Scyther
Type: Bug / Flying
Stats: 70 | 110 | 80 | 55 | 105
Introduction
Scyther is a good revenge killer and can be a very dangerous pokemon at times thanks to its speed, 110 base attack, and access to Swords Dance. It exploits the fact that a bunch of common used pokemon are frail. It’s not easy for it to set up given that a lot of pokemon can pressure it with super effective moves or Thunder Wave but when you manage, your opponent can be in a very difficult position. Scyther doesn’t need a previous paralysis spread to sweep, but just some chipping work that it can do itself with a powerful Slash. The problem with Scyther is that even if its hard counters aren’t extremely common, it’s frail and threatened by a lot of pokemon, and it’s completely crippled by paralysis. It’s still a scary mon that can sometimes completely destroy teams by itself.
Swords Dance
Scyther
- Slash
- Swords Dance
- Hyper Beam
- Substitute / Quick Attack / Agility
Set Details
Slash is an easily spammable move that hits quite hard against a lot of the tier, allowing Scyther to hit-and-run. Swords Dance coupled with Hyper Beam kills almost anything that received prior damage. Substitute creates set-up opportunities, exploiting paralysis or an inaccurate move. Quick-Attack can finish off a Rapidash that ties or anything else if Scyther is paralysed. Unresisted +2 Quick Attacks are doing a lot especially to frailer things such as Abra and Staryu
Agility removes the speed drop of the paralysis Scyther hates.
Other Options
Double-Edge goes with Swords Dance unlike Slash but isn’t as spammable and the recoil damage can put you in some KO ranges. Wing attack 2HKOs the extremely uncommon Gastly at +2. Toxic can be an option against Omastar, the poison damage helps wearing it down, and it also synergizes with Rapidash and Dragonair for partial trapping.
Checks and Counters
Omastar is the best Scyther counter, taking very little damage and 2HKOing in return. Pokémon with good physical bulk and paralysis or a strong super effective STAB make good checks .Porygon, Slowpoke, and Tangela (though it can't do much) are good bets since they can force Scyther out with their threatening Thunder Wave and Stun Spore. Blastoise and Fire types also force it out with their ability to heavily hurt it. Nidoqueen only gets 3HKOed 19.8% of the time by Slash so it can actually switch-in. Nidoking can go one on one and threat to burn with Fire Blast, if it doesn’t it 2HKOs anyway. If Scyther is already revealed, be aware that it might come-in on an Earthquake from those two, so making a risky prediction can pay-off a lot. Venomoth and Staryu can also threat Scyther with paralysis one on one. If you manage to paralyse Scyther, most of the tier have super-effective moves available versus it due to Scyther's poor typing so you can take it down easily.



Type: Bug / Flying
Stats: 70 | 110 | 80 | 55 | 105
Introduction
Scyther is a good revenge killer and can be a very dangerous pokemon at times thanks to its speed, 110 base attack, and access to Swords Dance. It exploits the fact that a bunch of common used pokemon are frail. It’s not easy for it to set up given that a lot of pokemon can pressure it with super effective moves or Thunder Wave but when you manage, your opponent can be in a very difficult position. Scyther doesn’t need a previous paralysis spread to sweep, but just some chipping work that it can do itself with a powerful Slash. The problem with Scyther is that even if its hard counters aren’t extremely common, it’s frail and threatened by a lot of pokemon, and it’s completely crippled by paralysis. It’s still a scary mon that can sometimes completely destroy teams by itself.
Swords Dance
Scyther
- Slash
- Swords Dance
- Hyper Beam
- Substitute / Quick Attack / Agility
Set Details
Slash is an easily spammable move that hits quite hard against a lot of the tier, allowing Scyther to hit-and-run. Swords Dance coupled with Hyper Beam kills almost anything that received prior damage. Substitute creates set-up opportunities, exploiting paralysis or an inaccurate move. Quick-Attack can finish off a Rapidash that ties or anything else if Scyther is paralysed. Unresisted +2 Quick Attacks are doing a lot especially to frailer things such as Abra and Staryu
Agility removes the speed drop of the paralysis Scyther hates.
Other Options
Double-Edge goes with Swords Dance unlike Slash but isn’t as spammable and the recoil damage can put you in some KO ranges. Wing attack 2HKOs the extremely uncommon Gastly at +2. Toxic can be an option against Omastar, the poison damage helps wearing it down, and it also synergizes with Rapidash and Dragonair for partial trapping.
Checks and Counters
Omastar is the best Scyther counter, taking very little damage and 2HKOing in return. Pokémon with good physical bulk and paralysis or a strong super effective STAB make good checks .Porygon, Slowpoke, and Tangela (though it can't do much) are good bets since they can force Scyther out with their threatening Thunder Wave and Stun Spore. Blastoise and Fire types also force it out with their ability to heavily hurt it. Nidoqueen only gets 3HKOed 19.8% of the time by Slash so it can actually switch-in. Nidoking can go one on one and threat to burn with Fire Blast, if it doesn’t it 2HKOs anyway. If Scyther is already revealed, be aware that it might come-in on an Earthquake from those two, so making a risky prediction can pay-off a lot. Venomoth and Staryu can also threat Scyther with paralysis one on one. If you manage to paralyse Scyther, most of the tier have super-effective moves available versus it due to Scyther's poor typing so you can take it down easily.
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