http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/614.shtml
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[Overview]
- Powerful physical Ice type that can hit pretty hard.
- Lack of coverage moves hurts it substantially.
- Best bet in standard at the moment is the SubPunch set, though Choice Band can work.
- Definately not the bulkiest but it does allow it survive some quite strong hits.
- Snow Cloak makes it a good choice for a Hail team, although it is generally outclassed by Mamoswine.
- The biggest hinderence is its awful defensive typing and speed. Although it is bulky if it is switching in generally it will be taking two hits so you need to be careful.
name: SubPuncher
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Focus Punch
move 3: Icicle Drop
move 4: Night Slash/Stone Edge
item: Leftovers
nature: Adamant
evs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Speed
Set Comments:
- If it can manage to get a substitute up can 2HKO a large portion of the metagame with its high Attack.
- Focus Punch and Icicle Drop have great coverage together and are both quite poweful moves that hit hard.
- Night Slash and Stone Edge are for additional coverage in case it is required.
- EV's allow for Tsunbear to outspeed base 55's with 0 or 4 Speed investment. The HP EVs bring it to 384 giving a lot of bulk. The rest are put in Attack.
- Night Slash is preferred over Stone Edge in the 4th slot, as it generally provides better coverage with Icicle Drop and Focus Punch than Stone Edge does.
- Abomasnow is the best team-mates for Tsunbear, as it brings up Hail allowing for extra damage on nearly all foes, and also activates Tsunbear's Snow Cloak ability which can always help in a tight spot.
- Steel-Psychic types are the best counters to this set as they are all bulky and take little damage from Tsunbear's attacks. Metagross is the standout from all of these as well as Jirachi.
- A team-mate that can take advantage of this is Heatran. It has great defensive synergy with Tsunbear, although the both share a Fighting weakness so if you do use both a Fighting resist is highly recommeded. Shanderaa also is a very good team-mate for the same reasons but watch out for Rock attacks.
name: Choice Band
move 1: Icicle Drop
move 2: Superpower
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Night Slash
item: Choice Band
nature: Adamant
evs: 60 HP / 252 atk / 196 Speed
Set Comments:
- This set allows Tsunbear to come in and do a lot of damage right off the bat instead of having to set up a Substitute first.
- Again Icicle Drop is for a powerful STAB move. It hits hard and can 2HKO things such as Special Defensive Skarm.
- Superpower is to hit non Psychic Steels for super effective damage on the switch, such as Heatran. Stone Edge and Night Slash are there again for filler but can be useful if the right situation arises.
- Speed EV's outspeed most Skarmory and Tyranitar while maxing Attack to give the most power possible. Jolly can be used to outspeed things such as min speed Suicune but it is not recommended.
- You can drop all Speed EV's if you wish and focus on bulk, however this is not recommended due to the fact a lot of bulky Pokemon outspeed it and it requires the EV's to 2HKO them.
- Cresselia is a good team-mate as Cresselia covers a lot of weaknesses that Tsunbear has, and the general bulk allows for it to switch in and out easily. Another good team-mate is Starmie, who can switch into Fighting attacks as well as provide Rapid Spin support to keep Tsunbear healthy.
- As for counters, any Steel can switch into Ice attacks with ease. Almost any bulky water is good here too as they can switch into most of its attacks without fearing a super effective hit. Suicune is a prime example here as it can use Tsunbear as setup fodder pretty much.
- Support: Rapid Spin support is highly recommended. Since Tsunbear loses 1/4th of its health due to Stealth Rock every time it switches in it is imperative to keep it off the field. Even better, if you can prevent it going up with Pokemon such as Erufuun or Borutorosu with Taunt then even better. As far as your own entry hazards, Toxic Spikes really helps against Bulky Waters, so Tentacruel or Roserade is recommended here.
- Offensive Complements: Conveniently, Borutorosu is a great offensive complement as it can Volt Change out of bulky Water types for super effective damage as well as hitting Steel types hard. Fire types are always good too to clear out troublesome Steels.
- Defensively you generally need 3 Pokemon because it is impossible to cover every weakness Tsunbear has with 1 Pokemon. One exception is Goruggo, who resists or is neutral to all of Tsunbears weaknesses. Good partners include Heatran and Shanderaa. Both still have 1 weakness in common, but both otherwise have great synergy with it. Generally you just want bulky Pokemon alongside it that aren't weak to the same moves Tsunbear is, such as Cresselia.
- Taunt can be run on the SubPuncher to break walls easier.
- Bulk Up also can be run but its defensive typing is so bad, and it is so slow it is extremely easy to take advantage of anyway.
- Has a large special movepool but is not recommended at all as a special variant.
- Bronzong, Metagross and Jirachi all laugh at Tsunbears offensive efforts and set up on it.
- Suicine, Vaporeon and other bulky waters do the same as long as they aren't weak to a coverage attack.
- Cresselia can take even Night Slash and set up on it.
- Cloyster if it comes in on a Choiced Icicle Drop can Shell Smash with ease and end the game quickly.
- Tsunbear gets Swift Swim in Dream World. While this may seem to be a fantastic addition for it, it is way outclassed as a Swift Swimmer since it gets no STAB to take advantage of the rain being setup, and does not have enough coverage attacks to be as good as some other things, even Seaking outclasses it due to higher Speed and STAB Waterfall.
