Flying Arceus
QC: (trickroom, fireburn) GP: (,)
[Overview]
<p>In this form, the creator descends from heaven itself to smite the evil and unjust with its extraordinarily powerful Judgment. Flying type attacks are resisted by few pokemon at all in this metagame, with the only common resistors being Dialga, Zekrom, Tyranitar and Jirachi. Whilst other flying types such as Ho-Oh and Shaymin-S might seem to outclass Arceus in the role of offensive flying type due to their abilities and other attributes, Flying Arceus is the only flying type which can reliably boost its STAB attack to tremendous levels of power. Furthermore, Arceus possesses great bulk overall, and can also reduce its weakness to Electric and Ice attacks through Calm Mind. After a Calm Mind or two, not much at all can survive the wrath of Arceus' Flying Judgment.</p>
[Set]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Judgment
move 3: Refresh / Earth Power
move 4: Recover
item: Sky Plate
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[Set Comments]
<p>The main advantage of using Flying Arceus over other Arceus forms, or other Flying types for that matter, is its excellent mono-attacking STAB and the ability to further boost its power. Many of the Steel types in the tier such as Ferrothorn, Forretress and Scizor have secondary typings which make them vulnerable to Judgment, allowing Arceus to capitalise on its Flying STAB quite effectively. Since Arceus outspeeds the vast majority of Ubers and has great attacking power and coverage with a single move, it can easily wreak havoc with its powerful Judgments if left unchallenged.</p>
<p>Whilst Flying Arceus may not have the best defensive typing and is unfortunately weak to Stealth Rock, it has no crippling weaknesses like Ho-Oh or Shaymin-S and can allieviate its weaknesses to Electric and Ice attacks after using Calm Mind a few times. Arceus can further augment its bulk by using Recover for instant health recovery, and by using Refresh to prevent opponents such as Chansey from statusing it and subsequently stalling it out. However, if you'd prefer offensive coverage over the ability to negate status, then Earth Power is a viable option over Refresh, hitting almost every pokémon in the tier that resists Flying attacks for super-effective damage, unless they carry Air Balloons. Opponents such as Skarmory and Thundurus which resist the combination are specially frail anyways, and both are outsped and 2HKO'd by +1 Judgment.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>Since Arceus has a fairly poor defensive typing and excellent offensive STAB, the given set of EVs complement this by boosting his Special Attack and Speed to maximum levels, letting him outspeed the majority of the metagame. A Modest nature can also be used, still letting Arceus speed-tie with positive natured base 105 speed pokemon whilst giving Arceus' attacks a nice 10% boost. However, speed-tying with other Arceus can be very important depending on your team, making a Timid nature the primary option.</p>
<p>Flying Arceus can also use several different coverage moves to complement his STAB. Focus Blast deals more damage than Earth Power on Dialga and Tyranitar, OHKOing offensive Dialga and specially defensive Tyranitar in Sandstorm at +1. However, the low accuracy and inability to hit Zekrom hard make it a somewhat weaker option. Surf and Fire Blast can also be useful options when supported by Rain or Sun respectively, sporting impressive base power, but don't have exceptional coverage. If you are comfortable in just using Judgment as your only offensive option, Will o Wisp can be a useful support option and lets you deal with threats like Groudon and Zekrom more effectively. It also prevents Tyranitar from doing much to you, since it almost never runs Stone Edge.</p>
<p>In terms of team support, Flying Arceus appreciates Rapid Spin support from the likes of Forretress and Excadrill, since Stealth Rock takes 25% of Arceus' health every time it switches in, and can hamper its ability to tank attacks whilst boosting and healing. If you're running the mono-attacking set, Groudon can be a very helpful teammate by hitting all of Arceus' checks hard with either STAB Earthquake or its coverage moves. Stealth Rock support from Groudon also helps Arceus secure 2HKOs and OHKOs more effectively. In addition, the Sun that Groudon brings also reduces the accuracy of Thunders and Blizzards that might otherwise deal significant damage to Arceus.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Flying Arceus can also run a Swords Dance set somewhat effectively, using Fly and Earthquake for coverage, but this largely outclassed by Normal Arceus and its STAB Extremespeed. Furthermore, the fact that Fly takes two turns to execute makes it much easier for opponents to switch into checks such as Dialga and Skarmory and negate Arceus' efforts. On the other hand, you can also capitalise on Fly's delay by providing Toxic Spikes support, which would stack damage on opponents whilst Arceus is up in the air. Otherwise, shoehorning Flying Arceus into other roles simply highlights its poor defensive typing; if you're looking for a bulky supporter that deals with Groudon, Grass Arceus is superior.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>The mono-attacking set is wrecked by Zekrom, who can take even a +4 Judgment if necessary and OHKO with Lightning Strike or Fusion Bolt. Tyranitar can also wall this set to infinity and beyond, although if it lacks Stone Edge it can't do much in return to Arceus. A +6 Judgment can 2HKO specially defensive Tyranitar, however, so if you want to counter Arceus successfully using Stone Edge is mandatory. Chansey and Blissey can also wall Arceus, but if you have Refresh you can set up on them. +6 Judgement comes close to OHKOing physically defensive Blissey and will 2HKO specially defensive Chansey. It's only wise to use these as checks should Arceus lack Refresh, or should you be using Snatch or Calm Mind to increase your own Special Defense. Steel, Electric and Rock Arceus also pose significant threats, taking little from Judgment and either setting up Cosmic Power or Calm Mind boosts or dealing significant damage with their own Judgment.</p>