Ubers Spotlight: Latias & Latios

Duality

The return of the Southern Island brings with it the Soul Dew, the Lati twins' signature hold item, which boosts both special stats by 50%. This and other shiny new toys have given the legendary brother / sister duo the ability to make one hell of a mark on the Ubers metagame. Upon their introduction in RSE, Latias and Latios were delcared Uber even without Soul Dew, which has never been anything but Uber. It can't be understated the impact these Pokémon have had on their metagames throughout the years—even without Soul Dew, they were both Uber in Gen III and IV, with only Latias dropping to OU for a bit in DPP. Their phenomenal typing and movepool have been a blessing, and Levitate is the proverbial icing on the cake. They've always had access to Calm Mind, support, and all-out attacking sets, but the Eon twins' real aptitude came with the XY to ORAS shift, marking the downfall of a large portion of previously dominant support Arceus formes. This gave the Latis the niche of being among the small handful of decent Defoggers in the Ubers metagame. With the bounty of gifts they've received over the span of their existence, it's not hard to see why Latias and Latios have always been mainstays at the forefront of competitive Pokémon.

Yin and Yang

Latios resides on the more offensive side of the spectrum, whereas Latias prefers to take a more defensive approach in finding a slot on teams. Latios sports a largely useless base 90 Attack but an impressive base 130 Special Attack, which, when backed by a Soul Dew, reaches a mind-numbing effective stat of 591; Latias can reach 525, which, while a bit lower, is still incredible in its own right. On the other hand, Latias's higher bulk allows it to be efficiently EVed to survive some attacks that Latios cannot (+2 Ground Arceus's or +2 Primal Groudon's Stone Edge, for example), but this is ultimately evened out by its failure to OHKO threats that Latios can, such as the aforementioned +2 Primal Groudon. The two's expansive movepool features almost limitless support options in Roar, Tailwind, Defog, Reflect Type, and Healing Wish and Memento for Latias and Latios, respectively. The offensive side of things isn't lacking, either—in Ubers, some common choices for the Eon twins include Draco Meteor, Psyshock, Grass Knot, and Hidden Power Fire. When faced with a decision between one of the two Eon twins, assuming a theoretically perfect team, your best option would be Latios. It simply outclasses Latias in most ORAS Ubers scenarios thanks to its significantly greater power and because Latias's bulk increase isn't so significant when you consider it loses the ability to OHKO the things it checks. However, that's not to say Latios is always better than Latias—on a team in need of a more reliable Defogger, or if you're using something funky like Reflect Type, or if you simply want Healing Wish support for one of your Pokémon, Latias is the obvious go-to. With so many routes you can take, it's easy to see why Latias and Latios are such popular choices in Ubers.

Balance

The Latis are among the best checks to Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre in ORAS Ubers (though they must be cautious of Dragon Tail or status moves from both) due to their resistances to Water and Fire and their Ground immunity courtesy of Levitate. All Latios and Latias sets will run Draco Meteor, even Calm Mind sets, due to the move's high Base Power. Latias takes a consolidated, defensive approach to battling thanks to her higher Defense and Special Defense. A few viable Latias EV spreads include 212 HP EVs to avoid a 2HKO from Modest Primal Kyogre's Ice Beam, 160 HP EVs + 52 Defense EVs to survive Adamant Primal Groudon's Dragon Claw after Stealth Rock, and simply 252 HP EVs to be able to do both. Latias can then pick three moves from a plethora of options, including Defog, Roost / Recover, Healing Wish, Psyshock, and Grass Knot, to name just a few. Defog Latios is rather different, with full Special Attack and Speed investment for maximum firepower, forcing opposing Pokémon out and using the turns to Defog. Defog Latios will most often run Roost, but it can run Memento if you have an even better Primal Kyogre check (e.g. specially defensive Primal Groudon or Ferrothorn) and appreciate the momentum gained. Again, Psyshock and Grass Knot are viable filler attacking moves, depending on your team's needs. A set for the Eon twins that is now rising in popularity is Modest with a spread of 48 HP / 252 SpA / 208 Spe, which sacrifices bulk for astronomical firepower—for example, Modest Latios has a chance to OHKO standard GeoXern with Psyshock at +1 after Stealth Rock.

Shattering the Soul Dew

Although it's truly frightening just how much these two Pokémon both shape the metagame, Latias and Latios possess a few noteworthy shortcomings. Their Psychic typing makes them particularly vulnerable to Pursuit, and Pokémon like Deoxys-A, Tyranitar, and even Aegislash can Pursuit trap them with relative ease and either cripple them or outright KO them. Even though their STAB options are quite powerful, they're resisted by the omnipresent Steel-types. Ferrothorn is probably the biggest outright enemy of the twins, sporting annoying mixed defenses, a good defensive typing, and the ability to exert significant pressure on the twins with Leech Seed and Gyro Ball as well as set up hazards on Defog variants. Klefki is a major annoyance to the Lati twins, outright setting up Spikes on them as they are forced out due to its typing and bulk. Dark Arceus outspeeds Latias and Latios and can easily win a Calm Mind war due to its immunity to Psyshock and its super effective Judgment. Ghost and Fairy Arceus fit into same vein, but they can't switch into a +1 Latias or Latios. Be wary of using an Eon twin as your primary Primal Groudon check, as it can cripple Latias and Latios with Thunder Wave or Dragon Tail them out for significant damage as they try to switch in. Darkrai outpaces and can put both to sleep, while Yveltal can OHKO them with Sucker Punch, although neither should be directly switching in unless you're positive that the opponent will click Psyshock. Giratina-O's Shadow Sneak, Normal Arceus's Extreme Speed, and Mega Kangaskhan's Fake Out + Sucker Punch one-two punch all deal substantial damage to the Eon twins, occasionally landing the OHKO.

A Helping Hand

Should you find yourself building AROUND one of the Eon twins, you should use the Calm Mind set. This includes a recovery move and Psyshock + Draco Meteor. Now, hold on. Calm Mind + Draco Meteor?! Are you stupid, Krauersaut?!

...debatable. BUT, Calm Mind and Draco Meteor conflicting with each other is a common misconception—they actually go with each other quite nicely. Consider Draco Meteor your heavy, blunt smashing tool to pave the way to an easy Psyshock late-game clean or sweep. Just smack all their 'checks' with Draco Meteor, switch out, and rinse, lather, and repeat for a nice 'n easy "GG." The best partners for these sets are ones that overload common checks such as Klefki and Tyranitar—some fantastic options include Darkrai, Yveltal, and Xerneas. In all other scenarios you're using a Lati, it'll be as a support variant, and the best partners for those are the ones that benefit from Defog support, a check to the Primals, and, depending on which of the brother / sister duo you opt for, a hard-hitting wallbreaker or a difficult-to-break tank. Some of the best partners for the Eon Pokémon include Tyranitar, Mega Diancie, and Ho-Oh, the latter two of which, when placed in conjunction with Latias or Latios, create the omnipresent and fearfully powerful Magic Sun core, the most common balance / bulky offense build in ORAS Ubers—and for good reason. Latios and Latias can be used on almost any team that wants to free up a moveslot for the obligatory Arceus forme as opposed to forcing it to run Defog, a symbiotic relationship by virtue of how good each is at its respective niche.

Eternity

These Pokémon have been nothing short of metagame defining, as far as ORAS Ubers goes. Aside from being hands down the most popular Defoggers in the tier, they're well loved by everyone, be they casual fan or competitive player (you're lying if you say Pokémon Heroes didn't make you cry, don't deny it). The Southern Island's return brought with it diversity and a whole new direction for building in the metagame of the titans. With their versatility and immense popularity, the Eon twins ushered a whole new phase of Ubers into competitive Pokémon, and with so many routes yet to be explored, what are you doing here reading this article? Get out there and start building!

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