Community POTW #023

[Serebii]

This week we are going to Hoenn for the Pokémon of the Week!

It's Altaria!

Altaria #334 - Serebii.net Pokédex

Altaria Pokémon Serebii.net Pokédex providing all details on moves, stats, abilities, evolution data and locations for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet

www.serebii.net

 

[KyogreThunder]

Altaria
Modest nature
@Life Orb/Heavy-Duty Boots
EVs: 252 Speed/4 HP/252 SpAtk
Ability: Natural Cure
-Draco Meteor
-Flamethrower
-Hurricane/Moonblast
-Roost
Altaria
Adamant nature
@Life Orb/Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Attack/252 Speed/4 HP
-Dragon Dance
-Brave Bird
-Dragon Claw
-Roost/Defog
Shame the Megas have been removed, as regular Altaria is just not that useful.

 

[XaelOstigian]

Altaria is hands down one of my favorite Pokemon not just from gen 3, but of all time. Not by virtue of its stats or competitive value though, since it is arguably the weakest of all the fully evolved Dragon types, but just because I love it's design. It's a giant blue bird with clouds for wings which is both creative and adorable. It's pre-evolution Swablu is also mega adorable, and according to its early Dex entries it cleans surfaces with its wings and then washes them off in a river. That is an adorable viral video waiting to happen! I also remember the one Swablu from the anime that got lost from its flock that May ended up taking care of, but sadly did not catch since it reunited with its flock by episode end. Why!? Those two were so perfect for each other and Swablu->Altaria would have complimented her team perfectly!

https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemon/comments/b6icd8 Altaria was so popular it even got a mega evolution in ORAS which somehow made it even floofier, gave it Dragon/Fairy typing, and made it a mainstay threat in the metagame at the time.

Sadly mega evolution is gone and Altaria sadly faded back into obscurity. But I however will keep my love alive for this fluffy cloud bird even if competitive players dunk on it.

Why is this Cloud Bird a Dragon?
Ability: Natural Cure
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Impish
EVs: (HP 252) (Def 152) (Sp. Def 104)
Tera Type: Dragon or Steel

Moves:
Dragon Dance
Roost
Dragon Claw
Earthquake

Set Details:
A bulky sweeper? Yeah, the basic idea behind this set is to set up as many Dragon Dances as possible while relying on Altaria's natural bulk and Roost until you have enough speed and power to become a surprise threat. Dragon Claw is your most reliable STAB and Earthquake is your best coverage option against the Steel types and at least most Fairy types. Leftovers provides extra recovery, Natural Cure is useful for shedding status afflictions provided you are okay losing your stacked Dragon Dances, stat investment goes all into bulk (Feel free to tweak the numbers as needed), and Tera typing can go to either Dragon for extra power, or Steel to make you a better defensive type and a counter against opposing Ice, Rock, Dragon, or Fairy types.

Alto Aria of Annihilation
Ability: Natural Cure
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Bold/Impish
EVs: (HP 252) (Def 152) (Sp. Def 104)
Tera Type: Steel

Moves:
Perish Song
Fire Spin
Roost
Protect/Dragon Claw/Will-O-Wisp/Cotton Guard

Set Details:
A Perish Song trapper. Set up Perish Song, trap the opponent using Fire Spin, and Roost keeps you healthy and allows you to stall for turns. The last moveslot is a matter of preference. Protect burns an extra turn and allows you to scout, Dragon Claw gives you at least some offensive presence if Taunted, Will-O-Wisp punishes physical attackers which helps your teammates if you fall early, and Cotton Guard boosts your physical defense to absurd levels making a physical KO against you a chore. Leftovers for passive recovery again, bulky stat build, Natural Cure sheds unwanted status once you swap out, and Steel Tera for better defensive typing against key counters.

I am still a proud Altaria fan even if it gets snubbed within its own generation by Flygon and Salamence, and continues to be snubbed to this day. It's cute, it's fluffy, it sings beautifully, and I am a proud owner of a golden shiny one. So the competitive players can bite me!

 

[Mestorn]

Altaria, the floofiest dragon of them all, and many a people's favorite especially after seeing the adorable Swablu outside of Meteor Falls... which then turns into nightmares when Winona's Altaria several hours later wrecks your team with Dragon Dance and Earthquake. And while Altaria has starred as a boss another two times (as one of Lovrina's Ace's in XD, and as Grusha's Terastalation target in Scarlet/Violet), neither has been as impressive as Altaria's first outing, which sadly says a lot about Altaria.

Altaria has a lot going for it. Flying Dragon is a Classic typing that gives many Pokémon trouble, and while Dragon types movepools range from "better than average" to "I have no idea what this is going to do", Altaria firmly falls into the latter camp, able to be a physical sweeper with Dragon Dance, a Special Attacker with its absurd Special Movepool, a supporting wall with Defog, Haze and Roost or a Perish Trapper with Fire Spin and Perish Song.

Problem is, Altaria does none of these roles particularly well due to its rather poor BST. Yes, 75/90/105 defenses are good, but a quadruple weakness to Ice is a massive achilles heel. And Altaria's impressive movepool has taken a few hits throughout the years. The loss of Heal Bell (Tutor in USUM) and Toxic (TM in Gen 7) hurts a lot, forcing Altaria to being passive in defensive roles.

Upon Wings of Cloud
Altaria
-Defog
-Roost
-Will-O-Wisp
-Hurricane
Ability: Natural Cure
Item: Heavy Duty Boots
Tera Type: Steel
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)

Altaria acts similarly to Corviknight with this set as a dedicated Wall and Hazard remover. Use Heavy Duty Boots to safely switch in and clear away your opponent's entry hazards with Defog. Use Roost so Altaria can do so repeatedly as well as pivot into a plethora of Special Attackers such as Charizard, Arboliva, Bellibolt, Salazzle, etc. Will-O-Wisp ensures that physical attackers aren't safe either, dropping many of them into manageable levels for Altaria. Hurricane prevents Altaria from becoming Taunt bait and has rather impressive power, doing appreciable damage to anything that isn't resistant/a dedicated wall. Will-O-Wisp and Hurricane also pair well with Defog, as Defog's evasion drop addresses their Accuracy Issues.

Natural Cure is abilitiy of Choice, enabling Altaria to absorb status without issue and preventing it from being worn down by Toxic.

Tera Steel is recommended. Steel resists all of Altaria's weaknesses, so it can be a good pivot point in a pinch, though Altaria only threatens Fighting types with this set and losing the Fire resistance does hurt.