Pokémon Scizor

[CaptainDaimyo]

Base Stats: 70 HP / 130 Attack / 100 Defense / 55 Special Attack / 80 Special Defense / 65 Speed
Abilities: Swarm | Technician | Light Metal (H)
Notable Moves (STAB moves are Bold):
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- U-Turn

Movepool

Learned Moves:
Bullet Punch @ Evolution
False Swipe @ Lv. 1
Wing Attack @ Lv. 1
Leer @ Lv. 1
Agility @ Lv. 1
Quick Attack @ Lv. 1
Air Slash @ Lv. 1
Fury Cutter @ Lv. 1
Metal Claw @ Lv. 12
Double Team @ Lv. 16
Double Hit @ Lv. 20
Slash @ Lv. 24
Focus Energy @ Lv. 28
Iron Defense @ Lv. 32
Iron Head @ Lv. 36
X-Scissor @ Lv. 40
Swords Dance @ Lv. 44

TM Moves:
Swords Dance, Take Down, Hyper Beam, Agility, Light Screen, Swift, Rest, Substitute, Thief, Reversal, Protect, Scary Face, Sandstorm, Endure, False Swipe, Sleep Talk, Baton Pass, Metal Claw, Rain Dance, Sunny Day, Facade, Helping Hand, Brick Break, Air Cutter, Aerial Ace, Iron Defense, Tailwind, U-turn, Close Combat, Fling, Air Slash, X-Scissor, Bug Buzz, Giga Impact, Flash Cannon, Iron Head, Acrobatics, Struggle Bug, Steel Beam, Tera Blast, Pounce, Trailblaze

Pros:
- Scizor is a very good revenge killer, thanks to its main priority move, Bullet Punch, getting boosted thanks to Technician. Aside from that, many threats in the metagame right now, such as Chien-Pao, are vulnerable to Bullet Punch.
- Scizor's Attack stat makes it terrifying as a revenge killer, at 130.
- Scizor has pretty decent physical bulk at 100.
- Bug/Steel is a very good defensive typing, being able to resist many types common in the current metagame, such as Dragon, and Ice, while also possessing an immunity to the Poison type.

Cons:
- Scizor, despite its decent physical bulk, lacks in its special bulk. That, combined with the prevalence of special attackers in the current metagame, means that Scizor sometimes has a hard time switching in.
- Scizor lacks decent longevity after losing Roost, meaning it has to often rely on Wish support.
- Due to a limited selection of decent moves, Scizor is a pretty one dimensional character, making it very predictable.
- Scizor, with its 65 Speed stat, gives it a big struggle in a metagame with speedy Pokémon, although this is slightly alleviated by its priority Bullet Punch.

Terastal Potential:
- Scizor's terastal potential is pretty straightforward. Tera-Water is the most obvious choice, eliminating its weakness to Fire-types, although Tera-Rock is also a good option if you want to Terastalize Scizor under Sand.
- Tera-Steel is also a reasonable Terastal choice, making Scizor's revenge-killing potential even scarier.

Potential Set:
Swords Dance
Scizor @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
Tera Type: Steel / Water / Rock
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Close Combat / Tera Blast
- U-Turn

This Scizor set utilizes its sweeping potential with Life Orb + Swords Dance, while still keeping some degree of utility with U-Turn. The third move depends on what Tera-type Scizor chooses to run. Close Combat is the preferred option for coverage against opposing Steel-types such as Iron Treads when running a Tera-Steel set, while Tera Blast is preferred when running Tera-Water or Tera-Rock sets in order to cover Fire-types.

To summarize, Scizor is a useful Pokémon to consider when a team needs a revenge killer, given its scary Attack stat. Coupled with Swords Dance, this gives Scizor some potential in sweeping, although a Trick Room team is where its sweeping potential can be truly seen, given the current metagame is filled with fast Pokémon.

How do you think Scizor will perform in Gen 9 OU? Will it remain an important revenge killer in the tier, or will it soon drop into lower tiers once better options have been discovered or if the metagame changes? Finally, how important is Scizor losing two of its most important moves in the transition to Gen 9, Roost and Knock Off, to its overall viability? Feel free to discuss.

 

[Pikachupwnage]

If there are powerful/physically frail threats vulnerable to bullet punch it remain OU I believe. So ultimately depends on how viable(and unbanned) many mainly fairy and ice types remain.

Flutter Mane being banned was a real blow to Scizor. That thing pretty much had a glowing neon sign on it saying "please OHKO me with bullet punch"

 

[CaptainDaimyo]

If there are powerful/physically frail threats vulnerable to bullet punch it remain OU I believe. So ultimately depends on how viable(and unbanned) many mainly fairy and ice types remain.

Flutter Mane being banned was a real blow to Scizor. That thing pretty much had a glowing neon sign on it saying "please OHKO me with bullet punch"

I'd say Scizor still has some merit due to Tera Steel making Scizor's Bullet Punch 120 base power as priority, meaning its revenge killing potential should be taken pretty seriously, considering that there are several top Pokémon currently with poor bulk (Chien-Pao, Roaring Moon, etc.)

 

[Pikachupwnage]

I'd say Scizor still has some merit due to Tera Steel making Scizor's Bullet Punch 120 base power as priority, meaning its revenge killing potential should be taken pretty seriously, considering that there are several top Pokémon currently with poor bulk (Chien-Pao, Roaring Moon, etc.)

It's like diet extreme killer arceus that can hit super effective with its "extremespeed" but less bulk and utility that way. When hyper offense is looking to be meta that certainly has good potential.

 

[isabeau-huppert]

I've found banded, Adamant, Tera Steel bullet punch to be absolutely insane. With it, Scizor becomes an amazing anti-meta lead, as it one shots a variety of weak setup opponents (grimmsnarl, that new poison-rock hazard machine),and even some neutral matchups (notably cyclizar, although that seems to be a range. At the very least, it absolutely shuts down shed tail). It has the bulk to slow pivot on Palafin lead, and hit back with a hard u-turn. It's strong enough to revenge most of the neutral meta after a tiny bit of chip (Roaring Moon after stealth rocks, say).

 

[fluff!!]

Very strong mon for sure. I prefer lefties over LO, but both work. Tera Steel is the way to go imo, there is no wrong choice though, Scizor just gets the job done. I put it in all my teams, packing an anti-lead, revenge killer, swords dance sweeper AND pivot all in one set with an amazing defensive typing making it tough for a lot of mons to deal with it is so great. I'd add Brick Break as a notable move since walls are quite popular so it can also break these on top of everything else.

 

[Immortal]

Are you guys running speed 252 speed or are sets with some bulk viable as well?

 

[fluff!!]

Are you guys running speed 252 speed or are sets with some bulk viable as well?

I run 252HP/252Atk/4Speed

 

[escarlata]

Are you guys running speed 252 speed or are sets with some bulk viable as well?

When Iron Bundle was still around, I ran Choice Band with 248 HP / 64 Atk / 192 SpD Adamant, which felt better than 252 Atk + AV.
And I honestly don't feel like dropping the SpD investment even after Bundle is gone because I repurposed him to deal with Gholdengo.

 

[Eeveeto]

Thief should be a useful move on this Mon on both Band and SD sets. Outside of Terablast, it's the only way to hit Goldengo and Skeledirge among others.

 

[tinyranitar]

I think Pounce is a fringe, but surprisingly good option to run over U-Turn. It hits very hard, bait switch in and the speed drop can sometimes mean Scizor can win some 1v1 it couldn't before, and can make up for the momentum loss.

Choice Band set with Pounce, BP, U-Turn and Close Combat/Thief can be considered.

 

[Sonikgav]

My issue is that Bug doesn't have that 60 power move with a benefit like Aerial Ace etc for Technician to really push up. Pounce is stronger than U-Turn but both are weaker than just taking X-Scissor.

 

[ninth]

Thief should be a useful move on this Mon on both Band and SD sets. Outside of Terablast, it's the only way to hit Goldengo and Skeledirge among others.

Somebody told me TMs, being single-use again, can now be thrown with Fling, which gave me an idea.

252+ Atk TM152 Tera Dark Scizor Fling (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skeledirge: 390-458 (94.6 - 111.1%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO


It's the TM for Giga Impact. (I really did want to use the TM for Overheat but it misses the OHKO chance.)

I calc'd it as a Dark Giga Impact from a Dark-type Scizor and changed the words, but you get the idea. 5/8 chance to OHKO or seriously cripple full physdef Skeledirge. It goes without saying that this also OHKOs uninvested Gholdengo.

I was spreading misinformation, my bad

 

[Ehmcee]

Somebody told me TMs, being single-use again, can now be thrown with Fling, which gave me an idea.

252+ Atk TM152 Tera Dark Scizor Fling (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skeledirge: 390-458 (94.6 - 111.1%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO


It's the TM for Giga Impact. (I really did want to use the TM for Overheat but it misses the OHKO chance.)

I calc'd it as a Dark Giga Impact from a Dark-type Scizor and changed the words, but you get the idea. 5/8 chance to OHKO or seriously cripple full physdef Skeledirge. It goes without saying that this also OHKOs uninvested Gholdengo.

TM's are not flingable in SV unfortunately.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1596208060049272832

 

[LuckyTux]

I’m surprised nobody has brought up the most common Scizor set at the moment— Choice Band Tera Steel Bullet Punch spam. Here’s a few examples to exemplify the power of this set (note, calcs are done using Adaptability for STAB increase with the base power BP buff from 40 to 60 from Technician):

252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Chi-Yu: 130-153 (51.7 - 60.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Meowscarada: 290-342 (98.9 - 116.7%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Annihilape: 260-306 (72 - 84.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Chien-Pao: 520-612 (172.7 - 203.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clodsire: 214-252 (46.1 - 54.3%) -- 53.1% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Clodsire: 326-384 (70.2 - 82.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

If it isn’t already obvious, Tera Steel Scizor is the best revenge killer in the tier right now; however, the best answers to it are Corviknight and Dondozo, which holds it back.

 

[Ehmcee]

I’m surprised nobody has brought up the most common Scizor set at the moment— Choice Band Tera Steel Bullet Punch spam. Here’s a few examples to exemplify the power of this set (note, calcs are done using Adaptability for STAB increase with the base power BP buff from 40 to 60 from Technician):

252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Chi-Yu: 130-153 (51.7 - 60.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Meowscarada: 290-342 (98.9 - 116.7%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Annihilape: 260-306 (72 - 84.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Chien-Pao: 520-612 (172.7 - 203.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clodsire: 214-252 (46.1 - 54.3%) -- 53.1% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Clodsire: 326-384 (70.2 - 82.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

If it isn’t already obvious, Tera Steel Scizor is the best revenge killer in the tier right now; however, the best answers to it are Corviknight and Dondozo, which holds it back.

From my experience, CB Sciz + Rotom-Wash form a super good core right now, not only for the volt-turn core, but also because Rotom is able to deal with those two checks.

 

[ninth]

TM's are not flingable in SV unfortunately.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1596208060049272832

NOOOOOO

Okay, unfortunately we're not beating Dirge with this strat, then. Iron Ball makes you slower and therefore prone to being cooked by Torch Song.

You can still cheese a kill on Gholdengo with Tera Dark + Fling 90+ BP, though it's nowhere near as funny as chucking a disk at someone:

252+ Atk Rare Bone Scizor Fling (100 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Gholdengo: 372-440 (118 - 139.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

 

[Talpr0ne]

NOOOOOO

Okay, unfortunately we're not beating Dirge with this strat, then. Iron Ball makes you slower and therefore prone to being cooked by Torch Song.

You can still cheese a kill on Gholdengo with Tera Dark + Fling 90+ BP, though it's nowhere near as funny as chucking a disk at someone:

252+ Atk Rare Bone Scizor Fling (100 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Gholdengo: 372-440 (118 - 139.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Technician Scizor (Dark) Thief vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gholdengo: 338-398 (107.3 - 126.3%)
Or you could run Thief like a normal person.

 

[turd2]

I lost a game to tera normal quick attack Scizor just now.

Thought I'd share that.

 

[Sonikgav]

I lost a game to tera normal quick attack Scizor just now.

Thought I'd share that.

That's kinda something I was considering. You still keep the Stab on Bullet Punch and gain another Identical Stab of a different type with less Weaknesses and hits basically everything except Ghost Neutrally.

At the min however i'm trying a variation of the Swords Dance se with Dance, Bullet Punch, Aerial Ace & U Turn but thinking of adding Thief in there and maybe just going Banded.

 

[turd2]

I personally like band Scizor with pivot support. Scizor + Rotom-W + Cyclizar is a pretty sick core right now.

Just thought the tera normal quick attack thing was funny :p

 

[zferolie]

My issue is that Bug doesn't have that 60 power move with a benefit like Aerial Ace etc for Technician to really push up. Pounce is stronger than U-Turn but both are weaker than just taking X-Scissor.

Pounce would be just 5 points weaker then X-Scissor, but you gain untility with a speed drop. You have priority with Bullet punch but lets say you knew they were gonna switch out, them taking a speed drop would be better then X-Scissors damage as now that new pokemon is slower, letting you switch safe without u-turn even.

I personally like band Scizor with pivot support. Scizor + Rotom-W + Cyclizar is a pretty sick core right now.

Just thought the tera normal quick attack thing was funny :p

Honestly Quick attack and Bullet punch combo does sound fun. Tera steel makes bullet punch CHUNK anything, but Tera Normal makes you ghost immune. If Houndstone was still in the teir I would say this would have been a fantastic counter.

I do wonder though, if you grabbed quick attack, Bullet punch, and Pounce, what would your 4th move be, Aerial Ace or Theif? probably theif to deal with ghosts.

 

[STEELDRAGON]

Scizor from my expirence has a lot less opportunities to set up a SD due to Spikes and Stealth Rock everywhere, loss of recovery and a few near unbreakable pokemon around like Dondozo. Scizor does a lot better with a Choice Band in the current environment due the sheer power of Bullet Punch and U-Turn and how offensively inclined it has become. Scizor has taken a minor hit overall but still pretty good.

 

[realsoupersand]

Scizor gets Night Slash in this generation, right? Why are people using Thief over Night Slash? I feel like I have to be missing something here.

Wow. I'm an idiot. I forgot about Technician. In my defense, I haven't played since 4th gen, but still...

 

[realsoupersand]

Yup, I knew I missed something! Thanks for pointing that out. I don't know how I missed that. That's pretty embarrassing.