[Overview]
<p>Generation 5 brought a lot of new offensively oriented
Pokemon into the game. In that bunch of
Pokemon
, (no comma) is Archeops. Archeops is gifted with a sky high 140 base attack stat, and a well above average 112
Special
Attack stat. Couple that with a super fast 110 base
Speed stat,
and you have one potent sweeper on your hands. Though Archeops was granted a gift from the heavens with those base stats, he was also cursed with an awful ability in
Defeatist. This ability makes Archeops lose 50% of its attacking power if his HP goes
down to 50% or below.
This is not to mention his weakness to almost all types of priority
and Stealth Rock. There are plenty of ways to work around those weaknesses, however. Archeops can run sets from a physical sweeper to a special sweeper and even a mixed sweeper. If used correctly, Archeops can be a force to be reckoned
with this generation.</p>
[SET]
name: Acrobatics
move 1: Acrobatics
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Hone Claws
item: Flying Gem
nature: Naive / Naughty
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is probably Archeops's most used set, and for a good reason. With a sky high base 140
Attack stat, which reaches
an unboosted 416
unboosted using a Naughty nature and max Attack EVs, nothing is going to want to take even a neutral hit from this guy, let alone a super effective hit. With a boosted attack from Acrobatics with Flying
Jewel Gem, this thing is capable of 2HKO
'ing
(no apostrophe) Ferrothorn, which is very im
ppres
sive. The moves Stone Edge and Earthquake grant Archeops the infamous dual coverage
moves "EdgeQuake
." combination. These two moves grant
s Archeops nearly perfect coverage
, (comma) in hitting the
whole entire metagame
for neutral damage, barring Bronzong and Virizion. The fourth moveslot is filled with Hidden Power Ice, and for a very good reason. With a
bade base 112 Special Attack stat, Archeops has a 100% chance of 2HKO'ing Gliscor.
A Naive
nature is the prefer
red nature over Naughty because the base 110 speed tier is very important. If you go for the Naughty nature, you will have no chance of
speed
tieing tying with Latios or other pokemon with the base 110
Speed tier, like Gengar. The given EVs are essential to max out Archeops'
s Speed and Attack Stat. This set gives Archeops a lot of raw power and is capable of ripping through many unprepared teams.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Since Archeops is Stealth Rock weak, you absolutely need a Rapid Spinner on your team if you want to use Archeops to
use its maximum potential. Donphan is a very good teammate to Archeops because he can Rapid Spin Stealth Rock
s away
, (comma) and
he covers the Rock-type weakness. If Archeops happens to drop below 50% health, you can just pass a Wish and he will gain some,
or if not all of his HP back
(who will be passing this Wish?). Because Archeops is a physical attacker, and Hidden Power Ice isn't going to do a lot of damage to Skarmory, Magnezone is also a very good teammate for Archeops. Magnezone can trap Skarmory with Magnet Pull and proceed to KO him with Thunderbolt. Other Special Attackers such as Starmie, Reuniclus, and Heatran are also good partners to break through physical walls. This set works similarly to how Gliscor's Toxic
(space)+
(space)Fling set operates except you don't have to waste a turn to
Fling your item away
on this set to get the boost. You really have to be careful and make sure you don't take a lot of hits so your health doesn't reach below 50%
so your ability, to avoid activating Defeatist.
doesn't activate.</p>
[SET]
name: Physical Sweeper
move 1: Stone Edge
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Hone Claws
item: Leftovers / Expert Belt
nature: Naive / Naughty
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set works similarly to the Acrobatics set. Stone Edge is in the first slot because it is Archeops's main STAB move and should be used on most Pokemon if it isn't resisted or if Earthquake can
't hit it Super Effectively. Earthquake is in the second slot to hit Steel, Poison, and Fire-type Pokemon
super
effectively. The third slot on this set is dedicated to Hidden Power Ice to get
passed past Gliscor who would otherwise wall this set into oblivion. Thanks to Archeops
's base 140 Attack
Stat and base 110 Speed
Stat stats, it allows Archeops to be a good user of Hone Claws
have. Hone Claws boosts
both your (no 'your' when referring directly to the Pokemon) Archeops's accuracy (pseudo-stat, no caps) by one stage and your Attack by one stage. The item choice is a tricky one. Leftovers can keep you above the 50% health line
easier more easily,
and while Expert Belt can give you an extra boost in Super Effective attacks.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Rapid Spin support should always be considered when building your team. Since Archeops has a Stealth Rock weakness, Rapid Spin support is almost essential if you want to use him to
use his full potential. Donphan is a very good teammate to Archeops because he can Rapid Spin Stealth Rock
s away and
he covers the Rock-type weakness. Wish support is also very beneficial to Archeops. If Archeops happens to drop below 50% health, you can just pass a Wish and he will gain some, or all of his HP back.
(again, who will be passing Wish?) Because Archeops is a physical attacker, and Hidden Power Ice isn't going to do a lot of damage to Skarmory, Magnezone is also a very good teammate for Archeops. Any Priority can beat this set pretty easily. Archeops is weak to Bullet Punch and Aqua Jet
, (comma) and they will both
get putting Archeops below 50% health, so watch out for those priority moves. Special Attackers are key to letting Archeops sweep because they can break through physical walls with ease, allowing Archeops to sweep. A Naive nature should be used if you are using your fourth slot
as for Hone Claws.</p>
[OTHER OPTIONS]
<p>Life Orb could be considered on both sets, but it can get you below 50% health
faster very quickly. If
there are Stealth Rock
s is on the field
, (comma) you will only get 3 attacks in before you are below 50% if you're using Life Orb, not accounting for any hits taken. Sitrus Berry could be considered as an option on the Physical Attacker set
becuase because once Archeops gets below 50% health, the berry
will activate
d and heals him and hopefully bring Archeops's HP above 50%. This can be risky, though
, (comma) because odds are that if you are near 50%
, (comma) the opposing Pokemon on the field will be able to KO you. A Naughty nature can also be considered on the first set if
tieing tying the base 110 Speed tier isn't very important to you and you want the extra power that a Naughty nature brings. You should use Naughty over Adamant if you are using Hidden Power Ice because an Adamant nature
drops hinders your Special Attack. Crunch can be considered on both sets if you want to hit Ghost-types
super
effectively. Dragon Claw can also be considered to give you a reliable move to use
on against various
Dragon
-types
(hyphen instead of space) such as Latios, Latias, and Haxorus.</p>
[CHECKS AND COUNTERS]
<p>The biggest problem that Archeops faces is
Prioirty priority Attacks. He is weak to Bullet Punch and Aqua Jet, and the main carriers of those moves are Scizor and Azumarill, who will both OHKO him with a Choice Band. Archeops is also weak to Physical walls like Skarmory and Bronzong. Archeops has virtually
know no way of breaking through these walls, so they will have to be de
alt with
by other
ways means before attempting to use Archeops. Excadrill is also a check to Archeops,
Excadrill as it can easily OHKO it with Rock Slide. Thundurus can also beat Archeops relatively easily. It can outspeed and OHKO Archeops with Thunderbolt. Archeops has a weakness to Stealth Rock
s, which combined with his ability,
Defeatist,
Archeops can only switch allows Archeops to switch in
only two times if Stealth Rock
s are is on the field before his ability is activated.</p>
