Black Kyurem

Overview

Black Kyurem is definitely a contender for "Most Menacing Pokémon" with those huge claws and a face like. When fused with Zekrom, Kyurem becomes a physical powerhouse with one of the highest Attack stats in the game, making for one dangerous physical wallbreaker. In a 3v3 environment, it definitely is a terrifying presence that Battle Spot is glad it never needs to deal with. However, in a broader 6v6 environment, Black Kyurem has significantly more issues that make it a far more manageable monster despite its monstrous 700 base stat total, namely its physical movepool. While it has all the Dragon-type moves it would ever need, Black Kyurem lacks any sort of reliable physical Ice-type move to abuse that monstrous base 170 Attack stat, ultimately making it realistic to keep this monster in check with regular Pokémon. The introduction of Fairy-types took this further, giving us more ways to keep this monster in check. However, that isn't to say that Black Kyurem is not a dangerous threat. While it doesn't quite measure up to the destructive force of Legendary Pokémon like Mega Rayquaza or Xerneas, Black Kyurem is definitely a top level threat in standard play, maintaining similar bulk and Special Attack as regular Kyurem while gaining access to Fusion Bolt as a physical move. For all intents and purposes, Black Kyurem is more or less a better version of Kyurem, as you might expect from a fusion between Kyurem and Zekrom. It might not be the killer Ice-type legendary people expected from BW2, but Black Kyurem is definitely not a dragon you ever want to take lightly.
Positives
+ Base 170 Attack is insane and one of the highest in the game, and despite the lack of a good Ice-type STAB it has enough moves to make use of it.
+ Black Kyurem still has a solid base 120 Special Attack, allowing it to still make effective use of its great special movepool and effectively run mixed sets.
+ Solid 125/100/90 bulk more than makes up for its awkward defensive typing, allowing it to survive a surprising range of super-effective moves.
+ Resistances to Grass-, Electric-, and Water-type moves alone gives Black Kyurem plenty of switch-in opportunities, allowing it to break through defensive teams more effectively.

Negatives
- As cool as the name is, Freeze Shock is unfortunately a very bad signature move due to requiring a turn to charge and having the chance to miss. Outside of this, Black Kyurem has no physical Ice-type STAB to make use of which is very problematic.
- Defensively, Black Kyurem still suffers from weaknesses to several common types such as Fighting, Fairy, and Rock.
- Base 95 Speed is solid but leaves a bit to be desired, especially since there are many threats that reside in speed tiers just above it.

Abilities

Teravolt: It can attack the opponent regardless of their ability. This means that you can ignore abilities such as Levitate and Sturdy, the former of which makes Black Kyurem a perfect answer to Rotom-W. Another neat advantage of this ability is ignoring Wonder Guard, in case you were paranoid of running into jokesters in Doubles formats thinking their Sturdy Shedinja strategy is good.

Movesets

Guardian of Sorrowful Ice

- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Fusion Bolt
- Roost / Outrage
Item Attached: Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs and Nature:
4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Mild Nature

Due to its lacking physical movepool, Black Kyurem often runs specially focused mixed sets since its Attack stat is still huge without investment. Ice Beam is the primary STAB move, providing great coverage that hits many common Ground-, Dragon-, and Flying-types hard. Earth Power complements Ice Beam's coverage nicely, allowing to hit Steel-types and Fire-types that resist Ice Beam. Fusion Bolt takes advantage of Black Kyurem's monstrous Attack stat and hits Water-types harder, notably Azumarill and Mega Slowbro. Roost allows Black Kyurem to heal Life Orb recoil as well as any damage that it builds up switching into resisted hits and Stealth Rock. However, if increased longevity is not desired, Outrage is an option to allow Black Kyurem to function as a late-game cleaner.

Maximum Special Attack and Speed investment allow Black Kyurem to hit as hard and fast as possible, while the leftover EVs are placed in Attack. Mild nature is preferred to boost Black Kyurem's Special Attack further while not reducing its Attack or Speed. This is generally preferred over Rash nature since Mild doesn't hurt its Special Defense, which is important since most Grass-, Electric-, and Water-type moves are used by Special Attackers. Meanwhile Life Orb is used to boost damage output further, allowing Black Kyurem to break through walls more effectively.

Cold Regen

- Substitute
- Ice Beam
- Fusion Bolt
- Earth Power / Roost
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Teravolt
EVs and Nature:
56 HP / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
Mild Nature

Black Kyurem has the bulk and power to make effective use of Substitute, allowing it to punish switches more effectively due to its huge offensive presence. This is often effective because Black Kyurem's power often forces switches into faster threats that might be able to deal with it otherwise, and Substitute can easily circumvent this in most cases. Ice Beam remains as Black Kyurem's primary STAB move due to its incredible coverage and consistent power. Fusion Bolt lets Black Kyurem deal with bulky Water-types more effectively and prevents Azumarill from being able to threaten a Belly Drum easily, making use of Black Kyurem's huge Attack. Earth Power rounds out coverage more thoroughly by hitting Steel-types and Fire-types harder than Fusion Bolt, though if this is not desired than Roost can be used to keep Black Kyurem healthy even longer. However, Earth Power's coverage is usually preferred since Steel-types are usually a big issue for Black Kyurem.

The EV spread maximizes Black Kyurem's offensive presence while making it as fast as possible, though 56 EVs are set aside for HP so that Seismic Toss can't break its Substitute. Mild nature is preferred to boost Special Attack while keeping Attack, Speed and Special Defense untouched, since many of the attacks it will likely switch into will be special attacks. Leftovers helps keep Black Kyurem healthy and more more Substitutes, which is especially important if it isn't running Roost for recovery.

Absolute Zero

- Outrage
- Fusion Bolt
- Ice Beam / Dragon Claw
- Dragon Claw / Iron Head
Item Attached: Choice Scarf / Choice Band
Ability: Teravolt
EVs and Nature:
252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive / Jolly Nature

While it may lack a good Ice-type STAB, Black Kyurem can most definitely make use of physical oriented sets with the use of a Choice item. Outrage is a destructive attack that can easily clean weakened teams late-game, though with the prevalence of Fairy-types it isn't a move to use carelessly. Fusion Bolt allows Black Kyurem to deal with Water-types such as Azumarill and Slowbro while also hitting the likes of Skarmory. Ice Beam is still a fine option without investment if using Choice Scarf, since this can still deal with the likes of Garchomp and Landorus-T, as well as offering great neutral coverage. However, on a Choice Band variant, Dragon Claw is often preferred so that Black Kyurem doesn't need to use Outrage so early while still hitting reasonably hard. This can be used alongside Ice Beam on a Choice Scarf variant, though otherwise Iron Head is another option to surprise Fairy-types that think they're safe against Black Kyurem.

The item choice drastically changes Black Kyurem's role, with Choice Band turning into a monstrous physical wallbreaker and Choice Scarf functioning as a powerful revenge killer and late-game cleaner. Unlike other sets, this one maximizes Black Kyurem's physical presence and takes advantage of its colossal Attack stat. Naive is preferred if using a Choice Scarf variant since Ice Beam's coverage is more useful for a revenge killer, though Naughty is viable as well. Lonely and Hasty nature are also acceptable though the ability to take priority moves better is valuable on a Choice Scarf set. If using Choice Band, Jolly nature should be used to boost Black Kyurem's Speed a bit further, though Adamant nature works just as well if the extra Speed is not necessary.

Other Options

- Choice Specs is an unusual but viable option to surprise foes expecting a mixed or physical set from Black Kyurem. This set relies a bit more on surprise factor, though it has more than enough power to make use of it.
- Hidden Power Fire can be used on teams that have trouble with Ferrothorn and Scizor, effectively functioning as a lure. Black Kyurem is also more than bulky enough to handle an unboosted Bullet Punch as well if necessary, though giving up a coverage slot for this is difficult.
- Despite previous mentions of Freeze Shock being a poor option for an Ice-type STAB, a combination of Power Herb and Freeze Shock can function as a one-time nuke with a scary 30% chance to paralyze the foe if it survives. However, this can be unreliable due to its accuracy and usually not worth giving up a better item.

VGC, Double, & Triple Battle Options

Kyurem-Black fares slightly better in VGC 2016 than normal Kyurem, but it still is one of the least used and hasn't really had any major tournament success. Kyurem-B trades in a slight Special Attack drop for a Defensive boost and a large increase to its Attack, which it can use to its benefit in the addition of Fusion Bolt to its arsenal. With its massive Attack stat, it can do a lot of damage to Kyogre with Fusion Bolt, but still take neutral damage from Ice Beam in return (unlike Zekrom).

Blizzara

-Ice Beam
-Fusion Bolt
-Earth Power / Dragon Claw / Draco Meteor
-Protect
Item Attached: Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs and Nature:
44 Atk / 236 SpA / 228 Spe
Naive Nature

Only 36 Attack EVs are needed to OHKO a non-bulky Primal Kyogre with Fusion Bolt, but unfortunately most Kyogre are bulky lately. Max Attack only has a 75% chance to OHKO a 252 HP / 4 Def Kyogre, so this set settles for the 2HKO on bulky ones unless you get a bit of chip damage. 236 Special Attack EVs ensures Ice Beam OHKOs Mega Rayquaza through Delta Stream (assuming it doesn't have a Focus Sash or Draco Meteor to OHKO you first). 228 EVs with a Naive ensures you outspeed Jolly Landorus-T, but more importantly you'll outspeed max speed Primal Groudon and Kyogre. Naive nature doesn't drop either of Kyurem's attacking stats or speed, and although most players like Naive over Hasty since the vast majority of priority moves are physical, a Hasty nature is fine as well. Life Orb helps ensure the KOs mentioned, and just simply increases damage output. Teravolt is the only ability available but can help hit around things like Lightning Rod or Levitate.

Ice Beam is Kyurem B's best Ice STAB move, as its physical Ice moves are simply bad. Bolt Strike lets you hit Primal Kyogre very hard, and Protect is again preferred in doubles. Earth Power can hit Steel types and Primal Groudon hard, while either Dragon Claw or Draco Meteor are strong STAB Dragon options.

Countering Black Kyurem

Compared to regular Kyurem, not much changes in terms of answers for Black Kyurem other than special walls being a riskier answer in case it's running a physically focused set such as Choice Band. Fairy-types such as Mega Gardevoir, Clefable, and Sylveon are generally still solid answers to Black Kyurem, though the increased Attack makes Iron Head a riskier prospect so they should be even more careful around physical variants. Fighting-types now have to deal with a monster with insane Attack, though the ones that outspeed it, such as Keldeo, or take its attacks, such as Conkeldurr, can give a tough time. The question of what set Black Kyurem is using can easily throw off these answers though, since one wrong guess can easily cause you to lose something against this monster. Steel-types such as Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Mega Metagross can all give Black Kyurem a difficult time since they can handle most of what it can throw at them and retaliate with power Steel-type moves, though Mega Metagross dislikes Earth Power and both Scizor and Ferrothorn don't like taking the occasional Hidden Power Fire so they also must be very careful of what moves it may be running. One thing that doesn't care about what Black Kyurem is running though, is Stealth Rock. While setting up hazards directly in front of Black Kyurem is generally unsafe, Black Kyurem can easily be worn down by hazards, especially on Life Orb variants that lack Roost. If you can pressure Black Kyurem once entry hazards like Stealth Rock are up, it can quickly find itself losing a lot of HP just switching in and out of attacks.

White Kyurem

Overview

White Kyurem might not appear quite as menacing or deadly as Black Kyurem, it more than makes up for that with its huge Special Attack that can more effectively abuse its great special movepool. Out of all three formes, White Kyurem stands out as the most dangerous in battle due to the fact that it actually has an Ice-type STAB to make use of. While it suffers from Bad Signature Move Syndrome like its other formes, White Kyurem's great special movepool makes up for it, and with a mirror image of Black Kyurem's stat spread, it's more or less a special variant of Black Kyurem with a better movepool suited to its stats. However, while it's far too much for standard formats to handle, White Kyurem is also by no means an unstoppable powerhouse, and pales in comparison to titans like Mega Rayquaza, Xerneas, and Primal Groudon. Its Speed may be less of a hindrance due to the lower average Speed of legendaries, but it still leaves a bit to be desired with the likes of Darkrai, Mewtwo, and both Latios and Latias. The aforementioned Xerneas also causes major issues for White Kyurem, since its presence alone makes it difficult to abuse its hyper-powerful Draco Meteor to its fullest potential. White Kyurem might be much better off than Black Kyurem due to its more dangerous stat spread, though it seems that no matter what Kyurem does, there's always someone out there to give it a difficult time. Don't let that be a reason to underestimate White Kyurem though, as it can quickly become a huge threat if you're careless.
Positives
+ A massive base 170 Special Attack makes White Kyurem a special powerhouse, and unlike Black Kyurem it has most of the tools it needs to make full use of that.
+ Dragon / Ice provides great coverage alone, especially since few legendaries want to switch into an Ice Beam coming off of such a huge Special Attack stat.
+ White Kyurem is reasonably bulky for an Ice-type, so it often takes more than just one super-effective attack to bring down White Kyurem.
+ While it may not be a direct use of Reshiram, this may as well be the best use of Reshiram these days.

Negatives
- Dragon / Ice is unfortunately not a very great typing defensively, especially with weaknesses to Dragon-types and Fairy-types.
- On top of its unfortunate typing, its Speed leaves it outsped by many dangerous threats that make White Kyurem vulnerable to being revenge killed.
- Unlike Mega Rayquaza and Mega Salamence, Kyurem White is yet another Dragon-type that has a difficult time overcoming Xerneas. That being said, Xerneas definitely doesn't like switching into Ice Beam from something like White Kyurem.
- Just like Black Kyurem's Freeze Shock, Ice Burn suffers from being a cool move that isn't practical to use in any sense.

Abilities

Turboblaze: It can attack the opponent regardless of their ability. Same deal as Teravolt but with a different name. This makes it very easy to deal with Lugia since it doesn't care about Multiscale, though outside of this it unfortunately doesn't offer White Kyurem many advantages.

Movesets

Blizzard King

- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Fusion Bolt
- Roost / Outrage
Item Attached: Choice Specs / Choice Scarf
Ability: Turboblaze
EVs and Nature:
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest / Timid Nature

White Kyurem makes for an excellent special attacker thanks to its insane Special Attack and offensive typing. Naturally, it makes for an effective user of Choice items to function either as a destructive wallbreaker or a powerful revenge killer. Draco Meteor is White Kyurem's strongest STAB move, allowing it to punch massive holes into the opposing team at the cost of lowering it Special Attack upon use. Ice Beam gives it a reliable and powerful STAB move that doesn't let Xerneas come in for free, and offers amazing coverage in general. Fusion Flare lets White Kyurem deal with Steel-types such as Bronzong, Ferrothorn, Jirachi, and Skarmory, while also being stronger than Earth Power. However, Earth Power does hit Dialga harder than Ice Beam does without the side effect of Draco Meteor, as well as Primal Groudon and Diancie. Focus Blast hits Blissey as well as Dialga without the risk of Shuca Berry, though the accuracy can be unreliable. If a second coverage option isn't desired, Sleep Talk can allow White Kyurem to function as a sleep absorber and still attack, which is particularly useful if you're playing with Sleep Clause.

Maximum Special Attack and Speed investment ensures White Kyurem hits as hard and fast as possible, while the leftover EVs are placed in Special Defense. A Modest nature boosts damage output further and is ideal if utilizing a Choice Scarf, though a Timid nature allows Choice Specs variants to outspeed neutral natured Yveltal, Rayquaza, and Xerneas, as well as Speed tie with Jolly Rayquaza. Given that these are often neutral natured, there are significant advantages to using Timid nature on Choice Specs variants.

Cold Flare

- Draco Meteor
- Ice Beam
- Fusion Flare / Earth Power
- Earth Power / Roost
Item Attached: Life Orb
Ability: Turboblaze
EVs and Nature:
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid / Modest Nature

If the prediction-heavy nature of a Choice set isn't something you want, White Kyurem can easily utilize a Life Orb set instead. Draco Meteor is still the strongest STAB move White Kyurem has, dealing huge damage to just about everything, though the drops will usually force it to switch out and throw off the offensive pressure that White Kyurem provides. Ice Beam allows it to circumvent this issue, providing equally amazing coverage without the negative effects of using Draco Meteor. Fusion Flare is White Kyurem's strongest move against Steel-types, complementing its STAB moves very nicely. Earth Power is weaker than Fusion Flare, though the ability to hit non-Shuca Berry Dialga and Primal Groudon harder without being forced to use Draco Meteor can be advantageous for some teams. However, both can just as easily be used together, if you're willing to give up the potential for increased longevity that Roost would provide. While Roost does fit well on Life Orb sets, it can be difficult to find opportunities to use this, so it isn't too difficult to justify dropping Roost.

Maximum Special Attack and Speed investment allow White Kyurem to hit as hard and fast as possible, while leftover EVs are placed in Special Defense to ensure no EVs are wasted. A Timid nature is preferred to outspeed neutral natured Rayquaza, Xerneas, and Yveltal, as well as speed tie with Jolly Rayquaza, though Modest can be used if the power is desired over the ability to outspeed these threats. Life Orb is necessary to boost White Kyurem's damage output even further, at the cost of some of its own HP every time it attacks.

Other Options

- White Kyurem doesn't have many other options, though Toxic can be used to surprise specially bulky foes such as support Arceus formes. Finding a slot for this can be difficult though.
- A set utilizing Substitute and Roost can work similarly to Black Kyurem, though the environment White Kyurem finds itself in makes it difficult to use this effectively, especially when it compromises its coverage slots it would rather be using for offensive moves.
- Stone Edge is a somewhat unorthodox option on something that rarely uses its Attack stat, though it's White Kyurem's best way of breaking through Ho-Oh, OHKOing it with Life Orb even with a Timid or Modest nature.

VGC, Double, & Triple Battle Options

Unlike its cousins, Kyurem-White has actually done quite well in VGC 2016. While it doesn't have the usage of the Primals, Rayquaza, or Xerneas, it is just a step below and can rival them in the amount of damage it can do. Its massive Special Attack makes it a much better option than normal Kyurem, and it just dominate teams who don't handle it properly. Just keep Kyurem-W away from a Xerneas who already set up, and it can be a potent restricted legendary that helps carry your team.

Deep Freeze

-Blizzard
-Draco Meteor
-Ice Beam
-Fusion Flare / Earth Power / Dragon Pulse
Item Attached: Choice Scarf
Ability: Turboblaze
EVs and Nature:
36 HP / 252 SpA / 220 Spe
Modest Nature

220 EVs in speed with a Modest nature outspeeds Adamant Landorus-T, which is about the fastest relevant Choice Scarf-Pokemon you'll encounter, but even that is rare in 2016, so you can invest even more in bulk if desired. Max special attack with a Choice Scarf allows for huge fast, damage. Turboblaze is exactly the same as Teravolt, and again can help you hit through an opponent's ability like Levitate.

Blizzard is the main reason to use this set, and it is often used on Gravity teams. A support Pokemon like Sableye or Meowstic can set up Gravity so that Kyurem-W's Blizzard, Primal Groudon's Precipice Blades, and Whimsicott's (Prankster) Grass Whistle all have increased accuracy. Draco Meteor is simply a nuke if you need to quickly OHKO something, while Ice Beam can work around Wide Guard or provide more reliability if Gravity isn't up. Fusion Flare destroys Pokemon like Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Mega Mawile if Primal Kyogre's rain isn't up. Earth Power can hit Mega Mawile and Primal Groudon hard if it isn't ideal to use another move, or if the rain is Protecting Mega Mawile, while Dragon Pulse provides Dragon STAB that won't lower your stats.

Blizzaga

-Ice Beam
-Draco Meteor
-Fusion Flare / Earth Power
-Protect
Item Attached: Life Orb
Ability: Turboblaze
EVs and Nature:
36 HP / 252 SpA / 220 Spe
Timid Nature

This set is ideal if you need to just get big damage off, or if you have speed control to ensure Kyurem doesn't take a hit from something like Mega Kangaskhan. 220 Speed EVs with a Timid nature will again outspeed the Primals, while max Special Attack with a Life Orb maximizes damage output.

Ice Beam is Kyurem's strongest STAB and won't miss, while Draco Meteor again just gets massive damage off. Fusion Flare and Earth Power both hit steel types hard. Fusion Flare hits more steel types like Ferrothorn, but Earth Power does big damage to Primal Groudon. Protect is Protect.

Other Options

-Icy Wind is STAB and offers some speed control, though it generally isn't great due to the low damage output. Glaciate is preferred on normal Kyurem since it has higher base power with the exact same effects (unfortunately the other forms won't retain this move after changing from regular Kyurem).
-Assault Vest helps Kyurem even more against Primal Kyogre and special Primal Groudon to beat them 1 v 1.
-Kyurem does get a few strong coverage moves should your team need them, such as Ancient Power, Signal Beam, Psychic/Zen Headbutt, Shadow Ball/Shadow Claw, Rock Slide/Stone Edge, and Flash Cannon/Iron Head should your team need coverage for something specific.
-As cool as they are, Outrage, Freeze Shock, and Ice Burn are essentially useless in competitive doubles. Outrage targets a random target, meaning there's a 50% chance to hit into a target you may not want to, like a Steel or Fairy type. Freeze Shock and Ice Burn are worthless due to the 2 turns it takes to use them.

Countering White Kyurem

While the pool of viable options to use against White Kyurem is smaller than it is for Black Kyurem due to the different environment, most of its issues remain the same regardless of forme. Xerneas hates taking an Ice Beam before it sets up with Geomancy, but if it does then White Kyurem has no way to beat Xerneas. Its presence alone will also discourage the use of Draco Meteor on Choice variants, which can be a dangerous attack to deal with otherwise. Other Fairy-types such as Mega Diancie and Fairy Arceus function similarly, though the threat of Geomancy is obviously far greater than these two. Due to its focus on special moves, specially bulky Pokémon such as Ho-Oh, Blissey, Bronzong, Primal Kyogre, and Calm Mind Arceus variants can give White Kyurem a difficult time unless it runs the proper coverage move for them. While it often has a way to break through Steel-types, baiting White Kyurem into using Draco Meteor can set it back significantly if you have a Steel-type to switch into. Alternatively baiting it into using coverage moves can put White Kyurem in a difficult position, so despite its huge power and solid movepool you can take advantage of it, especially if it's a Choice variant. White Kyurem is also easily worn down by hazards and often doesn't carry Roost, so Stealth Rock can put some serious pressure on it and compromise its otherwise solid bulk. Dealing with Kyurem generally doesn't change much from forme to forme, so even though White Kyurem may be the most dangerous forme, it isn't too much harder to deal with.

Locations in Games

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in game

FireRed/LeafGreen:
Not in game

Colosseum/XD:
Not in game

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Not in game

HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Not in game

Black/White:
Giant Chasm

Black 2/White 2:
Giant Chasm

X/Y:
Trade from Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire

Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Gnarled Den