AAA Skarmory [DONE]

Gambit

Gambit

I need some company, a guardian angel
is a Pre-Contributor
[SET]
Physical Wall (Skarmory) @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Fluffy / Intimidate / Well-Baked Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold / Impish Nature
- Body Press / Brave Bird
- Spikes / Stealth Rock
- Roost
- Whirlwind / Iron Defense / Taunt

[SET COMMENTS]
Thanks to its high Defense stat, solid utility movepool, and amazing typing, Skarmory functions as a physically defensive wall as well as an entry hazard setter. Fluffy lets Skarmory better check strong physical attackers such as Roaring Moon, Zamazenta, and Kingambit, whereas Intimidate allows it to check Chien-Pao and the Ogerpon formes excluding Ogerpon-H; alternatively, Well-Baked Body enables Skarmory to check Fire-types like Moltres, Ogerpon-H, and Iron Moth lacking Discharge. Body Press hits Steel-types like Heatran, Iron Treads, and Kingambit for a great deal of damage, while Brave Bird is slightly stronger than an unboosted Body Press and nails Zamazenta, Great Tusk, and the Ogerpon formes. Spikes is very useful on hazard stacking team archetypes and can quickly wear down Great Tusk, Manaphy, and Swampert, whereas Stealth Rock gives Skarmory valuable role compression and wears down Chien-Pao and Corviknight. Whirlwind works well in conjunction with Spikes to wear down the opposing team quite fast and forces out setup sweepers like Bulk Up Great Tusk and Iron Defense Zamazenta, while Iron Defense, which should only be used with Body Press, is a move that lets Skarmory set up along with setup sweepers like Zamazenta, Kingambit, and Great Tusk. Otherwise, Taunt can be used to prevent Corviknight from using Defog or Roost as well as Ting-Lu from setting up Spikes or Stealth Rock, Heavily punishing both. Leftovers gives Skarmory extra longevity against Pokemon like Zamazenta, Chien-Pao, and Kingambit, though Rocky Helmet can be used instead to punish Pokemon like Great Tusk, Corviknight, and Zamazenta. Heavy-Duty Boots grants Skarmory immunity to Stealth Rock chip, which is quite helpful when it needs to repeatably switch in with Stealth Rock up.

Skarmory functions on more defensively focused teams that tend to slowly wear down the opposing team with Spikes. Partners like Roaring Moon, Zapdos, and Gholdengo appreciate the entry hazards that Skarmory sets up, as it allows them to slowly wear down their checks, like Great Tusk, Swampert, and Manaphy. Skarmory struggles with the tier's many special attackers, so specially defensive teammates like Iron Treads, Swampert, and RegenVest Roaring Moon are much appreciated. Depending on its ability, Skarmory will need teammates to help it on the physical side. If Skarmory is not using Fluffy, Pecharunt is a nice partner to aid against Choice Band Zamazenta, while physically defensive Manaphy can help against Chien-Pao for non-Intimidate Skarmory. Lastly, Skarmory without Well-Baked Body very much appreciates a Fire-resistant or Fire-immune partner like Swampert or Primordial Sea Zapdos. A Ghost-type Pokemon like Pecharunt or Earth Eater Gholdengo works as a great partner for Skarmory, as it can prevent Great Tusk and Iron Treads from using Rapid Spin to remove the entry hazards that Skarmory sets up.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gambit.652656/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/slither-wing.603931/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/cat.580765/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ryan.144939/

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Skarmory can make use of Flame Body or Static to fish for burn or paralysis on Pokemon that commonly make contact with it, such as Roaring Moon, Great Tusk, and Corviknight. Specially defensive variants of Skarmory with max Special Defense instead of Defense can run Water Absorb to better check Manaphy and Ogerpon-W or Volt Absorb to reliably check Zapdos and Sandy Shocks.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Special Attackers**: Skarmory's low HP and Special Defense leave it quite weak to special attackers like Gholdengo, Primarina, and Deoxys-S.

**Fire-types**: If Skarmory isn't using Well-Baked Body, it struggles against Fire-types like Ceruledge, Cinderace, and Ogerpon-H.

**Electric-types**: Electric-types like Zapdos, Iron Hands, and Sandy Shocks as well as Hadron Engine users like Latios and Deoxys-S can reliably outspeed and threaten an OHKO on Skarmory without Volt Absorb.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gambit.652656/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/slither-wing.603931/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/cat.580765/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ryan.144939/
 
Last edited:
Add Remove Highlight Comment
[SET]
Physical Wall (Skarmory) @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Fluffy / Intimidate / Well-Baked Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold or Impish Nature
- Body Press / Brave Bird
- Spikes / Stealth Rock
- Roost
- Whirlwind / Iron Defense / Taunt

[SET COMMENTS]
Thanks to its high Defense stat, solid utility movepool, and amazing typing, Skarmory functions as a physically defensive wall as well as an entry hazard setter. Fluffy lets Skarmory better check strong physical attackers such as Choice Band Roaring Moon, Zamazenta, and Iron Boulder, whereas Intimidate allows it to check Chien-Pao and the Ogerpon formes excluding Ogerpon-H; alternatively, Well-Baked Body enables Skarmory to check Moltres, Ogerpon-H, and Iron Moth lacking Discharge. Body Press hits Heatran, Iron Treads, and Kingambit for a great deal of damage, while Brave Bird is slighty stronger than Body Press and nails Zamazenta, Great Tusk, and the Ogerpon formes. Spikes is very useful on hazard stack team archetypes and can quickly wear down Great Tusk, Manaphy, and Swampert, whereas Stealth Rock gives Skarmory valuable role compression and wears down Chien-Pao and Ceruledge Corviknight. Whirlwind works well in conjunction with Spikes to wear down the opposing team quite fast and forces out setup sweepers like Bulk Up Great Tusk and Iron Defense Zamazenta, while Iron Defense is a niche move Mention somewhere that you almost exclusively run Iron Defense with Body Press that lets Skarmory set up along with set up setup sweepers like Iron Boulder, Great Tusk, and Zamazenta; otherwise, Taunt can be used to heavily punish Corviknight by preventing it from using Defog or Roost as well as Ting-Lu from setting up Spikes or Stealth Rock. Leftovers gives Skarmory extra longevity against Pokemon like Zamazenta, Chien-Pao, and Iron Boulder, though Rocky Helmet punishes Pokemon like Great Tusk, Corviknight, and Zamazenta; however, Not a GP person but "however" seems like a weird word here since it kinda implies that Boots is the best option, when that isn't the case so would change that to something like "alternatively" or idk Heavy-Duty Boots grants Skarmory immunity to Stealth Rock chip, which is quite helpful when it needs to repeatably switch in with Stealth Rock up.

Skarmory functions on more defensively focused teams that tend to slowly wear down the opposing team with Spikes. Partners like Roaring Moon, Zapdos, and Gholdengo appreciate the entry hazards that Skarmory sets up, as it allows them to slowly wear down their checks, like Great Tusk, Swampert, and Manaphy. Skarmory struggles with the tier's many special attackers, so specially defensive teammates like Iron Treads, Swampert, and RegenVest Roaring Moon are much appreciated. Depending on its ability, Skarmory will need teammates to help it on the physical side; if Skarmory is not Fluffy, Pecharunt is a nice partner to aid with Choice Band Zamazenta, if Skarmory isn't Intimidate, physically defensive Manaphy can provide help against Chien-Pao, if not Well-Baked Body, then a Fire-resistant or Fire-immune partner like Swampert or Primordial Sea Zapdos would be very much appreciated. Would strongly recommend adding a short paragraph about Pecharunt and EE Gholdengo as Spinblockers vs Tusk & Treads, as a Ghost-type is essentially mandatory on spikestack

[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gambit.652656/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.102/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.103/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user5.104/

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Skarmory can go itemless or use an Eject Button in conjunction with Well-Baked Body to check Ceruledge more easily. Skarmory can make use of Flame Body or Static to finish fish for burn or paralysis, respectively, on Pokemon that commonly make contact with it, such as Roaring Moon, Great Tusk, and Corviknight. Could mention SpDef variants with Water Absorb / Volt Absorb here too, as they can bring valuable utility vs mons like Manaphy & Ogerpon-W for WA and Zapdos & Shocks for VA.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Special Attackers**: Skarmory's minimal HP and Special Defense leave it quite weak to special attackers like Gholdengo, Zapdos Primarina adding prim here instead since Zapdos gets mentioned below, and Deoxys-S.

**Fire-types**: If Skarmory isn't using Well-Baked Body, it struggles against Fire-types like Ceruledge, Cinderace, and Ogerpon-H.

**Electric-types**: Electric-types like Zapdos, Iron Hands, and Sandy Shocks as well as Hadron Engine users like Latios and Deoxys-S can reliably outspeed and threaten an OHKO on Skarmory.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gambit.652656/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/slither-wing.603931/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.103/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user5.104/
No delays here, nope, QC 1/2
Slither-Wing_Small.gif
 
Add Remove Conjecture
Thanks to its high Defense stat, solid utility movepool, and amazing typing, Skarmory functions as a physically defensive wall as well as an entry hazard setter. Fluffy lets Skarmory better check strong physical attackers such as Choice Band doesn't exactly have to be cb, esp in the case of zama since intim is just idbp fodder Roaring Moon, Zamazenta, and Iron Boulder fraud ahh mon Kingambit, whereas Intimidate allows it to check Chien-Pao and the Ogerpon formes excluding Ogerpon-H; alternatively, Well-Baked Body enables Skarmory to check Fire-types like Moltres, Ogerpon-H, and Iron Moth lacking Discharge. Body Press hits Steel-types like Heatran, Iron Treads, and Kingambit for a great deal of damage, while Brave Bird is slighty stronger than an unboosted Body Press and nails Zamazenta, Great Tusk, and the Ogerpon formes. Spikes is very useful on hazard stack team archetypes and can quickly wear down Great Tusk, Manaphy, and Swampert, whereas Stealth Rock gives Skarmory valuable role compression and wears down Chien-Pao and Corviknight. Whirlwind works well in conjunction with Spikes to wear down the opposing team quite fast and forces out setup sweepers like Bulk Up Great Tusk and Iron Defense Zamazenta, while Iron Defense, which should only be used with Body Press, is a niche wouldnt call it niche but its up to you move that lets Skarmory set up along with setup sweepers like Iron Boulder Kingambit, Great Tusk, and Zamazenta move zama to the first mon since its the clear better of the three; otherwise, Taunt can be used to heavily punish Corviknight by preventing it from using Defog or Roost as well as Ting-Lu from setting up Spikes or Stealth Rock. Leftovers gives Skarmory extra longevity against Pokemon like Zamazenta, Chien-Pao, and Iron Boulder Kingambit, though Rocky Helmet punishes Pokemon like Great Tusk, Corviknight, and Zamazenta; however, Heavy-Duty Boots grants Skarmory immunity to Stealth Rock chip, which is quite helpful when it needs to repeatably switch in with Stealth Rock up.

Skarmory functions on more defensively focused teams that tend to slowly wear down the opposing team with Spikes. Partners like Roaring Moon, Zapdos, and Gholdengo appreciate the entry hazards that Skarmory sets up, as it allows them to slowly wear down their checks, like Great Tusk, Swampert, and Manaphy. Skarmory struggles with the tier's many special attackers, so specially defensive teammates like Iron Treads, Swampert, and RegenVest Roaring Moon are much appreciated. Depending on its ability, Skarmory will need teammates to help it on the physical side; if Skarmory is not Fluffy, Pecharunt is a nice partner to aid with Choice Band Zamazenta, if Skarmory isn't Intimidate, physically defensive Manaphy can provide help against Chien-Pao, if not Well-Baked Body, then a Fire-resistant or Fire-immune partner like Swampert or Primordial Sea Zapdos would be very much appreciated. A Ghost-type Pokemon like Pecharunt or Earth Eater Gholdengo works as a great partner for Skarmory, as it can prevent Great Tusk and Iron Treads from removing the entry hazards that Skarmory sets up with Rapid Spin.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gambit.652656/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/slither-wing.603931/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.103/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user5.104/

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Skarmory can make use of Flame Body or Static to fish for burn or paralysis, respectively, on Pokemon that commonly make contact with it, such as Roaring Moon, Great Tusk, and Corviknight. Specially defensive variants with max Special Defense instead of Defense of Skarmory can run Water Absorb to better check Manaphy and Ogerpon-W or Volt Absorb to reliably check Zapdos and Sandy Shocks.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Special Attackers**: Skarmory's minimal HP and Special Defense leave it quite weak to special attackers like Gholdengo, Primarina, and Deoxys-S.

**Fire-types**: If Skarmory isn't using Well-Baked Body, it struggles against Fire-types like Ceruledge, Cinderace, and Ogerpon-H.

**Electric-types**: Without Volt Absorb, Electric-types like Zapdos, Iron Hands, and Sandy Shocks as well as Hadron Engine users like Latios and Deoxys-S can reliably outspeed and threaten an OHKO on Skarmory.
great work, 2/2!
 
hi! gp check

[SET]
Physical Wall (Skarmory) @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Fluffy / Intimidate / Well-Baked Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold or / Impish Nature
- Body Press / Brave Bird
- Spikes / Stealth Rock
- Roost
- Whirlwind / Iron Defense / Taunt

[SET COMMENTS]
Thanks to its high Defense stat, solid utility movepool, and amazing typing, Skarmory functions as a physically defensive wall as well as an entry hazard setter. Fluffy lets Skarmory better check strong physical attackers such as Roaring Moon, Zamazenta, and Kingambit, whereas Intimidate allows it to check Chien-Pao and the Ogerpon formes excluding Ogerpon-H; alternatively, Well-Baked Body enables Skarmory to check Fire-types like Moltres, Ogerpon-H, and Iron Moth lacking Discharge. Body Press hits Steel-types like Heatran, Iron Treads, and Kingambit for a great deal of damage, while Brave Bird is slighty slightly stronger than an unboosted Body Press and nails Zamazenta, Great Tusk, and the Ogerpon formes. Spikes is very useful on hazard stack stacking team archetypes and can quickly wear down Great Tusk, Manaphy, and Swampert, whereas Stealth Rock gives Skarmory valuable role compression and wears down Chien-Pao and Corviknight. Whirlwind works well in conjunction with Spikes to wear down the opposing team quite fast and forces out setup sweepers like Bulk Up Great Tusk and Iron Defense Zamazenta, while Iron Defense, which should only be used with Body Press, is a move that lets Skarmory set up along with setup sweepers like Zamazenta, Kingambit, and Great Tusk (RSC). (AP) Otherwise, Taunt can be used to heavily punish prevent Corviknight by preventing it from using Defog or Roost as well as Ting-Lu from setting up Spikes or Stealth Rock, (AC) heavily punishing both. (this was tough to rework. the important thing is for Corviknight and Ting-Lu to agree with your verb. if you cut out the Corviknight portion of your sentence, you're left with "Taunt can be used to heavily punish Ting-Lu from setting Stealth Rock or Spikes." see comments below for another option.) Leftovers gives Skarmory extra longevity against Pokemon like Zamazenta, Chien-Pao, and Kingambit, though Rocky Helmet punishes can be used instead to punish Pokemon like Great Tusk, Corviknight, and Zamazenta (RSC). (AP) however (RC) Heavy-Duty Boots grants Skarmory immunity to Stealth Rock chip, which is quite helpful when it needs to repeatably switch in with Stealth Rock up.

Skarmory functions on more defensively focused teams that tend to slowly wear down the opposing team with Spikes. Partners like Roaring Moon, Zapdos, and Gholdengo appreciate the entry hazards that Skarmory sets up, as it allows them to slowly wear down their checks, like Great Tusk, Swampert, and Manaphy. Skarmory struggles with the tier's many special attackers, so specially defensive teammates like Iron Treads, Swampert, and RegenVest Roaring Moon are much appreciated. Depending on its ability, Skarmory will need teammates to help it on the physical side (RSC). (AP) If Skarmory is not using Fluffy, Pecharunt is a nice partner to aid with against Choice Band Zamazenta, if Skarmory isn't Intimidate (RC) while physically defensive Manaphy can provide help against Chien-Pao for non-Intimidate Skarmory. Lastly, if not Skarmory without Well-Baked Body (RC) then very much appreciates a Fire-resistant or Fire-immune partner like Swampert or Primordial Sea Zapdos would be very much appreciated. A Ghost-type Pokemon like Pecharunt or Earth Eater Gholdengo works as a great partner for Skarmory, as it can prevent Great Tusk and Iron Treads from removing using Rapid Spin to remove the entry hazards that Skarmory sets up with Rapid Spin. (this was saying "the entry hazards that Skarmory sets up with Rapid Spin." if you prefer, you can just cut "with Rapid Spin" and leave the sentence otherwise unchanged.)

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Skarmory can make use of Flame Body or Static to fish for burn or paralysis (RC) respectively (RC) on Pokemon that commonly make contact with it, such as Roaring Moon, Great Tusk, and Corviknight. Specially defensive variants of Skarmory with max Special Defense instead of Defense can run Water Absorb to better check Manaphy and Ogerpon-W or Volt Absorb to reliably check Zapdos and Sandy Shocks.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Special Attackers**: Skarmory's minimal low (investing in HP makes it not minimal) HP and Special Defense leave it quite weak to special attackers like Gholdengo, Primarina, and Deoxys-S.

**Fire-types**: If Skarmory isn't using Well-Baked Body, it struggles against Fire-types like Ceruledge, Cinderace, and Ogerpon-H.

**Electric-types**: Without Volt Absorb (RC) Electric-types like Zapdos, Iron Hands, and Sandy Shocks as well as Hadron Engine users like Latios and Deoxys-S can reliably outspeed and threaten an OHKO on Skarmory without Volt Absorb.

additional comments
this Corviknight/Ting-Lu sentence alternative trades the specificity of which Pokemon uses which moves for leading with greater emphasis. i'll let you determine which is more important but either sentence will work.
Otherwise, Taunt can be used to heavily punish Corviknight and Ting-Lu by preventing them from using healing and utility moves such as Defog, Roost, Spikes, and Stealth Rock.

on sentence length: avoid excessively long sentences. even when they're grammatically correct, they get unruly and hard to follow. you don't have to condense an entire moveslot or slashed ability into a single sentence. if you're worried about sentences sounding rote, try to vary up your sentence structure. i did this in the section on team support based on which ability Skarmory lacks, as an example of what i mean here.

this is a very well-written article. amazing work
 
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