TCTphantom
formerly MX42
Type: Dragon/Ice
Ability: Pressure
Base Stat Total: 125/130/90/130/90/95 (660)
Notable Moves
Freeze Dry
Ice Beam
Blizzard
Icicle Spear
Dragon Pulse
Outrage
Scale Shot
Dragon Dance
Substitute
Tera Blast
Shadow Claw
Focus Blast
Earth Power
Rock Slide
Stone Edge
Kyurem has had an odd history. For generations, it languished outside of OU, both due to Kyurem Black being the superior form to use and its own resounding mediocrity. Generation VIII answered Kyurem's prayers, giving it a strong boost in tools and a nice its KyuB getting the axe. The monkey's paw curled for Kyurem, as it was so strong it ended up being banned from OU during the Crown Tundra metagame. Now, Kyurem returns to Scarlet and Violet OU in the Indigo disk, gaining and loosing valuable tools in the process.
Pros:
- Base 130 Special Attack is hard to switch into with Freeze Dry bopping any bulky water attempting to switch into Kyurem's Ice Attacks. Combined with its powerful special coverage and even Steel types will have to think twice about switching into Kyurem.
- Kyurem now has access to Loaded Dice as a held item, letting it lean into its Dragon Dance set even more than last generation and leverage the strength of both Scale Shot and Icicle Spear.
- Base 125/95/95 Bulk is very impressive by OU standards. Setting up 101 HP substitutes without fully investing in HP is nice. This bulk gets even further compounded by the changes of Hail to Snow, giving it a strong defense buff.
Cons:
- Losing Roost sucks. Roost was one of the most powerful and important tools in Kyurem's toolbox last generation. Without it, Kyurem's longevity and ability to consistently outlast and PP Stall out its counters.
- Kyurem's Dragon Ice typing is a double edge sword. Ice is not a great defensive type. It leaves it weak to Stealth Rock. Combined with the prevalance of Spikes, and Kyruem has to strongly consider running Heavy Duty Boots on its sets to avoid getting worn down fast by hazards.
- Kyurem's Speed tier leaves a lot to be desired. Even with Dragon Dance and Scale Shot, Base 95 Speed is not that impressive by Indigo Disk OU standards.
Tera Options
Fairy
Dragon
Ice
Steel
Water
Fighting
Ground
Sample Sets
Kyurem @ Loaded Dice
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Fighting/Ground/Steel/Fairy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Icicle Spear
- Scale Shot
-Tera Blast/Stone Edge
Baxcalibur 2.0... kinda. Not really. Kyurem does end up even bulkier than Baxcalibur (albeit burnable), but its hurting for good physical coverage. If you do not want to have it hog your Tera in its attempt to sweep, your options for physical coverage are not great. You desperately need Tera Blast to cover mons like Heatran and Kingambit. Now that I am done singing the negatives about this set, lets talk about the positives. Like I said, it does evoke the memory of Baxcalibur and its reign of terror on OU. The Aurora Veil synergy in particular seems scary. Baxcalibur was extremely hard to revenge kill under the Snow and under Veil, and Kyurem will likely be even harder to wear down without proper prep.
Kyurem @ Loaded Dice
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Fairy/Steel
EVs: 56 HP / 200 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Icicle Spear
- Scale Shot
- Substitute
As another spin on Kyurem's Dragon Dance set, here we can leverage its 101 HP Substitutes to help it set up easier. Unlike Baxcalibur, Kyurem does not come with that handy Burn immunity for its Dragon Dance sets, which makes Substitute even more appealing. This does have the issue of struggling to muscle its way past Steel types, but if those are dead, Kyurem can just go to town on the enemy team.
Kyurem @ Heavy Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Dragon/Ice
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid/Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Freeze-Dry
- Earth Power/Rock Slide
- Draco Meteor/ Rock Slide
Boots Kyurem is still an enduring wall breaker, even without Roost. The combination of Ice Beam, Freeze Dry, and Earth Power creates a devastating wall breaker with functionally unresisted coverage. I guess Bronzong could switch into that combination, but who uses Bronzong in 2024 OU? Ice Beam and Freeze Dry bop most of the tier, with Freeze Dry removing bulky waters from consideration as checks. Earth Power hits steels and Galaran Slowking. If you want to nuke things generally, Draco Meteor is nuclear coming from Kyurem’s base 130 Special attack. Rock Slide is nice if you really hate Volcarona.
Kyurem @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Dragon/Ice
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid/Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Freeze-Dry
- Earth Power/ Focus Blast/ Draco Meteor
- Earth Power/ Focus Blast/ Draco Meteor
Specs Kyurem seems to be a devastating wallbreaker. Ice Beam and Freeze Dry hit hard, with Freeze Dry making any bulky water think twice about switching into Kyurem. Draco Meteor has its own amount of explosive firepower behind it, letting it punch even larger holes into the enemy team. Earth Power and Focus Miss offer valuable coverage into enemy steel types like Heatran, Kingambit, and Gholdengo (well, focus miss doesnt but you get the gist). This set can also be run on Veil teams, subbing out Ice Beam for a frighteningly powerful Blizzard.
Kyurem @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Dragon/Ice
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Freeze-Dry
- Draco Meteor
- Earth Power/ Focus Blast
Kyurem can also be an effective scarfer as well. While 95 Speed isn't the greatest speed benchmark out there, it still lets it outspeed much of the unboosted metagame that is not called Deoxys Speed. You split the difference between its wallbreaking power versus bulkier teams and have a stronger match up into other offensive teams. Taking a Draco Meteor or Freeze Dry is still not fun even from a non Specs set.
Conclusion:
Losing Roost definately hurts Kyurem, there is no getting around it. As much as Kyurem would love to punish fat teams with sets like Sub Roost or Roost 3 Attacks from last generation, without Roost those sets are as dead as the dodo. What it does get is the ability to become a fearsome wallbreaker and sweeper Specs will still hit like a truck and is difficult to switch into. Dragon Dance is a beast especially under Aurora Veil and Snow. The addition of Loaded Dice lets Kyurem leverage its Dragon Dance sets more than it could last generation, letting it afford to run a dual STAB combination of Scale Shot and Icicle Spear. While Kyurem certainly took a hit with the loss of Roost, it still seems poised to be a top tier threat in the OU meta.
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