Typing:
Stats: 90 HP / 105 Attack / 130 Defense / 125 Special Attack / 65 Special Defense / 85 Speed (600 Total)
Abilities: Stamina | Sturdy | Stalwart (H)
Notable Moves:
New Move:
Electro Shot
The user gathers electricity on the first turn, boosting its Sp. Atk stat, then fires a high-voltage shot on the next turn. The shot will be fired immediately in rain.
Pros & Cons:
Pros:
- Archaludon's has a high base stat total with great physical bulk, good attacking stats, and a workable speed stat. Its Special Defense, while still not good, is at least serviceable compared to its pre-evolution and gives it more workable match-ups against certain special attackers.
- Archaludon's possesses a decent typing, granting it a good STAB combination and solid match-ups against Ogerpon, Zapdos, Slowking-Galar, Rillaboom, and Amoonguss
- Has two good abilities in Stamina and Sturdy. Stamina in particular is very useful to allow Archaludon to survive repeated hits better vs the likes of Kingambit and Ogerpon, while Sturdy can be good on lead sets.
- Good attacking coverage, with powerful STABs in Flash Cannon and Draco Meteor in addition to multiple coverage moves such as Thunderbolt, Stone Edge, Earthquake, Body Press, and Dark Pulse to hit switch-ins such as Volcarona, Gholdengo, Blissey, and Heatran.
- Strong utility options in Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave, and Roar
- Archaludon's signature move, Electro Shot, is very powerful on rain teams. Has very high base power on top of repeatedly boosting Archaludon's special attack, making it very difficult to play around when rain is active.
- Special bulk is quite low in the current metagame. Combined with its low speed and Archaludon will often be forced out by various strong special attackers such as Volcarona and Iron Valiant, giving them ample set-up oppurtunity
- Lack of recovery and vulnerability to hazards means Archaludon gets worn down extremely fast by entry hazard chip damage
- Has some 4MSS as it will not be able to cover all of Volcarona, Gholdengo, and Gliscor on the same set.
Archaludon has a few viable Tera-types that it can run viably based off its set. In most cases, it will not be a standout Tera performer, as Terastalizing eliminates the utility of its base typing and its stats aren't the best for performing a sweep. Nonethelss, it can use Tera in a pinch to emergency check various threats if needed.
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- possesses use on defensive and offensive Stealth Rock sets to block rapid spin
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- on rain sets, drastically jacks of the power of Electro Shot while maintaining your strong Zapdos MU
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- boost power of Body Press on Body Press + Iron Defense sets
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- turns weaknesses to Fighting and Ground into resistances / immunity
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- generally useful defensive typings that neutralize all weaknesses
Potential Sets:
Assault Vest:
Archaludon @ Assault Vest
Ability: Stamina
Tera Type: Fairy / Flying / Water
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 104 SpA / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt / Dark Pulse
- Body Press
An Assault Vest set is likely to be Archaludon's best set for general teams. Assault Vest patches up Archaludon's one weak area in special defense, giving it more room to get hits off against targets such as Gholdengo, Iron Valiant, and Zapdos. Archaludon's good physical bulk and stamina gives it good entry points into physical threats such as Kingambit and Ogerpon-W. From there, Archaludon can utilize its wide array of coverage to threaten various defensive cores. Draco Meteor and Flash Cannon are powerful and reliable STAB moves. Thunderbolt threatens Water and Flying-types for super effective damage without cutting into Archaludon's Special Attack like Draco Meteor does, while Dark Pulse can be used to hit Gholdengo. Body Press deals high damage to special walls such as Blissey and Ting-Lu, particularly after a Stamina boost. The EV spread gives Archaludon enough speed to outspeed uninvested Great Tusk, enough Special Attack to OHKO Raging Bolt with Draco Meteor, and enough bulk to withstand Kingambit and Ogerpon's attacks. Wish Support from Clefable and Alolamola is appreciated to keep Archaludon healthy, as is anti-entry hazard support from Terapagos and Great Tusk.
Rain Attacker:
Archaludon @ Air Balloon / Expert Belt / Leftovers
Ability: Stamina
Tera Type: Electric / Fairy / Ghost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Electro Shot
- Flash Cannon / Substitute
- Body Press / Stealth Rock / Thunder Wave
Archaludon's signature move, Electro Shot, makes it an appealing option on rain teams. Under Rain, Electro shot becomes an extremely strong 1 turn coverage move due to its high 130 base power on top of a special attack boost, which completely fries most general switch-ins to Archaludon such as Gholdengo and makes it progressively more difficult to defensively answer. Archaludon provides other valuable utilities to Rain as well. Its typing naturally matching up well vs common rain threats such as Ogerpon and Zapdos. Additionially it possesses other valuable role compression such as acting as a Stealth Rock setter. This set can run more bulk investment to better answer Ogerpon and Zapdos. Thunder Wave can cripple various switch-ins. Substitute can be used to scout switch ins and rack up more Stamina boosts
Defensive
Archaludon @ Leftovers
Ability: Stamina
Tera Type: Fairy / Fighting / Water
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Flash Cannon / Iron Defense / Protect
- Body Press
- Dragon Tail / Roar
- Substitute / Stealth Rock / Thunder Wave
Archaludon is a serviceable user of the Iron Defense + Body Press combo due to its great physical bulk, Stamina, and Toxic immunity. Stamina will progressively make it bulkier without needing to set up Iron Defenses, letting it forgo the move entirely for additional coverage or Protect. With this set, it can more reliably handle the likes of Ogerpon and Kingambit and become an OK wincon. Dragon Tail or Roar are used to phase out other Body Press setup sweepers such as Zamazenta and Garganacl. Substitute is the best option in the last slot to avoid Salt Cure chip damage and item removal from Knock Off. Archaludon can also compress other utilities such as Stealth Rock and Thunder Wave in the last slot as well.
Wish support from Clefable is appreciated to keep Archaludon healthy. Entry hazard support from Gliscor can make Archaludon's phazing capabilities even more potent.
Eject Pack Lead
Archaludon @ Eject Pack
Ability: Sturdy
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Stealth Rock
- Steel Beam / Flash Cannon
- Mirror Coat
This set is likely to not be effective in the current OU landscape due to the high volume and power level of the leads currently present, but it is a a set I see being potent in lower tiers. Archaludon can start the battle off strong by setting up Stealth Rocks and pivoting to a teammate for free with Eject Pack, similar to other Pokemon such as Great Tusk. Archaludon's Sturdy ability ensures it will not be OHKOed, letting it safely set up rocks and generate momentum, with potential utility as a sack later on. Steel Beam is the steel STAB of choice to deal high burst damage and grant another Pokemon a free switch in, similar to Draco Meteor. Mirror Coat is used in the last slot to grab surprise KOes on special attackers such as Volcarona when Archaludon is at full Health. Other options such as Dark Pulse to hit Gholdengo or Aura Sphere for Kingambit can also be used. Tera Ghost allows Archaludon to block Rapid Spin from various spinners such as Great Tusk.
Conclusion:
Archaludon is a fun addition to the Indigo Disk metagame that will find use on a certain squads due to its unique defensive profile and Stamina ability. I foresee it being a staple on Rain teams in particular due to its solid match-ups against otherwise problematic threats such as Ogerpon and Zapdos. Unfortunately, Archaludon's lack of reliable recovery and vulnerability to Spikes are significant weaknesses in a metagame where hazards are both extremely prevelant and difficult to remove, especially given that Archaludon's payoff is only "decent" compared to other options in the metagame such as Kingambit. Nonetheless, I believe Archaludon still fulfills valuable niches that few other Pokemon can replicate and will be a fun metagame presence.
Archaludon is a fun addition to the Indigo Disk metagame that will find use on a certain squads due to its unique defensive profile and Stamina ability. I foresee it being a staple on Rain teams in particular due to its solid match-ups against otherwise problematic threats such as Ogerpon and Zapdos. Unfortunately, Archaludon's lack of reliable recovery and vulnerability to Spikes are significant weaknesses in a metagame where hazards are both extremely prevelant and difficult to remove, especially given that Archaludon's payoff is only "decent" compared to other options in the metagame such as Kingambit. Nonetheless, I believe Archaludon still fulfills valuable niches that few other Pokemon can replicate and will be a fun metagame presence.
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