in the hills
spreading confusion
Arceus-Ground is a solid defensive threat, boasting base 120 in every stat and access to Recover and support options such as Defog, Will-O-Wisp, and Toxic. Arceus-Ground is also a strong special attacking threat with access to Calm Mind to break through defensive Pokemon. It can be a valuable check to common -ate Extreme Speed, beating Altarianite Entei and most Altarianite Zygarde with its support set. STAB Judgment allows Arceus-Ground to threaten top Pokemon such as Magearna and Primal Groudon, and when paired with Ice Beam, it grants it near-unresisted coverage. While Arceus-Ground is potent at checking offensive Pokemon such as Primal Groudon and Zygarde, it is susceptible to their status options such as Toxic, Arceus-Ground requires team support. Because Ice Beam is weak, Arceus-Ground can struggle to break Pokemon that are not affected by or resist Judgment such as Ho-Oh, Latiasite Magearna, and Sablenite Buzzwole.
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Judgment
move 3: Recover
move 4: Ice Beam
item: Earth Plate
ability: Multitype
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 124 Spe
ivs: 0 Atk
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
======
Judgment is Arceus-Ground's strongest STAB attack, and it severely damages a good portion of the metagame. Ice Beam is great coverage, allowing Arceus-Ground to hit Flying-types that are immune to its STAB attack and super effectively hit other Ground-types. Calm Mind allows Arceus-Ground to set up on a good portion of the metagame. These boosts make it harder to break with special attackers such as Lunala and Darkrai and give it insane wallbreaking capabilities, allowing it to break through all but a few defensive Pokemon. Recover is Arceus-Ground's best form of recovery and increases its longevity, allowing it to defensively check Pokemon better while giving it more opportunities to break teams. Thunderbolt or Thunder can alternatively be used over Ice Beam to break through checks such as Pinsirite Magearna, Latiasite Toxapex, Ho-Oh, and Calm Mind Water-types like Sablenite Slowbro and Primal Kyogre.
Set Details
========
124 Speed EVs are used to outpace maximum Speed base 90 Pokemon such as Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre. The rest of the EVs are put into HP and Defense to maximize Arceus-Ground's defensive potential. Alternatively, you can use a spread of 252 HP / 160 Def / 92 Spe with a Timid nature to outpace less common threats such as Red Orb Victini and Raikou, though it decreases Arceus-Ground's defensive potential. A spread of 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe is also noteworthy, as it maximizes Arceus-Ground's defensive potential at the cost of some Speed.
Usage Tips
=========
Arceus-Ground is susceptible to Toxic, so be careful against defensive threats; it might be worthwhile to scout Primal Groudon's set if possible beforehand. Arceus-Ground can utilize its Ground typing in order to get free switches on Pokemon such as Magearna's Volt Switch. It is best to set up once defensive checks such as bulky Flying-types like Ho-Oh and Mandibuzz have been weakened or eliminated; Stealth Rock is a great tool to have up if you want to set up. Even unboosted, Arceus-Ground can defensively check Pokemon such as Swords Dance Primal Groudon and Lucarionite Zygarde, so don't be afraid to bring it in against these threats as well. On that note, it is important to keep Arceus-Ground healthy to maximize its defensive potential.
Team Options
=========
Pinsirite Magearna is an amazing offensive partner to Arceus-Ground; while they do share a few defensive checks such as Zapdos, Pinsirite Magearna does cover a good amount of its checks and provides great support with Heal Bell, allowing Arceus-Ground more chances to set up. Toxapex is a great partner to Arceus-Ground, with its Latiasite set coming in against its checks such as opposing Latiasite Toxapex and defensive Ho-Oh while relieving pressure on Arceus-Ground as a counter to Primal Groudon running Toxic or Fire coverage and its Gyaradosite set providing Toxic Spikes support to wear down defensive checks. Other Calm Mind users such as Lunala and Tapu Lele are good partners to Arceus-Ground to form a Calm Mind core that covers each other's checks. Altarianite Zygarde can sponge Water-type attacks decently and is great at keeping offensive threats such as Terrakion and Darkrai in check. It's important to pair these with a Kartana check, as it can threaten both heavily. Pokemon with Magic Bounce such as Sablenite Blissey, Mandibuzz, and Slowbro also pair nicely with Arceus-Ground, as they discourage opposing Pokemon from using Toxic on it.
[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Judgment
move 2: Recover
move 3: Ice Beam / Will-O-Wisp
move 4: Will-O-Wisp / Defog / Toxic
item: Earth Plate
ability: Multitype
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
ivs: 0 Atk
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
======
Judgment is Arceus-Ground's main STAB attack and is boosted by its Earth Plate, allowing it to severely damage a good portion of the metagame. Recover is Arceus-Ground's best form of recovery and increases its longevity, allowing it to defensively check Pokemon better. Ice Beam allows Arceus-Ground it to hit Flying-types that are immune to its STAB attack such as Mandibuzz and Zapdos and hit Lucarionite Zygarde super effectively. Will-O-Wisp allows Arceus-Ground to better check physical attackers better and properly check Altarianite Zygarde and Pinsirite Zeraora. Defog can be used to give Arceus-Ground another support niche in entry hazard removal, though Arceus-Ground can struggle with status, losing a bit of its defensive niche in the process. Toxic can be used over Will-O-Wisp to cripple defensive switch-ins such as Ho-Oh, non-Sablenite Buzzwole, and other Arceus formes. Refresh can also be used to check defensive Primal Groudon sets that carry Toxic.
Set Details
========
16 Speed EVs are used to outpace maximum Speed, neutral-nature base 90 Speed Pokemon such as Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre. The rest of the EVs are put into HP and Defense to maximize Arceus-Ground's defensive potential. An alternative spread of 252 HP / 132+ Def / 124 Spe can be used to allow Arceus-Ground to properly check Jolly base 90 Speed Pokemon such as Primal Groudon.
Usage Tips
=========
Arceus-Ground is susceptible to status, so if you aren't running Refresh or don't have Heal Bell support, it is incredibly important to not let it get poisoned. Restore Arceus-Ground's health against Pokemon that don't threaten it such as Tyranitar and Aggronite Buzzwole. Arceus-Ground doesn't appreciate any chip from entry hazards, so it's important to keep entry hazards off the field to stop offensive Pokemon from potentially breaking Arceus-Ground. Arceus-Ground is still a strong special attacker, so it can still threaten offensive Pokemon and discourage threats such as Kartana from switching in.
Team Options
=========
Sablenite Magearna is an amazing partner, as it can bounce back entry hazards and status moves while defensively checking a lot of the Pokemon Arceus-Ground struggles with. In return, Arceus-Ground provides a check to the Ground-types that threaten Magearna. Altarianite Entei is a good partner to Arceus-Ground, as it keeps faster foes at bay for Arceus-Ground while Arceus-Ground can defensively check Pokemon that Entei can't break such as Primal Groudon and Arceus-Rock. Buzzwole utilizes Aggronite, Sablenite, and Blue Orb to check Kartana and other attackers that Arceus-Ground struggles to handle such as Terrakion and Darkrai. However, if Buzzwole is using any Mega Stone besides Aggronite, these two can struggle to handle Pinsirite Steel-types such as Metagross, Magearna, and Cobalion. Pinsirite Magearna is a great partner, as it can support the team with access to Heal Bell while offensively pressuring the other team.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
==========
A Perish trapper set with Whirlpool can be very potent in trapping bulky Pokemon on stall teams, but it misses out on coverage and support moveslots required for most teams. On the support set, you can run Stealth Rock if needed, though it is widely outclassed by Primal Groudon or Landorus. Only run this if you have no better options for Stealth Rock. A Swords Dance set can be run; while it is generally outclassed by Zygarde, Landorus, and Garchomp, it does have the niche of having Recover as an option to increase setup opportunities, while being able to surprise checks like Ho-Oh with Stone Edge to pull off a sweep.
Checks and Counters
==============
**Ho-Oh**: Ho-Oh is able to come in on Arceus-Ground very easily and threaten with either Toxic or Curse. With Regenerator and recovery, Ho-Oh can almost indefinitely check Arceus-Ground. Even Brave Bird is enough to annoy Arceus-Ground, especially from Choice Band sets.
**Pinsirite Entei**: Similarly to Ho-Oh, Entei is able to come in on Arceus-Ground by virtue of its typing and bulk, and although it lacks the recovery Ho-Oh does, it is a much stronger offensive threat that can take advantage of both of Arceus-Ground's sets.
**Bulky Flying-types**: Other bulky Flying-types such as Sablenite Mandibuzz and Sablenite or Venusaurite Zapdos can wall Arceus-Ground's Calm Mind set and either force it out with Whirlwind or threaten to cripple it with Toxic.
**Latiasite Users**: Latiasite Toxapex is one of the best checks to Arceus-Ground, as it can completely stop it from setting up with Haze and forces it out with Scald and Toxic, while Latiasite Magearna can either set up against it as well with Calm Mind or steal its stat boosts with Heart Swap.
**Pinsirite Steels**: Pinsirite Steel-types such as Magearna and Metagross can all do a number against the Calm Mind set, although they all fear Will-O-Wisp from the Support set.
**Kartana**: While Kartana cannot come in on Arceus-Ground's attacks, any time it is in against it, it can threaten to OHKO it with Leaf Blade.
**Bug Types**: Bulky Bug-type attackers such as Venusauritem Sablenite, Blue Orb and Buzzwole and Blue Orb Golisopod that resist Arceus-Ground's coverage can come in on it to set up and break it or, in Golisopod's case, just come in and break it.
**Toxic**: Bulky Toxic users such as Sablenite Blissey and Lunala threaten Arceus-Ground and stump its setup potential. Primal Kyogre seriously threatens both of Arceus-Ground's sets, as it can come in while taking light chip and threaten to OHKO with Origin Pulse. While it is not an ideal check due to lack of recovery, it certainly hinders Arceus-Ground's ability to sweep.
**Calm Mind Lunala**: While not the best check, Calm Mind Lunala does win out in a Calm Mind war against Arceus-Ground and is very prevalent in the metagame.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[In the Hills, 324242]]
- Quality checked by: [Andyboy, 257571], [[xavgb, 231402], [Quantum Tesseract, 297239]]
- Grammar checked by: [[deetah, 297659] [The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216]]
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