Hello all. In the past I've frequently heard of SkarmBliss teams, not really knowing what it meant. It was only recently that I realized that it is one of the best cores in the game and so I decided to try out a team with it.
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Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
- Toxic/Drill Peck
- Protect
The first half of the SkarmBliss combo. Its a spiker and phazer which does its job very well due to its immense defense and typing which grants it resistances to all but 2 physical types which neutrally affect it. It is used to cover up Blissey's poor physical bulk. This beast finds it amazingly easy to lay Spikes and take advantage of them with Whirlwind, particularly against Choice Band users such as Metagross and Snorlax. Whirlwind can force out any Pokemon trying to set up on Skarmory and can stop Baton Pass teams. Toxic is Skarmory's best way to damage Pokemon, and can be used in conjunction with Protect or Rest to stall out opponents. It's also Skarmory's best weapon against Cloyster and Claydol, two common spinners. However, it does nothing against poison and steel types. Therefore, I would like to know whether toxic or drill peck is a better option for Skarm.
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Blissey @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 106 HP / 252 Def / 152 SpA
Modest Nature
- Aromatherapy
- Soft-Boiled
- Seismic Toss
- Ice Beam
The second half of the SkarmBliss combo. Patches up Skarmory's mediocre special defense. This set sacrifices a significant offensive presence in order to support her team. Blissey is found on nearly all stall teams, and with Aromatherapy Swampert and Skarmory's burns will disappear along with healing a poisoned Celebi and destroying a rampant status inflicting Gengar.Seismic Toss is Blissey's most reliable way of dealing damage to opposing Pokemon. Although Seismic Toss makes Blissey a less efficient check to Calm Mind users with recovery moves, Seismic Toss still lets Blissey check a number of important Pokemon such as Raikou, offensive Jirachi, offensive Suicune without Substitute, offensive Zapdos, Jolteon, and many more. As for the last moveslot, there are a number of legitimate options. Ice Beam is preferred by many players as it allows Blissey to beat Dugtrio.Will-O-Wisp Gengar is a good partner for switching to the Fighting-type attacks that Blissey lures in, and burning physical attackers that threaten Blissey. Skarmory is a good partner, as it can take nearly all the physical attacks that Blissey hates, with the exception of STAB Fighting-type attacks; set up Spikes, and defeat physical attackers with Hidden Power Flying, Drill Peck, or Toxic.
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Swampert @ Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SpA
Relaxed Nature
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Protect
It was pretty obvious from the start that Swampert was going to be on this team. Along with stamping even more bulk on to the team, Swampert has considerable offensive presence as well. It counters OU behemoths like Metagross, Salamence, Flygon and Tryanitar solidly. As opposed to being an offensive threat itself, this set aims to act as a solid utility counter and defensive pivot; it is excellent at forcing switches. Earthquake is a strong STAB move that threatens many Pokemon that Swampert counters, such as Metagross and Jirachi. Ice Beam provides excellent coverage and, in conjunction with Earthquake, enables Swampert to hit everything in OU for neutral damage. Ice Beam takes a decent chunk out of any Celebi switching in and forces it to Recover, which in turn allows a teammate to switch in without fear of Leech Seed or Psychic. Hydro Pump is the primary option in the third moveslot because it takes a good 50% out of standard Skarmory, stopping Skarmory from setting up on Swampert; it also deals good damage to Gengar. The main reason for Swampert being on this team though, is its symbiosis with Skarmory. The pair has excellent type synergy and together they can check numerous threats, such as Tyranitar, Metagross, Heracross, and Salamence.
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Starmie @ Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP / 40 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
As the best rapid spinner in the game, Starmie's role is to scare away the opposing Skarmory and spin away spikes. I chose Starmie over Forretress because it doesn't get trapped by Magneton and over Cloyster because Starmie has considerable offensive presence as well. Other than getting rid of entry hazards, Rapid Spin is also useful for getting rid of Celebi's Leech Seed, thus giving Starmie another easy switch in to take advantage of and use Rapid Spin. Recover is another very important move for Starmie. With Recover, the blue star can repeatedly switch into and Rapid Spin on Metagross, Snorlax, and other prominent physical attackers. Surf is non-negotiable on Starmie, allowing it to defeat Skarmory, non-Hidden Power Bug Forretress, and Cloyster if Starmie lacks Thunderbolt. There's no need to use Hydro Pump because its low PP and mediocre accuracy is not worth the increase in power. The final moveslot comes down to personal preference. Thunderbolt is good against opposing Water-types. I was wondering if I should use psychic though, to nail Gengar. Please advise me on that.
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Celebi @ Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Leech Seed
- Recover
Celebi's main role is to act as a counter to bulky water types like Suicune by leech seeding the opponent. While inflicting and draining residual damage, it can easily set up calm mind on the likes of Swampert, Suicune and Milotic. Recover is for healing whatever health they manage to chip off using ice beam. Its also a valuable Tyranitar counter along with Swampert. If Ttar lacks HP Grass, Swampert will take it down and if it lacks HP Bug, Celebi will take it down due to higher bulk and leech seed. Even the damage done by the STAB super effective crunches or pursuits will reduce as Celebi sets up calm mind. It is very rare and unorthodox to find a Ttar with both HP Grass and Bug and even if I do, the rest of my team will deal with it because it will either be lacking a coverage move or dragon dance. Although Celebi doesn't have such a prominent role on this team as the others, it provides support to my other Pokemon and patches up the gaps in my team. It also has utilty in my team because it counters both bulky water types that hurt Skarmory and fighting types that hurt Blissey.
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Salamence @ Choice Band
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hidden Power Flying
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Brick Break
I added Salamence to my team because I realised my team lacked a very good physical attacker and Banded Mence is one of the best ones out there. It is a reliable sweeper who delights in wounding Blissey badly with Brick Break. It provides my team with the physical offensive presence which my team needed sorely up till no and is indispensible on this team. I chose Banded Mence because it requires no setting up, is easier to use and gets an extra coverage move than Dragon Dancing Mence.After doing lots of work setting up spikes and rapid spinning them away, Salamence is the perfect balm for a stall team whose raw power makes even behemoths like Tyranitar run for their lives. It completes my team and is a stylish finish to a bulky team.
Well, I hope you liked my team. Any sort of criticism or advice would be highly appreciated.
