Pokemon GO Scrafty PvP and PvE guide: Best moveset, counters, and more

Scrafty is notorious in Pokemon GO for easily being one of the best Fighting-types in the metagame for its Great League right now. As such, a lot of players will want to get their hands on this particular monster. However, the Great League requires a certain level of skill given the tight combat power restrictions, which means Scrafty will require some game knowledge to use effectively.

Since just having a creature on one's team does not guarantee a win in the Great League, players will really need to familiarize themselves with Scrafty in terms of how its stats and movesets steer it towards being played. This goes for both the PvP scene as well as the PvE scene, considering they both have completely different strategies and gameplay loops.

---

Is Scrafty good in Pokemon GO PvP?

Scrafty is arguably the best Fighting-type in Pokemon GO's Great League. This is thanks to its access to both Counter and Power-up Punch, and its incredible bulk. This makes it the perfect choice for players who want to steamroll games by stacking buffs rather than spamming charged attacks.

This is also thanks to its typing making it the perfect counter for the Steel and Rock-types of the tier. In fact, Scrafty was relatively uncontested in the meta until the release of Carbink, who became one of Scrafty's biggest counters thanks to its high defense and secondary Fairy typing. Aside from this and a few more instances, Scrafty has generally good coverage for a lot of high-profile picks.

For those looking to take Scrafty to victory in competitive play, a moveset of Counter, Power-up Punch, and Foul Play will give the most success. Not only does this moveset have tons of damage potential, but Scrafty can boost its attack power with Power-up Punch, allowing it to steamroll in the late-game.

---

Is Scrafty good for Pokemon GO PvE?

Scrafty as seen in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

To rip the bandage off, Scrafty is terrible in Pokemon GO's PvE. Sure, it can be a decent battler in fights against Team GO Rocket members, but in raids, this pick is practically useless. This is due to Scrafty's main playstyle revolving around set-up and sweeping. It is not viable in raids given the bosses always have a great increase to all of their stats, requiring players to go all-out on either defense or offense.

While Scrafty with a moveset of Snarl and Foul Play makes for a usable Dark-type attacker, there is simply no point in doing this when picks like Weavile and Darkrai are available and much better. If a trainer is brand new to the game and only has access to Scrafty instead of other Dark-types like Umbreon or Absol, then it would be a decent choice.

Overall, Scrafty is a tried and true PvP battler. Its access to strong stamina and great set-up potential makes it a valuable asset in the Great League where walls are weak to Fighting attacks. In raids, its lack of damage and reliance on its teammates and utility start to shine through make it practically useless in these fights.