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Just this past week, Pokemon players finally got a first-hand look at the last of this generation’s event creatures; the great and powerful Arceus. Although what the Arceus players have access to is saddled with some unfortunate restrictions — it’s only available at Lv. 100, which makes it impossible to EV train beyond the vitamin stage — today we’re going to be looking at the full strength of this impressive critter.

Arceus
Normal
HP: 120 Atk: 120 Def: 120 Sp Atk: 120 Sp Def: 120 Spd: 120
Ability: Multitype: This Pokemon’s type is the same as the Plate item it is holding.

Arceus is, to put it mildly, quite impressive. With base stats over and above that of any other Pokemon and the ability to shift type at the player’s whim, Arceus is one of those Pokemon that can easily blindside any player. Its amazing flexibility and high base stats make it one of, if not the most broken Pokemon on the face of the planet.

Arceus has so many strengths that it’s hard to pick just one and say, “this is what makes the Pokemon powerful.” Arceus’s base stats are obscene in every category, it gets a great signature attack in Judgment, and the sheer unpredictability afforded to this Pokemon by Multitype and its impressive movepool means that, quite often, you won’t know what its doing until its already done it. The Ubers metagame often revolves around preventing your opponent from setting up, meaning Arceus’s extreme flexibility and access to multiple stat increasing moves can be quite a problem. Arceus can boost its Atk with Swords Dance and go in for the kill with ExtremeSpeed, use a status set with Will o Wisp, Toxic, and Thunder Wave, or use a Choice Specs set to achieve a blindingly powerful Judgment. It can stall using Calm Mind or Cosmic Power, it can absorb status with Rest / Sleep Talk, it can even do support using Gravity and Trick Room if you’re crazy enough to try it.

So how does one stop such a monster? Well… First you need to figure out what its trying to do. Arceus’s appearance goes some way towards helping this. If you can recognize what type it is from its appearance, you might be able to predict what its going to do. Aside from that, each individual set Arceus is capable of can be countered, it’s just a matter of figuring out what it is and how to stop it. Ironically enough, Giratina often makes a good counter to Arceus, since it can absorb Normal-type Judgment and ExtremeSpeed, two of Arceus’s best attacks.

In the end, Arceus is something of a reflection of the player who uses it. In the hands of someone who can outpredict you, or who shows real creativity in movesets, Arceus can be near impossible to stop.

Odin
Arceus @Choice Specs
Modest (+Sp Atk, -Atk) nature
Multitype ability
252 Sp Atk, 252 Spd, 6 HP
-Judgment
-Draco Meteor
-Overheat
-Focus Blast / Earth Power
Raw damage in its finest form. The combination of Draco Meteor and Overheat are resisted only by Heatran, who can be taken out with Focus Blast or Earth Power. The main weapon of this set, though, is Judgment, a 150 base power attack with STAB factored in. Running off of Arceus’s 120 Sp Atk, it can be quite a fearsome attack – just be careful of Giratina, who can come in on Judgment and force you out.

Ra
Arceus @Meadow Plate / Flame Plate
Modest (+Sp Atk, -Atk) or Timid (+Spd, -Atk)
Multitype ability
252 Sp Atk, 252 Spd, 6 HP
-Solarbeam / Judgment
-Overheat
-Dragon Pulse / Spacial Rend
-Thunder
A good partner for Groudon, this Arceus makes great use of sunshine. Solarbeam is a bit risky given that Kyogre could switch in and force you to take an extra turn to charge it up, and Judgment combined with the Meadow Plate will allow you some similar results. On the other hand, Flame Plate will not only boost the effectiveness of Overheat on its own, it’ll grant Arceus STAB on the move, giving it a base power of 210 before the Flame Plate boost. Dragon Pulse will let you hit Palkia and Giratina for super effective damage, a very good thing given that they both resist Overheat. You could use Draco Meteor in this slot, but it’s probably not a good idea to use two Overheat-style moves on one Pokemon, so Spacial Rend is probably your best choice for a higher power Dragon move. And finally, Thunder will allow you to hit Kyogre on the switch, providing you predict it, of course.

Triton
Arceus @Splash Plate
Modest (+Sp Atk, -Atk) or Timid (+Spd, -Atk)
Multitype ability
-Judgment
-Thunder
-Earth Power / Focus Blast
-Calm Mind / Draco Meteor
Arceus also makes a solid companion to Kyogre, since Earth Power allows it to hit a number of Pokemon who would otherwise wall the beast. Earth Power also has the interesting distinction of being able to finally destroy those obnoxious Lanturns that plague Kyogre. Focus Blast is also an option as it provides a more powerful strike to Blissey and Dialga. Focus Blast could also work in the last slot, though Draco Meteor is a more dangerous option against Palkia and his friends.

Yaweh
Arceus @Leftovers / Life Orb
Adamant (+Atk, -Sp Atk)
Multitype ability
252 Atk, 252 HP, 6 Spd
-Swords Dance
-ExtremeSpeed
-Dragon Claw
-Earthquake / Recover
A dangerous, dangerous Pokemon with a Swords Dance, this Arceus is not only capable of huge amounts of damage, it can use ExtremeSpeed to jump Pokemon who would otherwise be able to outspeed it. With 120 in all of its defensive stats, Arceus is a wonderfully bulky attacker, allowing it to get some great use out of Recover, Swords Dancing multiple times and just Recovering the damage off.

Giratina is this set’s worst enemy. It can absorb ExtremeSpeed without problems, cripple Arceus with Will o Wisp, and laugh as it tries to Dragon Claw him to death. Giratina’s Pressure also helps exhaust ExtremeSpeed’s limited PP, further aggravating Arceus. If you’re feeling very, very confident, you could stick Refresh in that last moveslot and try to taunt Giratina into trying to Burn you while you Dragon Claw it to death, but it’s not recommended.

Buddha
Arceus @Spooky Plate / Dread Plate
Modest (+Sp Atk, -Atk) or Timid (+Spd, -Atk)
Multitype ability
129 HP, 129 Spd, 252 Sp Atk
-Judgment
-Ice Beam / Dragon Pulse
-Calm Mind
-Recover
Arceus’s high overall base stats allow it to make the most of Calm Mind, increasing both its frightening offense and substantial defense. The Plate you choose for this set is a bit of a tough choice. A Ghost-type Arceus will allow you to dodge Explosions and allow you to hit Giratina for some nasty damage with Judgment, while the Dread Plate will give you the ability to resist the Ghost and Dark type attacks that are so prevalent in Ubers.

Camaxtli
Arceus @Choice Band
Adamant (+Atk, -Sp Atk)
Multitype ability
252 Atk, 252 Spd, 6 Def
-ExtremeSpeed
-Dragon Claw
-Earthquake
-Overheat / Shadow Claw
A great revenge-killer, Choice Band Arceus makes impressive use of ExtremeSpeed, although it’s even more vulnerable to Giratina than the Swords Dance set. Still, one major advantage that this set enjoys is that it requires no setup. If your foe thinks they can switch in the obvious Giratina while you Swords Dance, they’re in for a nasty shock.

Raven
Arceus @Leftovers / Spooky Plate
Bold (+Def, -Sp Atk)
Multitype ability
252 HP, 129 Sp Atk, 129 Def
-Judgement
-Recover / Dragon Pulse
-Will o Wisp
-Thunder Wave
An annoying Arceus, capable of crippling a number of the most common Pokemon in Ubers. Once again, Giratina confounds this set, as they most often carry Rest/Sleep Talk to absorb status, so careful prediction is a must. This set can easily become a support set as well, by replacing one of the status effect moves with Gravity, Trick Room, or another support move from Arceus’s vast repertoire.