[OVERVIEW]
Suicune is one of the more difficult Pokemon to use in this format thanks to Primal Groudon and its Desolate Land. However, with the right support, Suicune can catch people off guard and take down some of the metagame's biggest threats on its own. Base 100 / 115 / 115 defensive stats give Suicune a considerable amount of bulk, and its Water typing makes Suicune weak to only two types. Suicune's limited support movepool comes in handy to create various disrupting plays like using Snarl to weaken your opponent's offensive options and Tailwind to increase your team's Speed. Suicune is one of the few Pokemon in the metagame that easily shrug off both Primal Groudon's Eruption and Primal Kyogre's Water Spout while hitting both Primal Groudon and Rayquaza for super effective damage. While Suicune plays a huge supportive role in your team, it exerts little to no offensive pressure against the likes of Kyogre and Xerneas and is completely ineffective and helpless in Primal Groudon's harsh sun. Pokemon like Thundurus can easily shut down its support option with Taunt and can KO Suicune with super effective Thunderbolts, while Primal Kyogre completely walls Suicune and KOes it with Thunder. In short, Suicune works much like Cresselia but provides better bulk in a metagame focused around the Primal Reversions and can help set up different types of speed control.
[SET]
name: Tailwind Disruptor
move 1: Tailwind
move 2: Scald
move 3: Icy Wind / Ice Beam
move 4: Roar / Snarl
item: Sitrus Berry / Lum Berry
ability: Pressure
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 100 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Tailwind is Suicune's main form of speed control, allowing your offensive team members to outspeed and KO the opposing Pokemon with their powerful spread moves, such as Geomancy-boosted Xerneas, which is one of the most common Pokemon in the metagame. Scald is Suicune's primary STAB move to OHKO any opposing Primal Groudon if Air Lock or Primordial Sea is active and can be used on most physical attackers thanks to its 30% burn chance. Icy Wind is generally used as an additional form of speed control and hits Mega Salamence and Rayquaza super effectively, while Ice Beam deals higher amounts of damage to those Pokemon. Roar is often used as an option to phaze Geomancy-boosted Xerneas to reset its boosts as well as stop the activation of Trick Room, which is important because Suicune is primarily used on fast, offensive teams. Roar also has the added utility of phazing Smeargle to get rid of annoying Moody boosts. Snarl can be used in the final slot to provide additional disruption, weakening Primal Kyogre and Xerneas.
Set Details
========
Sitrus Berry is used to maximize Suicune's longevity, but Lum Berry can be used to lead against Smeargle users and set up Tailwind as early as possible to begin your team's offensive onslaught. Unfortunately, Suicune's ability, Pressure, doesn't make much of an impact in this format, other than making Eruption run out of PP much faster. This set is EVed to survive as many physical attacks as possible. 252 HP and 156 Defense EVs along with a Bold nature give Suicune enough physical bulk to have a 10.5% chance to avoid the 2HKO from Mega Rayquaza's Dragon Ascent. Additionally, this spread makes sure Suicune survives Mega Rayquaza's Helping Hand-boosted Dragon Ascent, which happens to be one of the strongest physical attacks available in the VGC 2016 metagame. 100 Special Defense EVs help Suicune survive +2 Xerneas's Moonblast 87.5% of the time, which allows it to retaliate with a Roar after taking a hit.
Usage Tips
========
Suicune's primary usage is that of a support Pokemon similar to Cresselia. Keep Suicune on the field to disrupt your opponent's Pokemon while ensuring you have a form of speed control on the field. Suicune is often used with Rayquaza to take advantage of Air Lock, allowing it to hit Talonflame and Primal Groudon with a super effective Scald, which usually OHKOes the latter. Leading Suicune against a Trick Room team to Roar their setter away is often the preferred play, though it should be wary of redirectors. Suicune should lead with a Fake Out user to help it set up Tailwind or phaze the opposing threats, allowing you to gain momentum as quickly as possible. Icy Wind is commonly used against Rayquaza + Primal Kyogre teams when paired with a Primal Groudon, as a combination of Eruption and Icy Wind is usually enough to KO Rayquaza on the switch, securing you the win. Additionally, Icy Wind can be used against teams with both Primal Reversions that have their own Tailwind, which allows your Pokemon to be the fastest on the field. Roar can be used against such teams as well to shut down any Trick Room attempt. As people are aware of Roar's existence, they might bait Suicune into using Roar on their Xerneas, only to hit you with a Moonblast or Dazzling Gleam, making you lose momentum.
Team Options
========
Rayquaza makes an excellent partner to any Water-type Pokemon like Kyogre or Suicune. Rayquaza hurts Dragon-types and Primal Kyogre hard, which usually wall Suicune. Primal Groudon is immune to Electric-type moves, usually from Thundurus, forming a good core with Suicune and Rayquaza while providing some switch options. It also is often used to KO Mega Mawile and Ferrothorn, two of the metagame's biggest Steel-type threats, which can easily take down any Rayquaza that doesn't run Overheat. It should be noted that Groudon's Desolate Land is counterproductive with Water-types, forcing the player to run a weather-negating ability like Cloud Nine or Rayquaza's Air Lock for the core to function effectively. As Mega Rayquaza + Primal Kyogre and Xerneas + Primal Kyogre teams may be the most difficult matchups for this trio, Ferrothorn is often run alongside Suicune, since it hits Kyogre and Xerneas hard for super effective damage. Xerneas itself is a good partner to Suicune, when paired with Rayquaza, since Suicune can stop any Trick Room attempts that thwart Xerneas and also takes down Primal Groudon when Air Lock is active. Geomancy-boosted Xerneas along with Suicune's Roar to stop Trick Room forms a formidable core. Electric-types such as Thundurus make solid partners for Suicune, damaging most Water-types like Primal Kyogre that wall Suicune for super effective damage while providing an additional form of speed control via Thunder Wave and using Taunt to shut down Smeargle, which usually gives Suicune a lot of trouble. Raichu can work in this slot as well to draw out Electric-type attacks thanks to its Lightning Rod ability and to provide Fake Out support. Steel-types like Scizor are worth a mention, as they can help take down Xerneas + Mega Rayquaza teams, which usually use a hyper offensive playstyle. Scizor's priority attacks can be used to deal with Smeargle as well, one of the most-used Pokemon in the format. One of the unrestricted Pokemon often used with Suicune is Mega Kangaskhan, as Fake Out support is vital to any team when trying to establish a form of speed control.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Mirror Coat can be used to easily OHKO any Xerneas and Thundurus, as it avoids redirection, providing a foolproof plan to beat down the biggest threats in one hit and allowing Suicune to be viable offensively. Assault Vest works well with this strategy, if you don't mind dropping Tailwind or if your team has a different form of speed control, though this makes Suicune much more susceptible to sleep. Chesto Berry works as a viable option if another Pokemon like Crobat is already using Lum Berry, which also opens up another option in the form of Rest for recovery. Reflect could be used to make your team more physically bulky to survive powerful attacks from the likes of Mega Rayquaza, though this makes Suicune Taunt bait in a best of three environment. Additionally, if you feel that your team needs more offense, Suicune can run an offensive set with a Modest nature and 116 Special Attack EVs to OHKO Mega Salamence with Ice Beam; this, however, is not recommended, as it makes Suicune much more fragile in a metagame centered around powerhouses.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Electric-types**: Electric-types like Thundurus and Raichu easily KO Suicune with super effective STAB moves, as they are usually faster than most Pokemon in the format. Thundurus also has the added aid of Taunt to shut down Suicune's support options. Thunder from Primal Kyogre also deals quite an amount of damage.
**Grass-types**: Grass-types like Ferrothorn and Amoonguss wall Suicune and proceed to KO it with Power Whip and Leech Seed or put it to sleep with Spore, respectively. These Pokemon also serve as counters to Mega Kangaskhan, which is usually paired with Suicune for Fake Out support.
**Bulky Water-types**: With its high Special Defense and Water typing, Primal Kyogre walls Suicune and can whittle down its health with relative ease, especially if it runs Thunder for coverage. Other Water-types like Gastrodon and Slowbro wall Suicune with ease as well.
**Smeargle**: Like most Pokemon in the metagame, Suicune suffers from being put to sleep by Smeargle, which usually outspeeds it, unless you have Tailwind set up. Due to Suicune's mediocre offensive stats, Scald fails to deal sufficient damage to Smeargle, allowing it to use Dark Void on the rest of your Pokemon. This forces players to make a decision as to whether to run Lum Berry or Sitrus Berry.
**Strong Attackers**: Despite Suicune's bulk, restricted Pokemon like Xerneas and Mega Rayquaza can easily take down Suicune with little effort. The fast-paced nature of VGC 2016 forces Suicune players to run a variety of Pokemon that have different types to allow for some decent switching options. Other Pokemon like Mega Kangaskhan deal quite a lot of damage with Helping Hand support.
**Desolate Land**: Suicune becomes functionless in Primal Groudon's Desolate Land and requires the aid of Air Lock to work. This makes Suicune a sitting duck when facing a Primal Groudon if your Rayquaza has already fainted, forcing you to stall out games with Roar or Icy Wind.
Suicune is one of the more difficult Pokemon to use in this format thanks to Primal Groudon and its Desolate Land. However, with the right support, Suicune can catch people off guard and take down some of the metagame's biggest threats on its own. Base 100 / 115 / 115 defensive stats give Suicune a considerable amount of bulk, and its Water typing makes Suicune weak to only two types. Suicune's limited support movepool comes in handy to create various disrupting plays like using Snarl to weaken your opponent's offensive options and Tailwind to increase your team's Speed. Suicune is one of the few Pokemon in the metagame that easily shrug off both Primal Groudon's Eruption and Primal Kyogre's Water Spout while hitting both Primal Groudon and Rayquaza for super effective damage. While Suicune plays a huge supportive role in your team, it exerts little to no offensive pressure against the likes of Kyogre and Xerneas and is completely ineffective and helpless in Primal Groudon's harsh sun. Pokemon like Thundurus can easily shut down its support option with Taunt and can KO Suicune with super effective Thunderbolts, while Primal Kyogre completely walls Suicune and KOes it with Thunder. In short, Suicune works much like Cresselia but provides better bulk in a metagame focused around the Primal Reversions and can help set up different types of speed control.
[SET]
name: Tailwind Disruptor
move 1: Tailwind
move 2: Scald
move 3: Icy Wind / Ice Beam
move 4: Roar / Snarl
item: Sitrus Berry / Lum Berry
ability: Pressure
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 100 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Tailwind is Suicune's main form of speed control, allowing your offensive team members to outspeed and KO the opposing Pokemon with their powerful spread moves, such as Geomancy-boosted Xerneas, which is one of the most common Pokemon in the metagame. Scald is Suicune's primary STAB move to OHKO any opposing Primal Groudon if Air Lock or Primordial Sea is active and can be used on most physical attackers thanks to its 30% burn chance. Icy Wind is generally used as an additional form of speed control and hits Mega Salamence and Rayquaza super effectively, while Ice Beam deals higher amounts of damage to those Pokemon. Roar is often used as an option to phaze Geomancy-boosted Xerneas to reset its boosts as well as stop the activation of Trick Room, which is important because Suicune is primarily used on fast, offensive teams. Roar also has the added utility of phazing Smeargle to get rid of annoying Moody boosts. Snarl can be used in the final slot to provide additional disruption, weakening Primal Kyogre and Xerneas.
Set Details
========
Sitrus Berry is used to maximize Suicune's longevity, but Lum Berry can be used to lead against Smeargle users and set up Tailwind as early as possible to begin your team's offensive onslaught. Unfortunately, Suicune's ability, Pressure, doesn't make much of an impact in this format, other than making Eruption run out of PP much faster. This set is EVed to survive as many physical attacks as possible. 252 HP and 156 Defense EVs along with a Bold nature give Suicune enough physical bulk to have a 10.5% chance to avoid the 2HKO from Mega Rayquaza's Dragon Ascent. Additionally, this spread makes sure Suicune survives Mega Rayquaza's Helping Hand-boosted Dragon Ascent, which happens to be one of the strongest physical attacks available in the VGC 2016 metagame. 100 Special Defense EVs help Suicune survive +2 Xerneas's Moonblast 87.5% of the time, which allows it to retaliate with a Roar after taking a hit.
Usage Tips
========
Suicune's primary usage is that of a support Pokemon similar to Cresselia. Keep Suicune on the field to disrupt your opponent's Pokemon while ensuring you have a form of speed control on the field. Suicune is often used with Rayquaza to take advantage of Air Lock, allowing it to hit Talonflame and Primal Groudon with a super effective Scald, which usually OHKOes the latter. Leading Suicune against a Trick Room team to Roar their setter away is often the preferred play, though it should be wary of redirectors. Suicune should lead with a Fake Out user to help it set up Tailwind or phaze the opposing threats, allowing you to gain momentum as quickly as possible. Icy Wind is commonly used against Rayquaza + Primal Kyogre teams when paired with a Primal Groudon, as a combination of Eruption and Icy Wind is usually enough to KO Rayquaza on the switch, securing you the win. Additionally, Icy Wind can be used against teams with both Primal Reversions that have their own Tailwind, which allows your Pokemon to be the fastest on the field. Roar can be used against such teams as well to shut down any Trick Room attempt. As people are aware of Roar's existence, they might bait Suicune into using Roar on their Xerneas, only to hit you with a Moonblast or Dazzling Gleam, making you lose momentum.
Team Options
========
Rayquaza makes an excellent partner to any Water-type Pokemon like Kyogre or Suicune. Rayquaza hurts Dragon-types and Primal Kyogre hard, which usually wall Suicune. Primal Groudon is immune to Electric-type moves, usually from Thundurus, forming a good core with Suicune and Rayquaza while providing some switch options. It also is often used to KO Mega Mawile and Ferrothorn, two of the metagame's biggest Steel-type threats, which can easily take down any Rayquaza that doesn't run Overheat. It should be noted that Groudon's Desolate Land is counterproductive with Water-types, forcing the player to run a weather-negating ability like Cloud Nine or Rayquaza's Air Lock for the core to function effectively. As Mega Rayquaza + Primal Kyogre and Xerneas + Primal Kyogre teams may be the most difficult matchups for this trio, Ferrothorn is often run alongside Suicune, since it hits Kyogre and Xerneas hard for super effective damage. Xerneas itself is a good partner to Suicune, when paired with Rayquaza, since Suicune can stop any Trick Room attempts that thwart Xerneas and also takes down Primal Groudon when Air Lock is active. Geomancy-boosted Xerneas along with Suicune's Roar to stop Trick Room forms a formidable core. Electric-types such as Thundurus make solid partners for Suicune, damaging most Water-types like Primal Kyogre that wall Suicune for super effective damage while providing an additional form of speed control via Thunder Wave and using Taunt to shut down Smeargle, which usually gives Suicune a lot of trouble. Raichu can work in this slot as well to draw out Electric-type attacks thanks to its Lightning Rod ability and to provide Fake Out support. Steel-types like Scizor are worth a mention, as they can help take down Xerneas + Mega Rayquaza teams, which usually use a hyper offensive playstyle. Scizor's priority attacks can be used to deal with Smeargle as well, one of the most-used Pokemon in the format. One of the unrestricted Pokemon often used with Suicune is Mega Kangaskhan, as Fake Out support is vital to any team when trying to establish a form of speed control.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Mirror Coat can be used to easily OHKO any Xerneas and Thundurus, as it avoids redirection, providing a foolproof plan to beat down the biggest threats in one hit and allowing Suicune to be viable offensively. Assault Vest works well with this strategy, if you don't mind dropping Tailwind or if your team has a different form of speed control, though this makes Suicune much more susceptible to sleep. Chesto Berry works as a viable option if another Pokemon like Crobat is already using Lum Berry, which also opens up another option in the form of Rest for recovery. Reflect could be used to make your team more physically bulky to survive powerful attacks from the likes of Mega Rayquaza, though this makes Suicune Taunt bait in a best of three environment. Additionally, if you feel that your team needs more offense, Suicune can run an offensive set with a Modest nature and 116 Special Attack EVs to OHKO Mega Salamence with Ice Beam; this, however, is not recommended, as it makes Suicune much more fragile in a metagame centered around powerhouses.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Electric-types**: Electric-types like Thundurus and Raichu easily KO Suicune with super effective STAB moves, as they are usually faster than most Pokemon in the format. Thundurus also has the added aid of Taunt to shut down Suicune's support options. Thunder from Primal Kyogre also deals quite an amount of damage.
**Grass-types**: Grass-types like Ferrothorn and Amoonguss wall Suicune and proceed to KO it with Power Whip and Leech Seed or put it to sleep with Spore, respectively. These Pokemon also serve as counters to Mega Kangaskhan, which is usually paired with Suicune for Fake Out support.
**Bulky Water-types**: With its high Special Defense and Water typing, Primal Kyogre walls Suicune and can whittle down its health with relative ease, especially if it runs Thunder for coverage. Other Water-types like Gastrodon and Slowbro wall Suicune with ease as well.
**Smeargle**: Like most Pokemon in the metagame, Suicune suffers from being put to sleep by Smeargle, which usually outspeeds it, unless you have Tailwind set up. Due to Suicune's mediocre offensive stats, Scald fails to deal sufficient damage to Smeargle, allowing it to use Dark Void on the rest of your Pokemon. This forces players to make a decision as to whether to run Lum Berry or Sitrus Berry.
**Strong Attackers**: Despite Suicune's bulk, restricted Pokemon like Xerneas and Mega Rayquaza can easily take down Suicune with little effort. The fast-paced nature of VGC 2016 forces Suicune players to run a variety of Pokemon that have different types to allow for some decent switching options. Other Pokemon like Mega Kangaskhan deal quite a lot of damage with Helping Hand support.
**Desolate Land**: Suicune becomes functionless in Primal Groudon's Desolate Land and requires the aid of Air Lock to work. This makes Suicune a sitting duck when facing a Primal Groudon if your Rayquaza has already fainted, forcing you to stall out games with Roar or Icy Wind.
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