[OVERVIEW]
Skeledirge in Ubers is a unique check to one of the most threatening Pokemon in the tier, Koraidon, thanks to its access to Unaware. Koraidon must be careful against Skeledirge, as it can burn Koraidon or potentially OHKO it with Alluring Voice, all while Skeledirge has the option to Tera Fairy to avoid Scale Shot. While Skeledirge is at risk of being 2HKOed by Koraidon's Scale Shot, this is reliant on Koraidon getting 9 total hits of Scale Shot over two turns with sun up. Due to these factors, while Skeledirge cannot always handle Koraidon reliably by itself, Skeledirge's mere presence on the team forces opposing Koraidon to play very carefully, often preventing Koraidon's setup opportunities entirely. Outside of Koraidon, Skeledirge is excellent against most physical threats in the tier; notably, it can counter Zacian-C and take on Extreme Killer Arceus and Calyrex-I quite well. Torch Song provides Skeledirge with a way to not be too passive, and it can let it sweep in certain late-game scenarios. This, however, does not prevent Skeledirge from easily being taken advantage of by special threats such as Miraidon and Kyogre.
[SET]
Physical Wall (Skeledirge) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Torch Song
- Hex / Earth Power
- Will-O-Wisp
- Slack Off
[SET COMMENTS]
Hex is a strong attacking option that takes advantage of Will-O-Wisp and does great damage against Gliscor, 2HKOing at +1. Earth Power nails Miraidon on the switch, and it gives Skeledirge a good way to damage Tera Fire users like Koraidon, Arceus, and Calyrex-I. Will-O-Wisp's burns can do useful chip damage against nearly anything that switches in, and it cripples any physical attacker hit by it. Tera Fairy is mandatory for Skeledirge to take on Koraidon should Skeledirge be too low on HP. Care should be taken when facing Koraidon, as ideally, Tera Fairy should only be used as a last resort. If Skeledirge only takes four hits of Scale Shot upon switching in, it can repeatedly use Slack Off in order to stall out sun turns, or to hope for a Scale Shot miss. In general, being aware of when sun fades is very useful, as Koraidon cannot hope to break Skeledirge without it.
Skeledirge needs teammates that can handle the special attackers that it is weak to. Checks to Miraidon like Ting-Lu and Arceus-Ground are great options, while Eternatus, Koraidon, Miraidon, and Clodsire help against Kyogre. Necrozma-DM and Arceus-Ground are some of few physical attackers that can get past Skeledirge, so checks to them like Arceus-Water, Arceus-Dark, Kyogre, and Bulldoze Gliscor are valuable partners.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
Other Tera types such as Tera Flying are possible, but typically, Tera Fairy is too useful against Koraidon to give up. Alluring Voice may seem tempting to use, but it fails to OHKO Koraidon and is generally outclassed by other options.
Checks and Counters
====
**Special Attackers**: Miraidon, Kyogre, Eternatus, and other special attackers don't take too much damage from switching in on Skeledirge and can easily force it out with their strong attacks. Kyogre in particular doesn't mind any coverage move and can take great advantage of Skeledirge.
**Ho-Oh**: Ho-Oh is immune to burns and can wall Skeledirge with its titanic special bulk.
**Taunt**: Taunt prevents Skeledirge from healing or using Will-O-Wisp, though predicted Taunts can be taken advantage of by Torch Song.
**Tera Fire**: Tera Fire prevents burns and provides a resistance to Torch Song, though Tera Fire users must be wary of Earth Power or Alluring Voice's confusion.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/manaphy.50695/
Quality checked by:
[https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/katerina.306317/]
[https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/aberforth.249382/]
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tbolt.555379/
Skeledirge in Ubers is a unique check to one of the most threatening Pokemon in the tier, Koraidon, thanks to its access to Unaware. Koraidon must be careful against Skeledirge, as it can burn Koraidon or potentially OHKO it with Alluring Voice, all while Skeledirge has the option to Tera Fairy to avoid Scale Shot. While Skeledirge is at risk of being 2HKOed by Koraidon's Scale Shot, this is reliant on Koraidon getting 9 total hits of Scale Shot over two turns with sun up. Due to these factors, while Skeledirge cannot always handle Koraidon reliably by itself, Skeledirge's mere presence on the team forces opposing Koraidon to play very carefully, often preventing Koraidon's setup opportunities entirely. Outside of Koraidon, Skeledirge is excellent against most physical threats in the tier; notably, it can counter Zacian-C and take on Extreme Killer Arceus and Calyrex-I quite well. Torch Song provides Skeledirge with a way to not be too passive, and it can let it sweep in certain late-game scenarios. This, however, does not prevent Skeledirge from easily being taken advantage of by special threats such as Miraidon and Kyogre.
[SET]
Physical Wall (Skeledirge) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Torch Song
- Hex / Earth Power
- Will-O-Wisp
- Slack Off
[SET COMMENTS]
Hex is a strong attacking option that takes advantage of Will-O-Wisp and does great damage against Gliscor, 2HKOing at +1. Earth Power nails Miraidon on the switch, and it gives Skeledirge a good way to damage Tera Fire users like Koraidon, Arceus, and Calyrex-I. Will-O-Wisp's burns can do useful chip damage against nearly anything that switches in, and it cripples any physical attacker hit by it. Tera Fairy is mandatory for Skeledirge to take on Koraidon should Skeledirge be too low on HP. Care should be taken when facing Koraidon, as ideally, Tera Fairy should only be used as a last resort. If Skeledirge only takes four hits of Scale Shot upon switching in, it can repeatedly use Slack Off in order to stall out sun turns, or to hope for a Scale Shot miss. In general, being aware of when sun fades is very useful, as Koraidon cannot hope to break Skeledirge without it.
Skeledirge needs teammates that can handle the special attackers that it is weak to. Checks to Miraidon like Ting-Lu and Arceus-Ground are great options, while Eternatus, Koraidon, Miraidon, and Clodsire help against Kyogre. Necrozma-DM and Arceus-Ground are some of few physical attackers that can get past Skeledirge, so checks to them like Arceus-Water, Arceus-Dark, Kyogre, and Bulldoze Gliscor are valuable partners.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
Other Tera types such as Tera Flying are possible, but typically, Tera Fairy is too useful against Koraidon to give up. Alluring Voice may seem tempting to use, but it fails to OHKO Koraidon and is generally outclassed by other options.
Checks and Counters
====
**Special Attackers**: Miraidon, Kyogre, Eternatus, and other special attackers don't take too much damage from switching in on Skeledirge and can easily force it out with their strong attacks. Kyogre in particular doesn't mind any coverage move and can take great advantage of Skeledirge.
**Ho-Oh**: Ho-Oh is immune to burns and can wall Skeledirge with its titanic special bulk.
**Taunt**: Taunt prevents Skeledirge from healing or using Will-O-Wisp, though predicted Taunts can be taken advantage of by Torch Song.
**Tera Fire**: Tera Fire prevents burns and provides a resistance to Torch Song, though Tera Fire users must be wary of Earth Power or Alluring Voice's confusion.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/manaphy.50695/
Quality checked by:
[https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/katerina.306317/]
[https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/aberforth.249382/]
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tbolt.555379/
Last edited by a moderator:
