Scrafty Physical Tank Set

BlueEyedSteelix

Steelix Bait
Member
SUP Pokebeach,

I've been looking into some of the new 5th generation Pokemon, and I came across Scrafty. It has pretty nice defenses and a lot of resistances, so I decided to put a set together. I want your thoughts on this.

Scrafty @ Leftovers
Shed Skin Ability
Impish Nature
-Toxic
-Crunch
-Drain Punch
-Bulk Up
EVs: 252 HP, 200 DEF, 52 SPEC. DEF, 4 SPD

Allow me to explain this set. I'll go down the list for consistency's sake.

Leftovers is an obvious decision for any wall. No explanation necessary.

Shed Skin is an AMAZING ability for this Pokemon. Being a Physical Tank, I want to have Scrafty in the battle setting up. The opponent will undoubtedly go for a status infliction with a wall or another tank. Having an ability like Shed Skin that will eventually get rid of the status for me is great for two reasons. First, it gets rid of the status... duh. Second, it further distracts the opponent to go for the same status again while I continue to set up, as I know it'll be gone within three turns. Shed Skin is one of Scrafty's huge abilities (literally).

Impish nature raises Defense and lowers Special Attack. 'nuff said.

The moves. I have Drain Punch and Crunch on this set for a number of reasons. First, they both get STAB, which is a great advantage for a Pokemon with no EVs in Attack. Second, they both have very good secondary effects (HP restoring and lowering defense). HP restoring is an extremely important entity to have on a tank Pokemon, which typically don't have the best recovery options. Apparently Drain Punch got a 15 point power buff from the 4th Generation, which makes it even more effective. Including STAB, Drain Punch's power is 112.5, which is pretty ridiculous if you ask me. Third, they work together very nicely, namely against Psychic-type Pokemon. Having both Fighting and Dark type moves means that I can hit anything relatively effectively, which is great for a tank to have. I have Toxic on Scrafty mainly for stalling out the opponent or messing with them. If they know I have Toxic and send out a Steel-type, I hammer them very hard with a STAB'd Drain Punch. If they send out a wall to try to force a switch, I can Toxic and hit them hard with the help of my final move, Bulk Up. This will help Scrafty become even bulkier while sweeping. A perfect move for Scrafty, honestly.

Next up, the EVs. I'm considering changing them up to focus more on Special Defense, but seeing as Scrafty is really meant to be a PHYSICAL tank, I think I'll keep it. Scrafty has naturally high Attack as-is, and coupled with Bulk Up, I see no need in taking away from his defenses for harder hits.

Again, please share your thoughts, as I think I've struck gold in this set. The only real issue I see would be Flying-type Pokemon (which with Pokemon like Braviary, will be popular in this Generation). However, my personal team is very Steel-type heavy, which actually works remarkably well in conjunction with this set.

Thank you. :)
 

Hot N' Spicy

.
Member
Hmm, this set is cool, but my suggestion is to change Brick Break to Drain Punch. Drain Punch is quite a bit better for stalling as it provides recovery, and still does a good amount of damage. This set is actually really good, especially if you have a few layers of hazards up. Nice job!
 

BlueEyedSteelix

Steelix Bait
Member
Hmm, this set is cool, but my suggestion is to change Brick Break to Drain Punch. Drain Punch is quite a bit better for stalling as it provides recovery, and still does a good amount of damage. This set is actually really good, especially if you have a few layers of hazards up. Nice job!
Thanks for the reply Hyperbeem!
First of all, thank you. I appreciate the kind words, as I really am excited about this set. Second, WOW, did Drain Punch get a power buff from the 4th Generation? Serebii (yes, I know, sorry ;) ) says that it has 75 power in the 5th Generation, and I know it had 60 in the 4th Gen... wow. In that case, I will definitely change Brick Break to Drain Punch. Thanks for mentioning it!
 

PDC

The PDC Show comes to an abrupt end...
Member
This set really can't function very well because of it's lack of HP. It can die very easy from overpowerful attacks. With the amount of Roobushin in the metagame at this point, your going to have a very hard time. Honestly I rather use the bulk up set over this. It can actually do damage after a boost or so. Sorry, but I see little use in this set.
 

Elk-Dimension

u elkcom hangl man
Member
Since Bulk Up boosts Defense, I prefer just maxing HP and Special Defense. Just have something ready for Roopushin. Or, you could run Chople Berry since Drain Punch restores your HP. Instead of Toxic, you could try Rest. With Shed Skin, you have a chance to just fully recover with no penalty. In the end, for a Bulk Up Zuruzukin, I would use:

Zuruzukin
Careful @ Chople Berry
252 HP/252 Spec. D/4 ATK
Rest
Bulk Up
Drain Punch
Crunch

Also, have something ready for the odd Heracross that tears this set apart.
 

BlueEyedSteelix

Steelix Bait
Member
This set really can't function very well because of it's lack of HP. It can die very easy from overpowerful attacks. With the amount of Roobushin in the metagame at this point, your going to have a very hard time. Honestly I rather use the bulk up set over this. It can actually do damage after a boost or so. Sorry, but I see little use in this set.
Thank you for pointing this out. To be completely honest, I never really considered the mediocre HP. I will still find ways to incorporate this Pokemon into my team. As long as I have one turn to set up, I can still see it being effective, even if it's not the most efficient wall I could use.
Since Bulk Up boosts Defense, I prefer just maxing HP and Special Defense. Just have something ready for Roopushin. Or, you could run Chople Berry since Drain Punch restores your HP. Instead of Toxic, you could try Rest. With Shed Skin, you have a chance to just fully recover with no penalty. In the end, for a Bulk Up Zuruzukin, I would use:

Zuruzukin
Careful @ Chople Berry
252 HP/252 Spec. D/4 ATK
Rest
Bulk Up
Drain Punch
Crunch
Not a bad idea replacing Toxic with Rest. A Chople Berry could come in handy too, and I was considering the Special Defense EVs as I mentioned. I do plan on having a direct counter to Roopushin on my team anyway if I plan on running this set.
Thanks a lot of the insight. I do appreciate it. :)
 

JacobeTheElf

Future Marine and hopeful Army Ranger
Member
Maybe move those 4 Spe EV's to SpD. Quite honestly, tanks usually don't need too much speed and Scrafty's Speed, well, sucks. 4 Speed EV's won't really make too much of a difference on him.
 

Elk-Dimension

u elkcom hangl man
Member
Worth noting is that many tanks (READ: NOT dedicated walls like Blissey) run a few extra Spe EVs to outrun others of the same Pokemon. Since Scrafty has weakness to itself, outrunning other Scrafty could make a difference (not that Scrafty is common anyway, but hey).
 

BlueEyedSteelix

Steelix Bait
Member
Worth noting is that many tanks (READ: NOT dedicated walls like Blissey) run a few extra Spe EVs to outrun others of the same Pokemon. Since Scrafty has weakness to itself, outrunning other Scrafty could make a difference (not that Scrafty is common anyway, but hey).
Very true, thank you for mentioning that. That honestly was the purpose of the 4 Speed EVs, although 4 is a small number.
 

JacobeTheElf

Future Marine and hopeful Army Ranger
Member
Yeah, but if your Scrafty is a Physical Tank, then can't it take a hit from another barely faster Scrafty? (this isn't sarcasm; I seriously want your opinion on this). Quite honestly, the only thing those 4 EV's will do will just be to outrun Scrafty. That's about it though. He has a pitiful base Speed of 58 (or 68, can't remember off the top of my head but 85% sure it is 58) and won't be outspeeding many pokes anyway. But those 4 SpD EV's could end up actually saving your Scrafty from getting KO'ed.
 

BlueEyedSteelix

Steelix Bait
Member
Yeah, but if your Scrafty is a Physical Tank, then can't it take a hit from another barely faster Scrafty? (this isn't sarcasm; I seriously want your opinion on this). Quite honestly, the only thing those 4 EV's will do will just be to outrun Scrafty. That's about it though. He has a pitiful base Speed of 58 (or 68, can't remember off the top of my head but 85% sure it is 58) and won't be outspeeding many pokes anyway. But those 4 SpD EV's could end up actually saving your Scrafty from getting KO'ed.
It definitely should, but the question is if I want to take that extra damage or not. I really don't think it matters either way in this situation, honestly. It will be a Physical tank meant to take hits, so it shouldn't have too much trouble with Scrafty.
It's speed is pretty horrendous, which is why I really never thought of doing anything with it.
 
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