CalmCune of Advance no longer enjoys quasi-invincibility after two Calm Minds, but it should not be taken lightly as it will still sweep any team that is not prepared. After laying down a few layers of Spikes and putting Stealth Rock on the field, use Roar and Suicune's legendary defenses to shuffle through your opponent's team, inflicting potentially heavy damage along the way. Besides wearing down the other team's health and working on your opponent's nerves, the process of shuffling two or three Pokémon in and out can give you a good idea of what sort of team your opponent is using and which members of your team are going to be most important for exploiting weaknesses. Generally, Calm Mind should not be used until near the end of the match when you are sure Suicune can set up for a sweep. The choice of the fourth move is very important and very difficult. Rest enhances Suicune's survivability, but this is not Advance play anymore, and there are Pokémon that can KO you in just two turns of sleep. Ice Beam is for Garchomp and Salamence, though it should be noted that Suicune needs to invest a minimum of 212 EVs in Special Attack to guarantee a OHKO on a full health Garchomp. Hidden Power Electric turns the tables on Gyarados who would normally stop Suicune cold with Taunt, his resistance to Water, and high Special Defense.
This set attempts to maintain the status quo of the "bulky Water" through the use of Sleep Talk. The risk of eating a STAB Surf or a 4x effective Ice Beam should be enough to frighten away Tyranitar, Garchomp, and Rhyperior (three Pokémon capable of taking you out in two moves) while you are Sleeping. While this set is not going to be sweeping anyone like the Calm Mind variants, it has tremendous survivability and will be quite difficult to take down even for the hardest hitting of Pokémon. Using Roar on this set makes Suicune one of the sturdiest phazers in the game and works extremely well in conjunction with Spikes, Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes. Continually resting off damage gives Suicune’s Pressure ability enough time to exhaust the PP of moves like Stone Edge as well.
A combination of above sets, carried over from Advance where a Smogonite named Cromat popularized the set. Crocune has a feeling of eternity about it: even when sleeping, it has the possibility of powering up with Calm Mind or hitting an opponent with Surf. This set solves the problem of being very vulnerable when asleep, and is still able to boost its stats. However, that comes at a price: it only has one attack. You'll find that this Suicune has a harder time of getting past Taunt Gyarados, and you will have to PP stall against anything with Water Absorb, such as Lapras. Due to Pressure, Suicune can indeed win this, unless they have something else that can repeatedly switch in as well, as that allows them to switch back and forth between those two so that you are the only one consuming PP. This set is also the only sane way a Calm Mind Suicune can prevent its Calm Minds from being erased by Roar/Whirlwind while sleeping. You'll just have to hope Sleep Talk does select your triple Calm Minded Surf during the turn Hippowdon or Skarmory decides to blow you away.
Normally, Suicune is seen as a tank who needs several turns of setting up to become threatening whereas this offensive Suicune is an immediate threat after a single Calm Mind. The difference lies in the EV allocation and the choice of three offensive moves. Although it won't be tanking as well as a more defensively oriented Suicune it can still take hits reasonably well and strike back quite effectively. After a single Calm Mind, Suicune can become a powerful sweeper given the impeccable coverage of its move set. Surf is generic STAB. However, Hydro Pump can be used for the higher base power, although the low PP and reduced accuracy is disappointing. Finally, the combination of Ice Beam and Hidden Power Electric gives a pseudo-BoltBeam and with Surf hits everything in the game for at least neutral damage bar Shedinja and Lanturn. Most Suicune carry either Surf and Ice Beam or Surf and Hidden Power Electric which leaves quite a few Pokemon able to wall Suicune and set up themselves. However, when all three of these moves are utilized, a solid counter, outside of Blissey, is hard to come by. For example, after a Calm Mind, Timid Suicune with Life Orb can do 41% - 49% to 188 HP / 0 SpD Bold Vaporeon and can 2HKO 100% of the time if Modest. The given EVs are common for a special sweeper. However, if a more bulky Suicune is desired Leftovers can be used over Life Orb with an EV spread of 172 HP / 120 SpA / 216 Spe with a Timid nature. Timid and 216 Speed EVs let Suicune outrun all Pokemon with base 80 Speed and below.
Substitute and Calm Mind Suicune is a bit more defensively oriented than the Life Orb set, but it suits the water legendary well. The idea is to create 101 HP Substitutes to guard it against crippling status effects and Critical Hits. The Substitute will also stand up to a Blissey Seismic Toss, allowing Suicune the luxury of setting up on one of the game's best Special wall with almost complete impunity. Suicune's naturally bulky defensive stats are also a great help in setting this set up; many weaker physical attackers will have trouble breaking the Substitute in just one hit and special attackers will find it nearly impossible after a few Calm Minds. Meanwhile, Suicune can continue to use Calm Mind, throwing up a Substitute every few turns while Leftovers recovery keeps him alive. Ideally, after all is said and done you should have 6 Calm Minds under your belt. This is where Suicune runs into a bit of a problem. He just misses a 2HKO on Calm Blissey with Surf. While Pressure can help Suicune to stall Blissey out, relying on a critical hit or PP stalling to beat Blissey is an unfortunate consequence of this set. You can dump Speed EVs in favor of more Special Attack, or use Hydro Pump with less Special Attack, but both of these are inferior to the above spread on other Pokémon. Despite these shortcomings, Suicune can still sweep fairly effectively. The choice in fourth move basically depends on what you want to KO with fewer Calm Minds. Ice Beam will get a OHKO on Garchomp not holding a Yache Berry with no Calm Minds, while Hidden Power Electric will hurt other Waters more effectively, especially Gyarados. To properly function this set appreciates a Rapid Spinner or a grounded poison type to remove Toxic Spikes which can cripple this set and a Rain Dancer since the ability to set up is hindered if Leftovers recovery is taken away every turn from Sandstorm damage. Wish support is also helpful since Substitute can quickly drain Suicune's health.
As alluded to earlier, the new fast paced offense of D/P makes Rest somewhat difficult to pull off with success if you are not using Sleep Talk. For this reason, Suicune has the option of using Reflect over Rest to enhance his durability while protecting the rest of your team at the same time. Surf and Ice Beam are obvious and the choice between Roar and Calm Mind should be based on the role you need Suicune to fill in your team. If you are going to use Spikes and Stealth Rock, Roar is the superior choice for shuffling purposes. If you want a back-up sweeper in case your primary strategy falls through, Calm Mind is better. Other OptionsSuicune's movepool is not huge, but he does have a few other options. Nobody expects him to carry Mirror Coat anymore, so if you are willing to absorb a Thunderbolt or Grass Knot, you are pretty much guaranteed a KO. Suicune is the quintessential stalling Pokémon, so of course Toxic and Protect are viable for draining your opponent’s hit points while racking up Leftovers recovery. Suicune is also the premier user of the move Tailwind if you are looking to temporarily give a slow team the Speed advantage. The only other offensive options worth noting are Shadow Ball and Extrasensory, though each of them are so narrowly useful that it is hard to imagine a reason to justify their use. EVsSuicune is, above all else, a stalling Pokémon. It should always be Bold and you should always max its HP with 252 EVs. The only real decision you have to make is whether or not you want to guarantee a OHKO against Garchomp or not. If so, you will need to invest 212 EVs into Special Attack at the cost of the Defense stat. If OHKOing Garchomp is not important to you, just pump those EVs into Defense to maximize Suicune's survivability. OpinionSuicune is no longer the god among Pokémon that it was in Advance, but it is still damn good. Suicune is one of the few bulky Waters that poses a sweeping threat, thanks to Calm Mind, and its ability to toss up a Reflect can prove invaluable in this physically oriented metagame. Be clear though, the bulky Waters of old are no longer the all-purpose physical stoppers there were in the past. They are now on par with every other category of Pokémon in that they have more narrowly defined strengths and weaknesses. To give some perspective: Suicune is 2HKOed by Choice Specs Salamence, a Dragon Danced Tyranitar, and Garchomp after a Swords Dance. CountersLapras and Vaporeon with their Water Absorb ability nullify Suicune entirely. Electivire can score super effective Electric hits on the physical side, bypassing any Calm Mind boosts, and Torterra can nail you with Wood Hammer if you do not have Ice Beam. Celebi can Leech Seed you and Recover away damage if you do not have boosted Ice Beams to scare it away. Gyarados with Taunt will thoroughly trounce any Suicune that does not have Hidden Power Electric, and Blissey beats you if you lack Rest. Starmie should be avoided as well if you do not have a few Calm Minds built up. Venusaur can put you to Sleep and wail away with Leaf Storm, or Leech Seed you, as can Sceptile (minus the Sleep part), and obviously Raikou, Zapdos, and Jolteon should be avoided at all costs. If Suicune is without Roar or Hidden Power Electric, Tentacruel can Swords Dance on Suicune and Poison Jab it into its watery grave. |
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