Aerodactyl (QC 1/3)

[Sweep]

Overview
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-Access to Stealth Rock and Taunt allows it to sets rocks AND Taunt potential defoggers
-Really good 150 speed allows Aerodactyl to outrun Modest & Adamant base 90 Choice Scarf wielders and Mega Mewtwo-Y...it speed ties with Deoxys-A
-Has more bulk than Deoxys-A and more attack power than Deoxys-S, allowing it to function as a hazard setter that ISN'T a suicide lead
-Defensive typing is mediocre but does allow it to check Ho-Oh and avoid Spikes/Sticky Web
-Reasonable offensive movepool including Earthquake, Stone Edge, Aerial Ace, etc.
-Pretty weak attacker by Ubers standards, and Tough Claws does not boost any notable moves
-Frail
-Only useful on offensive teams in need of fast Stealth Rock + Taunt due to lack of power & bulk


Support
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name: Support
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Taunt
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Earthquake / Aerial Ace
ability: Tough Claws
item: Aerodactylite
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly

Moves
========

-Stealth Rock is mandatory and Aerodactyl can set it up fairly easily due to its high Speed
-Taunt stops the enemy from setting up their own hazards, statusing you, or Defogging Stealth Rock away
-Stone Edge is Aerodactyl's best attacking option and does decent damage (~70-75% to Darkrai, ~30-35% to max HP Arceus). Unfortunately, it does not get a Tough Claws boost
-Earthquake is a good choice to hit troublesome Steel types that wall you otherwise
-Aerial Ace gives Aerodactyl a STAB option, but synergizes poorly with Stone Edge

Set Details
========

-Fire Fang gets a Tough Claws boost and has a small chance to OHKO Ferrothorn and Scizor...situational
-Toxic cripples most Arceus formes and is great against Pokemon like Landorus-T
-Aerodactylite is its best item to increase its speed and longetivity. If you want to use Aerodactyl but already have a Mega Evolution, a Focus Sash lead can work but is largely outclassed by Deoxys-A
-Jolly is preferred to outrun threats like Mega Mewtwo-Y and Modest Scarfogre
-If Aerodactyl chooses to run Toxic, it can run max HP instead of max Attack to take hits a little better. It will still not be alive for very long though

Usage Tips
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-Aerodactyl CAN function as a suicide lead, but is usually better off being played early-mid game. Due to its extremely high speed, it can even pull off cleans if the opponent's team is badly weakened. Don't lose Aerodactyl too early unless you're certain you don't need it, because its fast Taunt can give one of Aero's teammates a set-up opportunity later in the game
-Also, do not lead Aerodactyl against Deoxys-S or Deoxys-A, since Aerodactyl loses to both. It actually matches up poorly against common Ubers leads due to its bad typing
-Before using Aerodactyl as a revenge killer, bear in mind that it does not hit as hard as you might think. For example, Stone Edge only does ~70-75% to Darkrai on average. Make sure you do some calcs before sending Aerodactyl in to revenge kill something

Team Options
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-Spikes Deoxys-A goes well with this as it justifies Aerodactyl's fast Taunt while leading vs. things that Aerodactyl cannot handle as well, such as Deoxys-S
-Swords Dance Arceus-Ground provides an Electric immunity and enjoys Aerodactyl's ability to stop Defoggers
-Bulky Calm Mind Arceus formes appreciate Aerodactyl's ability to check Ho-Oh and get off emergency Taunts before dying, preventing Arceus from being afflicted with status as it comes in. Arceus-Ghost deserves special mention for its ability to spinblock Aerodactyl's Stealth Rock
-Kyogre checks are needed, especially for Timid Scarf and Physically Defensive...Arceus-Grass and Palkia can check all variants of Kyogre
-Ho-Oh switches into Scizor and Bronzong easily, two Pokemon that give Aerodactyl major trouble...in return, Aerodactyl can Taunt Stealth Rock setters, though most of them carry attack that are quite threatening to it


Other Options
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-Bulky support set with Defog over SR
-Sleep Talk, but has an awful time fitting it and isn't going to get reliable rolls anyway
-Roost for longevity, Aero will rarely find time to use this though
-Pursuit for Mega Gengar and Deoxys-A that try to switch out
-Iron Head/Ice Fang for mediocre coverage moves (latter hits Gliscor)
-Whirlwind can phaze, Tailwind can support team (especially if you use it as a suicide lead)
-Aerodactyl has a good movepool but has a hard time fitting alternative options in


Checks & Counters
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-Scizor
-Kyogre
-Gliscor
-Landorus-T
-Groudon
-Arceus-Ground / Water / Electric / Steel
-Zekrom
-Defensive Dialga
-Genesect

 

[Fireburn]

Why is this worth using over Deoxys-S/A? That's something you need to stress in this analysis since right now I'm not really certain as to why.

 

[Valzy]

Why is this worth using over Deoxys-S/A? That's something you need to stress in this analysis since right now I'm not really certain as to why.

I agree, generally Deoxys is a better support pokemon, however, Aerodactyl has a few advantages over them: It's bulkier than Deoxys, gets defog, has a better offensive presence than Deoxys-s, it's immune to earthquake and resists extreme speed, and it's not weak to pursuit.

Also a more physically bulky spread such as 168 HP/244 Def/96+ Spe might be viable. This spread allows you to out speed base 130s after mega evolution and always survive choice band Scizor's Bullet Punch, Unboosted Groudon's Stone Edge, Scarf Terrakion's Stone Edge, Avoid 2HKO from +2 Silk Scarf EKiller and avoid a OHKO from Physically based or Specially based scarfed Genesect.

Defog should be noted under other options, as Mega Aerodactyl is the fastest user besides Ninjask. Aqua Tail is usable in the rain, becoming more powerful than stone edge because of tough claws.

 

[Hack]

I don't see a place for this mon in Ubers, sadly. The opportunity cost of Mega-Aerotactyl is pretty huge, especially when it restricts you to not using Gengar or Blaze- two mons that should generally be staples on the teams Aerodactyl is used on: " -Only useful on offensive teams in need of fast Stealth Rock + Taunt due to lack of power & bulk."

Furthermore Aerodactyl hasn't got the ability to hold a Focus Sash nor Spikes- this means it can't reliably lead against stuff like Kyogre. Yes, you might outspeed since Timid scarf is quite rare, but what if? You just end up getting 0 hazards or having to switch out vs it, and in extension that just robs your momentum when compared to Deo-S leads. While being rather similar to Deoxys-A, who has the same speed and usually carries SR as a lone entry hazards, Aerodactyl falters in this comparison as well due to having a lower damage output and no priority.

While it has a generous typing for checking Ekiller, it should be noted that leading with Aerodactyl usually means this niche can never be fully exploited, getting SR will usually cost the life of this mon. And even if you somehow preserve Aerodactyl and get up SR there are still some calcs below that are pretty sad:

+2 252+ Atk Silk Scarf Arceus Extreme Speed vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Aerodactyl: 186-219 (61.5 - 72.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252+ Atk Arceus Extreme Speed vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Aerodactyl: 155-183 (51.3 - 60.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Mega Aerodactyl Stone Edge vs. 200 HP / 0 Def Arceus: 144-171 (33.4 - 39.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Mega Aerodactyl Stone Edge vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Arceus: 144-171 (37.6 - 44.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

This being said, I really can't see why I would use this over Deoxys formes, justify my mega slot to it over things like Gengar, or use this as a "check" to Ekiller.

QC Rejected 1/3

 

[MMII]

I feel like the bulk was the most annoying bit about it. You can kill a Deoxys forme with like anything but Aero just has that most annoying combination of speed, power and bulk to force trades you don't really want to make. Plus, you get to use a Deoxys forme with Aero for like Spikes.

Hesitant to approve but I think you should give it a shot first.

 

[Kejmur]

Also a more physically bulky spread such as 168 HP/244 Def/96+ Spe might be viable. This spread allows you to out speed base 130s after mega evolution and always survive choice band Scizor's Bullet Punch, Unboosted Groudon's Stone Edge, Scarf Terrakion's Stone Edge, Avoid 2HKO from +2 Silk Scarf EKiller and avoid a OHKO from Physically based or Specially based scarfed Genesect.

This sounds kind of interesting actually. Burn sucks, but MegaAerodactyl also resist every single move that Ho-Oh carries (yay EQ immunity ! :D) and can smack him hard back with Stone Edge or Rock Slide, so he should also be able to work as a Ho-Oh check as a bonus as well, which is always nice to have, especially if you want to use something really fast for your team.

 

[Colonel M]

I even question the validity of the set. To compare I didn't even include it in my OU analysis and was completely skeptical on it too. Furthermore it almost seems like a waste of a Mega slot when Mega Mewtwos, Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Gengar, Mega Blaziken, and Mega Lucario all have a lot of merit before this.

:|

EDIT: I had MM describe it a bit to me.

I think the main thing is you have to focus on what it can potentially do to annoy teams. Obviously its high Speed makes it impractical to revenge kill barring priority (i.e. by Scizor). Meh. I know I'm not QC but I can see it being okay I guess.

 

[Fireburn]

You can kill a Deoxys forme with like anything but Aero just has that most annoying combination of speed, power and bulk to force trades you don't really want to make.

Err like what exactly? Both Deoxys-S and Aero get 2HKO'd by support Arceus Judgment (Rock/Water Arc straight OHKO Aerodactyl which is a disadvantage) and unlike the much more powerful Deoxys-A Aero only really has enough power to force out slower Flying-types (Ho-Oh, Rayquaza, Yveltal kinda but LO Sucker Punch does 72% minimum so it' kill after SR + any attack gl). Aero's Normal resistance is kind of meh since it's a terrible EKiller check as Hack pointed out, Fire resistance is meh since Sacred Fire has a 50% chance to cripple you and Blaziken is faster at +1 Speed, Flying resistance is only really useful vs defensive Ho-Oh, Ground immunity isn't useful in practice since there is no way Aero is beating Groudon/Lando-T, and weaknesses to Water/Elec/Steel/Ice/Rock and inability to hold Sash actually make it easier to kill than Deoxys a lot of the time.

Basically Aero is a worse version of Deoxys-S/A with an even higher opportunity cost.

QC Rejected 2/3

 

[MMII]

I don't even remember, I just remember being annoyed by the fact that I couldn't kill it as easily as a Deo-A but it wasn't as weak as a Deo-S.

 

[shrang]

One thing to note is that Aero is unaffected by Sticky Web, though.

 

[Haruno]

One thing to note is that Aero is unaffected by Sticky Web, though.

If you're leading with it then this point is irrelevant, which I presume is the basis for sweep's argument.

 

[Jimmyftw]

I feel like the bulk was the most annoying bit about it. You can kill a Deoxys forme with like anything but Aero just has that most annoying combination of speed, power and bulk to force trades you don't really want to make. Plus, you get to use a Deoxys forme with Aero for like Spikes.

Hesitant to approve but I think you should give it a shot first.

Deo-A/S can hold focus sash, Aero can't.

 

[shrang]

Deo-A/S can hold focus sash, Aero can't.

Um, yes it can. You just don't run Mega Aero, lol

 

[Kejmur]

Um, yes it can. You just don't run Mega Aero, lol

And than you ask yourself why you don't run Deoxys-A or Deoxys-S for Taunt Sash lead ;). And you also have Magic Count in case of opponents Taunt ;). But yeah, we all know this. I think this is why sweep didn't even mention this set idea.

This is why I said defensive set sounds interesting - but that's all. Technically no one really calls it viable, but I think this is best shot for MegaAerodactyl in Ubers if you really consider it for some reason. But yeah, it's almost rejected anyway as a Pokemon Uber pick, so this doesn't really matter.

EDIT: Oh, interesting ;).

 

[MMII]

tbf, sweep used it with a Deo A that was spiking

 

[Haruno]

And than you ask yourself why you don't run Deoxys-A or Deoxys-S for Taunt Sash lead ;). And you also have Magic Count in case of opponents Taunt ;). But yeah, we all know this. I think this is why sweep didn't even mention this set idea.

This is why I said defensive set sounds interesting - but that's all. Technically no one really calls it viable, but I think this is best shot for MegaAerodactyl in Ubers if you really consider it for some reason. But yeah, it's almost rejected anyway as a Pokemon Uber pick, so this doesn't really matter.

EDIT: Oh, interesting ;).

aero doesn't get buttfucked by kanga leads, so there's that.

 

[dice]

it still checks ekiller as an offensive sr setter that can taunt and prevents defog. it can revenge kill shit late game if its alive which being fast AF is cool for. u dont use mega scizor on HO and only rly miss out on getting to use gengar which isn't even necessary. mewtwo can run life orb and it's just as good as mmy except recoil for the most part, and blaziken is best used with groudon which won't fit with aero. i think it has a small niche and is viable. plus it looks hot

qc approved 1/3

 

[Sweep]

Tried a Focus Sash set (non-mega) and hated it. I'll try the defensive spread but I anticipate it will run into the main problem the Sash set did (i fear it will be way too weak).

 

[Valzy]

I feel like Aerodacytl doesn't need to run full speed EVs. 216 is probably all it needs at most; 216 Speed EVs allow him to out speed Darkrai before Mega evolving and out speed Mega Mewtwo Y and Modest Choice Scarf Kyogre after Mega Evolving

Fire Fang can also OHKO Genesect

 

[MMII]

QC Rejected 3/3

It has a niche on teams that already have a Deoxys forme but that's such a small niche with very limited teambuilding that there's no point in making an analysis for it.