[COMPLETED] Skarmory

Dr Ciel

Banned deucer.

I like birds.
[Pros]
<ul>
<li>It checks a majority of physical Pokemon due to a high Defense stat.</li>
<li>Its fantastic typing gives it only 2 weaknesses.</li>
<li>Its access to Roost and no Stealth Rock weakness makes it hard to wear down.</li>
</ul>

[Cons]

<ul>
<li>It's weak to common special attackers.</li>
<li>It's unable to stomach boosted physical attacks.</li>
<li>New Defog mechanics have devalued Spikes.</li>
</ul>


<p>Skarmory @ Leftovers / Shed Shell<br />
<p>Ability: Sturdy<br />
<p>EVs: 224 HP / 252 Def / 32 SpD<br />
<p>Impish Nature<br />
- Spikes<br />
- Roost<br />
- Whirlwind<br />
- Brave Bird / Taunt</p>

<p>Despite the introduction of several new offensive threats, Skarmory still stands out as an excellent check to a vast majority of them. With this set, Skarmory aims to wall a vast majority of physical attackers in the metagame and with its massive base 140 Defense, several Pokemon will struggle to bring it down . Spikes is the basis of this set, laying down critical entry hazards to wear down all grounded Pokemon. Roost is another critical move, as it provides Skarmory with reliable recovery as well as the ability to wear down Life Orb users. Whirlwind makes Skarmory an effective phazer, especially against setup sweepers. Brave Bird ties down this set by giving Skarmory a solid STAB move that handles most threats. However, Taunt prevents Skarmory from being set up on, especially by Wobbuffet</p>

<p>Skarmory @ Leftovers<br />
<p>Ability: Sturdy<br />
<p>EVs: 224 HP / 32 Def / 252 SpD<br />
<p>Careful / Impish Nature<br />
- Spikes<br />
- Roost<br />
- Whirlwind<br />
- Brave Bird / Taunt<br />
<p>Skarmory's naturally high base Defense allows it to invest fully in Special Defense in order to take on several Pokemon, including specially based Grass- and Dragon-types and Togekiss, as well provide Skarmory with excellent opportunities to set up Spikes and bulky Water types. Once again, Spikes is the basis of the set, wearing down all grounded opponents. Roost is good for wearing down Pokemon that carry Life Orb as well for stalling out the PP of low power moves such as Hydro Pump, Blizzard and others. Whirlwind helps Skarmory become an effective phazer for setup sweepers, while also having use for shuffling around the opponent's team, racking up entry hazard damage. Brave Bird once again prevents Skarmory from being Taunt bait and provides it with a STAB move. Taunt helps Skarmory shut down opposing Pokémon that might want to set up</p>

[Checks and Counters]
<p>Magnezone is the textbook counter for Skarmory, trapping and killing it while resisting every move in its arsenal, and outside of Shed Shell, Skarmory can only hope to Whirlwind it away if Sturdy is intact.
All of the Rotom formes are immune to Spikes and can use Will-O-Wisp to nullify Sturdy followed by a Thunderbolt to take Skarmory out.
<p>Starmie can use Rapid Spin to remove Skarmory's entry hazards altogether and Brave Bird doesn't hurt it much due to Recover.

Although both of them hate taking a Brave Bird, Espeon and Xatu can reflect entry hazards back by way of Magic Bounce.</p>
 
Last edited:
Hey, just some thoughts here and there, take of them what you will :>

I'd mention under cons that new Defog mechanics have devalued Spikes, and Skarm by extension, somewhat, which is particularly pertinent to the Custap Lead (it hurts the other sets as well, but they're commonly on stall / balanced builds, and thereby are more inclined to accommodate for that). Speaking of the Custap Lead, I'm not all too sure why it wouldn't run 4 EVs in HP, rather than Defense; by doing so, Skarm hits 272 HP, which is divisible by 16, and therefore makes it just a little bit more likely to get brought down to Custap range. In application, a scenario in which Skarm exclusively takes damage from Stealth Rock / Hail damage to the point where this is applicable is incredibly rare, but at the same time there's absolutely no reason not to. Ah, and if SpDef Skarm is getting mentioned, specially-based Dragon- and Grass-types, as well as Togekiss, should definitely get acknowledged as significant Spiking opportunities, at least before bulky Waters (I mean, it can Spike on them decently, but it means almost definitely compromising it to a Scald burn, which is meh).

edit: Careful SpDef Skarm also narrowly avoids the 2HKO from MegaGar's Shadow Ball (44.03 - 52.29%), which I think would be worth mentioning specifically, but not my call :x
 
Last edited:
Skarmory only has base 65 HP and its defenses are both higher than its HP. It also has sturdy, and it is not residual weak with 252 HP. It benefits the greatest from max HP not only for greater defenses on both sides, but more HP to waste with Brave Bird too.

I actually contacted Quality Control on IRC several months ago to have this fixed. Looks like I was just ignored.... =\
 

alexwolf

lurks in the shadows
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
meddle is right and with this info there is no longer a use for a suicide lead Skarmory so remove it.
 

alexwolf

lurks in the shadows
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
Revert this to skeleton form. You are supposed to write it up only after you get your first two QC stamps.

EDIT: I guess this is not needed now.
 
Last edited:

GatoDelFuego

The Antimonymph of the Internet
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Dr Ciel

REMOVE CHANGE COMMENTS

[Pros]
<ul>
<li>It checks the a majority of physical Pokemon due to a high Defense stat.</li>
<li>Its fantastic typing that gives it only 2 weaknesses.</li>
<li>Its access to Roost and no Stealth Rock weakness makes it hard to wear down.</li>
</ul>

[Cons]

<ul>
<li>It's weak to common special attackers.</li>
<li>It's unable to stomach boosted physical attacks.</li>
<li>New Defog mechanics have devalued Spikes.</li>
</ul>


<p>Skarmory @ Leftovers / Shed Shell<br />
<p>Ability: Sturdy<br />
<p>EVs: 224 HP / 252 Def / 32 SpD<br />
<p>Impish Nature<br />
- Spikes<br />
- Roost<br />
- Whirlwind<br />
- Brave Bird / Taunt</p>
space
<p>Despite the introduction of several new offensive threats, Skarmory still stands out as an excellent check to a vast majority of them. With this set, Skarmory aims to wall a vast majority of physical attackers in the metagame and with its massive base 140 Defense, several Pokemon will struggle to bring it down the great metal bird. Spikes is the basis of this set, laying down critical entry hazards to wear down all grounded Pokemon. Roost is another critical move on this set, as it provides Skarmory with reliable recovery as well as the ability to wear down Life Orb users. Whirlwind makes Skarmory an effective phazer, especially against setup sweepers. Brave Bird ties down this set by giving Skarmory a solid STAB move that handles most threats. However, Taunt prevents Skarmory from being set up on, especially by Wobbuffet</p>

<p>Skarmory @ Leftovers<br />
<p>Ability: Sturdy<br />
<p>EVs: 224 HP / 32 Def / 252 SpD<br />
<p>Careful / Impish Nature<br />
- Spikes<br />
- Roost<br />
- Whirlwind<br />
- Brave Bird / Taunt<br />
space
<p>Skarmory's naturally high base Defense allows it to invest fully in Special Defense in order to take on several Pokemon, including specially based Grass- and Dragon-types and Togekiss, (AC) as well as provide Skarmory with excellent opportunities to set up Spikes and bulky Water types. Once again, Spikes is the basis of the set, wearing down all grounded opponents. Roost is good for wearing down Pokemon that carry Life Orb as well for stalling out the PP of low power moves such as Hydro Pump, Blizzard, (AC) and others. Whirlwind helps Skarmory become an effective phazer for setup sweepers, while also having use for shuffling around the opponent's team, racking up entry hazard damage. Brave Bird once again prevents Skarmory from being Taunt bait and provides it with a STAB move. Taunt helps Skarmory shut down opposing Pokemon who that might want to set up entry hazards.</p>

[Checks and Counters]
<p>Magnezone is the textbook counter for Skarmory, trapping and killing it the giant bird while resisting every move in its arsenal, and outside of Shed Shell, Skarmory can only hope to Whirlwind it away if Sturdy is intact.<p>All of the Rotom formes are immune to Spikes and can use Will-O-Wisp to nullify Sturdy followed by a Thunderbolt to take Skarmory the metal bird out.<p>Starmie can use Rapid Spin to remove Skarmory's entry hazards altogether and Brave Bird doesn't hurt it much due to Recover.<p>Although both of them hate taking a Brave Bird, Espeon and Xatu can reflect entry hazards back by way of Magic Bounce.</p>

1/1
 
Last edited:
There absolutely needs to be a mention of Rocky Helmet on Skarmory. With Rocky Helmet, Skamory can beat the best spinner in the metagame right now, Excadrill, 1 vs 1 while keeping hazards on the field. The same applies for Donphan. Both are pretty prominent right now since they can lay the pain on everyone's favorite spin blocker Aegislash. Rocky Helmet Skarmoy + Aegislash can beat every spinner in the game outside of Mega Blastoise. Also Rocky Helmet helps against Volt-Turn teams that have made a return on the ladder because of Genesect.

edit: spellingz
 
Last edited:
Skarmory only has base 65 HP and its defenses are both higher than its HP. It also has sturdy, and it is not residual weak with 252 HP. It benefits the greatest from max HP not only for greater defenses on both sides, but more HP to waste with Brave Bird too.

I actually contacted Quality Control on IRC several months ago to have this fixed. Looks like I was just ignored.... =\
Don't forget about this. This is very important. I can bring up damage calculations, but it shouldn't be neccessary. "224 HP EVs allows Skarmory to regain Sturdy after switching into Stealth Rock and receiving two layers of Leftovers recovery." is a moot point because that is a lot of time for the opponent to react and you may have Shed Shell. You also may receive a hit while switching Skarmory in, and make that point even more moot. Honestly if something like Heatran or Rotom-w will put you into Sturdy range, you shouldn't even stay into them 95% of the time. 252 HP allows you to recover more HP with Roost too. The only thing 224 HP EVs gives you is 1 less point of Stealth Rock damage, and no other defensive pokemon would do that for the sake of argument of taking less Stealth Rock damage.

Hope I can help, and make sure you guys be more careful before approving next time please.
 
Last edited:

McGrrr

Facetious
is a Contributor Alumnus
I just viewed this, and then checked the BW Skarmory page, and I can't believe that nobody has realised that the recommended EVs are sub-optimal. To break it down for you:

1. When HP = Def, raise HP.
2. When HP > Def, raise Def.
3. When HP < Def, raise HP.

This is really easy to demonstrate:

252 Atk Adaptability Lucario Close Combat vs. 224 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 162-192 (49.54 - 58.71%) -- 69.53% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Adaptability Lucario Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 224+ Def Skarmory: 164-194 (49.1 - 58.08%) -- 64.45% chance to 2HKO

Note that we simply switched the recommended 224 HP with 252 Def. The outcome of running max HP is less damage in % terms. With 252 HP EVs, Skarmory has additional special bulk and Roost also recovers more HP. How did this get past Quality Control last generation?!
 
"224 HP EVs allows Skarmory to regain Sturdy after switching into Stealth Rock and receiving two layers of Leftovers recovery."

I don't know if this is actually useful in practice (I barely use Skarmory) because it seems quite situational for this to be case. However, this could potentially be game-changing if Skarmory gets to retain its Sturdy like that. I'm thinking that possibility outweighs the ~5 percentage, almost negligible, improvement to tanking hits. I don't really have much of an opinion on this, though. I'm okay with whatever the majority deems superior.
 

McGrrr

Facetious
is a Contributor Alumnus
"224 HP EVs allows Skarmory to regain Sturdy after switching into Stealth Rock and receiving two layers of Leftovers recovery."
Fair point. This is achievable by switching into e.g. Earthquake, taking SR damage, and having your opponent switch out. However, optimised EVs are relevant for every single hit that Skarmory sustains, so I really can't imagine that such a situational advantage would outweigh this.
 

Jibaku

Who let marco in here????
is a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a CAP Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Two-Time Past SPL Champion
I think having 2% more special bulk and a little bit more physical bulk outweighs the situational sturdy usage.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top