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| Pokemon Ruby Version Pokemon of the Day: Scyther (#123) |
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| Pokemon have taken a new evolution with Pokemon:
Ruby/Sapphire Versions. The Pokemon of the Day Chick has helpfully
shifted her attentions to Ruby and Sapphire, so you can rest assured that
she has your trainer's corner covered.
As before, the Pokemon Chick will be taking a personal and detailed look at a Pokemon. You'll find a list of all the moves you will want, and a choice list of recommended moves you want to keep for your prize pet. You'll also find breeding chains, Pokedex entries, stats, descriptions, locations, resistances, gameplay tips and a suggested move set for those of you who can't seem to make up their mind about what to saddle their Pokemon with! ===============================INTRODUCTION============================== Today's Pokemon is Scyther! Be honest, who DOESN'T love Scyther? He may have a lot of painfully common weaknesses and yet be so popular it's sickening but, gosh darnit, how can you not love a neon green insect that's nearly five feet tall and has gigantic scimitars for arms? As long as it's on YOUR side, that is; I'll take on an Uzi-wielding maniac over this thing any day. Of course, you have to assume a Pokemon this cool is no picnic to catch...why is he only available in situations where you have to use those stupid event balls? Everyone knows Safari Balls and Park Balls suck! Gimme a Scyther on an ordinary route and I'll Ultra Ball that sucker right into my pants! Okay, okay, so they actually go on your belt...close enough to pants for me. I'll bet my editor is enjoying all this talk of pants and balls, which is why I do it. *COUGH* Damn, this is a long intro...so uh...my advice would be to just
save your money and buy a Scyther in Celadon City if you're playing Red
or Yellow; you won't have to sacrifice nearly as much sanity. Anyway, let's
just get on with the main analysis before my mouth (figuratively speaking...or
do I actually type with my mouth?) digs me into an even deeper pit...
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| NAME: Scyther
TYPE: Mantis (Bug/Flying) HEIGHT: 4'11 WEIGHT: 123 lbs. |
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EVOLUTION: evolves into Scizor when traded to another Pokemon cartridge while holding the Metal Coat item CHARACTERISTIC(S): Swarm (when this Pokemon's HP sinks below 1/3 of the max, the power of its Bug type attacks increases by 50%) AVAILABILITY: Red, Yellow, Gold, Silver, Crystal LOCATION: If you're playing Pokemon Blue and have no one to trade with then you're outta luck; Scyther doesn't appear in your version of the game. Red and Yellow owners, on the other hand, have a choice of either hunting for Scyther in the Safari Zone or purchasing one at the Celadon City coin exchange. Those of you playing GSC will find Scyther in the National Park (just north of Goldenrod City) during the Bug Catching Contest, where he is not only a great roster addition but also a practically guaranteed win. ============================MOVES & MACHINES============================= |
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Learned Moves: |
Compatible TMs: |
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| RBY
Quick Attack - Basic
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RBY
TM03 - Swords Dance
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| GSC
Quick Attack - Basic
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GSC
TM02 - Headbutt
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| RuSa
Quick Attack - Basic
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RuSa
TM06 - Toxic
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Hereditary Moves: |
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Baton Pass: Breed a female Scyther with a male Ledyba/Ledian. Counter: Breed with a male Heracross. Endure: Breed with a male Heracross. Light Screen: Breed with a male Ledyba/Ledian. Razor Wind: Teach R/B/Y TM02 (Razor Wind) to Butterfree or Venomoth. Transfer to G/S and, if male, breed with a female Scyther/Scizor. In RuSa...uh...Nuzleaf and Absol are the only Pokemon that learn Razor Wind naturally yet neither of them can get the move to Scyther through breeding. Guess this is one of those GSC only things...and hey, even if it isn't, it's not like anyone in their right mind would use Razor Wind in the first place. Reversal: Breed with a male Heracross. Safeguard: Breed with a male Butterfree, Ledyba/Ledian or Shuckle. Silver Wind: Breed with a male Butterfree, Venomoth, Masquerain or Beautifly. ==============================BATTLE SHEET=============================== Max stats at Level 100
Suggested moveset Held Item: Lum Berry
Agility
Does anyone else feel the sudden revolting yet strangely beguiling urge to kiss Heracross right about now? I'm not the biggest fan of the thing, but if it wasn't for him our Scyther wouldn't kick nearly as much ass as he in fact does. Counter! Endure! Reversal! Such a wealth of awesome moves Heracross has the power to bestow upon our humble Scyther! Okay, so he's being kinda selfish with the whole Megahorn thing, but since Scyther doesn't have any horns I guess that's a pretty weak argument. Ahem. Anyway, Scyther finds himself in possession of some pretty wicked stats and the ability to learn a whole slew of moves that can make the most use of them...and all this from an unevolved Pokemon! To heck with Scizor, I say; Scyther didn't need your help to kick ass in RBY and he doesn't need it now! Maybe if you got rid of the stupid lobster claws and readopted the swords you'd be cooler. It's been a long time since I've analyzed a moveset that melded together so fluidly, thus I'm having trouble trying to figure out how to chop it up into separate paragraphs for each move. Y'all won't think I'm cheap if I just wax philosophical about the whole mess (paragraph structure be damned), will ya? The great thing about this is that this is MY column, so I can just go ahead and do it anyway without waiting for an answer, bwahahahahaa. Yeah, so I've always found the Agility/Endure/Reversal combo most intriguing, yet you don't see it very often because the vast majority of Pokemon out there either don't learn all of the requisite moves or else can't use them effectively (usually due to stats). Being the awesome hunk of awesomeness that he is, Scyther is one of the VERY few that *can*. His stats are laid out perfectly for this combo (where Attack and Speed are paramount), and the fact that defenses aren't too much of an issue in such a set makes the fact that Scyther IS unevolved largely forgivable. For those who need a refresher course, the concept of the Agility/Endure/Reversal combo is to ensure your Pokemon has the initiative in battle with Agility (since once they're at 1HP, ANY preemptive strike will take 'em out), use Endure to get them to 1HP without dying and then unleash much delightful carnage with Reversal's phenomenal 200 base power (when the user is in fact at 1HP, natch). I prefer this combo to the similar Agility/Endure/Flail combo simply because the Fighting type move Reversal actually has an advantage against several types, unlike Normal type moves. Now, the beauty thing about Scyther is that he also learns Swords Dance...who cares if you're not going to completely load him down with physical attacks, right? The way I see it, the Agility/Endure/Reversal combo is all well and good...until you run into something Reversal can't kill in one hit and it takes Scyther's last hit point on the rebound (before he has another chance to use Endure). Swords Dance should help out with this immensely; even ONE Swords Dance will take Scyther's Attack over 600...you won't find many Pokemon that can survive a 200 base power coming from a 600+ Attack regardless of stats (and it certainly doesn't hurt than two of the greatest physically-defending types in the game, Rock and Steel, are weak to Fighting type moves). Plus you just can't tell me you aren't going to put Swords Dance on a Pokemon that has swords for limbs; that's communist talk. Use Swords Dance early (preferably when you have a chance to bring Scyther in against something that can't really hurt it and your opponent isn't doing much damage, whether it's because they're busy switching out or because the attacks they're using just suck) and Scyther should be sittin' pretty when it comes time to bust out the Reversals. I like Lum Berry on Scyther because he absolutely cannot afford to be paralyzed, confused, poisoned or even burnt (freeze and sleep ALWAYS suck; I'm just thinking about status afflictions that will screw over this one strategy in particular) when utilizing a moveset that depends on Speed and the ability to ride that 1HP line between life and death above all else. He doesn't really need Quick Claw even WITHOUT Agility (he's that fast, people), Leftovers are kinda pointless since you WANT Scyther's HP to be as low as possible in this instance, and Bright Powder isn't advisable since you'll be depending on opponents to hit you so you can time your Endure and Reversal correctly (though I guess Focus Band, which I often use interchangeably with Bright Powder, could help in a pinch if you really suck at timing that initial Endure). Scyther's characteristic in this case is useless as I've opted out of giving him any Bug type attacks, though he does finally learn a good one... ...and that is of course Fury Cutter! Man, and here I was wasting my TM49 on Scyther (because you know there are just SO MANY other Pokemon who can use that move effectively) in GSC when I coulda just waited for RuSa and watched him learn it naturally! All these other RBYGSC Pokemon are learning cool new moves in RuSa to supplement their level moves section (read: make it seem not quite as dated), but Scyther has 'em all beat with his mighty Fury Cutter!! *sarcasm meter explodes* Okay, so I was actually talking about Silver Wind. Scyther sorta got hosed in the new moves department, but I don't really care since the "old" moves he can learn through breeding are so incredibly useful and plentiful. The one new move he DOES learn that's worth anything is Silver Wind, and Scyther is one of the very few Bugs who can use it effectively thanks to that mammoth Attack. If my Scyther isn't your cup of tea (he does tend to have a problem with Ghosts and annoyers, after all), you can go all-out on the offensive with the STABed Silver Wind and Wing Attack/Aerial Ace, as well as brother Scizor's beloved Steel Wing (a decent last resort against Rock types at least, if you're not going with Reversal). Those trainers playing RBYGSC can go back to RBY for the amazing Double-Edge TM, and if you're still actively battling in RBY you might consider Slash for its ridiculously high Critical Hit ratio. Counter is another great choice; with his average Defense and HP Scyther can expect to survive most physical hits yet take enough damage from them to make Counter worthwhile. His ability to inherit Light Screen and Safeguard makes Scyther one heckuva pseudo-passer, though those in a passive mood will likely prefer to skip the middleman and go right for Baton Pass. Scyther has been revered as a Baton Passer as a result of his learning both Swords Dance and Agility naturally, and if you don't feel like utilizing these moves on Scyther himself it might behoove you to look into getting them to the REST of your party (provided you are confident in your ability to dispatch your opponent's Hazer early on, that is). You can try for a Double Teaming Scyther (made popular by the Pokemon anime...go figure), but I personally don't feel he has the defenses to adequately set it up (though you can try and boost Scyther's survivability somewhat with the ever-popular Rest and Substitute). Finally, though you'd never use it in a trainer battle, False Swipe makes Scyther an excellent in-game catcher Pokemon...his high Speed and Attack should allow him to bring your target Pokemon directly to 1HP with no hassle. ...does anyone else find it weird that Scyther has seven *really awesome* hereditary moves and one *really horrible* one? Not that that has anything to do with anything; it just stuck out in my mind since most of the Pokemon I review inherit a few moderately decent moves and a few moderately nondescript ones. Aaaaaand...there's Scyther for ya, folks. I really love this thing, lemme tell ya; his type weaknesses and defenses are pretty lame but he's fortunate enough to learn several moves that can completely disregard that fact, leaving us free to bask in the knowledge that we are in command of an enormous scaly bug that can decapitate people at will. My advice would be to dump Scizor and give Scyther a whirl; in this instance evolution does not a great Pokemon make (and the stat rearrangement sucks...if you want something with awesome Attack and Defense yet no Speed or Special Defense I say train a Sandslash). Scyther is old-school cool and no one can take that away from him, so what are you waiting for? With the ability to be darn near anything save an outright annoyer, surely Scyther can find a role to fill on ANY team! Plus he has swords for arms...I like swords. (Welcome to Corneria!) Alrighty people, I'm out for the long weekend. You can use Labor Day to better familiarize yourself with this intensely intimidating airborne insect, and I'll see y'all on Tuesday with the start of another new week of Pokemon of the Day!
Questions? Comments? Want to argue with the Pokemon of the Day Chick? Please e-mail your inquiries pokemonofthedaychick@ign.com, or drop me a line if you just wanna say hello! I'm always up for a heated Pokemon chat. As always, come visit everyone on IGN's free Pokémon Board. See you there! |
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