Skuntank [QC 0/3]

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[OVERVIEW]

* Skuntank's access to Pursuit allows it to trap Psychic- and Ghost-types like Sigilyph, Xatu, and Mismagius to effectively remove them from the game.
* Access to Sucker Punch makes Skuntank a great fit on offensive teams, It allows Skuntank to do well against offensive faster teams.
* Its unique typing allows it to check a wide variety of Pokemon like Mega Audino, Haunter, Sceptile, and Xatu.
* Skuntank has very average stats and is left with middling bulk and only above average attack.
* It's really weak to common Ground-types like Steelix, Piloswine, and Seismitoad, which limits its effectiveness.

[SET]
name: Offensive Defog
move 1: Defog
move 2: Pursuit
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Poison Jab / Crunch
item: Black Glasses / Black Sludge
ability: Aftermath
nature: Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Defog lets Skuntank remove entry hazards from the field; greatly supporting its team.
* Pursuit guarantees that Skuntank will remove Ghost- and Psychic-types like Haunter, Mismagius, Sigilyph, and Xatu from the match
* Sucker Punch lets Skuntank threaten and pick off faster Pokemon.
* Poison Jab lets it deal with Pokemon that resist its Dark-type attacks like Fairy- and Fighting-types such as Mega Audino, Whimsicott, Emboar, and Virizion.
* Crunch can be used instead of Poison Jab if hitting Dark-type resistant Pokemon is not of concern; it allows Skuntank to deal with Klinklang and Slowbro, which it otherwise struggles to deal with.

Set Details
========

* Maximum Attack investment in conjunction with Maximum Speed investment and an Adamant nature maximizes Skuntank's offensive potential.
* Aftermath chips away at the foe's health if Skuntank gets KO'd by a contact move.
* Black Glasses increases the power of Skuntank's Dark-type moves; making its Pursuit and Sucker Punch hit harder in general.
* Black Sludge gives Skuntank a way to recover health so it can repeatedly come in on entry hazards to remove them.
* Lum Berry can be used to avoid status ailments like a burn or paralysis.

Usage Tips
========

* Skuntank should be used to switch into Pokemon such as Mesprit, Aromatisse, Mega Audino, and Haunter; which it can take down thanks to its typing.
* Use Pursuit minimally and only when Skuntank is up against a Ghost- or Psychic-type that is bound to switch out; however, it can also be used to get off useful chip damage on the foe, if that is beneficial.
* Be wary of using Sucker Punch against Pokemon like Mismagius and Rotom because, they may be carrying status inducing moves.
* Most of the time it's best to use Defog on a forced switch since Skuntank does not like taking a hit.

Team Options
========

* Skuntank fits best on Bulky Offense teams that appreciate its ability to get rid of Ghost-, Psychic-, and Fairy-types.
* Because of Skuntank's ability to beat Ghost-, Psychic-, and Fairy-types such as Jellicent, Slowbro, Xatu, and Aromatisse, Pokemon like Medicham, Hitmonlee, and Virizion make for great partners as they tend to struggle a lot with the aforementioned Pokemon.
* Water-types like Samurott, Seismitoad, and Vaporeon appreciate Skuntank's ability to switch into Grass-types like Rotom-C, Whimsicott, and Sceptile which they tend to struggle with, in return they can threaten Ground-types.
* Pokemon like Vikavolt, Delphox, and Vivillon appreciate Skuntanks ability to remove entry hazards from the field to preserve health.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

* A specially offensive set with Dark Pulse / Hidden Power Grass / Fire Blast / Defog can be used in conjunction with a Shuca Berry to lure in Seismitoad, Steelix, and Klinklang to effectively remove them from the game, however, this does take away Skuntank's ability to eliminate Psychic- and Ghost-types from the match which is what mainly holds it back.
* Choice Band with Crunch instead of Defog lets Skuntank break through defensively oriented teams, but losing out on the ability to switch up moves can be very crippling.
* Explosion lets Skuntank take a chunk of the opposing foe's health and let another teammate come in safely after.
* Play Rough lets Skuntank deal with Fighting-types which hinder its Pursuit trapping capabilities but, Skuntank normally does not have the moveslot to fit Play Rough in.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Ground-types**: Ground-type Pokemon like Steelix, Piloswine, Seismitoad, and Rhydon are able to take any hit from Skuntank and can easily OHKO it with their STAB Earthquakes, but, they do have to be wary of specially offensive Skuntank since this can threaten them.

**Status Moves**: Pokemon like Rotom, Rotom-C, Mismagius, Jellicent, and Braviary are known to carry status moves such as Will-O-Wisp and Substitute; this allows them to work around Skuntank's Sucker Punch and cripple it in Will-O-Wisp's case.

**Fighting-types**: Emboar, Virizion, Hitmonlee, Passimian, and Hariyama resist Skuntank's Dark-type STAB moves and thus deter the use of Pursuit and Sucker Punch.

**Physically Defensive Walls**: Physically defensive walls like Steelix, Garbodor, Druddigon, and Miltank can easily take any of Skuntank's attacks.
 
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quziel

I am the Scientist now
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Mon has been really hurt by new defoggers, main niche imo is either a Pursuit users that eats Haunter, Rotom, and Mismag fairly easily, and as a Memento user (also pursuit) which supports normal type Wallbreakers by removing ghosts that could otherwise make their Sweep awkward.

Main set IMO should be

- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Taunt / Fire Blast / Pjab
- Memento

Basically, this mons main niche is as a Trapper that removes essentially every ghost fairly reliably, without risking an OHKO in return from silly coverage thanks to godly Poison/Dark typing. Taunt lets you support a sweeper by well, providing an opportunity to set up without worrying about roar/hazards/enemy boosting/etc. Fire Blast is super useful for chipping lix heavily (though change nature to uh, lonely, so damage isn't crippled), as well as annoying other steels that may attempt to come in on you. Poison Jab lets you OHKO whims whilst not being OHKOd in return, prevents you from being 100% setup fodder for Aroma, and lets you actually beat Maud semi-reliably, especially with that poison chance. Memento is disgustingly important, and lets you fulfill your niche as #1 normal/fighting type wincon supporter.

Move Crunch to Moves comments, mention that it allows you to play around sucker shenanigans fairly easily, though can be a tad annoying, and makes you like 100% setup fodder for Aroma and Co. Move Defog to moves comments; the move is so easy to shove on a team, that you should only use skunk as a defogger if you need a ghost/psychic check AND a defogger, and almost never otherwise.

Mention Shuca in set details when used with fire blast, as it lets you do a solid like 85% of chip to Lix, making it essentially worthless for the rest of the game.

Mention Zangoose/Null in team options, as they're some of the biggest beneficiaries of its pursuit support, and can heavily benefit from memento (well, zangoose does, null is more agnostic, though still appreciates it).

Remove Seis Mentions

QC 1/3 after this is implemented.
 
Dropping this, quality is really bad and i havent been in touch with this meta in a minute only receny getting back w it
 
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