[OVERVIEW]
Latios is an effective attacker in Doubles OU due to its great combination of high Speed, good offensive stats, access to speed control, and some defensive application due to its multiple resistances. Its strong STAB moves, specifically Draco Meteor, allow it to outright OHKO a good portion of the metagame. Furthermore, access to Tailwind makes Latios an excellent choice for teams with relatively slower attackers. However, Latios has some rather glaring weaknesses, such as its inability to deal meaningful damage to the Steel- and Fairy-types that dominate the metagame. It is also rather weak to opposing speed control, since it is reliant on its high Speed and offensive pressure to not be quickly KOed. On top of all this, Latios faces stiff competition from Mega Salamence, which has a similar defensive typing and access to Tailwind but is faster and stronger and can provide Intimidate support. It also struggles to compete with Tapu Lele, which has similar offensive coverage but a better ability. Most of the time, Latios's role can be better filled by the two Pokemon listed above, so it fits best on teams that already have a Mega Pokemon or require Tailwind support.
[SET]
name: Fast Attacker
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Psychic
move 3: Tailwind
move 4: Protect
item: Soul Dew / Dragonium Z
ability: Levitate
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Draco Meteor is Latios's strongest STAB move and deals great damage to all neutral targets. However, it has a nasty side effect of sharply dropping Latios's Special Attack. Psychic is its secondary, more reliable STAB move, although it is much weaker. Psyshock can be used to hit specially defensive threats such as Nihilego and Mega Charizard Y harder, although it is weaker. Tailwind allows Latios and its allies to outspeed and KO threats they otherwise couldn't. Finally, Protect is a staple in doubles for its ability to stall out field conditions and allow an ally to KO a threatening opposing Pokemon.
Set Details
========
Soul Dew is Latios's preferred item, boosting the power of its STAB moves and allowing it to bluff a potential Dragonium Z set. Dragonium Z, on the other hand, lets Latios use Devastating Drake, which lets Latios deal significant damage even to resistant targets. Dragonium Z is a riskier choice because of its one-time use, however. A simple EV spread of 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe lets Latios hit as hard and as fast as possible, and a Timid nature makes Latios guaranteed to outspeed the likes of Mega Charizard and Terrakion.
Usage Tips
========
Latios is best used as a hit-and-run attacker, firing off strong Draco Meteors but then switching out in order to be used later. This is because Draco Meteor's Special Attack drop effectively forces you to switch it out in order to deal good damage again. Use it sparingly so you don't lose your momentum. Latios makes for a decent switch-in because of its special bulk and nifty set of resistances, but it can also perform late-game due to its high Speed, which lets it clean up quite nicely. You should try to have Latios set Tailwind at the most opportune time, so it and its allies can punch holes in the opposing team.
Team Options
========
Steel-types such as Aegislash, Celesteela, and Heatran are good partners because they can switch into opposing Dragon- and Fairy-type attacks. Allies that appreciate Tailwind support, namely strong Pokemon with middling Speed tiers, make for great partners with Latios. Some examples are Tapu Bulu, Mega Charizard Y, and Mega Kangaskhan. Since Latios can barely touch Steel-types, checks to those are appreciated. Fire-types such as Heatran, Volcanion, and Mega Charizard Y are effective, as are Ground-types such as Landorus and Landorus-T.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Life Orb can be used as an alternative over Soul Dew, providing a larger boost to all of Latios's moves, not just those with STAB. It does have the drawback of causing recoil, however. Dragon Pulse is a much weaker alternative to Draco Meteor, but it has the benefit of not dropping Latios's Special Attack. Hidden Power Ground allows Latios to catch Heatran, which otherwise walls Latios, off guard. Substitute allows Latios to avoid getting picked off by Sucker Punch and to set up if you predict your opponent to use Protect or switch. Thunder Wave can be used instead of Tailwind, permanently slowing down an opposing Pokemon. Recover gives Latios more longevity.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-type Pokemon**: Steel-types take little damage from both of Latios's STAB moves and can beat it one-on-one. Aegislash and Celesteela in particular are very threatening, because the former can KO it with Shadow Ball and the later can recover back all its HP with Leech Seed and Leftovers recovery.
**Fairy-type Pokemon**: Fairy-types such as Sylveon and Tapu Lele are immune to Latios's strongest STAB move, and they also tend to be pretty specially bulky. This allows them to eat a hit and KO Latios in return.
**Dark-type Pokemon**: Dark-types such as Scrafty, Alolan Muk, and Hoopa-U are immune to one of Latios's STAB moves. Sucker Punch users such as Kangaskhan are also super threatening because they can pick Latios off before it gets a chance to attack.
**Thunder Wave, Tailwind, and Trick Room**: Due its very nature of being a fast attacker, Latios is susceptible to opposing forms of speed control, since they essentially take away one of its best traits. Trick Room setters such as Cresselia, Hoopa-U, and Oranguru can freely set Trick Room against Latios due to their high Special Defense. Thunder Wave users cripple Latios by halving its Speed. Some examples include Thundurus and Jirachi. Pokemon such as Shaymin-S and Salamence can set Tailwind for their allies, which can then strike first and KO Latios.
**Faster Pokemon**: Faster Pokemon such as Mega Gengar, Mega Salamence, and Genesect are very threatening to Latios, since they can outspeed and KO Latios before it has a chance to do anything.
Latios is an effective attacker in Doubles OU due to its great combination of high Speed, good offensive stats, access to speed control, and some defensive application due to its multiple resistances. Its strong STAB moves, specifically Draco Meteor, allow it to outright OHKO a good portion of the metagame. Furthermore, access to Tailwind makes Latios an excellent choice for teams with relatively slower attackers. However, Latios has some rather glaring weaknesses, such as its inability to deal meaningful damage to the Steel- and Fairy-types that dominate the metagame. It is also rather weak to opposing speed control, since it is reliant on its high Speed and offensive pressure to not be quickly KOed. On top of all this, Latios faces stiff competition from Mega Salamence, which has a similar defensive typing and access to Tailwind but is faster and stronger and can provide Intimidate support. It also struggles to compete with Tapu Lele, which has similar offensive coverage but a better ability. Most of the time, Latios's role can be better filled by the two Pokemon listed above, so it fits best on teams that already have a Mega Pokemon or require Tailwind support.
[SET]
name: Fast Attacker
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Psychic
move 3: Tailwind
move 4: Protect
item: Soul Dew / Dragonium Z
ability: Levitate
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Draco Meteor is Latios's strongest STAB move and deals great damage to all neutral targets. However, it has a nasty side effect of sharply dropping Latios's Special Attack. Psychic is its secondary, more reliable STAB move, although it is much weaker. Psyshock can be used to hit specially defensive threats such as Nihilego and Mega Charizard Y harder, although it is weaker. Tailwind allows Latios and its allies to outspeed and KO threats they otherwise couldn't. Finally, Protect is a staple in doubles for its ability to stall out field conditions and allow an ally to KO a threatening opposing Pokemon.
Set Details
========
Soul Dew is Latios's preferred item, boosting the power of its STAB moves and allowing it to bluff a potential Dragonium Z set. Dragonium Z, on the other hand, lets Latios use Devastating Drake, which lets Latios deal significant damage even to resistant targets. Dragonium Z is a riskier choice because of its one-time use, however. A simple EV spread of 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe lets Latios hit as hard and as fast as possible, and a Timid nature makes Latios guaranteed to outspeed the likes of Mega Charizard and Terrakion.
Usage Tips
========
Latios is best used as a hit-and-run attacker, firing off strong Draco Meteors but then switching out in order to be used later. This is because Draco Meteor's Special Attack drop effectively forces you to switch it out in order to deal good damage again. Use it sparingly so you don't lose your momentum. Latios makes for a decent switch-in because of its special bulk and nifty set of resistances, but it can also perform late-game due to its high Speed, which lets it clean up quite nicely. You should try to have Latios set Tailwind at the most opportune time, so it and its allies can punch holes in the opposing team.
Team Options
========
Steel-types such as Aegislash, Celesteela, and Heatran are good partners because they can switch into opposing Dragon- and Fairy-type attacks. Allies that appreciate Tailwind support, namely strong Pokemon with middling Speed tiers, make for great partners with Latios. Some examples are Tapu Bulu, Mega Charizard Y, and Mega Kangaskhan. Since Latios can barely touch Steel-types, checks to those are appreciated. Fire-types such as Heatran, Volcanion, and Mega Charizard Y are effective, as are Ground-types such as Landorus and Landorus-T.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Life Orb can be used as an alternative over Soul Dew, providing a larger boost to all of Latios's moves, not just those with STAB. It does have the drawback of causing recoil, however. Dragon Pulse is a much weaker alternative to Draco Meteor, but it has the benefit of not dropping Latios's Special Attack. Hidden Power Ground allows Latios to catch Heatran, which otherwise walls Latios, off guard. Substitute allows Latios to avoid getting picked off by Sucker Punch and to set up if you predict your opponent to use Protect or switch. Thunder Wave can be used instead of Tailwind, permanently slowing down an opposing Pokemon. Recover gives Latios more longevity.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-type Pokemon**: Steel-types take little damage from both of Latios's STAB moves and can beat it one-on-one. Aegislash and Celesteela in particular are very threatening, because the former can KO it with Shadow Ball and the later can recover back all its HP with Leech Seed and Leftovers recovery.
**Fairy-type Pokemon**: Fairy-types such as Sylveon and Tapu Lele are immune to Latios's strongest STAB move, and they also tend to be pretty specially bulky. This allows them to eat a hit and KO Latios in return.
**Dark-type Pokemon**: Dark-types such as Scrafty, Alolan Muk, and Hoopa-U are immune to one of Latios's STAB moves. Sucker Punch users such as Kangaskhan are also super threatening because they can pick Latios off before it gets a chance to attack.
**Thunder Wave, Tailwind, and Trick Room**: Due its very nature of being a fast attacker, Latios is susceptible to opposing forms of speed control, since they essentially take away one of its best traits. Trick Room setters such as Cresselia, Hoopa-U, and Oranguru can freely set Trick Room against Latios due to their high Special Defense. Thunder Wave users cripple Latios by halving its Speed. Some examples include Thundurus and Jirachi. Pokemon such as Shaymin-S and Salamence can set Tailwind for their allies, which can then strike first and KO Latios.
**Faster Pokemon**: Faster Pokemon such as Mega Gengar, Mega Salamence, and Genesect are very threatening to Latios, since they can outspeed and KO Latios before it has a chance to do anything.
[OVERVIEW]
name: Fast Attacker
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Psychic
move 3: Tailwind
move 4: Protect
item: Soul Dew / Dragonium Z
ability: Levitate
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
========
========
Use Draco Meteor or Devestating Drake to punch holes in the opposing team, thus weakening it and making it easier to beat.
Use Draco Meteor sparingly, however, because the Special Attack drop effectively forces you to switch out in order to deal good damage.
Latios is best used as a hit-and-run attacker, firing off strong Draco Meteors but then switching out in order to be used later.
It makes for a decent switch-in because of its special bulk and nifty set of resistances.
Set Tailwind at the most opportune time and sweep from there.
Latios can also perform well in the late-game due to its high Speed, which lets it clean up quite nicely.
Team Options
========
Steel-types such as Aegislash, Celesteela, and Heatran are good partners because they can switch into opposing Dragon- and Fairy-type attacks.
Allies that appreciates Tailwind support, namely strong Pokemon with middling Speed tiers, make for great partners with Latios. Some examples are Tapu Bulu, Mega Charizard Y, and Mega Kangaskhan.
Latios can barely touch Steel-types, so checks to those are appreciated. Fire-types such as Heatran, Volcanion, and Mega Charizard Y are effective, as are Ground-types such as Landorus and Landorus-T.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Life Orb can be used as an alternative over Soul Dew, providing a larger boost to all of Latios's moves, not just those with STAB. It does have the drawback of causing recoil, however.
Hidden Power Ground allows Latios to catch Heatran off guard, which otherwise walls Latios.
Recover gives Latios more longevity.
Dragon Pulse is a much weaker alternative to Draco Meteor but has higher damage output over multiple turns, since it doesn't drop Latios's Special Attack.
Substitute allows Latios to avoid getting picked off by Sucker Punch and to set up if you predict your opponent to Protect or switch.
Thunder Wave can be used instead of Tailwind, permanently slowing down an opposing Pokemon.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-type Pokemon**: Steel-types take little damage from both of Latios's STAB moves and can beat it 1v1. Aegislash and Celesteela in particular are very threatening, because the former can KO it with Shadow Ball and the later can recover back all its HP with Leech Seed and Leftovers recovery.
**Fairy-type Pokemon**: Fairy-types such as Sylveon and Tapu Lele are immune to Latios's strongest STAB move, and they also tend to be pretty specially bulky. This allows them to eat a hit and KO Latios in return.
**Dark-type Pokemon**: Dark-types such as Scrafty, Alolan Muk, and Hoopa-U are immune to one of Latios's STAB moves. Sucker Punch users such as Kangaskhan are also super threatening because they can pick Latios off before it gets a chance to attack.
**Thunder Wave, Tailwind, and Trick Room**: Due its very nature of being a fast attacker, Latios is susceptible to opposing forms of speed control, since they essentially take away one of its best traits. Trick Room setters such as Necrozma, Hoopa-U, and Bronzong can freely set Trick Room against Latios due to their great bulk. Thunder Wave users, too, cripple Latios by halving its Speed. Some examples include Thundurus and Jirachi. Pokemon such as Shaymin-S and Salamence can set Tailwind for their allies, which can then strike first and KO Latios.
**Faster Pokemon**: Faster Pokemon such as Mega Gengar, Mega Salamence, and Genesect are very threatening to Latios, since they can outspeed and KO Latios before it has a chance to do anything.
- Latios is a decent pick as an attacker because it has a good combination of power, Speed, utility, and some defensive application thanks to its multiple resistances.
- Great Speed combined with good Special Attack and strong STAB moves let it outspeed and outright KO a good portion of the metagame.
- It has a decent defensive typing with resistances to Fire-, Water-, and Psychic-type attacks, and a good ability in Levitate that grants it an immunity to Ground-type attacks.
- However, Latios is walled by Steel- and Fairy-types, is quite physically frail, and loses to any other form of speed control.
- On top of this, Latios faces stiff competition from Tapu Lele, which has similar offensive coverage but a better ability, and Mega Salamence, which has a similar defensive typing and access to Tailwind but is faster, stronger, and can provide Intimidate support.
name: Fast Attacker
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Psychic
move 3: Tailwind
move 4: Protect
item: Soul Dew / Dragonium Z
ability: Levitate
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
- Draco Meteor is Latios's strongest STAB move and deals great damage to all neutral neutral targets. It also lets it OHKO slower Dragon-types such as Kyurem-B and Hydreigon. However, it has a nasty side effect of sharply dropping Latios's Special Attack
- Psychic is its secondary, more reliable STAB move, although it is weaker.
- Psyshock is an equally viable option that lets you hit specially defensive threats such as Assault Vest Landorus-T and Mega Charizard Y harder.
- Tailwind allows Latios and its allies to outspeed and KO threats they otherwise couldn't.
- Protect has many applications; for example, it allows Latios to stall out field conditions such as Trick Room and lets allies take out opposing Pokemon that threaten Latios.
========
- Soul Dew is the preferred item, boosting the power of Latios's STAB moves.
- Dragonium Z lets it use Devestating Drake, and although it's a riskier choice because of its one-time use, it allows Latios to deal significant damage even to targets that resist it.
- A simple EV spread of 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe lets Latios hit as hard and fast as possible.
- A Timid nature makes Latios guaranteed to outspeed the likes of Charizard and Terrakion, while also allowing it to Speed tie with other base 110s such as opposing Latios.
========
Use Draco Meteor or Devestating Drake to punch holes in the opposing team, thus weakening it and making it easier to beat.
Use Draco Meteor sparingly, however, because the Special Attack drop effectively forces you to switch out in order to deal good damage.
Latios is best used as a hit-and-run attacker, firing off strong Draco Meteors but then switching out in order to be used later.
It makes for a decent switch-in because of its special bulk and nifty set of resistances.
Set Tailwind at the most opportune time and sweep from there.
Latios can also perform well in the late-game due to its high Speed, which lets it clean up quite nicely.
Team Options
========
Steel-types such as Aegislash, Celesteela, and Heatran are good partners because they can switch into opposing Dragon- and Fairy-type attacks.
Allies that appreciates Tailwind support, namely strong Pokemon with middling Speed tiers, make for great partners with Latios. Some examples are Tapu Bulu, Mega Charizard Y, and Mega Kangaskhan.
Latios can barely touch Steel-types, so checks to those are appreciated. Fire-types such as Heatran, Volcanion, and Mega Charizard Y are effective, as are Ground-types such as Landorus and Landorus-T.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Life Orb can be used as an alternative over Soul Dew, providing a larger boost to all of Latios's moves, not just those with STAB. It does have the drawback of causing recoil, however.
Hidden Power Ground allows Latios to catch Heatran off guard, which otherwise walls Latios.
Recover gives Latios more longevity.
Dragon Pulse is a much weaker alternative to Draco Meteor but has higher damage output over multiple turns, since it doesn't drop Latios's Special Attack.
Substitute allows Latios to avoid getting picked off by Sucker Punch and to set up if you predict your opponent to Protect or switch.
Thunder Wave can be used instead of Tailwind, permanently slowing down an opposing Pokemon.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-type Pokemon**: Steel-types take little damage from both of Latios's STAB moves and can beat it 1v1. Aegislash and Celesteela in particular are very threatening, because the former can KO it with Shadow Ball and the later can recover back all its HP with Leech Seed and Leftovers recovery.
**Fairy-type Pokemon**: Fairy-types such as Sylveon and Tapu Lele are immune to Latios's strongest STAB move, and they also tend to be pretty specially bulky. This allows them to eat a hit and KO Latios in return.
**Dark-type Pokemon**: Dark-types such as Scrafty, Alolan Muk, and Hoopa-U are immune to one of Latios's STAB moves. Sucker Punch users such as Kangaskhan are also super threatening because they can pick Latios off before it gets a chance to attack.
**Thunder Wave, Tailwind, and Trick Room**: Due its very nature of being a fast attacker, Latios is susceptible to opposing forms of speed control, since they essentially take away one of its best traits. Trick Room setters such as Necrozma, Hoopa-U, and Bronzong can freely set Trick Room against Latios due to their great bulk. Thunder Wave users, too, cripple Latios by halving its Speed. Some examples include Thundurus and Jirachi. Pokemon such as Shaymin-S and Salamence can set Tailwind for their allies, which can then strike first and KO Latios.
**Faster Pokemon**: Faster Pokemon such as Mega Gengar, Mega Salamence, and Genesect are very threatening to Latios, since they can outspeed and KO Latios before it has a chance to do anything.
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