[OVERVIEW]
* Thanks to Arceus-Water's good defensive stats and excellent defensive typing in Water, it's capable of checking some of the top-tier threats like Primal Groudon, Zygarde-C, Mega Salamence, Ho-Oh, and Necrozma-DM. Its good matchup against Primal Groudon and Necrozma-DM is especially notable, as they are the best Pokemon in the tier, and it can take most of their attacks with relative ease.
* Arceus-Water's good Speed tier lets it outspeed a wide variety of Pokemon like Mega Lucario and Rayquaza, allowing it to soft check them.
* Arceus-Water is an effective Defogger thanks to its ability to threaten most Stealth Rock setters like Primal Groudon and Necrozma-DM, offering a lot of utility for teams.
* Unfortunately, Arceus-Water is relatively passive, making it vulnerable to Gothitelle, Mega Gengar, setup sweepers, and status ailments.
* Arceus-Water can get overwhelmed by Pokemon like Curse and Choice Band Ho-Oh, Swords Dance Arceus-Ground, and Swords Dance Primal Groudon, which it's supposed to check.
[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Recover
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Defog / Ice Beam
move 4: Ice Beam / Judgment
item: Splash Plate
ability: Multitype
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 64 Def / 192 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Recover enables Arceus-Water to regain health and prevent it from getting worn down too much.
* Toxic allows Arceus-Water to cripple common bulky Pokemon like Primal Groudon, Giratina-O, Arceus-Fairy, and Ho-Oh.
* Arceus-Water is an effective user of Defog thanks to its ability to threaten or wall a lot of common entry hazard setters like Primal Groudon, Arceus-Ground, Necrozma-DM, and Tyranitar.
* Ice Beam can be used instead of Defog or Judgment, since it allows Arceus-Water to handle Mega Salamence, Rayquaza, and Zygarde-C better. It is also Arceus-Water's method of actually damaging Primal Groudon.
* Judgment provides Arceus-Water with a strong STAB move that allows it to hit Fire- and Ground-types very hard. It also hits most Steel-types for a good amount of damage, which Ice Beam fails to do. This gives the advantage of being able to better check Ho-Oh and Necrozma-DM.
* Judgment and Ice Beam can be run together, offering a wide range of targets when combined at the cost of Defog utility. This is ideally run with another Defog user to make up for this.
* Fire Blast may also be used, since it allows Arceus-Water to prevent Mega Scizor and Ferrothorn from switching in; Fire Blast also allows Arceus-Water to use Defog on Ferrothorn, as it can successfully threaten it.
* Will-O-Wisp can be run to cripple Necrozma-DM and other physical attackers like Marshadow, Arceus, and Mega Salamence.
* Thunder Wave lets Arceus-Water slow down Pokemon such as Xerneas and Necrozma-DM.
Set Details
========
* 252 HP EVs in conjunction with 64 Defense EVs make Arceus-Water as bulky as possible, which lets it take +1 Double-Edge from Mega Salamence.
* 192 Speed EVs in tandem with a Timid nature allow Arceus-Water to outspeed Mega Lucario and anything slower.
* An alternative EV spread of 252 HP / 132 Def / 124 Spe with a Bold nature allows Arceus-Water to check physical attackers better while still outspeeding base 90 Speed Pokemon. This EV spread is especially useful for taking on Facade Mega Salamence that is badly poisoned, as it is incapable of OHKOing Arceus-Water at +1 with this specific EV spread. Unfortunately, it does mean that Arceus-Water will get outsped by Mega Lucario.
* Splash Plate is required to turn Arceus into Arceus-Water and Judgment into a Water-type STAB move.
Usage Tips
========
* Try to bring Arceus-Water in on Pokemon that it can check like Mega Salamence, Primal Groudon, Zygarde-C, and Arceus-Ground.
* Use Recover to keep Arceus-Water as healthy as possible, since if it gets too low, it will have a hard time checking Pokemon that it's supposed to check.
* Be wary of staying in with Arceus-Water if the opponent has a Shadow Tag user like Gothitelle or Mega Gengar because if Arceus-Water does stay in, the foe can switch them in and trap it. Double switching can be useful to avoid this scenario.
* Try to avoid Arceus-Water from getting afflicted by Toxic, as this will greatly reduce its longevity, but sometimes it's favorable to take a Toxic if this means Arceus-Water itself can get a Toxic off on a Pokemon like Primal Groudon, Giratina-O, or Arceus-Fairy. This is especially useful if Arceus-Water's team needs any of these Pokemon weakened. Also, Arceus-Water getting hit by Toxic may be safe if its team has a cleric.
* Use Defog on Pokemon that Arceus-Water can force out like Arceus-Ground and Mega Salamence to avoid taking damage while removing entry hazards, since it's susceptible to chip damage.
* Arceus-Water can be used to pivot into Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre to take their respective STAB moves. After that, it can pivot into a Pokemon that can beat both of these Pokemon.
Team Options
========
* Arceus-Water fits best on defensively oriented teams that need its ability to check Primal Groudon and potentially Necrozma-DM depending on Arceus-Water's moveset; it also provides a Defogger for its team, which makes it a great fit on these type of teams.
* Steel-types like Celesteela, Magearna, and Necrozma-DM are good teammates, especially Celesteela, as it provides a secondary check to Mega Salamence; in return, Celesteela appreciates Arceus-Water's ability to check Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh. Magearna is capable of checking both Fairy- and Dark-types. Necrozma-DM can provide a check to Fairy-types, provide Stealth Rock support, or act as a powerful wallbreaker. They all appreciate Arceus-Water's ability to take on Fire- and Ground-type Pokemon.
* Arceus-Water appreciates a secondary Primal Groudon check because this takes pressure off of Arceus-Water. Pokemon like Zygarde-C, Giratina-O, and Mega Salamence can do this.
* Clerical support from Pokemon like Magearna and Xerneas is pretty handy because Arceus-Water is heavily annoyed by status ailments. In return, Arceus-Water can check Primal Groudon, which both struggle against.
* Setup sweepers like Xerneas, Rayquaza, and Mega Salamence appreciate the entry hazard removal that Arceus-Water provides.
* Pursuit trappers like Marshadow are good teammates because they can beat Mega Gengar and Gothitelle, both of which are great threats to Arceus-Water.
* Primal Groudon is a potent teammate, as it can provide a secondary check to Steel-types, check Fairy-types, provide Stealth Rock support, and potentially act as a powerful wallbreaker. Arceus-Water and Primal Groudon together form a good backbone to combat Primal Kyogre.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Arceus-Water can run Refresh to remove status ailments like burn and poison. It also helps Arceus-Water against Ho-Oh, which will almost always poison it with Toxic. Unfortunately, Arceus-Water heavily struggles fitting Refresh onto its set.
* Roar can be used on Arceus-Water to deter setup sweepers and potentially phaze Shadow Tag users, but it generally struggles to find a moveslot for it.
* Calm Mind turns Arceus-Water into a setup sweeper, but it's heavily outclassed as a Calm Mind Arceus forme, as Arceus-Flying, Arceus-Ground, Arceus-Fairy, and Arceus-Dark all pull this set off with better success.
* Arceus-Water can be used to set Stealth Rock, but this means it has to give up Defog. It also sees a lot of competition as a Stealth Rock setter from other setters like Primal Groudon, Necrozma-DM, and Dialga. Furthermore, if you want to use an Arceus-forme that can set up Stealth Rock, Arceus-Fairy and Arceus-Ground will be superior in most situations.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Shadow Tag**: Gothitelle is capable of trapping Arceus-Water and setting up on it thanks to Arceus-Water's passive nature. Mega Gengar can also switch into Arceus-Water and, thanks to Taunt and Destiny Bond, can successfully remove Arceus-Water from the match. It's also capable of removing Arceus-Water with Hex if Arceus-Water is afflicted by a status ailment beforehand or if Arceus-Water's only attacking move is Ice Beam.
**Steel-types**: Arceus-Water gets walled by Steel-types like Necrozma-DM, Magearna, Ferrothorn, and Mega Scizor, since they take relatively nothing from any of Arceus-Water's moves, and they're also incapable of being poisoned thanks to their typing.
**Wallbreakers**: Strong wallbreakers like Primal Kyogre, Ultra Necrozma, and Yveltal are capable of overpowering Arceus-Water thanks to their strong attacks.
**Toxapex**: Toxapex takes very little damage from any move Arceus-Water can use on it and is immune to Toxic thanks to its Poison typing. In return, it can cripple Arceus-Water with Toxic.
**Grass-type Pokemon**: Grass-types like Arceus-Grass and Shaymin-S are capable of threatening Arceus-Water with their respective STAB moves, but they don't like switching into Ice Beam or the rare Fire Blast.
**Status**: Toxic greatly cuts into Arceus-Water's longevity. Burns and paralysis also cripple Arceus-Water to an extent but not as much as Toxic does.
* Thanks to Arceus-Water's good defensive stats and excellent defensive typing in Water, it's capable of checking some of the top-tier threats like Primal Groudon, Zygarde-C, Mega Salamence, Ho-Oh, and Necrozma-DM. Its good matchup against Primal Groudon and Necrozma-DM is especially notable, as they are the best Pokemon in the tier, and it can take most of their attacks with relative ease.
* Arceus-Water's good Speed tier lets it outspeed a wide variety of Pokemon like Mega Lucario and Rayquaza, allowing it to soft check them.
* Arceus-Water is an effective Defogger thanks to its ability to threaten most Stealth Rock setters like Primal Groudon and Necrozma-DM, offering a lot of utility for teams.
* Unfortunately, Arceus-Water is relatively passive, making it vulnerable to Gothitelle, Mega Gengar, setup sweepers, and status ailments.
* Arceus-Water can get overwhelmed by Pokemon like Curse and Choice Band Ho-Oh, Swords Dance Arceus-Ground, and Swords Dance Primal Groudon, which it's supposed to check.
[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Recover
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Defog / Ice Beam
move 4: Ice Beam / Judgment
item: Splash Plate
ability: Multitype
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 64 Def / 192 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Recover enables Arceus-Water to regain health and prevent it from getting worn down too much.
* Toxic allows Arceus-Water to cripple common bulky Pokemon like Primal Groudon, Giratina-O, Arceus-Fairy, and Ho-Oh.
* Arceus-Water is an effective user of Defog thanks to its ability to threaten or wall a lot of common entry hazard setters like Primal Groudon, Arceus-Ground, Necrozma-DM, and Tyranitar.
* Ice Beam can be used instead of Defog or Judgment, since it allows Arceus-Water to handle Mega Salamence, Rayquaza, and Zygarde-C better. It is also Arceus-Water's method of actually damaging Primal Groudon.
* Judgment provides Arceus-Water with a strong STAB move that allows it to hit Fire- and Ground-types very hard. It also hits most Steel-types for a good amount of damage, which Ice Beam fails to do. This gives the advantage of being able to better check Ho-Oh and Necrozma-DM.
* Judgment and Ice Beam can be run together, offering a wide range of targets when combined at the cost of Defog utility. This is ideally run with another Defog user to make up for this.
* Fire Blast may also be used, since it allows Arceus-Water to prevent Mega Scizor and Ferrothorn from switching in; Fire Blast also allows Arceus-Water to use Defog on Ferrothorn, as it can successfully threaten it.
* Will-O-Wisp can be run to cripple Necrozma-DM and other physical attackers like Marshadow, Arceus, and Mega Salamence.
* Thunder Wave lets Arceus-Water slow down Pokemon such as Xerneas and Necrozma-DM.
Set Details
========
* 252 HP EVs in conjunction with 64 Defense EVs make Arceus-Water as bulky as possible, which lets it take +1 Double-Edge from Mega Salamence.
* 192 Speed EVs in tandem with a Timid nature allow Arceus-Water to outspeed Mega Lucario and anything slower.
* An alternative EV spread of 252 HP / 132 Def / 124 Spe with a Bold nature allows Arceus-Water to check physical attackers better while still outspeeding base 90 Speed Pokemon. This EV spread is especially useful for taking on Facade Mega Salamence that is badly poisoned, as it is incapable of OHKOing Arceus-Water at +1 with this specific EV spread. Unfortunately, it does mean that Arceus-Water will get outsped by Mega Lucario.
* Splash Plate is required to turn Arceus into Arceus-Water and Judgment into a Water-type STAB move.
Usage Tips
========
* Try to bring Arceus-Water in on Pokemon that it can check like Mega Salamence, Primal Groudon, Zygarde-C, and Arceus-Ground.
* Use Recover to keep Arceus-Water as healthy as possible, since if it gets too low, it will have a hard time checking Pokemon that it's supposed to check.
* Be wary of staying in with Arceus-Water if the opponent has a Shadow Tag user like Gothitelle or Mega Gengar because if Arceus-Water does stay in, the foe can switch them in and trap it. Double switching can be useful to avoid this scenario.
* Try to avoid Arceus-Water from getting afflicted by Toxic, as this will greatly reduce its longevity, but sometimes it's favorable to take a Toxic if this means Arceus-Water itself can get a Toxic off on a Pokemon like Primal Groudon, Giratina-O, or Arceus-Fairy. This is especially useful if Arceus-Water's team needs any of these Pokemon weakened. Also, Arceus-Water getting hit by Toxic may be safe if its team has a cleric.
* Use Defog on Pokemon that Arceus-Water can force out like Arceus-Ground and Mega Salamence to avoid taking damage while removing entry hazards, since it's susceptible to chip damage.
* Arceus-Water can be used to pivot into Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre to take their respective STAB moves. After that, it can pivot into a Pokemon that can beat both of these Pokemon.
Team Options
========
* Arceus-Water fits best on defensively oriented teams that need its ability to check Primal Groudon and potentially Necrozma-DM depending on Arceus-Water's moveset; it also provides a Defogger for its team, which makes it a great fit on these type of teams.
* Steel-types like Celesteela, Magearna, and Necrozma-DM are good teammates, especially Celesteela, as it provides a secondary check to Mega Salamence; in return, Celesteela appreciates Arceus-Water's ability to check Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh. Magearna is capable of checking both Fairy- and Dark-types. Necrozma-DM can provide a check to Fairy-types, provide Stealth Rock support, or act as a powerful wallbreaker. They all appreciate Arceus-Water's ability to take on Fire- and Ground-type Pokemon.
* Arceus-Water appreciates a secondary Primal Groudon check because this takes pressure off of Arceus-Water. Pokemon like Zygarde-C, Giratina-O, and Mega Salamence can do this.
* Clerical support from Pokemon like Magearna and Xerneas is pretty handy because Arceus-Water is heavily annoyed by status ailments. In return, Arceus-Water can check Primal Groudon, which both struggle against.
* Setup sweepers like Xerneas, Rayquaza, and Mega Salamence appreciate the entry hazard removal that Arceus-Water provides.
* Pursuit trappers like Marshadow are good teammates because they can beat Mega Gengar and Gothitelle, both of which are great threats to Arceus-Water.
* Primal Groudon is a potent teammate, as it can provide a secondary check to Steel-types, check Fairy-types, provide Stealth Rock support, and potentially act as a powerful wallbreaker. Arceus-Water and Primal Groudon together form a good backbone to combat Primal Kyogre.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Arceus-Water can run Refresh to remove status ailments like burn and poison. It also helps Arceus-Water against Ho-Oh, which will almost always poison it with Toxic. Unfortunately, Arceus-Water heavily struggles fitting Refresh onto its set.
* Roar can be used on Arceus-Water to deter setup sweepers and potentially phaze Shadow Tag users, but it generally struggles to find a moveslot for it.
* Calm Mind turns Arceus-Water into a setup sweeper, but it's heavily outclassed as a Calm Mind Arceus forme, as Arceus-Flying, Arceus-Ground, Arceus-Fairy, and Arceus-Dark all pull this set off with better success.
* Arceus-Water can be used to set Stealth Rock, but this means it has to give up Defog. It also sees a lot of competition as a Stealth Rock setter from other setters like Primal Groudon, Necrozma-DM, and Dialga. Furthermore, if you want to use an Arceus-forme that can set up Stealth Rock, Arceus-Fairy and Arceus-Ground will be superior in most situations.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Shadow Tag**: Gothitelle is capable of trapping Arceus-Water and setting up on it thanks to Arceus-Water's passive nature. Mega Gengar can also switch into Arceus-Water and, thanks to Taunt and Destiny Bond, can successfully remove Arceus-Water from the match. It's also capable of removing Arceus-Water with Hex if Arceus-Water is afflicted by a status ailment beforehand or if Arceus-Water's only attacking move is Ice Beam.
**Steel-types**: Arceus-Water gets walled by Steel-types like Necrozma-DM, Magearna, Ferrothorn, and Mega Scizor, since they take relatively nothing from any of Arceus-Water's moves, and they're also incapable of being poisoned thanks to their typing.
**Wallbreakers**: Strong wallbreakers like Primal Kyogre, Ultra Necrozma, and Yveltal are capable of overpowering Arceus-Water thanks to their strong attacks.
**Toxapex**: Toxapex takes very little damage from any move Arceus-Water can use on it and is immune to Toxic thanks to its Poison typing. In return, it can cripple Arceus-Water with Toxic.
**Grass-type Pokemon**: Grass-types like Arceus-Grass and Shaymin-S are capable of threatening Arceus-Water with their respective STAB moves, but they don't like switching into Ice Beam or the rare Fire Blast.
**Status**: Toxic greatly cuts into Arceus-Water's longevity. Burns and paralysis also cripple Arceus-Water to an extent but not as much as Toxic does.
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