Soaring in Viability: Mega Latias and Mega Latios in OU

Art by LifeisDANK.

Introduction

Ever since Soul Dew was banned and the Eon duo was freed from Ubers, they have both been constantly displaying great success in OverUsed. However, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire introduced Mega Evolutions for both of them, which eventually ended up overcoming their base formes in their own ways. Mega Latias was instantly seen as superior to its base forme whereas Mega Latios took a bit longer to prove its value, but they ended up being premier choices in USM OU. Let's now take a deeper look at their current success in OU:

Mega Latias

HP 80

80 Atk 100

100 Def 120

120 SpA 140

140 SpD 150

150 Spe 110

Soaring Dreams

Possessing the ability to decimate weakened teams with the combination of Calm Mind, Recover, and Stored Power, Mega Latias is arguably one of USM's most threatening late-game sweepers. Its great stats all-around, including Speed, give it a big edge against other Calm Mind users, not to mention that Stored Power allows it to overcome opposing Calm Mind users provided there are no critical hits involved. For teams that already have other sweepers and need a reliable wall, Mega Latias can also run a set with Recover and three attacks, and it can also act as a reliable option for hazard removal with Defog. However, it's not all roses for Mega Latias, as its typing is somewhat of a letdown, letting common offensive types such as Fairy, Ice, and Dark threaten it; however, that can easily be circumvented with solid teammates, which will be covered later.

[Calm Mind Sweeper]

Latias @ Latiasite

Ability: Levitate

EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

- Calm Mind

- Recover

- Stored Power

- Substitute / Reflect Type

This is Mega Latias's main set; it's rather straightforward, with Calm Mind enabling it to be the deadly sweeper it is, Recover helping in the longevity department, and Stored Power devastating pretty much anything that doesn't resist it after a couple of Calm Minds. Substitute allows Mega Latias to dodge status-inducing moves, most notably Toxic from Heatran and Toxapex, which would stop its sweep, whereas Reflect Type allows it to set up on Steel-types such as Magearna. The last move can also be either Thunderbolt or Surf, as both have decent neutral coverage alongside Psychic-type moves and allow Mega Latias to touch Dark-types; still, Substitute variants can take care of those with Toxic Spikes support.

[Recover & 3 Attacks]

Latias @ Latiasite

Ability: Levitate

EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

- Recover

- Ice Beam

- Surf

- Hidden Power Fire

This is Mega Latias's secondary set, being a reliable wall for balance teams of all kinds. The choice of moves also gives it a surprising amount of offensive presence, with the deadly combo of Ice Beam, Surf, and Hidden Power Fire spreading super effective damage; Ice Beam hits mainly Gliscor, Landorus-T, Zygarde, and Tapu Bulu; Surf wears down Heatran and Tyranitar; and Hidden Power Fire OHKOes Kartana, 2HKOes Mega Scizor, and 3HKOes Ferrothorn. Psychic, Thunderbolt, Draco Meteor, Defog, and even the likes of Thunder Wave and Reflect Type are also possibilities for this set, which just goes to show how versatile Mega Latias can be sometimes.

Emotional Allies

Toxapex is a wonderful partner for Mega Latias. Toxic Spikes being up on the opposing side of the field is a blessing for Mega Latias, making it even tougher to take down and enabling Dark-types to get stalled out, which Mega Latias can't touch if it's running Substitute. Toxapex also provides valuable defensive synergy alongside Mega Latias, taking on the likes of Ash-Greninja, Mega Diancie, and Savage Spin-Out Volcarona, whereas Mega Latias tackles the likes of Gliscor and Heatran (if carrying Surf).

Clefable is a great teammate as well, as it is a great check to dangerous physical attackers such as Zygarde, Hawlucha, and Mega Heracross. Clefable is also an elite Stealth Rock setter, helping chip away at roadblocks to Mega Latias's Calm Mind set. Mega Latias, on the other hand, handles the likes of Heatran (again, if running Surf) and Victini for Clefable. Not to mention it can pivot into Mega Medicham's Zen Headbutt, which could take down Clefable otherwise.

Ferrothorn proves very helpful to Mega Latias's Calm Mind set with Spikes support, allowing most checks to get worn down, especially alongside Stealth Rock, and their defensive synergy is also outstanding: Ferrothorn handles Ash-Greninja, Tapu Koko, and Tapu Lele to some extent, whereas Mega Latias takes care of Heatran (again, only if running Surf), and Mega Lopunny (if running Psychic).

Conquering the Mist

Ever since Latiasite got released in late SM, Mega Latias quickly rose to viability when players started exploring its Calm Mind set, most notably with Stored Power, which wasn’t used all that often back in ORAS. With Latios being a lot more viable back then, Mega Latias suffered stiff competition to make a name for itself; it, of course, had its niche, but in SM, with Latios's usage and viability dropping a bit, Mega Latias was able to establish for itself a bigger niche as a Calm Mind user. On top of that, ORAS's more bulky offense-oriented metagame differs a bit from USM's more balance-centered one, where the latter is a much better environment for Mega Latias as opposed to the former. Not to mention the increased usage of Toxic Spikes in USM makes Mega Latias eve n more dangerous. Mega Latias also gathered great success in recent tournaments, further pushing it into the spotlight; its success can be greatly displayed on Eternal Spirit's and Empo's match for SPL 9.

Mega Latios

HP 80

80 Atk 130

130 Def 100

100 SpA 160

160 SpD 120

120 Spe 110

Soaring Illusions

With excellent attacking prowess, bulk, and Speed, Mega Latios solidifies itself as an elite pick in USM OU, and despite it having a very shady past, being outclassed by its base forme in ORAS, things actually reversed in USM OU, with regular Latios being outshined by its lustrous Mega Evolution; this topic will be covered more in depth later on this article. Back on topic, though, Mega Latios's key to success is, alongside the aforementioned great stats, its wide array of coverage options, letting it shred through common balance and bulky offense archetypes with the ideal support. Another great aspect of Mega Latios is the great defensive merit it carries for an offensive Pokémon; most balance and bulky offense teams severely struggle with Heatran, and the likes of Keldeo and Zapdos can also sometimes be problematic, yet Mega Latios is capable of handling those without being passive and thus grabbing momentum for the archetypes it's commonly seen on. Mega Latios still has a flaw or two, of course, as common weaknesses due to its type combination alongside an only slightly above average Speed stat leave it vulnerable to be taken down by common offensive threats in Tapu Lele, Tapu Koko, and Ash-Greninja, and despite its colorful coverage, there will always be a couple of Pokémon it can't really take down because it suffers a bit from four-moveslot syndrome. Thankfully, these flaws can be covered up by teammates, which will also be covered in depth later on.

[Recover & 3 Attacks]

Latios @ Latiosite

Ability: Levitate

EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Naive Nature

- Ice Beam / Draco Meteor / Hidden Power Fire

- Psychic

- Earthquake

- Recover

Mega Latios's main set is Recover + 3 attacks, pretty straightforward, taking advantage of its power and coverage. Ice Beam, Draco Meteor, and Hidden Power Fire are all important picks on Mega Latios, each with its own merit; Ice Beam allows Mega Latios to take down any Landorus-T, Zygarde, or Gliscor, common picks on archetypes Mega Latios is known to wreak havoc upon; Draco Meteor is just overall a strong STAB move that severely dents pretty much anything that doesn't resist it; and Hidden Power Fire enables Mega Latias to tackle Mega Scizor and Ferrothorn, which would be big threats otherwise. Psychic is, like Draco Meteor, picked for its reliability as a STAB move, taking care of Toxapex, Tapu Bulu, and Clefable. Now, Earthquake is truly what sets Mega Latios apart from its regular forme, as the added Attack from Mega Evolution enables Mega Latios to do considerable damage to Heatran, Magearna, and Tyranitar, all of which are big threats to base forme Latios. Finally, Recover is used to keep Mega Latios healthy and consistent at breaking what it needs to. On another note, Defog is yet another move that Mega Latios can opt for, on either the first or second moveslot, turning it into not only a good wallbreaker but also a reliable Defogger, though the coverage of three attacks is missed to an extent.

Reasonable Allies

Magnezone is, by far, Mega Latios's best partner, outright trapping and removing the likes of Celesteela, Ferrothorn, and Mega Scizor. As for the Steel-types Magnezone can't trap, namely Heatran, Magearna, Jirachi, and Excadrill, which can easily escape Magnezone’s tyranny by either knocking it out (Heatran and Excadrill) or taking little damage and pivoting out (Magearna and Jirachi), Mega Latios already takes care of them with Earthquake.

With Heatran, Magearna, and Jirachi being solid roadblocks to its Shift Gear set, Magearna heavily appreciates Mega Latios's wallbreaking efforts. Luring such Pokémon nowadays isn't really ideal, though, but with enough offensive pressure from Mega Latios and other teammates, Magearna's checks will slowly get worn down to the point where they're in range of Magearna's assaults.

Ash-Greninja really appreciates the pressure Mega Latios puts on Toxapex and Magearna, and, in return, it lays down Spikes that really help Mega Latios wear down some of its checks. In general, the widespread damage of Mega Latios also eases Ash-Greninja's transformation a bit. Just make sure you have something to wear down Gastrodon, as it is a great stop to this core.

Sparking the Luster

Mega Latios has come a long way to prove its value to the OverUsed tier; back in ORAS it was completely outclassed by its base forme, but several reasons have led to its flourishing. First and foremost, the Mega slot isn't as necessary as it previously was in ORAS, when using Mega Latios meant giving up several viable Mega Evolutions, and with the increased power creep there's no real need for nearly every team to have a Mega Evolution anymore. With the huge rise of Heatran and Magearna, Mega Latios's Earthquake allowed it to drastically distinguish itself from its base forme, and players started realizing how good it actually was. In general USM's environment is a lot more beneficial for Mega Latios than ORAS's, as it currently has an outstanding matchup against common balance builds. Here’s a replay from Eo Ut Mortus and BHARATH_THEBEST from SPL showcasing how Mega Latios was able to put work and enable a Magearna sweep down the line.

Conclusion

Now that you know how the Mega Eon duo works, as well as how they managed to overthrow their regular formes' reign, it might be a good idea to give them a go in a couple of matches. Both are really viable and fun to use, I can assure you they won't disappoint you!