[Overview]
<p>At first glance, Latias seems
to be outclassed in any role that it
wants to play can perform, due to the
seemingly omnipresent(are they omnipresent or aren't they) Psychic-types, Cresselia and Latios, in Doubles. Cresselia usually pulls off
the supportive a support role better, courtesy of its mind boggling bulk; something Latias can only dream to rival. Latios, on the other hand, often outclasses Latias as an offensive Pokemon, due to
it's its higher Special Attack stat.
That said, thanks to its good bulk, useful resistances to common attacking types—Water, Fire, Electric, and Fighting—and Speed, combined with its access to Tailwind, Latias is one of the best Tailwind setters in the metagame.(separate these into 2 sentences imo; first sentence talk about resistances+bulk and 2nd sentence talk about tailwind)</p>
[SET]
name: Speedy Support
move 1: Tailwind / Thunder Wave
move 2: Draco Meteor
move 3: Helping Hand
move 4: Protect / Psyshock
item: Sitrus Berry / Haban Berry
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With this set, Latias pieces together all of its positive traits
together to make the most out of itself as a fast supporter in the Doubles metagame. Tailwind is the main move of the set, and is a fantastic support move, helping your team wreck havoc throughout the
4 four turns that it lasts
,(RC) without fear of getting outpaced
,(RC) ;(semicolon) but Thunder Wave is a perfectly viable alternative
that's permanent, but that permanently affects the opponent's Speed; keep in mind, though, that it can only hit one opponent at a time. Draco Meteor
may might seem odd on a
supportive support(supportive: providing encouragement or emotional help.) Pokemon, and Dragon Pulse looks a bit more appealing on paper, but Draco Meteor provides fantastic utility by being able to OHKO many popular Dragon-types in Doubles, and makes sure Latias can perform an alternative role as opposed to a fully
support-orientated support-oriented Pokemon.</p>
<p>To show the benefit of using Draco Meteor over Dragon Pulse, here are some important damage calculations.</p>
<ul="damage_calculation">
<li>4 SpA Latias Draco Meteor vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Salamence: 396-468 (119.27 - 140.96%) -- guaranteed OHKO</li>
<li>4 SpA Latias Draco Meteor vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 356-422 (109.2 - 129.44%) -- guaranteed OHKO</li>
<li>4 SpA Latias Draco Meteor vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 374-444 (104.46 - 124.02%) -- guaranteed OHKO</li>
<li>4 SpA Latias Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Latios: 302-356 (100.33 - 118.27%) -- guaranteed OHKO</li>
</ul>
<p>The third slot is another move that prevents Latias from becoming dead weight after using Tailwind
and/or or Draco Meteor. Helping Hand is extremely useful, as it can help boost her teammates'
s(teammate's;teammates';teammates's) moves after Tailwind has been set
up, helping Latias fill the role of a
supportive teammate supporter more effectively. The last slot has two main options. Protect is very useful for playing mindgames, and is a general staple for many Pokemon in Doubles, but because Latias is as bulky as she is, Protect is not nearly as necessary
(as it would have been where?). Psyshock is another viable option, and
it can hit hits common Fighting-types such as Hitmontop and Breloom for solid damage.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread and Nature are extremely straightforward. Latias has a great 110 base Speed stat, and when fully invested, it can outpace key threats such as Salamence, Terrakion, and Garchomp, as well as speed tie with Latios. The rest of the EVs goes to HP since Latias is used primarily a supportive Pokemon.(seems like fluff; just say that it gives it max bulk and allows it to outrun x y and z etc) An alternative spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
may might look appealing for
added additional bulk, but Latias's Speed is what really sets it apart from Cresselia, and it is much harder to set Tailwind or use Thunder Wave if Latias is slow. Sitrus Berry is the main item, as it
will help helps with Latias's overall
longetivity longevity, but on the other hand, Haban Berry
will help helps it deal with opposing Dragon-types much more effectively, as it can survive any Dragon-type attack and retaliate by either setting up Tailwind or hitting back hard with a Draco Meteor. Dragon Pulse could work over Draco Meteor, but it misses out on the important OHKOs listed above. Psychic is an option to hit Pokemon such as Breloom and Landorus-T for more damage, but Psyshock hits most Pokemon harder due to the metagame being more specially defensive in general.</p>
<p>First and foremost when it comes to picking teammates, know that anything with middling to high Speed appreciates the
(twind?) support from Latias. Pokemon such as Rotom-W, Heracross, and Victini are all good Pokemon to use
in on Tailwind
teams, and should therefore be considered
to be used alongside Latias. Even more notable teammates under this category are Ground
-(AH)types that benefit from Tailwind. Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Mamoswine are all fantastic teammates, as they can freely use Earthquake
when sided by Latias due to Latias's immunity to it. Steel-types synergize extremely well with Latias, as they resist attacks that hit Latias for super effective damage, so Pokemon such as Scizor and Metagross are good teammates as well. Finally, teams weak to
Sun sun and
Rain rain teams will appreciate the presence of Latias, as its presence alone will be a thorn in the side
for of the archetypes of those teams.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>If you could describe Latias's movepool with a single word, it would be
'colossal
'(add quotes; it seems like the word is colossal[like it has a lotta letters XDDD]). That said, even with plenty of attacking and supportive options, Latias often fails at using them as effectively as the moves listed on the main set. There are two item options worth mentioning though
, and they are :(colon) Yache Berry and Dragon Gem. Yache Berry is fairly self-explanatory; it helps
counter Latias in countering Blizzard teams and
take taking Ice-type attacks comfortably in general. Dragon Gem, on the other hand, seems like complete madness, but since
it Latias secures OHKOs on Breloom, Kyurem-B, and Chandelure
with it, it is a perfectly viable option if you wish to fling an extra hard-hitting Draco Meteor in your opponent's direction.</p>
<p>Since Latias is mostly seen as a supporter, additional moves that help her support naturally get the first mentions. Icy Wind can be used as a different way to use Speed control, but it is often better used by more bulky Pokemon such as Cresselia. Heal Pulse is an interesting option that lets Latias heal a teammate, but should be used with precaution; it will hit the opponent if either your teammate goes down or the opponent uses Follow Me. Safeguard also deserves a mention, as it cuts the
opponent’s opponent's ability to
spam repeatedly use(or w/e you wanna say but no spam plzzzzz)Thunder Wave, which is considered
on of to be one of Tailwind's worst enemies. Reflect and Light Screen seem great for Latias on paper, but she is no Cresselia, and therefore has a hard time setting said screens up. Sunny Day
or and Rain Dance are options to help either support your weather team or disrupt
opposing problematic
opposing weather teams. Role Play can help perform this, as well as copy useful abilities such as Intimidate, but it is generally hard to consistently pull off
successfully, due to the move's gimmicky nature. Magic Coat is useful for
avoiding Taunt and bouncing back
Taunt and Thunder Wave
(unless im being a dumbass here), but
it is very situational. Swagger can be used in tandem with a teammate carrying a Lum Berry to boost their
attack Attack for free, and also to disrupt the opposition, but relying on coinflips is usually a terrible idea.</p>
<p>Latias can also pack a punch, so a fully offensive spread with 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe and a Timid Nature is
actually viable
, as it has due to it having more bulk than Latios. Main moves for this set would be Draco Meteor, Psyshock, and Hidden Power Fire. But that doesn't mean
it's that its attacking movepool ends there. Thunderbolt and Thunder can be used to hit many bulky Water-types hard, and Grass Knot and Energy Ball can do the same, but
they both hit different Water-types
(why is it 'but'worthy). You could also opt to
using use Psychic over Psyshock, but since most Pokemon in Doubles invest
into in Special Defense
over regular rather than Defense, Psyshock
will hit hits most targets harder. Finally, Latias's humoungous list of other options ends with a rather peculiar option: Mist Ball. This move works as a STAB move and a pseudo-Snarl at the same time, but Psyshock is a more consistent STAB Psychic-type attack.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Steel-types, such as Metagross and Bisharp, have no trouble walling Latias's attacks, and can do a good amount of damage in return. Bug-types, such as Heracross, Genesect, and Scizor, can easily KO it with their STAB moves, and in Volcarona's case, even set up on Latias. Thundurus and Tornadus are problematic if
you need Latias needs to set up Tailwind, as they can both Taunt it, the latter also being able to deal a big number with Flying Gem-boosted Acrobatics. Another huge problem for Latias is bulky or fast Dark-types, such as Tyranitar and Weavile
respectively, as they can take it out with a STAB move of choice. Most Trick Room setters can both wall Latias and undermine
it's its Speed control, especially bulky setters such as Cresselia and Dusclops. Chandelure succeeds in both setting up Trick Room and dealing super effective damage against Latias, making it one of the big thorns in the side as well. Latios will win against Latias if it gets lucky; it needs to win the Speed tie, and hope that Latias doesn't carry Haban Berry, but if the situation is
this so, Latias gets OHKOed easily by
any a Draco Meteor, boosted or not. Finally, Sableye is a Pokemon that will make Latias rip its
(non-existing
)(w/o brackets it doesnt flow that well) hair out, due to
it's its ability to shut it down with Taunt
,(RC) and burn the potential physical attackers standing at Latias's side.</p>
