[OVERVIEW]
Sceptile is an offensive Grass-type with solid power that distinguishes itself from Whimsicott with its powerful STAB moves, strong coverage options, and great Speed. Sceptile is often a problem for offensive teams because of its Speed and great arsenal of moves, which let it easily clean a weakened team late-game. However, Sceptile is very frail, meaning it takes massive damage from any neutral hit and even resisted hits like Rhydon's Earthquake and Heliolisk's Thunderbolt. Despite its great coverage, Sceptile struggles against common Pokemon like Golbat, Vileplume, and bulkier Vikavolt sets that tank its Leaf Storm and aren't hit hard enough by its coverage moves. Unfortunately, Choice Scarf users like Passimian, Braviary, and Vanilluxe all revenge kill Sceptile. The former two can also grab momentum, since U-turn heavily damages Sceptile. Additionally, priority users like Sneasel and Mega Abomasnow hit Sceptile for a lot of damage with a super effective Ice Shard.
[SET]
name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Leaf Storm
move 2: Giga Drain
move 3: Focus Blast / Earthquake
move 4: Hidden Power Ice
item: Life Orb / Choice Specs
ability: Overgrow
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Leaf Storm is Sceptile's strongest STAB move, and with a Life Orb it hits everything that doesn't resist it for heavy damage, notably Heliolisk, Steelix, and Sneasel. Even Grass-resistant Pokemon take heavy damage; Garbodor takes about 40% from it, while Xatu loses about half of its HP. Giga Drain is Sceptile's most spammable move, as it's 100% accurate and allows Sceptile to gain back health lost from Life Orb recoil and entry hazard damage. It pairs incredibly well with Overgrow, as the damage increase also increases the recovery. Focus Blast covers Steel-types like Silvally-Steel and Klinklang and Grass-resistant Dark-types like Incineroar and Guzzlord, hitting all for super effective damage. Earthquake provides coverage against Poison- and Fire-types like Garbodor and Magmortar, notably OHKOing Delphox thanks to Life Orb, as well as hitting Steel-types, though it offers lower overall damage than Focus Blast. Hidden Power Ice hits Grass- and Flying-types such as Vileplume, Xatu, Scyther, and Golbat, having a good chance of 2HKOing Golbat after Stealth Rock.
Set Details
========
Life Orb heavily increases Sceptile's power, and the recoil can be offset by using Giga Drain. If Sceptile is put into Overgrow range, either through Life Orb recoil or other damage, it will deal massive damage with its Grass-type attacks; Leaf Storm is especially powerful, while Giga Drain benefits from both the increased power and increased healing. Choice Specs increases Sceptile's power notably, making it harder to switch into its STAB Leaf Storms. However, this leaves Sceptile more vulnerable, as it's forced to switch out if it's locked into a resisted move. A Timid nature and 252 Speed EVs make Sceptile as fast as possible, outspeeding Whimsicott and Sneasel, while 252 Special Attack EVs make its moves hit harder.
Usage Tips
========
Spamming Leaf Storm if the opponent only has shaky switch-ins to it, like Whimsicott and Incineroar, is a good way to pressure the enemy team early-game. Leaf Storm is Sceptile's strongest STAB attack, but its Special Attack drop and the risk of hard counters such as Golbat and Vileplume switching into it mean Sceptile gets easily forced out, so coverage should be used when predicting common switch-ins. The Special Attack drop also invites in setup sweepers like Comfey and Incineroar. Use Sceptile's ability to outspeed almost everything in NU to its advantage by pressuring frail offensive Pokemon like Heliolisk and Choice-locked Sneasel. Sceptile gets worn down very quickly by repeatedly switching into Spikes and Stealth Rock, so it's best to remove these before sending Sceptile out. Don't hesitate to use Giga Drain when Overgrow is activated, as it actually hits quite hard, which allows Sceptile to gain health back so it can continue to punch holes. Earthquake can catch Fire-types like Incineroar and Delphox off guard after using Leaf Storm. Because Choice Specs Sceptile can be very prediction reliant to function as well as it can, think twice before using Leaf Storm if your opponent has Golbat or Vileplume. Try to preserve Sceptile for late-game, as it can easily clean if the opponent's team is weakened.
Team Options
========
Entry hazard setters such as Rhydon, Steelix, and Diancie pair very well with Sceptile. They can wear down many of Sceptile's answers such as Golbat and Silvally-Steel so that Sceptile can handle them more easily over time, and they also capitalize on the switches that Sceptile forces. U-turn and Volt Switch users like Passimian, Xatu, and Rotom can bring Sceptile in safely so it can punch holes without taking a hit first. The latter two can also act as hazard removers, increasing Sceptile's longevity. Rock-types such as Diancie and Rhydon pair well with Sceptile because they can set Stealth Rock and check Fire-types like Incineroar, Delphox, and Magmortar as well as Flying-types. at the same time. In return, they appreciate Sceptile dealing with Ground- and Water-types. Together with Sceptile, Vanilluxe and Sneasel can put a lot of pressure on Fire-types as well as check Golbat and Vileplume. Fire-types of your own such as Delphox and Incineroar can gain free turns off of the Steel- and Grass-types that Sceptile brings in, such as Silvally-Steel and Vileplume. Pokemon like Druddigon and Slowbro that take advantage of pivoting Choice Scarf users are also good partners for Sceptile, as they prevent it from being revenge killed as easily.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Sceptile can run a Swords Dance set with Leaf Blade, Acrobatics, and Substitute or Earthquake, holding a Sitrus Berry and using the ability Unburden. 252 Speed and Attack EVs maximize Sceptile's offensive presence, while an Adamant nature gives Sceptile as much power as possible. On such a set, Grassy Seed with a Grassy Terrain setter is another valid strategy to simultaneously boost Leaf Blade, activate Unburden, and allow Sceptile to set up on Steelix thanks to the Defense boost. It runs Drain Punch as its second coverage option to provide some form of recovery and obtain super effective coverage against Guzzlord and Steelix. Rockium Z is a third alternative on its Swords Dance set. This variant runs Swords Dance, Leaf Blade, Earthquake, and Rock Slide; after a boost, Continental Crush OHKOes physically defensive Golbat after Stealth Rock damage. A set of Work Up, Giga Drain, Hidden Power Ice and Focus Blast can be used to take advantage of the switches Sceptile forces to boost its Special Attack and threaten to sweep, but often misses the power offered by Leaf Storm.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Poison-types**: Golbat and Vileplume's combination of recovery, bulk, and typing make them excellent Sceptile checks, taking very little from Leaf Storm and dealing heavy damage with Brave Bird and Sludge Bomb. Golbat easily tanks Leaf Storm and uses the free turn Sceptile gives it to clear entry hazards with Defog. Garbodor can tank a Leaf Storm and threaten Sceptile out with Gunk Shot or go for Spikes. However, the former two must be wary of a Choice Specs-boosted Hidden Power Ice, while the latter is easily worn down due to its lack of reliable recovery.
**Faster Pokemon**: Choice Scarf users like Passimian, Braviary, and Delphox can easily OHKO Sceptile before it can attack. Aerodactyl and Accelgor are naturally faster and can OHKO Sceptile with their STAB moves. Priority users like Sneasel, Mega Abomasnow and Comfey can force Sceptile out as well.
**Entry Hazards**: Sceptile is worn down very quickly between Life Orb recoil and entry hazard damage, putting it into the range of neutral attacks and priority moves that it would otherwise be able to take like Choice Band Sneasel's Ice Shard.
**Fire-types**: Fire-types like Magmortar and Incineroar can be problematic if Sceptile is at -2 from using Leaf Storm, because Life Orb-boosted Earthquake doesn't OHKO either and Focus Blast can't OHKO Incineroar with the Special Attack drop. Delphox also can take any hit from a Sceptile lacking Earthquake and threaten to OHKO it with Flamethrower or Fire Blast.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[poh, 298730]]
- Quality checked by: [[Shadestep, 262983], [Rabia, 336073], [quziel, 297859]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [A Cake wearing A Hat, 388157]]
Sceptile is an offensive Grass-type with solid power that distinguishes itself from Whimsicott with its powerful STAB moves, strong coverage options, and great Speed. Sceptile is often a problem for offensive teams because of its Speed and great arsenal of moves, which let it easily clean a weakened team late-game. However, Sceptile is very frail, meaning it takes massive damage from any neutral hit and even resisted hits like Rhydon's Earthquake and Heliolisk's Thunderbolt. Despite its great coverage, Sceptile struggles against common Pokemon like Golbat, Vileplume, and bulkier Vikavolt sets that tank its Leaf Storm and aren't hit hard enough by its coverage moves. Unfortunately, Choice Scarf users like Passimian, Braviary, and Vanilluxe all revenge kill Sceptile. The former two can also grab momentum, since U-turn heavily damages Sceptile. Additionally, priority users like Sneasel and Mega Abomasnow hit Sceptile for a lot of damage with a super effective Ice Shard.
[SET]
name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Leaf Storm
move 2: Giga Drain
move 3: Focus Blast / Earthquake
move 4: Hidden Power Ice
item: Life Orb / Choice Specs
ability: Overgrow
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Leaf Storm is Sceptile's strongest STAB move, and with a Life Orb it hits everything that doesn't resist it for heavy damage, notably Heliolisk, Steelix, and Sneasel. Even Grass-resistant Pokemon take heavy damage; Garbodor takes about 40% from it, while Xatu loses about half of its HP. Giga Drain is Sceptile's most spammable move, as it's 100% accurate and allows Sceptile to gain back health lost from Life Orb recoil and entry hazard damage. It pairs incredibly well with Overgrow, as the damage increase also increases the recovery. Focus Blast covers Steel-types like Silvally-Steel and Klinklang and Grass-resistant Dark-types like Incineroar and Guzzlord, hitting all for super effective damage. Earthquake provides coverage against Poison- and Fire-types like Garbodor and Magmortar, notably OHKOing Delphox thanks to Life Orb, as well as hitting Steel-types, though it offers lower overall damage than Focus Blast. Hidden Power Ice hits Grass- and Flying-types such as Vileplume, Xatu, Scyther, and Golbat, having a good chance of 2HKOing Golbat after Stealth Rock.
Set Details
========
Life Orb heavily increases Sceptile's power, and the recoil can be offset by using Giga Drain. If Sceptile is put into Overgrow range, either through Life Orb recoil or other damage, it will deal massive damage with its Grass-type attacks; Leaf Storm is especially powerful, while Giga Drain benefits from both the increased power and increased healing. Choice Specs increases Sceptile's power notably, making it harder to switch into its STAB Leaf Storms. However, this leaves Sceptile more vulnerable, as it's forced to switch out if it's locked into a resisted move. A Timid nature and 252 Speed EVs make Sceptile as fast as possible, outspeeding Whimsicott and Sneasel, while 252 Special Attack EVs make its moves hit harder.
Usage Tips
========
Spamming Leaf Storm if the opponent only has shaky switch-ins to it, like Whimsicott and Incineroar, is a good way to pressure the enemy team early-game. Leaf Storm is Sceptile's strongest STAB attack, but its Special Attack drop and the risk of hard counters such as Golbat and Vileplume switching into it mean Sceptile gets easily forced out, so coverage should be used when predicting common switch-ins. The Special Attack drop also invites in setup sweepers like Comfey and Incineroar. Use Sceptile's ability to outspeed almost everything in NU to its advantage by pressuring frail offensive Pokemon like Heliolisk and Choice-locked Sneasel. Sceptile gets worn down very quickly by repeatedly switching into Spikes and Stealth Rock, so it's best to remove these before sending Sceptile out. Don't hesitate to use Giga Drain when Overgrow is activated, as it actually hits quite hard, which allows Sceptile to gain health back so it can continue to punch holes. Earthquake can catch Fire-types like Incineroar and Delphox off guard after using Leaf Storm. Because Choice Specs Sceptile can be very prediction reliant to function as well as it can, think twice before using Leaf Storm if your opponent has Golbat or Vileplume. Try to preserve Sceptile for late-game, as it can easily clean if the opponent's team is weakened.
Team Options
========
Entry hazard setters such as Rhydon, Steelix, and Diancie pair very well with Sceptile. They can wear down many of Sceptile's answers such as Golbat and Silvally-Steel so that Sceptile can handle them more easily over time, and they also capitalize on the switches that Sceptile forces. U-turn and Volt Switch users like Passimian, Xatu, and Rotom can bring Sceptile in safely so it can punch holes without taking a hit first. The latter two can also act as hazard removers, increasing Sceptile's longevity. Rock-types such as Diancie and Rhydon pair well with Sceptile because they can set Stealth Rock and check Fire-types like Incineroar, Delphox, and Magmortar as well as Flying-types. at the same time. In return, they appreciate Sceptile dealing with Ground- and Water-types. Together with Sceptile, Vanilluxe and Sneasel can put a lot of pressure on Fire-types as well as check Golbat and Vileplume. Fire-types of your own such as Delphox and Incineroar can gain free turns off of the Steel- and Grass-types that Sceptile brings in, such as Silvally-Steel and Vileplume. Pokemon like Druddigon and Slowbro that take advantage of pivoting Choice Scarf users are also good partners for Sceptile, as they prevent it from being revenge killed as easily.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Sceptile can run a Swords Dance set with Leaf Blade, Acrobatics, and Substitute or Earthquake, holding a Sitrus Berry and using the ability Unburden. 252 Speed and Attack EVs maximize Sceptile's offensive presence, while an Adamant nature gives Sceptile as much power as possible. On such a set, Grassy Seed with a Grassy Terrain setter is another valid strategy to simultaneously boost Leaf Blade, activate Unburden, and allow Sceptile to set up on Steelix thanks to the Defense boost. It runs Drain Punch as its second coverage option to provide some form of recovery and obtain super effective coverage against Guzzlord and Steelix. Rockium Z is a third alternative on its Swords Dance set. This variant runs Swords Dance, Leaf Blade, Earthquake, and Rock Slide; after a boost, Continental Crush OHKOes physically defensive Golbat after Stealth Rock damage. A set of Work Up, Giga Drain, Hidden Power Ice and Focus Blast can be used to take advantage of the switches Sceptile forces to boost its Special Attack and threaten to sweep, but often misses the power offered by Leaf Storm.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Poison-types**: Golbat and Vileplume's combination of recovery, bulk, and typing make them excellent Sceptile checks, taking very little from Leaf Storm and dealing heavy damage with Brave Bird and Sludge Bomb. Golbat easily tanks Leaf Storm and uses the free turn Sceptile gives it to clear entry hazards with Defog. Garbodor can tank a Leaf Storm and threaten Sceptile out with Gunk Shot or go for Spikes. However, the former two must be wary of a Choice Specs-boosted Hidden Power Ice, while the latter is easily worn down due to its lack of reliable recovery.
**Faster Pokemon**: Choice Scarf users like Passimian, Braviary, and Delphox can easily OHKO Sceptile before it can attack. Aerodactyl and Accelgor are naturally faster and can OHKO Sceptile with their STAB moves. Priority users like Sneasel, Mega Abomasnow and Comfey can force Sceptile out as well.
**Entry Hazards**: Sceptile is worn down very quickly between Life Orb recoil and entry hazard damage, putting it into the range of neutral attacks and priority moves that it would otherwise be able to take like Choice Band Sneasel's Ice Shard.
**Fire-types**: Fire-types like Magmortar and Incineroar can be problematic if Sceptile is at -2 from using Leaf Storm, because Life Orb-boosted Earthquake doesn't OHKO either and Focus Blast can't OHKO Incineroar with the Special Attack drop. Delphox also can take any hit from a Sceptile lacking Earthquake and threaten to OHKO it with Flamethrower or Fire Blast.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[poh, 298730]]
- Quality checked by: [[Shadestep, 262983], [Rabia, 336073], [quziel, 297859]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [A Cake wearing A Hat, 388157]]
Last edited:
