What it does
Torch Song deals Fire-type special damage and raises the user's Special Attack by one stage on the same action — always. Not a chance proc. Not a secondary effect. Every use is simultaneously an attack and a SpAtk boost.
That matters because doubles is built on turn economy. Most setup moves cost a full turn with no damage output; most damaging moves don't build toward anything. Torch Song does both at once, and that efficiency compounds over time. At +2 SpAtk, what was a 2HKO becomes a 1HKO. At +3, the math stops being fair for the opponent.
Fire coverage itself is useful — hits Steel, Ice, Grass, and Bug for super-effective, all of which appear regularly in the current meta.
Who runs it
Skeledirge runs Torch Song at a 98% rate — it's essentially a signature combination. Fire/Ghost typing, high Special Attack, solid bulk. The hidden ability Unaware is the other half of why this works: it ignores the opponent's stat boosts entirely. While your Skeledirge is stacking SpAtk, the opponent's boosted attacker hits it as if it had never boosted — so you're climbing while their offensive momentum gets discounted.
How to use it
Click Torch Song while the game is still in equilibrium, not when you're already down. The first +1 makes every subsequent hit harder; by +3 or +4, opponents with decent SpDef begin to crack. The longer the board stays contested, the more Torch Song tilts it.
Doubles opponents will try to remove a boosting threat before it spirals. Your job is to protect Skeledirge while it ramps. A partner running Fake Out on the faster threat buys one free Torch Song. A partner that draws targeting away from Skeledirge does the same. Two free turns of boosting is often enough to decide a game.
Tips & strategy
Rock, Ground, and Water coverage all check Skeledirge's Fire/Ghost typing. A fast Water-type special attacker can end the Torch Song plan before it gets going. Speed control — whether Trick Room or priority support — is the most reliable way to keep Skeledirge alive long enough to reach dangerous boost levels.
Under Trick Room, Skeledirge's low Speed becomes an asset. It moves first, clicks Torch Song, and the fast but frail threats that would normally outspeed and KO it are suddenly acting last.
Opponents trying to wall with Assault Vest SpDef builds will find that +2 or +3 SpAtk often punches through anyway. The key is surviving long enough to get there.