[OVERVIEW]
Flying
========
Mega Aerodactyl finds itself on Flying-type teams as a role compressor that can act as a fast offensive threat, a Pursuit trapper, and a Stealth Rock setter. Due to Mega Aerodactyl's great natural Speed and coverage, it offensively checks many key Pokemon such as Tapu Koko and Weavile with its combination of Earthquake and Stone Edge, which can aid in difficult matchups such as Electric and Ice. Due to Mega Aerodactyl's offensive presence it forces many switches against Pokemon such as Latios and Blacephalon, which it can take advantage of with Pursuit. Mega Aerodactyl can put pressure on Defoggers like Mandibuzz and Zapdos because they are threatened by Aerodactyl's Rock-type STAB attacks. Because Mega Aerodactyl forces out many Pokemon, it gets ample opportunities to set Stealth Rock. Even though Mega Aerodactyl has a decent Attack stat, it has trouble breaking through walls such as Hippowdon, Skarmory, and Porygon2, which all can easily shrug off the damage Mega Aerodactyl does with their recovery moves. Mega Aerodactyl also faces competition for the coveted Mega slot by Mega Charizard Y, which is an amazing special wallbreaker with limited switch-ins that can help Flying-type teams in difficult matchups such as Steel-, Ice-, and Ground-type teams.
[SET]
name: Offensive Stealth Rock Setter (Flying)
move 1: Stone Edge
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Pursuit
move 4: Stealth Rock
item: Aerodactylite
ability: Unnerve
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Stone Edge is Aerodactyl's strongest STAB attack, allowing it to take on threats such as Mantine, Zapdos, and Volcarona. Earthquake is a very nice coverage move that pairs well with Stone Edge and allows Mega Aerodactyl to take on Steel-types such as Magnezone that resist Stone Edge. Pursuit allows Mega Aerodactyl to trap Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokemon such as Victini, Latios, and Blacephalon that can otherwise threaten the team. Stealth Rock is a very essential move that chips the opposing team as they switch in, allowing Mega Aerodactyl and other sweepers and wallbreakers to clean through the other team more easily. Ice Fang is an option over Pursuit that allows Mega Aerodactyl to hit Ground-type Pokemon such as Garchomp, Landorus, and Gliscor super effectively.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack investment allows Mega Aerodactyl to OHKO threats such as Tapu Koko with Earthquake after Stealth Rock. Maximum Speed investment with a Jolly nature allows Mega Aerodactyl to outspeed threats such as Weavile and Tapu Koko, allowing it to easily set up Stealth Rock. Aerodactylite allows Aerodactyl to Mega Evolve and gives it access to Tough Claws. Tough Claws directly boosts the power of Pursuit, allowing Mega Aerodactyl to more easily OHKO or severely weaken Pokemon as they switch out.
Usage Tips
========
Mega Aerodactyl naturally pressures most Defog users due to its access to a powerful Rock-type STAB attack in Stone Edge, leaving many Defoggers such as Zapdos, Mandibuzz, and Crobat unable to clear entry hazards very easily. It should take advantage of this by predicting Defog users threatened by it to switch in. However, Mega Aerodactyl should be careful when switching in on some Defoggers such as Zapdos and Mantine, as they threaten Mega Aerodactyl with their STAB attacks. Aerodactyl can also use its ability to pressure Defoggers with Stone Edge in order to keep Stealth Rock up constantly through the match. Due to Mega Aerodactyl's high Speed and Attack stats, it forces many switches; capitalize on this opportunity to set Stealth Rock or punish switches with Pursuit. Whenever Mega Aerodactyl switches in, Stealth Rock should ideally be removed from its side of the field so it does not have to worry about getting worn down. Mega Aerodactyl should also be used to Pursuit trap Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokemon such as Latios, Victini, and Blacephalon to prevent them from damaging the team. It can also weaken Pokemon such as Zapdos with Pursuit as they switch out, as they'll try to avoid being OHKO'ed by Stone Edge; however, Mega Aerodactyl should be careful using Pursuit when it can be threatened by the Pokemon it is trying to Pursuit trap. Mega Aerodactyl should be preserved to take care of threats such as Tapu Koko and Kyurem-B rather than attempting to set Stealth Rock at any cost. Mega Aerodactyl is fairly useless in certain matchups and should be used as a sacrifice against Ground- and Steel-type teams due to the fact that it can barely touch Pokemon such as Hippowdon and Ferrothorn.
Team Options
========
Stealth Rock helps support all of the offensive threats Flying teams have access to by dealing chip damage to their checks and switch-ins. Dragonite forms an excellent wallbreaking core with Mega Aerodactyl, appreciating the Stealth Rock that Mega Aerodactyl sets to help it OHKO Pokemon such as Mantine with Choice Band-boosted Outrage. Dragonite can also help Mega Aerodactyl against Steel-type Pokemon with its great coverage in Fire Punch and Superpower allowing it to take care of bulky Steel-types such as Mega Scizor and Ferrothorn. Mega Aerodactyl can then take care of Ice-type Pokemon such as Alolan Ninetales and Life Orb Kyurem-B for Dragonite. Defog users such as Mantine and Zapdos can clear entry hazards for Mega Aerodactyl. In return Mega Aerodactyl can take on Ice- and Electric-type Pokemon for Mantine and Zapdos with Stone Edge and Earthquake. Both Zapdos and Mantine can also switch into special attackers for Mega Aerodactyl— Pokemon like Choice Scarf Greninja in Mantine's case, and Electric-types such as Alolan Raichu in Zapdos's case. Skarmory and Celesteela are defensive walls that can switch into Rock- and Ice-type attacks such as Choice Scarf Terrakion's Stone Edge and Mamoswine's Icicle Crash for Mega Aerodactyl. Both Skarmory and Celesteela appreciate Mega Aerodactyl's ability to take on Fire-type Pokemon such as Victini. Skarmory and Celesteela also can take on Fairy-type Pokemon such as Clefable and Tapu Bulu with their Steel-type STAB attacks for Mega Aerodactyl. Ground-types such as Gliscor and Landorus-T check Electric-types for Mega Aerodactyl. Stallbreaker Gliscor can take on Pokemon such as Chansey and Porygon2 that can give Mega Aerodactyl a fair bit of trouble due to their natural bulk. Mega Aerodactyl can then take care of Pokemon such as Victini for Gliscor by Pursuit trapping them. Gliscor also can act as a status absorber for Mega Aerodactyl. Landorus-T acts a nice Choice Scarf user that is faster than Mega Aerodactyl and can clean through weakened Electric-type teams with Earthquake. Special attackers such as Thundurus, Landorus, and Tornadus-T can help Mega Aerodactyl break through physical walls such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Tyranitar, and Swampert. In return, Mega Aerodactyl can handle Volcarona and special walls such as Alolan Muk.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Flying
--------
Hone Claws can be run over Stealth Rock to allow Mega Aerodactyl to always hit Stone Edge and deal more damage against foes such as Toxapex. It can also help Mega Aerodactyl break weakened and slower teams. However, using Hone Claws over Stealth Rock means the team must use a different Stealth Rock user such as Skarmory that has a worse matchup against common Defoggers. Taunt allows Mega Aerodactyl to prevent walls such as Mega Venusaur and Porygon2 from using recovery moves and lets it prevent Pokemon such as Nidoking and Chansey from setting Stealth Rock. However, using Taunt means that Mega Aerodactyl will have to forgo Pursuit, making Pokemon such as Victini and Choice Scarf Latios much harder to check. Aqua Tail allows Mega Aerodactyl to check bulky Ground-type Pokemon such as Hippowdon that would otherwise completely counter it. Wing Attack allows Mega Aerodactyl to hit Grass- and Fighting-type Pokemon that would otherwise beat it such as Keldeo, Mega Venusaur, and Mega Gallade. Fire Fang allows Mega Aerodactyl to hit Steel-type Pokemon such as Ferrothorn that would otherwise wall Mega Aerodactyl. Alternatively, instead of running a Mega Stone on hyper offensive teams, Aerodactyl can be used as a suicide lead with a Focus Sash. With great Speed and access to Stealth Rock and Taunt, Aerodactyl can stop many leads from setting Stealth Rock and spreading status. Double-Edge is used on such a set so that it can faint to recoil damage against Defoggers such as Zapdos rather than letting entry hazards be cleared, and Tailwind provides speed control for powerful wallbreakers such as Mega Charizard Y and Dragonite, allowing them to outspeed foes they usually would not be able to beat such as Tapu Koko.
Checks and Counters
===================
Flying
--------
**Stealth Rock**: Stealth Rock limits the number of times Mega Aerodactyl can come into battle and set its own Stealth Rock against the opponent.
**Status Conditions**: Burns cripple Mega Aerodactyl's ability to do any meaningful damage against foes such as Zapdos, and paralysis makes it lose its fantastic Speed tier, no longer outspeeding Pokemon such as Tapu Koko and Choice Scarf Magnezone.
**Steel-types**: Steel-types such as Celesteela resist Mega Aerodactyl's Stone Edge, allowing them to easily take its attacks and retaliate with their powerful STAB moves. Mega Scizor deserves a special mention, as it can avoid the 2HKO from Mega Aerodactyl's Stone Edge after Stealth Rock and threaten to set up with Swords Dance or heavily chip it with Bullet Punch. However, Steel-types such as Magnezone and Heatran that are heavily threatened by Earthquake cannot check Mega Aerodactyl.
**Water-types**: Mega Aerodactyl lacks the power to OHKO most Water-type Pokemon, which can OHKO or cripple Mega Aerodactyl with their Water-type STAB attacks in return.
**Bulky Pokemon**: Mega Aerodactyl is easily walled by bulky Pokemon such as Chansey, Toxapex, Mega Venusaur, Skarmory, and Porygon2 due to their access to reliable recovery, their great natural bulk, and Mega Aerodactyl's modest damage output.
**Bulky Attackers**: Mamoswine and Buzzwole can easily tank Mega Aerodactyl's attacks and significantly damage it in return with Icicle Crash and Ice Punch, respectively. However, Buzzwole needs to watch out for Aerial Ace, which can easily OHKO it.
Flying
========
Mega Aerodactyl finds itself on Flying-type teams as a role compressor that can act as a fast offensive threat, a Pursuit trapper, and a Stealth Rock setter. Due to Mega Aerodactyl's great natural Speed and coverage, it offensively checks many key Pokemon such as Tapu Koko and Weavile with its combination of Earthquake and Stone Edge, which can aid in difficult matchups such as Electric and Ice. Due to Mega Aerodactyl's offensive presence it forces many switches against Pokemon such as Latios and Blacephalon, which it can take advantage of with Pursuit. Mega Aerodactyl can put pressure on Defoggers like Mandibuzz and Zapdos because they are threatened by Aerodactyl's Rock-type STAB attacks. Because Mega Aerodactyl forces out many Pokemon, it gets ample opportunities to set Stealth Rock. Even though Mega Aerodactyl has a decent Attack stat, it has trouble breaking through walls such as Hippowdon, Skarmory, and Porygon2, which all can easily shrug off the damage Mega Aerodactyl does with their recovery moves. Mega Aerodactyl also faces competition for the coveted Mega slot by Mega Charizard Y, which is an amazing special wallbreaker with limited switch-ins that can help Flying-type teams in difficult matchups such as Steel-, Ice-, and Ground-type teams.
[SET]
name: Offensive Stealth Rock Setter (Flying)
move 1: Stone Edge
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Pursuit
move 4: Stealth Rock
item: Aerodactylite
ability: Unnerve
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Stone Edge is Aerodactyl's strongest STAB attack, allowing it to take on threats such as Mantine, Zapdos, and Volcarona. Earthquake is a very nice coverage move that pairs well with Stone Edge and allows Mega Aerodactyl to take on Steel-types such as Magnezone that resist Stone Edge. Pursuit allows Mega Aerodactyl to trap Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokemon such as Victini, Latios, and Blacephalon that can otherwise threaten the team. Stealth Rock is a very essential move that chips the opposing team as they switch in, allowing Mega Aerodactyl and other sweepers and wallbreakers to clean through the other team more easily. Ice Fang is an option over Pursuit that allows Mega Aerodactyl to hit Ground-type Pokemon such as Garchomp, Landorus, and Gliscor super effectively.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack investment allows Mega Aerodactyl to OHKO threats such as Tapu Koko with Earthquake after Stealth Rock. Maximum Speed investment with a Jolly nature allows Mega Aerodactyl to outspeed threats such as Weavile and Tapu Koko, allowing it to easily set up Stealth Rock. Aerodactylite allows Aerodactyl to Mega Evolve and gives it access to Tough Claws. Tough Claws directly boosts the power of Pursuit, allowing Mega Aerodactyl to more easily OHKO or severely weaken Pokemon as they switch out.
Usage Tips
========
Mega Aerodactyl naturally pressures most Defog users due to its access to a powerful Rock-type STAB attack in Stone Edge, leaving many Defoggers such as Zapdos, Mandibuzz, and Crobat unable to clear entry hazards very easily. It should take advantage of this by predicting Defog users threatened by it to switch in. However, Mega Aerodactyl should be careful when switching in on some Defoggers such as Zapdos and Mantine, as they threaten Mega Aerodactyl with their STAB attacks. Aerodactyl can also use its ability to pressure Defoggers with Stone Edge in order to keep Stealth Rock up constantly through the match. Due to Mega Aerodactyl's high Speed and Attack stats, it forces many switches; capitalize on this opportunity to set Stealth Rock or punish switches with Pursuit. Whenever Mega Aerodactyl switches in, Stealth Rock should ideally be removed from its side of the field so it does not have to worry about getting worn down. Mega Aerodactyl should also be used to Pursuit trap Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokemon such as Latios, Victini, and Blacephalon to prevent them from damaging the team. It can also weaken Pokemon such as Zapdos with Pursuit as they switch out, as they'll try to avoid being OHKO'ed by Stone Edge; however, Mega Aerodactyl should be careful using Pursuit when it can be threatened by the Pokemon it is trying to Pursuit trap. Mega Aerodactyl should be preserved to take care of threats such as Tapu Koko and Kyurem-B rather than attempting to set Stealth Rock at any cost. Mega Aerodactyl is fairly useless in certain matchups and should be used as a sacrifice against Ground- and Steel-type teams due to the fact that it can barely touch Pokemon such as Hippowdon and Ferrothorn.
Team Options
========
Stealth Rock helps support all of the offensive threats Flying teams have access to by dealing chip damage to their checks and switch-ins. Dragonite forms an excellent wallbreaking core with Mega Aerodactyl, appreciating the Stealth Rock that Mega Aerodactyl sets to help it OHKO Pokemon such as Mantine with Choice Band-boosted Outrage. Dragonite can also help Mega Aerodactyl against Steel-type Pokemon with its great coverage in Fire Punch and Superpower allowing it to take care of bulky Steel-types such as Mega Scizor and Ferrothorn. Mega Aerodactyl can then take care of Ice-type Pokemon such as Alolan Ninetales and Life Orb Kyurem-B for Dragonite. Defog users such as Mantine and Zapdos can clear entry hazards for Mega Aerodactyl. In return Mega Aerodactyl can take on Ice- and Electric-type Pokemon for Mantine and Zapdos with Stone Edge and Earthquake. Both Zapdos and Mantine can also switch into special attackers for Mega Aerodactyl— Pokemon like Choice Scarf Greninja in Mantine's case, and Electric-types such as Alolan Raichu in Zapdos's case. Skarmory and Celesteela are defensive walls that can switch into Rock- and Ice-type attacks such as Choice Scarf Terrakion's Stone Edge and Mamoswine's Icicle Crash for Mega Aerodactyl. Both Skarmory and Celesteela appreciate Mega Aerodactyl's ability to take on Fire-type Pokemon such as Victini. Skarmory and Celesteela also can take on Fairy-type Pokemon such as Clefable and Tapu Bulu with their Steel-type STAB attacks for Mega Aerodactyl. Ground-types such as Gliscor and Landorus-T check Electric-types for Mega Aerodactyl. Stallbreaker Gliscor can take on Pokemon such as Chansey and Porygon2 that can give Mega Aerodactyl a fair bit of trouble due to their natural bulk. Mega Aerodactyl can then take care of Pokemon such as Victini for Gliscor by Pursuit trapping them. Gliscor also can act as a status absorber for Mega Aerodactyl. Landorus-T acts a nice Choice Scarf user that is faster than Mega Aerodactyl and can clean through weakened Electric-type teams with Earthquake. Special attackers such as Thundurus, Landorus, and Tornadus-T can help Mega Aerodactyl break through physical walls such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Tyranitar, and Swampert. In return, Mega Aerodactyl can handle Volcarona and special walls such as Alolan Muk.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Flying
--------
Hone Claws can be run over Stealth Rock to allow Mega Aerodactyl to always hit Stone Edge and deal more damage against foes such as Toxapex. It can also help Mega Aerodactyl break weakened and slower teams. However, using Hone Claws over Stealth Rock means the team must use a different Stealth Rock user such as Skarmory that has a worse matchup against common Defoggers. Taunt allows Mega Aerodactyl to prevent walls such as Mega Venusaur and Porygon2 from using recovery moves and lets it prevent Pokemon such as Nidoking and Chansey from setting Stealth Rock. However, using Taunt means that Mega Aerodactyl will have to forgo Pursuit, making Pokemon such as Victini and Choice Scarf Latios much harder to check. Aqua Tail allows Mega Aerodactyl to check bulky Ground-type Pokemon such as Hippowdon that would otherwise completely counter it. Wing Attack allows Mega Aerodactyl to hit Grass- and Fighting-type Pokemon that would otherwise beat it such as Keldeo, Mega Venusaur, and Mega Gallade. Fire Fang allows Mega Aerodactyl to hit Steel-type Pokemon such as Ferrothorn that would otherwise wall Mega Aerodactyl. Alternatively, instead of running a Mega Stone on hyper offensive teams, Aerodactyl can be used as a suicide lead with a Focus Sash. With great Speed and access to Stealth Rock and Taunt, Aerodactyl can stop many leads from setting Stealth Rock and spreading status. Double-Edge is used on such a set so that it can faint to recoil damage against Defoggers such as Zapdos rather than letting entry hazards be cleared, and Tailwind provides speed control for powerful wallbreakers such as Mega Charizard Y and Dragonite, allowing them to outspeed foes they usually would not be able to beat such as Tapu Koko.
Checks and Counters
===================
Flying
--------
**Stealth Rock**: Stealth Rock limits the number of times Mega Aerodactyl can come into battle and set its own Stealth Rock against the opponent.
**Status Conditions**: Burns cripple Mega Aerodactyl's ability to do any meaningful damage against foes such as Zapdos, and paralysis makes it lose its fantastic Speed tier, no longer outspeeding Pokemon such as Tapu Koko and Choice Scarf Magnezone.
**Steel-types**: Steel-types such as Celesteela resist Mega Aerodactyl's Stone Edge, allowing them to easily take its attacks and retaliate with their powerful STAB moves. Mega Scizor deserves a special mention, as it can avoid the 2HKO from Mega Aerodactyl's Stone Edge after Stealth Rock and threaten to set up with Swords Dance or heavily chip it with Bullet Punch. However, Steel-types such as Magnezone and Heatran that are heavily threatened by Earthquake cannot check Mega Aerodactyl.
**Water-types**: Mega Aerodactyl lacks the power to OHKO most Water-type Pokemon, which can OHKO or cripple Mega Aerodactyl with their Water-type STAB attacks in return.
**Bulky Pokemon**: Mega Aerodactyl is easily walled by bulky Pokemon such as Chansey, Toxapex, Mega Venusaur, Skarmory, and Porygon2 due to their access to reliable recovery, their great natural bulk, and Mega Aerodactyl's modest damage output.
**Bulky Attackers**: Mamoswine and Buzzwole can easily tank Mega Aerodactyl's attacks and significantly damage it in return with Icicle Crash and Ice Punch, respectively. However, Buzzwole needs to watch out for Aerial Ace, which can easily OHKO it.
Last edited: