Pokemon of the Week 10/17/11 Scrafty

Recall last week when I revealed we'll be looking at Supporter Ev training? To my surprise, Scrafty is a Wall combined with sweet Sweeper capabilities. During my Let's Play of Pokemon Black which can be found on www.whatZinsidemyhead.com, I never encountered the true terror of this Poke. The main game programs NPCs (Non-Playable Characters) to have annoying confusion sets with Scrafty, however this week I'll be showing you how to boost moves and stats for the optimal Scrafty in Meta game.

Ability: Moxie
Type: Fighting/ Dark
Weakness: Flying/ Fighting
Nature: Careful (+Sp.Def -Sp.Atk)
Base Stats:
Hp-65
Atk-90
Def-115
Sp.Atk-45
Sp.Def-115
Spd-58

Ev Spread: (510)
Hp-14
Atk-248
Def-124
Sp.Atk-0
Sp.Def-124
Spd-0

Moveset Suggestion:
-Brick Break
-Crunch
-Rock Slide
-Bulk Up
Additional Valuable Moves: Poison Jab/ Stone Edge/ Dragon Claw/ Dragon Tail

Moveset Sidenotes:
Last week we covered a pure Wall. This week we witness how a Wall can also be your best offensive strategy. The two factors making this sweeping set possible is the ability Moxie and the move Bulk Up. Moxie heightens attack by one stage when an opponent is knocked out. The more terror caused, contributes greatly to Scrafty's overall affect. Bulk Up builds your Wall's defense and physical attack by one stage each time you enact it. Deffensivley after a few Bulk Ups, Scrafty will be impenitrable. Be mindful of Special Attacks from flying type Pokemon; Bulk Up only raises Defense not Special. After properly Ev Training however, you'll witness your Poke's grand defensive capabilities in both Defense and Special Defense, giving you wiggle room to exterminate the frustrating Flying Types like Togekiss in curt time.

Being partially dark type gives Scrafty a huge advantage of completely resisting Psychic types. Use this factor to your advantage by setting up unexpected switches via Volt Switch or U-Turn, when you're certain a Psychic move will be launched. When Scrafty appears, your opponent will most likely repeal their Psychic Poke, giving you time to set up Bulk Up safetly. Investing Effort Value Points into attack frees you from fixating on Bulk Up. Don't let it be a deversion, giving your opponent time to set up stat boosting moves and arena traps. Keep in mind, with the Moxie ability enabled, opponents can be swept in a snap. Judge the battle wisely; if it calls for boosted defense, spam Bulk Up, if not, enjoy Moxie increasing attack power after every victorious smack down.

Scrafty sweeps with a blanced move pool. Include a Fighting and Dark Type move to take advantage of its dual type S.T.A.B. (Same Type Attack Bonus). I recommend attaching a Wide Lens to your Poke in order to boost accuracy. Rock Slide or Stone Edge will handle Flying types with ease. As for Fighting types, be sure to Bulk Up before facing them. Fighting vs. Scrafty is all about pure power ergo Bulk Up is crucial and I urge you to keep Scrafty off the field until the threat is eliminated either by one of your other team members, or until you have a stat boost from earlier in the match for Scrafty.

Conclusion:
Although not the Supporter I supposed it was, Scrafty makes a dire Sweeper. Bulk Up plus Moxie create a defensive and offensive monster. The power of this Poke could be seen as unfair, but I'll leave it to your judgement whether or not you'll torment opponents with unstoppable power. Next week we'll be assuredly looking at Supporters, not surprise Sweepers such as Scrafty.