Hello students! My name is Professor Geekbeak, and today, I wish to draw attention to Mega Altaria. Mega Altaria has a fantastic role as a support mega, having the two most powerful types (Dragon and Fairy), allowing raids that benefit from those types always loving the inclusion of a Mega Altaria. Grab your notebooks, class is in session. For those who wish to do their research independently, our raw data can be found here. And for those who wish for a simple visual guide, go ahead and take a look at the below visual guide by CaptGoldfish.

Course Schedule

This raid will take place between May 20th to May 26th. It will be preceded by Mega Glalie, Buzzwole, Pheromosa, and Xurkitree, coincide with Tapu Bulu, and be followed by Mega Medicham and Tapu Fini.

Dragon Fairy lends itself very well to using Steel types. However, be careful, as one of the moves Mega Altaria can know is Flamethrower.

Effectiveness	Types
Double Resist (0.4x)	—
Resist (0.6x)	Fighting Bug Fire Water Grass Electric Dragon Dark
Neutral	Normal Flying Ground Rock Ghost Psychic
Super Effective (1.6x)	Poison Steel Ice Fairy
Double Super Effective (2.6x)	—

Mega Altaria’s moveset includes the following charge moves:

• Flamethrower
• Dragon Pulse
• Dazzling Gleam
• Sky Attack
• Return
• Moonblast

The Dean’s List consists of the top 5 counters to Mega Altaria. As always, the Valedictorian, Salutatorian, and the Third Ranked will have their best moveset alternatives in a table with their rankings and a table detailing their defensive prowess against the charge moves listed above.

Zacian - Crowned Sword A

Best Moveset: Metal Claw / Behemoth Blade

DPS★★★★★

Tank★★★★★

Reliability★★★★☆

1

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Quick Move	Charge Move	Efficacy
Metal Claw	Behemoth Blade	100%
Metal Claw	Play Rough	81%
Air Slash	Behemoth Blade	72%
Metal Claw	Giga Impact	65%
Air Slash	Play Rough	62%
Metal Claw	Close Combat	53%

Zamazenta - Crowned Shield A

Best Moveset: Metal Claw / Behemoth Bash

DPS★★★★★

Tank★★★★☆

Reliability★★★★☆

1

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Quick Move	Charge Move	Efficacy
Metal Claw	Behemoth Bash	100%
Ice Fang	Behemoth Bash	97%
Metal Claw	Moonblast	54%
Metal Claw	Giga Impact	51%
Metal Claw	Close Combat	44%
Ice Fang	Moonblast	42%

Necrozma - Dusk Mane A

Best Moveset: Metal Claw / Sunsteel Strike

DPS★★★★★

Tank★★★☆☆

Reliability★★★☆☆

1

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Quick Move	Charge Move	Efficacy
Metal Claw	Sunsteel Strike	100%
Psycho Cut	Sunsteel Strike	97%
Shadow Claw	Sunsteel Strike	74%
Metal Claw	Iron Head	68%
Metal Claw	Future Sight	59%
Psycho Cut	Iron Head	57%

Defensive Grades for Top 3

Boss Move
Flamethrower	⚔	⚔	⚔
Dazzling Gleam	🛡	—	🛡
Sky Attack	🛡	—	🛡
Dragon Pulse	🛡🛡	🛡	🛡

Shadow Metagross A

Best Moveset: Bullet Punch / Meteor Mash

DPS★★★★☆

Tank★★☆☆☆

Reliability★★★★☆

2

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

White Kyurem A

Best Moveset: Ice Fang / Ice Burn

DPS★★★★☆

Tank★★☆☆☆

Reliability★★☆☆☆

2

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Also Noteworthy: A: Mega Metagross

We here at Pokebattler Pokémon Research Institute can’t expect you to have the best counters every time. So, here are some of our other best options, most of which will be easier to find than the members of the Dean’s List.

Mega Lucario A

Best Moveset: Bullet Punch / Meteor Mash

DPS★★★☆☆

Tank★★☆☆☆

Reliability★★★☆☆

2

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Shadow Regigigas A

Best Moveset: Hidden Power / Crush Grip

DPS★★★☆☆

Tank★★☆☆☆

Reliability★★★★☆

2

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Mega Gardevoir A

Best Moveset: Charm / Dazzling Gleam

DPS★★★☆☆

Tank★★☆☆☆

Reliability★★★★☆

2

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Mega Mewtwo Y A

Best Moveset: Psycho Cut / Ice Beam

DPS★★★☆☆

Tank★★★☆☆

Reliability★★★☆☆

2

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Shadow Dialga A

Best Moveset: Metal Claw / Iron Head

DPS★★★☆☆

Tank★★☆☆☆

Reliability★★★☆☆

2

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Of course, besides our 10 best counters, there are plenty of Pokémon that also work against Mega Altaria. Here are a few star choices, worthy of praise.

A	EternatusMega Mewtwo XShadow ExcadrillMega GengarBlack KyuremMetagrossTinkatonMega BeedrillNecrozma - Dawn WingsNihilegoShadow MamoswineMega RayquazaShadow OverqwilDialgaDialga - OriginShadow GardevoirRegigigasKyuremShadow Gengar

Sometimes, the weather can be your most powerful ally. In certain weather conditions, certain Pokémon on our list excel. The most transformative cases are noted below.

Partly Cloudy

Shadow Regigigas (1.1)

Cloudy

Mega Gardevoir (1.1)Eternatus (1.1)

Windy

Mega Mewtwo Y (1.1)

Snow

Mega Metagross (0.9)Mega Lucario (1.0)Shadow Dialga (1.0)

Overall, Mega Altaria lends itself easily to counters. Steel is one of the strongest types in the game, due to the ultra strong legendaries that hold that typing. However, make sure to beware of Flamethrower. Of course, if you wish to do more research on your box’s best Pokémon for the job, Pokebattler.com itself can be a great help! Remember, the best counter is the one you have powered up and ready to go. I grant extra credit to those who use their best friend bonus and the weather to their advantage. Class dismissed!