Overview
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Altaria's Mega Evolution gives it good stats and an amazing new ability in Pixilate, but the metagame around it has many answers for it or better options to use. However, poor Defense and HP plague the other two Pixilate users, while Mega Altaria's amazing 110 Defense and 105 Special Defense along with an astounding 7 resistances allow it to survive incredibly powerful moves. These include max Special Attack Mega Charizard Y's Overheat in sun as well as max Attack Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Salamence's Double-Edge. Altaria also has access to moves such as Draco Meteor, Ice Beam, and Fire Blast that Gardevoir and Sylveon do not. Altaria also has an extensive support movepool and an interesting niche ability in Cloud Nine, being the only viable passive weather stop in the VGC metagame. This ability halts Swift Swim, Chlorophyll, Rain Dish, and Solar Power in their tracks, as well as forcing Mega Charizard Y's Solar Beam to take two turns to use, leaving Mega Charizard Y open for a whole turn. However, Altaria's terrible base 80 Speed leaves it too fast for Trick Room while slightly too slow for standard playstyles, and its loss of its Flying typing leaves it vulnerable to Earthquake and other Ground-type moves.
Special Attacker
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name: Special Attacker
move 1: Hyper Voice
move 2: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 3: Tailwind / Draco Meteor
move 4: Protect
ability: Cloud Nine
item: Altarianite
evs: 252 HP / 196 SpA / 60 Spe
nature: Modest
Moves
========
Altaria is one of only three Pokemon in the game to receive Pixilate-boosted Hyper Voice, one of the strongest special spread attacks in the game, and Altaria's natural bulk allows it to survive long enough to use it. A Fire-type move is for coverage on common Grass- and Steel-types, which otherwise wall Hyper Voice. Fire Blast deals the most damage, ensuring KOs on Ferrothorn, Amoonguss and Bisharp, but Flamethrower's 100% accuracy is hard to pass up, and it still hits hard. Tailwind is used to supplement Altaria's base 80 Speed, allowing it to outspeed a majority of the unboosted metagame, and support Altaria's teammates, while Draco Meteor is Altaria's single most powerful e moveand hits a majority of the metagame for neutral damage. However, the -2 Special Attack drop often forces Altaria out, and the 90% accuracy is just shy of desired. Protect is a staple of VGC, allowing Altaria to scout, stall Trick Room and weather pre or post Mega-Evolution, and retain some longevity in a fast-paced game.
Set Details
========
252 HP EVs allow Altaria to survive max Special Attack Mega Charizard Y's Overheat in sun, as well as max Attack Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Salamence's Double-Edge. 60 Speed EVs under Tailwind are enough for Mega Altaria to outspeed Choice Scarf Adamant Landorus-T and all other Pokemon under 215 Speed, with Mega Altaria only being outsped by+1 Sharpedo, and positive-natured Mega Alakazam, Mega Sceptile, and Mega Aerodactyl. The rest of the EVs are put into Special Attack to allow Altaria to hit as hard as possible, OHKOing threats such as Mega Salamence and Bisharp.
Usage Tips
========
Altaria is not a standalone Pokemon and will need a good amount of team support and prediction to use effectively. However, users should not be afraid of leaving Altaria out of the fray if needed. Altaria is also best not used as a lead, so that it can use its Cloud Nine ability after weather has been activated, or come in as a bulky sweeper after some damage has already been dealt to opponents. However, despite its bulk, it doesn't always need to be the last Pokemon to survive either, and can be effectively used to deal massive amounts of damage to allow another Pokemon to clean up and secure the win.
Team Options
========
Speed control is necessary. Suicune is a good Tailwind user, and its Ice Beam can often KO Mega Salamence with some investment, while Scald threatens Mega Metagross and Mega Mawile with a 30% burn chance. Cresselia also offers a lot of bulk and Icy Wind alongside Thunder Wave and Helping Hand, ensuring Altaria gets that extra boost in damage to hit neutral targets harder. Other priority users such as Thundurus and Talonflame help in a similar fashion, with priority speed control in Thunder Wave and Tailwind, respectively. Gengar also offers interesting support, with Icy Wind and Disable alongside great Speed.
Intimidate is also good team support, ensuring longevity. Teammates such as 88 Speed Landorus-T often tempt out Bisharp, and Altaria can OHKO Bisharp before it uses Iron Head while resisting Sucker Punch. Arcanine can spread burns, has reliable healing in Morning Sun, and scares away Steel-types. Gyarados also has synergy with Altaria, offering different types of support, including Thunder Wave, Taunt, and Toxic alongside Intimidate, or offensive presence from offensive variants, while Mega Altaria's Electric resistance complements Gyarados's Steel resistance.
Other Options
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Roost can offer Altariaa bulkier set. Safeguard works if Altaria wants to become a bulky support variant, which is possible with max defenses, that can still hit decently with Hyper Voice. Altaria also learns Rain Dance and Sunny Day to act as a weather inducer as well as a weather halter. Ice Beam threatens Ground-types such as Landorus-T, Assault Vest Rhyperior, Togekiss, and Salamence more than Hyper Voice, hitting a larger portion of the metagame for neutral damage than Altaria's other moves. Altaria also runs a RestTalk set quite well, with some combination of Hyper Voice, Ice Beam, Fire Blast,and Dragon Pulse as attacking moves as well as reliable recovery. However, this sort of set is much more predictable than Protect sets, and the 33% chance of Rest being chosen under Sleep Talk gives opponents a chance to give Altaria a strong hit or two that becomes difficult to recover from.
Altaria can also run a physical Dragon Dance set with an Adamant nature, a spread of 64 HP / 192 Atk / 252 Spe, and Return / Facade and Earthquake. However, a physical set, however tempting, often falls short. The coverage provided is nearly identical to Mega Salamence, whose superior stats win out over Altaria. Flying-type moves also offer just as much, if not more, utility than Fairy-type ones, when hitting a major part of the physically defensive metagame neutrally.
Checks & Counters
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**Mega Mawile and Metagross**: Mega Mawile and Mega Metagross can both OHKO Altaria with their STAB moves. Both have priority moves that, though don't OHKO, also whittle away at Altaria's health, and both can often take a Fire Blast with a small amount of investment.
**Gengar**: With STAB Sludge Bomb, Levitate, and Icy Wind, Gengar is a speed control giant that fears no Landorus and no amount of opposing speed control.
**Pixilate + Hyper Voice Users**: Gardevoir and Sylveon can outspeed and OHKO Mega Altaria. Mega Gardevoir has base 100 Speed and often runs Speed EVs to nearly guarantee outspeeding an unboosted Altaria, and super effective Pixilate-boosted Hyper Voice needs a lot of investment to survive; while Sylveon can run a variety of EVs to either outspeed or out-damage Altaria, while its naturally high Special Defense makes it difficult to KO.
**Speed Control**: 80 is a terrible base Speed tier, and both fast Pokemon and Trick Room teams can usually beat Altaria without a lot of team support. Speed control Pokemon such as Cresselia and Gothitelle can often take hits and set up speed control before Altaria can stop them. Trick Room sweepers such as Mega Mawile and Bisharp can then beat Mega Altaria before being hit.
**Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur**: Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur are incredibly specially bulky, use sleep moves, and have Sludge Bomb to hit Altaria super effectively. The only semi-reliable way to beat them is Fire Blast, which suffers from accuracy problems, and both Pokemon have incredible bulk and reliable recovery anyway.
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Altaria's Mega Evolution gives it good stats and an amazing new ability in Pixilate, but the metagame around it has many answers for it or better options to use. However, poor Defense and HP plague the other two Pixilate users, while Mega Altaria's amazing 110 Defense and 105 Special Defense along with an astounding 7 resistances allow it to survive incredibly powerful moves. These include max Special Attack Mega Charizard Y's Overheat in sun as well as max Attack Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Salamence's Double-Edge. Altaria also has access to moves such as Draco Meteor, Ice Beam, and Fire Blast that Gardevoir and Sylveon do not. Altaria also has an extensive support movepool and an interesting niche ability in Cloud Nine, being the only viable passive weather stop in the VGC metagame. This ability halts Swift Swim, Chlorophyll, Rain Dish, and Solar Power in their tracks, as well as forcing Mega Charizard Y's Solar Beam to take two turns to use, leaving Mega Charizard Y open for a whole turn. However, Altaria's terrible base 80 Speed leaves it too fast for Trick Room while slightly too slow for standard playstyles, and its loss of its Flying typing leaves it vulnerable to Earthquake and other Ground-type moves.
Special Attacker
########
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Hyper Voice
move 2: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 3: Tailwind / Draco Meteor
move 4: Protect
ability: Cloud Nine
item: Altarianite
evs: 252 HP / 196 SpA / 60 Spe
nature: Modest
Moves
========
Altaria is one of only three Pokemon in the game to receive Pixilate-boosted Hyper Voice, one of the strongest special spread attacks in the game, and Altaria's natural bulk allows it to survive long enough to use it. A Fire-type move is for coverage on common Grass- and Steel-types, which otherwise wall Hyper Voice. Fire Blast deals the most damage, ensuring KOs on Ferrothorn, Amoonguss and Bisharp, but Flamethrower's 100% accuracy is hard to pass up, and it still hits hard. Tailwind is used to supplement Altaria's base 80 Speed, allowing it to outspeed a majority of the unboosted metagame, and support Altaria's teammates, while Draco Meteor is Altaria's single most powerful e moveand hits a majority of the metagame for neutral damage. However, the -2 Special Attack drop often forces Altaria out, and the 90% accuracy is just shy of desired. Protect is a staple of VGC, allowing Altaria to scout, stall Trick Room and weather pre or post Mega-Evolution, and retain some longevity in a fast-paced game.
Set Details
========
252 HP EVs allow Altaria to survive max Special Attack Mega Charizard Y's Overheat in sun, as well as max Attack Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Salamence's Double-Edge. 60 Speed EVs under Tailwind are enough for Mega Altaria to outspeed Choice Scarf Adamant Landorus-T and all other Pokemon under 215 Speed, with Mega Altaria only being outsped by+1 Sharpedo, and positive-natured Mega Alakazam, Mega Sceptile, and Mega Aerodactyl. The rest of the EVs are put into Special Attack to allow Altaria to hit as hard as possible, OHKOing threats such as Mega Salamence and Bisharp.
Usage Tips
========
Altaria is not a standalone Pokemon and will need a good amount of team support and prediction to use effectively. However, users should not be afraid of leaving Altaria out of the fray if needed. Altaria is also best not used as a lead, so that it can use its Cloud Nine ability after weather has been activated, or come in as a bulky sweeper after some damage has already been dealt to opponents. However, despite its bulk, it doesn't always need to be the last Pokemon to survive either, and can be effectively used to deal massive amounts of damage to allow another Pokemon to clean up and secure the win.
Team Options
========
Speed control is necessary. Suicune is a good Tailwind user, and its Ice Beam can often KO Mega Salamence with some investment, while Scald threatens Mega Metagross and Mega Mawile with a 30% burn chance. Cresselia also offers a lot of bulk and Icy Wind alongside Thunder Wave and Helping Hand, ensuring Altaria gets that extra boost in damage to hit neutral targets harder. Other priority users such as Thundurus and Talonflame help in a similar fashion, with priority speed control in Thunder Wave and Tailwind, respectively. Gengar also offers interesting support, with Icy Wind and Disable alongside great Speed.
Intimidate is also good team support, ensuring longevity. Teammates such as 88 Speed Landorus-T often tempt out Bisharp, and Altaria can OHKO Bisharp before it uses Iron Head while resisting Sucker Punch. Arcanine can spread burns, has reliable healing in Morning Sun, and scares away Steel-types. Gyarados also has synergy with Altaria, offering different types of support, including Thunder Wave, Taunt, and Toxic alongside Intimidate, or offensive presence from offensive variants, while Mega Altaria's Electric resistance complements Gyarados's Steel resistance.
Other Options
########
Roost can offer Altariaa bulkier set. Safeguard works if Altaria wants to become a bulky support variant, which is possible with max defenses, that can still hit decently with Hyper Voice. Altaria also learns Rain Dance and Sunny Day to act as a weather inducer as well as a weather halter. Ice Beam threatens Ground-types such as Landorus-T, Assault Vest Rhyperior, Togekiss, and Salamence more than Hyper Voice, hitting a larger portion of the metagame for neutral damage than Altaria's other moves. Altaria also runs a RestTalk set quite well, with some combination of Hyper Voice, Ice Beam, Fire Blast,and Dragon Pulse as attacking moves as well as reliable recovery. However, this sort of set is much more predictable than Protect sets, and the 33% chance of Rest being chosen under Sleep Talk gives opponents a chance to give Altaria a strong hit or two that becomes difficult to recover from.
Altaria can also run a physical Dragon Dance set with an Adamant nature, a spread of 64 HP / 192 Atk / 252 Spe, and Return / Facade and Earthquake. However, a physical set, however tempting, often falls short. The coverage provided is nearly identical to Mega Salamence, whose superior stats win out over Altaria. Flying-type moves also offer just as much, if not more, utility than Fairy-type ones, when hitting a major part of the physically defensive metagame neutrally.
Checks & Counters
########
**Mega Mawile and Metagross**: Mega Mawile and Mega Metagross can both OHKO Altaria with their STAB moves. Both have priority moves that, though don't OHKO, also whittle away at Altaria's health, and both can often take a Fire Blast with a small amount of investment.
**Gengar**: With STAB Sludge Bomb, Levitate, and Icy Wind, Gengar is a speed control giant that fears no Landorus and no amount of opposing speed control.
**Pixilate + Hyper Voice Users**: Gardevoir and Sylveon can outspeed and OHKO Mega Altaria. Mega Gardevoir has base 100 Speed and often runs Speed EVs to nearly guarantee outspeeding an unboosted Altaria, and super effective Pixilate-boosted Hyper Voice needs a lot of investment to survive; while Sylveon can run a variety of EVs to either outspeed or out-damage Altaria, while its naturally high Special Defense makes it difficult to KO.
**Speed Control**: 80 is a terrible base Speed tier, and both fast Pokemon and Trick Room teams can usually beat Altaria without a lot of team support. Speed control Pokemon such as Cresselia and Gothitelle can often take hits and set up speed control before Altaria can stop them. Trick Room sweepers such as Mega Mawile and Bisharp can then beat Mega Altaria before being hit.
**Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur**: Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur are incredibly specially bulky, use sleep moves, and have Sludge Bomb to hit Altaria super effectively. The only semi-reliable way to beat them is Fire Blast, which suffers from accuracy problems, and both Pokemon have incredible bulk and reliable recovery anyway.
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