Trainers, they are here! Two of the strongest Pokémon have marked their presence in Pokémon GO, creating ripples across the PvE and PvP meta. They are the Dragon/Ice type monstrosities known as Black and White Kyurem.
These two icey dragons possess the same stats, but different moves, with each getting their signature attacks Freeze Shock (Black) and Ice Burn (White) when you fuse a Glaciate Kyurem with Zekrom and Reshiram respectively. You can get B&W Kyurem even from a Kyurem that doesn’t have Glaciate, but you won’t get the signature attacks without Glaciate. You can refer to our guide on how to get Black and White Kyurem.
The new moves also bring with them new Adventure Effects, here’s all the info on that!
Now, we know they’re good but just how good are they? We’ll dive into that (for both PvE and PvP) but before that, let’s check out their stats and their signature attacks.
Black & White Kyurem stats
As mentioned, both Black and White Kyurem have the same stats. Let’s lay them out below:
ATK: 310
DEF: 183
HP: 245
Max CP: 5206
Needless to say, those stats are off the charts and they even put Mewtwo to shame. Moreover, Dragon and Ice form a deadly offensive typing, with only Steel types safe from them. Both Black & White Kyurem have other moves to deal with Steel Pokémon!
With that being said, it’s time to take a crack at the moves that make their Legendaries beyond legendary!
Freeze Shock (Black Kyurem)
Freeze Shock has the following stats in Pokémon GO:
PvE
Freeze Shock is a 1-bar Ice type Charged Move with a whopping 160 DMG and a cooldown of 1.50s.
This gives it a DPS of 106.67, the highest in Pokémon GO!
With nuclear levels of damage output, Black Kyurem pairs Freeze Shock with Dragon Tail to deliver one of the highest DPS in the game. Unreal stuff, making Black Kyurem a must-have in Pokémon GO.
PvP
In PvP, Freeze Shock deals 120 DMG for 60 energy. Also, there’s a 30% chance to drop the opponent’s ATK by 1 stage.
Numerically, Freeze Shock is a stronger Outrage, with the Ice typing instead, +10 DMG, and the ATK buff chances.
Ice Burn (White Kyurem)
Ice Burn has the following stats in Pokémon GO:
PvE
Ice Burn is a 2-bar Ice type Charged Move with 90 DMG and a cooldown of 2.00s.
Stat wise, it is a stronger Avalanche with 0.50s lower cooldown and +5 DMG. This low cooldown value makes it a superior 2-bar Charged Move in Pokémon GO.
PvP
In PvP, Ice Burn deals 120 DMG for 60 energy. Also, there’s a 30% chance to drop the opponent’s ATK by 1 stage.
Numerically, Freeze Shock is a stronger Outrage, with the Ice typing instead, +10 DMG, and the ATK buff chances. In other words, Freeze Shock and Ice Burn are clones in PvP.
Black Kyurem & White Kyurem in PvE
Black Kyurem has revolutionized PvE as we know it. Dragon Tail + Freeze Shock is the most outrageous combo in Pokémon GO now but it also excels with Dragon Tail + Outrage.
On the other hand, White Kyurem has an underwhelming Dragon moveset since it only learns Dragon Breath and Dragon Pulse. Dragon Breath is good in PvP and Dragon Pulse is a bad move overall. But Ice Fang + Ice Burn designate White Kyurem as the new king of Ice types. So when it comes to frigid situations, White Kyurem is what you need.
Based on GO Hub’s DPS and TDO Comparer tool, we will look into how B&W Kyurem fare.
In the Dragon meta
- First of all, Mega Rayquaza remains the #1 Dragon type as its ATK stat of 377 is astronomical. No Dragon is reaching the lofty heights set by Mega Ray.
- For pure Dragon type damage, Mega Rayquaza, Shadow Salamence, Shadow Palkia, Mega Garchomp, Palkia Origin, Mega Salamence, and Shadow Dragonite, all do more Dragon damage than Dragon Tail + Outrage Black Kyurem.
- White Kyurem is absolutely not worth it as a pure Dragon attacker since Dragon Breath + Dragon Pulse is bad for PvE.
In the Ice meta
- For pure Ice type damage, White Kyurem is THE #1 attacker, edging out the eventual Galarian Darmanitan Zen Mode, Shadow Mamoswine, Chien-Pao, Baxcalibur, and everything else. Yes, Ice Fang + Ice Burn is that strong.
- There’s not anything much to add for the Ice type briefing. White Kyurem is the best. Period.
Black Kyurem & White Kyurem in specific Raid situations
In this section, we will break down Black and White Kyurem against four specific types of Raid Bosses:
- Dragon type Raid Boss with a weakness to both Dragon and Ice (no double weakness). Example: Haxorus.
- Dragon type Raid Boss with a weakness to Dragon and a double weakness to Ice. Example: Mega Rayquaza.
- Dragon type Raid Boss weak to Dragon but not weak to Ice. Example: Palkia Origin.
- , Grass, or Ground type Raid Boss (non-dragon) weak to Ice. Example: Groudon.
♦ Dragon type Raid Boss with a weakness to both Dragon and Ice (no double weakness) ♦
- No surprises there, Mega Rayquaza is your best counter but only with Dragon Tail + Breaking Swipe.
- Now, among the two Kyurem fusions, Dragon Tail + Freeze Shock Black Kyurem > Ice Fang + Ice Burn White Kyurem.
- Megas and Shadows end up coming after the Mega Rayquaza | Black Kyurem | White Kyurem trident.
Overall: 1) Mega Rayquaza (Dragon Tail + Breaking Swipe), 2) Black Kyurem (Dragon Tail + Freeze Shock), 3) Mega Rayquaza (Dragon Tail + Outrage), 4) White Kyurem (Ice Fang + Ice Burn), 5) White Kyurem (Dragon Breath + Ice Burn), and 6) Mega Rayquaza (Dragon Tail + Dragon Ascent).
♦ Dragon type Raid Boss with a weakness to Dragon and a double weakness to Ice ♦
- Despite Mega Rayquaza’s sheer power levels and super-effective damage against these types of Raid Bosses, it takes a back seat as powerful Ice types come to the forefront
- Ice Fang + Ice Burn White Kyurem grasps the icy throne, taking over as the best counter to anything double weak to Ice type attacks, including Raid Bosses that are also weak to Dragon.
- Galarian Darmanitan Zen Mode, Shadow Mamoswine, and Black Kyurem are top counters as well, but it’s a one-dragon show with White Kyurem featuring among the best attackers even with Dragon Breath and to everyone’s surprise, Steel Wing too. Just shows how powerful Ice Burn is, even though Freeze Shock overtakes it.
Overall: 1) White Kyurem (Ice Fang + Ice Burn), 2) Galarian Darmanitan Zen Mode (Ice Fang + Avalanche), 3) White Kyurem (Dragon Breath + Ice Burn), 4) Black Kyurem (Dragon Tail + Freeze Shock), 5) Shadow Mamoswine (Powder Snow + Avalanche), and 6) White Kyurem (Steel Wing + Ice Burn).
♦ Dragon type Raid Boss weak to Dragon but not weak to Ice ♦
- These battles require a pure Dragon moveset and unfortunately, Dragon Tail + Outrage Black Kyurem doesn’t cut it, with a good number of Dragon Pokémon outclassing it as better counters.
- White Kyurem shouldn’t be used here by any means.
Overall: 1) Mega Rayquaza (Dragon Tail + Breaking Swipe), 2) Mega Rayquaza (Dragon Tail + Outrage), 3) Mega Rayquaza (Dragon Tail + Dragon Ascent), 4) Mega Garchomp (Dragon Tail + Outrage), 5) Shadow Salamence (Dragon Tail + Outrage), and 6) Mega Rayquaza (Air Slash + Breaking Swipe).
♦ , Grass, or Ground type Raid Boss (non-dragon) weak to Ice ♦
- White Kyurem is the leading counter against these Raid Bosses. No contest at all.
- Black Kyurem is good but outclassed by other non-Ice types that deal high damage figures.
Overall: Since this section accounts for three different types of Raid Bosses, there’s no straight-out list of counters. What matters is that White Kyurem (Ice Fang + Ice Burn) is #1.
Black Kyurem in PvP
Black and White Kyurem’s stats are too high for the Great League, and because of losing out on bulk in the Ultra League’s restricted CP format, these two Pokémon don’t perform too well. Moreover, UL has better dragons like Dragonite and Zygarde to get the job done. So, we will analyze the Kyurem fusions in Master League only since that’s where it matters.
- Black Kyurem is arguably the best Pokémon in the Master League, beating just about everything.
- While Dragon Tail works, Shadow Claw is better even though it lacks STAB. Shadow Claw gives Black Kyurem wider coverage and backed with an incredible 310 ATK, the damage output is quite high. Not to mention, Shadow Claw has a higher energy gain (4 EPT) and lower cooldown (1.00s) than Dragon Tail (3 EPT and 1.50s). So, Black Kyurem can use its Charged Moves more consistently.
- Freeze Shock requires 60 energy and dishes out a jaw-dropping 120 DMG. This makes it Black Kyurem’s nuke move of choice.
- To bait shields and in general, have a cheap Charged Move, Black Kyurem resorts to the Electric type Fusion Bolt. It costs only 45 energy and still inflicts a neat damage output of 90 DMG.
- Shadow Claw, Freeze Shock, and Fusion Bolt offer unresisted coverage to Black Kyurem ensuring that nothing is really safe from this Pokémon’s onslaught.
Rather than list what it can beat (since a large section of the meta goes down to it), we’ll look at the opponents it has trouble with. These few Pokémon include: Dialga (regular and Origin), Palkia (regular and Origin), Dragonite, Landorus Therian, Rhyperior (regular and Shadow), and Solgaleo.
We recommend partnering Black Kyurem with teammates who can check/counter these opponents. One good teammate is Primarina, whose Water and Fairy coverage helps Black Kyurem stay worry-free.
Remember that Freeze Shock has a 30% chance to drop the opponent’s ATK by 1 stage (0.80x), improving Black Kyurem’s staying power in battle.
White Kyurem in PvP
- Black Kyurem is a bit stronger than White Kyurem in the Master League, mainly due to wider coverage with its diverse moveset.
- That doesn’t mean White Kyurem is disappointing at all. In fact, it’s among the most powerful Master League Pokémon, just behind Black Kyurem.
- Ice Fang has a high damage output (4.00 DPT), decent energy gains (3.00 EPT), and good cooldown (1.00s). This, along with STAB, makes Ice Fang a strong Fast Move to tear off chunks of the opponent’s HP even with shields in play.
- Ice Burn is the nuke move of choice but there’s no reason to worry while shields are active as Ice Fang does enough Ice type damage.
- White Kyurem’s secret weapon is Fusion Flare, a cheap Fire type Charged Move that can be used to bait shields (90 DMG, 45 energy). But more importantly, it helps White Kyurem do something that Blac Kyurem doesn’t do too well with Fusion Bolt: Threaten Steel types.
- This makes White Kyurem one of the few dragons that can beat Steel type opponents.
Even in White Kyurem’s case, we are more interested in what it has trouble with. These Pokémon include Xerneas, Ho-Oh, Zacian (Hero), Dialga (regular and Origin), Palkia (regular and Origin), Primarina, and Solgaleo.
We recommend partnering White Kyurem with teammates who can check/counter these opponents. While Black Kyurem gets most of its problems addressed with Primarina, there’s no direct answer for White Kyurem. But, good teammates are Excadrill and Wild Charge Zacian (Hero).
Remember that Ice Burn has a 30% chance to drop the opponent’s ATK by 1 stage (0.80x), improving White Kyurem’s staying power in battle.
Black and White Kyurem have become defining standards of both the PvE and PvP meta, making them two of the greatest additions to Pokémon GO. It’s worth the grind to chase high IV versions of them so that you can dominate battles.
All the best, trainers!
