Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
75
|
- |
291 |
354 |
- |
| Atk |
70
|
158 |
176 |
239 |
262 |
| Def |
90
|
194 |
216 |
279 |
306 |
| SpA |
70
|
158 |
176 |
239 |
262 |
| SpD |
105
|
221 |
246 |
309 |
339 |
| Spe |
80
|
176 |
196 |
259 |
284 |
Overview
Altaria is one of the few fully evolved Dragons in RU; while most of its Dragon-type brethren fight it out in the upper tiers, Altaria is left in RU. The reason for this is Altaria's less-than-amazing base 70 offensive stats. However, don't write Altaria off yet; Altaria possesses both the speed, power, and movepool to be a veritable threat in RU. Even with its low attacking stats, Altaria can still decimate most of the tier with its high-powered Dragon-type attacks, which are only resisted by a handful of RU Pokemon. Altaria also possesses excellent defenses; its fluffy lining proves to be a useful buffer against all manner of special attackers in RU. Altaria's rare Dragon typing lets it easily wall threats such as Magmortar, Lilligant, and Slowking! Natural Cure also helps Altaria defensively as it means status such as Toxic will not be able to wear Altaria down. Unfortunately, the cotton furball is hampered by its weakness to the ubiquitous Stealth Rock, which cuts off 25% of its HP every time it switches in. Altaria also relies heavily on moves such as Draco Meteor and Outrage, whose negative side effects can potentially let your opponent turn the tables on your team. While Altaria might be an inferior Dragonite or Salamence, it is just as threatening in a tier that is ill prepared for its draconian onslaught.
Base 70 Special Attack seems rather pathetic in a tier that boasts special attackers with offensive stats reaching 125. However, Altaria's unique STAB and access to Draco Meteor mean that it can still cleave through teams with a special attacking set. Dragon is only resisted by Steel-types, which are few and far between in RU, and any Steel-type that dares to confront Altaria will be quickly melted with a Fire Blast. Draco Meteor is Altaria's main weapon; with it, Altaria can 2HKO most of the metagame. Only the bulkiest special walls will be able to repeatedly switch into Altaria's Choice Specs or Life Orb-boosted Draco Meteor. Unfortunately, the cost of such power is an unsavory Special Attack drop which can sometimes render Altaria as setup bait. Choice Specs sets can instead use Dragon Pulse as a more reliable STAB attack while Life Orb sets can Power Swap away the Special Attack drop onto unsuspecting opponents. Power Swap also gives Altaria a unique way to combat special boosters such as Calm Mind Mesprit or Uxie. After letting them boost up a few times, Altaria can turn your opponent's boosts against them, smacking them with a boosted Draco Meteor. In the last slot, Altaria can take advantage of its excellent bulk with a recovery move; Rest is used on Choice Specs sets to cure Altaria fully. Upon switching out, Natural Cure will heal Altaria of its sleep condition. Roost is a more useful option on the Life Orb set as it doesn't force Altaria to switch.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The EVs maximize Altaria's rather low Special Attack stat while ensuring it can still outspeed Timid Omastar. The remaining EVs are placed in HP to take advantage of Altaria's excellent bulk. If you want Altaria to be faster, then maximizing Speed is also an option, but Altaria already outspeeds most walls and appreciates the bulk to help take on offensive Pokemon. As Altaria can do little to Pokemon such as Probopass and Aggron, Altaria can use Hidden Power Ground instead of Dragon Pulse. Hidden Power Ground also hits other Steel-types so it is a viable, although much weaker, alternative to Fire Blast. Despite Altaria's great coverage and power, it is still easily walled by special walls such as Clefable and Slowking. Therefore, a powerful wallbreaker, such as Aggron or Escavalier, can be used as an offensive partner. Both also resist Ice- and Dragon-type attacks directed at Altaria while Aggron also sponges Rock-type attacks. Druddigon is another great partner for Altaria as it can clean up weakened teams after Altaria has lured and destroyed Steel-types such as Steelix and Aggron. Rapid Spin support is also very useful as the Special Attack drop that comes with Draco Meteor will force Altaria to switch out often. Pokemon such as Kabutops and Cryogonal can use Rapid Spin while also covering Altaria's large Ice weakness.
Altaria's rare Dragon / Flying typing also gives it a defensive niche. It is one of the few Pokemon that can take on RU powerhouses such as Magmortar and Typhlosion, and its typing lets it take on common Water- and Fire-type attacks. Roost is Altaria's reliable recovery move and lets it continuously wall threats throughout the game, healing off residual damage from Stealth Rock and resisted attacks. Dragon Pulse is Altaria's only attack and prevents it from being useless when Taunted. Heal Bell is a rather rare move that Altaria can use to support its teammates, curing any status on your team. Lastly, Roar phazes away dangerous setup sweepers hoping to capitalize on Altaria's weak offensive prowess. It also stacks up more entry hazard damage on your opponents. However, Toxic is Altaria's best way of doing damage, and lets it Roost-stall the opposition.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The EV spread is the standard for any specially defensive wall. Maximum investment in Special Defense and HP ensures that Altaria can take on many of the special attacking powerhouses in the RU tier. A physically defensive spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD lets Altaria take on various physical attackers; however, Altaria's Defense stat isn't as impressive as it Special Defense stat. Leftovers provides consistent recovery and helps Altaria avoid certain 2HKOs. Natural Cure is an amazing ability for a wall as it practically eliminates the most common way to take down a wall, Toxic. Although Altaria can already run Heal Bell, it is extremely useful to just be able to switch out and cure any status on Altaria. Although Altaria gets Roar to take care of stat boosters, Altaria can also use Perish Song as a phazing move. It will force your opponent out after a few turns and is excellent when dealing with a last Pokemon on your opponent's team. Instead of Dragon Pulse, Altaria can use Dragon Claw as its sole attack; while it has less Base Power than Dragon Pulse, it is useful for taking down more specially defensive threats that Altaria walls such as Slowking.
As Altaria is a team supporter itself, it stands to reason that it doesn't need much help from its teammates. However, there are a few things one can do to help Altaria do its job. Rapid Spin support is great for Altaria as it hates having to lose 25% of its health from switching into Stealth Rock. Pokemon such as Kabutops and Cryogonal are great candidates, as both also resist the Ice-type attacks directed at Altaria. Physically defensive Steel-types, such as Steelix, form a powerful defensive core with Altaria, as they can take Dragon-type attacks and cover Altaria's weaker Defense. In return, Altaria sponges Fire- and Water-type attacks directed at Steelix and Aggron.
Like many of its fellow Dragon-types, Altaria can pull off an offensive Dragon Dance set. Although its attacks aren't nearly as powerful as that of the Dragon-types in upper tiers, the relative lack of Steel-types in RU means that Altaria will have little trouble slicing through your opponent's team after a few boosts. Dragon Dance increases both Altaria's Attack and Speed stats to respectable levels; after a couple of boosts, almost nothing in RU will be able to stomach Altaria's assaults. Outrage is Altaria's STAB move of choice, and lets it pummel its foe with an anger-fueled, 100% accurate, 120 Base Power STAB attack. Unfortunately, it locks Altaria in and forces it to become confused after a few turns, so it should be used with caution. Earthquake provides amazing coverage alongside Outrage, hitting Steel-types such as Steelix and Magneton hard. Lastly, Roost is used to take advantage of Altaria's great natural bulk while setting up. It also removes Stealth Rock and Life Orb damage that Altaria will no doubt accumulate throughout the game.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
A Life Orb, Adamant nature, and fully offensive EV spread makes the most of Altaria's offenses. However, Leftovers can be used instead as Altaria has excellent bulk which helps it set up. Like other sweepers, Altaria is fairly easy to play with, as it can easily set up Dragon Dances on most resisted moves, potentially obtaining two or more boosts. From then on, Altaria can outspeed almost every Pokemon in the tier and fire off its Dragon-type STAB attacks. As Outrage has the drawback of locking Altaria in and causing confusion, Dragon Claw is a more reliable, albeit weaker, option for Altaria. Natural Cure, although less useful for Altaria than it is on support variants, still helps Altaria significantly, ensuring that a stray Thunder Wave or burn from Scald doesn't cripple Altaria for the rest of the match. However, in order to activate Natural Cure, Altaria must switch out, which removes any boosts it might have obtained. Although Altaria can hit everything in the tier for at least neutral damage, it still struggles against defensive behemoths such as Tangrowth and Steelix. Therefore, Pokemon such as Magneton are excellent partners for Altaria, as Magneton traps and disposes of almost every Steel-type in the tier, paving the way for an Altaria sweep. As Altaria detests Stealth Rock, a Rapid Spin user such as Kabutops or Cryogonal makes a good teammate.
Other Options
Altaria's great bulk and access to Roost and Heal Bell make a bulky boosting set viable. Altaria can slowly boost up with Dragon Dance and eventually strike with its STAB Dragon Claw, and any attempts by teams to wear down Altaria or status it will be counteracted by Roost and Heal Bell, respectively. Unfortunately, this set struggles to overcome most teams as it is quite weak, as a +6 Dragon Claw cannot even OHKO Entei 100% the time! Altaria also has an alternative boosting move in Cotton Guard which skyrockets its Defense stat, but it does little to help Altaria take out the opposition. Altaria can utilize both a Choice Scarf and Choice Band to act as a revenge killer or wallbreaker. However, wallbreaking sets are better off with Choice Specs while revenge killing sets are better off done by faster Pokemon. Even with a Choice Scarf, Altaria struggles to outspeed sweepers such as Feraligatr. Cloud Nine is Altaria's alternative ability that should only be used if your team struggles against weather-based teams.
Checks and Counters
As Altaria is quite unpredictable, the first step to countering it is to find out what type of set it is running. Specially based versions are easily countered by most of the special walls in RU. Pokemon such as Munchlax and Clefable can comfortably switch in and take any of Altaria's special attacks, sponging even a Choice Specs-boosted Draco Meteor and healing off the damage. However, they themselves are unable to do much back to Altaria due to Roost and Natural Cure. Physical variants are also handled by most physical walls. However, Pokemon such as Steelix and Tangrowth must be wary of a surprise Fire Blast, as it can 2HKO them. Both special and physical walls need to be wary of switching in recklessly as they will be demolished by moves that hit on their uninvested defensive stat. Stealth Rock is a great way to minimize Altaria's impact on the match; support sets have their defensive capabilities compromised, while offensive variants are forced to attack less and recover more. As Altaria is 4x weak to Ice-type attacks, they are a great way to force the dragon to switch out. Many Pokemon in the tier, such as Nidoqueen and Cryogonal, use Ice Beam, which Altaria is deathly afraid of. Ice Shard also shuts down Altaria, hitting first even if Altaria has boosted with Dragon Dance; although the move isn't very popular in RU, Pokemon such as Sneasel, Piloswine, and Lapras can still pose a threat to Altaria. Disruptive moves such as Taunt and Encore also trouble support sets and Dragon Dance Altaria, and support sets especially will have to switch out in the face of common Taunt or Encore users such as Whimsicott.
