What is a good moveset for Skeledirge?

Question

If you have a good competitive moveset for Skeledirge, post an answer below and upvote the best ones. Movesets for any of its pre-evolutions can also be shared on this thread.

Be sure to include full set details in your post, e.g. items, abilities, natures and EVs. Some explanation, including the intended game mode for your set, is also appreciated. Access the full list of guidelines here.

Skeledirge Pokedex & learnset for reference.

Answer 1

Skeledirge @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Torch Song
- Slack Off
- Hex / Shadow Ball
- Will-o-Wisp / Earth Power / Roar

A very cool new Pokemon. Torch Song is STAB and boosts Skeledirge's Special Attack stat by 1. 16 PP makes it quite spammable too. Slack Off is recovery, which is necessary for almost every defensive Pokemon. Shadow Ball is the reliable Ghost type STAB, but Hex can be used on Will-O-Wisp or Roar sets. Earth Power lets it do damage to Pokemon like Garganacl, Chi-Yu, Great Tusk, Tyranitar, and Toxapex. Will-O-Wisp makes it absurdly bulky on the physical side, wears the opps down, and makes Hex stronger. Roar can be a cool tech on hazard stack teams, by accumulating hazard damage and potentially making Hex stronger if Toxic Spikes are on the field. Fighting Tera is so that it can better deal with Dark and Rock type moves, and so that it wont be such a big deal if its boots are knocked off.

Good teammates for Skeledirge
+
The best core this gen, able to set up hazards with Glimmora and block all forms of hazard removal (other than Tidy Up on Maushold) with Gholdengo. This makes Skeledirge more able to get KOs, all while having excellent defensive utility at the same time. Pretty neat.

Booster Energy Iron Valiant is a nice sponge for Knock Off, and beats stuff like Baxcalibur, Roaring Moon, and Ting-Lu (the latter two of which completely destroy non Will-o-hex variants).

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Cool specially defensive support. Skeledirge can switch into Fighting moves and U-turns (and a lot of physical moves in general) while the pink blobs can help take special hits for Skeledirge, are immune to Ghost type moves, and can make Hex more easy to use, as they pack Thunder Wave

Great Tusk is a helpful teammate for Skeledirge, as it has helpful Rapid Spin support for if Skeledirge loses its Boots, and it has a nice matchup against Tyranitar, Garganacl, and Chi-Yu. Scarf sets can revenge kill things that have been weakened by Skeledirge, and the Knock Off support is always nice.

Very fast and has STAB on Knock Off and U-turn, coming off of a 110 attack stat. Meowscarada is helpful offensive utility

You can use other Pokemon with it, like Garganacl, Ting-Lu, Dondozo, Clodsire, and Orthoworm but i'm kind of in a rush while writing this.

Overall thoughts
Great physical wall that is not at all passive, Unaware with reliable recovery is really nice. A solid A or A+ Pokemon, probably will still be good when Heatran comes back.

Comments

This thing tanky as hell

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Love all the info

Answer 2

Skeledirge @ Blunder Policy
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Sing
- Slack off
- Torch Song
- Earth power

Sing is to activate Blunder Policy to sweep with Torch Song, Earth power is coverage and Slack Off to heal.

Answer 3

Skeledirge @ Leftovers/Colbur Berry
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def /252 Sp.Def
Nature: Calm
IVs: 0 Atk
- Torch Song
- Hex
- Slack Off
- Will-O-Wisp

EV placement adds max Special Defensive bulk, while Will-O-Wisp cripples Physical attackers. Unware makes the opponent boosting irrelevant to your survivability. Torch Song is STAB that also boosts your Special Attack, Hex is STAB that combos well with Will-O-Wisp, Slack Off heals off the damage you do take. Leftovers can be used for HP recovery or a Colbur Berry can be used if you fear Knock Off. 0 ATK IV is to reduce damage from Foul Play.

Answer 4

What a tanky guy! He would be perfect for my balance team! Wait, his special defense is middling. How will I ever fix this?
Assault Vest looms over shoulder

Skeledirge @ Assault Vest
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 132 HP / 176 SpA / 200 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Shadow Ball
- Torch Song
- Tera Blast

Pretty self-explanatory. These four moves when Tera have neutral coverage for every Pokemon. Tera Grass is good for covering weaknesses (and for making water types sad). EVs look a little weird, but it's for maximum hurting and staying alive. It can hit things like Scarf Gholdengo and Specs Dragapult very hard after stomaching a hit. Unaware is for stopping sweeps, and Blaze on a slow Pokemon isn't good anyways.

With this, you beat:
Scarf Gholdengo
Specs Dragapult
DDance Dragonite
Most other Special Attackers

Watch out for:
Speedy Physical Attackers
Ting-Lu

Maybe I'm having too much fun with the font.
Feel free to destroy me in the comments.

MrKensa

Comments

What is your infatuation with Assault Vest sets? Still a great set though!

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I also randomly give Assault Vests to anything without status moves if I don't know what other item to give them.

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me too, either that or a choice item

Answer 5

Alright, Skeledirge to me has the best potential out of the starters for competitive play. Using Terastalize for a defensive advantage over offense.

Skeledirge @ Assault Vest
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 SpA
Calm Nature
Tera Type: Grass
- Torch Song
- Shadow Ball
- Tera Blast
- Earth Power

This is a balanced set. Torch Song provides a stat boost offense, Shadow Ball is STAB, and Earth Power is coverage. The reason for Grass Tera Type is that it provides a very solid defensive change. Grass being resistant to Ground and Water, big problems for fire types and it doesn’t share any weakness to Ghost. Grass is also very well covered by Fire as well, with Skeledirge’s original typing, fire, ice, bug, and poison are resisted. This isn’t explained in the best way, but Grass Tera Skeledirge is Good!

Comments

Assault vest tosses skeledirge’s access to slack-off away for no good reason, as well as will-o-wisp to a lesser extent. Grass may be good to turn the tides of a singular matchup, but after that, it’s a depressing defensive type that won’t do you many favors, and very much feels like a wasted tera.

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This set dies really fast due to no Slack off or Heavy-Duty Boots, it won't be of much defensive use for very long.

Answer 6

Skeledirge @ Life Orb
Ability: unaware
Tera: Fire
EVs: 252 HP, 252 SpA, 4 Def
Modest Nature
-Torch Song
-Flame Charge
-Shadowball
-Slackoff

So my plan is to make this bulky guy into a bulky sweeper. Requires some set up and good predictions but if you can start off with a flame charge or 2 before firing Torch Song you should be outspeeding most Pokemon at that point. Slackoff to recover off the damage while trying speed up.
Tera Fire makes Flame Charge do a bit more damage but FC is mostly for the speed boosts. The chip damage is just a plus.
Im sure smarter people can make this set better but its been working for me.

Answer 7

Gen 9 RU Specially Defensive

Crocalor @ Eviolite
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Will-O-Wisp
- Encore
- Slack Off

A Specially Defensive Crocalor set for Gen 9 RU. Crocalor is actually good in Gen 9 RU Alpha, having Unaware, nice bulk due to Eviolite, and Fire being a good type in the RU Alpha meta. Flamethrower is used for Fire STAB. Will-O-Wisp is used to spread burns to Physical wallbreakers to cripple them. Encore makes Pokemon repeat their previous move, which can cripple Pokemon who can't afford being locked into one move. Slack Off is used to give Crocoalor a source of HP recovery. If you want to use a Tera Type, you can use Tera Water for a good defensive type. Otherwise, you don't have to Tera since Fire is a good type in the RU Alpha meta at the time of this post. Make sure you have good hazard removal on the team since Crocalor can't use Heavy-Duty Boots like Skeledirge.

Answer 8

Gen 9 OU tanky special attacker set (for both doubles and singles)
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Fighting/Grass (chose them because Fighting handles Skeledirges Rock and Dark weaknesses, while Grass handles its Water, Rock, and Ground weaknesses)
EVs: 252 SpA, 192 HP, 66 Def
Nature: Bold (lowers Atk, boosts Def)
- Torch Song
- Shadow Ball
- Tera Blast
- Earth Power

Torch Song and Shadow Ball are STAB. Tera Blast is because Skeledirge doesn’t learn any Fighting moves, and while it does learn a couple of Grass moves, they’re both either Physical or two turn moves. Earth Power is for coverage.

Comments

Why specifically Tera Grass/Fighting? You explain the pros and cons of both Teras, but not why you specifically chose those two types.

Answer 9

A very popular new Pokemon, with many different sets, but I hope this one is pretty unique
Skeledirge @ Throat Spray
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 88 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD / 160 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Spin
- Torch Song
- Shadow Ball
- Imprison
Mainly used to just set up on Opposing Skeledirge, first you Fire Spin, then you go for imrpison, then you can do whatever you want, hope this helps someone!

Comments

Unfortunately, Skeledirge is a Ghost type. Ghost types are immune to trapping. so this would work on other mons, but not Skelidirge.
Sources: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexdoubles-2220125898
https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Escape_prevention
https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Ghost_(type)#Additional_effects

Answer 10

Bulky Offensive Skeledirge

Skeledirge @Throat Spray (more offensive)/Leftovers (more defensive)
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Your choice. Offensive: Fire/Ghost. Defensive: Grass/Fighting/anything that resists or is immune to one of Skeledirge's weaknesses.
EV Spread: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD (Typical Bulky Special Mon)
Modest Nature

-Torch Song (Main attack. Great STAB attack and gets immediate +2 with the Throat Spray. Hits very hard with Tera Fire.
- Shadow Ball/Hex (Ghost STAB. Shadow Ball hits harder and pairs better with the +1 from Torch Song. Hex works with the status moves on this build.
- Slack Off (Takes advantage of Skeledirge's bulk and is a great recovery option. Works especially well with Leftovers.)
- Will - o - Wisp/Yawn/Earth Power (Will - o - Wisp and Yawn are both good status condition moves that make Hex a 65 BP move to a 130 BP move. Will - o - Wisp helps with Skeledirge's defense as burn halves the foes attack stat, but is more risky as it is 85% accurate. Yawn can apply more pressure because it is 100% accurate and tempts the foes to switch around a little more. Earth Power is mainly for coverage against potential Rock Types that can hurt Skeledirge. It also gives you the choice of Shadow Ball over Hex.

I hope this is good! Thank you for reading!

Answer 11

My Moveset for Skeledirge is as follows

Skeledirge @ Leftovers
EV’s : 252 HP, 196 SpD, 60 SpA
Ability : Blaze / Unaware
Bold Nature (+Def -Atk)
Tera Type : Water
- Torch Song
- Slack Off
- Shadow Ball
- Fire Blast

A Special defense tank set for Skeledirge, this set is meant specifically to chip down Pokemon while burning them and setting up his own boosts through torch song and using slack off should his health drop to low,

Shadow Ball to counter other ghost types such as gengar, Gholdengo or even opposing Skeledirge with a few torch songs set up this set should also heavily cripple Meowscarada should it be Disadvantaged when it comes to speed by sticky web or paralysis, both very likely to be utilised on a team

Fire Blast is a heavy stab move from start to finish with 110 Base power however this is quickly counterbalanced with 8 PP and 85% Accuracy, if there are better fire moves to use please let me know that’s my set and I hope it helps

Answer 12

This is my preferred Skeledirge set.
Skeledirge @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Torch Song
- Slack Off
- Will-o-Wisp
- Hex
Boots address the 2x weakness that Skeledirge is weak to Spikes and Stealth Rock.
EVs and Nature makes Skeledirge a mixed wall, which is generally better than one that specializes in Physical/Special.
Tera Water is because Water is a generally good defensive type and patches up the Water, Ghost and Dark weaknesses that it has.
Torch Song is STAB and boosts its SpA by 1 stage per use, which is a very good secondary effect considering that Skeledirge has high survivability.
Slack Off is your typical healing move which is important on walls.
Will-o-Wisp puts opponents on a timer and makes Hex stronger. Also it doubles the physical bulk of Skeledirge.
Hex after Will-o-Wisp is a 130 base power move with no drawback which is plenty hard to deal with.
Overall this is a wall set that also becomes a special sweeper.

Comments

Actually, only Stealth Rock factors weaknesses. Spikes only affects the damage by how much layers that was set up.

Answer 13

I've used this moveset for a while now, well, most of it. I've edited it to bring out the offensive capabilities, and to deal out more dmg overall. Here's the statistics...

Lyle the Crocodile (Skeledirge) @ Metronome
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 4 HP or Atk / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Quiet Nature
Tera Type: Fire / Fairy
- Torch Song
- Shadow Ball
- Temper Flare / Fire Blast
- Outrage / Alluring Voice

Torch Song is obvious choice, boosting firepower and dealing a respectable 80 dmg. Shadow Ball is for fellow Ghosts. Temper Flare is for if you ever accidentally miss a Torch Song in the middle of the chain. Alluring Voice\Outrage are coverage against Dragon types, Outrage doing more dmg and confusing you, while Alluring Voice does less dmg and confuses you. Either Fire Tera for boosting Torch Song, or Fairy for Alluring Voice. Actually, I'd try partnering this up with Latios, since Latios knows Simple Beam. He can just beam you, and your Torch Song's power will double after just one use! Hope you enjoy it!

Comments

1. What Nature?
2. You can use Showdown's "export" feature to get the proper formatting.

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Torch Song can't burn. Also Temper Flare and Outrage aren't very good moves on Skeledirge, since its a Special attacker.

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Oh, I might've confused the word "Scorching" for "Burning". Sorry about that.

Answer 14

Good Moveset for Skeledirge
Held Item: Life Orb/Leftovers
Ability: Blaze
Tera Type: Fire/Grass
Nature: Modest ( + Sp. Attack. -Attack.)
Moveset:
- Shadow Ball
- Torch Song
- Earth Power
- Overheat/Slack Off

Modest Nature basically gives Skeledirge free special attack boost since Skeledirge almost never uses physical attack anyways. Life Orb gives it even more damage in exchange for a bit of hp each turn, while leftovers give heal a bit of hp each turn. Between Life Orb and Leftovers, choose Life Orb if you want a sweeper who might not stay very long and choose Leftovers if you want a sweeper who isn't as powerful but can stick around for longer. If you choose Life Orb you can use Slack Off to heal the damage you receive, the decision is ultimately up to for its held item.
Tera fire type lets it do insane damage with its fire moves to sweep everything, combine that with its good defensive stats and Skeledirge can become a very powerful sweeper. Tera Grass type lets it change its type. Every opponent who tries to hit Tera Grass Skeledirge gats absolutely obliterated by a super effective Earth Power or STAB Torch Song/Overheat
Shadow offers great and powerful STAB damage for all opponents and insane damage for ghost or psychic opponents with a chance to lower special defense for any opponent who survives.
Torch song does really powerful STAB damage that always boosts special attack when used. This basically makes Skeledirge stronger every time it uses torch song and after only 2 or 3 torch songs Skeledirge can one hit ko almost every Pokemon in the game. Earth Power is also pretty good for damage and offers lots of type coverage with a chance to lower the special of all survivors who get hit.
Lastly Overheat does massive STAB damage one kit ko's almost anything. Even though Overheat lowers special attack by 2 stages every use, you can easily get your special attack back with 2 torch songs. If there is a strong opponent, just use Overheat which with STAB is 195 power and one shot it.
If you don't want Overheat, just use Slack Off which lets you heal back a lot of your hp, so as long as you spam it, you are basically unkillable. Slack Off can also heal back Life Orb damage.
Sorry if it is to long.

Comments

A lot of Dirge sets use Heavy-Duty Boots because its more useful dealing with hazards or Throat Spray because of Torch Song, Flying Types don't 'gat' punished by Earth Power, you are missing EV's, Shadows aren't helpful for battling,  OHKO is spelled like one-hit-ko(You got it right the first time), & its never too long with movesets. Food for thought. Sorry if I was a bit mean