Base 110 Special Attack and Speed is nothing to laugh at, especially considering Latias's bulk and ability to boost her already-high special stats. Add to this the fact that Latias's STAB is only resisted by one type and she can Recover away damage before being hit again, and you have an effective sweeper that can be hard to take down. Offensive Calm Mind Latias is very simple to use. Simply bring her in on one of the many Pokémon which cannot hurt her badly or after a teammate dies, use Calm Mind, and sweep. If her HP gets too low then you can have her Recover off the damage. The fourth move can be hard to choose from, with several good options available. Recover is the best because Latias can still take a beating with 80/90/130 defenses, and is even more useful if you decide to use Life Orb. Latias is even more dangerous with a third attack, however; it depends on whether you want to beat Tyranitar or Scizor. With Life Orb, Grass Knot always 2HKOes 252/0 Tyranitar. Hidden Power Fire eliminates Scizor, and, with a Calm Mind, OHKOes Skarmory and Metagross (although Modest must be run to OHKO the latter). It comes at a cost, though, lowering Latias's Speed by one point. Like all sweepers, this Latias likes having Stealth Rock up. While she can deal with Steel-types to an extent, Magnezone and Latias work well together. Magnezone eliminates Scizor, Skarmory, and other Steel-types blocking Latias's path, and Latias can come in on all of Magnezone's weaknesses with impunity, with immunity to Ground and resistances to Fire and Fighting. Likewise, Magnezone can come in on Latias's own weaknesses and deal with them. Heatran is also capable of performing the same job. Scizor comes in on Dragons and Ice-types using their STABs and overcomes them with its strong priority attacks, and Lucario and Machamp beat Tyranitar, most people's main counter to Latias.
While Latias is quite fast and powerful, its defensive capability cannot be overlooked. With a monstrous base 130 Special Defense and a decent 80 base HP, Latias takes nearly all special hits with ease, and has the Speed to support itself before she can be attacked. Although Latias won't hit nearly as hard without several Calm Minds, she can take more hits while she stats up and Recover off damage she takes during the process. Refresh is the recommended option because it allows Latias to rid itself of any bothersome status, although Reflect can be used to guard her from powerful Pursuiters such as Scizor and Tyranitar. Alternately, Hidden Power Fire can be used, mainly to OHKO Scizor, though it does have the downside of dropping Latias's Speed. You can EV this according to preference. The main spread is standard and fairly self-explanatory, with a little power investment and HP for bulk. If you want a bulkier spread at the cost of power and Speed, you can try 204 HP / 128 Def / 176 Spe with Timid or 252 HP / 72 SpD / 184 Spe with Calm. The first spread hits 330 Speed with Timid, enough to outspeed positive-natured base 100s (for example, Salamence), and maximizes Leftovers recovery. The second is more specially defensive, outspeeding neutral-natured base 100s and anything attempting to outspeed the same group. This Latias needs Scizor and Tyranitar out of the way before she begins to set up. You can bring her in early game to scout and switch out while they bring their counter in, or play her later on after taking out physical hard-hitters. Magnezone and Heatran work excellently for getting rid of Scizor, and Scizor, Machamp, and Lucario beat Tyranitar easily. However, all of these Pokémon benefit from Zapdos and Infernape out of the way, something Latias is almost serendipitously able to provide for them. Latias is also a pain for its fellow Dragon-types, which many Pokémon offensively and defensively can take advantage of.
Reminiscent of Specs Salamence, without the Stealth Rock weakness and with higher Speed and Trick, Specs Latias combines the power behind Draco Meteor with a constant and reliable second STAB for cleaning up. Surf is for Steel-types which would otherwise mostly wall her; keep in mind that a neutral STAB Draco Meteor does more than a 2x super effective Surf. Thunderbolt can be used in the third slot as another move to hit Steel-types neutrally and Pokémon that can take a Draco Meteor and a Surf (Empoleon and Vaporeon). When Latias no longer needs Specs and needs to switch attacks, she can Trick its Specs away, especially onto an unsuspecting special wall. Timid is the best nature in order to outspeed positive-natured max Speed base 100s (notably Salamence) along with tying opposing Timid Latias. However, Modest may also be used because the power over Timid is highly noticeable. As for the moves, there is no need to change them, despite Latias having a huge arsenal of moves. Draco Meteor does plenty to Swampert and Hippowdon, and Surf offers superior coverage to Grass Knot. Latias also gets STAB Psychic, but being locked into STAB Psychic makes Latias incredibly vulnerable without any real non-circumstantial uses. While Specs Latias hurts almost anything, she suffers from most of the problems all Latias sets encounter. Unsurprisingly, Scizor and Tyranitar are the first to come to mind. Tyranitar lacking defensive investments are overcome though, and Scizor is 2HKO’d by Surf. She still cannot beat Blissey except through Trick, and without Thunderbolt is forced out by Empoleon. Draco Meteor does a sizable amount to Blissey though, and with Stealth Rock and sandstorm, Blissey will have to heal herself so she can come back in. Through this, Latias can utilize ‘trappers’ (Magnezone for Steel-types and strong CB Pursuiters for Blissey) to great effect. She also opens up opportunities for others to sweep by ripping holes in the opponent’s team. An offensively-inclined team will have little that can come in without fainting, and a defensively-inclined team will have holes torn in it before Latias goes down, allowing other sweepers to take advantage of their enemies’ weakened state and go for the kill. While Latias might not make it to the lategame phase with Tyranitar and Scizor running rampant and various priority users picking her off, she serves her team well and sweepers such as Infernape and Lucario which work better lategame will appreciate its presence.
While Latias is naturally very fast, its Speed becomes tremendous when boosted by Choice Scarf, outspeeding every non-boosted Pokémon in OU. She can be used to revenge kill Dragon Dancers, most notably Salamence, take care of other Scarfers, and generally cover a team’s weakness to fast sweepers. She can also Trick its Scarf onto walls, shutting them down and giving her the versatility to change attacks. Although the moveset is the same as the Specs set, Scarf Latias plays much differently. Although Latias can come in on her many resists, she also makes an effective revenge killer. You can play it safe and bring her in after DDMence KOs something else, or bring her in on the Dragon Dance. Scarf also makes for a safer item to Trick. Draco Meteor is still your main form of offense, although Surf and Dragon Pulse make nice accompanying moves. Thunderbolt is also usable, although she lacks the raw power against Water-types that Specs Latias can boast. In general, you should use a Timid nature in order to outspeed +Speed base 100 Dragon Dancers and anything below 262 Speed that carries Agility. However, Modest may be used to give Latias an extra boost on her moves because Latias is fast enough already. It is up to preference and should be changed based on what your team needs. Scarf Latias is a good addition to any team with a Dragon Dancer weakness and gives security against fast sweepers which might otherwise rampage through a team. While this Latias can shut down Blissey with Trick, it isn’t the most reliable solution, and so your team should always be able to beat Blissey independently. Additionally, Choiced Psychic Pokémon are especially vulnerable to Pursuit, and so Pokémon that can take care of Scizor and Tyranitar are imperative. It is difficult to find anything that stops Scizor and Tyranitar together, although there are Pokémon that can accomplish this, such as mixed Metagross and Substitute Gengar with HP Fire (set up a Substitute on something Gengar forces out while they switch to Scizor/Tyranitar and then take them out with the respective super effective move). On a positive note, there are other sweepers, such as Lucario and Scizor, that can take advantage of Latias going down to something locked into Pursuit and get rid of Tyranitar (and to an extent, Scizor itself). Lastly, Steel-types in general complement Latias’s resistances and weaknesses.
Life Orb Latias takes the destructive power of the Choice Specs set and combines it with the ability to freely change attacks; although at the cost of some power and ten percent of Latias' health after each attack. Draco Meteor is Latias' strongest attack, capable of dealing 75.00% - 88.54% to max HP Zapdos, an OHKO when factoring in Stealth Rock damage. Draco Meteor even does 38.89% - 45.68% to min HP Heatran. Surf pairs perfectly with Draco Meteor, giving Latias almost unresisted type coverage. Even with Sandstorm boosting Tyranitar's massive Special Defense, a Timid Life Orb Surf will deal 39.11% - 46.53% to a Tyranitar with max HP. If Latias predicts correctly and Surfs on the turn Tyranitar switches in, she can 2HKO Tyranitar before it has the chance to retaliate, factoring in Stealth Rock damage. Surf also deals 43.11% - 50.90% to max HP Scizor, a 97% chance to 2HKO if Scizor has taken Stealth Rock damage. Thunderbolt deals with the few threats that don't mind taking Draco Meteor or Surf; namely, Suicune, Vaporeon, and especially Empoleon. Thunderbolt 2HKOes all of the aforementioned Pokemon while providing Latias with another attack to hit Steel-types for neutral damage if you predict incorrectly. Thunderbolt has the added advantage of KOing min HP Salamence if it has switched into Stealth Rock twice, without resorting to the Special Attack lowering Draco Meteor. Grass Knot is also useful as a secondary attack. Tyranitar is one of Latias' biggest threats, and Grass Knot scores a guaranteed 2HKO on max HP variants even without Stealth Rock. Grass Knot also hits Suicune a bit harder than Thunderbolt does. However, the downsides of Grass Knot are that it doesn't hit Empoleon super effectively, hits Vaporeon for a low 60 Base Power, and does not have Thunderbolt's neutrality against incoming Steel-types. Timid secures all the OHKOs or 2HKOs that Modest accomplishes after Stealth Rock is taken into account; meaning Timid is almost always the superior option. With a Timid nature, Latias can switch in on Infernape, utilizing its resistances to Fire and Fighting, and KO it with Surf before it has the chance to launch another attack. It also allows Latias to outspeed all Salamence (except those with Choice Scarf) and KO them with Draco Meteor. This set has much less trouble with Scizor and Tyranitar, as Surf does plenty of damage on the switch-in. In fact, Latias can deal much damage to most of its usual foes, except Blissey, so bring the usual physical sweepers. Metagross and Scizor work well here to take the incoming Ice attacks aimed at Latias, and to come in after Latias Draco Meteors and needs to switch. Metagross can blow up on any problems (although Meteor Mash should do a lot to any special walls) and Scizor can smash Mamoswine and put a dent in Dragon Dancing Salamence. Max HP Metagross can be a problem, as while Surf does on average around 38%, it only 3HKOes. Rotom-A cripples her and hacks away with Thunderbolt, while Magnezone traps and kills (although it has to beware of Life Orb Earthquake).
Latias is perfect for pseudo-passing, with access to both screens and Wish. The fact that most players will expect a sweeper set and switch out is also helpful. The strategy here is to set up Reflect and Light Screen on a foe that is likely to attack, and then switch out to pass those defensive boosts to either a stat-up sweeper or a Baton Passer. Wish will ensure that whatever comes in next will start out with full health, and Roar will both prevent your opponent from setting up while you set the screens, and allow you to search for a better Pokemon to send your sweeper or Baton Passer out against. Dragon Pulse (or even Draco Meteor) is an option over Roar if you want Latias to be able to attack directly, or if you fear being Taunted. However, this set’s primary goal involves being a team player, and staying in to attack is often a waste of the eight turns of screens. Still, you should not be afraid to let Latias receive its own Wish, as this will allow her to possibly set up screens again later in the match for a second sweeper or another Baton Pass. Safeguard can also be used to protect your sweeper as it switches it and sets up; however, it is often redundant to pass this to a Baton Passer since it will likely know Taunt and / or Substitute anyway. This Latias is good support for its teammates. Any sort of frail setup sweeper (Lucario, Infernape, and to an extent things like Gyarados) loves screens, allowing it to set up its Substitutes and/or stat-up moves relatively invincibly until it is ready to rampage. They also can come in again and again with Wish support. Baton Pass teams, especially ones utilizing strategies such as Screens passed to Gliscor, which Rock Polishes, Taunts phazers, Swords Dances, then passes to Metagross or another Pokémon, also might consider Latias to fulfill the role of dual screener, as she is fast, sturdy, and reliable. This Latias does not fear Tyranitar and Scizor much at all with Reflect up, and can Roar them out before they cause her troubles. In fact, she is in essence purely a team player and does not require support at all. Thus, slot her in on frailer teams which need a fast screener.
Latias' unique typing, movepool, and stat distribution makes her a superb counter to multiple special attackers. Blissey has been sought after as the premier special wall of OU because of its higher Special Defense, however Latias' many resistances give her many advantages. Most notable is Latias' Fighting-type resistance which Blissey so greatly envies. Being resistant to both of Infernape's STAB attacks makes Latias one of Infernape's best possible counters. A Nasty Plotted Life Orb Hidden Power Ice from MixApe will never OHKO, allowing Latias to 2HKO with Dragon Pulse before Infernape gets a second hit. A max Attack Jolly Infernape's Close Combat, while equipped with Life Orb, only deals 38% at best, which means Latias has only a Choice Banded U-turn to fear. Latias' other advantage lies in the move Roar. Blissey has always had problems with Calm Mind users such as Jirachi, Cresselia, Suicune, Raikou, and Latias itself. Latias, however, has the ability to Roar them away to stop a potentially game altering sweep. Dragon Pulse and Recover are a given. Dragon Pulse has STAB and good neutral coverage, while Recover gives you instant healing. If you need the support, Wish can be used over Recover. Reflect gives you insurance against Scizor and Tyranitar who may take you out with Pursuit otherwise, while also supporting the rest of your team. Thunder Wave is a decent status option, although common counters to Latias such as Scizor and Tyranitar won't mind it much. Roar helps set Latias apart from Blissey, but Protect is very useful for Toxic stalling. Protect also guarantees 50% of your health restored with Wish, while easing predictions against Pursuit users, such as Scizor or Tyranitar. Max Speed EVs allows you to outspeed Infernape, while tiering with opposing base 110s such as Latias and Gengar. A much bulkier EV spread is 252 HP / 116 Def / 112 SpD / 28 Spe with a Calm nature. With this EV spread, Naive Choice Scarf Heatran can never 2HKO Latias with Dragon Pulse. It also gives Latias quite a bit of physical bulk. There are numerous other options depending on your team's needs. Toxic can be used over Thunder Wave to stall out Pokemon such as Zapdos and Blissey, who you couldn't harm much otherwise. Refresh can be use to rid Latias of troubling status, while Safeguard will protect your team from status. Psycho Shift can pass on status, potentially burning a Tyranitar or Scizor switch-in when used with a Flame Orb. Psych Up may seem strange, but it may save you from a Calm Minder who you can't Roar away. As for choice of item, Leftovers is usually preferred unless you need to get rid of a specific threat. Without Hidden Power Fire or Surf, Tyranitar, Scizor, and Metagross can switch in very easily and Pursuit Latias. The biggest problem when facing said Pokemon is figuring out what attack they will use. If Tyranitar uses Crunch, then Swampert, Hippowdon, and Skarmory can switch in with ease. If Scizor uses Bullet Punch instead of Pursuit, then Magnezone and Skarmory easily switch in. Any Metagross without Pursuit can be countered by Rotom-A, who fares well against Scizor too. Having Spikes on the field is very helpful if Latias is using Roar. Skarmory is an excellent partner alongside Latias setting up Spikes and taking on physical threats with ease. Pokemon such as Heatran, Heracross, Machamp, and Tyranitar will greatly enjoy the Spikes support while also benefiting from paralysis support provided by Latias. Fighting-types are often walled by the likes of Zapdos and Cresselia whom Latias takes on easily, especially if she has Toxic. RestTalk Gyarados works with Latias by countering Weavile, Heracross, and Scizor quite well. Latias can easily switch in on Gyarados' counters, Zapdos and Rotom-A, and status them. Latias may also scare away Skarmory, who fears a Thunderbolt or Hidden Power Fire.
Latias makes a great lure for many Pokemon, and with an Expert Belt attached, your opponent will likely assume she has a Choice Scarf after seeing no recoil damage, and will think they are safe to send in a Pokemon that is resistant or immune to Latias' selected move. Draco Meteor is your strongest attack, dealing solid damage even when resisted. Hidden Power Fire is mainly for Scizor, which this set makes a very effective lure for. Hidden Power Fire will always OHKO both 248 HP and 160 HP / 168 SpD versions. Draco Meteor followed by Hidden Power Fire will also 2HKO both of the aforementioned Scizor, but Stealth Rock support is required. Bullet Punch from 252 Attack Adamant Choice Band Scizor will do 58.61% - 68.87% to Latias, but Scizor is more likely to use Pursuit or U-turn after switching in on Draco Meteor, as Expert Belt helps fake a Choice Scarf. Dragon Pulse can replace Draco Meteor, since it makes it harder for opponent's to set up against you by switching a Steel-type into Draco Meteor; you will, however, will lose an OHKO on Latias, as well as general power. Surf hits Heatran harder than any other move as well as hitting Tyranitar, although she will only 3HKO the common 252 HP Tyranitar. Thunderbolt finishes off the set by hitting Water- and Flying-types hard, Gyarados in particular, without lowering her Special Attack. Surf and Thunderbolt are the best options for the last two slots, as they help in bluffing a Choice Scarf, but there are other options to choose from. Grass Knot hits Tyranitar harder than any other move, but still won’t 2HKO 252 HP ones, and is also an OHKO on Swampert. Recover can also be used to restore health so Latias can stay around longer to counter Pokemon such as Infernape and Zapdos, but should only be used after you have revealed the lack of Choice Scarf so you don’t spoil the surprise. Latias' Speed drops a point due to lowering your IVs with Hidden Power Fire, so she won't outspeed opposing Gengar and Latias; however, maximum Speed is still generally preferred so that she can Speed tie with Hidden Power Fire versions of the aforementioned Pokemon. An alternative EV spread is using 184 Speed EVs to outspeed 192 Speed Infernape, with the extra 72 EVs invested in HP. Blissey completely laughs at this set due to her massive HP combined with high Special Defense. Snorlax also does for similar reasons and even has Pursuit to take out a fleeing Latias. Tyranitar is a major problem for this set since she can’t 2HKO 252 HP ones, while Tyranitar can take out Latias with Pursuit as she flees. Steel-types, such as Jirachi and Metagross, switching in on Draco Meteor are an annoyance, as at -2 Special Attack Latias will do minimal damage, while they both have their own ways of taking out Latias. However, they cannot switch in constantly as Draco Meteor does around 33% on average to both 4 HP Jirachi and 252 HP Metagross. Due to the loss of Speed from running Hidden Power Fire, Gengar and opposing Latias will outspeed Latias, assuming they lack Hidden Power Fire. This is an issue as both of them OHKO with Shadow Ball and Draco Meteor, respectively. Fighting-types such as Heracross, Infernape, Lucario, and Machamp are solid partners to scare off Blissey, Snorlax, and Tyranitar, and they can all take advantage of this by setting up a Nasty Plot, Substitute, or Swords Dance. Machamp is the preferred partner of those four as it has the Defense to take repeated hits from Tyranitar in particular, and can even Rest off the damage. Magnezone is a great partner to trap the aforementioned Steel-types coming in to take a Draco Meteor. With them out the way, Latias will have a much easier time at a sweep. Pursuit users, such as Metagross, Scizor, Snorlax, and Tyranitar are great partners for trapping Gengar and opposing Latias. They also do great against Blissey, and the former two against Tyranitar. Shuca Berry Heatran (or Heatran with any berry, for that matter) with Explosion makes a great partner as it can lure in and KO Blissey with Explosion, since the berry helps fake Choice Scarf. Heatran also scares off the aforementioned Steel-types. Since this set is great at luring in and taking out Scizor, Pokemon to take advantage of this are great partners. Azelf and Gengar, for example, all appreciate the lack of Scizor. Dragon Dance Tyranitar will also appreciate this as it will no longer have to run Babiri Berry to deal with it. Dragon Dance Salamence is another Pokemon who will appreciate Scizor being taken out, and if you run Magnezone, Salamence won’t have to run Fire Blast. The lack of Scizor also makes it easier for Salamence to Outrage without the fear of being revenge killed.
This set is another take on the Calm Minding Latias. However, this set works as a hybrid of the offensive and defensive variants. Like the offensive variant, there is an offensive EV spread to hit hard and fast. But like the defensive variant, this set takes full advantage of the Special Defense boost from Calm Mind to set up unbreakable Substitutes against special attackers. Substitute and Calm Mind are obvious moves for this set. The combination lets Latias boost her Special Attack and Special Defense to ridiculous levels, allowing her to set up unbreakable Substitutes on nearly every special attacker in OU. It's worth noting that Latias has a very good chance of setting up on Rotom-A, who not only has a STAB super effective Shadow Ball, but also boasts 105 base Special Attack. Aside from helping Latias set up, Substitute also protects her from the critical hits that the defensive set hates, as well as the status that the offensive set hates. In addition, having a Substitute up means that Latias won't die instantly to Pursuit, because if she switches with a Substitute up, the Substitute will take the Pursuit, and not her. Recover allows Latias to spam Calm Mind with ease, even against Ice Beams, and lets her shrug off the damage from the Substitutes. This also lets her come in and have another shot at her job if she failed to sweep before. While having Dragon Pulse as her only attack may reduce her coverage, Dragon-type moves have such good neutral coverage that it's not a problem. Also, many Steel-types in OU have poor Special Defense, or have a lot of trouble breaking Latias' Substitute once she gets going. If you save her as your final Pokemon, Skarmory, a common counter for this set, can't phaze her away. However, Hidden Power Fire is a fine option over Recover. While Latias will have a lot more trouble setting up on offensively-based Pokemon, it allows her to take out Scizor and Forretress when she's behind a Substitute. In addition, it can deal massive damage to Jirachi after a Calm Mind. While the most efficient EV spread is an offensive sweeper spread, it is possible to go for a bulky spread. If you choose to take this route, use 208 HP / 48 Def / 252 Spe with a Timid nature. Max Speed is required so Latias has a chance to beat opposing Latias and Gengar. The HP and Defense EVs not only beef up her Substitutes on the physical side, but they also let her avoid OHKOs from +2 Life Orb Lucario using Extremespeed and +1 Life Orb Ice Fang from Gyarados. She can also avoid a 2HKO from Choice Band Scizor's Bullet Punch as well as Breloom's Focus Punch. While this set takes care of some of the problems that other Calm Mind variants face, Scizor, Tyranitar, and Choice Scarf Jirachi still give this set hell. Magnezone, either SubRise or Choice Scarf, works well as a partner for Latias. It not only traps and kills Scizor and Jirachi, but Flash Cannon is an easy 2HKO on Tyranitar; getting rid of Steels generally makes it easier for SubCM Latias to sweep. Scizor is also a very good partner for taking on Scarfed Dragons such as Flygon and Salamence. While Latias can beat both of these when she's behind a Substitute, it's not a good idea to rely on this. Therefore, Scizor can take choiced Dragon-type attacks aimed at Latias, severely injure the Scarfed Dragons with Bullet Punch, or just scout the switch with U-turn. A Toxic Spiker such as Forretress is a good partner due to Toxic poison's good synergy with Substitute. Toxic Spikes will allow Latias to beat Tyranitar, the #1 counter to this set, by stalling it out with a combination of Substitute and Dragon Pulse. Lastly, while Blissey can be beaten in some situations, Latias will lose a majority of the time due to Seismic Toss and the threat of status. For this reason, a strong Fighting-type such as Machamp can prove very useful.
Latias returns from the Advance generation into the treacherous grounds of the 4th generation Uber battling. In the faces of Kyogre and Palkia, she stands in their way from completely ripping apart an Uber team. With her incredible hold item, Soul Dew, Palkia’s Life Orbed Spacial Rend also fails to OHKO. Using her Speed, she can threaten an OHKO on Palkia with Dragon Pulse before Palkia delivers a finishing blow (Watch out for Choice Scarf versions). As for Kyogre, she stands without fear as its Ice Beam only does approximately 48% maximum, allowing Latias to Calm Mind and then Grass Knot or Thunder Kyogre into oblivion. With the help of Recover or Roost, Latias restores her health back into usability, and thus shines again in the battlefield, ready to take something else down. If the user is satisfied with only one offensive move, Refresh rids her of annoying status conditions like Toxic that malevolent beasts such as Fighting Arceus and Blissey enjoy inflicting on Latias, and the paralysis she might face when trying to switch into Kyogre's or Palkia's Thunder. Although Safeguard cannot stop any status she switches in on, it supports her team and keeps her safe for five turns so it is a decent alternative to Refresh. Latias can also make decent use of Substitute, although these variants of Latias are rare, and generally you will want to run the other suggested moves. Thunderbolt is not mentioned anywhere in this set for a reason: Thunder does better. Yes, sunlight can appear to ruin Thunder’s accuracy, but one should know that the main reason Thunder is used is for Kyogre, Metagross, and the 30% paralysis chance. All Thunderbolt does is 2HKO Metagross after a Calm Mind, which isn't enough to prevent a Choice Banded Meteor Mash from crashing down on Latias. Without Refresh or Safeguard, Latias goes down fast to Toxic and other statuses. Blissey carrying Aromatherapy solves this problem and is well worth considering. Although Thunder can deal with Metagross, Steel-types (mainly Scizor, as the others are relatively rare) are perennially problematic for her and can be trapped and obliterated by Magnezone, which also can come in on Dark, Dragon, Bug, Ice, and Ghost attacks, all of which Latias is weak to and are seen regularly enough in Ubers. It can also lure in Blissey and Explode her into oblivion. Tyranitar, Blissey, and Metagross make Latias’s life much harder, and in Ubers, she also struggles against Dialga. Choice Band Adamant Dugtrio ensnares these with Arena Trap and takes every single one out, although it generally has to revenge kill. Neither Wobbuffet nor Latias like Scizor, but Wobbuffet can often grab a free turn for Latias once Scizor’s gone.
A set exclusive to Latias. One may prefer this set over the previous set if his/her team is loaded with Pokémon that pack no recovery moves. Wish allows them to be healed. Protect allows Wish to heal Latias and scout for Choice Banded moves, but Recover’s instant recovery will be handy if you are facing a slow Pokémon with low health. Toxic works nicely in conjunction with Protect and Wish, while Grass Knot or Thunder gives more diversity in attacking. Calm Mind ensures that Latias is not defeated by other Calm Minders such as Kyogre. Anything which will take a beating in the course of the battle, be it from Stealth Rock and Spikes or from general switching in, that cannot Recover away damage welcomes a Wishpasser, and Latias does this job well. She can help out almost anything, from Wobbuffet to Life Orbers such as Groudon. When working out what to place with this Latias, you should be instead working out what Latias can do for your other teammates, as this variant is only for support and thus does not really need any dedicated support of its own. Team OptionsAlthough Latias has particularly good partners in both OU and Ubers, there are some universal things to consider. The first is that Steel-types and Fighting-types both make great offensive teammates. Steel-types are especially good because they shrug off every single type Latias is weak to, and Latias comes in on all their weaknesses with impunity. Secondly, Scizor and Tyranitar are the main obstacles in Latias’s course. Scizor is easier to beat, as some sets have Hidden Power Fire as an option, and Reflect can be set up against Tyranitar. While Latias may eventually go down to both of them, there are Pokémon which can take advantage of the enemy being locked in or at least force them out—again, mainly Steel-types, such as Heatran, Lucario, and Scizor. OULatias is quite versatile, and fitting Latias in on a team depends on what you want Latias to do for it. For instance, the Specs set opens up holes in the opponent’s team for other sweepers to come in and tidy up, so lategame sweepers like Infernape work well with it. The Scarf set covers weaknesses to Dragon Dancers and other Scarfers. The Dual Screener is useful for a Baton Pass team or any kind of setup sweeper. The CM sets require more support from its teammates than the others, however, and so partnering them should be based on a combination of support options and the ability to counter each other’s weaknesses. Most sets require some way of getting around Blissey, Tyranitar, and Scizor. Lucario, Substitute HP Fire Gengar, and other Scizor are all excellent partners therefore; Lucario loves coming in on a Choiced Dark attack and snatching a free Swords Dance, and Scizor resists Latias’s weaknesses and softens up the enemy, opening up opportunities to bring it in with STAB CB U-turn. Magnezone always helps, as it eliminates any Steel-types which are walling Latias’s Dragon-type attacks. Latias does not enjoy Choice Banded priority (Bullet Punch and Ice Shard are the main problems), although neither of these can OHKO her from any of its users, as these attacks nullify its Speed and deal heavy damage. Therefore, it is recommended your team have a good check for these users, especially Mamoswine, and, as covered, Scizor. Gyarados is another good partner, with Intimidate, neutrality to Ice, and resistances against Bug and Steel. Rotom-A definitely deserves a mention, as while it suffers from the same Dark and Ghost weaknesses Latias does, it can cripple both Scizor and Tyranitar with Will-O-Wisp. Rotom-A does not really hurt Tyranitar without Hydro Pump, but it can set up Reflect as well, and Thunderbolt does plenty to Scizor as it is. UbersLatias’s main boast in Ubers is that she can switch in on Kyogre and support the team, as she is mostly outclassed in Calm Minding by Pokémon such as Mewtwo. With Soul Dew, however, she is still exceptional. Focus more on the team as a whole rather than supporting Latias itself. If your team is full of Life Orbers that cannot recover or Pokémon weak to Stealth Rock (such as Rayquaza), Latias helps out with Wish, and for more stallish teams, Latias can phaze and Thunder Wave. Scizor is the main Steel-type used in Ubers, and Tyranitar pops up occasionally, so you will still need ways of getting around these. Blissey is just as omnipresent as well, and Ubers Blissey are even more specially defensive. Magnezone can trap Scizor and blow up on Blissey, and Pokémon like Dialga have problems with none of these. Other OptionsOUPsycho Shift is a decent option on any of the sets besides Choice Specs/Scarf. Opponents will frequently try to take down Latias with poison or paralysis, and Psycho Shift is a great way to turn the tables on any team that employs this strategy. Beware, though, as Psycho Shift will not clear your status if the foe is already afflicted by a status of their own, so it is probably not a good idea to have Latias take a Thunder Wave or Toxic from something that is already paralyzed or poisoned. Latias has access to both Ice Beam and Thunderbolt, which complement each other nicely. However, Ice Beam is almost totally redundant due to Latias’ STAB Dragon Pulse, and Thunderbolt has pretty lackluster coverage by itself. Still, if your team has trouble with Gyarados or Empoleon, you may want to try out Thunderbolt, as it is Latias’ best option against both of those foes. Latias’ STAB Psychic can sometimes be useful to deal with Fighting-types such as Machamp and Heracross, and its neutral damage is the same as that of Dragon Pulse. However, Psychic has notoriously poor type coverage, and it makes Latias even more vulnerable to the already troublesome Tyranitar and Scizor. Surf or Hidden Power Fire are almost always more useful, since they deal reasonable damage to the Steel-types that frequently switch into Latias. Latias is also a good supporter, and utility sets can be constructed according to a team’s needs. Latias can fulfill the role of bulky and speedy Thunder Waver, phaze with Roar, set up screens, and protect its partners with Safeguard. While these are all good moves, you may struggle to find a free moveslot for them on the more offensive sets. UbersRoar allows Latias to phaze other Calm Minders trying to set up on her, such as Blissey and Arceus. Psycho Shift allows Latias to transfer status inflicted on her to the opponent, but as an anti-status move, it pales in comparison to Refresh and Safeguard. Hidden Power Fire and Dragon Pulse are unresisted by anything but Heatran, and will help Latias fend off those nasty Steels such as Metagross, Scizor and Forretress. However, Latias will lose the ability to beat Calm Mind / Rest Kyogre one on one. Psychic allows Latias to hurt Fighting Arceus. Finally, Draco Meteor is always available as an option if one wants to score some KOs where Dragon Pulse cannot, but it should generally be left to Latios, where he can use his higher Special Attack to score an instant OHKO on Mewtwo. Don’t bother with Ice Beam—it fails to OHKO Groudon so one might as well use Dragon Pulse for the better coverage in the Uber metagame. Latias is fairly adept at setting up a Light Screen with her massive Special Defense, allowing her to take special attacks like they’re banana peels flung at her. Reflect is also an option, but her significantly lower Defense does not help with that. Lugia sets up Reflect better thanks to its much higher Defense. Healing Wish is quite gimmicky, as most of the time, sacrificing Latias is not worth it. Finally, Latias learns Charm, but Reflect is generally superior to it because the opponent could switch out of Charm, and the fact that Charm fails to touch Metagross thanks to Clear Body. Trick is viable, allowing Latias to become a revenge killer of sorts with Choice Scarf, which is especially helpful against common threats like Dragon Dance Rayquaza. Blissey will detest Choice Scarf, which could well open a sweep for the likes of Kyogre easier. However, Latias won't like being without Soul Dew, and often enough Latios is slightly better at drawing in Blissey. EVsOUOn the offensive sets, with Timid you should always use either 252 or 176 Speed EVs. The former will outspeed anything with lower Speed than Latias, and will allow Latias to Speed tie with other Latias and Gengar. The latter will allow Latias to outspeed any base 100 Speed Pokemon, and will give you some extra EVs to improve Latias’ attacking power or its bulk. If your Latias is Modest, she should be given at least 204 Speed EVs to outrun +Speed Lucario and Porygon-Z. 252 Speed EVs can also be used, but the only even remotely common Pokemon this will really allow you to outspeed is Electivire. The defensive sets should always run at least 28 Speed EVs. This allows Latias to outspeed any Metagross, Breloom, as well as Adamant Gyarados. If you are using a specially defensive set, then 112 Special Defense EVs with a Calm nature will let Latias switch into Stealth Rock and take two Dragon Pulses from Modest Heatran. On a physically defensive set, your best bet is to simply max out Latias’ HP, put 28 points in Speed, and everything else into Defense, as Latias’ Special Defense is high enough that Latias can easily take a Special hit even without any EV investment. UbersThere really is no Latias that should be used with lower than 307 Speed. In fact, Latias generally shouldn’t be used with lower than 330 Speed. However, if the user feels that Palkia is no threat at all, and would like to conserve Latias' EVs and nature for something else, he/she may want to go with 307 Speed, which requires 204 EVs if Latias has a neutral Speed nature. Next is max Speed with a neutral nature (319 Speed, 252 EVs). This allows Latias to outrun maximum Speed Jolly Rayquaza and tie with other max Speed neutral Speed natured Latios and Latias. After that, one might as well go to 330 Speed, which requires 176 Speed EVs with Timid nature to outspeed a max Speed Hasty or Timid Palkia. 320 Speed does absolutely nothing but outspeed an opposing neutral nature Latias and Latios. Next is 334 Speed, which requires 192 Speed, if one is paranoid of Garchomp in Ubers. Due to Garchomp's presence, this Speed setting is highly recommended. Latias can outspeed a neutral max Speed Arceus with 216 EVs in Speed, putting her at 341 Speed in the stat. Finally, there’s max Speed as an option. With absolute max Speed, Latias can outspeed every single aforementioned threat, neutral max Speed Darkrai, and Hidden Power Fire Latios or Latias, all of them topping at 349 as opposed to Latias’ 350. When Latias’ Speed is built to outspeed Palkia and Garchomp, she must carry at least 307 Special Attack (204 EVs with a non boosting nature) to guarantee an OHKO against Palkia with Dragon Pulse. 307 Special Attack means that Dragon Pulse does 324 damage minimum against Palkia. Another option available is to drop her Special Attack down to 265 (36 EVs). This will leave Latias with plenty of EVs to spare, while still OHKOing Palkia with Dragon Pulse after Stealth Rock damage. Be aware that she loses the ability to 2HKO Groudon with Dragon Pulse, as well as 2HKOing Scizor with Thunder. With no Defense EVs at all, Latias needs at least 120 EVs in HP to guarantee survival against a Choice Banded Meteor Mash from a Metagross with 375 Attack. OpinionOULatias is in no way a Pokemon to be taken lightly. With excellent all-around stats, two powerful STAB attacks which are resisted by very few Pokemon, and a huge usable movepool, Latias is both an offensive and defensive powerhouse. Although she generally does not have the unpredictability of mixed sweepers such as Salamence and Infernape, Latias more than makes up for it with its superior overall defenses and its far superior Speed stat. Latias is the only bulky Pokemon in OU with over 100 base Speed, a title previously held solely by Garchomp. Latias’ biggest pitfall is its weakness to Dark- and Bug-type attacks. It is very difficult for Latias to avoid being taken out or at least crippled by Choice Band Tyranitar, and Scizor’s U-turn will force Latias to switch out, giving the opponent the upper hand with the advantageous U-turn switch. Reflect can handle this to an extent, but Latias will still likely lose more than half its health against either of these Pokemon even with Reflect up, unless she is running a very defensive EV spread. UbersLatias is an amazing Pokémon. With her high Special Attack, Speed and Special Defense, she is regarded as one of the best Kyogre counters. This makes Latias fit easier into a team compared to Latios for many players. Even with Latios’ boosted Special Attack, he can’t even touch Blissey, something that both twins often note as their nemesis. One thing Latios has over Latias is the ability to 2HKO Metagross with Thunder without any Calm Minds, but at the same time, Latias is capable of surviving a Choice Banded Meteor Mash, almost neutralizing that advantage. Latios' other advantages are OHKOing Mewtwo with Draco Meteor and 2HKOing Tyranitar with an unboosted Grass knot. Let’s not forget that Latias packs handy resistances and an Earthquake immunity, allowing her to switch in on many moves in the Uber metagame. Her job in the metagame is done through the item Soul Dew, boosting her already massive special stats even higher. CountersOUTyranitar is Latias’ single greatest counter. Only the Specs set even has a chance to 2HKO Tyranitar, and if it invests in Special Defense then Latias cannot 2HKO without Grass Knot. Even if you feel uncomfortable switching Tyranitar in for fear of a Surf, it can easily revenge kill any Latias with Pursuit. Scizor is probably the second most popular Latias counter. While it cannot switch into Surf or Hidden Power Fire, many Latias run only a Dragon-type attack or Choice Specs, meaning that Scizor can often come in and U-turn or Pursuit while taking under 30% damage. Just about any Steel-type Pokemon can easily switch into Latias, as long as it is careful to avoid Hidden Power Fire or a Choice Specs Surf. Metagross is especially good among these, since its powerful physical attacks and decent Special Defense will usually force Latias to switch or be KOed. Metagross can also use Pursuit to take out Latias even if she switches. Because of Latias' naturally high Speed, Bronzong can do large amounts of damage with Gyro Ball, while its own high Special Defense means it can take Latias' Surfs a lot easier. Blissey makes an excellent counter to almost any Latias set, either by taking her out with Toxic or by crippling her with Thunder Wave to let a teammate finish the job. Anything with high Special Defense and Toxic, such as Vaporeon or Cresselia, can beat Latias similarly. However, if Latias is using Refresh, then these Pokemon will be nothing but set-up bait, so it is strongly recommended that you pack an additional counter. Blissey also must watch out for Trick coming from the Choice Specs set. Latias does not enjoy taking Ice Shards, as they hit its weaker Defense stat and bypass its excellent Speed. Still, Latias cannot be OHKOed by any Pokemon’s Ice Shard, so if you are revenge killing with Mamoswine or Donphan be sure it has taken some prior damage. UbersIf Blissey has Toxic, she will always beat Latias without Safeguard, Refresh, or Psycho Shift. Even if she has Safeguard, Icy Wind can allow Blissey to get in a Toxic before Latias can refresh the Safeguard after it expires the first time. Thunder Wave Blissey can be annoying, as being fully paralyzed can spell your doom if they also have Seismic Toss. Tyranitar and its massive Special Defense will allow it to easily switch into Latias and beat her down with a Choice Banded Crunch. Even a Soul Dew boosted Grass Knot is incapable of 2HKOing Tyranitar (assuming that he is carrying Special Defense EVs). If Latias is not packing Thunder or Hidden Power Fire, Scizor can switch in and deal massive damage with U-turn, or punish a fleeing Latias with Pursuit. Metagross is a great check thanks to resistance to Dragon Pulse, Grass Knot, and Ice Beam, meaning it really only has to worry about Thunder and Hidden Power Fire. It has a chance to OHKO Latias with a Choice Band Meteor Mash (guaranteed after Stealth Rock damage), and a Choice Band Pursuit will do even more on the switch. Dark / Bug Arceus can Calm Mind alongside Latias and eventually beat her down with a super effective Judgment. Ghost Arceus takes less than 50% from an unboosted Dragon Pulse and 2HKOs back with Shadow Claw. Steel Arceus will resist a lot of Latias's attacks, much in the same way Metagross does. Registeel’s massive Special Defense allows it to take anything but Thunder and Hidden Power Fire (unless the weather is favorable for Registeel), and beat Latias with Ice Punch. As for the revenge killing, Deoxys-A and its high Attack will OHKO Latias with a Choice Banded Ice Punch. A Choice Scarfed Heracross can Megahorn Latias before she does anything. The move Knock Off really hurts Latias, as Soul Dew is her key to success. However, it should be not much of a worry, as the only notable user of Knock Off is Deoxys-D, who is quite uncommon. |
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