Community POTW #108

[Dragrath]

When thinking of pure physical walls, 3 pokemon comes to my mind. Forretress, Weezing and skarmory! !

actually when I think of defensive I think Ferrothorn and Slowbro before I think of Weezing...(they can heal and tank)


On a serious note as the primary Skarmory set has been listed... I will point out the plight of poor Skarmory is there to all of the gen 5 walls Offense has gotten crazy power while defense only really gained Eviolite and Sturdy & Regenerator ( technically there is multiscale for the 2 Pokemon that got it ) maybe gen 6 can balance it back out again...

[Kraleck]

Three questions you should ask when facing Skarm:
1. Can I tank its Average Base Attack and myriad of Traps?
2. Can I use Special Moves to great effect?
3. Why did I forget about Sturdy's new effect in Gen 5?

Okay, that last one's more of a joke, but the first two are key to taking Skarmory down if it tries to (or has to) stand its ground. Magnezone is an easy win - double resists both of Skarm's STAB Types, has STAB on Skarm's Electric Weakness, Magnet Pull Ability access, and great Defense and Sp.Atk. Other than Magnezone, Skarmory can't do STAB damage effectively on Wash Rotom and most Steel Types. Pokemon with better-than-Base-70 Speed and access to Flamethrower/Thunderbolt and massive Sp.Atk can shut down any Skarm user brave or stupid enough to stay in. If Empoleon can Burn-hax with STAB Scald, Skarm's Sturdy has been neutralized.

Espeon and Xatu's Dream World Ability, Magic Bounce, is another way to screw Skarm over. Spikes, Stealth Rock, Roar, and Whirlwind are all sent back Skarm's way and both have plenty of Speed to make Skarm think twice about trying anything funny. The only drawback is that Espeon requires Hidden Power (Fire or Electric) and Xatu is limited to either one of those Hidden Power Types or Heat Wave. Then again, if Skarm has to get aggressive with Offensive Moves, Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs or Sharpedo, Druddigon, or Garchomp's Rough Skin can get the chip needed to neutralize Sturdy.

[Soperman]

Wee, Skarmory. One of the oldest support pokemon around (even if I don't see it being used very much anymore). It has an insane Defense stat, but mediocre everything else, including typing. One of the nice things about Skarmory tho is that it has a great support movepool, with access to Spikes, Stealth Rock, Roost, Whirlwind, and Sturdy to set everything up at least once. Overall, a nice pokemon for support, but that's really all it does. On to abilities, even though it only really has one good one.

Keen Eye: Easily one of the most useless abilities in the game, as not a single pokemon I can think of uses any Accuracy-lowering moves.
Sturdy: This is really what helps make Skarmory Skarmory. It allows it to set up at least one hazard, which is super helpful.
Weak Armor (DW): Lowers your Defense by one stage and raises Attack by one stage when hit by a physical attack. It would be helpful, but a) Skarmory has a pathetic physical movepool and b) by the time you've gotten enough of a boost to actually be helpful, you'll have such low health and Defense that you won't be able to do much.

It's a metal bird! No, not a plane, a Skarmory!
-Roost
-Stealth Rock
-Whirlwind
-Spikes/Drill Peck
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs and Nature: Impish (+Def, -Sp. Atk)
252 Hp/252 Def/4 Spd
This is a typical set for this airpla--excuse me--bird. Roost is to help sustain a bit longer, while Stealth Rock is, well, Stealth Rock. Whirlwind is to spread the love, and the last move is up to you, between Spikes for more hazards, or Drill Peck to prevent being Taunt bait and maybe finish off someone who's been damaged a ton by the hazards. You can replace SR with Spikes, but I personally prefer SR so that you will have hazards that hurt everyone for at least some damage. EVs and Nature for bulk, in case you need a physical wall.

Other Options
Brave Bird is what most people use over Drill Peck for the damage output, but I prefer Drill Peck as Brave Bird kills Sturdy, one of Skarmory's defining features.
Toxic and Protect can be put in to make Skarmory a staller...?

Countering Skarmory
I mean, there's really not that much to counter. Unless you want to prevent it from setting hazards, in which case you want Espeon or Xatu for Magic Bounce. This really annoys Skarmory and essentially kills it. Meanwhile, Taunt is also frustrating, especially if it isn't running Drill Peck/Brave Bird. If you want to kill it, just keep hitting it with SE moves until it dies, but make sure to have a spinner, as it will set up on you while you try to kill it.

[Pink Lapras]

*Insert overused SR lead here*

[R2D2]

You could also use Skarmory like this :

(Very) Slow tank bird

Skarmory :

Curse (the signature move of this set)
Roost (to recover from damage while setting up)
Drill peck (For great damage after some curse boosts)
Spikes/Whirlwind (Whirlwind for getting rid of special sweepers, and set up Pokemon who would outclass Skarmory in the long run. Like swords dance Scizor/Garchomp)

Item : Rocky helmet/Leftovers
Ability : Sturdy
Relaxed nature (+Defense - speed) 252 SPD, HP, 4 DEf

Rocky helmet can be a great way to stall out opponents that are not able to take out skarmory before it gains Curse boosts. When the opponent attacks, the rocky helmet will gradually drain the HP of their Pokemon.
The ev's in Special defense and HP are to make skarmory able to take at least some moderately damaging special attacks without biting the dust. With curse it is not necessary to put as many EV's in defense as most Skarmory sets would use.
Roost is used to recover and be able to set up another curse to increase attack and defense.
The last slot gives a choice between Whirlwind and Spikes. Whirlwind can be used to get rid of Pokemon locking Skarmory in, like Magnet pull Magnezone. As well as getting rid of special sweepers temporarily. Spikes is the better choice for teams which dont have many entry hazards yet. Or for teams that would like to add more entry hazards to their ranks.

* Note : Curse is aquired by chain breeding Pokemon

This set of moves can be quite fun to use in a trick room team. Thanks to it's rock bottom speed when using multiple curse.

[Rayofquazar]

actually when I think of defensive I think Ferrothorn and Slowbro before I think of Weezing...(they can heal and tank)

As a defensive pokemon, skarmory is inferior to the likes of ferrothorn and slowbro... there are tons of better defensive pokemon in the game! While ferrothorn can be used as a mixed wall seeing it's pretty good special defense and slowbro too, I was talking about pure physical walls... Walls that have great physical defense and very low special defense like the ones I listed!

[Zachmac]

As a defensive pokemon, skarmory is inferior to the likes of ferrothorn and slowbro... there are tons of better defensive pokemon in the game! While ferrothorn can be used as a mixed wall seeing it's pretty good special defense and slowbro too, I was talking about pure physical walls... Walls that have great physical defense and very low special defense like the ones I listed!

Slowbro is most commonly used as a pure physical wall.

And you can't really say it's inferior, since it has niches over both of them. They're some pretty good niches to.

[Ghosts of the Forums]

Three questions you should ask when facing Skarm:
1. Can I tank its Average Base Attack and myriad of Traps?
2. Can I use Special Moves to great effect?
3. Why did I forget about Sturdy's new effect in Gen 5?

Okay, that last one's more of a joke, but the first two are key to taking Skarmory down if it tries to (or has to) stand its ground. Magnezone is an easy win - double resists both of Skarm's STAB Types, has STAB on Skarm's Electric Weakness, Magnet Pull Ability access, and great Defense and Sp.Atk. Other than Magnezone, Skarmory can't do STAB damage effectively on Wash Rotom and most Steel Types. Pokemon with better-than-Base-70 Speed and access to Flamethrower/Thunderbolt and massive Sp.Atk can shut down any Skarm user brave or stupid enough to stay in. If Empoleon can Burn-hax with STAB Scald, Skarm's Sturdy has been neutralized.

Espeon and Xatu's Dream World Ability, Magic Bounce, is another way to screw Skarm over. Spikes, Stealth Rock, Roar, and Whirlwind are all sent back Skarm's way and both have plenty of Speed to make Skarm think twice about trying anything funny. The only drawback is that Espeon requires Hidden Power (Fire or Electric) and Xatu is limited to either one of those Hidden Power Types or Heat Wave. Then again, if Skarm has to get aggressive with Offensive Moves, Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs or Sharpedo, Druddigon, or Garchomp's Rough Skin can get the chip needed to neutralize Sturdy.

Except no one uses steel stab on anything other then rachi/scissor aha I knew my spell check would do that! It's plain simply **** bad.

[mcdanger]

and metagross/magnezone

i heard no one posted this yet sooooo

skarmory@leftovers/shed shell
sturdy
careful
252hp/4def/252sp def
-brave bird/drill peck
-stealth rocks/spikes
-whirlwind
-roost

Sp defensive skarmory is his only other viable set. With 70 base sp def he can take a special hit decent, but nothing fantastic. Moves are standard, brave bird/drill peck for stab/ so your not taunt bait, stealth rocks as he is a good rocker. Whirlwind to phaze annoying threats, while roost maintains sturdy. I probably should explain more. Evs are for a standard wall, giving him as much sp def as he can so he doesnt die at the sight of a strong special attack, allowing him to somewhat handle scarfed latios, or sets that lack hp fire, tho surf still hurts. He can handle keldeo a little better, tho hydro pump is a KO if sturdy is broken. Obviously it doesnt help against fire attacks, but its better for walling resisted moves from special sweepers such as reuniclus, tornadus, etc.
Moves are very standard. Brave bird is the attack of choice, hitting for 140 base power + the stab boost making it 210 base power, so it will hit decently hard without attack investments. Drill peck is a viable option, but its 12o base power with stab so its basically half the strength, but no recoil so its all preference. Stealth rocks is the main hazard skarmory uses, while he can use spikes, there are generally more reliable spikers like ferrothorn or deoxys defense. Whirlwind is to phaze obviously. Again roar can be used, but its the same thing, only difference is if your that guy thats like "hey i want to be different so i`ll use roar ". Finally roost is your recovery, not much else to say.
Items are obvious, leftovers increases longativity while shed shell can be used to escape from magnet pull.

Besides the obvious magnezone and heatran counters gliscor and kyurem black are 2 good skarmory answers
Gliscor can taunt skarmory and laugh as it brave birds it, doing minimal damage. One on One skarmory will loss to gliscor because of taunt, however, gliscor needs ice fang or facade.
Kyurem black negates sturdy via terravolt, thus allowing it to OHKO skarmory via fusion bolt or HP fire

[Blue Harvest]

*Insert overused SR lead here*

I don't think Stealth Rock lead Skarm has ever been common.

Though come to think of it a Custap Berry set could be solid for getting down Spikes + Rocks. Let lead Rotom W Volt switch as you get SR down and blow a load of Spikes as Custap Berry activates.

[mcdanger]

I don't think Stealth Rock lead Skarm has ever been common.

Though come to think of it a Custap Berry set could be solid for getting down Spikes + Rocks. Let lead Rotom W Volt switch as you get SR down and blow a load of Spikes as Custap Berry activates.

got the set
skarmory@custap berry
jolly
252hp/4sp def/252 speed or standard wall spread
sturdy
-spikes
-stealth rocks
-roost
-brave bird/drill peck/whirlwind

This set would function like deoxys def, or the few custap forrys, as a suicide lead. The goal would be to set up stealth rocks, get knocked down past 25% and then have the custap berry activate and get the first move to set up spikes. As long as your opponent doesnt have a spinner/you have a spin blocker, every grounded switch in will take at least 25%.
The bread and butter of this set is the dual hazards, as it wouldnt work without them. Roost is kind of a filler, whirlwind can be used over it or you can use roost and keep skarmory to wall mid game. Finally it comes down to an attack or a phazing move. Brave bird would make it so your not taunt bait, but whirlwind lets you get rid of annoying set up sweepers. Taunt is another option to get other leads like deoxys def and terrakion, but they`re faster then skarmory so its kind of a waste

As BH said, this can set up on rotom wash. This seet can set up on alot of leads such as u turn landorus, both forms, all weather inducers except maybe abomasnow, not sure how much hp fire does, sub salac terra, scizor, deoxys def that run a bulky spread/ dont have taunt/magic bounce.

[jesusfreak94]

It might be best to minimize defenses so that you can help ensure that an attack will bring you into Custap range. It'd suck to be brought down to about 33%, too high for the Custap Berry but too low to restore all you health with Roost so you can use Sturdy again. Just for an example, a Skarmory with a Hasty nature and completely minimized HP and Def stats will take just enough damage from an unboosted Terrakion's Close Combat to always be brought into Custap range.

Of course, a suicide lead Skarmory is generally a bad idea, but if I were to try such a set, that's how I'd do it.

[Blue Harvest]

It might be best to minimize defenses so that you can help ensure that an attack will bring you into Custap range. It'd suck to be brought down to about 33%, too high for the Custap Berry but too low to restore all you health with Roost so you can use Sturdy again. Just for an example, a Skarmory with a Hasty nature and completely minimized HP and Def stats will take just enough damage from an unboosted Terrakion's Close Combat to always be brought into Custap range.

Of course, a suicide lead Skarmory is generally a bad idea, but if I were to try such a set, that's how I'd do it.

idk, I would rather use Custap SKarm as a dual use Poke. Depending on the opponent's team you can either suicide Spikes, or switch out and save Skarm for some tanking later. It doesn't HAVE to kill itself because unlike Deoxys D it has the typing and Whirlwind to be useful once it can no longer Spike.

[Black Murder Heavangelon]

Time for something gimmicky (did not read through the first page btw, so it's possible that this set has already been repeated...)

Skarmory@Shed Shell/Leftovers
Adamant Nature
Weak Armor
252 Atk/252 Spe/4 HP
-Roost
-Guard Swap
-Iron Head
-Brave Bird

Believe it or not, this is the gen that finally gave Skarmory access to Iron Head. Guard Swap is meh and so is Weak Armor, but combine the two and...you still have a gimmick.

Weak Armor is actually a psyche out for your opponent, as no one would hesitate to lower Skarm's massive defenses. Once Skarm's defenses have lowered enough, then you can dish out a surprise Guard Swap and exchange your lost defenses for a brand new one. Roost can be used to heal up, after you've flinched the opponent to death, but seriously, don't go straight for Roost, go in for the kill. Iron Head gives Skarmory STAB and a nifty 30% flinch rate, allowing you enough power and chance to take out an opponent before needing to Roost. Along with Iron Head, Skarmory gets the always powerful Brave Bird to hit what Iron Head doesn't, and is complemented by Roost well.

For the love of GOD, take out any Steel trappers before using this guy, because Skarmory will be helpless against their like. This is why Shed Shell is an option, but taking care of the like of Magnezone is far safer than a one time escape. However, it's also a handy gambit against Shadow Tag Chandelure who'll also obliterate your guy.