Arceus (Pokémon)

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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, Arceus's allows it to change its type and form 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.
 is featured prominently in as the game's titular character and plays a major role in its plot.
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 , as well as the Pokémon of Myth: , , and . In the past, it was worshipped by the Celestica people under the name "almighty Sinnoh" (Japanese: シンオウさま Shin'ou-sama).
==Biology==
In its form, Arceus is a white, equine with an androgynous appearance. It resembles a or with a gray, vertically striated underside. The striated pattern also appears 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, red pupils, and a green circular pattern below its eyes. Arceus also has a streak of gold coloration on its head, which 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. The wheel also has four jewels attached to it. The pattern of striated gray of Arceus's underbelly continues past its waist. Its limbs have gray undersides and extrusions at the tops of the legs. Arceus's tail is similar to its mane in terms of shape and coloration. Despite its quadruped appearance, Arceus is capable of flight.
According to legend, it shaped the Pokémon universe using its 1,000 arms. Arceus has been referred to as "The Original One" in myths and legends and is generally considered one of the strongest Pokémon. Arceus is believed to be the creator of the Sinnoh and Ransei regions and possibly the entire Pokémon universe, along with the lake guardians: , , and , as well as the Pokémon of Myth: , , and . Because of this, Arceus is thought to be one of the longest-lived Pokémon species. It has the power to recreate the Pokémon of Myth as well, presumably to guard the dimensions when a Trainer has caught one of them. In Arceus and the Jewel of Life, Arceus is portrayed as having powers such as bringing back things that it once destroyed, making certain things vanish into thin air, halting time, and overturning the very laws of nature. In the same movie, it is said to "feed" off the energy of its Plates. 
Arceus does not suffer fools gladly and will attack in a violent rampage if betrayed or deceived. It also holds long grudges if betrayed by those it considered friends. In Hoopa and the Clash of Ages, it was shown to be able to stop the destruction caused by a space-time void. As shown in the episode Showdown at the Gates of Warp!, Arceus has the power to not only calm Dialga and Palkia, but also destroy the Red Chain controlling them. It can release that disintegrate the landscape around it. Arceus can change its type at will to adapt to a situation through the use of its Plates or type-specific Z-Crystals. Arceus also has the power to split in two, creating a piece of itself to exist outside of its realm, which is implied to be its physical form—only a piece of its whole being—while its true form is unknown and incomprehensible.
Arceus was known to care for and safeguard the planet in ancient times, protecting the world from cataclysms such as meteors, and it would show gratitude and compassion to those who treated it with kindness. In modern times, Arceus continues to watch over the world and wishes for people and Pokémon to work together in the face of adversity. Even when it is needed, it only gives hints on how to solve problems instead of directly interfering. Arceus can also give its blessing to other Pokémon through bolts of light, making them bigger and more powerful, as seen with the ancient hero's 10 Pokémon companions. This blessing is also passed down through family lines, as seen with the descendants of the hero's Pokémon: the noble Pokémon and worshipped by the people of Hisui. 
In , Arceus transformed a normal cellphone into an Arc Phone, a device that allows humans to communicate with it through text messages. Arceus also has the power to appear in dreams and create a variety of Pokémon to serve as challenges, as seen in Eternal Battle Reverie. In , through the sync stones ultimate, Arceus can give its blessing to a it deems worthy, transforming their outfits into costumes known as arc suits. As a result, their sync pair is blessed as well, granting them a over their normal sync move. In Arceus and the Jewel of Life, using its Earth, Splash, Meadow, Zap, and Draco Plates, Arceus created the Jewel of Life, a powerful artifact capable of turning a desolate land into a rich and fertile one. 
As seen in the introduction sequence of , Arceus resides in a realm beyond time and space. There, it appears as a large amount of golden light shaped like the silhouette of its normal appearance. This is supposedly its true form. It was also shown to be capable of human speech, stating that "Arceus" is simply the name humans call it. The first ancient inhabitants of the Hisui region, the Celestica people, worshipped it, referring to it as "almighty Sinnoh", "great Sinnoh", and "might of Sinnoh", with the term "Sinnoh" later on becoming the name of the region. The Diamond Clan and Pearl Clan also worship it, though they mistook and respectively for Arceus. In ancient myths, it is said that the Origin Ore, an ore of mysterious power, contains the power of Arceus itself. In Alola, Arceus was used by the Aether Foundation as the inspiration during the Beast killer project to create the artificial Pokémon named , with an similar to Arceus's. However, the project was deemed a failure and was later abandoned, sealing Type: Full's ability with a control helmet, which caused it to devolve and be renamed .
Arceus is the only known Pokémon capable of learning the move . It is also able to use charged-up versions of the Pokémon of Myth's signature moves (, and ), as seen in its boss battle in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Additionally, Arceus is the only known Pokémon that can have as an Ability.
===Forms===
Arceus has eighteen different forms, one for each type.
Thanks to its Ability, Arceus is capable of changing its form and type according to the Plate or type-specific Z-Crystal that it wields; its eyes, underbelly, face, hooves, snout, and cross-like wheel all change color to match its current type.
					
					
					
==Game data==
===NPC appearances===
* : Arceus appears when Dark Matter begins trying to take the Tree of Life to the sun, leading the other Pokémon in attempting to stop its ascent. He is able to telepathically reach the player thanks to and transports them to the Tree of Life's roots to confront Dark Matter. When Dark Matter regenerates itself and sends out a massive shockwave, Arceus and the other Legendary Pokémon gathered to stop the Tree of Life are immediately turned to stone. After Dark Matter is defeated, Arceus will remain at the top of .
* : is the titular character of the game. It sends the player character back in time to the Hisui region and gives them the mission of seeking out all Pokémon in Hisui. Throughout the game, Arceus occasionally communicates with and assists the player via the Arc Phone.
* : While not physically seen, Arceus plays a notable role during the eponymously named Arceus Arc as the creator of sync stones ultimate. Asking the people of Pasio demonstrate their bond with their Pokémon to it, Arceus grants sync pairs holding sync stones ultimate new costumes dubbed arc suits if the aforementioned bond is strong enough.
===Pokédex entries===
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===Game locations===
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The Hall of Origin event in originally existed in , but the required Azure Flute in Generation IV was an event item that 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====
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A statue of Arceus can be found in at .
====In events====
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====Pokémon Global Link promotions====
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===Held items===
===Stats===
====Base stats====
====Pokéathlon stats====
=====No Plate equipped=====
=====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.
===Learnset===
====By leveling up====
====By TM====
====By ====
===Side game data===
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===Form data===
Arceus has multiple different forms that it switches between with its Ability , with each of its forms having a different type. In total, it has eighteen different forms, one for each type. Though most of its forms were introduced in Generation IV, its form was introduced in Generation VI, along with the Fairy type as a whole.
By default, Arceus is in its form. If it holds (or, in , is exposed to) a Plate or type-specific Z-Crystal, it changes its form to be the same type as the type the Plate or Z-Crystal corresponds to.
In games besides , Arceus's signature move is Normal-type by default, but changes to match the type of the Plate that it holds (being unaffected by Z-Crystals). In Legends: Arceus, the type of Judgment is directly determined by Arceus's form, such that its type always matches that of Arceus; additionally, Arceus can change its form during a using the Legend Plate. After being exposed to the Legend Plate, it will be in its Normal-type form by default and change its form before using to have a type advantage over the target, which also changes Judgment's type to match Arceus's. When determining the type that it changes into, any double weaknesses that the target may have are prioritized, followed by a type that resists the target's primary type (prioritizing immunities), then a type that resists the target's secondary type (again prioritizing immunities); if multiple types are equally valid, one of them is chosen at random. Arceus reverts to its Normal-type form when the battle ends. If Arceus is deposited into while in any of its alternate forms, it reverts to its Normal-type form; if it is under the effects of the Legend Plate when deposited into HOME, these effects wear off.
In addition to its changing type, Arceus's Pokéathlon performance differs depending on its form, and it can only learn from a Move Tutor while in its form (though it can learn it via TM in any form).
In the Generation IV games, there is an unused Arceus, but it cannot be legitimately obtained in the games, as there is no ???-type Plate. Due to how its Ability would automatically turn any Arceus without a Plate into a Normal-type Pokémon in Generation IV, a ???-type Arceus hacked into the game will be treated as Normal-type. This form was removed in Generation V due to the removal of the ??? type.
Prior to , Arceus's alternate forms were not registered separately in the Pokédex.
					
					
					
===Evolution data===
===Sprites===
==In animation==
===Main series===
====Major appearances====
=====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 world. 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 appeared 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.
Arceus appeared in Pokémon: The Arceus Chronicles, where it and the assisted Ash and his friends in stopping a rampaging that had engulfed the Flame Plate acquired by Team Galactic with its Ability.
====Minor appearances====
Arceus made its animated series debut as a silhouette in Showdown at the Gates of Warp!. It was called upon by Ash, his friends, their alternate world counterparts, and the people in both of their worlds to help stop and 's fight and destroy the Red Chain that was forcing them to battle.
Arceus Fire Type.png| Arceus
Arceus Ghost Type.png| Arceus
Arceus Water Type.png| Arceus
===GOTCHA!===
An Arceus briefly appeared as a silhouette in GOTCHA!.
==In the manga==
===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.
===Pokémon Adventures===
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 s but and . Cards based on Arceus first appeared in the expansion set, which were printed with a rule that allows players to have as many Arceus cards in their deck as they like.
==Other appearances==
===Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U===
Arceus appears as a summon where it uses to produce a shockwave that brings opponents downwards.
====Trophy information====
Arceus appears as a trophy in both versions.
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 Poké Ball, retaining its behavior from the previous game. It also appears as a .
==Trivia==
* Arceus was designed by Takao Unno.Creator profile on Takao Unno in the Pokémon Trading Card Game Illustration Collection, p. 182: "He has created the designs for Garchomp, Croagunk, Arceus and others." (archive)
* Arceus has the highest base stat total of all Normal-type .
* In 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 because 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 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 the 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".
* Arceus is the first Mythical Pokémon to be obtainable in-game in the core series without an event more than once.
* According to the 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.
** This pronunciation is also reflected in the name of the Ability RKS System.
* Ever since Arceus's debut, certain aspects of the Pokémon series have made use of its iconography.
** In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, the Space Globe (Japanese: じくうのオーブ Space-Time Orb) is an item that described as the ultimate globe that holds the power to pass through space and time. It resembles Arceus's attached wheel and can be found on a statue of Arceus.
** According to and ’s Pokédex entries, Arceus served as the inspiration for the , which is Silvally’s signature Ability. It allows Silvally to change its type when holding a Memory of any kind, which is similar to how Arceus’s allows Arceus to change type when holding a Plate or a type-specific Z-Crystal.
*** Arceus and Silvally have similar colorations, swapping their usual white to a light gold.
** The name of the Ability RKS System is a reference to Arceus, with its English name being similar to the pronunciation of "Arceus". In , , , and , its name is instead a reference to Arceus's , the Alpha Pokémon.
*** The company (Japanese: アルセウス Arceus Pharma) in Galar has a logo similar to the rings on Arceus's body, furthering the connection.
* Despite being a Mythical Pokémon, Arceus has been sometimes treated as a Legendary Pokémon.
** Arceus is called a Legendary Pokémon by in the "Challenge the Normal Types" Daily Type Rotation event of .
** The official English website of used to refer to Arceus as a Legendary Pokémon, which was later corrected to Mythical Pokémon as of September 28, 2021.Archive of Pokémon Legends: Arceus official website (August 18, 2021; September 28, 2021) In the Japanese website, it has been referred to as a Mythical Pokémon from the beginning.Pokémon LEGENDS アルセウス
* While using the Legend Plate, Arceus will never transform back into the type, as nothing is weak to Normal.
* Arceus is the only Pokémon to make the introduction for a core series game.
* In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Arceus's summary will say it was met at the Temple of Sinnoh, despite being fought and obtained in the Hall of Origin.
* The origin mark for Legends: Arceus and the symbols for the expansion and the expansion resemble Arceus's rings.
* Arceus's form is the only Pokémon introduced after Generation IV to exist in .
===Origin===
Arceus appears to be particularly based on a , present in many world cultures. Arceus's stance and general form are similar to Egyptian bovine idols— particularly —but its general anatomy may also be similar to equine idols. Based on its appearance and attack movements in the 3D games, Arceus may be modeled after ordinary creatures—such as those from the , or families—or fantastical and mythical creatures—such as the polymeliac and , the , or the .
The arc on its back may be inspired by the , or the , used to represent a concept similar to the reincarnation in . It also resembles a stylized , a form of religious iconography used by many religions to indicate holy, divine, or sacred figures; it has at various periods also been used in imagery of rulers, heroes, and saints.
The conception of the first god might be influenced by the gods and , who summoned and to create Japan with the spear. 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 , has polymelia and 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 Arceus).
====Name origin====
Arceus may be a combination of αρχή (Ancient Greek for origin and authority) or and (Latin for god) or (king of the gods in Greek mythology). It may also involve arcane, aureus (Latin for golden), , arcesso (Latin for I summon), (an aspect of the astral plane), or (the origin state of the universe in Greek mythology, often personified as the first primordial deity).
==In other languages==
==Related articles==
* Arceus (M12)
* Arceus (Adventures)
* Arceus (game)
* Lake guardians
* Pokémon of Myth
* List of Pokémon with form differences
* Mythical Pokémon
* Myths and legends involving Legendary and Mythical Pokémon
* Noble Pokémon
* Ride Pokémon (Hisui)
==References==
==External links==
* Grass-type Arceus on Smogon Pokédex
* Fire-type Arceus on Smogon Pokédex
* Water-type Arceus on Smogon Pokédex
* Flying-type Arceus on Smogon Pokédex
* Bug-type Arceus on Smogon Pokédex
* Poison-type Arceus on Smogon Pokédex
* Electric-type Arceus on Smogon Pokédex
* Psychic-type Arceus on Smogon Pokédex
* Rock-type Arceus on Smogon Pokédex
* Ground-type Arceus on Smogon Pokédex
* Dark-type Arceus on Smogon Pokédex
* Ghost-type Arceus on Smogon Pokédex
* Steel-type Arceus on Smogon Pokédex
* Fighting-type Arceus on Smogon Pokédex
* Ice-type Arceus on Smogon Pokédex
* Dragon-type Arceus on Smogon Pokédex
* Fairy-type Arceus on Smogon Pokédex
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Category:Pokémon that are not part of an evolutionary line
Category:Mythical Pokémon
Category:Super Smash Bros. trophies
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