Current article for reference: http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/latias
Hey, guys. This is a concise version of the Latias article's "Life Orb + Three Attacks" and "Support" set analyses.
I wasn't entirely sure on what I was supposed to expect of the audience, but here I've assumed that the audience is capable of clicking on the various links provided on the moves and items and weighing the basic pros and cons of different items based on their descriptions on their pages. This basically means that I've removed general full descriptions of items, moves, etc. almost completely, leaving only descriptions of how they're relevant to the sets in particular.
I've basically removed redundant statements and superfluous language. In particular, I've considered damage calculations and their corresponding OHKO/2HKO probabilities redundant to each other, since one can pretty easily determine (or at least estimate) one from the other. As such, the former has been removed in these cases.
I posted the full set content because... well... I felt like it...? But seriously, I think it just looks more well-organized when the full set content is there.
The Support set was a bit hard. There was a lot of "actual" information in the analysis, but I did what I could to cut it down. There was also a non sequitur in the analysis: "A max Attack Jolly Infernape's Close Combat, while equipped with Life Orb, only deals 38% at best, which means Latias has only a Choice Banded U-turn to fear." I kind of replaced it with just a mention of CB U-turn.
This was pretty fun. I've had considerable experience before in spell-checking/revising other people's work, and I'd usually end up making the work smaller. I've also occasionally been asked to see how a paper could be made more precise, and this reminds me of those times. Plus, this is my first ever C&C topic, so that's exciting too. As such, some suggestions would be great, especially on the Support set.
[SET]
name:Life Orb + Three Attacks
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Surf
move 3: Thunderbolt / Grass Knot
move 4: Recover
item: Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spd
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Life Orb Latias is a less prediction-reliant alternative to the Choice Specs set. Draco Meteor can OHKO 248 HP Zapdos after Stealth Rock damage, as well as deal 38.89% - 45.68% to min HP Heatran. Combined with Surf, Latias gains almost unresisted type coverage. A Timid Life Orb Surf deals 39.11% - 46.53% to a Tyranitar with max HP in sandstorm, meaning she can potentially 2HKO Tyranitar on the switch with Stealth Rock in play. Surf also has a 97% chance to 2HKO 248 HP Scizor after Stealth Rock damage.</p>
<p>Thunderbolt 2HKOes bulky Waters such as Suicune, Vaporeon, and Empoleon. If min HP Salamence has switched into Stealth Rock twice, Thunderbolt can finish it off without resorting to Draco Meteor. Alternatively, Grass Knot 2HKOes Tyranitar, one of Latias' biggest threats,and hits Suicune a bit harder than Thunderbolt does. However, Grass Knot doesn't hit Empoleon super effectively, hits Vaporeon for a low 60 Base Power, and does not have Thunderbolt's neutrality against incoming Steel-types.</p>
<p>With a Timid nature, Latias can switch in on and outspeed Infernape, as well as outspeed all Salamence (except those with Choice Scarf). Modest is not recommended since, with Stealth Rock, Timid Latias scores all of the KOs that Modest Latias can accomplish.</p>
<p>Latias can deal much damage to most of its usual foes except Blissey, so physical attackers such as Metagross and Scizor work well with her. They can also take Ice attacks aimed at Latias, or come in after Latias Draco Meteors and needs to switch. Metagross can use Meteor Mash or Explosion on special walls, and Scizor can smash Mamoswine and put a dent in Dragon Dancing Salamence. Max HP Metagross can be a problem, as Surf only 3HKOes it. Rotom-A cripples it with Will-O-Wisp, while Magnezone traps and kills it (although it has to beware of Life Orb Earthquake).</p>
[SET]
name:Support
move 1: Dragon Pulse
move 2: Recover / Wish
move 3: Roar / Protect
move 4: Reflect / Thunder Wave
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Latias' unique typing, movepool, and stat distribution make her a superb counter to multiple special attackers, and give it many advantages over Blissey. Notably, Latias' Fighting-type resistance makes her one of Infernape's best counters. A Nasty Plotted Life Orb Hidden Power Ice never OHKOes, while Latias outspeeds and 2HKOes Infernape with Dragon Pulse. Against a physical Infernape, Latias has only a Choice Banded U-turn to fear. Latias also has the ability to Roar away Calm Mind users such as Jirachi, Cresselia, Suicune, Raikou, and other Latias.</p>
<p>Dragon Pulse is the obligatory STAB attack. Wish can be used for healing support, or Recover can be used for instant recovery. Reflect gives insurance against Pursuit users such as Scizor and Tyranitar, while also supporting the rest of your team. Thunder Wave is a decent status option, although common counters to Latias won't mind it much. Protect is also very useful for Toxic stalling, and guarantees health restoration with Wish, while easing predictions against Pursuit users.</p>
<p>Max Speed EVs allow Latias to speed-tie with opposing base 110s such as Gengar and other Latias. Alternatively, a much bulkier EV spread of 252 HP / 116 Def / 112 SpD / 28 Spe with a Calm nature can be used; Naive Choice Scarf Heatran never 2HKOes this Latias with Dragon Pulse.</p>
<p>Toxic can be used to stall out Pokemon such as Zapdos and Blissey, who you couldn't harm much otherwise. Refresh can be used to rid Latias of troubling status, while Safeguard will protect your team from status. Psycho Shift can pass on status, potentially burning a Tyranitar or Scizor switch-in when used with a Flame Orb. Psych Up may save you from a Calm Minder who you can't Roar away.</p>
<p>Without other attacks, Tyranitar, Scizor, and Metagross can switch into and Pursuit this Latias very easily. If they don’t Pursuit, Swampert, Hippowdon, and Skarmory can switch into Tyranitar’s Crunch, while Magnezone, Skarmory, and Rotom-A easily switch into Scizor’s Bullet Punch. Rotom-A counters Metagross without Pursuit as well. Skarmory is an excellent partner alongside Latias due to its Steel typing, physical bulk and Spikes to take advantage of Roar. Pokémon such as Heatran, Heracross, Machamp, and Tyranitar will greatly enjoy the Spikes support while also benefiting from Latias’ Thunder Wave support. Fighting-types are often walled by the likes of Zapdos and Cresselia whom Latias takes on easily, especially if she has Toxic. RestTalk Gyarados counters Weavile, Heracross, and Scizor quite well; Latias can easily switch in on Gyarados' counters, Zapdos and Rotom-A, and status them. Latias may also scare away Skarmory, who fears a Thunderbolt or Hidden Power Fire.</p>
Hey, guys. This is a concise version of the Latias article's "Life Orb + Three Attacks" and "Support" set analyses.
I wasn't entirely sure on what I was supposed to expect of the audience, but here I've assumed that the audience is capable of clicking on the various links provided on the moves and items and weighing the basic pros and cons of different items based on their descriptions on their pages. This basically means that I've removed general full descriptions of items, moves, etc. almost completely, leaving only descriptions of how they're relevant to the sets in particular.
I've basically removed redundant statements and superfluous language. In particular, I've considered damage calculations and their corresponding OHKO/2HKO probabilities redundant to each other, since one can pretty easily determine (or at least estimate) one from the other. As such, the former has been removed in these cases.
I posted the full set content because... well... I felt like it...? But seriously, I think it just looks more well-organized when the full set content is there.
The Support set was a bit hard. There was a lot of "actual" information in the analysis, but I did what I could to cut it down. There was also a non sequitur in the analysis: "A max Attack Jolly Infernape's Close Combat, while equipped with Life Orb, only deals 38% at best, which means Latias has only a Choice Banded U-turn to fear." I kind of replaced it with just a mention of CB U-turn.
This was pretty fun. I've had considerable experience before in spell-checking/revising other people's work, and I'd usually end up making the work smaller. I've also occasionally been asked to see how a paper could be made more precise, and this reminds me of those times. Plus, this is my first ever C&C topic, so that's exciting too. As such, some suggestions would be great, especially on the Support set.
[SET]
name:Life Orb + Three Attacks
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Surf
move 3: Thunderbolt / Grass Knot
move 4: Recover
item: Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spd
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Life Orb Latias is a less prediction-reliant alternative to the Choice Specs set. Draco Meteor can OHKO 248 HP Zapdos after Stealth Rock damage, as well as deal 38.89% - 45.68% to min HP Heatran. Combined with Surf, Latias gains almost unresisted type coverage. A Timid Life Orb Surf deals 39.11% - 46.53% to a Tyranitar with max HP in sandstorm, meaning she can potentially 2HKO Tyranitar on the switch with Stealth Rock in play. Surf also has a 97% chance to 2HKO 248 HP Scizor after Stealth Rock damage.</p>
<p>Thunderbolt 2HKOes bulky Waters such as Suicune, Vaporeon, and Empoleon. If min HP Salamence has switched into Stealth Rock twice, Thunderbolt can finish it off without resorting to Draco Meteor. Alternatively, Grass Knot 2HKOes Tyranitar, one of Latias' biggest threats,and hits Suicune a bit harder than Thunderbolt does. However, Grass Knot doesn't hit Empoleon super effectively, hits Vaporeon for a low 60 Base Power, and does not have Thunderbolt's neutrality against incoming Steel-types.</p>
<p>With a Timid nature, Latias can switch in on and outspeed Infernape, as well as outspeed all Salamence (except those with Choice Scarf). Modest is not recommended since, with Stealth Rock, Timid Latias scores all of the KOs that Modest Latias can accomplish.</p>
<p>Latias can deal much damage to most of its usual foes except Blissey, so physical attackers such as Metagross and Scizor work well with her. They can also take Ice attacks aimed at Latias, or come in after Latias Draco Meteors and needs to switch. Metagross can use Meteor Mash or Explosion on special walls, and Scizor can smash Mamoswine and put a dent in Dragon Dancing Salamence. Max HP Metagross can be a problem, as Surf only 3HKOes it. Rotom-A cripples it with Will-O-Wisp, while Magnezone traps and kills it (although it has to beware of Life Orb Earthquake).</p>
[SET]
name:Support
move 1: Dragon Pulse
move 2: Recover / Wish
move 3: Roar / Protect
move 4: Reflect / Thunder Wave
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Latias' unique typing, movepool, and stat distribution make her a superb counter to multiple special attackers, and give it many advantages over Blissey. Notably, Latias' Fighting-type resistance makes her one of Infernape's best counters. A Nasty Plotted Life Orb Hidden Power Ice never OHKOes, while Latias outspeeds and 2HKOes Infernape with Dragon Pulse. Against a physical Infernape, Latias has only a Choice Banded U-turn to fear. Latias also has the ability to Roar away Calm Mind users such as Jirachi, Cresselia, Suicune, Raikou, and other Latias.</p>
<p>Dragon Pulse is the obligatory STAB attack. Wish can be used for healing support, or Recover can be used for instant recovery. Reflect gives insurance against Pursuit users such as Scizor and Tyranitar, while also supporting the rest of your team. Thunder Wave is a decent status option, although common counters to Latias won't mind it much. Protect is also very useful for Toxic stalling, and guarantees health restoration with Wish, while easing predictions against Pursuit users.</p>
<p>Max Speed EVs allow Latias to speed-tie with opposing base 110s such as Gengar and other Latias. Alternatively, a much bulkier EV spread of 252 HP / 116 Def / 112 SpD / 28 Spe with a Calm nature can be used; Naive Choice Scarf Heatran never 2HKOes this Latias with Dragon Pulse.</p>
<p>Toxic can be used to stall out Pokemon such as Zapdos and Blissey, who you couldn't harm much otherwise. Refresh can be used to rid Latias of troubling status, while Safeguard will protect your team from status. Psycho Shift can pass on status, potentially burning a Tyranitar or Scizor switch-in when used with a Flame Orb. Psych Up may save you from a Calm Minder who you can't Roar away.</p>
<p>Without other attacks, Tyranitar, Scizor, and Metagross can switch into and Pursuit this Latias very easily. If they don’t Pursuit, Swampert, Hippowdon, and Skarmory can switch into Tyranitar’s Crunch, while Magnezone, Skarmory, and Rotom-A easily switch into Scizor’s Bullet Punch. Rotom-A counters Metagross without Pursuit as well. Skarmory is an excellent partner alongside Latias due to its Steel typing, physical bulk and Spikes to take advantage of Roar. Pokémon such as Heatran, Heracross, Machamp, and Tyranitar will greatly enjoy the Spikes support while also benefiting from Latias’ Thunder Wave support. Fighting-types are often walled by the likes of Zapdos and Cresselia whom Latias takes on easily, especially if she has Toxic. RestTalk Gyarados counters Weavile, Heracross, and Scizor quite well; Latias can easily switch in on Gyarados' counters, Zapdos and Rotom-A, and status them. Latias may also scare away Skarmory, who fears a Thunderbolt or Hidden Power Fire.</p>
