AM QC Check: Havens
QC: Moosical / Eien / Vid
AM GP Check: Yoshizilla315
GP: The Dutch Plumberjack / A Cake Wearing A Hat
[OVERVIEW]
Dragon
========
Latios is one of the best revenge killers Dragon teams have to offer thanks to its great Special Attack and Speed stats. When given a Choice Scarf, Latios can revenge kill or threaten to KO numerous foes, including Tapu Koko and Choice Scarf Nihilego. Additionally, being the fastest viable Dragon-type, Latios becomes a key threat to opposing Dragon teams, as it's able to outspeed and OHKO most opposing Dragon-types. Latios's access to Defog is essential to Dragon teams, as clearing entry hazards becomes very valuable when many of its teammates, such as Kyurem-B and Dragonite, are vulnerable to them. Latios can also lure in and cripple special walls like Chansey and Ferrothorn by giving them a Choice Scarf with Trick. Alternatively, Latios is one of the few Dragon-types that can effectively lure and OHKO Mega Diancie, a troublesome threat for Dragon teams to deal with, by using Hidden Power Steel. With its ability Levitate, Latios gains an immunity to Ground-type moves and all entry hazards but Stealth Rock, giving it more opportunities to switch in and revenge kill foes or use Defog. However, Latios's secondary Psychic typing makes it weak to common Bug- and Dark-type moves like U-turn and Pursuit, both of which can KO it and make Dragon teams lose momentum. Moreover, even with Latios's decent bulk, it still falls prey to strong priority moves, such as Bisharp's Sucker Punch and +2 Mega Scizor's Bullet Punch. Finally, Latios is unable to seriously harm specially defensive walls, such as Celesteela and Zapdos, even if they're neutral to its STAB moves.
[SET]
name: Revenge Killer (Dragon)
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Psyshock
move 3: Defog
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Levitate
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Draco Meteor, despite lowering its Special Attack by two stages, is Latios's strongest and most reliable move for revenge killing, OHKOing the likes of Kyurem-B and Mega Sharpedo. Psyshock is a secondary STAB move that KOes and pressures numerous threats with a weaker Defense stat like Volcarona and Mantine. Defog removes any entry hazards on the field to preserve the health of Latios's teammates like Dragonite and Kyurem-B. Trick is used to cripple defensive Pokemon such as Porygon2 and Celesteela by replacing their valuable items with a Choice Scarf. Hidden Power Steel is a viable option over Trick to lure and OHKO Mega Diancie, a dangerous threat to Dragon teams. Ice Beam is an interesting coverage option that hits multiple targets, including problematic foes like opposing Latios without a Special Attack drop and Mega Altaria.
Set Details
========
Maximum investment in Speed with a Timid nature and a Choice Scarf lets Latios be as fast as possible, outspeeding the entire unboosted metagame as well as opposing Choice Scarf users like Nihilego and Buzzwole. It also needs maximum investment in Special Attack to hit as hard as possible. Levitate lets Latios safely switch into Spikes and Toxic Spikes before Defogging them away and provides an immunity to Ground-type moves.
Usage Tips
========
Latios is best used when it's preserved to check fast threats to Dragon teams, such as Tapu Koko and setup sweepers like Mega Charizard X. On the other hand, Latios's decent typing and bulk let it switch into some resisted moves like Mega Charizard Y's Focus Blast. When revenge killing foes, be careful of doing so with Draco Meteor. Due to its nasty side effect of dropping Latios's Special Attack by two stages, Latios is forced to switch out and lose momentum for the team, as it can otherwise become setup fodder to strong sweepers like Mew and Bisharp. Also, be wary of Fairy- and Dark-types on the opposing team, such as Tapu Koko on Electric and Greninja on Water, as the former group is immune to Latios's Draco Meteor while the latter group is unaffected by its Psyshock. In both scenarios, Latios is forced out. Latios can Defog entry hazards in many circumstances; for instance, it's recommended to use Defog when Latios forces out a slower Pokemon or a foe that is Choice-locked into a resisted move, such as a Keldeo locked into Secret Sword, or against a wall that doesn't threaten Latios, such as Mantine. Additionally, like all other entry hazard removers, Latios can even directly switch into some hazard setters that it forces out, such as Hippowdon and Swampert, in order to use Defog as they switch out. However, locking Latios into Defog can give dangerous setup sweepers like Mega Scizor and Mimikyu free setup opportunities. Lastly, use Trick to lure in and cripple expected switch-ins like Chansey and Mantine for the remainder of the game by trading their item for a Choice Scarf. Moreover, crippling Stealth Rock setters like Heatran and Hippowdon makes it much easier for Latios to clear entry hazards throughout the match, which greatly helps its teammates to come on the field unharmed. On the other hand, unless Latios is no longer needed to outspeed specific threats on the opposing team, such as Tapu Koko, it is better to keep the Choice Scarf for itself, as Latios then becomes easy to revenge kill.
Team Options
========
Every Dragon team appreciates having Latios as a teammate to remove entry hazards with Defog and efficiently revenge kill threats. Dragonite is a powerful physical wallbreaker that blasts through Latios's checks like Mantine and Heatran and helps immensely in the Steel matchup, where Latios doesn't do much besides helping keep faster foes in check, and it also helps Latios with the Normal matchup. In return, Latios can remove Stealth Rock with Defog so that Dragonite can keep its Multiscale intact when it enters the field. Additionally, Dragonite brings Dragon's best priority option with Extreme Speed. Kyurem-B is an excellent mixed wallbreaker that greatly helps Latios against balance builds such as Flying and Steel so that it has an easier time cleaning the opposing team. In return, Latios takes care of Fighting-types like Terrakion and Keldeo while removing Stealth Rock and other entry hazards with Defog for Kyurem-B. Kommo-o is a useful sweeper that greatly helps in the Dark, Normal, and Steel matchups that Latios has lots of trouble against, while Latios removes problematic Toxic Spikes that greatly hinder Kommo-o and cleans late-game after Kommo-o has partly swept the opposing team. Choice Specs Hydreigon is a secondary wallbreaker that mainly deals with Steel- and Psychic-types that resist Latios's STAB moves, such as Skarmory and Jirachi, and can switch into Dark- and Ghost-type moves aimed at Latios. In return, Latios breaks problematic Fighting-types like Mega Lopunny and Choice Scarf Buzzwole and cleans the opposing team after Hydreigon has punched holes in it. Garchomp is yet another teammate that breaks Steel-types with Ground- and Fire-type moves in addition to setting up Stealth Rock to discourage opposing teams from switching in and out too often. Mega Altaria is a threatening sweeper that can take on Dark-types that trouble Latios like Mega Sableye and Tyranitar, while Latios can deal with annoying Poison-types like Mega Venusaur and Toxapex for Mega Altaria. Mega Latias is a different bulky setup sweeper that can break bulkier teams and use some of Latios's checks, such as Chansey and Ferrothorn, as setup fodder. However, using both Latios and Mega Latias in the same team will amplify the Bug, Dark and Ghost weaknesses, so it's highly recommended to wisely choose the other teammates to counter this issue.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Dragon
--------
Latios has access to a wide variety of coverage moves like Thunderbolt and Surf and can use one of them in its last moveslot to lure and KO specific threats, such as Mantine and Celesteela with Thunderbolt and Heatran and Excadrill with Surf. However, most of these threats are already covered by Latios's teammates and aren't generally worth replacing either Trick, Hidden Power Steel, or even Ice Beam for another move. Memento is a neat option for Latios's fourth move to give a teammate like Kommo-o or Dragon Dance Dragonite a late-game opportunity to freely come onto the field and set up while taking minimal damage. On the other hand, Latios's utility in revenge killing, cleaning late-game, and clearing entry hazards generally far surpasses the utility provided by Memento, as Dragon teams will no longer be able to remove any kind of entry hazard or outspeed opposing fast Choice Scarf users. If the team wants to use another way of keeping faster foes in check than Latios, it can make good use of Life Orb or Soul Dew to be able to use non-Choice-locked Defog, which can be a huge help for the Dragon team, which is typically very Stealth Rock weak. However, Latios is a much-needed Choice Scarf user on Dragon teams thanks to its superior Speed stat and firepower, so it is generally better to give it a Choice Scarf instead.
Checks and Counters
===================
Dragon
--------
**Steel-types**: As they resist both of Latios's STAB moves, Steel-types like Mega Scizor and Celesteela are natural counters to Latios, with the former using it as setup fodder and the latter simply whittling it down with Leech Seed.
**Special Walls**: Dedicated walls like Chansey and Mantine easily sponge Latios's moves and can set Stealth Rock or burn the switch-in with Scald in return, and they only fear Trick.
**Fairy-types**: All Fairy-types can freely switch into Latios's strongest STAB move, Draco Meteor, before KOing or crippling it beyond repair. Specifically, Clefable can't be 2HKOed by Latios and Klefki has the added benefits of resisting Latios's Psyshock and pressuring it with a Prankster Thunder Wave, possibly paralyzing Latios or one of its teammates.
**Dark-types**: Pokemon like Greninja and Mega Tyranitar are immune to Latios's Psychic; furthermore, the former can outspeed Latios with a Choice Scarf of its own, while the latter takes minimal damage from Draco Meteor thanks to its great bulk in the sand.
**Pursuit Trappers**: Scizor, Alolan Muk, and Mega Aerodactyl all can trap and KO Latios or at least seriously damage it. The former two also have the bulk and typings required to directly switch into Latios's moves before Pursuit trapping it.
**Paralysis**: Latios has to be wary of Pokemon that often carry Thunder Wave like Jirachi and Thundurus, as a paralyzed Latios would not be able to efficiently revenge kill anymore, essentially meaning that Latios is crippled for the rest of the game.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[GnralLao, 256316]]
- Dragon analysis by: [[GnralLao, 256316]]
- Quality checked by: [[Moosical, 215618], [Eien, 100418], [Vid, 239907]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [A Cake Wearing A Hat, 388157]]
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