Latios (M) @ Soul Dew
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Psyshock
Latios is the primary wall-breaker of
*TEAM* (choose a name). With four incredibly powerful special attacks that give excellent offensive coverage, with all of which being powered up by an item that is essentially a free Choice Specs that also increases the user's special bulk without that item's debilitating locking effect, it can almost guaranteed the fall of one of the opponent's Pokémon every time it manages to come in safely. By combining this with Latios's natural resilience against entry hazards compared to other prominent wall-breakers such as Mewtwo, Ho-Oh and Rayquaza, as well as its blazingly high 110 base Speed, Latios is a perfect weapon against stall as well as walls in general, and in this way, it serves a crucial role in this team by eliminating key Pokémon on the opponent's team that may stand in the way of
*TEAM*'s two primary sweepers, Darkrai and Rayquaza. Draco Meteor and Hidden Power [Fire] give perfect coverage barring Heatran, with the former heavily damaging if not outright KO'ing any Pokémon that does not resist it, while the latter is also a very potent weapon against the incredibly annoying Ferrothorn as well as the very frequent Genesect switch-in, especially in the Sun. Grass Knot serves the incredibly useful role of demolishing all of the Übers metagame's dominant weather summoners, and with the ability to smash special walls such as Chansey and Blissey with Psyshock, almost nothing except for a select few Pokémon, such as Lugia and Jirachi or Arceus-Steel in the rain can stand up to its brutal assaults.
While many may argue that Life Orb Mewtwo would be a better option for this team due to its higher Speed and generally stronger attacks barring Latios's Draco Meteor, it is found that in practice, Latios is a far superior special-based wall-breaker and anti-stall Pokémon than Mewtwo thanks to its immunity to Spikes and Toxic Spikes, lack of reliance on Life Orb (and while it is possible for Mewtwo to not hold Life Orb, the level of threat that it poses in the absence of such an item is quite lacking, as without this item, even its signature move
Psystrike is weaker than Soul Dew Latios's Psyshock), significantly higher special bulk, as well as various key resistances that its type combination provides, most notably Water (which allows Latios to withstand the assaults of even the mighty and incredibly common Choice Scarf Kyogre, unlike Mewtwo), all of which vastly increases its longevity compared to Mewtwo, and being able to last long in the face of entry hazards, or simply not losing health with every attack, is vital for a Pokémon whose primary purpose is to break down walls and power through stall-based strategies. Though Latios cannot switch into Kyogre, it is nonetheless this team's primary weapon against it, as after coming into it after another Pokémon has fainted, Latios can very easily either beat Kyogre one-on-one with its powerful Grass Knot, or predict a switch and smash something else on the team with one of its four insanely destructive special attacks.
