Fireburn
BARN ALL
Name: Scizor
Type: Bug / Steel
Ability: Swarm / Technician / Light Metal
Base Stats: 70 / 130 / 100 / 55 / 80 / 65
MEvo Type: Bug / Steel
MEvo Ability: Technician
MEvo Stats: 70 / 150 / 140 / 65 / 100 / 75
Movepool: http://www.smogon.com/bw/pokemon/scizor/moves
Notable Moves
-Bullet Punch
-U-turn
-Defog
-Superpower
-Roost
-Pursuit
-Brick Break
-Bug Bite
-Toxic
-Baton Pass
-Thief
-Agility
-Substitute
General Description
While it was a fairly common sight in DPP Ubers, Scizor fell out of the limelight in BW2 due to newcomers Reshiram and Zekrom eating it for breakfast and increased competition for a teamslot with Ferrothorn and Genesect. However, XY gave Scizor some nice buffs that look to give it a new lease on life in XY Ubers. First and foremost was that Scizor gained a potent new Mega Evolution, boasting higher Attack and greatly increased defenses, gaining much appreciated special bulk and Skarmory-level Defense. In particular, one thing Mega Scizor can boast that not a lot of other Pokemon can is that it can check both Extremekiller Arceus and Geomancy Xerneas with the right set, both threats that should be accounted for on every team. In fact, the new fairies Xerneas and Arceus-Fairy alone give Scizor a greater niche as it can smack them with STAB SE Bullet Punch before they can move. Secondly, Scizor also learns the buffed and much coveted Defog and sports immunity to Poison and reliable recovery as well as not fearing Mega Gengar too much, making it a great hazards control Pokemon and partner for dangerous things like Ho-Oh. Normal Scizor can also rock Assault Vest to tank special attacks even better than before, if you need it as a trapper or sponge for Draco Meteors.
However, Scizor also received a pretty significant nerf in the loss of its Ghost- and Dark-type resistances, which harms its ability to swap into things like Arceus-Ghost and Darkrai. Aegislash also gives Scizor stiff competition for a teamslot due to Aegislash boasting even better defenses, STAB Ghost attacks, and not taking up a Mega slot if you elect to use Scizorite. And of course, Genesect is still around. Despite this, Scizor received more buffs than nerfs, and I think it'll be something to look out for in XY.
Sets
Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 40 Atk / 220 Def
Impish Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Roost
- U-turn
- Toxic / Defog
This is one of the best checks to Xerneas you will find - Xerneas cannot come close to OHKOing Mega Scizor at +2 with anything other than HP Fire whereas Scizor can comfortably swap in on the Geomancy or a Moonblast and 2HKO with Bullet Punch. Mega Scizor can also check Extremekiller Arceus pretty well via Toxic Stalling while only being seriously hurt (but not OHKOed) by +2 LO Earthquake, and LO is not usually a common item on Extremekiller. U-turn is cool as Mega Scizor makes for a nice check to non LO Darkrai and Mewtwo without Fire Blast, and it is a generally good move to pivot out of checks and get sizable chip damage onto random stuff. Toxic helps cripple Ho-Oh as Mega Scizor is otherwise total bait for it outside of U-turning out on the switch, and it allows Scizor to 1 vs 1 right many things with its huge Defense such as EKiller, Lando-T, and Lugia. If you don't need Toxic, Defog is hazards control and is nice to put onto Scizor if you really need that 4th moveslot on your Arceus. Mega Scizor is great at Defogging in general as it boasts high defenses, great defensive typing, and is hard to wear down due to Toxic immunity. This is just overall a great utility Pokemon that can fit onto a lot of teams.
Ho-Oh is a great partner for this set as it appreciates Defog and can take Fire moves aimed at Mega Scizor, plus it checks Aegislash well. Rock Arceus is also good as it counters Ho-Oh and appreciates Mega Scizor's ability to come in on Grass-type moves.
Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 40 Atk / 220 SDef
Adamant / Careful Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite / Superpower / Thief
- Roost / Superpower / Thief
Mega Scizor can pull off a solid bulky SD set even better than ever due to the Mega's much higher defenses and attack power. This set focuses on abusing Mega Scizor's nice defenses with Roost to get multiple boosts and sweep a weakened team late game. The moves here are obvious for the most part: BP is STAB Priority, Bug Bite is more powerful STAB for bulkier walls and things that resist BP, and Superpower nails Heatran and Dialga.
However, another interesting option in Gen 6 is Thief. Thief was buffed to 60 BP in XY, which becomes a respectable 90 after Technician. It allows Scizor to beat Aegislash, kill 168 HP Giratina-O after SR damage at +2, do a surprisingly high amount of damage to Lugia, and retain SE coverage vs other Psychic-types. Not bad for what was a mostly useless move in Gen 5.
Make sure you pack reliable answers to Ho-Oh, Giratina, and Support Arceus if you use this.
Conclusion
Scizor looks to be pretty well set-up to make something of a comeback this generation. What are your opinions on Scizor?
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