Rock Arceus (Analysis, GP 2/2)

shrang

shrang

General Kenobi
is a Top Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
493-rock.png


Arceus

[Overview]

<p>The oldest Pokemon returns, in its fossil form, to the treacherous environment known the 5th generation Uber metagame, by holding a Stone Plate. While it has not been given anything new other than the ability to use full EVs, Rock Arceus can now effectively counter quite a few new Pokemon. With excellent all-round stats, it is one of the few Pokemon that can boast being able to counter both Ho-Oh and Reshiram. In sandstorm, its Special Defense is so massive that even unfathomably powerful attacks such as Draco Meteor from Choice Specs Dialga simply bounce straight off. Rock Arceus is possibly one of the most versatile and unpredictable Arceus formes, being able to utilize Calm Mind and Swords Dance with equal efficiency while also being able to serve as a fantastic support Pokemon.</p>

<p>This is not to say that Rock Arceus is without its downsides. While its defenses are phenomenal, especially in a sandstorm, its Rock typing gives it weaknesses to five very common attacking types. A susceptibility to all three forms of entry hazards and somewhat of an over-reliance on weather in a tier littered with Toxic Spikes and weather changers do not help its cause, either. Use Rock Arceus to its advantages and it will be a great asset, but you must be aware of its weaknesses.</p>

[SET]
name: Mono-attacker
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Judgement
move 3: Recover
move 4: Will-O-Wisp / Refresh
item: Stone Plate
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Rock Arceus's huge bulk and great STAB allow it to run an effective mono-attacker set. This set is useful for a number of reasons. Firstly, with sandstorm support and its pure Rock typing, Arceus is a fantastic counter to many dangerous Pokemon. With its Rock-type Judgement, it can quickly put Ho-Oh and Reshiram in their place; with Will-O-Wisp, it can easily cripple Normal Arceus. It is an excellent to check to the Extreme Killer while maintaining a STAB with decent coverage. Under sandstorm, it can also switch into some of the most powerful special attacks in the Uber tier. For example, Draco Meteor from Modest Choice Specs Dialga only does 53.60% - 63.51%, allowing Rock Arceus to heal off the damage and stall Dialga out. Secondly, with access to Calm Mind, Rock Arceus can switch from a defensive Pokemon into a deadly sweeper in the blink of an eye, and any team that lacks an appropriate counter for it will quickly be crushed. This allows Arceus to easily control the tempo of the match, switching between offense and defense at will. While this set is at its best on sandstorm teams, its utility does not end there. It can offer sun teams an excellent check to Fire-types, who are even more dangerous in the sun.</p>

<p>Calm Mind is obviously the crux of the set, boosting Arceus's excellent Special Attack to levels where it can sweep while sending its already bloated Special Defense to untouchable levels. Judgement is obviously Arceus's STAB, while Recover allows it to switch in again and again. The last slot comes down to the user's preference. Will-O-Wisp complements Calm Mind and Judgement almost perfectly, allowing Arceus to cripple physical attackers such as Groudon and Garchomp who might try to bypass its Special Defense with physical attacks. Refresh, on the other hand, allows Arceus to laugh at status, especially from the likes of Blissey and Chansey.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Roar is usable over Will-O-Wisp or Refresh to allow Arceus to defeat opposing Calm Mind users that might attempt to engage in a Calm Mind war. Substitute is usable to get past Chansey and Blissey, but Refresh is better overall due to its ability to cure poison inflicted by Toxic Spikes. Otherwise, stick to the moves given for maximum efficacy. The EVs and nature aim to maximize bulk while allowing Arceus to Speed-tie with opposing Arceuses.</p>

<p>Rock Arceus is obviously best used in sandstorm, which means Tyranitar or Hippowdon should be used alongside it. Unfortunately, this will add additional Water-, Grass-, Ground-, Steel- and Fighting-type weaknesses, so teammates that resist these types are helpful. Shaymin-S is an excellent Pokemon to run alongside Arceus, as it resists most of Arceus's weaknesses, while Arceus can easily take Fire-type moves and weaker special attacks such as Ice Beam for Shaymin-S. Giratina and Lugia also synergise very well with Rock Arceus, switching into most of Arceus' weaknesses with ease. Giratina is especially good because it can switch into Choice Scarf Terrakion and Choice Scarf Heracross, who can both deal huge amounts of damage to Rock Arceus, the latter enjoying a switch into Will-O-Wisp as well.</p>

<p>While this set can be extremely threatening, it is hard-countered by Ground, Steel, Fighting, Grass and Water Arceus, who can all set up Calm Mind alongside Rock Arceus and bring it down with their own super effective Judgements. Ho-Oh is an excellent teammate who can bring down all of the aforementioned Arceus formes barring Water Arceus due to its huge Special Defense and powerful STAB attacks. Fighting Arceus can also be defeated easily by Psystrike Mewtwo, provided that it avoids switching into Shadow Ball or Dark Pulse. Dialga can deal with Water Arceus without much trouble. If Rock Arceus lacks Refresh, Chansey and Blissey can easily take anything it throws at them and cripple it with Toxic; if it lacks Will-O-Wisp, Groudon and Garchomp can freely switch in and take it out with super effective Earthquakes. Since sandstorm will likely be used alongside Arceus, Excadrill can easily switch into Chansey and Blissey, as it is immune to both Thunder Wave and Toxic, and proceed to set up Swords Dance to sweep. Scizor and Lucario can work in a similar fashion. Finally, Kyogre is also a huge problem to Rock Arceus, being able to use Calm Mind alongside it and drown it with its Water-STAB, or outspeed and OHKO with Water Spout if Kyogre is holding a Choice Scarf. Grass-types such as Celebi, Virizion and Shaymin-S synergise well with Arceus. Palkia also boasts being able to switch into Kyogre's Water-type attacks with its 4x resistance to Water-type attacks.</p>

[SET]
name: Offensive Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Judgement
move 3: Fire Blast / Grass Knot
move 4: Recover / Grass Knot
item: Stone Plate
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>While the previous set focused on using Rock Arceus's defensive capabilities to pull off a sweep, this set takes full advantage of its excellent Special Attack, Speed, bulk, and coverage to pull off a sweep as quickly as possible. After a single Calm Mind, Arceus reaches 508 or 558 Special Attack depending on its nature, dealing huge amounts of damage to weakened teams. Judgement is its STAB attack, which hits most Pokemon that do not resist it extremely hard. Fire Blast allows Arceus to roast Steel Arceus that may attempt to Calm Mind alongside it, as well as other Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Jirachi. Grass Knot, on the other hand, allows Rock Arceus to destroy any Groudon and Kyogre that think they can change the weather and stop Arceus with their super effective STAB attacks. Recover is preferred in the last slot, as it allows Arceus to still check dangerous threats such as Reshiram and Ho-Oh, but an additional coverage move can be used for maximum coverage.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Earth Power can be used in place of Fire Blast or Grass Knot if you want to hit Dialga harder, although if Rock Arceus is using Recover, specially based Dialga that lack Toxic, Roar, or Dragon Tail can be used as set-up bait anyway. Ice Beam can also be used to defeat Garchomp, who can otherwise cause Arceus a lot of trouble, but Ice Beam is quite useless otherwise. Psyshock is in a similar vein, as it allows Rock Arceus to severely damage but not much else. The EVs are simple: they just max out Special Attack and Speed, allowing Arceus to be as fast and powerful as possible. A Timid nature allows Rock Arceus to Speed-tie with other Arceus formes, and also lets it outspeed Lugia, Latias, Latios, Terrakion, Tornadus, and Thundurus. A Modest nature allows Arceus to hit harder while still outspeeding Garchomp that don't use a Choice Scarf.</p>

<p>Like all Rock Arceus variants, this set is hard-countered by Fighting Arceus. Again, Ho-Oh and Mewtwo are excellent teammates for this reason. Chansey and Blissey now completely wall this set, so again, Excadrill is a good teammate, as are Scizor, Terrakion, Garchomp, and Lucario. Wobbuffet can be used to trap Chansey or Blissey through the use of Encore and Tickle, allowing Tyranitar to come in and Pursuit them to and ensure they cannot take Rock Arceus's attacks any more. Garchomp resists both Judgement and Fire Blast, does not take much damage from Grass Knot, and can defeat Arceus with STAB Earthquake. Physically inclined Dialga, especially those with Bulk Up, can set up alongside Rock Arceus and destroy it with Outrage or Earthquake. Speaking of Dialga, a Bulk Up RestTalk Dialga of your own can come in very handy. It can switch into Chansey and Blissey with impunity, as well as check Water Arceus and Calm Mind Kyogre. It can also lure in Garchomp, survive Earthquake and OHKO in return with Outrage. Forretress and Ferrothorn are also decent checks to opposing Garchomp and can set up Stealth Rock and Spikes, which would whittle down Garchomp health so it cannot take Rock Arceus's attacks any more.</p>

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Recover
item: Stone Plate
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Rock Arceus is one of the select few Arceus formes that can run a viable Swords Dance set, and also the only Swords Dancing Arceus that can defeat Skarmory without depending on weather. While Swords Dance Arceus may seem more appealing than the Calm Mind variant due to its ability to boost its Attack more quickly, it does have a few disadvantages. Firstly, it can no longer switch into Ho-Oh as easily, as Sacred Fire has a 47.5% chance of crippling it, factoring in accuracy. Secondly, it is very easily walled, especially by Groudon, who poses a huge threat to sandstorm teams in general. That being said, Swords Dance Rock Arceus is still an extremely potent sweeper. To illustrate its power, after a single Swords Dance, Jolly Arceus can OHKO specially defensive Skarmory after Stealth Rock damage most of the time. Stone Edge is Rock Arceus' powerful albeit inaccurate STAB attack. STAB on Stone Edge is what differentiates Rock Arceus from Ground Arceus, who runs the same set. Earthquake gives Arceus fantastic coverage alongside Stone Edge. Recover allows Arceus to recover lost health and check threats such as Reshiram more easily.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Arceus has a few other options that it can run in the last slot. Overheat allows Rock Arceus to deal huge amounts of damage to Ferrothorn if it's not raining, who would otherwise prove to be a huge nuisance. ExtremeSpeed can allow it to take out frailer, faster Pokemon such as Shaymin-S and Darkrai, while Brick Break can be used to beat down Ferrothorn in the rain. A Jolly nature is preferred as it allows Rock Arceus to Speed-tie with opposing Arceuses as well as outspeed Terrakion and Lugia, two Pokemon that would be problematic. However, an Adamant nature guarantees Arceus the OHKO on Skarmory after Stealth Rock damage.</p>

<p>Fighting Arceus remains a hard counter to this set as well. Again, Ho-Oh and Mewtwo are fantastic checks to Fighting Arceus. They also laugh at Virizion, who resists Stone Edge and Earthquake. Groudon and Ground Arceus now wall Rock Arceus and take it out with a super effective Earthquake or Judgement. Garchomp, should it be at high health, will also cause problems for Rock Arceus. Again, Grass-types such as Shaymin-S, Virizion and Celebi do very well against them, and if you are using Rock Arceus as a standalone Pokemon, a Groudon of your own also defeats them quite handily. Ferrothorn is also a problem if you lack Overheat. Magnezone can be used to trap and KO the steel plant.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>While Arceus has an abundant Special movepool to work from, none of its other options add more coverage than what is recommended. Flamethrower can be used if you find Fire Blast's accuracy off-putting. Focus Blast can be used to hit Steel-types and Dialga super effectively in place of Fire Blast, but its inaccuracy makes it a poor option. Thunder can be used to hit Kyogre extremely hard while having a high paralysis chance, but since Grass Knot does the same amount of damage, Thunder is generally not preferred.</p>

<p>Rock Arceus can also run a mono-attacking Swords Dance set with Swords Dance / Recover / Refresh / Rock Slide, but Calm Mind is generally better. It is much easier to wall such a set regardless. Arceus can also run a rather useful dual screens set, as well as a very bulky Cosmic Power stall set. It can also drop Calm Mind on the Mono-Attacker set to run a full support set with Roar, Perish Song, or Stealth Rock in its place, should you desire it.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>As alluded to in the individual set descriptions, Fighting Arceus is Rock Arceus's number one enemy. It resists Rock Arceus' STAB and is neutral to Rock Arceus' commonly used coverage moves, allowing it to set up Calm Mind alongside Rock Arceus and take it down with its super effective Fighting-type Judgement. Steel and Ground Arceus can work in a similar fashion, but need to watch out for Fire Blast and Grass Knot, respectively. Grass and Water Arceus both have a super effective Judgement to use on Rock Arceus as well, but both need to watch out for Fire Blast and Grass Knot, respectively, while boosted neutral Rock-type Judgements will also hurt.</p>

<p>Any special variant of Rock Arceus that lacks Substitute or Refresh is walled by Chansey and Blissey, who can both shrug off any attack Arceus can throw at them and cripple Arceus with Toxic. If Arceus lacks Grass Knot or Will-O-Wisp, Groudon can switch in without fear and KO it with Earthquake. Garchomp works in a similar vein, only fearing the rare Ice Beam, whereas Excadrill can switch into anything not named Earthquake, Will-O-Wisp or Fire Blast and KO with Earthquake. Kyogre causes problems for special variants of Rock Arceus that lack Grass Knot, as its enormous Special Defense allows it to tank anything Rock Arceus throws at it, while Arceus is forced to switch to avoid taking STAB Water-type attacks to the face. Choice Scarf Kyogre can outspeed and OHKO Rock Arceus with Water Spout, even after a Calm Mind. Choice Scarf Terrakion and Heracross can revenge kill weakened Rock Arceus, the latter also enjoys being burned by Will-O-Wisp. Groudon and Ground Arceus will a field day against Swords Dance Rock Arceus, while Giratina and Ferrothorn can use Will-O-Wisp or Leech Seed to stall out Rock Arceus. Be aware that should Arceus carry Overheat, Ferrothorn should stay well away unless it has rain support.</p>
 
Okay, the skeleton for this is finally done. I've been really busy these days, so sorry about that. Ready for QC
 
Looks solid, oh mention Kyogre as an awesome counter. Changes weather and drowns you with any water attack. Scarf Kyogre outruns and OHKOes you with Water Spout even after one Calm Mind.

Terrakion is a check and has STAB Close Combat to take out Arceus. Grass Arceus can stop all sets with Grass Knot and can survive a +2 Stone Edge easily. Heracross likes Will-O-Wisps and isn't OHKOed by Judgment. Close Combat will KO a weaken Arceus easily and it is guaranteed with guts. Giratina can stop the Swords Dance set with Will-O-Wisps. Ferrothorn needs to mentioned again in the checks and counters section because it can annoy Arceus with Leech Seed and Gyro Ball or Power Whip. Burn can make Ferrothorn sad though.

contrib_qc.png


QC APPROVED (1/2)
 
It should definitely be noted that Arceus is the only specially-oriented Rock Pokémon besides Omastar and Archeops, the former of which rarely uses AncientPower, and the latter of which would rather go physical.
 
For the SD set, you should state that these are the many advantages of it over ground arceus, which is same set.
 
Ok, just a minor thing, in sentence 2 of paragraph 2 of Additional Comments of the set Mono-attacker, the word Unfortunately is spelt wrong.

Unfortuantely --> Unfortunately

I would try to do a proper GP check, but I don't have time
 
Deletions
Additions / Corrections
Comments

[Overview]
<p>The oldest Pokemon returns to the treacherous environment of the 5th generation Uber metagame in its fossil form by holding a Stone Plate. While it has not been given anything special other than the ability to use full EVs, Rock Arceus was given a number of Pokemon that it can now effectively counter quite a few Pokemon. With excellent all-round stats, it is one of the only few Pokemon that can boast being able to counter both Ho-Oh and Reshiram. In a sandstorm, its Special Defense is so massive that previously unfathomably powerful attacks such as Choice Specs Draco Meteor from Dialga simply bounce straight off. Rock Arceus is possibly one of the most versatile and unpredictable Arceus formes, being able to utilize Calm Mind and Swords Dance equally as efficiently, as well as with equal efficiency while also being a fantastic support Pokemon.</p>

<p>This is not to say that Rock Arceus is without its downsides. While its defenses are phenomenal, especially in a sandstorm, Rock is a fairly poor defensive typing, being weak five very common types Its Rock typing gives it weaknesses to five very common types. Being susceptible to all three forms of entry hazards and being rather dependent A susceptibility to all three forms of entry hazards and somewhat of an over-reliance on weather in a tier littered with Toxic Spikes and weather changers do not help its cause, either. Use Rock Arceus to its advantages and it will be a great asset, but you must be aware of his its weaknesses.</p>

[SET]
name: Mono-attacker
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Judgement
move 3: Recover
move 4: Will-O-Wisp / Refresh
item: Stone Plate
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Rock Arceus's huge bulk and great STAB allows it to run an effective mono-attacker set. This set is useful for a number of reasons. Firstly, with sandstorm support and its pure Rock typing, Arceus is a fantastic counter to many dangerous Pokemon. With its Rock-type Judgement, it can quickly put Ho-Oh and Reshiram in their place, while with Will-O-Wisp, he it can quickly burn cripple Normal Arceus to cripple it. It can also switch into some of the most powerful special attacks used in the Uber tier. For example, Draco Meteor from Modest Choice Specs Dialga only does 53.60% - 63.51%, which is easily Recovered off and stalled out allowing Rock Arceus to heal off the damage and stall Dialga out. Secondly, with access to Calm Mind, Rock Arceus can switch from a defender into a deadly mono-sweeper in the blink of an eye, and any team that lacks an appropriate counter for it will quickly be crushed. This allows Arceus to easily control the tempo of the match, switching between offense and defense at will.</p>

<p>Calm Mind is obviously the crux of the set, boosting Arceus's excellent Special Attack to levels where it can sweep while sending its already bloated Special Defense to untouchable levels. Judgement is obviously Arceus's STAB, while Recover allows it to switch in again and again. The last slot is very much optional comes down to the user's preference. Will-O-Wisp compliments Calm Mind and Judgement almost perfectly, allowing Arceus to cripple physical attackers such as Groudon and Garchomp who might try to bypass its Special Defense with physical attacks. Refresh, on the other hand, allows Arceus to laugh at status, especially those used on it by Blissey and Chansey.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Roar is usable over Will-O-Wisp or Refresh to allow Arceus to defeat opposing Calm Mind users that might attempt to use Calm Mind alongside it. Substitute is usable to get past Chansey and Blissey, but Refresh is better overall due to its ability to cure the poison inflicted by Toxic Spikes. Otherwise, stick to the moves given for maximum efficacy. The EVs and nature aim to maximize bulk while allowing Arceus to Speed-tie with other Arceus formes.</p>

<p>Rock Arceus is obviously best used in sandstorm, which means Tyranitar or Hippowdon should be used alongside it. Unfortunately, this will add additional Water-, Grass-, Ground-, Steel-, and Fighting-type weaknesses, so teammates that resist these types are helpful. Celebi is an excellent Pokemon to run alongside Arceus, as it resists most of Arceus's weaknesses, while Arceus can easily take Fire-type and weaker special attacks such as Ice Beam for Celebi. Giratina and Lugia also synergise very well with Rock Arceus, switching into most of its weaknesses with ease. Giratina is especially good at switching into Choice Scarf Terrakion and Choice Scarf Heracross, who can both deal huge amounts of damage to Rock Arceus, the latter enjoying a switch into Will-O-Wisp, as well.</p>

<p>While this set can be extremely threatening, it is hard-countered by Ground, Steel, Fighting, Grass, and Water Arceus, who could can all set up Calm Mind alongside Rock Arceus and bring it down with their own super effective Judgements. Ho-Oh is an excellent teammate who can bring down all of the aforementioned Arceus forms barring Water Arceus with its huge Special Defense and powerful STAB attacks. Fighting Arceus can also be defeated easily with Psytrike Mewtwo, providing that it avoids switching into Shadow Ball. Dialga can deal with Water Arceus without much trouble. If Rock Arceus lacks Refresh, Chansey and Blissey can easily take anything Arceus it throws at them and cripple it with Toxic, while if it lacks Will-O-Wisp, Groudon and Garchomp can freely switch in and take it out with super effective Earthquakes. Since sandstorm will likely be used alongside Rock Arceus, Excadrill can easily switch into Chansey and Blissey, as it is immune to both Thunder Wave and Toxic, and it can proceed to set up Swords Dance for a sweep. Scizor and Lucario can work in a similar fashion. Finally, Kyogre is also a huge problem to Rock Arceus, being able to use Calm Mind alongside it and drown it with its Water-STAB, or outspeed and OHKO with Water Spout if it is using a Choice Scarf. Again, Grass-types such as Celebi, Virizion, and Shaymin-S are decent switch-ins to Kyogre that synergise well with Arceus, although they must watch out for Ice Beam. Palkia also boasts being able to switch into Kyogre's Water-type attacks with its 4x resistance to Water-type attacks.</p>

[SET]
name: Offensive Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Judgement
move 3: Fire Blast / Grass Knot
move 4: Recover / Grass Knot
item: Stone Plate
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While the previous set focused on using Rock Arceus's defensive capabilities to pull off a sweep, this set takes full advantage of Arceus' its excellent Special Attack, Speed, bulk, and coverage to pull off a sweep as fast as possible. After a single Calm Mind, Arceus reaches 508 or 558 Special Attack depending on its nature, dealing huge amounts of damage to weakened teams. Judgement is Arceus' its STAB attack, which hits extremely hard on most Pokemon that do not resist it. Fire Blast allows Arceus to roast Steel Arceus that may attempt to Calm Mind alongside Rock Arceus it, as well as other Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Jirachi. Grass Knot, on the other hand, allows Rock Arceus to destroy any Groudon and Kyogre that think they can change the weather and stop Arceus it with their super effective STAB. Recover is preferred in the last slot, as it allows Arceus to still check dangerous threats such as Reshiram and Ho-Oh, but Grass Knot can be used for maximum coverage.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Earth Power can be used in place of Fire Blast or Grass Knot if you want to hit Dialga harder, although if Rock Arceus is using Recover, specially based Dialga that lack Toxic can be set up on anyway. Ice Beam can also be used as a coverage move to defeat Garchomp with, who otherwise can otherwise cause Rock Arceus a lot of trouble, but is quite useless otherwise. Psyshock is in a similar vein, as it allows Arceus to severely damage Fighting Arceus. The EVs are simple, as they just max out Special Attack and Speed, allowing Arceus to be as fast and powerful as possible. A Timid nature allows Rock Arceus to Speed-tie with other Arceus formes as well as outspeeding Lugia, Latias, Latios, Terakion, Tornadus, and Thundurus. A Modest nature allows Arceus to hit harder while still outspeeding Garchomp that don't use a Choice Scarf.</p>

<p>Like all Rock Arceus variants, this set is hard-countered by Fighting Arceus. Again, Ho-Oh and Mewtwo are excellent teammates for this reason. Chansey and Blissey now completely wall this set, so again, Excadrill is a good teammate, as well as areScizor, Terakion, Garchomp, and Lucario. Wobbuffet can be used to trap Chansey or Blissey, use Encore and Tickle, allowing Tyranitar to come in and Pursuit them to the point where they cannot take Rock Arceus's attacks any more. Garchomp resists both Judgement and Fire Blast while not taking much damage from Grass Knot, and can defeat Arceus with STAB Earthquake. Physically inclined Dialga, especially those with Bulk Up, can set up alongside Rock Arceus and destroy it with Outrage or Earthquake. On the topic of Talking about Dialga, a Bulk Up RestTalk Dialga of your own can come in very handy. It can switch into Chansey and Blissey with impunity, as well as checking Water Arceus and Calm Mind Kyogre. It can also lure in Garchomp, surviving Earthquake and OHKOing in return with Outrage. Forretress and Ferrothorn are also decent checks to opposing Garchomp, and can set up Stealth Rock and Spikes, which would whittle down its health so it cannot take Rock Arceus's attacks any more.</p>

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Recover / Overheat
item: Stone Plate
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Rock Arceus is one of the select few Arceus formes that can run a viable Swords Dance set, and also the only Swords Dance-using Arceus forme that can defeat Skarmory that is not dependent without depending on weather. While Swords Dance Arceus may seem more appealing than the Calm Mind variant due to its ability to boost its Attack faster, it does have a few disadvantages. Firstly, it can no longer switch into Ho-Oh as easily, as Sacred Fire has a 47% chance of crippling it, factoring in accuracy. Secondly, it is a very easily walled, especially by Groudon, who poses a huge threat to sandstorm teams in general. That said, Swords Dance Rock Arceus is still an extremely potent sweeper. To illustrate its power, after a single Swords Dance, Jolly Arceus can OHKO specially defensive Skarmory after Stealth Rock damage most of the time. Stone Edge is Arceus's powerful albeit inaccurate STAB attack. Having STAB on Stone Edge allows Rock Arceus to differentiate itself from Ground Arceus, who runs the same set. Earthquake gives Arceus fantastic coverage alongside Stone Edge. Recover allows Arceus to recover lost health and switch into threats like such as Reshiram more easily. However, Overheat allows Rock Arceus to destroy Ferrothorn, who would otherwise prove to be a huge nuisance.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Arceus has a few other options that it can run in the last slot. ExtremeSpeed can allow it to take out frailer, faster Pokemon such as Shaymin-S and Darkrai, while Brick Break can be used to beat down Ferrothorn in the rain. A Jolly nature is preferred as it allows Rock Arceus to Speed-tie with other Arceus formes as well as outspeed Terakion and Lugia, two Pokemon that would otherwise cause it problems. However, an Adamant nature guarantees Arceus the OHKO on Skarmory after Stealth Rock damage.</p>

<p>Like all forms of Rock Arceus, Fighting Arceus remains is a hard counter to Swords Dance Rock Arceus to this set as well. Again, Ho-Oh and Mewtwo are fantastic checks to Fighting Arceus. They also laugh at Virizion, who resists Stone Edge and Earthquake. Groudon and Ground Arceus now wall Rock Arceus and take it out with a super effective Earthquake or Judgement. Garchomp, should it be at high health, will also cause problems for Rock Arceus. Again, Grass-types such as Shaymin-S, Virizion, and Celebi do very well against them, and if you are using Rock Arceus as a standalone Pokemon, a Groudon of your own also defeats them quite handily. Ferrothorn is also a problem if you lack Overheat. Magnezone can be used to trap and KO the steel plant.</p>
(remove space)
[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Will-O-Wisp
move 2: Recover
move 3: Judgement
move 4: Roar / Stealth Rock
item: Stone Plate
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While this set looks very similar to the first set, it focuses only on Rock Arceus's ability to support the team. With sandstorm support, Rock Arceus can easily wall many dangerous attackers of the Uber tier, and some of those include threats such as Normal Arceus, Ho-Oh, and Reshiram, and in Sandstorm, virtually any special attacker that does not carry a super effective move to it. Will-O-Wisp allows Rock Arceus to burn Swords Dance Normal Arceus, crippling it so that it cannot sweep your team easily. Recover allows Arceus to stay around for longer extends Arceus's longevity, while Judgement puts Ho-Oh and Reshiram in their place and prevents Arceus from being vulnerable to Taunt. The last slot is variable. Roar is generally preferred in the last moveslot so Rock Arceus can force out stat boosters, in particular Swords Dance Normal Arceus. However, if your team is lacking a Stealth Rock user, then Arceus is perfectly capable of doing that for you.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Arceus has a few other options to use in the last slot. Perish Song is another very good move that can put an end to last Pokemon stat boosters, which Roar fails to do. Thunder Wave can cripple fast sweepers such as Mewtwo, while Toxic is something Rock Arceus can throw at its bitter enemy, Fighting Arceus.</p>

<p>Since this set is purely support-based, any Pokemon that is not weak to Rock-type attacks or vulnerable to Will-O-Wisp can easily switch in and set up on it. Fighting, Grass, Water, Ground, and Steel Arceus have no problems with Rock Arceus. Kyogre can switch in,and force Rock Arceus out with its powerful Water-type attacks,and setup Calm Mind. Other supporting Pokemon like such as Forretress, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory can switch in relatively safely and set up entry hazards in Rock Arceus's face. Again, Ho-Oh and Mewtwo can easily take on most Arceus formes, while Dialga is a great check to Water Arceus. Palkia, and Grass-types are generally good switch-ins to Kyogre, while Giratina and Lugia are Pokemon with excellent defensive synergy with Rock Arceus. Tyranitar is, like always, a welcome teammate to Rock Arceus with its ability to summon a sandstorm.</p>

[Other Options]
<p>While Arceus has an abundant special movepool to work from, none of his its other options add more coverage than what is recommended. Flamethrower can be used if you find Fire Blast's accuracy off-putting. Focus Blast can be used to hit Steel-types and Dialga super effectively (remove hyphen) in Fire Blast's place, but its inaccuracy makes it a poor option. Thunder can be used to hit Kyogre extremely hard while having a high paralysis chance, but since Grass Knot does the same amount of damage, it is generally not preferred.</p>

<p>Rock Arceus can also run a mono-attacking Swords Dance set with Swords Dance / Recover / Refresh / Rock Slide, but Calm Mind is generally better, not to mention that it will be even easier to wall such a set. Arceus can also run a rather useful dual screens set.</p>

[Checks and Counters]
<p>As alluded to in the individual set descriptions, Fighting Arceus is Rock Arceus's number one enemy. It resists Rock Arceus's STAB and is neutral to its commonly used coverage moves, allowing it to set up Calm Mind alongside Rock Arceus and take it down with its super effective Judgement. Steel and Ground Arceus can act in a similar fashion, but need to watch out for Fire Blast and Grass Knot, respectively. Grass and Water Arceus both have a super effective Judgement to use on Rock Arceus as well, but both need to watch out for Fire Blast and Grass Knot, respectively, while boosted neutral Judgements will also hurt.</p>

<p>Any special variant of Rock Arceus that lacks Substitute or Refresh are iswalled by Chansey and Blissey, who can both shrug off any attack Arceus can throw at them and use Toxic on it. If Arceus lacks Grass Knot or Will-O-Wisp, Groudon can switch in without fear and KO it with Earthquake. Garchomp works in a similar vein, only fearing the rare Ice Beam, and Excadrill can switch into anything not named Earthquake, Will-O-Wisp, or Fire Blast and KO with Earthquake. Kyogre causes problems for special variants of Rock Arceus that lack Grass Knot, as its enormous Special Defense allows it to tank anything hit Arceus throws at it, and drowns it with its STAB Water attacks while Arceus is forced to switch to avoid taking STAB Water-type attacks to the face. Choice Scarf Kyogre can outspeed and OHKO Rock Arceus with Water Spout, even after a Calm Mind. Choice Scarf Terakion and Heracross can revenge kill weakened Rock Arceus, the latter enjoying being burned by Will-O-Wisp. As for the Swords Dance set, Groudon and Ground Arceus will a field day against Rock Arceus, while Giratina and Ferrothorn can use Will-O-Wisp or Leech Seed to stall out Rock Arceus. Be aware that should Arceus carry Overheat, Ferrothorn should stay well away unless it has rain support.</p>

[Dream World]
<p>Arceus does not get a Dream World ability.</p> (We use a Dream World section only for unreleased DW abilities, if any)

I found a few repeated errors, so I would just like to point them out :

  • Arceus formes, not forms.
  • Don't forget the recursive comma when you list more than 2 objects i.e : cat, rat, and dog.
  • You only omit the ''s'' when the object is a plural possessive i.e ''the carpenters' strike.''
  • ''physical,'' ''special'' etc are not capitalized.
  • ''super effective'' is not hyphenated.
  • Weather effects such as rain, hail etc are not capitalized.
contrib_gp.png


GP 1 / 2
 
TorchicBlaziken said:
It should definitely be noted that Arceus is the only specially-oriented Rock Pokémon besides Omastar and Archeops, the former of which rarely uses AncientPower, and the latter of which would rather go physical.
Click to expand...

Magcargo, Corsola, Lunatone, and Probopass all say hi. And if you count Pokemon that have a viable special attack stat while not being completely specially oriented (like Archeops that you mentioned) Cradily, Tyranitar, and Carracosta all say hi. Just sayin. But I get your point: Rock Arceus is the only Pokemon that viably uses special Rock attacks.
 
Amateur GP Check

add remove comments

[Overview]
<p>The oldest Pokemon returns to the treacherous environment of the 5th generation Uber metagame in its fossil form by holding a Stone Plate. While it has not been given anything special new other than the ability to use full EVs, Rock Arceus can now effectively counter quite a few Pokemon. With excellent all-round stats, it is one of the few Pokemon that can boast being able to counter both Ho-Oh and Reshiram. In a sandstorm, its Special Defense is so massive that unfathomably powerful attacks such as Choice Specs Draco Meteor from Dialga simply bounce straight off. Rock Arceus is possibly one of the most versatile and unpredictable Arceus formes, being able to utilize Calm Mind and Swords Dance with equal efficiency while also being able to serve as a fantastic support Pokemon.</p>

<p>This is not to say that Rock Arceus is without its downsides. While its defenses are phenomenal, especially in a sandstorm, its Rock typing gives it weaknesses to five very common attacking types. A susceptibility to all three forms of entry hazards and somewhat of an over-reliance on weather in a tier littered with Toxic Spikes and weather changers do not help its cause, either. Use Rock Arceus to its advantages and it will be a great asset, but you must be aware of its weaknesses.</p>

[SET]
name: Mono-attacker
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Judgement
move 3: Recover
move 4: Will-O-Wisp / Refresh
item: Stone Plate
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Rock Arceus's huge bulk and great STAB allows it to run an effective mono-attacker set. This set is useful for a number of reasons. Firstly, with sandstorm support and its pure Rock typing, Arceus is a fantastic counter to many dangerous Pokemon. With its Rock-type Judgement, it can quickly put Ho-Oh and Reshiram in their place, while; (semicolon with Will-O-Wisp, it can quickly cripple Normal Arceus. It can also switch into some of the most powerful special attacks used in the Uber tier. For example, Draco Meteor from Modest Choice Specs Dialga only does 53.60% - 63.51%, allowing Rock Arceus to heal off the damage and stall Dialga out. Secondly, with access to Calm Mind, Rock Arceus can switch from a defender into a deadly mono-sweeper in the blink of an eye, and any team that lacks an appropriate counter for it will quickly be crushed. This allows Arceus to easily control the tempo of the match, switching between offense and defense at will.</p>

<p>Calm Mind is obviously the crux of the set, boosting Arceus's excellent Special Attack to levels where it can sweep while sending its already bloated Special Defense to untouchable levels. Judgement is obviously Arceus's STAB, while Recover allows it to switch in again and again. The last slot comes down to the user's preference. Will-O-Wisp compliments complements Calm Mind and Judgement almost perfectly, allowing Arceus to cripple physical attackers such as Groudon and Garchomp who might try to bypass its Special Defense with physical attacks. Refresh, on the other hand, allows Arceus to laugh at status, especially those used on it by Blissey and Chansey.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Roar is usable over Will-O-Wisp or Refresh to allow Arceus to defeat opposing Calm Mind users that might attempt to use Calm Mind alongside it. Substitute is usable to get past Chansey and Blissey, but Refresh is better overall due to its ability to cure poison inflicted by Toxic Spikes. Otherwise, stick to the moves given for maximum efficacy. The EVs and nature aim to maximize bulk while allowing Arceus to Speed-tie with other Arceus formes.</p>

<p>Rock Arceus is obviously best used in sandstorm, which means Tyranitar or Hippowdon should be used alongside it. Unfortunately, this will add additional Water-, Grass-, Ground-, Steel- and Fighting-type weaknesses, so teammates that resist these types are helpful. Celebi is an excellent Pokemon to run alongside Arceus, as it resists most of Arceus's weaknesses, while Arceus can easily take Fire-type and weaker special attacks such as Ice Beam for Celebi. Giratina and Lugia also synergise very well with Rock Arceus, switching into most of its weaknesses with ease. Giratina is especially good at switching into Choice Scarf Terrakion and Choice Scarf Heracross, who can both deal huge amounts of damage to Rock Arceus, the latter enjoying a switch into Will-O-Wisp as well.</p>

<p>While this set can be extremely threatening, it is hard-countered by Ground, Steel, Fighting, Grass and Water Arceus, who can all set up Calm Mind alongside Rock Arceus and bring it down with their own super effective Judgements. Ho-Oh is an excellent teammate who can bring down all of the aforementioned Arceus formes barring Water Arceus with its huge Special Defense and powerful STAB attacks. Fighting Arceus can also be defeated easily with by Psystrike Mewtwo, providing that it avoids switching into a Shadow Ball or a Dark Pulse. Dialga can deal with Water Arceus without much trouble. If Rock Arceus lacks Refresh, Chansey and Blissey can easily take anything it throws at them and cripple it with Toxic , while ; (semicolon) if it lacks Will-O-Wisp, Groudon and Garchomp can freely switch in and take it out with super effective Earthquakes. Since sandstorm will likely be used alongside Arceus, Excadrill can easily switch into Chansey and Blissey, as it is immune to both Thunder Wave and Toxic, and proceed to set up Swords Dance for a to sweep. Scizor and Lucario can work in a similar fashion. Finally, Kyogre is also a huge problem to Rock Arceus, being able to use Calm Mind alongside it and drown it with its Water-STAB, or outspeed and OHKO with Water Spout if it Kyogre is using holding a Choice Scarf. Again, Grass-types such as Celebi, Virizion and Shaymin-S are decent switch-ins to Kyogre that synergise well with Arceus, although they must watch out for Ice Beam. Palkia also boasts being able to switch into Kyogre's Water-type attacks with its 4x resistance to Water-type attacks. Acceptable, but "them" is a better choice.</p>

[SET]
name: Offensive Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Judgement
move 3: Fire Blast / Grass Knot
move 4: Recover / Grass Knot
item: Stone Plate
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While the previous set focused on using Rock Arceus's defensive capabilities to pull off a sweep, this set takes full advantage of its excellent Special Attack, Speed, bulk and coverage to pull off a sweep as fast as possible. After a single Calm Mind, Arceus reaches 508 or 558 Special Attack depending on its nature, dealing huge amounts of damage to weakened teams. Judgement is its STAB attack, which hits extremely hard on most Pokemon that do not resist it. Fire Blast allows Arceus to roast Steel Arceus that may attempt to Calm Mind alongside it, as well as other Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Jirachi. Grass Knot, on the other hand, allows Rock Arceus to destroy any Groudon and Kyogre that think they can change the weather and stop Arceus with their super effective STAB attacks. Recover is preferred in the last slot, as it allows Arceus to still check dangerous threats such as Reshiram and Ho-Oh, but Grass Knot can be used for maximum coverage.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Earth Power can be used in place of Fire Blast or Grass Knot if you want to hit Dialga harder, although if Rock Arceus is using Recover, specially based Dialga that lack Toxic can be set up on anyway. Ice Beam can also be used as a coverage move to defeat Garchomp with, who can otherwise cause Arceus a lot of trouble, but is quite useless otherwise. Psyshock is in a similar vein, as it allows Rock Arceus to severely damage Fighting Arceus. The EVs are simple: (semicolon), as they just max out Special Attack and Speed, allowing Arceus to be as fast and powerful as possible. A Timid nature allows Rock Arceus to Speed-tie with other Arceus formes as well as outspeeding, and also lets it outspeed Lugia, Latias, Latios, Terakion, Tornadus, and Thundurus. A Modest nature allows Arceus to hit harder while still outspeeding Garchomp that don't use hold a Choice Scarf.</p>

<p>Like all Rock Arceus variants, this set is hard-countered by Fighting Arceus. Again, Ho-Oh and Mewtwo are excellent teammates for this reason. Chansey and Blissey now completely wall this set, so again, Excadrill is a good teammate, as are Scizor, Terrakion, Garchomp, and Lucario. Wobbuffet can be used to trap Chansey or Blissey, use through the use of Encore and Tickle, allowing Tyranitar to come in and Pursuit them to the point where they cannot take Rock Arceus's attacks any more. Garchomp resists both Judgement and Fire Blast while not taking much damage from Grass Knot, and can defeat Arceus with STAB Earthquake. Physically inclined Dialga, especially those with Bulk Up, can set up alongside Rock Arceus and destroy it with Outrage or Earthquake. Talking about Dialga, a Bulk Up RestTalk Dialga of your own can come in very handy. It can switch into Chansey and Blissey with impunity, as well as checking Water Arceus and Calm Mind Kyogre. It can also lure in Garchomp, surviving Earthquake and OHKOing in return with Outrage. Forretress and Ferrothorn are also decent checks to opposing Garchomp and can set up Stealth Rock and Spikes, which would whittle down its Garchomp's health so it cannot take Rock Arceus's attacks any more.</p>

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Recover / Overheat
item: Stone Plate
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Rock Arceus is one of the select few Arceus formes that can run a viable Swords Dance set, and the also only Swords Dancing Arceus that can defeat Skarmory without depending on weather. While Swords Dance Arceus may seem more appealing than the Calm Mind variant due to its ability to boost its Attack faster, it does have a few disadvantages. Firstly, it can no longer switch into Ho-Oh as easily, as Sacred Fire has a 47% chance of crippling it, factoring in accuracy. Secondly, it is a very easily walled, especially by Groudon, who poses a huge threat to sandstorm teams in general. That said, Swords Dance Rock Arceus is still an extremely potent sweeper. To illustrate its power, after a single Swords Dance, Jolly Arceus can OHKO specially defensive Skarmory after Stealth Rock damage most of the time. Stone Edge is Rock Arceus's powerful albeit inaccurate STAB attack. Having STAB on Stone Edge allows Rock Arceus to differentiate itself from Ground Arceus, who runs the same set. Earthquake gives Arceus fantastic coverage alongside Stone Edge. Recover allows Arceus to recover lost health and switch into threats such as Reshiram more easily. However, Overheat allows Rock Arceus to destroy Ferrothorn, who would otherwise prove to be a huge nuisance.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Arceus has a few other options that it can run in the last slot. ExtremeSpeed can allow it to take out frailer, faster Pokemon such as Shaymin-S and Darkrai, while Brick Break can be used to beat down Ferrothorn in the rain. A Jolly nature is preferred, as it allows Rock Arceus to Speed-tie with other Arceus forms as well as outspeed Terrakion and Lugia, two Pokemon that would otherwise cause it problems. However, an Adamant nature guarantees Arceus the OHKO on Skarmory after Stealth Rock damage.</p>

<p>Fighting Arceus remains a hard counter to this set as well. Again, Ho-Oh and Mewtwo are fantastic checks to Fighting Arceus. They also laugh at Virizion, who resists Stone Edge and Earthquake. Groudon and Ground Arceus now wall Rock Arceus and take it out with a super effective Earthquake or Judgement. Garchomp, should it be at high health, will also cause problems for Rock Arceus. Again, Grass-types such as Shaymin-S, Virizion and Celebi do very well against them, and if you are using Rock Arceus as a standalone Pokemon, a Groudon of your own also defeats them quite handily. Ferrothorn is also a problem if you lack Overheat. Magnezone can be used to trap and KO the steel plant.</p>

[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Will-O-Wisp
move 2: Recover
move 3: Judgement
move 4: Roar / Stealth Rock
item: Stone Plate
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While this set looks very similar to the first set, it focuses only on Rock Arceus's ability to support the team. With sandstorm support, Arceus can easily wall threats such as Normal Arceus, Ho-Oh, Reshiram, and virtually any special attacker that does not carry a super effective move. Will-O-Wisp allows Rock Arceus to burn Swords Dance Normal Arceus, crippling it so that it cannot sweep your team easily. Recover extends Rock Arceus's longetivity, while Judgement puts Ho-Oh and Reshiram in their places and prevents Arceus from being as vulnerable to Taunt. Roar is generally preferred in the last moveslot so Arceus can force out stat boosters, in particular Swords Dance Normal Arceus. However, if your team is lacking a Stealth Rock user, then Arceus is perfectly capable of doing that for you.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Arceus has a few other options to use in the last slot. Perish Song is another very good move that can put an end to last Pokemon stat boosters, which Roar fails to do. Thunder Wave can cripple fast sweepers such as Mewtwo, while Toxic is something Rock Arceus can throw at its bitter enemy:, Fighting Arceus.</p>

<p>Since this set is purely support-based, any Pokemon that is not weak to Rock-type attacks or vulnerable to Will-O-Wisp can easily switch in and set up on it. Fighting, Grass, Water, Ground, and Steel Arceus have no problems with Rock Arceus. Kyogre can switch in, force Rock Arceus out with its powerful Water-type attacks and set up Calm Mind. Other support Pokemon such as Forretress, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory can switch in relatively safely and set up entry hazards in Rock Arceus's face. Again, Ho-Oh and Mewtwo can easily take on most Arceus formes, while Dialga is a great check to Water Arceus. Palkia and Grass-types are generally good switch-ins to Kyogre, while Giratina and Lugia are Pokemon with excellent defensive synergy with Rock Arceus. Tyranitar is, like always, is a welcome teammate to Rock Arceus with due to its ability to summon a sandstorm.</p>

[Optional Changes]
<p>While Arceus has an abundant Special movepool to work from, none of its other options add more coverage than what is recommended. Flamethrower can be used if you find Fire Blast's accuracy off-putting. Focus Blast can be used to hit Steel-types and Dialga super effectively in Fire Blast's place, but its inaccuracy makes it a poor option. Thunder can be used to hit Kyogre extremely hard while having a high paralysis chance, but since Grass Knot does the same amount of damage, it is generally not preferred.</p>

<p>Rock Arceus can also run a mono-attacking Swords Dance set with Swords Dance / Recover / Refresh / Rock Slide, but Calm Mind is generally better, not to mention that it will be even easier to wall such a set It is much easier to wall such a set regardless. Arceus can also run a rather useful dual screens set, as well as a very bulky Cosmic Power stall set.</p>

[Checks and Counters]
<p>As alluded to in the individual set descriptions, Fighting Arceus is Rock Arceus's number one enemy. It resists Rock Arceus' STAB and is neutral to its commonly used coverage moves, allowing it to set up Calm Mind alongside Rock Arceus and take it down with its super effective Judgement. Steel and Ground Arceus can act in a similar fashion, but need to watch out for Fire Blast and Grass Knot, respectively. Grass and Water Arceus both have a super effective Judgement to use on Rock Arceus as well, but both need to watch out for Fire Blast and Grass Knot, respectively, while boosted neutral Judgements will also hurt.</p>

<p>Any special variant of Rock Arceus that lacks Substitute or Refresh is walled by Chansey and Blissey, who can both shrug off any attack Arceus can throw at them and use Toxic on it. If Arceus lacks Grass Knot or Will-O-Wisp, Groudon can switch in without fear and KO it with Earthquake. Garchomp works in a similar vein, only fearing the rare Ice Beam, and whereas Excadrill can switch into anything not named Earthquake, Will-O-Wisp or Fire Blast and KO with Earthquake. Kyogre causes problems for special variants of Rock Arceus that lack Grass Knot, as its enormous Special Defense allows it to tank anything Rock Arceus throws at it, while Arceus is forced to switch to avoid taking STAB Water-type attacks to the face. Choice Scarf Kyogre can outspeed and OHKO Rock Arceus with Water Spout, even after a Calm Mind. Choice Scarf Terakion and Heracross can revenge kill weakened Rock Arceus, the latter enjoying being burned by Will-O-Wisp. As for the Swords Dance set, Groudon and Ground Arceus will a field day against Rock Arceus, while Giratina and Ferrothorn can use Will-O-Wisp or Leech Seed to stall out Rock Arceus. Be aware that should Arceus carry Overheat, Ferrothorn should stay well away unless it has rain support.</p>
 
Add
Remove
Comment

shrang said:
493-rock.png


Arceus

[Overview]
<p>The oldest Pokemon returns(comma) in its fossil form(comma) to the treacherous environment of known as the 5th generation Uber metagame(comma) in its fossil form by holding a Stone Plate. While it has not been given anything new other than the ability to use full EVs, Rock Arceus can now effectively counter quite a few new Pokemon. With excellent all-round stats, it is one of the few Pokemon that can boast being able to counter both Ho-Oh and Reshiram. In sandstorm, its Special Defense is so massive that even unfathomably powerful attacks such as Choice Specs Draco Meteor from Choice Specs Dialga simply bounce straight off. Rock Arceus is possibly one of the most versatile and unpredictable Arceus formes, being able to utilize Calm Mind and Swords Dance with equal efficiency while also being able to serve as a fantastic support Pokemon.</p>

<p>This is not to say that Rock Arceus is without its downsides. While its defenses are phenomenal, especially in a sandstorm, its Rock typing gives it weaknesses to five very common attacking types. A susceptibility to all three forms of entry hazards and somewhat of an over-reliance on weather in a tier littered with Toxic Spikes and weather changers do not help its cause, either. Use Rock Arceus to its advantages and it will be a great asset, but you must be aware of its weaknesses.</p>

[SET]
name: Mono-attacker
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Judgement
move 3: Recover
move 4: Will-O-Wisp / Refresh
item: Stone Plate
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Rock Arceus's huge bulk and great STAB allows <-remove the "s", plural it to run an effective mono-attacker set. This set is useful for a number of reasons. Firstly, with sandstorm support and its pure Rock typing, Arceus is a fantastic counter to many dangerous Pokemon. With its Rock-type Judgement, it can quickly put Ho-Oh and Reshiram in their place; with Will-O-Wisp, it can quickly easily cripple Normal Arceus. It Under sandstorm, it can also switch into some of the most powerful special attacks used in the Uber tier. For example, Draco Meteor from Modest Choice Specs Dialga only does 53.60% - 63.51%, allowing Rock Arceus to heal off the damage and stall Dialga out. Secondly, with access to Calm Mind, Rock Arceus can switch from a defender into a deadly mono-sweeper in the blink of an eye, and any team that lacks an appropriate counter for it will quickly be crushed. This allows Arceus to easily control the tempo of the match, switching between offense and defense at will.</p>

<p>Calm Mind is obviously the crux of the set, boosting Arceus's excellent Special Attack to levels where it can sweep while sending its already bloated Special Defense to untouchable levels. Judgement is obviously Arceus's STAB, while Recover allows it to switch in again and again. The last slot comes down to the user's preference. Will-O-Wisp complements Calm Mind and Judgement almost perfectly, allowing Arceus to cripple physical attackers such as Groudon and Garchomp who might try to bypass its Special Defense with physical attacks. Refresh, on the other hand, allows Arceus to laugh at status, especially those used on it by from the likes of Blissey and Chansey.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Roar is usable over Will-O-Wisp or Refresh to allow Arceus to defeat opposing Calm Mind users that might attempt to use Calm Mind alongside it engage in a Calm Mind war. Substitute is usable to get past Chansey and Blissey, but Refresh is better overall due to its ability to cure poison inflicted by Toxic Spikes. Otherwise, stick to the moves given for maximum efficacy. The EVs and nature aim to maximize bulk while allowing Arceus to Speed-tie with other Arceus formes opposing Arceuses.</p>

<p>Rock Arceus is obviously best used in sandstorm, which means Tyranitar or Hippowdon should be used alongside it. Unfortunately, this will add additional Water-, Grass-, Ground-, Steel- and Fighting-type weaknesses, so teammates that resist these types are helpful. Celebi is an excellent Pokemon to run alongside Arceus, as it resists most of Arceus's weaknesses, while Arceus can easily take Fire-type moves and weaker special attacks such as Ice Beam for Celebi. Giratina and Lugia also synergise very well with Rock Arceus, switching able to switch into most of its Arceus' weaknesses with ease. Giratina is especially good at switching because it can switch into Choice Scarf Terrakion and Choice Scarf Heracross, who can both deal huge amounts of damage to Rock Arceus, the latter enjoying a switch into Will-O-Wisp as well.</p>

<p>While this set can be extremely threatening, it is hard-countered by Ground, Steel, Fighting, Grass and Water Arceus, who can all set up Calm Mind alongside Rock Arceus and bring it down with their own super effective Judgements. Ho-Oh is an excellent teammate who can bring down all of the aforementioned Arceus formes barring Water Arceus with due to its huge Special Defense and powerful STAB attacks. Fighting Arceus can also be defeated easily by Psystrike Mewtwo, providing provided that it avoids switching into Shadow Ball or Dark Pulse. Dialga can deal with Water Arceus without much trouble. If Rock Arceus lacks Refresh, Chansey and Blissey can easily take anything it throws at them and cripple it with Toxic; if it lacks Will-O-Wisp, Groudon and Garchomp can freely switch in and take it out with super effective Earthquakes. Since sandstorm will likely be used alongside Arceus, Excadrill can easily switch into Chansey and Blissey, as it is immune to both Thunder Wave and Toxic, and proceed to set up Swords Dance to sweep. Scizor and Lucario can work in a similar fashion. Finally, Kyogre is also a huge problem to Rock Arceus, being able to use Calm Mind alongside it and drown it with its Water-STAB, or outspeed and OHKO with Water Spout if Kyogre is holding a Choice Scarf. Grass-types such as Celebi, Virizion and Shaymin-S are decent switch-ins to Kyogre that synergise well with Arceus, although they must watch out for Ice Beam. Palkia also boasts being able to switch into Kyogre's Water-type attacks with its 4x resistance to Water-type attacks.</p>

[SET]
name: Offensive Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Judgement
move 3: Fire Blast / Grass Knot
move 4: Recover / Grass Knot
item: Stone Plate
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While the previous set focused on using Rock Arceus's defensive capabilities to pull off a sweep, this set takes full advantage of its excellent Special Attack, Speed, bulk(comma) and coverage to pull off a sweep as fast quickly as possible. After a single Calm Mind, Arceus reaches 508 or 558 Special Attack depending on its nature, dealing huge amounts of damage to weakened teams. Judgement is its STAB attack, which hits extremely hard on most Pokemon that do not resist it extremely hard. Fire Blast allows Arceus to roast Steel Arceus that may attempt to Calm Mind alongside it, as well as other Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Jirachi. Grass Knot, on the other hand, allows Rock Arceus to destroy any Groudon and Kyogre that think they can change the weather and stop Arceus with their super effective STAB attacks. Recover is preferred in the last slot, as it allows Arceus to still check dangerous threats such as Reshiram and Ho-Oh, but Grass Knot an additional coverage move can be used for maximum coverage.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Earth Power can be used in place of Fire Blast or Grass Knot if you want to hit Dialga harder, although if Rock Arceus is using Recover, specially based Dialga that lack Toxic can be set up on used as set-up bait anyway. Ice Beam can also be used as a coverage move to defeat Garchomp(comma) with, who can otherwise cause Arceus a lot of trouble, but Ice Beam is quite useless otherwise. Psyshock is in a similar vein, as it allows Rock Arceus to severely damage Fighting Arceus but not much else. The EVs are simple: they just max out Special Attack and Speed, allowing Arceus to be as fast and powerful as possible. A Timid nature allows Rock Arceus to Speed-tie with other Arceus formes, and also lets it outspeed Lugia, Latias, Latios, Terrakion <-extra r in Terrakion, Tornadus, and Thundurus. A Modest nature allows Arceus to hit harder while still outspeeding Garchomp that don't use a Choice Scarf.</p>

<p>Like all Rock Arceus variants, this set is hard-countered by Fighting Arceus. Again, Ho-Oh and Mewtwo are excellent teammates for this reason. Chansey and Blissey now completely wall this set, so again, Excadrill is a good teammate, as are Scizor, Terrakion, Garchomp, and Lucario. Wobbuffet can be used to trap Chansey or Blissey through the use of Encore and Tickle, allowing Tyranitar to come in and Pursuit them to the point where and ensure they cannot take Rock Arceus's attacks any more. Garchomp resists both Judgement and Fire Blast(comma) while not taking does not take much damage from Grass Knot, and can defeat Arceus with STAB Earthquake. Physically inclined Dialga, especially those with Bulk Up, can set up alongside Rock Arceus and destroy it with Outrage or Earthquake. Talking about Speaking of Dialga, a Bulk Up RestTalk Dialga of your own can come in very handy. It can switch into Chansey and Blissey with impunity, as well as checking Water Arceus and Calm Mind Kyogre. It can also lure in Garchomp, surviving survive Earthquake(comma) and OHKOing in return with Outrage. Forretress and Ferrothorn are also decent checks to opposing Garchomp and can set up Stealth Rock and Spikes, which would whittle down Garchomp health so it cannot take Rock Arceus's attacks any more.</p>

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Recover / Overheat
item: Stone Plate
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Rock Arceus is one of the select few Arceus formes that can run a viable Swords Dance set, and the also only Swords Dancing Arceus that can defeat Skarmory without depending on weather. While Swords Dance Arceus may seem more appealing than the Calm Mind variant due to its ability to boost its Attack more quickly(comma) faster, it does have a few disadvantages. Firstly, it can no longer switch into Ho-Oh as easily, as Sacred Fire has a 47% 47.5% chance of crippling it, factoring in accuracy. Secondly, it is a very easily walled, especially by Groudon, who poses a huge threat to sandstorm teams in general. That being said, Swords Dance Rock Arceus is still an extremely potent sweeper. To illustrate its power, after a single Swords Dance, Jolly Arceus can OHKO specially defensive Skarmory after Stealth Rock damage most of the time. Stone Edge is Rock Arceus's <-remove "s" after apostrophe, Arceus is singular powerful albeit inaccurate STAB attack. Having STAB on Stone Edge allows Rock Arceus to differentiate itself is what differentiates Rock Arceus from Ground Arceus, who runs the same set. Earthquake gives Arceus fantastic coverage alongside Stone Edge. Recover allows Arceus to recover lost health and switch into check Recover doesn't let it switch in, it just lets Arceus survive longer threats such as Reshiram more easily. However, Overheat allows Rock Arceus to destroy Ferrothorn, who would otherwise prove to be a huge nuisance.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Arceus has a few other options that it can run in the last slot. ExtremeSpeed can allow it to take out frailer, faster Pokemon such as Shaymin-S and Darkrai, while Brick Break can be used to beat down Ferrothorn in the rain. A Jolly nature is preferred as it allows Rock Arceus to Speed-tie with other Arceus forms opposing Arceuses as well as outspeed Terrakion and Lugia, two Pokemon that would otherwise be problematic(period) cause it problems. However, an Adamant nature guarantees Arceus the OHKO on Skarmory after Stealth Rock damage.</p>

<p>Fighting Arceus remains a hard counter to this set as well. Again, Ho-Oh and Mewtwo are fantastic checks to Fighting Arceus. They also laugh at Virizion, who resists Stone Edge and Earthquake. Groudon and Ground Arceus now wall Rock Arceus and take it out with a super effective Earthquake or Judgement. Garchomp, should it be at high health, will also cause problems for Rock Arceus. Again, Grass-types such as Shaymin-S, Virizion and Celebi do very well against them, and if you are using Rock Arceus as a standalone Pokemon, a Groudon of your own also defeats them quite handily. Ferrothorn is also a problem if you lack Overheat. Magnezone can be used to trap and KO the steel plant.</p>

[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Will-O-Wisp
move 2: Recover
move 3: Judgement
move 4: Roar / Stealth Rock
item: Stone Plate
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While this set looks very similar to the first set, it focuses only on Rock Arceus's <-remove the "s" after the apostrophe ability to support the team. With sandstorm support, Arceus can easily wall threats such as Normal Arceus, Ho-Oh, Reshiram, and as well as virtually any special attacker that does not carry a super effective move. Will-O-Wisp allows Rock Arceus to burn and cripple Swords Dance Normal Arceus, ensuring Swords Dance Arceus does not sweep your team(period) crippling it so that it cannot sweep your team easily. Recover extends Rock Arceus's longetivity, while Judgement puts Ho-Oh and Reshiram in their places and prevents Arceus from being as vulnerable to Taunt. Roar is generally preferred in the last moveslot so Arceus can force out stat boosters, in particular Swords Dance Normal Arceus. However, if your team is lacking a Stealth Rock user, then Arceus is perfectly capable of filling that role(period) doing that for you.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Arceus has a few other options to use in the last slot. Perish Song is another very good move that can put an end to last Pokemon stat boosters, which Roar fails to do. Thunder Wave can cripple fast sweepers such as Mewtwo, while Toxic is something Rock Arceus can throw at its bitter enemy, Fighting Arceus.</p>

<p>Since this set is purely support-based, any Pokemon that is not weak to Rock-type attacks or vulnerable to Will-O-Wisp can easily switch in and set up on it. Fighting, Grass, Water, Ground, and Steel Arceus have no problems with Rock Arceus. Kyogre can switch in, force Rock Arceus out with its powerful Water-type attacks and or set up Calm Mind. Other support Pokemon such as Forretress, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory can switch in relatively safely and set up entry hazards in Rock Arceus's face. Again, Ho-Oh and Mewtwo can easily take on most of the aforementioned Arceus formes, while Dialga is a great check to Water Arceus. Palkia and Grass-types are generally good switch-ins to Kyogre, while Giratina and Lugia are Pokemon with have excellent defensive synergy with Rock Arceus. Tyranitar like always, is a welcome teammate to due Rock Arceus due to its ability to summon a sandstorm.</p>

[Optional Changes]
<p>While Arceus has an abundant Special movepool to work from, none of its other options add more coverage than what is recommended. Flamethrower can be used if you find Fire Blast's accuracy off-putting. Focus Blast can be used to hit Steel-types and Dialga super effectively in place of Fire Blast(comma) Fire Blast's place, but its inaccuracy makes it a poor option. Thunder can be used to hit Kyogre extremely hard while having a high paralysis chance, but since Grass Knot does the same amount of damage, it Thunder is generally not preferred.</p>

<p>Rock Arceus can also run a mono-attacking Swords Dance set with Swords Dance / Recover / Refresh / Rock Slide, but Calm Mind is generally better. It is much easier to wall such a set regardless. Arceus can also run a rather useful dual screens set, as well as a very bulky Cosmic Power stall set.</p>

[Checks and Counters]
<p>As alluded to in the individual set descriptions, Fighting Arceus is Rock Arceus's number one enemy. It resists Rock Arceus' STAB and is neutral to its Rock Arceus' commonly used coverage moves, allowing it to set up Calm Mind alongside Rock Arceus and take it down with its super effective Fighting-type Judgement. Steel and Ground Arceus can act work in a similar fashion, but need to watch out for Fire Blast and Grass Knot, respectively. Grass and Water Arceus both have a super effective Judgement to use on Rock Arceus as well, but both need to watch out for Fire Blast and Grass Knot, respectively, while boosted neutral Rock-type Judgements will also hurt.</p>

<p>Any special variant of Rock Arceus that lacks Substitute or Refresh is walled by Chansey and Blissey, who can both shrug off any attack Arceus can throw at them and cripple Arceus with Toxic(period) use Toxic on it. If Arceus lacks Grass Knot or Will-O-Wisp, Groudon can switch in without fear and KO it with Earthquake. Garchomp works in a similar vein, only fearing the rare Ice Beam, whereas Excadrill can switch into anything not named Earthquake, Will-O-Wisp or Fire Blast and KO with Earthquake. Kyogre causes problems for special variants of Rock Arceus that lack Grass Knot, as its enormous Special Defense allows it to tank anything Rock Arceus throws at it, while Arceus is forced to switch to avoid taking STAB Water-type attacks to the face. Choice Scarf Kyogre can outspeed and OHKO Rock Arceus with Water Spout, even after a Calm Mind. Choice Scarf Terakion and Heracross can revenge kill weakened Rock Arceus, the latter enjoying also enjoys being burned by Will-O-Wisp. As for the Swords Dance set, Groudon and Ground Arceus will a field day against Swords Dance Rock Arceus, while Giratina and Ferrothorn can use Will-O-Wisp or Leech Seed to stall out Swords Dance Rock Arceus. Be aware that should Arceus carry Overheat, Ferrothorn should stay well away unless it has rain support.</p>
Click to expand...

GP Approved (2/2)

contrib_gp.png
 
"Celebi is an excellent Pokemon to run alongside Arceus," Celebi isn't really viable in ubers at all so I'd mention something else.
 
There need to be spaces between the section titles and section comments i.e.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
(Space here)
These are the additional comments.

Also, the Optional Changes section should be Other Options.

Shrang, this is the second of your analyses in which I've seen these types of errors. You might need to check the formatting of the rest as well. Just a heads-up.
 
Changes made according to GP check 2. I've replaced Celebi with Shaymin-S, since it's pretty much the only other viable Grass-type that has those resists. I've also noted November Blue's note.

This is done.
 
<p>Roar is usable over Will-O-Wisp or Refresh to allow Arceus to defeat opposing Calm Mind users that might attempt engage in a Calm Mind war. Substitute is usable to get past Chansey and Blissey, but Refresh is better overall due to its ability to cure poison inflicted by Toxic Spikes. Otherwise, stick to the moves given for maximum efficacy. The EVs and nature aim to maximize bulk while allowing Arceus to Speed-tie with opposing Arceuses.</p>
Click to expand...

"attempt to engage"
 
I really dont think Mono Attacker shouldnt be the primary set, to be honest personally i dont think it should have a set at all but thats a pretty big change and I'd like Trickroom or Jibaku to weigh in on that. My reasons being:

-Sandstorm isnt really used or even very effective with Rain running wild.
-Ho-Oh and Reshiram arent the most common attackers in the tier.

I think Mono Attacker should just be merged with the Support set since they play similarly enough with a paragraph dedicated to it in AC about the EV spread and moves.

However, Overheat allows Rock Arceus to destroy Ferrothorn, who would otherwise prove to be a huge nuisance.
Click to expand...

+2 Jolly Earthquake does 46.6% - 54.5% to Ferrothorn while Power Whip fails to 2HKO. I dont really think Overheat should get a slash in the main set since Recover is usually more useful for stalling out stuff though just take a judgement call on that.
 
[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Rock Arceus is one of the select few Arceus formes that can run a viable Swords Dance set, and also the only Swords Dancing Arceus that can defeat Skarmory without depending on weather. While Swords Dance Arceus may seem more appealing than the Calm Mind variant due to its ability to boost its Attack more quickly, it does have a few disadvantages. Firstly, it can no longer switch into Ho-Oh as easily, as Sacred Fire has a 47.5% chance of crippling it, factoring in accuracy. Secondly, it is a very easily walled, especially by Groudon, who poses a huge threat to sandstorm teams in general. That being said, Swords Dance Rock Arceus is still an extremely potent sweeper. To illustrate its power, after a single Swords Dance, Jolly Arceus can OHKO specially defensive Skarmory after Stealth Rock damage most of the time. Stone Edge is Rock Arceus' powerful albeit inaccurate STAB attack. STAB on Stone Edge is what differentiates Rock Arceus from Ground Arceus, who runs the same set. Earthquake gives Arceus fantastic coverage alongside Stone Edge. Recover allows Arceus to recover lost health and check threats such as Reshiram more easily. However, Overheat allows Rock Arceus to destroy Ferrothorn, who would otherwise prove to be a huge nuisance.</p>
Click to expand...

you need to remove the "a"
 
barry4ever said:
I really dont think Mono Attacker shouldnt be the primary set, to be honest personally i dont think it should have a set at all but thats a pretty big change and I'd like Trickroom or Jibaku to weigh in on that. My reasons being:

-Sandstorm isnt really used or even very effective with Rain running wild.
-Ho-Oh and Reshiram arent the most common attackers in the tier.

I think Mono Attacker should just be merged with the Support set since they play similarly enough with a paragraph dedicated to it in AC about the EV spread and moves.



+2 Jolly Earthquake does 46.6% - 54.5% to Ferrothorn while Power Whip fails to 2HKO. I dont really think Overheat should get a slash in the main set since Recover is usually more useful for stalling out stuff though just take a judgement call on that.
Click to expand...

The mono attacker is more useful than you might think. Maybe I didn't mention this explicitly (and I probably should), but the set doesn't have to be used on a Sandstorm team (although it is definitely most effective in one). It can easily be used on sun teams so Fire-types don't completely butcher them, and it's useful in general since you can burn ExtremeKiller while using a mildly offensive Arceus form. Ghost Arceus typically aren't sweepers when they use WoW and Steel Arceus has really shitty coverage. Rock, on the other hand is a very good offensive type. It is definitely the most effective and versatile out of all the Rock Arceus sets, IMO. If you Pokemon team was a soccer team, consider Rock Arceus to be a very, very good midfielder. About merging it with the Support set, I don't have much against merging the support set with the mono-attacker (not the other way around), although we'll see what the rest of QC thinks. I may foresee some slash-itis troubles, though, with stuff like Will-O-Wisp / Refresh / Roar / Stealth Rock / maybe Perish Song all in the last slot. I could deslash Overheat as well, although instead of Power Whipping you, Ferrothorn could Leech Seed you instead and that's always trouble. At least Overheat can put it out of commission in the sun or sand (maybe not OHKO in the sand, but damage it enough so it can't Leech Seed stall you). We'll see what the rest of QC thinks on this as well.

Cherub Agent, I fixed the error, thanks for pointing it out.
 
I agree with shrang since the Mono attacker is actually Rock Arceus's best set. Setting up a sweep and possibly crippling Groudon is something huge, for sand teams.

I don't see much use of the Support set because Rock Arceus should just set up a sweep while having the potential to cripple opponents with Will-O-Wisp. The Support set doesn't do much and Ho-Oh or Reshiram is stopped by the Mono-attacker set already.

Deslash Adamant on the Swords Dance set. You want Jolly to outspeed Terrakion and maybe some rare Latios. With Jolly you speed tie with opposing Arceus too. The extra power isn't worth it IMO.

You should move Overheat on the Swords Dance set to AC. Overheat isn't worth losing Recover, since Arceus is quite bulky. Skarmory can also survive Overheat and Roost off the damage. Since Dragon Arceus and Extremekiller moved Overheat to AC, I think Rock Arceus should do the same.

Should Rock Arceus have 2 Calm Mind sets? Water Arceus has the rain boost to make Offensive set more appealing though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top