Status: Complete?
In light of the extremely productive Skarmory set that was popularized in recent Suspect play (I assume?), I wrote this set up as I believe it should have a place in the analysis. Feel free to argue if you think it's unnecessary; changes and criticism are always welcome.
Team Options is in brown.
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/skarmory
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[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Roost
move 3: Spikes
move 4: Whirlwind
item: Leftovers / Shed Shell
ability: Keen Eye
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>From days that date back to early GS, Skarmory has regularly been used as a physical wall. DPP's physical-special split, however, changed certain circumstances. Turning Skarmory into a part-physical, part-special wall is greatly beneficial for balanced or stall-based teams; Specially Defensive Skarmory is sturdy at the job of setting up Spikes and breaks the traditional "Skarmory will always lose to unresisted special attacks" rule. At first glance, it may seem that 334 HP and 239 SpD are rather low stats for walling, but Skarmory's nine resistances and two immunities compensate for this. Skarmory also has 348 Defense with an Impish nature with which to take little damage from common physical attacks like Scizor's Bullet Punch and Weavile's Ice Punch.</p>
<p>The fundamental idea that this set revolves around is simple: come in on neutral or ineffective special attacks from weaker special attackers, and set up Spikes while shrugging off physical attacks that Skarmory can handle. Skarmory's specially defensive capabilities can clearly be seen in the following examples: Bold 0 SpA Vaporeon only does around 35% with Surf; Modest 252 SpA Togekiss only does around 32% with Aura Sphere; Bold 0 SpA Suicune only does around 30% with Surf. Furthermore, Specially Defensive Skarmory is especially adept at taking hits from both physical and special Dragon-type moves. This Skarmory also makes a reliable check to Calm Mind/Surf Latias, able to phaze it with Whirlwind while taking around 43% from a +1 Surf. Next, 252 SpA Life Orb Salamence will do around 42% with its Draco Meteor, and a Fire Blast coming from its -2 SpA stat is unable to OHKO Skarmory. Draco Meteors coming from Dragonite and Kingdra will do even less. Skarmory is also able to wall Outrages and Dragon Claws with ease, taking around 32% from non-boosted Life Orb Salamence's Outrage, one of OU's strongest Outrages. Skarmory can also combat 80 SpA Flygon, but Fire Blast will unfortunately 2HKO it. Choice Scarf Flygon's standard U-turn, Fire Punch, and Outrage will do very little to it, though, and Skarmory's immunity to Ground-type moves helps.</p>
<p>Generally, Specially Defensive Skarmory will also have an easy time with Grass-types whose main forms of offense lie in Grass Knot and Leaf Storm, Choiced Psychic-types locked onto the wrong moves, and even EdgeQuake abusers. Moreover, 80 SpA Blissey will do only around 35% with Flamethrower, allowing Skarmory to set up on it while Roosting.</p>
<p>Brave Bird is Skarmory's strongest means of offense, threatening Infernape, Breloom, and Heracross, while also striking Gyarados. Gyarados only has a 32% chance of 2HKOing you with +1 Attack and Stealth Rock in play. Next, Roost cannot be neglected on any of Skarmory's sets. With Spikes, Skarmory turns into a highly supportive team player. Finally, Whirlwind offers Skarmory the phazing technique, which is useful against Pokemon that commonly set-up, or against an incoming switch-in to inflict further residual damage.</p>
<p>Though Specially Defensive Skarmory is not immediately threatened by the likes of Tentacruel and Vaporeon, it does have a number of enemies that it hates. Heatran and Rotom-A can switch right into Skarmory, resisting Brave Bird OHKOing it with their STAB moves. If Infernape comes in on Roost or Spikes, Fire Blast is sure to OHKO Skarmory. Another way to shut the metal bird down is through the use of Taunt, which disables three of Skarmory's moves. Bulky Taunt Gyarados will cause myriad problems if Skarmory is unable to Whirlwind it out of play. Also, Pokemon like Trick Jirachi and Spore Breloom can take advantage of its low Speed. Some Rapid Spinners, like Forretress, don't take much damage from Brave Bird and can Spin away Skarmory's Spikes. Finally, Magnezone, Skarmory's greatest archenemy, can cause problems if it switches in on anything except Whirlwind. For this reason, Shed Shell is an acceptable choice of item to equip on Skarmory.</p>
<p>A number of partners can work alongside Skarmory to create remarkable walling combinations. Latias is a great partner as it resists Electric- and Fire-type moves, which are always threatening Skarmory. In return, Skarmory helps Latias resist Bug-, Dark-, Dragon-, and Ghost-type moves. Because Skarmory and Latias are both independent in being able to heal themselves, they are commonly found on stall teams. Next, Spin Blockers help prevent Rapid Spinners like Starmie from removing entry hazards from the battlefield; if they succeed, then Skarmory's hard work in setting up Spikes will have been for naught. Rotom-A's common presence in stall teams make them great partners to Skarmory. Heatran is also a fantastic Skarmory partner - Fire-type moves that Skarmory attracts can be redirected to Heatran to gain a Flash Fire boost. At the same time, Skarmory is immune to Earthquake and can shrug off Surfs coming from bulky Water-types. A bulky Ground-type is also good at working with Skarmory. Swampert is a fine partner and tank - its 4x Grass-type weakness is nullified by Skarmory's 4x Grass-type resistance. Because Skarmory is unaffected by sandstorm damage, Hippowdon makes a solid partner. Lastly, don't forget the infamous Skarmory, Cresselia, and Blissey combo meant to function as an unbelievably stable defensive core.</p>
In light of the extremely productive Skarmory set that was popularized in recent Suspect play (I assume?), I wrote this set up as I believe it should have a place in the analysis. Feel free to argue if you think it's unnecessary; changes and criticism are always welcome.
Team Options is in brown.
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/skarmory
------------------------------------------------------
[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Roost
move 3: Spikes
move 4: Whirlwind
item: Leftovers / Shed Shell
ability: Keen Eye
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>From days that date back to early GS, Skarmory has regularly been used as a physical wall. DPP's physical-special split, however, changed certain circumstances. Turning Skarmory into a part-physical, part-special wall is greatly beneficial for balanced or stall-based teams; Specially Defensive Skarmory is sturdy at the job of setting up Spikes and breaks the traditional "Skarmory will always lose to unresisted special attacks" rule. At first glance, it may seem that 334 HP and 239 SpD are rather low stats for walling, but Skarmory's nine resistances and two immunities compensate for this. Skarmory also has 348 Defense with an Impish nature with which to take little damage from common physical attacks like Scizor's Bullet Punch and Weavile's Ice Punch.</p>
<p>The fundamental idea that this set revolves around is simple: come in on neutral or ineffective special attacks from weaker special attackers, and set up Spikes while shrugging off physical attacks that Skarmory can handle. Skarmory's specially defensive capabilities can clearly be seen in the following examples: Bold 0 SpA Vaporeon only does around 35% with Surf; Modest 252 SpA Togekiss only does around 32% with Aura Sphere; Bold 0 SpA Suicune only does around 30% with Surf. Furthermore, Specially Defensive Skarmory is especially adept at taking hits from both physical and special Dragon-type moves. This Skarmory also makes a reliable check to Calm Mind/Surf Latias, able to phaze it with Whirlwind while taking around 43% from a +1 Surf. Next, 252 SpA Life Orb Salamence will do around 42% with its Draco Meteor, and a Fire Blast coming from its -2 SpA stat is unable to OHKO Skarmory. Draco Meteors coming from Dragonite and Kingdra will do even less. Skarmory is also able to wall Outrages and Dragon Claws with ease, taking around 32% from non-boosted Life Orb Salamence's Outrage, one of OU's strongest Outrages. Skarmory can also combat 80 SpA Flygon, but Fire Blast will unfortunately 2HKO it. Choice Scarf Flygon's standard U-turn, Fire Punch, and Outrage will do very little to it, though, and Skarmory's immunity to Ground-type moves helps.</p>
<p>Generally, Specially Defensive Skarmory will also have an easy time with Grass-types whose main forms of offense lie in Grass Knot and Leaf Storm, Choiced Psychic-types locked onto the wrong moves, and even EdgeQuake abusers. Moreover, 80 SpA Blissey will do only around 35% with Flamethrower, allowing Skarmory to set up on it while Roosting.</p>
<p>Brave Bird is Skarmory's strongest means of offense, threatening Infernape, Breloom, and Heracross, while also striking Gyarados. Gyarados only has a 32% chance of 2HKOing you with +1 Attack and Stealth Rock in play. Next, Roost cannot be neglected on any of Skarmory's sets. With Spikes, Skarmory turns into a highly supportive team player. Finally, Whirlwind offers Skarmory the phazing technique, which is useful against Pokemon that commonly set-up, or against an incoming switch-in to inflict further residual damage.</p>
<p>Though Specially Defensive Skarmory is not immediately threatened by the likes of Tentacruel and Vaporeon, it does have a number of enemies that it hates. Heatran and Rotom-A can switch right into Skarmory, resisting Brave Bird OHKOing it with their STAB moves. If Infernape comes in on Roost or Spikes, Fire Blast is sure to OHKO Skarmory. Another way to shut the metal bird down is through the use of Taunt, which disables three of Skarmory's moves. Bulky Taunt Gyarados will cause myriad problems if Skarmory is unable to Whirlwind it out of play. Also, Pokemon like Trick Jirachi and Spore Breloom can take advantage of its low Speed. Some Rapid Spinners, like Forretress, don't take much damage from Brave Bird and can Spin away Skarmory's Spikes. Finally, Magnezone, Skarmory's greatest archenemy, can cause problems if it switches in on anything except Whirlwind. For this reason, Shed Shell is an acceptable choice of item to equip on Skarmory.</p>
<p>A number of partners can work alongside Skarmory to create remarkable walling combinations. Latias is a great partner as it resists Electric- and Fire-type moves, which are always threatening Skarmory. In return, Skarmory helps Latias resist Bug-, Dark-, Dragon-, and Ghost-type moves. Because Skarmory and Latias are both independent in being able to heal themselves, they are commonly found on stall teams. Next, Spin Blockers help prevent Rapid Spinners like Starmie from removing entry hazards from the battlefield; if they succeed, then Skarmory's hard work in setting up Spikes will have been for naught. Rotom-A's common presence in stall teams make them great partners to Skarmory. Heatran is also a fantastic Skarmory partner - Fire-type moves that Skarmory attracts can be redirected to Heatran to gain a Flash Fire boost. At the same time, Skarmory is immune to Earthquake and can shrug off Surfs coming from bulky Water-types. A bulky Ground-type is also good at working with Skarmory. Swampert is a fine partner and tank - its 4x Grass-type weakness is nullified by Skarmory's 4x Grass-type resistance. Because Skarmory is unaffected by sandstorm damage, Hippowdon makes a solid partner. Lastly, don't forget the infamous Skarmory, Cresselia, and Blissey combo meant to function as an unbelievably stable defensive core.</p>