swords dance part taken from xy analysis by [USER=222730]PISTOLERO[/USER], so credit for that part of the analysis goes to him as I revamped will be revamping that part. the stuff in font size 1 is from his analysis, I'll revamp it later.


my sides have left the ground

Overview
########

Arceus-Ground gained new niches during the generation shift, filling a useful role on many balanced teams. With excellent bulk and typical Arceus base 120 stats, Arceus-Ground is able to excellently support his team, or threaten to sweep with a swords dance set. The most important defensive role for Arceus-Ground is to check perhaps the most threatening Pokemon in the metagame, Primal Groudon, with its super effective Ground-type Judgment. It is one of the most reliable defogger in terms of beating entry hazard users, being able to beat Klefki, Dialga, Primal Groudon, Tyranitar and Diancie among others. It can also act as a very useful Thunder Wave sponge and severely threatens Klefki, the most common user of Prankster Thunder Wave, which can ruin offensive teams otherwise. The deadly Swords Dance set has an easy time setting up against the afro-mentioned Pokemon. It has the ability to sweep trough a significant amount of Pokemon thanks to the coverage EdgeQuake provides. Its typing combined with its power makes it a great offensive check to Primal Groudon.

Arceus-Ground, particularly special sets, do have some flaws however. He finds itself having a hard time against Pokemon immune to Judgment, such as Ho-Oh and the eon twins; Yveltal does not like getting burnt but is a free switch otherwise. Ice Beam often doesn't hit hard enough, and it's switch-ins are only mildly, if at all, annoyed by Will-O-Wisp. He lacks the power to break trough specially bulky Pokemon, and has redundant synergy with Primal Groudon. Luckily, its Swords Dance set can smash some of the checks to the special set, giving Arceus-Ground a fair bit of unpredictability and very few safe switch-ins. The Calm Mind set can also beat the eon twins, but cannot do so if they carry Calm Mind. Pokemon like Choice Scarf Kyogre and Arceus-Grass are less common this generation, thus allowing Arceus-Ground to be even deadlier. Using Arceus-Ground does come with a bit of opportunity cost, as you cannot run another Arceus forme, such as Extreme Killer Arceus, or forms with Calm Mind+Refresh.



Swords Dance
########
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Recover
item: Earth Plate
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

Moves
========
Swords Dance is the move that makes this set threatening, enabling Arceus-Ground to sweep with a +2 boost in attack under its belt. Earthquake gets the STAB bonus and is what Arceus-Ground uses to hit most targets, in particular Primal-Groudon. Stone Edge hits most Pokemon that Earthquake doesn't, like Flying-types and Pokemon with the ability levitate (@gp, if "Levitators" or the like is acceptable, pls change). Recover way seem somewhat surprising on a set that is meant to sweep. It is used to give Arceus-Ground more longevity which is very useful when switching in on Pokemon like Mega Diancie and most important Primal Groudon. This way you can threaten out the opposing Pokemon when there isn't an opportunity to sweep, and make sure you can do so later.

Set Details
========
Max attack is chosen because after all the point of this set is to sweep. It needs the extra power to immediately threaten Primal-Groudon and it's also useful for doing more damage to physically bulky Pokemon like Lugia and defensive Yveltal. A Jolly nature and 252 speed ev's let Arceus outspeed the eon-twins, non-Mega Gengar and speed-tie with other max speed Arceus.

Usage Tips
========

Arceus Ground is a very threatening mid-, to late-game sweeper. Try to get it as much as possible on pokemon in threatens out so you can create ample opportunity to set up. These Pokemon are for example Steel-types like Klefki and other Pokemon weak to Ground Arceus' coverage moves. In practice there are very few reliable checks to Arceus Ground, so it's mostly a matter of creating opportunity. Recover combined with Arceus' natural bulk lets it play very offensively, but make sure to keep it at good health if you want to reliable check Primal Groudon, as even a uninvested Precipice Blades can hurt.

Team Options
========

Arceus Ground doesn't need a lot of team support, it's very deadly on its own. In fact it supports the team by checking bothersome Steel-types and Primal Groudon when you need it to. Something to absorb burns is much appreciated as Arceus Ground becomes almost useless when burnt. Arceus Ground is the most threatening when your team has Pokemon that appreciate an offensive check to Primal Groudon, such as Fairy-, and Steel-types, as well as Pokemon that suffer from opposing Steel-types. This way you can get in Arceus as much as possible.

Special
########
name: Special
move 1: Judgment
move 2: Defog / Calm Mind
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Recover
ability: Multitype
item: Earth Plate
evs: 248 HP / 84 SpA / 176 Spd
nature: Timid

Moves
========

This set takes a different approach than the Swords Dance set. The main draw is checking Primal Groudon better thanks to it havign having a lower Special Defense stat, allowing Ground Arceus to OHKO it much more often. From there on, the choice of the second move greatly alters the role Ground Arceus will fulfil. Defog is great in terms of team support as you can use Arceus to reliably remove hazards so its teammates will suffer less from them. Ground-type Judgement beats common hazards setters quite which makes this Arceus forme one of the best at this job. Calm Mind on the other hand does not aim to support the team, but sweep the opposing team instead. With a boosted Special Defense stat Ground Arceus can be surprisingly hard to take down due to the natural bulk Arceus formes possess. While it can be hard to sweep right of the bat with a few common Pokemon doing a good job of halting its sweep, this set can dent unprepared teams quite effectively. When using Defog, Ice Beam is mainly used to OHKO Mega Salamence, whereas when you choose to run Calm Mind, you will use it to hits targets Judgment cannot, such as the Lati-twins.

    Set Details

========

176 Speed ev's alongside a Timid nature are used to outspeed the Lati-twins, as well as non-Mega Gengar. Both are quite relevant as you will have a much easier time potentially out-stalling the eon twins and prevent Gengar from easily using Destiny Bond to take Ground Arceus down, forcing your opponent to make a risky prediction if they do want to attempt doing so. The Calm Mind set appreciates outspeeding the eon twins most as they are can often be a stop to the set with their good special bulk and ability to hit on the physical side with Psyshock. 248 HP ev's give Ground Arceus good all-round bulk, and the leftovers ev's are placed in Defensive to take on Primal Groudon and Mega Salamence more easily. Optional ev spreads can be used such as one with 96 Speed ev's and a Bold nature, which outspeeds Adamant non-Mega Salamence as well as a lot of Primal Groudon variants and retains more Physical bulk.


Usage Tips
========

Both sets have similar targets Ground Arceus likes to switch in on. The most relevant is Primal Groudon as you can fend it of with a powerful Judgment and attempt to use either Defog or Calm Mind. Arceus also beats most other common entry hazards setters such as Klefki, Dialga, Tyranitar and Forretress. When given a free turn, try to exert as much pressure as possible as Ground Arceus can become quite passive and easy to take advantage of otherwise. Try keeping Arceus-Ground at high health when removing hazards throughout the match is a priority. This can be the case when Ground Arceus is paired with Ho-Oh or Pokemon without means of recovery. If this is less of an issue you can play more aggressively .



Team Options
========
Pokemon that benefit from having hazards off the field such as Ho-Oh as well as those without means of recovery will apreachiate the reliable Defog support Ground Arceus can bring. Pokemon limited in their potential because of their vulnerability to Primal Groudon, notably Steel-types like Scizor, Aegislash and Klefki because they can do their job more effectively when you have a good way of dealing with Primal Groudon switch-ins. Klefki is an interesting partner, because while setting up hazards and then Defogging them away seems counter-productive, this makes it so you can set up Spikes versus certain teams, while you would rather focus on removing hazards versus others. Mega Diancie has surprisngly good synergy with Arceus-Ground, as it does well against Arceus-Ground's checks, such as Yveltal, Ho-Oh and the eon twins. Having good (offensive) means of dealing with its counters is essenital to prevent your team from becoming too passive.

Other Options
########
Both Dragon Claw and Refresh have a tiny niche on the Swords Dance set. Dragon Claw hits Giratina-O harder, and Refresh shrugs off status and lets it do better versus stall. Giving up Recover is rarely worth it though. ExtremeSpeed can finish off things that are faster, such as shaymin, darkrai and scarfers though it is rather weak. Thunder beats Ho-Oh and Kyogre and can be used to lure them quite effectively but you lose the ability to hit Salamence the the eon twins among others. Both Toxic and Will-O-Wisp are great options when using Defog as you can cripply common switch-ins effectively. Being able to hit those Pokemon makes Arceus much less passive and more effective in practice.

Checks & Counters
########
Flying-types and Levitate users that are immune to His STAB. Ho-Oh, Yveltal and the eon twins will do well versus special sets; Gliscor, Landorus-T and Giratina-O do well versus the Swords Dance set but fear the special set. The Swords Dance sets despises burn which effectively renders it useless. Bronzong and Skarmory wall both sets, they only fear getting burnt. Lugia pp stalls the Swords Dance sets out of Stone Edges and phazes/statuses special sets yet must be wary of status itself. Toxic enormously hinders Arceus' longevity as does Will-O-Wisp. Shaymin-Sky outspeeds Ground Arceus and hits it very hard with a super effective Seed Flare. Primal Kyogre takes advantage of special variants due to its great special bulk and strong super effective STAB Origin Pulse. When using Ground Arceus to check Primal Groudon, one must always be wary of the potential of a special Fire-type move which will hurt badly in harsh (desolate?) and in the case of Lava Plume Arceus risks getting burnt.


[hide=skeleton]
swords dance part taken from xy analysis by [USER=222730]PISTOLERO[/USER], so credit for that part of the analysis goes to him as I revamped will be revamping that part. the stuff in font size 1 is from his analysis, I'll revamp it later.


my sides have left the ground

Overview
########

Arceus-Ground gained new niches during the generation shift, filling a useful role on many balanced teams. With excellent bulk and typical Arceus base 120 stats, Arceus-Ground is able to excellently support His team, or threaten to sweep with a calm mind set. The most important defensive role for Arceus-Ground is to check perhaps the most threatening Pokemon in the metagame, Primal Groudon, with its super effective Ground-type Judgment. It is one of the most reliable defogger in terms of beating entry hazard users, being able to beat Klefki, Dialga, Primal Groudon, Tyranitar and Diancie among others. It can also act as a very useful Thunder Wave sponge and severely threatens Klefki, the most common user of Prankster Thunder Wave, which can ruin offensive teams otherwise. The deadly Swords Dance set has an easy time setting up against the afro-mentioned Pokemon. It has the ability to sweep trough a significant amount of Pokemon thanks to the coverage EdgeQuake provides, as well as His good defensive typing.

Arceus-Ground does have some flaws however. He finds itself having a hard time against Pokemon immune to Judgment, such as Ho-Oh and the eon twins; Yveltal does not like getting burnt but is a free switch otherwise. Ice Beam often doesn't hit hard enough, and His switch-ins are only mildly, if at all, annoyed by Will-O-Wsip. He lacks the power to break trough specially bulky Pokemon, and has redundant synergy with Primal Groudon. The great thing is, His Swords Dance set can smash some of the checks to the special set, giving Arceus-Ground a fair bit of unpredictability and very few safe switch-ins. The Calm Mind set can also beat the eon twins, but cannot do so if they carry Calm Mind. Pokemon like Choice Scarf Kyogre and Arceus-Grass are less common this generation, thus allowing Arceus-Ground to be even deadlier. Using Arceus-Ground does come with a bit of opportunity cost, as you cannot run another Arceus forme, such as Extreme Killer Arceus, or sets with Calm Mind+Refresh.



Swords Dance
########
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Recover
item: Earth Plate
nature: Jolly
evs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Spe

Moves
========

    Swords Dance is the move that makes this set
    Earthquake hits everything not immune/resistant to hit very hard
    Stone Edge nails the things eq doesnt, and gives great neutral EdgeQuake coverage
    Recover is better allows Arceus-Ground to check Pirmal Groudon throughout the match, and increases its survivability while setting up
    Ice Beam can also be used in favour of Recover as it easily breaks Gliscor and Landorus-T. You do give up a fair bit of longevity, as well as the ability to reliably check Primal Groudon.


Set Details
========

    Max HP is to reliably check Primal Groudon throughout the match; recover significantly helps with doing this. With Swords Dance, Arceus-Ground's attack already gets boosted to dangerous levels, so the extra attack isn't always needed.
    Jolly outspeeds things like latis, non-Mega Gengar, as well as speed tying with max Speed Arceus
    I'll mention some alternative spreads here with an adamant nature


Usage Tips
========

    Great late-game sweeper when checks are gone/weakened
    Great offensive check to Primal Groudon
    Recover lets it play pretty offensive, especially against team lacking status
    Try to get set up opportunities against things you scare out with EdgeQuake coverage. Arceus formes are naturally bulky, so don't be afraid to set up when given a free switch into a weaker attacker.


Team Options
========

    This mon doesn't need a whole lot of support, as it is super deadly once it gets the opportunity to set up, checks like scarfogre are uncommon in oras
    Something to absorb burns
    Things that benefit from something that can gain momentum from Primal Groudon (fairies, steels, etc)


Calm Mind
########
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Judgment
move 3: Ice beam
move 4: Recover
ability: Multitype
item: Earth Plate
evs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spd
nature: Timid

Moves
========

    Judgment is His hardest hitting move
    Ice Beam hits things Judgment doesn't, and provides decent neutral coverage
    Calm Mind is the move that lets it sweep with a few boosts under His belt, it can gain set-up opportunities fairly easily because of it's defensively useful Ground-typing.
    Recover provides longevity, and it is needed when trying to set up because it prevents Arceus-Ground from getting worn down easily.


Set Details
========

    Max Speed is chosen to outspeed most common threats, and to be as fast as possible which is nice for Calm Mind wars with opposing Arceus, as well as support sets trying to get a last-ditch status off. 176 Timid is also usable, as it still outspeeds the eon twins and is faster than non-Mega Gengar allowing you to play mind games with it. You do lose out on being to speed tie with Arceus Formes, as well as well as max Speed Mega Salamence, so you can use Ice Beam before it gets of a heavy hit.
    Max hp is chosen to ease setting up, and to maintain the ability to reliably check Pirmal Groudon. Odd HP minimizes residual damage, and the leftover ev's are placed into Special Attack as they are not useful elsewhere.


Usage Tips
========

    Because of the great bulk Arceus formes possess, Arceus-Ground has a relatively easy time setting up against special attackers.
    Even with Stealth Rock up, Ho-Oh and Lugia can easily wall this set, so unless they are dead or badly worn you will not be able to pull of a sweep if your opponent has those Pokemon. When this is the case, only use Arceus Ground to check Pokemon like Dialga, Zekrom and Primal Groudon, but do not set up early on as it is a waste of a turn.

Support
########
name: Defog
move 1: Defog
move 2: Judgment
move 3: Recover
move 4: Will-O-Wisp/Ice Beam
ability: Multitype
item: Earth Plate
evs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 124 Spd
nature: Bold

Moves
========

    Judgment is His most most powerful move, and the one that lets Him check hazard setters.
    Defog is the main move of this set. It is great for team support, and Arceus-Ground has an easy time defogging because it matches up so well versus hazard users.
    Recover is needed for longevity
    Will-O-Wisp has utility in providing passive damage on things that like to switch in on Arceus-Ground, while Ice Beam hits them for direct damage. Gliscor is the only target Ice beam hits that Will-O-Wisp doesn't.


Set Details
========

    124 spe outspeeds max speed base 90's/max speed Primal Groudon with a positive nature.
    A Bold nature alongside HP and Defense ev's maximize His physical bulk letting it check Primal Groudon and physical attackers better. Odd HP minimizes residual damage.
    16 spe outspeeds neutral natured base 90's, and means you can invest a lot more in Defense. 176 Timid outspeeds Latios and Latias, as well as non-Mega Gengar


Usage Tips
========

    Switch in on hazard users if you want to remove said hazards, particularly Primal Groudon. Arceus-Ground also has a great match-up against all hazard setters, as mentioned in the overview.
    Arceus-Ground also checks all Dialga and Zekrom variants
    Ground is a good defensive typing, allowing it to also Defog on Pokemon that don't set up hazards.
    This set is also good as spreading around status and wearing down the opposing team, which makes this set less passive.
    Try keeping Arceus-Ground at high health when removing hazards throughout the match is a priority. If this is less of an issue, you can play more aggressively with His moves, as well as with checking Primal Groudon.

Team Options
========

    Things that benefit from having hazards off the field, such as Ho-Oh and VoltTurn cores.
    Pokemon limited in their potential because of their vulnerability to Primal Groudon, notable Steel-types like Scizor, Aegislash and Klefki. Klefki is an interesting partner, because while setting up hazards and then Defogging them away seems counter-productive, this makes it so you can set up Spikes versus certain teams, while you would rather focus on removing hazards versus others.
    Mega Diancie when you are using multiple Pokemon weak to hazards. Mega Diancie has great synergy with Arceus-Ground, as it does well against Arceus-Ground's checks, such as Yveltal, Ho-Oh and the eon twins.


Other Options
########

    Both Dragon Claw and Refresh have a tiny niche on the Swords Dance set. Dragon Claw hits Giratina-O harder, and Refresh shrugs off status and lets it do better versus stall. Giving up Recover is rarely worth it though.
    ExtremeSpeed can finish off things that are faster, such as shaymin, darkrai and scarfers. It's rather weak though.
    Blizzard hits harder than Ice Beam, but is less accurate.
    Thunder beats Ho-Oh and Kyogre more easily, but makes it so that He is walled by quite a bit of stuff.
    Toxic or Thunder Wave over Will-O-Wisp/Ice beam on the support set.


Checks & Counters
########

    Flying-types and Levitate users that are immune to His STAB. Ho-Oh, Yveltal and the eon twins will do well versus special sets, Gliscor and Landorus-T do well versus the Swords Dance set. Bronzong and Skarmory wall both sets, they only fear getting burnt. Giratina phazes and burns and doesn't mind burns, gira-o checks sd well but fears the special set.
    Lugia pp stalls SD sets out of edges, and phazes/statuses special sets.
    Toxic enormously hinders longevity
    Things that hit it super effectively (skymin, kyogre)
    Burn screws SD, annoys the special sets a bit

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