Notes & Combos

Very strong against the decks I was facing on the climb to masterball. Its a free win against its positive match ups as long as you dont brick (aka having to star with arceus, and lacking ways to give it energy fast). X speed can save bricks if oak pulls through, and in general it is a great tool for preserving energy which will be moved around with the elemental switch item.

Against buzzwole decks you NEED the cape so pheromosa can't chip arceus to the point buzzwole revenge kills, as you will likely not have 130 damage hits with arceus by the end game. The charizard and incineroar matchups are safer thanks to cape too.

Poison focused decks are a free win even if you brick, since arceus is poison proof. Giratina darkrai variants that use rocky helmet over poison are on the trickier side, making sure oricorio stays healthy should be your priority.

Giovanni will allow zeraora to kill any pokemon with 60hp turn 3/4, this will get you more free wins that you'd expect. It also allows Arceus to hit for 140 which is a very important treshold. Notable 140hp threats are darkrai and buzzwole. Esperon/sylveon matchup is easier with Giovanni too, allowing you to hit for 120 when you only have 2 benched.