Altaria (Update 2) [QC 3/3] (GP 2/2) [Done]

ebeast · Sep 19, 2012

Altaria

Amarillo has been busy with school and asked me to take this over for him and I will be using his written Checks and Counters Portion as well. Only thing I wanted know was if the sets have to be reQC'd for a small amount of spread changes. In short change SpecsTaria's set to outspeed Timid Ludicolo and Samurott while making Jolly the only or main slash on Offensive DD. As well as change Defensive's spread to live an additional SR switch in.

EDIT: Looked at by DTC and Raseri and changes approved

Altaria

[Overview]

• The Neverused Dragon returns again!
• Balanced stats, nothing special
• DM; Still a Dragon
• A wide variety of supporting moves, like Roar, Heal Bell, Cotton Guard, Perish Song, Roost, etc. and that warrants a defensive set.
• Offensively threatening typing. Too bad it hits like a fur ball without a boost.
• No worries! It can either boost itself or carry a Choice item for destruction.
• Defensively niche typing. Switches into Grassers, and other resisted attacks. Only gripe: WHY U SR WEAK.
• Metagame shift abandons Fire-types and SD Samurott. Grim day for Altaria use.
• Also, fast physical attackers rule the world now. Altaria has no business up against them.
• I’ve never seen a fur ball hit so hard

[SET]
name: SpecsTaria
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Hidden Power Ground
move 3: Dragon Pulse / Fire Blast
move 4: Rest
item: Choice Specs
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Modest
evs: 80 HP / 252 SAtk / 176 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

• Draco Meteor kills.
• I mean it
• A viable pivot thanks to unique resists and mighty power
• HP Ground hits Probopass + Bastiodon. That’s really all coverage you need
• Dragon Pulse for more reliable hits, Fire Blast is not as useful.
• Rest allows it to live on vs. slower / defensive teams and continue nuking off its members. Natural Cure removes sleep upon switch, so it can also help Altaria pivot around resisted moves.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

• EV Spread: outspeeds Torterra.
• Or: 64 speed EVs to outspeed adamant Torterra + modest Ludicolo.
• Or: Max speed. Using Cloud Nine with Max speed can revenge weather sweepers really easily. Rest is useless then, so Fire Blast keeps the fourth slot.
• Great teammates: SD Samurott for setting up on special walls and Ice-type attacks etc.
• Torterra can switch in on defensive replies to Altaria and smash them.
• What else?
• LO with Roost > Rest? Loses power for
• It’s kind of slow so pair it with some faster attackers on an offensive team.
• It punishes Grassers like Tangela and Amoonguss. Think physical attackers like Cinccino in order to U turn into them and get more hits in. Golurk likes Tangela gone, can switch into Probo if you predict wrong
• Wartortle can technically spin… but it sucks.

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Roost
move 2: Roar / Perish Song
move 3: Heal Bell
move 4: Dragon Pulse
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

• Great defensive typing, albeit with a SR weakness
• Acceptable specially defensive stats, but a lot of resistances to common special attacking types
• Without HP Ice, some great attackers like Exeggutor, Musharna, whatever are stuffed.
• Your choice of Roar or Perish song for your pHazing needs. Stuff that everybody knows: both removes setup sweepers, but Roar is more proactive. P-song is better against last mon boosters, especially Duosion, which you cannot even Toxic stall.
• Heal Bell is just a general support move, removes status effects and stuff. Great if you have a stall member with Rest.
• Dragon Pulse is a bit stronger than Dragon Claw, just an attacking move to not be taunt bait and deal damage when necessary.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

• Leftovers and the 252 / 252 spread, typical stuff.
• COTTON GUARD deserves a mention (but don’t use with perish song rofl)
• Toxic too maybe, but Altaria’s got niche support moves and if you’re using defensive altaria you might as well use them
• Instead of pHazing you got the true-blue haze but it kind of sucks, as it can’t exactly kill last-mon setup users like Perish Song, nor does it have the immediacy of Roar.
• Physically not very strong. Rock-type attacks and Ice-type attacks are dangerous.
• Rock moves are often seen with EQ (and with no STAB). Physical walls like Tangela are your best bet. Shared Ice weakness, though
• Really appreciates Spikes support because it Roars and pHazes stuff out. Garbodor, Omanyte, w/e.
• Appreciates spin support especially so because it's a defensive set, meaning the battle will be drawn out and you'll have more switches. Without Rapid Spin you'll lose a lot of HP in the long run. Cryo

[SET]
name: Offensive Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Outrage / Dragon Claw
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Roost
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

• Great coverage in 2 high Base Power moves. Deserves a DD set!
• Weakest DD’er in the tier. What a shame
• Faster speed makes up for it though. The fastest dragon that can dance!
• Also, unlike those preevos, Altaria has acceptable bulk even without Eviolite, so it can carry Life Orb which makes up for its offensive woes. That needs to go first slash along with Outrage.
• EQ gets perfect coverage with Dragon. Other than Bronzor, of course.
• It really has no need for any other attacking moves so Roost comes in handy for more setup stuff.
• Dragon Claw, along with Lefties gives it some flexibility / bulk. Both together is way too weak, though.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

• Dragon Claw / Outrage without Roost might be viable because you’ll rarely use roost
• You really just need 1 or 2 dds to go sweep, but stuff like Tangela, Regirock, etc. are a pain.
• Who beats Tangela and / or Regirock?
• Emboar? Yeahhhhhhhhhhhh
• Amoonguss and stuff like that too, but shared Ice weakness.
• Really appreciates Spikes support because it wishes it were stronger. Garbodor, Omanyte. Garbodor can spike up vs. Tangela.
• A lot harder to check in theory, but in practice, SR weakness, (still) low power, and so-so speed does not help.
• Best set against fast teams that try to revenge Altaria with non scarfers.

[SET]
name: Bulky Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Dragon Claw
move 3: Roost
move 4: Heal Bell / Earthquake / Cotton Guard
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 228 SpD / 28 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

• Tries to juggle the specially defensive duty with the dragon dancer.
• Weakest offensive set from the weakest dragon dancer of the tier. Enough said.
• Dragon Dance / Dragon Claw is the bread & butter of this set
• Roost recovers HP and is 100% necessary on this set because it needs to stack a couple of DD’s if you want to be remotely threatening.
• EQ gets perfect coverage with Dragon. Other than Bronzor, of course.
• Instead of EQ, Heal Bell provides team support and allows Altaria to heal status without having to switch out and undo its hard work.
• Cotton guard is notable for buffing its defense and making it a great overall tank.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

• EV spread: the speed evs allow it to outpace adamant scarf sawk after TWO boosts.
• Well to be fair it doesn’t sound like all that usable, but the next probable benchmark is ouspeeding scarf rotoms, which needs 112 EVs in speed.
• This leads to significant loss in special bulk, so think wisely.
• Who beats Tangela and / or Regirock? You need some serious help busting through walls.
• CB Emboar does that for you. OK type synergy, too.
• Or, you could fit this altaria in an otherwise defensive team with typical stall members, but with 1 setup sweeper so that you can win with your own offense.
• Appreciates spin support especially so because it's a defensive set, meaning the battle will be drawn out and you'll have more switches. Without Rapid Spin you'll lose a lot of HP in the long run. Cryo
• Really appreciates Spikes support because it REALLY REALLY REALLY wishes it were stronger. Garbodor, Omanyte. Garbodor can spike up vs. Tangela.

[Other Options]

• Cotton Guard
• Special LO set with roost? I really think the special set that goes along the lines of LO Draco Meteor + Power Swap is a pretty good gimmick
• Fire Blast on the offensive DD set to roast Tangela.
• Its viable offensive moves are limited. Not because its movepool sucks or anything, but mostly because it doesn’t need any other attacking move other than Dragon STAB, EQ, and Flamethrower / Fire Blast.
• I didn’t mention Cloud Nine much… it’s good vs. sun, but Altaria loses against rain anyways.
• Band instead of specs, but the lock in effect kind of sucks
• what else….?

[Checks and Counters]

• It’s hard to resist Altaria’s attacks. Those darn dragons.
• That leaves you with statistical defenses if you want any defensive replies to Altaria.
• Fortunately, you don't need superhuman (or super-Pokemon) defensive stats to counter Altaria.
• The difficulty is that Specs and DD set has totally different counters. Also, some counters to DD set like Tangela and Amoonguss is actually countered by Specs variant…
• Tangela, Regirock, Piloswine etc. for DD so anything with high defense.
• Lickilicky, Hypno, Probopass, etc. for Specs and anything with high special defense.
• Typical disadvantage vs. Ice and stuff

[Overview]

Altaria is not a great Pokemon in NU, as even with its 75/90/105 defenses and an interesting Dragon / Flying typing, it sadly finds itself in a metagame that makes it hard for it to succeed. Even with a handy number of resistances, its 4x Ice-type weakness is exploitable and hurts it tremendously, as it prevents Altaria from handling the dangerous Samurott, Ludicolo, and Gorebyss, as well as a slew of Pokemon who use Hidden Power Ice. A Stealth Rock weakness puts a lot of pressure on all of its sets, and Dragon Dance variants face tough competition from Fraxure. Even if Altaria tries to distinguish itself with a bulkier set, its offensive prowess is less than desirable. Altaria's best set, surprisingly enough, utilizes one of its lowest stats, with Choice Specs punching holes in many offensive teams due to the sheer power of Draco Meteor and the lack of Pokemon in the tier that resist Dragon-type attacks. Natural Cure is fantastic on all of its sets, as it allows Altaria to absorb status or turn Rest into a reliable full recovery move. While Altaria certainly has traits that hinder its ability to perform in NU, proper usage of its good defenses and perks such as Natural Cure and its Dragon-type STAB can turn it into a dangerous tool to use against the generally unprepared NU metagame.

[SET]
name: SpecsTaria (Choice Specs)
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Hidden Power Ground / Fire Blast
move 3: Dragon Pulse
move 4: Rest
item: Choice Specs
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SAtk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

This is Altaria's most effective set, which takes advantage of the incredible raw power of Draco Meteor and the lack of Steel-types in NU. While Altaria has a poor base 70 Special Attack, Draco Meteor's high base power makes up for it and gives trouble to many teams due to NU's offensive nature. Unless the opponent has some very bulky Pokemon or a Dragon-type resist, SpecsTaria will hit anything for a clean OHKO or 2HKO at worst with Draco Meteor. For the few Steel-type Pokemon in the tier, namely Probopass, Bastiodon, and Metang, Hidden Power Ground is a clean 2HKO on all but Metang, which still takes solid damage. Fire Blast hits Metang considerably harder than Hidden Power Ground and can even be used against Regice and Grass-type Pokemon such as Tangela, Exeggutor, and Roselia; however, Draco Meteor will get the job done just fine against these targets. Using Fire Blast over Hidden Power Ground also means that Probopass and Bastiodon will have a much easier time countering Altaria. Dragon Pulse is a reliable STAB move used in the cases where Draco Meteor would be overkill or when the Special Attack drop caused by Draco Meteor would hurt Altaria's chances of getting past a Pokemon. It is a fantastic move since it still deals heavy damage against most offensive teams, prevents opponents from taking advantage of Draco Meteor's Special Attack drop, and is an incredibly reliable attack with its 90 Base Power and 100% accuracy.

Max Speed and a Timid nature allow Altaria to outspeed common Pokemon such as Samurott, Ludicolo, and Skuntank, meaning it can hit them hard with Draco Meteor. Other factors that make this set good are Altaria's great 75/90/105 defenses, access to a great ability in Natural Cure, and resistances to the common Fire-, Water-, and Grass-type attacks, giving it multiple opportunities to switch in safely to start spamming Draco Meteors and Dragon Pulses right away. Natural Cure also ensures that Thunder Wave or an unlucky Body Slam paralysis never ruins Altaria's day and that it won't be worn down by Toxic. The ability to cure status on switching makes Rest a viable option for the last moveslot as it recovers all of Altaria's HP in one turn and makes Stealth Rock slightly less annoying.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Entry hazard support is appreciated as it helps Altaria break even some of the bulkier Pokemon in the tier, including Musharna, while making it easier for Altaria's Draco Meteor to OHKO common threats such as Samurott and Ludicolo. While Rapid Spin support is very useful, an alternative way to keep Stealth Rock off the field by using a Taunt user like Samurott or Misdreavus is welcome. Altaria doesn't have the best synergy with most Rapid Spin users, Wartortle being the best choice due to not sharing Altaria's Rock-type weakness. Despite its drawbacks, Wartortle's access to Foresight means it can get a Rapid Spin off at least once to support Altaria. A Modest nature can be used over Timid for the extra power, but then Altaria misses out on outspeeding Timid Samurott and Ludicolo. Cloud Nine can be used over Natural Cure to cancel out weather and allow Altaria to outspeed Exeggutor and Ludicolo, but it's generally not worth giving up the utility of Rest and doesn't come into play very often.

[SET]
name: Bulky Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Roost
move 3: Dragon Claw
move 4: Substitute / Heal Bell
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Careful
evs: 248 HP / 180 SpD / 80 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Altaria differentiates itself from other Dragon Dance users with this set, as good defenses and access to a reliable recovery move in Roost allow it to easily set up on common walls like Alomomola and Roselia. With heavy investment in Special Defense and Dragon Dance boosting Altaria's Attack and Speed, this set serves as both an offensive threat and specially defensive pivot. Between Dragon Dance and Roost, Altaria will be trying to set up as much as it possibly can so it can attempt to sweep. Dragon Claw is a somewhat weak, but it's a reliable STAB that, unlike Outrage, doesn't force Altaria to keep attacking. Since Altaria has no Attack investment and Dragon Claw is a measly 80 Base Power move, Altaria will need a lot of boosts under its belt before it can inflict serious damage. The main flaws of this set are status and the inability to dish out good damage whenever Altaria is unboosted, which is often. Thankfully, Substitute and Heal Bell are able to patch up the set's weakness to status such as Toxic and let Altaria stick around as long as possible. Substitute gets the nod over Heal Bell for its ability to help Altaria avoid status long-term as opposed to Heal Bell, which only has 8 PP. It also allows Altaria to effortlessly set up on Alomomola and Roselia while shielded from potential critical hits. Substitute and Roost together can even be used to stall out an opponent's PP; moves such as Stone Edge can be stalled out so Altaria can start boosting without worrying about getting hit with a super effective attack. Heal Bell's advantage over Substitute, however, is that it can not only heal Altaria's status, but also those of its teammates.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

The EVs give Altaria as much special bulk as possible, while the 80 Speed EVs allow it to outspeed neutral-natured Rampardos and everything slower, including Adamant Torterra and standard Misdreavus. 80 Speed EVs also allow Altaria to hit 321 Speed at +1, letting it outpace threats such as Timid Haunter, Jolly Sawsbuck, and Adamant Tauros. Sadly, since this set focuses mainly on Altaria's defenses, it lacks offensive power even after multiple boosts. Hazard support is greatly appreciated to help Altaria take out bulky Pokemon more easily. Toxic Spikes in specific are very valuable for Altaria as they let it stall out some of the bulkiest walls such as Alomomola and Musharna while it tries to set up. Garbodor and Roselia make great partners for this, as they can provide both Spikes and Toxic Spikes, although the latter shares a nasty Ice-type weakness with Altaria. Earthquake is a choice to be considered for the last moveslot in order to hit Steel-type Pokemon like Probopass, Bastiodon, Metang, Mawile, and Klang; however, these Pokemon are not common at all, and they get worn down quickly by Spikes. That said, due to Altaria's high Special Defense, it is capable of setting up freely on the most common Steel-type Pokemon, Probopass, and can slowly wear it down with boosted Dragon Claws.

[SET]
name: Utility Support
move 1: Roost
move 2: Heal Bell
move 3: Roar
move 4: Dragon Pulse
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Calm
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

This set tries to take advantage of Altaria's base 105 Special Defense and the resistances afforded by its Dragon / Flying typing. With resistances to Fighting-, Water-, Fire-, and Grass-type attacks, Altaria makes a great pivot switch-in for a lot of dangerous Pokemon. Alongside Roost and Natural Cure, Altaria makes a formidable wall that can be difficult to take down without taking advantage of its Ice-type weakness or hitting its weaker physical side. Sadly for Altaria, a lot of Pokemon that it would be able to switch into, such as Samurott, Ludicolo, Gorebyss, Camerupt, Roselia, Gurdurr, and Sawk, have ways of dealing with it, be it Ice-type coverage or, as in Roselia's case, being able to freely set up Spikes. Even so, Altaria provides something no other Pokemon in NU can offer to a defensive team: the combination of Heal Bell and Roar. While Lickilicky can use Heal Bell and Dragon Tail, Dragon Tail is nowhere near as a reliable a phazing move as Roar is, and Lickilicky is hard pressed to fit both moves in without becoming setup fodder to Pokemon with Substitute. With Natural Cure, Altaria doesn't even have to worry about its own health and can preserve Heal Bell for when its team desperately needs it. Dragon Pulse is a decently powerful STAB attack that, thanks to its Dragon-typing, hits many Pokemon neutrally and prevents Altaria from becoming Taunt bait.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Altaria's EV spread and Calm nature give it as much special bulk as possible to let it switch into even the strongest resisted hits, such as Choice Specs Camerupt's Eruption. Toxic is an option for Altaria to wear down Pokemon, as it can Roost health back and heal status with Heal Bell, but it takes up a moveslot which Altaria cannot give up most of the time. Perish Song can be used over Roar, but lacks the immediacy that Roar has. Perish Song's advantage would lie in in the ability to decide the match in 3 turns in a last-Pokemon situation. Entry hazards, particularly Spikes and Toxic Spikes, are highly recommended to make the most out of Altaria's resilience and Roar. Garbodor is the best partner for this as it has decent synergy with Altaria, unlike Roselia, which compounds an Ice-type weakness. A Rapid Spin user can be used to prevent Altaria from taking Stealth Rock damage on the switch and generally fits well on teams that this Altaria would be most likely to be found on. Wartortle is the best option for a defensive spinner, as it can pull off a guaranteed Rapid Spin thanks to Foresight while also resisting Ice-type attacks aimed at Altaria.

[Other Options]

Altaria has a variety of options at its disposal; however, due to its lack of any one exceptional stat, it simply cannot use them effectively. Pursuit would allow Altaria to trap Haunter, who cannot deal much damage back; however, due to Altaria's low base 70 Attack, Haunter is capable of surviving Pursuit on the switch. Pursuit also takes the place of moves such as Roar and Heal Bell, which hold much more utility on Altaria's defensive set. Cotton Guard can be used to set up Dragon Dances more easily against a physical attacker, but Altaria would have to forgo Substitute or Heal Bell. Generally speaking, the biggest weakness of Altaria's Dragon Dance set is status, which Substitute or Heal Bell help against, making Cotton Guard a sub-par choice. A Choice Band set works similarly to Choice Specs in that it utilizes a powerful Dragon-type STAB alongside Ground-type coverage, but there's a main difference that makes Choice Band considerably less useful than Choice Specs: its main attack, Outrage, forces Altaria to stay locked into it while not dealing as much damage to Pokemon in general due to the abundance of physically defensive Pokemon in NU compared to the specially defensive ones. Altaria can use its great defenses to set up Sunny Day or Rain Dance, but its general lack of offensive pressure makes it less fit for this role. Altaria can also use a mixed set in the same vein as MixMence with Draco Meteor, Earthquake, Fire Blast, and Roost; however, while this set can deal great damage against its usual checks, it fails to do much damage to Pokemon it can't hit super effectively or that have decent Special Defense. Going mixed also means hindering one of Altaria's defenses, one of the only reasons that give Altaria a niche over other Dragon-type Pokemon.

[Checks and Counters]

It's difficult to fully counter Altaria with a single Pokemon. Most importantly, it's hard to resist Altaria's STAB Dragon moves, as NU has a significant shortage of Steel-type Pokemon. The Steel-types that exist in NU are easily taken down by a Ground-type coverage move. This restricts you to purely Pokemon with high defenses to beat Altaria. For the Choice Specs set, dedicated special walls such as Lickilicky, Regice, and even Gardevoir can easily take a Draco Meteor and recover their health. As for the Dragon Dance sets, physical walls such as Tangela and Regirock have no problem tanking boosted Dragon Claws and deal with Altaria accordingly. Alternatively, Piloswine has the all-around bulk to take a strong hit at full health and also Ice Shard to revenge Dragon Dance variants if necessary. Regice can easily take Draco Meteors from Altaria's Choice Specs set and retaliate with STAB Ice Beams; any damage taken can also be healed off with Rest or Wish support from a common partner in Alomomola.

The main difficulty in countering Altaria is that the special and physical sets have totally different counters. In fact, the Choice Specs set uses the counters to the Dragon Dance set, such as Alomomola and Tangela, as an opportunity to switch in. The crux of dealing with Altaria is recognizing its moveset according to the way the opponent plays it. All of its sets are unique and each set has a characteristic playstyle that can be easily recognized. It may be hard to switch into Altaria without suffering any losses, but taking down Altaria is not all that difficult. Without a Speed boost, Altaria is outpaced by a majority of the offensive metagame and is easily OHKOed by strong physical attackers such as Sawk and Zangoose. Even with a Speed boost, most Choice Scarf users are still faster than Altaria; Choice Scarf Sawk and Rotom-F have no trouble revenging a boosted Altaria with their Ice-type coverage moves. Most things with Ice Beam can easily KO even the most specially defensive Altaria variants, while Pokemon that rely on Hidden Power Ice are certain to leave, at worst, a big dent. Finally, Stealth Rock cuts down on Altaria's lifespan significantly, so wearing it down should not be very difficult with some smart switches.

ebeast · Oct 7, 2012

This is finally written and ready for GP checks!

ClubbingSealCub · Oct 7, 2012

amateur check GO!

deleted added changed comments

Altaria

[Overview]
Altaria is no newcomer to the lower tiers-(hyphen) it has always been forced down from OU due to its unremarkable stats and other Dragons taking Altaria's place. With BW bringing a plethora of new stronger Dragon-types, it's no surprise that Altaria ended up in the magical land of NU. In this land of patriotic birds and dancing Mexican pineapples,(comma) Altaria's balanced and unremarkable stats have a chance to stand out and give it an opportunity to become a fully realized Dragon. Altaria's typing is effective both offensively and defensively due the ability of to Dragon-type attacks to hitting everything outside of Steel-types neutrally while providing resists to Grass-, Water-, and Fire-type attacks. Altaria holds great support tools in the form of Heal Bell, Roar,(you mentioned roar twice) Roost, Cotton Guard, and Roar,(comma) while being capable of tearing holes in teams with its offensive sets due to NU having few Dragon-type resists. Sadly not everything is clouds and rainbows for Altaria,(comma) as it sports bad offensive stats, a Stealth Rock weakness, and is in metagame that isn't very kind to it. However, if you can look past its flaws you will find a warrior behind that fluffy exterior.

[SET]
name: SpecsTaria (Choice Specs)
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Hidden Power Ground
move 3: Dragon Pulse / Fire Blast
move 4: Rest
item: Choice Specs
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
evs: 80 HP / 252 SAtk / 176 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Pokemon's favorite never used Dragon is back and out looking for blood. By wearing its stylish pair of Choice Specs,(comma) Altaria's tiny base 70 Special Attack suddenly becomes bigger than life, matching the power of Altaria's cousin Latios. In a tier with as few Steel-types as there are in NU, Altaria has a relatively easy time doing huge damage to an opposing team with its powerful Draco Meteor. Without a Steel-type or very specially bulky Pokemon such as Lickilicky, Gardevoir, and Regice, opposing teams will have an immensely difficult time finding a proper switch into Altaria's Draco Meteor. Without a good switch in, Altaria is ready to bring the pain by 2HKOing a big portion of the metagame and taking off massive chunks off bulky Pokemon. Hidden Power Ground gives Altaria a way to 2HKO the most common Steel-type Pokemon in NU, Probopass and Bastiodon,(comma) who are tempted to switch-in to shrug off a Dragon-type attack. Dragon Pulse and Fire Blast both make fine options, but Dragon Pulse gives Altaria another STAB option to use against more offensive teams where Altaria can't afford to be have its Special Attack drop or a Draco Meteor would be overkill. Fire Blast gives Altaria a more powerful option against Amoonguss and Metang, although both still take decent damage from a Draco Meteor or Hidden Power Ground, respectively. Rest allows Altaria to play as a pivot,(comma) because thanks to Natural Cure Altaria's sleeping condition will be cured as soon as it switches out,(comma) allowing it to constantly keep coming back to fire off Draco Meteors.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
Altaria's EVs and Timid nature allow it to outpace two major threats in NU—Ludicolo and Samurott—and strike them hard with a powerful Draco Meteor. The 80 HP EVs allow Altaria to tank hits a little bit better,(comma) and alongside Rest help Altaria maintain its role as a bulky offensive pivot. One of the most interesting aspect about SpecsTaria is that it beats the counters to the Dragon Dance sets such as Tangela, Weezing, and Regirock, who might try to come into Altaria expecting a Dragon Dance or Outrage only to find themselves at the other side of a radiant Draco Meteor. Altaria can also use Cloud Nine to outspeed Ludicolo in the rain, but doing so makes Rest useless and Fire Blast the best choice for the last slot. Good partners to this set include Emboar, Samurott, and Torterra who can break through the tough specially defensive Pokemon that have an easy time beating Altaria. Emboar in particular has excellent offensive and defensive synergy with Altaria and can smash every single Pokemon in NU that is capable of tanking Altaria's Draco Meteor. Torterra does a similar job as Emboar, but shares a X4 Ice-type weakness with Altaria, hurting its synergy tremendously. Samurott resists Ice-type attacks and can set up Swords Dances on a lot of the Pokemon that threaten Altaria such as Lickilicky, Regice, and Probopass.

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Roost
move 2: Roar / Perish Song
move 3: Heal Bell
move 4: Dragon Pulse
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Calm
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Altaria's typing can be considered a double-edged sword in the current metagame. On one hand Altaria's Dragon/Flying typing give it resistances and immunities to common attacking types such as Water, Fire, Grass, and Ground, on the other Altaria's secondary Flying-typing give a weakness to common coverage attacks used by the previously mentioned types such as Ice- and Rock-type attacks while making Altaria inherently weak to Stealth Rock. However,(comma) Altaria can still put its good 75/90/105 defenses to good use in a defensive set thanks to Altaria's access to many utility moves in the form of Roost, Heal Bell, Roar, and Perish Song. Dragon Pulse is stronger than Dragon Claw and isn't deterred by burnpreventing Altaria from becoming total Taunt bait. Even with Dragon Pulse,(comma) Altaria is really weak with its terrible base 70 Special Attack, and it's true value comes from the variety of support moves it can use. Altaria's Flying-typing really brings it down, and with Roost Altaria can literally bring itself down and shed it's pesky secondary typing to allow it to take weaker coverage moves such as Hidden Power Ice while having a reliable 50% healing move at its disposal. Heal Bell and Natural Cure make Altaria a great status absorber,(comma) and together provide excellent support to more defensive teams,(no comma) that can make up for Altaria's shortcomings and accept its status curing in open arms. Altaria also has access to two phazing moves in Roar and Perish Song,(comma) each with their own perks that set them apart. Roar is very useful as it gets rid of Pokemon right on the spot and allows Altaria to dela residual damage to the opponent with the help of Spikes. Perish Song on the otherhand guarantees that an opponent gets disposed of as Roar will fail against your opponent's last Pokemon attempting to set up, but it comes at the price of taking a total of 3 turns and forcing your own Pokemon out.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
Altaria absolutely adores Spikes support from the likes of Garbodor and Omanyte,(comma) as it gives it another form of dealing damage to the opponent alongside Roar. Altaria also happens to share excellent synergy with both Spikes users,(comma) which helps it in the process of phazing to accumulate damage. Altaria can also run a physically defensive spread to give it an easier time switching into powerful Pokemon such as Sawk and Emboar, but must watch out for their coverage moves. Like any other defensive Pokemon,(comma) Altaria can use Toxic to beat walls, but Altaria's rare combination of utility is the main reason for using it and Toxic support can be relegated to a teammate. Altaria appreciates Rapid Spin support and has mediocre synergy with Torkoal and Armaldo, but the compound weakness to Rock-type moves is something to watch out for

[SET]
name: Offensive Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Outrage / Dragon Claw
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Roost
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Dragon Dance is the trademark boosting move of most Dragon-type Pokemon and Altaria is no exception. The Attack and Speed boost provided by Dragon Dance are too good to pass up and Altaria boasts good attacking options in Outrage and Earthquake to go along with it. Sadly(comma) Altaria's typing that makes it weak to Stealth Rock and common coverage moves such as Hidden Power Ice, making it harder to set up, and even after a boost Altaria's unimpressive base 70 Attack isn't looking that much better. Altaria has to make use of its resists and good bulk to try and squeeze out a boost if possible, and while Altaria is the weakest viable Dragon Dancing Dragon,(comma) in NU it also happens to be one of the fastest. Altaria's base 80 Speed is good,(comma) and with a Jolly nature lets it outspeed base up(no idea what this means ?_?) dangerous Pokemon such as Ludicolo, Samurott, and Absol. Since Altaria has bulk similar to that of its Eviolite-using brethren,(comma) it can afford to run a Life Orb to make up for its lack of offense. Outrage and Earthquake are unresisted in NU outside of champions Bronzor and Shedinja, both easy to deal with. Dragon Claw can be used over Outrage if a more reliable, albeit weaker,(no comma) STAB option is preferred,(comma) as Dragon Claw won't lock you into it as Outrage does. Thanks to Roost,(comma) it can set up on weaker opponents as much as it wants, including champion Bronzor, and comes in handy when Life Orb has taken too much of a toll on Altaria.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
Altaria appreciates Spikes support from Garbodor and Omanyte to help weaken troublesome Pokemon such as Tangela and Regirock. With Regenerator and amazing physical bulk,(comma) Tangela was one of the biggest Pokemon stopping Dragon Dance Altaria from going through teams. With the advent of Regenerator Amoonguss Tangela has fallen out of favor, which is excellent news for Altaria as Amoonguss is not nearly as sturdy on the physical side as its cousin. With just a single Dragon Dance,(comma) Amoonguss is getting 2HKOed and with the help from Spikes Regirock it will eventually get low enough where a +1 Life Orb Earthquake can pick it off. Even so,(comma) Emboar is still a useful partner as its STABs are capable of ridding the field of annoying Regirock and Tangela for Altaria to have a significantly easier time sweeping. Altaria can also use both Dragon Claw and Outrage by replacing Roost if really needed, but this is not recommended as Roost will help Altaria snatch the second boost that it needs to sweep cleanly.

[SET]
name: Bulky Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Dragon Claw
move 3: Roost
move 4: Heal Bell / Earthquake
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Careful
evs: 248 HP / 232 SpD / 28 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
This set attempts to become a middleman between Altaria's Dragon Dance and defensive sets that can be devastating against more defensive teams. While this Altaria sets is extremely weak, with Roost and Heal Bell it can find itself having an much easier time setting up on Pokemon such as Amoonguss and Alomomola until it is ready to strike. Sadly,(comma) even with all the boosts possible,(comma) Altaria's Attack is still disappointingly low and doesn't deal as much damage as Altaria wants it to do. This is the weakest offensive set on the weakest Dragon Dancer in NU, which speaks a lot in itself. While this set can can use its great special bulk to Dragon Dance all it wants,(comma) the walls it fights can still take a hit from Altaria. Heavy support in the form of Spikes and some offensive partners are highly recommended to make this set as effective as it can be. Since this set is so slow, the benchmark for what Altaria outspeeds after boosting starts off at +2 instead of +1. With 28 Speed EVs Altaria can outspeed Adamant Scarf Sawk after two Dragon Dances and deal damage with Dragon Claw before Sawk can shoot down Altaria with Stone Edge. While Heal Bell is pretty essential to this set's success, Earthquake can be used to hit the the Steel-type Pokemon that can easily take a weak Altaria's Dragon Claw without breaking a sweat.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
Like it was mentioned before,(comma) this set requires a lot of support to be used effectively. Spikes from Garbodor or Omanyte are appreciated and the damage accumulated from the hazards make up for the power that this set makes Altaria wish it had. Offensive partners such as Emboar come in handy to help take down Tangela and Regirock, two Pokemon that give Altaria hell with their attacks due to its inability to boost its damage output fast enough. This set can also run 112 Speed EVs to outpace Scarf Rotom-S and Rotom-F at +2, but in doing so Altaria loses out on a lot of bulk, so it is generally not worth it. Rapid Spin support is recommended,(comma) as Altaria will be switching out a lot in more drawn out battles and Stealth Rock takes a toll quickly on it. Torkoal and Armaldo provide Rapid Spin while their weaknesses outside of Rock are resisted by Altaria.

[Other Options]

Altaria has a variety of options at its disposal, but due to Altaria's balanced stats most of what it can effectively use is already listed in one of its sets. However,(comma) there are still a few other things it can use that haven't been already mentioned. While Altaria is capable of pulling of a successful Choice Specs set,(comma) the same cannot really be said about Choice Band. The NU metagame is so much more physically defensive oriented,(comma) with its vast amount of bulky Rock- and Steel-type Pokemon that Altaria doesn't can't pull off the same amount of wallbreaking power.(period) On top of that, aChoice Band set is arguably outclassed by a Dragon Dance set. Altaria has other move options as well,(comma) such as Hone Claws, Dragon Rush, Cotton Guard, and Pursuit. Hone Claws and Dragon Rush can work together to give Altaria a reliable 100 BP STAB attack that doesn't lock Altaria into the move, but fails do much more than that as Hone Claws won't be sweeping nearly as effectively as Dragon Dance. Pursuit could be used to trap Ghost-type such as Haunter who can't take down Altaria in one shot due to its great Special Defense, but isn't recommended as there are better users of Pursuit such as Skuntank and Absol. Cotton Guard gives Altaria an instant +3 in Defense but has little use as most Pokemon will be trying to hit Altaria with an Ice Beam or Hidden Power Ice instead of attempting to bombard it with physical attacks. Last but not least Altaria is capable of running a wallbreaking set in the same sense of Salamence back in DPPt. With Draco Meteor / Earthquake / Fire Blast / Roost and a Life Orb Altaria has all the coverage it needs alongside Roost to heal up Life Orb recoil. Sadly,(comma) however Altaria is no Salamence and Life Orb is not enough to make up for its unboosted base 70 Attack and Special Attack. While the set's coverage is good, its power isn't and SpecsTaria is already capable of beating Probopass and Bastiodon with Hidden Power Ground.

[Checks and Counters]

It is difficult, if not impossible,(comma) to fully counter Altaria with a single Pokemon. Most importantly, it is hard to resist Altaria's STAB Dragon moves, as NU sees a significant shortage of Steel-types. Those that are in NU easily fall to its Ground-type coverage. This restricts you to purely statistical defenses to switch into Altaria. Fortunately, no superhuman—or, super-Pokemon—stats are necessary to counter Altaria. For the Choice Specs set, dedicated special walls such as Lickilicky, Regice, and even Hypno can easily take a Draco Meteor and recover their health. As for the Dragon Dance sets, physical walls such as Amoonguss, Regirock, and Alomomola have no problem tanking a boosted Outrage and deal with the threat accordingly. Probopass, one of the most common Steel-type of NU, can easily deal with an Altaria locked into a Dragon-type move for whatever reason. On the other hand, Piloswine has all-around bulk to take a strong hit at full health, and also has Ice Shard to revenge Dragon Dance variants if necessary.

The main difficulty in countering Altaria is that the special and physical sets have totally different counters. In fact, the Choice Specs set uses the counters to the Dragon Dance set, such as Alomomola and Amoonguss, as an opportunity to switch in. The crux step in dealing with Altaria is recognizing Altaria's moveset according to the way the opponent plays it. All of its sets are unique and each set has a characteristic playstyle that can be easily recognized. For example, if your opponent hesitates to switch in Altaria on Alomomola, you can be pretty confident that it is a physical variant. If your opponent switches in on your Tangela, you can be almost certain that it is a special variant. Without great teambuilding and some gutsy plays, it will be hard for your opponent to disguise Altaria's set.

It may be hard to take on Altaria without suffering any losses, but taking down Altaria is not all that difficult. Without a Speed boost, Altaria is outsped by the majority of the offensive metagame, and is easily OHKOed by strong physical attackers such as Cinccino and Zangoose. Even with a Speed boost, most Choice Scarf users are still faster than Altaria; Scarf Sawk or Electabuzz have no trouble revenging a boosted Altaria locked into Outrage. Of course, most things with Ice Beam can easily kill even the most specially defensive of all Altaria. Finally, Stealth Rock cuts down on Altaria's lifespan significantly, so wearing it down should not be very difficult with some smart switches.

edit: gg amarillo dissing my check before even reading it >w> meanie

marilli · Oct 8, 2012

Be careful with taking those checks; the first semicolon he inserts is not used correctly.... i think.

I'd check it if i had time (and the ability to actually sift through BBCode).

k read through and the rest of the check doesn't look that bad.

ebeast · Oct 8, 2012

Amarillo said:
Be careful with taking those checks; the first semicolon he inserts is not used correctly.... i think.

I'd check it if i had time (and the ability to actually sift through BBCode).

k read through and the rest of the check doesn't look that bad.

I'm actually waiting for GP members to come in and do a quick look over at his check. This might as well count as a bump for a GP member to notice.

ebeast · Nov 11, 2012

Double posting because this really needs the bump. It has been over a month since this has been written and this needs to be GP'd quickly and I don't want to spam #grammar just yet. Thanks in advance.

His Eminence Lord Poppington II · Nov 13, 2012

EBeast said:
Altaria

Amarillo has been busy with school and asked me to take this over for him and I will be using his written Checks and Counters Portion as well. Only thing I wanted know was if the sets have to be reQC'd for a small amount of spread changes. In short change SpecsTaria's set to outspeed Timid Ludicolo and Samurott while making Jolly the only or main slash on Offensive DD. As well as change Defensive's spread to live an additional SR switch in.

EDIT: Looked at by DTC and Raseri and changes approved

[Overview]
Altaria is no newcomer to the lower tiers, ~~it has always been forced down from OU due to~~ its unremarkable stats and othe~~r Dragons taking Altaria's place. W~~ presence of better Dragon-type Pokemon ensuring it never held a spot in OU. And with BW bringing a plethora of ~~new~~ stronger Dragon-types, it's no surprise that Altaria ended up in the magical land of NU. In this land of patriotic birds and dancing Mexican pineapples, Altaria's balanced and unremarkable stats have a chance to stand out and give Altaria an opportunity to become a fully realized Dragon. Altaria's typing is effective both offensively and defensively due the ability of Dragon-type attacks to hit everything outside of Steel-types neutrally while. Altaria's typing is effective both offensively and defensively; Dragon-type STAB is renown for its offensive potency, being only resisted by Steel; defensively, it provid~~ing~~es resist~~s to~~ances to common Grass-, Water-, and Fire-type attacks. Altaria ~~holds great support tools in the form of Heal Bell, Roar, Roost, Cotton Guard, and Roar while being capable of tearing hol~~is not only capable of supporting its own team with a wide support movepool, including Heal Bell, Roar, Roost, Cotton Guard, and Roar, but, courtesy of NU having very few Steel-types, i~~n teams with its offensive sets due to NU having few Dragon-type resist~~t can also use offensive sets to tear gaping holes in the opponent's. Sadly, not everything is clouds and rainbows for Altaria, as it sports bad offensive stats, a Stealth Rock weakness, and is in metagame that isn't very kind to it. However, if you can look past its flaws you will find a fierce warrior behind that fluffy exterior.

[SET]
name: SpecsTaria (Choice Specs)
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Hidden Power Ground
move 3: Dragon Pulse / Fire Blast
move 4: Rest
item: Choice Specs
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
evs: 80 HP / 252 SAtk / 176 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Pokemon's favorite ~~never used Dragon is back and out looking for blood. By wearing its stylish pair of~~under used ('never used' doesn't really make sense, as Altaria was UU last gen; using 'under used' here is probably the best substitute, as while it alludes to Altaria being UU in the past, it does not use the coined 'Underused' which conflicts with Altaria reemerging in a different tier this generation) Dragon is back, and it's back for blood. Choice Specs balloons Altaria's tiny base 70 Special Attack suddenly becomes bigger than life, matching the power of Altaria's cousin Latios. In a tier with as few Steel-types as there are in NU, Altaria has a relatively easy time doing huge damage to an opposing team with its powerful Draco Meteorto that of unboosted Latios, allowing it to make use of its STAB Draco Meteor. And in a tier with as few Steel-types as there are in NU, Altaria has a relatively easy time doing irreparable damage to the opponent's team. Without a Steel-type or very specially bulky Pokemon, such as Lickilicky, Gardevoir, and Regice, opposing teams will have an immensely difficult time finding a proper switch into Altaria's Draco Meteor~~. Without a good switch in, Altaria is ready to bring the pain by 2HKOing a big portion of the metagame and taking off massive chunks off bulky Pokemon~~, which threatens a 2HKO on a large portion of the metagame. Hidden Power Ground gives Altaria a way to 2HKO the most common Steel-type Pokemon in NU, Probopass and Bastiodon, wh~~o are~~ ich might attempted to switch~~-in to shrug off a~~ in on a resisted Dragon-type attack. Dragon Pulse and Fire Blast both make fine options, but Dragon Pulse is generally the better option, as it gives Altaria another STAB option to use against more offensive teams, where Altaria doesn't need the extra power and can't afford to be have ~~its~~a Special Attack drop ~~or a Draco Meteor would be overkill~~. Fire Blast gives Altaria a more powerful option against Amoonguss and Metang, although both still take decent damage from a Draco Meteor or Hidden Power Ground, respectively. ~~Rest~~Natural Cure allows Altaria to ~~play as a pivot as thanks to Natural Cure Altaria's sleeping condition will be cured as soon as it switches out and allows it to constantly keep coming back~~use Rest as a semi-reliable recovery move, waking up upon switching out. The added longevity allows Altaria to come in repeatedly to fire off powerful Draco Meteors.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
~~Altaria's~~The given EVs and a Timid nature allow itAltaria to outpace two major threats in NU—, Ludicolo and Samurott—, and strike them hard with a powerful Draco Meteor. The ~~80 HP EVs allow Altaria to tank hits a little bit better and alongside Rest help Altaria maintain its role as a bulky offensive pivot~~remaining 80 HP EVs give Altaria a modicum of bulk, allowing it to make use of its numerous resistances and decent defensive stats. One of the most interesting aspect about SpecsTaria is that it beats the counters to the Dragon Dance sets ~~such as~~, Tangela, Weezing, and Regirock, whoich might try to come into Altaria expecting a Dragon Dance or Outrage, only to find themselves aton the ~~other side of a radiant~~receiving end of a Draco Meteor. Altaria can ~~also~~ use Cloud Nine to outspeed Ludicolo in the rain, but doing so makes Rest useless ~~and Fire Blast the best choice for the last slot~~. If using Cloud Nine, Altaria should use Fire Blast as its auxiliary move over Dragon Pulse, as Air Lock prevents its power from being dampened by rain. Good partners to this set include Emboar, Samurott, and Torterra ~~who~~, all of which can break through the ~~tough~~ specially defensive Pokemon that have an easy time beating Altaria. Emboar in particular has excellent offensive and defensive synergy with Altaria, and can smash every single Pokemon in NU that is capable of tanking Altaria's Draco Meteor. Torterra does a similar job asto Emboar, but shares a X44x Ice-type weakness with Altaria~~, hurting its synergy tremendously. Samurott resists Ice-type attacks and can~~. Lastly, Samurott not only resists Ice-type attacks, but it can also set up Swords Dances on a lot of the Pokemon that threaten Altaria, such as Lickilicky, Regice, and Probopass.

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Roost
move 2: Roar / Perish Song
move 3: Heal Bell
move 4: Dragon Pulse
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Calm
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Altaria's typing can be considered a double-edged sword in the current metagame. On one hand, Altaria's ~~Dragon/~~secondary Flying tTyping gives it resistances and immunities to common attacking types such as Water, Fire, Grass, and Ground, on the other Altaria's secondary Flying-typing give a weakness to common coverage attacks used by the previously mentioned types such as Ice- and Rock-type attacks while making Altaria inherently weak toan immunity to Ground-, and a resistance to Fighting-type attacks, on the other, it exasperates its existing Ice-type weakness and adds a Rock-type one, making it take 25% from the ubiquitous Stealth Rock. However, Altaria can still ~~use~~put its good 75/90/105 defenses ~~to good use in a defensive set thanks to Altaria's~~and access to many utility moves ~~in the form of~~, such as Roost, Heal Bell, Roar, and Perish Song., to good use, allowing it to run a decent defensive set. Dragon Pulse is stronger than Dragon Claw and i~~sn't deterred by burn and allows Altaria to not be total Taunt bait. Even with Dragon Pulse Altaria is re~~ts power isn't affected should Altaria get burned. Although Dragon Pulse prevents Altaria from being Taunt bait, it is still exceptionally weak, with its terrible base 70 Special Attack, and it's true value comes from the variety of support moves it can use. Altaria's Flying-typing really brings it down, and with Roost Altaria can literally bring itself down and shedorking off of an uninvested base 70 Special Attack; Defensive Altaria's true use lies in its ability to support its team with Heal Bell and to stop setup sweepers with Roar or Perish Song. Altaria can use Roost to temporarily strip itself of it's ~~pesky secondary typing to~~Flying Typing on slower foes, allowing it to comfortably take weaker coverage moves, such as Hidden Power Ice ~~while having a reliable 50% healing move at its disposal~~. Heal Bell and Natural Cure make Altaria a great status absorber, and provides excellent support to ~~more defensive~~ teams, that can make up for Altaria's shortcomings and accept its status curing in open arms. Altaria also has access to two boosting moves in Roar and Perish Song each with their own perks that set them apart. Roar is very useful as it gets rid of Pokemon right on the spot and allows for dealing damage to the opponentappreciate being rid of status. Roar can force out many troublesome Pokemon—and in conjunction with entry hazards can rack up significant residual damage—that Altaria has trouble dealing with othe help of Spikes. Perish Song on the otherhand guarantees that an opponent gets disposed of as Roar will fail against your opponent's last Pokemon attempting to set up, however comes at the price of taking a total of 3 turns and forcing your own Pokemon outrwise, but is useless when your opponent is down to their last Pokemon. Perish Song checkmates a last Pokemon situation, but has less utility otherwise.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
~~Altaria~~This set absolutely adores Spikes support from ~~the likes of~~Pokemon such as Garbodor and Omanyte, as it ~~gives it another form of~~allows Altaria to use Roar to deal~~ing~~ damage ~~to the opponent alongside Roar~~, rather than rely on its pitifully weak Dragon Pulse. Altaria also happens to share excellent defensive synergy with both Spikes users ~~which helps it in the process of phazing to accumulate damage. Altaria can also run a physically defensive spread give it an easier time~~, allowing a cycle of them switching in and setting up hazards on or phazing each others checks. A physically defensive spread can be run, making use of Altaria's Fighting-type resist to switching to ~~powerful~~ Pokemon such as ~~Sawk and Emboar, but must watch out for their coverage mov~~Emboar and Sawk; however, Altaria is weak to Stone Edge and Ice Punch, common auxiliary moves carried by Fighting-types. Like any other defensive Pokemon, Altaria can use Toxic to beat certain walls, but ~~Altaria's rare combination of utilit~~access to the poorly dis ~~the main reason for using it and Toxic support can be relegated to a teammate~~tributed Heal Bell is a large part of justifying the use of Defensive Altaria. Altaria appreciates Rapid Spin support ~~and~~, but has mediocre defensive synergy with Torkoal and Armaldo, ~~but the compound~~the tier's best spinners; all three are weak~~ness~~ to Rock-type moves ~~is something to watch out for~~.

[SET]
name: Offensive Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Outrage / Dragon Claw
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Roost
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Dragon Dance is the trademark boosting move of most Dragon-type Pokemon, and Altaria is no exception. The Attack and Speed boost provided by Dragon Dance are too good to pass up and Altaria boasts good attacking options in Outrage and Earthquake to go along with it. Sadly Altaria's typing that makes itWhile Altaria has solid bulk and resistances to ease its set up, being weak to Stealth Rock and common coverage moves, such as Hidden Power Ice, make it harder to set up, and even after a boost Altaria's unimpressive base 70 Attack isn't looking that much better. Altaria has to make use of its resists and good bulk to try and squeeze out a boost if possible, and whildifficult to find opportunities to do so. Moreover, Altaria's base 70 Attack stat is less than impressive; this lack of power is compounded by the absence of STAB on Earthquake, and the low base power on Dragon Claw. Despite Altaria isbeing the weakest viable Dragon ~~Dancing~~-type to use Dragon Dance in NU, it ~~also happens to be one of the fastest. Altaria's base 80 Speed is good and with a Jolly nature lets it outspeed base up~~makes up for it by being the fastest. Jolly Altaria can outspeed dangerous Pokemon, such as Ludicolo, Samurott, and Absol~~. Sinc~~ (and do what to them? It doesn't look like Altaria can revenge kill any of these reliably). Because Altaria has bulk similar to that of its Dragon-type Eviolite-using brethren in NU, it can afford to run a Life Orb to make up for its lack of offense. Outrage and Earthquake are unresisted in NU, outside of champions Bronzor and Shedinja, both easy to deal with. Dragon Claw can be used over Outrage if a more reliable, albeit, STAB option is preferred as Dragon Claw won't lock you into it as Outrage does. Thanks to Roost it can set up on weaker opponents as much as it wants, including champion Bronzor, and comes in handy when Life Orb has taken too much of a toll on Altariathe largely unviable Bronzor and Shedinja, and can thusly do decent damage, despite Altaria's lackluster Attack stat. Dragon Claw's main perk over Outrage is that it doesn't lock Altaria in, allowing it to use its only STAB move without the fear of being revenge killed. Altaria's decent bulk lets it make good use of Roost, and in some circumstances allows it to alternate between boosting and healing, racking up multiple Dragon Dances.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
Much like the Choice Specs set, Altaria appreciates Spikes support from Garbodor and Omanyte to help weaken Pokemon troublesome ~~Pokemon such as Tangela and Regirock. With Regenerator and amazing~~to this set, such as Regirock and Tangrowth. Despite falling out of favor in lieu of the newly released Regenerator Amoonguss, Tangela, courtesy of its incredible physical bulk Tan~~gela wa~~d Regenerator, is one of the b~~igg~~est Pokemon stopping Dragon Dance Altaria from going through teams. With the advent of Regenerator Amoonguss Tangela has fallen out of favor, which is excellent news for Altaria as Amoonguss is not nearly as sturdy on the physical side as its cousin. With just a single Dragon Dance Amoonguss is getting 2HKOed while with the help from Spikes Regirock will eventually get low enough where a +1 Life Orb Earthquake can pick it off. Even so Emboar is still a useful partner as its STABs are capable of ridding the field of annoying Regirock and Tangela for Altaria to have a significantly easier time sweepingchecks to Dragon Dance Altaria. Tangela can halt Altaria with Sleep Powder, repeated uses of Hidden Power Ice, and Leech Seed. Again, Emboar is a useful partner, as its STABs are capable of ridding the field of Regirock and Tangela. Choice Scarf Rotom-F can outspeed even a +1 Altaria, and can instantly KO it with a STAB Blizzard. Having teammates that can switch into revenge killers looking to stop Altaria's sweep are recommended. Probopass and Bastiodon are excellent teammates for not only the aforementioned reason, as they can also lure choiced Fighting- and Ground-type Attacks for Altaria to set up on. Altaria can ~~also~~ use both Dragon Claw and Outrage by replacing Roost if ~~really needed, but not recommended as Roost will help Altaria snatch the second boost that it needs to sweep cleanly~~one desires the flexibility of having both a safe and a strong STAB move, but giving up Roost is generally not worth it.

[SET]
name: Bulky Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Dragon Claw
move 3: Roost
move 4: Heal Bell / Earthquake
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Careful
evs: 248 HP / 232 SpD / 28 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
This set attempts to become athe middleman between Altaria's Dragon Dance and defensive sets that can be devastating against more defensive teams. While this Altaria sets is extremely weak initially, wit~~h Roost and Heal Bell it can find itself having an much easier time setting up on Pokemon such as Amoonguss and Alomomola until it is ready to strike~~s defensive investment and ability to rid itself of status allows it to set up on Pokemon such as Alomomola and Amoonguss more easily. Sadly, even ~~with all the boosts possible~~a +6 Altaria's Attack is still disappointingly low and doesn't deal as much damage as Altaria wants it. This is the weakest offensive set on the weakest Dragon Dancer in NU, which speaks a lot in itself. While this set can can use its great special bulk to Dragon Dance all it wants the walls it fights can still take a hit from Altaria. Heavy support in the form of Spikes and some offensive partners are highly recommended to make this set as effective as it can be. Since this set isone would expect it to. While this set can set up multiple Dragon Dances, the walls it sets up on can still take its boosted attacks. Heavy support is needed to make this set work; both Spikes and teammates (which and why) are recommended. Due to this set being so slow, the benchmarks for what Altaria outspeeds after boosting starts off at +2 instead of +1. ~~With~~ 28 Speed EVsvs ensure that Altaria can outspeed Adamant Scarf Sawk after two Dragon Dances and ~~deal damage with~~ Dragon Claw it before Sawk can shoot down Altaria with Stone Edge. While Heal Bell is pretty essential to this set's success, Earthquake can be used to ~~the~~hit the Steel-type Pokemon that can easily take ~~a weak~~even a boosted Altaria's Dragon Claw without breaking a sweat.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
Like it was mentioned before this set requires a lot of support to be used effectively. Spikes from Garbodor or Omanyte as appreciated and the damage accumulated from the hazards make up for the power that this set makes Altaria wish it had(I don't see why Spikes are useful for this set when it has to spend so many turns boosting). Offensive partners, such as Emboar, come in handy to help take down Tangela and Regirock, ~~two Pokemon that give Altaria hell with their attacks due to Altaria's inability to boost its damage output fast enough~~both of which take pittance from this set's weak attacks. This set can also run 112 Speed EVs to outpace Scarf Rotom-S and Rotom-F at +2, but in doing so Altaria loses out on a lot of bulk and is generally not worth it. Rapid Spin support is recommended, as Altaria will be switching out a lot in more drawn out battles and Stealth Rock takes a toll quickly on it. Torkoal and Armaldo provide Rapid Spin while their weaknesses outside of Rock are resisted by Altaria.(repeating identical pokemon with non-set specific reasons... does Rapid Spin support help out this Altaria more than other sets? If it doesn't, say so. To avoid repeating yourself and writing boring prose be more set specific if the same spinners are to be mentioned)

[Other Options]

Altaria has a variety of options aret its disposal,; however, due to Altaria's balanced stats ~~most of what it can effectively use is already listed in one of its sets. However there are still a few other things it can use that hasn't been already mentioned~~, it simply cannot use them effectively. While Altaria is capable of pulling off a successful Choice Specs set, the same cannot really be said about a Choice Band one. The NU metagame is more physically defensive inclined, with its vast amount of bulky Rock- and Steel-type Pokemon that Altaria ~~doesn't can't pull off the same amount of wallbreaking power while a Choice Band set is arguably outclassed by a Dragon Dance set. Altaria has other move~~can't break past. Altaria's movepool includes options ~~as well~~ such as Hone Claws, Dragon Rush, Cotton Guard, and Pursuit. Hone Claws and Dragon Rush can work together to give Altaria a reliable 100 BP STAB attack that doesn't lock Altaria into the move, but fails do much more than that as Hone Claws won't be sweeping nearly as effectively as Dragon Dance. Pursuit could be used to trap Ghost-type such as Haunter who can't take down Altaria in one shot due to its great Special Defense, but isn't recommended as there are better users of Pursuit such as Skuntank and Absthe speed boost Dragon Dance provides is far more valuable. Pursuit could be used to trap Ghost-types that can't hurt it significantly, such as Haunter, but Skuntank and Absol outclass it at this role. Cotton Guard gives Altaria an instant +3 in Defense but has little use as most Pokemon will be trying to hit Altaria with an Ice Beam or Hidden Power Ice than attempting to bombard it with physical attacks. Last but not leastboosts Altaria's Defense by three stages, but does little to protect it from the special Ice-type moves aimed at it. Lastly, Altaria is capable of running a mixed wallbreaking set in the same ~~sense of Salamence back in DPPt. With~~vein as MixMence. With a moveset of Draco Meteor /, Earthquake /, Fire Blast / Roost and a Life Orb Altaria has all the coverage it needs alongside Roost to heal up Life Orb recoil. Sadly however Altaria is no Salamence and Life Orb is not enough to make up for its unboosted base 70 Attack and Special Attack. While the set's coverage is good, its power isn't and SpecsTaria is already capable of beating Probopass and Bastiodon, and Roost, Altaria has impeccable coverage. Sadly, Altaria's feeble offenses cannot be augmented sufficiently by Life Orb, and its damage output often falls short. Moreover, SpecsTaria is already capable of beating common Steel-type Pokemon, such as Bastiodon and Probopass, with Hidden Power Ground..

[Checks and Counters]

It is difficult, if not impossible, to fully counter Altaria with a single Pokemon. ~~Most importantly, it is hard to resist Altaria's STAB Dragon moves, as NU sees a significant shortage of Steel-types. Those that are NU easily fall to its~~This is because all Dragon-type resists in NU are weak to the Ground-type cmove~~rage. This restricts you to purely statistical defenses to switch into Altaria. Fortunately, no superhuman—or, super-Pokemon—stats are necessary to counter Altaria~~s Altaria often carries. This means that relying on resistances is a shaky way to check Altaria, and that Pokemon which can take Altaria's moves by sheer bulk alone are often better bets. For the Choice Specs set, dedicated special walls, such as Lickilicky, Regice, and even Hypno, can easily take a Draco Meteor and recover ~~their health~~off the damage. As for the Dragon Dance sets, physical walls, such as ~~Amoonguss~~Tangrowth, Regirock, and Alomomola, hasve no problem tanking a boosted Outrage and ~~deal~~retaliating with eithe ~~threat accordingly. Probopass, one of the most common Steel-type of NU, can deal with an Altaria locked into a Dragon-type move for whatever reason. On the oth~~r status or a super effective move. Piloswine can survive any one attack from Altaria and respond with Icicle Spear, even having priority in Ice Shard to snipe offensive Dragon Dance variants. Offensively, it is not difficult to force out Altaria at all. Without a Speed boost, Altaria is outsped by majority of the offensive metagame, and is easily OHKOed by strong physical attackers, such as Cinccino and Zangoose. Even with a Speed boost, most Choice Scarf users are still faster than~~d, Piloswine has all-around bulk to take a strong hit at full health, and also has Ice Shard to revenge Dragon Dance variants if necessary~~ Altaria; Cnoice Scarf Sawk and Electabuzz have no trouble revenge killing a boosted Altaria locked into Outrage. Altaria's 4x Ice-type weakness means that even the most specially defensive of Altaria cannot stand up to most Ice Beams. Of course, Stealth Rock is always helpful when handling Altaria, cutting its HP by a quarter every time it switches in.

The main difficulty in countering Altaria is that the special and physical sets have totally different counters. In fact, the Choice Specs set uses ~~the~~ counters to the Dragon Dance set, such as Alomomola and Amoonguss, as an opportunity to switch in. ~~The crux step in d~~Dealing with Altaria is recognizing Altaria's moveset according to the way the opponent plays it. All of its sets are unique and each set has a characteristic playstyle that can be easily recognized. For example, if your opponent hesitates to switch in Altaria on Alomomola, you can be pretty confident that it is a physical variant. If your opponent switches in on your Tangela, you can be almost certain that it is a special variant. Without great teambuilding and some gutsy plays, it will be hard for your opponent to disguise Altaria's set.

It may be hard to take on Altaria without suffering any losses, but taking down Altaria is not all that difficult. Without a Speed boost, Altaria is outsped by majority of the offensive metagame, and is easily OHKOed by strong physical attackers such as Cinccino and Zangoose. Even with a Speed boost, most Choice Scarf users are still faster than Altaria; Scarf Sawk or Electabuzz has no trouble revenging a boosted Altaria locked into Outrage. Of course, most things with Ice Beam can easily kill even the most specially defensive of all Altaria. Finally, Stealth Rock cuts down on Altaria's lifespan significantly, so wearing it down should not be very difficult with some smart switchessimply determining what set it is running; from there, it is a simple matter of switching in the appropriate checks to deal with it.

CHANGES IN GREEN
REMOVALS IN RED
COMMENTS ARE ALSO IN GREEN (but they are in brackets and are very obvious)

ugh, did you even proof-read this? i found a lot of elementary grammatical mistakes.

more importantly, there were a large amount of problems with this analysis in just simple adherence to standard format and placing of information. AC should mention specific set allies, checks, alternate EV spreads and items; NOT regurgitate information (you identified the same three spinners for every single set as good partners and deviated between saying they were 'mediocre' and implying they were bad and good, a lot of the information was generally inconsistent).

i ended up basically rewriting the analysis for you xd

EBeast said:
Altaria

Amarillo has been busy with school and asked me to take this over for him and I will be using his written Checks and Counters Portion as well. Only thing I wanted know was if the sets have to be reQC'd for a small amount of spread changes. In short change SpecsTaria's set to outspeed Timid Ludicolo and Samurott while making Jolly the only or main slash on Offensive DD. As well as change Defensive's spread to live an additional SR switch in.

EDIT: Looked at by DTC and Raseri and changes approved

[Overview]

Altaria is no newcomer to the lower tiers, its unremarkable stats and the presence of better Dragon-type Pokemon ensuring it never held a spot in OU. And with BW bringing a plethora of stronger Dragon-types, it's no surprise that Altaria ended up in the magical land of NU. In this land of patriotic birds and dancing Mexican pineapples, Altaria's balanced and unremarkable stats have a chance to stand out. Altaria's typing is effective both offensively and defensively; Dragon-type STAB is renown for its offensive potency, being only resisted by Steel; defensively, it provides resistances to common Grass-, Water-, and Fire-type attacks. Altaria is not only capable of supporting its own team with a wide support movepool, including Heal Bell, Roar, Roost, Cotton Guard, and Roar, but, courtesy of NU having very few Steel-types, it can also use offensive sets to tear gaping holes in the opponent's. Sadly, not everything is clouds and rainbows for Altaria, as it sports bad offensive stats, a Stealth Rock weakness, and is in metagame that isn't very kind to it. However, if you can look past its flaws you will find a fierce warrior behind that fluffy exterior.

[SET]
name: SpecsTaria (Choice Specs)
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Hidden Power Ground
move 3: Dragon Pulse / Fire Blast
move 4: Rest
item: Choice Specs
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
evs: 80 HP / 252 SAtk / 176 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Pokemon's favorite under used ('never used' doesn't really make sense, as Altaria was UU last gen; using 'under used' here is probably the best substitute, as while it alludes to Altaria being UU in the past, it does not use the coined 'Underused' which conflicts with Altaria reemerging in a different tier this generation) Dragon is back, and it's back for blood. Choice Specs balloons Altaria's tiny base 70 Special Attack to that of unboosted Latios, allowing it to make use of its STAB Draco Meteor. And in a tier with as few Steel-types as there are in NU, Altaria has a relatively easy time doing irreparable damage to the opponent's team. Without a Steel-type or very specially bulky Pokemon, such as Lickilicky, Gardevoir, and Regice, opposing teams will have an immensely difficult time finding a proper switch into Altaria's Draco Meteor, which threatens a 2HKO on a large portion of the metagame. Hidden Power Ground gives Altaria a way to 2HKO the most common Steel-type Pokemon in NU, Probopass and Bastiodon, which might attempt to switch in on a resisted Dragon-type attack. Dragon Pulse and Fire Blast both make fine options, but Dragon Pulse is generally the better option, as it gives Altaria another STAB option to use against more offensive teams, where Altaria doesn't need the extra power and can't afford to have a Special Attack drop. Fire Blast gives Altaria a more powerful option against Amoonguss and Metang, although both still take decent damage from a Draco Meteor or Hidden Power Ground, respectively. Natural Cure allows Altaria to use Rest as a semi-reliable recovery move, waking up upon switching out. The added longevity allows Altaria to come in repeatedly to fire off powerful Draco Meteors.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

The given EVs and a Timid nature allow Altaria to outpace two major threats in NU, Ludicolo and Samurott, and strike them hard with a powerful Draco Meteor. The remaining 80 HP EVs give Altaria a modicum of bulk, allowing it to make use of its numerous resistances and decent defensive stats. One of the most interesting aspect about SpecsTaria is that it beats the counters to the Dragon Dance sets, Tangela, Weezing, and Regirock, which might try to come into Altaria expecting a Dragon Dance or Outrage, only to find themselves on the receiving end of a Draco Meteor. Altaria can use Cloud Nine to outspeed Ludicolo in the rain, but doing so makes Rest useless. If using Cloud Nine, Altaria should use Fire Blast as its auxiliary move over Dragon Pulse, as Air Lock prevents its power from being dampened by rain. Good partners to this set include Emboar, Samurott, and Torterra, all of which can break through the specially defensive Pokemon that have an easy time beating Altaria. Emboar in particular has excellent offensive and defensive synergy with Altaria, and can smash every single Pokemon in NU that is capable of tanking Altaria's Draco Meteor. Torterra does a similar job to Emboar, but shares a 4x Ice-type weakness with Altaria. Lastly, Samurott not only resists Ice-type attacks, but it can also set up Swords Dances on a lot of the Pokemon that threaten Altaria, such as Lickilicky, Regice, and Probopass.

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Roost
move 2: Roar / Perish Song
move 3: Heal Bell
move 4: Dragon Pulse
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Calm
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

Altaria's typing can be considered a double-edged sword in the current metagame. On one hand, Altaria's secondary Flying Typing gives it an immunity to Ground-, and a resistance to Fighting-type attacks, on the other, it exasperates its existing Ice-type weakness and adds a Rock-type one, making it take 25% from the ubiquitous Stealth Rock. However, Altaria can still put its good 75/90/105 defenses and access to many utility moves, such as Roost, Heal Bell, Roar, and Perish Song, to good use, allowing it to run a decent defensive set. Dragon Pulse is stronger than Dragon Claw and its power isn't affected should Altaria get burned. Although Dragon Pulse prevents Altaria from being Taunt bait, it is still exceptionally weak, working off of an uninvested base 70 Special Attack; Defensive Altaria's true use lies in its ability to support its team with Heal Bell and to stop setup sweepers with Roar or Perish Song. Altaria can use Roost to temporarily strip itself of its Flying Typing on slower foes, allowing it to comfortably take weaker coverage moves, such as Hidden Power Ice. Heal Bell and Natural Cure make Altaria a great status absorber, and provides excellent support to teams that appreciate being rid of status. Roar can force out many troublesome Pokemon—and in conjunction with entry hazards can rack up significant residual damage—that Altaria has trouble dealing with otherwise, but is useless when your opponent is down to their last Pokemon. Perish Song checkmates a last Pokemon situation, but has less utility otherwise.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

This set absolutely adores Spikes support from Pokemon such as Garbodor and Omanyte, as it allows Altaria to use Roar to deal damage, rather than rely on its pitifully weak Dragon Pulse. Altaria also happens to share excellent defensive synergy with both Spikes users, allowing a cycle of them switching in and setting up hazards on or phazing each others checks. A physically defensive spread can be run, making use of Altaria's Fighting-type resist to switch into Pokemon such as Emboar and Sawk; however, Altaria is weak to Stone Edge and Ice Punch, common auxiliary moves carried by Fighting-types. Like any other defensive Pokemon, Altaria can use Toxic to beat certain walls, but access to the poorly distributed Heal Bell is a large part of justifying the use of Defensive Altaria. Altaria appreciates Rapid Spin support, but has mediocre defensive synergy with Torkoal and Armaldo, the tier's best spinners; all three are weak to Rock-type moves.

[SET]
name: Offensive Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Outrage / Dragon Claw
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Roost
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Dragon Dance is the trademark boosting move of most Dragon-type Pokemon, and Altaria is no exception. While Altaria has solid bulk and resistances to ease its set up, being weak to Stealth Rock and common coverage moves, such as Hidden Power Ice, make it difficult to find opportunities to do so. Moreover, Altaria's base 70 Attack stat is less than impressive; this lack of power is compounded by the absence of STAB on Earthquake, and the low base power on Dragon Claw. Despite Altaria being the weakest viable Dragon-type to use Dragon Dance in NU, it makes up for it by being the fastest. Jolly Altaria can outspeed dangerous Pokemon, such as Ludicolo, Samurott, and Absol (and do what to them? It doesn't look like Altaria can revenge kill any of these reliably). Because Altaria has bulk similar to that of its Dragon-type Eviolite-using brethren in NU, it can afford to run a Life Orb to make up for its lack of offense. Outrage and Earthquake are unresisted in NU, outside of the largely unviable Bronzor and Shedinja, and can thusly do decent damage, despite Altaria's lackluster Attack stat. Dragon Claw's main perk over Outrage is that it doesn't lock Altaria in, allowing it to use its only STAB move without the fear of being revenge killed. Altaria's decent bulk lets it make good use of Roost, and in some circumstances allows it to alternate between boosting and healing, racking up multiple Dragon Dances.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Much like the Choice Specs set, Altaria appreciates Spikes support from Garbodor and Omanyte to help weaken Pokemon troublesome to this set, such as Regirock and Tangrowth. Despite falling out of favor in lieu of the newly released Regenerator Amoonguss, Tangela, courtesy of its incredible physical bulk and Regenerator, is one of the best checks to Dragon Dance Altaria. Tangela can halt Altaria with Sleep Powder, repeated uses of Hidden Power Ice, and Leech Seed. Again, Emboar is a useful partner, as its STABs are capable of ridding the field of Regirock and Tangela. Choice Scarf Rotom-F can outspeed even a +1 Altaria, and can instantly KO it with a STAB Blizzard. Having teammates that can switch into revenge killers looking to stop Altaria's sweep are recommended. Probopass and Bastiodon are excellent teammates for not only the aforementioned reason, as they can also lure choiced Fighting- and Ground-type Attacks for Altaria to set up on. Altaria can use both Dragon Claw and Outrage by replacing Roost if one desires the flexibility of having both a safe and a strong STAB move, but giving up Roost is generally not worth it.

[SET]
name: Bulky Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Dragon Claw
move 3: Roost
move 4: Heal Bell / Earthquake
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Careful
evs: 248 HP / 232 SpD / 28 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

This set attempts to become the middleman between Altaria's Dragon Dance and defensive sets that can be devastating against more defensive teams. While this Altaria set is extremely weak initially, its defensive investment and ability to rid itself of status allows it to set up on Pokemon such as Alomomola and Amoonguss more easily. Sadly, even a +6 Altaria's Attack is still disappointingly low and doesn't deal as much damage as one would expect it to. While this set can set up multiple Dragon Dances, the walls it sets up on can still take its boosted attacks. Heavy support is needed to make this set work; both Spikes and teammates (which and why) are recommended. Due to this set being so slow, the benchmarks for what Altaria outspeeds after boosting starts off at +2 instead of +1. 28 Speed Evs ensure that Altaria can outspeed Adamant Scarf Sawk after two Dragon Dances and Dragon Claw it before Sawk can shoot down Altaria with Stone Edge. While Heal Bell is pretty essential to this set's success, Earthquake can be used to hit the Steel-type Pokemon that can easily take even a boosted Altaria's Dragon Claw without breaking a sweat.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

(I don't see why Spikes are useful for this set when it has to spend so many turns boosting). Offensive partners, such as Emboar, come in handy to help take down Tangela and Regirock, both of which take pittance from this set's weak attacks. This set can also run 112 Speed EVs to outpace Scarf Rotom-S and Rotom-F at +2, but in doing so Altaria loses out on a lot of bulk and is generally not worth it. Rapid Spin support is recommended, as Altaria (repeating identical pokemon with non-set specific reasons... does Rapid Spin support help out this Altaria more than other sets? If it doesn't, say so. To avoid repeating yourself and writing boring prose be more set specific if the same spinners are to be mentioned)

[Other Options]

Altaria has a variety of options at its disposal; however, due to Altaria's balanced stats, it simply cannot use them effectively. While Altaria is capable of pulling off a successful Choice Specs set, the same cannot really be said about a Choice Band one. The NU metagame is more physically defensive inclined, with its vast amount of bulky Rock- and Steel-type Pokemon that Altaria can't break past. Altaria's movepool includes options such as Hone Claws, Dragon Rush, Cotton Guard, and Pursuit. Hone Claws and Dragon Rush can work together to give Altaria a reliable 100 BP STAB attack that doesn't lock Altaria into the move, but the speed boost Dragon Dance provides is far more valuable. Pursuit could be used to trap Ghost-types that can't hurt it significantly, such as Haunter, but Skuntank and Absol outclass it at this role. Cotton Guard boosts Altaria's Defense by three stages, but does little to protect it from the special Ice-type moves aimed at it. Lastly, Altaria is capable of running a mixed wallbreaking set in the same vein as MixMence. With a moveset of Draco Meteor, Earthquake, Fire Blast, and Roost, Altaria has impeccable coverage. Sadly, Altaria's feeble offenses cannot be augmented sufficiently by Life Orb, and its damage output often falls short. Moreover, SpecsTaria is already capable of beating common Steel-type Pokemon, such as Bastiodon and Probopass, with Hidden Power Ground..

[Checks and Counters]

It is difficult, if not impossible, to fully counter Altaria with a single Pokemon. This is because all Dragon-type resists in NU are weak to the Ground-type moves Altaria often carries. This means that relying on resistances is a shaky way to check Altaria, and that Pokemon which can take Altaria's moves by sheer bulk alone are often better bets. For the Choice Specs set, dedicated special walls, such as Lickilicky, Regice, and even Hypno, can easily take a Draco Meteor and recover off the damage. As for the Dragon Dance sets, physical walls, such as Tangrowth, Regirock, and Alomomola, have no problem tanking a boosted Outrage and retaliating with either status or a super effective move. Piloswine can survive any one attack from Altaria and respond with Icicle Spear, even having priority in Ice Shard to snipe offensive Dragon Dance variants. Offensively, it is not difficult to force out Altaria at all. Without a Speed boost, Altaria is outsped by majority of the offensive metagame, and is easily OHKOed by strong physical attackers, such as Cinccino and Zangoose. Even with a Speed boost, most Choice Scarf users are still faster than Altaria; Cnoice Scarf Sawk and Electabuzz have no trouble revenge killing a boosted Altaria locked into Outrage. Altaria's 4x Ice-type weakness means that even the most specially defensive of Altaria cannot stand up to most Ice Beams. Of course, Stealth Rock is always helpful when handling Altaria, cutting its HP by a quarter every time it switches in.

The main difficulty in countering Altaria is that the special and physical sets have totally different counters. In fact, the Choice Specs set uses counters to the Dragon Dance set, such as Alomomola and Amoonguss, as an opportunity to switch in. Dealing with Altaria is simply determining what set it is running; from there, it is a simple matter of switching in the appropriate checks to deal with it.

oh and there were spacing errors, which i've corrected in the c/p version

EDIT: this is also an amcheck

ebeast · Nov 13, 2012

Rewriting this because the write-up was from mostly from September and is outdated.

~~I can probably get this done by the end of the week.~~

lol @ ^

Started to write it today. Will probably finish on Monday/Tuesday.

ebeast · Feb 16, 2013

Your eyes do not deceive you... Altaria has finally been written up again. This is ready for GP checks, sorry for the wait. n.n

Swamp-Rocket · Feb 17, 2013

Just a minor-ish thing... You mention that Altaria is not a common sight in NU battles to start off. However, the usage stats indicate it is 34th at around 6% usage... That's fairly common and without a doubt a ton more common than other Dragon-types in NU.

ebeast · Feb 18, 2013

Alrighty I changed it from not a very common Pokemon to not a very good Pokemon, which is more accurate. Altaria could use some GP checks, hasn't been updated since BW1.

Joim · Feb 20, 2013

I've never done this, but I noticed a couple of mistakes so I'm giving a little am check here.
Additions
Deleted
Comments

[Overview]

Altaria is not a very good Pokemon in NU, as even with its 75/90/105 defenses and an interesting Dragon[space] /[space] Flying typing, Altaria sadly finds itself in a metagame that makes it hard for it to succeed. Even with a handy amount of resistances, its X4x Ice-type weakness is exploitable and hurts it tremendously;, as it prevents Altaria from handling the dangerous Samurott, Ludicolo, Gorebyss, and a slew of Pokemon who use Hidden Power Ice. A Stealth Rock weakness puts a lot of pressure onto all of its sets, and Dragon Dance variants face tough competition from Fraxure. Even if Altaria tries to distinguish itself with a bulkier set, its offensive prowess is less than desirable. Altaria's best set, surprisingly enough, utilizes one of its lowest stats, with Choice Specs punching holes in many offensive teams due to the sheer power of Draco Meteor and the lack of common Pokemon in the tier that resist Dragon-type attacks. Natural Cure is fantastic on all of its sets, to as itallows Altaria to absorb status or turn Rest into a reliable 100%full recovery move. While Altaria certainly has thingstraits that hinder its ability to perform in NU, proper usage of its good defenses and perks such as Natural Cure and its Dragon-type STAB can turn it into a dangerous tool to use against the generally unprepared NU metagame.

[SET]
name: SpecsTaria (Choice Specs)
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Hidden Power Ground / Fire Blast
move 3: Dragon Pulse
move 4: Rest
item: Choice Specs
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SAtk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

This is Altaria's most effective set, which takes advantage of the incredible raw power of Draco Meteor and the lack of Steel-types in NU. While Altaria has a poor base 70 Special Attack, Draco Meteor's high base power makes up for it and gives trouble to many teams due to NU's mainly offensive nature. Unless the opponent has some very bulky Pokemon or a Dragon-type resist, SpecsTaria will hit anything for a clean OHKO or 2HKO at worst with Draco Meteor. For the few Steel-type Pokemon in the tier, namely Probopass, Bastiodon, and Metang,; Hidden Power Ground is a clean 2HKO on all but Metang, who still takes solid damage. Fire Blast hits Metang considerably harder than Hidden Power Ground and can even be used against Grass-type Pokemon such as Tangela, Exeggutor, and Roselia as well as Regice,; however Draco Meteor will get the job done just fine against these same targets. Using Fire Blast over Hidden Power Ground also means that Probopass and Bastiodon will have a much easier time countering Altaria. Dragon Pulse is a reliable STAB move used in the cases where Draco Meteor would be overkill or when the Special Attack drops caused by Draco Meteor would hurt Altaria's chances of getting past a pPokemon. Dragon Pulse is a fantastic move in that it since it still deals heavy damage against most offensive teams, prevents opposing teamsnents from taking advantage of Draco Meteor's Special Attack drops, and is an incredibly reliable attack with its 90 Base Power and 100% accuracy.

Max Speed and a Timid Nature allow Altaria to outspeed common Pokemon such as Samurott, Ludicolo, and Skuntank, allowingpermitting(to many allow close together) Altaria to hit them hard with Draco Meteor. Other factors that makes this set good isare Altaria's great 75/90/105 defenses and good resistances to the common Fire-, Water-, and Grass-type attacks, that giveing it a safe switch for it to start spamming Draco Meteors and Dragon Pulses right away. Natural Cure is a fantastic ability that works very well in tandem with its bulk, to giveing Altaria many more opportunities to switch. Natural Cure ensures that Thunder Wave or an unlucky Body Slam paralyze never ruins its day and that it won't be worn down by Toxic. The ability to cure status on switches make Rest a viable option for the last moveslot as it recovers all of Altaria's HP in one turn and makes Stealth Rock slightly less annoying.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Entry hazard support is appreciated as it helps Altaria break even some of the bulkier Pokemon in the tier, including Musharna, while making it easier for Altaria's Draco Meteor to OHKO common threats such as Samurott and Ludicolo. While Rapid Spin support is very useful but not strictly required, a way to keep Stealth Rock off the field such as Taunt user like Samurott or Misdreavus is appreciatedwelcome as an alternative. Altaria doesn't have the best synergy with most Rapid Spin users, with Wartortle being the best choice due to not sharing aAltaria's Rock-type weakness with Altaria. Even so, Wartortle's access to Foresight means it can get a Rapid Spin off at least once to support Altaria. A Modest nature can be used over Timid for the extra power, but then Altaria misses out on outspeeding Timid Samurott and Ludicolo. Cloud Nine can be used over Natural Cure to cancel out weather and allow Altaria to outspeed Exeggutor orand Ludicolo, but its generally not worth giving up the utility of Rest and doesn't come into play very often.

[SET]
name: Bulky Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Roost
move 3: Dragon Claw
move 4: Substitute / Heal Bell
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Careful
evs: 248 HP / 180 SpD / 80 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Altaria differentiates itself from other Dragon Dance usersboosters with this set. With Altaria's good defenses and access to a reliable recovery move in Roost, it can easily set up on common walls like Alomomola and Roselia. With Altaria's highly invested Special Defense and Dragon Dance boosting Altaria's Attack and Speed, this set doublesserves as both as an offensive threat and specially defensive pivot. Between Dragon Dance and Roost, Altaria will be attemptingtrying to set up as much as it possibly can so it can attempt to sweep. Dragon Claw is a somewhat weak, but it's a reliable STAB that, unlike Outrage, doesn't force Altaria to keep attacking. Since Altaria has no investment and Dragon Claw is a measly 80 Base Power move, Altaria will need a lot of boosts under its belt before it can inflict serious damage. The main flaws of this set are status and the inability to dish out good damage whenever Altaria is unboosted, which is often. Thankfully, Substitute and Heal Bell are able to patch up the set's weakness to status, such as Toxic, and let Altaria stick around as long as possible. Substitute gets the nod over Heal Bell for the ability to be able to avoid status long term as aopposed to Heal Bell, which only has 8 PP. Substitute It also allows Altaria to effortless set up on Alomomola and Roselia while shielding Altaria from potential critical hits. Substitute and Roost together can even be used to stall out an opponent's PP; moves such as Stone Edge can be stalled out so that Altaria can start boosting without worrying about getting hit with a super effective attack. Heal Bell's advantage over Substitute would beis that it has the ability to not only heal Altaria's status, but also those of its teammates.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

The EVs are set forallows Altaria to have as much special bulk as possible while the 80 Speed EVs allow it to outpacespeed neutral Speed natured Rampardos and everything slower, including Adamant Torterra and standard Misdreavus. 80 Speed EVs also allow Altaria to hit 321 Speed at +1, letting Altaria outpace threats such as Timid Haunter, Jolly Sawsbuck, and Adamant Tauros. Sadly, since this set focuses mainly on Altaria's defenses, it greatly lacks good offensive power even after multiple boosts. Hazard support is greatly appreciated to help Altaria in dealing damage to the opponent., Toxic Spikes in specific are very valuable for Altaria as they let it stall out some of the the bulkiest walls such as Alomomola and Musharna while Altaria tries to set up. Garbodor and Roselia make great partners for this, as they can provide both Spikes and Toxic Spikes, although the latter shares a nasty Ice-type weakness with Altaria. Earthquake is a choice to be considered on the last moveslot in order to hit Steel-type Pokemon like Probopass, Bastiodon, Metang, Mawile, and Klang,; however these Pokemon are not all too common at all, and they get worn down quickly by Spikes. That being said, due to Altaria's high Special Defense, it is capable of setting up freely on the most common Steel-type Pokemon, Probopass, and slowly wearing it down with boosted Dragon Claws.

[SET]
name: Utility Support
move 1: Roost
move 2: Heal Bell
move 3: Roar
move 4: Dragon Pulse
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Calm
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

This set tries to take advantage of Altaria's 105 Special Defense and the resistances brought on by its Dragon[space] /[space] Flying typing. With resistances to Fighting-, Water-, Fire-, and Grass-type attacks, Altaria makes a great pivot into a lot of dangerous Pokemon(This sounds weird, but I can't think on how to improve it). Alongside Roost and Natural Cure, Altaria makes a formidable wall that can be difficult to take down without taking advantage of Altaria's Ice-type weakness or hitting its weaker physical side. Sadly for Altaria, a lot of Pokemon that it would be able to switch into such as Samurott, Ludicolo, Gorebyss, Camerupt, Roselia, Gurdurr, and Sawk have ways of dealing with it, be it Ice-type coverage or, in Roselia's case, being able to freely set up Spikes. Even so, Altaria provides something no other Pokemon in NU can offer to a defensive team: The combination of Heal Bell and Roar. While Lickilicky can use Heal Bell and Dragon Tail, Dragon Tail is nowhere near as a reliable a phazing move as Roar is and Lickilicky is hardpressed to fit both moves in without becoming set up fodder to Pokemon with Substitute. With Natural Cure, Altaria doesn't even have to really worry about its own health and can preserve Heal Bell only when its team desperately needs it. Dragon Pulse is a decently powerful STAB attack that, thanks to its Dragon-typing, hits many Pokemon neutrally and prevents Altaria from becoming Taunt fodderbait.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Altaria's EV spread and Calm nature give it as much special bulk as possible to let it switch into even the strongest resisted hit, such as Choice Specs Camerupt's Eruption. Toxic is an option for Altaria to wear down Pokemon, as it can Roosts health back orand heals status with Heal Bell, but takes up a moveslot which Altaria cannot give up most of the time. Perish Song can be used over Roar, but lacks the same amount immediacy as Roar has. Perish Song's advantage would lie in in the ability to decide the match in 3 turns in a last-mon situation. Entry hazards, particularly Spikes and Toxic Spikes, are highly recommended to make the most out of Altaria's resilience and Roar. Garbodor is the best partner for this as it has decent synergy with Altaria, unlike Roselia who compounds an Ice-type weakness. A Rapid Spin user can be used to prevent Altaria from taking Stealth Rock damage on the switch and generally fits well on that this Altaria would be most likely to be found in. Wartortle is the best option for a defensive Spinner, as it can getpull off a guaranteed Rapid Spins thanks to Foresight, alsond it resists Ice-type attacks aimed at Altaria.

[Other Options]

Altaria has a variety of options at its disposal;[add space] however, due to Altaria's balanced stats, it simply cannot use them effectively. Pursuit would allow Altaria to trap Haunter, who cannot deal much damage to Altaria,; however, due to Altaria's low base 70 Attack, Haunter is capable of living Pursuit on the switch. Having Pursuit also takes the place of moves such as Roar and Heal Bell, which hold much more utility on Altaria's defensive set. Cotton Guard can be used to set up Dragon Dances easier against a physical attacking Pokemon, but it would have to go over Substitute or Heal Bell. Generally speaking, the biggest weakness to Altaria's Dragon Dance set is status, which Substitute or Heal Bell help against, making Cotton Guard a sub-part choice. A Choice Band set works similarly to Choice Specs in that it utilizes a powerful Dragon-type STAB alongside Ground-type coverage. T, but there's a main difference that makes Choice Band considerable less useful than Choice Specs: is that its main attack, in Outrage, forces Altaria to stay in locked into itan attack, while not dealing as much damage to Pokemon in general due to the abundance of physically defensive Pokemon in NU compared to the specially defensive ones. Altaria couldcan use its great defenses to set up Sunny Day or Rain Dance, but its general lack of offensive pressure makes it less fit for this role. Altaria can also use a mixed set in the same vein as MixMence with Draco Meteor, Earthquake, Fire Blast, and Roost,; however, while this set can deal great damage against its usual checks, it fails to do much damage to Pokemon it can't hit super effectively with Earthquake and Fire Blast or that have decent Special Defense. Going mixed also means hindering one of Altaria's defenses, one of the only reasons that give Altaria has a niche over other Dragon-type Pokemon.

[Checks and Counters]

It i's difficult to fully counter Altaria with a single Pokemon. Most importantly, it i's hard to resist Altaria's STAB Dragon moves, as NU sees a significant shortage of Steel-type Pokemon. The Steel-types that do exist in NU are easily taken down by a Ground-type coverage move. This restricts you to Pokemon with purely high defenses to beat Altaria. However, Ffortunately, no outrageous stats are necessary to counter Altaria. For the Choice Specs set, dedicated special walls such as Lickilicky, Regice, and even Gardevoir can easily take a Draco Meteor and recover their health. As for the Dragon Dance sets, physical walls such as Tangela, Regirock, and Alomomola have no problem tanking boosted Outrages and deal with Altaria accordingly. Probopass, one of the most common Steel-type of NU, can beat an Altaria locked into a Dragon-type move, be it either Draco Meteor or Outrage. On the other hand, Piloswine has all-around bulk to take a strong hit at full health, and also has Ice Shard to revenge Dragon Dance variants if necessary. Regice can easily take Draco Meteors from Altaria's Specs set and retaliate with STAB Ice Beams. Anyways, damage done can be recovered via the Rest + Sleep Talk combination or Wish support from a common partner in Alomomola.

The main difficulty in countering Altaria is that the special and physical sets have totally different counters. In fact, the Choice Specs set uses the counters to the Dragon Dance set, such as Alomomola and Tangela, as an opportunity to switch in. The crux step in dealing with Altaria is recognizing Altaria's moveset according to the way the opponent plays it. All of its sets are unique and each set has a characteristic playstyle that can be easily recognized. [Add space]

It may be hard to switch into Altaria without suffering any losses, but taking down Altaria is not all that difficult. Without a Speed boost, Altaria is outpacedsped by a majority of the offensive metagame, and is easily OHKOed by strong physical attackers such as Sawk and Zangoose. Even with a Speed boost, most Choice Scarf users are still faster than Altaria; Scarf Sawk or Rotom-F have no trouble revenging a boosted Altaria locked into Outrage. Most things with Ice Beam can easily KO even the most specially defensive of all Altaria variant, while Pokemon that rely on Hidden Power Ice are certain to leave, at least, a big dent. Finally, Stealth Rock cuts down on Altaria's lifespan significantly, so wearing it down should not be very difficult with some smart switches.

This still needs to be GPd twice, but I hope this helps.

tehy · Feb 25, 2013

I was going to try to avoid doing Joim's checks, but then I missed a good few of them.
So there.

[Overview]
Altaria is not a very good Pokemon in NU ~~as e~~. Even with its 75/90/105 defenses and interesting Dragon/Flying typing, Altaria sadly finds itself in a metagame that makes it hard for it to succeed. Even with a handy amount of resistances, its X4 Ice-type weakness is exploitable and hurts it tremendously; it prevents Altaria from handling the dangerous Samurott, Ludicolo, Gorebyss and a slew of Pokemon who use Hidden Power Ice. A Stealth Rock weakness puts a lot of pressure onto all of its sets and Dragon Dance variants face tough competition from Fraxure. Even if Altaria tries to distinguish itself with a bulkier set, its offensive ~~prowess is~~capabilities are less than desirable. Altaria's best set, surprisingly enough, utilizes one of its lowest stats, with Choice Specs punching holes in many offensive teams due to the sheer power of Draco Meteor and the lack of common Pokemon that resist Dragon-type attacks. Natural Cure is fantastic on all of its sets to allow Altaria to absorb status or turn Rest into a reliable 100% recovery move. While Altaria certainly has things that hinder its ability to perform in NU, proper usage of its good defenses and perks such as Natural Cure and its Dragon-type STAB can turn it into a dangerous tool to use against the generally unprepared NU metagame.
[SET]
name: SpecsTaria (Choice Specs)
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Hidden Power Ground / Fire Blast
move 3: Dragon Pulse
move 4: Rest
item: Choice Specs
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SAtk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
This is Altaria most effective set, which takes advantage of the incredible power of Draco Meteor and the lack of Steel-types in NU. While Altaria has a poor base 70 Special Attack, Draco Meteor's high base power gives trouble to many teams due to NU's mainly offensive nature. Unless the opponent has some very bulky Pokemon or a Dragon-type resist, SpecsTaria will hit anything for a clean OHKO, or ~~2HKO~~ at worst a 2HKO, with Draco Meteor. For the few Steel-type Pokemon in the tier, namely Probopass, Bastiodon, and Metang, Hidden Power Ground is a clean 2HKO on all but Metang, who still takes solid damage. Fire Blast hits Metang considerably harder than Hidden Power Ground and can even be used against Grass-type Pokemon such as Tangela, Exeggutor, and Roselia, as well as Regice, ~~however~~but Draco Meteor ~~will~~ gets the job done just fine against the ~~same targets. U~~m, and using Fire Blast over Hidden Power Ground ~~also~~ means that Probopass and Bastiodon will have a much easier time countering Altaria. Dragon Pulse is a reliable STAB move used ~~in the cases~~ where Draco Meteor would be overkill, or when the Special Attack drops caused by Draco Meteor would hurt Altaria's chances of getting past a pokemon. Dragon Pulse ~~is fantastic in that it~~ still deals heavy damage against offensive teams, prevents opposing teams from taking advantage of Draco Meteor's Special Attack drops, and is an incredibly reliable attack with its 90 Base Power and 100% accuracy.
Max Speed and a Timid Nature allow Altaria to outspeed common Pokemon such as Samurott, Ludicolo, and Skuntank, allowing Altaria to hit them hard with Draco Meteor. ~~Other factors that makes this set good is~~ Altaria's great 75/90/105 defenses and good resistances to Fire-, Water-, and Grass-type attacks~~, that~~ give it a safe switch-ins for it to start spamming Draco Meteors and Dragon Pulses. Natural Cure is a fantastic ability that works very well in tandem with its bulk to give Altaria many more opportunities to switch~~. Natural Cure~~, ensuresing that Thunder Wave or an unlucky Body Slam paralyze never ruins its day and that it won't be worn down by Toxic. The ability to cure status on switches make Rest a viable option for the last moveslot, as it recovers all of Altaria's HP in one turn ~~and~~, makesing Stealth Rock slightly less annoying.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
Entry hazard support is appreciated, as it helps Altaria break even some of the bulkier Pokemon in the tier, including Musharna while making it easier for Altaria's Draco Meteor to OHKO common threats such as Samurott and Ludicolo. ~~While Rapid Spin~~A Taunt user su~~pport is not required, a way~~ch as Samurott or Misdreavus to keep Stealth Rocks off the field is~~uch~~ a~~s Taunt user like Samurott~~ ppreciated, although Rapid Spin support Mis~~dreavus is appreciated.~~ not required and Altaria doesn't have the best synergy with most Rapid Spin users, with Wartortle being the best choice due to not sharing a Rock-type weakness with Altaria. Even so, Wartortle's access to Foresight means it can get a Rapid Spin off at least once to support Altaria. A Modest nature can be used over Timid for the extra power, but misses out on outspeeding Timid Samurott and Ludicolo. Cloud Nine can be used over Natural Cure to cancel out weather and allow Altaria to outspeed Exeggutor or Ludicolo, but it's generally not worth giving up the utility of Rest/status absorption and doesn't come into play very often.

[SET]
name: Bulky Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Roost
move 3: Dragon Claw
move 4: Substitute / Heal Bell
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Careful
evs: 248 HP / 180 SpD / 80 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Altaria differentiates itself from other Dragon Dance boosters with this set. With Altaria's good defenses and access to a reliable recovery move in Roost, it can easily set up on common walls like Alomomola and Roselia. With Altaria's highly invested Special Defense and Dragon Dance boosting Altaria's Attack and Speed, this set doubles as both an offensive threat and a specially defensive pivot. Between Dragon Dance and Roost, Altaria will be attempting to set up as much as it possibly can so it can attempt to sweep. Dragon Claw is a somewhat weak, but reliable STAB that ~~unlike Outrage~~ doesn't force Altaria to keep attacking, unlike Outrage. Since Altaria has no investment and Dragon Claw is a measly 80 Base Power move, Altaria will need a lot of boosts under its belt before it can inflict serious damage. The main flaws of this set are status and the inability to dish out good damage whenever Altaria is unboosted. Thankfully, Substitute and Heal Bell are able to patch up the set's weakness to status such as Toxic and let Altaria stick around as long as possible. Substitute gets the nod over Heal Bell for the ability to be able to avoid status long term as apposed to Heal Bell, which only has 8 PP. Substitute allows Altaria to effortlessly set up on Alomomola and Roselia while shielding Altaria from potential critical hits. Substitute and Roost together can even be used to stall out an opponent's PP; moves such as Stone Edge can be stalled out so that Altaria can start boosting without worrying about getting hit with a super effective attack. Heal Bell's advantage over Substitute would be that it has the ability to not only heal Altaria's of status ailments, but also its teammates.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
The EVs are set for Altaria to have as much special bulk as possible while the 80 Speed EVs allow it to outpace neutral Speed natured Rampardos and everything slower, including Adamant Torterra and standard Misdreavus. 80 Speed EVs also allow Altaria to hit 321 Speed at +1, letting Altaria outpace threats such as Timid Haunter, Jolly Sawsbuck, and Adamant Tauros. Sadly, since this set focuses mainly on Altaria's defenses, it greatly lacks ~~good~~ offensive power even after multiple boosts. Hazard support is greatly appreciated to help Altaria in dealing damage to the opponent. Toxic Spikes in specifically are very valuable for Altaria, as they let it stall out some of the the bulkiest walls, such as Alomomola and Musharna, while Altaria tries to set up. Garbodor and Roselia make great partners for this, as they can provide both Spikes and Toxic Spikes, although the latter shares a nasty Ice-type weakness with Altaria. Earthquake is a choice on the last moveslot in order to hit Steel-type Pokemon like Probopass, Bastiodon, Metang, Mawile, and Klang, ~~however~~but these Pokemon are not ~~all~~ too common and get worn down quickly by Spikes. That being said, due to Altaria's high Special Defense, it is capable of setting up freely on the most common Steel-type Pokemon, Probopass, and slowly wearing it down with boosted Dragon Claws.

[SET]
name: Utility Support
move 1: Roost
move 2: Heal Bell
move 3: Roar
move 4: Dragon Pulse
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Calm
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
This set t~~ries to t~~akes advantage of Altaria's 105 Special Defense and the resistances brought on by its Dragon/Flying typing. With resistances to Fighting-, Water-, Fire-, and Grass-type attacks, Altaria makes a great pivot into a lot of dangerous Pokemon. ~~Alongside~~With Roost and Natural Cure, Altaria makes a formidable wall that can be difficult to take down without taking advantage of Altaria's Ice-type weakness or hitting its weaker physical side. Sadly for Altaria, a lot of Pokemon that it would be able to switch, into such as Samurott, Ludicolo, Gorebyss, Camerupt, ~~Roselia,~~ Gurdurr, and Sawk ~~have ways of~~, can deal~~ing~~ with it bevia i~~t I~~ce-type coverage ~~or in Roselia's case being able to freely set up Spikes~~. Even so, Altaria provides something no other Pokemon in NU can offer to a defensive team: The combination of Heal Bell and Roar. While Lickilicky can use Heal Bell and Dragon Tail, Dragon Tail is nowhere near as a reliable a phazing move as Roar is, and Lickilicky is hard-pressed to fit both in without becoming set up fodder to Pokemon with Substitute. With Natural Cure Altaria doesn't even have to really worry about its own health, and can preserve Heal Bell ~~only~~for when its team desperately needs it. Dragon Pulse is a decently powerful STAB attack that, thanks to its Dragon-typing, hits many Pokemon neutrally and prevents Altaria from becoming Taunt fodder.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
Altaria's EV spread and Calm nature give it as much special bulk as possible to let it switch into even the strongest resisted hit, such as Choice Specs Camerupt's Eruption. Toxic is an option for Altaria to wear down Pokemon as it Roosts or heals status with Heal Bell, but takes up a moveslot which Altaria cannot give up most of the time. Perish Song can be used over Roar, but lacks the ~~same amount~~ immediacy asthat Roar has. Perish Song's advantage ~~would~~ lies in in the ability to decide the match in ~~3 turns in~~ a last-mon situation. Entry hazards, particularly Spikes and Toxic Spikes, are highly recommended to make the most out of Altaria's resilience and Roar. Garbodor is the best partner for this, as it has decent synergy with Altaria, unlike Roselia, who compounds an Ice-type weakness. A Rapid Spin user can be used to prevent Altaria from taking Stealth Rock damage on the switch-in and generally fits well on the teams that this Altaria would be most likely to be found ion. Wartortle is the best option for a defensive Spinner, as it can get off guaranteed Rapid Spins thanks to Foresight, and resists Ice-type attacks aimed at Altaria.
[Other Options]
Altaria has a variety of options at its disposal;however, due to Altaria's balanced stats, it simply cannot use them effectively. Pursuit would allow Altaria to trap Haunter, who cannot deal much damage to Altaria~~, h~~. However, due to Altaria's low base 70 Attack, Haunter is capable of living Pursuit on the switch~~. Having~~, and Pursuit also takes the place of moves such as Roar and Heal Bell, which hold much more utility on Altaria's defensive set. Cotton Guard can be used to set up Dragon Dances more easierly against physically attacking Pokemon, but it would have to go over Substitute or Heal Bell. Generally speaking, the biggest weakness tof Altaria's Dragon Dance set is status, which Substitute or Heal Bell help ~~against~~fight, making Cotton Guard a sub-part choice. A Choice Band set works similarly to Choice Specs in that it utilizes a powerful Dragon-type STAB alongside Ground-type coverage. The main difference that makes Choice Band considerable less useful than Choice Specs is that its main attack in Outrage forces Altaria to stay in and attack, while not dealing as much damage to Pokemon in general due to the abundance of physically defensive Pokemon in NU ~~compared to the specially defensive ones~~. Altaria could use its great defenses to set up Sunny Day or Rain Dance, but its general lack of offensive pressure makes it less fit for this role. Altaria can also use a mixed set in the same vein as MixMence with Draco Meteor, Earthquake, Fire Blast, and Roost, ~~however~~but while this set can deal great damage against its usual checks, it fails to do much damage to Pokemon it can't hit super effectively with Earthquake and Fire Blast ~~or that~~and have decent Special Defense. Going mixed also means hindering one of Altaria's defenses, one of the only reasons that Altaria has a niche over other Dragon-type Pokemon.
[Checks and Counters]
It is difficult to fully counter Altaria with a single Pokemon. Most importantly, it is hard to resist Altaria's STAB Dragon moves, as NU sees a significant shortage of Steel-type Pokemon. The Steel-types that do exist in NU are easily taken down by a Ground-type coverage move. This restricts you to Pokemon with purely high defenses to beat Altaria. Fortunately, no outrageous stats are necessary to counter Altaria. For the Choice Specs set, dedicated special walls such as Lickilicky, Regice, and even Gardevoir can easily take a Draco Meteor and recover ~~their health~~. As for the Dragon Dance sets, physical walls such as Tangela, Regirock, and Alomomola have no problem tanking boosted ~~Out~~Drageon Claws and dealing with Altaria accordingly. Probopass, one of the most common Steel-type ofs in NU, can beat an Altaria locked into a Dragon-type move, be it Draco Meteor or Outrage. On the other hand, Piloswine has all-around bulk to take a strong hit at full health, and also has Ice Shard to revenge Dragon Dance variants if necessary. Regice can easily take Draco Meteors from Altaria's Specs set and retaliate with STAB Ice Beams. Any~~ways~~ damage done can be recovered via the Rest + Sleep Talk combination or Wish support from a common partner in Alomomola.
The main difficulty in countering Altaria is that the special and physical sets have totally different counters. In fact, the Choice Specs set uses the counters to the Dragon Dance set, such as Alomomola and Tangela, as an opportunity to switch in. The ~~crux~~most important step in dealing with Altaria is recognizing Altaria's movese~~t according to the way the opponent plays i~~t. All of its sets are unique and each set has a characteristic playstyle that can be easily recognized.
It may be hard to switch into Altaria without suffering any losses, but taking down Altaria is not all that difficult. Without a Speed boost, Altaria is outpaced by a majority of the offensive metagame, and is easily OHKOed by strong physical attackers such as Sawk and Zangoose. Even with a Speed boost, most Choice Scarf users are still faster than Altaria; Scarf Sawk or Rotom-F have no trouble revenging a boosted Altaria ~~locked into Outrage~~. Most things with Ice Beam can easily KO even the most specially defensive of all Altaria, while Pokemon that rely on Hidden Power Ice are certain to leave a big dent. Finally, Stealth Rock cuts down on Altaria's lifespan significantly, so wearing it down should not be very difficult with some smart switches.

Comments:
Right at the start, I changed it up a little. I feel that it improves it heavily and turns it from questionable (I mean, it WORKS but is... bad? Out there?) to much better. But feel free to disregard as well, I guess.
Seeing as DMeteor is stronger over 2 turns than Dpulse, I don't see how Dpulse could help you get past a certain poke. Unless they outspeed you and heal or something?
"Other factors that make this set good". I cut that. I mean, does it really serve a purpose?
Also Bulky DD is locked in by Outrage and confused by it JS.
I cut Roselia from "Pokes Supportaria cant switch into". it CAN do so, it'll just have spikes set up on it. But that's not the same as death, or even potential death.
You keep referencing Outrage-Locked Altaria. Why?

ebeast · Mar 3, 2013

ok took the am checks and fixed the Outrage inconsistencies. Thanks! GP pls?

Calm Pokemaster · Mar 13, 2013

Deletions
Additions / Comments
Comments

[Overview]

Altaria is not a great Pokemon in NU, as even with its 75/90/105 defenses and an interesting Dragon / Flying typing, Altaria it sadly finds itself in a metagame that makes it hard for it to succeed. Even with a handy amount of resistances, its 4x Ice-type weakness is exploitable and hurts it tremendously, as it prevents Altaria from handling the dangerous Samurott, Ludicolo, and Gorebyss, and as well as a slew of Pokemon who use Hidden Power Ice. A Stealth Rock weakness puts a lot of pressure on all of its sets, and Dragon Dance variants face tough competition from Fraxure. Even if Altaria tries to distinguish itself with a bulkier set, its offensive prowess is less than desirable. Altaria's best set, surprisingly enough, utilizes one of its lowest stats, with Choice Specs punching holes in many offensive teams due to the sheer power of Draco Meteor and the lack of Pokemon in the tier that resist Dragon-type attacks. Natural Cure is fantastic on all of its sets, as it allows Altaria to absorb status or turn Rest into a reliable full recovery move. While Altaria certainly has traits that hinder its ability to perform in NU, proper usage of its good defenses and perks such as Natural Cure and its Dragon-type STAB can turn it into a dangerous tool to use against the generally unprepared NU metagame.

[SET]
name: SpecsTaria (Choice Specs)
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Hidden Power Ground / Fire Blast
move 3: Dragon Pulse
move 4: Rest
item: Choice Specs
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SAtk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

This is Altaria's most effective set, which takes advantage of the incredible raw power of Draco Meteor and the lack of Steel-types in NU. While Altaria has a poor base 70 Special Attack, Draco Meteor's high base power makes up for it and gives trouble to many teams due to NU's offensive nature. Unless the opponent has some very bulky Pokemon or a Dragon-type resist, SpecsTaria will hit anything for a clean OHKO or 2HKO at worst with Draco Meteor. For the few Steel-type Pokemon in the tier, namely Probopass, Bastiodon, and Metang, Hidden Power Ground is a clean 2HKO on all but Metang, who which (since you refer to Pokemon with "it", use "which", not "who") still takes solid damage. Fire Blast hits Metang considerably harder than Hidden Power Ground and can even be used against Grass-type Pokemon such as Tangela, Exeggutor, and Roselia, as well as Regice; however Draco Meteor will get the job done just fine against these targets. Using Fire Blast over Hidden Power Ground also means that Probopass and Bastiodon will have a much easier time countering Altaria. Dragon Pulse is a reliable STAB move used in the cases where Draco Meteor would be overkill or when the Special Attack drop caused by Draco Meteor would hurt Altaria's chances of getting past a Pokemon. Dragon Pulse It is a fantastic move since it still deals heavy damage against most offensive teams, prevents opponents from taking advantage of Draco Meteor's Special Attack drop, and is an incredibly reliable attack with its 90 Base Power and 100% accuracy.

Max Speed and a Timid nature allow Altaria to outspeed common Pokemon such as Samurott, Ludicolo, and Skuntank, permitting Altaria to meaning it can hit them hard with Draco Meteor. Other factors that make this set good are Altaria's great 75/90/105 defenses, access to a great ability in Natural Cure, and resistances to the common Fire-, Water-, and Grass-type attacks, giving it a safe switch for it multiple opportunities to switch in safely to start spamming Draco Meteors and Dragon Pulses right away. Natural Cure is a fantastic ability that works very well in tandem with its bulk, giving Altaria many more opportunities to switch. (shifted this sentence since it talks about Altaria switching in safely) Natural Cure also ensures that Thunder Wave or an unlucky Body Slam paralyze never ruins its Altaria's day and that it won't be worn down by Toxic. The ability to cure status on switching makes Rest a viable option for the last moveslot as it recovers all of Altaria's HP in one turn and makes Stealth Rock slightly less annoying.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Entry hazard support is appreciated as it helps Altaria break even some of the bulkier Pokemon in the tier, including Musharna, while making it easier for Altaria's Draco Meteor to OHKO common threats such as Samurott and Ludicolo. While Rapid Spin support is very useful but not strictly required, an alternative way to keep Stealth Rock off the field such as by using a Taunt user like Samurott or Misdreavus is welcome as an alternative. Altaria doesn't have the best synergy with most Rapid Spin users, Wartortle being the best choice due to not sharing Altaria's Rock-type weakness. Even so, Wartortle's access to Foresight means it can get a Rapid Spin off at least once to support Altaria. A Modest nature can be used over Timid for the extra power, but then Altaria misses out on outspeeding Timid Samurott and Ludicolo. Cloud Nine can be used over Natural Cure to cancel out weather and allow Altaria to outspeed Exeggutor and Ludicolo, but it's generally not worth giving up the utility of Rest and doesn't come into play very often.

[SET]
name: Bulky Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Roost
move 3: Dragon Claw
move 4: Substitute / Heal Bell
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Careful
evs: 248 HP / 180 SpD / 80 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Altaria differentiates itself from other Dragon Dance users with this set, as With Altaria's good defenses and access to a reliable recovery move in Roost, it can allow it to easily set up on common walls like Alomomola and Roselia. With Altaria's highly invested heavy investment inSpecial Defense and Dragon Dance boosting Altaria's Attack and Speed, this set serves as both an offensive threat and specially defensive pivot. Between Dragon Dance and Roost, Altaria will be trying to set up as much as it possibly can so it can attempt to sweep. Dragon Claw is a somewhat weak, but it's a reliable STAB that, unlike Outrage, doesn't force Altaria to keep attacking. Since Altaria has no investment and Dragon Claw is a measly 80 Base Power move, Altaria will need a lot of boosts under its belt before it can inflict serious damage. The main flaws of this set are status and the inability to dish out good damage whenever Altaria is unboosted, which is often. Thankfully, Substitute and Heal Bell are able to patch up the set's weakness to status, such as Toxic, and let Altaria stick around as long as possible. Substitute gets the nod over Heal Bell for the its ability to be able to help Altaria avoid status long-term as opposed to Heal Bell, which only has 8 PP. It also allows Altaria to effortlessly set up on Alomomola and Roselia while shielding it Altaria from potential critical hits. Substitute and Roost together can even be used to stall out an opponent's PP; moves such as Stone Edge can be stalled out so Altaria can start boosting without worrying about getting hit with a super effective attack. Heal Bell's advantage over Substitute, however, is that it has the ability to can not only heal Altaria's status, but also those of its teammates.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

The EVs allow give Altaria to have as much special bulk as possible, while the 80 Speed EVs allow it to outspeed Speed neutral-natured Rampardos and everything slower, including Adamant Torterra and standard Misdreavus. 80 Speed EVs also allow Altaria to hit 321 Speed at +1, letting Altaria it outpace threats such as Timid Haunter, Jolly Sawsbuck, and Adamant Tauros. Sadly, since this set focuses mainly on Altaria's defenses, it greatly lacks good offensive power even after multiple boosts. Hazard support is greatly appreciated to help Altaria in dealing damage to the opponent take out bulky Pokemon more easily. (replace comma with full stop) Toxic Spikes in specific are very valuable for Altaria as they let it stall out some of the the bulkiest walls such as Alomomola and Musharna while Altaria it tries to set up. Garbodor and Roselia make great partners for this, as they can provide both Spikes and Toxic Spikes, although the latter shares a nasty Ice-type weakness with Altaria. Earthquake is a choice to be considered on for the last moveslot in order to hit Steel-type Pokemon like Probopass, Bastiodon, Metang, Mawile, and Klang; however, these Pokemon are not common at all, and they get worn down quickly by Spikes. That being said, due to Altaria's high Special Defense, it is capable of setting up freely on the most common Steel-type Pokemon, Probopass, and slowly wearing it down with boosted Dragon Claws.

[SET]
name: Utility Support
move 1: Roost
move 2: Heal Bell
move 3: Roar
move 4: Dragon Pulse
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Calm
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

This set tries to take advantage of Altaria's base 105 Special Defense and the resistances brought on afforded by its Dragon / Flying typing. With resistances to Fighting-, Water-, Fire-, and Grass-type attacks, Altaria makes a great pivot switch-in for into a lot of dangerous Pokemon. Alongside Roost and Natural Cure, Altaria makes a formidable wall that can be difficult to take down without taking advantage of Altaria's its Ice-type weakness or hitting its weaker physical side. Sadly for Altaria, a lot of Pokemon that it would be able to switch into, such as Samurott, Ludicolo, Gorebyss, Camerupt, Roselia, Gurdurr, and Sawk, have ways of dealing with it, (space)be it Ice-type coverage or, as in Roselia's case, being able to freely set up Spikes. Even so, Altaria provides something no other Pokemon in NU can offer to a defensive team: the combination of Heal Bell and Roar. While Lickilicky can use Heal Bell and Dragon Tail, Dragon Tail is nowhere near as a reliable a phazing move as Roar is, and Lickilicky is hardpressed to fit both moves in without becoming set up fodder to Pokemon with Substitute. With Natural Cure, Altaria doesn't even have to really worry about its own health and can preserve Heal Bell for only when its team desperately needs it. Dragon Pulse is a decently powerful STAB attack that, thanks to its Dragon-typing, hits many Pokemon neutrally and prevents Altaria from becoming Taunt bait.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Altaria's EV spread and Calm nature give it as much special bulk as possible to let it switch into even the strongest resisted hit, such as Choice Specs Camerupt's Eruption. Toxic is an option for Altaria to wear down Pokemon, as it can Roost health back and heal status with Heal Bell, but takes up a moveslot which Altaria cannot give up most of the time. Perish Song can be used over Roar, but lacks the same amount immediacy as that Roar has. Perish Song's advantage would lie in in the ability to decide the match in 3 turns in a last-Pokemon situation. Entry hazards, particularly Spikes and Toxic Spikes, are highly recommended to make the most out of Altaria's resilience and Roar. Garbodor is the best partner for this as it has decent synergy with Altaria, unlike Roselia, which compounds an Ice-type weakness. A Rapid Spin user can be used to prevent Altaria from taking Stealth Rock damage on the switch and generally fits well on teams that this Altaria would be most likely to be found on. Wartortle is the best option for a defensive spinner (refer to this post), as it can pull off a guaranteed Rapid Spin thanks to Foresight, also it while also resisting Ice-type attacks aimed at Altaria.

[Other Options]

Altaria has a variety of options at its disposal; however, due to Altaria's its balanced stats, it simply cannot use them effectively. Pursuit would allow Altaria to trap Haunter, who cannot deal much damage back, but with to Altaria; however, due to Altaria's low base 70 Attack, Haunter is capable of living Pursuit on the switch. Having Pursuit also takes the place of moves such as Roar and Heal Bell, which hold much more utility on Altaria's defensive set. Cotton Guard can be used to set up Dragon Dances easier against a physical attacking Pokemon attacker, but it would have to go over forego Substitute or Heal Bell. Generally speaking, the biggest weakness to Altaria's Dragon Dance set is status, which Substitute or Heal Bell help against, making Cotton Guard a sub-par choice. A Choice Band set works similarly to Choice Specs in that it utilizes a powerful Dragon-type STAB alongside Ground-type coverage, but there's a main difference that makes Choice Band considerably less useful than Choice Specs: its main attack, Outrage, forces Altaria to stay in locked into it, while not dealing as much damage to Pokemon in general due to the abundance of physically defensive Pokemon in NU compared to the specially defensive ones. Altaria can use its great defenses to set up Sunny Day or Rain Dance, but its general lack of offensive pressure makes it less fit for this role. Altaria can also use a mixed set in the same vein as MixMence with Draco Meteor, Earthquake, Fire Blast, and Roost; however, while this set can deal great damage against its usual checks, it fails to do much damage to Pokemon it can't hit super effectively with Earthquake and Fire Blast or that have decent Special Defense. Going mixed also means hindering one of Altaria's defenses, one of the only reasons that give Altaria a niche over other Dragon-type Pokemon.

[Checks and Counters]

It's difficult to fully counter Altaria with a single Pokemon. Most importantly, it's hard to resist Altaria's STAB Dragon moves, as NU sees has a significant shortage of Steel-type Pokemon. The Steel-types that exist in NU are easily taken down by a Ground-type coverage move. This restricts you to purely Pokemon with purely high defenses to beat Altaria. However, fortunately, no outrageous stats are necessary to counter Altaria. For the Choice Specs set, dedicated special walls such as Lickilicky, Regice, and even Gardevoir can easily take a Draco Meteor and recover their health. As for the Dragon Dance sets, physical walls such as Tangela and Regirock have no problem tanking boosted Dragon Claws and deal with Altaria accordingly. On the other hand, Piloswine has all-around bulk to take a strong hit at full health, and also has Ice Shard to revenge Dragon Dance variants if necessary. Regice can easily take Draco Meteors from Altaria's Choice Specs set and retaliate with STAB Ice Beams; any damage taken can also be healed off with Rest Anyways, damage done can be recovered via the Rest + Sleep Talk combination or Wish support from a common partner in Alomomola.

The main difficulty in countering Altaria is that the special and physical sets have totally different counters. In fact, the Choice Specs set uses the counters to the Dragon Dance set, such as Alomomola and Tangela, as an opportunity to switch in. The crux step in dealing with Altaria is recognizing Altaria's its moveset according to the way the opponent plays it. All of its sets are unique and each set has a characteristic playstyle that can be easily recognized. It may be hard to switch into Altaria without suffering any losses, but taking down Altaria is not all that difficult. Without a Speed boost, Altaria is outpaced by a majority of the offensive metagame, and is easily OHKOed by strong physical attackers such as Sawk and Zangoose. Even with a Speed boost, most Choice Scarf users are still faster than Altaria; Choice Scarf Sawk or and Rotom-F have no trouble revenging a boosted Altaria with their Ice-type coverage move. Most things with Ice Beam can easily KO even the most specially defensive Altaria variant, while Pokemon that rely on Hidden Power Ice are certain to leave, at least worst, a big dent. Finally, Stealth Rock cuts down on Altaria's lifespan significantly, so wearing it down should not be very difficult with some smart switches.

GP 1 / 2

ebeast · Mar 14, 2013

GP Check 1 implemented, thanks C_P. Only one more GP to go!

Woodchuck · Mar 16, 2013

[Overview]

Altaria is not a great Pokemon in NU, as even with its 75/90/105 defenses and an interesting Dragon / Flying typing, it sadly finds itself in a metagame that makes it hard for it to succeed. Even with a handy ~~amount~~number of resistances, its 4x Ice-type weakness is exploitable and hurts it tremendously, as it prevents Altaria from handling the dangerous Samurott, Ludicolo, and Gorebyss, as well as a slew of Pokemon who use Hidden Power Ice. A Stealth Rock weakness puts a lot of pressure on all of its sets, and Dragon Dance variants face tough competition from Fraxure. Even if Altaria tries to distinguish itself with a bulkier set, its offensive prowess is less than desirable. Altaria's best set, surprisingly enough, utilizes one of its lowest stats, with Choice Specs punching holes in many offensive teams due to the sheer power of Draco Meteor and the lack of Pokemon in the tier that resist Dragon-type attacks. Natural Cure is fantastic on all of its sets, as it allows Altaria to absorb status or turn Rest into a reliable full recovery move. While Altaria certainly has traits that hinder its ability to perform in NU, proper usage of its good defenses and perks such as Natural Cure and its Dragon-type STAB can turn it into a dangerous tool to use against the generally unprepared NU metagame.

[SET]
name: ~~SpecsTaria (~~Choice Specs)
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Hidden Power Ground / Fire Blast
move 3: Dragon Pulse
move 4: Rest
item: Choice Specs
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SAtk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

This is Altaria's most effective set, which takes advantage of the incredible raw power of Draco Meteor and the lack of Steel-types in NU. While Altaria has a poor base 70 Special Attack, Draco Meteor's high base power makes up for it and gives trouble to many teams due to NU's offensive nature. Unless the opponent has some very bulky Pokemon or a Dragon-type resist, SpecsTaria will hit anything for a clean OHKO or 2HKO at worst with Draco Meteor. For the few Steel-type Pokemon in the tier, namely Probopass, Bastiodon, and Metang, Hidden Power Ground is a clean 2HKO on all but Metang, which still takes solid damage. Fire Blast hits Metang considerably harder than Hidden Power Ground and can even be used against Regice and Grass-type Pokemon such as Tangela, Exeggutor, and Roselia~~, as well as Regice~~; however, Draco Meteor will get the job done just fine against these targets. Using Fire Blast over Hidden Power Ground also means that Probopass and Bastiodon will have a much easier time countering Altaria. Dragon Pulse is a reliable STAB move used in the cases where Draco Meteor would be overkill or when the Special Attack drop caused by Draco Meteor would hurt Altaria's chances of getting past a Pokemon. It is a fantastic move since it still deals heavy damage against most offensive teams, prevents opponents from taking advantage of Draco Meteor's Special Attack drop, and is an incredibly reliable attack with its 90 Base Power and 100% accuracy.

Max Speed and a Timid nature allow Altaria to outspeed common Pokemon such as Samurott, Ludicolo, and Skuntank, meaning it can hit them hard with Draco Meteor. Other factors that make this set good are Altaria's great 75/90/105 defenses, access to a great ability in Natural Cure, and resistances to the common Fire-, Water-, and Grass-type attacks, giving it multiple opportunities to switch in safely to start spamming Draco Meteors and Dragon Pulses right away. Natural Cure also ensures that Thunder Wave or an unlucky Body Slam paralyzesis never ruins Altaria's day and that it won't be worn down by Toxic. The ability to cure status on switching makes Rest a viable option for the last moveslot as it recovers all of Altaria's HP in one turn and makes Stealth Rock slightly less annoying.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Entry hazard support is appreciated as it helps Altaria break even some of the bulkier Pokemon in the tier, including Musharna, while making it easier for Altaria's Draco Meteor to OHKO common threats such as Samurott and Ludicolo. While Rapid Spin support is very useful, an alternative way to keep Stealth Rock off the field by using a Taunt user like Samurott or Misdreavus is welcome. Altaria doesn't have the best synergy with most Rapid Spin users, Wartortle being the best choice due to not sharing Altaria's Rock-type weakness. ~~Even so~~Despite its drawbacks, Wartortle's access to Foresight means it can get a Rapid Spin off at least once to support Altaria. A Modest nature can be used over Timid for the extra power, but then Altaria misses out on outspeeding Timid Samurott and Ludicolo. Cloud Nine can be used over Natural Cure to cancel out weather and allow Altaria to outspeed Exeggutor and Ludicolo, but it's generally not worth giving up the utility of Rest and doesn't come into play very often.

[SET]
name: Bulky Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Roost
move 3: Dragon Claw
move 4: Substitute / Heal Bell
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Careful
evs: 248 HP / 180 SpD / 80 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Altaria differentiates itself from other Dragon Dance users with this set, as good defenses and access to a reliable recovery move in Roost allow it to easily set up on common walls like Alomomola and Roselia. With heavy investment in Special Defense and Dragon Dance boosting Altaria's Attack and Speed, this set serves as both an offensive threat and specially defensive pivot. Between Dragon Dance and Roost, Altaria will be trying to set up as much as it possibly can so it can attempt to sweep. Dragon Claw is a somewhat weak, but it's a reliable STAB that, unlike Outrage, doesn't force Altaria to keep attacking. Since Altaria has no Attack investment and Dragon Claw is a measly 80 Base Power move, Altaria will need a lot of boosts under its belt before it can inflict serious damage. The main flaws of this set are status and the inability to dish out good damage whenever Altaria is unboosted, which is often. Thankfully, Substitute and Heal Bell are able to patch up the set's weakness to status such as Toxic and let Altaria stick around as long as possible. Substitute gets the nod over Heal Bell for its ability to help Altaria avoid status long-term as opposed to Heal Bell, which only has 8 PP. It also allows Altaria to effortlessly set up on Alomomola and Roselia while ~~it Altaria~~shielded from potential critical hits. Substitute and Roost together can even be used to stall out an opponent's PP; moves such as Stone Edge can be stalled out so Altaria can start boosting without worrying about getting hit with a super effective attack. Heal Bell's advantage over Substitute, however, is that it can not only heal Altaria's status, but also those of its teammates.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

The EVs give Altaria as much special bulk as possible, while the 80 Speed EVs allow it to outspeed neutral-natured Rampardos and everything slower, including Adamant Torterra and standard Misdreavus. 80 Speed EVs also allow Altaria to hit 321 Speed at +1, letting it outpace threats such as Timid Haunter, Jolly Sawsbuck, and Adamant Tauros. Sadly, since this set focuses mainly on Altaria's defenses, it ~~greatly~~ lacks ~~good~~ offensive power even after multiple boosts. Hazard support is greatly appreciated to help Altaria take out bulky Pokemon more easily. Toxic Spikes in specific are very valuable for Altaria as they let it stall out some of the bulkiest walls such as Alomomola and Musharna while it tries to set up. Garbodor and Roselia make great partners for this, as they can provide both Spikes and Toxic Spikes, although the latter shares a nasty Ice-type weakness with Altaria. Earthquake is a choice to be considered for the last moveslot in order to hit Steel-type Pokemon like Probopass, Bastiodon, Metang, Mawile, and Klang; however, these Pokemon are not common at all, and they get worn down quickly by Spikes. That said, due to Altaria's high Special Defense, it is capable of setting up freely on the most common Steel-type Pokemon, Probopass, and can slowly wear~~ing~~ it down with boosted Dragon Claws.

[SET]
name: Utility Support
move 1: Roost
move 2: Heal Bell
move 3: Roar
move 4: Dragon Pulse
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Calm
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

This set tries to take advantage of Altaria's base 105 Special Defense and the resistances afforded by its Dragon / Flying typing. With resistances to Fighting-, Water-, Fire-, and Grass-type attacks, Altaria makes a great pivot switch-in for a lot of dangerous Pokemon. Alongside Roost and Natural Cure, Altaria makes a formidable wall that can be difficult to take down without taking advantage of its Ice-type weakness or hitting its weaker physical side. Sadly for Altaria, a lot of Pokemon that it would be able to switch into, such as Samurott, Ludicolo, Gorebyss, Camerupt, Roselia, Gurdurr, and Sawk, have ways of dealing with it, be it Ice-type coverage or, as in Roselia's case, being able to freely set up Spikes. Even so, Altaria provides something no other Pokemon in NU can offer to a defensive team: the combination of Heal Bell and Roar. While Lickilicky can use Heal Bell and Dragon Tail, Dragon Tail is nowhere near as a reliable a phazing move as Roar is, and Lickilicky is hard pressed to fit both moves in without becoming set up fodder to Pokemon with Substitute. With Natural Cure, Altaria doesn't even have to worry about its own health and can preserve Heal Bell for ~~only~~ when its team desperately needs it. Dragon Pulse is a decently powerful STAB attack that, thanks to its Dragon-typing, hits many Pokemon neutrally and prevents Altaria from becoming Taunt bait.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Altaria's EV spread and Calm nature give it as much special bulk as possible to let it switch into even the strongest resisted hits, such as Choice Specs Camerupt's Eruption. Toxic is an option for Altaria to wear down Pokemon, as it can Roost health back and heal status with Heal Bell, but it takes up a moveslot which Altaria cannot give up most of the time. Perish Song can be used over Roar, but lacks the immediacy that Roar has. Perish Song's advantage would lie in in the ability to decide the match in 3 turns in a last-Pokemon situation. Entry hazards, particularly Spikes and Toxic Spikes, are highly recommended to make the most out of Altaria's resilience and Roar. Garbodor is the best partner for this as it has decent synergy with Altaria, unlike Roselia, which compounds an Ice-type weakness. A Rapid Spin user can be used to prevent Altaria from taking Stealth Rock damage on the switch and generally fits well on teams that this Altaria would be most likely to be found on. Wartortle is the best option for a defensive spinner, as it can pull off a guaranteed Rapid Spin thanks to Foresight while also resisting Ice-type attacks aimed at Altaria.

[Other Options]

Altaria has a variety of options at its disposal; however, due to its balack of any one excedptional stats, it simply cannot use them effectively. Pursuit would allow Altaria to trap Haunter, who cannot deal much damage back~~, but with to Altaria~~; however, due to Altaria's low base 70 Attack, Haunter is capable of lsurviving Pursuit on the switch. Pursuit also takes the place of moves such as Roar and Heal Bell, which hold much more utility on Altaria's defensive set. Cotton Guard can be used to set up Dragon Dances more easierly against a physical attacker, but itAltaria would have to forego Substitute or Heal Bell. Generally speaking, the biggest weakness tof Altaria's Dragon Dance set is status, which Substitute or Heal Bell help against, making Cotton Guard a sub-par choice. A Choice Band set works similarly to Choice Specs in that it utilizes a powerful Dragon-type STAB alongside Ground-type coverage, but there's a main difference that makes Choice Band considerably less useful than Choice Specs: its main attack, Outrage, forces Altaria to stay locked into it while not dealing as much damage to Pokemon in general due to the abundance of physically defensive Pokemon in NU compared to the specially defensive ones. Altaria can use its great defenses to set up Sunny Day or Rain Dance, but its general lack of offensive pressure makes it less fit for this role. Altaria can also use a mixed set in the same vein as MixMence with Draco Meteor, Earthquake, Fire Blast, and Roost; however, while this set can deal great damage against its usual checks, it fails to do much damage to Pokemon it can't hit super effectively or that have decent Special Defense. Going mixed also means hindering one of Altaria's defenses, one of the only reasons that give Altaria a niche over other Dragon-type Pokemon.

[Checks and Counters]

It's difficult to fully counter Altaria with a single Pokemon. Most importantly, it's hard to resist Altaria's STAB Dragon moves, as NU has a significant shortage of Steel-type Pokemon. The Steel-types that exist in NU are easily taken down by a Ground-type coverage move. This restricts you to purely Pokemon with high defenses to beat Altaria. For the Choice Specs set, dedicated special walls such as Lickilicky, Regice, and even Gardevoir can easily take a Draco Meteor and recover their health. As for the Dragon Dance sets, physical walls such as Tangela and Regirock have no problem tanking boosted Dragon Claws and deal with Altaria accordingly. ~~On the other hand~~Alternatively, Piloswine has the all-around bulk to take a strong hit at full health and also Ice Shard to revenge Dragon Dance variants if necessary. Regice can easily take Draco Meteors from Altaria's Choice Specs set and retaliate with STAB Ice Beams; any damage taken can also be healed off with Rest or Wish support from a common partner in Alomomola.

The main difficulty in countering Altaria is that the special and physical sets have totally different counters. In fact, the Choice Specs set uses the counters to the Dragon Dance set, such as Alomomola and Tangela, as an opportunity to switch in. The crux inof dealing with Altaria is recognizing its moveset according to the way the opponent plays it. All of its sets are unique and each set has a characteristic playstyle that can be easily recognized. It may be hard to switch into Altaria without suffering any losses, but taking down Altaria is not all that difficult. Without a Speed boost, Altaria is outpaced by a majority of the offensive metagame and is easily OHKOed by strong physical attackers such as Sawk and Zangoose. Even with a Speed boost, most Choice Scarf users are still faster than Altaria; Choice Scarf Sawk and Rotom-F have no trouble revenging a boosted Altaria with their Ice-type coverage moves. Most things with Ice Beam can easily KO even the most specially defensive Altaria variants, while Pokemon that rely on Hidden Power Ice are certain to leave, at worst, a big dent. Finally, Stealth Rock cuts down on Altaria's lifespan significantly, so wearing it down should not be very difficult with some smart switches.

[Overview]

Altaria is not a great Pokemon in NU, as even with its 75/90/105 defenses and an interesting Dragon / Flying typing, it sadly finds itself in a metagame that makes it hard for it to succeed. Even with a handy number of resistances, its 4x Ice-type weakness is exploitable and hurts it tremendously, as it prevents Altaria from handling the dangerous Samurott, Ludicolo, and Gorebyss, as well as a slew of Pokemon who use Hidden Power Ice. A Stealth Rock weakness puts a lot of pressure on all of its sets, and Dragon Dance variants face tough competition from Fraxure. Even if Altaria tries to distinguish itself with a bulkier set, its offensive prowess is less than desirable. Altaria's best set, surprisingly enough, utilizes one of its lowest stats, with Choice Specs punching holes in many offensive teams due to the sheer power of Draco Meteor and the lack of Pokemon in the tier that resist Dragon-type attacks. Natural Cure is fantastic on all of its sets, as it allows Altaria to absorb status or turn Rest into a reliable full recovery move. While Altaria certainly has traits that hinder its ability to perform in NU, proper usage of its good defenses and perks such as Natural Cure and its Dragon-type STAB can turn it into a dangerous tool to use against the generally unprepared NU metagame.

[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Hidden Power Ground / Fire Blast
move 3: Dragon Pulse
move 4: Rest
item: Choice Specs
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SAtk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

This is Altaria's most effective set, which takes advantage of the incredible raw power of Draco Meteor and the lack of Steel-types in NU. While Altaria has a poor base 70 Special Attack, Draco Meteor's high base power makes up for it and gives trouble to many teams due to NU's offensive nature. Unless the opponent has some very bulky Pokemon or a Dragon-type resist, SpecsTaria will hit anything for a clean OHKO or 2HKO at worst with Draco Meteor. For the few Steel-type Pokemon in the tier, namely Probopass, Bastiodon, and Metang, Hidden Power Ground is a clean 2HKO on all but Metang, which still takes solid damage. Fire Blast hits Metang considerably harder than Hidden Power Ground and can even be used against Regice and Grass-type Pokemon such as Tangela, Exeggutor, and Roselia; however, Draco Meteor will get the job done just fine against these targets. Using Fire Blast over Hidden Power Ground also means that Probopass and Bastiodon will have a much easier time countering Altaria. Dragon Pulse is a reliable STAB move used in the cases where Draco Meteor would be overkill or when the Special Attack drop caused by Draco Meteor would hurt Altaria's chances of getting past a Pokemon. It is a fantastic move since it still deals heavy damage against most offensive teams, prevents opponents from taking advantage of Draco Meteor's Special Attack drop, and is an incredibly reliable attack with its 90 Base Power and 100% accuracy.

Max Speed and a Timid nature allow Altaria to outspeed common Pokemon such as Samurott, Ludicolo, and Skuntank, meaning it can hit them hard with Draco Meteor. Other factors that make this set good are Altaria's great 75/90/105 defenses, access to a great ability in Natural Cure, and resistances to the common Fire-, Water-, and Grass-type attacks, giving it multiple opportunities to switch in safely to start spamming Draco Meteors and Dragon Pulses right away. Natural Cure also ensures that Thunder Wave or an unlucky Body Slam paralysis never ruins Altaria's day and that it won't be worn down by Toxic. The ability to cure status on switching makes Rest a viable option for the last moveslot as it recovers all of Altaria's HP in one turn and makes Stealth Rock slightly less annoying.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Entry hazard support is appreciated as it helps Altaria break even some of the bulkier Pokemon in the tier, including Musharna, while making it easier for Altaria's Draco Meteor to OHKO common threats such as Samurott and Ludicolo. While Rapid Spin support is very useful, an alternative way to keep Stealth Rock off the field by using a Taunt user like Samurott or Misdreavus is welcome. Altaria doesn't have the best synergy with most Rapid Spin users, Wartortle being the best choice due to not sharing Altaria's Rock-type weakness. Despite its drawbacks, Wartortle's access to Foresight means it can get a Rapid Spin off at least once to support Altaria. A Modest nature can be used over Timid for the extra power, but then Altaria misses out on outspeeding Timid Samurott and Ludicolo. Cloud Nine can be used over Natural Cure to cancel out weather and allow Altaria to outspeed Exeggutor and Ludicolo, but it's generally not worth giving up the utility of Rest and doesn't come into play very often.

[SET]
name: Bulky Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Roost
move 3: Dragon Claw
move 4: Substitute / Heal Bell
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Careful
evs: 248 HP / 180 SpD / 80 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Altaria differentiates itself from other Dragon Dance users with this set, as good defenses and access to a reliable recovery move in Roost allow it to easily set up on common walls like Alomomola and Roselia. With heavy investment in Special Defense and Dragon Dance boosting Altaria's Attack and Speed, this set serves as both an offensive threat and specially defensive pivot. Between Dragon Dance and Roost, Altaria will be trying to set up as much as it possibly can so it can attempt to sweep. Dragon Claw is a somewhat weak, but it's a reliable STAB that, unlike Outrage, doesn't force Altaria to keep attacking. Since Altaria has no Attack investment and Dragon Claw is a measly 80 Base Power move, Altaria will need a lot of boosts under its belt before it can inflict serious damage. The main flaws of this set are status and the inability to dish out good damage whenever Altaria is unboosted, which is often. Thankfully, Substitute and Heal Bell are able to patch up the set's weakness to status such as Toxic and let Altaria stick around as long as possible. Substitute gets the nod over Heal Bell for its ability to help Altaria avoid status long-term as opposed to Heal Bell, which only has 8 PP. It also allows Altaria to effortlessly set up on Alomomola and Roselia while shielded from potential critical hits. Substitute and Roost together can even be used to stall out an opponent's PP; moves such as Stone Edge can be stalled out so Altaria can start boosting without worrying about getting hit with a super effective attack. Heal Bell's advantage over Substitute, however, is that it can not only heal Altaria's status, but also those of its teammates.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

The EVs give Altaria as much special bulk as possible, while the 80 Speed EVs allow it to outspeed neutral-natured Rampardos and everything slower, including Adamant Torterra and standard Misdreavus. 80 Speed EVs also allow Altaria to hit 321 Speed at +1, letting it outpace threats such as Timid Haunter, Jolly Sawsbuck, and Adamant Tauros. Sadly, since this set focuses mainly on Altaria's defenses, it lacks offensive power even after multiple boosts. Hazard support is greatly appreciated to help Altaria take out bulky Pokemon more easily. Toxic Spikes in specific are very valuable for Altaria as they let it stall out some of the bulkiest walls such as Alomomola and Musharna while it tries to set up. Garbodor and Roselia make great partners for this, as they can provide both Spikes and Toxic Spikes, although the latter shares a nasty Ice-type weakness with Altaria. Earthquake is a choice to be considered for the last moveslot in order to hit Steel-type Pokemon like Probopass, Bastiodon, Metang, Mawile, and Klang; however, these Pokemon are not common at all, and they get worn down quickly by Spikes. That said, due to Altaria's high Special Defense, it is capable of setting up freely on the most common Steel-type Pokemon, Probopass, and can slowly wear it down with boosted Dragon Claws.

[SET]
name: Utility Support
move 1: Roost
move 2: Heal Bell
move 3: Roar
move 4: Dragon Pulse
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Calm
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

This set tries to take advantage of Altaria's base 105 Special Defense and the resistances afforded by its Dragon / Flying typing. With resistances to Fighting-, Water-, Fire-, and Grass-type attacks, Altaria makes a great pivot switch-in for a lot of dangerous Pokemon. Alongside Roost and Natural Cure, Altaria makes a formidable wall that can be difficult to take down without taking advantage of its Ice-type weakness or hitting its weaker physical side. Sadly for Altaria, a lot of Pokemon that it would be able to switch into, such as Samurott, Ludicolo, Gorebyss, Camerupt, Roselia, Gurdurr, and Sawk, have ways of dealing with it, be it Ice-type coverage or, as in Roselia's case, being able to freely set up Spikes. Even so, Altaria provides something no other Pokemon in NU can offer to a defensive team: the combination of Heal Bell and Roar. While Lickilicky can use Heal Bell and Dragon Tail, Dragon Tail is nowhere near as a reliable a phazing move as Roar is, and Lickilicky is hard pressed to fit both moves in without becoming setup fodder to Pokemon with Substitute. With Natural Cure, Altaria doesn't even have to worry about its own health and can preserve Heal Bell for when its team desperately needs it. Dragon Pulse is a decently powerful STAB attack that, thanks to its Dragon-typing, hits many Pokemon neutrally and prevents Altaria from becoming Taunt bait.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Altaria's EV spread and Calm nature give it as much special bulk as possible to let it switch into even the strongest resisted hits, such as Choice Specs Camerupt's Eruption. Toxic is an option for Altaria to wear down Pokemon, as it can Roost health back and heal status with Heal Bell, but it takes up a moveslot which Altaria cannot give up most of the time. Perish Song can be used over Roar, but lacks the immediacy that Roar has. Perish Song's advantage would lie in in the ability to decide the match in 3 turns in a last-Pokemon situation. Entry hazards, particularly Spikes and Toxic Spikes, are highly recommended to make the most out of Altaria's resilience and Roar. Garbodor is the best partner for this as it has decent synergy with Altaria, unlike Roselia, which compounds an Ice-type weakness. A Rapid Spin user can be used to prevent Altaria from taking Stealth Rock damage on the switch and generally fits well on teams that this Altaria would be most likely to be found on. Wartortle is the best option for a defensive spinner, as it can pull off a guaranteed Rapid Spin thanks to Foresight while also resisting Ice-type attacks aimed at Altaria.

[Other Options]

Altaria has a variety of options at its disposal; however, due to its lack of any one exceptional stat, it simply cannot use them effectively. Pursuit would allow Altaria to trap Haunter, who cannot deal much damage back; however, due to Altaria's low base 70 Attack, Haunter is capable of surviving Pursuit on the switch. Pursuit also takes the place of moves such as Roar and Heal Bell, which hold much more utility on Altaria's defensive set. Cotton Guard can be used to set up Dragon Dances more easily against a physical attacker, but Altaria would have to forgo Substitute or Heal Bell. Generally speaking, the biggest weakness of Altaria's Dragon Dance set is status, which Substitute or Heal Bell help against, making Cotton Guard a sub-par choice. A Choice Band set works similarly to Choice Specs in that it utilizes a powerful Dragon-type STAB alongside Ground-type coverage, but there's a main difference that makes Choice Band considerably less useful than Choice Specs: its main attack, Outrage, forces Altaria to stay locked into it while not dealing as much damage to Pokemon in general due to the abundance of physically defensive Pokemon in NU compared to the specially defensive ones. Altaria can use its great defenses to set up Sunny Day or Rain Dance, but its general lack of offensive pressure makes it less fit for this role. Altaria can also use a mixed set in the same vein as MixMence with Draco Meteor, Earthquake, Fire Blast, and Roost; however, while this set can deal great damage against its usual checks, it fails to do much damage to Pokemon it can't hit super effectively or that have decent Special Defense. Going mixed also means hindering one of Altaria's defenses, one of the only reasons that give Altaria a niche over other Dragon-type Pokemon.

[Checks and Counters]

It's difficult to fully counter Altaria with a single Pokemon. Most importantly, it's hard to resist Altaria's STAB Dragon moves, as NU has a significant shortage of Steel-type Pokemon. The Steel-types that exist in NU are easily taken down by a Ground-type coverage move. This restricts you to purely Pokemon with high defenses to beat Altaria. For the Choice Specs set, dedicated special walls such as Lickilicky, Regice, and even Gardevoir can easily take a Draco Meteor and recover their health. As for the Dragon Dance sets, physical walls such as Tangela and Regirock have no problem tanking boosted Dragon Claws and deal with Altaria accordingly. Alternatively, Piloswine has the all-around bulk to take a strong hit at full health and also Ice Shard to revenge Dragon Dance variants if necessary. Regice can easily take Draco Meteors from Altaria's Choice Specs set and retaliate with STAB Ice Beams; any damage taken can also be healed off with Rest or Wish support from a common partner in Alomomola.

The main difficulty in countering Altaria is that the special and physical sets have totally different counters. In fact, the Choice Specs set uses the counters to the Dragon Dance set, such as Alomomola and Tangela, as an opportunity to switch in. The crux of dealing with Altaria is recognizing its moveset according to the way the opponent plays it. All of its sets are unique and each set has a characteristic playstyle that can be easily recognized. It may be hard to switch into Altaria without suffering any losses, but taking down Altaria is not all that difficult. Without a Speed boost, Altaria is outpaced by a majority of the offensive metagame and is easily OHKOed by strong physical attackers such as Sawk and Zangoose. Even with a Speed boost, most Choice Scarf users are still faster than Altaria; Choice Scarf Sawk and Rotom-F have no trouble revenging a boosted Altaria with their Ice-type coverage moves. Most things with Ice Beam can easily KO even the most specially defensive Altaria variants, while Pokemon that rely on Hidden Power Ice are certain to leave, at worst, a big dent. Finally, Stealth Rock cuts down on Altaria's lifespan significantly, so wearing it down should not be very difficult with some smart switches.

good stuff. I guess the choice for the name of the Specs set is up to you but in general I find "creative" set names to be dull and I don't find a real reason not to just say "Choice Specs".
[gp]2/2[/gp]

ebeast · Mar 16, 2013

I love you Woody. I'll keep SpecsTaria up there because pretty much everyone refers to it as such nowadays. This is finally finished and ready for upload. ~n.n~

jake · Mar 16, 2013

Uploaded. Good work!

Altaria (Update 2) [QC 3/3] (GP 2/2) [Done]

ebeast

she's probably sexting nprtprt

ebeast

she's probably sexting nprtprt

ClubbingSealCub

marilli

With you

ebeast

she's probably sexting nprtprt

ebeast

she's probably sexting nprtprt

His Eminence Lord Poppington II

proverb:the fish who eats most dies still too

ebeast

she's probably sexting nprtprt

ebeast

she's probably sexting nprtprt

Swamp-Rocket

ebeast

she's probably sexting nprtprt

Joim

Pixels matter

tehy

Banned deucer.

ebeast

she's probably sexting nprtprt

Calm Pokemaster

ebeast

she's probably sexting nprtprt

Woodchuck

actual cannibal

ebeast

she's probably sexting nprtprt

jake

underdog of the year