Suicune, The Aurora Pokémon. It races around the world to purify fouled water. It dashes away with the north wind. Said to be the embodiment of north winds, it can instantly purify filthy, murky water. It embodies the compassion of a pure spring of water. It runs across the land with gliding elegance.

Overview

Suicune was an absolute boss in R/S/E. Pretty much nothing could take it on. It had Curselax status, it was that good. In D/P/Pt, Suicune is still good just... not as good. More high power attacks leave Suicune weeping as it tries its hardest to set up and sweep like the good old days, but it just can't. It doesn't have that invincibility factor it has back in 3rd gen, which is a big part of staying alive and sweeping, to be honest.

Ability

Pressure: considering how many hits it may take to bring Suicune down, Pressure really will be useful in surviving.

Move Sets

So good it beats everything in its sleep

- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Surf
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Spd)

The set to use from 3rd gen makes its grand return in 4th gen. Calm Mind boosts Suicune's awesome bulk and not bad Special Attack to great levels. Rest keeps Suicune all healed up, with Sleep Talk letting you attack in sleep. Surf is your standard STAB attack, with nice PP and all around greatness.

A Suicune that doesn't require 4 Calm Minds to do damage? Absurd!

- Calm Mind
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Electric]
Item Attached: Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)

Calm Mind gives Suicune a significant boost in Special Attack thanks to all the invested EVs. Surf is your standard STAB move, Ice Beam has awesome coverage with Surf and covers stuff like Zapdos and Grass types. Hidden Power [Electric] hurts any Water types that want to try and wall you.

Bulky Substitute

- Substitute
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Calm Mind
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 64 Spd
Bold Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

Substitute is a fantastic move that works incredibly well with Suicune's bulk. It gets 101 subs which means they can't be broken by a single Seismic Toss, making them very durable. Surf is... the Water attack. Ice Beam gets awesome coverage with Surf. Calm Mind boosts behind Substitute and leads to Suicune being a pretty powerful Pokémon.

Not so bulky Substitute

- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Surf
- Ice Beam / Hidden Power [Electric]
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 60 HP / 252 SAtk / 196 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

A more offensive SubCune. Less bulk, more Speed and offence. Substitute does what you think it'd do, and that is block attacks to get some easy Calm Mind boosts in. Surf is the generic Water attack that I'm sick of describing. Ice Beam takes care of Grass types and has lovely coverage when used with Surf, whereas Hidden Power [Electric] let's it take care of Water types.

EVs and Nature:

So good it beats everything in its sleep
Since R/S/E, Suicune has used 252 HP/252 Def/4 Spd. It hasn't changed. This gives it the most physical bulk it can get, as it gets boosts in Special Defence from Calm Mind.

A Suicune that doesn't require 4 Calm Minds to do damage? Absurd!
Suicune's offensive set, it needs max Speed and max Special Attack to be as effective as it can be.

Bulky Substitute
Needs 252 HP to get 101 subs. The Speed EVs let you outrun Adamant Tyranitar. The rest is in Defence so you can still take big hits.

Not so bulky Substitute
Gets 280 Speed, max Special Attack for massive offence, and the remainder in HP to give it some extra bulk.

Other Options

Hydro Pump, Mirror Coat, Reflect, Roar, Signal Beam, Tailwind, Toxic
Hydro Pump is a much less reliable choice than Surf, but it does have a lot more power, which makes it a good choice, especially on offensive sets.
Mirror Coat could be used on an interesting gimmick set to catch Rotom-a or Celebi by surprise with a strong return hit.
Reflect is Suicune's only way of boosting its Defence, and it can help, it just uses up a moveslot for something temporary.
Roar is a great choice for Suicune, especially on a defensive set, thanks to its huge bulk.
Signal Beam is a cool move that can remove Celebi in one hit, but that is its only use.
Tailwind could be used for team support, but that is about it.
Toxic is a good move for breaking down bulky waters, which like to switch into Suicune. However, this can be achieved without using one of Suicune's moveslots by using it on a team with Toxic Spikes.

Countering Suicune

Vaporeon has Water Absorb. That really messes Suicune up, and it cannot do anything to it if Surf is its only move. Blissey can beat down the offensive Suicune variants, but it fails to defeat bulky SubCune and CroCune. Gyarados has a good time against any Suicune without Hidden Power [Electric] as it can just Taunt and more or less ruin anything Suicune tries to do. Celebi can take any hit from Suicune and 2HKO with Grass Knot, as well as Recover off the damage. Any strong physical attack really messes Suicune up, as it can't boost its Defence outside of Reflect. Anything like Explosion from Metagross, a +2 Close Combat from Lucario, really strong attacks like that. Also, being phazed obviously messes Suicune up, especially as it has no access to Taunt.

Locations in Games

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald Trade from CFRLG Colosseum/XD Snagged from Cipher Admin Venus in The Under (Col) Trade from FRLG (XD) Fire Red/Leaf Green Roaming Kanto (If Charmander Chosen) Diamond/Pearl/Platinum Trade from FRLGHGSS HeartGold/SoulSilver Route 25

Animé Appearences

Suicune has had a few Animé Appearences. First, Ash & Co. saw one as they entered Johto. Later, one appeared to help protect Celebi from Team Rocket. Soon after that, one appeared to Ash & Co and Eusine in Ecruteak city. Much later, one appeared in Sinnoh. Finally, an alternate coloured one was attacked by Zoroark in Crown City Episode 119: Don't Touch That Dile Celebi: Voice of the Forest Episode 229: For Ho-Oh the Bells Toll Episode 496: Drifloon in the Wind Arceus & The Jewel of Life Phantom Champion Zoroark