Cynara
Banned deucer.
[SET]
name: Bulky Extreme Killer
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Extreme Speed
move 3: Shadow Claw
move 4: Recover / Earthquake
item: Life Orb / Silk Scarf
ability: Multitype
nature: Adamant
evs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Swords Dance allows Arceus to set up, boosting its Attack two stages and providing it with a threatening offensive presence and sweeping potential. After a Swords Dance boost, Arceus is able to OHKO many notable threats in the tier, such as offensive Yveltal, Mewtwo, Rayquaza, and most variants of Primal Groudon and Xerneas. Extreme Speed is a strong +2 priority STAB move, allowing it to bypass faster threats along with slower forms of priority; this gives Arceus solid revenge killing ability to allow it to dispatch frailer threats such as Darkrai and Deoxys-A. Shadow Claw, although relatively weak, is essential Ghost-type coverage to allow Arceus to deal damage to common Ghost-types that are immune to Extreme Speed, such as Giratina-O, Mega Gengar, and Ghost Arceus. Bronzong and Jirachi also take a reasonable chunk of damage due to Shadow Claw also hitting them super effectively. Shadow Claw also damages common Steel-types such as Dialga and Klefki for at least neutral damage. Recover is a reliable form of recovery, increasing Arceus's longevity throughout games and giving it more opportunities to set up and increasing its sweeping potential. Due to its bulk and Recover, Arceus can shrug off unboosted neutral attacks, such as Mega Diancie's Moonblast, with relative ease and create an opportunity to set up Swords Dance. One can opt to forgo Recover for Earthquake to maximize Arceus's coverage, allowing it to get past Tyranitar, which would otherwise comfortably wall it, and OHKO Klefki and all common Primal Groudon variants after Stealth Rock damage. With Earthquake, Arceus can also somewhat reliably deal with Ferrothorn and the uncommon Mega Scizor, as Earthquake does a considerable amount of damage to them after a Swords Dance boost.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack investment coupled with Life Orb and an Adamant nature is used so Arceus is able to pick up OHKOs or dent walls as much as possible after a Swords Dance, making it much more feasible to sweep. 124 Speed EVs allow Arceus to outspeed fully invested positive-natured base 90 Speed Pokemon such as Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh, in addition to some support Arceus formes such as Water Arceus. The remaining EVs are placed into HP to provide Arceus with some bulk to increase its ability to take unboosted hits and successfully utilize Recover. While Life Orb is the set's item of choice for maximum damage output, one may opt for a Silk Scarf instead due to the Life Orb recoil being a hindrance. However, the power drop is noticeable, mainly in Arceus's coverage moves; for example, Giratina-O now has to be worn down before it can be taken out by a boosted Shadow Claw, and Arceus also misses out on a OHKO against Primal Groudon with a +2 Earthquake. An alternative spread to consider is 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe to maximize Arceus's bulk; however, it would lose out on the ability to outspeed maximum Speed base 90 Speed Pokemon. Despite this, it retains the ability to outspeed neutral-natured fully invested ones such as Modest Dialga and Adamant Ho-Oh.
Usage Tips
========
Arceus is a proficient revenge killer that can pick off frail and weakened threats and should not be preserved completely for late-game. In most scenarios, Arceus is going to be revenge killing fast threats such as Deoxys-A, Darkrai, and Mewtwo with its strong STAB Extreme Speed along with taking out threatening sweepers such as Geomancy Xerneas, Mega Salamence, and Primal Groudon, though these need to be worn down much more to be in the KO range of Extreme Speed. Arceus with Recover needs a more efficient game plan than Earthquake variants, so try to keep it healthy so that it can safely utilize Recover. Weak and moderately powerful moves that Arceus can use Recover against such as Mega Diancie's Moonblast make for good setup fodder. Avoid using Swords Dance in situations that would get Arceus crippled by status from moves such as Toxic, Will-O-Wisp, and Thunder Wave, limiting its offensive capabilities. Take caution against Pokemon that do a considerable amount of damage unboosted such as offensive Primal Groudon, Mega Salamence with Double-Edge, Rayquaza, and Ho-Oh with Brave Bird, as they can take a huge chunk of HP out of Arceus, limiting its longevity and putting it into KO range of opposing priority attacks. It's also recommended that certain Arceus checks such as Giratina-O, Lugia, defensive Yveltal, and Mega Sableye be weakened considerably before setting up Swords Dance to avoid being phazed or crippled by Will-O-Wisp. Defensive Yveltal especially deters Arceus from setting up, as it survives a +2 Life Orb Extreme Speed even after Stealth Rock and OHKOes it back with Foul Play. It is much safer for Arceus to set up on targets such as Mega Diancie, Dialga, and Latios after a Special Attack drop from Draco Meteor, first using Recover and proceeding to boost with Swords Dance.
Team Options
========
Xerneas possesses good offensive synergy with Arceus and is a direct answer to defensive Yveltal, one of the main checks to Extreme Killer Arceus, while being able to double switch into Giratina-O to keep up offensive momentum. Xerneas and Arceus also share similar checks, such as Klefki, and they can overwhelm their checks, which allows room for one of them to set up as a possible wincon or deal a considerable amount of damage. Choice Scarf or Rest Xerneas variants are also effective sleep absorbers against Darkrai, especially on offensive builds. Rock Polish Primal Groudon partners very well with Arceus due to its ability to remove fast threats and become a solid wincon, late-game cleaner, and Xerneas answer for offensive teams. Primal Groudon is also an effective Stealth Rock user that is able to deal with Steel-types such as Klefki, being useful on mainly balanced and bulky offensive builds. Dialga with a Shuca Berry is another Stealth Rock setter to consider, especially on hyper offensive builds due to its ability to get past Magic Bounce users and pressure common Defoggers. It also allows Primal Groudon to run a move in place of Stealth Rock and is a reactive but defined answer to Mega Salamence, preventing a potential sweep. Mega Salamence is an effective wallbreaker able to dent defensive Yveltal and put bulkier threats into Extreme Speed's KO range, and it is a reliable Ground-immune Pokemon that is able to deal with Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh with Facade, being unbothered by Sacred Fire burns. On the other hand, Mega Salamence appreciates Arceus's ability to deal with faster threats such as Darkrai, Deoxys-A, and Mewtwo. Mega Gengar is another solid Mega Evolution to consider due to its good offensive synergy with Arceus, trapping and removing particular common answers to Arceus such as Lugia, Ferrothorn, Bronzong, and other Arceus formes such as Rock, Water, and Dragon Arceus. Mega Gengar can also force trades with Destiny Bond in certain situations against Ho-Oh, opposing Swords Dance Arceus like Extreme Killer, Ghost, and Ground Arceus, and other priority users such as Mega Kangaskhan. Threats to Mega Gengar like Deoxys-A, Mewtwo, and offensive Yveltal can be dealt with by Arceus in return. Dark-types such as Yveltal and Darkrai are able to pressure opposing Ghost-types such as Giratina-O and Ghost Arceus while dealing with other common Arceus answers such as Lugia and Mega Sableye. Yveltal in particular can utilize aggressive play effectively; try to bring Yveltal in on Giratina-O on a predicted switch into Arceus to fire off a Life Orb-boosted Dark Pulse or Choice Band-boosted Knock Off. In return, Arceus is able to deal with Mega Diancie and unboosted Geomancy or Choice Scarf Xerneas that would threaten Darkrai and Yveltal or even revenge kill them with Extreme Speed. Ho-Oh is another effective wallbreaker and has Sacred Fire to spread burns while being able to take on common Steel-types, such as Klefki, Bronzong, and Ferrothorn, that would otherwise be a hindrance to Arceus. Furthermore, Ho-Oh is a somewhat reliable sleep absorber and is also able to take on Xerneas, which can beat Arceus one-on-one in some scenarios, as a healthy Geomancy Xerneas can actually set up on a unboosted Arceus.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Leftovers is an interesting item choice on the 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe EV spread, especially for teams that struggle with Mega Diancie, enabling Extreme Killer Arceus to use it as setup fodder. The increase in longevity also helps it to get extra Swords Dance boosts in. Although Arceus is considerably weaker with Leftovers, it can deal with Choice Scarf Xerneas better and still set up in a similar manner.
[SET]
name: Bulky Extreme Killer
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Extreme Speed
move 3: Shadow Claw
move 4: Recover / Earthquake
item: Life Orb / Silk Scarf
ability: Multitype
nature: Adamant
evs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
• Swords Dance allows Arceus to set up, boosts attack by +2, giving Arceus good offensive prowess, OHKOing a majority of threats such as offensive Yveltal, Mewtwo and some variants of Primal Groudon and Xerneas with little prior damage.
• Extreme Speed is the STAB Move of choice, has +2 priority able to bypass faster threats and slower forms of priority, solid revenge killing ability to pick off weakened Targets or faster frail threats like Darkrai and Deoxys-Attack.
• Shadow Claw is coverage to enable Arceus to deal damage to common Ghost Types in the tier Such as Giratina-O or Mega Gengar that would otherwise be immune to Extreme Speed.
• Recover is for recovery, giving Arceus some longevity throughout games, due to it's natural bulk arceus is able to stomach some unboosted attacks and increases it's ability to set up a Swords Dance
• If forgoing Recover, Earthquake is an additional coverage move, giving Extreme Killer Arceus the best coverage possible. Allowing Arceus to get past Tyranitar, Klefki, and OHKOing Primal Groudon at +2 after Stealth Rock
Set Details
========
• Max Attack investment with an Adamant nature is to deal as much damage and have as as possible, making it as feasible as possible to clean up with Extreme Speed.
• 124 Speed EVs are used to outspeed max speed positive base 90's such as Jolly Primal Groudon and Ho-oh.
• Remaining EVs are dumped into HP to give Arceus as much bulk as possible to increase longevity and proficiency to Recover or stomach attacks.
• An alternative EV Spread of 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe may be used to further increase Arceus's overall bulk. However it doesn't achieve the aforementioned benchmark, but has enough speed to outspeed max neutral base 90's
• Life Orb is the main item of use for maximum offensive prowess, however one may opt to forgo a Life Orb for a Silk Scarf, if the recoil damage is a hinderance, though the power drop between them is noticeable, especially in coverage moves such as Earthquake missing an important OHKO on Groudon on +2 and requiring Giratina-O to be weakened considerably more.
Usage Tips
========
• Arceus is a proficient revenge killer and should not be preserved entirely for late game, as it can take out weakened threats such as Deoxys-Attack and Darkrai. Bulkier threats such as Xerneas, Primal Groudon and Mega Salamence need to be worn down much more considerably to be Revenge Killed by a unboosted Extreme Speed.
• Try to keep Arceus healthy with recover to set up and dent as much holes in teams as possible or even clean up.
• Don't Swords Dance too early if common Arceus checks are too healthy like Giratina-o, due to the possibility of being phased out or crippled by Will-O-Wisp/toxic. Mega Salamence especially needs to be weakened quite considerably, intimidate drops limits Arceus's capabilities and force it to switch out most of the time. Avoid setting up on Primal Groudon due to the risk of Lava plume burns or being phased out by Roar
• If Arceus takes an attack that deals a considerable amount of damage such as Mega Salamence Double Edge or Ho-oh Brave Bird, this puts it at risk of being revenge killed by opposing priority users and therefore can hinder it's ability to sweep or even revenge kill effectively. It's much safer to try to set up on weaker attacks or potential setup fodder such as -2 Spa Dialga or Latios, as Arceus can recover safely and set up in most scenarios.
• Avoid status that could cripple Arceus such as Will-O-Wisp or being put on a timer by Toxic, both which deteriorate it's sweeping potential.
Team Options
========
• Xerneas - Deals with yveltal, especially defensive variants that would hinder Arceus to Set up Swords Dance, double switch into Giratina-o, Xerneas and Arceus share some similar checks and they can overload their checks with offensive pressure creating room for one of them to setup and do considerable damage to a team. Scarf variants can absorb sleep from Darkrai
• Mega Salamence - Nuts dmg wallbreaker, provides a solid ground immunity to deal with primal groudon, able to dent holes in walls and bulkier threats to put them targets in Extreme Speed range and visa versa to allow a Salamence sweep, Reliable Switch in to ho-oh with Facade to absorb Sacred Fire burns.
• Primal Groudon - Stealth Rock and Rock Polish Sets
• Mega Gengar - Good offensive synergy, traps and removes certain Extreme Killer checks like Bronzong, Ferrothorn, Lugia and Support Arceus formes, and can force trades in certain situations with Destiny Bond such as opposing Swords Dance Arceus or Mega Kangaskhan. In return Extreme Killer helps revenge kill threats to Gengar like Offensive Yveltal and Deoxys-Attack
• Darkrai - Darkrai helps remove ghost types such as Giratina-O and improves Matchups versus Ghost Arceus, while dealing with Lugia and Mega Sableye. It can cripple a opposing Pokemon with Dark Void, making it easier for Extreme Killer to sweep. Extreme Killer Helps revenge kill common threats to Darkrai such as Deoxys-Attack and Scarf Xerneas.
• Yveltal - Offensive Yveltal makes a good partner that makes use of Arceus ability to revenge kill threats like Xerneas and take hits from Diancie and recover off the damage, Yveltal puts offense pressure on Lugia, Giratina-O, Mega Sableye and Mega Gengar, aggressive play to get Yveltal in on a double is most effective to threaten incoming threats on a switch with Yveltal to fire off attacks.
• Dialga - Shuca Berry Stealth Rock, applies pressure to Giratina-O and Arceus appreciates the solid reactive response to Salamence Mega.
• Ho-oh - Provides a somewhat reliable sleep absorber and helps to check Xerneas which tends to beat Extreme Killer Arceus one on one, while dealing with common steels such as Bronzong, Ferrothorn and Klefki. the pairing has a good offensive presence, only really fits on Bulky Offense builds
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
• Leftovers is a interesting item choice on the 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe EV spread, especially for teams that struggle with Offensive Mega Diancie, enabling Extreme Killer to use it as Set up fodder, enabling it to get extra Swords Dances in and increasing general longevity, though this is considerably weaker, it also enables Arceus to deal Scarf Xerneas better and setup in a similar manner.
name: Bulky Extreme Killer
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Extreme Speed
move 3: Shadow Claw
move 4: Recover / Earthquake
item: Life Orb / Silk Scarf
ability: Multitype
nature: Adamant
evs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
• Swords Dance allows Arceus to set up, boosts attack by +2, giving Arceus good offensive prowess, OHKOing a majority of threats such as offensive Yveltal, Mewtwo and some variants of Primal Groudon and Xerneas with little prior damage.
• Extreme Speed is the STAB Move of choice, has +2 priority able to bypass faster threats and slower forms of priority, solid revenge killing ability to pick off weakened Targets or faster frail threats like Darkrai and Deoxys-Attack.
• Shadow Claw is coverage to enable Arceus to deal damage to common Ghost Types in the tier Such as Giratina-O or Mega Gengar that would otherwise be immune to Extreme Speed.
• Recover is for recovery, giving Arceus some longevity throughout games, due to it's natural bulk arceus is able to stomach some unboosted attacks and increases it's ability to set up a Swords Dance
• If forgoing Recover, Earthquake is an additional coverage move, giving Extreme Killer Arceus the best coverage possible. Allowing Arceus to get past Tyranitar, Klefki, and OHKOing Primal Groudon at +2 after Stealth Rock
Set Details
========
• Max Attack investment with an Adamant nature is to deal as much damage and have as as possible, making it as feasible as possible to clean up with Extreme Speed.
• 124 Speed EVs are used to outspeed max speed positive base 90's such as Jolly Primal Groudon and Ho-oh.
• Remaining EVs are dumped into HP to give Arceus as much bulk as possible to increase longevity and proficiency to Recover or stomach attacks.
• An alternative EV Spread of 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe may be used to further increase Arceus's overall bulk. However it doesn't achieve the aforementioned benchmark, but has enough speed to outspeed max neutral base 90's
• Life Orb is the main item of use for maximum offensive prowess, however one may opt to forgo a Life Orb for a Silk Scarf, if the recoil damage is a hinderance, though the power drop between them is noticeable, especially in coverage moves such as Earthquake missing an important OHKO on Groudon on +2 and requiring Giratina-O to be weakened considerably more.
Usage Tips
========
• Arceus is a proficient revenge killer and should not be preserved entirely for late game, as it can take out weakened threats such as Deoxys-Attack and Darkrai. Bulkier threats such as Xerneas, Primal Groudon and Mega Salamence need to be worn down much more considerably to be Revenge Killed by a unboosted Extreme Speed.
• Try to keep Arceus healthy with recover to set up and dent as much holes in teams as possible or even clean up.
• Don't Swords Dance too early if common Arceus checks are too healthy like Giratina-o, due to the possibility of being phased out or crippled by Will-O-Wisp/toxic. Mega Salamence especially needs to be weakened quite considerably, intimidate drops limits Arceus's capabilities and force it to switch out most of the time. Avoid setting up on Primal Groudon due to the risk of Lava plume burns or being phased out by Roar
• If Arceus takes an attack that deals a considerable amount of damage such as Mega Salamence Double Edge or Ho-oh Brave Bird, this puts it at risk of being revenge killed by opposing priority users and therefore can hinder it's ability to sweep or even revenge kill effectively. It's much safer to try to set up on weaker attacks or potential setup fodder such as -2 Spa Dialga or Latios, as Arceus can recover safely and set up in most scenarios.
• Avoid status that could cripple Arceus such as Will-O-Wisp or being put on a timer by Toxic, both which deteriorate it's sweeping potential.
Team Options
========
• Xerneas - Deals with yveltal, especially defensive variants that would hinder Arceus to Set up Swords Dance, double switch into Giratina-o, Xerneas and Arceus share some similar checks and they can overload their checks with offensive pressure creating room for one of them to setup and do considerable damage to a team. Scarf variants can absorb sleep from Darkrai
• Mega Salamence - Nuts dmg wallbreaker, provides a solid ground immunity to deal with primal groudon, able to dent holes in walls and bulkier threats to put them targets in Extreme Speed range and visa versa to allow a Salamence sweep, Reliable Switch in to ho-oh with Facade to absorb Sacred Fire burns.
• Primal Groudon - Stealth Rock and Rock Polish Sets
• Mega Gengar - Good offensive synergy, traps and removes certain Extreme Killer checks like Bronzong, Ferrothorn, Lugia and Support Arceus formes, and can force trades in certain situations with Destiny Bond such as opposing Swords Dance Arceus or Mega Kangaskhan. In return Extreme Killer helps revenge kill threats to Gengar like Offensive Yveltal and Deoxys-Attack
• Darkrai - Darkrai helps remove ghost types such as Giratina-O and improves Matchups versus Ghost Arceus, while dealing with Lugia and Mega Sableye. It can cripple a opposing Pokemon with Dark Void, making it easier for Extreme Killer to sweep. Extreme Killer Helps revenge kill common threats to Darkrai such as Deoxys-Attack and Scarf Xerneas.
• Yveltal - Offensive Yveltal makes a good partner that makes use of Arceus ability to revenge kill threats like Xerneas and take hits from Diancie and recover off the damage, Yveltal puts offense pressure on Lugia, Giratina-O, Mega Sableye and Mega Gengar, aggressive play to get Yveltal in on a double is most effective to threaten incoming threats on a switch with Yveltal to fire off attacks.
• Dialga - Shuca Berry Stealth Rock, applies pressure to Giratina-O and Arceus appreciates the solid reactive response to Salamence Mega.
• Ho-oh - Provides a somewhat reliable sleep absorber and helps to check Xerneas which tends to beat Extreme Killer Arceus one on one, while dealing with common steels such as Bronzong, Ferrothorn and Klefki. the pairing has a good offensive presence, only really fits on Bulky Offense builds
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
• Leftovers is a interesting item choice on the 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe EV spread, especially for teams that struggle with Offensive Mega Diancie, enabling Extreme Killer to use it as Set up fodder, enabling it to get extra Swords Dances in and increasing general longevity, though this is considerably weaker, it also enables Arceus to deal Scarf Xerneas better and setup in a similar manner.
Last edited: