+Immune to ground moves
+Has access to sturdy which allows Skarmory to live any hit from full health
+Has access to both Spikes and Stealth Rocks
+Has reliable recovery in roost
+Takes neutral damage from Fighting moves
+Has high physical defense
+Has access to phasing move in Whirlwind
-Has low special defense
-Is weak to Electric and Fire moves
-Has a mediocre attack stat
-Has 4 slot move syndrome
[SET]
name: Suicide Lead
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Taunt
move 3: Stealth Rock
move 4: Spikes
item: Custap Berry
ability: Sturdy
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
-Brave Bird is used so Skarmory has an offensive presence and it also allows Skarmory to OHKO certain Fighting types such as Infernape and Keldeo
-Taunt is used to prevent hazards from being setup and it also prevents Defog
-Stealth Rock is used to help Skarmory's teammates pick up essential kills
-Spikes are used to punish switches and help Skarmory's teammates pick up certain kills
Set Details
========
-Sturdy is used so Skarmory can always set up hazards
-Custap Berry is used so Skarmory can always set up two layers of spikes or a layer of Spikes and Stealth Rock
-Max Speed is used so Skarmory can be as fast as possible so it can set up hazards
-Max Attack is used instead of Max HP so Skarmory can get into custap range
-Jolly is used so Skarmory is fast as possible
Usage Tips
========
-Lead with Skarmory and proceed to set up hazards
-Do not Lead with Skarmory if a magic bounce user or fast/prankster Taunt user is on opponents team
-Taunt common defensive Defogers such as Mandibuzz, Skarmory, and Zapdos
-Avoid switching Skarmory in on unnecessary attacks as it prevents Skarmory from setting up hazards
-switch Skarmory into Pokemon locked into ground type moves such as Choice Banded Excadrill and Choice Scarfed Landorus-Therian so Skarmory can set up hazards
-Avoid setting up hazards on Mold Breaker users such as Mega Ampharos as Mold Breaker ignores Sturdy
-Prioritize most effective hazard for example Stealth Rock would be more useful against a Fire team while Spikes wouldn't be as useful
-Only use Brave Bird if it picks up an important OHKOs such as Infernape and Keldeo
Team Options
========
-Mega Scizor takes advantage of hazards and serves as a win condition against Fighting and Ground teams
-Examples include plus 2 Mega Scizor's Bullet Punch on Landorus-I after Stealth Rocks
-
-Doublade is a good teammate as it is a spinblocker and is immune to Fighting type attacks
-Bisharp takes advantage of Defoger with its ability Defiant giving it an attack boost
-Bisharp also takes advantage of hazards by picking up certain OHKOs such as Slowbro and Mew
-Heatran is immune to Fire type moves with Flash Fire ability
-Heatran can also trap threats with Magma Storm trapping bulky Defogers
-Magnezone can trap Steel types with Magnet Pull
-Magnezone also has access to Volt Switch allowing Magnezone to gain momentum
-Magnezone can switch into Electric type moves although it doesn't do much to them in return
-Magnezone checks water types that often beat Skarmory or force it into a tough predicment
-Excadrill gets rid of hazards with Rapid Spin without getting rid of Skarmory's hazards
-Excadrill is immune to Electric Type moves Skarmory is weak to
-Excadrill checks Electric and Fire types that Skarmory is weak to
-Jirachi checks Fighting types with Choice Scarf set and has Healing Wish which can bring Skarmory back to set up more hazards
-Jirachi has access to U-turn which punishes switches in Rapid Spin and Defog users
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Roost
move 3: Whirlwind
move 4: Spikes / Stealth Rock
item: Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
ability: Sturdy
nature: Impish
evs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
-Brave Bird is used so Skarmory can damage Fighting types such as Infernape and Breelom
-Roost is used so Skarmory can recover its health
-Roost can also be used to get rid of Skarmory's Flying typing to take Ice and Electric type attacks although it makes Skarmory weak to Fighting and Ground
-Whirlwind is used to force out set up sweepers that try to set up on Skarmory
-Spikes are used so Skarmory's teammates can pick up necessary KOs
-Spikes are most often the best option because Steel has lots of good Stealth Rock setters
-Stealth Rock is used to punished switches and help Skarmory's teammates pick up essential KOs
Set Details
========
-248 HP is used to Skarmory has Odd HP so it takes Less damage from Stealth Rock
-252 Defense is used so Skarmory has highest defense possible
-8 Speed is used to outspeed 164 speed Azumarill
-Leftovers is used to recover some health each turn
-Rocky Helmet is used to damage Pokemon using contact moves
Usage Tips
========
-Preserve Skarmory against ground teams as it's ground immunity is vital to beat Ground teams
-Switch Skarmory out on Special attackers because Skarmory's special defense stat is low
-Whirlwind set up sweepers as it phases them out
-Whirlwind on predicted switches as it racks up hazard damage
-If Skarmory has Rocky Helmet switch it in on predicted U-turns from Pokemon such as Scizor and Landorus-Therian
-Use Skarmory as a pivot against Pokemon such are Mega Garchomp, Infernape and Landorus-I
-Play Skarmory carefully when a trapper is present such as Magnezone or Gothitelle is present
-Avoid letting Skarmory takes unnecessary hits as it hinders its ability to switch into Weavile, Mega Gyarados, and Excadrill
Team Options
========
-Heatran is a great partner as it is immune to Fire moves with Flash Fire ability
-Heatran has access to Stealth Rocks
-Doublade has Fighting immunity and it appreciates hazards for late game sweeps
-Ferrothorn takes on Water types that Skarmory doesn't like and takes pressure of Skarmory in ground matchup
-Mega Scizor appreciates hazards for late game sweeps and it also takes neutral damage from Ground and Fighting type moves taking pressure of Skarmory in those matchups
-Bisharp discourages use of Defog because of the threat of Defiant raising Bisharp's attack 2 stages
-Bisharp also appreciates hazard to possibly pick up certain KOs such as Slowbro and Mew
-Jirachi with a Choice Scarf can act as a check to Fighting types
-Jirachi has access to Healing Wish which can recover status and health from a weakened Skarmory
-Jirachi has access to U-turns which can provides Skarmory with a hazard setting opportunity on physical walls such as Hippowdon and Ferrothorn
-Magnezone has access to Volt Switch which provides Skarmory with hazard setting
opportunities
-Magnezone also checks water types such as Keldeo, Manaphy, and Starmie that threaten Skarmory with a Choice Scarf set
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
-Tailwind can be used over Taunt on Suicide Lead Skarmory for extra speed although the utility of Taunt preventing Defog makes Tailwind an inferior option
-Shed Shell can be used so Pokemon such as Magnezone and Gothitelle don't trap Skarmory. Although Shed Shell can be good it is very situational and Skarmory often doesn't want to lose out on Leftovers recovery or the chip damage Rocky Helmet does to physical attackers
-Iron Head can be used to Deal with Fairy types such as Mega Diancie and Clefable. Brave Bird is always preferred because it hits Fighting types that steel teams struggle with
-Defog can be ran to get rid of hazards.
-Defog isn't the best way to get rid of hazard because of Steel teams relying heavily on Spike Stack to pick certain KOs
-Toxic can be used to cripple bulkier Pokemon such as Zapdos, Hippowdon, and Slowbro
-Toxic is often hard to fit on Skarmory's moveset as it often can't afford to lose the utility of Whirlwind. This makes set up sweepers such as Bisharp, Mega Scizor, and Mega Gyarados
-Counter can't be used to punish physical attackers but it doesn't fit in Skarmory's moveset like Toxic doesn't.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Electric Types** Electric Types such as Zapdos, Mega Ampharos, and Rotom-W all bring Skarmory down to sturdy and minimize the amount of hazards Skarmory can set up. Mega Ampharos deserves a special mention since it has Mold Breaker which negates sturdy and allows it to OHKO Skarmory
**Fire Types** Fire types such as Mega Charizard-Y, Victini, Heatran and Infernape all threaten Skarmory with their STAB Fire type moves and outspeed OHKO Skarmory in return. Magma Storm Heatran and Taunt Infenrape as they minimize that amount of hazards Skarmory can set even if it's at full health.
**Trappers**
**Taunt**
**Mixed Wallbreakers**
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