Pokemon Focus: #358 - Jirachi

Introduction

I think this is a good time to cover Jirachi, considering the current event going on that is giving away these wish-makers over Wi-Fi. Jirachi is the first of the event legendaries from 3rd Gen, and that generation's resident all-base-100-stats pixie. Also like its predecessors, it is Psychic-type and has a large movepool and a matching large moveset.

Its differences? First, a great typing that removes the weaknesses usually associated with Psychic, has a massive number of resistances, and ultimately makes it only deal with two weaknesses. Second, an amazing ability that easily allows it to topple foes.

The generation shift started without a huge change in the already-excellent Jirachi, but the addition of the Platinum move tutors really threw Jirachi into the spotlight by opening up its physical movepool, particularly with the excellent (read: flinch-hax-happy) Iron Head. This pretty much doubled Jirachi's effective movesets. All-in-all, an excellent Pokemon.

Capture/Training

Thanks to recent Nintendo events, there are currently two Jirachi floating around. One is Modest, the other is Jolly; hence, one for special, one for physical. Each will have their separate movesets later on.

No evolutions.

Stats

100 HP, 100 Atk, 100 Def, 100 SpA, 100 SpD, 100 Spe

All 100s, all the time! Solid stats that give Jirachi quite some versatility.

Abilities

Serene Grace is the only ability here. Thankfully, it's a great one. With both Shaymin and Togekiss previously covered, I don't think much else needs to be said for this ability's usefulness, except for the fact that Jirachi's pet move to abuse here is Iron Head.

Moves

Well, let's start with STAB options. On physical, Iron Head and Zen Headbutt give you both power and a nice flinch-rate boosted by Serene Grace; in particular, the 60% flinch rate from Iron Head is guaranteed to be annoying. On the Special side, Psychic and Flash Cannon are classic attacks that get a small but noticeable boost from Serene Grace, now having a 20% chance of lowering Special Defense.

The rest of Jirachi's attack moveset is quite large. On the physical side, all three elemental punches (Fire Punch, Ice Punch, ThunderPunch) add a tremendous amount of coverage, and come with their increased 20% chance of their added status inflictions. Secret Power is an acceptable move, thanks to a 60% chance of an added effect (notably Paralysis). U-Turn is a useful attack in many situations. On the special side, Thunderbolt is always a great attack, while the odd Rain Dance Jirachi can abuse Thunder with its 60% paralysis rate. Shadow Ball can hit other Psychics hard, and the 40% Special Defense drop rate is great. Both Energy Ball and Grass Knot are available, the former also getting that 20% SpD drop rate. Signal Beam can catch Dark-types and other Psychics by surprise. You can even try Water Pulse for a 60% confuse rate (particularly in rain) and Ancientpower for a 20% chance of a full-stat boost. Finally, the event Jirachi come with Draco Meteor to blast away Dragons.

Doom Desire is an odd move: it gets no STAB and cannot hit anyone super-effectively; it also uses the current opponent's Special Defense regardless of who the opponent switches to later on. It's a strange move and can fit on novelty sets.

Jirachi comes with a massive list of support options. To start things off, access to Stealth Rock makes Jirachi a good choice for a lead.

Calm Mind allows Jirachi to boost its stats further, making it a dangerous offensive and defensive threat. Cosmic Power allows Jirachi to boost its defenses directly.

Wish is, in a way, Jirachi's signature move, since Jirachi was based on the classic Japanese tradition of putting "wish slips" (that's what those things on Jirachi's head are) on trees during Tanabata, as well as the worldwide tradition of wishing upon a star. That, and it's outright called the Wish Pokemon. At any rate, make a wish on Jirachi and it can heal 50% of the health of the active Pokemon, whether that be Jirachi or a teammate. This makes Jirachi a great supporter or gives it a way to heal itself. On another wish note, Healing Wish allows Jirachi to... er, go back to sleep (a.k.a. faint itself), in exchange for the next Pokemon having all its health restored.

Thunder Wave allows Jirachi to paralyze foes, which works well with Jirachi's flinch-inducing attacks. Trick is an alternate way to mess up opponents, particularly in the Battle Frontier.

Reflect and Light Screen allow Jirachi to serve as a dual-screener.

Jirachi can set up weather, most notably Rain Dance.

And, of course, Jirachi can Substitute.

Effective Movesets

(Physical)

1. Choice

- Iron Head

- Fire Punch

- Zen Headbutt/Ice Punch

- U-Turn/ThunderPunch/Trick (Frontier only)

2. Substitute + Thunder Wave

- Substitute

- Thunder Wave

- Iron Head

- Fire Punch

3. Wish Support

- Wish

- U-Turn

- Iron Head

- Thunder Wave

4. Dual Screen

- Reflect

- Light Screen

- U-Turn

- Wish

Item: Light Clay

5. Lead

- Stealth Rock

- Iron Head

- U-Turn

- Fire Punch

(Special)

6. Wish + Calm Mind

- Wish

- Calm Mind

- Psychic/Flash Cannon

- Thunderbolt

7. Calm Mind + Substitute

- Substitute

- Calm Mind

- Psychic/Flash Cannon

- Thunderbolt

8. Calm Mind Sweeper (Superachi!)

- Calm Mind

- Psychic

- Flash Cannon

- Thunderbolt

9. Rain Dance

- Rain Dance

- Psychic

- Thunder

- Wish

10. Gravity

- Gravity

- Psychic

- Wish

- U-Turn

Closing Notes

One of the most versatile Pokemon around, Jirachi is certainly the game's little superstar. Whether hitting with strong Special-oriented sets or annoying the opponent with high-Flinch-rate moves, Jirachi is set to take on pretty much any Pokemon out there.

Pokemon Focus: #59 - Arcanine

Introduction

Arcanine is yet another Pokemon we have mostly ignored until the physical/special split allowed it some firepower *cough* from its high Attack stat. Now, this Chinese-fire-tiger-dog finally has its time to shine on our main team. It always had good stats; it's the Pokemon with the highest base stat total aside from legendaries and the 600-total pseudo-legendaries. And its Special Attack is nothing to scoff at, so special and mixed movesets are still an option. It has two great abilities, too. Its moveset grew quite a bit, and it's still a great user of ExtremeSpeed, which it was the first Pokemon to get way back in Gold and Silver. Overall, it's a great Pokemon worth using.

Training

Once Growlithe evolves into Arcanine, there is no turning back, so make sure Growlithe has learned everything it needs to know before using the Fire Stone. Some possible markers include: Flamethrower at Lv. 34, Crunch at Lv. 42, Heat Wave at Lv. 45, and Flare Blitz at Lv. 48.

Stats

90 HP, 110 Atk, 80 Def, 100 SpA, 80 SpD, 95 Spe

These stats are great. Solid power and solid bulk allow Arcanine to function both as a straight-up sweeper and as a bulky sweeper.

Abilities

Arcanine has two great abilities to choose from. Flash Fire is always fun: it gives Arcanine a Fire immunity, and if you get the switch, you can then proceed to tear through the opponents with your attacks. It's great for sweeper variants.

On the other hand, Intimidate is one of the best abilities, period. Being able to drop the opponent's Attack power instantly is amazing, and works well with Arcanine's decent bulk; in particular, bulky variants of Arcanine will want this ability.

Moves

Starting with Arcanine's Fire attacks, its new Flare Blitz will be the strongest attack it has against foes. It does come with that 1/3-damage recoil, though, so watch out. Arcanine has decent enough Special Attack to make use of the standard Special options, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Heat Wave, and Overheat.

For other physical options, let's start with Arcanine's previous signature move of old times, ExtremeSpeed. The move is still great as (tied for) the strongest priority move in the game, and easily picks off weakened foes. Other physical options for coverage are Thunder Fang, Iron Head, and Crunch.

Other Special options are typically limited to Dragon Pulse (which actually works well with Arcanine's fire attacks, only having trouble with Heatran) and Hidden Power. SolarBeam is a specific option open to Arcanine on Sunny Day teams.

Arcanine has a fair amount of bulk as he is, which means the fact that he can heal himself with Morning Sun can make him even harder to take down.

Status is something else Arcanine can do, and he does it with Will-o-Wisp and Toxic.

When looking to shuffle things 'round, Roar is readily available for Arcanine's use.

Arcanine can either expect Sunny Day support, or set it up himself. Sunny Day also works in increasing the healing from Morning Sun.

Effective Movesets

1. Morning Glory

- Morning Sun

- Flare Blitz

- ExtremeSpeed

- Will-o-Wisp/Toxic/SolarBeam

Ability: Intimidate

Notes: This bulkier Arcanine dishes out damage and can take it, too. Use with sunlight support for maximum effect.

2. Physical Choice

- Flare Blitz

- ExtremeSpeed

- Thunder Fang

- Iron Head/Crunch

Item: Choice Band/Choice Scarf

3. Special Choice

- Flamethrower/Fire Blast

- Dragon Pulse

- Overheat

- ExtremeSpeed

Item: Choice Specs/Choice Scarf

4. Bulky Special Status Shuffler

- Flamethrower/Fire Blast

- Dragon Pulse

- Will-o-Wisp

- Roar

Ability: Intimidate

5. Sunny Day

- Sunny Day

- Flamethrower/Flare Blitz

- SolarBeam

- Morning Sun

Item: Heat Rock

Note: Arcanine can either abuse Sunny Day himself or provide it as support to teammates. If the latter, Heat Rock works well in tandem with Intimidate, which allows it to switch in more often to wreak its havoc. Flash Fire, on the other hand, gives a ridiculous x3.375 power boost to Fire-type moves with STAB, the Sunny Day boost, and the Flash Fire boost, making it a good option for a stand-alone Sunny Day abuser.

Closing Notes

With great all-around stats and (finally) access to powerful moves on both physical and special accounts, Arcanine is now quite a threat to deal with. Have fun with the canine of legend.

Pokemon Focus: #71 - Victreebel

Introduction

Victreebel is a Grass-type Pokemon who has struggled a bit with having the right moves for its stat distribution. Having such high Attack was okay last generation when Poison was physical, but the lack of type coverage hurt. Its Special Attack is still high enough that special attacks work, which is definitely a good thing since in the generation shift, Sludge Bomb became Special and aside from Razor Leaf, Victreebel got none of the new physical Grass moves, nor did it get Poison Jab. That has since been rectified with the addition of Leaf Blade.

Past that, though, it has some interesting options. Sunny Day is almost a given, and its strong attacking stats on both ends give it a fair amount of options to work with. Having access to Sleep Powder, the most reliable Sleep move this side of Spore/Dark Void, is also great for this Pokemon. Overall, it's a fun Pokemon to use, and should by no means be underestimated.

Capture/Training

These guys are everywhere. Just catch one.

Weepinbell, for whatever reason, learns moves at the same rate as Bellsprout. Victreebel has its movepool limited, but since Razor Leaf is Heart Scale-able, you don't need to wait too long. Ironically, the only move worth delaying Weepinbell's evolution for is Knock Off, learned at Level 27, which can be a useful support move, particularly in the Battle Tower. All-in-all, not hard to manage if you want it.

Stats

80 HP, 105 Atk, 65 Def, 100 SpA, 60 SpD, 70 Spe

Pretty good stats overall. Attacking stats are nice and high. Speed can be an issue, but Chlorophyll can resolve that.

Ability

Chlorophyll doubles Victreebel's speed in sunlight, solving its low speed issue and letting it slot nicely into Sunny Day teams.

Moves

On the physical side, Leaf Blade is the only option really worth considering, considering it has the same PP and accuracy as Seed Bomb but with more power and an increased crit rate. On the special side, the usual options are available: Energy Ball for consistency, Grass Knot to hit heavyweights, Leaf Storm to hit hard once, and, of course, SolarBeam in the sun. Remembering that Victreebel has no physical Poison moves to work with, on the special side Sludge Bomb is still quite powerful.

Going into its secondary movepool, Victreebel somehow has access to Sucker Punch. Being a priority move on par with ExtremeSpeed, it will do great damage to those who don't resist it (particularly Psychic-types) and helps compensate for its low Speed, so long as you predict an attack correctly. It doesn't have any other notable physical moves, though, other than Return. On the special side, one of Victreebel's more interesting options is Weather Ball. In sunlight, it becomes a Fire-type attack, gets the Sunlight boost, and helps take care of those Steel-types that tend to stop Victreebel in its tracks. Like its physical side, though, it doesn't have any alternate Special attacks besides Hidden Power.

Victreebel also has access to various status moves. Sleep Powder is one of the best at what it does, although Stun Spore also has its uses, particularly if you think Victreebel is moving a bit too slow. It also has Toxic and Teeter Dance.

Swords Dance is Victreebel's method of kicking up its Attack power. It also has Growth if it wants to increase its Special Attack, albeit at a slower rate. Stockpile can help with defenses.

Knock Off is a good support move, removing an item from the opponent's hands.

Victreebel can cripple opponents with Encore, as well. Gastro Acid and Worry Seed mess up Pokemon reliant on their abilities.

Synthesis gets a mention as a healing move, although Victreebel is a bit fragile to use it much.

Effective Movesets

1. Sunny Day

- Sunny Day

- SolarBeam

- Weather Ball

- Sleep Powder

Item: Life Orb/Heat Rock

2. Swords Dance

- Swords Dance

- Leaf Blade

- Sucker Punch

- Sleep Powder

3. Mixed Swords Dance

- Swords Dance

- Leaf Blade

- Sucker Punch

- Leaf Storm

Note: Differentiated from the above, as this set should not use a Sp. Atk-hindering nature, instead opting for a nature like Naughty.

4. Choice Specs

- Leaf Storm

- Sludge Bomb

- Weather Ball

- Sleep Powder

Item: Choice Specs

5. Support

- Knock Off

- Sleep Powder

- Stun Spore

- Energy Ball

Closing Notes

The generation shift was a bit slow to give Victreebel what it needed to work, but it got some good attacks and now has various ways it can mess up its opponents. Have fun with it.

Pokemon Focus: #468 - Togekiss

Introduction

Togekiss is Togetic's new evolution from 4th-generation. It represents a major jump in stats, which allow the Jubilee Pokemon to fulfill the various roles its pre-evolution could not. Serene Grace is absolutely ridiculous on Togekiss, to be sure; it has many ways of abusing the ability. It also has many other tricks up its sleeve, making it quite fun to battle with this Pokemon.

Capture/Training

Nothing really to say about capturing it; we already have one from early-game, and getting more is really just a matter of breeding.

There's a possible alternative available sometime in the future: import a Togepi from Pokemon XD. The main advantage of this is that this Togepi will have the awesome Tri Attack. Getting multiple of these Togepi is somewhat troublesome, though. Also, due to some weird glitch, Togepi actually switches ability once transferred and evolved, which means if you want Serene Grace Tri Attack Togekiss, you're going to have to live with Hustle Togepi for a bit, if that's okay with you.

Evolve Togepi via friendship to Togetic as soon as possible. Togekiss learns none of Togetic's moves, so make sure Togetic knows whatever moves you want it to know before using the Shiny Stone. Possible benchmarks include Encore at Lv. 19, Wish at Lv. 28, and Baton Pass at Lv. 42.

Stats

85 HP, 50 Atk, 95 Def, 120 SpA, 115 SpD, 80 Spe

Great stats. 120 Special Attack makes it a great attacker, while 85/95/115 defenses are very solid for taking hits. All these combine to make a very solid special attacker. Despite the low Attack, physical attacks aren't completely out of the question due to Hustle, although they are more novelty than anything.

Abilities

As mentioned briefly before, Hustle is an option, albeit a novelty one. There's no point using it without an attacking-boosting nature, as the boost is too low, but at the same time there's no point putting Aura Sphere and a high Special Attack to waste, either, so go mixed if using this strategy. Aerial Ace helps alleviate the 80% accuracy woes, while ExtremeSpeed remains the physical move of choice for getting the jump on opponents.

Serene Grace, though, is the real winner here. With access to STAB Air Slash, Togekiss has a 60% chance of flinching an opponent, which works incredibly well with paralysis. It also has all sorts of other moves that benefit, including various standard moves whose normal 10% effect chances double to a respectable 20%.

Moves

Air Slash is Togekiss's most well-known move. Decent power boosted by STAB, a relatively reliable 95% accuracy, and most importantly, a 60% flinch rate designed to annoy opponents to no end all make it Togekiss's most common and useful attack, and can be found on almost every competitive Togekiss in existence. As it stands, there are extremely few special Normal attacks, with the only really notable one being the aforementioned Tri Attack. It won't be seen much due to how hard it is to obtain, as well as not being strictly necessary on its own; however, as mentioned in the Porygon-Z article, it is one of my favorite moves; it also gets STAB, and its secondary effect, which is cool as it is, becomes truly awesome with Serene Grace making the opponent suffer some kind of debilitating status 40% of the time.

Physical moves, as mentioned before, are not out of the question. That said, there are two kinds of physical moves: those to be used with Hustle and those to be used with Serene Grace solely for their secondary effects. Of the former, the best bets are ExtremeSpeed for that first strike and Aerial Ace to take advantage of its perfect accuracy. Of the latter, the most notable moves are those that cause paralysis, as they have an advantage over Thunder Wave in being able to hit Ground-types and Volt Absorbers. The ideal choice is Body Slam; however, that is a 3rd-gen move tutor move and isn't readily available. The alternative, Secret Power, is plenty good on its own, with a 60% chance of all sorts of secondary effects, paralysis being the most common.

Togekiss has an absolutely humongous secondary attack movepool. The most notable move is Aura Sphere. It combines extremely well with Air Slash, as the two together are unresisted by all Pokemon not named Zapdos or Rotom. The fact that it always hits makes it invaluable in-game, as well as on Hustle Togekiss. Water Pulse has a 40% chance of confusion, which means, if you can pull it off, you could potentially have a paralyzed and confused Pokemon, at which point Air Slash means it will be attacking a grand total of 15% of the time. Ouch. Somewhat impractical, but fun if you can pull it off. Shadow Ball is a solid move on its own, has perfect coverage with Aura Sphere, and comes with a 40% chance of a Special Defense drop. Psychic-type moves are available if you want them; Psychic has a 20% chance of a SpD drop, while Extrasensory has a 20% flinch rate. Both Flamethrower and Fire Blast are solid Fire-type attacks that have great coverage and a 20% chance of burning an opponent; your choice depends on whether you want power or accuracy If 2vs2 is a concern, Heat Wave is a third option in this vein. Grass Knot might not have any cool secondary effects to go with it, but it is unrivaled in its ability to take down heavyweights. Togekiss is one of the few Pokemon to have access to all three "stat-super-boost" moves: Ancientpower, Silver Wind, and Ominous Wind. With Serene Grace, it has a 20% chance of all its stats getting boosted, which is nothing to scoff at.

One other move worth consideration is Snore. Normally not suggested due to its low power, it does have worth on Togekiss with its 60% flinch rate, meaning there's a decent chance the opponent won't be able to do anything to Togekiss while it's resting, and even if it does, STAB and 120 base Special Attack means it will still leave a dent.

Thunder Wave will likely be the status of choice for Togekiss, as Paraflinch is as effective of a strategy as ever. Yawn is more for switch-forcing. Encore is yet another fun way to wreak havoc on opponents.

Healing is appreciated on a Pokemon like Togekiss, who can take a few attacks. Ideally, Roost would be used for its instant healing and the ability to temporarily shed Flying-type weaknesses. However, obtaining Roost can be difficult since it's a one-time TM and can't be bred onto Togepi. Wish is an acceptable alternative in this case. Wish can also be used for team support. Speaking of such, it can also use Heal Bell for similar clerical support.

With some Egg Move support, Togekiss can go down the dark road of Nasty Plotting. Even better, it can then Baton Pass those plots to a teammate.

Light Screen, Reflect, and Safeguard are all available for additional team support. It can even set up Sunny Day and Rain Dance.

Of course, Substitute is always an option.

Effective Movesets

1. Paraflinch

- Thunder Wave

- Air Slash

- Aura Sphere

- Secret Power

Note: A few moves can go in the last slot; I went with a move that can paralyze Ground-types and other Thunder Wave-immune folks. After paralyzing, go to town with Air Slash. Should be fun, albeit annoying if used against humans. You know, for the other human. Computer characters won't care.

2. Nasty Plot Sweeper

- Nasty Plot

- Air Slash

- Aura Sphere

- Shadow Ball

3. Nasty Plot Baton Passer

- Nasty Plot

- Air Slash

- Encore

- Baton Pass

4. Choice

- Air Slash

- Aura Sphere

- Tri Attack

- Flamethrower

5. Encore Wish Support

- Encore

- Wish

- Air Slash

- Thunder Wave

6. Ancientpower SubPasser

- Ancientpower

- Baton Pass

- Encore

- Substitute

Note: A variant on Baton Passing. Set up a Sub, encore a harmless move, and start using Ancientpower in the hopes you get a full stat boost. Once you get it, pass it off to a teammate. Any teammate. Potentially deadly.

7. Mixed Sweeper

- ExtremeSpeed

- Aerial Ace

- Aura Sphere

- Shadow Ball

Ability: Hustle

Note: The rare Hustle Togekiss. Sort of a gimmick, but it could work.

8. ...

- (a move)

- (another move)

- (a move that works well with one of the above two moves)

- (a good move of any sort)

Note: ...and that pretty much describes Togekiss. So many moves, so many options, just pick some and go.

Closing Notes

Togekiss is a real step up from Togetic. Being able to run so many effective sets is no joke. It's one of the most fun Pokemon to play as, for sure, and you're sure to enjoy the ride on the Jubilee Pokemon.

Pokemon Focus: #445 - Garchomp

Introduction

By now, everyone knows about Garchomp: it was the non-Uber that was banished into Ubers because it was just too strong. Not like Wobbuffet, who was just cheap, or any of the actual Ubers whose base stats are just too high for standard competition. It's more comparable to Latios, really, who has been decided to be unsuitable for standard play even without his signature Soul Dew item, as well as possibly Shaymin's Sky Forme. (As of this writing, his sister Latias is undergoing strict crutiny over possibly having the same fate.)

So, why Garchomp? Quite simply, it was just too strong. Its stats are in just the right place for it to be effective, and with the right combination of items and moves, it is near unstoppable. Not that it can't be stopped at all, but it was so powerful that at one point, pretty much every team needed Garchomp, some Garchomp supporters, and a Garchomp counter. It was just that good.

What about in-game, then? Well, there is only one thing to say there: Cynthia's Garchomp. It's one of the most difficult Pokemon to take down, even with a somewhat subpar moveset. It is powerful and can knock out your entire team if you can't handle it. (And in the anime, it does just that to Paul... without him even getting a hit back.) Lance's Garchomp in his rematch could easily be a similar contender, so watch out there.

Quite simply, Garchomp is powerful. Almost too powerful. Does such a Pokemon have a place in our more-focused-on-personal-favorites team? Maybe not, but hey; it's a killer land shark that looks like someone put torpedoes on a jet plane. Tell me that's not cool.

Capture/Training

It's another Safari Zone Pokemon. With the additional difficulty of properly leveling blocks up while day-abusing, it might be easier to just have one transferred over from Diamond.

Gible evolves into Gabite at Level 24, and into Garchomp at Level 48. You may want to delay Gible's evolution three levels to learn Dragon Claw first, but definitely evolve Gabite at the first chance, as Dragon Rush isn't that good and Garchomp learns Crunch right at the evolution point.

Stats

108 HP, 130 Atk, 95 Def, 80 SpA, 85 SpD, 102 Spe

These stats are arguably placed right where they need to be. Plenty of Attack power, great Speed, and great defensive stats as well. Garchomp is, for all it is concerned with, set to sweep its way past any Pokemon in the game.

With that said, there's pretty much no doubt Garchomp wants as much in Attack and Speed as it can get. Although 80 SpA is workable, if you really want.

Ability

Sand Veil is Garchomp's only ability. It will only come into play during a sandstorm, but that 20% evasion increase could very well mean the difference between an Ice Beam knocking Garchomp out and Garchomp Outraging the opponent out first. Definitely consider pairing Garchomp with Tyranitar (or Hippowdon) to take advantage of this ability.

Moves

Well, let's start with the obvious offensive physical moves: Earthquake and Outrage and/or Dragon Claw (the latter being far less powerful but without the locking/confusion drawbacks; it's not at all a bad idea to run both, in fact). The two have great coverage on their own, only really running into trouble when faced with Skarmory, levitating Steels, or Shedinja. There really isn't much else to throw on there. A gimmick mixed set can run Draco Meteor.

It's not like Garchomp has much in the way of secondary moves, either. Crunch isn't a bad option at all, and might give you a surprise hit on Bronzong. Stone Edge can nail Skarmory for extra damage, and hits other Flyers that Earthquake can't reach hard. Both Steels can be hit really hard by Fire Fang, though the move is otherwise rather weak. (However, it does manage to break past Wonder Guard regardless of type, so you could use it to beat random WonderTombs.) Past that, though, you just have Aqua Tail for neutral coverage with Outrage/Dragon Claw, which combined with Earthquake, only leaves Shedinja to deal with.

Fire Blast is an option over Fire Fang to hit Ground-immune Steels hard, as well. Whatever Garchomp is lacking in special attack power is often made up by Fire Blast's high Base 120 power and the fact that many of its targets have lower Special Defense than Defense. That's really it from its special movepool, though; unlike many of its fellow pseudo-Ubers, Garchomp wasn't really ever meant to use a mixed set.

Garchomp's support moves aren't much, either. Just Swords Dance, Toxic, and Substitute, really. However, Swords Dance is often all you need to absolutely demolish a team.

Effective Movesets

1. Choice

- Outrage

- Earthquake

- Dragon Claw

- Crunch/Stone Edge

Item: Choice Scarf/Choice Band

Note: With a Choice Scarf, Garchomp serves well as a revenge-killer. With a Choice Band, he works well as an offensive force that can still outpace many slower foes. The fourth slot can go to whichever secondary attack you want.

2. Swords Dance

- Swords Dance

- Outrage/Dragon Claw

- Earthquake

- Crunch/Stone Edge/Fire Fang

Item: Life Orb/Yache Berry

Note: Yache Berry gets a mention for one thing it notably does: keep Ice Shard users from knocking it out prematurely. That can often mean the difference between victory and defeat.

3. Mixed

- Outrage

- Earthquake

- Fire Blast/Fire Fang

- Draco Meteor

4. SubSalac (Battle Frontier only)

- Substitute

- Swords Dance

- Dragon Claw/Outrage

- Earthquake

Item: Salac Berry

Note: Nothing says "sweep" quite like this set. Make sure Garchomp's HP will be divisible by 4 after the level adjustment.

Closing Notes

Garchomp so far has the fewest effective movesets of all our main team Pokemon. However, it is arguably one of the best at what it does: absolutely demolish opposing teams. There's a reason it was banned in standard play, after all.

Pokemon Focus: #493 - Arceus

Introduction

It was only a matter of time before we covered Arceus, currently the true deity of Pokemon. Regardless of whether the religious implications of such are good or not, one thing's for sure: Arceus is powerful. Really powerful. Do not ever take it lightly.

Capture/Training

Arceus has yet to be given out at any U.S. event. Stay tuned for developments, though.

One thing about Arceus is that it is captured at Level 100. On one hand, that means no need to train it. On the other hand, that limits its EV training; it can only use vitamins, and as such can only get 100 in any stat. This does rather limit its potential in any actual battling environment, but in-game, there still won't be anything that can stand up to it.

Stay tuned, though. If anything so much as a Level 99 one becomes available in the future, you can guarantee the destruction of all around it.

Stats

120 HP, 120 Atk, 120 Def, 120 SpA, 120 SpD, 120 Spe

Yeah, deadly stats across the board. The only-100-EVs-in-any-one-stat thing keeps those stats from reaching their full potential, though. Still quite powerful. How you want to distribute those vitamins is up to you.

Ability

Multitype is Arceus's little trick. Give it a Plate, and it immediately becomes the Plate's type. This gives Arceus much variety as to what it can assume. It also makes Arceus the only Pokemon that can become a somewhat-stable pure-Flying type...

Moves

With so many types Arceus can assume, it's hard to say there is a "primary" move type for it to use. There is, however, Judgment. This move assumes the same type as Arceus's plate, and by consequence, Arceus himself. This has two benefits: because it matches the plate type, it gets the 20% bonus from the plate, and because it matches Arceus, it gets a STAB bonus as well. Expect Judgment to be an extremely powerful attack in whatever type you have it as.

As for physical moves, its primary "attack" will be whichever of the following attacks match its type. Normal obviously gets Return, but you'll also love ExtremeSpeed and its priority-hitting powers. Arceus can also get Waterfall and Aqua Tail for Water needs. Ice? Play around with Avalanche. Fighting? Smack enemies around with a Brick Break. Poison? Try Poison Jab. Ground? Did you really think it wouldn't get Earthquake? Flying? Well, Arceus can Fly, and considering it isn't entering any competitive environment anytime soon, it'll do just fine in-game. Psychic? Use Zen Headbutt. Bug? I'd like an explanation for how Arceus can use X-Scissor, but I'm not likely to get one, so... enjoy it. Rock? Stone Edge away. Ghost? You can go for Shadow Claw, or even Shadow Force if you get the one that comes with the giveaway. Dragon? Go for reliability with Dragon Claw, or hit hard with Outrage. Dark? Hit stat-boosters hard with Punishment. Steel? Iron Head for reliability, Iron Tail for power. No good physical moves exist for Fire, Electric, or Grass, though.

For Arceus, secondary attacks are, well, secondary to whatever type Judgment is. Here is the full list of choices. If you really want a Normal special attack, Hyper Voice is available. Fire? Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Overheat, or Heat Wave in doubles. Water? Surf. Electric? Thunderbolt or Thunder in rain. Grass? Energy Ball or Grass Knot, or SolarBeam in sunlight. Ice? Ice Beam or Blizzard in hail. Fighting? You'll have to make do with Focus Blast. Poison? Sludge Bomb. Ground? Earth Power. Psychic? Self-explanatory. Bug? You'll have to make do with Signal Beam. Rock? AncientPower will have to suffice. Ghost? Shadow Ball away. Dragon? Dragon Pulse and Draco Meteor are available readily, or you can get the giveaway Arceus and use Spatial Rend. Dark? Dark Pulse. Steel? Flash Cannon.

With so many attack options as it is, it's crazy to think Arceus might have other attacks to use, but it does have one more: Seismic Toss is great for when nothing else really works. Expect it to land a 100-HP hit without fail (except against Ghost types, that is).

From here, Arceus also has a large list of support moves. Recover is a good move to have, restoring half of its health with no drawbacks.

Arceus has a few ways of powering itself up. Calm Mind is its main source of Special power, while access to Swords Dance allows it to quickly power up its Attack power. Cosmic Power works on the defensive side, making Arceus near-impossible to take down.

Arceus can team-support with Gravity, which opens up the use of its less accurate attacks as well. It also supports with Light Screen and Reflect. It also has Sunny Day and Rain Dance for support options, though they are somewhat redundant in Uber battling with Groudon and Kyogre around.

Perish Song can mess up opponents nicely. Stealth Rock is a fun move to have. Magic Coat forces certain moves back to opponents, namely status moves and stat drops.

All your standard status moves are out there: Toxic, Thunder Wave, and Will-o-Wisp.


Protect and Substitute have their uses, as always.

Effective Movesets


1. All-Purpose Arceus (Special Attacker)

- Judgment
- Ice Beam/Psychic
- Thunderbolt/Energy Ball
- Earth Power/Flamethrower/Calm Mind

Note: The idea here is to use the ever-reliable BoltBeam strategy to hit most foes when your Judgment type doesn't work. Earth Power hits two of the main Pokemon that resist BoltBeam, Magnezone and Lanturn, whereas Flamethrower hits Magnezone and also Shedinja, and is arguably the better choice is the Judgment type is already good at hitting Lanturn. If your Judgment type hits Shedinja, or you're not too worried about it, go ahead and use Earth Power. If you're not worried about any of the three particularly, you can use Calm Mind to just power up. If using Ice- or Electric- Arceus, go ahead and replace the corresponding move with the slashed move; it will help cover the weaknesses of that type.

2. Normal: Extreme Killer
- Swords Dance
- ExtremeSpeed
- Earthquake
- Shadow Claw/Judgment
Item: Silk Scarf/Life Orb
Note: This is an example of a workable Normal Arceus, showing Arceus doesn't need to assume any other type.

3. Fire: Sunny Day
- Judgment
- Solarbeam
- Recover
- Draco Meteor/Sunny Day
Note: Fire Arceus works best in the sunlight. If you can't provide your own, try to have a teammate set it up.

4. Water: Rain Dance
- Judgment
- Thunder
- Waterfall
- Recover/ExtremeSpeed/Dragon Claw
Note: Similar idea here as above, but with rain instead of sun. You can go a BoltBeam route, but this set is designed to differentiate itself from Kyogre: it can use both special and physical moves, and has the option of a Water/Normal or Water/Dragon combo on the physical side that is nearly unresisted.

5. Electric: Mixed BoltBeam
- Judgment
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- ExtremeSpeed
Note: A different take on BoltBeam. Use ExtremeSpeed to pick off opponents, or to potentially hurt Blissey.

6. Grass
- Judgment
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power/Thunderbolt/Calm Mind
- Recover

7. Ice
- Judgment
- Thunderbolt
- Earth Power
- Recover

8. Fighting
- Judgment
- Shadow Ball/Dark Pulse
- Recover
- Brick Break
Note: Judgment+Shadow Ball is completely unresisted, while the Pokemon that resist Judgment+Dark Pulse are few and far between (think Heracross).

9. Poison
- Judgment
- Flamethrower/Fire Blast
- Recover
- Calm Mind
Note: Poison is a hard type to use, but it works pretty well defensively against Fighting-types.

10. Ground: Mixed Edgequake
- Judgment
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance/Recover

11. Flying: The only pure Flyer
- Judgment
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
- Recover

12. Psychic
- Judgment
- Will-o-Wisp
- Ice Beam
- Recover
Note: You want something to differentiate this Psychic-type from practically every other psychic Uber? How about access to Will-o-Wisp to cripple Pursuiters?

13. Bug
- Judgment
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Calm Mind

14. Rock: Mixed
- Judgment
- Ice Beam
- Stone Edge
- Recover
Note: There are really few special Rock attackers (to say nothing of the lack of actual special Rock attacks worth a dime), so this could be an interesting change of pace.

15. Ghost: Mixed
- Judgment
- Shadow Claw
- Brick Break
- Swords Dance
Note: More mixed fun. Nothing resists Ghost+Fighting, by the way.

16. Dragon: Mono-Attacker
- Judgment/Dragon Claw
- Recover
- Calm Mind/Swords Dance
- Substitute
Note: Dragon is probably the only type that could viably run a mono-attack set. Steel-types can give trouble, but few will have a good way of forcing Arceus out anyways, and can be beat after multiple stat-ups.

17. Dark: Punisher
- Judgment
- Punishment
- Psychic/Focus Blast/Brick Break
- Recover

18. Steel: Defensive
- Judgment
- Earth Power
- Recover
- Calm Mind

Closing Notes

There are way too many more possible sets Arceus can run than just the above; they just give a few examples of its sheer versatility. It truly is the Omega Pokemon, in that regard.

Pokemon Teams

The Main Team

Abomasnow
Absol
Ampharos
Arcanine
Arceus
Azelf
Blastoise
Blaziken
Breloom
Celebi
Claydol
Clefable
Dragonite
Empoleon
Espeon
Feraligatr
Flygon
Froslass
Gallade
Garchomp
Gardevoir
Gengar
Glaceon
Gliscor
Gyarados
Heracross
Houndoom
Jirachi
Jolteon
Kingdra
Lanturn
Lapras
Latias
Leafeon
Lucario
Magnezone
Mamoswine
Manaphy
Marowak
Metagross
Mew
Miltank
Ninetales
Porygon-Z
Roserade
Rotom
Salamence
Sceptile
Scizor
Shaymin
Skarmory
Staraptor
Starmie
Swampert
Togekiss
Tyranitar
Vaporeon
Venusaur
Victreebel
Yanmega

Honorary Members:
Crobat (The Rev) - Resident Flyer
Butterfree - Utility Status/Item Finder

Secondary Main Team


Aerodactyl
Aggron
Altaria
Ambipom
Azumarill
Bellossom
Blissey
Bronzong
Chimecho
Cresselia
Crobat
Dialga
Donphan
Drapion
Drifblim
Dugtrio
Dusknoir
Electivire
Electrode
Exeggutor
Floatzel
Forretress
Giratina
Gorebyss
Groudon
Heatran
Hitmonchan
Hitmonlee
Hitmontop
Ho-oh
Honchkrow
Infernape
Jumpluff
Kabutops
Kyogre
Latios
Ludicolo
Lugia
Lunatone
Machamp
Magmortar
Mantine
Medicham
Meganium
Mesprit
Mismagius
Mr. Mime
Nidoking
Nidoqueen
Ninjask
Omastar
Palkia
Pikachu
Porygon2
Quagsire
Raikou
Rayquaza
Rhyperior
Skuntank
Slowbro
Slowking
Smeargle
Snorlax
Solrock
Spiritomb
Steelix
Sudowoodo
Suicune
Swellow
Tangrowth
Tentacruel
Torterra
Toxicroak
Typhlosion
Umbreon
Ursaring
Uxie
Walrein
Weavile
Weezing
Zapdos

Honorary Members:
Golduck (Shiny)