From the sea to the land to the air, Archen has seen a lot. But it didn't see extinction coming!
Status:
WIP WIP WIP
[Overview]
<p>Archen is arguably one of the most powerful but also one of the most complex Pokemon in Little Cup. It's type combination is unique to Little Cup. Earthquake, Acrobatics and Stone Edge combined give Archen near perfect coverage, and it gets STAB on two of them. Archen wields the second highest Attack in tier, only outmatched by Cranidos. Unlike Cranidos, Archen also possesses decent Speed and Special Attack stats to work with, but don't be fooled. While it is true Archen has incredible strength, that power can go away before it can even attack. Archen's unique ability Defeatist can transform Archen from insane powerhouse into dead weight very quickly. Oran Berry can fix this somewhat, but Stealth Rock and priority means you have to be cautious while using this Pokemon. All in all, Archen is a gamble, where the prize in incredible prehistoric power, but the cost can be just as killer.</p>
[Set]
name: Rock Polish
move 1: Rock Polish
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Acrobatics
item: Oran Berry / Flying Gem
nature: Adamant
evs: 76 HP / 180 Atk / 196 Spe
[Set Comments]
While Archen is faster than other powerhouses such as Cranidos, it still isn't fast enough to keep up with most of the tier's top attackers. Rock Polish fixes that problem. After one turn, you are looking at an astounding 34 Speed and 22 Attack. Stone Edge and Earthquake are powerful and get near perfect coverage together. STAB Stone Edge stings even the toughest opponents when its coming off of 22 Attack. Acrobatics is even more powerful than Stone Edge after Archen has consumed an item, reaching 110 base power. Combined with the Flying Gem and STAB, Acrobatics achieves a ridiculous 247 base power, albeit only for one turn. Oran Berry is the recommended choice even if you are giving up the power the Flying Gem provides. Oran Berry acts as a safety net for Archen, which it appreciates more than any other Pokemon in the game due to Defeatist.</p>
[Additional Comments]
- Works very well with offensive Fire-types and Water-types. Houndour and Chinchou are excellent examples of good sweeping partners with Archen
- Bronzor will always beat Archen 1-on-1, so a Fire-type like Houndour who can keep Bronzor at bay is good to have
- Magnemite works well as a teammate since it can trap Bronzor
- This set works great lategame, especially if you have removed priority users
- Sandstorm support, Stealth Rock and / or screen support is always welcome
name: Choice
move 1: Stone Edge
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: U-Turn
move 4: Head Smash / Pluck
item: Choice Scarf / Choice Band
nature: Jolly
evs: 76 HP / 180 Atk / 196 Spe
[Set Comments]
- This set focuses on either revenge-killing or punching massive holes through the opponents team
- Stone Edge for a powerful, "reliable" STAB attack
- Earthquake's perfect accuracy, great coverage and 100 base power makes it the perfect partner with Stone Edge
- U-Turn is great for scouting, revenge killing or hit-and-run attacking
- Head Smash is a brutal suicide attack that still inflicts a ton of damage even after Faint Hearted / Weak-Kneed activates
- A teammate that knows Rapid Spin is highly recommended if you are running Choice Band
- Stealth Rock and Sandstorm support is awesome, so Hippopotas is a great teammate
- Works very well with Fire-types who can keep Bronzor at bay
- Archen has Crunch to hit Ghost-types
- Claw Sharpen can be used as a way to boost Archen's already high Attack, but Archen is a tad too slow to use it effectively
- Quick Attack can be used if you want priority and Rock Slide can be used if you want better accuracy than Stone Edge
- Archen's no slouch in Special Attack, so a special attacking set with Earth Power and AncientPower could work well
- Bronzor counters the physical sets with ease
- Ferrothorn can counter the physical attacks somewhat and, unlike Bronzor, paralyze Archen, but a boosted Acrobat with hurt
- Gligar won't like taking an Acrobat or Stone Edge, but it can survive most of Archen's assaults and use Roost to heal it off
- Duskull can switch in on Earthquake and try to burn Archen next turn with Will-O-Wisp, but Stone Edge leave a large dent in Duskull
- Priority and Stealth Rock are Archen's bane
