Archeops
[Overview]
<p>With its phenomenal 140/112/110 offenses, Archeops is a regular wrecking ball of flying fury. Its overall good movepool, along with new toys from BW2, such as Heat Wave and Roost, allows Archeops to become a scary Pokemon to deal with. However, there's a reason why such a monster is lurking down in the RU tier, mostly courtesy of an awful ability in Defeatist, which halves Archeops's damage output when its health is lower than 50%. Being weak to Stealth Rock and having piss poor defenses don't help Archeops at all to try and compensate for the ability. Nonetheless, with proper support, Archeops can become an offensive juggernaut.</p>
[SET]
name: Acrobatics
move 1: Acrobatics
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Earth Power
move 4: Head Smash / U-turn / Roost
item: Flying Gem
nature: Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Archeops's main set uses its great mixed attacking stats to wreak havoc when used properly. Acrobatics is the main attack, as it hits anything without solid Defense or a resistance extremely hard in conjunction with a Flying Gem. However, you shouldn't be urged to go for Acrobatics in situations when it's not needed, as it's extremely predictable and you could waste your Flying Gem right off the bat. Stone Edge is the secondary STAB to hit Fire- and Flying-type Pokemon, as well as hitting Pokemon like bulky Rotom for neutral damage. Earth Power is primarily used as a coverage move to hit Rhydon, Steelix, and Qwilfish for substantial damage on their weaker Special Defense. As for the last moveslot, Head Smash gives Archeops the ability to hit hard even when Defeatist is active thanks to its high Base Power. However, U-turn can also be used to good effect to gain momentum because of how many switches Archeops forces. The only issue with U-turn is that it can be counterproductive with Defeatist, considering Archeops will take more Stealth Rock damage if it switches in many times. Roost is another option that Archeops can use, giving Archeops reliable recovery and keeping it out of Defeatist range. A Roost may seem hard to pull off because of Archeops's general frailty, but it does force many Pokemon to switch out fearing a heavy hit, giving itself a free turn.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread is meant to maximize Archeops's offensive potential. A Naive nature is used to avoid lowering Earth Power's damage output, while nicely outspeeding Durant. A Flying Gem is used primarily because Acrobatics becomes a nuke when used, hitting an effective Base Power of 247.5 with STAB and Flying Gem considered. As for other options, Heat Wave is probably the most attractive one, heavily damaging Escavalier and Ferroseed while still maintaining coverage on Steelix. Earthquake is another option that could be used over Earth Power, hitting some neutral targets harder, but is not optimal because Earth Power hits common Archeops switch-ins like Steelix and Rhydon harder. Aqua Tail could be used, seeing as it hits Rhydon harder than any other physical moves Archeops has in its disposal, but with Earth Power 3HKOing standard Rhydon, it is generally unnecessary to run Aqua Tail.</p>
<p>As for partners, Rapid Spin support is mandatory for Archeops, as Stealth Rock is one way to lower Archeops into Defeatist range. Kabutops and Cryogonal are the best for the job, as both can beat most of the Ghost-types in the tier while providing decent synergy with Archeops. Entry hazard support is also appreciated from Pokemon such as Smeargle and Qwilfish, as it wears down Archeops's common switch-ins and enables some 2HKOs to turn into OHKOs. For example, standard defensive Rhydon will always be 2HKOed by Earth Power after Stealth Rock and a layer of Spikes. Qwilfish also has the added benefit of synergizing well with Archeops, being able to take Aqua Jets and Sucker Punches aimed at Archeops. Alomomola is a good partner as well, being able to take priority that Archeops is vulnerable to while passing huge Wishes to Archeops to keep it out of Defeatist range. Healing Wish users, such as Mesprit and Lilligant, are also good partners, as they keep Archeops out of Defeatist range while giving it a free switch-in to do some major damage.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Archeops actually has a pretty colorful movepool, as it has many interesting special attacks, ranging from AncientPower to Focus Blast, along with a solid base 112 Special Attack, but it's a waste to not use Archeops's superior Attack and is generally inferior outside of surprise factor. A Choice Scarf set can be used to some success, but with Archeops being Stealth Rock weak and Defeatist in tow makes it a subpar choice. Stealth Rock and Taunt are other moves in Archeops's movepool, but generally, it's an inferior option compared to Aerodactyl, and Archeops is strapped for moveslots as it already is. Rock Slide and Crunch are other moves that Archeops can use to some effective degree, but Rock Slide is not very powerful while Crunch is unnecessary, as Archeops can damage Uxie considerably with a Flying Gem-boosted Acrobatics. A Choice Band set can be used for immediate power, but it is generally inferior compared to the Acrobatics set due to the lack of a strong Flying STAB. Tailwind is a move that can benefit Archeops and its teammates for 3 turns with doubled Speed, but Archeops usually will have a better move to utilize. Hone Claws can give Archeops an interesting option to boost its good offensive potential, but considering how Archeops can be easily revenge killed, a sweep is unlikely to be pulled off.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Even though Archeops may seem like an unstoppable force, there are many ways this monster can be dealt with. Knocking Archeops into Defeatist range is a good way of dealing with it, as doing so severely limits its offensive potential. The best way of dealing with Archeops is Stealth Rock, as it puts Archeops into Defeatist range after 3 switch-ins. As for actual counters, Alomomola is the best Archeops counter, as its massive base 165 HP stat allows it to tank any hit Archeops could throw at it. Alomomola also has Wish and Regenerator to keep itself healthy to constantly switch into Archeops, and can heavily dent Archeops with a Waterfall. Regirock is another effective Archeops counter due to its massive Defense stat and can shrug off even Earth Powers from Archeops, while potentially paralyzing it or straight up OHKOing it with Rock Slide. Rhydon and Steelix are also decent switch-ins, but must be wary of Earth Power, which 2HKOes Steelix, while Rhydon will be 2HKOed after some prior damage. Ferroseed also makes a good switch-in to Archeops, as it takes any hit Archeops throws at it with the exception of Heat Wave and destroys it with Gyro Ball. Choice Scarf users such as Rotom-C and fast Pokemon such as Cinccino may not be able to switch in, but can check Archeops with a Thunderbolt or Rock Blast, respectively. Priority users, such as Kabutops, Feraligatr, and Absol, can all OHKO Archeops easily after Stealth Rock with their form of priority.</p>
