Taken from Jibaku
[OVERVIEW]
Primal Kyogre is one of the most defining Pokemon in the format thanks to its high stats and ability to provide unabating weather. Primordial Sea offers game-changing team support to almost every Pokemon in the game and turns Primal Kyogre into one of the best answers to Primal Groudon's devastating Fire-type attacks. While Origin Pulse and Water Spout have downsides with regards to accuracy and consistency, respectively, in combination with the damage boost from rain, they grant Primal Kyogre the potential to deal a ridiculous amount of spread damage. When compared to Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre has no 4x weakness, making it more difficult to eliminate. This is especially true when you take into account Primal Kyogre's extreme bulk, particularly specially, and its wide range of viable EV spreads that are able to patch up the few weaknesses it has. Its physical bulk is not so high that it doesn't fear boosted attacks from the likes of Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Salamence, though. A final word of caution is that should Primal Groudon gain the upper hand in the weather war, Primal Kyogre is often stuck just firing off Ice Beam.
[SET]
name: Bulky Special Attacker
move 1: Water Spout / Origin Pulse
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Origin Pulse / Thunder / Scald
move 4: Protect
item: Blue Orb
ability: Drizzle
nature: Modest / Quiet
evs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 76 SpA
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Spread Water-type attacks are a staple on Primal Kyogre, with its two best options being Water Spout and Origin Pulse. Water Spout is the stronger attack at maximum HP, with a Base Power of 150, but its power decreases with Primal Kyogre's HP. Origin Pulse has a unvarying 110 Base Power, but its 85 percent accuracy makes it riskier. Ice Beam allows Primal Kyogre to still chunk threats while Desolate Land is negating its Water-type attacks, in addition to threatening KOs on Dragons such as Mega Rayquaza and Mega Salamence. Thunder allows Primal Kyogre to deal heavy damage to opposing Primal Kyogre as well as obscure Primal Kyogre checks such as Lapras and Ludicolo. If running Thunder, it is recommended to have Origin Pulse instead of Water Spout, as Primal Kyogre appreciates both a consistent STAB move and a spread move. Scald is an option should you fear Wide Guard or want a STAB move with invariable Base Power and 100% accuracy. Protect allows Primal Kyogre to be shielded for a turn so that it may scout for moves, block Fake Out, and stall out opposing field conditions.
Set Details
========
Blue Orb is used primarily to deal with Primal Groudon's Desolate Land by replacing it with Primordial Sea. Defensively, the EVs prevent an OHKO from Raichu's Zap Plate-boosted Volt Tackle and Mega Rayquaza's Choice Band-boosted Dragon Ascent the majority of the time, in addition to making Jolly Primal Groudon's Precipice Blades a 3HKO. 76 Special Attack EVs ensure that Water Spout will OHKO uninvested Mega Kangaskhan. When not using Water Spout, maximizing Defense is recommended to make Yveltal's Black Glasses-boosted Foul Play a 3HKO and to minimize the chance that both Adamant Primal Groudon's Precipice Blades and Talonflame's Life Orb-boosted Brave Bird will 2HKO. A Modest nature is used to boost Primal Kyogre's damage output. It's also required to 2HKO opposing Primal Kyogre with Thunder. A Quiet nature and 0 Speed IVs can be used instead to outrun as many foes as possible under Trick Room. Other EV spreads are viable too. For example, 252 HP / 60 Def / 196 SpA lets Primal Kyogre survive Mega Rayquaza's Life Orb-boosted Dragon Ascent and OHKO uninvested Xerneas with Water Spout. Bold and Relaxed natures may also be considered, as both grant even more physical bulk, ensuring that not even Adamant Primal Groudon's Precipice Blades can 2HKO. They also allow survival against combination attacks such as Jolly Mega Kangaskhan's Double-Edge with Timid Primal Groudon's Earth Power, or a Sucker Punch from both Life Orb Yveltal and Mega Mawile. When Primal Kyogre is utilized with Icy Wind support, other Speed benchmarks can be considered. 12 Speed EVs ensure that it can outrun base 100s after an Icy Wind, and 132 EVs allow Primal Kyogre to outrun -1 Mega Salamence.
Usage Tips
========
Try to keep Primal Kyogre in the back if you spot Primal Groudon at Team Preview. You want to look for opportunities to send Primal Kyogre in against Primal Groudon in order to win the weather war. Primal Groudon will most likely try to do the same, so try to bait it out by using Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Thundurus. Be careful of its powerful Precipice Blades when switching in, though; having an Intimidate partner such as Salamence or Landorus-T switch in prior can help soften the blow significantly. If your opponent lacks a Primal Groudon, or if you have weather-canceling Pokemon such as Rayquaza on your team, Primal Kyogre can instead be lead aggressively to exert pressure early. When a possible Wide Guard user is on the field, play it safe and opt for single-target attacks.
Team Options
========
Partnering Primal Kyogre with checks to Primal Groudon is necessary given that it's Primal Kyogre's greatest opposition. Landorus-T is effective in this role given that it hits Primal Groudon super effectively, is immune to Ground thanks to its Flying typing, and has Intimidate to soften Primal Groudon's physical attacks. Primal Groudon itself can also pair well with Primal Kyogre, since this grants you maximum weather control, and their high bulk opens up a great deal of switching potential. Primal Groudon covers Primal Kyogre's weakness to Electric and can eliminate Ferrothorn easily, and Primal Kyogre helps take on Water-type attacks when the sunlight isn't up in addition to threatening opposing Ground-types with its STAB moves. The challenge of using such a duo is to ensure that Primal Groudon's Desolate Land won't cripple Primal Kyogre, and vice versa.
While Primal Kyogre has access to Ice Beam, checks to Grass-types such as Amoonguss are still welcome. Flying-types such as Rayquaza, Mega Salamence, and Talonflame are the main candidates for this, as they're able to check them offensively with their potent STAB moves. The former two are particularly useful, as they also check Primal Groudon. Rayquaza can negate the effects of harsh sunlight with Air Lock and Delta Stream and deal great damage with Draco Meteor, and Mega Salamence can Intimidate Primal Groudon and hit it hard with Hyper Voice. Mega Salamence and Talonflame also join other Flying-types such as Crobat and Togekiss in their potential to provide Tailwind support, which is valuable given Primal Kyogre's otherwise middling Speed stat. Finally, Zapdos, while unable to check Grass-types, can also provide Tailwind support and can deal with Water-types, which Primal Kyogre might otherwise struggle to damage.
Thundurus is another Electric-type that can provide speed control in the form of Thunder Wave. It also joins Zapdos in being a great user of Hidden Power Water, which KOs Primal Groudon when Primal Kyogre or Rayquaza is switched in. Gengar is another good Hidden Power Water user and can provide speed control with the likes of Icy Wind, which is able to affect both foes at once. Cresselia likewise makes a great user of Icy Wind and, further, gets access to other forms of speed control such as Thunder Wave and Trick Room. Trick Room in general is a great answer to Primal Kyogre's middling Speed stat because it generally prefers to be run slow and bulky anyway. Dialga, Palkia, Gothitelle, and Bronzong are all viable alternative setters should you prefer any of them. Dialga is notable because it provides a switch-in and check to Electric-type attackers. Palkia loves the boost from rain, as it powers it up to such an extent that it can even OHKO unboosted Xerneas with a Life Orb-boosted Hydro Pump. Gothitelle's Shadow Tag is able to trap in foes and lock down the weather, similarly to Mega Gengar.
Finally, Bronzong, as a Steel-type, appreciates Primal Kyogre's Primordial Sea ability thanks to it nullifying one of its weaknesses in Fire. Bronzong also joins Cresselia in having access to Skill Swap, which, when used on Primal Kyogre, will reset the weather in its favor and make Primal Kyogre immune to Ground. Bronzong is also not the only Steel-type that enjoys having its weakness to Fire temporarily eliminated. Ferrothorn and Mega Mawile are otherwise difficult to handle under heavy rain, and both are able to OHKO Xerneas with their Steel-type STAB moves even after a Geomancy boost, since they're physical attackers. They also both function excellently under Trick Room.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Water Spout
move 2: Origin Pulse
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Hydro Pump / Thunder / Scald
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Drizzle
nature: Modest
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
The HP-dependent Water Spout is Kyogre's primary STAB move, as it takes advantage of the blinding Speed granted by Choice Scarf to clean up foes with large spread damage before they can strike. Origin Pulse is also used because it allows Kyogre to still deal significant spread damage if it has sustained prior injury and Water Spout is therefore weaker. Ice Beam nails Dragon- and Grass-types such as Mega Salamence, Rayquaza, and Amoonguss, which resist Water-type attacks. Hydro Pump grants significant single-target damage as a means of bypassing Wide Guard. It also OHKOes Mega Kangaskhan in the rain. Thunder deals with opposing Kyogre and Lapras. Scald functions as a more accurate, but weaker, alternative to Hydro Pump that also has a chance to burn checks like Ferrothorn.
Set Details
========
This set is relatively straightforward. Choice Scarf is chosen because it's the only viable item on non-Primal Kyogre, and with it, Kyogre becomes a powerful cleaner. Items other than Blue Orb simply do not grant as much benefit as Choice Scarf does. Maximum Special Attack EVs and a Modest nature are used in order to bolster Kyogre's damage output as much as possible. The remaining EVs are then dumped into Speed to make it as fast as possible.
Team Options
========
Rayquaza is a mandatory teammate, as Primal Groudon otherwise hard counters Choice Scarf Kyogre. Drizzle cannot override Desolate Land, so Choice Scarf Kyogre cannot revenge kill Primal Groudon under these conditions. Quick Guard users such as Talonflame and Crobat protect Kyogre from dangerous priority moves that look to take advantage of its poor Defense stat and its reliance on Speed. Some of these threatening moves include Mega Kangaskhan's Fake Out and Sucker Punch, Mega Mawile's Sucker Punch, Thundurus's Thunder Wave, and Mega Rayquaza's Extreme Speed. Talonflame and Crobat can also provide Tailwind support, ensuring that Kyogre will maintain its Speed advantage against foes under their Tailwind. Feint users such as Weavile, Hitmontop, and Raichu are recommended to break Wide Guard, allowing Kyogre to fire off Water Spout freely. Trick Room countermeasures are also important for this Kyogre set, as it's extremely vulnerable to Trick Room. Amoonguss can threaten Trick Room teams thanks to its low Speed and Spore, and it supports Kyogre by redirecting damage away with Rage Powder.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Although Kyogre is usually being supported by its teammates, Thunder Wave and Icy Wind are options to provide speed control. Thunder Wave in particular is good for neutering threats like Xerneas, Mega Salamence, and Rayquaza even if they boost their Speed or switch out. Roar can force a Geomancy-boosted Xerneas to switch out, which prevents a potential sweep. Roar also has higher priority than Trick Room, so it can be used to phaze Trick Room setters before they can set it up, with the plus side of not being stopped by Mental Herb or Lum Berry, which are common items on them. Keep in mind that Roar only switches out a Pokemon if there are more than two Pokemon remaining, so if the target is one of the opponent's last two, it will be ineffective. Calm Mind can bolster Kyogre's already high special stats, but most of the time Kyogre is better off attacking than boosting. It is not as impactful as Primal Groudon's Swords Dance or Xerneas's Geomancy. An EV spread of 252 SpA / 252 Spe with a Timid nature on Primal Kyogre is viable, but it is extremely vulnerable to some powerful physical moves in the game. In particular, Mega Rayquaza and Mega Kangaskhan can threaten an OHKO with Dragon Ascent and Double-Edge, respectively.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Primal Groudon**: Primal Groudon can generally freely switch into Kyogre, and its Desolate Land ability removes Kyogre's ability to fire off strong Water attacks. This forces Kyogre to rely more on Ice Beam for its damage output. However, if Primal Kyogre is the one switching into Primal Groudon, it will have the upper hand and threaten an easy OHKO on Primal Groudon with its Water-type attacks.
**Xerneas**: Xerneas outspeeds Kyogre and can set up a Geomancy to boost its Special Defense before Kyogre can get off an attack. While Geomancy-boosted Xerneas does massive damage, it is worth noting that Kyogre will survive a +2 Moonblast from full health.
**Strong Physical Attackers**: Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Salamence, and Rayquaza all threaten Kyogre due to their massive Attack stat, which hits Kyogre's weak point because its Defense is much lower than its Special Defense. Raichu can threaten Primal Kyogre with Volt Tackle, OHKOing less bulky variants.
**Grass-type Pokemon**: Amoonguss and Ferrothorn both resist Kyogre's STAB Water-type moves. Amoonguss threatens Kyogre with Grass Knot and Spore, while Ferrothorn threatens with Power Whip and potentially stalling out Kyogre with Leech Seed. Ludicolo sports a 4x resistance to Water and is not weak to Ice Beam and Thunder. With Swift Swim or Rain Dish, it can take advantage of Primordial Sea to be either incredibly fast or difficult to knock out, respectively. Ludicolo can also deal heavy damage back to Kyogre with a STAB Grass Knot.
**Dialga and Palkia**: Both Pokemon resist Kyogre's Water-type attacks and are not weak to Ice Beam or Thunder. They can both retaliate with Thunder, potentially 2HKOing Primal Kyogre. Without Thunder, however, both Dialga and Palkia may struggle to defeat Kyogre, as its Special Defense is incredibly high.
**Lapras**: If Primal Kyogre lacks Thunder, Lapras can easily wall it thanks to Water Absorb and a 4x resistance to Ice. However, Kyogre's special bulk is so high that Freeze-Dry is only a 4HKO on it. If Kyogre carries Thunder, it will 3HKO Assault Vest Lapras.
[OVERVIEW]
Primal Kyogre is one of the most defining Pokemon in the format thanks to its high stats and ability to provide unabating weather. Primordial Sea offers game-changing team support to almost every Pokemon in the game and turns Primal Kyogre into one of the best answers to Primal Groudon's devastating Fire-type attacks. While Origin Pulse and Water Spout have downsides with regards to accuracy and consistency, respectively, in combination with the damage boost from rain, they grant Primal Kyogre the potential to deal a ridiculous amount of spread damage. When compared to Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre has no 4x weakness, making it more difficult to eliminate. This is especially true when you take into account Primal Kyogre's extreme bulk, particularly specially, and its wide range of viable EV spreads that are able to patch up the few weaknesses it has. Its physical bulk is not so high that it doesn't fear boosted attacks from the likes of Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Salamence, though. A final word of caution is that should Primal Groudon gain the upper hand in the weather war, Primal Kyogre is often stuck just firing off Ice Beam.
[SET]
name: Bulky Special Attacker
move 1: Water Spout / Origin Pulse
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Origin Pulse / Thunder / Scald
move 4: Protect
item: Blue Orb
ability: Drizzle
nature: Modest / Quiet
evs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 76 SpA
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Spread Water-type attacks are a staple on Primal Kyogre, with its two best options being Water Spout and Origin Pulse. Water Spout is the stronger attack at maximum HP, with a Base Power of 150, but its power decreases with Primal Kyogre's HP. Origin Pulse has a unvarying 110 Base Power, but its 85 percent accuracy makes it riskier. Ice Beam allows Primal Kyogre to still chunk threats while Desolate Land is negating its Water-type attacks, in addition to threatening KOs on Dragons such as Mega Rayquaza and Mega Salamence. Thunder allows Primal Kyogre to deal heavy damage to opposing Primal Kyogre as well as obscure Primal Kyogre checks such as Lapras and Ludicolo. If running Thunder, it is recommended to have Origin Pulse instead of Water Spout, as Primal Kyogre appreciates both a consistent STAB move and a spread move. Scald is an option should you fear Wide Guard or want a STAB move with invariable Base Power and 100% accuracy. Protect allows Primal Kyogre to be shielded for a turn so that it may scout for moves, block Fake Out, and stall out opposing field conditions.
Set Details
========
Blue Orb is used primarily to deal with Primal Groudon's Desolate Land by replacing it with Primordial Sea. Defensively, the EVs prevent an OHKO from Raichu's Zap Plate-boosted Volt Tackle and Mega Rayquaza's Choice Band-boosted Dragon Ascent the majority of the time, in addition to making Jolly Primal Groudon's Precipice Blades a 3HKO. 76 Special Attack EVs ensure that Water Spout will OHKO uninvested Mega Kangaskhan. When not using Water Spout, maximizing Defense is recommended to make Yveltal's Black Glasses-boosted Foul Play a 3HKO and to minimize the chance that both Adamant Primal Groudon's Precipice Blades and Talonflame's Life Orb-boosted Brave Bird will 2HKO. A Modest nature is used to boost Primal Kyogre's damage output. It's also required to 2HKO opposing Primal Kyogre with Thunder. A Quiet nature and 0 Speed IVs can be used instead to outrun as many foes as possible under Trick Room. Other EV spreads are viable too. For example, 252 HP / 60 Def / 196 SpA lets Primal Kyogre survive Mega Rayquaza's Life Orb-boosted Dragon Ascent and OHKO uninvested Xerneas with Water Spout. Bold and Relaxed natures may also be considered, as both grant even more physical bulk, ensuring that not even Adamant Primal Groudon's Precipice Blades can 2HKO. They also allow survival against combination attacks such as Jolly Mega Kangaskhan's Double-Edge with Timid Primal Groudon's Earth Power, or a Sucker Punch from both Life Orb Yveltal and Mega Mawile. When Primal Kyogre is utilized with Icy Wind support, other Speed benchmarks can be considered. 12 Speed EVs ensure that it can outrun base 100s after an Icy Wind, and 132 EVs allow Primal Kyogre to outrun -1 Mega Salamence.
Usage Tips
========
Try to keep Primal Kyogre in the back if you spot Primal Groudon at Team Preview. You want to look for opportunities to send Primal Kyogre in against Primal Groudon in order to win the weather war. Primal Groudon will most likely try to do the same, so try to bait it out by using Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Thundurus. Be careful of its powerful Precipice Blades when switching in, though; having an Intimidate partner such as Salamence or Landorus-T switch in prior can help soften the blow significantly. If your opponent lacks a Primal Groudon, or if you have weather-canceling Pokemon such as Rayquaza on your team, Primal Kyogre can instead be lead aggressively to exert pressure early. When a possible Wide Guard user is on the field, play it safe and opt for single-target attacks.
Team Options
========
Partnering Primal Kyogre with checks to Primal Groudon is necessary given that it's Primal Kyogre's greatest opposition. Landorus-T is effective in this role given that it hits Primal Groudon super effectively, is immune to Ground thanks to its Flying typing, and has Intimidate to soften Primal Groudon's physical attacks. Primal Groudon itself can also pair well with Primal Kyogre, since this grants you maximum weather control, and their high bulk opens up a great deal of switching potential. Primal Groudon covers Primal Kyogre's weakness to Electric and can eliminate Ferrothorn easily, and Primal Kyogre helps take on Water-type attacks when the sunlight isn't up in addition to threatening opposing Ground-types with its STAB moves. The challenge of using such a duo is to ensure that Primal Groudon's Desolate Land won't cripple Primal Kyogre, and vice versa.
While Primal Kyogre has access to Ice Beam, checks to Grass-types such as Amoonguss are still welcome. Flying-types such as Rayquaza, Mega Salamence, and Talonflame are the main candidates for this, as they're able to check them offensively with their potent STAB moves. The former two are particularly useful, as they also check Primal Groudon. Rayquaza can negate the effects of harsh sunlight with Air Lock and Delta Stream and deal great damage with Draco Meteor, and Mega Salamence can Intimidate Primal Groudon and hit it hard with Hyper Voice. Mega Salamence and Talonflame also join other Flying-types such as Crobat and Togekiss in their potential to provide Tailwind support, which is valuable given Primal Kyogre's otherwise middling Speed stat. Finally, Zapdos, while unable to check Grass-types, can also provide Tailwind support and can deal with Water-types, which Primal Kyogre might otherwise struggle to damage.
Thundurus is another Electric-type that can provide speed control in the form of Thunder Wave. It also joins Zapdos in being a great user of Hidden Power Water, which KOs Primal Groudon when Primal Kyogre or Rayquaza is switched in. Gengar is another good Hidden Power Water user and can provide speed control with the likes of Icy Wind, which is able to affect both foes at once. Cresselia likewise makes a great user of Icy Wind and, further, gets access to other forms of speed control such as Thunder Wave and Trick Room. Trick Room in general is a great answer to Primal Kyogre's middling Speed stat because it generally prefers to be run slow and bulky anyway. Dialga, Palkia, Gothitelle, and Bronzong are all viable alternative setters should you prefer any of them. Dialga is notable because it provides a switch-in and check to Electric-type attackers. Palkia loves the boost from rain, as it powers it up to such an extent that it can even OHKO unboosted Xerneas with a Life Orb-boosted Hydro Pump. Gothitelle's Shadow Tag is able to trap in foes and lock down the weather, similarly to Mega Gengar.
Finally, Bronzong, as a Steel-type, appreciates Primal Kyogre's Primordial Sea ability thanks to it nullifying one of its weaknesses in Fire. Bronzong also joins Cresselia in having access to Skill Swap, which, when used on Primal Kyogre, will reset the weather in its favor and make Primal Kyogre immune to Ground. Bronzong is also not the only Steel-type that enjoys having its weakness to Fire temporarily eliminated. Ferrothorn and Mega Mawile are otherwise difficult to handle under heavy rain, and both are able to OHKO Xerneas with their Steel-type STAB moves even after a Geomancy boost, since they're physical attackers. They also both function excellently under Trick Room.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Water Spout
move 2: Origin Pulse
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Hydro Pump / Thunder / Scald
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Drizzle
nature: Modest
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
The HP-dependent Water Spout is Kyogre's primary STAB move, as it takes advantage of the blinding Speed granted by Choice Scarf to clean up foes with large spread damage before they can strike. Origin Pulse is also used because it allows Kyogre to still deal significant spread damage if it has sustained prior injury and Water Spout is therefore weaker. Ice Beam nails Dragon- and Grass-types such as Mega Salamence, Rayquaza, and Amoonguss, which resist Water-type attacks. Hydro Pump grants significant single-target damage as a means of bypassing Wide Guard. It also OHKOes Mega Kangaskhan in the rain. Thunder deals with opposing Kyogre and Lapras. Scald functions as a more accurate, but weaker, alternative to Hydro Pump that also has a chance to burn checks like Ferrothorn.
Set Details
========
This set is relatively straightforward. Choice Scarf is chosen because it's the only viable item on non-Primal Kyogre, and with it, Kyogre becomes a powerful cleaner. Items other than Blue Orb simply do not grant as much benefit as Choice Scarf does. Maximum Special Attack EVs and a Modest nature are used in order to bolster Kyogre's damage output as much as possible. The remaining EVs are then dumped into Speed to make it as fast as possible.
Team Options
========
Rayquaza is a mandatory teammate, as Primal Groudon otherwise hard counters Choice Scarf Kyogre. Drizzle cannot override Desolate Land, so Choice Scarf Kyogre cannot revenge kill Primal Groudon under these conditions. Quick Guard users such as Talonflame and Crobat protect Kyogre from dangerous priority moves that look to take advantage of its poor Defense stat and its reliance on Speed. Some of these threatening moves include Mega Kangaskhan's Fake Out and Sucker Punch, Mega Mawile's Sucker Punch, Thundurus's Thunder Wave, and Mega Rayquaza's Extreme Speed. Talonflame and Crobat can also provide Tailwind support, ensuring that Kyogre will maintain its Speed advantage against foes under their Tailwind. Feint users such as Weavile, Hitmontop, and Raichu are recommended to break Wide Guard, allowing Kyogre to fire off Water Spout freely. Trick Room countermeasures are also important for this Kyogre set, as it's extremely vulnerable to Trick Room. Amoonguss can threaten Trick Room teams thanks to its low Speed and Spore, and it supports Kyogre by redirecting damage away with Rage Powder.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Although Kyogre is usually being supported by its teammates, Thunder Wave and Icy Wind are options to provide speed control. Thunder Wave in particular is good for neutering threats like Xerneas, Mega Salamence, and Rayquaza even if they boost their Speed or switch out. Roar can force a Geomancy-boosted Xerneas to switch out, which prevents a potential sweep. Roar also has higher priority than Trick Room, so it can be used to phaze Trick Room setters before they can set it up, with the plus side of not being stopped by Mental Herb or Lum Berry, which are common items on them. Keep in mind that Roar only switches out a Pokemon if there are more than two Pokemon remaining, so if the target is one of the opponent's last two, it will be ineffective. Calm Mind can bolster Kyogre's already high special stats, but most of the time Kyogre is better off attacking than boosting. It is not as impactful as Primal Groudon's Swords Dance or Xerneas's Geomancy. An EV spread of 252 SpA / 252 Spe with a Timid nature on Primal Kyogre is viable, but it is extremely vulnerable to some powerful physical moves in the game. In particular, Mega Rayquaza and Mega Kangaskhan can threaten an OHKO with Dragon Ascent and Double-Edge, respectively.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Primal Groudon**: Primal Groudon can generally freely switch into Kyogre, and its Desolate Land ability removes Kyogre's ability to fire off strong Water attacks. This forces Kyogre to rely more on Ice Beam for its damage output. However, if Primal Kyogre is the one switching into Primal Groudon, it will have the upper hand and threaten an easy OHKO on Primal Groudon with its Water-type attacks.
**Xerneas**: Xerneas outspeeds Kyogre and can set up a Geomancy to boost its Special Defense before Kyogre can get off an attack. While Geomancy-boosted Xerneas does massive damage, it is worth noting that Kyogre will survive a +2 Moonblast from full health.
**Strong Physical Attackers**: Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Salamence, and Rayquaza all threaten Kyogre due to their massive Attack stat, which hits Kyogre's weak point because its Defense is much lower than its Special Defense. Raichu can threaten Primal Kyogre with Volt Tackle, OHKOing less bulky variants.
**Grass-type Pokemon**: Amoonguss and Ferrothorn both resist Kyogre's STAB Water-type moves. Amoonguss threatens Kyogre with Grass Knot and Spore, while Ferrothorn threatens with Power Whip and potentially stalling out Kyogre with Leech Seed. Ludicolo sports a 4x resistance to Water and is not weak to Ice Beam and Thunder. With Swift Swim or Rain Dish, it can take advantage of Primordial Sea to be either incredibly fast or difficult to knock out, respectively. Ludicolo can also deal heavy damage back to Kyogre with a STAB Grass Knot.
**Dialga and Palkia**: Both Pokemon resist Kyogre's Water-type attacks and are not weak to Ice Beam or Thunder. They can both retaliate with Thunder, potentially 2HKOing Primal Kyogre. Without Thunder, however, both Dialga and Palkia may struggle to defeat Kyogre, as its Special Defense is incredibly high.
**Lapras**: If Primal Kyogre lacks Thunder, Lapras can easily wall it thanks to Water Absorb and a 4x resistance to Ice. However, Kyogre's special bulk is so high that Freeze-Dry is only a 4HKO on it. If Kyogre carries Thunder, it will 3HKO Assault Vest Lapras.
Last edited:
