Draft Skeledirge

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Gwanian

Gwanian

[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 4 onwards

**Price Range**: 12-13 points

**Overview**: Skeledirge is a good bulky option and can take on both offensive and defensive roles with Unaware, access to reliable recovery, and a snowballing attack in Torch Song. Its unique access to both Unaware and Torch Song makes it a good Tera Captain as well. However, Skeledirge requires good positioning to perform, as its weakness to common coverage moves and entry hazards before it Teras paired with its subpar (RH) Special Attack and poor Speed can make it difficult to get Skeledirge into battle safely.

[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
*Unaware Wall**: With Unaware and reliable recovery in Slack Off, Skeledirge makes for a reliable answer to a good number of setup-reliant Pokemon. It often carries Will-O-Wisp to hinder physical attackers, although it can also choose to run Yawn to force out most threats and Encore to shut down opposing walls.

**Bulky Setup Sweeper**: Torch Song makes Skeledirge a good sweeper, especially when paired with Slack Off to heal off damage it takes as it sets up. Setup sets also have the option to run Will-O-Wisp to turn physical attackers into setup fodder and boost the power of Hex, as well as Flame Charge to circumvent Skeledirge's low Speed.

Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Torch Song, Overheat, Fire Blast, Shadow Ball, Hex

**Setup Moves**: Torch Song

**Utility Moves**: Slack Off, Will-O-Wisp, Substitute, Encore, Roar, Yawn, Fire Spin

**Coverage**: Earth Power, Scorching Sands, Alluring Voice, Tera Blast

Niche Moves
========
**Flame Charge**: Flame Charge allows Skeledirge to solve its Speed issue, although it often takes two turns for it to boost enough to outspeed faster threats.

Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Due to Skeledirge's susceptibility to entry hazards, it often runs Heavy-Duty Boots to avoid that damage.

**Leftovers**: Leftovers gives Skeledirge better longevity and can be used on sets that use Tera to remove its Stealth Rock weakness.

Niche Items
========
**Throat Spray**: Throat Spray gives Skeledirge two Special Attack boosts from its first Torch Song, allowing offensive sets to become more immediately threatening.

**Resistance Berries**: Resistance Berries allow Skeledirge to better take a super effective hit.

**Ability Shield**: Ability Shield allows Skeledirge to wall setup Pokemon with Mold Breaker.

Tera
========
Skeledirge is good with Tera and should usually be considered as a Tera Captain when it is drafted; however, its middling cost often prevents you from drafting another more expensive Tera Captain within the Tera budget. Skeledirge generally prefers defensive Tera types such as Tera Water, Fairy, and Dragon to give it opportunities to set up with Torch Song and Flame Charge, but it is also an excellent offensive user of Tera Ground as a Fire-type with access to Earth Power. Against neutral walls, it can also Tera into a STAB Tera type to further boost the damage output of its STAB moves.

Draft Strategy
========
Skeledirge is a reliable bulky Pokemon with great defensive and offensive options, but it requires a good amount of support to cover its weaknesses.

**Entry Hazard Removal**: Even when you plan to remove Skeledirge's Rock weakness with Tera, Skeledirge appreciates good entry hazard removers such as Great Tusk, Corviknight, and Donphan so that it can enter battle safely prior to using Tera.

**Wallbreakers**: Skeledirge struggles to break on its own, so it appreciates wallbreakers such as Great Tusk, Roaring Moon, and Enamorus softening up the opposing team for it. Skeledirge's ability to spread burn also supports wallbreakers by giving them more opportunities to hit the field.

**Defensive Partners**: While Skeledirge is a good defensive option on its own, it also appreciates relatively bulky Pokemon that resist its weaknesses. Roaring Moon, Rillaboom, and Swampert make for good partners in this regard.

Checks and Counters
========
**Entry Hazards**: Skeledirge's susceptibility to Stealth Rock prior to using Tera makes it difficult for it to enter battle safely, especially since offensive variants do not want to be forced to run Heavy-Duty Boots. Hazard setters such as Ting-Lu, Clefable, and Clodsire can pressure Skeledirge with hazards. While Skeledirge can run Heavy-Duty Boots to avoid taking entry hazard damage, its Ghost typing and reliance on items make it a common target for Knock Off.

**Unaware Walls**: Offensive Skeledirge can struggle to break other Unaware Pokemon such as Clefable, Clodsire, and Dondozo, and even defensive Skeledirge has a bad matchup against most of them prior to using Tera.

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Being a special attacker, Skeledirge struggles to break through specially defensive Pokemon that aren't weak to its STAB moves such as Ting-Lu and Primarina.

**Disruption Moves**: Disruption moves such as Taunt and Encore can shut down Skeledirge's attempts to wall threats such as Tornadus-T, Iron Valiant, and Dragonite.


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Written by:
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Quality checked by:
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[overview]
**Draft order**: Round 4 onwards

**Price range**: 12-13 points

**Overview**: Skeledirge is a good bulky option for both offensive and defensive roles with Unaware, access to reliable recovery, and a snowballing attack in Torch Song; its unique access to both Unaware and Torch Song makes it a fantastic Tera user as well. However, Skeledirge requires good positioning to perform, as its weakness to common coverage moves and entry hazards before it Teras paired with its sub-par Special Attack and poor Speed can makes it difficult to get Skeledirge into battle safely.

[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
*Unaware Wall**: With Unaware and reliable recovery in Slack-Off, Skeledirge makes for a reliable answer to a good number of setup-reliant Pokemon. It often carries Will-O-Wisp to cripple physical attackers, and Hex to further take advantage of inflicted burns.

**Bulky Setup Sweeper**: Torch Song makes Skeledirge a fantastic sweeper, especially when paired with Slack-Off to heal off damage it takes as it sets up. Setup sets also have the option to run Will-O-Wisp to turn physical attackers into setup fodder and Flame Charge to circumvent Skeledirge’s low speed stat. (feels too niche, ok with flame charge as a niche move tho)

Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB moves**: Torch Song, Overheat, Fire Blast, Shadow Ball, Hex

**Setup moves**: Torch Song, Flame Charge (move to niche)

**Utility moves**: Slack-Off, Will-O-Wisp, Substitute, Encore, Roar, Yawn, Fire Spin

**Coverage**: Earth Power, Scorching Sands, Alluring Voice, Tera Blast

Niche Moves
========
**Solar Beam**: When paired with a Power Herb, Solar Beam gives Skeledirge a one-time method of hitting bulky Water- and Ground-types for a massive amount of damage. (usually not worth it)

**Belch**: On sets that use berries, Belch gives Skeledirge a high-power move to hit bulky Fairy-types. (definently not worth it)

**Imprison**: Imprison, when paired with Earth Power, allows Skeledirge to beat special attacking Ground-types that use Earth Power as their primary STAB move and Pokemon that rely on Earth Power as coverage to hit Skeledirge. (100% not worth it)

**Curse**: At the cost of half of its HP, Skeledirge can inflict an incredibly fast timer on opposing Pokemon, helping it break through certain walls (especially if paired with Fire Spin). After Tera, it also gives Skeledirge a physical setup option for it to utilize its high-power physical STABs and its good physical coverage options. (never want to give up 50% of hp)

Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Due to Skeldirege’s susceptibility to entry hazards, it often runs Heavy-Duty Boots to avoid that damage.

**Leftovers**: Leftovers gives Skeledirge better longevity, and can be used on sets that Tera Skeledirge out of its Stealth Rock weakness.

**Throat Spray**: Throat Spray gives Skeledirge two Special Attack boosts from its first Torch Song, allowing offensive sets to become more immediately threatening. (niche)

Niche Items
========
**Sitrus Berry**: A Sitrus Berry can provide Skeledirge with the immediate recovery necessary to take an extra hit, especially on sets that cannot fit Slack-Off. (definently cant use dirge without slack off)

**Kee Berry and Maranga Berry**: Both the Kee and Maranga Berries make Skeledirge even more difficult to remove after they are consumed. (oppurtunity cost is too bad to not use boots / occasionally lefties)

**Power Herb**: Power Herb allows Skeledirge to use Solar Beam as coverage.

**Damage-boosting items**: Damage-boosting items such as Expert Belt and Spell Tag can provide Skeledirge with the extra damage it needs to take crucial KOs.

**Resistance Berries**: Shuca Berry, Passho Berry, Charti Berry, Kasib Berry, and Colbur Berry allow Skeledirge to better take a super-effective hit. (eh on this one so ill let qc2 look at it but i would remove this too)

**Ability Shield**: Ability Shield allows Skeledirge to wall setup Pokemon with the Mold Breaker ability and setup Pokemon using Skill Swap to circumvent Unaware.

Tera
========
Skeledirge is a fantastic Tera and should always be a Tera Captain when it is drafted (agree that tera dirge is a lot better than non tera dirge, but i dont agree that it should always be your tera captain); its middling cost often prevents you from drafting another more expensive Tera Captain within the Tera budget, however. Skeledirge generally prefers defensive Tera types such as Poison, Water, Fairy, Grass, and Dragon to give it opportunities to set up with Torch Song and Flame Charge, but also is an excellent offensive user of Tera Ground as a Fire-type with access to Earth Power. Against neutral walls, it can also Tera into a STAB typing to further boost the damage output of its STABs.

Draft Strategy
========
Skeledirge is a reliable bulky Pokemon with great defensive and offensive options, but it requires a good amount of support to cover its weaknesses.

**Entry hazard removal**: Even when you plan to Tera Skeledirge out of its Rock weakness, Skeledirge appreciates good entry hazard removers such as Great Tusk, Corviknight, and Tsareena so that it can enter battle safely prior to Tera. (i think a more important point here is since dirge will usually be knocked, removal to help ensure dirge has better longevity)

**Wallbreakers**: Offensive Skeledirge struggles to sweep on its own, so it appreciates wallbreakers such as Great Tusk, Roaring Moon, and Enamorus softening up the opposing team for it. (i think this is overselling offensive skeledirge, though there being good wallbreakers for dirge makes sense regardless. dirge being able to spread burns to make other threats easier to get in is nice)

**Defensive partners**: While Skeledirge is a good defensive option on its own, it also appreciates relatively bulky Pokemon that resist its weaknesses (such as). Pokemon such as Roaring Moon, Rillaboom, and Gastrodon make for good partners in this regard.

Checks and Counters
========
**Entry hazards** Skeledirge’s susceptibility to Stealth Rock prior to Tera makes it difficult for it to enter battle safely, especially since offensive variants do not want to be forced to run Heavy-Duty Boots. Hazard setters such as Ting-Lu, and Clefable, and Skarmory can pressure Skeledirge with hazards even if some of them are weak to Skeledirge on paper. (dont like skarm mention, but i said below this but combine this with knock. dirge isnt really super weak to hazards because its very good at using boots but its very susceptible to hazards once it gets knocked)

**Unaware walls**: Offensive Skeledirge ironically can struggles to break other Unaware Pokemon such as Clefable, Clodsire, and Dondozo, and even defensive Skeledirge has a bad matchup into most of them prior to Tera.

**Specially defensive Pokemon**: Being a special attacker, Skeledirge struggles to break through specially defensive Pokemon that are not weak to its STABs such as Ting-Lu and Primarina.

**Knock-Off**: Skeledirge is both item-dependant and weak to Dark-type moves prior to Tera, making it susceptible to Knock-Off. Pokemon such as Iron Valiant, Tornadus-T, and Scizor can use Knock-Off to force progress against Skeledirge on switch. (you should combine the knock weakness with entry hazards imo)
 
[overview]
**Draft order**: Round 4 onwards

**Price range**: 12-13 points

**Overview**: Skeledirge is a good bulky option for both offensive and defensive roles with Unaware, access to reliable recovery, and a snowballing attack in Torch Song; its. Its unique access to both Unaware and Torch Song makes it a fantastic good Tera user Captain as well. However, Skeledirge requires good positioning to perform, as its weakness to common coverage moves and entry hazards before it Teras paired with its sub-par Special Attack and poor Speed can make it difficult to get Skeledirge into battle safely.

[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Unaware Wall**: With Unaware and reliable recovery in Slack-Off, Skeledirge makes for a reliable answer to a good number of setup-reliant Pokemon. It often carries Will-O-Wisp to cripple physical attackers, and Hex to further take advantage of inflicted burns. id move this to the sweeper set, can instead mention yawn to force out spc attackers, or encore to shut down opposing walls

**Bulky Setup Sweeper**: Torch Song makes Skeledirge a fantastic sweeper, especially when paired with Slack-Off to heal off damage it takes as it sets up. Setup sets also have the option to run Will-O-Wisp to turn physical attackers into setup fodder and Flame Charge to circumvent Skeledirge’s low speed stat.

Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB mMoves**: Torch Song, Overheat, Fire Blast, Shadow Ball, Hex

**Setup mMoves**: Torch Song

**Utility mMoves**: Slack-Off, Will-O-Wisp, Substitute, Encore, Roar, Yawn, Fire Spin

**Coverage**: Earth Power, Scorching Sands, Alluring Voice, Tera Blast

Niche Moves
========
**Flame Charge**: Flame charge allows Skeledirge to solve its speed issue, although it often takes two turns for it to boost enough to outspeed faster threats.

Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Due to Skeldirege’s susceptibility to entry hazards, it often runs Heavy-Duty Boots to avoid that damage.

**Leftovers**: Leftovers gives Skeledirge better longevity, and can be used on sets that Tera Skeledirge out of its Stealth Rock weakness.

Niche Items
========
**Throat Spray**: Throat Spray gives Skeledirge two Special Attack boosts from its first Torch Song, allowing offensive sets to become more immediately threatening.

**Resistance Berries**: Shuca Berry, Passho Berry, Charti Berry, Kasib Berry, and Colbur Berry allow Skeledirge to better take a super-effective hit.

**Ability Shield**: Ability Shield allows Skeledirge to wall setup Pokemon with the Mold Breaker ability.

Tera
========
Skeledirge is a fantastic good Tera Captain and should always usually be considered as a Tera Captain when it is drafted; its middling cost often prevents you from drafting another more expensive Tera Captain within the Tera budget, however. Skeledirge generally prefers defensive Tera types such as Poison, Water, Fairy, Grass, and Dragon limit this to three types, id do water, fairy, dragon to give it opportunities to set up with Torch Song and Flame Charge, but also is an excellent offensive user of Tera Ground as a Fire-type with access to Earth Power. Against neutral walls, it can also Tera into a STAB typing to further boost the damage output of its STABs. i understand the reasoning for hyping up dirge but it simply cannot be the tera cap on a lotta teams for the rsns u outlined, its hard to call that fantastic captain when it comes w/ so many drawbacks, even if it itself can use tera well

Draft Strategy
========
Skeledirge is a reliable bulky Pokemon with great defensive and offensive options, but it requires a good amount of support to cover its weaknesses.

**Entry hHazard rRemoval**: Even when you plan to Tera Skeledirge out of its Rock weakness, Skeledirge appreciates good entry hazard removers such as Great Tusk, Corviknight, and Tsareena Donphan so that it can enter battle safely prior to Tera. we rarely if ever use mons below 9pts here unless ur talking abt smth like webs

**Wallbreakers**: Skeledirge struggles to break on its own, so it appreciates wallbreakers such as Great Tusk, Roaring Moon, and Enamorus softening up the opposing team for it. Skeledirge’s ability to spread burns also supports wallbreakers by giving them more opportunities to hit the field.

**Defensive pPartners**: While Skeledirge is a good defensive option on its own, it also appreciates relatively bulky Pokemon that resist its weaknesses, such as Roaring Moon, Rillaboom, and Gastrodon Swampert make for good partners in this regard.

Checks and Counters
========
**Entry hHazards** Skeledirge’s susceptibility to Stealth Rock prior to Tera makes it difficult for it to enter battle safely, especially since offensive variants do not want to be forced to run Heavy-Duty Boots. Hazard setters such as Ting-Lu, Clefable, and Clodsire can pressure Skeledirge with hazards. While Skelidrge can run Heavy-Duty Boots to avoid taking entry hazard damage, its Ghost-typing and reliance on items makes it a common target for Knock-Off.

**Unaware wWalls**: Offensive Skeledirge can struggle to break other Unaware Pokemon such as Clefable, Clodsire, and Dondozo, and even defensive Skeledirge has a bad matchup into most of them prior to Tera.

**Specially dDefensive Pokemon**: Being a special attacker, Skeledirge struggles to break through specially defensive Pokemon that aren’t weak to its STABs such as Ting-Lu and Primarina.

id add a point on taunt/encore being able to limit its ability to wall

[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gwanian.626732/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/hacker.387847/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/nyx.564960/
Grammar checked by:
QC 2/2
 
1/1, GP Team done

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[overview]
**Draft order Order**: Round 4 onwards

**Price range Range**: 12-13 points

**Overview**: Skeledirge is a good bulky option for and can take on both offensive and defensive roles with Unaware, access to reliable recovery, and a snowballing attack in Torch Song. Its unique access to both Unaware and Torch Song makes it a good Tera Captain as well. However, Skeledirge requires good positioning to perform, as its weakness to common coverage moves and entry hazards before it Teras paired with its subpar (RH) Special Attack and poor Speed can make it difficult to get Skeledirge into battle safely.

[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
*Unaware Wall**: With Unaware and reliable recovery in Slack Off (RH), Skeledirge makes for a reliable answer to a good number of setup-reliant Pokemon. It often carries Will-O-Wisp to cripple hinder physical attackers, although it can also choose to run Yawn to force out most threats and Encore to shut down opposing walls.

**Bulky Setup Sweeper**: Torch Song makes Skeledirge a good sweeper, especially when paired with Slack Off (RH) to heal off damage it takes as it sets up. Setup sets also have the option to run Will-O-Wisp to turn physical attackers into setup fodder and boost the power of hex Hex, and as well as Flame Charge to circumvent Skeledirge's (ASCII apostrophe) low Speed.

Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Torch Song, Overheat, Fire Blast, Shadow Ball, Hex

**Setup Moves**: Torch Song

**Utility Moves**: Slack Off (RH), Will-O-Wisp, Substitute, Encore, Roar, Yawn, Fire Spin

**Coverage**: Earth Power, Scorching Sands, Alluring Voice, Tera Blast

Niche Moves
========
**Flame Charge**: Flame charge Charge allows Skeledirge to solve its speed Speed issue, although it often takes two turns for it to boost enough to outspeed faster threats.

Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Due to Skeldirege’s Skeledirge's susceptibility to entry hazards, it often runs Heavy-Duty Boots to avoid that damage.

**Leftovers**: Leftovers gives Skeledirge better longevity (RC) and can be used on sets that Tera Skeledirge out of use Tera to remove its Stealth Rock weakness.

Niche Items
========
(remove extra line)
**Throat Spray**: Throat Spray gives Skeledirge two Special Attack boosts from its first Torch Song, allowing offensive sets to become more immediately threatening.

**Resistance Berries**: Shuca Berry, Passho Berry, Charti Berry, Kasib Berry, and Colbur Berry Resistance Berries allow Skeledirge to better take a super effective (RH) hit.

**Ability Shield**: Ability Shield allows Skeledirge to wall setup Pokemon with the Mold Breaker ability.

Tera
========
Skeledirge is a good with Tera and should usually be considered as a Tera Captain when it is drafted; however, its middling cost often prevents you from drafting another more expensive Tera Captain within the Tera budget, however. Skeledirge generally prefers defensive Tera types such as Tera Water, Fairy, and Dragon to give it opportunities to set up with Torch Song and Flame Charge, but it is also is an excellent offensive user of Tera Ground as a Fire-type with access to Earth Power. Against neutral walls, it can also Tera into a STAB typing Tera type to further boost the damage output of its STABs STAB moves.

Draft Strategy
========
Skeledirge is a reliable bulky Pokemon with great defensive and offensive options, but it requires a good amount of support to cover its weaknesses.

**Entry Hazard Removal**: Even when you plan to Tera Skeledirge out of its remove Skeledirge's Rock weakness with Tera, Skeledirge appreciates good entry hazard removers such as Great Tusk, Corviknight, and Donphan so that it can enter battle safely prior to using Tera.

**Wallbreakers**: Skeledirge struggles to break on its own, so it appreciates wallbreakers such as Great Tusk, Roaring Moon, and Enamorus softening up the opposing team for it. Skeledirge's (ASCII apostrophe) ability to spread burns burn also supports wallbreakers by giving them more opportunities to hit the field.

**Defensive Partners**: While Skeledirge is a good defensive option on its own, it also appreciates relatively bulky Pokemon that resist its weaknesses. Roaring Moon, Rillaboom, and Swampert make for good partners in this regard.

Checks and Counters
========
**Entry Hazards**: Skeledirge's (ASCII apostrophe) susceptibility to Stealth Rock prior to using Tera makes it difficult for it to enter battle safely, especially since offensive variants do not want to be forced to run Heavy-Duty Boots. Hazard setters such as Ting-Lu, Clefable, and Clodsire can pressure Skeledirge with hazards. While Skelidirge Skeledirge can run Heavy-Duty Boots to avoid taking entry hazard damage, its Ghost typing (RH) and reliance on items makes make it a common target for Knock Off (RH).

**Unaware Walls**: Offensive Skeledirge can struggle to break other Unaware Pokemon such as Clefable, Clodsire, and Dondozo, and even defensive Skeledirge has a bad matchup into against most of them prior to using Tera.

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Being a special attacker, Skeledirge struggles to break through specially defensive Pokemon that aren't (ASCII apostrophe) weak to its STABs STAB moves such as Ting-Lu and Primarina.

**Disruption Moves**: Disruption moves such as Taunt and Encore can shut down Skeledirge's (ASCII apostrophe) attempts to wall threats such as Tornadus-T, Iron Valiant, and Dragonite.


[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gwanian.626732/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/hacker.387847/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/nyx.564960/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
 
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