Competitive Information for Skarmory [Sword/Shield]
Steel / Flying
Abilities:
Movesets for Singles
What is a good competitive moveset for Skarmory? These builds have been optimized for Pokemon competing in Sword/Shield Single Battles. The movesets and EVs have been specifically calibrated to deal the most amount of damage to the largest group of potentially common opponents and typing threats for the Sword/Shield generation metagame.
WhimsicottDracovishRillaboomNihilegoRotom-HeatStoutlandShiinoticGigalithQwilfishBoltund
Skarmory is a stupendous Steel and Flying-typed Pokemon. It's pretty standard to find yourself dealing with Skarmory when battling in the 8th generation meta. Skarmory is typically seen in the UU tier (Underused). Skarmory's only type-related weaknesses are Electric and Fire.
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Careful (+SpD, -SpA)
EVs: 236 Hp / 92 Def / 180 SpD
Moveset:
- Brave Bird
- Body Press
- Protect
- Taunt
Double Wall Skarmory (Popular/Trending)
Skarmory is popular Double Wall for single battles. It's primary goal is to have enough defenses and bulk to take both physical and special hits. Leftovers are always a great recovery option to ensure Skarmory last longer regaining it's health every turn. With Sturdy, if Skarmory is at full hp it survives one hit with at least 1 hp. Immune to ohko.
◆ Body Press is a physical 80-base power Fighting-type move (uses Skarmory's defense stat as attack in damage calculation).
◆ Protect is a status move (prevents moves from affecting your Skarmory this turn).
◆ Taunt is a status move (target can't use status moves its next 3 turns).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/is10ae3
Item: White Herb / Weakness Policy
Ability: Weak Armor
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Brave Bird / Sky Attack
- Double-Edge / Slash
- Iron Head / Steel Wing
- Night Slash
Physical Sweeper Skarmory (Weak Armor)
Skarmory is a notable Physical Sweeper for single battles. It is designed to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. White Herb will reset Skarmory's negative stat changes once. Weakness Policy activates if Skarmory is hit by a super effective move. The Weakness Policy is consumed and its Attack and Special Attack are increased by two stages each. With Weak Armor, if a physical attack hits Skarmory it's defense is lowered by 1 and it's speed is increased by 2 stages.
◆ Sky Attack is a physical STAB-boosted 140-base power Flying-type move (charges, then hits turn 2. 30% flinch. High crit).
◆ Double-Edge is a physical 120-base power Normal-type move (has 33% recoil).
◆ Slash is a physical 70-base power Normal-type move (high critical hit ratio).
◆ Iron Head is a physical STAB-boosted 80-base power Steel-type move (30% chance to make the target flinch).
◆ Steel Wing is a physical STAB-boosted 70-base power Steel-type move (10% chance to raise your Skarmory's defense by 1 stage).
◆ Night Slash is a physical 70-base power Dark-type move (high critical hit ratio).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/is11ae3
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Impish (+Def, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Hp / 232 Def / 24 Spe
Moveset:
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
Skarmory Physical Wall (Standard Skarmory)
Skarmory is a phenomenal Physical Wall for single battles. It is designed to take a substantial amount of physical hits while dealing some decent damage. Leftovers are always a great recovery option to ensure Skarmory last longer regaining it's health points every turn. With Sturdy, if Skarmory is at full hp it survives one hit with at least 1 hp. Immune to ohko. Skarmory should first lay Spikes to force the opponent to make a rather painful decision when switching in and out of the battlefield. Roost can wear out Life Orb users, such as Metagross and Gyarados, while keeping Skarmory up-to-shape for the next assault. Whirlwind is great against Pokemon such as Bulk Up Conkeldurr or merely shuffling for extra damage from the opponent landing on Spikes. Brave Bird ties it all together nicely with it being a high Base Power STAB move that handles threats nicely, especially Fighting-types such as Machamp and Scrafty.
◆ Roost is a status move (heals 50% hp. Flying-type removed until turn ends).
◆ Spikes is a status move (hurts grounded foes on switch-in. Max 3 layers).
◆ Whirlwind is a status move (forces the target to switch to a random ally).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/is12ae3
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Stealth Rock
- Drill Peck
- Whirlwind
- Swords Dance
Skarmory Physical Sweeper (Skars Aplenty)
Skarmory is a stupendous Physical Sweeper for single battles. It is primarily designed to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Leftovers are always a great recovery option to ensure Skarmory last longer regaining it's health points every turn. With Sturdy, if Skarmory is at full hp it survives one hit with at least 1 hp. Immune to ohko. This Skarmory has the Stealth Rock/Whirlwind combo it sets up Stealth Rock and can then Whirlwind its opponents away.
◆ Drill Peck is a physical STAB-boosted 80-base power Flying-type move that deals a great amount of damage.
◆ Whirlwind is a status move (forces the target to switch to a random ally).
◆ Swords Dance is a status move (raises your Skarmory's attack by 2 stages).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/is13ae3
Item: Weakness Policy
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Autotomize
- Night Slash / Rock Slide
- Steel Wing
- Drill Peck / Aerial Ace
Skarmory Physical Sweeper (Iron Chicken)
Skarmory is a decent Physical Sweeper for single battles. It is primarily designed to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Weakness Policy activates if Skarmory is hit by a super effective move. The Weakness Policy is consumed and its Attack and Special Attack are increased by two stages each. With Sturdy, if Skarmory is at full hp it survives one hit with at least 1 hp. Immune to ohko.
◆ Night Slash is a physical 70-base power Dark-type move (high critical hit ratio).
◆ Rock Slide is a physical 75-base power Rock-type move (30% chance to make the foes flinch).
◆ Steel Wing is a physical STAB-boosted 70-base power Steel-type move (10% chance to raise your Skarmory's defense by 1 stage).
◆ Drill Peck is a physical STAB-boosted 80-base power Flying-type move that deals a good amount of damage.
◆ Aerial Ace is a physical STAB-boosted 60-base power Flying-type move (this move does not check accuracy).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/is14ae3
Movesets for Doubles
What is a good doubles moveset for Skarmory? These builds have been optimized for Sword/Shield Double Battles. They have movesets and EVs specifically calibrated to generally work best versus multiple Pokemon at once as well as helping to support other team members and allys in the Sword/Shield generation metagame.
WhimsicottDracovishRillaboomNihilegoRotom-HeatStoutlandShiinoticGigalithQwilfishBoltund
Item: White Herb / Weakness Policy
Ability: Weak Armor
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Brave Bird / Sky Attack
- Rock Slide
- Double-Edge / Slash
- Iron Head / Steel Wing
Doubles Physical Sweeper Skarmory (Weak Armor)
Skarmory is a notable Physical Sweeper for double battles. It's meant to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. White Herb will reset Skarmory's negative stat changes once. Weakness Policy activates if Skarmory is hit by a super effective move. The Weakness Policy is consumed and its Attack and Special Attack are increased by two stages each. With Weak Armor, if a physical attack hits Skarmory it's defense is lowered by 1 and it's speed is increased by 2 stages.
◆ Sky Attack is a physical STAB-boosted 140-base power Flying-type move (charges, then hits turn 2. 30% flinch. High crit).
◆ Rock Slide is a physical 75-base power Rock-type move (30% chance to make the foes flinch).
◆ Double-Edge is a physical 120-base power Normal-type move (has 33% recoil).
◆ Slash is a physical 70-base power Normal-type move (high critical hit ratio).
◆ Iron Head is a physical STAB-boosted 80-base power Steel-type move (30% chance to make the target flinch).
◆ Steel Wing is a physical STAB-boosted 70-base power Steel-type move (10% chance to raise your Skarmory's defense by 1 stage).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/id10ae3
Movepool
Wondering what moves can Skarmory learn? Here is the list of moves this Pokemon can learn in this selected generation.
Sort and organize the learnset by move type, category, accuracy, and power. Bolded moves will gain the same-type attack bonus (STAB) if this Pokemon uses them.
Damage Modifiers:
Combo List
These are a list of several common move combinations Skarmory can perform in Sword/Shield. Not every combo going to be game-changing, but some can be pretty fun to play with. Sometimes these can be easily overlooked or forgotten, hence why we find and list them here. Discover what items, abilities, and moves this Pokemon can use in combination with each other to gain a strategic advantage in competitive battles.
Competitive SS Move and Ability Combos for Skarmory
- Moves: Whirlwind + Spikes
- Moves: Rest + Sleep talk
- Moves: Rest + Snore
- Moves: Body Press + Curse
- Moves: Body Press + Iron Defense
- Moves: Body Press + Steel Wing
- Ability: Weak armor + Item: White herb
- Ability: Weak armor + Item: Weakness policy
- Move: Swagger + Item: Mirror Herb
- Move: Assurance + Item: Rocky Helmet
- Move: Facade + Item: Flame Orb
- Move: Facade + Item: Toxic Orb
- Moves with Priority: Detect, Endure, Protect, Feint
- Moves that Break Screens: Defog
- Moves that inflict status: Toxic
Moves that boost Skarmory's stats
- Agility
- Autotomize
- Curse
- Iron Defense
- Metal Claw
- Steel Wing
- Swords Dance
Most notable and possible best moves for Skarmory
- Body Press
- Brave Bird
- Protect
- Rest
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Toxic
Common Effort Values for Skarmory in Sword and Shield
- Careful Nature ( 236/0/92/0/180/0 )
- Jolly Nature ( 0/252/0/0/4/252 )
- Optimize Skarmory's EV spread for Pokemon Sword and Shield
Related Videos
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Here are the best movesets for Skarmory. Top rated Skarmory Sword/Shield movesets. You can find Skarmory builds Sword/Shield. Skarmory movesets Sword/Shield are listed here. VGC Skarmory Competitive Movesets can be found here. Find various EV spreads, find the best nature for Skarmory in Sword/Shield along with competitive movesets. Basic info and Movesets for evolution