[SET]
name: Calm Mind Sweeper
move 1: Toxic / Draco Meteor / Shadow Ball
move 2: Surf / Thunderbolt
move 3: Calm Mind
move 4: Recover
item: Black Sludge / Leftovers
ability: Levitate
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
ivs: 0 Atk
[SET COMMENTS]
Latias is an excellent bulky setup sweeper with Calm Mind thanks to its solid bulk, nice Speed, and deep movepool that gives it access to reliable recovery and colorful coverage moves. One of its best available type combinations is Poison / Water via Toxic and Surf. Toxic gives Latias a way to punish opposing walls like Mew and Slowking but more importantly makes Latias immune to poison status. With Levitate, Poison / Water Latias has only two weaknesses, to Electric and Psychic, each of which have somewhat limited STAB users. Most of these, outside of Victini and Regieleki, are special attackers that can struggle to break through Latias after it has set up with Calm Mind. Latias can run more offensive sets with Draco Meteor; when combined with Thunderbolt, Latias is able to threaten opposing Water-types like Mew, Latias, and Toxapex, and when combined with Surf, Latias threatens Ground-types like Hyrdreigon, Mew, and Garchomp. Shadow Ball is an option to pair with Thunderbolt or Surf, with the former checking Scizor and Flying-type Tornadus-T and the latter checking Normal / Fire Extreme Speed users like Arcanine and Entei. Calm Mind allows Latias to set up and take on threats like Hydreigon, Clefable, and opposing Latias and Latios. Recover keeps Latias healthy and is needed to outlast opposing setup sweepers. Black Sludge provides useful passive recovery for Poison-type sets, while Leftovers is used for any other set. Full Speed investment with a Timid nature is needed to Speed tie opposing Latias, Latios, and Lycanroc-D.
Physical setup sweepers like Heracross and Garchomp appreciate how Latias can use Toxic on physically bulky checks like Mew and Salamence to wear them down. Water-type Latias appreciates teammates that can handle Electric-type threats like Melmetal and Victini. Physically bulky Ground-types like Garchomp, Mew, and Salamence can check these physical Electric-types and threaten special attackers like Thunderbolt Clefable and Porygon-Z. With Draco Meteor, Latias can struggle to deal with Fairy- and Steel-types like Magearna, Clefable, and Hydreigon, depending on its secondary STAB move. Fire- and Steel-type teammates like Hydreigon, Mew, and Heatran can help Latias with these foes. Ghost-type Latias is vulnerable to faster Dark-type foes like Spectrier and Tornadus-T, so Dark-resistant teammates like Clefable, Tornadus-T, and Mew are useful to check these threats. Rillaboom can 2HKO Latias on a neutral hit with Choice Band Grassy Glide, so Grass-resistant teammates like Tornadus-T, Mew, and Salamence can be used to check it.
[SET]
name: Speedy Support
move 1: Toxic / Dragon Pulse / Thunderbolt
move 2: Surf / Thunderbolt / Mystical Fire
move 3: Defog / Wish
move 4: Recover
item: Black Sludge / Leftovers / Heavy-Duty Boots
ability: Levitate
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 64 Def / 192 Spe
ivs: 0 Atk
[SET COMMENTS]
With excellent stats, a useful ability, and a deep supportive movepool, Latias is a great support Pokemon in the metagame. Toxic and Surf give Latias a great Poison / Water typing that synergizes well with Levitate to both check and pressure opposing Ground-types. Levitate also helps Latias serve as an effective Defogger, since it is immune to Spikes and isn't weak to Stealth Rock. Toxic can be used with Thunderbolt and Mystical Fire as well, which allow Latias to check threats like Thunderbolt Mew and Rillaboom that threaten Surf variants. However, these typings are less useful overall as Thunderbolt variants are walled by opposing Ground / Steel types and Mystical Fire variants have weaker offensive presence and must use Heavy-Duty Boots to avoid Stealth Rock. Dragon Pulse, paired with Surf or Thunderbolt, let Latias counter threats like Ground / Fire Hydreigon and check Victini, respectively. Thunderbolt can also be used with Mystical Fire to check Victini and hit Ground / Steel types like Hydreigon and Garchomp. If entry hazard control is not needed, Latias can support the team with recovery from Wish. Recover is needed to keep Latias healthy throughout the battle. 192 EVs in Speed with a Timid nature is needed to outspeed Jolly Garchomp.
Pokemon vulnerable to entry hazards, like Choice Band Victini and RegenVest Slowking, appreciate Latias' ability to keep entry hazards off the field with Defog. Latias also checks Water-type attackers that can threaten these teammates, like Garchomp, Mew, and Hydreigon. Teammates like Water-type Mew and Bug / Fighting Tornadus-T and Landorus-T appreciate how Poison-type Latias can switch into foes using Toxic. Teammates without recovery options like Melmetal and Landorus-T appreciate how Latias can keep them healthy with Wish. Water-type Latias takes neutral damage from Rillaboom's Grass STAB moves and can be 2HKOed, so Grass-resistant teammates like Steel / Flying Mew and Salamence and Bug / Fighting Landorus-T can help check Rillaboom. Latias is overwhelmed by opposing Calm Mind users like Clefable, Latias, and Latios, so Unaware Clefable is a good teammate to check these threats.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Calm Mind Latias can use a Poison / Electric typing, however it is easily walled by opposing Ground / Steel foes. Electric / Water Latias can use Thunder Wave over Thunderbolt to hamper faster foes, but this makes it more passive. Support sets can use Healing Wish to heal a teammate in a pinch, but this means sacrificing Latias in return. Toxic Latias can use Trick in place of Defog to cripple opponents with Black Sludge or other items like Choice Specs and Choice Scarf. With a deep movepool, Latias can use coverage moves like Ice Beam to keep it from being completely walled by foes that are immune to its attacks, like Ground-types and Flash Fire users.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Victini**: With a Choice Scarf, Victini outspeeds Latias and can OHKO it with Bolt Strike. Victini survives an unboosted Surf from Latias, meaning Victini can beat Latias one-on-one in a pinch.
**Clefable**: Electric / Fairy Clefable is capable of beating Latias one-on-one, but is unable to take on Latias if it has already set up with Calm Mind. Unaware Clefable is able to check Poison-type Latias to prevent a sweep, and can hit Latias with Knock Off and Seismic Toss. Latias not running Toxic are vulnerable to Toxic from Unaware Clefable.
**Toxapex**: Specially defensive Toxapex checks Latias with Haze, Knock Off, and Toxic, but can only reliably check Latias if it hasn't already set up to +3 or greater.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[a loser, 410702]]
- Quality checked by: [[The Number Man, 475804], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
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