Jellicent

[whistle]

Burunkeru
​

Credit to Rising_Dusk for the format!

[B]#593 Burunkeru[/B]
   
  Typing: Water / Ghost
   
  Ability 1: Water Absorb
     Restores HP if hit by a Water-type move.
  Ability 2: Cursed Body
     If hit by a contact attack, that attack is Disabled.
  Ability 3: Damp (Dream World)
     Prevents combatants from self destructing.
   
  HP: 100
  Atk: 60
  Def: 70
  SpA: 85
  SpD: 105
  Spe: 60
   
  Evolutionary Chain:
  Pururiru --> (Lv40) Burunkeru
   
  [B]Level-Up Moves:[/B]
  Lv1: Bubble
  Lv1: Water Sport
  Lv1: Absorb
  Lv1: Night Shade
  Lv5: Absorb
  Lv9: Night Shade
  Lv13: Bubblebeam
  Lv17: Recover
  Lv22: Water Pulse
  Lv27: Ominous Wind
  Lv32: Brine
  Lv37: Rain Dance
  Lv45: [M506]
  Lv53: Hydro Pump
  Lv61: Wring Out
  Lv69: Water Spout
   
  [M506]: Ghost Special PP: 10 Power: 50 / Accuracy: 100
  Power 100 if target has status condition
   
  [B]TMs / HMs: [/B]
  TM06: Toxic
  TM07: Hail
  TM10: Hidden Power
  TM12: Taunt
  TM13: Ice Beam
  TM14: Blizzard
  TM15: Hyper Beam
  TM17: Protect
  TM18: Rain Dance
  TM20: Safeguard
  TM21: Frustration
  TM27: Return
  TM29: Psychic
  TM30: Shadow Ball
  TM32: Double Team
  TM34: Hydro Wave
  TM36: Sludge Bomb
  TM42: Facade
  TM44: Rest
  TM45: Attract
  TM48: Troll
  TM53: Energy Ball
  TM55: Boiling Water
  TM61: Will-O-Wisp
  TM68: Giga Impact
  TM70: Flash
  TM77: Psych Up
  TM85: Dream Eater
  TM87: Swagger
  TM90: Substitute
  TM92: Trick Room
  HM03: Surf
  HM05: Waterfall
  HM06: Dive
   
  [B]Egg Moves:[/B]
  Acid Armor
  Confuse Ray
  Pain Split
  Mist
  Recover
  Constrict

The Rotom formes lost their Ghost typing in the transition to 5th Gen, which means if Giratina stays in the Uber tier, the title of "preferred OU Ghost" will be up for grabs. Burunkeru looks to be a strong contender for the spot. it may not have any jaw-droppingly high stats, but it does have quite a few interesting properties. Among these include:

• Water / Ghost typing
  The new generation brought us four Ghost Pokemon lines, including those of Shanderaa (Fire / Ghost), Desukan (Ghost), Goruggo (Ground / Ghost) and Burunkeru (Water / Ghost). Shanderaa and Goruggo both seem to be primarily offensively oriented, and while Desukan has a defensive stat spread, it does not have a secondary typing to afford it additional resistances. This gives Burunkeru a niche, since its Water subtyping gives it additional resistances to Water-, Fire-, Ice-, Steel-type moves.
• Relatively bulky stats
  What good is a decent defensive typing without decent stats? 100 HP / 70 Defense / 105 Special Defense, while not astronomical, are balanced and give Burunkeru the bulk to do what it wants to do. With 252 HP / 252 Def and a Defense-boosting nature, Burunkeru is only 1.5% less physically bulky and 14% less specially bulky than the standard Vaporeon spread from DPP. It is a lot bulkier than Rotom-A, the spinblocker of choice from DPP.
• Access to Recover
  Reliable recovery... one of the most important moves for a defensive Pokemon to have. Recover means Burunkeru can reliably switch into threats all game long without having to worry too much about conserving its HP for late-game threats. When compared to Wish + Protect, a similar method of healing that Vaporeon uses and Mamanbou will probably use, Recover takes up one fewer moveslot, meaning Burunkeru won't be as strapped for moves as its counterparts.

I think most Burunkeru sets will be variations on the following, since offensive sets will probably be best left to Pokemon like Shanderaa. Keep in mind that so many of the new Pokemon with massive stats are Fire-, Rock-, Ground-, and Fighting-types... these include Doryuuzu, Hihidaruma, Kojondo, and Blaziken (Speed Boost + Hi Jump Kick buff). Burunkeru even does pretty well against Pokemon like Meloia and Kerudio!

Support
Burunkeru @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Nature: Bold (+Def, -Atk)
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
- Boiling Water
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp / Toxic
- Shadow Ball / Ice Beam

Boiling Water looks like one of the new BW moves that will be used the most, and for good reason. It has a solid 80 Base Power along with a 30% chance to burn any Pokemon it hits. That's a 30% chance to make Gyarados, DD Salamence, and even the almighty Ononokusu completely worthless, which will make it much harder for these Pokemon to switch into and set up on Burunkeru. Recover is an obvious choice for restoring lost HP since it is more reliable than Pain Split.

Even though a 30% chance is pretty good, it's not completely reliable, which makes Will-O-Wisp a good option to immediately shut down physical Pokemon who want to set up on Burunkeru. Toxic is a better way to deal with foes like Calm Mind Suicune and opposing Burunkeru / Vaporeon.

Shadow Ball has pretty decent neutral coverage with Boiling Water, and it also hits Rapid Spin Starmie super effectively. There are tons of new Dragon-type Pokemon in BW, though, so Ice Beam can foil their attempts to set up in your face.

Cursed Body seems like a pretty interesting ability, but the fact that it only activates when Burunkeru faints makes me want to stay away from it. (edit: Cursed Body works/has a chance of working [not sure which] when Burunkeru is hit, not just when it is KOed, so it is a good alternative to Water Absorb) Damp on a Ghost Pokemon seems pretty silly, although it will stop Pokemon who use Aiming Mark + Explosion (edit: Aiming Mark does not eliminate immunities, according to stellar, who is testing the item in his game)...

---

Just as an example, Burunkeru with the above EV spread takes 32.7% - 38.6% from Jolly Life Orb Doryuuzu's Earthquake (assuming EVs and the damage formula stay approximately the same). Recover means a full health Burunkeru doesn't have much to fear, and can reliably switch into Doryuuzu to block Rapid Spin. (edit: heh I fucked up my damage calc by not giving Doryuuzu STAB - it actually does 49% - 57.9% with Jolly LO EQ, which is a pain and kind of sucks for Burunkeru...) Starmie is a little tricker, as versions with Life Orb + Rapid Spin deal 53% - 62.9% with Thunderbolt. Water Absorb gets Burunkeru another move it can switch in on, though. Thunderbolt from the Rapid Spin set only deals 32.7% - 38.6%.

One Pokemon who looks like it is a big threat to Burunkeru is Nattorei, the Grass/Steel Pokemon who reminds everyone of Forretress. Although it doesn't get Rapid Spin, Nattorei can use Burunkeru to set up both Stealth Rock and Spikes.

---

What are your thoughts on Burunkeru? Will an offensive set with Water Spout be used, despite its lackluster Special Attack and low Speed? Are there any useful defensive moves that I missed? What about Pokemon that will be good teammates for Burunkeru, or dangerous Pokemon that give it problems?

Keep in mind that while this is a thread for discussing Burunkeru in a competitive format, do not discuss whether it or any other Pokemon will / should be banned. I don't think this'll be as much of a problem for Burunkeru as for lots of other Pokemon, though... it seems pretty balanced.

 

[IcyMan28]

Recover is a definite boon to Burunkeru; it is the first Ghost type in the game to receive reliable recovery.

I really like the suggested set in the OP; the combination of Boiling Water + Will-o-wisp all but ensures that physical threats seeking to take advantage of average offenses will be burned, while the last slot can be used for just about anything. And, unlike the Rotom formes and other ghosts, Burunkeru isn't particularly afraid of Tyranitar, thanks to its higher speed and water typing.

 

[pikaachi]

Sableye was the first one to get Recover..

Anyway, Cursed Body and an offensive set (Water Spout) would provide for a nice opening for stronger sweepers.

 

[all4game]

Burunkeru seems like it'll fair pretty well against the much-hyped Speed Boost Blaziken, resisting or being immune to its STAB.

 

[jwoozie]

Is it confirmed that Cursed Body only activates after being KO'ed? Because in my version of Black I hit it with a Shadow Ball that did about 45% and it's ability activated and I was unable to use Shadow Ball the next turn.

 

[extra]

M506 could definitely be paired with the support set in the OP, as between Boiling Water and Toxic / WoW this thing will probably be facing more statused pokemon than not, giving M506 double power. 150 BP (after STAB) will do more than 120 BP, at least. it is a bit of a risky tradeoff as anything not statused is of course only taking 1/2 damage but i'd say it's well worth it.

 

[tehy]

Well, cursed body, if it works that way, could be used as a choice stopper. As soon as they attack you, they have to switch out or struggle, allowing this poke the ability to set up, phaze, status, heal, or just attack with choice sets of its own.

 

[TEA_DEMON]

We have another of those rare Pokemon that resists Water/Normal. Not that it's used much in OU...

Obligatory "yay new Trick Roomer to try out" post from me. Also looks like a solid Rain Dance user (unless they become redundant with Politoed around) since it's bulky and can abuse STAB Hydro Pump.

 

[Darkamber8828]

Obligatory "yay new Trick Roomer with Water Spout and good secondary STAB and reliable recovery" to try out.

^__^

Same SpA as Blastoise.

STABs only resisted by Grass Forry and Empy (and stuff like Sharpedo, Cacturne, Shiftry, Crawdaunt...).

It's also cute.

 

[Project_Mars]

How well do you think a Special oriented set would work? It seems to have a modestly decent Sp. Attack Stat. I was thinking:

Burunkeru
Item: Life Orb/Wise Glasses
Nature: Modest
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: Oriented towards Sp. Attack and Speed? (Not too good at thinking up EVs -_-)
Moves:
- Boiling Water
- Shadow Ball
- Recover
- HP Fire/Toxic

Not sure if i'm the best at making sets either, but Recover would help to heal life orb damage, and HP Fire would be good vs. Nattorei, Fortress, and steel types, but wouldn't lack of Toxic mean Bulky waters could stall that set?

Also, i figure the slower speed would hinder it... how effective do you think increasing it's bulk instead of speed would be in helping it survive while being offensively oriented, after increasing it's Sp. Attack of course?

 

[Shimrit As]

Burunkeru would have to be used defensively really - Shanderaa quite certainly outclasses it and even Desukan has a higher base SpA. Water Spout with pretty awful speed and a mediocre base 85 SpA won't do much either.

Apart from that, I think Taunt would be a useful move on a defensive set. It prevents Suicune and Gyarados from setting up over its weak moves for one, and considering that it will be switching in on spinners like Forretress you wouldn't want it to set-up hazards all over you. It can perform as a decent stall breaker with instant recovery too. I would also prefer to use Shadow Ball > Ice Beam for the sake of Starmie and the new array of Psychics.

 

[whistle]

well, I personally haven't verified anything about Cursed Body... just going off what I got from some (kinda sketchy) sites off Google. if it disabled any attack after getting hit by it, that would make Cursed Body a really attractive option.

I guess something that worked as a bulky attacker, sort of like Band Swampert or Specs Vaporeon, would probably be Burunkeru's best bet at going offensive. it doesn't really have a high enough Speed stat to just invest in it and go all-out, which means it's probably better just investing max SpA, lots of HP, and maybe Speed to hit a benchmark (such as slower Skarmory/Tyranitar/Metagross). I think its more reliable and popular sets will still be defensive ones, though, since that's where no other Pokemon have a niche.

Taunt is a pretty interesting option, especially cause you outpace stuff like Swampert, Blissey, and Nattorei. especially for Blissey -- the only way Blissey can hurt you is with Toxic (Burunkeru resists Flamethrower/Ice Beam and is immune to Seismic Toss) so if you can Taunt that you're in the clear. Taunt will mean Swampert can't set up SR and Nattorei/Forretress can't set up SR/Spikes in front of you, especially Nattorei cause it resists Water and Ghost. Burunkeru is a little slow to use Taunt to stop offensive sweeper from setting up in front of it, but Taunt will be able to take on sweepers like last Pokemon Suicune (otherwise it will win by Pressure stalling).

 

[snowcone]

I think could work rather well in a a hail team. Ice types are weak to fire, fighting, steel and rock. Ghost jelly can a switch into fire, fighting and steel easily. And a rock types won't like boiling water, and the new ground/ghost will fear a shadow ball as you switch in. Also a lot of fighting,steel and rock are physical so a burn will not be appreciated. Although only 30% accurate it'll make things slightly more nervous to switch in, allowing more mind games.

The new ghost special attack could work with abuse from will-o-wisp and boiling water.

Boiling water will make it harder from something to houndoom to switch in (which although likely to be uncommon could happen)

Basically I've been thinking hail (offensive?) when I think of this guy, oh and it can learn blizzard.

EDIT: Abmosnow can also switch into lightning/grass attacks if need be and then hit with double stab Blizzard. Politoad and ninetails won't be able to do much to ghost jelly if they try to change the weather back. Can outstall politoad I imagine with burn and recover. Hippodown and tyranitar may be harder to remove, although neither will like will-o-wisp

EDIT2: Apparantly the whole increase to Hail was a hoax...does anyone know if hail is any better. If not then, although this would work on a hail team, there are probably better uses.

 

[LittleOni]

Just be careful since you're sending out invitations towards the 'guts' patrol lol..but I do like that support set, Whistle.

 

[ginganinja]

Its going to be a great defensive Ghost type for sure however it will struggle with stuff like Gyarados who can use Taunt to screw you over. Still, it looks O.K which is the main thing

 

[Blood Tears]

Wow, a pretty solid spin-blocker, thanks to Recover. I'm surely going to try it as soon as possible. Which do you think is the best trait..?

 

[ginganinja]

Wow, a pretty solid spin-blocker, thanks to Recover. I'm surely going to try it as soon as possible. Which do you think is the best trait..?

If by trait youi mean ability then i would have to say Water Absorb. Water moves were everywhere in Gen 4 and while we don't yet know what Gen 5 will be like an immunity + healing effect is just gold for a defensive pokemon

 

[Corrupted]

Cursed Body is awesome if it does indeed not require him to be KO'd. Water Absorb is great too though.

Suicune, Burunkeru and Starmie are pretty much going to be the only waters in OU.

 

[Stallion]

Cursed Body is awesome if it does indeed not require him to be KO'd. Water Absorb is great too though.

Suicune, Burunkeru and Starmie are pretty much going to be the only waters in OU.

Regeneration Slowbro might have OU potential depending, and Kerudio (the Water/Fighting legendary) would definitely like to have a word with you. Funnily enough, Burunkeru with Water Absorb is a 100 % counter to the special sweeping Kerudio set heh. To be honest though, I'm really really interested in Cursed Body. Can it Disable more then one move? Is it temporary or permanent? Does it require being KOed? I think the answers to these questions will be important in Burunkeru's OU viability.

 

[Super Mario Bro]

I like this Pokemon a lot. It actually benefits from switching into Starmie's Hydro Pump (unlike Rotom of Gen IV), and disposes of it with Shadow Ball. It's also bulky enough to take a Crunch from Tyranitar and proceed to burn it. Recover may be tempting, but remember that you are now susceptible to status, especially Toxic. Because of this, I would probably pair this up with Aromatherapy Bliss/Ros (especially Ros, who has very good synergy with Burunkeru).

 

[CWW]

This is my favority new type/ability combination of this generation bar none. Look at what it can counter:
Scizor
Metagross
Heatran
Infernape
Blaziken
Gyarados
Azumarill
Blissey

And that's just from generation 1-4.

 

[iruchii]

I did some testing with Cursed Body earlier today.

First, you definitely doesn't have to be KO'd for it to activate.
Second, it seems to have lasted the whole battle, or at least more than 5 turns (which is Disable's max duration, no?).
Third, seems like it works for any attack move, regardless if physical of special.

 

[Shimrit As]

^ that is seriously incredible. Especially if it's paired with hazard mons (it should be since it's blocking Rapid Spin) because there aren't many types that hit it for SE and neutral attacks won't be doing much against it.

 

[doomvendingmachine]

I did some testing with Cursed Body earlier today.

First, you definitely doesn't have to be KO'd for it to activate.
Second, it seems to have lasted the whole battle, or at least more than 5 turns (which is Disable's max duration, no?).
Third, seems like it works for any attack move, regardless if physical of special.

If all of that is true, this thing could be a monster. If i'm understanding right, all it has to do is switch in on any SE move it can take a hit of then the opponent cant use it again until they switch out. This turns traditional prediction logic upside down, as now your want to hit Burunkeru with anything BUT the super effective move!.

Also this thing is looking like an great counter to the new and improved speed boost blaziken. We don't think blaziken can run thunderpunch and speed boost at the same time, and Burunkeru should be able to easliy shrug off any hp electrics with its massive special defenses.

 

[pepiux]

I did some testing with Cursed Body earlier today.

First, you definitely doesn't have to be KO'd for it to activate.
Second, it seems to have lasted the whole battle, or at least more than 5 turns (which is Disable's max duration, no?).
Third, seems like it works for any attack move, regardless if physical of special.

Does it work for all attacks or just super effective ones?