Gen 6 Kneel Before Your God: A Complete Guide to Arceus in the XY Ubers Metagame

What is your favourite Arceus forme?

  • Bug

    Votes: 15 17.4%
  • Dark

    Votes: 6 7.0%
  • Dragon

    Votes: 2 2.3%
  • Fire

    Votes: 3 3.5%
  • Flying

    Votes: 1 1.2%
  • Ghost

    Votes: 12 14.0%
  • Electric

    Votes: 5 5.8%
  • Fairy

    Votes: 7 8.1%
  • Fighting

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Grass

    Votes: 2 2.3%
  • Ground

    Votes: 2 2.3%
  • Ice

    Votes: 2 2.3%
  • Normal

    Votes: 11 12.8%
  • Poison

    Votes: 6 7.0%
  • Psychic

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Rock

    Votes: 2 2.3%
  • Steel

    Votes: 3 3.5%
  • Water

    Votes: 7 8.1%

  • Total voters
    86

PISTOLERO

I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
Okay so I originally started work on this a couple months ago before we even knew about ORAS, and it will need major overhauling when the time comes, but it's basically a complete thorough guide to Arceus in XY Ubers. A lot of new players have no idea what to do with their Arceus slot and haphazardly throw on a random forme that doesn't work as well as another one would on their team, so hopefully this can help the newer players, and maybe even the more experienced of us! Proofread by Hack and Melee Mewtwo and Steeljackal<3, thank you a lot to all three (this breaks the 5000 word mark).

Kneel Before Your God - A Complete Guide to Arceus in the XY Ubers Metagame



Overview

Released in the winter of DPP via event, Arceus was originally not a part of the Ubers tier due to EV restrictions arising from its release at Level 100, which caused issues with implementing Arceus into the original Smogon simulators. However, in BW, these restrictions were lifted, allowing Arceus to reach its full potential in the tier. After a generation of unrestricted access to everything that Arceus has to offer, He returns once more in Generation VI as the dominating force in XY Ubers, being by far the most dangerous and versatile Pokemon in the tier.

Arceus has the distinction of having the highest base stat total of any Pokemon besides Mega Mewtwo X and Y, with its base 120 stats across the board adding up to a formidable 720 overall - whilst this does mean that Arceus does not possess a base 150 attacking stat like many other Ubers such as Palkia or Zekrom, it means that Arceus has formidable defensive stats in 120/120/120, still possesses very potent attacking stats, and perhaps best of all has base 120 Speed, allowing it to outrun almost the entire tier. Arceus also possesses a unique characteristic in its ability, Multitype. This ability allows Arceus to change its type according to the Plate it holds, with the base form (holding no Plate) being Normal - for example, Arceus holding the Toxic Plate becomes a Poison-Type. To go along with this, Arceus also has its own signature move, Judgment, which has 100 base power and also changes type according to the Plate held - Arceus-Poison has Poison-type Judgment, for example - basically giving all special Arceus formes a 180 base power move to use (due to STAB and the 20% boost given by the Plate itself). Lastly, with the introduction of the new Fairy-Type in Generation VI, Arceus finds itself with another type that it can use, giving it yet more options.

Kinds of Arceus

The roles that Arceus can take can be separated into three categories; Support, Calm Mind and Swords Dance.

1. Support
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Arceus’s 120/120/120 bulk and its ability to become any type means that it can run a set and a typing to counter or check absolutely everything in the game. Typical support sets in BW consisted of Judgment, Recover, and 2 other support moves such as Will-O-Wisp, Roar, Perish Song, Stone Edge or Thunder Wave. However, Support Arceus has gotten even better this generation as a long-forgotten Gen IV HM move has had its mechanics changed - Defog, previously completely competitively useless, now removes hazards from both sides of the field, meaning that teams no longer have to rely on weak and exploitable Rapid Spinners for hazard control; they can now outsource their hazard removal to sturdy and reliable Arceus formes that can be tailored to fit into any team archetype (a very common and effective support set this generation is Judgment, Defog, Will-O-Wisp and Recover, which works well on Water, Ghost, Rock and Fairy Arceus; variations of this set are also very effective). However, support Arceus formes must watch out for Toxic, which is a very common move on many Pokemon such as Palkia and Landorus-Therian this generation, as well as being trapped by Shadow Tag users such as Gengar and Gothitelle. However, it is possible for them to beat unevolved Mega Gengar through team support or running 176 Speed to outspeed it, whilst Gothitelle can be beaten with Punishment or by running a physical STAB instead of Judgment; these options are admittedly rather specialised.

Common support Arceus: Arceus-Water (checks Ho-Oh, Kyogre and certain variants of Palkia), Arceus-Fairy (checks Yveltal and Palkia, as well as other Dragons), Arceus-Rock (checks Ho-Oh and Yveltal), Arceus-Grass (checks Kyogre, Groudon and Zekrom)

2. Calm Mind
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Arceus’s wide special movepool and access to the previously mentioned Judgment means that several different Arceus formes (are different ones called formes or types of Arceus?) can be fearsome special sweepers. Moves such as Refresh and Substitute, Refresh in particular, can easily solve the issue of Toxic, a very common move this generation, which is often the main way of checking Calm Mind Arceus. Arceus can take three different approaches when using Calm Mind - offensive Calm Mind, bulky Calm Mind and support Calm Mind. Examples of these are as follows; Arceus-Electric invests heavily in Special Attack and uses Judgment and Ice Beam to quickly set up and run through opposing teams; Arceus-Poison runs a bulky spread with max HP and a lot of Defense, alongside STAB and a coverage move; Arceus-Ghost can run a mono-attacking set that also has Will-O-Wisp to check physical attackers. Of course, most if not all Calm Mind Arceus can be used in defensive roles - Arceus-Poison can handle any Xerneas without Psyshock, Arceus-Ghost can burn opposing Extremekiller Arceus, and even Arceus-Electric can come in on Ho-Oh’s Brave Birds.

Calm Mind Arceus Formes can also serve as stallbreakers by using their bulk, power and typing to set up. These formes (with the exception of Steel and Poison) run Refresh instead of a second coverage move due to it giving them protection from status, most importantly Toxic (Steel and Poison formes are immune to Toxic courtesy of their typing, meaning that they have an open moveslot), and also allowing them to sponge status for their team. Substitute is sometimes usable over Refresh, due to its utility in protecting Arceus from revenge killing, as well as protection from status (although it is not as reliable as Refresh). Common stallbreaker Arceus formes are Poison, Dark, Steel and Water, although Fairy, Flying and Rock can also work well due to there being no immunities or common x4 resists to their STAB Judgment.

Common Calm Mind Arceus: Arceus-Electric, Arceus-Poison (can either run Poison STAB + Will-O-Wisp or Poison STAB + coverage move), Arceus-Fairy (runs either monoCM sets, monoCM with Will-O-Wisp, or with coverage moves such as Psyshock), Arceus-Ghost (can run defensive monoCM with Will-O-Wisp and Recover, Ghost STAB + coverage + Recover, or Ghost STAB + coverage + Substitute)

3. Swords Dance
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Arceus can also take a different approach to setup sweeping by using Swords Dance. Swords Dance grants Arceus +2 Attack, effectively doubling it, after just one turn of setup, allowing Arceus to become a formidable physical threat very quickly - Swords Dance is different from Calm Mind in that it allows Arceus to boost more quickly and take a more offensive approach to sweeping. The most well-known Swords Dance Arceus forme is Arceus-Normal, which uses STAB Extremespeed alongside coverage moves such as Earthquake, Shadow Claw and Overheat to break through its would-be checks and sweep teams with powerful priority. The other prominent Swords Dance Arceus formes are Ground and Ghost [and Dragon and Steel] - Arceus-Ground uses STAB Earthquake as its main sweeping tool, Arceus-Ghost can use either of Shadow Force and Shadow Claw, (or both!) [Arceus-Dragon has an obscenely powerful STAB Outrage, and Arceus-Steel utilises Iron Head alongside Earthquake and Stone Edge]. Most Swords Dance Arceus formes have similar checks - opposing support Arceus with Will-O-Wisp can cripple them; physically defensive Yveltal can OHKO them all at +2 with Foul Play; physically defensive Quagsire and Clefable can just about wall all Swords Dance Arceus due to Unaware; Skarmory, whilst uncommon, can wall all Swords Dance Arceus without Fire coverage. Common moves used are Extremespeed, which can be used by all formes for priority, Earthquake for coverage against Steel and Rock types, Stone Edge for Flying-Types,. Ice Beam for Landorus-Therian and Gliscor, Overheat or Fire Blast for Scizor, Skarmory and Ferrothorn, and even Grass Knot or Energy Ball for Quagsire. It is even possible to run Refresh or Recover on certain formes that require only two moves, as this allows them to maintain longevity, set up more than once, or heal off status such as burn.

Common Swords Dance Arceus: Arceus-Normal (runs Extremespeed alongside two of Earthquake, Shadow Force/Claw, Overheat, Grass Knot and Refresh), Arceus-Ground (runs Earthquake, Stone Edge, and one of Extremespeed, Ice Beam, Recover or Shadow Force), Arceus-Ghost (runs Brick Break, Shadow Force and/or Shadow Claw, or Extremespeed or Recover as a last move), Arceus-Dragon (runs Outrage, and two of Recover, Iron Tail/Iron Head/Poison Jab, Earthquake, Extremespeed or Overheat), and Arceus-Steel (runs Iron Head or Iron Tail, Earthquake, and either Stone Edge, Extremespeed or Recover).

The 18 Different Types:



Bug - Bug Arceus sadly remains as the worst Arceus forme. Both Calm Mind and Swords Dance sets are severely outclassed by other formes, whilst support sets are out of the question due to such an awful defensive typing. It does not help that the new Fairy type resists Bug either.



Dark - Arceus-Dark took a hit this generation with the introduction of Fairies, especially Xerneas, which limit its options. Arceus-Dark performs best as a stallbreaker, using Refresh or Substitute to avoid status whilst boosting; bulky Fairies are a common sight on stall teams, but with the right teammates (such as Mega Gengar), Arceus-Dark still works well - it is still scared of Xerneas, especially Geomancy variants, however. Something to mention is that with the generation shift, Dark is no longer resisted by Steel, meaning that Arceus-Dark can beat up on Steel-Types such as Dialga with STAB Judgment. A status heavy metagame this generation is appreciated by Arceus-Dark, due to its ability to sponge status, and Arceus-Ghost no longer really carrying Focus Blast is another small bonus.



Dragon - Arceus-Dragon is another forme that sadly took a nosedive in viability this generation, again due to the introduction of Fairies. Its Swords Dance set can no longer abuse absurdly powerful Outrages, and faces the issue of choosing its coverage moves and therefore choosing what it gets walled by - it can however do serious damage to all Fairies with Iron Tail (or Poison Jab), and the decline in usage of Skarmory and Ferrothorn is a minor bonus for Arceus-Dragon. The Calm Mind set is also brought to a halt by Fairies, and is hard walled if running Refresh - it does however boast the advantage of being able to check Kyogre reasonably well, although it does attract Geomancy Xerneas like a magnet.



Electric - Arceus-Electric has improved significantly in Generation VI, in no small part due to the huge decline in the usage of Ferrothorn, Chansey and Excadrill. Its standard BoltBeam Calm Mind set works as well as ever, although nerfs to special moves such as Thunderbolt are slightly irritating, and Arceus-Electric can no longer abuse STAB Thunder due to rain no longer being permanent, but this also means that Arceus-Electric can now act as a decent Palkia check in neutral weather. Its new-found immunity to paralysis helps even more, as it can now absorb the move from Palkia and many other Pokemon, and is much harder to cripple. The rise of Lugia and Ho-Oh this generation also helps Arceus-Electric shine (huehue) as it can easily break both - Ho-Oh in particular causes many other Calm Mind Arceus formes issues.



Fairy - Arceus-Fairy, the fabulous new arrival to the Arceus formes, is at its best when running a support set that can invest in either special or physical defense in order to effectively check most of the Dragons, as well as a new threat in Yveltal, in the tier, as well as providing Will-O-Wisp and Defog support. It can run Calm Mind sets effectively as well, although bear in mind that it is quite weak to Mega Gengar, and is also scared by Ho-Oh if not carrying a move specifically for it.



Fighting - another type that has fallen from grace in Generation VI, Arceus-Fighting dislikes Fairies intensely. Its old Calm Mind set is sadly unviable, and its support set(s) is/are very prone to Xerneas, especially Geomancy variants, but it retains its niche in being able to deal with Darkrai better than any other forme, as well as being able to heavily damage Extremekiller Arceus with Judgment. It is also quite weak to Ho-Oh. The prevalence of Xerneas, Mega Gengar and Mewtwo this generation also forces Arceus-Fighting to run Thunder Wave, causing it further severe moveset issues.



Fire - Arceus-Fire has indirectly gotten slightly better this generation, due to its ability to deal with and/or set up on many variants of Geomancy Xerneas, as well as bulky Fairies in general, which is invaluable. The weather nerf is a mixed bag as rain no longer permanently dampens Judgment, but sun no longer permanently buffs it. Arceus-Fire’s old enemies, Palkia and Kyogre, are still as dangerous as ever, and this alongside other reasons means that Arceus-Fire is still a niche option for most teams. Something Arceus-Fire can do that most other formes cannot is run a reasonably effective lure set for several different checks.



Flying - Arceus-Flying is another interesting Arceus forme. Zekrom’s viability arguably going up this generation has indirectly hurt Arceus-Flying, and it still keeps its Stealth Rock and Ice, Rock and Electric weaknesses. However, it remains as a decent stallbreaker due to Flying being a very good offensive typing - this usually consists of Judgment, Calm Mind, Recover and either Refresh or Substitute - Arceus-Flying’s immunity to Toxic Spikes, Spikes and Sticky Web helps differentiate it from other formes.



Ghost - Whilst having lost a lot of what made it S-Rank last generation, the introduction of Yveltal, and no longer being able to stop the removal of entry hazards - Rapid Spin having been replaced by Defog for the most part - Arceus-Ghost still remains as one of the most versatile Arceus formes. It can run 4 different sets very effectively; Calm Mind with Judgment and Focus Blast/Thunder/Fire Blast alongside Substitute or Recover, Swords Dance with Shadow Claw and/or Shadow Force alongside Brick Break and either Extremespeed or Recover, either physically or specially defensive support sets with Will-O-Wisp and Recover, and lastly a mix of support and Calm Mind with Judgment/CM/WoW/Recover. Even Substitute + Calm Mind is an effective, if very specialised set, that works on Arceus-Ghost due to its immunity to Seismic Toss, allowing it to set up on Blissey with impunity. Newcomer Yveltal causes all Arceus-Ghost sets problems, but Arceus-Ghost’s ability to effectively check dangerous tier members such as Extremekiller Arceus, Kangaskhan and Mega Mewtwo X or Y means that it remains as a very solid Arceus forme. Its ability to escape from Mega Gengar due to its Ghost typing is just an added bonus.



Grass - Arceus-Grass is a strange case in XY. Several new tier members cause it significant issues, and old members have also become issues due to way the tier has changed. Mega Gengar can trap Arceus-Grass and get rid of it with Sludge Wave, Yveltal can come in and beat up on it with Oblivion Wing, and Ho-Oh has become much more common this generation and threatens Arceus-Grass as much as it did in BW - even Palkia, which Arceus-Grass used to do very well against, is no longer always reliably checked due to the lack of permanent rain dampening Fire Blast, as well as Palkia’s propensity to carry Toxic. However, Arceus-Grass can run coverage moves such as Earthquake and Stone Edge to deal with Mega Gengar, Ho-Oh and Yveltal respectively, can Defog away hazards, and spread status effectively. It still stands out as a premium check to all Kyogre variants, checks Groudon competently, checks Zekrom and Excadrill nicely, and can still soak up assaults from Landorus and Palkia to an extent, although it must watch out for Toxic.



Ground - Arceus-Ground has changed both quite a lot and also not at all in XY. Its old Calm Mind set is no longer viable, but its Swords Dance set has arguably gotten stronger. Its STAB Earthquake works very nicely alongside Swords Dance, Stone Edge, and either Recover, Extremespeed or Ice Beam, or even more niche options such as Shadow Force and even Refresh. Its ability to check Zekrom is very nice, and its immunity to Thunder Wave and ability to frighten Klefki away means that it fits quite nicely on offensive teams. It is somewhat irritated by Landorus-Therian and Gliscor, but can run Ice Beam to easily dispose of these two. All in all, whilst Arceus-Ground may be one-dimensional this generation, its specific traits alongside the typical Arceus stat distribution and movepool mean that it remains as a solid physical attacker and solid choice over other Swords Dance Arceus in certain cases.



Ice - Arceus-Ice, whilst not being as bad as Arceus-Bug, still has several serious issues. Its weakness to Stealth Rock due to its atrocious defensive typing means that it finds it hard to take advantage of the 120/120/120 bulk endowed to all formes. Whilst its Fighting weakness is not so much of an issue due to the type’s fall from grace in the Ubers tier, its Steel weakness is more prominent this generation due to the type’s popularity in checking Xerneas - Scizor’s Bullet Punch in particular makes Arceus-Ice sad. STAB Ice moves can still prove useful due to the many Dragon-Types in the tier. Whilst it is usually better to use another Arceus forme, Arceus-Ice is at least usable, unlike its Arceus-Bug counterpart, and can be reasonably unpredictable.



Normal - Arceus-Normal returns as the most feared physical setup sweeper in the Ubers tier. What makes Arceus-Normal so dangerous, and what differentiates it from other Swords Dance Arceus formes, is its access to STAB Extremespeed and the ability to hold an item. Alongside a +2 boost from Swords Dance and a boosting item such as Life Orb, Arceus-Normal is able to OHKO a huge amount of the Ubers tier, with Pokemon such as Kyogre, Palkia and Darkrai falling to boosted Extremespeed, guaranteed after Stealth Rock. Coverage moves such as Earthquake and Shadow Claw/Shadow Force mean that Arceus can easily break through those that resist Extremespeed. Whilst maybe seeming one dimensional, Arceus can change its moveset and item choice to get past its checks and counters - Lum Berry protects it from status, such as Will-O-Wisp from opposing Arceus formes and gives it a free turn - investment in bulk and Silk Scarf mean that Arceus is a lot harder to take down - coverage moves such as Overheat break through checks such as Scizor and Ferrothorn, whilst Grass Knot can break Quagsire, Groudon and Hippowdon. Refresh is also an option on Extremekiller Arceus to help it break stall, healing it from burns and poison. The Giratina formes’ fall from grace this generation, as well as the reduced viability of old checks such as Skarmory, Forretress, Scarf Dialga and Scarf Terrakion, mean that Arceus-Normal is very dangerous indeed. However, it is not insurmountable, as it cannot run every item and coverage move at once; physically defensive Yveltal has emerged as a stellar check to Arceus-Normal and other Swords Dance Arceus. Something that should not be forgotten is Arceus-Normal’s utility in revenge killing even slightly weakened threats with Extremespeed due to the power of the move, and is able to revenge certain threats that other classic revenge killers, such as Choice Scarf users, cannot, due to things like opposing priority and the immediate threat of Swords Dance.



Poison - Arceus-Poison is another forme that has risen from obscurity in XY, in no small part due to the arrival of Xerneas. Arceus-Poison can run either support sets or Calm Mind, and is accomplished at both due to its ability to check Geomancy Xerneas and even potentially set up on it - even those that run Psychic coverage cannot break through support Arceus-Poison due to Poison Jab hitting Xerneas in its unboosted Defense. Calm Mind Arceus-Poison retains its ability to trample stall teams due to its immunity to Toxic, allowing it to run Fire or Ground coverage for Steel Types alongside either Judgment or Sludge Bomb, or even run Will-O-Wisp to render Ground-Types useless. Arceus-Poison also loves defensive Fairy-Types, which are popular on balanced and defensive teams, due to its ability to come in on them and either Defog or set up on them with Calm Mind. It is also able to win against other Calm Mind Arceus due to the poison chance from Sludge Bomb.



Psychic - Arceus-Psychic is very specialised, and intensely dislikes Yveltal, one of the newest and strongest members of the tier. However, Arceus-Psychic boasts a distinct advantages it has over other formes - the ability to almost counter all Mewtwo formes in one set, be it Mega Mewtwo X, Mega Mewtwo Y or regular Mewtwo, as well as being able to counter Deoxys-A, something no other forme can claim. The ability to use STAB Psyshock is also something Arceus-Psychic has over other formes.



Rock - Arceus-Rock stands out for its ability to reliably and effectively check Ho-Oh, a huge threat in the tier this generation. It also checks Yveltal competently, counters Reshiram and can burn Extremekiller Arceus and Mega Khan due to its resistance to Normal. However, Arceus-Rock’s old problems in Kyogre and Palkia still exist, and the two can bully Arceus-Rock with STAB water moves. A weakness to Earthquake does not help either, as Ho-Oh can carry this move, and other nasty weaknesses such as Steel and Grass mean that Pokemon such as Scizor can cause Arceus-Rock issues. Overall, whilst specialised, Arceus-Rock boasts the ability to switch in on Choice Band Ho-Oh, something (almost) nothing else can beat. Support sets with Will-O-Wisp and Defog are usually most effective, but Arceus-Rock can also run Calm Mind and either Refresh or Will-O-Wisp as a mono-attacker, and Swords Dance can also work, although this variant is crippled by burns from Sacred Fire, a move it will often be switching in on.



Steel - Arceus-Steel has sadly fallen from grace this generation. Unlike Arceus-Poison, it cannot reliably deal with Geomancy Xerneas due to its weakness to Focus Blast. Support sets are unviable due to Arceus-Steel attracting Ho-Oh like a magnet, and Arceus-Steel also struggles against common Stealth Rock setters that can stop it Defogging. Its inability to reliably check Palkia due to Fire Blast and Hydro Pump is an issue, and Kyogre resists Steel as well. However, Arceus-Steel still retains several advantages over other formes. An immunity to Toxic is highly prized this generation, and Arceus-Steel can run a reasonably effective late-game Calm Mind set that can set up easily due to the Steel type’s resistances; Calm Mind Arceus-Steel, like its brother Arceus-Poison, can also trample stall teams, although Arceus-Poison arguably does it better. Swords Dance Arceus-Steel is also usable, and, like Calm Mind sets, can set up on defensive Fairy-Types with ease. All in all, whilst Arceus-Steel is not as strong as it used to be, it can still be a solid choice for teams looking to utilise its many resistances; although Arceus-Steel does not resist Ghost or Dark anymore, it has obtained a resistance to Fairy and can also hit them for supereffective damage.



Water - Arceus-Water has not gained or lost anything notable in XY. Its ability to check a large part of the tier, along with its newfound ability to Defog, means that it holds a very important and large niche amongst Arceus formes - it is able to absorb Scarf Water Spout from Kyogre, Hydro Pump, Spacial Rend and Fire Blast from Palkia, as well as being able to come in on Groudon and Landorus-Therian, threaten them with a superefffective Judgment, burn them or Defog their Stealth Rock away. It also stands out for being able to somewhat deal with Ho-Oh with a physically defensive spread, threatening it away with Judgment. It is very weak to Zekrom, however, and is scared by Arceus-Electric as well. Whilst most commonly seen running said support sets with either physical or special defense investment, Arceus-Water can also run a competent mono attacking Calm Mind set due to its excellent offensive and defensive typing. Unfortunately, Swords Dance Arceus-Water is no longer very viable due to the lack of permanent rain and the rise of support Arceus with Will-O-Wisp.

Moves

Swords Dance - Swords Dance allows Arceus to easily double its Attack, and alongside its expansive physical movepool and many different formes, allows Arceus to sweep after just one turn of setup.

Calm Mind - giving a +1 boost in both Special Attack and Special Defense, Calm Mind allows Arceus to slowly boost, meaning that its special attacks get more and more powerful, as well as slowly becoming imprevious to most special attacks. Due to Arceus’s bulk, it can even set up on powerful assaults such as Palkia’s Spacial Rend due to the Special Defense boost and Recover.

Judgment - Judgment stands out as a move that will always have STAB and a formidable 180 base power when used by Arceus. Used on support and Calm Mind sets alike, it is a staple due to its reliability and power.

Extremespeed - most commonly seen on the famous Extremekiller Arceus due to Normal STAB. It allows Arceus to sweep weakened teams with ease as well as easily revenge killing weakened opponents. It is also more than usable on other Swords Dance Arceus such as Ghost, Ground and Dragon due to its utility in revenge killing Pokemon and preventing weakened Scarf users from ruining a sweep.

Earthquake - used by Swords Dance Arceus formes, its 100 base power and accuracy means it stands out as a reliable and strong coverage move. It is most common on Arceus-Normal, Dragon and Steel due to the need for coverage against Steel-Types. It also allows Arceus-Normal to hit Arceus-Rock supereffectively. Arceus-Ground uses STAB Earthquake as its main sweeping tool, and it can also be used by the albeit uncommon Swords Dance Arceus-Rock. Lastly, Arceus-Grass and other select support formes can make specific use of Earthquake so that they can hit Mega Gengar supereffectively

Stone Edge - Stone Edge is again used by Swords Dance Arceus for coverage. Arceus-Ground in particular uses Stone Edge to hit Ground immunities such as Lugia and Ho-Oh supereffectively, and it notably hits physically defensive Yveltal very hard, which can otherwise retaliate with Foul Play and OHKO +2 Arceus - Arceus-Steel and Arceus-Ghost can also make use of the move for the same reasons. Interestingly, Stone Edge can also be useful on several support Arceus formes such as Grass, Fairy and Fighting, due to their ability to lure in Ho-Oh and nail it for 80-92% damage, even with a hindering nature.

Shadow Force / Shadow Claw - almost exclusively used by Normal and Ghost formes of Arceus. Ghost coverage gives Arceus-Normal a way of breaking through Arceus-Ghost, Lugia and the Giratina formes. Swords Dance Arceus-Ghost can choose between the two or run both for its STAB moves, and attains perfect coverage with Brick Break.

Fire Blast / Flamethrower / Overheat - used mainly for coverage against Steel-Types by Calm Mind Arceus formes such as Poison, Water and Ice. These moves are also usable on support Arceus that are otherwise weak to certain Steel-Types, and are even seen on Swords Dance Arceus - Arceus-Normal can use Fire Blast to break Scizor and Ferrothorn, and all formes can use Overheat to get through Steel-Types such as Skarmory.

Sludge Bomb - commonly seen on Calm Mind Arceus-Poison due to its high 30% poison chance. It can also be seen on other formes, albeit rarely, such as Dark and Dragon due to Poison doing supereffective damage to Fairy-Types.

Ice Beam - most commonly seen on Arceus-Electric due to it making up half of the famous BoltBeam combo and its supereffective damage on large parts of the tier. It can also be seen on Swords Dance Arceus formes such as Ground so that they can get through bulky Ground-Types, although this is quite specialised.

Defog - a new move in Arceus’s arsenal this generation, it allows Arceus to remove hazards from both sides of the field. This means that balanced and defensive teams can now use reliable Arceus formes for hazard control instead of inferior Rapid Spinners, allowing for role compression.

Will-O-Wisp - support Arceus make very good use of this move - due to their bulk, they can easily cripple the physical attackers that they check, as well as spreading status and residual damage on other tier members.

Recover - Arceus uses Recover to maintain its longevity. All three kinds of Arceus can use this move, but it is only mandatory on support variants. Calm Mind run Recover most of the time to aid setup, and Swords Dance Arceus can also use Recover if they have a spare moveslot.

Refresh - Refresh allows Arceus to heal itself from status. Mono-attacking Calm Mind sets use this move to heal off Toxic damage in particular. However, Swords Dance Arceus can also make use of Refresh on certain teams, as it allows Arceus to heal off burn.

Substitute - Arceus uses Substitute to avoid status and protect itself from revenge killing - the ability to create 101+ HP Substitutes is great for Calm Mind Arceus in particular as it allows the Substitutes to not get broken by Seismic Toss.

Thunder Wave - allows Arceus to cripple opposing teammembers. Thunder Wave works nicely to discourage would-be offensive checks from switching in, and can catch them and cripple them on the switch - for example, Arceus-Poison can cripple Mewtwo with Thunder Wave. Thunder Wave also works nicely to cripple Xerneas that try to set up Geomancy.

Punishment - Allows Support Arceus to break Gothitelle and prevent it from beating Arceus with Calm Mind. However, this is susceptible to Charm.

Roar - allows Arceus to phaze out Gothitelle, as well as other setup sweepers.


Checks and Counters

(* signifies a check, ** signifies a counter, with additional details in brackets. Bold * and ** signifies a hard check or counter)

(Notes:)
  • Support Arceus are not included due to their main purpose not being sweeping.
  • Choice Scarf users are only included where significant.
  • all Swords Dance Arceus must watch out for opposing support Arceus carrying Will-O-Wisp.
  • Darkrai can loosely check all Calm Mind Arceus due to outspeeding them and being able to put them to sleep.
  • Calm Mind Arceus with a type advantage tend to be able to win against opposing Calm Mind Arceus, e.g. Water vs Steel, Electric vs Flying
  • Any Calm Mind Arceus that is not immune to Toxic (Poison and Steel) and is not carrying Refresh must watch out for Toxic. However, Pokemon that carry Toxic are not checks to Calm Mind Arceus purely because they are carrying Toxic, this is a deplorable attitude and creates huge weaknesses in teambuilding.
  • Certain checks can falter against Calm Mind variants with Will-O-Wisp, these will be underlined.
  • Support Arceus are susceptible to being trapped by Gengar and Gothitelle unless running specific moves for them.
1. Arceus-Bug: Ho-Oh** (no Stone Edge), defensive Xerneas**

2. Arceus-Dark: Ho-Oh*, Xerneas*

3. Arceus-Dragon:
  • Swords Dance: Skarmory*, support Arceus*, Xerneas* (no Steel/Poison coverage), defensive Yveltal), Quagsire**
  • Calm Mind: Blissey** (falls to Refresh) , Ho-Oh*, specially defensive Xerneas**, Scarf Xerneas*, Scarf Zekrom*
4. Arceus-Electric: Blissey**, Dialga*, Ferrothorn*, Gastrodon**, Reshiram*

5. Arceus-Fairy: Arceus-Poison** (no Psyshock), Scizor* (no Fire Blast/Will-O-Wisp), Aegislash* (needs Toxic and doesn’t like Fire Blast)

6. Arceus-Fighting: N/A

7. Arceus-Fire: Gastrodon**, Blissey**, Palkia*, Kyogre*, Heatran*, Reshiram*
8. Arceus-Flying: Heatran*, Zekrom*, Arceus-Electric*

9. Arceus-Ghost:
  • Calm Mind: Blissey** (loses against Substitute), Yveltal*, Arceus-Dark*, Darkrai*, Ho-Oh*
  • Swords Dance: Yveltal**, Skarmory*, Quagsire**
10. Arceus-Grass: N/A

11. Arceus-Ground: Quagsire**, Lugia*, physically defensive Yveltal*, Shaymin-Sky*, Groudon*, Gliscor* (beware of Ice Beam), Landorus-Therian* (beware of Ice Beam), Arceus-Grass*, Arceus-Water*, Scarf Kyogre*

12. Arceus-Ice: Scizor*, Reshiram*, Blissey**, Dialga*

13. Arceus-Poison - Mewtwo*, Heatran** (must watch out for Earth Power, hard walls otherwise), Scizor* (must watch out for Fire coverage), Arceus-Ground*, Landorus-Therian*, Groudon*, Gliscor*, Ho-Oh*, Deoxys-Attack*

14. Arceus-Psychic - Tyranitar** (eats everything except boosted Focus Blast), Yveltal* (must watch out for boosted Thunder), Darkrai*

15. Arceus-Rock - Groudon*, Arceus-Ground*, Kyogre* (Scarf outspeeds, specially defensive phazes), Palkia*, Scizor*, Aegislash*

16. Arceus-Steel:
  • Swords Dance: Skarmory**, Ho-Oh** (no Stone Edge), physically defensive Yveltal*, physically defensive Kyogre*, Landorus-Therian*, Gliscor*, Groudon**
  • Calm Mind: Palkia*, specially defensive Kyogre* (has to watch out for Roar), Ho-Oh**
17. Arceus-Water: Palkia* (can fall to Spacial Rend, specially defensive Palkia can PP stall Judgment), specially defensive Kyogre* (must watch out for Grass Knot or Thunder), Scarf Zekrom*, Shaymin-S*, Ferrothorn*, Gastrodon** (falls to Grass Knot)

EV spreads
  • 248 HP / 164 Def or 164 SpDef / 96+ Speed; Outspeeds Palkia
  • 248 HP / 244+ Def or 244+ SpDef / 16 Speed; Outspeeds 252 Spe neutral base 90s
  • 248 HP / 204+ Def or 244+ SpDef / 56 Speed; Outspeeds neutral Rayquaza and Kyurem-W
  • 4 HP / 252 Atk or 252 SpAtk / 252+ Speed - maximum speed, ties with other max speed Arceus
  • 96 HP / 236 SpAtk / 176 Spe Timid; Outspeeds unevolved Gengar, makes 101 Substitutes
(Are there any other specialised spreads I missed out? I don’t think the Garchomp-creeping spreads are worth it to be honest)

Types of teams that different formes fit well on

might add this in later
 
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PISTOLERO

I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
Alright so your guys' thoughts, bear in mind that things such as mentions of Gengar / Gothitelle are mentioned once so that they aren't mentioned 10,000 times, same with lots of other things. Hopefully you guys have nothing but positive feedback, and once this is 100% finished hopefully it can be stickied as a permanent resource!

Constructive criticisms on things I may have missed (i wrote this by myself so there's bound to be one or two) is greatly appreciated, however i'd appreicate no shitposting or arguing, as I spent a lot of time and effort on this. Happy reading!

Oh and shoutouts to:

Joryn James Jimmy supersaiyan3 Aidin MrKijani Hack Steeljackal<3 Melee Mewtwo ApplepieFTW Alfalfa Dallaren Piexplode UXQ MegaMan775 Aquasition haxiom WreckDra PoweredByRevenge and more who i have certainly forgotten

special shoutouts to aim Edgar K Legacy for working so hard on quality Ubers content on Youtube and attracting more people to the tier :)
 
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"Swords Dance is different from Swords Dance in that it allows Arceus to boost more quickly and take a more offensive approach to sweeping". I assume you mean "Calm Mind" in the latter instance?

I'm liking this so far, a lot!
 

Thugly Duckling

I play TCG now
inb4 Arceus gets Precipice Blades, Origin Pulse, and Dragon Ascent in an event :D

EDIT: btw, I have never seen the word "whilst" in a single article this much before. o_o
 
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arc-elec / rock / dark can act as great yveltal checks on teams which isn't mentioned. dark only checks offensive varients, but pairing it with a non-fairy that checks defensive yveltal can condense teamslots. gliscor with some speed investment, stalltwo, or mega lucario are pretty solid options for that
 

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