Archen
Rock
Best attacking moveset: Wing Attack and Ancient Power, worth 9.8 damage per second against a neutral target.
Best moveset
Archen can learn 6 combinations. Wing Attack with Ancient Power does the most damage per second of them, at level 40 with a perfect attack stat. Same-type moves get the 1.2× bonus, and the cycle assumes the charged attack fires the moment it has the energy.
Stats and moves come straight from the game's own data files. Every number on this page is a raid and gym number, not a PvP one.
Type matchups
| Fast attack | Type | Power | Duration | Energy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quick Attack | Normal | 10 | 1.0s | +13 |
| Wing Attack | 10 | 1.0s | +11 |
| Charged attack | Type | Power | Duration | Energy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ancient Power | Rock | 70 | 3.5s | -33 |
| Crunch | Dark | 65 | 3.0s | -33 |
| Dragon Claw | Dragon | 45 | 1.5s | -33 |
Shiny
Yes. Shiny Archen has been released. Players have found it from: wild, research, photobomb.
Evolution family
Numbers
| Max CP | 2,083 at level 50, 1,842 at level 40 |
|---|---|
| Raid catch | 1,052 CP at level 20, or 1,316 if weather boosted (perfect IVs) |
| Lowest possible raid catch | 989 CP. Raid encounters can't roll below 10/10/10 |
| Base stats | 213 attack · 89 defense · 146 stamina |
What it costs
| Candy to evolve | 25 Candy |
|---|---|
| Second charged move | 75,000 Stardust and 75 Candy |
| Buddy distance | 5 km per Candy |
| Purify a Shadow one | 3,000 Stardust and 3 Candy |
| Size | 0.5 m and 9.5 kg |
Best moveset against each type
Archen does not have one best moveset, it has 6. Which one wins depends on what you are attacking, because a move only gets its bonus against something weak to it. Best against Bug, Flying, Fire.
| Against | Best moveset | DPS |
|---|---|---|
| Bug | Wing Attack + Ancient Power | 15.1 |
| Quick Attack + Ancient Power | 13.8 | |
| Fire | Quick Attack + Ancient Power | 13.8 |
| Ice | Quick Attack + Ancient Power | 13.8 |
| Dragon | Quick Attack + Dragon Claw | 12.9 |
| Ghost | Wing Attack + Crunch | 12.3 |
| Psychic | Wing Attack + Crunch | 12.3 |
| Fighting | Wing Attack + Dragon Claw | 11.8 |
| Grass | Wing Attack + Dragon Claw | 11.8 |
| Normal | Wing Attack + Ancient Power | 9.8 |
| Poison | Wing Attack + Ancient Power | 9.8 |
| Water | Wing Attack + Ancient Power | 9.8 |
| Dark | Wing Attack + Ancient Power | 9.8 |
| Fairy | Wing Attack + Ancient Power | 9.8 |
| Ground | Wing Attack + Dragon Claw | 9.8 |
| Electric | Quick Attack + Ancient Power | 9.6 |
| Rock | Quick Attack + Ancient Power | 8.8 |
| Steel | Quick Attack + Crunch | 7.8 |
Same maths as the headline number, run once per defending type: level 40, perfect attack IV, and the target's own type taken into account. Sorted by damage, so the top of this table is what Archen is actually for.
Counters: what beats Archen
| Attacker | Type | Moveset | DPS |
|---|---|---|---|
 Regieleki | Electric | Lock On + Thunder Cage Legacy | 65.2 |
 Zeraora | Electric | Volt Switch + Plasma Fists | 56.9 |
 Zekrom | DragonElectric | Charge Beam + Fusion Bolt Legacy | 55.6 |
 Xurkitree | Electric | Thunder Shock + Discharge | 55.0 |
 Metagross | SteelPsychic | Bullet Punch + Meteor Mash Legacy | 51.8 |
 Inteleon | Water | Water Gun + Hydro Cannon Legacy | 51.1 |
 Kyogre | Water | Waterfall + Origin Pulse Legacy | 51.0 |
 Tinkaton | FairySteel | Fairy Wind + Gigaton Hammer Legacy | 50.4 |
 Glimmora | RockPoison | Rock Throw + Meteor Beam | 50.3 |
 Rampardos | Rock | Smack Down + Rock Slide | 49.8 |
Ranked by damage per second against Archen's own defense, at level 40 with a 15 attack IV, one per evolution family.