Competitive Information for Aerodactyl [Sword/Shield]


Rock / Flying
Abilities:
Movesets for Singles
What is a good competitive moveset for Aerodactyl? These builds have been optimized for Pokemon competing in Sword/Shield Single Battles. The movesets and EVs have been specifically calibrated to deal the most amount of damage to the largest group of potentially common opponents and typing threats for the Sword/Shield generation metagame.
Aerodactyl is an extraordinary Rock and Flying-typed Pokemon. It's pretty usual to see Aerodactyl show up as a Sword/Shield opponent. This Pokemon deserves to see more play in the meta. Aerodactyl is weak to Electric, Ice, Rock, Steel, and Water-typed attacks.
Item: Focus Sash / Wacan Berry
Ability: Unnerve
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Rock Slide / Stone Edge
- Sunny Day
- Tailwind / Dual Wingbeat
- Taunt
Physical Sweeper Aerodactyl (Popular/Trending)
Aerodactyl is a pretty decent Physical Sweeper for single battles. This moveset attempts to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Focus Sash helps protect Aerodactyl from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. With Unnerve, while Aerodactyl is active it prevents opposing pokemon from using their berries. With a Wacan Berry equipped to it, halves damage taken from a supereffective electric-type attack then the Wacan Berry gets consumed.
◆ Stone Edge is a physical STAB-boosted 100-base power Rock-type move (high critical hit ratio).
◆ Sunny Day is a status move (for 5 turns, intense sunlight powers fire moves).
◆ Tailwind is a status move (for 4 turns, allies' speed is doubled).
◆ Dual Wingbeat is a physical STAB-boosted 40-base power Flying-type move (hits 2 times in one turn).
◆ Taunt is a status move (target can't use status moves its next 3 turns).
Link (click to copy):
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Item: Focus Sash / Choice Band
Ability: Rock Head
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
EVs: 208 Hp / 252 Atk / 44 Def / 4 Spe
Moveset:
- Sky Attack / Dual Wingbeat
- Aqua Tail / Double-Edge
- Rock Slide / Rock Tomb
- Earthquake
Physical Sweeper Aerodactyl (Rock Head)
Aerodactyl is a pretty decent Physical Sweeper for single battles. It's designed to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Focus Sash helps protect Aerodactyl from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. Choice Band will increase the damage of Aerodactyl's physical moves by 1.5x at the cost of locking you into the first move you pick. With Rock Head, Aerodactyl does not take recoil damage besides struggle/life orb/crash damage. Aqua Tail was added to provide additional threat coverage.
◆ Dual Wingbeat is a physical STAB-boosted 40-base power Flying-type move (hits 2 times in one turn).
◆ Aqua Tail is a physical 90-base power Water-type move that deals a great amount of damage.
◆ Double-Edge is a physical 120-base power Normal-type move (has 33% recoil).
◆ Rock Slide is a physical STAB-boosted 75-base power Rock-type move (30% chance to make the foes flinch).
◆ Rock Tomb is a physical STAB-boosted 60-base power Rock-type move (100% chance to lower the target's speed by 1 stage).
◆ Earthquake is a physical 100-base power Ground-type move (hits adjacent pokemon).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/is11a8e
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Unnerve
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Hone Claws
- Stone Edge
- Fire Fang / Roost
- Aqua Tail
Aerodactyl Physical Sweeper (Hone Claw Aerodactyl)
Aerodactyl is an awesome Physical Sweeper for single battles. It's goal is to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Life Orb boosts the power of Aerodactyl's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Unnerve, while Aerodactyl is active it prevents opposing pokemon from using their berries. Aerodactyl is one of the select few sweepers that can make efficient use of Hone Claws, and with its ability to force out many threats thanks to the threat of its blistering Speed, it's not difficult to pull off one boost. Additionally, Aerodactyl doesn't have to function with a Hone Claws boost; in any situation, it can simply fire off its already-strong attacks to revenge kill or clean up anything in its way. Taking one Hone Claws boost, Life Orb, and STAB in account, Stone Edge becomes an even mightier and accurate attack than it already is, which allows Aerodactyl to 2HKO even physically defensive Skarmory after Stealth Rock damage. Aqua Tail is the preferred secondary attacking option, which, after the boost, 2HKOes all variants of Gliscor and Hippowdon and OHKOes any defensive Tyranitar with prior damage. Additionally, both Aqua Tail and Stone Edge already provide decent coverage with each other, so Roost is an option in the last slot to heal off any damage previously taken. However, Fire Fang might be appealing for invaluable coverage against Ferrothorn (and to an extent, Scizor), who walls the aforementioned attack combination.
◆ Stone Edge is a physical STAB-boosted 100-base power Rock-type move (high critical hit ratio).
◆ Fire Fang is a physical 65-base power Fire-type move (10% chance to burn. 10% chance to flinch).
◆ Roost is a status move (heals 50% hp. Flying-type removed until turn ends).
◆ Aqua Tail is a physical 90-base power Water-type move that deals a hefty amount of damage.
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/is12a8e
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Lonely (+Atk, -Def)
EVs: 200 Hp / 200 Atk / 104 SpD / 4 Spe
Moveset:
- Roost
- Dragon Claw
- Curse
- Rock Slide
Aerodactyl Physical Tank (Cursedactyl)
Aerodactyl is a marvelous Physical Tank for single battles. It's primary goal is to take a substantial amount of physical hits while dealing some decent damage. Leftovers are always a great recovery option to ensure Aerodactyl last longer regaining it's HP every turn. With Pressure, if Aerodactyl is the target of a foe's move that move loses one additional pp.
◆ Dragon Claw is a physical 80-base power Dragon-type move that deals a mighty amount of damage.
◆ Curse is a status move (curses if ghost, else -1 spe, +1 atk, +1 def).
◆ Rock Slide is a physical STAB-boosted 75-base power Rock-type move (30% chance to make the foes flinch).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/is13a8e
Movesets for Doubles
What is a good doubles moveset for Aerodactyl? These builds have been optimized for Sword/Shield Double Battles. They have movesets and EVs specifically calibrated to generally work best versus multiple Pokemon at once as well as helping to support other team members and allys in the Sword/Shield generation metagame.
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Unnerve
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Wide Guard
- Rock Slide
- Dual Wingbeat
- Earthquake
Doubles Physical Sweeper Aerodactyl (Popular VGC)
Aerodactyl is a phenomenal Physical Sweeper for double battles. This particular build was popular during past competitions. This moveset attempts to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Life Orb boosts the power of Aerodactyl's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Unnerve, while Aerodactyl is active it prevents opposing pokemon from using their berries.
◆ Rock Slide is a physical STAB-boosted 75-base power Rock-type move (30% chance to make the foes flinch).
◆ Dual Wingbeat is a physical STAB-boosted 40-base power Flying-type move (hits 2 times in one turn).
◆ Earthquake is a physical 100-base power Ground-type move (hits adjacent pokemon).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/id10a8e
Item: Focus Sash / Choice Band
Ability: Rock Head
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
EVs: 208 Hp / 252 Atk / 44 Def / 4 Spe
Moveset:
- Rock Slide / Rock Tomb
- Earthquake / Bulldoze
- Sky Attack / Dual Wingbeat
- Aqua Tail / Double-Edge
Doubles Physical Sweeper Aerodactyl (Rock Head)
Aerodactyl is a marvelous Physical Sweeper for double battles. It is primarily designed to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Focus Sash helps protect Aerodactyl from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. Choice Band will increase the damage of Aerodactyl's physical moves by 1.5x at the cost of locking you into the first move you pick. With Rock Head, Aerodactyl does not take recoil damage besides struggle/life orb/crash damage. Aqua Tail was added to provide additional threat coverage.
◆ Rock Tomb is a physical STAB-boosted 60-base power Rock-type move (100% chance to lower the target's speed by 1 stage).
◆ Earthquake is a physical 100-base power Ground-type move (hits adjacent pokemon).
◆ Bulldoze is a physical 60-base power Ground-type move (100% chance lower adjacent Pokemon speed by 1 stage).
◆ Sky Attack is a physical STAB-boosted 140-base power Flying-type move (charges, then hits turn 2. 30% flinch. High crit).
◆ Dual Wingbeat is a physical STAB-boosted 40-base power Flying-type move (hits 2 times in one turn).
◆ Aqua Tail is a physical 90-base power Water-type move that deals a substantial amount of damage.
◆ Double-Edge is a physical 120-base power Normal-type move (has 33% recoil).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/id11a8e
Movepool
Wondering what moves can Aerodactyl learn? Here is the list of moves this Pokemon can learn in this selected generation.
Sort and organize the learnset by move type, category, accuracy, and power. Bolded moves will gain the same-type attack bonus (STAB) if this Pokemon uses them.
Damage Modifiers:
Combo List
These are a list of several common move combinations Aerodactyl can perform in Sword/Shield. Not every combo going to be game-changing, but some can be pretty fun to play with. Sometimes these can be easily overlooked or forgotten, hence why we find and list them here. Discover what items, abilities, and moves this Pokemon can use in combination with each other to gain a strategic advantage in competitive battles.
Competitive SS Move and Ability Combos for Aerodactyl
- Moves: Rest + Sleep talk
- Moves: Rest + Snore
- Move: Swagger + Item: Mirror Herb
- Move: Assurance + Item: Rocky Helmet
- Move: Facade + Item: Flame Orb
- Move: Facade + Item: Toxic Orb
- Move: Meteor Beam + Item: Power Herb
- Moves with Priority: Detect, Endure, Protect, Wide Guard
- Moves that Break Screens: Defog, Psychic Fangs
- Moves that inflict status: Toxic
Moves that boost Aerodactyl's stats
- Agility
- Ancient Power
- Curse
- Dragon Dance
- Hone Claws
- Meteor Beam
- Rock Polish
- Steel Wing
Most notable and possible best moves for Aerodactyl
- Bulldoze
- Dual Wingbeat
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Reflect
- Rest
- Roar
- Rock Slide
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Sunny Day
- Tailwind
- Taunt
- Toxic
- Wide Guard
Common Effort Values for Aerodactyl in Sword and Shield
- Jolly Nature ( 0/252/0/0/4/252 )
- Jolly Nature ( 4/252/0/0/0/252 )
- Optimize Aerodactyl's EV spread for Pokemon Sword and Shield
Related Videos
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Here are the best movesets for Aerodactyl. Top rated Aerodactyl Sword/Shield movesets. You can find Aerodactyl builds Sword/Shield. Aerodactyl movesets Sword/Shield are listed here. VGC Aerodactyl Competitive Movesets can be found here. Find various EV spreads, find the best nature for Aerodactyl in Sword/Shield along with competitive movesets. Basic info and Movesets for evolution