maybe "fastest," idk, smth about this sounds off to me) in the tier, makes it one of only two Pokemon that outspeeds the ubiquitous Fearow, giving it a near-unique ability to revenge kill it. Scyther's excellent Speed is complemented by a fantastic Attack stat and access to Slash. It can further increase its attacking prowess with the combination of Swords Dance and Hyper Beam; with just one boost, it's capable of outright OHKOing many of the tier's frailer Pokemon, such as Staryu and Drowzee. With two boosts, it becomes near-unstoppable, as its high Speed also makes it extremely difficult to revenge kill. However, Scyther is held back by its terrible coverage and a subpar typing. Scyther's offensive movepool is limited to Normal-type moves and the extremely weak Wing Attack, meaning it is completely walled by Graveler and Omanyte, and it also has trouble breaking through Gastly unboosted. Although Scyther's typing gifts it with a handy immunity to Ground-type moves, every Earthquake user has a move that hits it super-effectively (RH). Scyther is also weak to the common Fire-type moves in the tier; (semicolon) , (RC) giving it a 61.5% chance to be OHKOed by Fire Blast from Rapidash and Arcanine notably, Rapidash and Arcanine have a 61.5% chance to OHKO it with Fire Blast. (reducing passive voice) Lastly, Scyther's power is falls just short of getting some crucial damage thresholds. For example, Scyther's Hyper Beam at +2 attack is unable to OHKO Arcanine and Seaking, and can only OHKO Fearow 30.8% of the time; (semicolon) . (RP) for example, Slash followed up by a +2 Hyper Beam isn't a guaranteed KO on Nidoqueen. Scyther also faces competition from Pinsir; although they have different roles on a team, they are often incompatible due to their shared weaknesses due their Bug Typing, most notably to the common Fire Blast. Scyther boasts higher Speed, while Pinsir has higher physical bulk and power, allowing it to get the damage thresholds that Scyther barely misses out on.

name: Offensive ("Swords Dance Sweeper" might be more descriptive here)
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Hyper Beam
move 3: Slash
move 4: Wing Attack

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Scyther also boasts the deadly combination of Swords Dance and Hyper Beam, which allows it to set up and sweep an opposing team. Scyther needs to set up on Pokemon that are unable to paralyze or OHKO it, such as Fearow, Nidoqueen, Pinsir, Machamp, unboosted Seaking, and Gastly. In addition Unfortunately, Scyther fails to KO many of these foes at +2 attack Attack, meaning they must be weakened first. As such, setting up with Scyther often means requires baiting one of these Pokemon in, getting dealing enough damage on them to be put it in KO range of Scyther's +2 Hyper Beam, and then allowing your own Pokemon to faint so Scyther may enter the field safely. At this point, Scyther can use Swords Dance, (AC) take as it takes a hit, then KO it with Hyper Beam, (RC) and potentially sweep thereafter. Arguably the most important Pokemon that Scyther can set up on on this list is Fearow, given how since its high Speed makes it otherwise difficult to check offensively. However, Scyther must be weary wary of an critical hit OHKO from Fearow's Drill Peck on a critical hit.

Slash is a very good option for Scyther if it is unable to find a turn to set up. It can KO frailer pokemon Pokemon such as Drowzee and Staryu from 51% and 56.6%, (AC) respectively. Most importantly though, it does a minimum of 41.1% to Fearow, which is enough to KO after Fearow is hit by after Nidoqueen or Seaking's Blizzard, and it is favored to KO after Gastly's Thunderbolt. This gives Scyther a safer option to revenge kill Fearow since it no longer risks without risking the OHKO from a critical hit Drill Peck. Wing Attack allows Scyther to hit Gastly, notably 2HKOing it at +2 Attack. This means if Gastly switches into Scyther as it sets up Swords Dance, it has to land Hypnosis in order to beat Scyther, since if it misses Scyther will 2HKO it. (repetition) If Sleep clause Clause is already active, the odds become even better for Scyther, as Gastly has to fish for either a critical hit or paralysis from Thunderbolt.

Scyther fits best on fast offensive teams that appreciate its Speed and ability to revenge kill Fearow. Seaking is a good teammate that can switch into Fire-types Types and Graveler. Seaking's Blizzard also gets Fearow into KO range for Scyther's Slash. Porygon is also a good teammate that can switch into Graveler and Omanyte, (RC) to wall them (presumably) and set up Agility. Porygon's Psychic also gets Gastly into KO range for Scyther's Wing Attack at +2. Sleepers move users such as Gastly, Drowzee, and Vileplume are good teammates since can help Scyther can find setup opportunities on sleeping Pokemon. Fire-types allies are also good teammates that can trade with opposing Fire-types and Gastly to ease pressure from for Scyther. Scyther also fits well on hyper-offensive (RH) teams that sacrifice utility Pokemon in favor of damage output, as Scyther benefits a lot more from Pokemon foes being at low HP than it does from Pokemon them being paralyzed. As a result, Pokemon such as Nidoqueen, Rapidash, Arcanine, Pinsir, and Machamp are good teammates. It is possible to drop Nidoqueen on these teams as well, since teams lacking Nidoqueen generally focus on stacking Pokemon with high Speed, and Scyther can alleviate the Fearow weakness that a team lacking Nidoqueen often brings suffers.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
If Scyther pursues other options, Wing Attack should be dropped, although it is usually not recommended due to completely losing the Gastly matchup. Scyther's most common other option is Agility; it can be used to negate the Speed drop from paralysis, as the status is crippling to Scyther. This increases the pool of Pokemon that Scyther can set up on, adding foes such as Staryu, Drowzee, and Vileplume to its list of options. This can also be used to win certain endgames that Scyther would otherwise lose by taking Paralysis paralysis. However, the chance for full Paralysis paralysis reduces Hyper Beam's accuracy to an effective 67.1%, and considering Scyther typically has to hit multiple Hyper Beams in a row, this sweep can be halted by one unfortunate miss or full paralysis. In addition, Agility can be used to outpace other Agility users, such as Seaking, Dragonair, and Porygon, while also allowing Scyther to not worry about speed ties against opposing Scyther or Rapidash.

Substitute can be used to punish switches, such as a low-health weakened Fearow switching out of a predicted Slash, but Scyther can still be paralyzed behind a Substitute. Double-Edge can be used as a midground between Slash and Hyper Beam, since the move is stronger than Slash at +2 Attack while still being 100% accurate and not requiring a recharge turn, but it is only ever used in specific situations only useful in highly specific situations and is generally not recommended.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Rock-types**: Graveler and Omanyte can switch into all of Scyther's attacks and wall it. The former takes up to 17.8% from Slash and OHKOes with Rock Slide, while the latter takes up to 22.7% from Slash and 2HKOes with Blizzard. Graveler can also freely set up Substitute on Scyther, making it very tricky to switch into.

**Gastly**: Gastly is completely immune to Slash and Hyper Beam, (AC) and it 2HKOes Scyther with Thunderbolt. Scyther has to rely on the weak Wing Attack to hit Gastly, which does very little when unboosted. However, the move 2HKOes at +2 attack Attack, meaning Gastly has to hit Hypnosis if it switches into Scyther as it uses Swords Dance, but it can use the weaker but more consistent Thunderbolt instead to get Scyther into KO range for a teammate. Even at +4 attack Attack, Scyther fails to OHKO Gastly most of the time.

**Fire-types Types**: Arcanine and Rapidash have a 61.5% chance to OHKO Scyther with Fire Blast; (semicolon), (RC) while Arcanine always survives a +2 Hyper Beam and Rapidash survives 84.6% of the time. Magmar has higher odds to OHKO Scyther with an 82.1% chance, but Scyther also has an 82.1% chance to OHKO Magmar at +2 Attack, meaning Magmar is better suited for checking an unboosted Scyther.

**Paralysis**: Since Scyther is heavily reliant on its Speed, it must avoid paralysis, especially if it lacks Agility. A paralyzed Scyther is very easy to revenge kill due to its poor bulk and weakness-laden typing. Because of this, it should switch out of Thunder Wave users such as Staryu and Drowzee unless it can KO them. Thunder Wave variants of Porygon are overwhelmingly favored to survive a +2 Hyper Beam, and they cleanly 2HKO it Scyther with Blizzard. Vileplume's bulk also lets it survive a +2 Hyper Beam from full HP, although it has to rely on the less accurate Stun Spore.

**Ground-types Types**: Nidoqueen and Sandslash are bulky enough to beat Scyther one-on-one. They borh both easily survive a +2 Hyper Beam and 2HKO Scyther in return. However, Scyther can pair up with other physical attackers checked by them, (AC) such as Fearow, (AC) to break through, as they is not bulky enough to check both overwhelming these checks with offensive power.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gastlies.540559/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/volk.530877/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/