Skarmory (QC: 2/3) (reassigned)

[gday]

Q/C: 2/3
GP: 0/1
Overview
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+Great defensive typing with 8 resistances and 2 immunities
+140 Defense is massive
+Gets numerous great utility moves such as: Whirlwind, Defog, Spikes and Stealth Rock
+Best defensive counter to Mega-Pinsir in the game
- Poor HP and Special Defence stats
- Takes heavy damage from most special attacks even neutral ones
- Is forced out by a lot of common Pokemon such as: Cyclohm, Heatran, Stratagem, Mollux, Volkraken etc
-Easily trapped by Gothitelle and Magnezone

Physically Defensive
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name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Brave Bird / Counter
move 2: Roost
move 3: Spikes / Stealth Rock
move 4: Whirlwind / Defog
ability: Sturdy
item: Rocky Helmet / Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
nature: Impish / Bold

Moves
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-Brave Bird is just your STAB move and makes it so you can at least do something if you are Taunted. Deals solid damage to Venusaur, Malaconda, Pinsir etc
-Counter allows Skarmory to beat hard-hitting physical attackers like Kyurem-B, Colossoil, Cawmodore and Mega Scizor without chipping it's own health away with Brave Bird
-Roost so you can quickly replenish your health
-The 3rd moveslot depends on what your team needs. If you already have a Spikes user then go for Stealth Rock and vice-versa.
-The 4th moveslot also depends on what your team needs. Defog is useful for getting rid of hazards whereas Whirlwind is excellent for phasing Pokemon like Cawmodore.

Set Details
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-Impish / Bold to increase the defense stat (Bold is superior to Impish when Counter is used but Impish is more useful in all other situations.
-Sturdy just because it is far superior to both its other abilities and can, for example, take a hit from a boosted Syclant and hit it with a Brave Bird if that is needed.
-Rocky Helmet discourages opposing Pokemon from attacking Skarmory and forces switches which further increases hazard damage.
-Leftovers for extra HP regain.


Usage Tips
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-Can very reliably set up hazards.
-Phase out many physical attackers with Whirlwind to get more damage from hazards and remove opponents stat boosts.
-Remove hazards from your side with Defog.
-Counters many offensive threats such as: Pinsir, Physical Syclant & Aurumoth, Landorus-T, Cawmodore, Kitsunoh, Colossoil, Gyarados etc.

Team Options
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-Weaknesses to Electric and Fire type moves (more so on the special side), so bulky dragons such as Cyclohm and Latias work very well with Skarmory.
-Chansey pairs very well with Skarmory to make up for its Special Defense weakness.
-Great choice on stall and balance teams.

Other Options
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- A Specially Defensive set can be used however it is not nearly as bulky as it is on the physical side. This set can counter mixed attackers such as Landorus I and Aegislash a lot better than the pure defence set.
- Red Card can be used to send out opposing Pokemon and can allow you to set up more and deal more damage with entry hazards. Can be used in conjunction with Sturdy to send away Pokemon that have set up a lot
-Shed shell can be used to escape Gothitelle and Magnezone, however Rocky Helmet/Leftovers and to a lesser extent Red Card will generally be of more use.
-Can set up tailwind if your team really needs a boost of speed.
-Taunt and Toxic can both be effective against slower stall Pokemon

Checks & Counters
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**Trappers**: Magnezone and Gothitelle can trap and KO Skarmory
**Fire and Electric Type moves**: Skarmory can somewhat take weak/non STAB physical Electric or Fire type moves, however strong STAB moves will do massive damage even with full Defense investment.
**Taunt Users**: Mandibuzz, Thundurus and Reflect Tomohawk.
**Powerful special attacks**: Even those that are neutral can deal a lot of damage to Skarmory.
**Bouncers/Rebounders**: Most notably Rebound Colossoil and Magic Bounce Mega Sableye/Diancie can bounce hazards back to your side of the field. However if the switch is predicted correctly you can hit and score some damage with Brave Bird


Please notify me of any mistakes/changes that are needed and have a good day!

 

[MQJinx]

Counter > Brave Bird and run Bold with 0 Atk IVs because Skarm has terrible Attack, you won't be staying in on special attackers anyway, also Taunt and Toxic are effective against stall

 

[Animus Majulous]

... Brave bird is incredibly important on skarmory. It lets you do damage to switch ins like landorus. Otherwise, I could just switch in something not fearing anything but whirlwind which is easily played around and proceed to hurt your team. Especially in cap, when stall battles take a long time, any extra damage you can get is great. Plus, many cap threats are weak to flying attacks, and while skarmory has low attack, stab brave bird still does a good amount.

 

[HeaLnDeaL]

Your spacing is a bit too much and is somewhat distracting, but your set itself is quite solid. For a while I've been debating on whether the special defensive OO deserves it's own set, but ultimately I think OO is fine. In team options, you also might be selling physical Skarm/Tomo/Cylcohm a bit too steeply, as all can be standalone physical walls in their own right and such a core eats up half your team just for physical resistance and still fall to the same special attackers, such as Greninja. The core works great with proper special defensive support, but it's limited to almost only stall teams, and Skarmory itself can function well on a number of different team types.

+Is the coolest Pokemon in the game

>.> Alright, I understand the playful jokes here, but...

Good analysis, and I think you did a great job of putting the needed/best moves all into a single, fairly flexible set.

 

[QueenOfLuvdiscs]

I'd mention Counter somewhere on this, as it allows it to beat hard-hitting physical attackers like kyu-b, colo, caw and megazor without chipping it's own health away with Brave Bird and it makes sure that if they have just one of those mons left, it can beat them

 

[Animus Majulous]

Roost and whirlwind are necessary, counter/brave bird, defog stealth rocks. Especially with pokemon like mega salamence.

 

[HeaLnDeaL]

I actually agree with pretty much everything in the analysis. Some word choices might be a bit off, but the competitive merit is there.

QC 1/3

 

[Animus Majulous]

QC 2/3

 

[HeaLnDeaL]

Final QC is suppose to take place after it is in paragraph form. Sorry, I talked to Animus about this but forgot to with you x.x My bad, please shoot me later. I'll make a formal announcement in the reservation thread.

 

[sparktrain]

I have just a few comments. First, I'd change the set name so its more descriptive of Skarmory's role, perhaps Physically Defensive, Physical Wall, or even Support. The formatting is a little off, so you can go ahead and c/p this version in.

Hide

Physically Defensive
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name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Brave Bird / Counter
move 2: Roost
move 3: Spikes / Stealth Rock
move 4: Whirlwind / Defog
ability: Sturdy
item: Rocky Helmet / Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
nature: Impish / Bold

Bold is the superior option if Counter is used over Brave Bird and should be mentioned as such.

With all that in mind, this looks great, and is ready to be written up. Nice work!

 

[MQJinx]

So with Custap Berry now released, the Custap Lead set should get some mention in the analysis, at least in OO or maybe an individual set, as it can guarantee 2 hazard layers if not taunted, and works well with Bisharp which pursuit traps Lati@s and Kitsunoh, as well as teammates that pressure Colossoil like Keldeo, Arghonaut, Scizor, and Fairies, as well as Mega Sableye checks such as the Fairies. It can use Iron Head to dent any Diancie thinking they can Mega Evolve with impunity, as well as Taunt to stop slower defoggers such as uninvested Scizor/Skarmory, and block any taunts. Max speed/max attack jolly is the EV spread in this set as it's an HO lead.

 

[HeaLnDeaL]

I don't think Custap deserves its own set in CAP. gday, please work on paragraph form soon.