Altaria, The Humming Pokémon. If it bonds with a person, it will gently envelop the friend with its soft wings, then hum. On sunny days, it flies freely through the sky and blends into the clouds. It sings in a beautiful soprano. It flies gracefully through the sky. Its melodic humming makes you feel like you're in a dream. It looks like a fluffy cloud when it is in flight. It hums with its soprano voice.

Overview

Altaria is sadly the worst of the fully evolved Dragon types to have been made so far. Having very average stats, a Stealth Rock weakness, as well as a minuscule movepool, Altaria really just does not have many things going for it. It is, however, one of the few Dragon types in NeverUsed and thus has a decent niche as there are also very few Steel types to resist its Dragon STAB. Altaria does have somewhat decent Defensive stats (with a quite high Special Defense), but the rest of its stats ooze mediocrity, especially its offenses which both fall in at a pitiful base 70. Its typing does allow for some key resistances as well, especially to some of the more common Pokemon in NU, but they often have some form of Ice coverage that demolishes Altaria. The best use for Altaria, however, will come next generation when it sacrifices its wings to provide Mega Ampharos with its luxurious hair as well as its Dragon type, and the competitive community sincerely hopes that this contribution will be far better than the current roles that Altaria fills.

Abilities

Natural Cure: Allows Altaria to cure itself of a status effect when it switches out, which is very useful when Altaria is crippled by a status such as a Burn or being Poisoned, or in some sets eliminating Rest's Sleep status.
Cloud Nine: When on the field, Altaria stops any weather effects from activating. Weather isn’t too prevalent in NU, so Natural Cure is the better option, besides the fact that Natural Cure will help with the much more common status conditions.

Movesets

An Altaria Motive

-Dragon Pulse
-Heal Bell
-Roost
-Roar / Toxic
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)

This set takes advantage of Altaria's slightly higher Defensive stats as well as its decent support movepool. Dragon Pulse is for STAB as well as giving Altaria an escape from Taunt. Heal Bell acts as team support, getting rid of annoying Burns, Toxic Poison, and so forth, as there are several Pokemon (Alomomola, Misdreavus, etc.) that particularly enjoy statusing everything. Roost is for (hopefully this is obvious, but I'll tell you anyhow) recovery, making it so that Altaria can survive a lot longer as well as heal off the Stealth Rock damage that it is sure to take. The last option is really one of preference, with Roar being useful in a lot more situations (especially against set-up sweepers), whereas Toxic can help Altaria wear down opposing walls. Altaria's ability also allows it to be a sponge for many statuses and just switch out again to cure them, which will be very useful in one of the later sets.

The BlueBird of Happiness

-Draco Meteor
-Dragon Pulse
-Fire Blast / Hidden Power [Ground]
-Rest / Fire Blast / Hidden Power [Ground]
Item Attached: Choice Specs
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)

This set attempts to bolster Altaria's weak Special Attack stat through the use of Choice Specs. Draco Meteor is the power behind this set, as with a massive 140 base power, it can rip through many things that don't resist it, and the -2 Special Attack isn't too much of a problem as you don't generally want to stay in afterwards anyhow. Dragon Pulse is the weaker Dragon STAB on this set, but can also be used reliably more than once. Fire Blast and HP Ground are Altaria's ways of dealing with Steel types, with HP Ground doing more to Pokemon like Bastiodon and Probopass, while Fire Blast does more to Metang. The last slot allows either for recovery (which is recommended), or for using the other coverage move for Steels. Rest with Natural Cure becomes powerful recovery as the moment you switch out, you no longer have to worry about the Sleep status it induces.

The Avian Altaria

-Dragon Dance
-Dragon Claw
-Substitute / Heal Bell
-Roost
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 248 HP / 180 SDef / 80 Spe
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)

This set focuses on the other of Altaria's miserable attacking stats, namely its Attack, although it does retain quite a bit of bulk as well. Dragon Dance gives a boost both to Altaria's quite low Attack, while also boosting its decent (decent for NU at least) Speed, making Altaria much more of a threat than it would be to start with...well, as threatening as a bird with fluffy cloud wings can be I guess. Anyhow, Dragon Claw is in the second slot and provides strong, reliable STAB for Altaria to sweep through everything that isn't a Steel type. The third slot depends on whether you want Altaria to have an easier time sweeping, or be a valuable team support. Substitute shields Altaria from both status or attacks that would do up to 25% of its health, while Heal Bell provides support to the tea as well, eliminating status for your entire team including Altaria. Roost is there once again for reliable recovery, also allowing Altaria to help eliminate one of its weaknesses for a turn if it has to.

Other Options

Agility, Earthquake, Flamethrower, Heat Wave, Ice Beam, Outrage, Perish Song, Pursuit
Agility allows Altaria to remedy its mediocre Speed stat, although it really doesn't have the offenses to take advantage of the boost.
Earthquake gives Altaria coverage against the Steel types that wall its Dragon type moves on the DD set, which does provide useful coverage for several other threats as well.
Flamethrower is an alternative to Fire Blast, although having higher accuracy does not really make up for the loss in power as Altaria doesn't hit with much force to begin with.
Heat Wave is another Fire option, slightly more worth using than Flamethrower but not by much, as the drop in power still isn't worth the higher reliability.
Ice Beam can provide interesting coverage if you don't want to tag team on Steel types with both Fire Blast and HP Ground.
Outrage is an alternate physical STAB for Altaria, with more power traded for 2-3 definite turns of Outrage and a Confusion status at the end.
Perish Song is an alternative to Roar on the support set, as it can force switches on pretty much any Pokemon without taking the risk of phazing it out.
Pursuit can trap Ghost and Psychic types while doing good damage to Pokemon that attempt to switch out, although coming off of Altaria's terrible Attack stat and lac of STAB, it won't be doing very much to anything.

Double & Triple Battle Options

Altaria serves the same role in Doubles in Triples as it does in Singles, but you will be extremely hard pressed to find anyone using it as every other fully evolved Dragon outclasses it, and eve some of the not fully evolved ones.

Partners

Any Rapid Spinner such as Wartortle, Torkoal, or Armaldo will be a great asset to Altaria as Stealth Rock causes quite a few problems for it. Other than that, just generic team support with Pokemon dealing with its massive Ice weakness and so on will definitely be valuable to Altaria.

Countering Altaria

The easiest way to counter Altaria is with a Steel type. Most of Altaria’s coverage is Dragon, with only HP Ground or Fire blast as coverage against them on the Specs set, while the other sets really have no good way to handle Steel types. Pokemon like Metang, Probopass, Bastiodon, and Klang are all viable choices. Also, since Altaria doesn’t have much fire power, any wall (either Physical or Special) can generally have a good chance of checking it at the very least. On the Special side, Lickilicky or Regice can handle Altaria easily. On the physical side, Alomomola, Tangela, Regirock or Mandibuzz can do the same. Piloswine is the bane of Altaria's existence as it is not only bulky, but also has access to Ice Shard and other Ice moves, as well as Stealth Rock. There are also Pokemon that can outspeed Altaria (mainly Choice Scarf Pokemon) even if it has gotten up 1-2 Dragon Dances. Jynx is a good example, as its STAB Ice moves take out Altaria easily. Combined with a Choice Scarf, it becomes the perfect revenge killer. Essentially, because of Altaria’s underwhelming attacking stats, any particularly bulky Pokemon can check Altaria quite well.

Locations in Games

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Sky Pillar

FireRed/LeafGreen:
Trade from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald/Colosseum/XD

Colosseum/XD:
Evolve Swablu (Colosseum)
Snagged from Cipher Admin Lovrina in Citadark Isle (XD)

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Evolve Swablu

HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Evolve Swablu

Black/White:
Route 14

Black 2/White 2:
Route 14, Abundant Shrine, Victory Road, Nature Preserve

Animé Appearences

Altaria has made a few appearances. Most notably, it was used by Elite Four member Drake, Gym Leader Winona and Nando. # -English Episode Name- -Jp. Episode Name- Pics M6 Jirachi - Wish Maker The Wishing Star of Seven Nights - Jirachi Pics 340 True Blue Swablu! Sky of Swablu! Spirit Of May! Pics 361 Sky High Gym Battle! Fortree Gym! Battle In The Sky Pics 378 Vanity Affair Seaman! Enter The Elite 4 Drake! Pics M8 Lucario & The Mystery of Mew Mew & The Wave-Guiding Hero - Lucario Pics 448 Pokémon Ranger! Deoxys Crisis! Pokémon Ranger! Deoxys Crisis! Pics 450 New Plot - Odd Lot! Harley & Team Rocket! The Formation of the Villanious Alliance! Pics M9 Pokémon Ranger & The Temple of the Sea Pokémon Ranger & The Prince of the Sea - Manaphy Pics 478 Not On My Watch Ya Don't! Pokétch is Unavailable?!! Pics M11 Giratina & The Sky Warrior Giratina & The Bouquet of the Sky - Shaymin Pics 624 A Meteoric Experience! Gible & Draco Meteor! Pics 642 Last Call, First Round! Grand Festival! The Art of Flame & Ice! Pics 643 Opposites Interact! Mamoswine & Pachirisu! The Ice Chandelier - Decisive Blow! Pics 762 Drayden Versus Iris: Past, Present, and Future! Opelucid Gym! Iris VS Drayden!! Pics 791 Butterfree and Me! Ash and Butterfree! Until the Day We Meet Again!! Pics S38 Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Mega Special Animation Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Mega Special Animation Pics 880 A Relay in the Sky! The Pokémon Sky Rally Challenge! Fly, Noibat!! Pics 928 A League of His Own! The Kalos League Begins! Mega Charizard Showdown: X VS Y!! Pics 934 Down to the Fiery Finish Kalos League Victory! Ash's Ultimate Match!! Pics 1004 A Mission of Ultra Urgency! Set Off! You Are Our Ultra Guardians!! Pics 1012 Rise and Shine, Starship! Shine On, Starship Celesteela! Pics 1021 Twirling with a Bang! Ultra Beast Clash! Operation: Boom Boom Crackle!! Pics 1028 The Long Vault Home! Leap 'n' Climb: Stakataka! Pics 1029 I Choose Paradise! I Choose Here! The Pokémon Steam Paradise!! Pics 1030 Filling the Light with Darkness! Crisis in Alola! The Darkness that Eats Radiance!! Pics 1031 Full Moon and Many Arms! Lunala VS UB: BLACK! A Battle at Full Moon!! Pics 1032 The Prism Between Light and Darkness! A Prism of Light and Darkness: Its name is Necrozma! Pics 1033 Securing the Future! Connect to the Future! The Legend of the Blinding One!! Pics 1038 Sparking Confusion! Wela Volcano: The Golem, the Graveler and the Hikers! Pics 1046 Heart of Fire! Heart of Stone! A Passionate Heart That Smashes Even Rocks! Olivia and Brock!! Pics 1057 Beauty is Only Crystal Deep! Beauty and the Meowth Pics 1067 Living on the Cutting Edge! Perfect Sharpness! Kartana has Arrived! Pics 1083 Z-Move Showdown! Guzzlord Attacks! Decisive Z-Move Battle!! Pics 1087 From Z to Shining Z! The Greatest Z in Alola! Tapu Koko VS Pikachu! Pics 1089 Thank You, Alola! The Journey Continues! Thank You, Alola! Respective Departures!! Pics 1096 Serving Up the Flute Cup! The Hoenn Region, Site of Fierce Fights! The Battle Frontier Challenge!! Pics 1192 The Future is Now, Thanks to Strategy! Ash & Clemont! Special Friendship Training!! Pics 1193 Taking Two For The Team! Ultra Class! VS Elite Four Drasna! Pics 1194 Reuniting for the First Time! Eevee and Sylveon! Encounters and Reunions!! Pics 1196 Big Brother to the Rescue! Help Us, Big Bro Yamper! Pics 1198 Aim for the Eight! VS Raihan! A Fight with Masters Eight on the Line!! Pics 1225 These Could be the Start of Something Big! Ash and Goh! Setting Off Anew!! Pics 1 The Pendant That Starts It All: Part One The Pendant It All Started With! (Part 1) Pics 25 Rivals in the Dark of Night! Rivals in the Moonless Night Pics 63 TBC An Ice Battle! Cold-Eyed Grusha! Pics 64 TBC The Creeping Shadow on Glaseado Mountain Pics 65 TBC Liko and Amethio Pics 75 TBC The Future We've Been Entrusted, the Shine of This World Pics