OU Aerodactyl


QC: AM / TheEnder / Henry
GP: Antemortem / Winry.
Overview
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Mega Aerodactyl has a great Speed tier that allows it to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame, and some of the boosted metagame. It is often seen on teams as an offensive check to Diggersby, Mega Lopunny, Mega Beedrill, and Flying-types such as Talonflame and Mega Pinsir. Mega Aerodactyl has a very wide movepool consisting of moves such as Roost, Fire Fang, Ice Fang, Aqua Tail, and Earthquake. Its ability, Tough Claws, boosts the power of contact moves by 1.33x, allowing Mega Aerodactyl to use moves like Fire Fang and Aerial Ace. Aerodactyl also has decent bulk for an offensive Pokemon; however, it is held back by its weakness to Stealth Rock and common priority moves such as Bullet Punch and Aqua Jet.

All-Out Attacker
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name: All-Out Attacker
move 1: Stone Edge
move 2: Aerial Ace
move 3: Fire Fang / Earthquake
move 4: Aqua Tail / Ice Fang
ability: Pressure
item: Aerodactylite
evs: 248 Atk / 44 Def / 216 Spe
nature: Jolly

Moves
========

Stone Edge picks off Pokemon such as Talonflame and Mega Pinsir, while Aerial Ace cleans up weakened teams. Fire Fang nails common Steel-types such as Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor, and Skarmory. Earthquake can OHKO Magnezone and Heatran, and reliably 2HKO Mega Manectric and Empoleon while also hitting Steel-types such as Bisharp harder than Fire Fang. Aqua Tail hits most Ground- and Rock-type Pokemon and does more damage than Earthquake to Tyranitar thanks to the Tough Claws boost. Ice Fang nails Landorus-T and Gliscor. Keep in mind that Fire Fang should be used with Aqua Tail, and Earthquake should be used with Ice Fang. Roost keeps Mega Aerodactyl constantly healthy.

Set Details
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216 Speed EVs with a Jolly nature let Mega Aerodactyl outspeed everything up to Mega Sceptile with a positive nature, while 44 Defense EVs allow it to avoid being 2HKOed by Choice Band Talonflame's Brave Bird. The rest of the EVs are dumped into Attack so that it can hit harder. Aerodactylite gives Mega Aerodactyl much more Speed, bulk, and power.

Usage Tips
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Mega Aerodactyl can be used to clean up weakened Pokemon. When using it early-game, try to soften up bulkier Pokemon for a teammate to sweep later. Thanks to Mega Aerodactyl's great Speed, it can be used to revenge kill slower Pokemon such as Mega Gallade.

Team Options
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A way of getting rid of entry hazards is mandatory due to Mega Aerodactyl's crippling weakness to Stealth Rock; for this reason, Defoggers such as Latios and Latias make for great partners. Pokemon that can set up entry hazards such as Ferrothorn, Hippowdon, and Heatran are also good partners. Ferrothorn has great defensive synergy with Aerodactyl, while Hippowdon can set up a sandstorm to boost Aerodactyl's Special Defense. Heatran and Rotom-W can help Aerodactyl take on Flying-types better, as without recovery, it cannot singlehandedly take on both Talonflame and Mega Pinsir. Teammates that like Flying-types gone such as Breloom are also good partners, as Aerodactyl can handle most offensive Flying-types. Keldeo and both Thundurus formes are good teammates, because Keldeo can reliably get rid of Landorus-T and Gliscor, while both Thundurus formes can take on the bulky Water-types that trouble Aerodactyl. Dragalge is a strong wallbreaker with its Choice Specs set, weakening bulkier walls for Aerodactyl to sweep later. It can also utilize Toxic Spikes set to wear down bulkier walls that despise being poisoned. Because Mega Aerodactyl despises status, Pokemon such as Magic Guard Clefable or Reflect Type Starmie are good partners, as they can easily absorb status for it. Celebi can also absorb status, while its Swords Dance Baton Pass set can amplify Mega Aerodactyl's offensive presence. Celebi also counters Rotom-W, which Mega Aerodactyl has difficulty with.

Other Options
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Hone Claws can boost Mega Aerodactyl's Attack, allowing it to hit harder, but Mega Aerodactyl is frail and has a hard time setting up. Stealth Rock is another option, but it is better to leave this to another teammate, because Mega Aerodactyl needs to run as many moves as it can. A stallbreaker set with Taunt and Roost is not as effective due to Mega Sableye outclassing it, though it is still an option. Defog can be used if your team lacks an entry hazard remover, but using your Mega Evolution as a Defogger is not recommended. Mega Aerodactyl also has a weakness to Stealth Rock, making it an unreliable Defogger. Iron Head 2HKOes Mega Altaria and Clefable after Stealth Rock damage while also OHKOing Mega Diancie even after a Defense boost from Diamond Storm. Pursuit can trap Gengar and Starmie, removing them from the picture before they can switch out to a check or counter.

Checks & Counters
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**Physical walls** : Skarmory and Hippowdon can easily defeat Mega Aerodactyl due to their great physical bulk. Skarmory can use it as entry hazard bait and can discourage it from retaliating offensively with Counter. Hippowdon can easily stall Mega Aerodactyl out with Toxic or do heavy damage with Stone Edge, but it fears Aqua Tail.

**Priority users**: Azumarill, Mamoswine, and Scizor can all KO Aerodactyl with their respective priority moves; however, Scizor has trouble switching in on Fire Fang.

**Bulky Water-types**: Mega Slowbro, Quagsire, Alomomola, Suicune, Mega Gyarados, Mega Swampert, Rotom-W, and Empoleon can easily switch in on any attack and proceed to force Mega Aerodactyl out with their respective Water-type STAB moves.

**Choice Scarf users**: Choice Scarf Landorus-T can easily switch in on any move, barring Aqua Tail or Ice Fang, and OHKO with Stone Edge. Garchomp deals heavy damage with Outrage, while Keldeo's Scald can easily KO Mega Aerodactyl. Choice Scarf Latios's Draco Meteor has a good chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock damage, basically forcing Mega Aerodactyl out.

**Steel-types**: Mega Metagross, Mega Scizor, Klefki, and Magnezone can easily switch in on anything except Earthquake or Fire Fang. Meteor Mash and priority Bullet Punch both hurt a lot, while Klefki can use priority Thunder Wave to neuter Mega Aerodactyl. Magnezone easily OHKOes with Thunderbolt.

**Fast Electric-types**: Mega Manectric and Raikou can both revenge kill Mega Aerodactyl, as they can OHKO with Thunderbolt or confer their team some momentum with Volt Switch. Mega Manectric's Intimidate also makes Mega Aerodactyl's damage output lower.

**Status**: Mega Aerodactyl is completely neutered by burns and paralysis, making Pokemon with Prankster such as Sableye and Klefki great checks.
 
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Poek

squadala
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnuswon the 3rd Official Ladder Tournamentis a Two-Time Past SCL Champion
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MAerodactyl isn't even that frail, in fact, is quite bulky for an offensive mon. 80/85/95 defenses is nothing to scoff at.
 
Jolly Offensive Mega Aerodactyl only needs 216 Speed at most, which allows it to outspeed maximum speed Mega Sceptile.
 
Jolly Offensive Mega Aerodactyl only needs 216 Speed at most, which allows it to outspeed maximum speed Mega Sceptile.
Are you talking about the taunt set or the all out attacker set?
For the all out attacker set, max speed is preferred to speed tie other mega aerodactyl and mega alakzam.
For the taunt set, I think I'll consider slashing Jolly before Adamant because with 216 EVs in speed, you still outspeed notable threats such as mega lopunny and mega sceptile, while still being able to do decent damage.
Tagging alexwolf
 
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Are you talking about the taunt set or the all out attacker set?
For the all out attacker set, max speed is preferred to speed tie other mega aerodactyl and mega alakzam.
For the taunt set, I think I'll consider slashing Jolly before Adamant because with 216 EVs in speed, you still outspeed notable threats such as mega lopunny and mega sceptile, while still being able to do decent damage.
Tagging alexwolf
Mega Aerodactyl and Alakazam do not need to run maximum Speed - they only need enough speed to outrun Timid Mega Sceptile - running maximum speed really is not that necessary.
 

Aragorn the King

Literally a duck
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Some thoughts:

One thing I'd mention somewhere is its ability to check Diggersby. Offensive teams tend to struggle with SD diggersby, and thanks to Dactyl's resistance to Quick Attack and ability to OHKO with Aqua Tail, it's one of the best checks to it.

Also, I've used a 3 Attacks + Roost set to success. Dactyl actually has nice bulk, and to allow it to take normal/fire/poison/bug attacks repeatedly, Roost is a great option (especially when it's SR weak). My moveset was Stone Edge / Aqua Tail / Aerial Ace / Roost, which takes care of everything except for Ferrothorn.
 

Jukain

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Alfalfa is right, the EV spread should be 248 Atk / 44 Def / 216 Spe Jolly. Adamant is not even worth slashing with how important outrunning Mega Lopunny, Mega Sceptile, and Mega Beedrill is.

Don't really think the stallbreaker set is worth running when the whole point was for it to, well, break stall, but it's countered by both Mega Sableye and Mega Slowbro, which kind of defeat the purpose of this role. Mega Aerodactyl is better off trying to screw with offense via 4 attacks coverage.

The moveset for the all-out attacker set should be this: Stone Edge / Aerial Ace / Fire Fang / Aqua Tail | Ice Fang. Breaking Ferrothorn and to a lesser extent Mega Scizor is extremely important for Mega Aerodactyl to pose a threat to bulky offense and balanced teams. This set easily provides the best overall coverage; Earthquake is mostly redundant besides OHKOing Heatran, in any case.

Your checks and counters section needs a lot of expansion. Some more Pokemon you need to include are Mega Slowbro, Mega Sableye, Choice Scarf users (Landorus-T being somewhat of a switch-in, also Keldeo and Latios), Mega Metagross, Mega Scizor, Garchomp (if no Ice Fang), Mega Manectric, Mega Swampert, Alomomola, Quagsire, Empoleon, Klefki, Magnezone, and Suicune.
 

alexwolf

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To add to what Jukain said about Fire Fang being necessary, Fire Fang also covers Klefki and Mega Metagross, Pokemon that the other moves can't 2HKO. If you go with Ice Fang over Aqua Tail, EQ is a decent alternative to Fire Fang though, covering Heatran, Tyranitar, Terrakion, Mega Diancie, Empoleon, and Mega Manectric (Stone Edge doesn't OHKO even after SR, plus it has bad accuracy). So, i would slash EQ after Fire Fang, and mention that it should only be used alongside Ice Fang.

Roost could also fit somewhere on the main set, as Mega Aero is a good check to Flying and Fire-types, but it also needs the coverage, so a Moves mention is probably enough.
 
Alfalfa is right, the EV spread should be 248 Atk / 44 Def / 216 Spe Jolly. Adamant is not even worth slashing with how important outrunning Mega Lopunny, Mega Sceptile, and Mega Beedrill is.

Don't really think the stallbreaker set is worth running when the whole point was for it to, well, break stall, but it's countered by both Mega Sableye and Mega Slowbro, which kind of defeat the purpose of this role. Mega Aerodactyl is better off trying to screw with offense via 4 attacks coverage.

The moveset for the all-out attacker set should be this: Stone Edge / Aerial Ace / Fire Fang / Aqua Tail | Ice Fang. Breaking Ferrothorn and to a lesser extent Mega Scizor is extremely important for Mega Aerodactyl to pose a threat to bulky offense and balanced teams. This set easily provides the best overall coverage; Earthquake is mostly redundant besides OHKOing Heatran, in any case.

Your checks and counters section needs a lot of expansion. Some more Pokemon you need to include are Mega Slowbro, Mega Sableye, Choice Scarf users (Landorus-T being somewhat of a switch-in, also Keldeo and Latios), Mega Metagross, Mega Scizor, Garchomp (if no Ice Fang), Mega Manectric, Mega Swampert, Alomomola, Quagsire, Empoleon, Klefki, Magnezone, and Suicune.
Okay, I will get rid of adamant. I'll also get rid of the stallbreaker set, but should I do the 3 attacks + roost set that was suggested by Albacore?
And for the checks and counters, I'll just basically have bulky waters (mega slowbro, mega swampert, alomomola, quagsire, empoleon, suicune), choice scarf users (lando-t, scarf keldeo, scarf lati twins), bulky steels (mega gross, mega scizor, klefki, magnezone), mega sableye, and garchomp. Changing the all out attacker set too. Thanks for the advice!
 
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Sorry for double post, but does the checks and counters list need some condensing? Should I put bulky waters and steel types both into the section for physical walls?
 

boltsandbombers

i'm sorry mr. man
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Sorry for double post, but does the checks and counters list need some condensing? Should I put bulky waters and steel types both into the section for physical walls?
No, they should be separate imo. Also, remove the bullet points in from of the checks and counters :P (one more small formatting thing, there should be one empty line inbetween each c&c entry.
Try to be a bit more specific with checks and counters. What do those pokemon do back to aerodactyl? For example, Hippowdon smacks it with a stone edge or cripples it with toxic, but fears ice fang and aqua tail.

Edit: add more stuff to the overview, like it has an excellent offensive movepool. Also, how is it a bad defensive typing if it checks flying-types? Flying-type checks are somewhat hard to come by and generally arent that bulky, but Aero fills that role pretty well.
 
Okay, so I updated everything. Added a bunch of stuff to the overview, created a 3 attacks + roost set, added to the checks and counters list, added taunt to an OO mention. I think this is ready now!
tagging Jukain and alexwolf and TheEnder
 
3 attacks + roost plays really similarly to the main set as I stated myself, however, it is a better check to birdspam because of reliable recovery, and it loses some coverage by running roost.
I think I'll take your advice, and slash roost third behind aqua tail, however I feel like there are way too many slashes on that set. But yeah I think I'll get rid of that set and just give it a moves mention. Thanks!
 
Three slashes is generally the limit on one move slot so I wouldn't worry about that. Of course there are exceptions in Mega Lopunny.
 
Okay I updated everything, scrapped the three attacks + roost set, added something to team options, and roost now has a mention in moves.
 
Just wondering, but is Fly worth a mention in OO maybe? It has a lot more base power than Aerial Ace, but has imperfect accuracy, and takes two turns to use, meaning you can't beat mons like Chesnaught because they can spiky shield the turn that Fly hits.
 
Okay, mentioned fly in OO, I think this is finally QC ready!
EDIT: Added defog to OO, since in general you don't want defoggers to take up your mega slot or be weak to SR
 
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Karxrida

Death to the Undying Savage
is a Community Contributor Alumnus
My thoughts and other notes:
  • Remove Fly from OO; it's out-damaged by 2 Aerial Aces and doesn't give checks like Mega Manectric and Scarf Lando-T free switch-in opportunities.
  • Mega Manectric and SpD Empoleon are 2HKO'd by Earthquake, while Physically Defensive Empoleon is 2HKO'd the 78.5% of the time after SR.
  • Klefki can still switch into Fire Fang since Jolly Aero only has ~14% chance to 2HKO if Klefki has Lefties (~70% with Rocks), plus Prankster T-Wave threatens to cripple. Earthquake does always 2HKO.
  • Aqua Tail also hits Tyranitar harder than Earthquake.
  • Steel-types that are hit by both Fire Fang and Earthquake for super effective damage (like Bisharp and Excadrill) are hit harder by Earthquake.
  • Iron Head in OO for Fairies, as it always 2HKOs the bulkiest Mega Altaria after Rocks, murders Diancie even if it got a Diamond Storm boost (which Aqua Tail fails to do, plus Iron Head can't miss :P), and every Clefable set regardless.
  • Add Mega Gyarados as a check.
252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Aerodactyl Aerial Ace vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mew: 135-160 (33.4 - 39.6%) -- 19.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Aerodactyl Fly vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mew: 202-238 (50 - 58.9%) -- 73.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

-1 252 Atk Mega Aerodactyl Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mega Manectric: 180-212 (64 - 75.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252 Atk Mega Aerodactyl Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Empoleon: 250-296 (67.2 - 79.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Mega Aerodactyl Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Empoleon: 176-208 (47.3 - 55.9%) -- 78.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Aerodactyl Fire Fang vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Klefki: 148-176 (46.5 - 55.3%) -- 14.1% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (70.3% after Stealth Rock)
252 Atk Mega Aerodactyl Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Klefki: 172-204 (54 - 64.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Aerodactyl Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Altaria: 160-190 (45.1 - 53.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock


252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Aerodactyl Iron Head vs. +1 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Diancie: 292-348 (121.1 - 144.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Aerodactyl Aqua Tail vs. +1 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Diancie: 166-196 (68.8 - 81.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Aerodactyl Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 210-248 (53.2 - 62.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
 
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