Overview
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- Great Speed; fastest Pokemon in all of UU bar Ninjask
- Solid Attack and movepool
- Tough Claws makes moves like Aerial Ace and Fire Fang viable
- Underrated bulk and defensive typing
- Reliable recovery in Roost
- Defog gives it a good way to support teams
- Has a hard time beating most physical walls
- Kinda suffers from 4MSS
- Weak to Rocks; annoying for a Defog user
- Overall, an underrated mon that has its place on offensive teams
Offensive Support
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name: Offensive Support
move 1: Defog / Taunt
move 2: Roost
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Aqua Tail / Aerial Ace
ability: Pressure
item: Aerodactylite
evs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
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- Defog removes all entry hazards from the field; hard to fit onto offensive teams
- Taunt can be used to beat some walls 1-on-1 such as Mew and Hippowdon
- Roost provides reliable recovery. Allows you to outlast hazard users over time
- Stone Edge crushes Flying- and Fire-types and is the strongest STAB Aero has
- Aqua Tail is perferred in the last slot for the overall coverage it gets with Stone Edge. Also cool to hit common Rocks users like Hippowdon and Donphan decently hard
- Aerial Ace is usable if you have troubles with Chesnaught
- Stealth Rock can be run along with Taunt to beat common hazard leads such as Azelf
Set Details
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- EV spread beats out base 115s before Mega evolution, and and neutral natured base 85s at +1 after
- Attack is maxed and the rest in HP for overall bulk
- Jolly is needed for the Speed benchmarks
- Ability prior to Mega Evolution isn't that important. Pressure may get use though, so go with it
Usage Tips
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- Mega Evolution is key to power up Dactyl's moves
- Defog + Roost is the real calling card for Dactyl on offensive teams; it gives offensive presence and durability
- Dactyl should aim to keep hazards off the field and stay healthy first before worrying about dealing damage
- Keep Dactyl away from status for paralysis or burn will surely ruin it.
Team Options
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- Works well with things that hate entry hazards
- Think Victini, Darmanitan, and Honchkrow
- Most physical walls have no issue with Dactyl
- Celebi and Shaymin generally do good against Hippo, Pert, and Bro
- Bulkier hazard users like Nidoqueen, SpDef Roserade, and Forretress are cool since they can reset hazards if need be
- Dactyl generally provides support and doesn't need a ton in return outside of these things
Hone Claws
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name: Hone Claws
move 1: Hone Claws / Roost
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Aqua Tail / Aerial Ace
move 4: Crunch / Aerial Ace
ability: Pressure
item: Aerodactylite
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
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- Focuses on Aerodactyl's high Speed and Tough Claws-boosted attacks to clean up late-game
- Hone Claws gives Dactyl a power boost when necessary
- Stone Edge crushes Flying- and Fire-types like Victini, Tornadus, and Crobat
- Aqua Tail is preferred for the hit on physical walls like Hippowdon, Donphan, and Gligar. Also nice for smacking Nidoqueen and Nidoking
- Aerial Ace is usable if these threats aren't a concern. Hits the likes of Machamp, Scrafty, and Shaymin for more damage than any other move
- Crunch beats up on Slowbro, Trevenant, and Bronzong
Set Details
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- Nothing much to it. Max/max spread with Adamant for maximum late-game sweeping potential
- Use Pressure as it at least has a chance of being useful prior to Mega Evolution
- If you don't find yourself using HC a lot, Roost is usable. Just note you may not get a lot of chances to use it
- EQ is usable over Crunch as it can hit many of the same targets, but Crunch's coverage on Slowbro, Trevenant, and Bronzong is hard to give up
Usage Tips
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- Aero is generally used as a late-game cleaner, so save it up for as long as you can
- The high Speed can let it revenge virtually any unboosted offensive threat
- A weak, resisted attack or a Ground-type move is the perfect move to get Dactyl in on to start sweeping
- Only use Hone Claws when you've removed any possible Scarf users or physical walls that can tank a hit or two.
Team Options
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- Wallbreakers such as CB Heracross, CB Victini, and CB Mienshao are great for weakening or outright KOing physical walls
- Defog or Rapid Spin support is nice to keep Rocks away
- Starmie is probably the best available spinner for teams using this set (remember, no Mega Blaster!)
- Mew, Empoleon, and Crobat can use Defog effectively
- Spikes is nice since most Aero counters are grounded. Just don't use them with Defog!
- Roserade is great for this role as she handles bulky Waters and Grounds with ease
Other Options
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- Other coverage options
- Suicide lead set
- Alternate EV spreads for support set
Checks and Counters
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**Physical Walls**: Dactyl rarely uses Hone Claws and it doesn't have the ability to use Life Orb. So, Hippowdon, Slowbro, Suicune, and Swampert are all good. Just make sure to scout for Aqua Tail or Crunch if you use Hippo or Slowbro
**Bulky Offensive Pokemon**: Weird generalization, but anything with solid bulk and no weaknesses to Rock or Flying-type moves can check Aero. So, Mega-Blastoise, Mega-Ampharos, Nidoqueen, and Metagross are all good for this since they can all take at least one super effective coverage move
**Choice Scarf users**: Mega-Aerodactyl is fast, but that doesn't stop Choice Scarf users from outspeeding it. Jirachi, Hydreigon, Mienshao, and Heracross can all outspeed and revenge kill Aero after some prior damage
**Stealth Rock**: As with any Pokemon weak to Rocks, you can use them to limit the switch-ins Mega-Aerodactyl has. It helps that Swampert and Hippowdon, two of the most reliable Rocks users in UU also happen to handle Aero well in general.
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