Featured Ubers Pokémon: Kyurem-W

By Jibaku. Art by Danmire.
« Previous Article Home Next Article »

History

Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 is only one step closer to unveiling the mysteries that shroud the relationship between Zekrom, Reshiram, and Kyurem. Our frozen friend Kyurem was very much out of the spotlight in Pokémon Black and White, hiding away in the treacherous, frigid dungeon known as the Giant Chasm, ashamed of its sub-par battling talent. Distancing itself from all the attention Zekrom and Reshiram receive by the game and players alike, Kyurem disdainfully carries its tattered, mulitated, and arguably lifeless body, awaiting for the day that a certain hero can complete its body with truths and ideals. Falling into the depths of UU briefly brought some life back into the unloved giant gray icy corpse, but not before it was once again abandoned by being dumped into BL because of the terror it caused. Nevertheless, Kyurem appreciated the fact that its skills have some kind of meaning, but it knows, deep down, that its power is only a fragment of what it could be. One day, it would reclaim the glory of being an Uber, perhaps even taking over its brethren Reshiram and Zekrom…literally.

Two years have passed since the titanic clash between N and the protagonist over truths and ideals, and the peace that resulted was shattered by the discovery of the third Dragon that supposedly was created as a byproduct of the Original Dragon’s splitting into Reshiram and Zekrom. Kyurem was dragged out of hiding for its first sight of sunlight in ages. Ghetsis discovered that Kyurem's powers can be strongly amplified with the presence of Zekrom's and Reshiram's genes in its body. From that day forth Kyurem is a corpse no more. At the expense of the soul of its brothers, Kyurem can now fuse their bodies with itself to achieve a tremendous world domination power that shakes the very roots of the Uber metagame. Alas, Kyurem cannot fuse with both of them at the same time for now, but fusing with them individually will do. And thus, Black Kyurem and White Kyurem are born. Unfortunately, the former is currently experiencing some outrageous issues in regards to the extent of its power (but we're working hard to find ways around it!), but the latter simply scoffs at such imperfection. White Kyurem (abbreviated as Kyurem-W from now on), is more than happy to demonstrate its nuclear strength to the rest of the Uber metagame. Why, only recently was our trusted great wall Lugia instantly murdered by a single freezing blast from this beast, and not even the fiery warrior Ho-Oh could thaw the ice. Ubers beware, the next Ice Age is coming…

Kyurem-W's Qualities

Kyurem-W's sky high base 170 Special Attack should easily be apparent when you first set your eyes upon this magnificent beast. It sets a new record for the Dragons in the Uber metagame. Surely you know what this means. That's right, Kyurem-W now possesses the most powerful Draco Meteor in the game! In fact, it is so powerful that a Choice Specs boosted one is almost guaranteed to OHKO Max HP Kyogre after just Stealth Rock damage! Talk about pure power!

But of course, Kyurem-W wouldn't be the rumbling force today if it solely existed to spam the most powerful Draco Meteor in the game. Kyurem-W possesses a relatively expansive special attacking movepool, boasting a wide variety of coverage from its Fusion Flare, Earth Power, Focus Blast, and most importantly, its unique STAB Ice Beam. Virtually no Pokémon can switch into this monster without getting seriously dented. Not even Blissey, as it can be 2HKOed by Choice Specs Focus Blast after just Stealth Rock damage! Combined with TurboBlaze, it becomes even more difficult to play around against, as Forretress and Skarmory are OHKOed through Sturdy, Lugia cannot tank its attacks with Multiscale, and Heatran risks getting blasted apart by Fusion Flare, in addition to Earth Power or Focus Blast, severely limiting its switch in opportunities. Did I mention that it has a base 95 Speed? It's not much, but it outruns the crowded pack of base 90 Speed Ubers who are busy trying to speedcreep one another. Kyurem-W laughs at this misfortune and simply outruns them all.

Oh yeah. An Ice-type Pokémon using a Fire-type attack is pretty awesome.

Kyurem-W's typing was once arguably debated to be redundant. Dragon and Ice provide rather similar coverage, which means that combining the two offensively adept types together didn't help much, and instead plague the former type with the weaknesses of the Ice type. Curiously, however, the Uber metagame allows the offensive qualities from both types to shine. What makes the Ice-type so powerful is the fact that it provides a similar coverage to the Dragon-type, yet crucially also hitting several key targets more effectively. Several Pokémon hit more effectively by its Ice STAB include Groudon, Ground Arceus, Grass Arceus, Ferrothorn, Excadrill, and Skarmory. For instance, most choiced Ubers would struggle when it comes to predicting between Giratina-O and Ferrothorn, and what move to choose. Kyurem-W struggles with none of that, as it can simply click Ice Beam and OHKO the former and shred over 55% to the latter. And of course, its Dragon STAB still remains relevant, because Pokémon like Kyogre and Tentacruel resist Ice Beam, and because Draco Meteor is an absurdly powerful attack.

Defensively, Kyurem-W doesn't offer much typing-wise, but it does possess an important quality—it resists Water and Electric, and is not weak to Ice. This allows Kyurem-W to act as a backup check to Kyogre. Its defensive stats, however, are fairly solid, sitting relatively high at 125 HP / 90 Defense / 100 Special Defense, so it can absorb a few resisted or neutral hits without bending over. Though Kyurem-W is weak to Dragon, Steel, Fighting, and worst of them all, Rock, it is by no means defenseless.

Playing with Kyurem-W

Kyurem-W is a very straightforward Pokémon. It doesn't have a lot of viable sets, but the sets it can employ are extremely threatening and not difficult to use at all. Let's see what we can do with them.

Currently, Kyurem-W's most devastating set is the Choice Specs set. With a Timid nature, it can boast upwards to 658 Special Attack, and with Modest, a monstrous 723 Special Attack. A single Draco Meteor is almost guaranteed to dent everything that switches into it, so when in doubt, just use it. Ice Beam is another highly spammable move as little resists it in Ubers, and no Pokémon are immune to it. The choice between using Draco Meteor and Ice Beam should become more apparent in situations involving non Ice-resistant Steels such as Ferrothorn and Excadrill. Of course, it is important to not forget the coverage moves it can use. Focus Blast, Fusion Flare, and Earth Power are all viable other moves it can use to instantly destroy anything that tries to take its STABs. Kyurem-W's Choice Specs Focus Blast, for instance can OHKO Specially Defensive Dialga and Ferrothorn, Max HP Steel Arceus, and potentially 2HKO Blissey after Stealth Rock. Choice Specs Earth Power deals a tremendous 75%+ to Specially Defensive Jirachi, and can smash Bronzong due to TurboBlaze. Fusion Flare provides the best overall anti Steel-type measure in the sun, OHKOing every Steel Pokémon in the Uber metagame except for Dialga and Heatran, both of which are soundly 2HKOed.

Choice Scarf is a great way to take advantage of Kyurem-W's Ice-type and its base 95 Speed. With STAB Ice Beam in its disposal, Kyurem-W can take down both Ground Arceus and Grass Arceus regardless of weather, as well as OHKOing Groudon and not being walled by Lugia. Being faster than the base 90 Scarfers such as Kyogre and Zekrom can also be quite helpful, and speed tying with +1 Speed Rayquaza can help in a pinch (though obviously don't rely on it!).

But say, locking into an attack isn't your type? Kyurem-W can abuse its coverage through non Choice sets. A Life Orb set consisting of Draco Meteor, Ice Beam, Fusion Flare, and Roost is perfect for taking advantage of its power, coverage, and decent bulk at the same time, although it does come at the cost of having to deal with Life Orb recoil. Kyurem-W can also bait faster Dragons relatively well with a Haban Berry, and can also feign a Choiced set in the process.

Playing Against Kyurem-W

The easiness in playing with Kyurem-W cannot be said in regards to countering it. Good luck, really. If Choice Specs Kyurem-W manages to come in safely, always be prepared to arrange a funeral for one of your Pokémon. Unless, of course, you have a Chansey. Eviolite Chansey is the single most effective counter to Kyurem-W in the game, taking 39%-45% from Modest Choice Specs Focus Blast. Even then, it only takes a little bit of prior damage for Chansey to fall in two consecutive blows (assuming they both hit, of course...).

Otherwise, heavy prediction is needed if you don't plan on sacrificing anyone. Ferrothorn, Jirachi, Heatran, and Steel Arceus are great choices for absorbing Draco Meteor, but they can be OHKOed by either Focus Blast or Fusion Flare. Ferrothorn in particular must be careful as it is also 2HKOed by Ice Beam. Speaking of Ice Beam, Jirachi, Heatran and Steel Arceus once again come to mind in absorbing it, and so can bulky Kyogre, but again, they all risk being OHKOed by another move. Specially Defensive Rock Arceus in sandstorm can take a hit from anything and OHKO back with Judgment, but it requires the Sandstorm to be up or else it is taking a major blow or even a potential OHKO from Choice Specs Focus Blast with a little bit of prior damage. Specially Defensive Ho-Oh is a good stop to Specs Kyurem-W, but is very reliant on Stealth Rock not being up.

But as difficult as Kyurem-W is to switch into, revenging it is relatively easy. Palkia, Latios, Latias, Terrakion, Steel Arceus, Rock Arceus, Dragon Arceus, and Fighting Arceus are all naturally faster than Kyurem-W and can OHKO it with their STAB attacks. Be careful of the Choice Scarf variant, of course, but it's significantly easier to wall without Choice Specs or Life Orb. Palkia, Latios, Latias, and Dragon Arceus must also be careful of Haban Berry as well.

Lastly, but still very importantly, the use of entry hazards will significantly cut Kyurem-W's life short. It is weak to Stealth Rock and is vulnerable to Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Set them up ASAP with Pokémon such as Ferrothorn, Deoxys-S, Forretress, and Dialga, and minimize the room in which Kyurem-W can switch in, or else you will probably be running for your life.

Fitting Kyurem-W Onto Your Team

Kyurem-W might be somewhat difficult to place into a team because it doesn't have a lot of defensive qualities, thus making its utility rather small. Due to this, it is important to look at its offensive traits and keep in mind other competitions such as Palkia and Reshiram, and what sets Kyurem-W apart from them. For example, a sun team might appreciate Choice Scarf Kyurem-W's STAB Ice Beam to take down Ground Arceus. You may also choose Kyurem-W because STAB Ice Beam is great at breaking down the Kyogre/Ferrothorn/Latias core. The awesome part about Kyurem-W is that it is not reliant on weather and can be fit well into both sun and rain teams. Just take care to note its weaknesses to entry hazards and maybe take preventive measures, such as carrying a Rapid Spin user along with it.

Environmental Factors

Really just get your own entry hazards and remove or deny theirs as much as possible and you have one of the most powerful nukes in the Uber metagame. Nothing else needs to be said here because it's that straightforward. Don't tunnel yourself too much into it, however.

Teammates

I will make this short and easy. To make the most potential of Kyurem-W you should:

Get Out There

Look at the frozen wasteland around you and I can almost guarantee that it's Kyurem-W that left this trail of destruction. No other Ice Pokémon can cause so much chilling misery and chaos. Tame this icy terror and annihilate your enemies with it. I can assure you that you will not regret it, and instead, delight in the production of frozen carcasses everywhere. FREEZE ALL!

« Previous Article Home Next Article »