With the announcement of the mega evolutions of the Hoenn starters, it is no surprise that trainers from all over the world are excited! Indeed, the Mega Hoenn Raid Day will let you raid all three mega evolutions of the Gen 3 starters, something that we could possibly see again in the Hoenn Tour.
Honestly, there’s no priority on which one to catch first. All three are meta relevant in their own sweet way.
Mega Blaziken will be a top-notch Fire type, overtaking even Mega Charizard Y in raw DPS. Even as a Fighting type, it is very serviceable.
Swampert has always been a red-alert threat in the meta and Mega Swampert is literally the same monster on steroids. Whether a Water type or Ground type, you’re going to want Mega Swampert!
Mega Sceptile will be a dangerous Grass type with both Leaf Blade and Frenzy Plant in its arsenal. And as a Dragon type, it… umm, what does it do?
Err, Dragon Claw? But no, Dragon fast move, eh?
C’mon, that’s not fair! Mega Sceptile deserves better. So how can it become a better Dragon type? It’s entirely possible, you know!
But first, let’s check out Mega Sceptile’s stats and match-ups:
Mega Sceptile
Sceptile (Mega)
|
|||||
| Max CP 4585 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATK 320 | DEF 186 | HP 172 | |||
| Weak to | Strong Against | ||||
| Ice Dragon Fairy Poison Bug | Dragon Ground Rock Water | ||||
That ATK stat is phenomenal. It puts the other starter dragon and more popular Mega Charizard X to shame as its ATK stat is only 273. For that matter, Mega Sceptile’s ATK is even higher than Mega Charizard Y’s 319.
So are there other good Dragon moves that Sceptile can learn? Indeed, there is!
While it already learns Dragon Claw in Pokémon Go, Sceptile (and Mega Sceptile) can also learn Dragon Breath and Outrage in the Main Series Games.
Now, expecting Niantic to give two moves to Sceptile is overkill. So let’s see how Mega Sceptile fares with either…
With Dragon Breath
With Dragon Breath and Dragon Claw, Mega Sceptile gains access to a complete STAB Dragon moveset. Naturally, Dragon Breath + Dragon Claw isn’t the optimal Dragon moveset combination for raw DPS, Mega Sceptile can make it work because of the following reasons:
- A sky-high ATK stat
- Mega evolution boost to Dragon damage during raids
- With this moveset, the glass cannon Mega Sceptile can dodge efficiently, making it last longer and, as such, prolonging the mega boost for Dragon type attacks
Now, how does Dragon Breath help Mega Sceptile? Here’s what you need to know:
- Dragon Breath + Dragon Claw helps Mega Sceptile deal more damage than Dragon Tail + Outrage Rayquaza and Salamence
- Dragon Breath + Frenzy Plant makes Mega Sceptile deal more raw DPS than Mega Garchomp, Mega Salamence, and Black Kyurem with Dragon Tail + Outrage; and Mega Rayquaza with Dragon Tail + Hurricane
- Dragon Claw + Leaf Blade deals more damage than Black Kyurem with Dragon Tail and Outrage
With Outrage
While Dragon Breath gives Mega Sceptile more versatility and even a STAB Dragon combo, Outrage is fairly one-dimensional to use.
How does Outrage help Mega Sceptile? Here’s what you need to know:
- Fury Cutter + Outrage deals more raw DPS than Mega Salamence with Dragon Tail + Outrage/Draco Meteor
- Bullet Seed + Outrage helps Mega Sceptile deal more damage than Dragon Tail + Outrage Rayquaza and Salamence
The Takeaway
Mega Sceptile, being a starter Pokémon, needs just 10,000 Stardust and 25 candies to unlock a second charges move. It’s obvious that Dragon Breath improves Mega Sceptile more than Outrage does. In fact, Dragon Breath + Dragon Claw & Frenzy Plant establishes Mega Sceptile in the upper echelon of Dragon types in raw damage along with the likes of Mega Rayquaza, Mega Garchomp, Shadow Salemence, and Mega Salamence.
If Charizard can get Dragon Breath in an additional Community Day, why not Sceptile? It’s also a very popular Pokémon and has been one of Ash’s best aces in the anime. So it goes without saying that giving Scetile access to Dragon Breath would be met with a lot of pimp and glory.
In fact, even Outrage would help Mega Sceptile gain quick access to it via Bullet Seed. This would help Sceptile (and its Mega) have the second faster access to Outrage, second only to Garchomp.
Regardless, Mega Sceptile could really benefit a lot from Dragon Breath or Outrage. There’s no doubt that it deserves it.
Until then, happy mega raiding trainers!
PS: Need help choosing the right counters for your Mega Sceptile raid? Here’s our handy Mega Sceptile Raid Guide that you should check out!
