Presenting pirate fairy bird
QC (3/3): Alexwolf, Ben Gay, AM
GP (2/2): Winry, The Dutch PlumberJack
QC (3/3): Alexwolf, Ben Gay, AM
GP (2/2): Winry, The Dutch PlumberJack
Overview
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Mega Altaria is an impressive anti-metagame threat, boasting a gigantic amount of resistances and defensive utility to go along with its already great bulk, thus allowing it to counter and force out a large number of Pokemon in OU. It is no slouch offensively either; in fact, with Pixilate and Fairy STAB, it is deceptively powerful, moreso than established powerhouses such as Azumarill, Mega Gyarados, Mega Gallade, and even Kyurem-B. This is further amplified by Altaria's access to Dragon Dance, as well as a wide physical, special, and supportive movepool, giving it a degree of flexibility and unpredictability.
Mega Altaria's only real flaw is its base 80 Speed, which is quite average by ORAS OU standards, making it somewhat easy to revenge kill even when boosted. It is also occasionally plagued by four-moveslot syndrome; if it lacks a certain move, it can easily be taken advantage of by common checks and counters. Finally, by virtue of being a Mega Evolution, it cannot hold useful items such as Lum Berry, Pixie Plate, Life Orb, and Leftovers, which downplays its overall offense and defense quite a bit. It also can't be partnered with otherwise fantastic Mega Evolved partners such as Mega Venusaur, Mega Charizard Y, and Mega Gallade, thus limiting synergy and teambuilding somewhat.
Special Attacker
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name: Special Attacker
move 1: Hyper Voice
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Roost
move 4: Earthquake / Heal Bell
item: Altarianite
ability: Cloud Nine / Natural Cure
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
nature: Timid / Modest
Moves
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Mega Altaria's Pixilate-boosted Hyper Voice packs great power, consistency, and coverage, as well as the occasionally handy ability to pierce Substitutes. Fire Blast roasts the many Steel-types that come in to tank Hyper Voice; with the simple combination of these two attacks, Mega Altaria achieves good all-around coverage against nearly every type of foe except for Fire-types. Roost provides reliable recovery, granting Altaria the ability to switch in and check threats multiple times. The last slot comes down to personal preference. Earthquake, despite being uninvested, provides precious coverage against the common Heatran, as well as other Fire-types in general. Heal Bell is an effective supportive alternative; Altaria is notable for being one of the few Pokemon that can viably use it on an offensive set due to its ability to force switches and hit hard.
In the realm of supportive moves, Agility and Tailwind can give Altaria a chance to clean up weakened teams (and support its own in regards to the latter); however, Mega Altaria usually doesn't have the sheer power to KO certain foes and pull off consistent sweeps, making it outclassed in such a role. Perish Song and Roar are also notable support moves that allow Altaria to counter certain setup sweepers or force unwanted switches, respectively.
Set Details
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With a Timid nature and maximum Speed EVs, Altaria can outrun key threats, including Jolly Mega Heracross, Jolly Bisharp, Adamant Excadrill, Adamant Lucario, and Timid Heatran, as well as tie with opposing base 80 Speed Pokemon such as opposing Altaria, Mamoswine, and non-Mega Gallade. Using a Modest nature is an option for even more power, although Mega Altaria doesn't gain too many notable KOs with it. Investment in bulk at the cost of either power or Speed is also an option to tank attacks more effectively.
Cloud Nine is the preferred ability, as it gives Altaria a chance to outrun and check Swift Swim Kingdra, Mega Swampert, Sand Rush Excadrill, and other weather sweepers before Mega Evolving. Additionally, this set isn't particularly bothered by status by virtue of being a hit-and-run attacker. If absorbing attacks such as Scald, Lava Plume, and Spore is significant for its team, feel free to use Natural Cure, though keep in mind that Altaria is usually Mega Evolved and can use Heal Bell to achieve such a purpose.
Usage Tips
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The most important aspect of this set is to focus on pivoting; avoid using it as a sweeper, as it lacks the sheer firepower or Speed to do so (as opposed to the frailer but more fast and powerful Mega Gardevoir and Mega Diancie). Specifically, take advantage of its combination of typing, bulk, coverage, and access to recovery in order to check, counter, or lure in an extensive number of threats in the tier, including but certainly not limited to Mega Sableye, Mega Lopunny, Mega Gyarados, Rotom-W, Keldeo, and Serperior, as well as Heatran (with Earthquake). If healthy enough, however, it makes a great cleaner after the opponent's special walls have been weakened or eliminated. When applicable, one way to lure in physical walls is to preemptively use Earthquake, which may cause the opponent to think that Altaria is physical and immediately switch in their physical Mega Altaria counter.
Team Options
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This Altaria is mostly self-sufficient, focusing on supporting teammates defensively and offensively rather than sweeping itself. The only real offensive support it requires is against specially defensive Pokemon, which usually prevent Altaria from freely tossing out special attacks. As most specially defensive Pokemon besides Chansey and Celebi are usually Fairy-types such as Clefable, Sylveon, and Togekiss, using Steel-type teammates is a good answer. For example, stallbreaker Heatran can trap and weaken Chansey and other special walls with a combination of Magma Storm, Taunt, and Toxic. Ferrothorn can confidently switch into and threaten a number of Fairy-types while providing excellent support with Thunder Wave and entry hazards. Excadrill can flat-out KO these threats with Iron Head while providing either Stealth Rock or Rapid Spin support. Gothitelle is another great partner that can trap and cripple special walls with Trick while taking out other problematic foes.
Because of its coverage, Altaria is able to lure in and weaken a number of Steel-types such as Heatran with Earthquake while chipping away at other Pokemon with Hyper Voice. This makes Altaria an ideal partner for fast sweepers and cleaners that appreciate such Pokemon gone, such as Talonflame, Dragonite, Gyarados, Latios, Volcarona, and Serperior. Another notable teammate is Calm Mind Clefable; while it may seem odd and impractical to pair two similar Fairy-types together, Altaria is able to lure in and handle troublesome Steel-types, giving Clefable much more breathing room to do its work. Of course, this results in a double Steel- and Poison-type weakness, so additional insurance is required against these two types. Additionally, this Altaria can fit well on typical sandstorm team archetypes due to its resistances to Water-, Bug-, Dragon-, Fighting-, and Grass-type attacks. In this case, it can be partnered up with Hippowdon or Tyranitar, which provide a good defensive backbone as well as Stealth Rock support, and especially with Sand Rush Excadrill, a deadly force that synergizes extremely well with Altaria offensively and defensively. Finally, due to its all-around great offense and typing, this particular Altaria is a great SmashPass recipient, making Gorebyss an ideal partner for such a strategy.
Offensive Dragon Dance
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name: Offensive Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Return
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Roost / Fire Blast
item: Altarianite
ability: Natural Cure / Cloud Nine
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
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Dragon Dance amplifies Mega Altaria's already high Attack and patches up its middling Speed. Return offers sheer power and consistency to go along with great coverage. Earthquake covers all of the Fairy-resistant types, making Steel-, Fire- and Poison-types significantly less problematic, with only a few exceptions. Roost provides reliable recovery, giving Altaria the ability to take damage constantly and check opposing threats more easily, as well as giving it better chances to set up. On the other hand, Fire Blast completes Altaria's coverage, allowing it to lure in Steel-types that wall Altaria otherwise, such as Skarmory, Scizor, and Ferrothorn.
There are several alternative moves to consider. Dragon Claw, while redundant coverage-wise with Return, allows Altaria to hit the likes of Talonflame, Mega Venusaur, Mega Charizard X and Y, and Amoonguss harder. Outrage significantly increases the chances of KOing these threats, but it comes with nasty side-effects. Double-Edge is a monstrous alternative to Return, accomplishing KOes that Mega Altaria could not before, such as OHKOing Chansey, uninvested Landorus-T (with Intimidate factored in), and physically defensive Rotom-W after one Dragon Dance boost and Stealth Rock damage. However, the recoil tends to stack up badly, considering Altaria is likely to endure hazard damage and attacks while setting up. Finally, Substitute is a neat support move that protects Altaria from status as well as fatal attacks. Keep in mind that running any other move over Roost makes this set easy to wear down.
Set Details
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An Adamant nature along with significant Attack investment makes the most out of Mega Altaria's physical offense. It is recommended to maximize Speed EVs in order to tie at best with neutral-natured maximum Speed Dragonite as well as opposing Altaria. A Jolly nature can be used to outrun even more threats before and after a Speed boost, including maximum Speed variations of Breloom, Heatran, Tyranitar, and Bisharp at +0, and Mega Lopunny, Mega Manectric, Mega Beedrill, and Adamant Choice Scarf Landorus-T at +1. This, of course, comes at the cost of power, which Mega Altaria misses dearly.
To take better advantage of Mega Altaria's fantastic defensive typing, you are absolutely free, and even encouraged, to tweak the EVs. Assuming an Adamant nature, its Speed can be lowered to outrun important benchmarks at +1, including 220 Speed for Tornadus-T and Mega Pidgeot, 184 EVs for Raikou and Starmie, and 160 EVs for Thundurus. Transferring some EVs from Attack is also perfectly acceptable in moderation.
As this set is crippled badly by burn and other status conditions, Natural Cure is used over Cloud Nine, although the latter still has its uses against weather-reliant Pokemon. For instance, Cloud Nine Altaria avoids the 2HKO from Modest Mega Charizard Y's Fire Blast, giving it a chance to set up and Roost off the damage afterwards.
Usage Tips
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This set usually only requires a single Dragon Dance boost to get going, so setting up more is not recommended, or else Altaria will likely get worn down by more unnecessary damage. This is an acceptable case if Altaria needs to outrun revenge killers such as Mega Beedrill and Choice Scarf users, but be sure it has enough health and opportunities to do so. As this set's bulk isn't particularly outstanding without significant investment, it is best to switch in via a slow U-turn or Volt Switch, or after a teammate has fainted. For the same reason, Roost's use should be kept to a minimum, preferably on weak foes or predicted switches.
This set can be used at absolutely any time during the battle, whether early-game to punch holes in the opposing team, or mid- to late-game to sweep and clean up after its checks and counters are gone or weakened into KO range. Generally, Mega Altaria should not attempt to sweep if there are revenge killers present, as it can be outsped at +1 and be picked off by priority. If Altaria has Fire Blast, it makes for an effective lure to certain Steel-types early-game; the best way to encourage these foes to switch in is to purposely use the other moves beforehand.
Team Options
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This Altaria generally works well on offensive and balanced teams due to its great power, coverage, and sweeping potential. If Altaria lacks Fire Blast, it is recommended to eliminate or weaken Skarmory, Ferrothorn, Scizor, and other similar Steel-types before attempting to sweep. Magnezone easily handles these threats thanks to Magnet Pull, while Keldeo and Heatran are more offensively flexible alternatives for this role that can handle other threats by themselves. Running lures such as Hidden Power Fire Serperior, Jirachi, Latios, Fire Punch Diggersby, Azumarill, Manaphy, and Clefable to weaken these threats is also feasible. Although Unaware Clefable has a decent chance of getting 2HKOed by an unboosted Return, it is problematic regardless. The aforementioned Heatran and Jirachi, as well as Gengar with Sludge Wave, are great checks to it.
Keeping Stealth Rock and other entry hazards off the field helps Altaria set up more comfortably both before and after Mega Evolving. Excadrill is a notable Rapid Spinner that is able to maul Fairy- and Steel-types, as well as being a capable sweeper or revenge killer in sandstorm or with a Choice Scarf, respectively. Latias can provide Defog support while possessing good resistances, offense, and, more importantly, Healing Wish, which can be used to give Mega Altaria a second chance to sweep. Latios is similar, but it has Memento instead of Healing Wish to severely lower the foe's offenses for setup. Dual Screens can also be employed, although this strategy is typically used on hyper offense, an archetype that Mega Altaria doesn't exactly fit into.
Support
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name: Support
move 1: Roost
move 2: Hyper Voice / Return
move 3: Heal Bell
move 4: Flamethrower / Earthquake / Roar / Perish Song
item: Altarianite
ability: Cloud Nine
evs: 248 HP / 104 Def / 156 SpD
nature: Bold / Impish / Relaxed
Moves
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Roost provides reliable healing, a necessity on a defensive Pokemon lacking Leftovers. The Normal-type move of choice is Mega Altaria's main attack; even without investment, both are consistent and deceptively powerful thanks to the Pixilate boost. Hyper Voice offers special offense, allowing Mega Altaria to check Substitute users and 2HKO physically defensive foes such as Landorus-T, Mega Slowbro, Rotom-W, and Gliscor. On the other hand, Return is generally stronger and can exploit the weaker physical defense of some important threats in the tier; to clarify, the likes of Assault Vest Conkeldurr, Mega Gallade, Mega Gyarados, and Thundurus are all OHKOed after Stealth Rock damage, while Assault Vest Azumarill, Mega Beedrill, Sylveon, and Eviolite-less Chansey are threatened by a clean 2HKO. Heal Bell is a quick fix to status conditions, giving Altaria additional utility and a cleric and status absorber.
Flamethrower and Earthquake provide additional coverage, ensuring that Mega Altaria is significantly more self-sufficient and not a sitting duck against certain Steel-types. If the extra coverage is not needed, Roar and Perish Song are support moves that force unwanted switches and counter setup sweepers, such as Mega Sableye, Mega Slowbro, Mega Latias, and Suicune. Toxic is certainly an option for wearing down defensive foes, but it is overall wasteful on a Pokemon that usually attracts Steel-types, Poison-types, and defensive clerics. Finally, Draco Meteor allows Mega Altaria to OHKO Mega Charizard X, turning it into one of the best counters to said threat. Aside from that, however, it wastes a moveslot due to a lack of significant added power and coverage.
Set Details
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The given EV spread, along with a Bold or Impish nature, allows Altaria to avoid being 2HKOed by Icy Wind from Keldeo, sun-boosted Fire Blast from Mega Charizard Y, Earthquake from maximum Attack Adamant Landorus-T, and Psyshock from Life Orb Latios. Alternatively, you can bump the Defense EVs to 136 to avoid being KOed by Azumarill's Play Rough followed by Aqua Jet. Use a Relaxed nature if you plan on using both a special and physical attack (i.e. Hyper Voice and Earthquake, or Return and Flamethrower). If you do, also invest a minimum of 4 Speed EVs to outrun uninvested base 70s such as Skarmory. Cloud Nine is the ability of choice, as it makes switching into Mega Charizard Y, Politoed, Omastar, and other weather-reliant Pokemon much easier prior to Mega Evolving. Heal Bell is a required move even though non-Mega Altaria has Natural Cure, because Altaria typically Mega Evolves immediately.
Usage Tips
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This set is a dedicated pivot, capable of switching into numerous attacks and status moves while being able to stand on its own with Roost. Additionally, with Fire Blast or Earthquake, it can avoid being too passive against Steel-types, with the added benefit of being able to lure them in sometimes as well. If Altaria uses Roar or Perish Song instead, however, it plays a little differently. With Roar, Altaria can force unwanted switches and stack up residual damage immediately multiple times. Perish Song is better used on more defensively-based teams, as it acts as a win condition in last-Pokemon scenarios and can afford to be more passive on such teams without encouraging the opponent to switch as frequently. Switch out to a more capable teammate if either move brings out a threatening check or counter.
The most important factor is to never overestimate Mega Altaria's bulk and walling abilities, as it lacks Leftovers and can only take so many powerful attacks at a time. To avoid difficult offensive pressure, do not switch into entry hazards frequently, and recover back to full health with Roost whenever you can help it.
Team Options
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This particular set is a good fit on balanced teams that require a cleric and a great number of resistances in one package. Mega Altaria can confidently switch into Fire Blast, Lava Plume, Scald, Waterfall, Secret Sword, Thunderbolt, Knock Off, Draco Meteor, and other moves, which makes it an ideal partner to other semi-defensive Pokemon that fear said attacks. Notably, Mega Altaria creates a good core with Heatran, which can handle opposing Fairy-, Poison-, and Steel-types very well. Heatran can also utilize status moves, such as Lava Plume, Toxic, Taunt, and Will-O-Wisp, an area where Altaria typically lacks. Ferrothorn also complements Altaria well defensively, with multiple helpful moves such as Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave, and Knock Off at its disposal. Excadrill is a more offensive choice, capable of switching into Altaria's weaknesses with impunity while also offering Ground-type coverage, Stealth Rock, or Rapid Spin support. Choice Specs Magnezone also pairs well with Altaria defensively while providing stellar utility with Magnet Pull, allowing it to trap and eliminate slower Steel-types that are troublesome to Altaria and the rest of its team. Mega Altaria can also find a home on Sandstorm teams, providing resistances to Water-, Grass-, and Fighting-type attacks while being able to cure status ailments for the likes of Tyranitar, Hippowdon, and Excadrill.
Because this set can force many Pokemon to switch as well as switch out itself frequently, entry hazard control is extremely beneficial. Entry hazard setters such as Skarmory, Tyranitar, and Excadrill are good examples of teammates that can set up hazards quickly and force threats out themselves, depending on your team. As Defog is an issue for this strategy, using Bisharp can keep Defog users in check. As noted in the Set Details, Altaria can switch into and survive a number of 2HKOs, but only if entry hazards are off the field, making their removal necessary. Fortunately, the aforementioned Skarmory and Excadrill, amongst other good choices like Starmie, are able to provide this.
King DDD (Defensive Dragon Dance)
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name: King DDD (Defensive Dragon Dance)
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Roost
move 3: Return
move 4: Heal Bell / Substitute / Earthquake
item: Altarianite
ability: Cloud Nine / Natural Cure
evs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 96 SpD / 28 Spe
nature: Impish
Moves
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Return boasts consistency, good single-move coverage, and power on its own even without investment or boosts. The combination of Dragon Dance and Roost allows Altaria to slowly, but safely, become faster and stronger while maintaining its health. This set's playstyle slightly depends on the move being used in the last slot. Heal Bell instantly cures status conditions that Mega Altaria and its team might have contracted while setting up or switching in, and it is especially crucial when considering this set's vulnerability to burn, paralysis, and poison. Substitute blocks status instead of curing it, in addition to scouting and protecting Altaria from dangerous attacks. Earthquake provides additional coverage against Heatran as well as other Fire- and Steel-types, but it leaves Altaria horribly vulnerable to status; it should also be noted that a 2x resisted Return is just as powerful as a neutral Earthquake.
Another option to consider is Refresh, which has more PP than Heal Bell and prevents Altaria from losing against exceptionally persistent status users. However, it does not cure status for the entire team and loses out on great utility. Facade can replace Return to take advantage of any status conditions Altaria has taken. However, it is greatly reliant on the opponent having status users in the first place, making it situational and somewhat contradictory with Heal Bell or Substitute.
Set Details
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The given EV spread along with an Impish nature optimizes Altaria's defenses and is ideal for setting up Dragon Dance. 28 Speed EVs are required to outrun Mega Lopunny and Manectric at +2, and to outrun maximum Speed Azumarill when unboosted. 248 HP / 136 Def / 96 SpD narrowly prevents KOs from some commonly feared, powerful attacks; for instance, Mega Altaria can't be 2HKOed by Choice Band Dragonite's Earthquake, Life Orb Thundurus's Hidden Power Ice, Mega Heracross's Rock Blast, and +1 Jolly Mega Charizard X's Flare Blitz, and it cannot be OHKOed by Jolly Mega Beedrill's Poison Jab and Azumarill's Play Rough. A spread of 248 HP / 184 Def / 76 Spe with a Jolly nature gives enough Speed to outrun maximum Speed Thundurus at +1, but it makes Mega Altaria significantly less bulky. A specially defensive spread is also worth consideration, although Mega Altaria is generally more suited for taking common physical attacks.
Usage Tips
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This set is a hybrid of the support and offensive Dragon Dance sets; it utilizes its bulk and typing to check opposing threats as well as set up multiple boosts safely. While this set is bulky enough to set up on many foes, it is easily checked and walled due to the lack of immediate power and coverage. Therefore, setting up Dragon Dance boosts early-game is not recommended. During this time, however, Mega Altaria can act as an excellent defensive Pokemon that can soak up hits, recover, and hit back hard. After its checks and counters have been either weakened or eliminated mid- to late-game, Mega Altaria can then use Dragon Dance as a win condition.
In regards to Dragon Dance, this set requires more than a couple of boosts to really get going. However, with its good bulk and typing in addition to having several status prevention methods, it can set up on many threats with little problem. With Heal Bell specifically, it can confidently set up in the face of defensive Pokemon such as Rotom-W, Thundurus, Chansey, (Mega) Sableye, Politoed, Alomomola, Ice Beam-less Slowbro, and both formes of Mega Charizard. Substitute requires more prediction, as Altaria then can't switch directly into status, but it yields great results when used on the opponent's predicted switches. In such a situation, Altaria can choose to either set up or hit the switch-in with Return while behind a Substitute.
Team Options
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Defensively speaking, this set is self-sufficient, only really needing Rapid Spin or Defog support to guarantee survival of the KOs listed in the Set Details. On the other hand, it badly requires a tremendous amount of offensive support, as it has very limited coverage and power. Assuming it runs mono-Fairy coverage, Altaria definitely needs partners to take care of Steel- and Poison-types, among other foes such as Unaware Clefable. Gothitelle is definitely qualified for the job with its ability Shadow Tag, which allows it to take out or cripple problematic Pokemon such as Skarmory, Mega Venusaur, Dragalge, and other walls immediately. Magnezone is a better choice for trapping Steel-types, although a backup plan must be made if defensive Steel-types such as Skarmory and Ferrothorn run Shed Shell. Heatran is an excellent partner due to its defensive and offensive synergy with Altaria, using its coverage to take care of all opposing Steel-, Poison-, and Fairy-types while wearing down switch-ins with Lava Plume or Toxic. Likewise, Pokemon such as Latios, Hidden Power Fire Serperior, Fire Punch Diggersby, Choice Specs Dragalge, Dragonite, Breloom, and Superpower Azumarill are great choices, as they can lure in and deal huge damage to the aforementioned threats.
Because this set is defensive in nature, it fits better on balanced teams that benefit from its unique set of resistances and don't mind its slow setup. An emphasis on offense is recommended to cover this set's lack of offensive sufficiency and ensure the team isn't entirely reliant on Altaria. Running another sweeper such as Thundurus, Excadrill, Manaphy, Volcarona, or Gyarados ensures there are other options to turn to in case Mega Altaria is unable to sweep. Altaria, in turn, can help these threats out by switching into their counters and providing Heal Bell support.
Other Options
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Without the Altarianite, Altaria is simply not viable or threatening at all, as it misses out on multiple benefits. In other words, don't even think about using normal Altaria in OU. Mega Altaria can utilize a physically based mixed attacking set without Dragon Dance, similar to the special attacking set above. Like said set, it can potentially lure in checks and counters to other sets as well.
Haze is a more immediate alternative to Roar and Perish Song, differentiating itself in the fact that it can counter stat-boosting Pokemon, such as Mega Sableye, Suicune, and Mega Slowbro, without forcing Altaria to move last and take a boosted hit. However, its usability ends there because Roar and Perish Song have overall better properties. Likewise, Cotton Guard is undeniably a fun and somewhat useful move, allowing Altaria to win against its usual physical checks such as Scizor, Mega Metagross, Azumarill, Mega Lopunny, and Landorus-T. Unfortunately, it usually wastes a moveslot and doesn't solve Mega Altaria's vulnerability to status conditions and powerful special attacks.
Body Slam is a good physical attack that has a high chance of paralyzing foes while having a decent Base Power that is boosted by Pixilate. While it's certainly not a bad move by itself on defensive sets, it has competition with the more powerful Return. Likewise, Facade benefits from any status conditions Altaria might have taken and is absolutely usable on any set that utilizes Return. However, it is overall very situational, not to mention weak and almost useless if the opponent doesn't happen to have a status user at all. Draco Meteor may sound appealing due to its whopping 130 Base Power and Dragon-type coverage (useful against Mega Charizard X and Talonflame in particular), but it is redundant coverage-wise and not much stronger than Hyper Voice, and its side effect makes it an overall unappealing and inconsistent option. Dragon Pulse is more consistent, but likewise has redundancy issues. Ice Beam is decent on special attacking sets, as it can OHKO Landorus, Landorus-T, and specially defensive Gliscor. This particular aspect is important, as KOing these threats immediately lessens the risk of taking heavy damage from Earthquake or, in the case of Gliscor, being stalled out by Toxic or Roost, which it can do if Altaria only has Hyper Voice.
Checks and Counters
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**Steel-type Pokemon**: Ferrothorn, Heatran, Scizor, and Skarmory can counter Altaria depending on its lack of Fire or Ground coverage. (Mega) Scizor, especially physically defensive versions, is an exceptional counter if Altaria is lacking Fire Blast. In addition to tanking Fairy-type attacks and Earthquake, it can deal heavy damage with Bullet Punch. Mega Metagross typically revenge kills every set with Meteor Mash or Bullet Punch.
**Poison-type Pokemon and coverage moves**: Mega Venusaur is quite possibly the best Altaria counter to exist, as it is never 2HKOed by any of Mega Altaria's commonly used special or physical attacks (even at +2), and can put its efforts to mere waste by recovering with Synthesis or OHKOing it with Sludge Bomb. Amoonguss can perform such similar functions, but struggles against sets running invested Fire Blast or Substitute. Mega Beedrill and Gengar can check unboosted Altaria effectively with their blazing Speed and strong Poison-type attacks; both are especially noticeable for punishing switches with U-turn and Substitute, respectively.
**Fire-types**: Fire-types do well defensively against sets lacking Ground or Dragon coverage, but most can't do much in return, so only a select few are notable. Talonflame is resistant or immune to Altaria's most commonly used attacks and can do fatal damage with Brave Bird or cripple Altaria with Will-O-Wisp. Mega Charizard Y sports the same resistances and immunities as Talonflame and can do huge damage to non-defensive sets with its sun-boosted Fire Blast. Heatran sports a quadruple resistance to Fairy-type attacks as well as a slew of disruptive attacks, such as Toxic, Roar, Taunt, and burning attacks, giving Altaria nightmares for ages. Defensive variants, however, tend to struggle against Altaria sets with Substitute or Earthquake.
**Bulky Fairy-types**: Altaria typically can't do much damage to most bulky Fairy-type Pokemon without accumulating a Dragon Dance boost, and even then some can tank one hit and hit back super effectively with STAB attacks. A special mention goes to Unaware Clefable for ignoring Attack boosts, although it can be 2HKOed by a maxed-out Return or Hyper Voice. Mega Gardevoir is a good check as long as it avoids Dragon Dance-boosted Altaria—or pretty much any physical attack for that matter.
**Revenge Killers**: Though not many Choice Scarf users can cleanly OHKO Mega Altaria, common users such as Landorus-T, Excadrill, Icy Wind Keldeo, and Heatran can do enough damage to cripple or KO it after some prior damage. In sandstorm, Sand Rush Excadrill outruns neutral-natured Altaria even at +2 and OHKOes it with Iron Head. Priority users, especially those with Bullet Punch and Ice Shard, also threaten to cut Dragon Dance sweeps short, though most cannot OHKO Altaria due to its bulk. Altaria can also typically handle most priority users by itself. To this extent, Klefki and Thundurus pose threats with their priority Thunder Wave, though this strategy is mostly rendered ineffective by sets with Heal Bell.
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