Latias (Analysis)

[Overview]

<p>Traditionally, female figures are not as offensive as their male counterparts, and Latias is no exception to this rule. While she and her brother, Latios, share the title of fastest Dragon-type in OU, having at an almost supersonic base 110 Speed (I reversed this change because it was fine the way it was, and allowed this rather long sentence to have fewer confusing clauses), Latios is generally chosen more for his mighty base 130 Special Attack, as a which with Draco Meteor and coverage moves or super effective attack from it will allows him to 2HKO most threats more often than not; Latias is outclassed in this offensive role.</p>

<p>However, Latias is still an literal Artemis (I don't get this – obvious Latias is not literally Artemis. I'm trusting that this makes sense, which I somewhat doubt, in leaving it here at all) in today's metagame, with having a substantial base 110 base Special Attack. At the same time, while Latios has a 130 Special Attack stat, Latias boasts an enormous base 130 Special Defense, allowing to her take much more than Latios could. This gives Latias a niche as a nice pivot, as she can come in and do one of two things: fire off a Draco Meteor which, though weaker than her brother's, is still very powerful, or set up with Calm Mind, boosting her Special Defense to untouchable levels and making her an offensive juggernaut. She is aided in her offensive endeavors by one key addition in this generation: Psyshock, which allows her to successfully take on Blissey, the bane of almost all other special attackers. Overall, Latias is just as good as her brother, and ignoring her when building a team would be a bad decision.</p>

[Set]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Recover
move 3: Dragon Pulse
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Substitute / Roar
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe

[Set Comments]

<p>While Latios generally prefers hitting straight off the bat, Latias functions well as a defensive pivot, coming in on resisted or neutral attacks and taking little damage thanks to her huge base 130 Special Defense. From there, she can set up with Calm Mind, which allows her to hit like a truck after two or three boosts while being untouchable by through special attacks. Recover further enhances her durability, restoring half of her health in a single turn. Leftovers is also a nice boost, giving her additional recovery while negating damage from sandstorm and hail. In terms of attacking, Dragon Pulse is about as good as it gets, providing solid power before boosting while hitting incredibly hard after Latias sets up with Calm Mind. Hidden Power Fire hits troublesome Steel-types, namely Ferrothorn and Jirachi, who can otherwise either set up on or cripple Latias with status or physical attacks.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>There are a few notable options that could be used over Hidden Power Fire in the final moveslot. The two main options listed besides it, Substitute and Roar, each have their own function. Substitute is a great move for scouting, allowing Latias to safely take an attack which might KO her otherwise. Roar is also an interesting option for phazing the opponent and racking up entry hazard damage, while stopping setup sweepers as well. Aside from those options already listed, Refresh is a neat option that allows Latias to set up without worrying about status, while and Reflect allows Latias to take much less damage from physical attacks than she normally would.</p>

<p>The given EV spread is fairly straight forward; as this set capitalizes on Latias's defenses, she has maximum HP EVs so as to increase her overall bulkiness. However, maximum Speed EVs are given to make Latias as fast as possible, which can be a big help after several Calm Minds, when most defensive buffs won't exactly be necessary. However, if one feels they can forgo Latias's Speed, an alternative spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe may be used to give her the greatest defensive buff possible as much of a defensive buff as you will ever get. On that note, if one feels Latias needs more power, some EVs can be taken from HP and put into Special Attack to give her some extra power in her attacks.</p>

[SET]

name: Choice Specs
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Dragon Pulse / Hidden Power Fire
move 3: Surf / Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Specs
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[Set Comments]

<p>Choice Specs Latias, while not as powerful as Latios, still works very well as a pivot, coming on neutral or resisted attacks easily thanks to her massive base 130 Special Defense, and firing off a powerful Draco Meteor, maintaining momentum. She can easily OHKO or 2HKO many threats with Draco Meteor or a coverage move coming off her base off its 110 Special Attack stat with the appropriate move, namely Draco Meteor. However, Dragon Pulse is there if you need to stay in for more than one turn, doing consistent, heavy damage. Surf works in tandem with Latias's STAB Dragon-type moves, providing excellent neutral coverage by hitting most Steel-types hard. Finally, in the last moveslot, Trick allows Latias to neuter a troublesome special wall or setup sweeper as an emergency plan is used to provide Latias with an emergency plan when switching in against powerful special walls, as she can effectively neuter them by giving them her Choice item.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>The EVs listed are, again, fairly self-explanatory. Maximum investment in Special Attack allows Latias to hit as hard as possible, and is boosted even further by Choice Specs, while maximum Speed allows Latias to hit as fast as possible as well. Regarding moves, however, there are some alternatives to those listed. Hidden Power Fire can be used over Dragon Pulse or Surf, to provide further coverage, hitting several important Steel-types who would normally switch in on Latias's attacks with ease, namely Ferrothorn. One must keep in mind, however, that you she will not be able to outspeed other Pokemon with base 110 Speed since you she will have to use an imperfect Speed IV. Thunderbolt is also an option over Dragon Pulse, but it doesn't provide any additional coverage that Latias needs over Surf. If you do not feel the need to carry Trick, Psyshock is a good alternative over it, hitting many special walls very hard. However, one of its main targets, Chansey, is not 2HKOed by Psyshock, limiting its usefulness.</p>

<p>In terms of teammates, Latias likes Pokemon that can easily take out powerful users of Pursuit, such as Tyranitar and Scizor. Conkledurr is a nice example, taking out several key users of the move with STAB Fighting-type moves, often 2HKOing, if not OHKOing several key threats to Latias. Steel-types are another nuisance to Latias, and are fairly easily handled by Fighting-type Pokemon. However, they also can literally be taken out on a whim thanks to easily by Magnezone, since they cannot escape without Shed Shell and will easily be KOed by Thunderbolt or Hidden Power Fire from it unless holding an item that allows them to, while Magnezone can dispatch them easily with Hidden Power Fire or a STAB Thunderbolt.</p>

[Set]

name: Support
move 1: Dragon Pulse
move 2: Recover / Wish
move 3: Roar
move 4: Reflect / Protect
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[Set Comments]

<p>While Latias's other sets are very offensive in nature, Latias can use her natural bulk to support her team extremely well, while managing most of the time not to be setup bait for attackers, unlike some other Pokemon. Dragon Pulse is a solid attack coming off of Latias's base 110 Special Attack, while Recover is an excellent move to keep Latias up, increasing her survivability by leaps and bounds. Roar is a great move to stop setup sweepers from boosting on Latias, namely Reuniclus, who runs over Latias otherwise. Reflect is used in the final moveslot not just to support the team against physical attacks, but to stop Latias from being easy prey for hard-hitting physical attackers such as Landorus, keeping them at bay. Leftovers is a great item for this Latias set, allowing her to be unaffected by sandstorm and hail, while giving her extra recovery outside of said weather conditions.</p>

<p>The EVs on this set fit Latias's role as a supporter quite well. Maximum investment in HP gives Latias a lot of bulk, allowing her to take hits much better than otherwise. Maximum Speed investment and a Timid nature allows her to support her team as fast as possible, getting in a Recover or some other move in before other Pokemon can attack, which can be a lifesaver. The remaining 4 EVs are put in Defense as a small additional buffer. A Timid nature is used to make Latias as fast as possible thanks to maximum investment in Speed, while Leftovers allows Latias to be unaffected by sandstorm or hail and gives a small form of consistent recovery outside of it.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>Wish and Protect can be used over Recover and Reflect, respectively, to form a fairly decent healing combo, though Latias prefers the automatic healing from Recover, while at the same time there are other Pokemon that do a better of job of passing Wish, namely Blissey and Chansey. Light Screen can also be use in conjunction with Reflect, though her brother, Latios, generally performs this strategy better thanks to his access to Memento; and Latias will also have a hard time fitting Light Screen on this set. If one thinks Latias needs more offense than what Dragon Pulse gives, Surf or Hidden Power Fire can be used over one of her other moves.</p> (no mention of a slow, defensive spread anywhere? With Wish and Protect Latias benefits much, much less from the additional speed, and perhaps needs a boost to its physical defense since it lacks reflect. It may even be the best option in that case.)

<p>As Tyranitar and Scizor are massive pains for Latias, Fighting- and Fire-types are wonderful partners. Infernape is an amazing partner to Latias, taking out both threats with its STAB attacks, as well as causing destruction to other Pokemon that are weak to it. The two also form a nice offensive core as well, as they cover resist each other's weaknesses. Latias can also dispatch of Infernape's counters fairly easily, a boon for both parties.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Latias is capable of running a dual screener set with Wish and Protect, allowing her to enter and leave the field repeatedly. However, Latios largely outclasses her in this role with his access to Memento. If one uses Latias on a Drizzle team, Thunder is an option, hitting harder than several of her other attacks on various targets, but it isn't really recommended due to its shaky accuracy outside of rain. Modest nature can be run over Timid on the Choice Specs set, though key threats with base 108 Speed, specifically Infernape and Terakion, will outspeed Latias. On the Calm Mind set, Reflect is an option to mitigate the damage taken from physical attacks, though again, it is not recommended.

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Strong Pursuit users can usually deal with Latias effectively force out Latias with ease, especially Tyranitar and Scizor, who can play mind games with Latias since their STAB attacks do massive damage anyways. Users of Sucker Punch can also be a pain for offensive Latias as well, however rare they might be. Faster Pokemon with U-turn are also problematic for Latias, seeing as U-turn it hits her for super effective damage and as it is while she can't do anything back to them if they are faster by natural means or through the use of a Choice Scarf. Choice Scarf Garchomp, while lacking U-turn, is an excellent check counter to most Latias variants apart from Choice Specs Latias, as while Outrage will always OHKO Latias unless Reflect is up, Dragon Pulse cannot OHKO Garchomp without any investment in Special Attack. Ferrothorn is also a solid counter to any Latias without Hidden Power Fire, as it can cripple Latias with Leech Seed or Thunder Wave, set up Spikes or Stealth Rock, or just hit Latias hard with Gyro Ball.</p>

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