The Dragon/Ice type monstrosities known as Black and White Kyurem are two of the strongest forces in Pokémon GO and have created ripples across the PvE and PvP meta.
These icy dragons possess the same stats but different moves, with each possessing 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.
These 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, especially with Pseudo Legendary Mega Baxcalibur looming? 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 exceptional DPS.
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 a 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
Based on GO Hub’s DPS and TDO Comparer tool, we will look into how B&W Kyurem fare. Now, keep in mind that a recent datamine suggested +Charged Attack additions for several Mega Evolutions, notably Icicle Spear+ for Mega Baxcalibur and Draco Meteor+ for Mega Garchomp Z.
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. However, Mega Zygarde and Mega Baxcalibur will be the next best Dragons. For pure Dragon type damage, Mega Rayquaza, Mega Zygarde, Mega Baxcalibur, Eternatus, Mega Dragonite (with Outrage+), and possibly even Mega Garchomp Z (with Draco Meteor+)… 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 Mega Baxcalibur as well as Galarian Darmanitan Zen Mode, Shadow Mamoswine, Chien-Pao, and everything else. Yes, Ice Fang + Ice Burn is that strong. However, Mega Baxcalibur will potentially be getting access to Icicle Spear+. Given the proximity of White Kyurem and Mega Baxcalibur’s pure Ice DPS, it looks pretty obvious that Mega Baxcalibur will emerge the winner between the two.
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) ♦
| Pokémon | Moves | DPS | TDO | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mega Baxcalibur
|
|
25.67 | 890.8 | 24.1 |
Mega Zygarde
|
|
25.23 | 1145.3 | 24 |
|
Mega Baxcalibur
|
|
24.85 | 862.5 | 23.3 |
Eternatus
|
|
24.33 | 748.5 | 22.6 |
Mega Rayquaza
|
|
24.25 | 709.9 | 22.5 |
Mega Dragonite
|
|
23.10 | 752.1 | 21.6 |
Black Kyurem
|
|
22.76 | 615.9 | 20.9 |
White Kyurem
|
|
20.56 | 556.6 | 18.9 |
|
Mega Baxcalibur
|
|
19.97 | 692.9 | 18.7 |
Mega Baxcalibur with Ice Fang and Glaive Rush freezes the entire Dragon competition, including Mega Rayquaza, Eternatus, and Mega Zygarde. The Kyurem fusions are way down the line, and this is not even accounting for Icicle Spear+! For attending to your curiosities, among the two Kyurem fusions, Dragon Tail + Freeze Shock Black Kyurem > Ice Fang + Ice Burn White Kyurem.
Overall: Mega Baxcalibur is the supreme Pokémon with the Dragon and Ice combo, surpassing both B&W Kyurem even without its +Charged Attack.
♦ Dragon type Raid Boss with a weakness to Dragon and a double weakness to Ice ♦
| Pokémon | Moves | DPS | TDO | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
White Kyurem
|
|
51.62 | 926.8 | 45.7 |
|
Mega Baxcalibur
|
|
51.33 | 724.4 | 44 |
|
Mega Baxcalibur
|
|
46.43 | 833.2 | 41.1 |
|
Black Kyurem
|
|
42.80 | 611.6 | 36.6 |
|
Mega Zygarde
|
|
42.06 | 1117.2 | 38.5 |
|
Mega Baxcalibur
|
|
40.03 | 718.7 | 35.3 |
|
Mega Rayquaza
|
|
39.19 | 593.9 | 33.8 |
|
Eternatus
|
|
37.42 | 644.6 | 32.8 |
|
Mega Dragonite
|
|
35.79 | 606.8 | 31.3 |
It is obvious in this scenario that White Kyurem leaves Black Kyurem in the cold, with Mega Baxcalibur being a close second. However, with Icicle Spear+ on the horizon, Mega Baxcalibur will rise higher.
Overall: Mega Baxcalibur will easily surpass White Kyurem with Icicle Spear+ but is currently a close second
♦ Dragon type Raid Boss weak to Dragon but not weak to Ice ♦
| Pokémon | Moves | DPS | TDO | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mega Zygarde
|
|
42.06 | 1117.2 | 38.5 |
|
Mega Baxcalibur
|
|
40.03 | 718.7 | 35.3 |
|
Mega Rayquaza
|
|
39.19 | 593.9 | 33.8 |
|
Eternatus
|
|
37.42 | 644.6 | 32.8 |
|
Mega Dragonite
|
|
35.79 | 606.8 | 31.3 |
|
Black Kyurem
|
|
29.86 | 419.6 | 25.4 |
At this point, Mega Baxcalibur’s strength shouldn’t surprise you. However, Mega Zygarde joins the party this time and takes the top spot.
Overall: “Mega” upset for Black Kyurem, with the Mega Evolutions of Zygarde, Baxcalibur, Rayquaza, and Dragonite overtaking it. Let’s not forget Mega Garchomp Z with a potentially nuclear Draco Meteor+ further pushing Black Kyurem down the line.
♦ , Grass, or Ground type Raid Boss (non-dragon) weak to Ice ♦
Mega Baxcalibur and White Kyurem are the leading counter to these Raid Bosses. No contest at all, but Mega Baxcalibur will evebtually take the crown with Icicle Spear+
Overall: Mega Baxcalibur will easily surpass White Kyurem with Icicle Spear+ but is currently a close second
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.
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.
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.
All the best, trainers!
