Super stoked for my first write-up! Hope it's not too much of a mess.
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Stored Power
move 3: Aura Sphere / Draining Kiss
move 4: Agility / Recover / Substitute
item: Leftovers / Weakness Policy
tera type: Poison / Steel / Fairy
ability: Levitate
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Thanks to its considerable special bulk and more than reasonable attacking capabilities, Latias is a devastating set-up threat that matches up well against most special attackers, and in the right conditions can easily snowball out of control, making it a viable Stored Power Sweeper in this metagame. Between its mandatory set-up move in Calm Mind and defining weapon in Stored Power, Latias has to pick and choose its coverage option between Aura Sphere, which is its most immediate way to deal with Dark- and Steel-type opponents, most notably Kingambit but also Iron Treads and Heatran, or Draining Kiss, which provides some recovery and threatens Dark-types such as Roaring Moon, Meowscarada or Greninja equally. As for Latias’s last moveslot, Agility is a great tool to jumpstart its set-up, allowing Latias to stay in against faster opponents like Darkrai and Deoxys-S. Recover is never a wasted move in order to provide Latias with some reliable recovery, and Substitute is an alternative that matches up better against bulkier and slower opponents and opponents that rely in status moves, such as Alomomola or Gliscor, although both these move options cut into its Stored Power sweep momentum in exchange for their utility. Sets with Draining Kiss can allow to forego Recover, and overall tighter team support should be dedicated in variants with no immediate recovery option. 24 EVs in Speed along with a Timid nature allow it to outrun Choice Scarf Darkrai after an Agility boost. An alternative spread with maximum investment in HP and Speed should be used in sets without Agility to make the most out of Latias's more than serviceable speed tier. Tera Poison is mostly the way to go to avoid Toxic damage, turning opposing Gliscor into set-up fodder, and only have a weakness to Psychic, which is a fairly uncommon attacking type. Tera Steel similarly allows Latias to bypass Toxic alongside adding some valuable immunities and resistances, negating efforts from Galarian Slowking and Primarina to stop it. Tera Fairy can be used along with Draining Kiss to boost its damage and subsequent healing, and obtain a valuable Dragon immunity in the face of Dragapult's Draco Meteor or Kyurem's Scale Shot. Generally, the passive recovery granted by Leftovers make it its preferred item, although Weakness Policy is a great offensive alternative if one feels confident in Latias's defensive profile against its threats. Some alternative fringe options include Tera Electric, removing all weaknesses thanks to Levitate and providing a Paralysis immunity, which can be useful against Galarian Slowking and defensive variants of Gholdengo, and Mental Herb, allowing Latias to bypass Taunt from Landorus-T.
Latias finds itself a niche pick in hyper offense teams; in particular, it can fit in teams that struggle against Unaware opponents like Dondozo and Clodsire, as a way to open through and act as a win-condition. However, Latias faces big roadblocks against some of the more relevant threats of the metagame. Its main issue is that its base typing and sub-optimal physical bulk by Gen 9 standards leave it exposed and make it exploitable, and will more often than not have to end up being the Tera Pokémon for the team. Gholdengo can overwhelm it by either out-damaging it with a Nasty Plot-boosted Shadow Ball or crippling it with Paralysis and sustaining its not-very-effective hits with Recover and attacking back with Hex. Some partners that can handle it and also fit in hyper offense structures include Volcarona and Weavile. Similar issues arise with Dragapult, whom Latias fails to kill before it 2HKOs with Shadow Ball, Dragon Darts or Specs Draco Meteor. Kingambit makes for a great partner overall, countering Dragapult and also Gholdengo along with other Ghost- and Dark-type opponents that Latias may be stopped by. On the physical side of the spectrum, it is opposing Kingambit who poses specially an existential threat to Latias, as without Aura Sphere, it fails to do much in return, and without spending your Tera on Latias, it leaves itself exposed to Sucker Punch and Kowtow Cleave, and even Iron Head if it goes Tera Fairy. Iron Valiant can prove decisive in this match-up, as well as mixing well with the fast-paced plan a Latias team should have. Play Rough variants of Ogerpon-W can overpower Latias without Tera Poison, thus Roaring Moon can assist by KO-ing it back with a Booster Energy-powered Acrobatics. Furthermore, breaking through Ting-Lu can prove to be challenging, and a strong wallbreaking partner such as Weavile could overwhelm it in return. Hazard support is really appreciated overall to help Latias clean in the endgame against a worn-down team, thus Glimmora or Hisuian Samurott make for excellent partners. Latias also is a perfect match for teams championed by dual screens Deoxys-S or Alolan Ninetales, allowing it to set-up with minimal damage dealt in return.
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Stored Power
move 3: Aura Sphere / Draining Kiss
move 4: Agility / Recover / Substitute
item: Leftovers / Weakness Policy
tera type: Poison / Steel / Fairy
ability: Levitate
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe OR 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Thanks to its considerable bulk and more than reasonable attacking capabilities, Latias is a devastating set-up threat that in the right conditions can easily snowball out of control, making it a solid Stored Power Sweeper in this metagame. Latias has to pick and choose its coverage option between Aura Sphere, which is its most immediate way to deal with Dark- and Steel-type opponents, most notably Kingambit but also Iron Treads and Heatran, or Draining Kiss, which provides some recovery and threatens Dark-types such as Roaring Moon, Meowscarada or Greninja equally. As for Latias’s last moveslot, Agility is a great tool to jumpstart its set-up, allowing Latias to deal with faster opponents like Darkrai and Deoxys-S and to invest less into its Speed in favour of its bulk. Recover is never a wasted move in order to provide Latias with some reliable recovery, and Substitute is an alternative that matches up better against bulkier and slower opponents and opponents that rely in status moves, such as Alomomola or Gliscor, although both these move options lose the benefit of boosting Stored Power in exchange for their utility. 24 EVs in Speed along with a Timid nature allow it to outrun Choice Scarf Darkrai after an Agility boost. An alternative spread with maximum investment in HP and Speed should be used in sets without Agility to make the most out of Latias's more than serviceable speed tier. Tera Poison is mostly the way to go to avoid Toxic damage, turning opposing Gliscor into set-up fodder, and only have a weakness to Psychic, which is a fairly uncommon attacking type. Tera Steel similarly allows Latias to bypass Toxic alongside adding some valuable immunities and resistances, negating efforts from Galarian Slowking and Primarina to stop it. Tera Fairy can be used along with Draining Kiss to boost its damage and subsequent healing, and obtain a valuable Dragon immunity in the face of opponents like Dragapult or Kyurem. Generally, the passive recovery granted by Leftovers make it its preferred item, although Weakness Policy is a great offensive alternative if one feels confident in Latias's defensive profile against its threats. Some alternative fringe options include Tera Electric, removing all weaknesses thanks to Levitate and providing a Paralysis immunity, which can be useful against Galarian Slowking and defensive variants of Gholdengo, and Mental Herb, allowing Latias to bypass Taunt from Landorus-T.
Latias finds itself a niche pick in hyper offense teams; in particular, it can support teams by dealing with Unaware opponents like Dondozo and Clodsire, as a way to open through and act as a win-condition. Latias's base typing without Tera makes it vulnerable to several metagame threats such as Gholdengo and Dragapult. Gholdengo can overwhelm it by either out-damaging it with a Nasty Plot-boosted Shadow Ball or crippling it with Paralysis and sustaining its not-very-effective hits with Recover and attacking back with Hex. Volcarona can switch into and pressure Gholdengo for Latias. Similar issues arise with Dragapult, whom Latias fails to kill before it 2HKOs with Shadow Ball, Dragon Darts or Specs Draco Meteor. Kingambit makes for a great partner overall, countering Dragapult and also Gholdengo along with other Ghost- and Dark-type opponents that Latias may be stopped by. Kingambit poses specially an existential threat to Latias, as without Aura Sphere, it fails to do much in return, and without spending your Tera on Latias, it leaves itself exposed to Sucker Punch and Kowtow Cleave, and even Iron Head if it goes Tera Fairy. Iron Valiant can prove decisive in this match-up, as well as mixing well with the fast-paced plan a Latias team should have. Play Rough variants of Ogerpon-W can overpower Latias, thus Roaring Moon can assist by KO-ing it back with a Booster Energy-powered Acrobatics. Furthermore, breaking through Ting-Lu can prove to be challenging, and a strong wallbreaking partner such as Ogerpon-W could overwhelm it in return. Hazard support is really appreciated overall to help Latias clean in the endgame against a worn-down team, thus Glimmora or Hisuian Samurott make for excellent partners. Latias also is a perfect match for teams championed by dual screens Deoxys-S or Alolan Ninetales, allowing it to set-up with minimal damage dealt in return.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/arnimacarni.625618/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bt89.487308/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/username.XXXXXX/
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Stored Power
move 3: Aura Sphere / Draining Kiss
move 4: Agility / Recover / Substitute
item: Leftovers / Weakness Policy
tera type: Poison / Steel / Fairy
ability: Levitate
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Thanks to its considerable special bulk and more than reasonable attacking capabilities, Latias is a devastating set-up threat that matches up well against most special attackers, and in the right conditions can easily snowball out of control, making it a viable Stored Power Sweeper in this metagame. Between its mandatory set-up move in Calm Mind and defining weapon in Stored Power, Latias has to pick and choose its coverage option between Aura Sphere, which is its most immediate way to deal with Dark- and Steel-type opponents, most notably Kingambit but also Iron Treads and Heatran, or Draining Kiss, which provides some recovery and threatens Dark-types such as Roaring Moon, Meowscarada or Greninja equally. As for Latias’s last moveslot, Agility is a great tool to jumpstart its set-up, allowing Latias to stay in against faster opponents like Darkrai and Deoxys-S. Recover is never a wasted move in order to provide Latias with some reliable recovery, and Substitute is an alternative that matches up better against bulkier and slower opponents and opponents that rely in status moves, such as Alomomola or Gliscor, although both these move options cut into its Stored Power sweep momentum in exchange for their utility. Sets with Draining Kiss can allow to forego Recover, and overall tighter team support should be dedicated in variants with no immediate recovery option. 24 EVs in Speed along with a Timid nature allow it to outrun Choice Scarf Darkrai after an Agility boost. An alternative spread with maximum investment in HP and Speed should be used in sets without Agility to make the most out of Latias's more than serviceable speed tier. Tera Poison is mostly the way to go to avoid Toxic damage, turning opposing Gliscor into set-up fodder, and only have a weakness to Psychic, which is a fairly uncommon attacking type. Tera Steel similarly allows Latias to bypass Toxic alongside adding some valuable immunities and resistances, negating efforts from Galarian Slowking and Primarina to stop it. Tera Fairy can be used along with Draining Kiss to boost its damage and subsequent healing, and obtain a valuable Dragon immunity in the face of Dragapult's Draco Meteor or Kyurem's Scale Shot. Generally, the passive recovery granted by Leftovers make it its preferred item, although Weakness Policy is a great offensive alternative if one feels confident in Latias's defensive profile against its threats. Some alternative fringe options include Tera Electric, removing all weaknesses thanks to Levitate and providing a Paralysis immunity, which can be useful against Galarian Slowking and defensive variants of Gholdengo, and Mental Herb, allowing Latias to bypass Taunt from Landorus-T.
Latias finds itself a niche pick in hyper offense teams; in particular, it can fit in teams that struggle against Unaware opponents like Dondozo and Clodsire, as a way to open through and act as a win-condition. However, Latias faces big roadblocks against some of the more relevant threats of the metagame. Its main issue is that its base typing and sub-optimal physical bulk by Gen 9 standards leave it exposed and make it exploitable, and will more often than not have to end up being the Tera Pokémon for the team. Gholdengo can overwhelm it by either out-damaging it with a Nasty Plot-boosted Shadow Ball or crippling it with Paralysis and sustaining its not-very-effective hits with Recover and attacking back with Hex. Some partners that can handle it and also fit in hyper offense structures include Volcarona and Weavile. Similar issues arise with Dragapult, whom Latias fails to kill before it 2HKOs with Shadow Ball, Dragon Darts or Specs Draco Meteor. Kingambit makes for a great partner overall, countering Dragapult and also Gholdengo along with other Ghost- and Dark-type opponents that Latias may be stopped by. On the physical side of the spectrum, it is opposing Kingambit who poses specially an existential threat to Latias, as without Aura Sphere, it fails to do much in return, and without spending your Tera on Latias, it leaves itself exposed to Sucker Punch and Kowtow Cleave, and even Iron Head if it goes Tera Fairy. Iron Valiant can prove decisive in this match-up, as well as mixing well with the fast-paced plan a Latias team should have. Play Rough variants of Ogerpon-W can overpower Latias without Tera Poison, thus Roaring Moon can assist by KO-ing it back with a Booster Energy-powered Acrobatics. Furthermore, breaking through Ting-Lu can prove to be challenging, and a strong wallbreaking partner such as Weavile could overwhelm it in return. Hazard support is really appreciated overall to help Latias clean in the endgame against a worn-down team, thus Glimmora or Hisuian Samurott make for excellent partners. Latias also is a perfect match for teams championed by dual screens Deoxys-S or Alolan Ninetales, allowing it to set-up with minimal damage dealt in return.
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Stored Power
move 3: Aura Sphere / Draining Kiss
move 4: Agility / Recover / Substitute
item: Leftovers / Weakness Policy
tera type: Poison / Steel / Fairy
ability: Levitate
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe OR 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Thanks to its considerable bulk and more than reasonable attacking capabilities, Latias is a devastating set-up threat that in the right conditions can easily snowball out of control, making it a solid Stored Power Sweeper in this metagame. Latias has to pick and choose its coverage option between Aura Sphere, which is its most immediate way to deal with Dark- and Steel-type opponents, most notably Kingambit but also Iron Treads and Heatran, or Draining Kiss, which provides some recovery and threatens Dark-types such as Roaring Moon, Meowscarada or Greninja equally. As for Latias’s last moveslot, Agility is a great tool to jumpstart its set-up, allowing Latias to deal with faster opponents like Darkrai and Deoxys-S and to invest less into its Speed in favour of its bulk. Recover is never a wasted move in order to provide Latias with some reliable recovery, and Substitute is an alternative that matches up better against bulkier and slower opponents and opponents that rely in status moves, such as Alomomola or Gliscor, although both these move options lose the benefit of boosting Stored Power in exchange for their utility. 24 EVs in Speed along with a Timid nature allow it to outrun Choice Scarf Darkrai after an Agility boost. An alternative spread with maximum investment in HP and Speed should be used in sets without Agility to make the most out of Latias's more than serviceable speed tier. Tera Poison is mostly the way to go to avoid Toxic damage, turning opposing Gliscor into set-up fodder, and only have a weakness to Psychic, which is a fairly uncommon attacking type. Tera Steel similarly allows Latias to bypass Toxic alongside adding some valuable immunities and resistances, negating efforts from Galarian Slowking and Primarina to stop it. Tera Fairy can be used along with Draining Kiss to boost its damage and subsequent healing, and obtain a valuable Dragon immunity in the face of opponents like Dragapult or Kyurem. Generally, the passive recovery granted by Leftovers make it its preferred item, although Weakness Policy is a great offensive alternative if one feels confident in Latias's defensive profile against its threats. Some alternative fringe options include Tera Electric, removing all weaknesses thanks to Levitate and providing a Paralysis immunity, which can be useful against Galarian Slowking and defensive variants of Gholdengo, and Mental Herb, allowing Latias to bypass Taunt from Landorus-T.
Latias finds itself a niche pick in hyper offense teams; in particular, it can support teams by dealing with Unaware opponents like Dondozo and Clodsire, as a way to open through and act as a win-condition. Latias's base typing without Tera makes it vulnerable to several metagame threats such as Gholdengo and Dragapult. Gholdengo can overwhelm it by either out-damaging it with a Nasty Plot-boosted Shadow Ball or crippling it with Paralysis and sustaining its not-very-effective hits with Recover and attacking back with Hex. Volcarona can switch into and pressure Gholdengo for Latias. Similar issues arise with Dragapult, whom Latias fails to kill before it 2HKOs with Shadow Ball, Dragon Darts or Specs Draco Meteor. Kingambit makes for a great partner overall, countering Dragapult and also Gholdengo along with other Ghost- and Dark-type opponents that Latias may be stopped by. Kingambit poses specially an existential threat to Latias, as without Aura Sphere, it fails to do much in return, and without spending your Tera on Latias, it leaves itself exposed to Sucker Punch and Kowtow Cleave, and even Iron Head if it goes Tera Fairy. Iron Valiant can prove decisive in this match-up, as well as mixing well with the fast-paced plan a Latias team should have. Play Rough variants of Ogerpon-W can overpower Latias, thus Roaring Moon can assist by KO-ing it back with a Booster Energy-powered Acrobatics. Furthermore, breaking through Ting-Lu can prove to be challenging, and a strong wallbreaking partner such as Ogerpon-W could overwhelm it in return. Hazard support is really appreciated overall to help Latias clean in the endgame against a worn-down team, thus Glimmora or Hisuian Samurott make for excellent partners. Latias also is a perfect match for teams championed by dual screens Deoxys-S or Alolan Ninetales, allowing it to set-up with minimal damage dealt in return.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/arnimacarni.625618/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bt89.487308/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/username.XXXXXX/
Last edited:
