Game:

Pokémon Sword and Shield (2019)

Duration: 20:28

42 views

0

It is time for Surprise Trade, and this week is Scyther, a Bug/Flying-type Pokémon introduced in Generation 1. I usually breed for 31 IVs in at least 4 or 5 stats, but in this case, I have a 6 IV Scizor and I bred that with a 6 IV Ditto, and this guarantees that the Scyther have 31 IVs in all 5 stats. I went with Adamant for the Nature, but I will go over what makes Scyther special in the competitive scene when I get around to that point of the description. I didn't go for the Hidden Ability of Steadfast, which turns into Light Metal when it evolves into Scizor, this is because Technician is the preferred Ability.
The Egg Moves I went with were Defog, Feint, Night Slash, and Quick Guard, the other move it can get is Counter, I will list which parents in the Bug Egg Group that can learn those moves.
Counter: Heracross
Defog: Frosmoth
Feint: Flygon
Night Slash: Skorupi, Drapion
Quick Guard: Escavalier

Not that many Pokémon in Scyther's Egg Group can learn those moves through level up, but some of them can be good for passing down onto other Pokémon.
To evolve Scyther into Scizor, it needs to be traded while holding a Metal Coat, and I will start with Scyther's level up moves, it can get Quick Attack, Leer, Fury Cutter, False Swipe, Wing Attack, Double Team, Double Hit, Slash, Focus Energy, Agility, Air Slash, X-Scissor, Laser Focus, and Swords Dance. When it evolves into Scizor, it can learn Bullet Punch, Metal Claw, Iron Defense, and Iron Head.
Then for TM and TR moves, the Scyther line can get Light Screen, Reflect, Steel Wing, Brick Break, U-turn, Psycho Cut, Assurance, Cross Poison, Acrobatics, and Brutal Swing, while Scizor can get Sandstorm and Sand Tomb. Then for TR moves, starting with the ones Scyther can learn, it can get Focus Energy, Substitute, Reversal, Endure, Baton Pass, and Bug Buzz, and the ones Scizor can learn while it cannot as a Scyther, that move being Superpower. It can get Dual Wingbeat as a Tutor move, and for Scizor only, it can learn Steel Beam as it is a Steel-type.
The Scyther line have a special case in competitive battling, this is because Scyther and its evolved form Scizor have the same base stat total, Scyther having higher Speed than Scizor, but mainly I will go over Scizor in online battles, as it is a top-tier Pokémon in online battles. What makes Scizor a good Pokémon in battle is Technician, it did have a Mega Evolution back in Generations 6 and 7, but even without Mega Evolution, Scizor is still a good Pokémon, it has access to Bullet Punch, a good priority move and one of Scizor's main attacks, U-turn is there for switching out, it can get moves like Dual Wingbeat, Thief, Quick Attack, and Brutal Swing for moves that work well with Technician, and it can get Superpower for a powerful Fighting-type coverage option, it can use Swords Dance to boost its Attack to high levels so that it can sweep with Bullet Punch. Scizor was able to learn Bug Bite through Move Tutor in previous generations, but it cannot learn it in this game, you have to transfer over a Scizor with Bug Bite from those games into this one.
As with Scyther, it is a good user of the Eviolite, and what sets Scyther apart from Scizor is it can get STAB from Dual Wingbeat, and when paired with Swords Dance, that can deal some great damage to opponents, not even Pokémon with a Focus Sash is safe from that thing. It can get U-turn, Brick Break, and Brutal Swing for some decent moves, while Scyther is a Pokémon that is not fully evolved, the fact it has a higher base Speed than Scizor and it can get STAB from Dual Wingbeat does make it stand out very well.
Then for Double Battles, and Scyther doesn't get much usage in Double Battles as it is outclassed by better Pokémon, and as for Eviolite users, you are better off using Clefairy, Dusclops, or Porygon2. Scizor is fairly useful in Double Battles, as Bullet Punch is there to finish off weakened opponents, and it can use U-turn to switch out after damaging its opponent, and Brick Break to destroy screens, it can make use of many held items, like Choice Band or Assault Vest. While there aren't that many viable Bug-type Pokémon in Double Battles, Scizor is at least one of few, but for Steel-type Pokémon, Zacian and Kartana are some of the most used in the current format.
There are Pokémon that are usually preferred fully evolved in competitive battle, but with Scyther, it is a Pokémon where both it and its evolved form are viable Pokémon in battle, while Scizor's advantage is Bullet Punch for STAB priority boosted by Technician, Scyther having higher Speed and STAB from Dual Wingbeat is what sets it apart from Scizor, as well as being a good user of the Eviolite.

Other Statistics