Latios
Hi, guys. What do you guys think of Latios's potential in this game? I think he's in an interesting position. His stats are 268 ATK, 228 DEF, 160 STA, and his max CP is 3644 CP, higher than both Dragonite and Salamence, so not too shabby.
I think Latios will be a slightly better attacker than Dragonite/Salamence, considering he has the coveted DB/DC moveset that has become legacy for Dragonite. Not to mention, he can even know Solarbeam, so that'll be fun to deal with lol. Certainly not the best Dragon type, Rayquaza holds that title, but Latios will most likely be an excellent generalist and, like Dragonite, a top pick for many situations.
What about Latios as a Psychic type? Think he might give Mewtwo a run for its money as the best Psychic type in the game? Latios can learn ZH as a quick move, so not as fast as PC, but not too slow like Confusion, just in between, and Psychic as his charge move, which I hear is nowhere near as good as FS. His attack power isn't too far off Mewtwo's, and he's also bulkier than Mewtwo, so he will last longer, but will be susceptible to Ice/Dragon types, which Mewtwo is neutral against.
Answers
it's got an interesting moveset. Ultimately though Latios, Dragonite and Salamence won't matter when RayQueza appears.
I used to spend a lot of effort looking for dratinis, all the grinding i've ever done seems pointless when Niantic just let people buy legendaries.
That's why i intend to stay retired. Being gifted the best pokemon that easy isn't for me.
Latios will make an incredibly good Dragon-type attacker. A godsend for those of us that lost out on a legacy Dragonite. I like that it distinguishes itself from Rayquaza in the superior dodging capabilities against raw damage, and it looks like it may be a bit tankier too (at the expense of different resistances due to typing).
Latios as a Psychic attacker would be a different story. Mewtwo's best Psychic capabilities are with Shadow Ball due to its superior power, comparable even against targets weak to Psychic. Mewtwo has a far edge over Latios in terms of attack power. Latios would be one of the bulkiest Psychic type attackers, and is best comparable to ZH/P Metagross. Metagross is slightly tankier, while Latios has a slight edge in offensive power. I would say they compare to each other like Espeon and Alakazam (Latios being Alakazam) if it weren't for their types being so vastly different. Steel and Dragon both resist a ton of types and have some very key weaknesses.
It just depends on what your definition of "the best attacker" is. Latios is bulker than Mewtwo and has a lot more resistances to common types (something which hinders Mewtwo's role as the premier generalist), but Latios isn't THAT much bulkier than Mewtwo statwise (though it is considerably more potion-efficient). Latios as a Psychic attacker also only has a one-bar move.
Personally, I think Mewtwo makes for the best Psychic attacker still. If you're looking for a bulky Psychic attacker, I think Metagross will be a safer investment since it resists more types that a Psychic type would run into and is a bit more bulky. If I was lucky enough to get 2 Latios, I would certainly spec Psychic moves into one of them.
Latios is going to make an incredible Dragon attacker.
Well said! Definitely agree that Latios and Metagross will be the tankier Psychic versions of Alakazam and Espeon. Dragon/Psychic will certainly make Latios an excellent addition to our attacking team!
Also agree that Mewtwo will still stand as the premier Psychic type. As for a bulky Psychic attacker, I have my Lugia serving that role (for now, at least). Latios might serve better as a Dragon attacker than a Psychic attacker, since Psychic is his charge move.
Dragon Breath + Claw is good for dodging but it's cycle DPS is lacking in comparison to Dragon Tail + Outrage, a moveset that Dragonite has, as well as Rayquaza who also has better base stats.
It's stats aren't anything special. Really good, but not enough that they needed nerfing, and the Pokemon that did get their stats nerfed still have the best stats in the game.
Survivability and attack is comparable to Dragonite's, so it'll basically be a reskinned DB/DC Dragonite for those that weren't around to get one.
Both are slightly more survivable than Salamence, though not significant enough to offset the DPS loss when Draco Meteor has the same power per 100 energy as Dragon Claw but takes 3.6s compared to 5.1s and also has Dragon Tail.
We already know DT/O is better than DB/DC for DPS since Dragonite has those moves, and DT/DM Salamence will be too, so I don't see any reason to use it in raids.
As a Psychic type there's no way it'll stand up to Mewtwo. It's not even that much bulkier. The relative difference in Mewtwo's attack compared to Latias is higher than the relative difference in survivability, so Mewtwo's going to have similar total damage if not more, but also higher DPS.
Zen Headbutt is the redheaded stepchild of psychic type quick moves. Strictly worse than Extrasensory, lacks the DPS of Confusion and lacks the dodgability of Psycho Cut, and Psychic is a subpar move.
It'll most likely be the overall second best Psychic attacker but even then it probably won't have second highest DPS due to it's moveset while Alakazam will have Confusion + Future Sight.
Kind of unfortunate how literally every Psychic type but Mewtwo has some sort of flaw, whether it's stats, typing or moveset.
Very nice analysis! At best, Latios will be an excellent additional Dragon attacker, and will probably be able to sweep gyms just as good as Dragonite (and maybe Salamence) can. His role as a Psychic attacker is to be determined, but it looks like with the Psychic moves he has, Latios might be better served as a Dragon attacker. It'll also be interesting to see how Solarbeam will work for Latios, as well.
Mewtwo's 'flaw' is that he has Psychic instead of Future Sight, and his best attacking move, Shadow Ball, doesn't have STAB bonuses. Still pretty righteous, though.
It seems to be a common thread, that the really high CP mon get more general attacks that aren't optimized, while the more common mon get more optimized attacks so they can stay in the same zip code as the legendaries (not passing them, but still having utility).
And then all of that comes crashing down with Groudon and especially Kyogre.
Raikou and Zapdos made Electric a viable offensive type; Groudon will do likewise for the Ground type). Entei and Moltres make Flareon barely relevant. Mewtwo almost breaks the game.
Of course, there are flops like Suicune and, to a lesser extent, Ho-Oh, but I am not looking forward to Gyarados and Vaporeon becoming irrelevant when Kyogre comes.
"Entei and Moltres make Flareon barely relevant."
"Mewtwo almost breaks the game"
I beg to differ.
My fire army is all Flareons. Because Flareon is so easy to obtain! No dust needed, no rare candy needed.
For Raikou and Zapdos vs Jolteon, that is more true. The electric legendaries have a bigger advantage over Jolteon compared to fire legends over Flareon, where the advantage is just more bulk. If Jolteon could learn Wild Charge (it could in the main series in Gen 7), it would be a totally different story.
As for Mewtwo, it's exclusive. Few people have one to start with. And even those who have one, usually prefer Shadow Ball or Focus Blast.
For a perfect lineup to counter you still need 6 of one type. Most of us are not able to power up 6 Raikou/Zapdos or 6 Moltres/Entei. Probabaly one of each. Even if you fill your lineups with 2 maxed out generalists like Dragonite that still leaves two places in your lineup to fill with Flareon or Jolteon or sonething else like a Magneton or 100% Charizard.
