What it does
Technician applies a ×1.5 multiplier to any move whose base power is 60 or below at the point of calculation.
The mechanics that matter:
- The check is against the move's listed base power, not the final damage output. A 40-power move becomes ×1.5 = effectively 60 before STAB and other multipliers apply.
- Base power of exactly 60 qualifies (the condition is ≤60).
- Multi-hit moves: each individual hit's power is checked separately. Bullet Seed has 25 base power per hit — each hit gains the ×1.5, so a five-hit Bullet Seed totals 5 × 25 × 1.5 = 187.5 effective power.
The key moves in Champions:
- Bullet Punch: Steel, priority +1, base 40. Technician makes it effectively 60 before STAB. With STAB, that is effectively 90. This is Scizor's whole offensive game plan.
- Mach Punch: Fighting, priority +1, base 40 → effectively 60 with Technician.
- Aerial Ace: Flying, never-miss, base 60 → effectively 90.
- Multi-hit moves like Rock Blast and Bullet Seed: each hit gets the bonus.
Who runs it
Scizor at 99% adoption. 130 base Attack, Steel typing, and Bullet Punch as the primary move. In any field state without speed manipulation — no Trick Room, no Tailwind boosting the opponent — Bullet Punch goes first and hits hard. Against Ice, Rock, and Fairy types that carry a Steel weakness, a STAB Technician Bullet Punch from 130 Attack is extremely difficult to survive at low health.
Scizor typically runs Bullet Punch as its priority finisher, X-Scissor for Bug STAB (base 80, not boosted), Superpower or Close Combat to handle Steel and Rock types that resist both its STAB moves, and U-turn for safe pivoting.
Maushold (3%) uses Population Bomb — a multi-hit Normal move with low individual hit power — with Technician to potentially generate enormous damage. Consistency is the issue; it remains a niche pick.
Roserade (9%) gets Technician boosts on some of its lower-power coverage moves, but it is not the defining part of its play pattern.
How to use it
Scizor's Bullet Punch is one of the cleaner tools in VGC: it goes first without any setup, no speed investment needed, no team support required. The core applications in doubles:
- Finish weakened targets: after chip from another source, Bullet Punch closes out Pokémon that would survive a slower follow-up. This is turn economy.
- Threaten fast special attackers: many high-Speed special attackers have poor physical defense. A Technician Bullet Punch from 130 Attack can threaten them even at full HP if they are neutral to Steel.
- Clean Steel-weak types: Ice, Rock, Fairy types with a Steel weakness take full neutral or super-effective Bullet Punch. Against those, the combination of priority + STAB + Technician is often enough to secure a KO before they act.
Pairing Scizor with Choice Band amplifies every Bullet Punch significantly. Locked into one move is a real constraint, but when the move in question already goes first and hits this hard, the limitation is manageable in many matchups.
Tips & strategy
Technician's check is strictly the listed base power. When unsure if a move qualifies, look up its base power — if it is 60 or below, Technician applies.
Scizor's 4× Fire weakness is the defining counterplay. Almost every legitimate answer to Scizor involves a Fire-type move. Your team needs to handle Fire-type threats (Incineroar, Charizard, others) or Scizor will be removed the moment a Fire-type Pokémon appears in the preview. Pair it with something that resists Fire or draws Fire moves away from Scizor.
Bullet Punch's +1 priority means it beats most neutral-priority moves on that turn. But it does not beat higher-priority moves — Fake Out (+3 priority) beats Bullet Punch on the same turn. Track which opposing Pokémon have priority moves that outrank Bullet Punch, since those Pokémon can attack Scizor before it moves.
For teams without speed control, Scizor provides a built-in answer to fast threats — regardless of how fast the opponent is, Bullet Punch lands first. That role is more valuable the more your team relies on slower, harder-hitting Pokémon that need the opposing fast attackers neutralized before they can act.