[SET]
name: Substitute + Roost
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Earth Power
move 4: Roost
item: Leftovers / Metronome
ability: Pressure
nature: Timid
evs: 56 HP / 252 SpA / 200 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
=========
Kyurem utilizes the combination of Substitute, Roost, and Pressure to stall out attacking moves while retaining a solid offensive presence with its Ice- and Ground-type coverage. Between its natural resistances and typing, Kyurem finds many opportunities to set Substitute on foes unable to touch it, like Cresselia, Rotom-W, and Ferrothorn. This gives it a unique position as an attacker, as the safety of Substitute lets it safely throw out attacks while being unafraid of status and able to severely dent revenge killers like Mega Alakazam, Mega Lopunny, and Sand Rush Excadrill. Once behind a Substitute, Kyurem is also able to safely PP stall, letting it outlast attacks like Ferrothorn's Gyro Ball and Tyranitar's Stone Edge. Even higher PP attacks like Clefable's Moonblast or Mega Venusaur's Sludge Bomb are susceptible to being drained over the course of a match. Roost facilitates all of this, keeping Kyurem healthy enough to comfortably use Substitute.
Set Details
========
56 HP EVs let Kyurem's Substitute survive one Seismic Toss or Night Shade, allowing it to consistently have one active against Chansey, Cofagrigus, and Jellicent. With 200 Speed EVs and a Timid nature, Kyurem capitalizes on its respectable Speed tier, outspeeding threats like Excadrill. The remaining EVs are invested into Special Attack to maximize its power, supporting its role as a breaker. Leftovers gives it passive recovery to sustain frequent Substitute usage. Alternatively, Metronome enables Kyurem to break through neutral targets like Clefable, Gastrodon, and Slowbro more easily after accumulating enough boosts.
Usage Tips
========
Maintaining an active Substitute is often a crucial step towards enabling Kyurem's offensive potential. Foes like Rotom-W, Cofagrigus, and Slowbro present one such opportunity, as they are unable to break its Substitute. Moreover, others like Dragonite, Bisharp, and Landorus-T are both outsped and immediately threatened by Kyurem's coverage; this allows it to forcefully set up a Substitute against them. It should be noted that if Kyurem is met with significant resistance, such as against a team with Keldeo, Azumarill, or Mega Gyarados, switching out is a perfectly valid choice, rather than using Substitute only to give such threats free entry. Given Kyurem's extreme vulnerability to all forms of entry hazards, maintaining a clear field is also important, as the passive damage will otherwise keep it from comfortably using Substitute. It helps that Kyurem itself threatens common setters like Landorus-T and utility variants of Garchomp, encouraging proactive positioning to deny them from setting Stealth Rock. Besides that, avoiding status conditions, particularly burn and poison, is another essential part towards efficient Kyurem usage, as they greatly limit its ability to PP stall by cutting into its longevity. To that extent, be cautious when switching it into Pokemon capable of spreading status, like Rotom-W and Slowbro.
Team Options
========
Entry hazards like Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes greatly hinder Kyurem's ability to PP stall, as the passive damage forces it into using recovery rather than attacking. Thus, strong hazard control from partners like Excadrill is crucial. Due to Kyurem’s weakness to Steel- and Fighting-type attacks, Zapdos makes for an excellent partner by checking these threats. Moreover, with Static, Zapdos helps to spread paralysis, further enabling Kyurem to spam Substitute against afflicted foes. Should you decide to run Defog, Zapdos' Pressure complements Kyurem's own PP stalling strategy in addition to maintaining a clear field. Cresselia is another exceptional partner, reliably switching into the Fighting-type attacks directed at Kyurem, as well as checking other threats like Mega Diancie, Mega Lopunny, and Mega Metagross. With Lunar Dance, it further enables Kyurem by restoring both its health and PP, allowing for much more aggressive positioning early on. Pokemon like Clefable and Volcanion are other valuable partners for their ability to absorb status conditions such as burn and poison, which Kyurem despises taking. Cleric support from the likes of Clefable, Chansey, and Mega Altaria also proves useful to cleanse status altogether. Offensive partners ideally target these same Steel- and Water-types alongside Kyurem, with the likes of Azumarill, Mega Alakazam, and Volcanion helping to overwhelm shared checks. Azumarill is notable for being a strong physical wallbreaker that checks the offensive Water-types like Keldeo and Mega Gyarados that can abuse Kyurem.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/chargedram.707061/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/mixnite.663475/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/paprikaflow.591583/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sunny004.197240/
name: Substitute + Roost
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Earth Power
move 4: Roost
item: Leftovers / Metronome
ability: Pressure
nature: Timid
evs: 56 HP / 252 SpA / 200 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
=========
Kyurem utilizes the combination of Substitute, Roost, and Pressure to stall out attacking moves while retaining a solid offensive presence with its Ice- and Ground-type coverage. Between its natural resistances and typing, Kyurem finds many opportunities to set Substitute on foes unable to touch it, like Cresselia, Rotom-W, and Ferrothorn. This gives it a unique position as an attacker, as the safety of Substitute lets it safely throw out attacks while being unafraid of status and able to severely dent revenge killers like Mega Alakazam, Mega Lopunny, and Sand Rush Excadrill. Once behind a Substitute, Kyurem is also able to safely PP stall, letting it outlast attacks like Ferrothorn's Gyro Ball and Tyranitar's Stone Edge. Even higher PP attacks like Clefable's Moonblast or Mega Venusaur's Sludge Bomb are susceptible to being drained over the course of a match. Roost facilitates all of this, keeping Kyurem healthy enough to comfortably use Substitute.
Set Details
========
56 HP EVs let Kyurem's Substitute survive one Seismic Toss or Night Shade, allowing it to consistently have one active against Chansey, Cofagrigus, and Jellicent. With 200 Speed EVs and a Timid nature, Kyurem capitalizes on its respectable Speed tier, outspeeding threats like Excadrill. The remaining EVs are invested into Special Attack to maximize its power, supporting its role as a breaker. Leftovers gives it passive recovery to sustain frequent Substitute usage. Alternatively, Metronome enables Kyurem to break through neutral targets like Clefable, Gastrodon, and Slowbro more easily after accumulating enough boosts.
Usage Tips
========
Maintaining an active Substitute is often a crucial step towards enabling Kyurem's offensive potential. Foes like Rotom-W, Cofagrigus, and Slowbro present one such opportunity, as they are unable to break its Substitute. Moreover, others like Dragonite, Bisharp, and Landorus-T are both outsped and immediately threatened by Kyurem's coverage; this allows it to forcefully set up a Substitute against them. It should be noted that if Kyurem is met with significant resistance, such as against a team with Keldeo, Azumarill, or Mega Gyarados, switching out is a perfectly valid choice, rather than using Substitute only to give such threats free entry. Given Kyurem's extreme vulnerability to all forms of entry hazards, maintaining a clear field is also important, as the passive damage will otherwise keep it from comfortably using Substitute. It helps that Kyurem itself threatens common setters like Landorus-T and utility variants of Garchomp, encouraging proactive positioning to deny them from setting Stealth Rock. Besides that, avoiding status conditions, particularly burn and poison, is another essential part towards efficient Kyurem usage, as they greatly limit its ability to PP stall by cutting into its longevity. To that extent, be cautious when switching it into Pokemon capable of spreading status, like Rotom-W and Slowbro.
Team Options
========
Entry hazards like Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes greatly hinder Kyurem's ability to PP stall, as the passive damage forces it into using recovery rather than attacking. Thus, strong hazard control from partners like Excadrill is crucial. Due to Kyurem’s weakness to Steel- and Fighting-type attacks, Zapdos makes for an excellent partner by checking these threats. Moreover, with Static, Zapdos helps to spread paralysis, further enabling Kyurem to spam Substitute against afflicted foes. Should you decide to run Defog, Zapdos' Pressure complements Kyurem's own PP stalling strategy in addition to maintaining a clear field. Cresselia is another exceptional partner, reliably switching into the Fighting-type attacks directed at Kyurem, as well as checking other threats like Mega Diancie, Mega Lopunny, and Mega Metagross. With Lunar Dance, it further enables Kyurem by restoring both its health and PP, allowing for much more aggressive positioning early on. Pokemon like Clefable and Volcanion are other valuable partners for their ability to absorb status conditions such as burn and poison, which Kyurem despises taking. Cleric support from the likes of Clefable, Chansey, and Mega Altaria also proves useful to cleanse status altogether. Offensive partners ideally target these same Steel- and Water-types alongside Kyurem, with the likes of Azumarill, Mega Alakazam, and Volcanion helping to overwhelm shared checks. Azumarill is notable for being a strong physical wallbreaker that checks the offensive Water-types like Keldeo and Mega Gyarados that can abuse Kyurem.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/chargedram.707061/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/mixnite.663475/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/paprikaflow.591583/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sunny004.197240/
Last edited:
