Fire Arceus
[Overview]
<p>Of the seventeen formes of Arceus, few are as offensively focused as Fire Arceus. In its fiery guise, Arceus has the power to unleash its burning anger on the world in the form of its Judgment. Anything standing in Arceus's path will be burnt to a cinder, especially if the sun is lighting up the skies. However, while Fire is an excellent offensive typing, defensively it is pretty bad. A crippling weakness to Stealth Rock means Fire Arceus will lose 25% of its health every time it switches into battle, which sacrifices a lot of Arceus's famed bulk. Weaknesses to common attacking types like Water, Ground, and Rock don't exactly help Fire Arceus either. But Fire Arceus is still a potent threat if played right, and every team needs to prepare for it.</p>
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Judgment / Fire Blast
move 3: Thunder / Thunderbolt
move 4: Recover
item: Flame Plate
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Timid
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Fire is an excellent offensive typing. A fiery Judgment hits most Pokemon for neutral damage and is well-rounded off by Arceus's plethora of coverage moves. Reshiram gives this set some competition, but Fire Arceus is faster, bulkier, and has access to instant recovery. It is an extremely powerful bulky sweeper in the sun, and after one Calm Mind, a STAB Judgment coming off a base 120 Special Attack will immolate Pokemon that do not pack a quadruple resistance to Fire. The prevalence of Dragon-type moves in the Uber tier means that there is an abundance of Steel-types, which is a perfect environment for Fire Arceus to sweep.</p>
<p>Fire Blast can be used over Judgment for its superior power, but it lacks the reliability of Judgment. It is liable to miss and has only 8 PP, which is not much at all thanks to the ubiquity of Pressure users in Ubers. Thunder 2HKOes Kyogre, Manaphy, and Ho-Oh after a Calm Mind boost, but it has pathetic accuracy in sunshine. Thunderbolt can be used instead but the drop in power is quite large. Recover allows Arceus to abuse its great natural bulk and also helps it win Calm Mind wars. Without Recover, Fire Arceus easily falls prey to Stealth Rocks.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Maximum investment in Special Attack allows Arceus to sweep with minimal setup, provided that the sun is up. Maximum Speed allows Arceus to tie with other Arceus. A Modest nature can be used but it allows Fire Arceus to be outsped by Terrakion who would otherwise have been vaporized by a speedy Fire Blast. Arceus is certainly not strapped for attacking options. Spacial Rend can be used to wreak havoc on the unnumerable Dragon-types in the Uber tier. It is especially useful for hitting Palkia who is four times resistant to Fire Arceus's main STAB. The high critical hit rate which comes with Spacial Rend is a bonus. Focus Blast hits Tyranitar and Heatran and also allows Arceus to do some damage to Blissey or Chansey. Though it might seem that almost everything in the Uber tier resists the Judgment / Thunder combo, they all take hefty damage despite their resistance. All these calculations assume Fire Arceus has obtained one Calm Mind boost and the sun is up.</p>
<ul class="damage_calculation">
<li>Judgment vs. 4/0 Garchomp 66.2% - 78.2%</li>
<li>Judgment vs. 252/0 Zekrom 51.2% - 60.4%</li>
<li>Judgment vs. 4/0 Zekrom 60.5% - 71.3%</li>
<li>Judgment vs. 252/0 Groudon 79.95% - 94.14%</li>
<li>Judment vs. 4/0 Mewtwo 128.2% - 151.1%</li>
<li>Judgment vs. 28/252+ Wobbuffet 78.6% - 92.6%</li>
<li>Judgment vs. 252/0 Normal Arceus 92.9% - 109.4%</li>
<li>Fire Blast vs. 252/0 Lugia 82.2% - 96.9%</li>
<li>Thunder vs. 248/0 Ho-Oh 61.2% - 72.3%</li>
<li>Thunderbolt vs. 248/0 Ho-Oh 48.7% - 57.3%</li>
<li>Thunder vs. 252/0 Kyogre 68.8% - 81.2%</li>
</ul>
<p>Fire Arceus needs Groudon on the team, as it brings in the coveted infinite sun which boosts Fire Arceus's Judgment and negates Fire Arceus's weakness to Water. Groudon also checks most of the Pokemon that are major threats to Fire Arceus, namely Garchomp, Blissey, Rock-type Arceus, Tyranitar, Terrakion, and Reshiram. Fire Arceus loves Stealth Rock and Spikes on the opponent's side of the field and loathes entry hazards on its own side of the field. Stealth Rock and a layer of Spikes discourage the opponent from making too many switches. Groudon can set up Stealth Rock with ease, making it an excellent partner to Fire Arceus. Forretress can set up all the hazards and also keep them off the field with Rapid Spin. Giratina definitely helps as it can spinblock and keep the entry hazards on the foe's side of the field.</p>
<p>Kyogre is a constant source of trouble for Fire Arceus. It takes away the sunshine Fire Arceus enjoys and replaces it with rain, further increasing Arceus's weakness to Water and reducing the power of its STAB. Palkia is four times resistant to Fire and can 2HKO Fire Arceus with Surf. Blissey and Chansey can also take Judgments all day. The pink blobs can just Toxic Arceus and heal up while Arceus dies a slow and painful death. Scarf Tyranitar can take a Focus Blast and OHKO with Stone Edge if Fire Arceus has previously taken Stealth Rock damage. Reshiram can check Fire Arceus to a certain extent, being four times resistant to Fire and able to OHKO with a Specs Draco Meteor if Arceus has taken Stealth Rock damage.</p>
<p>Palkia can counter Kyogre quite well, packing a 4x resist to Water Spout, and it can outspeed Kyogre and 2HKO with Thunder. Palkia can also check Choiced Reshiram locked into a Fire-type move and annihilate it with a Spacial Rend. With some entry hazard support even the mighty Blissey can be taken out by Mixed Palkia. Groudon can check Scarf Tyranitar with ease; Tyranitar is 2HKOed by Earthquake while Groudon takes almost nothing from Tyranitar's attacks. Wobbuffet can trap foes and Encore them into a harmless move to give Fire Arceus a chance to set up. Tickle Wobbuffet can also be paired with a Pursuit user like Scizor to kill Blissey.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Arceus can opt for Ice Beam over Thunder to hit Garchomp, Zekrom, Hydergion, and Giratina for super effective damage. Grass Knot lets Arceus hit Tyranitar and Kyogre but its utility stops there. Earth Power destroys Heatran and 2HKOes Tyranitar after a Calm Mind, however Ho-Oh becomes a huge problem if Fire Arceus uses Earth Power.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Kyogre can put a sudden halt to Fire Arceus's plans; the Scarf variant is of particular concern. It can switch into a Judgment and OHKO an unsuspecting Fire Arceus with a speedy Water Spout. Other variants of Kyogre can check Arceus to an extent, but being slower than Arceus makes Kyogre vulnerable to a boosted Thunder. Rayquaza can take a +1 Judgment or Thunderbolt, Dragon Dance, and OHKO Arceus with Earthquake.</p>
<p>Blissey and Chansey can wall Arceus with their massive Special Defense and HP. Chansey takes hits even better than Blissey thanks to Eviolite. Both can Toxic Arceus and put a timer on its existence. Seismic Toss only hastens Arceus's demise. Specially Defensive Heatran can defeat Arceus if it has Taunt and Toxic but a boosted Earth Power or Focus Blast will do hefty damage. Ho-Oh is a good check to Fire Arceus thanks to its great Special Defense and powerful Earthquake. Gastrodon, though nonexistent in Ubers, is resistant to Fire and immune to Electric. It can Toxic Arceus and stall it out.</p>
<p>Tyranitar resists Fire, laughs at Thunder, and can kill Arceus with a Stone Edge. However it must look out for Earth Power or Focus Blast. Scarf Garchomp can switch in on a Thunder or Judgment and can OHKO Arceus with an Earthquake. Scarf Terrakion can just switch in on any attack and OHKO with Stone Edge. Finally, Rock Arceus falls in the same category as Terakion, and can check Fire Arceus well in sandstorm due to its natural type advantage.</p>
