What is a good moveset for Archeops?

Question

If you have a good competitive moveset for Archeops, post an answer below and upvote the best ones. Movesets for its pre-evolutions, if any, can also be shared on this thread.

Be sure to include full set details in your post, e.g. items, abilities, natures and EVs. Some detail, including the intended game mode for your set, is also appreciated. Access the full list of guidelines here.

Archeops Pokédex and learnset for reference.

Answer 1

Archeops is a beast, and the main point of Archeops is the hit hard, and hit fast.

Archeops @ Flying Gem
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Acrobatics
- Steel Wing / U-Turn
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake

Acrobatics - STAB and Flying Gem Boost = App. 124 Base Power (The Flying Gem activates before the move is used, so that's how you get the boost. After the Flying Gem is used up, Archeops can still hit hard with Acrobatics)

Steel Wing / U-Turn = 70 Base Power (Though it's not much, steel wing can sometimes boost your defence, and U-turn can make for a quick exit)

Rock Slide - STAB = App. 113 Base Attack (Great move, and will often make the target(s) flinch, since Archeops is likely to go first. Also a great help against ice types)

Earthquake - 100 Base Power (How does a bird create an earthquake I do not know, but this move is awesome with Archeops. Great type coverage: Steel, Electric, and Rock. Three opponents of Archeops.

Hope this helps!

Comments

This is a great moveset

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Amazing move set just saying acrobatics is not base 124 with flying gem an stab. Really it's 55X2 so 110 then for flying gem it's 110X 1.5=165 then with stab 165X1.5=247.5so that is pretty powerful.

Answer 2

OMG YES. DEFEATIST. WE HAVE A COUNTER TO YOU NOW!

Archeops (M) @ Flying Gem

Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SpA)

• Acrobatics
• Stone Edge
• Earthquake
• Roost

Roost. -Screams for joy-

Comments

You know that Archeops can only learn roost in Black and White 2?

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Yeah, and since many battles take place on online battle simulators, we have access to Black and White 2 moves.

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But that only works for online battle simulators or not?

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Exactly. The main point of these movesets. They are for use in Battle Simulators such as Pokemon Showdown! and Pokemon Online.

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Ok I didn't you because I'm new here as you can see and thank you for telling me.

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I don't know about it Mew. He has pretty low defenses, most Pokemon with lower him down to at least half HP in 1 hit.

Answer 3

Archeops (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Aerial Ace

Answer 4

Let's see if we can get a good Mixed set out of this prehistoric monster...

Archeops (M) @ Flying Gem
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 16 Atk / 240 SAtk / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature (+Spe, -Def)
- Acrobatics
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Evs make each Attack stat 319. That's pretty good. Acrobatics is a given STAB, and with the Flying Gem, it takes out bulky Fighting types like Conkeldurr easy. Rock Slide is also STAB, and also covers Ice weakness, which is pretty nifty. Earthquake is AWESOME, and covers other Rock types, along with Electric and Steel types. HP Grass completes this prehistoric monster by covering levitating Rock types, and covering Water types. Also covers Ground types in case of Gravity and if this guy survives Smack Down. You gotta admit, this set is pretty unexpected...

Answer 5

Role: Physical Sweeper

Archeops @ Life Orb
Ability: Defeatist (Yeah nice name, we have to defeat this ability)
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide / Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Roost

Explanation: Rock Slide/Stone Edge for STAB and depends on which one you prefer: lower power, chance to flinch or higher power, increased critical hit ratio but lower accuracy and PP. Crunch is for coverage and its power is decent (BP 80) and covers Ghost and Psychic, while Earthquake has high power and covers Poison, Rock, Steel, Fire and Electric types. Roost is there to recover health, especially when considering Archeops' ability. However, this moveset doesn't have a Flying type move since all Flying type moves Archeops can learn have a maximum of BP 60, which isn't particularly high (since Acrobatics only doubles to 110 when there isn't a held item) so perhaps you may want to remove Crunch (which is simply to cover more types) for a Flying type move like Aerial Ace. Powerful Physical Flying type moves like Brave Bird can't be learned be Archeops, if I'm not mistaken.

Role: Physical Sweeper

Archeops @ Flying Gem
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SpA)
- Acrobatics
- Rock Slide / Stone Edge
- U-Turn
- Earthquake

Explanation: This is a moveset I have seen very commonly amongst the answers, and I agree something like this, with a little variation, is good too. Acrobatics, as a lot of the answers have mentioned, will get STAB and power boost from Flying Gem (activates before using the move) as well as a BP of 110 since there is technically no item, which all adds up to an impressive BP of 247 (math calculated by Carver47). Even after the gem is consumed, Acrobatics gets a BP 110 since Archeops no longer holds any items, which can be both good and bad. Rock Slide/Stone Edge is STAB and depends on your preference: lower BP with chance to flinch or higher BP, lower accuracy and heightened critical hit ratio. U-Turn to make a quick getaway as well as coverage (against Grass, Psychic and Dark) and Earthquake for coverage as well (against Poison, Rock, Steel, Fire and Electric).

Answer 6

Archeops (F) @ Choice Band
Trait: Defeatist
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- U-Turn

Stone Edge gives a nice 150 base power on top of Archeops' 568 attack stat with choice band (!!!)
Earthquake gives nice coverage.
Dragon Claw is there for dragon that think they can come in and start boosting with dragon dance and get away with it.
U-Turn is nice scouting, it gives some coverage as well.

Comments

Don't you think that you should have a flying type move?

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Flying is unnecessary STAB for this guy.

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Acrobatics is nice but a bit questionable on a choice set.

Answer 7

My fav RU attacker is right here! he does kinda suck, but with a good set, he can shine!

Archeops @ Flying Gem
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Head Smash
- Acrobatics
- Earthquake
- U-Turn

Simple, yet effective, and super effective! He can pick his move of choice to hopefully OHKO the opponent. If he doesn't OHKO them, then he maims them for life! Head Smash is STAB and hits like a freight train. Anything that does not resist it dies. Acrobatics is also STAb and BAWS with the flying gem. Earthquake completes the EdgeQuake set. U-Turn is for scouting and hitting a lot of stuff really hard.

Answer 8

Little Cup moveset for Archen. :)

Archen @ Leftovers
Trait: Defeatist
252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
Pluck
Rock Slide
U-Turn
Attract/Knock Off

Pluck is great in LC, as you may know. U-Turn gets it away from Defensive Walls, Rock Slide is STAB, and I figured Attract could buy it some time to get around Defeatist, especially when coupled with the wonderful item Leftovers.
I might post a Tailwind set later. :)

Comments

Little cup? Do you mean archen?

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A) EVs are different in LC

B) Archeops cannot compete in LC

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*facepalm* sorry guys, I meant Archen.
And WTH do you mean about the EVs?

Answer 9

Mixed Archeops

Archeops @ Flying Gem
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 172 Atk / 80 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Acrobatics
- Earthquake / Earth Power / Focus Blast
- Stone Edge
- Heat Wave / Hidden Power Ice

Answer 10

Thanks to Archeops ability, once this thing gets below half HP its Attack + Special Attack stats are cut in half meaning it's left useless for the rest of the battle. This set is a PokeBank OU set. If Archeops got any other ability other than Defeatist it would be all over the place with it's immense 140 base Attack stat along with 112 base Special Attack and 110 base Speed which are certainly not bad.

Archeops @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Head Smash / U-Turn
- Heat Wave

Because Flying Gem is currently unavailable in Gen VI I have given it a Scarf, which isn't too bad anyway although the Flying Gem + Acrobatics combination is Archeops best bet. With this he plays a 'Hit + Run' style game as you switch/U-Turn into something that threatens you after dishing out hits. Unfortunately this set doesn't feature a Flying type move, this is because it can't take advantage of Acrobatics the best one turn Flying type attack it learns, you could run Sitrus Berry and hope you can get passed half your HP so you're intact with the 140 Attack avoiding Defeatist but that is very risky and you'll find Archeops a waste on your team. And yes you can carry Roost and Sitrus Berry but let's not forget how frail Archeops is with its poor HP and Defensive stats. You probably won't survive with more than half your HP from any one none resisted hit.

You need the Choice Scarf to ensure that you are out-speeding any none Scarfer on their team as you want to avoid taking hits or your Attack will be reduced to an average 70 base. Naive Nature to take advantage of its Special Attack stat. This set runs the Edge-Quake combination giving it nice coverage and a STAB Stone Edge. Head Smash is completely overkill, however it contributes towards losing his health activating Defeatist but the combination of the 140 base Attack stat and Head Smash's 150 base power it is going to OHKO anything not resisting it. Or you can use Archeops as a scout and leave dents on the opponent with U-Turn if you don't like the recoil. Heat Wave may seem weird but it helps with Pokemon such as Ferrothorn, Foretress and even things like Scizor.

Unfortunately for Archeops its ability is what kills it and ultimately a Pokemon like Aerodactyl another Flying/Rock type has access to a Mega evolution and doesn't have awful abilities such as Defeatist which definitely doesn't help. I don't think Roost is a viable option with Archeops as you're not going to get the chance to safely Roost a lot and priority Aqua Jets and Bullet Punches from Azumarill, Scizor & Lucario respectively are too common and too much of a problem. I guess with this set you just have to know how and when to use it. High risk high reward.

Answer 11

I believe Archeops is highly underrated. It has a 567 base stat for goodness sake. Here's a Physical Attacker Set.

Archeops @ Flying Gem
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Acrobatics
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- U-Turn / Aerial Ace / Ancient Power

Acrobatics: STAB, boosted by Flying Gem
Stone Edge: STAB and Power, covers Ice weakness
Earthquake: Power, covers Rock, Steel and Electric weaknesses
U-Turn / Aerial Ace / Ancient Power: All depends on if you want another STAB move, or to get out quickly

Overall, Archeops is a beast. He can smash anything when used properly. Highly underrated.

Answer 12

alright, this thing basically has no chance so your only hope is to try to get it as fast as possible

Gen 7

Archeops @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Rock Slide
- Thrash
- U-Turn

Answer 13

Archeops is pure strategy, having insane offensive stats and great speed, but mediocre defenses. I have a TROLL counter for Defeatist. Take a look:

Archeops @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpA
Lonely Nature
- Hone Claws
- Stone Edge
- Acrobatics
- Dragon Pulse

Hone Claws: Atk boost, and helps Stone Edge
Stone Edge: Can't use Head Smash because of Defeatist
Acrobatics: After WP it becomes a BEAST move
Dragon Pulse: Special coverage move

Weakness Policy is my troll counter. If you take a super-effective hit Weakness Policy activates (Negating the effects of Defeatist), and it's bulky enough to survive a non-super-effective hit and sweep.

With so much defeatist counters, it doesn't really have a disadvantage XD
Enjoy Trolling XD

Answer 14

Archeops @ Aguav Berry
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Head Smash
- Acrobatics
- Crunch
Earthquake=Obvious Good Damage.
Head Smash=Obvious stab+plus good damage,beware of recoil though.
Acrobatics=Flying stab and 110 Power after Aguav berry is consumed.
Crunch=Good coverage.
Aguav Berry will most likely heal you to over half due to Archeops' low defenses.But it's high speed almost always ensures the first hit.
You go first,use Said Moves for damage,most likely get them under half,they hit you,you go under half but Aguav berry activates,you are faster again and then take them out.
I see a lot of people go for Flying Gem but Aguav Berry really just helps put Archeops' back on the damaging field.But you can go for Flying Gem if you feel like it too of course.

Answer 15

Archeops @ Power Herb
Ancient birb is M A D
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid / Modest Nature
• Meteor Beam
• Air Slash
• Ancient Power
• Earth Power

Answer 16

Gen 8 PU

Archeops @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Dual Wingbeat
- Hone Claws
- Roost

Heavy Duty Boots is to keep Archeops from getting chip damaged by Stealth Rock. Stone Edge is STAB. Dual Wingbeat is STAB that hits twice. Hone Claws is to boost your attack and accuracy. Roost is for healing and helps Archeops stay out of the Defeatist range. You can use this under dual screens to help you set up.

Answer 17

Archeops (M) @ Flying Gem
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Stone Edge / Rock Slide
- Acrobatics
- Earthquake
- Roost
Analysis
Flying Gem makes Acrobatics even stronger.
Defeatist is a god awful ability that halves your Attack and Special Attack when your HP falls under 50%. Roost is there to counter it.
EVs are for sweeping and lets you OHKO and outspeed.

Stone Edge is extremely strong with 100 BP but it only has 5 PP (8 max) and a 20% chance to miss so go with Rock Slide if you want more accuracy in sacrifice for power.
Acrobatics is boosted by the Flying Gem and STAB so you get the most use out of it.
Earthquake counters your weakness to Electric, Rock and Steel and is coverage.
Roost brings you back over 50% health so your Attack is back to normal. This is EXTREMELY important.

Answer 18

Gen 6 NU

Archeops @ Power Herb
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sky Attack
- Earthquake
- Acrobatics
- Roost

Sky Attack is ridicously high STAB coming off a base 140 attack, and can be executed in one turn thanks to Power Herb. Earthquake is for coverage. Arcobatics is for flying STAB that has double power once you consume your Power Herb. Roost is for healing and helps you to stay out of the Defeatist range.

Answer 19

Gen 8 SwSh Monotype (Rock)

Archeops @ Focus Sash
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 HP / 0 Def / 0 SpD
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
- Endeavor
- Knock Off

This is the Stealth Rock Lead set used on Rock HO in SS Monotype. At first glance, Aerodactyl might seem like the better option due to its higher speed tier, but that's the only thing Aerodactyl has over Archeops. Having access to Endeavor and Knock Off are the things Archeops has to offer. This makes lead Archeops less passive. The set is pretty simple. Taunt stops Pokemon who are slower than you from setting up Stealth Rock on your side. Stealth Rock allows you to setup your own rocks. Endeavor allows you to chip opposing Pokemon and works well considering you have a Focus Sash, along with 0 HP, Defense, and Special Defense EVs to help you get to 1 HP. Knock Off provides great utility by removing items from opposing Pokemon.

Answer 20

Archeops @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 SpD
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge / Rock Slide
- Dual Wingbeat / Fly
- U-Turn
- Dragon Claw / Crunch / Earthquake / Shadow Claw / Zen Headbutt

Archeops is... not great. The only good way to use it is to hit hard, hit fast, and get out. Choice Scarf goes very nicely with Archeops. Stone Edge or Rock Slide for STAB, same with Dual Wingbeat and Fly. U-Turn to get out. Then one attack of your choice for coverage.