Arceus-Ground (Special Set)

[Lumari]

remove add / fix (comments); (AC=ad comma; RC=remove comma; SC=semicolon)
GP 1/2

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[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Judgment
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Recover
move 4: Toxic
item: Earth Plate
nature: Bold
evs: 248 HP / 92 Def / 168 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Ground Arceus can take a different route from the usual Swords Dance sweeper set (generalise this to "usual Swords Dance sets" or something, anything to make it indefinite and thereby avoid cross-set referencing) (RC) and utilize its Ground-type Judgment to become more of a support Arceus, similar to the likes of the standard Water Arceus and Dragon Arceus sets. Ground Arceus has to forego Defog to remain viable, however, as it has no room to fit Defog when its Judgment has a lot of dangerous switch-ins in Ubers, leaving a secondary attack such as Ice Beam necessary. Judgment hits Primal Groudon on its weaker Special Defense stat (RC) and does well against all Ground-type weak Pokemon. Another bonus to Judgment is that Ground Arceus does not need to fear burns as much from things attacks such as Primal Groudon's Lava Plume (RC) and Mega Gengar's Will-O-Wisp. This gives this set more of a compressed role in a way to check most Primal Groudon sets, with only the more specially offensive set giving this Ground Arceus set trouble. Ice Beam compliments complements Judgment to an extent and keeps threats such as Mega Salamence and Rayquaza in check. It also hits most Pokemon with a Ground-type immunity such as Giratina-O, Latios, and Latias, but it falls short against Bronzong, Skarmory, and Ho-Oh. Latios and Latias tend to run recovery moves, however, and Ice Beam doesn't deal enough damage to keep them from switching in freely. Recover is a necessity to a support Arceus to keep them healthy, and this set is no exception. Toxic puts a timer on many of this set's switch-ins such as Ho-Oh, Lugia, and other support Arceus formes, but it doesn't help against Bronzong and Skarmory—that job belongs to its teammates. An alternative combination is to swap out Ice Beam and Toxic in exchange for Stone Edge and Thunder Wave. This can prove to be much better at handling Ho-Oh switch-ins (RC) but can make the matchup against Mega Salamence and Lugia much more difficult. Thunder Wave provides an alternative way to cripple incoming Ground Arceus checks, opting to slow them down for a teammate to easily check them, rather than attempting to Toxic stall them itself. Many Pokemon that are immune to Thunder Wave can have trouble taking on Ground Arceus, which is a bonus.

Set Details
========

248 HP EVs give the best overall bulk while minimizing residual damage, (why use this over 252 btw? max investment gives 444 HP, which isn't divisible by 16 (SR damage) or 8 (burn), only by 4, which only affects damage from 3 layers of Spikes, which generally isn't relevant enough to take into account for EV spreads) a necessity for support Arceus sets. 168 Speed EVs let Ground Arceus outspeed positive-natured (AH) base 95 Speed Pokemon such as Rayquaza and Kyurem-W. The remaining EVs go into Defense with a Bold nature to take on the numerous physical attackers in the tier more effectively.

Some alternative EV spreads to consider involve using 124 Speed EVs in exchange for more Defense EVs. 124 Speed EVs outspeeds positive-natured base 90 Speed Pokemon instead. Ground Arceus can go even slower with just 16 Speed EVs and the rest in Defense to fully maximize its bulk. 16 Speed EVs will still let it outspeed neutral-natured max Speed fully invested base 90 Speed Pokemon.

Usage Tips
========

This Ground Arceus set tends to play more or less like your standard support Arceus, meaning the ideal way to play it is to switch into physical threats that pose a threat to any member of the team. This set performs best against Primal Groudon and Mega Salamence (RC) and should be switched in without much fear. The immunity to Thunder Wave can prove very useful, as Primal Groudon will potentially Thunder Wave try to catch an incoming check with Thunder Wave, giving Ground Arceus a free switch. Watch out for a mixed Primal Groudon set, however, as Fire Blast from such a set can deal up to 75% of Ground Arceus' Arceus's HP, leaving it in a bad position. Keeping healthy with Recover is key to ensuring protection for your team against Primal Groudon and Mega Salamence. Aim to predict switch-ins to Pokemon such as Skarmory and Bronzong to switch in, as Ground Arceus has very little chance to break past them. A good tactic is to switch Ground Arceus into something it checks (RC) and then double switch out to a teammate such as Primal Kyogre to catch out incoming Ground Arceus checks. Double switching can prove to be a useful tactic in general to prevent momentum loss against an offensive team. If Skarmory or and Bronzong are not on the opposing team (RC) but Pokemon such as Ho-Oh and Latios are, aim to hit them with Toxic on the switch to cripple them. This means that they cannot switch in repeatedly and will lose to attrition in the long run.

Team Options
========

Special Ground Arceus sets require a rather specific set of teammates in order to avoid being outclassed by other support Arceus formes such as Dragon Arceus and Water Arceus. As a result, this set doesn't fit the typical balance teams of the current metagame that build around Ho-Oh, as the lack of Fire- and Water-type resistances from Ground Arceus can leave too many gaps in a build that can be exploited by dangerous threats such as Primal Kyogre and opposing Ho-Oh. This set tends to best fit a "bulky offense" style of team, (comma) a team archetype that uses Pokemon with a mix of bulk and power alongside entry hazards to break teams down in a slower and more methodical manner than a hyper offensive playstyle. The lack of Defog also means that Ground Arceus' Arceus's teammates are better off using their own entry hazards and forcing the enemy to remove the entry hazards, or else they risk losing a war of attrition. An ideal teammate is Primal Kyogre, as it provides backup support against most of Ground Arceus' Arceus's checks and also helps against mixed Primal Groudon, while Ground Arceus takes care of all other Primal Groudon sets, something that Primal Kyogre appreciates. Another teammate that suits this style of team is Mega Gengar, a Pokemon that can trap and remove annoyances from the enemy team. Primal Groudon can also fit this team well, taking care of opposing Primal Kyogre, being able to set Stealth Rock, while also and providing a soft check to Ho-Oh. Xerneas enjoys the security that Ground Arceus brings against Primal Groudon, potentially opening it up to a sweep later in the match. Priority users such as Rayquaza and Deoxys-A are welcome teammates (RC) due to both of them being good wallbreakers in their own right while also providing some security against opposing Geomancy Xerneas, courtesy of their usage of access to Extreme Speed. Spike Spikes setters such as Klefki and Ferrothorn are good considerations, with each bringing their own niche to a team alongside their Spikes. Klefki is great against Darkrai, Latios, and Xerneas, while Ferrothorn also works well against Latios too (RC) but and also covers Primal Kyogre and opposing support Arceus formes.

 

[Nayrz]

implemented + discussed 248 vs 252 on irc - cheers!

ready for the second

 

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[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Judgment
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Recover
move 4: Toxic
item: Earth Plate
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Ground Arceus can take a different route from the usual Swords Dance sets, (RC) and utilize its Ground-type Judgment to become more of a support Arceus, similar to the likes of the standard Water Arceus and Dragon Arceus sets. Ground Arceus has to forgo Defog to remain viable, however, as it has no room to fit Defog when its Judgment has a lot of dangerous switch-ins in Ubers, leaving a secondary attack such as Ice Beam necessary. Judgment hits Primal Groudon on its weaker Special Defense stat and does well against all Ground-weak Pokemon. Another bonus to Judgment is that Ground Arceus does not need to fear burns as much from attacks such as Primal Groudon's Lava Plume and Mega Gengar's Will-O-Wisp. This gives this set more of a compressed role in a way to check most Primal Groudon sets, with only the more specially offensive set giving this Ground Arceus set trouble. Ice Beam complements Judgment to an extent and keeps threats such as Mega Salamence and Rayquaza in check. It also hits most Pokemon with a Ground-type immunity such as Giratina-O, Latios, and Latias, but it falls short against Bronzong, Skarmory, and Ho-Oh. Latios and Latias tend to run recovery moves, however, and Ice Beam doesn't deal enough damage to keep them from switching in freely. Recover is a necessity to support Arceus to keep them healthy, and this set is no exception. Toxic puts a timer on many of this set's switch-ins such as Ho-Oh, Lugia, and other support Arceus formes, but it doesn't help against Bronzong and Skarmory—that (no spaces) job belongs to its teammates. An alternative combination option is to swap out Ice Beam and Toxic in exchange for Stone Edge and Thunder Wave. This can prove to be much better at handling Ho-Oh switch-ins but can make the matchup against Mega Salamence and Lugia much more difficult. Thunder Wave provides an alternative way to cripple incoming Ground Arceus checks, opting to slow them down for a teammate to easily check them, rather than attempting to Toxic stall them itself. Many Pokemon that are immune to Thunder Wave can have trouble taking on Ground Arceus, which is a bonus.

Set Details
========

252 HP EVs give the best overall bulk, a necessity for support Arceus sets. 168 Speed EVs let Ground Arceus outspeed positive-natured base 95 Speed Pokemon such as Rayquaza and Kyurem-W. The remaining EVs go into Defense with a Bold nature to take on the numerous physical attackers in the tier more effectively.

Some alternative EV spreads to consider involve using 124 Speed EVs in exchange for more Defense EVs. 124 Speed EVs let Ground Arceus outspeeds positive-natured base 90 Speed Pokemon instead. Ground Arceus can go even slower with just 16 Speed EVs and the rest in Defense to fully maximize its bulk. 16 Speed EVs will still let it outspeed neutral-natured fully invested base 90 Speed Pokemon.

Usage Tips
========

This Ground Arceus set tends to play more or less like your standard support Arceus, meaning the ideal way to play it is to switch into physical threats that pose a threat to any member of the team. This set performs best against Primal Groudon and Mega Salamence and should be switched in without much fear. The immunity to Thunder Wave can prove very useful, as Primal Groudon will potentially try to catch an incoming check with Thunder Wave, giving Ground Arceus a free switch. Watch out for a mixed Primal Groudon set, however, as Fire Blast from such a set can deal up to 75% of Ground Arceus's HP, leaving it in a bad position. Keeping healthy with Recover is key to ensuring protection for your team against Primal Groudon and Mega Salamence. Aim to predict Pokemon such as Skarmory and Bronzong to switch in, as Ground Arceus has very little chance to break past them. A good tactic is to switch Ground Arceus into something it checks and then double switch out to a teammate such as Primal Kyogre to catch out incoming Ground Arceus checks. Double switching can prove to be a useful tactic in general to prevent momentum loss against an offensive team. If Skarmory and Bronzong are not on the opposing team but Pokemon such as Ho-Oh and Latios are, aim to hit them with Toxic on the switch to cripple them. This means that they cannot switch in repeatedly and will lose to attrition in the long run.

Team Options
========

Special Ground Arceus sets require a rather specific set of teammates in order to avoid being outclassed by other support Arceus formes such as Dragon Arceus and Water Arceus. As a result, this set doesn't fit the typical balance teams of the current metagame that build around Ho-Oh, as the lack of Fire- and Water-type resistances from Ground Arceus can leave too many gaps in a build that can be exploited by dangerous threats such as Primal Kyogre and opposing Ho-Oh. This set tends to best fit a "bulky offense" style of team, a team archetype that uses Pokemon with a mix of bulk and power alongside entry hazards to break teams down in a slower and more methodical manner than a hyper offensive playstyle. The lack of Defog also means that Ground Arceus's teammates are better off using their own entry hazards and forcing the enemy to remove the entry hazards, or else they risk losing a war of attrition. An ideal teammate is Primal Kyogre, as it provides backup support against most of Ground Arceus's checks and also helps against mixed Primal Groudon, while Ground Arceus takes care of all other Primal Groudon sets, something that Primal Kyogre appreciates. Another teammate that suits this style of team is Mega Gengar, a Pokemon that can trap and remove annoyances from the enemy team. Primal Groudon can also fit this team well, taking care of opposing Primal Kyogre, being able to set Stealth Rock, and providing a soft check to Ho-Oh. Xerneas enjoys the security that Ground Arceus brings against Primal Groudon, potentially opening it up to a sweep later in the match. Priority users such as Rayquaza and Deoxys-A are welcome teammates due to both of them being good wallbreakers in their own right while also providing some security against opposing Geomancy Xerneas, courtesy of their access to Extreme Speed. Spikes setters such as Klefki and Ferrothorn are good considerations, with each bringing their own niche to a team alongside their Spikes. Klefki is great against Darkrai, Latios, and Xerneas, while Ferrothorn works well against Latios too and also covers Primal Kyogre and opposing support Arceus formes.

 

[Nayrz]

aaaaand we're done - cheers for the check!

 

[Fireburn]

uploaded