Scyther (Little Cup)
With the advent of the 5th Generation, many changes have occurred in that most interesting of metagames, Little Cup. The general average Speed has decreased with an influx of slower Pokemon, yet it is still unclear how this will affect the metagame as a whole. Both offence and defence have seen substantial boosts, on the one hand the immense potential of new threats such as Tsutarja and Kibago, on the other hand the introduction or implementation of items such as Pre-evolution Stone and Berry Juice. However, what is probably the biggest change is the decision to reintroduce the Little Cup Übers – immensely strong offensive monsters with the alleged power to bring the metagame to a standstill – Scyther, Sneasel, Yanma, Tangela, Meditite, Murkrow and Misdreavus.
This thread is to discuss the competitive impact and applications of one of my favourite Pokemon of all time, not whether it will be banned (apparently I have to say that).
Basic Stats
Typing: Bug / Flying
Ability 1: Swarm
Ability 2: Technician
Dream World: Steadfast
Stats: 70 / 110 / 80 / 55 / 80 / 105
Movepool
Code:
[B]Level-Up Moves:[/B]
Lv1: Vacuum Wave
Lv1: [B]Quick Attack[/B]
Lv1: Leer
Lv5: Focus Energy
Lv9: [B]Pursuit[/B]
Lv13: False Swipe
Lv17: Agility
Lv21: Wing Attack
Lv25: Fury Cutter
Lv29: Slash
Lv33: Razor Wind
Lv37: Double Team
Lv41: [B]X-Scissor[/B]
Lv45: [B]Night Slash[/B]
Lv49: [B]Double Hit[/B]
Lv53: Air Slash
Lv57: [B]Swords Dance[/B]
Lv61: Feint
TM Moves:
TM06 - Toxic
TM10 - Hidden Power
TM11 - Sunny Day
TM15 - Hyper Beam
TM16 - Light Screen
TM17 - Protect
TM18 - Rain Dance
TM20 - Safeguard
TM21 - Frustration
TM27 - Return
TM31 - [B]Brick Break[/B]
TM32 - Double Team
TM40 - [B]Aerial Ace[/B]
TM42 - Facade
TM44 - Rest
TM45 - Attract
TM46 - Thief
TM48 - [I]Sing A Round[/I]
TM54 - False Swipe
TM68 - Giga Impact
TM76 - [I]Bug Resistance[/I]
TM81 - [B]X-Scissor[/B]
TM87 - Swagger
TM89 - [B]U-Turn[/B]
TM90 - Substitute
TM94 - Rock Smash
HM01 - Cut
[B]Egg Moves:[/B]
Counter
[B]Baton Pass[/B]
Razor Wind
[B]Reversal[/B]
Endure
Silver Wind
Bug Buzz
[B]Night Slash[/B]
Defog
[B]Steel Wing[/B]
[B]4th Gen Only Moves:[/B]
[B]Roost[/B]
Captivate
Sleep Talk
Natural Gift
Knock Off
Ominous Wind
Snore
Swift
[B]Tailwind[/B]
[B]Bug Bite[/B]
Headbutt
3rd Gen Only Moves:
Double-Edge
MimicImagine a perfect fusion of Gligar and Taillow, then add Ho-oh wings. That’s Scyther in a nutshell. Fast, powerful, predictable. To go more in-depth, however, we should examine all the different factors combined:
- Stupidly good base stats
Scyther boasts stats of 70/110/80/55/80/105. To put that into context, Scyther’s Attack stat is beaten only by Cranidos and Aaken, and reaches a stat of 22 with an Adamant nature – meaning Scyther can OHKO 236/236 Impish Gligar with a Swords Dance boosted Aerial Ace. Its Speed is similarly good, also maxing out at a stat of 22 with a Jolly nature, meaning that it can outrun Choice Scarf 14 Speed Pokemon, such as Machop, Porygon, and Dratini, without a boost, and is beaten only by fellow ex-Über Sneasel. While not quite as impressive, it isn’t exactly a slouch defensively either – Scyther’s 70/80/80 defences are comparable to Bronzor’s 57/86/86, so can take even STAB super effective attacks such as Sneasel’s Ice Shard.
- A very good ability
Scyther didn’t exactly get off well from the Dream World charity donations, but on the bright side it still has an extremely good ability in the form of Technician. As all those who have faced Scizor in OU know, this ability powers up moves of ‘low’ base power, i.e. 60 or lower, which is extremely useful to bring some forgotten moves to the fore when scavenging Scyther’s ragged movepool. There is nothing in the magnitude of Bullet Punch unfortunately, but Scyther still has access to Quick Attack, which thanks to Technician and Scyther’s very high Attack stat becomes a very nice little priority attack to pick off jokers such as Sucker Punch Croagunk who try to stop you. Elsewhere, STAB moves that would ordinarily be useless, such as Aerial Ace and Bug Bite, become boosted to much higher levels, giving Scyther the power it needs to perform. Unfortunately, important but weak moves such as Night Slash and Brick Break don’t get the boost, which is unfortunate but not a travesty.
- Not much of a movepool, but…
Scyther’s movepool is more barren than a Croydon sports court, but it’s rather like the Garchomp phenomenon in more ways than one. The movepool appears rather limited and lacking in diversity, but everything needed is there – a boosting move, a STAB move, a coverage move, and a priority move – backed up by very good base stats and a deceptively good ability. In Scyther’s case, a movepool consisting of Swords Dance / Aerial Ace / Brick Break / Quick Attack can in theory destroy literally everything in Little Cup. After a Swords Dance, Aerial Ace destroys literally everything that doesn’t outright resist it, and Brick Break can pick off those pesky Rock- and Steel-types that try to ruin your fun. Quick Attack is there to mess around with those who try to outrun Scyther or beat it with priority – for reference, a Swords Dance Life Orb Quick Attack is just about capable of OHKOing Sneasel and other fast-but-frail sweepers.
- The worst typing in all of Pokemon
It’s a funny thing, but in Little Cup certain clearly established rules of thumb are utterly abolished, even where you would not expect them. For example, certain type combinations are nothing but curses in standard OU, but in Little Cup many Pokemon can thrive with them. Prime examples include Kabuto, Aron and Paras. Similarly, in the DPPt metagame two of the seven Übers were Bug/Flying – Scyther and Yanma – almost universally agreed to be the worst typing ever constructed. However, Scyther can function pretty well. The resistances to Grass, Fighting, and Bug help out, as does the Earthquake immunity. True, it does have five absolutely crippling weaknesses, which hurts defensively, but from a purely offensive standpoint, Scyther resists Vacuum Wave and Mach Punch and has little fear of any priority besides Ice Shard, as well as resisting Machop’s Dynamicpunch and Tsutarja’s Leaf Storm. It also has the added bonus of not being trapped by Diglett. Its disadvantages are many, but none can deny that it brings a fascinating method of play to the table.
Has anything changed?
Not really. On Scyther’s side the generation has pretty much passed him by. He got only two new attacks – Sing A Round and Bug Resistance – and the ability Steadfast, which is a poor price to pay for the bonuses of Bug Bite and other useful moves. The new Pokemon introduced, while powerful in some cases, are far and away outclassed by both Scyther’s Speed and attacking power (except in some cases, such as Aaken). Tsutarja and several others seem like they could become popular threats, which is good news for Scyther due to its numerous resistances. However, as ever there are many new threats to consider that Scyther may well be finding troublesome. Aaken is the main one – first having contested Scyther’s place in the top Attack stats, now threatens to make a promising Scarf revenge-killer, which is bad news as it just outruns Jolly Scyther and can knock it for six with STAB Rock Slide. New Steel-, Rock-, Electric-, and Fire-types are springing up like mushrooms, which is bad news, and means that Scyther will be hard pressed to hold its reputation as a sweeper. Not only that, but many old faces got significant upgrades, including Shellder, who now boasts a base 125 power super effective move in Rock Blast thanks to Skill Link, and between that and Ice Shard, Scyther will not be liking the tide. Overall, though, quantity does not equal quality, and Scyther is still looking quite the threatening little mantis.
So, how would you go about stopping it?
Two words: STEALTH ROCK. The single easiest way to stop Scyther setting up is to make sure it can’t, and that involves giving it no free switches. Stripping 50% of its health every time it switches in accomplishes this easily. There is a significant lack of good Rapid Spinners in Little Cup, especially with the drop down of Misdreavus and addition of Pururiru and Gobitto, among others, so keeping Scyther at bay shouldn’t be too arduous. Scyther can, however, still be threatening even with Stealth Rock, so tread carefully. The only common Pokemon that can realistically take an attack from Scyther is Bronzor, who can survive a Swords Dance Brick Break and weaken it with Hidden Power Ice. Next, in true Little Cup fashion, comes revenge-killing – those who are faster or can OHKO with priority. On the priority front, for reference, Sneasel’s Life Orb Ice Shard does 14-20 damage, or 59-84%. Sneasel is also the only Pokemon who outruns Scyther unboosted, but is OHKOed by Swords Dance Quick Attack, so Ice Shard is really your best shot. Phanpy and Shellder can both fire off Ice Shard to weaken Scyther, and can survive Quick Attack, but both are weaker offensively than Sneasel and both are OHKOed by Scyther’s STAB Aerial Ace. On the other hand, Choice Scarf Pokemon that can take Quick Attack and OHKO back are good bets. Likely good options include Gastly, Aaken, and Magnemite.
What would be some good sets, in theory?
Swords Dance
Move1: Swords Dance
Move2: Aerial Ace
Move3: Brick Break
Move4: Quick Attack
Item: Life Orb / Berry Juice
Ability: Technician
Nature: Adamant / Jolly
EVs: 196 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
This is the classic sweeper Scyther. The epitome of power and speed, the combination of its four moves creates perfect balance and covers all the bases – though the lack of Bug Bite hurts a lot, Scyther is perhaps one of the only Pokemon that hardly ever suffers 4MSS. Swords Dance boosts your Attack to a stupidly high 44 (Adamant) or 40 (Jolly), while Brick Break deals with those pesky Rock- and Steel-types that have the effrontery to resist your main STAB. Life Orb’s power is very important to guarantee OHKOs on Sneasel and Croagunk with Quick Attack, but Berry Juice can be important if you lack Rapid Spin support, as you get what equates to an extra life through the healing once you switch into it. However, if you want to be extra condescending you can slap a Lum Berry on and set up on Machop’s Dynamicpunch (Jolly Scyther outruns Choice Scarf Machop). Unusually for a Little Cup Pokemon, Scyther’s can be almost fully EVed, with only 4 EVs misplaced overall. Attack and Speed are both maximised, while leaving enough EVs to gain a nice extra point in both defensive stats, giving you a respectable overall spread. Oh, and the reason you shouldn’t put any EVs in HP is because Scyther gets 23 HP unboosted, so can switch three times rather than two into Stealth Rock.
Baton Pass
Move1: Baton Pass
Move2: Swords Dance / Agility
Move3: Aerial Ace / Bug Bite
Move4: Substitute / Brick Break
Item: Liechi Berry / Custap Berry
Ability: Technician
Nature: Adamant / Jolly
EVs: 196 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
Yep, Scyther really can do everything that Gligar can. Admittedly with a worse typing and completely different playstyle, but you see what I mean. Essentially just play like you would a standard sweeper Scyther, but then when your destruction is imminent, simply Baton Pass away to something guaranteed to irritate the opponent (as in the Cranidos way, not the Sunkern way). Liechi Berry gives your gift an extra kick, but Custap Berry can be very helpful to guarantee the Pass in tandem with Substitute. If you are feeling very ballsy you could try running Swords Dance and Agility on the same set, but this is not recommended.
Choice
Move1: U-turn
Move2: Aerial Ace
Move3: Brick Break
Move4: Pursuit / Quick Attack
Item: Choice Band / Choice Scarf
Ability: Technician
Nature: Adamant / Jolly
EVs: 196 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
Ordinarily you wouldn’t really want to slap a Choice Band on something that is going to be taking 50% damage every time it switches in, but hey, there are reasons to use this over Gliscor. Outrunning nigh-on everything in the tier and making revenge-killers pay the price is nice in and of itself, but Scyther has some tricks that Gligar and others only wish they had. The immense strength of CB Aerial Ace; the utility of strong STAB U-turn, in a mini-Scizor way; and access to a very, very fast Technician Pursuit, all contribute to this set’s charm. How it will fare in practice, I don’t know, and doubt it will be as strong or popular as the Swords Dancer, but if you need things broken and lots of explosions, Scyther is just the Dictyoptera for the job.
Bulky Scyther
Move1: Aerial Ace
Move2: U-turn
Move3: Quick Attack
Move4: Roost
Item: Berry Juice / Pre-Evolution Stone
Ability: Technician
Nature: Jolly / Impish
EVs: 116 HP / 196 Def / 196 SpD
While breaking things in an all-or-nothing, death-or-glory blaze of pumice and silicon is undoubtedly very fun and effective, it nevertheless neglects another aspect of Scyther – its very capable defensive stats. While admittedly its typing is rubbish defensively, these sets are useless in Little Cup, it is far more effective as a sweeper, and there are better options for the job (see I have thought this through), there are a couple of nice little things to consider. Scyther’s big Speed and Attack stats are impressive even when unboosted, Roost gets a cool 50% recovery, and is almost unobtainable if you want 5th gen stuff added on – a luxury Scyther does not have. Pre-evolution Stone bucks up the defensive stats a tad, though Berry Juice is probably better even if it does only have one use. Between Roost and attacks, Scyther can potentially outstall certain offensive Pokemon (assuming they don’t have super effective attacks) and wear them down to the ground. The EVs are extremely economical, and add up to exactly 508. With a Jolly nature, you get a respectable 18 Speed and 17 Attack, alongside 25 / 17 / 17 defences. The reason HP isn’t maximised is to grant Scyther a HP stat of 25, allowing at most 3 switches into Stealth Rock. If you want more power or Speed, then rearrange as appropriate. Overall, this set is a gimmick at best, but still worth mentioning.
Tailwind
Move1: Tailwind
Move2: Aerial Ace
Move3: Brick Break
Move4: Quick Attack / Bug Bite
Item: Berry Juice / Life Orb
Ability: Technician
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 196 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
I do so ever like my gimmicks. So here's another. Tailwind is no longer a tutor move, which is a shame as its duration has now been lengthened, and Scyther is as good as any choice to set it up. For those of you who don't know what Tailwind does, it's a bit like a Trick Room team where you aren't always inevitably swept by your opponent's Munchlax. Berry Juice is useful to promote longevity and ensure that Scyther can do something after having set up Tailwind, though Life Orb could be useful for the extra power. Could be fun to try out, but just don't expect any really amazing results.
Choice Specs
Move1: Silver Wind
Move2: Air Slash
Move3: Vacuum Wave
Move4: Hidden Power Ground
Item: Choice Specs
Ability: Technician
Nature: Timid / Modest
EVs: 236 SpA / 236 Spe
…
Yeah I should probably quit while I’m ahead :(
Final Words:
I don’t think there’s any doubt that Scyther will be one of the most powerful and dangerous Pokemon available in Generation V – his previous, unchanged power tells us that much. However, it will be a very fun experience to test out this most destructive and powerful of Bug-types, in a metagame he can thrive in.
Discuss.
