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Rock Head
- Recoil moves deal no recoil damage.
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Pressure
- Enemy attacks lose one extra PP. Increases wild encounter rate.
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Unnerve
- Prevents the foe from consuming its held Berry item.
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Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
80
|
- |
301 |
364 |
- |
| Atk |
105
|
221 |
246 |
309 |
339 |
| Def |
65
|
149 |
166 |
229 |
251 |
| SpA |
60
|
140 |
156 |
219 |
240 |
| SpD |
75
|
167 |
186 |
249 |
273 |
| Spe |
130
|
266 |
296 |
359 |
394 |
Overview
Aerodactyl is the definition of fast, outpaced only by Accelgor in RU. It can take advantage of this by simply equipping itself with a Choice Band and hitting stuff hard or supporting the team with a fast Stealth Rock and Taunt. It's not all good news for Aerodactyl though, as its subpar defenses don't let it take advantage of its great typing and leave it very vulnerable to priority and Choice Scarf users. Additionally, it has a weakness to Stealth Rock, further shortening its lifespan. Don't be fooled, however; this prehistoric beast is still one of the most deadly offensive Pokemon in the tier, and underestimating it can very well cost you a few games.
Aerodactyl's incredible Speed, good Attack stat, and great coverage make it an excellent Choice Band user. Like other Choice item Pokemon, this set requires a bit of prediction to work properly, although the fact that all of its moves have a wide range of neutral coverage eases this a little. Stone Edge, as unreliable as it is, is Aerodactyl's STAB move, hitting everything that doesn't resist it for a good chunk of damage. Earthquake maims Steel-types such as Aggron that try to switch into predicted Stone Edges. Aqua Tail hits Rhydon harder than anything else on this set, securing a 2HKO. Double-Edge rounds out the set by providing Aerodactyl with a strong neutral coverage move that takes full advantage of Rock Head.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The given EVs and nature ensure Aerodactyl always outpaces unboosted Sceptile and maximize its Attack. The remainder gets tossed into HP to slightly increase Aerodactyl's longevity. You can choose to use an Adamant nature with maximum Speed and Attack, as Aerodactyl will still be faster than Scolipede and the common variants of Sceptile that only aim to beat it. Alternatively, you could keep Jolly and run 216 Speed EVs, which lets Aerodactyl outrun Swellow and neutral-natured +1 Feraligatr, or 232 Speed to beat neutral +1 base 80s, but at that point you might want to consider simply maximizing it. Fire Fang can be used to destroy Ferroseed, which effectively counters this set otherwise. However, you should seriously consider pairing this set with a Fire-type, as this allows you to take advantage of Tangrowth, another one of this set's counters, as well.
Due to Aerodactyl's weakness to Stealth Rock, you might also want to invest in a Rapid Spin user, but none of them have particularly good synergy with it. However, Kabutops works well offensively because it can take advantage of the weakened Pokemon resistant to Rock-type moves that Aerodactyl leaves behind. With Rapid Spin support, you can choose to forego Choice Band in favor of Life Orb. This will allow Aerodactyl to switch moves at the expense of some power and 10% of its health every time it attacks.
This set is an excellent addition to most offensive teams in need of a good way to shut down teams that rely on setup moves a lot, such as stall and Spikes-based offense. It also acts as an excellent check to Fire-types such as Moltres and Entei when pitted against more offensive teams. Stealth Rock is the main option in the first slot because Aerodactyl is one of the fastest and most reliable users. Roost can be used in its place if you already have Stealth Rock elsewhere on your team, and also gives Aerodactyl some longevity by healing off Life Orb and Stealth Rock damage, as well as weaker attacks. Taunt can mess up Pokemon looking to set up on Aerodactyl, such as dual screens Uxie, lead Smeargle, and Quiver Dance Lilligant. Stone Edge provides Aerodactyl with a strong STAB move to tear holes into opposing teams with. Earthquake gives it a means of damaging the various Rock- and Steel-types that resist Stone Edge, such as Aggron, Rhydon, and Steelix.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The given EVs and nature ensure Aerodactyl always outpaces Sceptile, but there are a few alternate spreads it can use with equal efficiency. An Adamant nature with 252 EVs invested in Speed allows it to outpace Scolipede and common variants of Sceptile that only aim to beat it. Alternatively, you could keep Jolly and run 216 Speed EVs, letting Aerodactyl outrun Swellow and neutral +1 Feraligatr, or bump it up to 232 to beat neutral +1 base 80s, but at that point you might want to consider simply maximizing its Speed. Life Orb is the item of choice here because this variant of Aerodactyl needs all the power it can get and has the ability to recover off the added recoil via Roost anyway. Focus Sash is a decent alternative if you plan to use Aerodactyl as a dedicated lead and want to ensure Stealth Rock is set up against the opposing team. Aqua Tail can be used over in the first slot as well to give Aerodactyl more coverage, particularly against Rhydon and Sandslash.
This set appreciates being paired with Pokemon that can take advantage of the few threats it cannot. Tangrowth and physically defensive Slowking typically stop this set cold in its tracks; thus, Roselia, which can use both of these Pokemon as setup bait, makes for an excellent partner. Offensively, Fire-types such as Entei and Moltres make for good partners, as they can easily come in and threaten out Ferroseed and the aforementioned Tangrowth. This, however, will leave your team terribly weak to Stealth Rock, so you might also want to consider adding a Rapid Spin user such as Kabutops to your team. Having a spinblocker on hand is another good idea, as it'll make your opponent's attempts at getting rid of Aerodactyl's hard work futile. SubSplit Rotom stands out as one of the best spinblocking partner to this set, as it is one of the few Ghost-types that can keep up with the offensive momentum the type of teams this set is used on usually grab. Another option is to pair Aerodactyl with lots of U-turn and Volt Switch users, which force many switches, rack up Stealth Rock damage, and seize momentum at the same time.
Other Options
Aerodactyl's average movepool means that most of what it can do well has already been covered in the above set descriptions. The only set not really covered is a Life Orb + Hone Claws set. However, Aerodactyl is usually better off just blasting stuff away with a Choice Band than wasting time to set up Hone Claws. There are a few gimmicks that you might want to try as well. After all, who knows? Maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised by the results. A Power Herb + Sky Attack set stands out among the more viable of these gimmicks, as the combination has lots of surprise value and gives Aerodactyl a one-time 140 Base Power STAB move to use on a wall such as Tangrowth for a potential free KO. Other moves such as Thunder Fang, Ice Fang, Tailwind, and Whirlwind can seem tempting, but they are generally inferior to the moves listed above. With access to both Sunny Day and Rain Dance and base 130 Speed, Aerodactyl can make for a very effective early-game weather setter when equipped with the appropriate weather-extension rock.
Checks and Counters
Countering Aerodactyl is all about having the sheer bulk to tank multiple hits from it. For this reason, Pokemon such as Torterra and physically defensive Slowking, which fear nothing that Aerodactyl commonly carries, make for the safest counters. Tangrowth and Ferroseed are a very close second to the aforementioned two, except they are very vulnerable to surprise Fire Blasts and Fire Fangs. Steelix and Escavalier can easily tank just about anything Aerodactyl can throw at it, but an Earthquake or Aqua Tail from the Choice Band set will put Steelix in 2HKO range of that same attack later. Ground-types, such as Rhydon, Golurk, and Sandslash, are very effective checks against versions lacking Aqua Tail. Qwilfish is as well despite the Earthquake weakness, because it can easily threaten Aerodactyl in return with Waterfall. Aggron can play mindgames with Choice Band Aerodactyl, forcing it to predict correctly, lest it be the next target of its mighty Head Smash. Another way of ensuring Aerodactyl won't do too much damage is by packing strong priority attacks such as Feraligatr's Aqua Jet and Spiritomb's Sucker Punch. Finally, common fast Choice Scarf users such as Manectric also make for effective checks.
