A PvP Analysis on Black and White Kyurem

I found it very difficult to get myself into this analysis, I will admit. Because as much as people have been asking me to analyze Kyurem Black and White, I’ve just been waiting for other shoe to drop with their stats getting nerfed or another of many tweaks to their new moves. But it’s been stable long enough now — and people have been asking me often enough now! — for me to finally relent and let you know not that the new Kyurems are good, because we ALL know that by now, but WHY they’re good and perhaps which one is better, at least for YOU, dear reader! So let’s check our quick Bottom Line Up Front and then dive in and see!

Want to know how they measure up in the raid meta? Check out this article!

B.L.U.F.

• I mean, the new Kyurem Black AND White are both amazing, and powerful, and highly ranked in Master League PvP. You don’t need me to tell you that!
• There are some differences between them that we’ll touch on so you can know which one to pursue for YOUR team and playstyle, if you understandably have to pick one or the other to grind and build.
• Yes, I do think you want to get them while their soon-to-be-Legacy moves are available, as they’re both better off for it. BUT if you miss out, we also check out how they can perform without those moves.

As I did hold off on this analysis far longer than I normally would, I apologize ahead of time if it feels a little more rushed than usual, but hopefully it’s still a good ride! Here we go….

KYUREM BLACK & WHITE Stats and Moves

Master League Stats

So… yeah. At least to this point, Niantic has NOT applied the customary 9% nerf to the stats of Kyurem Black or White, leaving them with currently the highest CP in Master League. They basically have the Attack stat as Hoopa Unbound (and nearly 10 more Attack than Mewtwo!… the only things with higher Attack are Deoxys and Ultra Beasts Blacephalon, Pheromosa, Kartana, and Xurkitree) while also having decent enough bulk (roughly the same as Xerneas and Yveltal, and close behind Rhyperior, for a couple relevant ML points of reference). Their stats are, quite frankly, ridiculous, to the point that I have hesitated to do any kind of analysis in fear that Niantic is going to drop the nerf hammer any day now. But since they haven’t yet, we’ll carry on.

The typing is nothing particularly special. Ice is a notoriously awful defensive typing, resisting only other Ice damage while carrying four worrying weaknesses (Fire, Fighting, Rock, and Steel, all things you can realistically expect to encounter in Master League). Fortunately, this does at least mean that it wipes out the standard Dragon weakness to Ice (it deals neutral to Kyurem instead), and Dragon chips in by neutralizing the Ice weakness to Fire, so there’s that. But in the end, Kyurem of any variety is left vulnerable to Fighting, Rock, Steel, AND Dragon and Fairy damage, while resisting only Grass, Electric, and Water, and usually only that last one is particularly relevant in Master League. Yes, the stats are crazy good, but the typing may hold them back.

…maybe. Except spoiler alert: it doesn’t really. Let’s cover their unique moves and then you’ll see what I mean.

While these two have the same typing and stats, their moves are VERY different. But to keep it simple, I will list them all together with a black circle (⚫) to denote moves for Kyurem Black, and ⚪ for moves appearing on Kyurem White.

FAST MOVES

• ⚫ Dragon Tail – Dragon type, 4.33 Damage Per Turn {DPT}, 3.0 Energy Per Turn {EPT}, 1.5 CoolDown
• ⚫ Shadow Claw – Ghost type, 3.0 DPT, 4.0 EPT, 1.0 CD
• ⚪ Dragon Breath – Dragon type, 4.0 DPT, 3.0 EPT, 0.5 CD
• ⚪ Ice Fang – Ice type, 4.0 DPT, 3.0 EPT, 1.0 CD
• ⚪ Steel Wing – Steel type, 3.5 DPT, 3.0 EPT, 1.0 CD

Getting one or the other Dragon fast moves is nice, but honestly, they both probably want to run with OTHER fast moves. In Blackie’s case, that obviously means Shadow Claw, which is just a great fast move for nearly anything to have, but particularly when it helps race to its very nice array of charge moves. (More on that momentarily.) Kyurem Blanco probably leans towards Ice Fang, which really does have the same high pressure stats as Dragon Breath now (if you missed the memo), and honestly, while Ice may not be a very good defensive typing, it is a fantastic offensive typing in Master League, as long-time readers likely know I’ve said many, many times in the past. Tons of Flying, Ground, and yes, Dragon types to freeze out at this level. (At the time of this writing, twenty-three of the thirty-seven Pokémon listed in the Master League core meta on PvPoke have at least one of those three Ice-weak typings. That’s over 62%!)

There really aren’t ANY bad moves here, which is such a rarity that it feels good to be able to write it without hesitation. But I think both are best served by running their non-Dragon moves. If you want Dragon damage, there are PLENTY of other ways to get it. To force it here is kind of a waste of their unique potential.

Anyway, on the topic of unique potential, it is the charge moves that REALLY stand out.

⚫ BLACK: CHARGE MOVES

• Fusion Bolt – Electric type, 90 damage, 45 energy
• Iron Head – Steel type, 70 damage, 50 energy
• Stone Edge – Rock type, 100 damage, 55 energy
• Outrage – Dragon type, 110 damage, 60 energy
• Freeze Shockᴱ – Ice type, 120 damage, 60 energy, 30% Chance: Lower Opponent Attack -1 Stage
• Blizzard – Ice type, 140 damage, 75 energy

Lots of options, but as with the fast moves, I do have specific recommendations, and for similar reasons: they make the Kyurems one-of-a-kind. (Or… uh… two of a kind? You know what I meant!)

With Blackie here, while Stone Edge and even Outrage are fine moves, rolling with them would again be a bit of wasted potential. You see, running with Fusion Bolt beats ALL the same things and adds on victories over Melmetal, Enamorus, and even Excadrill (thanks to bringing in the possibility of baiting a shield). And yes, you absolutely want the soon-to-be-Legacy, unique-to-Kyurem Freeze Shock if you can get it. You CAN get by with Blizzard in a pinch, but it is again missing out on potential, this time meaning wins versus Excadrill and Kyurem White, as well as losing out on a realistic tie (at least) in the mirror match.

And just to put a bow on the move comparisions, remember when I said Shadow Claw was better than Dragon Tail? I rest my case. I mean, you DO get a couple unique wins with Dragon Tail, namely Dragonite and Palkia (regular and Origin), thanks to the super effective damage. But without Claw’s wide reach, you drop a TON of things including Zygarde and Ursaluna (which both, despite better effectiveness from Dragon type damage rather than Ghost type from Claw, are owed to Shadow Claw’s shorter cooldown), Groudon, Excadrill, Melmetal, Ho-Oh, and a slew of Fairies that include Xerneas, Zacian, Togekiss, Enamorus, and Primarina). Shadow Claw is just THE way to go… as well as, in my opinion, the unique Electric and Ice charge moves that Kyurem Black has at its disposal.

So what can Kyurem Black NOT handle? There’s no much. While it still doesn’t exactly look forward to taking on Fairies, it DOES manage to overcome most of them, though the sheer speed of Florges can cause problems still. Dialga is always a tough nut for Dragons to crack, and that does still hold true here. Most Grounds do fall down but Rhyperior and Landorus can fend Blackie off, as can Solgaleo despite the super effectiveness of Claw. And then there’s Dragonite and especially Palkia which, as mentioned, hate Dragon Tail but outlast Shadow Claw. But that’s really about it. Kyurem Black has the moves to make just about everything, even those losses, a brusing fight for the opponent. And it does it by being a Dragon that ideally deals NO Dragon type damage. Wild!

⚪ WHITE: CHARGE MOVES

• Ancient Power – Rock type, 60 damage, 45 energy, 10% Chance: Raise User Attack/Defense +1 Stage
• Fusion Flare – Fire type, 90 damage, 45 energy
• Dragon Pulse – Dragon type, 90 damage, 60 energy
• Ice Burnᴱ – Ice type, 120 damage, 60 energy, 30% Chance: Lower Opponent Defense -1 Stage
• Blizzard – Ice type, 140 damage, 75 energy
• Focus Blast – Fighting type, 150 damage, 75 energy

And really, it’s the same story here: you want Legacy move Ice Burn (same stats as Freeze Shock, just sometimes reduces the opponent’s Defense instead of Attack) and the unique Fusion Flare, the Fire-type clone of Fusion Bolt. That said, at first the advanatges might not seem obvious, as Burn/Flare gets the same on-paper wins as Flare/Blizzard… at least in 1v1 shielding. To see the difference, you have to go with shields down, and the differences is pretty big, with Ice Burn putting Zygarde, Palkia, Primarina, Florges, and Kyurem Black on ice where Blizzard is just too slow and cumbersome. I will say that generally having the exclusive move of Ice Burn is a bit less critical for White than it is to have Freeze Shock on Black, but you absolutely want to get it while you can, if you can. It takes a little digging to see why, but is undoubtedly better and more consistent in slaying foes.

And the other moves don’t reach the same lofty heights either. Ancient Power especially is NOT at all bad, but again has the same deficiencies with shields down. The others aren’t bad in theory, with the coverage of Focus Blast especially being intriguing, but really, what would you want it for? You already beat things like Rhyperior, Excadrill, Melmetal, Ursaluna, Zarude, and Mamoswine without it. What do you need a Fighting-type Hail Mary against that the great coverage of Ice and Fire don’t already handle?

Anyway, while both Black and White handle themselves well, and with similar overall records, obviously they DO get there in different ways. Kyurem Black will usually win the head-to-head thanks to superior energy gains, and the neutrality of Shadow Claw means unique wins like Xerneas, Primarina, Zacian, and Ho-Oh. (In fairness, that last one is due more to Fusion Bolt’s super effectiveness, but still.) The heavy Ice damage of White, by contrast, nails Dragons much harder (beating Dragonite that Blackie cannot, as the most obvious example), as well as Ice-weak Rhyperior (regular and Shadow) and especially-susceptible-to-Ice Landorus. For what it’s worth, White does pull ahead in shieldless (as compared to Black) and especially 2v2 shielding (as compared, again, to Black) scenarios. But these are both incredibly tough outs in Master League as it exists now, and without nerfs, absolutely earn their place within the Top 5 Pokémon wrecking face in the whole of the League.

IN SUMMATION….

So there we go. Nothing you probably didn’t already know about their potential… it’s sky high with current moves and stats, and it doesn’t take me or any other analyst to point out that obvious fact. But hopefully, you now at least better understand WHY these two represent a major meta shift. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is up to YOU to decide… I’m just reporting what I see! Whether you are able to build your own or just need to come up with answers to them, my sincere hope is that this gives you some knowledge to run with. Good luck, Master League aficionados!

That’s it for now! Until next time, you can usually find me on Twitter with regular GO analysis nuggets or Patreon.

Good hunting, folks! Stay safe out there, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!