[SET]
Substitute + Protect (Kyurem) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 52 HP / 204 SpA / 252 Spe
Tera Type: Ground
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Protect
- Freeze-Dry
- Earth Power
[SET COMMENTS]
By focusing on its natural bulk and typing to utilize the combination of Pressure, Substitute, and Protect, Kyurem's offensive prowess takes on another dimension by slowly suffocating the opposition with PP depletion while still being difficult to switch into due to its attacking options and solid Speed tier. Attacks such as Gholdengo's Make It Rain, Kingambit's Sucker Punch, Raging Bolt's Draco Meteor, and Tinkaton's Gigaton Hammer are at Kyurem's mercy, while higher PP moves like Clefable's Moonblast and Corviknight's Brave Bird aren't safe either. Substitute also help punish status attempts from foes like Galarian Slowking and Gholdengo and importantly take advantage of the switches Kyurem forces, especially against passive foes like Gliscor, Alomomola, and Clodsire that might not break the Substitute immediately. Moreover, Kyurem's ability to keep a Substitute up consistently against common walls grants it protection against would-be revenge killers like Zamazenta, Iron Valiant, and Choice Scarf Gholdengo, even preventing the latter and other Choice item users like Darkrai and Meowscarada from crippling it with Trick. On top of accruing more Leftovers recovery, Protect notably wastes PP of Encore from Tinkaton, Iron Valiant, and Ogerpon-W and scouts for faster offensive threats like Dragapult and Iron Crown, which is especially important because all of these can still threaten Kyurem behind a Substitute. Another reason it can afford to run Substitute and Protect is that Freeze-Dry and Earth Power provide sufficient and unresisted coverage. Freeze-Dry is the preferred Ice-type STAB move due to it denting bulky Water-types and Tera Water users like Alomomola, Primarina, Gliscor, and Garganacl and having a lot of PP, letting it fish for freeze in longer games, which Kyurem excels in, more regularly. With its Freeze-Dry handling Ground-type answers like Landorus-T, Zapdos, and Hydrapple, the move is perfectly complemented by Earth Power to pressure Galarian Slowking and Ice-resistant foes such as Kingambit, Gholdengo, Tinkaton, Cinderace, and Iron Moth. Tera Ground boosts the power of Earth Power, granting it enough power to potentially 2HKO Galarian Slowking and OHKO offensive Kingambit and Gholdengo. Defensively, it provides Kyurem with a newfound Stealth Rock resistance and lets it keep a Substitute up against Garganacl's Salt Cure and Galarian Slowking's Sludge Bomb. The HP EVs allow Kyurem to make 101 HP Substitutes, preventing them from being immediately broken by Blissey's Seismic Toss.
Kyurem is its most effective on bulkier teams, such as semi-stall and balance, that can afford to play longer games while being able to position it carefully, but it can also find a place on even faster-paced offensive teams. Its extreme vulnerability to entry hazards—specifically Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes—in longer games makes hazard removal very necessary, with common faces like Great Tusk, Corviknight, Galarian Weezing, and Cinderace being important teammates; even running a combination of them at once is recommended on bulky teams where Kyurem is the primary offensive threat. Moreover, Corviknight and Cinderace provide pivoting support by bringing it in safely on Pokemon like Gholdengo, Alomomola, and Gliscor—even popping the former's Air Balloon in the process—while Galarian Weezing can spread poison via Toxic Spikes to further take advantage of Kyurem's knack for stalling out turns while absorbing opposing Toxic Spikes. Cinderace has the added benefit of threatening bulky Steel-types like Tinkaton, Iron Crown, and Scizor that can annoy Kyurem as well as crippling foes like Hisuian Samurott, Ogerpon-W, and Assault Vest Alomomola with a burn, preventing them from breaking Kyurem's Substitute in one hit. The aforementioned Corviknight and Galarian Weezing as well as the tier's other walls like Alomomola, Dondozo, Zapdos, Galarian Slowking, Gliscor, and Ting-Lu provide Kyurem with a defensive backbone to fall back on, especially as they can switch into Pokemon like Zamazenta, Enamorus, Iron Valiant, and Dragapult that can threaten Kyurem out if it's not behind a Substitute. Alomomola, Zapdos, and Galarian Slowking similarly provide pivoting duties, with the former providing Wish support, while the latter sets up snow, whose Defense boost lets it survive +1 Tera Flying Roaring Moon's Acrobatics and Close Combat from Zamazenta and physical Iron Valiant from full HP, and absorbs Toxic Spikes as well. Ting-Lu and Gliscor also provide entry hazards of their own, which is crucial in taking advantage of Kyurem's forced switches, especially against foes trying to pivot around its attacks instead of staying in to not waste PP. On the other hand, offensive teammates like Deoxys-S, Zamazenta, and Darkrai are great late-game cleaners tha love Kyurem's ability to suffocate passive walls early-game. They also have a better matchup against faster offensive teams that can otherwise overrun Kyurem before it gets going. On more offensive teams, hazard setters like Landorus-T, Glimmora, and Hisuian Samurott are great options—especially Glimmora with its potential Toxic Spikes—while offensive threats like Great Tusk, Roaring Moon, Raging Bolt, and Iron Moth can keep up the pressure against the opposition alongside Kyurem and have a greater chance at sweeping once it has done its job. Additionally, Hatterene and the aforementioned Glimmora and Great Tusk valuably provide hazard control, with Iron Moth also capable of absorbing Toxic Spikes for these structures.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/marnie.493260/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/veti.612907/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ninth.612443/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tbolt.555379/
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