Of the many options Arceus has, this set is perhaps one of the most fearsome that exist. With Arceus's bulkiness, it should have no problem finding a niche for one Swords Dance, and maybe even two or three. Because it doesn't particularly care about paralysis from Thunder as ExtremeSpeed's priority advantage nullifies the Speed loss (in fact, it is arguably beneficial for this flavor of Arceus to be paralyzed because then it can't be burned and have its attacking ability reduced), one may switch this Arceus on weak attackers such as Blissey with impunity. After even a single Swords Dance, ExtremeSpeed will OHKO all Darkrai, Palkia and Latias unless they invest significantly in Defense, and has a considerable chance of OHKOing the standard 40 HP EVs Mewtwo, assuming that one has at least a Silk Scarf boost. Earthquake smashes Dialga and Metagross into the ground without question. For the last move, Shadow Claw is the preferred choice since it lands super effective hits on the Uber physical walls of Lugia and Giratina; however, Overheat is an acceptable move to annihilate Skarmory and Forretress. The EV spread for this Arceus provides for a combination of bulkiness and power; Speed isn't necessary as ExtremeSpeed, this set's main attack, will attack before most other offensive moves regardless. Silk Scarf will net ExtremeSpeed 20% more power, a boost that is critical to OHKOing many Uber threats at full health, whereas Life Orb will provide even more power to all of Arceus's attacks at the expense of some health every time it inflicts damage. While Life Orb does contradict this set's bulky sweeper theme, it will allow Arceus OHKO the standard Mewtwo all the time and often 2HKO Giratina with a Swords Danced Shadow Claw, OHKOing guaranteed with a critical hit. While this set often rips through half a team or more, it is often advisable to only use ExtremeSpeed when it is needed, as its meager 8 PP is easily expended hitting Lugias and Giratinas that don't care about it; what aggravates the PP problems is that many Ubers, including the afore-mentioned Giratina and Lugia, have the Pressure ability, which doubles PP usage for direct attacks. With its main asset gone, this Arceus is effectively spayed and neutered. As long as one doesn't play in an abnormally poor fashion, however, these statements should never stand to discourage one from taking advantage of the divine terror that this set is.
This set, similarly to the previous one, makes for a preposterously powerful physical sweeper; this Arceus, however, attempts to take advantage of its excellent 120 base Speed instead of a priority move, paving the way for receiving STAB on a Ghost attack. Overall, physical Ghost Arceus strives to pound upon the two major weaknesses of many Ubers, namely their general weakness to Ghost attacks and often inferior physical Defense. As well as looking similar to the Extreme Killer Arceus, physical Ghost Arceus also plays in much the same way. Note that it is unable to switch in as easily because it is less bulky and fears paralysis, for Speed is the paramount consideration on this set. Shadow Claw backed by STAB is an exceedingly effective weapon against the Uber environment and can shred almost everything weak to it, which becomes truer when it is backed by a Swords Dance. Brick Break complements Shadow Claw beautifully in terms of type coverage (nothing in the game resists the combination of Fighting and Ghost) and wrecks the Dialga, Blissey, Darkrai and other assorted Pokémon that are resistant to Ghost. For the last move, Recover is generally the more reliable option to keep Arceus's HP up, but Substitute may be used by those wishing to set up on Blissey without the reciprocal threat of paralysis from Thunder or severe poisoning from Toxic, or those seeking greater security against Giratina's Will-o-Wisp. For the most part, the Substitute should be able to withstand one Blissey Thunder or Giratina Dragon Claw, unless it has invested a large amount of offensive EVs. Meanwhile, the EVs provided for this set allow Ghost Arceus to outspeed all members of the base 110 Speed group and below, which includes some nasty foes such as Latias, Latios, and Lugia. Attack is maximized, obviously, to increase damage infliction, and the remaining EVs are dumped into HP, which fortuitously returns 401, allowing Arceus to make four Substitutes without recovering through Wish, and aids in taking residual damages that come in fractions of 16.
This set, in contrast with first two physical sets, relies on its Special Attack, Calm Mind to boost its Special stats, and a Judgment that is super effective on the predominantly Psychic Uber Pokémon. The types that hit the Psychics well happen to be Ghost, Dark and Bug, which should be chosen according to one's team. Ghost is immune to Explosion from Pokémon like Forretress and Fighting attacks, which are popular due to the advent of Aura Sphere, but is weak to both Dark and Ghost, two types that occur very frequently to strike Psychics at their weak points. Dark is resistant to Dark and Ghost, but weak to Fighting and lacks an immunity to Normal attacks. Lastly, Bug doesn't have too many useful resistances except perhaps Ground to switch in on Groudon and hits not very effectively against Ghost-types like Giratina, but has the advantage of being super effective on Dark and Psychic simultaneously. Generally, this Arceus variant aims to use Calm Mind to boost its Special Attack significantly and then spam Judgment repeatedly until it hits an obstruction in the form of a Pokémon that resists or is immune to the type that its Judgment is; that is where the second move, Ice Beam, comes in, as Ice is generally a very effective type coverage attack to use in Ubers. Depending on the team, another special attack from Arceus's massive artillery could be preferable, though. Remember to resist the temptation to use Dragon Pulse, however; the only Ubers it hits harder than Ice Beam are Manaphy, Kyogre, and Palkia, all three of which Judgment hits with equal or increased power. As with the previous Ghost sweeper set, Calm Mind Arceus has a choice between Substitute and Recover, again a question between reliability and utility. Substitute often comes in handy to aid prediction and prevent critical hits and status effects, but as Calm Mind is a rather slow way of setting up, the lack of recovery may do Arceus in; additionally, Substitute makes winning against Blissey or Latias much more difficult. As can be easily seen, the EVs for Calm Mind Arceus are not dissimilar to those of the Ghost Swords Dancer, with the exception of the transfer of Attack EVs to Special Attack, and function almost identically.
While a Fighting-type Arceus seems extremely stupid to use in Ubers owing to the many Psychic Pokémon that exist in Ubers, it is through that very overabundance that Fighting Arceus can thrive. As Psychic resists itself, Psychic attacks are rarely used in Ubers, usually being eschewed for a secondary STAB or another type altogether. Fighting's other weakness, Flying, is nowhere to be seen, and it offers very useful Rock, Bug, and Dark resistances to atone for its certain degree of offensive ineptitude. As a result of its strange typing, Fighting Arceus has become one of the primary building blocks of the Uber stall metagame owing to its consequent ability to safely counter almost all Darkrai and Tyranitar, two Dark-types that would otherwise ravage such stall teams. Of course, it is capable of dealing with many other Pokémon as well, such as Groudon and Dialga to some extent. Overall, it is extremely difficult to overcome outside of random Pokémon carrying Psychic attacks, such as a Choice Banded Zen Headbutt Deoxys-A. The moveset for Fighting Arceus is geared towards countering a wide array of Pokémon and crippling another huge selection. Though many Uber Pokémon are Psychic-typed, a Fighting-typed Judgment still has its uses on Pokémon such as Dialga, Tyranitar, and Darkrai, and still lands a solid hit on Kyogre and Palkia. As has already been stressed, Ice Beam is an exceptional move to round out almost any special attacker in Ubers; it boasts fairly good type coverage with Fighting to sweeten the bargain. Recover is almost sine qua non for an Arceus as defensive as this, and obviously serves to maintain its health. Toxic rounds out Fighting Arceus's moveset, allowing it to annoy many would-be counters such as Ho-oh and Lugia; most Steel-types wouldn't dare switch in and face a powerful super effective Judgment. Careful consideration has gone into the EV spread for this set. Maximum HP gives Arceus a decent amount of overall survivability to begin with. Meanwhile, 72 EVs in Defense used in tandem with maximum HP allows it to survive one Outrage from an Adamant, maximum Attack Rayquaza that has been boosted by both Life Orb and one Dragon Dance; therefore, provided it is kept in excellent health, Fighting Arceus becomes a veritable counter to Rayquaza. The modest Speed investment attains a figure of 290, which outruns all Rayquaza that have not a Speed boost from Dragon Dance, and also keeps Arceus ahead of most Dialga, Giratina, and Groudon. The EVs in Special Attack and Special Defense may appear arbitrary, and one would be correct in thinking them so; the Special Attack is simply a convenient benchmark that achieves a bonus stat point due to the manner in which stats are calculated, and the rest is dumped into Special Defense to provide some degree of buffering in that sector. If one would like, one could easily remove some EVs from the Special stats in favor of a Speed increase to 307, to outrun all Groudon, Kyogre and such that do not have a Speed modifier, or even to 320, which outpaces all Rayquaza and any Latias and Lugia that don't have a Speed-boosting nature.
Continuing with the theme of odd types that are surprisingly useful is Grass Arceus. While Grass is commonly considered an inferior type because it is resisted by 7 types and has 5 weaknesses, the only one of its weaknesses that is particularly common in Ubers is Ice, while its resistances to Water, Electric, and Ground come very much in handy. The premise of this set is very simple and the execution of its purpose isn't particularly complicated either. Grass Arceus can use its numerous useful resistances to counter some of the most fearsome Pokémon that exist, such as Groudon, Palkia, and Rayquaza, and in certain circumstances can even serve as a sketchy counter to Kyogre. In this set, Judgment is replaced by Grass Knot for two reasons: Grass Knot receives double the PP, which is helpful when battling against the Pressure Pokémon of Ubers, and hits almost every Uber for equal or more damage, as most of the Ubers are extremely heavy. However, Judgment is still a decently viable option if one is paranoid of Mew. Ice Beam is simply bog standard, to hit the various Dragon-type Pokémon and others that resist Grass. This set's primary function is to take hits and counter certain Pokémon, so Recover is virtually required to maintain a reasonable state of health, a proposition made imperative by this Arceus's lack of Leftovers. For the last move, Thunder provides additional type coverage and hits some Pokémon such as Ho-oh and Metagross that this set otherwise can't touch, while Calm Mind buffs up the attacking power of Grass Knot and Ice Beam, and can come in handy when trying to counter special-based Pokémon; the decision should be based on the rest of one's team. Every single 4 EV increment in this Arceus's spread serves a specific purpose. In conjunction with a Timid nature, 96 Speed EVs translate into 330 Speed, which outruns all Palkia, even those with a Speed boosting nature, while the HP and Special Defense EVs take advantage of that and ensures that Arceus will survive two Life Orb boosted Spacial Rends from a Hasty Palkia, assuming neither of them is a critical hit. Meanwhile, the Defense allows for an easier switch into Groudon and lets it survive one Life Orb and Dragon Dance boosted Outrage from Adamant Rayquaza; therefore, this type of Arceus, like the Fighting one before it, can switch into such a Rayquaza with little liability and OHKO with Ice Beam. One may notice that the HP EVs are not maximized in this set. The reasons for this are that on something with as much HP as Arceus, a single point in Defense or Special Defense matters more, and consequently a maximum HP Arceus is incapable of simultaneously accomplishing the two tasks listed above, and that the game rounds down, resulting in some abnormal damage distributions.
A defensive Normal Arceus has the benefit of being able to use Leftovers instead of a typed plate, which is an enormous initial plus. While a Normal-type isn't necessarily the best offensive or defensive one, it bears a single weakness to Fighting, which is certainly not the worst in the Uber environment, and an immunity to Ghost, which can help it switch into Shadow Balls and Shadow Claws. The primary reason for using this Arceus would be to counter the standard Jolly Ghost Swords Dance Arceus, though it could also be used against Groudon and other physical attackers. Return is a solid move on Normal Arceus, for it is both physical and STABed; not too many Ubers resist Normal, though Dialga and Giratina come to mind. Recover is standard fare on any defensive Arceus, as the alert and intelligent reader should have realized by now. The third moveslot includes the status attack of one's choice: Will-o-Wisp's Burning effect will deter and shatter any Groudon, Metagross, or Swords Dancing Arceus that doesn't have Substitute, while Toxic works on a wider range of targets. Overall, Will-o-Wisp seems more geared to the physical-Pokémon-countering nature of this set. The last move includes three options to deal with opponents that attempt to up their stats in preparation for a sweep. Roar blasts away any Substitutes that had been set up as well as the stat boosts themselves, but fails against the last Pokémon. Perish Song virtually guarantees that the last Pokémon loses and also works its way behind a Substitute, but its effect isn't immediate. Lastly, Punishment might seem puny at a minuscule 60 base power, but it gains 20 base power for every stat boost the opponent has; this means that after a single Calm Mind or Swords Dance, it jumps up to 100 base power, which is expanded even more because its type is Dark, which hits super effectively upon the plethora of Psychics in Ubers, and the Ghost Arceus which this Arceus intends to counter. Much HP and Defense were required to ensure that Normal Arceus is never 2HKOed by a Jolly Ghost Arceus's Brick Break after a single Swords Dance, and the inadvertent consequence was a general ease in switching in upon almost every physical attacker. Serendipitously, the remaining 16 EVs, when invested into Speed, let this Arceus outrun any Groudon that does not carry a Speed boosting nature.
An Arceus that attacks with only one type is in fact a splendid choice, as foregoing a secondary attack permits it to utilize both Recover to restore health and Substitute to prevent status. One type fits the bill for this set, and that type is Dragon. Dragon Claw deals neutral or super effective damage against a majority of Ubers, and is only resisted by Steel-types such as Metagross and Skarmory. Although Forretress and its base 140 Defense may seem to wall this set at first, there's little it can do to eliminate Arceus. Swords Dance will boost Attack sharply while Recover and Substitute maintain good overall health. Rest and Sleep Talk is another option that will fulfill that task, but generally a Swords Dancing Arceus isn't quite bulky enough to make exceptional use out of it. The EV spread given in this set should have been ingrained within one's mind by now: the Speed is enough as to be faster than the base 110 Speed bracket, while one attacking stat is maximized and the remainder dumped in HP.
This is the special counterpart of the previous set, which attempts to use special attacks and Calm Mind to sweep. Dragon, Dark and Ice are all acceptable types to use as a mono-attacker: Dragon hits many Pokémon neutrally and very few ineffectively, and is a decent defensive type, Dark hits many Uber Pokémon super effectively and has a neat Ghost-type resistance, and Ice hits a broad range of Ubers super effectively. Bug is an option, but is generally inferior to the other available types. Judgment is the usual fare on Arceus, but Dark Pulse could possibly receive some use on the Dark-typed one because its higher PP allows for more chances to land a critical hit on a Calm Mind Blissey and proceed to sweep the Pressure-thick environment. The 20% chance of flinching is also quite appreciated. The only downside to Dark Pulse is that it is incapable of OHKOing Mewtwo and Mew and 2HKOing Rayquaza without the aid of a Calm Mind boost. Recover and Substitute tends to be the most reliable combination of supporting attacks on this moveset, but Rest and Sleep Talk are far more viable than on the previous physical version because Calm Mind trades a quick Attack booster to a slower Special Attack booster that simultaneously aids Special Defense, changing the complexion of the mono-attacking Arceus to a more defensive tone. Refresh can be used in tandem with Recover to remove any unpreventable status conditions such as poisoning from Toxic Spikes. The EVs for this set hit 404 HP; therefore, a single Seismic Toss from any Blissey foolhardy enough to use it in Ubers will be incapable of breaking a Substitute. If one is not using Substitute, maximizing Special Attack remains an option. As always, the Speed exceeds that of Latias and Lugia.
Arceus's talents aren't limited to setting up and sweeping or defending; it can also make a solid revenge killer. A Choice Band will bloat its Attack to enormous levels while it strikes at many foes, such as Mewtwo and Darkrai, with a charged-up ExtremeSpeed, often knocking them out if they're at or below three-quarters of their HP. For the slower Pokémon that have used multiple stat-upping moves such as Latias and Groudon, there's an extremely powerful Punishment attack in store, which can easily skyrocket to something in the region of 180 base power if one has been stockpiling significantly. Earthquake and Dragon Claw are straightforward type coverage attacks; Earthquake slams Dialga and Metagross, while Dragon Claw is primarily used for Giratina, but can also hit Palkia and Latias in a pinch. Overheat is a reasonable option over Earthquake to deal decent damage to Metagross while brutally extirpating Forretress. The given EVs outspeed most Latias that attempt to in turn outrun all Palkia, but one could easily elect to maximize the Speed. This set carries neither the countering capabilities of some Arceus nor the extreme sweeping windows of the rest, but it derives notable value from its unpredictability. Other OptionsThere are many remotely viable combinations that Arceus may use, but some of the more prominent ones shall be noted. One prominent option is an Arceus holding an Iron Plate, which gives it handy resistances to Ice, Rock, Dark and most importantly, Dragon. An Arceus with a Toxic Plate can be quite difficult for a stall team that primarily relies on Toxic Spikes for damage by absorbing them, while an Arceus with a Splash Plate can serve as either a powerful physical attacker with Swords Dance and Waterfall on a Rain-based team or a decent counter for random Pokémon. As for moves, Arceus receives a bundle of support options. Reflect and Light Screen are emergency stops to many sweepers and up the entire team's defenses for 5 turns, while Safeguard protects the team from status, even Toxic Spikes. Any of the mono attackers can use Rest / Sleep Talk instead of Recover and Substitute to make Arceus a great status absorbing Pokémon. Stealth Rock and Thunder Wave are generic utilities to aid in wearing down the opposition. Gravity and Trick Room are field effects that possibly might help certain theme teams, although Arceus's 120 base Speed is undeniably rather excessive for the latter. In short, Arceus can become a duplicate or a counter for almost any Pokémon; the number of possibilities do have an end, but that number is extremely large! EVsArceus's EVs are entirely dependent on the set, so just use the ones that accompany each one. OpinionAfter the pre-battle tintinnabulation is completed, please stare in pure, unadulterated horror and ominous presentiment at what is unequivocally the best and most versatile Pokémon in the game. Dare not incur Arceus' divine wrath, or else the consequences shall be severe and merciless, and life shall become an evanescent wisp. CountersAs versatile as Arceus is, every individual set is entirely counterable. Giratina and Lugia can switch in on an Extreme Killer set very easily with their ridiculous Defense and HP and burn or Whirlwind it away, respectively; additionally, intelligent switching lets them use their Pressure ability to disintegrate its meager 8 ExtremeSpeed PP. Skarmory works similarly to Lugia, although the Overheat version squashes it. However, Skarmory is also capable of dealing with the Ghost Swords Dancer, a distinction shared by the insanely defensive Normal Arceus, which can Will-o-Wisp or inflict serious damage on both species of Arceus. A very defensive Choice Band Groudon can also counter the Swords Dance Ghost Arceus, barring a critical hit from Shadow Claw. While not a counter in adherence to its strictest definition, a Kyogre with Choice Scarf can switch in after it has knocked something out, and then proceed to land a swift OHKO with Water Spout, assuming that it did not suffer from damage beforehand. All counters to the Swords Dance Ghost Arceus except the Normal Arceus must caution against walking directly into a Calm Mind version, though. Speaking of the Calm Mind versions with an auxiliary attack, Blissey can use Toxic to wear them down if they have Recover; if they have Substitute, that means they lack any recovery whatsoever, which a Calm Minding Blissey can counter by breaking the Substitutes down slowly. If the Calm Mind sweeper is Ghost, then a Normal Arceus will be able to switch in on its relatively weak Ice Beams and use Toxic or Punishment, while a Bug-type sweeper is devastated by Heatran and Ho-oh, which sport excellent resistances to its attacks and do considerable chunks of damage with Fire-type attacks that are likely boosted by sunny weather. Latias and Latios with Refresh can quickly decimate Fighting Arceus as well as Grass Arceus. Rest and Sleep Talk Giratina is in the same boat as Latias. With its base 120 Special Defense, Giratina does not fear much from either of those, barring a critical hit or freeze from Ice Beam. With Pressure on its side, Giratina can quickly dispose of Ice Beam's PPs, leaving Arceus with absolutely no weapons against Giratina. However, Giratina must be cautious walking into versions with Calm Mind, as they will turn the tables quite easily. Although it fears repeatedly switching into STABed Judgments, Blissey can come into either of Grass or Fighting Arceus, land its own Toxic, Softboiled and switch out before she takes too much from Toxic if Arceus inflicted it on Blissey upon switching in. Dialga and Lugia can handle the Grass variant fairly nicely; the former can Bulk Up and dispatch Arceus with a powered up Dragon Claw, whereas the latter can Toxic and Whirlwind away Grass Arceus out of the battlefield. Metagross finds itself not pressured to switch into Grass Arceus and 2HKO with Choice Band Ice Punch or Meteor Mash. Heracross does not fear any of its attacks, and swiftly disposes of Arceus with Megahorn. Heatran, with its 4x resistance to both Ice and Grass, can quickly demolish Arceus with powerful STABed Choice Specs Flamethrower. The mono-attacking sets are a bit complicated to counter as it is difficult to inflict any type of lasting damage due to the combination of Substitute and Recover or Rest and Sleep Talk. The Bug-types are the easiest to counter; Giratina with Roar can remove any stat boosts as well as a possible Substitute, while Ho-oh and Heatran sport quadruple resistances to Bug and powerful Fire-type attacks to retaliate with. The Ice-type special sweeper is relatively easy to deal with, as well; the Fire-types still work, and Kyogre with Calm Mind rends it apart due to resistance to Ice and an amazing base 140 Special Defense. Metagross can switch in and use a Choice Banded Meteor Mash to easily dispose of Arceus. Lastly, the Dragon-type is countered by Metagross. The Choice Band set is relatively simple to counter. Giratina can switch into any attack, even a Dragon Claw, and then one may work on switching in Pokémon that resist the chosen attack; to ease matters, Giratina's Pressure ability ruins ExtremeSpeed and Punishment. Lugia and its massive Defense, Reflect, Pressure and Roost does the same too. The Arceus that are designed to counter other Pokémon are usually beaten by a solid attacker that is not weak to one of their attacks. Any non-Poison or Steel-type must beware of Toxic, however. |
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