Overview
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Water Arceus has always been a jack of all trades as far as Arceus formes go, mainly because of its typing. Being a pure Water-type is a blessing for Water Arceus as it resists Ice-, Water-, and Fire-type moves, all of which are common attacking types in Ubers. This generation also turned Steel-type, its fourth resistance, into a common attacking type in order to deal with the threat of Fairy-types, thus making it more useful. Water Arceus's Judgment is nothing to laugh at either, as only three types resist it and nothing is immune to it as far as typing goes, making Water Arceus a potent mono-attacker. Drought has also been nerfed, meaning that Water Arceus can now be paired with Groudon without its Judgment being cut to 50% damage most of the time. Water Arceus It doesn't just rely on its typing and STAB, (add comma) though; it is still an Arceus forme, which means it sports a base 120 in all stats and has a gigantic movepool including the strongest 100% accurate Water-type move in the game. Water Arceus was also able to capitalize on the buff to Defog, and like many of its other formes, now runs Defog on all of their support sets. Water Arceus It still does its old jobs quite well, checking the now prominent bulky Ground-types that litter XY Ubers and being a great pivot due to its typing, bulk, and access to Recover. However, Water Arceus still competes with its old rival Palkia as a Water-type and check to Ground- and Fire-types, which can make fitting it on a team difficult. Water Arceus's Its most dangerous checks, Electric Arceus and Zekrom, are now much more common, (add comma) and the Toxic it despises is now the most used move in Ubers. Competition between Water Arceus and more specialized Arceus formes has not changed, (add comma) either. However Nevertheless, despite the increasingly hostile environment Water Arceus still functions very well in Ubers and should not be underestimated.
Support
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name: Support
move 1: Judgment
move 2: Will-O-Wisp
move 3: Recover
move 4: Defog
item: Splash Plate
ivs: 0 Atk
evs: 248 HP / 164 SpD / 96 Spe
nature: Timid
Moves
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The moves here are pretty self-explanatory. Judgment is Water Arceus's best STAB move with relatively high Base Power and zero drawbacks. Will-O-Wisp is to discourage any Zekrom from switching in unless it wants to get heavily crippled in the process. Zekrom will still 2HKO Water Arceus even after the burn though, so keep that in mind. Toxic can be used over Will-O-Wisp to surprise other support Arceus formes and Calm Mind Electric Arceus, but discouraging a Zekrom switch-in is normally the higher priority. Recover is to keep Water Arceus healthy and able to consistently soft-check the Pokemon it needs to, as well as also increasing its overall longevity. Defog is there to remove all entry hazards on the field and to give Water Arceus some utility in general. Grass Knot can be used to better check Kyogre and Groudon, but there is generally not enough room for it on this set. The same goes for Roar or Perish Song as they can be used to prevent Water Arceus from becoming setup bait, and the latter is excellent for situations where Water Arceus is facing down your opponent's last Pokemon. Once again, there is usually no room for either of these.
Set Details
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248 HP EVs fill out Water Arceus's overall bulk while still retaining an odd HP number to mess with entry hazard, burn, and poison calculations. 96 Speed EVs and a Timid nature ensures that you Water Arceus outspeeds all maximum Speed base 100s. The rest of the EVs are placed in Special Defense in order to avoid a 2HKO from Choice Scarf Kyogre's Water Spout after Stealth Rock damage and to take neutral special attacks better in general. These Special Defense EVs can be relocated to Defense in order to turn Water Arceus into a soft check to Ho-Oh and Mega Blaziken, but in a format metagame where Choice Scarf Kyogre is dominant, it is almost always better to put these EVs in Special Defense. Having zero Attack IVs will reduce damage taken from Foul Play and confusion, with the former being a relatively common move on Yveltal.
Usage Tips
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You should only switch Water Arceus in on Choice Scarf Kyogre once. Once Arceus's forme has been revealed, your opponent will be more tempted to use Thunder in order to catch Water Arceus on the switch instead of mindlessly spamming Water Spout, (add comma) which will get them no where without a critical hit. This particular Water Arceus can check many dangerous Pokemon that roam the Ubers metagame, but it can only check them at full health or close to it. Be sure to use Recover whenever it is safe to do so in order to make sure that Water Arceus can still check Landorus-T, Groudon, and Kyogre to an extent. However, this particular Arceus has a major problem when it comes to checking certain Pokemon. Water Arceus's typing allows it to check some threats offensively, but it cannot switch in directly, let alone take repeated hits from said Pokemon. Even when using the alternate defensive spread, Ho-Oh and Mega Blaziken are massive demonstrators of this problem, as Water Arceus cannot switch into a Choice Band Brave Bird from Ho-Oh and still hope to win against it without being heavily crippled in the process. Mega Blaziken gets OHKOed by Judgment, (add comma) but it can OHKO Water Arceus after a Swords Dance with Low Kick after Stealth Rock damage. There are quite a few more examples of these on the special side, but both sets must be played extremely carefully in order to avoid being destroyed by Pokemon this Arceus is supposed to deal with. Never Defog if Zekrom or Electric Arceus are still in good health, as the momentum loss will almost ensure that you lose the game right away if one of these two comes in and their respective checks have been weakened or removed. Lastly, like other support Arceus sets, this Arceus absolutely loathes Toxic. Toxic will ruin any kind of longevity Water Arceus had and basically makes Recover a useless moveslot if Water Arceus has been in for three or more turns and your team has no cleric support. This Arceus relies on Recover more than almost any other support Arceus, and being unable to Recover back to full health makes this Arceus it unable to check many threats that it used to be able to. Toxic is used excessively in Ubers and is a decent option on almost any Pokemon including this Arceus set, so keeping Toxic away from it requires carefully planned switches and making sure that there isn't a random Toxic being carried by the Pokemon in front of you Water Arceus.
Team Options
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Bulky Ground-types are some of the best partners that Water Arceus has because they allow it to Defog without the risk of Zekrom coming in on it and doing massive amounts of damage to your team. Most Ground-types like, such as Landorus-T, Groudon, and Gliscor also have the option of running Stealth Rock that will to help this Water Arceus pick up a KO on Ho-Oh. Speaking of which, Ho-Oh is also an excellent partner for this particular Arceus as Ho-Oh it can check the Ferrothorn and Grass Arceus without Stone Edge that plague Water Arceus. Cleric support is a massive help to any support Arceus, (add comma) and this one is no exception. Xerneas, Blissey, Sylveon, and Clefable can all remove the Toxic that Water Arceus hates so much. Defensive cleric Xerneas deserves a special mention since it also serves as a soft check to Zekrom. If there is no room for clerics on your team, status sponges can also be very good partners with Water Arceus. Examples of these that have good synergy with Water Arceus are Heatran, RestTalk Giratina, Ferrothorn, and Excadrill. Ferrothorn and Excadrill in the sand are also able to check Zekrom and Electric Arceus, Water Arceus's two most dangerous checks. Last but not least, Water Arceus's nemesis, Zekrom, is also one of its best teammates. It can make opposing Choice Scarf Zekrom think twice about locking themselves into Bolt Strike in fear of either being set up on by Substitute + Hone Claws Zekrom, or being forced out without doing anything notable. It is also an offensive check to Kyogre unlike Water Arceus.
Calm Mind
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name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Judgment
move 3: Recover
move 4: Refresh / Will-O-Wisp
item: Splash Plate
ivs: 0 Atk
evs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Timid
Moves
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Calm Mind is Water Arceus's best boosting move and is fairly easy to use in conjunction with the rest of the set. Water-type Judgment has no immunities against it other than the rarely seen Water Absorb, Dry Skin, and Storm Drain abilities, which makes Water Arceus a great candidate for a mono-attacking setup sweeper. Recover is there to shrug off damage taken while setting up. Refresh makes sure that random Toxic users, or Toxic users in general, will not be ruining Water Arceus's sweep any time soon. It will also allow Water Arceus to shrug off any inconvenient paralysis or burn inflicted on to it. Alternatively, Will-O-Wisp can be used to discourage Zekrom from switching in, although this Water Arceus is still 2HKOed by Bolt Strike from a burned Zekrom. Grass Knot can also be used here in order to defeat Calm Mind Kyogre and 2HKO Palkia a good amount of the time. This will also hit Groudon and many other Pokemon harder than Judgment in the sun.
Set Details
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248 HP is, once again, to fill out Water Arceus's overall bulk while still having an odd maximum HP number to mess with residual damage calculations. Having maximum Speed with a Timid nature allows this Arceus to outspeed Gengar before it Mega Evolves and Speed tie with other maximum Speed Arceus formes, (add comma) with the most important one being Electric Arceus. The leftover 8 EVs are put in Special Attack to slightly boost Judgment a very slight amount. Remember that these two additional points more in Special Attack will compound when boosting with Calm Mind. Minimal Attack IVs are optimal for reducing Foul Play and confusion damage but doesn't do too much for Water Arceus outside of that. An alternative spread of 248 HP / 64 SpD / 188 Spe with a Timid nature can also be used to make sure Water Arceus has some sponging capability before boosting while also still being faster than Gengar, before Mega Evolving, and Thundurus, but a Speed tie with Electric Arceus is generally more important than the added bulk.
Usage Tips
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This particular Arceus can actually take on some special attackers better than the previous one because of Calm Mind. Palkia is just one example of these, (add comma) and Refresh means that this Arceus doesn't need to fear Toxic or Thunder Wave from Palkia either. Water Arceus needs six Calm Mind boosts to get past teams with healthy special sponges such as specially defensive Palkia, Blissey, and specially defensive Giratina among others. These boosts are not hard to acquire late-game when Zekrom and Electric Arceus are absent, but it is critical that these two Pokemon are removed before setting up. If you carry Will-O-Wisp, this set can actually be an effective lure for Zekrom once Calm Mind is revealed. Burning Zekrom is always nice because of how ridiculous its physical STABs are, (add comma) but don't keep Water Arceus in on Zekrom because even after it is burned, Bolt Strike will still 2HKO Water Arceus regardless. If you do forego Refresh for Will-O-Wisp though, make sure to keep Toxic away from this Arceus at all costs since it effectively ruins Water Arceus's sweeping potential.
Team Options
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Ground-types to check Zekrom are always welcome alongside Water Arceus, and Ferrothorn is welcome for this reason another option for this role; it also and for checks Electric Arceus with Toxic while also being able to setting up Spikes. Excadrill deserves a special mention since it can Rapid Spin away an opposing Ferrothorn's entry hazards as well as check Electric Arceus and Zekrom to an extent. Cleric support from Pokemon like Xerneas, Blissey, and Sylveon is very useful if Water Arceus is not carrying Refresh. Zekrom is also a fantastic partner due to its ability to check Palkia offensively and to make opposing Choice Scarf Zekrom hesitate about locking themselves into Bolt Strike. Mixed Zekrom is a particularly good teammate since it lures in Ferrothorn and can 2HKO it with Focus Blast. Spikes users like such as Klefki and Forretress are also welcome when using this set, (add comma) and Forretress can also serve as a Rapid Spin user. Entry hazard support helps this Arceus, and just about any sweeper, get its job done much easier.
Other Options
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Stealth Rock is always an option on just about any support Arceus but so many other Pokemon use it better that it is almost not worth mentioning. Water Arceus can also make use of coverage moves like Spacial Rend for Palkia and Fire Blast for Grass-types but both of these moves have limited use, (add comma) and Water Arceus usually will not have room for them on its moveset. Thunder Wave can be used to cripple offensive Kyogre and Palkia but it has no use against Water Arceus's switch-ins, and for this reason Will-O-Wisp and Toxic are preferred over Thunder Wave. Lastly, a Swords Dance set can be used with a spread of 252 Attack, 4 Defense, and 252 Speed 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe and a Jolly nature, using with Aqua Tail or Waterfall, Dragon Claw, and Recover as the other moves as the moves for this set. The set itself got hit hard by the Drizzle nerf though and generally isn't worth running because of how little it offers over other Swords Dance Arceus formes and how much opportunity cost comes with using it.
Checks & Counters
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**Palkia**: It Palkia will beat support Water Arceus variants one-on-one if it carries Toxic or Choice Specs and Thunder, but non-Rest variants must watch out for the status move Water Arceus carries, and However, it is also beaten by Calm Mind variants if it doesn't have Dragon Tail.
**Electric Arceus**: It Electric Arceus can set up on Water Arceus and KO it while only fearing the rare Toxic, (add comma) which will only cut its sweep short. It doesn't mind Will-O-Wisp at all.
**Ferrothorn**: It Ferrothorn will set up entry hazards all day on Water Arceus and can eventually KO it with the combination of Leech Seed, Power Whip, and, if Refresh isn't carried, Toxic.
**Zekrom**: Zekrom can switch into and KO Water Arceus but it absolutely loathes Will-O-Wisp. It still has a chance to 2HKO Water Arceus when burned and will always 2HKO Water Arceus without Defense investment. However, it is also worn down on repeated switch-ins by entry hazards and Judgment, (add comma) so Water Arceus can outlast it easily.
**Shadow Tag Users**: Mega Gengar will put an end to Water Arceus 99% of the time but hates Thunder Wave and will faint alongside Arceus most of the time. Gothitelle can set up Calm Minds on support variants and can 2HKO after six with Psyshock, (add comma) but it has trouble versus Calm Mind Water Arceus variants. Wobbuffet can turn you Water Arceus into setup fodder for another Pokemon with Encore or it will Mirror Coat Water Arceus it into oblivion assuming it doesn't have five Calm Mind boosts when Wobbuffet is brought in. Wobbuffet must watch out for the status move the Water Arceus is carrying though.
**Dialga**: This dragon Dialga resists Judgment and can Toxic, Thunder, or phaze Water Arceus with Roar. However, it is worn down by repeated switch-ins to Judgment and entry hazards, (add comma) and variants without Thunder or Toxic will lose to Water Arceus in a last Pokemon situation.
**Grass Arceus**: It Grass Arceus cannot take on Calm Mind Refresh variants of Water Arceus but it beats support variants one-on-one, although it may be poisoned or burned in the process.
**Toxic Spam**: Toxic is carried on a large amount of Pokemon in the Ubers tier and will heavily cripple any Water Arceus without Refresh.
**Phazing**: Phazers like Giratina, specially defensive Kyogre, and Lugia can take boosted hits from Water Arceus, and the former two can Rest off status. All three of them will phaze Water Arceus out, but the latter two will lose if Calm Mind Refresh Water Arceus is the last Pokemon standing.
