Archeops
PvE Analysis
Poor, poor Archeops. We all had such high hopes for you, but Niantic saw things quite differently.
Archeops has a fantastic attack stat, but a terribly awkward moveset. Its Fast and Charged Moves have little to no synergy, and its charged moves in particular are fairly mediocre to poor in the PvE metagame. Archeops had the potential to soar leagues ahead of anything else as a Flying Type attacker, and/or sit just a tiny bit below Rampardos as a Rock Type attacker, but instead it's relegated to the "coulda-been-great" corner of the room. Archeops' only real hope for the future lies in a move rebalance.
Best PvE Offensive Moveset
Wing Attack + (Any) | Best |
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- Wing Attack slightly edges out Steel Wing on offense due to STAB.
- Dragon Claw gives Archeops its highest possible neutral damage, and is narrowly resisted as well. That said; Archeops is not a good Dragon Type attacker.
- Ancient Power has STAB, but is slow enough that it's a tiny bit worse than Dragon Claw in practice. That said, it can be paired with Wing Attack if you need to take down Bug-types... but why would you?
- Crunch. Yeah, only consider this if you need something weak to Steel or Flying and Dark.
Best PvE Defensive Moveset
Steel Wing + (Any) | Best |
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- Steel Wing is the stronger attack in a neutral matchup, though Wing Attack offers stronger coverage.
- Dragon Claw is narrowly resisted and hits common Dragon attackers for Super Effective damage.
- Ancient Power is largely on a par with Dragon Claw thanks to STAB, and has its own set of great coverage.
- Crunch hits a few big names hard, like Metagross.
PvP Analysis
Wing Attack + Dragon Claw and Crunch | Best |
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Wing Attack is recommended due to its superior energy generation, in addition to benefiting from STAB. Steel Wing lacks STAB and is slow on energy gains.
Dragon Claw costs the least amount of energy, can be used frequently, and can possibly bait shields. Crunch is an efficient Dark-type move, but is not very relevant for Archeops. Ancient Power benefits from STAB, but is not really viable following its nerf from the April 2020 rebalance.
Great League | 1 / 5 |
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With the fragility rivaling that of Haunter's, Archeops is a very risky pick in PvP. Access to a modestly decent moveset is not enough to justify its use in the meta, with losses against most meta-relevant Pokemon. Its very high ATK stat results in short and quick fights, though it gains surprising wins against certain Grass-types and Pokemon weak to Rock-type attacks like Alolan Marowak or Altaria. Considering the rarity of obtaining Archeon and the candy needed to prepare it for PvP, this is probably a Pokemon that's passable. | |
Ultra League | 1 / 5 |
Archeops doesn't have the bulk for Ultra League, and its typing and coverage aren't exactly the most valuable for this league either. Wins against certain meta/anti-meta Pokemon in this league largely are based off its powerful fast move damage, with additional wins gained versus certain fragile Pokemon weak to Rock-type attacks. | |
Master League | 0 / 5 |
With a max CP of 3766, Archeops isn't exactly flexing on anyone with its stats. Poor bulk inferior to that of Darkrai's makes it unappealing to use, while its moveset is also not very relevant for this league's meta. |