Arceus (Pokémon)


 * }

Arceus (Japanese: アルセウス Arceus) is a Mythical Pokémon introduced in Generation IV.

While it is not known to evolve into or from any other Pokémon, it will change type when it is holding a Plate or type-specific Z-Crystal.

Like and  before it, Arceus was not officially recognized by Nintendo until February 14, 2009, the year of its debut movie. It was officially revealed to international audiences on August 3, 2009.

Arceus is known as "The Original One", as it is said that it created Sinnoh and Ransei, and possibly the entire Pokémon universe, along with the lake guardians and creation trio.

It is the trio master of both the lake guardians and the creation trio.

Biology
Arceus is a white equine resembling a or  with a gray, vertically-striated underside. The striated pattern has similar recurrences on the underside of its mane, tail, and face. Its four pointed feet are tipped with gold hooves. Its long mane juts away from its head, and its face is gray, with green eyes and red pupils, and a green circular pattern below its eyes. Arceus also has a streak of gold coloration on its head, and ears that point upward. Its neck is fairly long, with two pairs of extrusions to the sides, and a flap-like feature on the neck's underside that is colored white like much of the body. Arceus also has a golden cross-like wheel attached to its body by its round abdomen, which changes color along with its eyes and hooves based on its current type, which depends on the plate or type-specific Z-Crystal that it wields. The wheel also has four jewels attached to it. The pattern of striated gray of Arceus's underbelly resumes past Arceus's waist. Its limbs have gray undersides and extrusions at the tops of the legs. Arceus's tail is fairly like its mane in terms of shape and coloration. According to legend, it shaped the Pokémon universe using its 1000 arms.

Arceus is thought to have created the Sinnoh region and possibly the entire Pokémon world, the lake guardians, , and ; and the creation trio , , and. Because of this, Arceus is thought to be one of the most long-lived of all Pokémon species. It has the power to recreate the creation trio as well, presumably to guard the dimensions when a Trainer has caught one of them. According to the anime, its power can also bring back things that it once destroyed, make certain things vanish into thin air, or to halt time.

Arceus is shown to care for and safeguard the planet in ancient times and protected it from cataclysms such as meteors, and it would show gratitude and compassion in return to those who treated it with equal kindness. Arceus does not suffer fools gladly, and it will attack in a violent rampage if betrayed or deceived. It also holds long grudges if betrayed by those it considered friends. In Arceus and the Jewel of Life, it is said to "feed" off the energy of the elemental plates. It is the only known Pokémon that can learn.

Arceus (M12)
Arceus debuted in Arceus and the Jewel of Life. It was angry at the people of Michina Town for Damos's unwitting betrayal of it in ancient times, and so it attempted to destroy the land. When, , and Sheena were teleported by to ancient times, they directly influenced the event, changing the future for the better so that Arceus will stop its destruction.

Other
Arceus made a cameo appearance in Hoopa and the Clash of Ages. Following the devastating incident at Dahara City, Ash, his friends, Baraz, Meray, and saw it floating in the sky before it soared away.

In the movie adaptations
Arceus appears as a central character in the manga adaptation, reprising its role from the. After Arceus saved the world from a meteor, Damos took care of it. It gave Damos the Jewel of Life to make the land of Michina Town rich and fertile. Damos then "betrayed" Arceus, and it has been outraged ever since.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga
In the, Arceus appears as one of the main antagonists, where it plans on destroying humanity due to its mistrust of humans. It was the target of Team Rocket's plans to create, , and. It first appeared in With a Little Help From Hitmonchan.

In the TCG
Arceus appears in the TCG in all TCG types but TCG Dragon and TCG Fairy, and a player can have as many Arceus cards in their deck as they like, unlike all other cards in the game (besides TCG Basic Energy cards). Cards based on Arceus first appeared in the TCG Platinum: Arceus (Arceus) expansion set.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U
Arceus appears as a Poké Ball summon in game. It uses to produce a shockwave that brings opponents downwards.

Trophy information
''A Pokémon said to have hatched from an egg that appeared from nothing. Newly hatched, it created the world and the sky. Its Gravity attack will bring any fighter in midair crashing down to earth. No ground below you? Looks like you're going to go plummeting off the stage as if you'd been hit by a Meteor Smash! ''

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Arceus appears as a Pokémon summoned from the, retaining its behavior from the previous game. It also appears as a.

Pokédex entries

 * }
 * }


 * }
 * }


 * }
 * }

Game locations

 * }
 * }


 * }
 * }


 * }
 * }


 * }
 * }

Arceus was originally intended to appear in in the Hall of Origin when summoned using an event item called the Azure Flute. However, the Azure Flute was never distributed, although the text seen when receiving the 20th Anniversary Arceus states that Arceus could first be obtained in Diamond and Pearl in the Hall of Origin.

In side games



 * }
 * }


 * }
 * }


 * }
 * }

A statue of Arceus can be found in at Destiny Tower.

In events

 * }

Pokémon Global Link promotions

 * }

With a Plate equipped
With Fist Plate

With Sky Plate

With Toxic Plate

With Earth Plate

With Stone Plate

With Insect Plate

With Spooky Plate

With Iron Plate

With Flame Plate

With Splash Plate

With Meadow Plate

With Zap Plate

With Mind Plate

With Icicle Plate

With Draco Plate

With Dread Plate

Type effectiveness
For the type effectiveness when Arceus is holding a Plate, see type chart. In Generation IV, if Arceus was hacked to be, this Pokémon is damaged normally by moves of all types.

Side game data









 * }

Trivia

 * In the Generation IV games, there are sprites for ???-type Arceus, but this is not obtainable without cheating as there is no ??? Plate.
 * According to the anime dub's then-voice director Tom Wayland, the dub chose to pronounce Arceus with due to concerns over the latter pronunciation's potential  in British English-speaking territories.
 * Arceus has the highest base stat total of all Pokémon.
 * Arceus is the only Pokémon with a base stat total of 720 and the only Pokémon that is the last of its generation in National Pokédex order that does not have a base stat total of 600.
 * Arceus is the only event-exclusive trio master.
 * Arceus is also the only trio master of two different trios, being the master of both the lake guardians and the creation trio.
 * In its debut generation of Generation IV, it was impossible to legitimately give Arceus more than 100 EVs in any stat, since it was only ever distributed at level 100. Prior to Generation V, level 100 Pokémon could not gain EVs through battling since they could not gain experience.
 * Arceus is the only pre-Generation V Pokémon to never officially receive a DPBP number., which was not released as a TCG card during the DPBP era, is assumed to be #070, as and  are #069 and #071, respectively.
 * Arceus received the most votes of all pre-Generation V Pokémon in the Pokémon Global Link promotion poll in both the Japanese poll and the international (non-Japanese and non-Korean) poll.
 * Prior to Generation VII, Arceus was classified by Pokédex color sorting as gray.
 * In, Arceus can be encountered without use of the Azure Flute by a combination of Tweaking and the Pal Park Retire glitch. In addition, Arceus can be encountered an unlimited amount of times with this method, unlike and.
 * This has been remedied in, however, as the player can no longer freely move in the "void".

Origin
Arceus is particularly based on a, present in many world cultures. Arceus's stance and general form are similar to Egyptian bull and calf idols, particularly. Based on its appearance and attack movements in the 3D games, Arceus may be modeled after a or. The arc on its back may be inspired by the, or the , used to represent a concept similar to the reincarnation in.

The conception of the first god might be influenced by the gods  and, who summoned  and  to create Japan with the spear. It may also be a reference to the, a Chinese mythical creature. Its myth is nearly identical to the, found in creation myths of many cultures and civilizations. Arceus may also represent or be inspired by the, who, in , is either pictured with eleven heads and one thousand arms (the latter of which is mentioned in Arceus's Pokédex entry) or in a  (which could look similar to Normal-type Arceus).

Name origin
Arceus may be a combination of arch- (most extreme, highest), ' (a Greek word that means "ruler" or "lord"), arcanus (Latin for secret, mystery), archaic (ancient), αρχή arkhē (Greek for beginning), or archetypus (Latin for original), and ' (Latin for god). It may also derive from aureus (golden, in reference to its hooves and wheel), arc (round or ring), arcessere (Latin for to summon), or  (an aspect of the astral plane).

Related articles

 * Arceus (M12)
 * Arceus (Adventures)
 * Lake guardians
 * Creation trio