Arceus
______________________
[Overview]
<p>The creator of everything that is Pokemon returns, fueled with crackling divine rage. In this form, Arceus wields the devastating power of lightning, which it has used for countless centuries to bring savage ruin and heavenly punishment upon those who oppose it. The jaw-dropping power of its electric lances combined with its icy beams will numb the fighting spirit of any creature of the earth foolish enough to attempt to stand up to the wrath of Arceus. Even the infamous titans Ho-Oh and Kyogre slink away from Arceus in his electrical guise, lest they be utterly and completely wiped from existence with a storm of powerful bolts. It is most unwise to obstruct the path of the voltaic one, or else the wicked streak of a lightning bolt shall be the last thing you shall ever see.</p>
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Thunderbolt / Thunder
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Recover / Substitute
item: Zap Plate
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[Set Comments]
<p>Although pure Electric typing isn't so useful defensively, it is monstrous offensively, and Electric-type STAB is quite potent against many Uber Pokemon such as Lugia, Kyogre, and Ho-Oh. Combined with Electric Arceus's great Speed, bulk, power, and general lack of weaknesses courtesy of its typing, it becomes a true terror on the battlefield.</p>
<p>Calm Mind is the crux of the set. After just one or two boosts, Electric Arceus will become both overwhelmingly powerful and incredibly sturdy specially. Thunderbolt is the main attack for its consistent power and accuracy, able to OHKO most things that do not resist it after a boost or two. Thunder is significantly more powerful, so much so that after one Calm Mind Arceus can always OHKO 4 HP Palkia after Stealth Rock damage, and it carries a greater chance of paralysis, but Thunderbolt's consistent accuracy across all the weathers make it a much more useful option. This is true especially if Electric Arceus is being used on a sun team, where it has nice utilities such as checking Kyogre and being able to resist Flying-type attacks from the likes of Ho-Oh and Shaymin-S. Ice Beam eliminates Ground-type Pokemon such as Garchomp and offensive Groudon, and other Pokemon that resist Electric-type attacks such as Zekrom, forming the infamous "BoltBeam" attacking combination. Recover is the preferred option in the fourth slot to assist Arceus in setting up more Calm Minds and being worn down less by entry hazards, but Substitute offers protection from status and the ability to beat Blissey.</p>
<p>If one would desire more type coverage, Fire Blast and Focus Blast present alternative options to use instead of Recover. Both options completely wreck Ferrothorn, who otherwise gives this set a hard time with Leech Seed, while hurting Dialga a lot more than Ice Beam. However, Electric Arceus's survivability without Recover is drastically cut short due to its lack of useful resistances. One can also run either attack over Ice Beam, but that leaves Arceus walled by Zekrom, Garchomp and the Giratina formes.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>The given set of EVs help to maximize Electric Arceus's ability to sweep by optimizing its Speed and Special Attack. However, a bulkier spread of 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe can also be considered. Due to the fact Electric Arceus only has one weakness, it can abuse its bulk to potentially set up even more Calm Minds. It also allows Arceus to make Substitutes that Blissey cannot drop with a single Seismic Toss, leaving it little more than setup fodder.</p>
<p>Ground Arceus and defensive variants of Groudon are major issues for Electric Arceus. They are both immune to its STAB, bulky enough to take an Ice Beam, and can drop it with one Earthquake. Reshiram resists Electric-type attacks, shrugs off Ice Beam, and will roast Arceus to a crisp with its powerful sun-boosted Blue Flare. Blissey and Tyranitar are special walls that can handle Arceus's hits all day and either subdue it with Toxic or simply annihilate it entirely with Earthquake, respectively. Choice Scarf Garchomp is also capable of outspeeding Arceus and crushing it with Earthquake before it can use Ice Beam.</p>
<p>Mixed Rayquaza is a terrific teammate for Electric Arceus. Aside from being immune to its only weakness, a mixed Rayquaza can lure out Electric Arceus's most common adversary, Groudon, and piledrive it into the ground with a surprise Draco Meteor, leaving Electric Arceus free to rampage. Kyogre can also summon an infinite rain storm that will slice the power of Reshiram's Blue Flare into unusable bits, meaning that it no longer has the might to defeat Arceus. Groudon's high Defense and Attack make it a good and reliable answer to Garchomp, Blissey, and Tyranitar. Ground Arceus can be handled by Groudon (for a physical set), Kyogre (for a special set), or Shaymin-S, who is faster than Ground Arceus and can put it down with Seed Flare.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Judgment is slightly more powerful than Thunderbolt, but it has less PP and lacks the useful paralysis chance that Thunderbolt possesses. Grass Knot will score an easy OHKO on Groudon after a Calm Mind boost, and it gets a stronger hit on Ground Arceus, but Ice Beam is usually better to retain coverage on Garchomp and Zekrom. Fire Blast and Focus Blast are also other attacks Arceus can use over Recover or Substitute - the former wrecks Ferrothorn and is nice to use in the sunlight, and the latter is less accurate, but still covers Ferrothorn while also mangling Tyranitar. Earth Power allows Electric Arceus to wreck Reshiram and Magnezone after a Calm Mind boost while retaining coverage on Zekrom and badly injuring Tyranitar, but it's generally less useful than the other attacks Electric Arceus can run.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Electric Arceus is very difficult to halt due to its excellent combination of Speed, power, and type coverage, but there are still some foes it will have a lot of trouble getting past without help.</p>
<p>Blissey is probably Electric Arceus's worst enemy. Electric Arceus's attacks will bounce right off the vast rolls of pink, lumpy fat while Blissey can whittle it down with Toxic. However, Blissey will lose to Electric Arceus that carry Substitute to block Toxic. Groudon and Ground Arceus can both take a boosted Ice Beam (although it will do a lot of damage) and KO Electric Arceus back with Earthquake. Choice Scarf Garchomp can switch in on any of Electric Arceus's attacks bar Ice Beam, and smash it with Earthquake. Bulky Excadrill is in a similar situation, but it has the potential to outspeed Electric Arceus in the sand while not being too bothered by Ice Beam. Reshiram laughs off most of Electric Arceus's attacks and can incinerate it with Blue Flare through the Calm Mind boosts, thanks to its sheer power under sunlight. Tyranitar doesn't care about any of Electric Arceus's moves and can obliterate it with a mighty Earthquake. Finally, Toxic Spikes can more often than not stop Arceus from sweeping by hampering it with a crippling poison.</p>
