Scovillain, the Spicy Pepper Pokémon. Its two heads have different temperaments and excel at different fighting styles. Nevertheless, they act in perfect harmony on the battlefield.

Overview

Scovillain’s sojourn into Champions has been good for the spicy menace, with the as of this current writing greatly reduced pool of Pokémon allowing for Scovillain and its unique talents to shine. The idealized Chlorophyll sweeper, Scovillain is a Fire type with Chlorophyll allowing Sun teams to replicate what Rain teams have been doing for generations; field a sweeper whose STAB and speed are tied to the sun and incinerate everything in Scovillain’s path. Scovillain can do this better than ever, keeping Flare Blitz from Legends Z-A and giving its physical STAB options more power in line with its special STABs, allowing Scovillain to make better use of its physical coverage options. With the current removal of Scarlet Paradox Pokémon, there are less Pokémon that benefit from the Sun the way Scovillain does, allowing Scovillain to stand out even more. Yet all of this is nothing in comparison to Scovillain’s status as the only Moody user currently available. Moody is one of the most absurd abilities in the game, allowing any Pokémon with enough stalling to become an immortal ball of stats that can roll teams over and with Scovillain’s access to Leech Seed it is more than capable of running out the clock.

Despite all these unique attributes, Scovillain remains all spice and no substance. 65 defenses across the board leaves Scovillain downright frail, struggling to stomach any blow without significant defensive investment or appropriate Moody boost. This lacking bulk is compounded by a middling base 75 speed, leaving no lack of attackers that can remove Scovillain before it can do anything, making it tricky to accrue enough Moody boosts in the first place. Scovillain’s niche as a Sun sweeper is not as valuable as its typing and ability would first suggest. The most popular Drought users in Mega Charizard Y and Torkoal are Fire typed to begin with and while Scovillain is absurdly fast in Sun, its Fire based offense is distinctly less valuable, especially in comparison to the number one Chlorophyll user Venusaur who boasts better bulk and coverage. This gets exasperated by Scovillain’s lacking offenses. Base 108 Attack and Special Attack while usable, are unimpressive after generations of power creep. While Scovillain can correct this with a Sun empowered Growth, that too becomes a tall order when Scovillain is so frail it struggles to find the moment to setup. Scovillain remains in many of the same ruts it found itself in generation nine and while its uniqueness certainly has it stand out, the resulting dish isn’t any more palatable..
Positives
Balanced above average offenses enable Scovillain to hit on both sides of the Spectrum, giving it a degree of unpredictability.
A Fire type with Chlorophyll is incredibly synergistic, enable Scovillain to outrun almost everything and attack with boosted Fire STAB
Moody is the most powerful ability in the game, enabling Scovillain to become a ball of stats with enough time.

Negatives
Paltry 65 HP and defenses leaves Scovillain struggling to endure blows.
Base 75 Speed is unimpressive without Chlorophyll or Moody, compounding Scovillain’s lack of bulk.
Unimpressive offenses leave Scovillain struggling to pick up knockouts, especially against Fire and Dragon types. .

Movesets

Spicy Mood

-Protect
-Substitute
-Leech Seed
-Flamethrower
Ability: Moody
Item: Leftovers
EVs and Nature:
32 HP / 2 Def / 32 Spe
Jolly Nature

This is a Moody Scovillain set, leverage stalling tools to grab as many boosts as possible to overwhelm opponents either offensively or defensively. Protect is key for this, being the best stalling tool Scovillain has available and all but guarantee it won’t be damaged or crippled the turn it uses Protect. Subsitute is a secondary stalling tool, sacrificing a quarter of Scovillain’s HP for status protection as well as a temporary shield against powerful blows. If sending Scovillain against a Grass or Fairy type or a physical attacker while bluffing its Mega Evolution, it may be preferable to open with Substitute while the opponent switches out, getting even more mileage out of the Substitute and Protect. Leech Seed synergizes well with these stalling methods, chipping opponents down and recouping health lost from Substitute, allowing Scovillain to stall for Moody boosts even longer. Flamethrower is the ultimate payoff for the Moody boosts, allowing Scovillain to rip through even resists provided it has received enough Special Attack boosts. The fact it threatens the Grass types that otherwise nullify Leech Seed is an incredible boost, making it harder for opponents to prevent Scovillain from stalling out opponents.

EVs and Items:
It is recommended to put everything into HP and Speed for Moody Scovillain. The HP investment helps make Scovillain as bulky as possible, while the speed investment allows Scovillain to preemptively Substitute against as wide a range of foes as possible and require fewer Moody boosts to outrun other attackers. Leftovers synergizes with the many stalling tools Scovillain uses to get Moody boosts, helping Scovillain Substitute multiple times even when it can’t get a Leech Seed up.

Partners:
Moody Scovillain is rather self-sufficient but still struggles with Fire and Dragon types due to lack of coverage requiring excessive boosts, so allies that can handle such targets are invaluable. Mega Starmie is one of the best, able to annihilate even Mega Charizard Y through Drought as well as packing a speedy Ice Spinner for most Dragon types. Scovillain can help for this in team preview, able to bluff its Mega Evolution and draw Mega Charizard Y in. Mega Greninja is another excellent answer thanks to its Protean empowered Water and Ice attacks making short work of most Fire and Dragon types. Mega Blastoise is another setup sweeper that can muscle through and compromise bulky targets that Scovillain can force them out for free Moody boosts, especially opposing Grass types. .

Other Options:
Giga Drain is an alternative healing option that can benefit from Moody boosts but is less consistent than Leech Seed..

Countering Scovillain

Scovillain in its element is a terror to behold, but when caught out of it, its numerous failings make it much easier to handle.

Moody Scovillain is arguably the hardest to handle as the right boost at the right time can completely flip an otherwise winning matchup, and the ease at which Scovillain can stall out for boosts. Unaware walls put a complete stop to Moody and force Scovillain to face them with its lacking defenses and offenses. Skeledirge is easily the best given its resistance to both STABs, Torch Song to bypass Substitute and escalate, and Slack Off to recover damage incurred from Leech Seed. Unaware Clefable can also work and even use Scovillain as setup fodder itself for Cosmic Power +Stored Power, but is vulnerable to getting chipped down by Leech Seed and an unlucky Flamethrower burn. PHazers like Hippowdon can wipe away Moody boosts and Scovillain will likely lack the HP or PP to attempt stalling again. Otherwise, Curse users like Mimikyu and Dragapult or Perish Song Mega Gengar can cut through the stalling and place Moody Scovillain on a short clock. Toxic Spikes from Glimmora can also end a Moody setup before it starts, with the chip damage from Poison/Toxic overwhelming Leftovers and eventually Leech Seed in the case of the latter.

Chlorophyll Scovillain is a threat in the Sun, but only there, and depriving it of its favored weather makes it much easier to handle. Unfortunately, most weather setters are weak to Scovillain’s STABs to the point it can still reliably 2HKO them. Max HP Tyranitar excels against special Scovillain, very rarely being 2HKOd by Energy Ball while OHKOing back with Rock STAB. Pelipper excels better against physical Scovillain, with Seed Bomb rarely 2HKOing while Pelipper reliably OHKOs with Hurricane. Mega Frosslass can’t switch in safely due to fear of Fire STAB, but once in always OHKOs with Blizzard.

Dragon types are a consistent issue for Scovillain given its lack of direct coverage and unimpressive power, Dragons to easily exploit Scovillain’s poor defenses. Garchomp is favored to KO with Earthquake and reliably OHKOs with Stone Edge, Hydreigon OHKOs with Draco Meteor and does 80-95% with Dark Pulse, Mega Dragonite with Air Slash, Dragonite with Outrage, etc.

Fire types also provide consistent issues for Scovillain given their resistance to both STABs and how difficult it is for Scovillain to fit Stomping Tantrum on non-physical sets. Even with Stomping Tantrum, Mega Charizard Y, Mega Delphox and Rotom-Heat all wall Scovillain with ease and can blast it down with their own unresisted STABs. /p>

Mega Corner

Mega Scovillain, the Spicy Pepper Pokémon. Mega Evolution has dialed up this Pokémon's spiciness. It swings its “necktie” around to wallop its foes.

Overview

When Mega Scovillain’s stats were first revealed in legends Z-A, there was no lack of derision. While Scovillain did badly need power, that came at the cost of only a moderate boost to its defenses still being let down by a poor base 65 HP, limiting Mega Scovillain’s hit taking ability in the face of super powered threats. This is a serious issue given that Mega Scovillain still possesses its mediocre base speed from its base form making these lacking defenses all the more exploitable. Even the boost to Mega Scovillain’s offenses is a letdown given Scovillain’s lack of coverage, having nothing direct for Dragon types and only Stomping Tantrum for the Fire types that both resist Fire and Grass STABs. All these flaws come at the cost of one’s Mega slot and base Scovillain is so poor that it struggles to do anything without being removed, leaving one locked to Mega evolving Scovillain if bringing it.

All this changes when looking at Mega Scovillain’s ability. Spicy Spray is a ludicrous ability, burning anything that hits Mega Scovillain, 100% of the time, irrespective of the move making direct contact. Flame Body, which in comparison, requires contact and only has a 30% chance to burn has seen wide play and valued for the aggressive pivoting it enables so the sheer potential of Spicy Spray is staggering. This one ability alone has turned Mega Scovillain into the best check to physical attackers in the game, as any physical that isn’t explicitly immune to burns is going to be hindered for the rest of the match. While this ability would be even better on a bulkier Pokémon, Mega Scovillain can make its new base 85 defenses work with heavy EV investment. Add in longevity tools like Leech Seed and Giga Drain and Mega Scovillain can stick around for quite a long time, outlasting not only most physical attackers, but even special attackers like Mega Floette, Primarina, and Mega Meganium. Mega Scovillain is quite capable of accelerating the clock too as even uninvested base 138 offenses hit hard and Fire STAB is always valuable in melting staple Steel types that form the defensive backbones of many teams. Overall Mega Scovillain makes for a potent, if flawed, defensive Mega Evolution who can warp the battle around it once in play.
Positives
Spicy Spray is an absurd ability, effectively crippling any physical attackers that hit Mega Scovillain.
Decently bulky with HP and defense investment and can stick around with recovery options in Giga Drain and Leech Seed.
Base 138 offenses are fantastic, even uninvested, Mega Scovillain can deal incredible damage.

Negatives
Base 65 HP brings down Mega Scovillain’s bulk quite a bit, having it struggle against boosting sweepers.
Lacks burst healing in Synthesis, and forced to rely on Rest or Super effective Giga Drain to shrug off big hits.
Limited answers to Fire types who resist both STAB and can’t be burned.
Unconventional Mega, and must Mega Evolve before one can aggressively pivot with it to get the most out of Spicy Spray.

Movesets

Burning Opener

-Leech Seed
-Protect
-Giga Drain
-Flamethrower
Ability: Moody -> Spicy Spray
Item: Scovillainite
EVs and Nature:
31 HP / 17 SDef / 18 Spe
Calm Nature

Mega Scovillain is an interesting wall given one wants to get it out on the field as soon as possible to Mega evolve it and then pivot out, pressuring an opponent’s physical attackers for the rest of the match from Mega Scovillain suddenly pivoting in and crippling them for the rest of the match. Leech Seed pairs incredibly well with Mega Scovillain’s game plan, stacking passive damage with Burn doing about 18% each turn while keeping Mega Scovillain healthy. While this may not seem like much, Protect changes the math a bit. Protect allows Mega Scovillain to easily stall out turns, and after two turns that is 36% in passive damage alone to Mega Scovillain’s target from Burn and Leech Seed. Leech Seed also makes Mega Scovillain that much stronger of a pivot, as not only are any physical attackers going to be struggling to deal appreciable damage, but Leech Seed will recoup some of the damage Mega Scovillain’s partner takes upon switching in. Giga Drain is more direct damage and gives a larger burst of healing helping run down the clock on Grass weak attackers even quicker. Primarina, Hippowdon, and Mega Starmie are all cleanly 2HKOd by Mega Scovillain’s Giga Drain, while even max HP Tyranitar is 3-4HKO’d depending on Special Defense investment. Flamethrower rounds out the set as coverage, but valuable coverage at that, dealing 73-86% to Kingambit, 61-71% to Aegislash, 74-87% to Corviknight, all of them sturdy bulwarks that are hard to break through for many Pokémon, to say nothing of warding off any Grass type not named Mega Venusaur from coming in to absorb Leech Seed.

EVs and Items:
Any EV spread with Mega Scovillain prioritizes maxing out its HP stat to greatly improve its overall bulk, though how one wants to proceed depends on personal preference. This set heavily invests in Special Bulk as any opponent seeing Mega Scovillain in team preview is going to do their best to match their special attackers against it, so flipping that matchup into Mega Scovillain’s favor as much as possible is preferred. The 18 Speed EVs allows Mega Scovillain to always outrun max Speed neutral natured base 60s like offensive Primarina, as well as up to uninvested low base 80s like Gyarados, allowing Mega Scovillain to get Giga Drains off for some proactive healing and better outlast them during slug fests to say nothing of Primarina Calm Minding. Alternatively, one could go all in on Mega Scovillain’s role as an answer to physical attackers and invest in physical Defense for Mega Scovillain to better pivot into physical attacks. Item is locked to Scovillainite..

Partners:
Allies that can handle Fire types are a must when using Mega Scovillain. Spicy Spray does nothing to them and unless running Stomping Tantrum, Mega Scovillain struggles to deal with them, to say nothing of Ground immune Fire types like Mega Charizard Y and Mega Delphox. Calm Mind Primarina for example loves Mega Scovillain’s Spicy Spray antics making it that much harder to break through. Basculegion loves Mega Scovillain’s matchup into Kingambit in particular, to say nothing of crippling physical attackers in general making it easier for Basculegion to sweep. Garchomp as always makes for a solid check into Fire types between its resistance, Ground STAB and Rock coverage, while valuing Mega Scovillain’s solid matchup into most opposing Fairy types. Anti-Hazard measures are invaluable for Mega Scovillain given its weakness to both Stealth Rocks and Spikes greatly cutting into its durability. Corviknight and Scizor both make for good hazard removers thanks to their access to Defog, though the shared weakness to Fire can be problematic. Unaware walls like Clefable and Skeledirge also deserve mention given Mega Scovillain’s struggles against setup sweepers, while Mega Scovillain’s burns enables Calm Mind Clefable as well as Skeledirge’s Hex..

Other Options:
Overheat and Leaf Storm are virtual delete buttons on Scovillain for the times where one must remove an attacker now, though the special attack drop can be an open invitation for special attackers that don’t mind Leech Seed. Rest gives Mega Scovillain burst healing against high powered blows that Leech Seed and Giga Drain cannot easily shrug off, but is easily punishable by setup sweepers.

Doubles and VGC Options

Despite initial skepticism, Mega Scovillain has made just as, if not an even more sizzling impact in doubles. Spicy Spray activating against non contact moves is invaluable in the current (as the time of this writing) format with Garchomp, Aerodactyl and Tyranitar are throwing Rock Slides everywhere, crippling these physical attackers for the rest of the match. While this alone would be plenty of deterrent for spread physical attackers, Mega Scovillain takes it a set further with access to Rage Powder, forcing such attackers into crippling themselves for the rest of the match. Add in Fire STAB that roasts the Grass types immune to Rage Powder and there are very few physical attackers safe from Mega Scovillain. This could not come at a better time with Intimidate users being heavily punished by Defiant Kingambit, Competitive Milotic and White Herb Unburden Sneasler, making it more difficult for them to perform their attack mitigation duties. Add in that for the format at the time of this writing several teams rely on Fairy spam for special offense that Mega Scovillain solidly walls and Mega Scovillain can eat teams alive. However, Mega Scovillain’s inability to handle Fire types is quite unfortunate when two of the most dominant Pokémon are Mega Charizard Y and Incineroar that Mega Scovillain can do little to slow down. Furthermore, as a defensive Mega Evolution, Mega Scovillain is not a straightforward win condition like other Megas, searing offenses notwithstanding, so its teammates must be able to pick up the slack.

Wolf Spice Fiend

-Rage Powder
-Leech Seed
-Overheat
-Protect
Ability: Moody -> Spicy Spray
Item: Scovillainite
EVs and Nature:
32 HP / 19 Def / 15 SDef
Calm Nature

This is the standard Mega Scovillain set one will see in doubles. Rage Powder pairs wonderfully with Spicy Spray, forcing any attackers to target Mega Scovillain, including the physical attackers that desperately don't want to get burned, an amazing attribute in the current physically dominated format. Leech Seed pairs well with the burns Spicy Spray inflicts, causing considerable passive damage on top of healing Mega Scovillain. One turn is about 18% damage. Stall another turn with Protect and that's over a third of the opposing Pokémon's health gone while Mega Scovillain recoups the HP it lost from taking the hit to burn the opponent. Overheat prevents Mega Scovillain from being passive, allowing it to greatly accelerate the timer on the burns and Leech Seed, on top of melting aggravating Steel types like Kingambit, Corviknight, and Mega Skarmory that other Pokémon struggle to remove. Protect is the best move in Doubles and vital for Mega Scovillain beyond the usual utility, allowing it to easily stall for extra Burn and Leech Seed chip and healing as well as allowing for allies to remove the Special Attackers that are not seriously troubled by burns.

EVs are to maximize bulk. Given EVs ensure that Sneasler cannot OHKO with Dire Claw without Poisoning (and even then, that is a 50% chance) as well as Adaptability Basculegion's Wave Crash, Mega Aerodactyl's Dual Wingbeat, Mega Tyranitar's Rockslide, Mega Kangaskhan's Double Edge. The Special Defense investment all but prevents Mega Floette from 2HKOing with Leech Seed, as well as making offensive Pelipper very unlikely to OHKO with Hurricane.

Preferred Partners & Other Options:
Mega Scovillain's poor matchup into Fire types all but mandate's its teammates able to cover them. Mega Aerodactyl is notable as a secondary Mega that destroys the other Fire typed Megas in the format in the Mega Charizards and Mega Delphox, while Basculegion is good non-Mega option that loves Mega Scovillain completely shutting down Kingambit. Pelipper and Politoed can also work given how they further nerf Fire attacks on top of being a Water type that threatens Fire types directly. As noted, Mega Scovillain struggles to close out games on its own, so strong attackers to supplement it are greatly appreciated. If running with a Rain core, Archaludon is a natural pick given how quickly it escalates with Electro Shot. Other immediate attackers like Garchomp, Sneasler, and Adaptability Basculegion, also work, with Basculegion keeping these Pokémon safe as they unleash their devastating attacks. Mega Scovillain can draw Fairy attacks from Garchomp as well as Sucker Punches, Electric and Grass attacks sent Basculegion’s way. Giga Drain is good burst damage and gives Mega Scovillain some longevity, especially if one doesn't want to risk Leech Seed's imperfect accuracy, but does poorly into Mega Floette and Sylveon due to their monstrous Special Defense. Super Fang is consistent burst damage, compromising walls to make them much easier for Mega Scovillain's allies to remove. Flamethrower is an option if one doesn't want to sink their Special Attack with Overheat. Spicy Extract can take advantage of Mega Scovillain's drawing in of Special Attackers, sapping their Defense for Mega Scovillain's teammates, or boosting Mega Scovillain's physically inclined teammates to lethal levels.

Countering Mega Scovillain

Mega Scovillain’s Spicy Spray is unmatched in disrupting in physical attackers but comes with its own caveats that once bypassed Mega Scovillains numerous failings come into play.

Fire types of all stripes are a nightmare for Mega Scovillain given their immunity to Burns and built in resistance to both STABs while Mega Scovillain does not resist their STABs in turn. While Mega Scovillain can have Stomping Tantrum to threaten them, Mega Scovillain struggles to both find the room for the move and cannot afford the stat investment to make up for lack of STAB, leaving it at best able to 2HKO Mega Charizard X after Flare Blitz recoil. Ground immune fire types like Mega Charizard Y, Mega Delphox and Rotom-Heat all but for Leech Seed wall Mega Scovillain and will force it to run or be knocked out without contributing, though Modest Rotom-Heat only does 55-66% to 32/15+ Mega Scovillain, which can cause it to miss the 2HKO with Overheat. Volcarona is a rare Fire type that isn’t weak to ground, but its own Fire neutrality causes it to take 58-69% from Overheat, but otherwise can all but use Mega Scovillain as setup fodder with Quiver Dance.

Inevitably if wanting to safely handle Mega Scovillain, one must look to their special attackers, who generally are mildly impacted by Burns, though they need the requisite power to break through or Mega Scovillain will rip their health away with its various forms of chip damage if not blast them with absurdly powerful Overheats. Mega Dragonite would be one of the best given its resistance to both STABs but needs Hurricane to OHKO Calm Mega Scovillain and abhors Spicy Extract due to it permanently disabling Multiscale. Hydreigon does better, being favored to 2HKO with Draco Meteor while not bothered by any of Mega Scovillain’s STABs. Mega Gengar is frail to the point of taking 74-87% from Overheat, but OHKOs Calm Mega Scovillain with Sludge Wave every time or 15/16 times with Sludge Bomb. Max HP Mega Venusaur is reliably 2HKOd by Overheat despite Thick Fat, but if it can get in safely, it can OHKO Mega Scovillain 1/8 times with Sludge Bomb. Glimmora fears Stomping Tantrum even more than Fire types while also taking almost half from Giga Drain, but does 73-87% with Power Gem, while its Mega Form can easily OHKO with either STAB.

Otherwise, the best method to deal with Mega Scovillain are setup sweepers. Again, special attackers are preferred, but a setup sweeper is not in danger of being burned until they attack, which can allow them to boost up enough to reduce the effectiveness of the bird. Bulkier setup sweepers are recommended as Mega Scovillain can still hit quite hard even uninvested, though they tend to be more vulnerable to Leech Seed. Calm Mind users especially stand out given how Mega Scovillain greatly prefers special attacks for the higher base power and the utility of Giga Drain. Mega Clefable is fantastic due to its Magic Bounce preventing Leech Seed, but must be healthy as Overheat does 43-51% and Mega Scovillain does possess the higher base speed. If Mega Scovillain is not running Grass coverage, Primarina works quite well, able to tank Fire STaBs with ease while boosting up and threatening with neutral Water STAB.

Adaptability Basculegion can OHKO 32 HP/19 Def Mega Scovillain with a 2 ally Last Respects, but comes at the cost of nerfing it for the remainder of the match.

Anime Appearences

Scovillain has made a few anime appearances. Most notably, A Scovillain was partnered with a trainer from Naranja Academy, but it went rogue after a Strong Sphere was used on it. # -English Episode Name- -Jp. Episode Name- Pics 102 The Knight in the Ruins The Knight Encountered in the Ruins Pics 136 TBC Stellar Finale Pics