Bliss, Pokémon ROSA, Strat – Millenium

Bliss Guide – Pokémon #625

Find our guide for scalprey, Pokemon #625 5th generation (5G) in VGC. Movesets, stats, weaknesses, resistancesdiscover all the useful information and our advice for Pokémon ROSA.

	Scalprey – No. 625
	Kind : Steel / Darkness			Base stats
	Talent: Beware / Attention			PV	65
	Hidden talent: Pressure			ATK	125
	Weight : 70 kg, or 154.3 pounds			DEF	100
	Size : 1.6 m, or 5.2 feet			ATK. SP	60
	Egg group: Humanoid			DEF SP.	70
	Not before hatching: 5355			LIVE.	70

Rather discreet last year, Scalprey is back in the spotlight in 2015. With an extraordinary double STAB and a huge movepool, Scalprey is one of the biggest threats in the metagame.

Scalprey’s first argument is his Relentless talent which allows him to perfectly counter the Intimidations which are hanging around (Demeteros-T and Drattak and top of the list).

The dual STAB Steel/Darkness provides excellent neutral coverage to Blight, with few common threats in the metagame able to resist it.

With an Attack BS of 125, only Burn can truly neutralize it. Its Speed ​​BS of 70 is enough to outpace matchups like Sylveon or Rotom-L.

And to top it all off, the guy even allows himself to be the best counter in the metagame to Cresselia and Exagide.

However, its crippling weaknesses and fragility make it a Pokémon that must make a difference quickly in combat: with Scalprey it’s make or break, you have to create openings for it thanks to the team’s supports using redirections (Over Here, Fury Powder) and speed control (Lightning Cage, Tailwind). Scalprey is a good Pokémon at all levels of play because it requires mind game, at high it will always be surprising while for beginners it greatly introduces anticipation.

Scalprey answers a large part of the metagame: a powerful Dark STAB to punish Distortion setters, an easy OHKO on Sylveon and above all, a perfect counter to Intimidate.

Thanks to him, winning the mind game in the first round is often synonymous with victory.

Options:

The Force Belt version is the most accessible due to its fragility, it is recommended for beginner players and remains frequently played at high levels. On the other hand, the Life Orber set requires much more anticipation, but the damage boost really makes a difference. In more extreme cases, the Choice Band offers the OHKO on Exagide in particular.

Prine Bay is a possible choice but its usefulness is much more situational, in which case a partner with Taunt becomes less interesting.

Insurance is an infrequent move but one not to be forgotten because coupled with a priority attack, it is difficult to resist.

Prevention is an interesting option, however do not use it to prevent Bluffs since almost all bluffers are faster than Scalprey, Prevention and Bluff both having a priority of +2, Bluff will always come first.

You can also opt for more original offensive slots: Rock Blade, Facade, Pursuit…
The Rigid nature is much more profitable than the Jovial nature, the latter only allows it to exceed the BS 80 neutral natures who rarely invest enough to exceed the BS 70 + natures.

Partners:

Any physical hitter is a good partner for Scalprey, their influence in Team Preview is so great that few players will dare to take the risk of boosting the opposing Scalprey at the start of the fight. Mega Kangaroo is an excellent partner for Scalprey, with Intimidate often being beneficial to the duo given the opening Mega Kangaroo can create with Bluff.

Scalprey’s number 1 support is Cresselia, with the support of Glacial Wind it can outspeed a very large part of the metagame. Helping Hand also allows to ensure KOs without going through the Life Orb.

Fulguris gives Scalproie good openings thanks to Provoc which guarantees successful Low Blows and thanks to Cage-Eclair’s speed control.

Gaulet and Scalproie form an excellent duo, difficult to place in lead it can leave room for Scalproie thanks to Poudre Fureur, the Casque Brut also allows to punish the Sweeps of Mega-Kangourex. This duo being very sensitive to Fire and Flambusard and not having access to Garde Large, Démétéros-T or Tarpaud can complete a very good core. Moreover Scalproie integrates very well into Rain Teams, which often struggle on the physical level.

Terrakion handles several omnipresent threats like Mega Kangaroo, Mega Charizard, and Heatran very well.

Overall, Scalproie fits into all the teams that already manage speed control.

Counters and Checks:

Mega Kangaroo can easily take care of Bisharp with Sweep, as can Terrakion with Two Kicks (it was the advent of Bisharp that made Two Kicks more popular on Terrakion). It should be remembered that Jolly Mega Kangaroo only has a 75% chance to OHKO Bisharp with Boost Punch, even if this move is becoming increasingly rare. If you play Bisharp to respond to Sylveon, be wary of Tailwinds and Redirects because Sylveon can very easily OHKO Bisharp (56.3% chance to OHKO without boost, 100% with any boost). Betochef is a very good check and can easily OHKO Bisharp. Fast versions of Rotom-L will very often try Will-o’-the-Wisp, but it remains an extremely obvious choice.

Although it is rarer, Mega Venusaur is also one of the best checks to Blight (the mega gem blocking the power boost from Sabotage).

Calculations:

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 148-174 (65.1 – 76.6%) — guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Shield: 164-195 (98.2 – 116.7%) — 81.3% chance to OHKO

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Landorus-T: 156-185 (94.5 – 112.1%) — 68.8% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Bisharp Iron Head vs. 92 HP / 124 Def Sylveon: 174-206 (95.6 – 113.1%) — 75% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Bisharp: 152-182 (107.8 – 129%) — guaranteed OHKO
-1,252 Atk Terrakion Double Kick (2 hits) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Bisharp: 144-176 (102.1 – 124.8%) — guaranteed OHKO

252+ SpA Choice Specs Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Bisharp: 145-172 (102.8 – 121.9%) — guaranteed OHKO

252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Power-Up Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Bisharp: 132-162 (93.6 – 114.8%) — 75% chance to OHKO

With less than 0.1% usage on Scalprey in ranked fights, Choice Scarf allows Scalprey to surprise and quickly make a significant hole in the opposing team. Its placement in lead is almost mandatory against a team with speed control, what a waste to send a Scalprey Scarf against a Tailwind. Choice Scarf gives it the possibility to get rid of Mega Gengar, Mega Charizard Y or Terrakion without being worried.

Options:

The Jovial nature can be considered in order to outspeed the BS 120-130 with nature + (Mega-Drattak, Amphinobi, Flambusard, Mega-Ectoplasma…), in this case pay attention to the drop in damage which can cause you to lose important KOs.

If Charizard and Fulguris worry you then Rock Blade is a good solution, it also has the advantage of not being blocked by Wide Guard which is often used to protect them (beware of the 20% miss).

Low Blow may seem ridiculous but priority can guarantee victory late in the fight. If you already cover Rock weaknesses then don’t hesitate.

Partners:

Just like the classic set, Scarfer pairs wonderfully well with Cresselia which gives it OHKOs thanks to Helping Hand, with Amoonguss thanks to Fury Powder (nice Charizard trap in perspective with Rock Blade) and with Terrakion thanks to its Speed ​​and offensive coverage.

Counters and Checks:

Hydreigon Scarf and Greninja will easily defeat Blight. With his Choice Scarf, Landorus-T can OHKO Blight very easily with Overpower or Earthquake, but this is rare because the risk is too great against a possible Power Belt. Betochef remains a good solution to counter it: with Mach Punch’s priority, the Choice Scarf will have been useless.

Calculations:

252+ Atk Bisharp Helping Hand Low Kick (100 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Kangaskhan: 182-216 (100.5 – 119.3%) — guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Bisharp Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Thundurus: 160-190 (103.8 – 123.3%) — guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Bisharp Rock Tomb vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mega Charizard Y: 180-212 (117.6 – 138.5%) — guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Bisharp Iron Head vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Terrakion: 162-192 (97 – 114.9%) — 81.3% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Greninja Hydro Pump vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Bisharp: 140-165 (99.2 – 117%) — 93.8% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Hydreigon Fire Blast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Bisharp: 164-194 (116.3 – 137.5%) — guaranteed OHKO

Scalprey in action

Scalprey Guide with Bean

In competition

Scalproie is a Top Tier this year (Top 5 in Ranked), we see him in many teams that have had good results: Aaron Zheng (winner of the APEX), Karl Concepcion (winner of the Virginia Regional) or Aaron Traylor (winner of the Missouri Regional).