Altaria

[Shadestep]

QC: Punchshroom, Pokedots, erisia
GP: P Squared

[OVERVIEW]

Altaria is a unique Pokemon in NU, as it is the only fully evolved Dragon-type in the tier. It has a decent defensive typing that makes it a solid answer to powerful threats like Magmortar, Combusken, and Swords Dance Samurott. Its offensive Choice Specs set serves as a pivot on offensive teams that can be threatening with a strong Draco Meteor at the same time. Defensive sets take on a lot of powerful threats in the tier like Pyroar and Combusken easily because of Altaria's access to reliable recovery in Roost as well as its ability to come in on status users like Weezing, Vileplume and Rotom. However, Altaria faces competition from Sliggoo, which has no Stealth Rock weakness, a wider offensive movepool, and a more reliable ability. Altaria's defensive capabilities are hindered a lot by its weakness to Stealth Rock and 4x weakness to Ice-type attacks, both of which are very common in the NU metagame, as most Grass- and Water-types run an Ice-type attack for coverage.

[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Dragon Pulse
move 4: Rest / Sleep Talk
item: Choice Specs
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Modest
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Draco Meteor is Altaria's most spammable move. Fire Blast nails Steel-types such as Steelix, Ferroseed, and Klinklang that try to come in on a resisted Draco Meteor. Dragon Pulse is used in situations in which you can't afford to have Altaria's Special Attack stat lowered by Draco Meteor but still want to use a Dragon-type move. Rest takes advantage of Natural Cure, as Altaria's sleep will be cured right after it switches out. Sleep Talk can be picked over Rest to let Altaria act as a sleep absorber; however, Natural Cure clashes with this, as it removes sleep after Altaria switches out.

Set Details
========

Maximum Speed and Special Attack investment together with a Modest nature makes the best of Altaria's offensive stats. Natural Cure is useful, as Altaria doesn't need to worry about status ailments too much, making it easy to switch in to Scald or Will-O-Wisp, for example; it is also used to get rid of sleep caused by Rest.

Usage Tips
========

Altaria is mainly used as an offensive switch-in to status users like Weezing, Vileplume, and Gourgeist, and it is also able to check offensive threats like Swords Dance Samurott, Combusken, and Magmortar due to its typing. Draco Meteor is the move of choice most of the time, as it hits pretty much everything that doesn't resist it for great damage. Use Fire Blast when predicting a possible switch to something that resists Draco Meteor like Steelix, Ferroseed, or Klinklang. In a situation where Altaria is against a hard counter like Mega Audino, it is in your best interest to switch out and preserve Altaria, as Fire Blast has quite underwhelming damage output on a neutral hit. While Draco Meteor is Altaria's most spammable move, always be wary of Pokemon that can set up on a -2 Altaria, such as Samurott, Barbaracle, and Jynx.


Team Options
=========

Offensive Pokemon that hate dealing with fast Fire- or Fighting-types like Shiftry, special Skuntank, and Hariyama are good partners for offensive Altaria, as they help break each other's checks and counters. Entry hazard removal from the likes of Kabutops, Shiftry, and Hitmonchan is really beneficial for Altaria, as Stealth Rock hinders its ability to take on mixed Shiftry and Pyroar. Sweepers that need their counters to be severely weakened in order to sweep and hate dealing with status users, such as Swellow, Barbaracle and Archeops, are good partners for Altaria, as Natural Cure allows it to come in on most status users and threaten them out with a strong attack. Lastly, Pokemon that deal with Mega Audino, such as Garbodor, Skuntank and Steelix, make for good team members, as Mega Audino completely shuts down Altaria.


[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
===========

A set consisting of Dragon Dance, Outrage, Earthquake, and Roost can be used as a late-game sweeper, but it is easily walled and still weak, even after multiple Dragon Dance boosts. Heal Bell is another option over Earthquake to get past Pokemon that use status moves in order to deal with Altaria; however, it is hard walled by all Fairy-types and pretty much all Steel-types. While almost completely outclassed by Sliggoo, a defensive Altaria set with an EV spread of 248 HP / 148 Def / 112 SpD with Roost, Heal Bell, Dragon Pulse, and Toxic or Haze can be used as a defensive pivot on semistall teams. Life Orb is an option on the offensive set, letting Altaria run Roost instead of Rest and switch between moves. The power that Choice Specs gives, however, combined with not losing 10% HP after every attack, makes it the better option. Swapping out Dragon Pulse for Power Swap can be an option to catch opponents off guard. Power Swap restores Altaria's Special Attack to normal after it uses Draco Meteor. This allows Altaria to get past specially defensive Pokemon like Mantine better, but it doesn't work that often, making it not the most viable option. Cloud Nine can be chosen over Natural Cure to better check sun and rain teams; however, those are both quite uncommon and the utility that Natural Cure provides is way more useful most of the time.


Checks and Counters
===================

**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types like Mega Audino and Clefairy are both immune to Altaria's most spammable move in Draco Meteor and can pass off Wishes or set up Calm Mind on it.

**Ice-types**: Altaria's 4x weakness to Ice leaves it vulnerable to any Ice-type move and Pokemon. Bulkier Ice-types such as Lapras and Piloswine can switch in on Altaria's attacks and easily OHKO it with their STAB moves, while frailer ones like Jynx and Aurorus can't safely switch in but are still able to OHKO Altaria at full health.

**Steel-types**: Steel-types stop Altaria from spamming Draco Meteor, but they should still be aware of the possibility of Fire Blast.

**Stealth Rock**: Altaria's role as a pivot or wall is hindered a lot by Stealth Rock, as the residual damage leaves it unable to check the foes that it's supposed to check.

 

[noobcubed]

So, for offensive, is the recommended item Life Orb or Choice Specs?

Also on the offensive set, possibly make a mention of Cloud Nine? Revenge-killing Swift Swimmers and Chlorophyll mons is neat for offensive teams which often have a poor match-up versus weather.

 

[Shadestep]

So, for offensive, is the recommended item Life Orb or Choice Specs?

Also on the offensive set, possibly make a mention of Cloud Nine? Revenge-killing Swift Swimmers and Chlorophyll mons is neat for offensive teams which often have a poor match-up versus weather.

I personally like Life Orb better, I'll discuss it with leader boltsandbombers whenever I catch him online on PS
thanks for the Cloud Nine mention, added that in

 

[erisia]

Why not slash Choice Specs as the secondary option over Life Orb? You could then talk about the advantages and disadvantages of both in the set comments. Both items fill similar roles so you wouldn't really need to change the usage tips much.

 

[boltsandbombers]

No, don't even have Life Orb slashed, just put it in set details and have specs as the only item, I discussed this with the QC team earlier. 70 base spa is pretty mediocre and it really needs that extra boost from specs and Life Orb recoil plus stealth rock damage really puts a hurt on it. I thought that was pretty clear in my vm.

 

[Shadestep]

No, don't even have Life Orb slashed, just put it in set details and have specs as the only item, I discussed this with the QC team earlier. 70 base spa is pretty mediocre and it really needs that extra boost from specs and Life Orb recoil plus stealth rock damage really puts a hurt on it. I thought that was pretty clear in my vm.

Ok will do, what's yiur opinion on modest or timid on the offensive set?

bolts edit: don't mention timid at all

 

[Shadestep]

this is QC ready (im pretty sure)

 

[Punchshroom]

[OVERVIEW]

• Decent defensive typing in Dragon-Flying
• Can take on threats like Hariyama and Sawk with a physically defensive spread
• Sp. Def set takes on Lilligant, Vivillon and most Fire-types pretty well
• Good support moves in Heal Bell, Roar and Haze
• Reliable recovery in Roost, can freely hold Leftovers without any drawbacks
• Depending on the set, can be set-up fodder for bulky set-up pokémon

- Mention that Altaria is the only fully-evolved Dragon-type in the tier
- See if you're gonna mention its niches, your sets should at least correspond to the order you list them in: since Altaria's apparent primary set is its offensive set, you should list its role as an offensive pivot with good resists + Natural Cure that can strike back with perfectly neutral Dragon + Fire coverage, then its SpD set, then its Def set, so on...
- Mention Altaria's Stealth Rock weakness, which notably impacts Altaria's ability to switch into attacks
- Touch upon Altaria's exploitable Ice-type weakness, since most Water-types and Grass-types can simply brush aside Altaria with Ice Beam and Hidden Power Ice, respectively
- Finally, emphasize Altaria's only modest offensive stats; much of Altaria's power only comes from the sheer power of Draco Meteor as it is quite weak otherwise, especially after the SpA drop. Defensive sets are even more prone to this flaw.

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Draco Meteor is Altaria's most powerful attack, doing massive damage to anything that doesn't resist it
• Fire Blast is for Steel-types that resist Draco Meteor, like Ferroseed and Klinklang
• Dragon Pulse is for situations in which you can't afford to drop your SpA by 2 stages. It is not always necessary but Altaria doesn't learn any notable coverage that it can effectively use
• Rest is used to recover Altaria's HP and then switch out. Natural Cure makes it so that whenever Altaria switches in again, it's status ailment will be removed
• Sleep Talk can be used over rest as a Sleep absorber, but with Natural Cure, the sleep will be gone when you switch out and your opponent can put another pokémon to sleep [not really sure, the phrase seems out of place]
• Earthquake can be used over Dragon Pulse to hit Magmortar, although it doesn't hit anything else

- List Steelix as another Steel-type for Fire Blast to hit; also Fire Blast can be used to hit Grass-types more reliably
- Modest Earthquake only hits Magmortar for negligibly more damage than Specs Dragon Pulse; remove it.

Set Details
========

• Max Speed and Max Special Attack make the best of Altaria's offensive stats
• Modest nature is necessary as Altaria's offensive stats don't have much to offer and the extra power is needed
• Natural Cure works well with Rest as it clears the sleep turns
• Cloud Nine can be used to be a better check to Rain-teams but Natural Cure is almost always the better option
• Life Orb can be ran over Choice Specs, but the power that Choice Specs gives, combined with not taking 1/10 of your health every turn makes it less viable as Altaria wears itself down a lot faster, making its job as offensive pivot way harder

- Your first and second points contradict each other about Altaria's offensive worth; just say that Altaria wants the max Speed investment to tie with other base 80s (such as?), but far appreciates Modest as Altaria needs the power and Timid doesn't cover anything notable.
- Mention Natural Cure allows Altaria to function as a good status absorber in general, especially into the likes of Scald and Will-O-Wisp.

Usage Tips
========

• Altaria's Dragon - Flying typing gives it a nice defensive typing that can switch in on a vast majority of the offensive metagame
• this set shouldn't be used as a wallbreaker, but more as an offensive pivot on less defensive teams to switch in on threatening sweepers/wallbreakers like Sawk or Pyroar

Altaria's lack of defensive investment means it cannot really switch into 'a vast majority of the offensive metagame' (CB Sawk and LO Pyroar cleanly 2HKO Altaria with Close Combat and Hyper Voice), so this section is pretty inaccurate. What Specs Altaria primarily does is act as an offensive pivot into status users such as Weezing, Gourgeist, Quagsire, Rotom, etc., while also having the ability to check things like Magmortar, Combusken, and SD Samurott.

Team Options
=========

• Offensive Pokémon that hate dealing with fast Fire- or Fighting-types like Shiftry and special Skuntank are good partners for this set as they help break eachothers checks and counters down to clear the way for one of Altaria's partners or another team member
• Combusken does well too as a partner, especially vs. offensive teams, as it can sweep far easier after Altaria has put holes in the opposing team

Probably a bit more emphasis into offensive teammates (they like having a switch-in to status moves, and help Altaria against faster teams) as well as partners that combat MAudino.

[SET COMMENTS]Moves
========

• Roost gives Altaria a lot more longevity, as it can repeatedly take hits and Roost of heavy hits of damage. Be aware that Altaria becomes a pure Dragon-type after it uses roost for the rest of the turn. [is this too important enough to keep on here?]
• Heal Bell is really useful for longevity for Altaria and gives good support for the rest of the team.
• Dragon Pulse is the main STAB-move. Not too strong but can pick off weakened pokémon.
• Flamethrower hits pokémon that otherwise completely wall Altaria and easily set-up on it, like Ferroseed, Klinklang and Steelix.
• Haze can be used over Flamethrower to get rid of any positive boosts your opponent has, like a Quiver Dance from Vivillon / Lilligant, or a Shift gear from Klinklang. Is very useful for Musharna.

- Toxic should be slashed in the last slot as well, as Altaria would actually do nothing to stop bulky boosting sweepers otherwise, even with Haze.
- Dragon Claw is an alternative attack to Dragon Pulse if one forgoes Toxic, as Altaria would fail to even scratch the likes of Quiver Dance Vivillon, much less QD Lilligant.

Set Details
========

• 248 HP is chosen to let Altaria live 1 more switchin to Stealth Rocks, meaning it can come in 4 times while Stealth Rocks are on the field rather than 3
• Maximum Special Defense is used to effectively check a lot of special attackers in the metagame
• A spread of 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD can be used to check fighting-types better, although that is not the most optimal spread [how can I maybe rephrase this?]
• Leftovers are chosen because they are very useful for checking special attackers. Leftovers gives Altaria a bit more freedom, as it won't have to Roost that often
• Natural Cure is chosen for pokémon with Sleep Powder like Lilligant and Vivillon

- The physically defensive spread can be given more emphasis for its ability to actually handle Sawk, while also checking mixed Shiftry. In fact the spread is notable enough to be considered as an "alternative", rather than "not the most optimal".
- The problem I have with defensive Altaria is that going max HP / max SpD does not help it at all. The majority of special attackers Altaria wants to wall either swat Altaria aside with Ice coverage (or just beat Altaria anyway) or lose outright even against an Altaria with minimal SpD investment, essentially what I would call 'wasted investment'. What I can recommend is a spread that lets Altaria function much better against physical attackers while still walling the special attackers it can, which is 248 HP / 148 Def / 112 SpD @ Calm nature. This lets Altaria always survive 2 Knock Offs from LO Shiftry, while still letting it take on the likes of Sawk and Pyroar; all require Stealth Rock off the field to achieve this however.

Team Options
=========

• bulky Steel-types like Steelix are sgood partner for this set as they cover eachothers weaknesses in Ice, Fire, Ground, Fighting etc.
• Musharna and Mesprit are good partners as they are mostly punished by status and fighting-types with Knock Off, both of which Altaria can handle pretty well

Anti-hazard support becomes almost mandatory, as Altaria's ability to take hits becomes incredibly diminished if SR is on the field.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
===========

• A set consisting of Dragon Dance, Outrage, Earthquake and Roost can be used as a physical late-game sweeper, however it is easily walled and still quite weak, even after a couple of boosts
• a set of Cotton Guard, Dragon Dance, Outrage and Roost (referred to as the DDD set) is used as a win-condition on (semi-)stall teams, although it is prone to Toxic as it takes a lot of turns to set up, and it is hardwalled by Mega Audino and any other Fairy-types

Cotton Guard is barely even worth mentioning at this point; replace that mention with Heal Bell for a mono-attacking bulky boosting set that achieves similiar (lackluster) results.

Checks and Counters
===================

• Fairy-types: Fairy-types are immune to Altaria's most spammable move in Draco Meteor and are generally bulky enough to handle any coverage (Fire Blast, Earthquake)
• Ice-types: Ice-types easily OHKO any variant of Altaria. It can't threaten the bulkier, slower Ice-types like Aurorus or Lapras, and the speedier Ice-types in the tier, for example Jynx or Cryogonal outspeed it and kill it with any attack
• Specially Defensive Walls: Specially Defensive walls like Xatu, Vileplume or Musharna can easily take 2 Draco Meteors from the offensive sets which loses a lot of momentum, and have no trouble switching in on the Defensive set whatsoever

- Ice-types should be renamed to Ice-type moves in general, as HP Ice and Ice Beam from pretty much anything shut Altaria down. Of course, more emphasis should be placed on Ice-types themselves; also add Articuno into the list.
- None of the Pokemon you mentioned are specially defensive at all (for that matter, standard Xatu will die to Specs Draco ~50% of the time); they just happen to have good Special Defense and have recovery, which is what this section should be renamed to as well (Lanturn may have good SpD but it's not winning against Altaria without Ice Beam). Edit: Actually, since not much examples come to mind, you can probably just scrap this section altogether.
- You can instead add a new section for Rock-types and Stealth Rock separately. Offensive Rock-types such as Rock Polish Rhydon, Barbaracle, and Carracosta can set up on a -2 SpA / Fire Blast-locked Altaria and swiftly KO it. Stealth Rock in general greatly hampers Altaria as well.

 

[Shadestep]

- Mention that Altaria is the only fully-evolved Dragon-type in the tier
- See if you're gonna mention its niches, your sets should at least correspond to the order you list them in: since Altaria's apparent primary set is its offensive set, you should list its role as an offensive pivot with good resists + Natural Cure that can strike back with perfectly neutral Dragon + Fire coverage, then its SpD set, then its Def set, so on...
- Mention Altaria's Stealth Rock weakness, which notably impacts Altaria's ability to switch into attacks
- Touch upon Altaria's exploitable Ice-type weakness, since most Water-types and Grass-types can simply brush aside Altaria with Ice Beam and Hidden Power Ice, respectively
- Finally, emphasize Altaria's only modest offensive stats; much of Altaria's power only comes from the sheer power of Draco Meteor as it is quite weak otherwise, especially after the SpA drop. Defensive sets are even more prone to this flaw.

- List Steelix as another Steel-type for Fire Blast to hit; also Fire Blast can be used to hit Grass-types more reliably
- Modest Earthquake only hits Magmortar for negligibly more damage than Specs Dragon Pulse; remove it.

- Your first and second points contradict each other about Altaria's offensive worth; just say that Altaria wants the max Speed investment to tie with other base 80s (such as?), but far appreciates Modest as Altaria needs the power and Timid doesn't cover anything notable.
- Mention Natural Cure allows Altaria to function as a good status absorber in general, especially into the likes of Scald and Will-O-Wisp.

Altaria's lack of defensive investment means it cannot really switch into 'a vast majority of the offensive metagame' (CB Sawk and LO Pyroar cleanly 2HKO Altaria with Close Combat and Hyper Voice), so this section is pretty inaccurate. What Specs Altaria primarily does is act as an offensive pivot into status users such as Weezing, Gourgeist, Quagsire, Rotom, etc., while also having the ability to check things like Magmortar, Combusken, and SD Samurott.

Probably a bit more emphasis into offensive teammates (they like having a switch-in to status moves, and help Altaria against faster teams) as well as partners that combat MAudino.

- Toxic should be slashed in the last slot as well, as Altaria would actually do nothing to stop bulky boosting sweepers otherwise, even with Haze.
- Dragon Claw is an alternative attack to Dragon Pulse if one forgoes Toxic, as Altaria would fail to even scratch the likes of Quiver Dance Vivillon, much less QD Lilligant.

- The physically defensive spread can be given more emphasis for its ability to actually handle Sawk, while also checking mixed Shiftry. In fact the spread is notable enough to be considered as an "alternative", rather than "not the most optimal".
- The problem I have with defensive Altaria is that going max HP / max SpD does not help it at all. The majority of special attackers Altaria wants to wall either swat Altaria aside with Ice coverage (or just beat Altaria anyway) or lose outright even against an Altaria with minimal SpD investment, essentially what I would call 'wasted investment'. What I can recommend is a spread that lets Altaria function much better against physical attackers while still walling the special attackers it can, which is 248 HP / 148 Def / 112 SpD @ Calm nature. This lets Altaria always survive 2 Knock Offs from LO Shiftry, while still letting it take on the likes of Sawk and Pyroar; all require Stealth Rock off the field to achieve this however.

Anti-hazard support becomes almost mandatory, as Altaria's ability to take hits becomes incredibly diminished if SR is on the field.

Cotton Guard is barely even worth mentioning at this point; replace that mention with Heal Bell for a mono-attacking bulky boosting set that achieves similiar (lackluster) results.

- Ice-types should be renamed to Ice-type moves in general, as HP Ice and Ice Beam from pretty much anything shut Altaria down. Of course, more emphasis should be placed on Ice-types themselves; also add Articuno into the list.
- None of the Pokemon you mentioned are specially defensive at all (for that matter, standard Xatu will die to Specs Draco ~50% of the time); they just happen to have good Special Defense and have recovery, which is what this section should be renamed to as well (Lanturn may have good SpD but it's not winning against Altaria without Ice Beam). Edit: Actually, since not much examples come to mind, you can probably just scrap this section altogether.
- You can instead add a new section for Rock-types and Stealth Rock separately. Offensive Rock-types such as Rock Polish Rhydon, Barbaracle, and Carracosta can set up on a -2 SpA / Fire Blast-locked Altaria and swiftly KO it. Stealth Rock in general greatly hampers Altaria as well.

fixed it, thanks!

 

[Punchshroom]

You should actually list examples of Fairy-types, like Mega Audino, Mr. Mime, Mawile, Clefairy, etc.

QC 1/3

 

[Pokedots]

[OVERVIEW]

• Decent defensive typing in Dragon-Flying don't mention the actual typing. I'd also mention what specifically makes it a good typing, letting it be one of the few counters to Magmortar and Combusken and countering stuff like SD Samurott
• Only fully-evolved Dragon-type in the tier
• has solid offensive power with Choice Specs-boosted Draco Meteor, not too offensively threatening apart from that mention it's (perfect?) coverage with Fire Blast. Mention how its offensive stats are very medicore
• Sp. Def set can take on Lilligant, Vivillon and most of the Fire-Types in the tier pretty well mention its good defenses when making this point
• Can take on threats like Hariyama and Sawk with a physically defensive spread
• Weak to Stealth Rock, which impacts its ability to switch into attacks by a lot
• 4x-Weakness to Ice is easily exploitable as most Water- and Grass-types run Ice Beam or HP Ice for coverage
• Good support moves in Heal Bell, Roar and Haze
• Reliable recovery in Roost, can freely hold Leftovers without any drawbacks delete the second half of this line, every non-mega pokemon can hold lefties without drawbacks
• Depending on the set, can be set-up fodder for bulky set-up pokémon

you should mention Natural Cure somewhere, which lets it pivot into status moves for offensive teams, and it's obv very useful for the defensive set

also add something about its Speed, as while it leaves it outsped by common offensive pokemon such as Tauros and Scyther, it also lets it outspeed important threats such as Samurott


[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Dragon Pulse
move 4: Rest / Sleep Talk
item: Choice Specs
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Modest
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Draco Meteor is Altaria's most powerful attack, doing massive damage to anything that doesn't resist it
• Fire Blast is for Steel-types that resist Draco Meteor, like Ferroseed, Steelix or Klinklang
• Dragon Pulse is for situations in which you can't afford to drop your SpA by 2 stages. It is not always necessary but Altaria doesn't learn any notable coverage that it can effectively use
• Rest is used to recover Altaria's HP and then switch out. Natural Cure makes it so that whenever Altaria switches in again, it's status ailment will be removed
• Sleep Talk can be used over rest as a Sleep absorber, but with Natural Cure, the sleep will be gone when you switch out and your opponent can put another pokémon to sleep [not really sure, the phrase seems out of place]

Set Details
========

• Max Speed and Max Sp. Atk, combined with a Modest Nature make the best of Altaria's offensive stats
• Natural Cure works well with Rest as it clears the sleep turns and makes Altaria a good status absorber in general, being able to switch in on Will-o-Wisp and Scald
• Cloud Nine can be used to be a better check to Rain-teams but Natural Cure is almost always the better option I'd get rid of this and move it to oo
• Life Orb can be ran over Choice Specs, but the power that Choice Specs gives, combined with not taking 1/10 of your health every turn makes it less viable as Altaria wears itself down a lot faster, making its job as offensive pivot way harder I'd probably move this to oo, and make sure to mention Roost alongside with it

Usage Tips
========

• Altaria is mainly used as an offensive pivot to Status-users like Weezing, Vileplume, Gourgeist, or Rotom, while also being able to check offensive threats like SD Samurott, Combusken and Magmortar due to its typing

you need to like, add stuff to this. Mention how Draco Meteor is by far its most spammable move as it nails most switch ins. Say to use Fire Blast when predicting a switch to Steel types such as Steelix and Ferroseed. And say that when faced with a counter such as Mega Audino and Clefairy, it's best to just hard switch. You might also want to add a point about the right moment to use Rest (when it's weakened but still has stuff to check) but that its sap of momentum can be dangerous

Team Options
=========

• Offensive Pokémon that hate dealing with fast Fire- or Fighting-types like Shiftry and special Skuntank are good partners for this set as they help break eachothers checks and counters down to clear the way for one of Altaria's partners or another team member mention how they can give it Defog support in return
• Combusken does well too as a partner, especially vs. offensive teams, as it can sweep far easier after Altaria has put holes in the opposing team why combusken specifically, and not any other sweeper. Mention Pokemon that appreciate bulky Pokemon such as Musharna and Mantine or Steel-types such as Steelix and Ferroseed (Altaria lures them with Fire Blast) weakened, such as Combusken, Mawile, and Swellow
• offensive Pokémon that hate dealing with status-users (Sawk, Archeops, Rotom mention Shiftry over Rotom) like Vileplume, Quagsire or Gourgeist are good partners as Altaria can check those Pokémon add Weezing to this list
• Pokémon that deal with Mega Audino are very good partners as Mega Audino completely walls Altaria give examples (Garbodor, Steelix, Mawile, etc.)

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Roost
move 2: Heal Bell
move 3: Dragon Pulse / Dragon Claw
move 4: Flamethrower / Haze / Toxic
item: Leftovers
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Calm
evs: 248 HP / 148 Def / 112 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Roost gives Altaria a lot more longevity, as it can repeatedly take hits and Roost of heavy hits of damage.
• Heal Bell is really useful for longevity for Altaria and gives good support for the rest of the team. say specifically that it cures status
• Dragon Pulse is the main STAB-move. Not too strong but can pick off weakened pokémon.
• Flamethrower hits pokémon that otherwise completely wall Altaria and easily set-up on it, like Ferroseed, Klinklang and Steelix.
• Haze can be used over Flamethrower to get rid of any positive boosts your opponent has, like a Quiver Dance from Vivillon / Lilligant, or a Shift gear from Klinklang. Is very useful for Musharna.
• Toxic can also be used, as it handles with Set-Up sweepers like Samurott better than Haze does Musharna and bulky stuff such as Mantine are much better examples. This set already counters SD Samurott and you're better off using Dragon Pulse against it since it might even have Lum Berry.
• Dragon Claw can be used over Dragon Pulse to do more damage to QD users in Lilligant and Vivillon, as Dragon Pulse fails to do any noticable damage after a Sp. Def boost

Set Details
========

• 248 HP is chosen to let Altaria live 1 more switchin to Stealth Rocks, meaning it can come in 4 times while Stealth Rocks are on the field rather than 3
• a spread of 248 HP / 148 Def / 112 SpD lets Altaria always survive 2 Knock Offs from mixed Shiftry, while still letting it take on Sawk and Pyroar when Stealth Rock are not on the field
• A spread of 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD can be used as an alternative, to handle with threats like Sawk and mixed Shiftry
• Leftovers are chosen because they are very useful for checking special attackers. Leftovers gives Altaria a bit more freedom, as it won't have to Roost that often
• Natural Cure is chosen for pokémon with Sleep Powder like Lilligant and Vivillon

Usage Tips
========

• Altaria can be used as a defensive pivot on Balance/Semi-Stall teams that struggle with strong Fire- and Fighting-types and need Heal Bell support
• Pairs well with Pokémon that rely on not getting Statused to wall the things that it's supposed to wall, like M-Audino and Musharna

Team Options
=========

• bulky Steel-types like Steelix are sgood partner for this set as they cover eachothers weaknesses in Ice, Fire, Ground, Fighting etc.
• Musharna and Mesprit are good partners as they are mostly punished by status and fighting-types with Knock Off, both of which Altaria can handle pretty well
• Anti Hazard support is necessary as Altaria fails to check the things that it's supposed to check when Stealth Rock are on the field

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
===========

• A set consisting of Dragon Dance, Outrage, Earthquake and Roost can be used as a physical late-game sweeper, however it is easily walled and still quite weak, even after a couple of boosts
• a set of Dragon Dance, Dragon Claw/Outrage, Roost and Heal Bell can be used as a bulky boosting set, but it is hardcountered by a lot of Pokémon and gives very underwhelming results

Checks and Counters
===================

• Fairy-types: Fairy-types like Mega Audino, Clefairy, Mawile and Mr. Mime are immune to Altaria's most spammable move in Draco Meteor and are generally bulky enough to handle any coverage (Fire Blast, Earthquake)
• Ice-type moves: Altaria's 4x weakness to ice makes it vulnerable to Ice-type coverage in the likes of Ice Beam, Ice Punch or HP Ice mention Pokemon that commonly carry it, such as Sceptile, Lanturn, and special Samurott. the Ice-types in the tier (Aurorus, Cryogonal, Jynx, Articuno etc) all OHKO it with ease
• Rock-Types: Offensive Rock-types like Rhydon or Carracosta can easily set-up on a -2 SpA Altaria and even easier on the defensive set, and easily OHKO it with a Stone Edge after that
• Stealth Rock: Altaria's walling capabilities are hindered by Stealth Rock a lot, as it is unable to check the things that it's supposed to check when Stealth Rock are on the field

2/3

 

[Shadestep]

2/3

done, thanks! will write everything down now

 

[Blast]

shadestep when will this be written by?

 

[Shadestep]

shadestep when will this be written by?

I was very busy with school the last 2 weeks, my excuses. Will try to finish this tomorrow

 

[Shadestep]

this is finally written up, sorry it took so long

 

[ManOfMany]

can you mention Power Swap in OO? It would be used along with a Modest Life Orb set with moves Draco, Fire Blast, Roost, Power Swap. What it does is restore Altaria's SpA to normal after using Draco while halving the SpA of the switch-in. It can help it power past bulky SpD mons like Mantine easily (along with Natural Cure)

 

[Shadestep]

can you mention Power Swap in OO? It would be used along with a Modest Life Orb set with moves Draco, Fire Blast, Roost, Power Swap. What it does is restore Altaria's SpA to normal after using Draco while halving the SpA of the switch-in. It can help it power past bulky SpD mons like Mantine easily (along with Natural Cure)

implemented, thanks

 

[marilli]

Isn't defensive altaria a poor fighting-type resist? Unless you mean a Fire + Fighting coverage resist (like Focus Blast Magmortar) in which case you should rephrase that to be more clear.

 

[Punchshroom]

Isn't defensive altaria a poor good fighting-type resist? Unless you mean a Fire + Fighting coverage resist (like Focus Blast Magmortar) in which case you should rephrase that to be more clear.

Dafuq does 'poor good' mean? Stop confusing this poor man.

252+ Atk Choice Band Sawk Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 148 Def Altaria: 146-172 (41.3 - 48.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Sawk Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 248 HP / 148 Def Altaria: 158-186 (44.7 - 52.6%)

It's not the best like things such as Pelipper, Weezing, or Colbur Mush / SuperGeist, but it's still pretty respectable for a Fighting resist, though having another (less dedicated) Fighting resist on the team would help lighten the load.

 

[Shadestep]

can someone give me the 3rd check :p its been at 2/3 for ages and Kiyo is ded D:

 

[erisia]

For the Defensive set, you should elaborate in the Usage Tips about when it should be switched in and under what circumstances it should try and use its different utility moves. For example, it should only switch into slow boosting Pokemon that it can Haze before they can get a boosted attack off, which could KO Altaria or force it out. Also, in Team Options, you should mention specific anti-hazard supporters that synergize well with Altaria.

I don't really know enough about Altaria to stamp this, but you should probably do a quick clean-up for some of the writing, as there's lots of quirks in your writing style that the GP team probably won't like. I'd highly recommend having a look at the Spelling and Grammar Standards thread to get a better idea of what I'm talking about.

 

[Bouff]

might wanna give a little mention of roar on the defensive set, does pretty well on spikestacking balances and generally does the same thing as haze..messing with mauds wishes is also cool

 

[Shadestep]

For the Defensive set, you should elaborate in the Usage Tips about when it should be switched in and under what circumstances it should try and use its different utility moves. For example, it should only switch into slow boosting Pokemon that it can Haze before they can get a boosted attack off, which could KO Altaria or force it out. Also, in Team Options, you should mention specific anti-hazard supporters that synergize well with Altaria.

I don't really know enough about Altaria to stamp this, but you should probably do a quick clean-up for some of the writing, as there's lots of quirks in your writing style that the GP team probably won't like. I'd highly recommend having a look at the Spelling and Grammar Standards thread to get a better idea of what I'm talking about.

might wanna give a little mention of roar on the defensive set, does pretty well on spikestacking balances and generally does the same thing as haze..messing with mauds wishes is also cool

implemented, thanks

 

[erisia]

Okay, if no-one else objects I think this is ready for GP. I think bolts has some more comments he wants to add, so watch this space.

QC 3/3

 

[boltsandbombers]

Hi sorry for being lazy getting around to this.

Overview

It needs to be emphasized how much competition Altaria faces from Sliggoo from both an offensive and defensive standpoint. Defensively, not being weak to SR is huge and it is significantly bulkier with Eviolite. Furthermore, Sliggoo has a much more practical ability than Altaria because its ability requires it to switch out in order for it to activate, which forces you to take SR damage in the worst case scenario. Offensively, Altaria relies on 2 move coverage while Sligoo's offensive movepool is almost superior, and while it does not have Fire Blast it has Muddy Water which hits the main Steel type in the tier hard.

Specs

Altaria is mainly used as an offensive switch-in to status-users like Weezing, Vileplume, Gourgeist or Rotom,

I don't think Altaria is a good Rotom switch in because it just gets Volt Switched on, the other examples are good tho.

While Draco Meteor is your most spammable moves, always be wary of set-up pokémon that can set up on a -2 Sp. Atk Altaria.

Give some examples of what can set up on it.

Defog support is pretty much necessary because Altaria's loses its ability to be an offensive pivot otherwise.

I don't really think hazard removal is absolutely necessary, reword that to say thats its really beneficial and add examples.

Also, Pokémon that deal with Mega Audino are necessary, because it completely walls Altaria.

Mention some examples here.

I talked with the QC team and we decided that defensive isnt worth a set because of the reasons stated earlier, Sliggoo is almost always preferred on defensive builds and defensive Altaria is just really weak and passive, stacking a stealth rock weakness with the inevitable Pelipper on stall/fat teams really hurts as well. As such, just axe the entire set's descriptions and make defensive the second mention in OO (DD is definitely better).

C&C

This needs a fair bit of expanding.

Fairy types - how do they threaten in return? Mega Audino uses Altaria as fodder to pass wishes or set up calm minds, Clefairy does the latter as well.

Change Ice-type moves to Ice-types, since the Ice-type Pokemon themselves are just as equally threatening to Altaria as Ice-type coverage moves are. When you add examples of Ice-types, be sure to specify which have an easier time switching in than others (ie Piloswine can take two Dracos while frailer ones like Jynx cannot switch in).

Add a section for Steel-types; while they obviously cannot reliably switch in to Altaria in fear of Fire Blast they prevent it from spamming Draco Meteor freely.

Shell Smash Carracosta is no longer viable and not worth mentioning here. I think you could probably ditch the Rock-types section because Barbaracle still takes half from -2 Draco Meteor, meaning it is not free setup.

If you have any other questions ask me on PS, apologies again for the wait.