Arceus: Deity Of Under Rated Sets

[Theorymon]

Arceus: Deity Of Under Rated Sets

When people call Arceus the god of Ubers, they aren't kidding. Normal Arceus is constantly in the top 5 of monthly stats, Ghost Arceus is usually in the top 20, and when usage of all the formes is combined, Arceus is easily the most common Pokemon in Ubers. However, Arceus's insane combined usage tends to hide the Uber metagame's greatest oxymoron: Arceus is both the most common and under rated Pokemon in the game! This is all because Normal and Ghost Arceus hog so much usage, that the other Arceus formes just simply aren't that common. While I don't think that's going to change anytime soon (since the usual Normal and Ghost Arceus sets ARE pretty damn good!), I think it's about time we have some discussion on the less famous qualities of our favorite deity of the mons!

So here's the deal: The goal of this thread is to simply explore and talk about Arceus's under rated qualities. This can range from talking about under rated Arceus formes, great onsite sets that don't get enough use, obscure sets, custom ev spreads, and even twists on common Arceus sets! Don't worry if you have trouble posting new sets, discussion on stuff that's already posted is still a good contribution, since this thread isn't just about creative movesets, its also about exposing how many of Arceus's incredibly underutilized qualities can contribute to an Ubers team!

Below are two sets to get you started for discussion in case you can't think of any sets to post yourself. Don't worry, you don't need to post sets that are that long, I just got sorta carried away with the first set, sorry x_x

Arceus @ Draco Plate
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Outrage
- Brick Break / Fire Blast
- Fire Blast / Earthquake / Dragon Claw / Waterfall

You might think making Arceus a Dragon is redundant since you got a ton of other Dragons in Ubers already, but as it turns out, Dragon Arceus's stats actually make the other Dragons jealous! The stand out here is that glorious base 120 Speed, which means that other Dragons can't outspeed you without scarf. And if you prepare for these Scarf Dragons (with stuff like Wobbuffet or Thunder Wave lures), Dragon Arceus can be a real pain to revenge kill, because it's still pretty bulky even with the lack of investment! As an example of Dragon Arceus's bulk. Physical Scarf Genesect's only way of KOing you is via a boosted Explosion, otherwise its most powerful move against this Arceus is a boosted U-turn, doing 36.48 - 43.3% (Ice Beam does less thanks to that point in Special Defense screwing with download!), which is nice since Genesect is a big issue for Rayquaza and Garchomp. If you keep your Dragon Arceus really healthy (usually via either wish support, Wobbuffet support, or just smart playing), you can survive even greater stuff such as Choice Scarf Kyogre Ice Beam (does 56-67%) and Life Orb Mewtwo Ice Beam (does 69-81%). Finally, if you decide to use Dragon Arceus with dual screens, then it's bulk gets really absurd, because even Choice Scarf White Kyurem actually fails to KO a healthy Dragon Arceus with freaking Draco Meteor, dealing 62.99 - 74.54%! Don't worry about the less powerful Outrage either, because +2 base 120 Atk STAB Outrages are still VERY powerful. Max HP Arceus gets OHKOed 87% of the time after Stealth Rock damage, while both Lugia and Groudon are going to be taking over 60%. Hell, even this set's arch nemesis, Skarmory, is still taking 44-52% with its usual ev spread.

The real problem is that without the power of Life Orb, your other attacks simply aren't going to get as many KOs, so if you don't get the Swords Dance boost, you will notice a nasty loss in power compared to stuff like Life Orb Rayquaza. This also makes choosing the last move fairly tricky! As for the moves, Brick Break is here because Ferrothorn can be a real ass when you need to slice off half its health to get into Outrage kill range, and unlike Fire Blast, will 2HKO Ferrothorn in the rain when boosted (dealing 69.88 - 82.38). It also OHKOs Excadrill and does 59-70% to Steel Arceus. Fire Blast is pretty much the only way you can consistently smash through Forretress, and its your only shot vs Skarmory outside of the rain. Fire Blast is especially great if you have sun support, since that means you can actually replace Brick Break with it, and use Earthquake or Dragon Claw without having as many problems against Skarmory and Forretress. Speaking of Earthquake, at +2 it murders Jirachi, does 79-93% to Steel Arceus, and does a nice 86% minimum to max HP Dialga (just note that Outrage will actually always OHKO that after SR). Dragon Claw limits your coverage, but it can allow you to kill all the Dragons (with the exceptions of Dialga and Physically Defensive Giratina) in one hit, meaning that the opponent can't use them as bait to lock you into Outrage. Finally, there's the oddball option in Waterfall. If you are using Dragon Arceus in rain, +2 Waterfall will actually deal over 50% to Forretress, Jirachi, and Skarmory, plus you can do stuff like 76-89% to Mewtwo and 47-56% to max HP Arceus, giving you an alright way to snipe weakened Water neutral Pokemon without getting locked in.

Arceus @ Choice Band
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Trick
- ExtremeSpeed
- Earthquake / Brick Break / Swords Dance
- Shadow Claw / Swords Dance

Slapping a Choice Band on Arceus may seem sorta pointless in some ways, since with all the ExtremeSpeed resists people like to use, locking yourself into ExtremeSpeed sounds like a waste. While the extra power of CB ExtremeSpeed can be pretty damn useful vs offensive teams (doing stuff like always OHKOing Darkrai after Spikes + Stealth Rock), Trick is the real star of the show! Tricking a Choice Band onto stuff like Giratina, Lugia, Ferrothorn (watch out for Gyro Ball though), and Skarmory is one hell of a way to lure and cripple them, paving the way for some of your other teammates to sweep! Now, just tricking Choice Band at the start can be tricky depending on the opponent's team. For example, tricking a Terrakion , Groudon, or Landorus-T a Choice Band can make it quite a bit more dangerous! Thankfully, in Groudon and Landorus-T's case, you can take advantage of their predicted choice moves if they are defensive, since Earthquake is set up bait for the floating mons, and their other moves won't hurt too much on resists without much attack investment. The most important thing to remember though, is to pay attention to what the opponent's Arceus ends up being. If they are using some sort of support Arceus, they may switch into Trick and screw your plans up!

If you are feeling a bit more ambitious, you can give up coverage for Swords Dance. While this can be cool for the multipurpose aspect, be sure to still focus CB Arceus on offensive support, because the loss in coverage forces Arceus to make a really irritating choice: You will either be walled by pretty much every Steel-type with Shadow Claw, or Giratina-O will be immune to all your attacks with Earthquake or Brick Break!

 

[Haruno]

Arceus @ light clay
+SpD -Atk
0 Atk Ivs
252hp/92def/160SpD
-Recover
-Light Screen
-Perish Song
-Reflect

Since everyone instantly assumes normal arceus = ekiller, you'll take advantage of that by instead setting up screens against the likes of gira/ghostceus/skarm for free. The evs are designed so arceus avoids the 2hko by everything but specs mons which it outspeeds or kyogre which is one hell of a feat. The rest is put into maximizing defense. Perish song ensures that no set up sweeper sets up in arceus' face since you can just recover spam to stall out 3 turns. At first it appears to kill momentum but in reality 8 turns of half damage is a long time to wait and forces your opponent to go on the defensive. I've been using this set with relative success since the surprise factor + ability to help setup sweepers set up is huge.

 

[faint]

Arceus @ Iron Plate
Trait: Multitype
EV's: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Judgement
- Recover

I'm a big advocate for mono-attacking Steelceus. Obviously it gives your opponent free switches into mons like Kyogre, Palkia and Zekrom, but you gain the ability to setup on the majority of the other steel types in the tier. It also gives you a good switch-in to the powerful dragon attacks the tier holds. It works best if you base your team around it, so don't expect to do well with it if you can't find ways to take out Ho-Oh, Kyogre and the like.

 

[jackm]

Arceus @ Leftovers
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Recover
- Return / Extremespeed
- Will-O-Wisp / Reflect
- Roar / Perish Song / Ice Beam / filler

When considering sets for Arceus-Normal, it's often easy to overlook its excellent defensive capabilities. Arceus's stats and the large field of neutralities that its typing grants lets it switch into a large number of threats, ranging from Extremekiller Arceus to Groudon to most variants of Giratina-O. In addition, many opponents will make the assumption that Arceus is an Extremekiller, which can lead to some helpful extra turns; many Extremekiller switchins do not appreciate a burn. Finally, Arceus-Normal has one more possession that can give it traction against other defensive Arceus formes; Leftovers. While the boost granted by Leftovers may seem trivial in theory, it works leaps and bounds in increasing Arceus's lifespan in practice. As for the specific move choices, they depend on Arceus's teammates. While Return grants Arceus more power, Extremespeed can pick off weakened opponents and allows one to maintain the cover of Extremekiller for longer. The last two slots are mostly up to personal preference; the first provides a method with which to slow physical onslaughts, and the second provides team-specific support. Overall, Wallceus is a good choice if you need a team member that can take on almost any physical threat, but doesn't do much apart from that niche.

 

[ModestGarchomp]

Arceus @ DreadPlate
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 252Hp/ 4Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Judgement
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Refresh/Substitute/Focus Blast/Will-o-Wisp

In a metagame dominated by latias and latios, under the right conditions Dark Arceus can be a Monster to both stall and balance teams. It can boast about being one of the best checks to Mewtwo with is very rare. The Fact no pokemon in the tier is immune to it's stab move gives it the leeway to not have to run a second attacking move. this allows it to run moves such as refresh, substitute and even will-o-wisp, making it one of the best wall-breakers in the game. However if the user decides to use either substitute or will-o-wisp then spinner support is highly recommended. Focus Blast is a unique move in that it allows you to beat ferrathorn, exacdrill and dialga easier and hit darkrai, terrakion, arceus-fighting and genesect for super-effective and neutral damage respectfully, although you Should NEVER even try to attempt to go one on one with terrakion or arceus-fighting.

When looking to build around this beast, the most important elements are a spinner and a check to fighting type.
For Example Excadrill and Latias would be good partners for arceus dark.

 

[lousy918]

RAWR Genesect's strongest move

+1 252 Atk Genesect Explosion vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Arceus-Dragon: 329-388 (86.35 - 101.83%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

also lol at you saying other dragons can't outspeed arceus with scarf.

[pimg]509[/pimg]
Arceus-Electric @ Zap Plate
Ability: I don't know, this is quite difficult
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Thunder / Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Recover / Substitute

Coz this thing owns everything else. It's Electric typing is a blessing since it only gives Arceus one weakness, so it doesn't die as easily as other Arceus. It also allows Arceus to hit the special walling behomoths super effectively, namely Ho-Oh, Lugia and SDef Kyogre, so those things can't just go "look CM Arceus let's wall". Calm Mind boosts its SAtk to a mighty (lol) 508! That's even higher than a Mild Deoxys-A! Not only that, its SDef is raised to 418! Also, it has access to the infamous BoltBeam coverage, allowing it to hit most Ubers neutrally. Thunder is used only on rain teams and can OHKO Palkia after Stealth Rock, but generally Thunderbolt's consistency makes it the better choice. Judgement is also an option. Recover is to heal off any damage taken while setting up or switching in, but Substitute may be considered to prevent revenge killing and status. Standard Ferrothorn will still break your sub however, and lack of recovery prevents it from beating the blobs. Arceus-Electric also tends to lose to sand, since Tyranitar walls it, Excadrill can revenge as can Choice Scarf Garchomp, and Ferrothorn is a common sight on sand teams. Therefore, Choice Specs Kyogre is a great partner, as it sets up rain so Arceus can opt for the more powerful Thunder, as well as luring Ferrothorn and dealing 61% to 73%, weakening it so Arceus can sweep later on. Kyogre's Drizzle also deactivates Sand Rush and Sand Veil. Groudon is also a wonderful teammate, being able to wall Garchomp and Tyranitar, while OHKOing Tyranitar and Excadrill and 2HKOing Garchomp. Ferrothorn tends to switch into it to set up Spikes, but Groudon can give it a Fire Punch right to the face, removing it from existance. Arceus's ability to beat the most common special walls gives it an advantage over other formes!

 

[Theorymon]

Might as well reply to the sets I've used this gen. Sorry Haruno, I haven't thought about dual screen Arceus since last gen, though I have to admit I think I tend to prefer more suicidal dual screeners like Cresselia and Deoxys-S.

[pimg]509[/pimg]
Arceus-Electric @ Zap Plate
Ability: I don't know, this is quite difficult
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Thunder / Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Recover / Substitute

Thanks for pointing out those mistakes, the scarf thing was a typo, and I forgot to mention Explosion (though Genesect going kamikaze over Dragon Arceus can be used to your advantage!)

Anyways, imo when ever you nix Recover, it's best to use Calm Mind / Thunder / Ice Beam / Focus Blast (or Earth Power if you can deal with Ferrothorn's spiking) and only on a Rain team. While I don't think Substitute is a bad move persay, I think having a move that hits Dialga, Ferrothorn, Excadrill, and Tyranitar hard is more important than avoiding status. Also, I think Recoverless Electric Arceus should always be on rain because the extra power of Thunder over other Arceus formes makes the loss of Recover sting less. BTW, whenever you use Electric Arceus in the rain, be SURE to have a battle plan for Latias and Latios, because those two are big issues for both Electric Arceus AND your Kyogre!

I have to admit that for the Recover variant, I rarely use Thunderbolt as well because I feel like that powerful Thunder is such a strong selling point... still though, even without Thunder, Thunderbolt Electric Arceus is still fairly workable for Sun or Dual Weather teams, because a CM Arceus with a STAB that hits both Kyogre AND Ho-Oh hard is pretty nice!

Arceus @ DreadPlate
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 252Hp/ 4Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Judgement
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Refresh/Substitute/Focus Blast/Will-o-Wisp

While this still works, I have to admit Genesect is a real pain in the ass with its U-turning. Every since that thing came out, I've found Will-O-Wisp Dark Arceus to be better than it used to be, ESPECIALLY against offensive teams. While it won't totally ruin Genesect, burning it certainly makes it less of a problem. The ability to lure both Genesect and Terrakion is actually pretty nice for a Will-O-Wisper! The only really sad part is that without Substitute, you'll have a hard time with all of the Support Dialga instead of just the Roar ones, and Blissey / Chansey will beat you.

Be careful about calling it the best Mewtwo check, I think the support Dark Arceus set works better for that (I'll post about that later if someone else doesn't). If you switch in on a LO Mewtwo that has Calm Minded, it'll be doing 83.78 - 98.87% to CM Dark Arceus with Aura Sphere or sunny Fire Blast! Also, after a Calm Mind, Judgment won't KO Mewtwo (though 62.71 - 74.57% is alright if its weakened). Of course, if you switch in on a Calm Mindless Mewtwo and on something like Psystrike or Ice Beam, you are going to beat it.

Arceus @ Leftovers
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Recover
- Return / Extremespeed
- Will-O-Wisp / Reflect
- Roar / Perish Song / Ice Beam / filler

Honestly you said most of what I could have... but I think a key advantage for Normal Arceus over the other support Arceus is Leftovers. It may seem small, but it really does make Arceus last quite a bit longer than usual!

Arceus @ Iron Plate
Trait: Multitype
EV's: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Judgement
- Recover

Ah, Steel Arceus is probably one of my favorite mono CM Arceus out there, if only for that delicious defensive typing! However, I have honestly never used Substitute before (though it probably works). I tend to alternate between Will-O-Wisp and Roar. WoW is great for burning Groudon and Zekrom switch-ins, and it can let you screw up Normal Arceus in emergencies (I say that because screw WoW misses x_x). However, I think Roar is really uniquely good on this mono CMer. Arceus is faster than pretty much every phazer in Ubers, it makes you win CM wars against Latias, AND you got that nice immunity to Toxic, so it can get really mean to some stall teams! Just watch out for Skarmory, Taunt can screw you up. Also, one thing that's pretty cool about Steel Arceus in general is that it's one of the few Pokemon that can switch into a White Kyurem Draco Meteor, and then actually force it to switch or die thanks to Steel Judgment! Just watch out for Fusion Flare and Focus Blast of course.

 

[trickroom]

Arceus @ Fist Plate
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Def / 4 SpA / 168 Spe
Bold Nature
- Recover
- JudgEment
- Ice Beam / Stone Edge
- Roar / Toxic / Stealth Rock

Fighting Arceus with a different approach than the usual CM set. CM Fightceus rips through many sand teams easily but this set checks quite a lot of top threats including Extremekiller, Rayquaza, Groudon, Excadrill, Kyurem-W, Kyurem-B, Kabutops, Kingdra, Terrakion and Zekrom. Zekrom can 2HKO with Bolt Strike sadly, so you can't switch in directly.

Unlike other forms, Fighting Arceus can use Toxic to cripple threats who will destroy it such as Ho-Oh, Lugia and wear down non-Rest Giratina-O faster. Will-O-Wisp isn't even needed because Judgment 2HKOes Arceus, Ferrothorn, Dialga, Steel Arceus and hits Skarmory for decent damage. Jirachi is the only Steel-type who can switch in easily. Fighting STAB Judgment punishes sand teams easily and Ice Beam gives it a way to OHKO Rayquaza, Garchomp, Salamence and has perfect coverage. Stone Edge OHKOes Ho-Oh so you can use it if needed. Roar lets Arceus phaze around and it works well because it forces a lot of switches. Stealth Rock can also be used if no one else in your team can set it up.

Best used on teams who are usually weak to Gliscor, Rayquaza, Extremekiller and Excadrill, and sand/weatherless teams love the presence of Fighting Arceus. Oh, this Arceus is one of the closest counter to Darkrai you can get but someone has to take the sleep first.

People stay away from Fightceus because they fear Mewtwo destroying it, so you must have a check to Mewtwo even though Psytrike does not OHKO. Otherwise you can try using Thunder Wave to cripple Mewtwo switch ins. Pairing it up with something like Jirachi or Scarf Geneset / Kyogre works well to check Mewtwo. Kyogre is probably better because it checks Ho-Oh as well. Scarf Zekrom works similarly but does not OHKO Mewtwo from full health. Zekrom can get past Lugia however, and Bolt Strike OHKOes Kyogre who can OHKO this Arceus set with Water Spout.

 

[Darknesscrusher]

Arceus @ Spooky Plate
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 56 SDef / 252 HP / 40 SAtk / 160 Def
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Judgment
- Focus Blast

Although not as treathing as other Arceus formes on the offensive side, this thing can tank most Physical moves with it's great typing (Doesn't get killed by Extreme Speed, that is) and nice bulk. Can withstand a +2 Shadow Claw from the Ekiller, wich is nice, as you can deal some huge damage with your own focus blast. Calm Mind is for sweeping and in case they start bringing in Special Attackers.

 

[Haruno]

Might as well reply to the sets I've used this gen. Sorry Haruno, I haven't thought about dual screen Arceus since last gen, though I have to admit I think I tend to prefer more suicidal dual screeners like Cresselia and Deoxys-s.

It's fine though cresselia really has no presence whatsoever in ubers since although it has considerable bulk, that's pretty much all it really has since its offense is nonexistent and it just begs to get set up on. Deoxys-s will get up both screens for sure but it comes at the cost of not setting up hazards. Dual screen arceus really has little to fear since it can potentially set up screens twice in one battle with its bulk, not to mention the only things that really threaten it are an actual ekiller with brick break (which wouldn't switch in on arceus normal in the first place) or a taunter that bar sableye will dread switching in on arceus since everyone on ladder instantly assumes arceus normal = ekiller.

Pretty much the biggest advantage dual screen arceus has this gen is the surprise factor because arceus normal is just so "predictable" and having solid bulk to set up screens multiple times in a battle should the need arise.

 

[lousy918]

?? "cresselia really has no presence whatsoever in ubers"
your arceus runs only perish song and nothing else, so cresselia does better tbh

also Theorymon, just saying that imo Thundurus does Focus Blast better than Arceus-Electric since if you don't run recovery you aren't really taking advantage of Arceus's bulk and sub is viable since Ferrothorn can't break its sub with 1 Gyro Ball but can break Thundy's, plus after NP Thundurus's HP Ice is around the same power as Arceus's +1 Ice Beam, while Thunder and Focus Blast is stronger. this is just my two cents' worth though

however I DO see why sub is pretty much crap lol

 

[Sweep]

Arceus @ Leftovers
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Defense / 20 Speed
Bold Nature

- Recover
- Ice Beam
- Thunder Wave
- Will-O-Wisp

Here is a double-status Wallceus that can check threats such as Rayquaza beautifully while spreading status. Fast special sweepers will hate taking the Thunder Wave while physical threats dislike Will-O-Wisp. This can serve as a loose/secondary EKiller check since you will usually get 2-3 chances to burn, but do not rely on it as your main check to it as Will-O-wisp tends to miss.

Because this Arceus struggles against fast CM Substitute Arceus forms, Darkrai makes a good partner as it can kill off Ghostceus. Likewise, Ho-Oh can kill off CM Steelceus. Latios also partners with Wallceus well as it can rip apart stall teams that don't mind status as much as offensive teams do. A well played Wallceus can win you games, especially if your opponent thinks you are using EKiller; Lugia, Giratina-O, Ghostceus, and Groudon all dislike Will-O-Wisp and the former three dislike paralysis.

Note: Ice Beam is the move of choice because it can break the Substitutes of Lugia (assuming Multiscale is broken), CM Arceus-Dragon, and Giratina-O. It also kills off Rayquaza.

 

[Hack]

@Lousy and Haruno:

Remember that Cresselia also differentiaties itself with the move Lunar Dance which is simply put amazing. That's also a reason why Cresselia does better as a screener. Say you E-killer sets up once and starts to damage things and later in the game you just set those screens and heal it... If you pull that off, you'll get a huge advantage, and even if you won't set those screens, you will most likely heal your sweeper. So Lunar Dance will solidify your argument here Lousy.

 

[trixter109]

Arceus @ Splash Plate
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 4HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Waterfall
- Dragon Claw / Brick Break
- Recover / ExtremeSpeed

While using a CM set on Arceus-Water is overshadowed by Manaphy and Kyogre. Water-Arceus can run a SD set very effectively. The only competition for this set is the uncommon Kabutops. The execution of this set is simple, switch in on a resisted attack from something, set up SD on the switch and proceed to attempt a quick-sweep. Waterfall provided excellent STAB and is even more powerful with rain support. In fact, a rain boosted Waterfall will even 2HKO 0/0 Giratina-O, 252/0 Normal Arceus, and has a possibility to OHKO standard Lugia after SR damage. Waterfall also has a chance to 2HKO specially defensive Ferrothorn and 252/0 Dialga. Dragon Claw is no different, dealing appreciable damage to Giratina and KOs Palkia after a SD. Brick Break, on the other hand, allows Arceus to deal with Ferrothorn and Dialga more easily. Recover gives Water Arceus the longevity it loves, whereas ExtremeSpeed goes well with Dragon Claw, allowing Arceus to eliminate Palkia and Rayquaza switch-ins.

As for teammates, rain support gives Arceus key OHKOs and 2HKOS, and keeps the sun from evaporating Arceus' Waterfalls. Spikes support is useful for this set as it wears down opposing Giratinas and Ferrothorns. A Ferrothorn would give good Spikes support and it finds no difficulty fitting into a rain team. Ferrothorn also is one of the best checks to Kyogre. Ferrothorn also checks Zekrom, a potentially serious threat to this set. Forry and Skarmory are also potent Spikers. Garchomp, Excadrill, Dialga, and Wobbuffet are also capable of checking Zekrom.

This set is not seen very often nor is Water Arceus at all due to Kyogre and Manaphy overshadowing its CM sets. However Water Arceus can surprise many when they assume it has CM and switch a Chansey into a rain- boosted Waterfall. Anyway, I really enjoy playing this set and it gives rain teams another option instead of just using the regular old Kyogre / Scarfkia / Ferrothorn core. With proper support Water Arceus capable of sweeping entire teams and OHKOing top tier threats such as EKiller Arceus and Palkia after SR and/or Spikes damage.


Arceus @ Mind Plate
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Atk / 124 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Payback
- ExtremeSpeed / Zen Headbutt
- Zen Headbutt / Will-O-Wisp / Earthquake
- Recover

While the CM variant of Phychic Arceus is overshadowed by Mewtwo, this set is a good counter to the Psystrike variant of Mewtwo. With its excellent bulk and pure Phychic typing, it resists both Psystrike and Aura Sphere and remains neutral to Fire Blast and Ice Beam. The strategy is to switch in on Mewtwo as it uses CM and, taking little damage from its attacks, KO with a combo of Payback and ExtremeSpeed. As well as checking Mewtwo, Arceus can check other Psychic types, and Fighting-types such as Fighting-Arceus, Terrakion, Lucario, as well as Poison-Arceus.

Payback is Arceus's main move, as it puts Mewtwo into ExtremeSpeed KO range. The third slot is variable: Zen Headbutt gives Arceus the ability to KO Fighting-types, while Will-O-Wisp allows it to cripple Scizor and Tyranitar, as well as physical Fighting-types. Note that using Will-O-Wisp will leave Arceus as setup fodder for Calm Mind Fighting Arceus, however. Earthquake is also an option as most common physical Fighting-types are weak to Ground, allowing Arceus to hit them, as well as Tyranitar, for decent damage. Zen Headbutt can be used over ExtremeSpeed if you can make sure that the rain is up at all times, enabling Arceus to free up a slot for Will-O-Wisp or Earthquake. Recover is used in the last slot to maintain Arceus's longevity.

The given EVs allow Arceus to take a sun-boosted, +1 Fire Blast from Mewtwo and KO with an ExtremeSpeed assuming you used Payback when Mewtwo used Fire Blast. You can opt for a more defensive spread of 242 HP / 40 Def / 216 SpD with Careful nature, which allows Arceus to survive the 2HKO from Choice Scarf Kyogre's Surf, Choice Scarf Zekrom's Bolt Strike, and similarly powerful attacks. However, with that spread, Arceus cannot 2HKO Mewtwo with Patbck and ExtremeSpeed, and, in turn, is KOed by sun-boosted +1 Fire Blast from Mewtwo.

With out Will-O-Wisp, Scizor and Tyranitar are huge threats to Arceus. Both deal severe damage with their STAB moves if it stays in and Pursuit if it switches. Scissor can set up in Arceus' face and Darkrai can easily switch in and Dark Viod Arceus and proceed to set up Nasty Plots. For this reason, Kyogre makes for an excellent teammate, as it can drown Darkrai, Scizor, and Tyranitar and the rain it summons helps Arceus counter Mewtwo. Psychic Arceus is also set-up fodder for Dark and Bug Arceus. choice Scarf Terrakion can easily revenge kill both, while resisting their STABs. How-Oh is also worth mentioning, as it can counter CM Arceus variants.

Psychic Arceus makes for an excellent check to Psystrike Mewtwo and can also be used for utility. This set is set-up fodder so make sure to have a revenge killer such as the aforementioned Terrakion. Anyway I like this set and use it to kill Mewtwo. I can't tell you how many times I've surprised my opponents with this.

Thanks for reading,
trixter109

PS: This thread has helped me realize the amount of Arceus sets that their are out there. Just going though the Arceus sets on the Pokedex here on Smogon, it's amazing how much the Creator can do.

 

[Tobes]

@ Splash Plate
Multitype
Calm 252 HP / 200 SpD / 56 Spe
-Ice Beam /Flamethrower
-Will-O-Wisp / Toxic
-Roar
-Recover

Specially defensive Arceus-Water is really neat for Sun teams that need more insurance against Kyogre and special attacker Dragon-types. It can shrug off all sorts of Draco Meteors and recover off the damage, and unlike Arceus-Grass isn't vulnerable to Fire-type attacks in sun (or Genesect's U-turn). All it really fears is Thunder, which can be mitigated with some smart switching with Groudon. This set doesn't have much use for attacking options, so you're best off using Ice Beam against Rayquaza or Flamethrower against Ferrothorn/Forretress/Genesect. Wisp shuts down a lot of physical attackers of course, but I personally prefer Toxic for how much more damaging it is to Kyogre, Latias, Palkia, Kyurem-W, etc. Roar ensures you aren't cockblocked by Substitute users and is also good for getting a booster out of your hair ASAP or for racking up hazard damage. The Speed EVs let you outspeed Modest Kyurem-W so that you can avoid a 2HKO from Choice Specs Draco Meteor.

 

[syrim]

The Dark Arceus spread in this thread is pretty poor. You should never run max speed, usually you just want enough to beat latios, and a lot of times not even that is necessary depending on your team.

There's a multitude of different spreads you can run, and they all depend on the team support you have, but it should never be max speed. For instance, if you have Tentacruel support, which you almost always should, you can actually wear a Genesect down if you're running substitute.

If you're just outspeeding Palkia, which is what I recommend as it is what overtly threatens you the most, the first time Genesect switches into this spread it will do

252 Atk Genesect U-turn vs. 252 HP / 160 Def Arceus-Dark: 164-194 (36.93 - 43.69%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

and if it comes in again after a CM

+1 252 Atk Genesect U-turn vs. 252 HP / 160 Def Arceus-Dark: 242-288 (54.5 - 64.86%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.

Keep in mind that with Sub and Recover you can actually hold this off, as unless they have combos like scarf terra+Scarf sect or scarf Zek+scarf sect you can pretty much keep sub recovering. This set even gives you really high likelihoods of beating stuff like ferro.

+1 0 SpA Dread Plate Arceus-Dark Judgment (Dark) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Genesect: 118-139 (41.69 - 49.11%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Another thing to keep in mind is that Sect can actually die to you pretty easily if you have some hazards up, and if you get to +2 and make it come in more than twice which is obviously very likely and something you can handle with a sub up

+2 0 SpA Dread Plate Arceus-Dark Judgment (Dark) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Genesect: 157-186 (55.47 - 65.72%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.

One option you have with Arceus-Dark is to run some Sp Def, usually it's more efficient than speed. I wouldn't recommend dropping more than 40 points of defense, as than you're putting yourself in dangerous range for ferrothorn, but it helps out a lot against Draco Meteor Latios, but if you have a hazard advanatage you beat it regardless, and I find ferro far more threatening, as it is the main reason for the hazard disadvantage when packing dark arceus, as forry is set up bait.

To summarize, bulk is better than speed on dark arceus, up to palkia and maaaaaaaaaybe latios.

To give original input to this thread, a set I came up with ages ago that's gotten better with time took advantage of a basic defensive and offensive idea; what resists edgequake that's also WoW immune?

Arceus@Earth Plate
Bold
252 HP / 232 Def / 26 Spe (EXkiller Insurance set)
OR
Jolly
252 HP/146 Def/ 112 Spe (outspeed chomp)
Earthquake
Stone Edge
Will o Wisp
Recover

This set is a huge pain for sun and sand teams once it gets in, which it has no trouble doing due to its great defensive typing and huge physical bulk. It's a fantastic supporter for rain teams, hard countering stuff like zekrom, groudon, terrakion, rayquaza, and many other threats that rain always hates while spreading status like a champ.

On a similar note,

Arceus@Stone Plate
Timid
252 HP/ 252 Spe
WoW / Toxic
Recover
Judgment
Grass Knot

One of my favorite defensive arceus forms for rain teams, this plugs up so many difficult holes while actually pressuring the opponent. It hard counters ho-oh and Rayquaza, and can beat all the weather setters with prior damage and Grass Knot. If you choose WoW, it can really annoy Ferrothorn, the main Hazard setter it can't already annoy with judgment, if you choose toxic it beats the lati@s pretty hard if they try to set up on it, it really depends on what your team needs. This set obviously fits best on defensive rain teams with spinners and in need of ho-oh checks and utility.

 

[polop]

Arceus @ Stone Plate
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Recover

Swords Dance Rock Arceus tends to be overshadowed by its Calm Mind form and Swords Dance Ground Arceus, but this simply isn't the case. Rock Arceus, unlike other Arceus forms, is one of the the only one that gets a boost to Special Defense in Sandstorm. This might sound minor, but this makes it a lot harder to revenge kill and makes it a lot easier to setup a Swords Dance. Its also the only physical Arceus that can OHKO Skarmory with the raw power of Swords Dance boosted Stone Edge. The only problem is that it type-stacks with Tyranitar, but you can always just stick a Latias or Palkia or something to alleviate the Grass and Water-type weakness stacking. It also pairs wonderfully with Excadrill, since it can break through Skarmory (Giratina-a is a different story though...) and Excadrill can just finish off the sweep Rock Arcues couldn't finish.

EVs aren't unique though, if you really want you can invest in HP or Defense (its Special Defense is already pretty huge), but I recommend always running enough for Lati@s, since being forced to eat a Grass Knot isn't fun.

Arceus @ Spooky Plate
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 56 SDef / 144 Def / 58 Spe
Bold Nature
- Judgment
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp / Roar
- Flamethrower / Focus Blast / Roar / Perish Song

Support Ghost Arceus is extremely effective, and probably the most underated version of Ghost Arceus. Its the only one of the spinblockers viable in Ubers to actually get reliable recovery (I don't like Giratina-a and rest :(). That and it isn't plagued with that nasty Dragon-typing, so it also can be used as a switch-in to all those Draco Meteors and Outrages that fly around. With the given EV spread, even Choice Specs Modest Kyurem-W will fail to OHKO Arceus, while it in return Recovers, and proceeds to Judge it or pummel it with Focus Blast. 58 Speed EVs allows it to outspeed all Adamant Rayquaza, while the rest is thrown into Defense to make beating ExtremeKiller Arceus easier. The moveset should be self-explanatory but I'll explain why the slashing is so complicated. WoW allows Ghost Arceus to permanently cripple ExtremeKiller and Rayquaza, but with so many of them running Lum Berry, Roaring the mon might be better to avoid getting OHKOed by +2 Outrage or +4 Shadow Claw. Focus Blast and Flamethrower exist to make you not get setup on by Forretress, while Perish Song is nice for those stall teams that have issues with the last mon. This set really fits best on Sun teams, since Flamethrower makes Forretress no longer an issue, but really any team in need of a spin blocker and a reliable sponge for Dragon-type attacks can look to this guy for help.

 

[Go10]

Arceus @ Draco Plate
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 58 Atk / 252 SpA / 24 SpD / 176 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Judgement
- Outrage / Roar
- Thunder
- Fire Blast

A set I had fun to play with during the BW1 era (when every mons was slower than you, rainstall everywhere) and the beginning of BW2, dont know if it can still works but I dont see any reason why it shouldnt. The same purpose as Rayquaza, you go all in with your Super effective moves, but unlike the king of dragons, you lack the sheer power, so the surprise factor is quite important. This ceus has trouble to deal with Lugia if you dont have SR, and is stopped cold by Chansey. Roar for MindCeus who can setup easily on you, but you can opt for Outrage for Lati@s and Giratina if they're not a threat for your team.
Enough in speed to outrun Lati@s, a bit in SpD so you can tank Dialga's Dragonpulse after SR and spikes, also lowering the chance of being KOed by ScarfKia Spacial rend after SR from 53% to 40%.

Not a huge innovation since sometime you better just go for Rayquaza instead of this ceus, but definitively something fun to play with.

 

[Judicator]

Here's a set I've been using recently:

Arceus @ Leftovers
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Whirlpool
- Perish Song
- Protect
- Recover



Many people don't think perishtrap sets work well, but that's because most perishtrappers don't have 120/120/120 defences, a recovery move, the speed to recover quickly enough to stay alive and the element of surprise. At first I wasn't sure whether to use a plate, but after testing, it became apparent that Leftovers are very necessary. This gen, Whirlpool has an accuracy of 85% (can sometimes miss, but if people are okay with Fire Blast then they shouldn't have a problem with this) and a minimum duration of 4 turns, so there's no issue with how reliably it can trap something. In fact, most of the time you can Perish Song before you Whirlpool because most people wait a couple of turns before switching. If trapping isn't possible, you can still temporarily remove a threat just fine by forcing a switch.

Arceus can survive a lot more than you may think. Try some damage calcs for yourself and you'll find that it can take on pretty much any physical threats lacking Dragon Tail or Fighting STAB and many special ones too. I'm sure a more specially defensive version can work just as well, targeting stuff like Palkia rather than opposing Normal Arceus and Ho-oh.

Recommended support:
-Rapid Spin (or at least a grounded Poison)
-Something that can easily tank Fighting hits
-U-turn or Volt Switch if you want to get it into play even easier, even though it doesn't find switching in hard at all

Also, on the offensive front, Whirlpool is a clean 2HKO on Deoxys-A :x

 

[Phozon]

Timid- @Mind Plate
252HP/ 4Sp.Atk/ 252 Spd

Recover
Calm Mind
Psyshock
Focus Blast​

Now we're talking. Yes Arceus- Pyschic is normally out classed by Mewtwo, however, there are a few thing Arceus can do that Mewtwo can not with this set. For one thing, Arceus is much bulkier then Mewtwo, especially with a max HP invesment. This allows Arceus to have an easier time setting up CMs, and unlike Mewtwo who normally has 3 attack and CM, Arceus has room to carry Recover. This allows him to restore health when he doesn't get too low and allows him also to live longer because 1.) Arceus, like I just said has the room for Recover and 2.) Arceus does not carry a life orb, which Mewtwo normally tends to carry. Life Orb makes it very hard for Mewtwo to stay around for a long time, especially if there is an active Sandstorm on the field, or if it gets Toxiced, or if something can check it with priority, such as Giratina and Arceus- Normal.While Giratina might be a problem for Arceus-Psychic, if it does have a couple CMs up, Psyshock after 2CM's to a Max HP Giratina-O does about 31%~ 37% there for after Rock, it will always be a 2HKO and Shadow Sneak doesn't even 2HKO Arceus- Psychic. And even more, if you still have those 2 CMs up, Arceus- Ghost and Arceus- Dark can not touch you, unless they are more offensive set. After 2CMs an Arceus-Ghost/ Dark's Judgement w/o investment or a CM does 26%~31%. Offensive ones w/ Max Sp.Atk w/ Timid nature do about 32%~ 38% to Arceus-Psychic w/ 2 CMs up.

Wrapping up here, if you are looking for a "bulkier" Mewtwo so to say, Arceus-Psychic is just what you're looking for. Being able to both set up and recover makes it a very hard poke to take down, especially after a few CMs.

 

[trixter109]

Timid- @Mind Plate
252HP/ 4Sp.Atk/ 252 Spd

Recover
Calm Mind
Psyshock
Focus Blast​

Now we're talking. Yes Arceus- Pyschic is normally out classed by Mewtwo, however, there are a few thing Arceus can do that Mewtwo can not with this set. For one thing, Arceus is much bulkier then Mewtwo, especially with a max HP invesment. This allows Arceus to have an easier time setting up CMs, and unlike Mewtwo who normally has 3 attack and CM, Arceus has room to carry Recover. This allows him to restore health when he doesn't get too low and allows him also to live longer because 1.) Arceus, like I just said has the room for Recover and 2.) Arceus does not carry a life orb, which Mewtwo normally tends to carry. Life Orb makes it very hard for Mewtwo to stay around for a long time, especially if there is an active Sandstorm on the field, or if it gets Toxiced, or if something can check it with priority, such as Giratina and Arceus- Normal.While Giratina might be a problem for Arceus-Psychic, if it does have a couple CMs up, Psyshock after 2CM's to a Max HP Giratina-O does about 31%~ 37% there for after Rock, it will always be a 2HKO and Shadow Sneak doesn't even 2HKO Arceus- Psychic. And even more, if you still have those 2 CMs up, Arceus- Ghost and Arceus- Dark can not touch you, unless they are more offensive set. After 2CMs an Arceus-Ghost/ Dark's Judgement w/o investment or a CM does 26%~31%. Offensive ones w/ Max Sp.Atk w/ Timid nature do about 32%~ 38% to Arceus-Psychic w/ 2 CMs up.

Wrapping up here, if you are looking for a "bulkier" Mewtwo so to say, Arceus-Psychic is just what you're looking for. Being able to both set up and recover makes it a very hard poke to take down, especially after a few CMs.

Interesting set. I, for one, prefer Mewtwo for pure power, but I'm sure this set would make a pretty good tank. I think that more investment in Special Attack would be needed if you intend on using this as a set-up sweeper. Also Darkrai poses a huge threat to this set, as he outspends and Dark Voids it. Darkrai can then proceed to set up Nasty Plots, while Bad Dreams wears down Arceus if it stays in. Great Wall Lugia also walls this set. Even a +2 STAB Psystrike only does 20.19 - 23.79%, which is a possible 6HKO. Bug and Dark Arceus both set-up CM in its face and KO with their super-effective Judgement. I think Mewtwo makes for a better overall sweeper, with its astounding SpA stat and great speed. But this set would make for a good tank hat can set-up repeated CMs and turn into a deadly sweeper.

 

[kakuna]

I really like Tobes' set, but I like to run flamethrower/spacial rend/recover/toxic. I find toxic to be neccesary because Ho- Oh is really dumb, which is also why I run some defense. Anyways on to a new forme:

Arceus @ Iron Plate (b/c steel=iron)
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 84 HP / 252 Atk / 180 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Recover
Arceus steel is literally the end of all rain teams. Once kyogre and palkia are weakened it will not end its rampage. Lets say that a standard rain team is kyogre/ferrothorn/excadrill/arceus-ghost/genesect/latias. With swords dance and earthquake genesect, ferrothorn, and excadrill are all mauled. Latias can't do anything to steelceus under the rain and will be used as set up fodder. Arceus ghost does not hit that hard uninvested and this set can outspeed standard 176 versions. Iron head is a 2HKO at +2. Most kyogre are restalk among good players, and that set is dealt with through hazards and earthquake. Other common mons that are set up fodder include lugia, dialga (sort of), and assorted arceus formes. Rain teams do sometimes run terrakion though so there is a way around this guy, except close combat doesn't OHKO. This pokemon is kind of useless against sun teams, unless there are rocks and groudon is weakened, but if you hate rain this might be your best option.

 

[Lavos]

yo theorymon what do you think of extremespeed on the dragceus set? seems useful for cleaning up late game especially when you got outpredicted or simply didn't have the resources to remove scarf dragons like palkia. i tested it out alongside sd / outrage / brick break and it performed exceptionally, since my team was pretty hazard-centric it was easy to wear down common scarfers like genesect, palkia, and terrakion to put them in ko range for a +2 espeed, which then opened up clean room for a dragceus sweep. whatever you choose as your moveset, if you're using this set i highly suggest running spikes support alongside it, as with two layers of spikes, a bunch of 2hkos become ohkos, most notably on ferrothorn.

 

[ElectivireRocks]

Here's a set I've been using recently:

Arceus @ Leftovers
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Whirlpool
- Perish Song
- Protect
- Recover



Many people don't think perishtrap sets work well, but that's because most perishtrappers don't have 120/120/120 defences, a recovery move, the speed to recover quickly enough to stay alive and the element of surprise. At first I wasn't sure whether to use a plate, but after testing, it became apparent that Leftovers are very necessary.

I'd like to add that if you need specific threats removed you may want to use a specific plate over lefties.
For example, are you tired of Latias walling your Kyogre? You may want to use Steel Arceus so she can barely touch it.

 

[Donkey]

yo theorymon what do you think of extremespeed on the dragceus set? seems useful for cleaning up late game especially when you got outpredicted or simply didn't have the resources to remove scarf dragons like palkia. i tested it out alongside sd / outrage / brick break and it performed exceptionally, since my team was pretty hazard-centric it was easy to wear down common scarfers like genesect, palkia, and terrakion to put them in ko range for a +2 espeed, which then opened up clean room for a dragceus sweep. whatever you choose as your moveset, if you're using this set i highly suggest running spikes support alongside it, as with two layers of spikes, a bunch of 2hkos become ohkos, most notably on ferrothorn.

1. It's only easy to wear down scarfers vs badly made teams
2. By adding Extremespeed Dragonceus is no longer the wall breaker that gives it a niche. Dragonceus needs Fire Blast to deal with Skarm and Ferrothorn and in its last slot needs EQ or Waterfall to deal with bulky Arceus forms and have a strong physical option besides Outrage to use vs pokemon like Dialga, or steels in Rain.
3. Rayquaza is a better user of Extremespeed in the cleaner role. Rayquaza has higher attack, can run Life Orb for even more attack, and does not need set up to destroy squishies like Palkia late game with Extremespeed. Arceus-Normal is only used because Extremespeed is stab. There is a reason we don't see SD Arceus Ghosts with Extremespeed or at all. Stab is what makes an SD Arceus good.