Community POTW #80

[Serebii]

Time for the next Pokémon of the Week. This one is to tie in to the release of the movie; Kyurem VS The Sacred Swordsman Keldeo



It's Kyurem in its standard form. Black Kyurem & White Kyurem are to be dealt with at a later date

Kyurem is a pretty decent Pokémon and has a diverse movepool

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/646.shtml

Go nuts

[YourPermanentRecord631]

Kyurem-S isn't the best Dragon but he can tear in Hail teams oh and thanks Blue Harvest for not using My Little Pony joke, those can be used for a Ponyta LC section

[Cometstarlight]

Let's see, where to begin?

Kyurem is a very intresting pokemon, not the best dragon type, but by far not the bottom of the pile. It's typing is a bit strange but with its stats and movepool it can pretty much be whatever you want to be (although it's not Mew so let's no go there) It's physical and special are the same and its speed is...eh, ok. But that's the main thing you need to get around is the speed. The way you attack is up to you

Kyurem
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Timid (I would say Modest, but that speed boost really helps)
EVs: 4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spd
Moveset:
Ice Beam/Blizzard
Earth Power
Dragon Pulse
Hidden Power (Fire)

Save the Blizzard for hail sets since it tends to miss so often...at least it does for me >_<'
Other than that, this is obviously a special set, and physical sets are possible too

[YourPermanentRecord631]

How about for a pun we do Ice Splice Baby(as Kyurem absorbs the gene of the 2 dragons)!

[grantholomew]

Sub Zero
Kyurem @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spd
Modest (+SAtk, -Atk)/Timid (+Spd, -Atk)
- Ice Beam/Blizzard
- Dragon Pulse/Draco Meteor
- Hidden Power Fire/Focus Blast
- Substitute
Kyurem's great HP lets it make hefty substitutes. Only use Blizzard in Hail. The rest is based on your power preference.

[Mr. Marowak]

One of the perks of Kyerum is that its Ice-Typing makes it one of the only dragons not weak to Ice. It also makes for some good hail work. On the other hand, it adds a few unruly weaknesses, like Fighting- and Rock-.

[YourPermanentRecord631]

One of the perks of Kyerum is that its Ice-Typing makes it one of the only dragons not weak to Ice. It also makes for some good hail work. On the other hand, it adds a few unruly weaknesses, like Fighting- and Rock-.

WHAT? Where have you been, Kyurem is still weak to ice.

EDIT: sorry forgot about that. don't quote me

[multi-scale]

Kyurem is a great example of a pokemon that would probably be tearing up OU if it weren't Ice type. Ice offers no real important coverage that Dragon doesn't already have, and it gives Kyurem weaknesses to Fighting, Rock and Steel and neutrality to Fire in exchange for neutrality to Ice. Despite that, Kyurem has solid attacking stats and a decent 95 speed.

Special
Nature:Timid
Item: Life Orb
Evs: 252 SAtk/252 Spe/4 HP
-Draco Meteor/Dragon Pulse
-Ice Beam
-Focus Blast
-Dragon Pulse/Earth Power/Hidden Power Fire

Draco Meteor is the power move, but it will almost always require switching, which is not very appealing due to Kyurem's weakness to every entry hazard. Dragon Pulse is far more reliable, but much weaker. Focus Blast hits Steels and Tyranitar hard, combining well with the Dragon move. Ice Beam is another STAB for a move to kill the 4x weak Dragons without needing Draco Meteor. The last slot is filler. Dragon Pulse is there if you want to use Draco Meteor. Earth Power is a new tutor move that grabs a super effective hit on Jirachi and Heatran. You could always run Outrage and put some EVs into Attack to kill Blissey.

Countering Kyurem

Hazard-wise, Kyurem is the Volcarona of Dragons. Setting up entry hazards will cripple it, even more so if it's holding a Life Orb. Another good thing about dealing with Kyurem is that despite it's wonderful 130 Attack stat, pretty much all of its purely physical sets can't get by Steels. Mixed sets are troublesome though, as Skarmory would take decent damage from a Draco Meteor and Blissey won't survive Outrage. However, Kyurem is pretty slow at 95 speed, so it can easily be revenge killed. Terrakion, Salamence, Infernape, etc. Scizor resists both of Kyurem's STABs and can slaughter it with Bullet Punch.

[MX42]

Countering Kyurem

ENTRY HAZARDS. Spikes, SR, Toxic Spikes, Kyurem hates them all. Faster dragons, such as Latios, Haxorus, Hydeigon, and Salamence all can revenge kill Kyurem with Outrage or Draco Meteor. Techicican Scizor and Breloom and KO with Bullet and Mach Punch respectively. Blissey and Chansey wall our frozen fiend to high heaven. Fastedr fighting types, like Infernape, Keldeo, and Terrakion all outspeed and OHKO with their STABS. Tyranitar can take anything bar Focus Blast or Earth Power and can OHKO with Sone Edge. Heatran and Metagross fall in the same boat as TTar, but they lacks TTar's Special Defense, so they must be warier of Focus Blast and Earth Power.Kyurem also hates weather other than Hail, specifically Sandstorm. If Kyurem is even thinking of going physical than Ferrothorn, Dusclops, Skarmory, and Fortress all can wall it with ease.

[infernape612]

Physical
Adamant/Jolly
Choice Band
4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd

Outrage - Basic STAB move.
Focus Blast - Deals with Steels.
Fusion Bolt - Deals with Skarmory.
Stone Edge - Kyurem's only other good physical move. It has an awful physical movepool, doesn't it?

[YourPermanentRecord631]

Physical
Adamant/Jolly
Choice Band
4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd

Outrage - Basic STAB move.
Focus Blast - Deals with Steels.
Fusion Bolt - Deals with Skarmory.
Stone Edge - Kyurem's only other good physical move. It has an awful physical movepool, doesn't it?

LOL, why Focus Blast, it is a sp move? Yeah Physical Ky isn't great.

Roosting Marshmellows til the ice cools downs

Nature: Modest
Item: Life Orb
Evs: 252 : 172 sp att 80 speed
Substitute
Roost
Blizzard
Earth Power/Dragon Pulse/Draco Meteor.

[Lucario At Service]

One thing i really don't understand as to why the creators decided to make Kyurem's Standard Form's signature move Glaciate only have 65 BP. I know it gets two more high powered signature moves but both of them are form exclusive like Glaciate.

With only 65 BP, it is of no use and would only be a novelty sort of move. They should have made it have atleast 90 BP (with 95 Acc.) which would make it 5 BP less powerful than Ice Beam but with the added effect of slowing down the opponent.

[philzone]

Kyurem. At first I didn't really get him, but now i do.

Snow hands
Ice beam/blizzard-
dragon pulse/draco meteor
Focus blast
Earth power
Timid/modest
Evs. 252 spatt 252 spd 4 hp
Item life orb
A solid special sweeper.

Cooler than the rest.
Outrage
Stone edge
Iron head
Zen headbutt
Item life orb
Jolly/adamant
252 att 252 spd 4hp
Strong set for physical

Now time for a toxic staller
Don't eat the yellow snow
Toxic
Roost
Fly
Dragon tail/protect
Item leftovers
Impish/calm
252 hp, 128 def 128 spdef

Toxic is key. Roost regenerates health, fly stalls. Protect stalls while dragon tail makes it good at phazing out steels.

@infernape612
Kyurem can not learn fusion bolt in standard form, as the spectial moves learnt can not be transfered between formes.

[MatchMaster]

Ah yes. Held back by its Dragon/Ice typing, small movepool, and average speed, Kyurem was forced into BL when first introduced. It is also outclassed as a Specially Offensive Dragon type from the likes of Latios.

However, it does have so perks to it. Before B2W2, it was probably the best abuser of hail, being able to fire off ridiculously powerful Blizzards from its base 130 special attack, only matched by Glaceon, which is in NU. B2W2 also gave it a useful new move in Earth Power, so it doesn't have to rely on Focus Miss or the underpowered Hidden Power Fire. It also has above-average defenses: 125/90/90 allow it to take neutral hits fairly well.

Despite Kyurem's shortcomings, it has its niche as an offensive Dragon-type.

Ability
Pressure: Like most Ubers, Kyurem has pressure, which deducts PP by two instead of one when hit. Not the best, but Kyurem has good bulk to abuse it.

Glaciate
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
- Glaciate
- Blizzard / Ice Beam
- Earth Power / Hidden Power Fire

This set aims to patch up Kyurem's average speed by using Glaciate on the opponent's switch-in. Draco Meteor is powerful, reliable, and destructive, being able to OHKO opposing Dragons like Dragonite and Salamence, while also OHKOing things like any variant of Cloyster, most variants of Volcarona, Terrakion, and Keldeo. Dragon Pulse is an option to replace it if you plan to stay in for a while, as Draco Meteor halves your special attack after each use. Blizzard is very powerful as well, so it is the main STAB move of choice. Earth Power gets good coverage with Kyurem's STAB, and can deal with most Kyurem switch ins, like Infernape, Cobalion, Heatran, Metagross, and Jirachi. However, Hidden Power Fire is still a viable option to hit the aforementioned Pokemon bar Heatran and Infernape, and also hit Bronzong and Scizor. You have to use it on the switch in most of the time, as most of them outspeed Kyurem.

Mixed Attacker
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Hasty
EVs: 36 Atk / 252 SpA / 220 Spe
- Outrage
- Draco Meteor
- Blizzard / Ice Beam
- Earth Power / Hidden Power Fire

While this Kyurem is slower, it can be a bit more destructive. Outrage 2HKOs Blissey. Dragon Claw is an option over this, but fails to 2HKO Blissey.

Choice
Item: Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
Nature: Timid / Modest
EVs: 32 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 220 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Blizzard / Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power Fire / Dragon Pulse

Choice Scarf can surprise opponents who think they have a faster Pokemon than Kyurem, while Choice Specs brings Kyurem's Special Attack to high levels. Since Kyurem will be switching around, Draco Meteor is generally the best option for the first slot. As in all sets, Blizzard is the main STAB of choice, as it's one of the main reasons to use Kyurem.

Team Support
Abamasnow. It permanently sets up Hail so Kyurem can set off Blizzard with no drawbacks. It also chips away at non Ice-type opposing Pokemon's health. Defensive Cloyster also stomachs physical Dragon-type moves directed at Kyurem. Alakazam with Magic Guard doesn't take residual damage from Hail, and can come in on Fighting-type moves.

Counters
Depending on what Kyurem is running, there are different counters. Air Balloon or Choice Scarf Heatran is probably your best bet, as it resists Kyurem's STAB moves and can walk all over it with Fire Blast. Choice Scarf Heatran just must be weary of an opposing Choice Scarf Kyurem, as Earth power will bring it down. If Kyurem lacks Hidden Power Fire, Scizor can 2HKO with Bullet Punch. Bronzong is also under the same conditions, as it is immune to Earth Power and resists Kyurem's STABs.

Other Options
Not Much. Kyurem lacks a physical Ice-type move, so it can't run a completely physical set. It does however, have a boosting move in Hone Claws to help this. Useable physical options include Stone Edge, Dragon Claw, Shadow Claw, Iron Head, Zen Headbutt, and Dragon Tail. It could also run a bulky set with Roost, which it was blessed with in B2W2.

[TurboMechaElgyem]

Basic Kyurem is likely the worst dragon legendary to ever exist. It has some great stats (except for speed), but has a terrible movepool and a typing that basically begs for the opponent to hit it super effectively.

Glaciator
-glaciate
-dragon pulse/draco meteor
-focus blast/ice beam/blizzard
-hidden power fire/electric/ghost
4 hp 252 sp atk 252 speed
Modest/timid
Pressure
Life orb

Despite my criticisms earlier, Kyurem does have one perk: it is hard to switch in on. 130 base special attack can rip holes in a lot of things. This set is built to capitalize on this fact. Glaciate slows the opponent down, giving kyurem a chance to decimate it with an attack. However, the only way glaciate is likely to land with kyurem's speed is on a switch-in.

[paipr_christian]

move set pun,

"such an ice sore"

[Aurath8]

Kyurem is a very, very odd pokemon. With 95 speed, great bulk, 130 in both offences, a Dragon typing and a massive BST of 660 it should be duking it out upstairs like Reshiram, Zekrom and co. But instead it s in BL. Why?
Dragon/Ice leaves it with a Stealth Rock weakness and that bulk doesn't really matter when you're outsped and OHKOed by huge metagame threats like Scizor, Tyranitar, Conkledurr and the 3 Muskedeers in OU. There simply wasn't a reason to use Kyurem over better Dragons like Dragonite, Salamence, Hydreigon, Lati@s and Haxorus. Gamefreak weren't very kind to the poor broken dragon-monster thing. Even it's signature move Glaciate is essentially a slightly more powerful Icy Wind. Kyurem spent a while in UU throwing off Hail-enhanced Blizzards but a ban ended his rampage. So for now Kyurem sits in the limbo that is BL.

Mixrem
Kyurem@Life Orb/Choice Scarf
Naive
Pressure
252 Spd/128 Atk/128 Spatk
-Outrage
-Blizzard/Ice Beam
-Earth Power
-Roost/Draco Meteor

The goal of this set is to take advantage of Kyurem's great mixed offences and nuke whatever comes your way with the appropiate move. Alternatively, Kyurem can opt for a Choice Scarf and become an effective revenge killer.
Blizzard and Outrage really hurt coming of it's 130 offences. Earth Power hits various Steels that'd easily end your sweep. Roost heals off Life Orb and entry hazard damage, but Draco Meteor really packs a punch against unsuspecting foes. Ice Beam is there if you're worried about losing weather wars.

In terms of team members, Abomasnow is obviously vital for firing off accurate Blizzards, not to mention the residual damage always helps. A Rapid Spinner is also greatly appreciated to ward off Stealth Rock. Reuniclus is another good partner: immune to Hail and soaks up fighting type moves aimed at Kyurem and proceeds to Psyshock them to death.

Counters
Steels like Scizor, Heatran and Bronzong can take out Kyurem without breaking a sweat, resisting both STAB and hitting back with their own supereffective moves. Tyranitar gets a mention here for changing the weather to Sand and nerfing his Blizzards as well as setting up Stealth Rock. Fighting types won't like a Blizzard or Outrage, but most can revenge kill Kyurem with sheer speed(Terakion) or powerful priority(Conkledurr). Every Dragon in the tier bar Dragonite can also outspeed and KO Kyurem with their STAB Outrage/Draco Meteor.
I suppose you could mention Blissey/Chansey for special variants of Kyurem, but Steels are generally more reliable.


Honestly, as long as Kyurem is in BL it shouldn't be anything to worry about, simply because Kyurem will be such a rare sight in OU.

[Kraleck]

Huge HP, access to Sub-Roost, huge attack stats, good defense stats, and great Speed. What's not to love? Oh, wait...Stealth Rock Weakness.

Kyurem is near-godly when it doesn't have to worry about Stealth Rock, making Spinners/Defoggers important allies. Dragon STAB is okay for Dragons not weak to Ice, but Ice STAB is incredible, too. A good variety of Physical and Special Moves rounds out the mix quite well, but Baton Passing Speed (such as a Shift Gear or Quiver Dance) to Kyurem or whipping up a Tailwind is similarly important.

Allies include Abomasnow-Warning, Spinners/Defoggers, Speed-Passers, Water Types, and Steel Types. Kyurem is only as good as the team supporting it, so building a Team with Kyurem starts with Kyurem as one of at least two anchoring points. Once you analyze Kyurem and your other anchor-point Pokemon, make sure their allies can deal with counters. While Kyurem and, let's say, Magnezone may work well solo on the same team, they have to deal with Fire Types, Fighting Types, and hard-hitting Special Attackers.

Kyurem alone isn't that great. Kyurem with support is fearsome. Getting past an amply buffed and supported Kyurem is like trying to get past an amply buffed and supported Terrakion - a severely-uphill battle with heavy losses.

[cookies kill you]

SP Attacking Kyurem
life orb
modest
spa 252 spe 252 hp 4
pressure
Ice Beam/Blizzard
Dragon Pulse/Draco Meteor
Focus Blast
Psychic/Shadow Ball

[Eliteknight]

Kyurem@leftovers
Impish/Careful
252hp/252def/4att or 252hp/252spdef /4att
Dragon Tail
Roost
Substitue
Hone claws

This set is an incedibly effective set on different types of teams it works well on a rain team due to lowered fire attacks and on hail due to the more commonly used blizzard spam the ev spread is mainly for a defencive variant however you can sub out some of the defence evs into the attack stat to increase the damage done. Dragon Tail is used to phaze out the opponent whom is trying to set up on you and inflict damage once hone claws are set up. Roost this allows kyurem to stall out the opponent whom cannot deal consideralbe damage to kyurem and keeps it healthy. Substitute This prevents kyurem from being phazed by dragon tail esc moves and from hazards while reducing the damage done by SE moves. Hone Claws This move is used to increase kyurems attack to the max while increasing the accuracy which will help take out those stronger physical walls.

Now this set works fine by itself however if you set up hazards expecially spikes and rocks it can quickly decimate a team. Toxic spikes also work well when kyurem is settign up

[overlordmewtwo]

Ah, Kyurem. The final member of the Tao trio. This form is BL due to a few major things that really hold it back: an Ice/Dragon typing, a weakness to all arena traps (which means that Rapid Spin support is almost essential), and a weakness to priority moves. Sure, its bulk is decent, but with all the weaknesses, that bulk quickly becomes worthless. That doesn't stop Kyurem from being dangerous, however; this thing is an absolute monster in hail with STAB Blizzards coming off of base 130 Sp.Attk. Here's something to put this into perspective: its Blizzard rips straight through a Dragonite's Multiscale, landing an OHKO before Dragonite can set up.

Without further ado, let's look at a few sets Kyurem can run:

Scarf/Specs user
Timid/Modest nature
Item: Choice Scarf/Specs
EV Spread: 252 Sp.Attk, 252 Speed, 4 HP
Ability: Pressure (a pity it doesn't get anything else without the other forms)
Moves: Blizzard/Ice Beam
Focus Blast/HP Fire
Draco Meteor
Dragon Pulse

This set is one of the sets that makes Kyurem truly dangerous. Give it Specs if you'd like to kill everything, give it Scarf if you'd like it to be a revenge killer (although it is sadly outrun by a few other Scarf users in OU such as Haxorus, Hydreigon, and Salamence). Use Blizzard only if you have hail support. Otherwise, use Ice Beam, as it does still kill things. Focus Blast and HP Fire are for Steel types. Whichever one you use depends on your preference. Draco Meteor is for breaking down opponents, and Dragon Pulse is for late-game sweeping.

The All-out Attacker
Hasty nature
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EV Spread: 36 Attk, 252 Sp.Attk, 220 Speed
Moves: Outrage
Draco Meteor
Ice Beam
HP Fire/ Focus Blast

The all-out attacker with the ability to switch between attacks. Outrage and Draco Meteor are wall-breaking moves. Outrage for Blissey, Draco Meteor for everything else. Ice Beam is for use against other dragons, and HP Fire/Focus Blast is for Steels.


The Substitute user (my personal favorite)
Modest nature
Item: Leftovers
EV Spread: 252 Sp.Attk, 52 HP, 204 Speed
Ability: Pressure
Moves: Blizzard/Ice Beam
Focus Blast
Substitute
Dragon Pulse

This set is the one I use for my hail team (and it has served me well). The EV spread is designed to give Kyurem 404 HP, which allows it to make 101 HP Substitutes, which allows it to survive two Night Shades/Seismic Tosses. You can also use Timid nature, but I prefer Modest for wall-breaking power. The goal here is to save this variant for late-game sweeping, when all Kyurem's counters are gone, so that you can safely set up a Substitute that won't be broken by what they have left. Leftovers is essential for this set, as it gives Kyurem a semi-reliable form of recovery. Blizzard is if you have hail, otherwise, use Ice Beam. Focus Blast is for Steels (although you can also use HP Fire, it's not preferred, as Kyurem will need a bit of speed). Dragon Pulse is for a neutral attack.

A Gimmicky Set
Hasty/Naive nature
Item: Red Card
Ability: Pressure
EV Spread: 100 Attk, 156 Sp.Attk, 252 Speed
Moves: Hone Claws
Outrage
Blizzard
Dragon Pulse

A set that I've grown to not use as much due to the time it takes to set up and the amount of counters that can ruin this set. Basically the goal is to set up a Hone Claws to improve Kyurem's accuracy and attack with super-strong attacks (Blizzard, Focus Blast) without worrying about pitiful accuracy. Outrage is there for Blissey, as it does somewhat wall Kyurem otherwise.

Other options: very few. Its movepool is barren without the enhancements of Reshiram or Zekrom. You could try an all-physical set, but it doesn't work very well.

Kyurem's counters: Plenty. If you can outrun Kyurem and pack a super-effective attack, that thing will fall before you quickly. The Pokemon that commonly do this are Scarf users. To name a few that can deal with Kyurem: Terrakion (with and without a Scarf, it still sends Kyurem packing), Salamence, Haxorus, Hydreigon, and Landorus. Other counters include priority users (specifically Scizor, as and SD boosted Bullet Punch will KO) and putting up arena traps. If even Stealth Rock is up, Kyurem has a difficult time switching in and out of combat.

Overall, this is the worst form of Kyurem, but it is an absolute monster in hail that will dispose of your team should you give it that chance.

[YourPermanentRecord631]

Don't eat the yellow snow
Toxic
Roost
Fly
Dragon tail/protect
Item leftovers
Impish/calm
252 hp, 128 def 128 spdef

Toxic is key. Roost regenerates health, fly stalls. Protect stalls while dragon tail makes it good at phazing out steels.

Too gimmicky as Kyurem is better off attacking straight on instead.

Pun time:

K-y u rem-ain at BL?

[The Eleventh]

SubRoost is one of Kyurem's best bets, thanks to the BW2 move tutors.

Cooler than the rest.
Outrage
Stone edge
Iron head
Zen headbutt
Item life orb
Jolly/adamant
252 att 252 spd 4hp
Strong set for physical

Why... would you use Iron Head and Zen Headbutt?

Now time for a toxic staller
Don't eat the yellow snow
Toxic
Roost
Fly
Dragon tail/protect
Item leftovers
Impish/calm
252 hp, 128 def 128 spdef

Fly? No.

[GirlKirbyZombie]

Since I was young, I always wanted an Ice/Dragon type. Now that we all got one, it didn't turn out too good... Oh well.

"Ice sculpting"
Nature: Relaxed nature
EVs: 189 Sp. Att, 63 Att, and 252 Def
Item: Wise Glasses, Persim Berry, or lum berry
Moves:
Hone Claws
Focus Blast
Blizzard
Outrage

Hone claws power up Outrage and boosts accuracy for Focus Blast and Blizzard. Be on a look out for steels like Scizor and look out for Palkia.

Random request: Can some one make a battle video where a Joltic defeats a Kyurem? I want to rub it in on this dragon noob I know irl.

[YourPermanentRecord631]

Since I was young, I always wanted an Ice/Dragon type. Now that we all got one, it didn't turn out too good... Oh well.

"Ice sculpting"
Nature: Relaxed nature
EVs: 189 Sp. Att, 63 Att, and 252 Def
Item: Wise Glasses, Persim Berry, or lum berry
Moves:
Hone Claws
Focus Blast
Blizzard
Outrage

Hone claws power up Outrage and boosts accuracy for Focus Blast and Blizzard. Be on a look out for steels like Scizor and look out for Palkia.

Random request: Can some one make a battle video where a Joltic defeats a Kyurem? I want to rub it in on this dragon noob I know irl.

If your going mixed, use a Naive or Hasty nature and Life Orb for more damage.