Kyogre Through The Generations

Overview

Kyogre has been a longtime familiar face around the Ubers tier and a metagame-defining threat for over a decade. Introduced in 2003, this large blue whale has provided immense offensive, defensive, and weather support for teams. Kyogre has been notable for being one of the most dangerous offensive threats, the type of threat that for many generations would be at the top of threatlists for teambuilding. Kyogre has shown that a single Pokémon is able to run a large number of sets, all dangerous in their own right, over a span of four generations. It's no wonder that Kyogre has long been hailed as the king of Ubers, but recent changes in the ORAS Ubers tier managed to finally end its reign.

Generation 3

ADV introduced a significant number of new Pokémon, moves, and mechanics, all of which aligned themselves in Kyogre's favor from the very beginning. A base Special Attack stat of 150 made Kyogre interesting to players immediately, regardless of if they were casual or competitive. Only three other Pokémon had raw stats that matched this degree of special damage output, but Kyogre was able to surpass them all in terms of immediate power thanks to its ability, Drizzle. The effects of rain in conjunction with immensely powerful Water-type moves such as Hydro Pump and Water Spout were what allowed Kyogre to beat Pokémon such as Mewtwo, Deoxys-A, and even Soul Dew Latios in terms of special attacking power. Many of the most dangerous classic and modern ADV teams feature Kyogre, and much of the modern development in the tier has centered around it.

Along with its physical counterpart Groudon and their prominent checks Latios and Latias, Kyogre and these Pokémon would become the dominant forces in the Ubers tier for about four years. This wasn't due to Kyogre's ability to deal special damage alone; Kyogre also excelled in a variety of defensive and supportive roles. For example, Kyogre had very natural synergy with Latios and Latias due to its ability to check or counter a variety of their checks. Steel-types that were commonly employed as Latios and Latias checks did not match up well against Kyogre, as their lack of substantial special bulk or a Water-type resistance meant that Kyogre could break through them with raw power alone. Kyogre could also be used to soft check a variety of physical attackers that exploit Latios and Latias's worse physical bulk, since Kyogre was often invested in Defense but still had more than enough power to break down these threats.

Kyogre provided extensive defensive synergy in ADV Ubers, being one of the most solid checks to big threats such as Groudon and Ho-Oh. Its aforementioned ability to check Steel-types and soft check other offensive threats helped it to role compress immensely for teams. Drizzle alone also provided utility, both offensively and defensively. Thunder is one of the most powerful moves in ADV Ubers, and its high usage is thanks to Kyogre. This 120-Base-Power move with a strong chance to inflict paralysis deals good damage to a large portion of the Pokémon in the tier, and other than by Kyogre it is commonly run by Latios, Mewtwo, Deoxys-A, Blissey, Ho-Oh, Jirachi, Magneton, and Regice. Rain is also used to support weather sweepers such as Omastar, Kabutops, and Qwilfish, which can be especially dangerous late-game. Rain makes Fire-type moves much less potent, which can be especially helpful for the wide variety of Steel-types used in the tier. Lastly, Kyogre's Drizzle makes it difficult for Chlorophyll users such as Exeggutor and Shiftry to accomplish much.

The number of sets Kyogre could run was large from the beginning thanks to it having an interesting movepool to work with along with enough natural Special Attack, Speed, and bulk to fill a variety of roles. Common Kyogre sets usually run a single Water-type STAB move along with some combination of Calm Mind, Thunder Wave, Ice Beam, and Thunder. EV spreads usually don't run more Speed than what's necessary to creep, but they vary from running maximum Special Attack to running high Defense investment along with HP. Kyogre sets that incorporate Substitute, Rest, or Water Spout are less common but still highly effective. Other moves such as Toxic and Protect can also be utilized for certain teams. This relatively large number of move combinations and EV spreads meant Kyogre was running a diverse number of sets since the beginning of its introduction; however, DPP would give Kyogre a number of new tricks, along with some new enemies.

Generation 4

The introduction of Choice Scarf and Choice Specs gave Kyogre immensely powerful tools that would define its best sets for the next three generations. With a Choice Scarf to help offset Kyogre's average base 90 Speed, Kyogre was now in a position where it could utilize Water Spout much more effectively; this was due to the fact that being much faster made it more difficult to damage Kyogre before it could drop Water Spouts. Choice Specs also increased the viability of Water Spout, as a boosted Water Spout was enough to 2HKO even Blissey and pretty much anything except for specially bulky Dragon-types. Due to these items, Kyogre sets shifted toward becoming much more offensively inclined, although defensive and utility sets were still effective and commonly used. In DPP, Kyogre became such an offensive powerhouse that many players began to run Pokémon almost exclusively for it, such as specially defensive Giratina, Ludicolo, and even Quagsire.

Although a few Pokémon such as Blissey became worse when it came to checking Kyogre, Pokémon such as Latios and Latias were still effective checks. Kyogre also found itself being checked by the new cover legends Dialga and Palkia, which held resistances to Kyogre's Water-type moves, had considerable bulk, and weren't really defeated by any of its coverage options. It could be argued that the quality of Swift Swimmers also increased with the transition to DPP. For example, the physical / special split gave Kabutops a physical Water-type STAB move, and a new move tutor gave it Low Kick, while Omastar was able to hold a more useful item in the form of Choice Specs. Ultimately, this increased the viability of Kyogre, since it was both a great offensive threat and a valuable support Pokémon.

The introduction of Stealth Rock and release of effective spinblockers such as the Giratina formes affected Kyogre both positively and negatively. Pokémon that were intended to switch into Kyogre could be more easily brought into KO range due to hazards, yet Kyogre's own Water Spout would lose potency due to entry hazards and their difficulty to be removed. Diamond and Pearl also had a unique Thunder mechanic where it would bypass Protect 30% of the time under rain, something that made Kyogre especially powerful under certain circumstances.

Generation 5

Despite the addition of some new Kyogre checks in BW such as Zekrom, Ferrothorn, and Arceus formes, Kyogre continued to dominate the Ubers tier more than ever. Choice Scarf and Choice Specs continued to be the most prevalent sets, securing Kyogre's position as a major offensive threat. More traditional techniques such as Thunder Wave and Substitute + Calm Mind also saw use, and Kyogre was largely unfazed by the introduction of new powerful attacks and checks. Most Pokémon that functioned as Kyogre checks were not very reliable at doing so due to the variety of techniques and powerful held items Kyogre had available. Additionally, the increased viability of Pursuit users and trappers such as Magnezone made things much more difficult for conventional Kyogre checks. More niche techniques such as Tailwind also made certain Kyogre sets such as Choice Specs even more potent.

Kyogre received an incredibly useful offensive partner with the introduction of Genesect, which was able to beat Latios and Latias, Pokémon that Kyogre could lure in very easily. Kabutops and Omastar continued to see use as Swift Swimmers supported by Kyogre's Drizzle, but they were more dangerous than ever thanks to major advancements in moves, mechanics, and held items since ADV. Kyogre's ability to support Palkia and defensive powerhouses such as Ferrothorn and limit offensive threats such as Excadrill and Ho-Oh also helped it secure its continued domination in BW. It is important to note that BW Ubers was a weather-heavy tier, which made Kyogre that much better due to how it matched up favorably against Groudon and Tyranitar. One team worth mentioning in particular, Drown All, was a major point for Kyogre use in early BW Ubers that utilizes several of these previously mentioned techniques.

Kyogre also continued to feature physically defensive support sets, although specially defensive sets also began to make appearances. Specially defensive sets were utilized on teams that sought the valuable rain support Kyogre brought and were able to check new threats such as Calm Mind Arceus formes and Reshiram. Physically defensive sets employed use of Calm Mind, which made Kyogre a powerful wallbreaker. Sleep mechanics changed from DPP to BW, where now the counter would reset whenever a Pokémon was switched out; this made Kyogre sets that utilized Rest + Sleep Talk much worse than in DPP. The Water Gem was a new item introduced in BW that Kyogre could situationally utilize, as a +1 Calm Mind Kyogre with a Water Gem can deal heavy damage to even its most solid checks. XY would bring a variety of mechanic changes along with several new Pokémon, but for the moment Kyogre was able to maintain its spot at the top.

Generation 6

Perhaps the most impactful change XY brought to Kyogre was the change with the ability Drizzle's mechanics. Rain from Drizzle was no longer permanent but rather was limited to five turns unless Kyogre was holding a Damp Rock. This change caused a major drop in viability for Swim Swimmers, but Kyogre seemed largely unaffected. Kyogre's Choice Specs set still made it one of the most potent offensive threats in the tier, one that many Pokémon struggled to switch into. Mega Gengar and other Shadow Tag Pokémon were highly effective tools for eliminating key Kyogre checks, many of which are passive. Kyogre also benefited greatly due to two of its major checks, Latios and Latias, losing Soul Dew and thus no longer being viable. Anti-hazard play became much stronger with the introduction of Defog, which meant that Kyogre wasn't worn down by entry hazards nearly as much. The introduction of Fairy-types also benefited Kyogre due to most of its checks such as Palkia, Zekrom, and Rayquaza being vulnerable to them.

To dethrone Kyogre from its more-than-a-decade-long rule over Ubers, it took a Pokémon that was immune to its STAB moves, unfazed by its coverage moves, and able to smack it with neutral physical STAB attacks coming from a base 180 Attack stat. Primal Groudon almost singlehandedly took Kyogre from S rank viability down to nigh unviable, but Latios and Latias regaining Soul Dew in addition to most teams comfortably fitting other Water switch-ins didn't help either. Running a Choice item on a Water-type in a tier where nearly every team has an incredibly powerful Water-immune Pokémon was foolish, so virtually all Kyogre use has shifted towards utilizing Primal Kyogre.

Primal Kyogre has been able to maintain itself as a prevalent threat, but it's nowhere near where Kyogre was in previous generations. The reason Primal Kyogre was able to remain viable was due to its Primal forme having an ability that could counteract Primal Groudon's. The only useful stat increases Primal Kyogre obtained were in its Special Attack and Special Defense, the first of which still left it weaker than a Choice Specs Kyogre but helped to close the significant power difference. Unfortunately, Primal Groudon's ability Desolate Land counteracts Primal Kyogre's ability just as Primal Kyogre's Primordial Sea does to Primal Groudon, meaning that virtually every Ubers team has a built-in Water-type immunity. This, combined with bulky Pokémon that hold resistances to Water- or Ice-type moves, has left Kyogre's offensive potential much less potent than it was in previous generations.

Although Primal Kyogre obtained a Special Attack increase when compared to its base forme, it obtained no Speed increase, making it a much more limited offensive threat compared to previous generations, where it could run a Choice Scarf. Sitting at base 90 Speed, along with its somewhat exploitable Defense, means that offensive builds can often trade against Primal Kyogre with little to worry about. A physically defensive Primal Kyogre set can be an effective status absorber, stallbreaker, and secondary check to certain physical attackers, but it can suffer from being too passive. More niche Primal Kyogre sets that employ a physical movepool can try to make the most of Primal Kyogre's otherwise useless 50-point increase in Attack, while a traditional Choice Scarf set has been used in counterteam efforts and can be threatening when Primal Groudon is significantly damaged or eliminated.

For the Future

Right now the incentive to use Primal Kyogre is relatively low due to it having some of the qualities of a luxury Pokémon that are also redundant with certain support Pokémon that role compress well. It is very unlikely Primal Kyogre will get stat increases, ability changes, or item freedom next generation, which means that the rest of the tier will have to change in its favor if it is to regain its former glory. If teams shifted towards a far lower Primal Groudon usage in combination with a tier that utilized many Pokémon hostile towards other Primal Kyogre checks, it might be able to rise in viability. Although it is unlikely, Kyogre obtaining some new moves next generation also might be able to push it back towards the heights of its old days. For longtime Kyogre fans, we can only hope that it doesn't get buried by the ever-increasing number of Ubers-caliber Pokémon being added to the tier. Either that or you can use it in VGC 2016; it's thought to have found a better home in doubles play.

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