Scyther is one of those iconic Generation I Pokemon that pretty much anyone who’s aware of the franchise knows. It has a giant green form and menacing blades for arms, so even in its base form it looks terrifying. When you bring the much more powerful evolution of Scizor into the mix, it becomes an interesting choice in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
Its Bug typing will allow it to clutch against pure Psychic or Grass Pokemon, but it has some critical weaknesses to Poison and Flying, making it a bit harder to use in Generation IX. But if you’re a diehard Generation I fan and have to have this cool Bug on your team, here’s the best way to catch Scyther in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
How to find Scyther in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
There are quite a few locations that you can find Scyther in, it’s just a matter of having good enough RNG to spawn it. You will encounter it as a somewhat rare spawn in a few areas in the game. In the overworld, look around outside Medali, you will sometimes find Scyther along the edges of the grassy areas. This is the first place you will likely encounter Scyther, and can be found around level 30-35 in this area. If you want to catch it at a lower level for training purposes, there’s another area to check.
Another area is Area Four of the South Province, which is quite close to the starting city of Mesagoza. A Level 22 Tera Scyther can sometimes be encountered on the northern side of Area Four, near the land bridge leading to South Province (Area Two). Scyther can also appear in the general region of Casseroya Lake in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. This is a huge zone, so only check here as as a last resort.
Trainers can improve their chances of encountering Scyther in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet by eating Sandwiches that buff the Encounter Power for Bug- or Flying-type. Since those both match with Scyther, either one should boost the encounter rate.
The Ultra Potato Salad Sandwich gives Encounter Power Bug Lvl 2, and uses the following ingredients:
- 1× Potato Salad
- 1× Cucumber
- 1× Red Bell Pepper
- 1× Avocado
- 1× Red Onion
- 1× Mayonnaise
Note: Be careful with sandwiches with lots of ingredients, if they fall off the sandwich, it won’t count and you won’t get the full bonus.
The Cheese Sandwich is a cheaper option with Encounter Power Bug Lvl 1, and uses the following ingredients:
- 1x Cheese
- 1x Cream Cheese
- 1x Pepper
- 1x Salt
Drop a camp outside Medali and then just run around, Scyther will spawn all over the place. Now once you’ve found one actually catching it can be kind of hard.
How to catch Scyther in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
This Pokemon is incredibly fast, and has some quite lethal moves. It’s mix of Bug and Flying moves can be lethal to many types, so be careful. It will also likely outspeed any same-level Pokemon, so there’s a clear strategy you have to employ here, and it requires falling back on good old game knowledge.
For those that don’t know, each type of Ball has a Catch Rate multiplier. The Ultra Ball, for example, has a 2 Catch Rate, while the Net Ball has a 3.5 Catch Rate if used against Bug or Water types. Go grab some Net Balls and then you can start building your team. Another thing to keep in mind is Status Effects. Any Status Effect, like Poison or Paralysis, has a modifying effect on the capture calculation. Sleep and Frozen work best with a modifier of 10240, while all other statuses use 6144. (Note: The values listed are exclusive to Gen IX)
In short, always apply a status to a Pokemon you’re trying to catch with a move such as Yawn or Thunder Wave, then swap your damaging Pokemon in to push the target into Red HP. Being in Red HP also helps with Catch Rate.
In Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, there’s a new element factored in at this part, a badge penalty. For each Gym Badge you are missing, you have a reduction in catch rate, so if you have no badges, this is factored in to a power of 8. This is then multiplied by maximum Hit Points. So have as many Badges as you can, or at least four or five, before trying to catch Scyther in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
