OK, a couple of people told me that my combo doesn't work because False Swipe does a set amount of damage that isn't affected by other effects (such as weakness). Well, this was my reply:
 
"Do you have any other rulings to base this opinion on? The only other card that I can think of with a '?' is Raticate, which does the same thing, but it's Colorless, so there can't be weakness or resistance. Oh wait, there can with Sprout Tower and Unown N. So would these not apply to Raticate's Hyper Fang (or is it Super Fang?); would it still do half without subtracting 30 for Sprout Tower or Unown N, or 60 for both? Also, by your statement, do Plus Power and Darkness Energy have no effect as well? How about Metal Energy (on either Pokémon)? NOTE: I'm talking about Raticate here.
 
Note that Scizor's False Swipe does not say "..put a number of damage counters on..." like Sabrina's Alakazam (someone has already used this arguement on me), but it says (and I quote): "Does damage equal to half the Defending Pokémon's remaining HP (rounded down to the nearest 10)." It also does not say "Do not apply weakness and resistance."
 
You're throwing out a lot of rules here on the basis of what you've just said. Unless Wizards decides to make a ruling to the contrary, or change the wording of the attack, this combo works. I don't see why they would though, since this combo isn't near as broken as, say, Slowking. This combo has enough kinks in it to make it fair (all that retreating, the ability of the opponent to retreat, the Pokémon that have no weakness to change) without bending the meaning of the card or the rules. This is why I said first off that this may be too good to be true: because of the inherent obstacles, not any problem with the technicalities of the combo itself."
 
I would also like to add that with Promo Smeargle, Raticate and/or Scizor can become the defender's weakness. (These are the "alternatives" I mentioned in the title) This brings into play the notion of weakness again, and "Does it apply?" I say "yes," for reasons listed above.
 
I'll say it again: If you take the words of the cards and the rules at face value (as you should unless Wizards declares otherwise), this combo works.
 
If anyone has any more qualms (for those of you in Palm Beach County, that means problems) with my combo, by all means let me know by email, and I will bash you down with my superior wit! Heh heh, just kidding! I'll respond politely as I have here.
 
Ankh-Morporkian
AnkhMorporkian@flashmail.com
AIM: AnkhMorporkian
 
Did you get the number of that donkey cart?