This set has become the new D/P standard for Skarmory. Roost gives Skarmory improved tanking ability compared to Advance, when its only recovery methods were Rest and Leftovers. Brave Bird or Drill Peck are there to let Skarmory deal damage when called for. Brave Bird is the preferred attack as it packs more of a punch, and that helps running off of Skarmory's mediocre Attack. Drill Peck can be used if you can't afford to take the recoil, however. Roost lets Skarmory recover HP. In situations where Skarmory is faster than its opponent, Skarmory can use Roost to remove its Flying-type for the rest of the turn in order to reduce damage from things like Stone Edge and ThunderPunch. The choice between Spikes and Stealth Rock depends on your team, your preferences, and what bothers your team more. Spikes takes longer to fully set up, but will do more damage to things that aren't weak to Rock. If you have more problems with things like Gyarados and Salamence, then Stealth Rock will probably work better. Keep in mind that Stealth Rock is learned by nearly every Pokemon, whereas there are few good Spikers. Whirlwind allows Skarmory to force things that are using stat raising moves to switch out, and simultaneously makes whatever comes in take damage from Spikes or Stealth Rock. If whatever is forced out is ineffective against Skarmory, you can then either use Whirlwind again or use Brave Bird. Your choice of item depends on whether you are playing under item clause, and if you're afraid of Magnezone. Leftovers will give Skarmory better tanking abilities, while Shed Shell will allow Skarmory to give Magnezone (or the rare Probopass) the slip. It also helps confound trapping Pokemon (such as Mean Look + Baton Pass Umbreon).
This is another one of the defensive sets, although without Roost, it loses some of its usefulness. As long as Skarmory is kept away from special attackers, it will be very hard to faint. Lay out Spikes / Stealth Rock either awake or through Sleep Talk, and force things to switch over and over again with Whirlwind to damage them. Sleep Talk can use Whirlwind without the "goes last" priority modifier, letting Skarmory Whirlwind anything slower than it before your opponent can even attack sometimes. The only real advantage that this set has over the Roost defensive sets is that Skarmory isn't bothered by status if you don't have an Aromatherapist, and Skarmory can be used as your team's Sleep absorber.
While it certainly won't be seen as often as the defensive sets, this has the potential to be a pretty nasty set. Skarmory gained Swords Dance in D/P, which gives it the potential to actually be an offensive threat when you remember that it's pretty beefy. Drill Peck covers the damage dealing—it gets STAB, and isn't resisted by a whole lot. Brave Bird isn't really an option given with boosted Attack, as you'd be taking a lot of damage. Roost gives Skarmory recovery, and makes it far more durable. With its decent Speed, Skarmory will be able to take advantage of Roost's removal of its Flying-type a bit more than the slower defensive sets. The general idea of this set is to switch in on something that can't do anything to you, and Swords Dance up. The EVs provided for this set assume you are using Steel Wing. If you use Steel Wing, it'll give you some more offensive power, letting you lay the smack down on things like Tyranitar and Rhyperior. If you decide to use Agility, you will forego a wider spread of damage for being able to potentially sweep with Skarmory if you get both Attack and Speed boosted. If you use Agility, you should use a 196 HP / 208 Atk / 104 Spe Adamant Skarmory instead. The 104 Speed EVs will bring your Speed to 202, which will hit 404 with one Agility, allowing you to outspeed Adamant Choice Scarf Heracross and OHKO it with Drill Peck. Other OptionsMost of what is available has already been featured in one of the above sets. Toxic can work on the defensive sets, working to chip away at the HP of opponents along with Spikes / Stealth Rock. Taunt fits on defensive sets as well, working to stop things from setting up or healing. Using Natural Gift with Pamtre Berry will make it a physical 70 power Ground move which will give you a counter to Magnezone, albeit one attempt since Natural Gift will consume the berry with the first use and the attack will fail on subsequent attempts due to the lack of a berry. Apicot Berry gives an 80 base power Ground move, but might be mistakenly consumed when Skarmory's HP is low. EVs252 HP is the first step—you'll almost always want to allocate EVs to HP to help keep Skarmory alive, regardless of the moveset. Skarmory does well with Attack in the range of 210 to 220, which, with a neutral nature, can be achieved with 56 to 96 EVs. The remainder of its EVs should go towards Defense. OpinionSkarmory is still a top tier Pokémon and a very capable physical wall, even after D/P's physical / special attacking split. Skarmory can't switch in on quite as much as it has been able to in the past, but it is still able to stop more physical attackers than just about anything else. Always use Keen Eye on Skarmory over Sturdy if used in competitive play, because OHKO moves are banned, but Sand Attack is not. CountersSkarmory is absolutely manhandled by any special attacks that it doesn't resist. Any Electric-type or Fire-Type except for Blaziken and Infernape can switch in on Skarmory and OHKO it, and anything that has a super effective special attack (Thunderbolt, Flamethrower) will either OHKO or 2HKO it. Tyranitar, Rhyperior, Lucario, Gyarados, and a bucket load of other hard hitters can also beat Skarmory, thanks to stat-upping in some form and a strong STABed physical attack that isn't resisted. Magnezone and Probopass are the bane of Skarmory's existence—with their ability Magnet Pull, they prohibit it from switching out (unless Skarmory is holding Shed Shell). |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
