Not quite. This Latias is OHKOd by +2 Jolly LO HJK about a third of the time with Stealth Rock, while Rash 60 Atk Blaziken 2HKOs about a third of the time with LO Stone Edge, factoring in Leftovers. Definitely a check for the latter, though.
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Latias
- Thread starter Crashman
- Start date
Not quite. This Latias is OHKOd by +2 Jolly LO HJK about a third of the time with Stealth Rock, while Rash 60 Atk Blaziken 2HKOs about a third of the time with LO Stone Edge, factoring in Leftovers. Definitely a check for the latter, though.
Latias has merits over her brother for a specs set. I switched out SpecsLatios for his sister recently because Latios just couldn't stand repeated resisted assaults. He could only switch in on so many Fire Blast/Boiling Water/tbolts before he'd be in range for Mach Punch. SpecsLatias fares much better for my team.
So I'm trying to play Latias off as a bulky Latios by using the TrickSpecs set and it's counter intuitive. Latios' extra 20 points make all the difference in offensive oomph and without support moves to take advantage of her bulk like Calm Mind and Recover I'm not getting the most of her potential.
So, what set should I run instead? I like bulky offense and she is currently the only pokemon on my team that resists Fire or Water, which is paramount. Suggestions?
So, what set should I run instead? I like bulky offense and she is currently the only pokemon on my team that resists Fire or Water, which is paramount. Suggestions?
^First: Get another Pokemon to resist Water and Fire both are too common and they are the signature types of both Sun and Rain, really even in WiFi DrizzleToed and DroughtTales are now allowed so you have to deal with them often.
I would suggest to run a bulky Calm Mind Set like:
Latias@Lefties
Nature: Timid
EVs: 192 HP/252 Spe/64 SpA
-Calm Mind
-Recover
-Dragon Pulse
-Surf/T-Bolt
I think you know how this set works if you played her in Gen 4, if not abuse her Special Bulk and Resistances to come in Boost Up/Recover back lost Health and try to Sweep with her excellent type coverage. Surf loses out on Nattorei and Empoleon while T-Bolt loses on Steelix (lol), Nattorei and Magnezone.
The EVs could be adjusted to shift more from Speed into SpA or Def, but i dont know how you deal with base 108 and 110 Pokemon so i thought it might be the best to fully abuse her excellent Speed Stat. 192 Hp since you should try to play her bulky otherwise she will end up as a worse Latios/Sazandora and if she remains your only water/Fire switch in (again i advise you to replace something on your team for more resists).
I would suggest to run a bulky Calm Mind Set like:
Latias@Lefties
Nature: Timid
EVs: 192 HP/252 Spe/64 SpA
-Calm Mind
-Recover
-Dragon Pulse
-Surf/T-Bolt
I think you know how this set works if you played her in Gen 4, if not abuse her Special Bulk and Resistances to come in Boost Up/Recover back lost Health and try to Sweep with her excellent type coverage. Surf loses out on Nattorei and Empoleon while T-Bolt loses on Steelix (lol), Nattorei and Magnezone.
The EVs could be adjusted to shift more from Speed into SpA or Def, but i dont know how you deal with base 108 and 110 Pokemon so i thought it might be the best to fully abuse her excellent Speed Stat. 192 Hp since you should try to play her bulky otherwise she will end up as a worse Latios/Sazandora and if she remains your only water/Fire switch in (again i advise you to replace something on your team for more resists).
cant you just attach it to, say, a Bidoof, and transfer it over to gen 5?
No, it does not allow you to transfer items which is why it is unobtainable in Black/White so far.
Latias is a great pivot for sun and rain dance teams.
Draco Meteor is a must for ALL sets because the amount of damage it does even without a choice specs or life orb.
Draco Meteor is a must for ALL sets because the amount of damage it does even without a choice specs or life orb.
I've always been a huge huge fan of mono-dragon CMer, probably one of the few things Latias might do better than Latios. I usually run CM / Sub / Recover / Dragon Pulse @ Leftovers with 252 HP / 252 speed, Timid. As long as you have Magnezone support it is downright sexy. It can set up on just about every special attacker, even if they're carrying super effective attacks (Shadow Ball Burungeru, Ice Beam Vaporeon, Dragon Pulse/HP Ice non-Scarf/LO Heatran, I'm pretty sure you can beat most Starmies if you get lucky with speed ties). It has lots of hard counters, but it takes most non-SE/ridiculously powerful physical hits like a champ with its base 80/90 defense. Substitute is awesome for scouting Scizor/TTar and preventing crits but I think Refresh might be cool there too so you don't have to worry about accidentally getting Toxiced by something weird.
I actually tried 252 HP / 252 Def Bold once back in D/P and it was surprisingly awesome; basically non-CB neutral physical attacks never break the sub, making it really easy to set up, but I don't think I would run that in B/W when there are so many scary dragons in the 97-102 range that Latias provides a great check for (not to mention the Landlos, 108 fighters, etc).
I actually tried 252 HP / 252 Def Bold once back in D/P and it was surprisingly awesome; basically non-CB neutral physical attacks never break the sub, making it really easy to set up, but I don't think I would run that in B/W when there are so many scary dragons in the 97-102 range that Latias provides a great check for (not to mention the Landlos, 108 fighters, etc).
I don't know why no one's mentioning HP Fire as a secondary attacking option on all of these CM sets I'm seeing. The first couple of posts in this thread talked about how Nattorei walls the crap out of non-HP Fire Latias, and then everyone's listing CM sets without it, LOL.
I see this as encompassing all the options Latias might want with this:
- CM
- Dragon Pulse
- HP Fire / Surf
- Recover / Psycho Shock
You could always forgo recovery or wallbreaking for the ability to hit Tran/Nat with the other coverage move too. Dragon+Fire/Water might get walled, but all three types together aren't.
Mono-attacking with Latias seems risky to me this gen, but if it's performed like Dan says it has...
I see this as encompassing all the options Latias might want with this:
- CM
- Dragon Pulse
- HP Fire / Surf
- Recover / Psycho Shock
You could always forgo recovery or wallbreaking for the ability to hit Tran/Nat with the other coverage move too. Dragon+Fire/Water might get walled, but all three types together aren't.
Mono-attacking with Latias seems risky to me this gen, but if it's performed like Dan says it has...
Latias I think makes a phenomenal Wish passer. Great 80/90/130 defenses and great resistances (Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Fighting, Psychic and a Ground immunity. Wow!) With HP and Speed it can reliably take hits from either spectrum and pass to the team or take it itself. I really like support Latias with Reflect and Wish.
I wouldn't say "at least", it's definitely a huge boon over the other two because not only will it allow a set up sweeper to come in safely, but it will also allow it to survive most attacks if the enemy decides to stay and fight instead of switch.
yea i actually tested out a set just like that i ran
252hp 252def 4 special defense or attack
with leftovers
and dragon pulse
surf
recover
calm mind
it works wonderfully o-o
What are you talking about? With Latias's better bulk, she's better at switching into attacks (and then firing off deadly STAB Draco Meteor's). She's not nearly worn down as fast as Latios and her longevity can prove more useful over his larger Special Attack stat in many situations. She plays a more defensive role and him a more offensive one, they are /way/ different.
You probably don't even need such heavy defensive investment in the first place.
The main thing Latias has over other calm minders is its speed, so I'd stick with 252 speed EVs, some HP and rest in SpA with a timid nature and you should be good to go.
Otherwise you might as well run Rankurusu who calm minds way better and doesn't need to block status giving it another coverage move.
It's a shame it doesn't have Soul Dew yet, it's another reason to use it over other calm minders as it acts as a free boost, which just eases your setting up and allows you to fire semi-powerful moves without having to set up if it's too early in the game for it.
She has 130 SpD, while he has 110. That isn't a big difference. The minor extra bulk is inconsequential when reminded of the far greater attacking power Latios possesses.
So why isn't the difference between their offensive stats inconsequential when 20 base points obviously equates to "not a big difference"?
Don't belittle Latias's defensive prowess because you feel Latios is better. 20 base points is /huge/. Latias also has a higher defense stat.
The defense is inconsequential because you aren't using either as a special wall, you are using them as attackers. DUH. I'm done explaining this to you. Either be smart and listen, or whatever, I don't really care.
Latias is more of a tank than an attacker, and if you're playing it as an all out attacker... then you're better off using Latios or even Sazandora.
Latias is NOT a tank. It's defenses aren't above average. It just has randomly high SpD. LATIAS IS OUTCLASSED. My god, people