Competitive Pokemon History: Arceus-Normal Quiz

Answer: Extremespeed

Extremespeed is a +2 priority move with a 100 base power that has no drawbacks, save for its meager eight power points. Coming off of Arceus-Normal's decent 120 base Attack, this is the most straightforward, deadly physical sweeper in the fourth generation bar absolutely none.

Answer: 120

Having a Base 120 in everything means all of Arceus' stats are good. They aren't amazing by any stretch, but with proper investment, it can hit very hard, take hits very well, and/or be quite fast due to its above average Speed stat.

Answer: Choice Band

Running a Choice Scarf on a Pokémon with a renowned priority move would be silly, simply put. Choice Band was the item of choice, hence the name "Bandceus". At a free +1, Arceus could immediately exert pressure on the opposing team right off the bat. Additionally, even if, say, Rayquaza managed to boost with Dragon Dance a few times, if it clicked any move other than its own Extremespeed, which failed to OHKO Arceus, Arceus would just OHKO it first with Extremespeed. Thus, it was not only a good wallbreaker and potential sweeper, it was also a great revenge killer as well.

Answer: Its stats

Because Arceus could only be acquired at level 100 in the fourth generation games, it could not actually specialize its Effort Values, or, EVs, like every other Pokémon could. It is impossible to gain EVs via battling once a Pokémon can no longer gain experience points in fourth generation games and earlier. Thus, the only way Arceus can get EVs is through the use of in-game vitamins.

Unfortunately, in-game vitamins can only grant a Pokémon 100 EVs, not the maximum 252 that a stat can possibly have for EVs.

This unfortunately meant that Arceus wasn't hitting quite as hard as it would be able to in future generations, when Pokémon at level 100 could start acquiring EVs via battling in single player battles.

Answer: Yes

Most Pokémon in general tend to have counters, so this was not really an indictment on anything particularly negative that Arceus-Normal possessed. Lugia was so absurdly bulky that it could eat hits from Arceus like nothing, phase away any boosts it may have acquired, or just use Toxic and spam recovery options until Arceus had been stalled out. Giratina-Altered could more or less achieve this as well, though it could also minimize Arceus' offensive presence with a timely Will-o-Wisp. Origin forme wasn't quite as reliable due to its lack of recovery, but it could counter Arceus-Normal at least once for sure.

Answer: Species Clause

The Species Clause makes it so that no trainer can have more than one Pokémon with the same National Pokedex number. Sure, Arceus could run any number of sets, but it's worth questioning whether, say, a Wall, a dual screens setter or an entry hazard setter role could be run better by something else, so Arceus can try for something a little more unique.

Answer: Mega Diancie

A Xerneas with Focus Blast could ward off a hasty Arceus switch in, so that Pokémon couldn't quite be countered. Mega Diancie, however, has no such coverage option, and it lacks the power to break down a Bulky Extreme Killer set. This Arceus set can boost with Swords Dance to kingdom come against Mega Diancie, then delete its team when at +6 without struggling.

Answer: Shadow Force

Shaadow Force is a two-turn charge move where the user vanishes off the battlefield on turn one, then strikes hard on turn two. Its 120 base power meant it could destroy Ghost and Psychic types that were unaware Arceus-Normal had such a move, thus immediately forcing the likes of Lugia and both Giratina formes to switch right back out if they attempted to counter it. Arceus-Normal's high Speed meant it was debatably a better user of this move than Giratina-O itself, as it could vanish off the field and avoid taking a hit completely if faster than its opponent.

Answer: Heals the user to full and removes status

This was a nice new toy for the Extreme Killer, who could afford to take a couple hits, use Normalium-Z Refresh to heal back to full, then could commence a sweep. This allowed it to circumvent Giratina formes that lacked Roar or Dragon Tail completely, as it could take a few hits from either, ignore their Will-o-Wisps, then take them down with excessively boosted Shadow Claw or Shadow Force.

Answer: Psychic Terrain

Tapu Lele, while fortunately a very rare sight in Ubers, could cut off Arceus completely by essentially rendering 90% of the meta immune to Extremespeed via Psychic Terrain. As Psychic Terrain protects grounded Pokémon from priority moves, this was a huge problem.

It was problematic enough to the point where having an allied Tapu Koko was a good idea, largely so it could replace Psychic Terrain with the far less crippling Electric Terrain. Tapu Koko's good matchup against Skarmory, Yveltal and the Giratina formes to an extent was also quite convenient for Arceus-Normal.