It’s not often that some Pokemon stay a long time in the meta of the series without falling off, and it’s even less frequent that if they do fall off, they also get back to a place that’s better than before — especially in a game like Pokemon Legends: Z-A. From the days of Generation 2 to the competitive peak of Gen 7 and early Gen 8, Skarmory stood tall as a quintessential Flying/Steel defensive utility Pokemon loved by players for stall, balance, and hazard-stacking teams. But everything changed when Pokemon Sword and Shield‘s Corviknight arrived, reshaping not just the steel-winged defensive role but the very meta that had kept Skarmory relevant for decades.
