Moves
Head Smash, despite its relatively low accuracy, is a great Rock-type STAB move with a huge 150 Base Power that lets it OHKO Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, Dragonite through Multiscale, bulky Tapu Lele, and Meloetta. Fly is Archeops's Flying-type STAB move, which allows it to defeat the likes of Mega Heracross, Mega Venusaur, Kommo-o, and Keldeo. Outrage combined with Choice Band lets it OHKO non-Choice Scarf Garchomp and can also be used as a more reliable move to KO non-Choice Scarf Haxorus. Heat Wave KOes Kartana and non-Choice Scarf Genesect reliably. Alternatively, Earthquake can be used to OHKO non-Choice Scarf Terrakion, non-Choice Scarf Excadrill, and Nihilego with ease without relying on Head Smash. Switcheroo can be used over Heat Wave to shut down defensive Pokemon like Chansey.
Set Details
Maximum Attack investment with Choice Band lets Archeops hit as hard as possible, which is required to one-shot bulky Z-Move Tapu Lele, Dragonite through Multiscale, and Meloetta. Maximum Speed investment with a Jolly nature lets it outpace Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, non-Choice Scarf Garchomp, Mega Pinsir, Durant, and Speed tie with other base 110 Speed Pokemon like Jumpluff and Latios, which can discourage your opponent from sending these Pokemon. Unfortunately, Archeops must use Defeatist, which reduces its attacks to half their power when it has less than half of its maximum HP remaining, costing it its matchup against Chansey after Head Smash recoil.
Usage Tips
Some physically defensive walls that Archeops hits super effectively, like Zygarde and defensive Mega Venusaur, and Sturdy Pokemon like Golem and Magnezone, should be avoided, as they can tank its hits and retaliate with their own. While Head Smash should be the move Archeops relies on most, if one of your more accurate coverage moves can OHKO an opponent, use that instead, to avoid the chance of missing. It should be noted that Archeops can break through several impressive bulky offense Pokemon, who can usually tank even super effective hits, like Dragonite, Meloetta, and Kommo-o, and has pretty good odds against other defensive Pokemon like Primarina. You should avoid using Fly if you predict the foe to be carrying Protect or Substitute, as they can take advantage of the extra turn and avoid taking any damage, such as against Jumpluff or Whimsicott.
Team Options
Archeops gets outsped by some hard-hitters like Choice Specs Greninja, Naganadel, Mega Lopunny, and Choice Scarf users like Garchomp, which can OHKO it. Fast Pokemon like Choice Scarf Porygon-Z can defeat all of these threats; in turn, Archeops can check Dragonite, Meloetta, bulky Mega Heracross, and Primarina, which are able to defeat Porygon-Z. Specially offensive Pokemon like bulky Mega Charizard Y offer support against Mega Gyarados, Greninja, and Mega Slowbro, which threaten Archeops, while Archeops can deal with Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Dragonite, and Mega Pinsir, which threaten Mega Charizard Y. Similarly, physically bulky Mega Charizard X checks Steel-types like Mega Metagross and Magearna and Mega Lopunny, Magnezone, and Sawk reliably, which can all defeat Archeops, while Archeops helps Mega Charizard X in return by checking bulky Z-Move Tapu Lele, Dragonite, Meloetta, and Primarina. Sturdy Pokemon heavily counter Archeops, so bulky Mega Heracross is a great teammate for Archeops, as it can single-handedly take out most of Archeops's checks including most Sturdy Pokemon like Golem and Sawk, faster threats like Mega Lucario, Greninja, Mega Lopunny, and Choice Scarf Garchomp, and most of the Water-type Pokemon such as Mega Gyarados and Mega Swampert. Archeops in turn helps Mega Heracross by scaring off Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, Dragonite, Mega Pinsir, and Mega Medicham, which threaten Mega Heracross.