What effect did Scizor/Mega Scizor have on the metagame?
Even through all of its time and occasional struggles with the metagame's direction at large, Scizor stood strong as a defining piece of the tier. Never always at the forefront of the metagame, but an absolutely crucial part of it regardless, being a huge part of many successful teams throughout the whole generation, and shaping much of the offensive landscape around it.
Scizor's main strength lies in its set versatility, that same versatility which has since allowed it to pick its spots and carve out its potent offensive niche as the metagame progressed. Between its extremely large pool of sets to choose from, ranging from defining options such as Choice Band, to the less oppressive but no-less formidable bulky Swords Dance set, Scizor has always enjoyed the ability to find its reliably way around its counters and onto more teams that have since appreciated both what it has done for the metagame and what has changed because of it. Its similarly great matchups against much of the offensive metagame warranting such high levels of usage that made it incredibly easy to fit in spite of the competition.
In what main roles were they used?
Scizor:
Scizor @
Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Superpower / Pursuit / Dual Wingbeat
Scizor's flagship set throughout most of the generation. Choice Band further inflated Scizor's monstrous Attack stat and once again, established it as one of the faces of the tier as soon as it arrived. An extremely threatening game-to-game presence that could effortlessly exert itself in a tier filled with other threatening presences, whether that would be shattering faster teams with a strong Bullet Punch that could easily revenge kill common offensive presences such as Mega Altaria and Weavile, or easily maintaining momentum for its team in response via a strong, difficult to punish STAB-boosted U-turn that would often go uncontested thanks to the threat of Knock Off. The power and simplicity offered by Scizor's U-turn with this set would always be such an overtly powerful weapon in the metagame, that most Pokemon threatened by Scizor would often have to pair up with a strong, contact-punishing teammate so as to avoid instantly being forced on the backfoot against the snowball effect easily facilitated by most of Scizor's teammates. The options to do this being significantly limited and exploitable as well, be it Buzzwole potentially being dropped by Dual Wingbeat, or Fire-types being crippled by Stealth Rock after a Knock Off. It was clear that no matter the matchup, this set was going to be incredibly consistent and reliable, always finding its way to win against the slew of great matchups offered to it in most games, and cementing the inevitability of Scizor's dominance for many years to come.
Scizor @
Buginium Z
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 88 Atk / 88 Def / 72 SpD / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Roost
Much of Scizor's presence would since then be shaped by the threat of the many attacking options at its disposal, but by switching over to a more defensive-inclined EV Spread and moveset, Scizor gained incredible longevity with this attacking route that allowed it to more easily stick around and leverage its excellent defensive qualities on account of an already useful defensive typing, superb bulk when invested, and naturally powerful Bullet Punches against most targets weak to it despite minimal investment. Playing both defensive and offensive roles at the same time, while also waiting for other offensive threats to be sufficiently worn down in the process, and eventually cornering the opponent for a late-game sweep with the combination of Swords Dance and Roost. Notably, Buginium Z stood out as the nail on the head for this set, allowing Scizor to bring in its hard-hitting teammates as usual on a forced switch via U-turn, but not before also threatening to blow past common checks with a brutally powerful Savage Spin-out in the mid-game that could feasibly destroy the opposing Amoonguss or Rotom-Wash, after a Swords Dance.
Being one of the more consistent checks to the terrifying Weavile at the time during its tenure in the tier, this as a whole, made Scizor's defensive niche more valuable than ever, and once again, added another layer to the amount of roles Scizor could be viably used for.
Scizor @
Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- Dual Wingbeat / Quick Attack
While still not as consistent and splashable as the other sets above, Scizor's Offensive Swords Dance set could still pose a massive threat to most teams, packing expansive coverage options for breaking defense, and being tremendously difficult to counter safely without a free switch, finding its way onto common hyper offense teams as a result for its favorable matchups against opposing offense. Dual Wingbeat was usually the main option in the last slot for its ability to break past common roadblocks in defensive Grass-types and Buzzwole, but Quick Attack was also used to provide a better matchup against most weakened offensive Pokemon such as Infernape that could otherwise survive a boosted Bullet Punch and retaliate.
Scizor @
Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 28 Atk / 232 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off
- Roost
A newer spin on the bulky Swords Dance variant, this variant eventually gained popularity after the bans of Mega Sableye and Weavile which had since lowered the need for a Z-Crystal to be run, allowing Scizor to begin experimenting with other options on its moveset. As it was soon discovered, heavy Special Defense investment alongside the excellent new item Heavy-Duty Boots to counteract common hazard stacking methods allowed Scizor to pose as a more effective check to the likes of Alakazam and Aegislash, both immensely dangerous threats that were tearing up the metagame at the time. While the bans had also opened up the opportunity for Scizor to run Knock Off instead, crippling usual checks such as Rotom-Wash and Moltres on the switch by ridding them of their item for its own sweep, making it a similarly valuable addition to most offense and bulky offense teams that required this important level of general role compression and offensive endgame potential.
Mega Scizor:
Scizor-Mega @
Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
Additionally, prior to its rise to OU, Mega Scizor would often utilize a 3 Attacks + Swords Dance set on DragMag/Sticky Web Hyper Offense teams that were popular during the early metagame, providing key utility against other offensive threats such as Latios and Mega Diancie, while also posing a significant threat to the likes of common defensive staples in Hippowdon, Mega Venusaur, and Empoleon thanks to its bulk effectively letting it trade or absorb crucial hits from most offensive and defensive Pokemon in a pinch to threaten a sweep or KO in return, dispatching of a huge roadblock to these teams, and being incredibly difficult to maneuver around as a result.
What caused them to have a significant impact?
Just off their stats and shared movepool alone, the set versatility and utility that both formes of Scizor brought to the table were utterly immense as a whole, combining the full might of an incredible breaker, sweeper, and pivot in the metagame that also packed good bulk and defensive typing to keep other threats in check allowed it to easily find its place on just about any type of team. Whether that would be offense, bulky offense, balance, stall; you name it, almost nothing could be safe to challenge the effects offset by its presence, being able to perform the role with ease like Scizor could was what kept this powerful bug on the top of the UU world, easily defining what would be made better or worse in the metagame, and making it an absolute menace to face even with a dedicated answer, hence being deserving of its ranking.
How did you deal with this Pokemon in ND UU?
Being such an essential piece of the tier for the longest time, not all would be roses for Scizor's swarm of fury. As NatDex UU's large pool of offensive and defensive checks were each present and often prominent enough to give Scizor a seriously tough time the way things were.
The list includes Skarmory, arguably its most reliable defensive answer in the tier given its massive Defense stat, ability to stay healthy with Roost, and access to with Whirlwind and Iron Defense to mess with Scizor's sweeping attempts. Buzzwole, Moltres, Rocky Helmet Amoonguss, Rotom-Wash, Tangrowth, Mega Sableye, Rotom-Heat, Mega Aggron, Mega Steelix, and even lesser known options such as Cobalion and Mandibuzz, all of which packed the bulk and resistances needed to take most of Scizor's attacks in a pinch and threaten it out or cripple it with status in return. Nevertheless, Scizor still had its fair share of options to get around these answers, making preparing for its versatility a massive pain overall.
However, on the offensive side, things were more apparent, enough to the degree that Scizor's powerful Bullet Punches and even Quick Attacks couldn't always make up for these comparatively underwhelming matchups in practice. Faster threats that resisted Bullet Punch were also everywhere, and this included various options such as Victini, Thunder Wave Melmetal, Urshifu-RS, Mega Manectric, and Analytic Starmie, limiting the progress that Scizor could make against more offensive teams. Furthermore, bulkier Scizor variants could often be hard-pressed into using Roost or Swords Dance in order to continuously check the Pokemon it would be tasked with switching into, opening up additional opportunities for these dangerous attackers to hit the field and force Scizor out.