In-battle formes
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| HP: | 65 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Attack: | 80 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Defense: | 140 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sp. Atk: | 40 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sp. Def: | 70 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Speed: | 70 |
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Strategies
- en
Overview
Skarmory stands out as the tier's best Spikes user and one of the best physical walls. Its movepool makes it a strong pick for teams that appreciate the extra residual damage it can inflict with Spikes and, most of the time, Toxic. Its Steel / Flying typing is also perfect for its role as a wall, leaving it without any physical weaknesses and with a resistance to all but two physically attacking types, namely Rock and Fighting. However, two exploitable weaknesses to specially attacking types make it vulnerable to Fire- and Electric-type attacks. Despite this, Skarmory is an incredible Pokemon that should always be considered.
Standard
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Set Description
Spikes allows Skarmory to apply residual damage to the opposing team and is the primary reason to use it. Roar is one of the main reasons to use Skarmory over other Spikers because most of the time it prevents Skarmory from being setup bait for foes. It also allows Skarmory to take advantage of Spikes by phazing foes and racking up residual damage. Protect gives Skarmory an extra turn of Leftovers recovery and is quite effective due to Skarmory's immunity to Toxic, Sandstorm damage, and Spikes. It also gives Skarmory a method of scouting for unexpected Fire- and Electric-type attacks. Taunt is an option that allows Skarmory to stop opposing Spikers from laying Spikes. Toxic allows Skarmory to threaten spinners such as Cloyster and non-Refresh Claydol, both of which can switch in and remove Spikes without fear. It also allows Skarmory to threaten many other Pokemon such as Tyranitar, Swampert without Refresh, Zapdos, Salamence, Suicune, Jolteon, and Porygon2. Furthermore, it pairs great with Protect to apply more damage to the foe; even defensive Starmie has trouble with Toxic + Protect Skarmory. Drill Peck is an option that allows Skarmory to do a lot of damage to Fighting-types such as Heracross, prevent Gengar from switching in for free, and hurt Taunt Gyarados. It also prevents Refresh Claydol and Forretress from regaining health with Leftovers against Skarmory. Drill Peck can also be used alongside Toxic in place of Protect at the cost of recovery and scouting ability.
The EVs maximize Skarmory's special bulk. This allows Skarmory to take advantage of weak special attackers such as defensive Swampert with ease. It also gives it a better chance to survive Magneton's Thunderbolt. If Taunt is used, it is recommended to run a decent amount of Speed investment to outspeed opposing Skarmory.
Team Options
Spikes wears down grounded walls and makes powerful attackers such as Tyranitar more difficult to switch into. Blissey forms the fearsome SkarmBliss core with Skarmory: Blissey can handle special attackers that trouble Skarmory, while Skarmory can handle physical attackers such as Snorlax that take advantage of Blissey. Gengar not only takes advantage of Skarmory's Spikes but also has the added benefit of being able to block Rapid Spin, which makes it a great teammate. Swampert can back Skarmory up as a physical wall and run Roar to utilize Spikes even better. Fast sweepers, such as offensive Starmie and Aerodactyl, appreciate Spikes wearing down the opponent's team so that they can clean late-game. Pokemon such as Jolteon that force a lot of switches are also great with Spikes support, as the switches they force become much more potent with the additional residual damage. Dugtrio or Hidden Power Fire Magneton can trap opposing Magneton, which can often be disastrous for teams that rely on Magneton to check Skarmory. At the very least, they can revenge kill Magneton after it has trapped Skarmory, making a one-for-one trade.
Offensive Spikes
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Set Description
Spikes is obligatory on Skarmory. STAB Drill Peck hits surprisingly hard and discourages Gengar from freely switching in. Hidden Power Ground OHKOes Magneton lacking investment in bulk, which can be game changing, as Magneton is the only answer to Skarmory on many teams. Taunt shuts down opposing Skarmory and helps Skarmory beat Blissey without a Fire-type move. Roar can almost always force out setup sweepers that try to set up on Skarmory and can rack up residual damage as well.
The EVs maximize Skarmory's Attack and Speed, which enables it to outspeed Modest Magneton that has Hidden Power Fire and OHKO it with Hidden Power Ground. A Jolly nature can be considered to outspeed Timid Magneton and the rare Medicham, but as a result, Skarmory's Attack will be lower, meaning Skarmory is no longer able to guarantee OHKO on Magneton without investment in bulk.
Team Options
Since this Skarmory set isn't bulky, it fits on Spikes offensive teams. Jolteon absorbs Electric-type attacks for Skarmory, and its STAB Thunderbolt synergizes well with Spikes because Pokemon immune to Spikes are often vulnerable to Electric-type attacks. Gengar acts as a spinblocker for Spikes from Skarmory, while Skarmory takes Dark-, Ghost-, and Psychic-type attacks for Gengar. Offensive Swampert can be an excellent glue, while Skarmory can switch into Grass-type attacks for Swampert. Bulky Tyranitar resists Fire-type attacks and can take some Electric-type attacks for Skarmory, and Spikes support makes it harder for foes to switch into its STAB Rock Slide. Moltres can pivot into Fire-type moves for Skarmory and run Roar to better utilize Spikes. Thanks to Starmie's access to Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, and Psychic, it threatens many Pokemon that are immune to Spikes.
Other Options
Rest can be used, allowing Skarmory to cure itself of status and regain health at the cost of being inactive for two sleep turns. Soft Sand on the offensive Spikes set can be used to have a better chance to OHKO bulky Magneton, though Skarmory will miss out on recovery from Leftovers.
Checks and Counters
Skarmory is quite easy to counter due to its lack of offensive presence and low Special Defense. Magneton is the best counter to Skarmory; thanks to Magnet Pull, it can switch in, trap Skarmory, and KO it with Thunderbolt. It is to be emphasized that Timid or bulky Magneton variants are more reliable at trapping offensive Spikes Skarmory; however, Timid Magneton has a lower chance to OHKO standard Skarmory with full investment in special bulk. Any decently strong special attacker with a Fire- or Electric-type move can scare Skarmory, especially if it is not concerned about Toxic or Drill Peck, such as Jirachi.
Most of the time, the main issue for the opposing team is dealing with Spikes set by Skarmory. Spinners such as Starmie, Claydol, Forretress, and Cloyster can remove Spikes. Refresh Claydol, Starmie, and Forretress don't care about Toxic, but they will be worn down by Drill Peck. While Rapid Spin is not commonly found on offensive teams, they usually have at least five members that can deal with Skarmory. As offensive teams usually don't switch enough for Spikes damage to really rack up, it may be fine for them if there are one or two layers of Spikes on their side.
