FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Quiz about Competitive Pokemon History  ArceusDragon
Quiz about Competitive Pokemon History  ArceusDragon

Competitive Pokemon History - Arceus-Dragon Quiz


Invigorated by the blood of dragons, the Creator appears in His draconic awe, ready to savagely destroy the competitive scene. See if you know how it did exactly that on this quiz based on generations 4-7.

A multiple-choice quiz by cavalier87. Estimated time: 6 mins.
  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Quizzes
  4. »
  5. Video Game Trivia
  6. »
  7. Pokemon Games
  8. »
  9. Competitive Pokemon History A-K

Author
cavalier87
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
402,909
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
75
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. Arceus-Dragon's most common set in fourth generation Ubers was a mono-attacking Calm Mind set. The set functioned mostly the same as its Dark type counterpart. However, unlike Arceus-Dark, Arceus-Dragon had to make use of Substitute instead of Refresh, whereas the choice between the two was mostly optional for the Dark type variant. Why was Substitute mandatory for Arceus-Dragon's Calm Mind sets? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. On paper, a Swords Dance sweeping set on Arceus-Dragon seems entirely outclassed by Rayquaza in the fourth generation. Rayquaza has higher attacking stats, which makes using Arceus-Dragon instead seem questionable. However, Arceus-Dragon had a few tricks up its sleeve that gave it reason to be used. Which of the following is one of the advantages Arceus-Dragon had over Rayquaza? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Most Pokémon in general have counters or, opposing Pokémon who can reliably switch in and defeat the target. Did Arceus-Dragon have any such assailants in the fourth generation?


Question 4 of 10
4. In a tier littered full of strong physical powerhouses and other brutalizing Arceus formes, Arceus-Dragon still managed to stand out wonderfully in fifth generation Ubers. Which of the following was a claim that it could make that made it so deadly in the tier? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Arceus-Dragon, like many other formes of Arceus, experienced a significant buff in the fifth generation. Which of the following was improved considerably in the transition over from the fourth generation? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. In the sixth generation, all of the momentum Arceus-Dragon had accumulated came to a grinding halt, and it took significant steps backward in terms of its viability. Why was this? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. In time, a new niche in the sixth generation was discovered for Arceus-Dragon: Defog support forme. The forme looks completely outclassed by its Water type counterpart, but at a second glance, it has one important niche that makes it worth using over Arceus-Water. What niche is this? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. At first glance, Arceus-Dragon is just another support forme of Arceus that has to quiver in its boots at the thought of a Gothitelle coming in to trap it. While this is generally the case, Arceus-Dragon has an option from within its movepool that can enable it to disrupt a trapping attempt. As Palkia's signature move, this move's viability was bolstered significantly because of this fact. What move was this? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. While it had been known as a fire-n-forget nuking powerhouse up until the sixth generation, Arceus-Dragon's Swords Dance set finally deteriorated to the point of being fully unviable in the seventh generation. Which of the following is one of the reasons for this? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Ultimately, was Arceus-Dragon viable in seventh generation Ubers?



(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

arrow Select a User ID:
arrow Choose a Password:
arrow Your Email:




Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Arceus-Dragon's most common set in fourth generation Ubers was a mono-attacking Calm Mind set. The set functioned mostly the same as its Dark type counterpart. However, unlike Arceus-Dark, Arceus-Dragon had to make use of Substitute instead of Refresh, whereas the choice between the two was mostly optional for the Dark type variant. Why was Substitute mandatory for Arceus-Dragon's Calm Mind sets?

Answer: In order to protect itself from faster Dragon types

With Substitute, Arceus-Dragon could deter speedier Dragon types, like Garchomp and the Lati twins, from switching into it as soon as it boosted with Calm Mind and immediately forcing it out. When behind a Substitute, Arceus-Dragon will be able to force Garchomp to switch right back out lest it pointlessly get OHKOed by Judgment.

The Lati twins can survive a single Judgment, but they will still take tons of damage in exchange for simply destroying Arceus-Dragon's Substitute, which is not a beneficial trade. Thus, Arceus-Dragon can deter the opposing trainer from getting aggressive with these Dragons with timely use of Substitute. Refresh cannot do this, making it mostly outclassed by Substitute.
2. On paper, a Swords Dance sweeping set on Arceus-Dragon seems entirely outclassed by Rayquaza in the fourth generation. Rayquaza has higher attacking stats, which makes using Arceus-Dragon instead seem questionable. However, Arceus-Dragon had a few tricks up its sleeve that gave it reason to be used. Which of the following is one of the advantages Arceus-Dragon had over Rayquaza?

Answer: Higher bulk

In terms of relevant movepool options, Arceus-Dragon and Rayquaza had mostly the same exact ones for their Swords Dance sets, so Arceus-Dragon's movepool didn't really distinguish itself here. Arceus-Dragon had far superior bulk, and instant recovery in Recover to back that up.

This helped protect Arceus-Dragon from revenge killers for the most part. The same Gengar's Icy Wind that OHKOes Rayquaza doesn't come close to 2HKOing Arceus-Dragon, for example. Arceus-Dragon can easily survive a Dragon Pulse from Giratina-Origin, while Rayquaza comes nowhere close. Higher bulk led to more opportunities for Arceus-Dragon to set up with Swords Dance, and also made it more self sufficient as well.

This clearly made Arceus-Dragon worth using in the role.
3. Most Pokémon in general have counters or, opposing Pokémon who can reliably switch in and defeat the target. Did Arceus-Dragon have any such assailants in the fourth generation?

Answer: No

Like most offensive Dragon types, switching into Arceus-Dragon carries large inherent risk. However, Steel types will also fail to defensively counter it despite resisting Dragon. Arceus-Dragon can run Earthquake to ensure Heatran and Dialga cannot accomplish this feat, while Overheat will make short work of Skarmory, Scizor and Metagross. Even Lugia can be felled by a couple of boosted attacks if it takes Stealth Rock damage on the way in. Unlike with Rayquaza, Lugia cannot simply click Ice Beam and wipe Arceus-Dragon away either due to its higher bulk and only 2x weakness to the move, juxtaposed to Rayquaza's 4x weakness. Thus, more caution is needed in order to deal with Arceus-Dragon. Due to the existence of faster Dragon types, it can be checked however.
4. In a tier littered full of strong physical powerhouses and other brutalizing Arceus formes, Arceus-Dragon still managed to stand out wonderfully in fifth generation Ubers. Which of the following was a claim that it could make that made it so deadly in the tier?

Answer: Strongest Arceus forme in the game

Draco Plate, STAB boosted Outrages were so devastatingly strong that even Steel types which resisted the move struggled to switch in effectively. No other Arceus forme boasted this raw amount of power, be it a Swords Dance or a Calm Mind forme of Arceus. Thus, Arceus-Dragon's niche in fifth generation Ubers was clear; come in, boost with Swords Dance, click Outrage and watch the opponent's team get blasted to smithereens.

It wasn't necessarily the best forme of Arceus, as it faced plenty of stiff competition for that claim, but it boasted the most raw power out of all of them, easily giving it a niche and strong overall bid for viability.
5. Arceus-Dragon, like many other formes of Arceus, experienced a significant buff in the fifth generation. Which of the following was improved considerably in the transition over from the fourth generation?

Answer: Stats

In the fourth generation, it was only legally possible to acquire Arceus at level 100. In this generation, a Pokémon cannot gain EVs if it cannot also earn experience points by winning a battle, which a level 100 Pokémon cannot do. Vitamins that bolster EVs, such as Carbos, can only be used to grant a Pokémon up to 100 EVs, rather than the maximum 252. For as strong as all Arceus formes were, their power was being hindered by this mechanic; instead of the maximum 252 Attack or Special Attack EVs, they all had to settle for a meager 100.

This was also the case for their bulk and speed. In the fifth generation, even level 100 Pokémon could now earn EVs, enabling trainers to properly specialize an Arceus forme's EVs and maximize its offenses, bulk or speed accordingly with what the trainer wanted their Arceus forme to be able to do. Thus, Arceus-Dragon's offenses and speed experienced hefty buffs.

These buffs enabled it to maximize its Speed EVs to outspeed previously faster Dragons, namely Garchomp and the Lati twins, and eliminate them with a super effective attack before they could act in kind.

This clearly was a major buff and contributed to Arceus-Dragon's rise in viability.
6. In the sixth generation, all of the momentum Arceus-Dragon had accumulated came to a grinding halt, and it took significant steps backward in terms of its viability. Why was this?

Answer: Introduction of the Fairy type

Fairies were immune to Dragon type moves, while also being able to hit them back super effectively with their own STAB. Brainlessly clicking Outrage thus no longer boasted the unbelievable potential to level an entire opposing team that it once did, as a timely Fairy type switch in would block this completely. Arceus-Dragon's Calm Mind sets were also now obsolete, as they were totally walled by Fairies and overrun by the best of them, namely Xerneas and Arceus' own Fairy type forme. Becoming more one dimensional severely hindered Arceus-Dragon's own viability, though if a player wanted to meticulously work on removing opposing Fairies from play, it could still function as a deadly late game cleaner.

It was no longer as fire-n-forget as it once was, however.
7. In time, a new niche in the sixth generation was discovered for Arceus-Dragon: Defog support forme. The forme looks completely outclassed by its Water type counterpart, but at a second glance, it has one important niche that makes it worth using over Arceus-Water. What niche is this?

Answer: Movepool compression

In dedicating one lone moveslot to Judgment, Arceus-Dragon can break Ho-Oh's Substitute, threaten Primal Groudon, thwart Mega Salamence and Rayquaza in one single moveset. In order to do the same, Arceus-Water must dedicate two moveslots to its own Judgment as well as Ice Beam.

This extra moveslot gives Arceus-Dragon room to further support its team, possibly including Toxic or Will-o-Wisp to help spread status, or even possibly Tailwind to support its team. This gave it a clear niche that worked well on balanced builds, particularly those built around Hex variants of Mega Gengar that could take advantage of the status it spread around, or slow sweepers such as Calm Mind variants of Primal Kyogre or Swords Dance variants of Primal Groudon.
8. At first glance, Arceus-Dragon is just another support forme of Arceus that has to quiver in its boots at the thought of a Gothitelle coming in to trap it. While this is generally the case, Arceus-Dragon has an option from within its movepool that can enable it to disrupt a trapping attempt. As Palkia's signature move, this move's viability was bolstered significantly because of this fact. What move was this?

Answer: Spacial Rend

Spacial Rend's high critical hit rate would not only ignore Gothitelle's Confides, which progressively diminish Arceus-Dragon's ability to actually threaten it, but also cleanly 2HKO Gothitelle if the first Spacial Rend was fired off unhindered by Confide, and the second one was the one that hit critically.

As Gothitelle would take a very long time to eventually stall Arceus-Dragon out of PP, Spacial Rend's naturally high critical hit chance makes this an actual, feasible scenario. This gave Arceus-Dragon a minor, but existent and appreciable niche over other support formes of Arceus.
9. While it had been known as a fire-n-forget nuking powerhouse up until the sixth generation, Arceus-Dragon's Swords Dance set finally deteriorated to the point of being fully unviable in the seventh generation. Which of the following is one of the reasons for this?

Answer: It was simply outclassed

The introduction of Z-Moves meant that just about every other Swords Dance forme of Arceus had nuking potential. None of them enabled dangerous Fairy types to switch in for free like Arceus-Dragon did. Attempting to have these Fairies removed before sending out Arceus-Dragon was reasonable in the sixth generation.

In the seventh however, even more deadly Fairy types were introduced to the game, and the overall value of Arceus-Dragon's strong Outrages was hindered when considering other Arceus formes can boast similar nuking power thanks to Z-Moves.

This set was ultimately wholly outclassed by Arceus-Ground and Arceus-Ghost, who had better two move coverage, could afford to run Recover to give themselves more longevity, could heavily and reliably threaten opposing Pokémon which resisted their STAB, and simply matched up better against the overall meta.

It was also heavily contested by Extreme Killer Arceus along with non-Arceus formes such as Rayquaza, to the point where it was not worth using anymore.
10. Ultimately, was Arceus-Dragon viable in seventh generation Ubers?

Answer: Yes

Arceus-Dragon was definitely at its low point here, but it was still somewhat worth using in a support capacity. Occasionally being able to escape Gothitelle while boasting effective movepool compression were nice traits for a support forme of Arceus.

However, because of the severe competition it encountered from other formes of Arceus, namely Water, Dark, Fairy, Ground amongst others, it generally was a pretty rare sight for the average Ubers team. Its talents were very specific and not always appreciable.

It was definitely viable, but the average trainer would have to be building a very specific team to want to include Arceus-Dragon onto it.
Source: Author cavalier87

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor kyleisalive before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
3/29/2024, Copyright 2024 FunTrivia, Inc. - Report an Error / Contact Us