Latios's Apex Wings Ft. AlexTheGreat
We are back today with another OU team! A modified version of a personal all time favorite! Traditionally born in Mono Type format, Apex Wings is newly run by Latios, to grant it the coverage it needs to demolish opponents in OU.
We are back today with another OU team! A modified version of a personal all time favorite! Traditionally born in Mono Type format, Apex Wings is newly run by Latios, to grant it the coverage it needs to demolish opponents in OU.
Team Preview:
Captain - Latios
Latios (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick
- Defog
- Psychic
- Draco Meteor
Latios (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick
- Defog
- Psychic
- Draco Meteor
First Mate - Staraptor
Top Gun (Staraptor) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double-Edge
- Brave Bird
- Close Combat
- U-turn
Deck Chief - Talonflame
QuickSilver (Talonflame) @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Flame Charge
- Flare Blitz
- Brave Bird
Deck Hand 1 - Zapdos
Switch-ins? (Zapdos) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Discharge
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Deck Hand 2 - Landorus-Therian
Hoffman (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Protect
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Earthquake
The Kraken - Celesteela
Kraken (Celesteela) @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 240 HP / 40 Def / 212 SpD / 16 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Protect
- Leech Seed
- Flash Cannon
- Flamethrower
Originally run by Togekiss, Triumphant Wings (as it was called at the time) was a staple in the mono type community. With her ability to make even the most fierce opponents flinch, she was feared by every Pokemon. She could grant the wishes of all her teammate and remove any hazards that stood in their way. They were a triumph force, and not to be reckoned with. Until... Nihilego, the flying type slayer, and her mono rock team challenged them. After the fall of Togekiss, Triumphant Wings went into hiding. For years QuickSilver and TopGun devised a plan to get the crew back together, but they couldn't find a way to surpass their rock type weakness... Nihilego would just destroy them again. Finally, at a Lacrosse tournament in the summer of 2017 they met Latios. Latios, being Dragon and Psychic type showed them how its possible to be a flying type without a rock weakness. Its called Levitate he said, and I can easily use my psychic abilities to destroy that toxic Nihilego! And so, Latios joined their team, and took the crown as the new Captain of Apex Wings!
How to use Apex Wings:
Apex Wings is difficult but extremely fun to play with. Sharing a rock/ice weakness throughout the team means that 70% of the match ups will be even, 15% very difficult and 15% very easy. I'm here to guide you in the right direction when you face opponents like Nihilego, Kyurem, Tapu Koko, Manectric, Zapdos, Zygarde and Rotom-wash. Trust me, there is always a way out when using Apex Wings. No match up is impossible. Originally being a mono type team, Apex Wings can even beat mono ice.
1) Latios - In my opinion, the best scarf mon in the game. Trick is used to cripple stall and defog with scarf guarantees hazard removal, which can be critical for this team. Psychic and Draco are excellent for those who don't resist and the scarf allows you to switch-in on setup opponents and catch them off guards. Opponents like DD gyarados, Zygarde, Garchomp or Salamence... and blow them away!
Considerations: Since Latios is the second scarf on the team, consider using expert belt, soul dew, or life orb instead. Add coverage moves like thunderbolt, energy ball, shadow ball, HP fire, ice beam. Even add defensive options like calm mind and recover. If you want to maintain the scarf then you can always add a third move over trick/defog. I prefer the original set though :) as two scarf's will always catch your opponent off guard.
2) Staraptor - The mon is an all out beast! Adamant Reckless combined with scarf makes him unstoppable. I find it difficult to not OHKO opponents when I click brave bird or double-edge. U-turn is excellent to maintain momentum. NEVER take TopGun's scarf off... NEVER!
Considerations: None...
3) Talonflame - My favorite Pokemon of all time, and with the introduction of z-moves with gen 7 Talonflame remains an OU threat in my opinion. SD followed by flame charge is extremely scary. Although it is difficult to setup because hes so frail, but once setup this mon will easily wipe an entire team. At +1 Att, Supersonic Sky Strike will kill most everything that doesn't resist and even a good chuck of mons that do resist. Save this mon in the back to preserve Gale Wings priority to eliminate Greninja with priority.
Considerations: Flame charge is a bit risky. Maybe add roost instead. Its also possible to change Gale Wings to Flame Body to use Talonflame as a potential switch-in on mons like ferrothorn or Scizor. Although i prefer Gale Wings as that is the teams only form of priority.
4) Zapdos - The mon with no switch-ins and my new found love with the addition of Gen 7. With expert belt and amazing coverage, this mon is the perfect lead! Zapdos counters every lead except Greninja. Mons like Ferrothorn, Landorus, Excadrill, Dugtrio, Garchomp, Skarmory, Jirachi, etc...
Considerations: As the team is very weak to SR, you may want to replace roost with defog and maintain Latios as a second way to remove hazards. Or, use defog on zapdos and choose a new move for latios. Defensive Zapdos is very nice as well with leftovers. Your call :)
5) Landorus-Therian - A staple on most of my teams, Lando can do so much. For Apex Wings he functions as their body guard, their physical wall. His purpose is to lay rocks down, toxic mons and stall them out. EQ is main form of damage. Lando is great for stalling weather, TR, terrain or tailwind using protect.
Considerations: Well, seeing as Lando can do so much, I'm not going to tell you how to use him. Personally, on this team, I prefer to invest a lot of bulk and have rocks, but feel free to make adjustments.
6) Celesteela - New and improved Skarmory? Maybe lol. How this things gets automatize and seeds I have no idea but i love it! Celesteela's purpose on this team is to function as a special wall along with Lando to provide a bulky backbone. Protect/seeds can be used to stall things out like weather, TR, terrain and tailwind. Best if used in combination with Lando. Flash cannon and flamethrower proved excellent coverage for almost all threats Celesteela may face.
Considerations: Like, Lando, this mon can do so many different things. You could build ten different unique variations of this Pokemon. So, for that reason, I won't tell you that the current build is the best build. Through experience, it seems to fit on the team best by walling ice beams and even taking a magnet Koko tbolt. AV magerna volt switch does nothing to this Celesteela. Feel free to try other builds if you wish. Automatize z-move is really fun and in my experience gets the most sweeps of any other setup mon that I've used in OU. Equal or better than Magerna in my opinion.
Difficulty Rating for Apex Wings:
Being that the team shares common weaknesses in rock and ice, you will need to be prepared to make a lot of predictions at team preview and during the first few turns in order to avoid sacking a lot of Pokemon. There is no need for a TON of switching as only rock and ice are the primary causes for switching. Still, an above average amount of switching is required. Mental awareness attests to your ability to see whats coming 4, 5 or 6 turns ahead, not just the next turn. With Apex Wings you ALWAYS need to be aware of whats coming in next so you don't get forced to sack a Pokemon to Kyurem or Nihilego. Luckily, you don't need a high mental capacity to excel with this team. Most match ups go by relatively quick due to the team composition. The comp is mostly hyper offense with moderate balance and little stall from Lando and Celesteela. Overall, the team is difficult to use.
This team has been used for about 60-75 battles in the OU tier to reach the low 1600's. The team is built to be fun to play with when you want to change things up and take a break from being hyper-competitive. At the same time, I reached low 1600's with it, and I'm just an average player, so... it can definitely function well at the top of the OU ladder. As with all of my teams, I have included the overall Team Difficulty Rating.
1) Predictions: Maximal
2) Switches: Moderate-high
3) Mental awareness: High
4) Mental Capacity: Low-Moderate
5) Overall: High Team Difficulty
Rating Scale - (1)Minimal (2)Low (3)Moderate (4)High (5)Maximal
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