Is Skarmory Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
SoulSilver encounter on Route 45. Steel/Flying with AbilityKeen Eye or AbilitySturdy. Massive Defense and a defensive typing that resists most of the game. Handles Clair through Steel, Pryce through Flying, and contributes across the E4. HeartGold players breed for it.
Skarmory has the type edge here and should clean up Falkner's team.
Skarmory resists most of Bugsy's coverage and hits back hard.
Skarmory has the type edge here and should clean up Whitney's team.
Skarmory has the type edge here and should clean up Morty's team.
Skarmory has the type edge here and should clean up Chuck's team.
Skarmory trades roughly evenly with Jasmine's team.
Skarmory has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Skarmory trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Skarmory has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Skarmory trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Lt. Surge's team hits Skarmory's weaknesses hard.
Skarmory resists most of Erika's coverage and hits back hard.
Skarmory resists most of Janine's coverage and hits back hard.
Skarmory has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina's team.
Skarmory trades roughly evenly with Blaine's team.
Skarmory has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Skarmory has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Skarmory has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Skarmory resists most of Bruno's coverage and hits back hard.
Skarmory has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Skarmory has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Catchable
Catch Skarmory on Route 45 (walking, Lv 27, rare).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 27)
- LV 27FlyingAir CutterPower 83Accuracy 95%PP 25
- After Morty
- TM88FlyingPluckPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 40
- After Chuck
- HM02FlyingFlyPower 135Accuracy 95%PP 15From Chuck's wife outside Cianwood Gym
- LV 34SteelSteel WingPower 105Accuracy 90%PP 25
- LV 39FlyingAir SlashPower 113Accuracy 95%PP 20
- After Clair
- TM40FlyingAerial AcePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20Mt. Mortar
- TM79DarkDark PulsePower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Sold by the TM clerk on 3F of the Celadon Department Store
- LV 45DarkNight SlashPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15
HeartGold & SoulSilver Skarmory Locations
That same cliff route where HeartGold finds Gligar instead gives SoulSilver a rare Skarmory. The two winged climbers swap straight across by version, so owning both at once comes down to a trade.
1 location to catch Skarmory
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 8Best Locations to Catch Skarmory in HeartGold & SoulSilver
How to Get Shiny Skarmory in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Skarmory soars over Route 45 in SoulSilver, but breeding it Masuda-style is the quicker route to a shiny. Compare Shiny Skarmory odds across every game
Shiny Skarmory Evolution
Does Not EvolveHeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Skarmory Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
For time estimates and charm math, open the HeartGold & SoulSilver shiny odds calculator with Skarmory already selected.
Skarmory Weakness
Skarmory's Steel/Flying typing leaves it vulnerable to Fire and Electric. It shrugs off Poison and Ground-type attacks completely. It resists 9 types, so it can switch into a lot of moves safely. Skarmory's physical bulk (base 140 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Fire, Electric |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Normal, Flying, Psychic, Ghost, Dragon, Dark, Steel |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Grass, Bug |
| 0x (Immune) | Poison, Ground |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Skarmory Weak Against
FortressBest Pokemon Against Skarmory
 Magnezone ElectricSteel | A | |
 Raikou Electric | B | |
 Ampharos Electric | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Skarmory View Ampharos builds →Thunderbolt 2x115-136%KO Fire Punch 2x26-31% | ||
 Ninetales Fire | C | |
 Jolteon Electric | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) | ||
 Typhlosion Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cyndaquil (New Bark Town Gift) | ||
 Manectric Electric | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Skarmory View Manectric builds →Thunderbolt 2x104-123%KO Flamethrower 2x69-82% | ||
 Arcanine Fire | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Skarmory View Arcanine builds →Fire Blast 2x128-151%KO Thunder Fang 2x29-34% | ||
 Entei Fire | B | |
 Magmar Fire | C | |
 Camerupt FireGround | C | |
 Luxray Electric | C | |
 Electrode Electric | B | |
Obtain MethodTeam Rocket Hq Interact Encounter | ||
 Plusle Electric | B | |
Skarmory Evolutions
Skarmory is what you get. No evolutions, but it breeds through one egg group with a decent partner pool. Its eggs take an average time to hatch. It's got 8 egg moves worth looking into. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Skarmory easily with 31 breeding partners from the Flying egg group. Pass egg moves like Assurance, Brave Bird, Curse and 5 more to offspring.
HGSS Skarmory Best Moveset
Physical tank at 140 Defense with Steel/Flying resisting 10 types. The moveset sets MoveStealth Rock and MoveSpikes while phasing opponents out with MoveWhirlwind. AbilitySturdy guarantees surviving one hit from full HP. 40 Sp. Atk is irrelevant for a support tank.
Best Build
Skarmory best EVs are HP and Defense
Wall Moveset
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Brave Bird
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
You'll want to breed for Assurance and Brave Bird on Skarmory. These egg moves aren't just nice to have. Combined with STAB from Sky Attack and Brave Bird, they expand what Skarmory can actually threaten in practice.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
27 of 28 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Its sturdy wings look heavy, but they are actually hollow and light, allowing it to fly freely in the sky.
After nesting in bramble bushes, the wings of its chicks grow hard from scratches by thorns.
Skarmory HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, use Skarmory as a hazard setter. Physical side carries the damage. Speed is middling,
For HeartGold & SoulSilver, run Impish on Skarmory. +Defense is what matters, and the -Sp. Atk cut doesn't hurt this set. Fits the hazard setter role.
Game Availability
Debuting in Gold & Silver, Skarmory appears in 18 games across 8 generations. A reliable presence in most mainline games, typically found through wild encounters.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GSDebut
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves
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