Skuntank (QC 3/3)

November Blue

A universe where hot chips don't exist :(
is a Contributor Alumnus
[Other Options]



  • Haze, Memento, Toxic, Roar
  • RestTalk
  • Night Slash, Foul Play
  • Stench - it's activation rate is too low, and Aftermath is more reliable. Besides, who wants their Skuntank to smell bad?
  • A Choice Band set
  • Fire Blast for the Grass- / Poison-types that take neutral damage from Poison Jab (Vileplume, Amoonguss ect. )
  • Explosion, even though I don't like it
  • Screech and Return?
[Checks and Counters]



  • Torterra, but it takes a lot of damage from Sludge Bomb
  • Quagsire beats all variatns except Hidden Power Grass ones
  • Bastiodon, Probopass, Golem, Camerupt, Tangela, Alomomola, but Bastiodon and Probopass lose to Hidden Power Ground
  • All three NU Fighting-types: Sawk, Gurdurr, and Throh - latter two have Guts, so Poison Jab is risky
  • Vileplume and Amoonguss wall it, but can't do much back, and they only beat the mixed set
  • Altaria can handle the mixed set, like other bulky Pokes that aren't weak to any of Skuntank's attacks



[Overview]

<p>After looking over its stats and typing, you might be wondering just what it is that Skuntank does. It appears to be one of the swathe of mediocre Poison-types writhing in NU at first glance, but this couldn't be further from the truth. Skuntank is a phenomenal utility Pokemon that is so useful, it's addictive. Dark and Poison might not seem like a good dual type combination, but they actually work quite well together; Skuntank resists Dark, Ghost, Poison, and Grass, and has a nifty Psychic-type immunity. These are all fairly common attacking types in NU, which gives Skuntank a good palette of resistances. A single weakness to Ground-type moves is a great boon for Skuntank's defensive capabilities. This purple skunk has a whole slew of tricks that it can use to support your team and drive your opponent up a tree, such as absorbing Toxic Spikes, finishing off weakened foes with its priority Sucker Punch, and stallbreaking with Taunt. Skuntank's Attack stat might look average, but its STAB moves pack quite a punch, and are strong enough to get the job done. This skunk is a useful, unique supporter that can patch up holes on your team; if you get one with the Aftermath ability, it won't smell bad either!</p>

[SET]
name: Bulky Attacker
move 1: Sucker Punch
move 2: Pursuit
move 3: Crunch / Poison Jab
move 4: Taunt
item: Leftovers / Dread Plate / Life Orb
ability: Aftermath
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 220 SpD / 36 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Skuntank's flagship set. This set excels in combating Ghost- and Psychic-types, and its three Dark-type STAB moves are the weapon of choice. Sucker Punch is by far the most useful, as it can easily take out foes such as Haunter and Gardevoir, which are all faster than the skunky menace. Sucker Punch is also great as a general priority move, and provides insurance against speedy foes such as Charizard, Swellow, and Cinccino. Pursuit is a deliciously diabolical move that punishes those that attempt to flee Skuntank, and pairs up with Sucker Punch to trap Ghost- and Psychic-type foes; if you predict correctly, these two moves will ensure that the victim is KOed no matter what they do. Sometimes though, Skuntank just needs a straightforward attacking move to fall back on. This is where Crunch and Poison Jab come in; these two STAB moves are powerful and reliable, and are useful for when you need a straightforward, direct attacking move. Crunch is usually the better option as it hits Misdreavus super effectively, but Poison Jab scores a super effective hit on Tangela, Torterra, and Ludicolo, which can all tank Skuntank's Dark-type moves fairly well. Taunt is an extremely useful move for Skuntank; the skunky menace is faster than almost every defensive Pokemon in NU, which allows it to block the non-attacking moves of a wide range of Pokemon. This in conjunction with its bulk allows Skuntank to break stall fairly well, prevent the setup of entry hazards, and protect itself from status moves, particularly Will-O-Wisp from Misdreavus and Weezing. </p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>An Adamant nature is used with full Attack EVs rather than a defensive nature, as Skuntank's livelihood lies in its attacking capabilities. The 32 Speed EVs allow it to outpace Misdreavus (to catch Will-O-Wisp with Taunt) and Adamant Torterra, and the rest is added to Special Defense to soften the blows of special attackers. The item choice depends on whether you prefer your Skuntank to incline offensively or defensively. Leftovers is the defensive choice, providing Skuntank with vital HP recovery; this allows it to tank hits more comfortably than it could with Life Orb, and take advantage of its excellent resistances. On the flip side, the ever-useful Life Orb gives Skuntank's attacks some oomph, powering them up enough to <EXAMPLES> Dread Plate is a much better choice than Life Orb if you're not using Poison Jab, as it provides a similar power boost without the unwanted recoil damage. The Aftermath ability is Skuntank's secret weapon, and punishes the foe that lands the finishing blow with a 25% HP penalty. This is a useful crutch that can be a lifesaver against physical sweepers that are low on HP, as Skuntank can sacrifice itself to take them down. This works well on foes such as Braviary, Sawk, and Samurott. Healthy foes can be knocked down to Aftermath range by Sucker Punch, if they're not KOed outright. </p>

<p>Skuntank can also use a Lum Berry, which will give it a safety net against status, and can be useful for foes such as Sleep Powder Tangela and Exeggutor, and Thunder Wave Probopass and Miltank. However, Life Orb and Leftovers are both extremely useful, so you might be better off just carrying a Heal Bell or Aromatherapy user on your team, such as Miltank, Lickilicky or Altaria. Speaking of teammates, Fighting-types such as Sawk and Emboar can be used to lure in Psychic- and Ghost-types for Skuntank to pounce on, effectively removing your Fighting-types' checks. Skuntank has trouble dealing with Golem, Probopass, Tangela, and Alomomola, so foes that can take out these Pokemon, such as Torterra, Emboar, Exeggutor, and Samurott, are all great teammates for the skunky menace. Entry hazard support can also go a long way towards dealing with these threats, so carrying entry hazard setters, such as Probopass, Garbodor, Tentacool, and Golem, can provide the prior damage needed for Skuntank to KO them. </p>

[SET]
name: Mixed
move 1: Sucker Punch
move 2: Crunch
move 3: Sludge Bomb
move 4: Hidden Power Grass / Hidden Power Ground
item: Life Orb
ability: Aftermath
nature: Lonely
evs: 252 Atk / 220 SpA / 36 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This set might not be listed first, but that doesn't mean that it's a lesser option. In fact, mixed Skuntank is fast gaining popularity for its added ability to take on a number of physical walls with special attacks, including the king itself, Tangela. Sucker Punch's priority is as useful as ever, and Crunch backs it up with reliable damage. Sludge Bomb's Base Power is slightly higher than that of Poison Jab, and is extremely useful for foes such as the aforementioned Tangela, Torterra, Sawk, and Absol-all foes that a physical set would have trouble with. For the last slot, Hidden Power is used for coverage; Hidden Power Grass is the only move on this set that threatens Quagsire, which would otherwise be free to sit there and peer bemusedly at Skuntank, shrugging off all of its other attacks with Recover and retaliate with a super effective Earthquake. Hidden Power Grass also unearths Golem, but without some prior damage Golem's Sturdy ability will protect it from a OHKO, and it can then KO Skuntank in return with its powerful STAB Earthquake. Alternatively, Hidden Power Ground is a great tool for fending off Probopass, Camerupt, and Garbodor, and also gives Skuntank the upper hand if it should ever find itself butting heads with other members of its species. </p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Life Orb gives this set surprising power, and provides the strongest Sucker Punch possible, giving Skuntank an invaluable weapon for speedy foes and Choice Scarf users. Entry hazard support is great for this set, as the extra damage allows Skuntank to take out foes such as EXAMPLES Paralysis support is also useful, as Skuntank would have a lesser reliance on Sucker Punch, and could even attempt a sweep. The Speed EVs are for outpacing Adamant Torterra, which could otherwise KO Skuntank with its STAB Earthquake. Skuntank can also outspeed Misdreavus, and can KO it before it burns Skuntank with Will-O-Wisp. </p>

<p>Magmortar is a good partner for taking out Alomomola, Tangela, Vileplume, and Amoonguss.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>With a surprisingly expansive movepool, Skuntank has a good number of other options available to it. Haze is a great option that works well with Skuntank's Speed advantage; it can be an absolute lifesaver when you're faced with a boosted Gurdurr, or Absol. Thanks to its Psychic-type immunity, Skuntank can also use Haze to completely disarm foes such as Calm Mind Duosion and Musharna, which are both too bulky for Skuntank to OHKO. The Stench ability might pale in comparison to Aftermath, but it can prove quite useful. Skuntank can 2HKO a large number of NU Pokemon, and a sudden flinch can throw your foe for a spin. This is especially useful for Sucker Punch, as Skuntank is able to 2HKO most speedy Pokemon. </p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Because of Skuntank's lack of weaknesses and good mix of bulk and power, it actually has very few specific counters. Gurdurr is one Pokemon that absolutely shreds Skuntank, as it is exceedingly bulky and resists Skuntank's Dark-type moves. Even if Skuntank stays in and Taunts Bulk Up, Gurdurr is still going to win thanks to Drain Punch's recovery. Golem and Torterra are both great checks, as they can easily KO with a powerful STAB Earthquake. Choice Band Sawk is strong enough to deal grievous damage with Close Combat, and Earthquake variants are looking at a clean OHKO. Quagsire also wields a moderately powerful STAB Earthquake, and is more than bulky enough to tank Skuntank's attacks and heal away any damage with Recover. However, mixed Skuntank variants can threaten Quagsire with Hidden Power Grass. </p>

[Unreleased]

<p>Keen Eye sucks.</p>
 
Amateur GP check:

[Overview]


  • Outstanding utility Pokemon. It looks ho-hum and run-of-the-mill, but Skuntank has a boatload buttload of useful traits


I'll get my coat...
 

erisia

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You should mention Fire Blast in the OO. It's largely inferior to Sludge Bomb, but it does 2HKO the Grass/Poisons, which can be useful for certain teams.
 

jake

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You should mention Fire Blast in the OO. It's largely inferior to Sludge Bomb, but it does 2HKO the Grass/Poisons, which can be useful for certain teams.
Agreeing, and also would like to direct attention to the last post I made in the other thread (although I didn't end up editing the OP, haha). Pursuit, while "necessary" on a trapper like Skuntank, is not the best attack option. At all. It's useful if you're particularly in need of removing low-health Ghost- or Psychic-types, but like I said nearly all of the Ghost- or Psychic-types you'll be confronting are incredibly bulky: Mesprit, Musharna, Misdreavus, Frillish, Duosion... Pursuit does pitiful damage if they don't try to switch out, which some - notably Misdreavus - will just sit there and burn you, then stall you out. The only frail Ghost- or Psychic-types in the tier are pretty much limited to Kadabra and Haunter (and Banette and Shedinja, but both of those fall pretty easily), both of whom fall to Sucker Punch. While Pursuit has its niche, Crunch is overall the much better move to run, and Poison Jab should be deserving of its own slot because monoDark coverage is kinda bad.

tl;dr:

move 1: Crunch / Pursuit
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Poison Jab
 

erisia

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Pursuit does pitiful damage if they don't try to switch out, which some - notably Misdreavus - will just sit there and burn you, then stall you out.
Well I assume Skuntank would Taunt and Pursuit in that situation, hence the Speed EVs. Nevertheless, I agree; in this tier Skuntank should be a tank first and a trapper second, especially when it runs bulky EVs.
 

Ice-eyes

Simper Fi
On the other hand, a large part of the reason you're using Skuntank over a different mon in the first place is to trap and kill stuff for the benefit of the rest of your team. Poison Jab also provides fairly unnecessary coverage, to be honest.
 

jake

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QC APPROVED (1/3)

I agree that part of the purpose is to kill Ghost- and Psychic-types, but Crunch still seems entirely necessary on this set. Perhaps you can mention possibly using Pursuit > Poison Jab in AC, but this has by far been the best way that the set has worked for me, and I hardly used Pursuit at all.
 
For what it's worth, I reckon Pursuit and Crunch are both essential and it's Sucker Punch that can be the slash beside either of them. Pursuit and Crunch provides the 'if you switch you die, if you stay in you die' dilema just fine and whether you want priority is up to the user. Poison Jab is useful for hitting Dark and Fighting types neutrally so I'd keep it.

People using Skuntank as a trapper will want Pursuit + Crunch imo whereas people using it as something more general purpose will probably want Sucker Punch + Pursuit/Crunch.
 

jake

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For what it's worth, I reckon Pursuit and Crunch are both essential and it's Sucker Punch that can be the slash beside either of them. Pursuit and Crunch provides the 'if you switch you die, if you stay in you die' dilema just fine and whether you want priority up to the user. Poison Jab is useful for hitting Dark and Fighting types neutrally so I'd keep it.
The priority is invaluable, I'd think. For what it's worth, any combination of the four attacking moves can be used according to your own preferences, imo.
 

erisia

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is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Yep, I'm glad to see all of the changes I stated in the other threads have been made. Just add the rest of the stuff from Zeb's thread concerning the mixed set, the OO, and the counters, and this should be ready. When you do...

QC APPROVED (2/3)

 
I'm not QC, but I have a few suggestions. (Most are pretty small, though.)

[Overview]
  • Mention that Skuntank serves as a "glue" to a team. It absorbs Toxic Spikes, has priority, is pretty bulky, has some nice resistances, can trap Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokemon if you want to, etc.
  • "Yeah, it outspeeds Magmortar by one point" -- And this doesn't matter because Skuntank should rarely ever run enough speed to outspeed Magmortar.
  • "A mixed set with 72 Special Attack? If you say so, I guess." -- (This is pretty much a nitpick, but w/e), "I guess" isn't very appropriate when you have a mixed set later in the analysis.


[All sets]
  • Remove Stench and put it in OO. It only has a 10% activation chance and the damage dealt to the Pokemon that kills Skuntank is usually much more useful and will happen more often than Stench flinching something.

[Mixed AC]
  • Put Leftovers in there as Life Orb isn't that important. The extra health provided by Leftovers can be very useful.
  • You mention Hidden Power Grass for Alomamola. That's not the best move to use against Alomamola; while Sludge Bomb -- even after STAB -- is weaker than HP Grass, it's only slightly weaker and that 10% chance of poison, if activated, will allow you to beat Alomamola even without having Stealth Rock up or Alomamola being weakened.

[Other Options]
  • Move Stench here.

[Checks and Counters]
  • Mention that Vileplume and Amoonguss only beat the Mixed set.
  • Mention that Bastidon and Probopass lose to HP Ground.
  • Mention Torterra who counters all Skuntank sets. (Although it takes a lot from LO Sludge Bomb.)
  • Mention Quagsire who beats all non HP Grass Skuntank.

Other than that, I think this skeleton seems really solid!
 

November Blue

A universe where hot chips don't exist :(
is a Contributor Alumnus
Okay, agreeing with all of that, thanks DTC! Kinda sucks that Stench is bad, and I can't believe that I forgot Torterra and Quagsire in Checks and Counters.

And thanks for the stamp NatGeo!
 
Just in case any QC member is confused: I approved the first set changes after November Blue talked to me about it on IRC. The reasoning was that the fact that Skuntank could Pursuit was one of its main uses and Poison Jab doesn't hit many notable targets. Skuntank being the best Pursuit user in NU is one of the biggest reasons for using it.

(The changes were Crunch/Poison Jab moved to the third slot, Poison Jab being added a slash to Crunch, Sucker Punch being moved to the first slot, and Pursuit being added to the second slot and not as a secondary slash.)
 

erisia

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is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
I've had second thoughts. For the first set, i believe the EV spread should be 252 Atk / 220 SpD / 36 Spe for two reasons. Firstly, it makes Skuntank more effective at checking its almost exclusively specially offensive targets. Secondly, it simplifies the EV spread and requires less justification. I switched over to it, and i've never been inclined to switch back.
 
Sorry to post again before you finished writing this up, but, add Dread Plate to the first set. It's the better option over Life Orb if you're not using Poison Jab.
 

November Blue

A universe where hot chips don't exist :(
is a Contributor Alumnus
Added. Cool idea DTC!

I'm going to try to get this written up in the next few days. Should be ready now.
 
Question, why 224 SpD not HP?
Surely HP adds to Skuntanks general survivability and would benefit Skuntank more.
 
Question, why 224 SpD not HP?
Surely HP adds to Skuntanks general survivability and would benefit Skuntank more.
I've had second thoughts. For the first set, i believe the EV spread should be 252 Atk / 220 SpD / 36 Spe for two reasons. Firstly, it makes Skuntank more effective at checking its almost exclusively specially offensive targets. Secondly, it simplifies the EV spread and requires less justification. I switched over to it, and i've never been inclined to switch back.
Most of the targets Skuntank is good at removing with Pursuit are specially oriented. There will rarely be physical threats that Skuntank should Pursuit out.

Skuntank is also better at dealing with special threats in general; it needs as much EV's as it can have in Special Defense to help beat them while having enough Attack to kill them.
 
Sorry to post again before you finished writing this up, but, add Dread Plate to the first set. It's the better option over Life Orb if you're not using Poison Jab.
Meh, I don't think so.....without that extra 10 percent Skuntank really misses out on some power. A lot of 2HKOs become 3HKOs.
 

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