Kyurem Black, eh?
More like...
What? Why?
Kyurem-Black has been one of the big boys of 1v1 since the very beginning. Incredible stats across the board, a lovely offensive typing, a solid movepool, and a huge ability in Teravolt that allows it to best Sturdy users with no effort. In short, it’s awesome in every single aspect. But over the past few months, more and more people have been questioning if it's a bit
too awesome. So, is it? Did you read the title of this post, you dummy? Of course it is! And I'm here to prove why.
Let's start off by looking at those juicy stats.
View attachment 86841
Oh dear. This ain't too good...
Forgetting the obviously extremely high Attack stat, we also got 125/100/90 bulk. With proper investment, Kyurem can take STAB super-effective hits from Mega Mawile. MEGA. MAWILE. Kyurem is actually more bulky than Mandibuzz!
252 Atk Adaptability Lucario-Mega Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Kyurem-Black: 284-336 (72.6 - 85.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Adaptability Lucario-Mega Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mandibuzz: 272-322 (75.3 - 89.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
(I changed Kyurem's typing for the sake of comparison)
Something with this much raw firepower should not be able to do that. It also has 120 Special Attack, but we'll touch upon that later.
Now, let's take a look at it's offensive potential. Going off of physical movepool alone, this thing already hurts like a bitch. The lack of physical Ice STAB is compensated for by Icium Z boosting Freeze Shock to 200 BP. An Ice-type Self-Destruct that breaks Sturdy users while keeping you alive? Nope, don't see anything wrong in the slightest! Let's see how much Kyurem can hit with just Fusion Bolt, Outrage and Subzero Slammer.
View attachment 86842
So we got 5 super-effective hits against 5 fairly common meta types, and neutral hits against everything else. Again, nothing wrong here.
Those aren't the only tricks Kyurem has, though! Kyurem can also learn Earth Power, Focus Blast, Iron Head and Stone Edge. And this is where that 120 Special Attack comes into play. Let's assume that Kyurem had something like Gyarados, like, 70 Sp. Atk. Earth Power would become useless, and special/mixed sets would have no worth. But Kyurem instead has a Sp. Atk greater than Greninja and Tapu Koko, and only 10 points behind Tapu Lele and 15 points behind Porygon-Z! This adds an extra layer of unpredictability and versatility to an already incredibly strong Pokemon.
And here we reach my final point: Kyurem's versatility. Now, there's nothing wrong with being versatile: It's good. But there are instances of Pokemon being way too versatile for their own good. Kyurem-Black is one of these cases. Combined with it's stats, it has the potential to run a set to beat every one of it's counters. Mawile and Magearna a thorn in your side? Run Specs/Tectonic Rage! Scarf Outrage not quite picking up KOs on things you struggle with? Run Choice Band! The possibilities are truly endless, and a bright Kyurem player can cteam his/her way past nearly every Pokemon in the meta.
To show how strong it is, I made a little spreadsheet that highlights how much Kyurem can beat with merely TWO out of the countless possible sets. (It's actually technically three sets, but two of them are variations of the Choice Scarf so I'll count them as one)
The sets:
1. UOP icium-Z (Kyurem-Black)
@ Icium Z
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 252 HP / 52 Atk / 140 Def / 44 SpD / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Freeze Shock
- Fusion Bolt
- Substitute
- Outrage
2. UOP Special Scarf (Kyurem-Black) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 156 Def / 252 SpA / 100 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Blizzard
- Focus Blast
- Earth Power
3. Generic Scarf (Kyurem-Black) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Outrage
- Fusion Bolt
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
Here's the spreadsheet itself. Partial credit goes to TGC Disunited for setting up the spreadsheet and helping with some of the calcs, and to UnleashOurPassion for the movesets.
You can take your time to look at all of these calculations and match-ups in detail, but here's the important part:
White: Kyurem loses with both sets
Green: Kyurem loses with one set, but wins with another
Red: Kyurem wins with both sets
Yellow: Kyurem 50/50s with at least one set
Overall, Kyurem has the potential to
win against 77% of the metagame with just it's two most common sets. Now, this isn't quite as absurd as Marshadow, who could beat almost everything with one or two sets, but this is still complete crap.
And remember: This is just the two most common sets. But Kyurem can do so much more. Here are some examples:
- If Kyurem runs Specs/Groundium Z, it can beat Mawile and Mega Aggron, as well as turn the match-up against Magearna into a 50/50 (assuming it isn't Air Balloon or Shuca Berry)
- Gigavolt Havoc/Band beats Fini guaranteed. (252+ Atk Choice Band Teravolt Kyurem-Black Fusion Bolt vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Tapu Fini: 386-456 (112.5 - 132.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO)
- While Jolly Scarf 50/50s against Mega Lopunny, Adamant/Naughty Scarf wins guaranteed. (252+ Atk Teravolt Kyurem-Black Outrage vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Lopunny-Mega: 276-325 (101.8 - 119.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO).
Now, one could say that I'm grasping at straws and that none of these sets matter. But remember: You can't know for sure what Kyurem is gonna run. It's so versatile, that often, looking at the foe's team composition doesn't help. And I have seen all these sets in action at some point, some multiple times, so don't say they're rare or meaningless.
Another thing to keep in mind: There are plenty of mons out there that solely exist to defeat it. Like, what else does Genesect beat, for instance? Not much. A few things, but still not much. But yet lots of people use it because it beats Kyurem-Black. Terrakion is only decent in this meta. But yet, people advocate it's use quite a bit. Why? Because it's one of the few things that can consistently defeat Kyurem-Black. This is the kind of constraining effect that Kyurem's presence has had on team-building. It has forced the usage of Pokemon that should not be ranked the way they are ranked solely to beat it. Now that Deoxys-Defense and Marshadow are out of the way, it's time to finally tackle an issue that should've been tackled long ago.
Kyurem-Black. Ban now. Ples.