shrang
General Kenobi
Overview
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Like His real-life counterparts, Arceus's role as the Pokemon deity is shrouded in many narratives of His power. Some mortals claim He is omnipotent in battle, able to smite anything and everything that comes His way. Others claim that He is in fact quite weak and incredibly overhyped. In reality, He is both and none at the same time. It is true that much of Arceus's power is exaggerated. His signature set, the Extreme Killer, is strong, but it has very hard counters in most cases, adds little defensively apart from the ability to revenge kill weakened threats, and requires setup to do anything of significance. His other sets, while useful, also have significant problems.
However, while humans do exaggerate His abilities, most of Arceus's power is substantiated by cold hard stats and an expansive movepool. While very good counters exist for all of Arceus's sets, He has the movepool to theoretically defeat any counter that comes His way. His mixed bulk is only matched by the toughest of walls, which makes setting up extremely easy. In short, after the pre-battle tintinnabulation is complete, please stare in awe and wondrous presentiment at what is conceivably one of the best Pokemon in the entire game. Dare not incur Arceus's divine wrath, or else the consequences shall be severe and merciless, and life shall become but an evanescent wisp.
Extreme Killer
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name: Extreme Killer
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Extreme Speed
move 3: Earthquake / Overheat
move 4: Overheat / Shadow Claw
item: Life Orb / Lum Berry / Silk Scarf
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Moves
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Swords Dance and Extreme Speed allow Arceus to sweep late game when His checks have been weakened or removed. Shadow Claw is a weak but reliable method for Arceus to damage Ghosts. On the other hand, Shadow Force is powerful yet easy to play around. Earthquake is Arceus's strongest attack against Rock- and Steel-types. Overheat allows Arceus to fry Scizor, Ferrothorn, Forretress, and Skarmory, although it must be used carefully if rain is present. Brick Break can replace Earthquake to hit Ferrothorn in the rain, but it is a rather weak option against other Steel-types. Magic Coat is a very interesting option to bounce back status thrown at Arceus, as well as to reflect Roar and Whirlwind. It also allows Arceus to serve as a decent anti-lead that prevents Deoxys-S, Smeargle, and others from setting up their entry hazards. Recover can be used to boost up more slowly, but because most of Arceus's counters either use status moves or deal enough damage to offset Recover, it is a rather poor option most of the time, especially when it costs Arceus a precious coverage move. Substitute can prevent status, but because a lot of walls have Roar or Whirlwind, it can only get Arceus so far. Refresh can be used to remove status, one of the more reliable ways of dealing with Arceus. With Refresh, Arceus can Swords Dance on a predicted status move, and then cure itself of the status easily the next turn. Stone Edge is also a decent option to OHKO Lugia and physically defensive Yveltal after Stealth Rock damage, as well as to always OHKO physically defensive Ho-oh.
Set Details
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This is probably Arceus's most iconic set. With His excellent bulk and decent power, He can easily set up late game when His counters have been weakened and mop up the remains. Extreme Speed and bulk make Arceus very difficult to revenge kill; He is particularly difficult for an offensive team to take Arceus down late game. What makes Arceus scary for offensive teams is that the Pokemon that can kill Arceus tend to be ripped to shreds by Extreme Speed, while those that can take Extreme Speed tend to either be too slow, in which case they are destroyed by coverage moves, or they are too weak to take down Arceus. This is not to say that Arceus is invincible, but He does force the opponent to pack either a relatively hard counter or a loose group of checks to make sure that Arceus does not sweep them. Arceus's role is not just limited to that of a sweeper, either. His strong priority move allows Him to take down a lot of frail or weakened threats, for example, Blaziken. If He is packing Magic Coat, He can also serve as a very good anti-lead, bouncing back entry hazards or just picking off the opponent with Extreme Speed.
Arceus has a number of EV spreads that He can run. The one provided above allows Arceus to at least Speed tie other Arceus. 56 Speed EVs with an Adamant nature can be used to outspeed Swords Dance Rayquaza. An Adamant nature can be run with 124 Speed EVs to outspeed positive natured base 90s, most notably Timid Dialga. A slower EV spread with 16 Speed EVs can be used to outspeed Modest Dialga.
As for the item, Arceus generally has three options. Lum Berry allows Arceus to avoid status, specifically from Will-O-Wisp support Arceus. It is very important to note that Arceus is very weak with a Lum Berry, so you really need to weaken the opposing team before you try to sweep with Arceus. Life Orb is preferred if Arceus is using a Jolly nature to offset the drop in power. It is also better on sets using Overheat to give the move the extra kick needed to take down Skarmory. Silk Scarf is a good option to boost the power of Extreme Speed without the recoil of Life Orb, and it is a decent option alongside Magic Coat. Leftovers can also be used, but it is rather useless, since the most common ways of dealing with Arceus are status and phazing, and Leftovers does not help Arceus avoid any notable 2HKOes.
Usage Tips
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Please don't be single-track-minded and just send Arceus in at the earliest opportunity to set up and attack. That kind of mentality will just waste you a perfectly good Arceus. It is very important to realize that Arceus is a late game cleaner, not a wallbreaker. Should your opponent still have a Giratina, Lugia, or any other physically bulky wall, you're just going to end up getting Arceus crippled. It also means that, while Arceus is bulky, you also have to know the limits of what He can take, and potentially how much damage He needs be able to deal to sweep. Setting Arceus up on a Kyogre that is in the middle of spamming Water Spout is just going to result in a fainted Arceus. It also means that if your opponent potentially still has a Pokemon that can tank an Extreme Speed and damage Arceus, that even tanking Surf from Kyogre might be a bad idea. People often fail to recognize that while Arceus looks amazing on paper, He has some serious limitations in practice. Most notably, Extreme Speed, for all its priority, is actually not that strong. Anything remotely physically bulky can take one and stop Arceus from sweeping. A Pokemon like physically defensive Ho-Oh can tank a +2 Extreme Speed and hit back hard with Sacred Fire, potentially burning Arceus in the process. That being said, if you are smart with using Arceus and expect to sweep with it only when you've lured out and crippled its checks, there really is no other Pokemon that can get the job done like Extreme Killer Arceus.
Team Options
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Mega Gengar traps and either weakens or eliminates most of Extreme Killer's checks and counters, including Lugia, Groudon, support Arceus, and Skarmory. It can also sacrifice itself to take down one of Arceus's counters with Destiny Bond. Swords Dance Lum Berry Groudon, Knock Off Blaziken, and Calm Mind Kyogre with Ice Beam can severely weaken or outright KO the Giratina formes, which cannot trapped by Mega Gengar. Xerneas pairs well with Arceus, resisting Fighting-type moves aimed at Him, as well as threatening the Giratina formes with Moonblast. It can also remove burns and other status from Arceus by using Aromatherapy, allowing Him to be a bit more careless against many Pokemon. Ho-Oh can switch into Will-O-Wisps and phazing moves aimed at Arceus and dish out powerful Brave Birds and Sacred Fires, provided you can give it Defog or Rapid Spin support. Yveltal and Darkrai can take advantage of Giratina and Lugia, either by firing off Dark-type STAB attacks or using Dark Void in the case of Darkrai. Mewtwo can switch into Fighting-type moves.
If Arceus is using a Lum Berry, it is very much recommended that He is supported by multiple layers of entry hazards, namely Spikes, as He is quite weak without an item to boost His power. Regardless of the item, Sticky Web is always helpful for Arceus, allowing Him to slow down revenge killers such as Terrakion and Mega Gengar. Smeargle and Shuckle can set up Sticky Web relatively reliably.
Other Options
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Normal Arceus can run a Choice Band set to some effect, which gives Him greater power to revenge kill some threats such as Darkrai and Mega Mewtwo Y with less residual damage. He can also cripple some of its potential counters by Tricking a Choice Band onto them. Normal Arceus can also run a walling set comprised of Will-O-Wisp, Recover, Perish Song and an attacking move due to its excellent defenses. The two aforementioned sets are not as good in XY for one reason: Mega Gengar. Mega Gengar can easily switch into Choice Banded Extreme Speed or Wallceus and render Arceus completely helpless.
Normal Arceus, like all His other formes, can run a Calm Mind set. However, Normal Arceus has a pretty poor STAB typing, while it is hard to justify using such a set over the Extreme Killer set. Grass Knot can be used on the Extreme Killer set to heavily damage Groudon, Hippowdon, and Quagsire, three Pokemon that can annoy Arceus a lot. Choice Specs is an option to lure in and cripple physical walls, but Choice Band Arceus can also cripple walls. Finally, Arceus can run a Work Up set, but Work Up is in general, a pretty bad move, especially on a Pokemon that can use Swords Dance and Calm Mind already.
Checks & Counters
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**Defensive Yveltal**: Yveltal can tank a +2 Extreme Speed with good health after Stealth Rock and OHKO in return with Dread Plate-boosted Foul Play. It can also be felled by the rare Stone Edge.
**Status**: Status is probably the only really reliable thing that every Arceus hates. The trouble is that Lum Berry, Refresh and Magic Coat can potentially screw you over, but burning or badly poisoning Arceus is never a bad thing. Because Arceus is not actually that strong, it is possible to inflict Lum Berry variants with status twice. Leech Seed also puts Arceus on a timer and makes Him much easier to stall out.
**Phazing**: As Arceus is relatively weak compared to other hard hitters, He is often a bit easier to phaze out. Keep in mind that Roar and Whirlwind might get bounced back by Magic Coat; using a bulky Pokemon that hits hard can make Arceus second guess whether to Magic Coat or not. Something like Groudon is a diffucult for Arceus to play around with Magic Coat—getting hit by Earthquake isn't something that Arceus wants to do over and over again, and Groudon can take a couple of Extreme Speeds. Dragon Tail also bypasses Magic Coat completely.
**Bulky Steel-types**: Skarmory is one of the best answers to Arceus. Forretress can use Toxic and stall out Arceus with Pain Split. Choice Band Scizor and Mega Scizor can tank an attack from Extreme Killer Arceus and deal huge damage in return with Superpower. All of the aforementioned Steel-types needs to watch out for Overheat from Extreme Killer Arceus and Will-O-Wisp from Wallceus. Ferrothorn can annoy an Arceus that lacks Brick Break or Overheat with Leech Seed and Toxic.
**Unaware Quagsire and Clefable**: Pokemon with Unaware have a lot of problems in and of themselves and are potentially beaten by Magic Coat, but they don't care about Swords Dance and tank Extreme Speed with no problem at all. Quagsire is a bit better than Clefable as it can use Scald to fish for burns which can't be stopped by Magic Coat.
**Sableye**: Sableye can burn Arceus and use Foul Play to severely damage those that attempt to boost more after getting burned, or those that attempt to play mind games with Magic Coat.
**Physical Walls**: Giratina, Hippowdon, and Lugia can take an attack from Extreme Killer and status or phaze Him. Note that Magic Coat makes status and phazing unreliable at times. Hippowdon and Lugia also lack any way of reducing Arceus's power, meaning they need to either phaze Arceus or use Toxic, and phazing becomes useless when Arceus is the last Pokemon remaining. Lugia can also fall to +2 Stone Edge after Stealth Rock damage. Physically defensive Xerneas can Roar Arceus out and can hit relatively hard.
**Support Arceus**: Checking Arceus with another Arceus can be risky due to Speed ties, Will-O-Wisp's imperfect accuracy, and the threat of Lum Berry or Magic Coat. However, Ghost, Steel, and Rock Arceus can usually cripple Arceus with Will-O-Wisp, as they resist or are immune to Extreme Speed. Any other support Arceus forme without a weakness to one of Arceus's coverage moves can also burn Arceus in an emergency, although all of them can be foiled by Lum Berry Arceus. Fighting Arceus is a bit different, as it can tank an Extreme Speed and deal heavy damage back with Judgment.
**Physical Tanks**: These include Choice Band Landorus-T, Groudon, physically defensive Ho-Oh, Giratina-O, and physically defensive Gyarados with Dragon Tail. Landorus-T can tank a hit from Extreme Killer and OHKO with Superpower. Groudon can either hit back very hard or use Roar or Dragon Tail to force Arceus out while taking an Extreme Speed easily. Ho-Oh needs lots of Defense investment and Stealth Rock off the field, but it can take an Extreme Speed or two and hit back hard with Sacred Fire to fish for burns or use Whirlwind to phaze Arceus out if needed. Giratina-O can check Arceus once with Dragon Tail or burn Him with Will-O-Wisp. Gyarados can Intimidate Arceus once and Dragon Tail Him out, but that's about the limit of its abilities.
**Revenge Killers**: Make sure that Arceus has taken some prior damage before attempting to revenge kill it, as it is very difficult to actually OHKO a full health Arceus. Choice Specs Omastar in the rain is about the only thing that can OHKO a full health Arceus, but with weather being timed, it is not very reliable. Choice Scarf Terrakion is probably the next best option. Mega Gengar can deal heavy damage to Arceus with Focus Blast. Choice Scarf Dialga can revenge kill an Arceus at about 50% with Draco Meteor.
**Contant Pressure**: Extreme Killer may look incredibly intimidating, but one thing you really need to keep in mind is that it can't run everything at once. Many inexperienced players are scared before even fighting one and fail to recognize that He is just a Pokemon with stats and moves. Fear of a name only increases fear of the Pokemon Himself. In general, unboosted Arceus is weak, which means it'll need to set up before it does anything remotely scary. Never let it set up for free—hit it really hard with a powerful move, or get status or Leech Seed onto it. Even when boosted, it tends not to hit bulky Pokemon too hard. If it comes in after something like Choice Scarf Thunder from Kyogre, go to a defensive wall such as Groudon and Dragon Tail or Roar it out, then limit the amount of times that Extreme Killer can come in and set up. That being said, Arceus has no technically safe switch-in—it has a way to beat any specific counter if it wants to.
CB and Wallceus backups just in case you need them (requested by MM2):
Choice Band
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name: Choice Band
move 1: Extreme Speed
move 2: Trick
move 3: Shadow Claw
move 4: Swords Dance / Earthquake
item: Choice Band
nature: Adamant
evs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 56 Spe
Moves
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STAB Extreme Speed from Normal Arceus is the strongest priority attack in the game that is reliable, and it can revenge kill many frailer or weakened threats when Arceus has an Choice Band equipped. It can be used to either revenge kill early- to mid-game or clean up late game. Trick allows Arceus to cripple many of His counters, including Lugia and Giratina. Shadow Claw hits Ghost-types, in particular Mega Gengar and Giratina-O, as they are immune to both Extreme Speed and Trick. Shadow Force can be used in its place, but being Choice-locked into a charging move is undesirable. Swords Dance can be used if Arceus has Tricked His Choice Band and is still around in the late game after His checks are gone, while Earthquake allows Him to smash down Steel-types. Return can be used as a strong STAB move, but Arceus cannot be afford to give up Extreme Speed, and He is strapped for moveslots as is.
Set Details
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While this set still gives Arceus a chance to sweep, Choice Band Arceus's emphasis is much more heavily on His ability to revenge kill other sweepers. Holding a Choice Band gives Arceus the power He needs to smite down many threats. For example, Life Orb Arceus cannot OHKO Mega Blaziken, but Choice Band Arceus can with only one instance of Stealth Rock damage a good proportion of the time. Darkrai is also OHKOed by Choice Band Extreme Speed after Stealth Rock damage and a round of Life Orb damage. Choice Band Extreme Speed also OHKOes Mega Mewtwo Y after two Stealth Rock switch-ins. In many ways, this set plays very much like a Choice Scarf user. Like a number of Choice users, Arceus has the ability to Trick His checks, which is convenient since most of the Pokemon that check Him are walls, and they hate being Tricked a Choice Band. The downside of the set, obviously, is that Arceus only has one move to revenge kill Pokemon with, and that move has low PP and no super effective coverage whatsoever. By using this set, Arceus has to either give up His chance to sweep late game (by dropping Swords Dance) or additional coverage (by dropping Earthquake), although do note that if the opposing team is weakened enough, Choice Banded Extreme Speed will roll over teams late-game anyway.
Usage Tips
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As mentioned already, Choice Band Arceus is mainly a revenge killer with the added bonus of being able to sweep late game. This obviously does not mean that you Trick away the Choice Band immediately and attempt to Swords Dance and play this set exactly like Extreme Killer. If that is your intention, stop reading this set and go back up to the Extreme Killer analysis. Keep Choice Band Arceus handy when your opponent has dangerous sweepers like Xerneas and Mega Blaziken still around. If they are of no imminent threat, be careful on how you use Trick as well. It is probably a good idea to double switch once or twice to gauge your opponent's reaction, it would be not be fun to Trick a Choice Band onto your opponent's Groudon, for example.
Team Options
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Like most revenge killers holding a Choice item, Choice Band Arceus is quite self-sufficient. However, good teammates to Him are like their check crippled by a Choice item, as well as Pokemon that can weaken Arceus's checks so He can clean up late game. For the former category, Mega Blaziken loves it when Giratina has been crippled, and Rock Polish Groudon and Swords Dance Rayquaza thrive when Lugia and Skarmory are locked into a single move. As for wallbreakers to pair up with Arceus, Mega Mewtwo X and Y, Yveltal, mixed Zekrom, Choice Specs Kyogre, and Mega Charizard X are all good choices.
Wallceus
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name: Wallceus
move 1: Will-O-Wisp
move 2: Recover
move 3: Return / Extreme Speed
move 4: Roar / Defog / Perish Song
item: Leftovers / Shed Shell
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Moves
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Will-O-Wisp allows Arceus to cripple physically based Pokemon such as Groudon and Zekrom, while Recover allows Him to sponge hits. Return is the preferred STAB move as it allows Arceus hurt Ho-oh switch-ins, 2HKOing after Stealth Rock damage. Extreme Speed, though weak uninvested, can pick off weakened sweepers and Deoxys-A. The last move depends on what role Arceus needs to fill. Roar forces out setup sweepers, while Defog clears away entry hazards. Perish Song allows Wallceus to put a timer on last Pokemon setup sweepers if they are the last Pokemon remaining. Other moves that Arceus can use are Stone Edge to OHKO Ho-Oh, which walls the entire set if Stealth Rock is not up, Magic Coat to bounce back Taunt and entry hazards, and Earthquake to defeat Mega Gengar. Light Screen can be used if you want Arceus to serve as a special wall instead of a physical one, but Blissey is generally better for that role.
Set Details
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Wallceus got a mixed bag when it comes to the generation shift. On one hand, its effectiveness at walling physical attackers was enhanced with the drop in effectiveness of Fighting-types with the great exception of Mega Mewtwo X. On the other hand, one of the main reasons for the decreased power of Fighting-types is also the reason that Wallceus Himself is now under threat: Mega Gengar. With Shadow Tag and Taunt, it can completely shut down Wallceus unless He carries Earthquake or holds Shed Shell, and even with Earthquake, it can always use Destiny Bond to sacrifice itself to take down Wallceus. It can also use Focus Blast to easily 2HKO Wallceus. However, Wallceus is still a very sturdy wall if you either give it a Shed Shell or are able to weave your way around Mega Gengar.
The EVs outlined allow Wallceus to outspeed Swords Dance Rayquaza and burn it before it can deal massive damage. The rest of the EVs go into HP and Defense to allow Arceus to sponge a lot of physical attacks. Alternatively, a specially defensive spread can be used to allow Arceus to serve as more of a mixed wall, although special attackers such as Kyogre tends to hit a lot harder initially, and Arceus lacks any way of crippling special attackers or cushioning their hits outside of Light Screen. A max Speed and max HP spread with a Jolly nature can be used to outspeed Mega Lucario and burn it before it attacks, but the loss of bulk is substantial, and Wallceus does not want to take on Mega Lucario anyway.
Usage Tips
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As alluded to already, Wallceus is completely helpless against Mega Gengar if He is not using Earthquake or Shadow Claw or holding a Shed Shell. You must be extremely careful when Mega Gengar is around, or you will end up losing Wallceus. This means not using Perish Song when Mega Gengar is transformed and running amok, not using Roar unless absolutely necessary, and double switching to Pokemon with a favourable matchup against it frequently is a good idea.
Team Options
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The combination of smart switching and Pursuit users helps take down the menace known as Gengar. Mega Scizor is a good Pokemon to Pursuit Gengar with, as it is not particularly weak to any of Gengar's attacks except for Hidden Power Fire. Mega Tyranitar can also Pursuit Mega Gengar, and it can take a Focus Blast if it needs to. It can also run a RestTalk set to shut down Ho-Oh, which also plagues Wallceus. Deoxys-A can also force Mega Gengar to switch, and catch with Pursuit. Otherwise, Pokemon that can take strong special attacks, deal with Ho-Oh and Fighting-types help Arceus greatly. Specially Defensive Kyogre is a good Pokemon to run with Wallceus, as it can switch into most powerful special attackers that Wallceus cannot take on freely, such as Kyurem-W, Reshiram, and even Water Spout from Choice Specs Kyogre if need be. Gastrodon can defeat Choice Specs Kyogre and Palkia with relative ease, although it needs to watch for Toxic from Palkia. Countering Ho-Oh is problematic since Rock Arceus is not available when using Wallceus. The aforementioned RestTalk Tyranitar is an option for this, although it will have to watch out for Earthquake. Diancie is also a decent Ho-Oh check. The Giratina formes and Lugia, and Xerneas are excellent switch-ins to Blaziken and Mega Mewtwo X, the dominant Fighting-types in the tier.
If Wallceus is not using Defog, then it is highly recommended that He is paired with either a Rapid Spinner or a Defog user. Forretress and Excadrill are the most viable Rapid Spinners in the tier. As for Defog users other than Arceus, The Giratina-O are probably synergizes best with Wallceus. Other Defog users of note include Mega Scizor and Skarmory. Apart from Rapid Spinners and Defog users, Wallceus really appreciates cleric support, as He is a magnet for Toxic, while Toxic Spikes will also cripple Him greatly. Xerneas and Sylveon are excellent clerics in the tier that synergize well with Wallceus.
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name: Choice Band
move 1: Extreme Speed
move 2: Trick
move 3: Shadow Claw
move 4: Swords Dance / Earthquake
item: Choice Band
nature: Adamant
evs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 56 Spe
Moves
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STAB Extreme Speed from Normal Arceus is the strongest priority attack in the game that is reliable, and it can revenge kill many frailer or weakened threats when Arceus has an Choice Band equipped. It can be used to either revenge kill early- to mid-game or clean up late game. Trick allows Arceus to cripple many of His counters, including Lugia and Giratina. Shadow Claw hits Ghost-types, in particular Mega Gengar and Giratina-O, as they are immune to both Extreme Speed and Trick. Shadow Force can be used in its place, but being Choice-locked into a charging move is undesirable. Swords Dance can be used if Arceus has Tricked His Choice Band and is still around in the late game after His checks are gone, while Earthquake allows Him to smash down Steel-types. Return can be used as a strong STAB move, but Arceus cannot be afford to give up Extreme Speed, and He is strapped for moveslots as is.
Set Details
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While this set still gives Arceus a chance to sweep, Choice Band Arceus's emphasis is much more heavily on His ability to revenge kill other sweepers. Holding a Choice Band gives Arceus the power He needs to smite down many threats. For example, Life Orb Arceus cannot OHKO Mega Blaziken, but Choice Band Arceus can with only one instance of Stealth Rock damage a good proportion of the time. Darkrai is also OHKOed by Choice Band Extreme Speed after Stealth Rock damage and a round of Life Orb damage. Choice Band Extreme Speed also OHKOes Mega Mewtwo Y after two Stealth Rock switch-ins. In many ways, this set plays very much like a Choice Scarf user. Like a number of Choice users, Arceus has the ability to Trick His checks, which is convenient since most of the Pokemon that check Him are walls, and they hate being Tricked a Choice Band. The downside of the set, obviously, is that Arceus only has one move to revenge kill Pokemon with, and that move has low PP and no super effective coverage whatsoever. By using this set, Arceus has to either give up His chance to sweep late game (by dropping Swords Dance) or additional coverage (by dropping Earthquake), although do note that if the opposing team is weakened enough, Choice Banded Extreme Speed will roll over teams late-game anyway.
Usage Tips
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As mentioned already, Choice Band Arceus is mainly a revenge killer with the added bonus of being able to sweep late game. This obviously does not mean that you Trick away the Choice Band immediately and attempt to Swords Dance and play this set exactly like Extreme Killer. If that is your intention, stop reading this set and go back up to the Extreme Killer analysis. Keep Choice Band Arceus handy when your opponent has dangerous sweepers like Xerneas and Mega Blaziken still around. If they are of no imminent threat, be careful on how you use Trick as well. It is probably a good idea to double switch once or twice to gauge your opponent's reaction, it would be not be fun to Trick a Choice Band onto your opponent's Groudon, for example.
Team Options
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Like most revenge killers holding a Choice item, Choice Band Arceus is quite self-sufficient. However, good teammates to Him are like their check crippled by a Choice item, as well as Pokemon that can weaken Arceus's checks so He can clean up late game. For the former category, Mega Blaziken loves it when Giratina has been crippled, and Rock Polish Groudon and Swords Dance Rayquaza thrive when Lugia and Skarmory are locked into a single move. As for wallbreakers to pair up with Arceus, Mega Mewtwo X and Y, Yveltal, mixed Zekrom, Choice Specs Kyogre, and Mega Charizard X are all good choices.
Wallceus
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name: Wallceus
move 1: Will-O-Wisp
move 2: Recover
move 3: Return / Extreme Speed
move 4: Roar / Defog / Perish Song
item: Leftovers / Shed Shell
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Moves
=========
Will-O-Wisp allows Arceus to cripple physically based Pokemon such as Groudon and Zekrom, while Recover allows Him to sponge hits. Return is the preferred STAB move as it allows Arceus hurt Ho-oh switch-ins, 2HKOing after Stealth Rock damage. Extreme Speed, though weak uninvested, can pick off weakened sweepers and Deoxys-A. The last move depends on what role Arceus needs to fill. Roar forces out setup sweepers, while Defog clears away entry hazards. Perish Song allows Wallceus to put a timer on last Pokemon setup sweepers if they are the last Pokemon remaining. Other moves that Arceus can use are Stone Edge to OHKO Ho-Oh, which walls the entire set if Stealth Rock is not up, Magic Coat to bounce back Taunt and entry hazards, and Earthquake to defeat Mega Gengar. Light Screen can be used if you want Arceus to serve as a special wall instead of a physical one, but Blissey is generally better for that role.
Set Details
=========
Wallceus got a mixed bag when it comes to the generation shift. On one hand, its effectiveness at walling physical attackers was enhanced with the drop in effectiveness of Fighting-types with the great exception of Mega Mewtwo X. On the other hand, one of the main reasons for the decreased power of Fighting-types is also the reason that Wallceus Himself is now under threat: Mega Gengar. With Shadow Tag and Taunt, it can completely shut down Wallceus unless He carries Earthquake or holds Shed Shell, and even with Earthquake, it can always use Destiny Bond to sacrifice itself to take down Wallceus. It can also use Focus Blast to easily 2HKO Wallceus. However, Wallceus is still a very sturdy wall if you either give it a Shed Shell or are able to weave your way around Mega Gengar.
The EVs outlined allow Wallceus to outspeed Swords Dance Rayquaza and burn it before it can deal massive damage. The rest of the EVs go into HP and Defense to allow Arceus to sponge a lot of physical attacks. Alternatively, a specially defensive spread can be used to allow Arceus to serve as more of a mixed wall, although special attackers such as Kyogre tends to hit a lot harder initially, and Arceus lacks any way of crippling special attackers or cushioning their hits outside of Light Screen. A max Speed and max HP spread with a Jolly nature can be used to outspeed Mega Lucario and burn it before it attacks, but the loss of bulk is substantial, and Wallceus does not want to take on Mega Lucario anyway.
Usage Tips
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As alluded to already, Wallceus is completely helpless against Mega Gengar if He is not using Earthquake or Shadow Claw or holding a Shed Shell. You must be extremely careful when Mega Gengar is around, or you will end up losing Wallceus. This means not using Perish Song when Mega Gengar is transformed and running amok, not using Roar unless absolutely necessary, and double switching to Pokemon with a favourable matchup against it frequently is a good idea.
Team Options
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The combination of smart switching and Pursuit users helps take down the menace known as Gengar. Mega Scizor is a good Pokemon to Pursuit Gengar with, as it is not particularly weak to any of Gengar's attacks except for Hidden Power Fire. Mega Tyranitar can also Pursuit Mega Gengar, and it can take a Focus Blast if it needs to. It can also run a RestTalk set to shut down Ho-Oh, which also plagues Wallceus. Deoxys-A can also force Mega Gengar to switch, and catch with Pursuit. Otherwise, Pokemon that can take strong special attacks, deal with Ho-Oh and Fighting-types help Arceus greatly. Specially Defensive Kyogre is a good Pokemon to run with Wallceus, as it can switch into most powerful special attackers that Wallceus cannot take on freely, such as Kyurem-W, Reshiram, and even Water Spout from Choice Specs Kyogre if need be. Gastrodon can defeat Choice Specs Kyogre and Palkia with relative ease, although it needs to watch for Toxic from Palkia. Countering Ho-Oh is problematic since Rock Arceus is not available when using Wallceus. The aforementioned RestTalk Tyranitar is an option for this, although it will have to watch out for Earthquake. Diancie is also a decent Ho-Oh check. The Giratina formes and Lugia, and Xerneas are excellent switch-ins to Blaziken and Mega Mewtwo X, the dominant Fighting-types in the tier.
If Wallceus is not using Defog, then it is highly recommended that He is paired with either a Rapid Spinner or a Defog user. Forretress and Excadrill are the most viable Rapid Spinners in the tier. As for Defog users other than Arceus, The Giratina-O are probably synergizes best with Wallceus. Other Defog users of note include Mega Scizor and Skarmory. Apart from Rapid Spinners and Defog users, Wallceus really appreciates cleric support, as He is a magnet for Toxic, while Toxic Spikes will also cripple Him greatly. Xerneas and Sylveon are excellent clerics in the tier that synergize well with Wallceus.
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