[OVERVIEW]
No other incarnation of Arceus fares as well when the sun is shining than He who wields the Flame Plate. Arceus-Fire's sun-boosted STAB moves reach a level of power that makes even His divine bretheren tremble in fear. The many Ubers that do not resist Fire can, at best, only endure one Fire Blast before His burning will is enforced. Ferrothorn, in particular, fears Arceus-Fire more than it does any other Arceus forme not named Arceus-Fighting. The mighty Dragon-types of Ubers must also tread carefully, as Arceus-Fire can wield a Draco Meteor of His own to great effect to cast aside many of His otherwise solid switch-ins. Even potent adversaries such as Kyogre and Ho-Oh can find it a challenging prospect to switch into Arceus-Fire if He predicts properly or if Stealth Rock is up, respectively. However, as dangerous as Arceus-Fire is in sun, He is much less useful when the heavens are opened by Kyogre, with His STAB Fire Blast being reduced to mere embers. Kyogre, and its specially defensive variant in particular, is the harbinger of doom for Arceus-Fire in other ways, as its Water-type STAB moves, good special bulk, and resistance to Fire all extinguish His potential. He is also ripped asunder by all of the very common Stealth Rock, Spikes, and Toxic Spikes. Defensively, Arceus-Fire offers teams little besides an immunity to Will-O-Wisp and very situational resistances to Fire, Grass, Ice, and Steel; He also cannot afford to run Recover, as if He does, His offensive potency is greatly limited. This all gives Him terrible staying power for an Arceus forme. While Arceus-Fire can certainly find His home on some very specific sun offense teams, His less matchup-reliant bretheren in Arceus and Arceus-Ghost are generally far more consistent offensively and more useful defensively.
[SET]
name: kinda bad but (Calm Mind)
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Draco Meteor
move 4: Grass Knot / Thunder
item: Flame Plate
ability: Multitype
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
In the sun, Fire Blast has a good chance of 2HKOing almost any Ho-Oh variant if Stealth Rock is up, is guaranteed to 2HKO any Arceus forme that doesn't resist Fire, and OHKOes even specially defensive Dialga after a boost. Despite Fire Blast's low PP and imperfect accuracy, it is preferred over Judgment for its chance to burn and Flamethrower for its superior power; Arceus-Fire will also generally not be around for long enough for the low PP to matter. Draco Meteor OHKOes Rayquaza, Latios, and Giratina-O and does significant damage to Latias after a Calm Mind boost and Stealth Rock damage. Grass Knot 2HKOes offensive Kyogre and is Arceus-Fire's best option against specially defensive Kyogre switch-ins. It also hits Tyranitar and Arceus-Rock harder than anything else Arceus-Fire can viably run. Thunder can be run instead, as it hits Kyogre just as hard and does good damage to Tentacruel while also giving more fortunate Arceus-Fire a shot at taking out Ho-Oh when rain is up, but Thunder's accuracy in the sun Arceus-Fire needs to function is terrible; it also hits less targets overall than Grass Knot.
Team Options
========
Arceus-Fire is a very high-maintenance Pokemon, so it is quite limited in terms of potential teammates. Groudon is key to Arceus-Fire's success. Not only does it offer Arceus-Fire all-important permanent sun, but it can also set Stealth Rock to chip Arceus-Fire's switch-ins into KO range. Pokemon that can deal with Kyogre, such as Palkia and Latias, are also essential. Palkia further ensures that Arceus-Fire's team is not completely useless in rain, while Latias offers a useful Ground immunity. As it cannot viably run Recover, entry hazard removal is also very useful to ensure Arceus-Fire incurs minimal residual damage. Tentacruel can be useful for this purpose while serving as another way of dealing with the rain matchup and absorbing Toxic Spikes. Choice Scarf Excadrill is an interesting option that can do excellent damage to Latias and absorb sleep from Darkrai. Xatu can discourage foes from attempting to set hazards with its Magic Bounce and pivot Arceus-Fire into play with a slow U-turn. Forretress and Cloyster can also do a serviceable job at removing hazards, although bear in mind that Cloyster offers very little defensive utility. As for other teammates, Choice Scarf Genesect appreciates Arceus-Fire's ability to deal with Dialga fairly well and can help Arceus-Fire get into play safely with U-turn. Giratina-O can check Kabutops in the event rain gets set up while also offering a Ground immunity and the ability to spinblock.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
Ice Beam is a more consistent and safer offensive option than Draco Meteor, but its damage output is underwhelming. The extra PP is also often irrelevant to Arceus-Fire's role as a wallbreaker on sun teams.
Checks and Counters
====
**Kyogre**: Kyogre is the bane of Arceus-Fire's existence. Drizzle removing sun and replacing it with rain is usually enough to severely limit Arceus-Fire for the rest of the game unless its team can get sun back up. Every Kyogre set can deal with Arceus-Fire in some way. Specially defensive Kyogre takes little damage from Arceus-Fire's coverage moves and can either phaze it or OHKO it with Scald after Stealth Rock. Choice Scarf Kyogre can revenge kill Arceus-Fire with the Water-type move of its choice. Slower offensive Kyogre sets, such as Choice Specs and Calm Mind, also check Arceus-Fire, though switching into Grass Knot or Thunder can be a tough ask.
**Water-types**: Other Water-types in Ubers are frequently paired with Kyogre, making them even more frustrating for Arceus-Fire to deal with. Every Swift Swim user in Ubers outspeeds and OHKOes Arceus-Fire in the rain. Haban Berry Palkia can switch into Arceus-Fire if it hasn't boosted, take a Draco Meteor, and OHKO it. No other Palkia set can safely switch into Arceus-Fire, though Choice Scarf Palkia can revenge kill it without issue. If Arceus-Fire is not running Thunder, Tentacruel completely walls it and uses it as setup fodder. The same goes for Manaphy, which takes very little damage from Grass Knot due to its low weight. While uncommon, Arceus-Water Speed ties with Arceus-Fire and OHKOes it in rain. It does not like coming in on Grass Knot or Thunder, however.
**Giratina**: Draco Meteor coming off unboosted Arceus-Fire fails to 2HKO even physically defensive Giratina spreads, burning valuable PP and allowing Giratina to freely use Rest. Specially defensive Giratina takes laughable damage from the move, allowing it to do as it likes. Switching into a boosted Draco Meteor is a tougher ask, however.
**Certain Choice Scarf Users**: Terrakion resists Fire Blast and has a great chance of OHKOing Arceus-Fire with Stone Edge after Stealth Rock. This also applies to Choice Scarf Excadrill, though it can't safely switch into Arceus-Fire without rain support. Genesect, while otherwise one of the worst Pokemon for dealing with Arceus-Fire one could conceive of, can sacrifice itself with Explosion to take out weakened Arceus-Fire.
**Rock-types**: If Arceus-Fire is not running Grass Knot, both Tyranitar and Arceus-Rock completely wall Arceus-Fire and severely damage it with their STAB moves. This becomes even more pronounced when sand is up thanks to the Special Defense boost both Pokemon gain from it. Grass Knot makes both Pokemon slightly worse at dealing with Arceus-Fire, but they are still only 3HKOed at best in sand.
**Heatran**: Heatran resists or is immune to all of Arceus-Fire's moves, with the exception of Thunder. This renders Arceus-Fire total setup fodder.
**Chansey and Blissey**: While not particularly common in BW Ubers, both of these Pokemon can stall out Arceus-Fire with Toxic and Seismic Toss, as they are specially bulky enough to take even sun-boosted Fire Blasts.
**Most Pokemon Under Rain**: Pokemon that Arceus-Fire would be able to easily take on in sun, such as Arceus-Steel, Dialga, and Arceus-Grass, suddenly become far more threatening to it when rain is up. Specially defensive Dialga is a great example of this, going from being OHKOed in the sun after a boost to often not even being 3HKOed in the rain after a boost. It is at least worth mentioning that Ferrothorn and Forretress will still lose to Arceus-Fire in rain, though.
[CREDITS]
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