[Overview]
- With Latias' amazing offenses and excellent defensive prowess, Latias can quite effectively cause the same terror it caused in Generation 4 in Generation 5
- The new generation didn't bring anything new for Latias, although this isn't totally a bad thing as even without new additions, Latias is still quite powerful, both offensively and defensively
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Dragon Pulse / Thunderbolt
move 3: Surf / Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Specs
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Set Comments:
- This is probably the reason why Latias was banished to the realm of Ubers, as with its already impressive Speed stat with its identical Special Attack stat being boosted by Choice Specs, Latias easily becomes a foe to be reckoned with
- A Base 140 Power STAB boosted attack (Draco Meteor) coming off a 479 Special Attack stat is quite scary if you're the Pokemon about to take this considerably, powerful attack
- As Draco Meteor is steadily less powerful every time it is used, it makes sense to include another form of STAB that hits for constant damage; Dragon Pulse is an excellent choice
- Thunderbolt can be used over Dragon Pulse as it hits foes like Skarmory for super effective damage as they switch-in trying to set up on a resisted Dragon-type attack
- Surf is basically used for coverage reasons while Trick rounds off the set as it is quite useful when facing the likes of Blissey, which constantly switch into Latias trying to wall its sets
- Hidden Power also provides great coverage with Draco Meteor and can be used to lure in and KO Steel-types like Scizor; also useful for hitting Pokemon like Nattorei hard
- A Timid nature is needed on this set as Latias will need all the speed it can get to successfully be able to spam its powerful attack, while not having to worry about being out sped
- The EVs are very basic; maximum Special Attack and Speed are used to maximize Latias' offensive potential while the remaining four EVs are put into HP for a small gain in bulk
- Also, if you really believe that you want to maximize the raw power on this set, you can run a Modest Nature, as coupled with the given EVs, it will sky-rocket Latias' Special Attack to a stat of 350 (525, after the boost from Choice Specs)
- Pursuit users can easily trap and often, OHKO Latias; common and effective examples of these would include Choice Band/ Scarf Tyranitar and CB Scizor although both must beware of taking a huge amount of damage from Draco Meteor
- Blissey can also wall Latias due to its immense HP and Special Defense, although even it must watch out for a specs boosted Draco Meteor
- Steel-types like Metagross can easily come ion on resisted attacks and from there, proceed to retaliate or simply start to set up a sweep of their own
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Surf
move 3: Thunderbolt / Grass Knot
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Timid/ Modest
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Set Comments:
- Quite similar to the Choice Specs set, but unlike the last set, this set focuses on speed instead of power; in quite a few cases, this change of focus is beneficial as the boosted Speed will make sure Latias outpaces many of the Pokemon who would normally be faster than it
- Draco Meteor is necessary, as on a set that focuses on Speed, powerful moves are usually welcome, even if they have negative effects on the user
- Surf is used for coverage reasons, while the next moveslot option is based upon personal preference; although Grass Knot hits both water and Ground types for super effective damage, Thunderbolt can hit the aforementioned water types while also striking Pokemon like Gyarados and Skarmory for super effective damage
- The last moveslot is given to Trick for quite similar reasons as the previous set's; Tricking a Choice Scarf onto certain Pokemon like Bronzong and Rankurusu would render them quite useless throughout the course of the battle
- The nature to be used depends on what you want from Latias; a Timid nature would be used if you want maximum speed, while a Modest nature would be beneficial if you want its attacks to pack more of a punch
- The EVs are standard; maximum Special Attack and Speed maximize Latias' offensive capabilities while the rest of the EVs are dumped into HP for a small amount of bulk
- See the teammates and counters section for the Choice Specs set as everything there applies here; the only exception would be that it’s a bit easier to check Scarf Latias as it packs less of a punch
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Dragon Pulse
move 3: Thunder / Grass Knot
move 4: Recover / Roar
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 112 HP / 204 SpA / 192 Spe
Set Comments:
- Say hello to possibly the best Kyogre counters in the game due to Latias' massive offenses and special bulk
- Unlike the previous sets which focus on revenge killing and simply blasting holes in team with sheer power, this set focuses on setting up then attempting a sweep
- Dragon Pulse is a reliable STAB move to be primarily used when sweeping as it is the strongest move in the arsenal of this set
- Thunderbolt / Thunder And Grass Knot are used mainly for coverage with Dragon Pulse; the benefits of each move are explained in the Choice Scarf set, although Thunder is recommended on this set as it is Latias' primary move to use against Kyogre which this set is specifically designed to beat
- The final move is simply for utility; Recover can be used in tandem with Life Orb as it will allow Latias to stay healthy while sweeping while Roar is a useful way to deal with unfavorable match-ups while also being able to deal massive amounts of damage simply due to the opponents constantly being hit by residual damage
- A Timid Nature is optimal as Latias will constantly be boosting its Special Attack so maximum speed on the set is necessary
- On this, a Life Orb is recommended as it allows Latias to sweep with a considerably larger amount of power, however, Leftovers can be used in conjunction with the EV Spread explained below
- Alternate EV spread of 148 HP / 108 SpA / 252 Spe can be used as it focuses more on bulk and offers easier set-up against the likes of Vaporeon, Suicune and bulky water-types in general
- Refresh or Safeguard can be used to help Latias mend its huge status weakness as Toxic will seriously limit its time in a battle
- Pursuit users outpacing Latias are often what spell its doom
- Blissey can try to wall and wear it down with Toxic initially, but as Latias gains more Calm Minds, it will most likely be able to defeat the pink blob in some time
- Just like Blissey, Pokemon like Metagross can wall and try to damage Latias in its initial switch-in as they resist many of Latias’ attacks, but after Latias has gained a couple of Calm Minds, even resisted attack will do massive damage
name: Life Orb
move 1: Dragon Pulse / Draco Meteor
move 2: Hidden Power Fire
move 3: Grass Knot / Thunderbolt
move 4: Surf / Recover
item: Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Set Comments:
- Unlike the other sets, this focuses on abusing Latias' massive offenses without setting-up, while also having the ability to switch attacks in exchange for boosted Speed an Special Attack
- Dragon Pulse is used a reliable form of STAB, doing massive damage after the Life Orb boost, although Draco Meteor can be used if you're really keen on this set's power
- Hidden Power [Fire] is essential on this set as it allows Latias to damage Steel-types (along with Ice-types) who would otherwise simple wall it
- The third moveslot is used for coverage reasons; the choices are further explained in the Choice Scarf set
- The decision on what move to use in the last moveslot is base upon personal preference; although Surf provides great coverage with the rest of Latias’ moves, Recover will ensure that Latias stays in good health throughout the course of the battle
- See previous sets for information on the nature and EV spread
- You can also use an Expert Belt instead of a Life Orb to bluff a choice item then Easily KO/ 2HKO the switch in hoping to set up on a resisted attack
- See the teammates and counters section of the Calm mind set as much of it applies here, although facing Pokemon like Metagross is made easier due to Hidden Power [Fire]
- It should be noted that, since this set doesn’t carry Calm Mind, Blissey with Toxic will slowly wear Life Orb Latias out
- As Tyranitar can often come in and trap Latias, Swampert is recommended as a partner as it can easily switch-in on many of Tyranitars attacks and retaliate with its dual super effective STABs
- As Steel Types plague Latias’ existence, Magnazone is an efficient partner as it can trap and KO many Steel-type check to Latias, a notable one being Scizor
- To defeat Blissey an array of Pokemon can be used; Swampert, Infernape are notable ones as the former posses a significant amount of bulk while the latter is usually more offensively based
- A defensive set with Wish, screens, thunder wave and/or Toxic
- Hidden Power Fire can be used on any of the sets if you’re keen on luring in and possibly KO’ing Latias’ common switch-ins like Scizor and Metagross
- Ice Beam can be utilized to hit Ground Types if you’re not using Grass Knot, though, if you want to super effectively-hit Ground Types in the first place, you might as well go with Grass Knot due to its better coverage with Latias’ other moves
- The counters can be summarized into two main categories: Specially defensive Pokemon and Offensively based Pokemon with super effective moves
- Examples of defensive threats would include the most notable, Blissey as well as others including Bronzong, Snorlax and Rankurusu
- Examples of offensively-orientated threats would include the aforementioned Tyranitar and Scizor, as well as well as Weavile, Steel-Arceus and Metagross'
- Choice Band Deoxys-A can easily revenge kill Latias as its Ice Punch will OHKO the dragon
- Nattorei is a great counter as with its massive base defenses it can wall Latias all day if its locked into a resisted attack
- Bug or Ghost Arceus are also viable counters as they can set up along side Latias before KOing it with a super effective, STAB Judgment
- Latias doesn't have a Dream World ability
