Sceptile (QC 1/3)

[Nuked]

[OVERVIEW]

• Sceptile is an offensive Grass-type with solid power, powerful STAB moves, and strong coverage options to compliment its great Speed.
• Its very high Speed stat sets it apart from other offensive Grass-types, as it can outspeed key targets like Heliolisk and Sneasel and hit them with its very strong STAB Leaf Storm.
• It also can viably run two different sets thanks to Unburden, which makes a Swords Dance set viable. At +2 and with an Unburden boost, Sceptile can easily sweep through weakened teams, and it also gains Flying-type coverage.
• However, Sceptile is very frail, meaning it takes massive damage from any neutral hit and even resisted hits.
• It struggles against common Pokemon like Golbat, Vileplume, and Sivally-Steel, which tank Sceptile's Leaf Storm and can tank its -2 coverage moves.
• It also faces massive competition in the offensive Grass-type role from Venusaur and Whimsicott, both of which have better defensive and sometimes better offensive presence due to their secondary better bulk and secondary STAB types, but Sceptile still has a niche over the two of them because of its lightning fast Speed.

[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Leaf Storm
move 2: Giga Drain
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Earthquake / Hidden Power Ice
item: Life Orb
ability: Overgrow
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Leaf Storm is Sceptile's strongest STAB attack, and with a Life Orb it hits everything that doesn't resist it for heavy damage.
• Giga Drain allows Sceptile to gain back health lost from Life Orb recoil and hazard damage.
• Focus Blast covers Sivally-Steel, Klinklang, and Guzzlord, hitting all for massive damage thanks to Focus Blast's high Base Power.
• Earthquake provides coverage against Poison- and Fire-types like Garbodor, Magmortar, and Toxicroak.
• Hidden Power Ice is an alternative option that hits Vileplume and other Grass-types for more damage than any other move, and also hits Xatu, Scyther, Golbat, having a good chance of 2HKOing the latter after Stealth Rock.

Set Details
========

• Life Orb boosts Sceptile's power by 1.3x, but makes it take damage every time it uses a move.
• Overgrow is the optimal ability because it can give Sceptile a clutch 50% boost to its Grass-type moves.
• 252 Speed EVs make Sceptile as fast as possible, while 252 Special Attack EVs make its moves hit harder.
• A Timid nature makes Sceptile as fast as possible, outspeeding Whimsicott and Sneasel.

Usage Tips
========

• Spamming Leaf Storm if the opponent only has shaky switch-ins to it, like Whimsicott or weakened Incineroar, is a good way to pressure the enemy team in the early game.
• Leaf Storm is very strong but it does drop Sceptile's Special Attack by 2 stages. This can be detrimental against hard counters to Sceptile like Venusaur and Vileplume, which can easily take it proceed to gain a free turn off of Sceptile to use a status move or set up. Because of this, Sceptile's coverage moves are best used when you predict a switch.
• Sceptile's very high Speed tier allows it to outspeed almost everything in NU. Use this to Sceptile's advantage by pressuring frail offensive Pokemon like Heliolisk and Choice-locked Sneasel.
• Sceptile gets worn down very fast by repeated switch-ins to Spikes and Stealth Rock, so it's best to remove these before sending Sceptile out, unless you have to send it out.
• When Overgrow is activated, Sceptile's Giga Drain actually hits quite hard, which allows it to gain health back so it can continue to punch holes. Therefore, try to just recover health when Overgrow is activated.

Team Options
========

• Entry hazard setters pair very well with Sceptile because they can wear down Pokemon like Venusaur and Sivally-Steel so that Sceptile can handle them easier over time. They also work well because Sceptile forces lots of switches.
• U-turn and Volt Switch users like Whimsicott and Rotom can bring Sceptile in safely so it can punch holes without taking a hit first.
• Rock-type such as Gigalith, Diancie, and Rhydon pair well with Sceptile because they can set Stealth Rock and check Fire-types at the same time.
• Fire types such as Delphox and Incineroar can gain free turns off of the Steel- and Grass-types that Sceptile brings in, such as Venusaur and Silvally-Steel.
• Vanilluxe and Sneasel can, together with Sceptile, put a lot of pressure on Fire-types like Incineroar and Delphox, and they can also check Venusaur and Vileplume.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Acrobatics
move 4: Earthquake / Substitute / Rock Slide
item: Sitrus Berry
ability: Unburden
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Swords Dance boosts Sceptile's Attack by 2 stages, preparing it for a sweep.
• Leaf Blade is the go-to Grass-type STAB move, packing decent power and a good critical hit chance.
• Acrobatics recieves a boost after Sitrus Berry has been consumed, and it's also good coverage against Grass-types.
• Earthquake rounds off the coverage by hitting Poison-types super effectively.
• Substitute is also an option because it guarantees Unburden activation, and Sceptile gets many chances to Substitute.
• Rock Slide is another option because it hits Golbat for decent damage at +2 while still providing coverage against Fire-types.

Set Details
========

• Sitrus Berry gives Sceptile health back when it's weakened and also activates Unburden the most reliably out of any item, making it the best choice.
• 252 Speed and Attack EVs maximize Sceptile's offensive presence, while an Adamant nature gives Sceptile as much power as possible. Sceptile can also afford to run Adamant on this set because of Unburden.
• Unburden is the ability of choice for this set because it doubles Sceptile's Speed after Sitrus Berry is used.

Usage Tips
========

• It's best to only use Sceptile's Unburden boost when you are either forced to, or when you're ready to sweep in the late-game. Popping Unburden early game can result in Sceptile not being able to OHKO what's in front of it and getting OHKOed instead.
• Make sure that Sceptile doesn't get inflicted with any status before it sweeps. Therefore, try to avoid switching into Scald from Slowbro and Slowking, and try not to get hit by Toxic Spikes.
• You can guarantee setup by taking advantage of Pokemon that Sceptile forces out, like Slowbro, Rhydon, and Diancie, by setting up Substitute, then Swords Dance, then using Substitute again to activate Unburden. This will put Sceptile at +2 Attack and Speed, which can allow it to sweep in the late game.
• Sceptile can still pressure offensive threats with this set, as Leaf Blade still has respectable power without a Life Orb boost.

Team Options
========

• Entry hazard setters are the best teammates Sceptile can have, as they can chip down enemy Pokemon into +2 Leaf Blade range. Rhydon and Gigalith both provide Stealth Rock, while Garbodor can offer Spikes and Toxic Spikes.
• U-turn and Volt Switch users like Incineroar and Vikavolt are good at chipping down defensive Pokemon so that Sceptile can clean easier in the late-game. Incineroar also checks Grass-types like Venusaur.
• Pokemon that can wear down Golbat, like Passimian, Hariyama, and Aromatisse, can deal enough damage to Golbat so that Sceptile can sweep in the late-game without worrying about a Brave Bird OHKO through Substitute.
• Fast Ice-types like Choice Scarf Vanilluxe and Sneasel can take advantage of Sceptile's damage dealt if it fails to sweep by sweeping themselves in the late-game.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

• Choice Specs is usable, but it faces competition from Whimsicott and Sceptile hates being locked into Leaf Storm; Venusaur takes very little damage from it and can easily use it as setup fodder with Z-Celebrate. For this reason it's best to not be locked into a move so Sceptile can at least deal decent damage to Venusaur.
• A special Unburden set can also work, but Sceptile doesn't need to be that fast for it to do its job with a special set. Additionally, you would be lacking power because you don't have Life Orb.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Poison-types**: Venusaur and Vileplume's typings make them the perfect Sceptile counter, taking very little from Leaf Storm and dealing heavy damage with Sludge Bomb in return. Golbat easily tanks Leaf Storm and uses the free turn Sceptile gives it to clear hazards with Defog.

**Faster Pokemon**: Choice Scarf users like Braviary and Passimian can easily OHKO Sceptile before it can attack, but Passimian only can with prior damage. Stoutland under sand easily OHKOes Sceptile with Return, but can't switch into Focus Blast or Leaf Storm.

**Priority**: Ice Shard from Sneasel and Fake Out + Bullet Punch from Medicham can KO Sceptile before it can retaliate, with little prior damage.

**Entry Hazards**: Sceptile is worn down very quickly between Life Orb recoil and hazard damage, putting it into the range of neutral attacks and priority moves that it would otherwise live, like Choice Band Sneasel's Ice Shard.

**Fire-types**: Fire-types like Magmortar and Incineroar can be problematic if Sceptile is -2, because Earthquake doesn't OHKO either from the Life Orb set and Focus Blast can't OHKO Incineroar when Sceptile is -2 from Leaf Storm.

 

[Nuked]

Ready for QC

 

[quziel]

[OVERVIEW]

• Sceptile is an offensive Grass-type with solid power, powerful STAB moves, and strong coverage options to compliment its great Speed.
• Its very high Speed stat sets it apart from other offensive Grass-types, as it can outspeed key targets like Heliolisk and Sneasel and hit them with its very strong Leaf Storm.
• Its Speed stat and typing allow Sceptile to soft check threats such as Diancie, Heliolisk, Rhydon, and Slowbro.
• It also can viably run two different sets thanks to Unburden, both with completely different checks and counters. Explicitely mention what SD does, its a unique set and deserves some mention in the intro
• However, Sceptile is very frail, meaning it takes massive damage from any neutral hit and even resisted hits.
• It struggles against common Pokemon like Venusaur, Incineroar, and Sivally-Steel, which tank Sceptile's Leaf Storm and can tank its -2 coverage moves.
• It also faces massive competition in the offensive Grass-type role from Venusaur and Whimsicott, both of which have better defensive and sometimes better offensive presence due to their secondary better bulk and secondary STAB types, but Sceptile still has a niche over the two of them because of its lightning fast Speed.

[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Leaf Storm
move 2: Giga Drain
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Earthquake / Hidden Power Ice
item: Life Orb
ability: Overgrow
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Leaf Storm is Sceptile's strongest STAB attack, and with a Life Orb it hits everything that doesn't resist it for heavy damage.
• Giga Drain allows Sceptile to gain back health lost from Life Orb recoil and hazard damage.
• Focus Blast covers Steel-types like Sivally-Steel and Klingklang, as Hidden Power Fire doesn't quite do the job. Also Mr. Guzz
• Earthquake provides coverage against the likes of Garbodor, Magmortar, and Toxicroak. Divide this a bit more, say its Poison and Fire types such as xyz
• Hidden Power Ice is an alternative option that hits Venusaur and other Grass-types for more damage than any other move, and also hits Altaria. Also Golbat, mention that it lets you have a good chance of 2hkoing after SR.

Set Details
========

• Life Orb boosts Sceptile's power without locking it into an undesirable move, but wears it down faster. Reword this, seems like you're implicitely talking about specs
• Overgrow is the optimal ability because Unburden has no use on this set; Overgrow can at least give Sceptile a clutch boost to its Grass-type moves. Cut mention of Unburden
• 252 Speed and Special Attack EVs allow Sceptile to hit hard and fast, while a Timid nature makes the best use of its amazing Speed tier. Split this into speed and SpA, or at least group better.

Usage Tips
========

• Spamming Leaf Storm if the opponent only has shaky switch-ins to it, like Whimsicott or weakened Incineroar, is a good way to pressure the enemy team in the early game.
• Leaf Storm is very strong but it does drop Sceptile's Special Attack by 2 stages. This can be detrimental against hard counters to Sceptile like Venusaur and Vileplume, which can easily take it proceed to gain a free turn off of Sceptile to use a status move or set up. Because of this, Sceptile's coverage moves are best used when you predict a switch.
• Sceptile's very high Speed tier allows it to outspeed almost everything in NU. Use this to Sceptile's advantage by pressuring frail offensive Pokemon like Heliolisk and Choice-locked Sneasel.
• Sceptile gets worn down very fast by repeated switch-ins to Spikes and Stealth Rock, so it's best to remove these before sending Sceptile out, unless you have to send it out.
• What to do when in overgrow

Team Options
========

• Entry hazard setters pair very well with Sceptile because they can wear down Pokemon like Venusaur and Sivally-Steel so that Sceptile can handle them easier over time. Mention this is also because Scept forces all kinds of switches.
• U-turn and Volt Switch users like Whimsicott and Rotom can bring Sceptile in safely so it can punch holes without taking a hit first.
• Entry hazard controllers like Cryogonal and Xatu pair well with Sceptile because they can either remove hazards or prevent them from going up at all, which makes Sceptile less susceptible to being worn down. Tbh, I'm not really sure Scept is all that vulnerable to being worn down, in fact its pretty ok with it, as it lets you spam them overgrow giga drains.
• Rock types such as Gigalith, Diancie, and Rhydon pair well with Sceptile because they can set Stealth Rock and check Fire-types at the same time.
• Fire-types like Delphox and Incineroar can gain free turns off Steel- and Grass-types like Venusaur and Sivally-Steel, which can be problematic if they tank Sceptile's Leaf Storm. Fire types such as Delphox and Incineroar can gain free turns off of the Steel- and Grass-types that Sceptile brings in such as Venusaur and Silvally-Steel
• Vanilluxe and Sneasel can, together with Sceptile, put a lot of pressure on Fire-types like Incineroar and Delphox, and they can also check Venusaur and Vileplume.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Acrobatics
move 4: Earthquake / Substitute / Rock Slide
item: Sitrus Berry
ability: Unburden
nature: Timid Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Swords Dance boosts Sceptile's Attack by 2 stages, preparing it for a sweep.
• Leaf Blade is the go-to Grass-type STAB move, packing decent power and a good critical hit chance.
• Acrobatics recieves a boost after Sitrus Berry has been consumed, and it's also good coverage against Grass-types.
• Earthquake rounds off the coverage by hitting Poison-types super effectively.

Write up the extra moves, Sub lets you manually proc Sitrus, while Rock Slide at least lets you pretend you can beat Golbat (deals 50-60 at +2)
Set Details
========

• Sitrus Berry gives Sceptile health back when it's weakened and also activates Unburden, making it the best item choice. Mention its probably the easiest unburden item to proc
• 252 Speed and Attack EVs maximize Sceptile's offensive presence, while a Timid nature gives Sceptile as much Speed as possible.
• Unburden is the ability of choice for this set because it doubles Sceptile's Speed after Sitrus Berry is used.

Usage Tips
========

• It's best to only use Sceptile's Unburden boost when you are either forced to, or when you're ready to sweep in the late-game. Popping Unburden early game can result in Sceptile not being able to OHKO what's in front of it and getting OHKOed instead.
• Make sure that Sceptile doesn't get inflicted with any status before it sweeps. Therefore, try to avoid switching into Scald from Slowbro and Slowking, and try not to get hit by Toxic Spikes.
• Sceptile can still pressure offensive threats with this set, as Leaf Blade still has respectable power without a Life Orb boost.

How do you guarantee setup? note what mons you can threaten out, etc.
Team Options
========

• Entry hazard setters aElre the best teammates Sceptile can have, as they can chip down enemy Pokemon into +2 Leaf Blade range. Rhydon and Gigalith both provide Stealth Rock, while Garbodor can offer Spikes and Toxic Spikes.
• Cryogonal, Golbat, and Xatu can control hazards on the field so that Sceptile isn't poisoned by Toxic Spikes and isn't unnecessarily chipped by Spikes and Stealth Rock damage. Again, unsure if this needs to be bullet point #2, but just mention that being at full means you can set up easier.
• U-turn and Volt Switch users like Incineroar and Vikavolt are good at chipping down defensive Pokemon so that Sceptile can clean easier in the late-game. Incineroar also checks Grass-types like Venusaur.
• Fast Ice-types like Choice Scarf Vanilluxe and Sneasel can take advantage of Sceptile's damage dealt if it fails to sweep by sweeping themselves in the late-game.

You gotta add in stuff that wears down Golbat, as Scept legit can't do jack nor shit if Golbat is healthy.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

• Choice Specs is usable, but it faces competition from Whimsicott and Sceptile hates being locked into Leaf Storm. Elaborate on this set more, its definitely one of Scept's best sets, just mention that being locked into leaf storm if they have a venu is annoying.

Special Unburden set

Checks and Counters
===================

**Poison-types**: Venusaur and Vileplume's typings make them the perfect Sceptile counter, taking very little from Leaf Storm and dealing heavy damage with Sludge Bomb in return. Golbat easily tanks Leaf Storm and uses the free turn Sceptile gives it to clear hazards with Defog. Note that the first two just die to the SD set.

**Faster Pokemon**: Choice Scarf users like Medicham and Passimian can easily OHKO Sceptile before it can attack, but Passimian only can with prior damage. Stoutland under sand easily OHKOes Sceptile with Return, but can't switch into Focus Blast or Leaf Storm. Medicham really ain't good enough with a scarf to get the first mention; replace it with something like Braviary.

**Priority**: Ice Shard from Sneasel and Fake Out + Bullet Punch from Medicham can KO Sceptile before it can retaliate, with little prior damage.

**Entry Hazards**: Sceptile is worn down very quickly between Life Orb recoil and hazard damage, putting it into the range of neutral attacks and priority moves that it would otherwise live, like Choice Band Sneasel's Ice Shard.

**Fire-types**: Fire-types like Magmortar and Incineroar can be problematic if Sceptile is -2, because Earthquake doesn't OHKO either from the Life Orb set and Focus Blast can't OHKO Incineroar when Sceptile is -2 from Leaf Storm.

QC 1/3

 

[Nuked]

Implemented, ready for 2/3

 

[Espeonage.]

i think a grassy seed sd set should be mentioned somewhere, either oo or set details in sd, w sd leaf blade acro eq. kinda similar to lucha in ou, obviously no auto-setters so it isnt as splashable, but there are a few decent setters, i paired it w jumpluff on ho bc its fast and u get memento, altho u could use like defensive venu bc that mons last isnt too important anyway. reasons to use it over sitrus sd are that leaf blade is super strong, most notable rolls are that u ohko miltank after rocks and passamian, which u cant do w/o gterrain, and the extra bulk is super useful to set up on a ton of physical attackers.

 

[poh]

• Its very high Speed stat sets it apart from other offensive Grass-types, as it can outspeed key targets like Heliolisk and Sneasel and hit them with its very strong STAB Leaf Storm.
• Its Speed stat and typing allow Sceptile to soft check threats such as Diancie, Heliolisk, Rhydon, and Slowbro.

• Merge these into one point or delete one of the 2.

It struggles against common Pokemon like Venusaur, Incineroar, and Sivally-Steel, which tank Sceptile's Leaf Storm and can tank its -2 coverage moves.

• Remove Venusaur and Incineroar and put Golbat and Vileplume. Remove the stuff about -2 coverage moves.
• Remove Venusaur mentions. It doesn't face as much competition atm.
• Make the set name All Out Attacker and slash Choice Specs.

Focus Blast covers Sivally-Steel, Klinklang, and Guzzlord, hitting all for massive damage thanks to Focus Blast's high Base Power.

• Focus Blast gives Sceptile good coverage hitting Steel-types like Silvally-Steel and Klinklang while also hitting Dark-types that resist its Grass-type moves like Guzzlord and Incineroar for supereffective damage.

Hidden Power Ice is an alternative option that hits Venusaur and other Grass-types for more damage than any other move, and also hits Altaria and Golbat, having a good chance of 2HKOing the latter after Stealth Rock.

• Remove Altaria, replace with Xatu and Scyther.
• Set Details: don't forget to mention Choice Specs.
• Usage Tips: Mention that Sceptile should be used as a revenge-killer and or cleaner. It can't switch into moves cause of its bad bulk.
• Team Options: mention that the rock and ice types also easen up the Golbat match-up, one of Sceptile's main checks.
• SD set should be:
  Sceptile @ Sitrus Berry
  Ability: Unburden
  EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
  Adamant Nature
  - Swords Dance
  - Leaf Blade
  - Acrobatics
  - Drain Punch (helps against steel types, mons weak to fighting and gives some kind of recovery) / Earthquake / Substitute
• Usage Tips: Mention that the SD set has trouble setting up due to Sceptiles bad bulk so make sure checks and counters are dealt with before settign up
• Grassy Seed should be in OO. Grassy Terrain user + Sceptile is a valid strategy as Grassy Terrain boosts Leaf Blade, activates the Grassy Seed -> Unburden. +1 def Sceptile can take hits from steelix and set up (Drain Punch is the best coverage move when using Grassy Seed)

QC 2/3

 

[Nuked]

dropping