Scolipede, the Megapede Pokémon. It clasps its prey with the claws on its neck until they stop moving. Then it finishes them off with deadly venom.
Overview
One of the bugs of the fifth generation, Scolipede was an effort for Bug types to break out of their niche as the weak early game Pokémon. It has been largely successful in the efforts, though not for the most apparent reasons. What is apparent is Scolipede’s Speed. Base 112 Speed is already blazingly fast, but Scolipede goes even further beyond with Speed Boost, after one turn outrunning all but the fastest of Choice Scarfers and effectively impossible to outspeed after two. Scolipede can combine this with Swords Dance to devastating effect, being impossible to outspeed while providing immense offensive pressure thanks to Scolipede’s good coverage between its STABs, Earthquake, Rock Slide and Throat Chop. Or even more terrifyingly, Baton Pass the boosts onto a waiting ally, turning strong Pokémon held back by their inability to boost into instant threats that can role over teams without having to sacrifice move slots for boosting, making the recipient even harder to wall. Scolipede is one of the best Baton Pass users in the series for this reason alone, even before considering its ability to pass on Iron Defense as well as another way to enable attackers.
The fact that Scolipede is more famed for Baton Passing than using the boosts for itself speaks to its underlying issues. Bug and Poison are horrible offensive types and together are mutually resisted by a whopping three types in Ghost, Steel and Poison. While Scolipede does have the coverage for most representatives of those types, it can’t fit all the coverage it needs along with Swords Dance and STABs. Swords Dance can’t really be dropped for offensive Scolipede either, given its base 100 Attack is only viable with the explosive boosting of Swords Dance. This lacking power compounds the issues of Scolipede’s STAB’s poor coverage, furthering its offensive woes. The fact that Scolipede’s strongest STAB options in Gunk Shot and Megahorn are unreliable does not help matters either. Not to mention that Scolipede has no answers for the best physical walls around in Corviknight and Skarmory, an unfortunate state for any dedicated physical attacker. Moreover, Scolipede is rather specially frail with poor base 60 HP and 69 Special Defense, and its physical Defense is not much better, meaning it struggles to survive its own setting up and let alone get into the attack exchanges that Scolipede’s flawed offenses force it into. Scolipede has some of the strongest tools in Pokémon, but its poor typing and low stats hold it off from singular greatness.
Positives
Base 112 Speed is an incredible tier to be at to begin with and Scolipede easily becomes impossible to outspeed with Speed Boost.
One of the best Baton Pass users in the game between Swords Dance, Iron Defense and Speed Boost
Excellent coverage to complement STABs allows Scolipede to be a threatening Swords Dance attacker in its own right.
Negatives
Base 100 Attack is only usable with Swords Dance and even then Scolipede has issues breaking through bulkier targets.
Poison Bug is horrid offensively being easily resisted, leaving no lack of Pokémon capable of walling Scolipede without coverage.
Poor 60/89/60 defenses leave Scolipede struggling to tank hits.
Movesets
Dancing Centipede
-Swords Dance
-Gunk Shot
-Leech Life
-Earthquake
Ability: Speed Boost
Item: Life Orb
Stats and Nature:
2 HP / 32 Atk / 32 Spe
Adamant Nature
This Swords Dance Scolipede set aims to largely use the Swords Dance boost for itself to wipe out weakened teams. Swords Dance is necessary for this set given Scolipede's poor STAB coverage and barely usable Attack. Gunk Shot is the primary STAB for power given the wider neutral coverage of Poison compared to Bug. It is invaluable nonetheless for its ability to annihilate Fairy types especially Unaware Clefable that is normally a stop to setup sweepers like Scolipede, as well as bulky variants of Primarina, Mega Floette, Mega Meganium and Sylveon, and even without a Swords Dance boost can OHKO softer targets like Mega Charizard Y and Mega Delphox. Leech Life is secondary Bug STAB and while good for outright threatening the likes of Hydreigon and Hisuian-Samurott, its real worth is the recovery it provides. Leech Life prevents Scolipede from getting worn down by its own Life Orb, and makes it harder to wear down to the point it can be picked off by priority, though this is held back by Bug's rather poor coverage. Earthquake rounds out the set for the coverage for Poison and Steel types like Archaludon, Mega Metagross, Mega Mawile, Mega Draglage, Kingambit, and Mega Gengar covering two of the biggest blind spots for Scolipede's STABs. Being a reliable option for Fire types over Gunk Shot doesn't hurt, either, handling Mega Blaziken, Ceruledge and to a lesser extent, Skeledirge.
Stats and Items:
Standard offensive spread is recommended here. Given Scolipede's low attack and easily resisted STABs, full Attack investment is strongly advised to get the most mileage out of Swords Dance. Adamant is recommended to get even more power out of Scolipede, on top of allowing it to more reliably get OHKOs with Gunk Shot it would miss otherwise like with Mega Charizard Y (going from 25% to 81.25%), Mega Delphox (75% to guaranteed), and Mega Lopunny (no chance to 50%), on top of being able to 2HKO Skeledirge with Earthquake, preventing it from pivoting in freely without some form of item based recovery. This is before (or irrespective of) Swords Dance as well. Scolipede is more free to run Adamant due to it being so hard to outspeed after a single Speed Boost, with the only common Scarf user that outruns Adamant but not Jolly +1 Scolipede are Hydreigon and Garchomp. Life Orb is strongly recommended for the power bump it gives. Scolipede needs all the help it can get for power and can't really afford to be locked into a single move, so Life Orb is ideal. Focus Sash can enable more reliable Swords Dance setups but comes at the cost of power. Without Life Orb, Gunk Shot no longer gets OHKOs on neutral targets while unboosted. While boosted, if missing Life Orb, it can no longer OHKO Garchomp, misses the guaranteed OHKO on offensive Mega Metagross (going down to 68%) and Max HP Archaludon (down to 6.25%).
Partners:
Scolipede does not have any answers into Skarmory and Corviknight so Pokémon that can answer such threats are greatly appreciated. Mega Raichu Y does well into such Pokémon while being able to compromise if not outright blow away other Steel types with Focus Blast as well as cripple normally faster Pokémon with Zap Cannon, greatly facilitating setup. In return, Scolipede has an overwhelming matchup into the Grass types that Mega Raichu Y cannot handle on its own. Archaludon also works for similar reasons, thanks to Thunderbolt and liking Scolipede's ability to absorb Fighting attacks. Hydreigon obliterates Skarmory and Corviknight with Flamethrower and Ghost types with Dark Pulse and values Scolipede's excellent matchup into opposing Fairy types.
Other Options:
Megahorn is an alternative for Scolipede's strong STAB option, but it means losing out on the utility of Leech Life on top of being unreliable.
Poison Jab is a far more reliable Poison STAB option, but lacks the stopping power of Gunk Shot.
If not running Gunk Shot, Rock Slide is worth considering to handle the ungrounded Fire types in Mega Charizard Y and Mega Delphox.
Throat Chop is a fantastic option for Ghost types as well as catching Mega Metagross but the most prominent Ghost types and Mega Metagross are also vulnerable to Earthquake
Baton Pass is also an option, allowing Scolipede to pass on its boosts if it can't overcome its opponent, but means sacrificing coverage.
Protect enables Scolipede to reliably get a Speed Boost as well as block Fake Out from the likes of Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Lopunny.
Hundred Foot Relay
-Baton Pass
-Iron Defense
-Protect
-Earthquake
Ability: Speed Boost
Item: Focus Sash
Stats and Nature:
32 HP / 2 Def / 32 Spe
Jolly Nature
Scolipede’s Baton Pass set allows Scolipede to reliably boost up quickly and hand the boosts off to a teammate who can ideally sweep with what Scolipede has provided. Iron Defense is the preferred boosting move to pass off as combined with Speed Boost, enabling Calm Mind sweepers to a terrifying degree by making them incredibly durable on the physical end of the spectrum while allowing them to boost or heal before the opposing Pokémon can move. Protect, in addition to stopping Fake Out from the likes of Mega Lopunny and Mega Kangaskhan in breaking Focus Sash, allows Scolipede to safely grab a Speed Boost, which alone can enable several attackers to a terrifying extent, or more easily pick up two Speed Boosts making the recipient near impossible to outspeed. Earthquake is so that Scolipede isn’t forced to struggle by Taunt and can potentially win in a worst-case scenario if the Baton Pass recipient is removed. Earthquake is preferred over other moves due to Ground’s wide coverage over Scolipede’s regular STABs as well as its synergies with the many Fairy typed Calm Mind users that are Scolipede’s preferred recipients.
Stats and Items:
Full HP and Speed investment are recommended. Scolipede wants to be moving first so it can get Iron Defenses up before the opponent can react, preventing physical attackers from easily removing Scolipede, as well as to reliably Baton Pass the boosts away when knocked down to Focus Sash. Everything else goes into HP to make Scolipede as bulky as possible; while Baton Pass focused Scolipede’s invariably run Focus Sash to guarantee setup, it would be ideal not to be knocked down to Focus Sash at all and thus the HP investment is insurance to that regard. The HP investment also ensures that the Iron Defense can pay dividends for Scolipede, making it that much more likely to survive physical blows after a boost. Taunt is also a significant problem for Baton Pass Scolipede, preventing it from passing its boosts and often forcing it out, so Mental Herb as a one time shield against Taunt may be all that Scolipede needs.
Partners:
Scolipede is a fantastic enabler for many Pokémon for speed boost alone turning normally slow but powerful threats into lightning quick attackers that can end a match on the spot. However, the best recipients for Baton Pass are Magic Bounce users, as they are immune to the Roar and Whirlwind that can eliminate all their boosts, as well as further Taunts to stop them from setting up. Mega Clefable and Espeon are ideal examples, able to outspeed everything after a Speed Boost or two, with Iron Defense handling the physical Defense they cannot boost up natively, making them impossible to remove. Especially given that both can carry Stored Power which will already have been charged up by the boosts Scolipede handed over, thus requiring far less setup on their end before they start sweeping. Other good recipients for Iron Defense Scolipede include Mega Floette, Mega Raichu Y, and Primarina.
If running Swords Dance, physical attackers become obvious receivers. Garchomp, Mimikyu, Mega Metagross, and Mega Staraptor all become completely unmanageable if given a free Swords Dance and Speed boost. Mimikyu especially given that Disguise all but ensures it comes in safely, while Metagross can approximate the same with its impressive bulk.
Other Options:
Swords Dance is another powerful boosting option that Scolipede has access to, but the popularity of Staraptor and Gyarados means it is easy to reduce if not eliminate the boost Scolipede has passed on.
Substitute is another option to be passed, though it is difficult to pass an intact Substitute, and even if done, will likely be broken after the Baton Pass.
STAB Options in Leech Life, Poison Jab, Gunk Shot and Megahorn are all alternatives for Scolipede to be less passive.
Countering Scolipede
While Scolipede’s offenses and defense are flawed, its amazing boosting capabilities allow it to get out of hand.
Baton Pass Scolipede is difficult to handle due to how difficult it is to stop the pass, as if Scolipede gets one free turn, it outspeeds all but a select handful of Pokémon and can pass on very dangerous boosts that will likely make its partner unstoppable. Taunt is one of the best ways to stop Baton Pass Scolipede, as even if it does get a boost, it won’t be able to Baton Pass the move. Grimmsnarl is especially good given it has Prankster Taunt and is thus guaranteed to outspeed Scolipede and deny the pass, though it does not like facing Gunk Shot Scolipede. Scolipede may run Mental Herb to counteract this, but if it does that, it isn’t running Focus Sash and thus is far more exposed to Special Attackers exploit its low Special Defense that it cannot boost.
Priority is also good to deal with Scolipede, if it is knocked down to Focus Sash or to similarly low HP, as it doesn’t matter how fast it is if it will be taken out by a light tap. Mega Metagross can do this easily with Psychic Fangs into Bullet Punch, but against Iron Defense Scolipede, will need to be Adamant to have a chance to KO after Bullet Punch. Mega Greninja/Life Orb Greninja and Hydro Pump or Extrasensory into Water Shuriken is an assured knock out.
With as difficult as it is to stop the Baton Pass, it may be more prudent to implement anti-setup sweeper measures in the first place. Mega Gengar’s Perish Song and Mimikyu’s curse are both great for placing a Baton Pass recipient on a timer and can even be used on Scolipede as Baton Pass will send over those curses as well as the stat buffs. Mega Victreebel and its Innards Out are notable for removing or crippling such game ending threats. Unaware Walls can work, provided the receiving Pokémon isn’t a Stored Power user who can overwhelm them. Haze Toxapex, while struggling against Stored Power sweepers, is perfect for wiping away boosts, though it isn’t fond of Swords Dance Boosted Earthquakes.
Swords Dance Scolipede is a bit easier to handle. In addition to the anti-setup methods used to counter its Baton Pass sets, much of the same checks work against the self-setup sets, aside from those explicitly weak to Bug or Poison. Furthermore, Scolipede has no direct answer for Corviknight or Skarmory and unless running Rock Slide or Throat Chop is completely walled by them. They do need Flying STAB to take Scolipede down, as a +2 Adamant Life Orb Throat Chop does deal 53-62% which does 2HKO through Leftovers, and Body Press is quadruple resisted, making it a poor option for handling Scolipede. Adaptability Basculegion is also annoying, able to endure any boosted attack not named Throat Chop and OHKO back with Wave Crash or two ally Last Respects. If not running Earthquake, several Poison and Steel types become problematic, with Glimmora, Mega Dragalge, and Mega Excadrill can all absorb a boosted attack and OHKO back. Mega Mawile, Max HP Stamina Archaludon, Toxapex conversely boast the sheer bulk to endure multiple boosted hits and either OHKO back or completely wipe away Scolipede’s boosts in the case of Toxapex. 32 HP/32 Def+ Skeledirge is a notable Unaware wall that almost always OHKOs with Torch Song (and will OHKO after Life Orb recoil) and being a rare Ghost type that is not 2HKO’d by Throat Chop, while Earthquake is only a 30% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers. Scolipede also desperately needs a window to setup Swords Dance in the first place. If it can’t setup Swords Dance, its lethality goes way down and the number of potential checks that can absorb a blow and OHKO back becomes far too long to reasonably list.
Mega Scolipede, the Megapede Pokémon. Its deadly venom gives off a faint glow. The venom affects Scolipede's mind, honing its viciousness.
Overview
After a starring role in Legends Z-A as the ace for one of the promotion matches, Mega Scolipede’s introduction in Champions has been met with disappointment. Part of this reason is due to the massive Speed drop Mega Scolipede receives upon Mega Evolving, losing a whopping 50 points in base Speed all the way down to base 62 Speed, being so slow that anything slower is normally considered for Trick Room. This means that even though Mega Scolipede has Speed Boost pre–Mega Evolution, even at +1 it is still outsped by some of the faster Pokémon around, being an effective base 118 in Speed if fully invested in Speed. However getting that Speed Boost at all is a tall ask given base Scolipede’s frailty, which if a hit is taken before Mega Evolving, Mega Scolipede all but loses out on the massive bulk increase it receives for its Mega Evolution. While Protect can allow Scolipede to safely get a Speed boost, this has Mega Scolipede run hard into four moveslot syndrome, where it cannot fit the boosting, STABs and coverage it wants to handle every threat. Poison and Bug being horrible offensive types hurts Mega Scolipede hard here, making it desperately reliant on coverage to handle most threats, while the power and utility of its STAB moves make them hard to drop. Furthermore, even with Mega Scolipede’s massive increases to both defenses its poor 60 HP and merely good base 99 Special Defense still leave it comparitively frail on the special side. Trying to get the most out of Speed Boost makes this even worse as Mega Scolipede won’t have enough investment in its bulk to make up for these deficits. Yet Mega Scolipede struggles to forego speed investment as without it, Mega Scolipede is outsped by so many Pokémon that its improved defenses are rendered moot. This gets worse when considering Mega Scolipede’s weaknesses to Fire, Flying and Psychic, all three types commonly represented among the most popular Mega Evolutions that are more than capable of muscling through Mega Scolipede’s improved defenses, if not just torch it immediately. A good ability could have saved all this, but Mega Scolipede is stuck with Shell Armor, an incredibly situational ability at best that Mega Scolipede can’t even make full use of due to its flawed defensive profile.
Which is a shame given that Scolipede did otherwise receive substantial buffs. The boost to base 140 Attack is massive, allowing Mega Scolipede to finally overcome its long-standing issues with power. Couple that with Scolipede’s already impressive coverage and it can handle a wide range of threats on top of being a clean answer to most Fairy types thanks to Mega Scolipede’s uncommon Poison STAB. Defensively is where Mega Scolipede shines over its base form. Base 149 Defense is over the top and with extreme resistances to Fighting and Grass on top of Mega Scolipede’s Fairy resistance, Mega Scolipede can endure plenty of titanic blows that would down most other Pokémon, to the point that it can be expected to survive physical blows from all but the strongest of Mega Evolutions. While Mega Scolipede’s Special Defense is let down by its HP, it is still a marked improvement, preventing Scolipede from being OHKO’d by every neutral Special Attack. All this bulk is backed up by the newly added STAB recovery in Leech Life, giving Mega Scolipede some staying power to make the most of its improved defenses. Mega Scolipede should be a monster of a Mega Evolution, but its disjointed offenses, defenses and speed have it fail to match up to its peers.
Positives
Base 140 Attack is phenomenal and Mega Scolipede has the movepool to make the most of it.
Base 149 Defense is titanic, and with recovery from Leech Life, Mega Scolipede can feasibly outlast most physical attackers.
Speed Boost pre Mega Evolution allows Mega Scolipede to overcome its horrid base speed…
Negatives
…As Base 62 Speed is appalling otherwise, forcing Mega Scolipede to take a hit before acting from all but the slowest of Pokémon.
Bug Poison is horrible offensively with many shared resistances and positioned poorly against many popular Mega Evolutions defensively.
Poor base 60 HP lets down improved defenses, making Mega Scolipede much frailer than one would first expect.
Runs hard into four moveslot syndrome being unable to carry all the coverage, STABs and boosting it wants.
Movesets
Dreadbug Rising
-Swords Dance
-Gunk Shot
-Leech Life
-Earthquake
Ability: Speed Boost -> Shell Armor
Item: Scolipite
Stats and Nature:
2 HP / 32 Atk / 32 Spe
Adamant Nature
This Mega Scolipede set functions similarly to base Scolipede in that it wants to nab a Swords Dance and Speed boost, then sweep. What differs is in execution. Thanks to the massive bulk Mega Scolipede gains upon Mega Evolution, it loses one of the big vulnerabilities Scolipede has in that missing a OHKO leaves it vulnerable to being revenge KO’d, especially when it misses a knockout. Not so with Mega Scolipede, whose massive Defense ensures it survives most priority attacks and can be difficult to remove without super effective coverage, allowing it plow through teams. Mega Scolipede wants to open with Swords Dance while in its base form to efficiently grab both boosts, before going on the offense. Ideally this would be against something a teammate has crippled or that base Scolipede can threaten out like Mega Meganium, Mega Floette, or Hisuian-Samurott. Gunk Shot is the recommended primary STAB, given its obscene power and ability to remove many dominant Fairy types like Mega Floette, Primarina, Mega Clefable and Mega Meganium on top of the wider neutral coverage that Poison boasts over Bug. Leech Life, while poor in coverage, gives Mega Scolipede some badly needed sustainability when it can land on a neutral or Bug weak target like Garchomp, Hippowdon, Hydreigon, Mega Swampert, and Rotom-Wash. Earthquake rounds out the set as coverage, hitting the Poison and Steel types that wall Mega Scolipede’s STABs as well as most of the popular Ghost types like Ceruledge, Gholdengo, Mega Gengar and Aegislash that could otherwise wall out Mega Scolipede completely.
Stats and Items:
Max Speed and Attack are recommended, as standard for most attackers. The former so that Mega Scolipede can outspeed a wider range of targets after a Speed Boost applying more offensive pressure, while the latter gives Mega Scolipede as much stopping power as possible as well as maximize the healing from Leech Life. Despite not being as fast as base Scolipede, Adamant can be justified over Jolly in part due to Mega Scolipede’s greater natural bulk and still decent speed after the boost. Even with Adamant, Mega Scolipede has an effective base Speed of 104, outrunning the likes of Mega Floette, Gachomp, Volcarona, and the Mega Charizards. With Jolly, Mega Scolipede hits an effective base 118 Speed, which is a massive difference maker in allowing Mega Scolipede to outrun Mega Staraptor and Mega Metagross, both popular Mega Evolutions that can outspeed and OHKO Mega Scolipede through sheer power and super effective STABs. With full attack investment and Swords Dance, Mega Scolipede can pull off amazing feats like potentially OHKOing Garchomp and Rotom-Wash with Leech Life, Kingambit with non-STAB Earthquake, Max HP Mega Venusaur with Gunk Shot and more. HP investment can be justified, but it doesn’t take a lot for Mega Scolipede’s speed to drop to the point where it is exposed to many dangerous attackers that can overwhelm it even at +1. For Jolly Mega Scolipede, 28 Speed points is necessary to outrun Base 110s (Mega Staraptor and Mega Metagross) while 22 Speed points are required for outrunning Base 102s (Garchomp), and 20 Speed for base 100s (Volcarona and Mega Dragonite). Adamant is even tighter, as anything less than full investment leaves Mega Scolipede exposed to base 102s, while 30 points are necessary for base 100s. Item is locked to the Scolipite. Scolipede can be statted to survive blows from Mega Metagross and Mega Staraptor, but even then it requires heavy investment; Max HP and 10 Defense are needed to be guaranteed to survive Jolly Mega Metagross’ Psychic Fangs with 19 Defense to survive Mega Staraptor’s Brave Bird. Alternatively, going all in on HP and Special Defense shores up Mega Scolipede’s weaker defense, allowing it to Swords Dance more reliably, though this comes at the cost of only being able to outrun invested Pokémon sitting at base 70, leaving Speed Boost rather moot.
Partners:
Mega Scolipede is at its best against Fairy and Grass types, so teams otherwise vulnerable to such Pokémon can make the most of it. Rain cores in particular value Mega Scolipede as a secondary or tertiary Mega evolution to handle such checks while in turn reducing Mega Scolipede’s Fire weakness. Rain cores, especially those with Mega Swampert love Mega Scolipede for checking Grass types. In turn, Mega Swampert can overwhelm most Steel and Poison types with its own Ground STABs on top of resisting most Steel type assaults with its Water STAB and handily deal with the Fire types that directly threaten Mega Scolipede. Greninja is also notable for being weak to both Fairy and Grass and loves Mega Scolipede opening space in its moveset by taking over Poison coverage duties. In turn, Greninja covers not only the Ghost types that resist both of Mega Scolipede’s STABs but, also the Flying, Fire and Psychic types that can otherwise bypass Mega Scolipede’s defenses with Ice Beam, Hydro Pump and Dark Pulse.
If not running Protect, Mega Scolipede needs either an overwhelming matchup or an opportunity to safely get a Speed Boost. As such allies that can open opportunities for Mega Scolipede are greatly appreciated. Sableye is a good example, between access to Prankster Will-O-Wisp for crippling physical attackers, Encore for locking opponents into passive moves or ones that base Scolipede can easily tank, Light Screen or Snarl to address Scolipede’s poorer Special Defense all create opportunities for setup. Sableye also tends to draw in Fairy types in fear of its incredible Mega Evolution and Dark types in fear of Prankster shenanigans, both types that Mega Scolipede has positive matchups into.
Other Options:
Protect is a strong consideration for Mega Scolipede, allowing it to safely and consistently get a Speed Boost in its frailer base form before Mega Evolving to safely setup or go on the offense.
If supporting a Rain composition, Rock Slide is worth considering for being able to immediately threaten Mega Charizard Y without boosting.
Poison Jab is alternative Poison STAB, sacrificing power for reliability.
Megahorn is a far stronger Bug STAB, but lacks the recovery of Leech Life and is generally a worse coverage option.
Baton Pass is a viable option for Mega Scolipede given how its greater bulk facilitates setup, but it is a heavy opportunity cost to use Mega Scolipede for this instead of having a Mega Evolution as the recipient instead..
Doubles and VGC Options
Mega Scolipede’s issues drag it down in Doubles as well, perhaps even worse than in Singles. Four moveslot syndrome strikes especially hard. Between Incineroar, Staraptor, Mawile, and Mega Scrafty, Intimidate users are incredibly commonplace, slashing Mega Scolipede’s Attack and mandating Swords Dance to compensate. Mega Scolipede loves Protect in Singles for the safe Speed Boost, let alone in Doubles where Protect is a staple for the sheer utility it provides. Gunk Shot is invaluable for power and Fairy coverage while Leech Life is Mega Scolipede’s only form of recovery, but if only running STABs, Mega Scolipede is too easily walled by so many Pokémon, mandating coverage. Mega Scolipede always must give something up on its moveset and is always the poorer for it. This is before getting into Mega Scolipede’s poor matchups into the other prominent Mega Evolutions. Mega Staraptor, Mega Metagross, Mega Charizard Y, Mega Delphox and Mega Aerodactyl all are favored to win matchups against Mega Scolipede, being able to bypass its Defense through Super Effective STABs and sheer power. Even attempting to weaponize Mega Scolipede’s low speed for Trick Room is unwieldy, given that Base 62 Speed is fast for most Trick Room staples who cap out at base 60 Speed, and Mega Scolipede’s main niche as an anti-Fairy answer on such teams is completely subsumed by Mega Mawile, who’s possesses the same anti-Fairy niche and Fire weakness on top of having superior power and a much broader defensive profile. Mega Scolipede isn't weak, but even after boosting it often misses knockouts. Mega Scolipede won't be a star, but knowing when to bring it and when to not can make all the difference.
ScolipeDa Boss
-Protect
-Swords Dance
-Leech Life
-Poison Jab
Ability: Speed Boost -> Shell Armor
Item: Scolipite
Stat Points and Nature:
32 HP / 2 Atk / 32 Spe
Jolly Nature
Mega Scolipede is at its most valuable when checking Fairy and Grass typed offense for teams especially weak to such Pokémon. Protect is all but necessary for Mega Scolipede to safely get a Speed Boost as base Scolipede, addressing one of its biggest failings, its Speed. This is on top of the utility that Protect normally provides in Doubles in blocking Fake Out, punishing focus fire, stalling for allied setup, stalling out opposing field conditions, etc. Swords Dance is a necessary evil on Mega Scolipede, given the numerous ways to drop attack in the format on top of Mega Scolipede's easily resisted STABs, Swords Dance addresses both issues and allows Scolipede to provide more consistent offensive pressure. Leech Life is incredible on Mega Scolipede, being both a reliable STAB attack and a recovery option that synergizes well with Mega Scolipede's improved defenses. Poison Jab is secondary STAB and is what gives Mega Scolipede its anti-Fairy niche, OHKOing even Max HP Sylveon while being a coin flip to OHKO 26 HP / 2 Def Mega Floette, so say nothing of what Poison Jab does to Mega Meganium or Whimsicott. While redirector Clefable is bulky enough to survive Poison Jab, it is still taking 63-75% from the blow.
Max Speed and HP spread are recommended. To get the most out of Speed Boost, Mega Scolipede requires as much speed investment as possible. Even going down to Adamant has Mega Scolipede drop from an effective base 119 Speed to an effective base 104 Speed. opening it up to a host of threats, though Adamant is helpful in Mega Scolipede getting OHKOs on bulkier Sylveon and Mega Floette spreads with Poison Jab. Full HP investment allows Mega Scolipede to get the most out of its improved bulk and make boosting lest risky. There is room for flexibility. One could drop speed investment for Special Defense, making Mega Scolipede incredibly difficult to remove. This can work better on teams with a Trick Room mode, but Mega Scolipede has awkward matchups against hard Trick Room teams in Mega Mawile, Torkoal, Mega Drampa, as well as common Trick Room setters in Farigiraf and Oranguru, though neither of the latter are fond of receiving a Leech Life. Full Attack investment is also worth considering. Full Attack investment turns bulky (26 HP/2 Def) Mega Floette from a guaranteed 2HKO to a 50% chance to OHKO with Poison Jab, making that matchup more comfortable, especially after Mega Scolipede has nabbed a Speed Boost.
Preferred Partners & Other Options:
Given Mega Scolipede's good matchup into Fairy types, it is an enabler for allies who struggle into them. Grimmsnarl is easily the most prominent, its Screens making Mega Scolipede maddeningly bulky and greatly facilitate getting another Speed boost off while boasting Dark STAB that can threaten most Ghost types. Garchomp also appeciates Mega Scolipede checking Fairy types and its Ground STAB and Fire resistance make it excellent into opposing Steel, Poison and Fire types that cause Mega Scolipede trouble. Given Mega Staraptor's issues with Fairy types, especially Clefable, Mega Scolipede can be a secondary Mega Evolution for such bad matchups, though it may want to drop Leech Life for Throat Chop to better handle Mega Metagross and Mega Froslass better. Garchomp also greatly appreciates Mega Scolipede’s anti Fairy matchup and its own Ground STAB does a lot in handling Mega Scolipede’s own weaknesses. Grass vulnerable Mega Evolutions like Mega Raichu Y and Mega Swampert also appreciate the incredible anti-Grass matchup that Mega Scolipede provides.
Incineroar is a big issue for Mega Scolipede given both Intimidate and Fire STAB, so allies that discourage it are greatly appreciated. Competitive Milotic is best given its Water STAB utterly drowning Incineroar on top of handling Fire types in general. Kingambit is also a deterrent thanks to Defiant, while being able to threat Ghost types with Dark STAB and Steel types with Low Kick.
Sinistcha is also a popular partner for Mega Scolipede given its Hospitality and Life Dew are consistent sources of recovery that pair well with Mega Scolipede’s own bulk and can take pressure off running Leech Life. The redirection helps too, and no Grass type is going to want to stay in front of Mega Scolipede regardless. Sinistcha is especially excellent for Max HP / Special Defense Mega Scolipede, given that Mega Scolipede does outslow every non-Trick Room staple.
Ceruledge can be considered if running Mega Scolipede as a dedicated answer to Mega Charizard Y + Mega Floette teams, taking advantage of Mega Scolipede drawing in Fire attacks for a free Flash Fire boost, while Mega Scolipede easily cleans up the Mega Floette mode of such teams.
If running no Attack investment, Gunk Shot becomes a much stronger recommendation to make up for the loss in power Mega Scolipede endures.
Stomping Tantrum is fantastic coverage into Steel types like Archaludon and Mega Mawile, as well as Poison types like Toxapex and Fire types like Mega Pyroar and Torkoal.
Rock Slide is a way to instantly threaten Mega Charizard Y, especially as Mega Charizard Y’s are trending to more bulk pushing it out of unboosted Gunk Shot range.
Countering Mega Scolipede
While Mega Scolipede has received tremendous boosts to its power and durability, its flawed offense, poorly matched typing and greatly reduced Speed let it down.
While Mega Scolipede’s Attack stat is great, the damage output is about the same as Life Orb Scolipede, so many of the same defensive checks that wall Scolipede, can wall Mega Scolipede. Mega Scolipede has no direct answers for Skarmory and Corviknight bar a Swords Dance boosted Throat Chop, so as long as they are running Flying STAB, they will reliably beat down Mega Scolipede with uninvested Brave Birds from both solidly 2HKOing. However, if they only have Body Press, they are in a tight spot as even at +6, Body Press merely does 22-26% (Skarmory) or 17-21% (Corviknight), which Scolipede can match Swords Dances. While Mega Scolipede will be worn down, it will be a PP draining affair and a Crit from +6 Throat Chop will end the fight in Mega Scolipede’s favor, provided Mega Scolipede is maxed out in Attack. 32/32+ Def Hippowdon is bulky enough that even +2 Leech Life only 3HKOs while being able to wipe away Swords Dance boosts with Whirlwind or Yawn, but its Earthquake only 3HKOs in turn, turning Leech Life Mega Scolipede into a war of attrition. Skeledirge as an Unaware wall benefits from ignoring Swords Dance boosts ensuring that even 32+ Attack Earthquake is an unlikely 2HKO, while Torch Song reliably 2HKOs even 32 HP/32 Special Defense Mega Scolipede or just permanently cripple it with Will-O-Wisp. Basculegion is one of the rare Ghost types not weak to Ground while still resisting both of Scolipede’s STABs, but +2 Earthquake does reliably 2HKO, and 2 Ally Last Respects only does 67-79% so Basculegion cannot come in on a setup Mega Scolipede. Mimikyu with its Disguise intact can survive any one blow and cripple Mega Scolipede with Will-O-Wisp or force it out with Curse.
If not running Earthquake, Poison and Steel types become more problematic. Mega Mawile resists both STABs and Throat Chop while having Intimidate to blunt any offense Mega Scolipede can muster, though a +1 Earthquake will still OHKO and even at -1 Earthquake is favored to 2HKO. 32 HP Stamina Archaludon can take even +2 Throat Chops which cap out at 50% before the Stamina boost while reliably 2HKOing with STAB into Draco Meteor. However, the 32 HP / 32 Special Defense Mega Scolipede only takes 48-57% from Draco Meteor, mandating two Dragon Pulses or Flash Cannons, allowing time for a second Swords Dance and a more damaging blow, but even then Throat Chop only does 53-63%. Toxapex can tank any Swords Dance boosted attack not named Earthquake and wipe away the boosts with Haze, but otherwise struggles to deal any damage to Mega Scolipede.
Offensive checks can be more reliable given Mega Scolipede’s atrocious base Speed, but Speed Boost from base Scolipede can complicate matters. Even at +1 with Jolly and 32 Speed, Mega Scolipede is equivalent to that of a fully invested Base 118 Speed, leaving several Pokémon that can handle it. +1 Mega Blaziken, Modest Life Orb Flamethrower Dragapult, Mega Delphox, Mega/Life Orb Extrasensory Greninja, Mega Starmie can all easily OHKO offensive Mega Scolipede and Mega Raichu Y OHKOs 31% of the time. Mega Froslass deals 75-88% with Blizzard in Singles, allowing it to OHKO after Stealth Rocks, and thanks to Snow is bulky enough to survive any Swords Dance Boosted Attack except Throat Chop. If Mega Scolipede drops down to Adamant, that caps out to a base 104 at +1, add Mega Staraptor, and Mega Metagross to the pile that threaten Mega Scolipede. While (Mega) Gengar can’t OHKO Mega Scolipede, they are easily capable of crippling it with Will-O-Wisp.
If fully invested in HP and Special Defense, Mega Scolipede becomes far easier to outspeed, but much more difficult to cleanly remove. Mega Starmie, and Mega Staraptor are still favored to OHKO while Mega Delphox and Mega Metagross are still capable of OHKOing. The number of Mega Evolutions that check defensive Mega Scolipede explode with Mega Charizards, Mega Blaziken, Hurricane Mega Dragonite, and Mega Meganium all capable of the deed.
Locations in Games
Red/Blue/Yellow:
Not in game
Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Not in game
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in game
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Not in game
Colosseum/XD:
Not in game
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Not in game
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Not in game
Black/White:
Evolve Whirlipede
Black 2/White 2:
Pinwheel Forest
X/Y:
Evolve Whirlipede
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Trade from X/Y
Sun/Moon:
Evolve Whirlipede
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Trade from Sun/Moon
Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Not in game
Sword/Shield:
Forest of Focus
Max Raid Battles: Fields of Honor, Soothing Wetlands, Forest of Focus, Training Lowlands, Workout Sea, Stepping-Stone Sea
Dynamax Adventures
Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl:
Not in game
Legends: Arceus:
Not in game
Scarlet/Violet:
Not in game
Legends: Z-A:
Wild Zone 15, Wild Zone 20
Hyperspace Lumiose - Poison (4 Star), Bug (4 Star)
Anime Appearences
