Yes, to both:

Pidgin voice/video is ready for version 2.6.0 of Pidgin (you can test it out 
now if 
you have monotone), and the Skype plugin current supports the new voice/video 
features of 2.6.0

I am working on a no-Skype-needed version of the plugin.

Very curious how the no-skype-needed version is going?

Yay... a native plugin (without the need for the binary skype) would be great...
Any advance here?

Yes, it's been almost a year. 

Unfortunately, the Skype protocol is, from what I know, at once complicated to
implement, secured against unauthorized clients, and highly proprietary and
undocumented -- and reverse-engineering a protocol under those circumstances is 
not
easy at all.

So I'm not expecting particularly speedy progress here, sadly.

Skype has recently released the SILK codec, which is their VOIP codec. I'm not 
sure if 
it's fully open-source, but it is freely available, and it should certainly 
make it 
possible to implement a *very nicely* integrated skype plugin for Pidgin. I'm 
really 
looking forward to the day someone does it!

SILK plugin here: https://developer.skype.com/silk

 - Bryan

Anymore updates on this?

Ugh, Really looking forward to use Pidgin without Skype running. Used to use 
Pidgin but the resources taken up by have Pidgin and Skype both open were too 
much, skype is too bloated. All I really use is the chat, so even If thats all 
that would work that would be awesome; if for some rare reason I need to call 
someone I can open skype. 

Really appreciate the work on this, any update??

There's a SkypeKit version of the plugin in closed-beta at the moment.  There's 
also the skyped project http://vmiklos.hu/project/bitlbee-skype/skyped.py and 
the miranda to imo gateway project 
http://addons.miranda-im.org/details.php?action=viewfile&id=4146 which might 
make for viable alternatives

Oh cool thanks! Can those be used with Pidgin?

I was wondering if you have look at the SkypeKit plugin (what means 
close-beta?) and If you think that its integration with your plugin can be easy?
Or if Pidgin or Empathy have look forward to integrate it directly!

Hi.

It seems that some more success has been made in reverse-engineering Skype:
http://skype-open-source.blogspot.com/

Perhaps this helps to makes a native chat client?

Cheers,
Chris.

Thanks Chris.  Already looking into using this :)

As soon as I heard about that on reddit I knew I'd be seeing something in this 
thread ;)

now a half a decade passed and still not possible?
at the moment with jessie debian i cannot run skype anymore and i will now trow 
skype away