[overview]
**Draft order**: Late round 1 onwards
**Price range**: 16-17 points
**Overview**: With an excellent Special Attack stat, powerful STAB moves, and a good Speed stat, Latios is an effective wallbreaker, pivot, cleaner, and form of speed control. It also has access to utility options like Trick and Thunder Wave, which it can use to catch the opponent off guard and potentially hinder a foe. Although it resists common types like Fighting, Fire, and Water, its weakness to other common types like Dragon, Ghost, and Ice, as well as its low Defense, leaves it vulnerable to many offensive threats.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Wallbreaker**: With Choice Specs and powerful STAB moves in Draco Meteor, Luster Purge, and Psyshock, Latios can rip massive holes in teams. Aura Sphere allows it to break through most Steel-types that would otherwise resist its STAB combination.
**Speed control**: Latios's good Speed stat lets it use a Choice Scarf to outspeed and threaten a plethora of offensive threats, making it a good revenge killer and late-game cleaner; it can also pivot teammates in with Flip Turn.
**Setup sweeper**: Latios can use a setup set with Agility to outspeed the opponent's offensive threats. Calm Mind can also be useful against bulkier teams, with the Special Defense boost also helping it survive attacks from them. While niche, Weakness Policy can let Latios boost to deadly levels off of a single attack.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB moves**: Draco Meteor, Dragon Pulse, Luster Purge, Psyshock, Psychic Noise, Stored Power
**Setup moves**: Calm Mind, Agility
**Utility moves**: Flip Turn, Trick, Thunder Wave, Recover, Memento, Roar, Substitute, Tailwind
**Coverage**: Aura Sphere, Thunderbolt, Energy Ball, Ice Beam, Surf, Shadow Ball
Niche Moves
========
**Future Sight**: Future Sight can be used with entry hazard support to force the foe to switch and accumulate extra chip damage or to help a teammate break through a check.
**Reflect and Light Screen**: In the rare matchups where Latios struggles offensively, Latios can run a lead set with Light Clay, dual screens, and Memento to support its teammates.
**Earthquake**: Earthquake can hit Heatran for a significant amount of damage.
Common Items
========
**Choice Specs**: Choice Specs is Latios's best item if acting as a wallbreaker, letting it do massive damage without the need to set up.
**Choice Scarf**: With Choice Scarf, Latios can act as excellent speed control with its good Speed stat, letting it outspeed and threaten many offensive Pokemon, including many setup sweepers at +1, making it a great revenge killer.
**Life Orb**: While not quite as strong as Choice Specs, Life Orb allows Latios to switch between its moves at the cost of recoil damage.
**Resistance Berry**: Calm Mind sets can use resistance Berries to grant more setup opportunities; Colbur Berry is a great option due to it further decreasing Knock Off's power.
Niche Items
========
**Soul Dew**: If Latios is not running any coverage moves, Soul Dew can be used to increase the power of its attacks without any drawbacks.
**Weakness Policy**: Weakness Policy can be used on setup sets alongside Stored Power and Agility to boost Latios to deadly levels in a single turn.
**Mental Herb**: Mental Herb allows Latios to freely set up against most Taunt and Encore users.
**Lum Berry**: Lum Berry can be used on Calm Mind sets as a one-time means to absorb status moves like Thunder Wave and Toxic.
**Light Clay**: If Latios is running dual screens, Light Clay can be used to further support its teammates.
Tera
========
Latios is usually banned from being a Tera Captain. However, if Latios is allowed to Terastallize, then it is an excellent Tera Captain. Offensive Tera types like Tera Dragon and Tera Psychic can be used to increase the power of its STAB moves, but other Tera types can be used for coverage moves. Defensively, Tera Fairy removes many of Latios's weaknesses; Tera Steel, Tera Electric, and Tera Poison also give it few weaknesses thanks to Levitate nullifying Ground-type moves.
Draft Strategy
========
Latios is a great fit for drafts looking for a top-tier special wallbreaker, pivot, and speed control, as its solid defensive typing coupled with Levitate affords it several switches throughout the game. Drafts with Latios should be built around maximizing its potential; its teammates should help it with wallbreaking and cleaning, as these are the two most common roles Latios performs.
**Fast teammates**: While Latios can be good speed control with Choice Scarf, doing so significantly reduces its wallbreaking power. Therefore, fast teammates like Greninja and Tornadus-T are great partners, as they can let it act as a wallbreaker instead and benefit from Latios weakening special walls.
**Physical wallbreakers**: Physical wallbreakers like Sneasler and Baxcalibur can weaken opposing walls for Latios, allowing it to easily clean late-game.
**Entry hazard setters**: Latios appreciates Stealth Rock support from the likes of Landorus-T and Excadrill as well as Spikes support from teammates like Meowscarada and Clodsire, as they help chip down special walls for Latios to break through.
**Entry hazard removal**: Latios dislikes taking Stealth Rock chip, as it frequently switches in to threaten the foe. Therefore, entry hazard removers like Iron Treads are greatly appreciated.
**Fairy and Dark resistances**: Latios has little defensive utility and struggles against many Fairy- and Dark-types, so teammates that resist them like Galarian Slowking and Ting-Lu, respectively, are appreciated; Galarian Slowking can also safely pivot Latios in with Chilly Reception.
Checks and Counters
========
**Faster Pokemon**: Foes like Roaring Moon and Meowscarada naturally outspeed Latios and can OHKO it; they can also use Choice Scarf to outspeed Latios even if it has a Choice Scarf of its own.
**Priority moves**: Latios is weak to priority moves like Ice Shard, Sucker Punch, and Shadow Sneak; common users of them include Weavile, Urshifu-S, and Ceruledge, respectively.
**Steel-types**: Many Steel-types like Gholdengo, Metagross, and Scizor resist Latios's STAB moves, can take a coverage move from Latios, and can threaten it back.
**Fairy-types**: While many Fairy-types dislike switching into Latios's Psychic-type moves, they can block its Dragon-type STAB moves and threaten significant damage back.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/kinetic.552227/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/nyx.564960/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/celestiial.613399/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/abriel.473082/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ken.594478/
**Draft order**: Late round 1 onwards
**Price range**: 16-17 points
**Overview**: With an excellent Special Attack stat, powerful STAB moves, and a good Speed stat, Latios is an effective wallbreaker, pivot, cleaner, and form of speed control. It also has access to utility options like Trick and Thunder Wave, which it can use to catch the opponent off guard and potentially hinder a foe. Although it resists common types like Fighting, Fire, and Water, its weakness to other common types like Dragon, Ghost, and Ice, as well as its low Defense, leaves it vulnerable to many offensive threats.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Wallbreaker**: With Choice Specs and powerful STAB moves in Draco Meteor, Luster Purge, and Psyshock, Latios can rip massive holes in teams. Aura Sphere allows it to break through most Steel-types that would otherwise resist its STAB combination.
**Speed control**: Latios's good Speed stat lets it use a Choice Scarf to outspeed and threaten a plethora of offensive threats, making it a good revenge killer and late-game cleaner; it can also pivot teammates in with Flip Turn.
**Setup sweeper**: Latios can use a setup set with Agility to outspeed the opponent's offensive threats. Calm Mind can also be useful against bulkier teams, with the Special Defense boost also helping it survive attacks from them. While niche, Weakness Policy can let Latios boost to deadly levels off of a single attack.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB moves**: Draco Meteor, Dragon Pulse, Luster Purge, Psyshock, Psychic Noise, Stored Power
**Setup moves**: Calm Mind, Agility
**Utility moves**: Flip Turn, Trick, Thunder Wave, Recover, Memento, Roar, Substitute, Tailwind
**Coverage**: Aura Sphere, Thunderbolt, Energy Ball, Ice Beam, Surf, Shadow Ball
Niche Moves
========
**Future Sight**: Future Sight can be used with entry hazard support to force the foe to switch and accumulate extra chip damage or to help a teammate break through a check.
**Reflect and Light Screen**: In the rare matchups where Latios struggles offensively, Latios can run a lead set with Light Clay, dual screens, and Memento to support its teammates.
**Earthquake**: Earthquake can hit Heatran for a significant amount of damage.
Common Items
========
**Choice Specs**: Choice Specs is Latios's best item if acting as a wallbreaker, letting it do massive damage without the need to set up.
**Choice Scarf**: With Choice Scarf, Latios can act as excellent speed control with its good Speed stat, letting it outspeed and threaten many offensive Pokemon, including many setup sweepers at +1, making it a great revenge killer.
**Life Orb**: While not quite as strong as Choice Specs, Life Orb allows Latios to switch between its moves at the cost of recoil damage.
**Resistance Berry**: Calm Mind sets can use resistance Berries to grant more setup opportunities; Colbur Berry is a great option due to it further decreasing Knock Off's power.
Niche Items
========
**Soul Dew**: If Latios is not running any coverage moves, Soul Dew can be used to increase the power of its attacks without any drawbacks.
**Weakness Policy**: Weakness Policy can be used on setup sets alongside Stored Power and Agility to boost Latios to deadly levels in a single turn.
**Mental Herb**: Mental Herb allows Latios to freely set up against most Taunt and Encore users.
**Lum Berry**: Lum Berry can be used on Calm Mind sets as a one-time means to absorb status moves like Thunder Wave and Toxic.
**Light Clay**: If Latios is running dual screens, Light Clay can be used to further support its teammates.
Tera
========
Latios is usually banned from being a Tera Captain. However, if Latios is allowed to Terastallize, then it is an excellent Tera Captain. Offensive Tera types like Tera Dragon and Tera Psychic can be used to increase the power of its STAB moves, but other Tera types can be used for coverage moves. Defensively, Tera Fairy removes many of Latios's weaknesses; Tera Steel, Tera Electric, and Tera Poison also give it few weaknesses thanks to Levitate nullifying Ground-type moves.
Draft Strategy
========
Latios is a great fit for drafts looking for a top-tier special wallbreaker, pivot, and speed control, as its solid defensive typing coupled with Levitate affords it several switches throughout the game. Drafts with Latios should be built around maximizing its potential; its teammates should help it with wallbreaking and cleaning, as these are the two most common roles Latios performs.
**Fast teammates**: While Latios can be good speed control with Choice Scarf, doing so significantly reduces its wallbreaking power. Therefore, fast teammates like Greninja and Tornadus-T are great partners, as they can let it act as a wallbreaker instead and benefit from Latios weakening special walls.
**Physical wallbreakers**: Physical wallbreakers like Sneasler and Baxcalibur can weaken opposing walls for Latios, allowing it to easily clean late-game.
**Entry hazard setters**: Latios appreciates Stealth Rock support from the likes of Landorus-T and Excadrill as well as Spikes support from teammates like Meowscarada and Clodsire, as they help chip down special walls for Latios to break through.
**Entry hazard removal**: Latios dislikes taking Stealth Rock chip, as it frequently switches in to threaten the foe. Therefore, entry hazard removers like Iron Treads are greatly appreciated.
**Fairy and Dark resistances**: Latios has little defensive utility and struggles against many Fairy- and Dark-types, so teammates that resist them like Galarian Slowking and Ting-Lu, respectively, are appreciated; Galarian Slowking can also safely pivot Latios in with Chilly Reception.
Checks and Counters
========
**Faster Pokemon**: Foes like Roaring Moon and Meowscarada naturally outspeed Latios and can OHKO it; they can also use Choice Scarf to outspeed Latios even if it has a Choice Scarf of its own.
**Priority moves**: Latios is weak to priority moves like Ice Shard, Sucker Punch, and Shadow Sneak; common users of them include Weavile, Urshifu-S, and Ceruledge, respectively.
**Steel-types**: Many Steel-types like Gholdengo, Metagross, and Scizor resist Latios's STAB moves, can take a coverage move from Latios, and can threaten it back.
**Fairy-types**: While many Fairy-types dislike switching into Latios's Psychic-type moves, they can block its Dragon-type STAB moves and threaten significant damage back.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/kinetic.552227/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/nyx.564960/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/celestiial.613399/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/abriel.473082/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ken.594478/
Last edited:
