Community POTW #007

[Serebii]

Time for the next Pokémon of the Week and we have a great Unova Pokémon, which we didn't get a chance to cover last generation

It's Scrafty. This Dark/Fighting-type Pokémon carved its own niche in Gen V and is still capable of a lot in Gen VI, despite gaining a 4* weakness to Fairy-type

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-xy/560.shtml

Go nuts

 

[jr0904]

Oh Scrafty. how you have fallen. once a decent UU , have really gone straight to hell and a handbasket thanks to the 4X weakness to fairy type moves. and considering a lot of fairies are in UU and NU , i wont be surprised it goes to the level of RU. if its one Pokemon that should stick to Gen 5 competition wise , this along with Hydreigon are primary candidates of the " DO NOT TRANSFER TO GEN 6 " Category if you have them on your gen 5 games.

Either way the traditional Choice Set.

Nature: Adamant / Jolly
EV Set up: 252 Atk / 252 Spd

Moves

Head Smash
Hi Jump Kick / Drain Punch
Iron Head
Crunch

Items: Choice Band / Choice Scarf

Its kinda one dimensional for Gen 6. Head Smash to deal with Flying Types , Hi Jump Kick or Drain Punch for get the Same Type Attack Bonus ( STAB ) Though each move varies. HJK for all out power at the risk of severe recoil if it misses , and Drain Punch for Health Recovery and a safer alternative if you dont want to risk the recoil. Iron Head to deal with slow fairy type Pokemon and Crunch for STAB and to deal with Psychic and Ghost Types. The Item also varies and depending on the Nature of Choice. Choice Band for all out Power as well as if your running a jolly nature, and Choice Scarf if you want outrun some flying types as well if you have an adamant nature.

 

[Mestorn]

Scrafty, one of the many fighting types introduced in the previous Generation. While being slightly bulky, it can be a considerable offensive presence.

Typing: In the previous generation Dark-Fighting was a combo that complimented each other well. The combination neutralized or negated many of Fighting and Dark types individual weaknesses, leaving the skin scarf with 2 weaknesses, three resistances (one being quadruple), and one immunity. Then the fairy type comes along… and both Fighting and Dark are weak to it. Dear Arceus, Scrafty did not need a quadruple weakness. On the bright side, Scrafty still has a bit going for it. Pseudo Immunity to Pursuit, and a resistance to Stealth Rock gives Scrafty plenty of freedom when it comes to switching.
When it comes to STABs, Scrafty has a fairly good combo. While pure fairy is the only monotype that utterly blocks its STABs, the theme of Dark and Fighting complimenting each other rings true here, making Scrafty a fantastic threat with Fighting moves and covering things that would wall it with STAB Dark moves.

Stats: Scrafty is a very mixed bag when it comes to its stats. Both of its defenses sit at a fantastic Base 115, but its HP is a subpar 65. Its ATK is a respectable base 90, its SATK is negligible but sits at an odd Base 58 SPD. This almost makes Scrafty too fast for Trick Room, and too slow for regular play. Scrafty does have a way to patch its speed for regular play but won’t win any speed awards. Passible in bulkiness and offense describes the problem with Scrafty; it doesn’t truly excel at anything.

Moves: As befitting a fighting pokemon, Scrafty has a vibrant physical move pool. With Fighting STABs such as Hi-Jump Kick, and Drain Punch, plus Dark Stabs like Crunch and Payback are just the tip of the iceberg. Supplement these with the Elemental Punches, Fake Out(!), Poison Jab, Stone Edge, Dragon Tail, Facade and Dragon Claw and you have a fairly unpredictable Pokemon on your hands. It can further boost its offenses with Powerup Punch, Bulk Up and Dragon Dance. One the support route Scrafty’s is a bit more barren, only possessing weather inducing moves, Substitute, Taunt, and Toxic. In terms of gimmicky moves, Scrafty does possess the overwhelming Head Smash and Counter. If you take moves from the previous generation, the Knock Off and the rare Super Fang are added to the list. In my opinion Scrafty would love pursuit (STAB and all) so how come last week’s tub of lard got it instead?

Ability: Ok, it is not uncommon for a pokemon to have one good ability. Two good abilities is a rarity. But Scrafty runs away with three good abilities. What gives? Shed Skin is a fantastic, yet unreliable method of removing status from the hoodlum pokemon, most importantly giving Scrafty a protection against debilitating burns. Moxie is up next, and while Scrafty’s attack isn’t initially overwhelming, its coverage and capability to boost itself means it can chain up a few moxie boosts. Intimidate is Scrafty’s dream world ability and makes Scrafty even more bulky; many walls dream of intimidate and Scrafty has it.

The Verdict: I used to be the king of the ‘hood, but then I took a fairy to the knee. Scrafty is a versatile pokemon and more than capable of forcing switches with its moveset. Its stats give it some leeway in what to specialize in; offense, defense and speed are all considerable options. Unfortunately all it takes is one fairy to end the punks reign of terror.

 

[ajgrocks100]

Scrafty. If only you had your POTW in 5th gen.

With Fairys in existence, dark types are now basically given the finger, as they now have another stupid weakness. And while this works fine for fighting in terms of balance, I really don't know why DARK of all types needed a nerf.

back to Scrafty

This set worked awesomely in 5th gen, but it may not do as well now.
Street Boyz
Adamant, 252HP/Atk, 4Df
Shed Skin.
-Drain Punch
-Crunch/Ice-Punch/Poison Jab
-Amnesia
-Bulk Up
This set is and always will be terrified of fairies. HAVE POISON/STEEL SUPPORT FOR THIS GUY: HE NEEDS IT. That out of the way,
this set was awesome in fifth gen once phazers were killed. Bulk Up and Amnesia boost both defenses, allowing a very tanky poke. Add shed skin,
and your 50% immune to status, a nice touch. However with faires introduced, this set is nerfed to hell and back. It will need almost twice the support it needed before.
Drain Punch/Crunch had almost perfect coverage, so there was no need for other options. But now there are. So it is… viable, i guess, to run ice punch (cus most varies are neutral to it, and have bad defense anyway) or poison jab.
Pokemon Showdown Replay:http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/oubeta-68407402 (Im Mona Pizza 2.0)

Pants on da ground.
Jolly, 252 Spd/Atk 4HP
Moxie/Shed Skin, Lum/Lefties/Life Orb?
-Hi Jump Kick
-Poison Jab/Ice Punch
-Crunch
-Dragon Dance
Lookin Liek a Fewl'. Scrafty has BAD speed, so it will take 2 dances to outspeed anything. Also, with great natural bulk, scrafty takes many hits before
going down. just be prepared for that talonflame to "bravely" ruin your sucsess.

 

[ajgrocks100]

The Verdict: I used to be the king of the ‘hood, but then I took a fairy to the knee.

Aw damn, I was trying to think something like that up….

 

[csraito]

One of my favourite Gen V Pokemon!!! Dat Badass Hoodlum Mohawk Lizard is boss!!!

Mawhawk
Life Orb/Jolly/Moxie
252 Atk/252 Speed/ 4 HP

Dragon Dance
Crunch
Hi Jump Kick
Ice Punch/Fire Punch/Poison Jab

Scrafty has a niche for being a Fighting type Dragon Dancer. +1 High Jump Kick hits hard. Crunch+High Jump Kick is perfect STAB coverage only resisted by Fairies, adding Poison Jab so you can deal with them. You can actually replace HJK for Draining Punch if you want to but that limits sweeping potential.

What if we used Assault Vest on him? He becomes a decent mixed tank!!!

Scrafty
Assault Vest
Intimidate/Shed Skin
Adamant 252 HP/252 Atk/ 4 Def

Drain Punch
Power Up Punch/Poison Jab
Crunch/Payback
Fake Out

Fake out scouts foes item. Crunch +Drain Punch for STAB. Drain Punch also heals which is good for *** Vest users. Power-Up Punch to boost and Poison Jab for fairies. Intimidate for better defense while Shed Skin for Status healing (if you really hate status).

 

[twcopal]

Similar to ajdrocks100 set

Root Puncher
- Payback
- Drain Punch
- Bulk Up
- Amnesia
Item Attached: Big Root
Ability: Shed Skin
EVs and Nature
Sassy (+SP DEF, -SPEED)/ Relaxed (+DEF, -SPEED)
252HP 86ATK 140DEF 32SP DEF/ 252HP 86ATK 32DEF 140SPDEF
Bulk Up and Amnesia to "Bulk up" your Defenses (no pun intended). Payback to cover Ghost type Pokémon. The key however is the Drain Punch backed up by Big Root, which does a good chunk of damage, and gets Scrafty a good amount of HP back. After a two Bulk Ups and an Amnesia Scrafty becomes very powerful, with 334 HP, 474 ATK, 602 DEF, and 602 SPDEF. Now factor in the Bulk Up boosted attack with Drain Punch, you're not only doing a lot of damage, but your healing the most-all of health you just lost.
The Nature and EV distribution is to get Scrafty's stats to 334 HP, 237 ATK, 301 DEF, and 301 SP DEF without boosting. This will allow Scrafty to take a hit while it boosts. And then take another hit with its boosted stats as it heals with a Drain Punch.

 

[ajgrocks100]

Similar to ajdrocks100 set

Root Puncher
- Payback
- Drain Punch
- Bulk Up
- Amnesia
Item Attached: Big Root
Ability: Shed Skin
EVs and Nature
Sassy (+SP DEF, -SPEED)/ Relaxed (+DEF, -SPEED)
252HP 86ATK 140DEF 32SP DEF/ 252HP 86ATK 32DEF 140SPDEF
Bulk Up and Amnesia to "Bulk up" your Defenses (no pun intended). Payback to cover Ghost type Pokémon. The key however is the Drain Punch backed up by Big Root, which does a good chunk of damage, and gets Scrafty a good amount of HP back. After a two Bulk Ups and an Amnesia Scrafty becomes very powerful, with 334 HP, 474 ATK, 602 DEF, and 602 SPDEF. Now factor in the Bulk Up boosted attack with Drain Punch, you're not only doing a lot of damage, but your healing the most-all of health you just lost.

3 things:

1-Crunch. Payback is good. Crunch is better.
2-Big Root-once you use drain punch, your opponent will probably switch to a fighting resist. so while it helps when you attack, like shell bell its unreliable. and lefties are better.
3-Evs: do more Physical defense. with one amnesia, your basically a death wall. But it will take 2 bulk ups to do so physically.

But great creative thinking. This reminds me of the one time I tried Big Root Drain Punch/GigaDrain/Leech Seed Breloom.
It went down in flames.

And one last thing.
ajGrocks. I already have troubles with my IRL name. I don't need them here.

 

[Kraleck]

Scrafty. One of my favorite things to appear in Gen V and still one of my go-to Pokémon. A pity that a ruffian like this gets obliterated by pixies...

Stats:
-HP - Below Average - Base 65 is just barely below the point of Average HP, but it's not bad.
-Attack - Good-bordering-Great - Base 90 isn't the best for a Fighting or Dark Type, but it's still useful.
-Defense - Great-bordering-Godly - Base 115 is a Defense most Fighting Types can't boast as higher without being a legendary or Chesnaught and something Dark Types can't touch without being Arceus or Mega-Tyranitar.
-Sp.Atk - Bad - Base 45 is...no, just...no.
-Sp.Def - Great-bordering-Godly - Tied with Gallade, Scrafty's Sp.Def is equally tank-y.
-Speed - Dead Zone - Base 58 is higher than my preferred maximum for Trick Room. Dragon Dance doesn't even help much at all. Plus, you're slower than Clefable, Mr. Mime, Gardevoir, Togekiss, Whimsicott, Florges, Slurpuff, Dendenne, and Klefki.

Abilities:
-Shed Skin - 1 in 3 chance of curing a status ailment is good for a Tank, but bad because it's not a guaranteed prevention like Immunity, Limber, Insomnia, Magma Armor, or Water Veil. Still pretty useful though because you can screw over an opponent if you get lucky.
-Moxie - I like this Ability, but not so much with that Base 90 Attack and far less with that Base 58 Speed. At least it becomes a growing threat quickly once it kicks in.
-Intimidate (Hidden, Available) - Lowers Attack of your opponent one stage. Pretty solid and hard to go wrong when you've got high defenses. Better with Doubles and even more so with Triples, plus you naturally find Scraggy in Horde Battles, so you've got a good chance to get it.

Only legendaries, Umbreon, Tyranitar, and Mega-Heracross are more tank-y than Scrafty when it comes to Fighting or Dark Types, but they all have their own issues as well. At least Poison Jab, Iron Tail, and Iron Head see more use with the new Fairy Type threat at hand. The biggest drawback I see is that Clefable, Mr. Mime, and Gardevoir got a huge buff against both Dark and Fighting Types from becoming Fairy Types and Fairy Types not named Granbull or Mawile are unlikely to be threatened by Intimidate.

 

[Missingno. Master]

Dragon Pants
Scrafty@Leftovers
Jolly nature
Shed Skin
252 Atk/252 Spd/4 HP
~Dragon Dance
~High Jump Kick
~Crunch
~Poison Jab

Oh, Scrafty. Oh, poor, poor, Scrafty. This generation was not kind to Scrafty in the slightest- Not only is the new type resistant to both its STABs, but Scrafty is even 4x weak to it! That said, however, it's no reason for it to not be able to perform adequately in any case. So yeah, Dragon Dance lets Scrafty boost its wanting Speed and its already good Attack. High Jump Kick and Crunch are for STAB and still decent coverage. And Poison Jab is to handle those Fairy-types.

Item lets Scrafty restore a bit of HP. Ability ensures status doesn't screw it over.


Rest Pants
Scrafty@Leftovers
Careful nature
Shed Skin
252 HP/252 Sp. Def/4 Def
~Bulk Up
~Payback
~Drain Punch
~Rest

This set capitalizes more on Scrafty's nice bulk. The EVs cater to its Special Defense, while Bulk Up helps it out on the physical side. Payback is usually the better option over Crunch, considering how often Scrafty will be going last. Drain Punch is good STAB that also helps it restore HP. And Rest restores HP and status.

Item is for HP restoration. Ability is primarily to give it a chance of waking up early from Rest.


Other options:
*Iron Head does seem tempting over Poison Jab, but anything Iron Head does better than Poison Jab is easily handled by High Jump Kick in any case.
*Scrafty's arsenal includes Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, and Fire Punch, so a Choice Band set might be doable.

Abilities:
*IMoxie/B]: Whenever Scrafty KOs something, its Attack goes up one stage. Might be worth consideration on a Choice Band set, but otherwise, not worth it over...
*Shed Skin: Between turns, Scrafty has a 1-in-3 shot of healing off any status conditions. Its best possible Ability, as it doesn't have much in the way of other means of healing off status.
*Intimidate/U]: Scrafty's Hidden Ability. When Scrafty enters battle, all opponents within range have their Attack stats lowered by one stage. Stick with Shed Skin.

Partners:
Pretty much anything you're packing as a counter to Fairy-types works well with Scrafty.

Counters:
Pick your poison- Moonblast, Dazzling Gleam, Play Rough, Draining Kiss, Fairy Wind, Disarming Voice... Fairy moves are to Scrafty as Electric moves are to Gyarados. Among others, Slurpuff can easily switch in on any of Scrafty's STAB moves, maybe get in a Calm Mind or two, and KO with Dazzling Gleam, though it'd have to be wary of Poison Jab.

Opinion:
Freaking awesome, just a shame it was nerfed so much this generation.

Prediction for next week:
Pangoro.

 

[eworm]

Excuse me while a total competitive amateur like me spouts out loud some stupid ideas:


ZOOM LENS
Brave (Atk>Speed)
Zoom Lens
Intimidate/Shed Skin
EV: 252 Atk | the rest divided between Def and SpD
IV: 0 in Speed
~ Payback
~ High Jump Kick
~ Stone Edge
~ Zen Headbutt/Ice Punch

This Scrafty actually wants to move after the opponent, hence the minimum Speed. Risky, of course, but Payback hits 100 Base Power with this and Zoom Lens boosts your accuracy by 20% if you move after the target ― that makes High Jump Kick (90% accurate) perfectly safe to use. Stone Edge (80% accurate) also hits pretty much perfectly for a change and even Zen Headbutt (90% accurate), while not flinching anybody, won't miss. Any of Scrafty's abilities can go well with this. Shed Skin can cure burn that would ruin your Attack power and even paralysis, while almost helpful, is too dangerous to keep around. Moxie is always neat, though if the opponent has a Fairy type, you will be forced to withdraw and ruin the boost either way. Intimidate is better in this regard, as it activates again when the Fairy threat has been eliminated with your other teammates. I'm aware this weird set is more risky than any Scrafty with more Speed, but I just like not missing. Think of it as a gimmicky set of an amateur.

Heck, I'm not sure Scrafty even need all that Speed-lowering business, it's kinda slow as is.



ASSAULT VEST
Jolly (Speed>SpA)/Adamant (Atk>SpA)
Assault Vest
Intimidate/Moxie
EV: 252 Atk | 252 Def | 6 HP
~ High Jump Kick/Drain Punch
~ Crunch/Payback
~ Rock Slide/Stone Edge
~ Ice Punch/Poison Jab


Assault Vest, a new item that boosts Scrafty's already impressive SpD by 50% but disables the use of status moves. While Scrafty does enjoy Bulk Up every once in a while, this set allows you to max your Defence with the max EV investment without neglecting your SpD (Assault Vest takes care of that). Intimidate helps your Defense too, though without Bulk Up, you might wish for some Moxie Atk boosts instead. The moves are what you'd expect ― High Jump Kick + Payback as more risky STABs and Drain Punch + Crunch as more reliable ones. Rock Slide and Stone Edge is the same exactly ― Rock Slide is safer but weaker, while Stone Edge misses more often, but hits with a lot of power. And you do want to have a Rock type attack in case you encounter a dangerous Flying type opponent. You could use Head Smash, but that recoil is nothing pleasant. Ice Punch is here in case said Flying type opponent is Gliscor or Hawlucha and Poison Jab might be used if you can predict a Fairy-type switching in on you.


So… How stupid are those ideas?

 

[ajgrocks100]

Excuse me while a total competitive amateur like me spouts out loud some stupid ideas:


ZOOM LENS
Brave (Atk>Speed)
Zoom Lens
Intimidate/Shed Skin
EV: 252 Atk | the rest divided between Def and SpD
IV: 0 in Speed
~ Payback
~ High Jump Kick
~ Stone Edge
~ Zen Headbutt/Ice Punch

ASSAULT VEST
Jolly (Speed>SpA)/Adamant (Atk>SpA)
Assault Vest
Intimidate/Moxie
EV: 252 Atk | 252 Def | 6 HP
~ High Jump Kick/Drain Punch
~ Crunch/Payback
~ Rock Slide/Stone Edge
~ Ice Punch/Poison Jab

So… How stupid are those ideas?

Not Stupid, but not headliners either. Its just gimmicky, which from the guy who posted defuse curl/rollout snorlax last week, is fine.
Also BTW, don't bold everything. ppl read sometimes

 

[sonnytapman]

Let's go for a weird one here.

Status in da hood
Jolly
Expert belt
Intimidate/Moxie
EV:252 Spe 252 att
Rock Climb
Poison Jab
Fire Punch/Thunder Punch/Ice Punch
Fire Punch/Thunder Punch/Ice Punch

This set will let Scrafty take advantage of the fact that scrafty can learn so many moves that dole out status ailments. Rock Climb for confusion, Poison Jab for poisoning, Thunder punch for paralyzing, Fire Punch for burning, and Ice Punch for freezing. Throw in the expert belt for taking type advantages. The speed EVs for getting the move out first, and the attack EVs for doing maximum damage.

Partners: SOMETHING THAT COUNTERS FAIRY. Possibly a fire type. Best bet there would be Arcanine, because it can maximize damage on a frozen enemy and can learn Iron Tail to deal with Fairies. Or Hariyama, for Bullet punch and Smelling salts. Heck, any poison type with Venoshock. Capitalize by using moves that do more damage when a certain status is invoked. I recommend sticking with that Poison type.

I can't tell if this is really a good option for Scrafty, it's more gimicky than anything.

 

[Zachmac]

this along with Hydreigon are primary candidates of the " DO NOT TRANSFER TO GEN 6 " Category if you have them on your gen 5 games.

Just as an FYI, don't use Scizor in any generation after gen 1. It's fire weakness is just to awful to cope with.

No Ho-oh either. Not with stone edge flying around everywhere.

...It's just one type, and fairies aren't even that common yet. I think those two can manage.

 

[KillerDraco]

Just as an FYI, don't use Scizor in any generation after gen 1. It's fire weakness is just to awful to cope with.

No Ho-oh either. Not with stone edge flying around everywhere.

...It's just one type, and fairies aren't even that common yet. I think those two can manage.

This. Very few fairy types are used, and few Pokemon outside of Fairy types (if any at all) actually carry Fairy type moves.

The reason Scrafty doesn't see that much use right now has nothing to do with Fairies; it's all about its stats. While it may have decent bulk, base 90 attack and base 58 speed do it no favors, so it absolutely has to have boosts to sweep, or it lacks the speed and power to do much. It's not quite strong enough to utilize a Choice Scarf, and so many slow, powerful threats utilize a Choice Band better than it does.

It also has to worry about the constant threat of being revenge killed by the omnipresent Talonflame, whose Brave Bird forces out Scrafty almost every time; unless it's already done a Bulk Up or two, even 252 HP Scrafty is 1HKO'ed by Life Orb or Choice Band Talonflame.

 

[Moonlight_Tails]

Not a competitive battler but this is the set that worked for me

Adamant
Shed Skin

Crunch
High Jump Kick
Head Smash
Rest

 

[Melonhead215]

I've honestly never used Scrafty before, so I'm only going to post one set this time.
Overview: Scrafty is not exactly what you would imagine as a tank, but with duel 115 defenses it can get stuff done. That 65 HP really is a problem though. However, the real problem is Scrafty's speed-58 is just too slow, and is even out-sped by some slow fairy types. It's not all dark for scrafty though: A pretty sweet movepool including the perfect drain punch for a tank makes it a surprise contender.

Looking like a fool with your dance on the ground
Scrafty @ Life Orb
Adamant | Moxie
Evs: 252 Atk /252 Spe /4 HP
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Drain Punch
- Poison Jab/ Ice Punch
Scrafty for some reason gets Dragon Dance, and with it a great sweep setup move (too bad it doesn't get agility) allowing for Scrafty to become very dangerous. Thankfully the bulk allows it to take a hit or two while it setups, and then using the 3 attacking moves for sweeping. Drain punch is crazy useful for a tank like Scrafty and allows for mitigation of that annoying life orb. Use it over Crunch if it's a good idea.
The last slot is a bit up in the air, but I like Poison Jab for dealing with those pesky fairies looking to stop a potential sweep. Ice Punch was and is good for Dragons, but Fairies are much more threatening nowadays.

Other Options: Hi Jump Kick is always a sweet move, but is kind of risky for Scrafty and Drain Punch suits it better. Bulk up is also a good setup move if you're looking for more defense instead of sweeping potential, and Amnesia turns it into a special wall. It's hard to go wrong with the Elemental Punches and STAB Knock off, as well.

Counters: As I'm sure the thread has pointed out, Fairies are public enemy #1 for Scrafty, resisting both STABs and giving it 4x weakness. Outside of that, Talonflame and the flying priority funzies puts a great wall in front of Scrafty's usability. Paralyze and burn is pretty noteworthy for cutting attack and speed to not very threatening levels.

Overall Scrafty has really suffered from the generation switch, but it can still be pretty dangerous if you cover it's glaring weaknesses.

 

[eworm]

Let's go for a weird one here.

Status in da hood
Jolly
Expert belt
Intimidate/Moxie
EV:252 Spe 252 att
Rock Climb
Poison Jab
Fire Punch/Thunder Punch/Ice Punch
Fire Punch/Thunder Punch/Ice Punch

This set will let Scrafty take advantage of the fact that scrafty can learn so many moves that dole out status ailments. Rock Climb for confusion, Poison Jab for poisoning, Thunder punch for paralyzing, Fire Punch for burning, and Ice Punch for freezing. Throw in the expert belt for taking type advantages. The speed EVs for geting the move out first, and the attack EVs for doing maximum damage.

I can't tell if this is really a good option for Scrafty, it's more gimicky than anything.

Gimmicky indeed. Would be very promising on a Serene Grace Pokémon though. But it gave me an idea for a different gimmicky Scrafty set:



SUBSTITUTE
Impish (Def>SpA) or Careful (SpD>SpA)
Intimidate/Shed Skin
Leftovers
EV: 252 Def | 252 SpD | 6 HP
~ Drain Punch
~ Toxic/Bulk Up/Dragon Dance
~ Substitute
~ Dragon Tail

What this Scrafty attempts to do is annoy slash surprise the heck out of the opponent. When Scrafty shows up, the opponent will expect it to start attacking or boosting. Instead, you use Substitute. Scrafty's HP is nothing special, but with the max investment into both defences, you should be able to hide behind it for a while at least. Then you follow with Toxic (unless you're facing a Poison or Steel type obviously) or start boosting with Bulk Up or Dragon Dance. I think Bulk Up is better since it helps your Subs, but boosted Speed might be very useful too, especially for when your Sub breaks and you need to quickly set up another. Dragon Tail (remember it has decreased priority, so your Dragon Dances don't make it any faster) is here to switch out more dangerous opponents. This includes Ghost types you can't otherwise hit and Pokémon with Infiltrator. It's even better if you've set some hazards beforehand. Your Substitute will get broken eventually, but Leftovers keep you healed and you're using Drain Punch also. Shed Skin can heal you if you got statused before setting the Sub or by an Infiltrator Pokémon (like Will-O-Wisp Chandelure), but Intimidate helps you set up at the beginning.


Problems? Well, Fairies are still the bane of your existence. Can't switch them out with Dragon Tail and they resist Drain Punch, while destroying your Substitute in a milisecond. Don't stay on Fairies, though Toxic them before running away if you can.

Infiltrator Pokémon are very dangerous starting this generation too and most of them can destroy you easily, either by status (like the aforementioned Will-O-Wisp Chandelure ruining your recovery and the already little damage you're dealing) or just hitting with super-effective moves (Crobat, Whimsicott, Noivern, even Superpower Malamar, though why it doesn't have Contrary is beyond me).

Watch out for Taunt, though before the surprised opponent thinks about Taunting you, you'll probably have a Substitute up and some boost or Toxics behind you.

Also ― your speed. Unless you managed to boost enough with Dragon Dance, you probably won't get a chance to set the second one before the opponent hits you. The best thing you can do then is predict well and use Substitute the very same turn your opponent destroys your first one.

Finally, the first turn is sink or swim for this Scrafty. If the opponent hits you bad enough right away, you might not even be able to set one Substitute, though with maxed Bulk and those stats, this really shouldn't happen outside of SE hits in which case why are you sending out Scrafty. You might start out by tricking your opponent into thinking you're using the usual offensive Scrafty, by boosting before setting the sub, but don't blame me if you get statused while doing this.


Other options? Well, this set doesn't really allow for much variety. You need Substitute, that's the whole point, and Drain Punch keeps you healed. Dragon Tail is also a necessity because Ghosts if nothing else. You can replace your Toxic/Bulk Up/Dragon Dance slot with Swagger if you're feeling lucky, I guess.

Partners? What you'd love to have when using this set, is some hazards set on your foe's side of the battlefield. Every Dragon Tail will hurt much more that way. Also, you need something good against those pesky Fairies ― a Poison type is a good idea, since they also resist Fighting types (Electric/Poison or Steel/Poison or Rock/Poison would be perfect for resisting Flying too oh wait those still don't freakin' exist). I guess Crobat would make a good partner for this Scrafty ― fast, hitting Fairies and Fighters hard…

 

[MythrilZenith]

I don't know exactly what set they were running, but I saw this on pretty much EVERY VGC worlds 2013 team I watched online battles of.

Doubles set
Fake-Out
Crunch
Drain Punch
*type* punch / Substitute
-Intimidate ability

Not sure how viable it will be in gen 6, though. But before everyone goes around saying it's useless because of a 4x weakness to fairy, just ask Volcarona how it survives a 4x rock weakness, or Scizor and Ferrothorn their 4x fire, or Heracross's 4x flying, or T-Tar's 4x fighting, etc... the list goes on.

It's an issue. We get it. It doesn't make the pokemon totally useless. Hydreigon is also still pretty boss, you just can't use it as a catch-all anymore.

 

[DestroyerOfWorlds]

Ah Scrafty, always one of my favorites from Generation V. I even caught a Shiny Intimidate Scraggy yesterday! Pity about those fairies...

As for sets, how about substituting Knock Off for Crunch? Against any Pokemon not holding a Forme Change-inducing item, like a species-specific Mega Stone or an elemental plate on Arceus, two hits of Knock Off will deal more damage than the same number of Crunches. Plus, you've removed the foe's held item. Honestly, the item loss alone should make up for the power drop when you're as bulky as Scrafty is.

If Scrafty were just slightly faster, or had Agility, or had a priority move, it could make use of the Weakness Policy thanks to its usable bulk. Such an item might still be worth a try on ShedRest + Dragon Dance builds, or on teams that make liberal use of Sticky Web or Baton Pass. Given that Scrafty has a recovery attack in Drain Punch and three very usable support abilities to boot, an Assault Vest setup is another highly attractive option... though once again, a total lack of priority will be your downfall. I will never understand why the Hoodlum Pokemon can't learn Sucker Punch.