www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/aerodactyl
[SET]
name: Choice Bander
move 1: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Aqua Tail
move 4: Fire Fang / Pursuit
item: Choice Band
ability: Pressure
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
<p>Aerodactyl was used almost exclusively as a Choice Bander in ADV, and enough has stayed the same for the Flying fossil that this is still a common strategy. Aerodactyl gained Stone Edge to use as its Rock STAB attack, but Rock Slide is still a good option as Aerodactyl is certainly fast enough to make use of the flinch rate. Earthquake covers Steel-types like Metagross and is Aerodactyl's most powerful attack against the likes of Tyranitar and Metagross. Aqua Tail provides coverage against the bulky Ground-types such as Hippowdon, Donphan, and Rhyperior, though bear in mind the former two will never be 2HKO'd without some prior damage. Fire Fang is your most powerful option against Bronzong, and it 2HKOs Forretress, which Stone Edge fails to do. It also allows you to hit Scizor that switch in on Aerodactyl considerably harder, though you can only hit it on the switch-in, as otherwise it will OHKO Aerodactyl with Bullet Punch first .</p>
<p>Pursuit is another excellent option, allowing it to hit slower defensively inept Pokémon such as Gengar and Azelf for what in many cases is an OHKO as they try to switch. It also allows Aerodactyl to do some damage to Pokémon like Blissey as they switch out. If you have other methods of dealing with Bronzong and Forretress (hint: Magnezone), then Pursuit is the superior option in the last slot.</p>
[SET]
name: Non-Choice Band Attacker
move 1: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 2: Ice Fang / Aqua Tail
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Earthquake
item: Life Orb
ability: Pressure
nature: Hasty
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
ivs: 29 HP
<p>Given how terrible Aerodactyl's defenses are and the fact that it is weak to Stealth Rock, Aerodactyl is very likely not going to survive any attacks, so it is a natural candidate for the recoil-inducing Life Orb. This recoil is not blocked by Rock Head, so stick with Pressure on this moveset since at least it sort of does something. Fire Blast becomes a better option than Fire Fang when you have Life Orb, as it will guarantee a OHKO on Forretress, a 2HKO on Skarmory and can do more to Bronzong than Fire Fang does depending on whether it is running a more physically or specially defensive EV spread.</p>
<p>The other major change, of course, is that without the Choice Band you can potentially use Aerodactyl to sweep a lot more easily since you can switch moves for different opponents. Aerodactyl can attack a wide variety of types for super effective hits and his Rock attacks will do considerable damage to most things that don't resist them, allowing him to do very good all around damage. This combined with the fact that he will outrun nearly every Pokémon that doesn't have some sort of Speed boost allows him to clean up late game if he is at high enough health to take a few hits from the Life Orb. Speaking of which, the 29 IV in HP is used to minimize Life Orb recoil.</p>
[EVs]
<p>Aerodactyl's Speed is its greatest asset, so you will generally want to use a Jolly nature (or Hasty if you are using Fire Blast) with max speed. After you've hit 389 to beat Timid Shaymin-S, you may as well use the last 24 EVs to hit the speed tie with Crobat, Jolteon and opposing Aerodactyl. If you want to drop your speed any lower, then you may as well drop it to 373 to beat Alakazam and Sceptile. 384 speed is a largely insignificant mark to hit as Weavile will commonly carry Ice Shard to bypass your speed advantage whilst Swellow is uncommon in OU play and can really do very little to Aerodactyl unless it carries the rare Steel Wing.</p>
<p>It should be noted that should you desire to run Adamant Aerodactyl for the additional power, its max Speed now becomes 359, which can be lowered to 351 (220 Speed EVs) in order to outrun +Speed nature base Speed 110 Pokémon at 350 (Gengar, Tauros, Espeon, Jumpluff, and Froslass), while still outrunning Adamant Weavile and Swellow at 349. You may want to also consider hitting 354 speed, as this puts you ahead of Modest Shaymin-S.</p>
<p>You should definitely throw 252 EVs into your Attack score with either nature on the offensive sets since you really need the bulk of your EVs there in order to allow Aerodactyl to cause substantial damage to his opponents. The remaining EVs could go into either HP for general coverage, or Special Defense in order to increase the effect that Sand Stream has on you, as it boosts the Special Defense of Rock-type Pokémon by 1.5.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>When it comes to a fast, fairly hard-hitting Pokémon, Aerodactyl is one of the better options. With an amazing 130 base Speed, Aerodactyl is able to outrun nearly every Pokémon in the game, although this Speed is not nearly as reliable as it has been in past generations. Users of Aerodactyl need to be extremely cautious of enemy Pokémon who could potentially be carrying Choice Scarf, as the Speed boost it provides is more than enough for many Pokémon to become faster than Aerodactyl and turn the tables on it, allowing them to attack Aerodactyl's weak defenses. Another new move that Aerodactyl needs to combat with care is Stealth Rock, which does an obnoxious 25% to Aerodactyl thanks to the fact it is weak to Rock (in spite of its being a Rock Pokémon itself...) The boost in Scizor's popularity with the release of Platinum will also hinder Aerodactyl, as it is capable of stopping an Aerodactyl sweep easily with Bullet Punch.</p>
<p>Despite many of the negatives that both D/P and Platinum have given Aerodactyl, it has gained several new toys to play with, most notably Aqua Tail which allows it to get around many of its otherwise would-be counters. A physical Pursuit is also a useful weapon to have. Whilst 105 base Attack is passable, with so many more top-tier Pokemon such as Salamence, Scizor, Metagross and Tyranitar having considerably larger Attack stats, Aerodactyl will often be passed over in favour of other hard-hitters. However, the popularity of hyper-offensive teams that rely on 'suicide leads' such as Aerodactyl will certainly bolster the RBY fossil's usage.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Swampert is arguably the best Aerodactyl counter; with a resistance to Aerodactyl's STAB Rock attacks and not taking more than neutral damage from anything else. It can hit back with Hydro Pump or Waterfall. Other bulky grounds such as Donphan and Hippowdon can generally switch in with little or no risk, but take considerably more than Swampert from Aqua Tail. Gliscor is in a similar boat, but also has to watch out for Ice Fang. Rhyperior and Claydol can't take multiple Aqua Tails, but they makes a good switch into the Choice Band set as long as you can predict around that.</p>
<p>Bulky Fighting types can switch into Aerodactyl relatively easily, fearing only the rare Aerial Ace. Machamp and Hariyama are the two most common 'bulky fighters' in OU that can come into Aerodactyl and force it out, though the less common Poliwrath and Hitmontop (particularly those with Intimidate) can work just as well. Bronzong dislikes Fire Fang and Fire Blast, but takes laughable damage from everything else and can generally survive two Fire attacks anyway to OHKO Aerodactyl with Gyro Ball. Weezing can switch in without much risk and either burn Aerodactyl with Will-o-Wisp or threaten it with Thunderbolt. Some of the more physically defensive bulky waters can also switch in and force Aerodactyl out, most notably Suicune and Slowbro who can both easily survive two Choice Banded Stone Edges, barring a critical hit, and threaten Aerodactyl with Surf. Cresselia can switch in without much risk on any move and either cripple Aerodactyl with Thunder Wave or just hit it with Ice Beam.</p>
<p>Whilst not a direct counter, Stealth Rock will greatly cut Aerodactyl's lifespan, limiting its potential switch-in opportunities yet further.</p>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I know I've copied and pasted large chunks from the current analysis, but there isn't much point rewriting it all when the vast majority of it still applies. The only real new additions that required any changes were Aqua Tail, the removal of any Garchomp references, and the customisation of a few EV spreads to account for Shaymin-S.
[SET]
name: Choice Bander
move 1: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Aqua Tail
move 4: Fire Fang / Pursuit
item: Choice Band
ability: Pressure
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
<p>Aerodactyl was used almost exclusively as a Choice Bander in ADV, and enough has stayed the same for the Flying fossil that this is still a common strategy. Aerodactyl gained Stone Edge to use as its Rock STAB attack, but Rock Slide is still a good option as Aerodactyl is certainly fast enough to make use of the flinch rate. Earthquake covers Steel-types like Metagross and is Aerodactyl's most powerful attack against the likes of Tyranitar and Metagross. Aqua Tail provides coverage against the bulky Ground-types such as Hippowdon, Donphan, and Rhyperior, though bear in mind the former two will never be 2HKO'd without some prior damage. Fire Fang is your most powerful option against Bronzong, and it 2HKOs Forretress, which Stone Edge fails to do. It also allows you to hit Scizor that switch in on Aerodactyl considerably harder, though you can only hit it on the switch-in, as otherwise it will OHKO Aerodactyl with Bullet Punch first .</p>
<p>Pursuit is another excellent option, allowing it to hit slower defensively inept Pokémon such as Gengar and Azelf for what in many cases is an OHKO as they try to switch. It also allows Aerodactyl to do some damage to Pokémon like Blissey as they switch out. If you have other methods of dealing with Bronzong and Forretress (hint: Magnezone), then Pursuit is the superior option in the last slot.</p>
[SET]
name: Non-Choice Band Attacker
move 1: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 2: Ice Fang / Aqua Tail
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Earthquake
item: Life Orb
ability: Pressure
nature: Hasty
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
ivs: 29 HP
<p>Given how terrible Aerodactyl's defenses are and the fact that it is weak to Stealth Rock, Aerodactyl is very likely not going to survive any attacks, so it is a natural candidate for the recoil-inducing Life Orb. This recoil is not blocked by Rock Head, so stick with Pressure on this moveset since at least it sort of does something. Fire Blast becomes a better option than Fire Fang when you have Life Orb, as it will guarantee a OHKO on Forretress, a 2HKO on Skarmory and can do more to Bronzong than Fire Fang does depending on whether it is running a more physically or specially defensive EV spread.</p>
<p>The other major change, of course, is that without the Choice Band you can potentially use Aerodactyl to sweep a lot more easily since you can switch moves for different opponents. Aerodactyl can attack a wide variety of types for super effective hits and his Rock attacks will do considerable damage to most things that don't resist them, allowing him to do very good all around damage. This combined with the fact that he will outrun nearly every Pokémon that doesn't have some sort of Speed boost allows him to clean up late game if he is at high enough health to take a few hits from the Life Orb. Speaking of which, the 29 IV in HP is used to minimize Life Orb recoil.</p>
[EVs]
<p>Aerodactyl's Speed is its greatest asset, so you will generally want to use a Jolly nature (or Hasty if you are using Fire Blast) with max speed. After you've hit 389 to beat Timid Shaymin-S, you may as well use the last 24 EVs to hit the speed tie with Crobat, Jolteon and opposing Aerodactyl. If you want to drop your speed any lower, then you may as well drop it to 373 to beat Alakazam and Sceptile. 384 speed is a largely insignificant mark to hit as Weavile will commonly carry Ice Shard to bypass your speed advantage whilst Swellow is uncommon in OU play and can really do very little to Aerodactyl unless it carries the rare Steel Wing.</p>
<p>It should be noted that should you desire to run Adamant Aerodactyl for the additional power, its max Speed now becomes 359, which can be lowered to 351 (220 Speed EVs) in order to outrun +Speed nature base Speed 110 Pokémon at 350 (Gengar, Tauros, Espeon, Jumpluff, and Froslass), while still outrunning Adamant Weavile and Swellow at 349. You may want to also consider hitting 354 speed, as this puts you ahead of Modest Shaymin-S.</p>
<p>You should definitely throw 252 EVs into your Attack score with either nature on the offensive sets since you really need the bulk of your EVs there in order to allow Aerodactyl to cause substantial damage to his opponents. The remaining EVs could go into either HP for general coverage, or Special Defense in order to increase the effect that Sand Stream has on you, as it boosts the Special Defense of Rock-type Pokémon by 1.5.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>When it comes to a fast, fairly hard-hitting Pokémon, Aerodactyl is one of the better options. With an amazing 130 base Speed, Aerodactyl is able to outrun nearly every Pokémon in the game, although this Speed is not nearly as reliable as it has been in past generations. Users of Aerodactyl need to be extremely cautious of enemy Pokémon who could potentially be carrying Choice Scarf, as the Speed boost it provides is more than enough for many Pokémon to become faster than Aerodactyl and turn the tables on it, allowing them to attack Aerodactyl's weak defenses. Another new move that Aerodactyl needs to combat with care is Stealth Rock, which does an obnoxious 25% to Aerodactyl thanks to the fact it is weak to Rock (in spite of its being a Rock Pokémon itself...) The boost in Scizor's popularity with the release of Platinum will also hinder Aerodactyl, as it is capable of stopping an Aerodactyl sweep easily with Bullet Punch.</p>
<p>Despite many of the negatives that both D/P and Platinum have given Aerodactyl, it has gained several new toys to play with, most notably Aqua Tail which allows it to get around many of its otherwise would-be counters. A physical Pursuit is also a useful weapon to have. Whilst 105 base Attack is passable, with so many more top-tier Pokemon such as Salamence, Scizor, Metagross and Tyranitar having considerably larger Attack stats, Aerodactyl will often be passed over in favour of other hard-hitters. However, the popularity of hyper-offensive teams that rely on 'suicide leads' such as Aerodactyl will certainly bolster the RBY fossil's usage.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Swampert is arguably the best Aerodactyl counter; with a resistance to Aerodactyl's STAB Rock attacks and not taking more than neutral damage from anything else. It can hit back with Hydro Pump or Waterfall. Other bulky grounds such as Donphan and Hippowdon can generally switch in with little or no risk, but take considerably more than Swampert from Aqua Tail. Gliscor is in a similar boat, but also has to watch out for Ice Fang. Rhyperior and Claydol can't take multiple Aqua Tails, but they makes a good switch into the Choice Band set as long as you can predict around that.</p>
<p>Bulky Fighting types can switch into Aerodactyl relatively easily, fearing only the rare Aerial Ace. Machamp and Hariyama are the two most common 'bulky fighters' in OU that can come into Aerodactyl and force it out, though the less common Poliwrath and Hitmontop (particularly those with Intimidate) can work just as well. Bronzong dislikes Fire Fang and Fire Blast, but takes laughable damage from everything else and can generally survive two Fire attacks anyway to OHKO Aerodactyl with Gyro Ball. Weezing can switch in without much risk and either burn Aerodactyl with Will-o-Wisp or threaten it with Thunderbolt. Some of the more physically defensive bulky waters can also switch in and force Aerodactyl out, most notably Suicune and Slowbro who can both easily survive two Choice Banded Stone Edges, barring a critical hit, and threaten Aerodactyl with Surf. Cresselia can switch in without much risk on any move and either cripple Aerodactyl with Thunder Wave or just hit it with Ice Beam.</p>
<p>Whilst not a direct counter, Stealth Rock will greatly cut Aerodactyl's lifespan, limiting its potential switch-in opportunities yet further.</p>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I know I've copied and pasted large chunks from the current analysis, but there isn't much point rewriting it all when the vast majority of it still applies. The only real new additions that required any changes were Aqua Tail, the removal of any Garchomp references, and the customisation of a few EV spreads to account for Shaymin-S.
