Pokémon Skarmory

[Shadow_Sneak]

Approved by Aragorn the King
Name: Skarmory (#227) Type: Steel/Flying
Base Stats: 65/80/140/40/70/70
Notable Moves: (STABs in Bold)
Taunt
Counter
Roost
Spikes
Stealth Rocks
Iron Head
Brave Bird
Whirlwind
Toxic
Defog

Abilities:
Keen Eye: Prevents other Pokemon from lowering this Pokemon's accuracy.

Sturdy: This Pokemon is immune to OHKO moves, and will survive with 1 HP if hit by an attack which would KO it while at full health.

Weak Armor: Causes physical moves to lower the Pokemon's Defense and increase its Speed stat by one stage.

Potential Movesets

Defensive Hazard Setter

Skarmory @ Shed Shell/Leftovers/Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock/Spikes
- Roost
- Defog/Whirlwind
- Brave Bird/Counter

This is as classic as it gets when it comes to Skarmory in this generation. Stealth Rocks or Spikes as your entry hazard of choice as having 2 on the same set can make it more prone to Taunts from Gliscor or other Pokemon that run speed. Roost is mandatory on this set as it keeps Skarmory in the game for a longer time. Defog can be run if you don't have a spinner or another Pokemon who can Defog. Whirlwind is your other choice to phase setup sweepers. The last slot is dedicated for helping Skarmory defend itself Counter for hitting the Pokemon who try to kill Skarmory with a physical move. Brave Bird can be used for an all around reliable STAB move for hitting everything. You can run some speed but it will take a little bit away from your defensive bulk. Try not to run speed when you have counter as being slower then some of the faster Pokemon helps.

Offensive Hazard Setter

Skarmory @ Salac Berry/Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Brave Bird/Iron Head
- Taunt

Due to Custap Berry's release Skarmory has become a viable lead on HO again. While his speed is mediocre his ability sturdy allows him to set up at least one entry hazard, Taunt, or attack before he can be killed. (excluding mold breaker pokemon.) When combined with Custap Skarmoy is almost always guaranteed to get an extra entry hazard, attack, or Taunt off. Due to Skarmory having just natural resistances and considerable bulk he can still take a hit and can take most priority attacks. Salac berry is an alternative worth a mention, this stops Lati@s mindgames. Salac Berry is a good alternative too
Some Threats: Electric Types in general are a nuisance. Mainly because they can spam STAB Volt Switch or Thunderbolt.

Special Pokemon with Fire Type/Electric Type moves two worth a mention are Gothitelle and Magnezone as they can trap you and kill Skarmory if he doesn't have a shed shell.

Final Thoughts: Skarmory overall is still good in this meta and can be one of the best walls in the metagame at times due to his insane physical bulk. Offensive Skarmory should not to be overlooked as a lead for offensive teams.

How well do you think Skarmory competes with others in this metagame? Discuss it down below.

 

[Sanger Zonvolt]

I haven't had time to test Custap Skarmory, but I'm pretty sure Brave Bird is mandatory so that you can kill yourself and prevent your hazards from being spun away. Otherwise this looks awesome

 

[Shadow_Sneak]

I haven't had time to test Custap Skarmory, but I'm pretty sure Brave Bird is mandatory so that you can kill yourself and prevent your hazards from being spun away. Otherwise this looks awesome

Its usually a throw up between the two as it really depends on what type of leads you are trying to cover.

 

[bludz]

Yeah I got my Diancie bopped the other day by a Custap Iron Head. Never forget, always click protect.

 

[BlueLobster]

Yeah I got my Diancie bopped the other day by a Custap Iron Head. Never forget, always click protect.

Was probably me, I run BB + Iron Head just for Diancie bopping.

Mention salac berry on the offense lead set, it stops Lati@s mindgames where they defog on the custap turn, and outspeed and attack on the next turn. I do prefer custap though. I'd also add a defog set; defog/roost/whirlwind/Filler

 

[Shadow_Sneak]

Was probably me, I run BB + Iron Head just for Diancie bopping.

Mention salac berry on the offense lead set, it stops Lati@s mindgames where they defog on the custap turn, and outspeed and attack on the next turn. I do prefer custap though. I'd also add a defog set; defog/roost/whirlwind/Filler

I will add the salac berry but the extra set is unncessary as the defensive set above pretty much does the same things as the defog set just with a slightly altered moveset.

 

[Patolegend!]

I honestly think that Salac should be ahead of Custap for the lead set, as they both achieve the same things, but Salac does it more consistently; the +1 speed you get from Salac is permanent (while you're alive), and not just one turn like Custap, which can easily be wasted.

If I'm facing a lead Skarm and I have an excadrill/Starmie/fast defogger in the back, I'm going to bring it to Custap range and then switch into Zap/Lati on the Custap turn as it gets a layer of spikes thinking it'll be fainted, only to outspeed and defog/spin.

If it has Salac however, I can't do that, because Skarm will still outspeed and suicide BB, preventing hazard removal. That base 70 speed is enough to outspeed everything anyway, apart from >130 base speed, which is rare. There are very few times that Custap is actually better than Salac: Against a Mega Manectric, and against a team with Volt Switch and slow Azu, Breloom, Diggersby, Scizor, or a fast scarfer.

At the minute though, Mega Scizor is running enough speed to outspeed Custap Skarm's priority, and Breloom's a coinflip.

I just prefer the consistency of Salac and reckon it's a better choice overall.

 

[En]

Not to nitpick, but shouldn't offensive custap skarm be running 252 HP instead of attack? There's really no need for it to put the EVs in attack since all it will be doing 95% of the time is setting up stealth rock or a layer of spikes. It would allow it to take hits better and maybe get off up an extra entry hazard.

 

[pika pal]

Not to nitpick, but shouldn't offensive custap skarm be running 252 HP instead of attack? There's really no need for it to put the EVs in attack since all it will be doing 95% of the time is setting up stealth rock or a layer of spikes. It would allow it to take hits better and maybe get off up an extra entry hazard.

The HP EVs are counter intuitive to the set's role as a suicide lead. Skarmory wants to lay out the Hazards with its berry, and then faint to give a free switch and prevent removal. Max Attack and no HP means Skarmory hurts as much as it can on its Suicide Brave Bird, and the minimum HP ensures the recoil will knock it out (Sturdy averts and relevant attempt to OHKO it anyway).

 

[Mitchhhhhh]

The HP EVs are counter intuitive to the set's role as a suicide lead. Skarmory wants to lay out the Hazards with its berry, and then faint to give a free switch and prevent removal. Max Attack and no HP means Skarmory hurts as much as it can on its Suicide Brave Bird, and the minimum HP ensures the recoil will knock it out (Sturdy averts and relevant attempt to OHKO it anyway).

You don't always wanna use your attacking move though, and Iron Head is probably a better choice atm considering how popular M-Diancie is atm and how you're otherwise completely useless against it.

Also 252 HP EVs make sure you'll most likely avoid the OHKO from LO Kyurem-B (who ignores Sturdy due to Teravolt):

Phys-Mixed Cube:
252+ Atk Life Orb Teravolt Kyurem-B Fusion Bolt vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Skarmory: 286-338 (85.6 - 101.1%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

Spec-Mixed Cube:
252+ SpA Life Orb Teravolt Kyurem-B Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Skarmory: 265-313 (79.3 - 93.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

 

[pika pal]

You don't always wanna use your attacking move though, and Iron Head is probably a better choice atm considering how popular M-Diancie is atm and how you're otherwise completely useless against it.

Also 252 HP EVs make sure you'll most likely avoid the OHKO from LO Kyurem-B (who ignores Sturdy due to Teravolt):

Phys-Mixed Cube:
252+ Atk Life Orb Teravolt Kyurem-B Fusion Bolt vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Skarmory: 286-338 (85.6 - 101.1%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

Spec-Mixed Cube:
252+ SpA Life Orb Teravolt Kyurem-B Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Skarmory: 265-313 (79.3 - 93.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Wait, how often does the opponent lead with Kyu-B though? I was under the impression the Custap/Salac set was for Suicide Leading on HO teams, where Skarmory's entire point was to just lay the hazards and then die. It doesn't click Brave Bird specifically for the damage, but to let the recoil kill itself at low health so the opponent can't remove the hazards before it dies. If Kyu-B is not out on the first turn, then Skarmory's already gotten at least one hazard down. More Attack and less HP means Skarmory takes a greater Percentage of its health when it uses Brave Bird, thus it's easier to suicide if it got hit hard but not down to Sturdy range specifically.

Diancie I'll give you, but most sets I see run Protect to Mega Evolve anyway, which would mean Iron Head won't hit it until it outspeeds and you can't lay a hazard since it immediately gets Magic Bounce. That said, I doubt many players would lead with Diancie, since it can't OHKO Skarmory, and losing your fast offensive Mega just to stop a suicide hazard lead, even vs HO, isn't what I'd call an even trade.

252 SpA Mega Diancie Hidden Power Fire vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Skarmory: 204-242 (75.2 - 89.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Skarmory Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Diancie: 348-412 (144.3 - 170.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

I just don't think there are enough cases of either Magic Bouncers or Mold Breaker-esque users that could OHKO Skarmory with the HP vs without, and even fewer that will be used to lead/anti-lead it.

 

[Mitchhhhhh]

Wait, how often does the opponent lead with Kyu-B though? I was under the impression the Custap/Salac set was for Suicide Leading on HO teams, where Skarmory's entire point was to just lay the hazards and then die. It doesn't click Brave Bird specifically for the damage, but to let the recoil kill itself at low health so the opponent can't remove the hazards before it dies. If Kyu-B is not out on the first turn, then Skarmory's already gotten at least one hazard down. More Attack and less HP means Skarmory takes a greater Percentage of its health when it uses Brave Bird, thus it's easier to suicide if it got hit hard but not down to Sturdy range specifically.

LO Cube is probably not common enough to actually worry about so it's not hugely important. Ofc Custap Skarm is a suicide lead, it lays hazards till it's dead, that doesn't neccesarily involve using BB to kill itself though, it's simply an opportunity in the right circumstances, laying another layer of spikes will be a better option most of the time.

Diancie I'll give you, but most sets I see run Protect to Mega Evolve anyway, which would mean Iron Head won't hit it until it outspeeds and you can't lay a hazard since it immediately gets Magic Bounce. That said, I doubt many players would lead with Diancie, since it can't OHKO Skarmory, and losing your fast offensive Mega just to stop a suicide hazard lead, even vs HO, isn't what I'd call an even trade.

252 SpA Mega Diancie Hidden Power Fire vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Skarmory: 204-242 (75.2 - 89.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Skarmory Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Diancie: 348-412 (144.3 - 170.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

I just don't think there are enough cases of either Magic Bouncers or Mold Breaker-esque users that could OHKO Skarmory with the HP vs without, and even fewer that will be used to lead/anti-lead it.

Protect doesn't matter as Diancie can't OHKO Skarmory and Skarmory without Iron Head can't really touch Diancie and it obviously can't set up hazards on it, losing a bit of health to prevent a HO team from getting hazards down full stop is probably worth it tbh.

Hide

252 Atk Skarmory Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Diancie: 65-77 (26.9 - 31.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
4 Atk Skarmory Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Diancie: 50-59 (20.7 - 24.4%) -- guaranteed 5HKO

 

[Kioskate]

Why is roar included as a notable move? The only soundproof you might see in OU is Abomasnow pre-mega, who you'd want to phase out.

 

[MilkyWay]

For the suicide lead set i have been experimenting with Timid (252 speed evs), max hp, Mental Herb, and Whirlwind. Sure you don't kill yourself, but you can basically ensure nobody sets up on you (besides Mega Sableye and Mega Diancie who shouldn't be able to sweep your team from turn 1 since this Skarmory is a lead) and you beat all common taunters and just taunt them back. The extra bulk doesn't hurt either

 

[Shadow_Sneak]

Why is roar included as a notable move? The only soundproof you might see in OU is Abomasnow pre-mega, who you'd want to phase out.

Its slashed after whirlwind as it doesn't really matter which phasing move you use. Also you don't even have to phase abomasnow if you are running BB you hit it for a lot of damage its just entry hazard fodder and not even that viable in OU.

 

[Karxrida]

There is no reason to run Roar when Whirlwind is objectively better. I'd rather be crazy-prepared and be able to phaze random Soundproof mons than not.

 

[DarkNostalgia]

spdef skarmory where?
great counter to diancie, garde, really should be a main set. heck the first set.