Pokemon GO Skarmory raid guide: Weaknesses and best counters

With Pokemon GO's Test Your Mettle event coming to an end, players are running out of time to challenge Skarmory in its three-star Raid Battle. While trainers may be on the fence about challenging this menacing, metallic bird of prey, it possesses many qualities that will make it worth the time of brave trainers who best it in battle.

While Skarmory may have fallen off in terms of relevancy in the main series, this could not be further from the case in Niantic's mobile spin-off title. In the game's real-time action battle system, defense is everything due to every battle participant being guaranteed to take a hit or two in battle. This makes Steel-types a must-have in the game.

Given how useful having a defensive Steel-type like Skarmory is in Pokemon GO, many players will want to get their hands on one. Luckily, there is no time like the present to do so. Here's how players can take down this Raid Boss and add it to their collection.

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Skarmory in Pokemon GO: Everything to know about the Flying and Steel-type

Skarmory as it appears in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Skarmory is a Flying and Steel-type Pokemon. This impressive defensive typing almost entirely mitigates the weaknesses of both types, leaving Skarmory vulnerable to only Electric and Fire-type attacks. This also grants Skarmory resistances to 10 out of the total 17 other types in the game.

Skarmory's highest stat in Pokemon GO is its Defense, clocking in at 226. This is followed by its Stamina of 163 and its Attack of 148. This means Skarmory will not be dealing much damage during its Raid Battle as long as players plan ahead of time and bring the proper defensive Pokemon to soak up its attacks.

Skarmory's moveset is rather bland as it only consists of Flying and Steel-type attacks. Knowing this, it is very easy to prepare for this fight as it lacks any unusual coverage. Its Attack stat harms it further in this regard as well, since it can easily be walled off by Pokemon with a defensive type advantage over it.

The best way to take care of Skarmory in Pokemon GO is to simply overpower it. Given its low Stamina and Attack, this should not be a difficult task with the right Pokemon and a good number of teammates. As previously stated, it is weak to Electric and Fire-type attacks, so these types of Pokemon work the best.

The best of the two types is Electric. This is due to Electric-type Pokemon resisting Skarmory's Flying and Steel moves while also being able to hit it for super-effective damage. An Electric-type with a modest amount of bulk will work best for this battle. With this in mind, players should bring Electivire or Magnezone.

This Raid Battle will also give players a great opportunity to try out Xurkitree (if they managed to get their hands on one during Pokemon GO's last event). Xurkitree is a great choice given its powerful Attack stat of 330 and its access to Electric-type attacks like Thunder and Discharge.

Players must also remember that there is strength in numbers when it comes to Pokemon GO's Raid Battles. With this in mind, trainers would benefit from bringing two or three other players along with them for this Raid Battle.