When The Cold Winds Blow ft. Nicholas Ng – A Preliminary Analysis of Kyurem in VGC 2016

“This legendary ice Pokémon waits for a hero to fill in the missing parts of its body with truth or ideals.”

Type:
Dragon/Ice

Ability:
Pressure (Kyurem): Raises opposing Pokémon’s PP usage.
Teravolt (Kyurem Black): Moves can be used on the target regardless of its Abilities.
Turboblaze (Kyurem White): Moves can be used on the target regardless of its Abilities.

Strengths:
1. Kyurem has a Base HP of 125 across all forms, which gives it enough bulk at maximum investment to last neutral hits.
2. Depending on the form, it gets an amazing Base of 170 in one offensive spectrum. To be more specific, Kyurem White gets 170 in Base Special Attack, while Black Kyurem gets 170 in Base Attack. This means that both Kyurem forms are able to target down a specific Primal: Kyurem White hits Primal Groudon hard with Earth Power, while Kyurem Black strikes Primal Kyogre with Fusion Bolt.
3. All Kyurem forms are quicker than Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon. This allows them to deal with these behemoths more easily.

Weaknesses:
1. Kyurem has Type Weaknesses to Rock, Fighting, Dragon, Steel, Fairy Types, all of which are quite common in the VGC metagame.
2. Its Ice Typing gives it only additional offensive benefits against Flying, Dragon, Ground, and Grass types. With Dragon Types already weak to itself and Grass Types being a rare occurrence, the Dragon/Ice Typing can be slightly redundant, especially when one factors in Delta Stream and the number of Weaknesses brought about in return.
3. Its signature move in both boosted forms are useless without a Power Herb and will cost Kyurem in the long run, unlike Xerneas and Geomancy.
4. Kyurem does not have the best Defenses, with 100 and 90 distributed in tandem with its offensive stats, meaning that while it has rather solid base HP, 2 good hits is all it takes to take it out.
5. Kyurem forms without maximum Speed investment or Choice Scarf are unable to out-speed Xerneas, even before a Geomancy boost. This also extends to Pokemon like Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Gardevoir, Salamence, Rayquaza, and Mega Sceptile.
6. Kyurem White cannot just spam Draco Meteor, especially with the threat of Xerneas and Mega Mawile, and even after a successful Draco Meteor, it can end up being setup fodder for a lot of Pokemon. Since Kyurem White is likely forced to switch out to regain the stat drop, it will be dangerous on the partner as well as the switch in.

With low overall bulk, Kyurem should be used more as an early game wall-breaker and less of a team’s offensive focal. That said, both its boosted forms can run items to help it sweep from behind, and will become terrifying after the opponent’s Steel and Fairy Types are taken care of.

Key Items (Kyurem White):
1. Choice Scarf – 42.5%
2. Life Orb – 20.9%
3. Choice Specs – 17.2%
4. Haban Berry – 6.7%
5. Assault Vest – 6.0%
Key Items (Kyurem Black):
1. Life Orb – 41.2%
2. Power Herb – 23.5%
3. Leftovers – 11.8%
4. Weakness Policy – 5.9%
5. Choice Scarf – 5.9%

Key Natures (Kyurem White):
1. Timid – 54.5%
2. Modest – 38.8%
3. Naive – 2.2%
4. Hasty – 1.5%
5. Rash – 0.7%
Key Natures (Kyurem Black):
1. Jolly – 47.1%
2. Adamant – 29.4%
3. Naive – 5.9%
4. Naughty – 5.9%
5. Brave – 5.9%

Key Moves (Kyurem White):
1. Fusion Flare – 85.8%
2. Ice Beam – 73.1%
3. Draco Meteor – 71.6%
4. Earth Power – 48.5%
5. Blizzard – 35.8%
Key Moves (Kyurem Black):
1. Fusion Bolt – 100.0%
2. Dragon Claw – 64.7%
3. Protect – 41.2%
4. Iron Head – 35.3%
5. Freeze Shock – 23.5%

Other Options: Dragon Pulse, Protect, Focus Blast, Flash Cannon, Ice Burn, Rock Slide, Outrage, Stone Edge

Common Teammates (Kyurem White):
1. Primal Groudon
2. Cresselia
3. Mega Kangaskhan
4. Talonflame
5. Rayquaza / Mega Rayquaza
6. Aegislash
7. Mega Mawile
8. Sableye / Mega Sableye
9. Landorus Therian
10. Thundurus Incarnate
Common Teammates (Kyurem Black):
1. Kyogre / Primal Kyogre
2. Metagross / Mega Metagross
3. Klefki
4. Greninja
5. Togekiss
6. Garchomp / Mega Garchomp
7. Primal Groudon
8. Sableye / Mega Sableye
9. Scizor / Mega Scizor
10. Sylveon

Top Counters (Kyurem White):
1. Primal Groudon
2. Xerneas
3. Mega Rayquaza
4. Mega Kangaskhan
5. Primal Kyogre
6. Mega Mawile
7. Dialga
8. Sylveon
9. Aegislash
10. Kyurem White
Top Counters (Kyurem Black):
1. Xerneas
2. Mega Rayquaza
3. Mega Kangaskhan
4. Primal Groudon
5. Primal Kyogre
6. Sylveon
7. Mega Mawile
8. Greninja
9. Landorus Therian
10.Thundurus Incarnate

[Data extracted from the Masters Division Generation Showdown Competition held in February 2015]

Sets:
Kyurem-White @ Choice Specs or Choice Scarf
Ability: Turboblaze
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature or Modest Nature
– Draco Meteor
– Focus Blast / Earth Power
– Fusion Flare
– Ice Beam

252+ SpA Turboblaze Kyurem-W Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Rayquaza in Strong Winds: 206-246 (114.4 – 136.6%) — guaranteed OHKO

252+ SpA Choice Specs Turboblaze Kyurem-W Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Primal Groudon: 226-266 (109.1 – 128.5%) — guaranteed OHKO

252+ SpA Choice Specs Turboblaze Kyurem-W Ice Beam vs. 184 HP / 0 SpD Xerneas: 157-186 (70 – 83%) — guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Primal Groudon Precipice Blades vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Kyurem-W: 117-138 (58.5 – 69%) — guaranteed 2HKO

Draco Meteor is used to destroy about anything in the tier once truly sturdy Special walls and all Pokemon that resist or are immune to Dragon have been removed. Focus Blast allows Kyurem White to hit Shuca Berry Dialga. Earth Power can be used instead to hit Primal Groudon. Fusion Flare allows Kyurem to hit through Scizor, Ferrothorn and Aegislash, though with Choice Specs it has to be wary of a Primal Kyogre switch in. Ice Beam is the more spammable move, allowing Kyurem White to hit every restricted Legendary at least neutrally. Choice Specs gives Kyurem White more firepower, while Choice Scarf grants it the chance to out-speed Pokemon like Mega Kangaskhan and Xerneas before the latter can set up Geomancy. However, players must note that Choice Scarf variants might not be able to net the OHKO on Primal Groudon.

Kyurem-Black @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 36 Atk / 236 SpA / 4 SpD / 228 Spe or 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
– Earth Power / Iron Head
– Fusion Bolt
– Ice Beam / Dragon Claw
– Protect

36 Atk Life Orb Teravolt Kyurem-B Fusion Bolt vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Primal Kyogre: 177-208 (100.5 – 118.1%) — guaranteed OHKO

236 SpA Life Orb Teravolt Kyurem-B Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Primal Groudon: 99-117 (47.8 – 56.5%) — 81.3% chance to 2HKO

236 SpA Life Orb Teravolt Kyurem-B Ice Beam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Rayquaza in Strong Winds: 190-226 (104.9 – 124.8%) — guaranteed OHKO

The Speed EVs allow Kyurem Black to out-speed maximum Speed Base 90 Pokemon, such as Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, by 2 points. It also out-speeds maximum Speed Landorus-Therian by one point, allowing Kyurem to OHKO non-scarf variants with Ice Beam. 36 Attack EVs with a Life Orb ensure Kyurem-Black OHKOes 4HP Primal Kyogre, while Earth Power is a guaranteed 2HKO on Primal Groudon and has a high chance of landing a 2HKO on max SpDef variants. Ice Beam is also an OHKO on Mega Rayquaza even when Delta Stream is active. If one’s team is able to handle opposing Primal Groudon well, it is also possible to replace Earth Power with Iron Head to better handle Xerneas and Ice Beam with Dragon Claw. In that case, 252 EVs should be allocated to Attack along with the usage of Jolly Nature.

Team Options:
Teammates with good defensive synergy with Kyurem such as Aegislash, Mega Metagross, Suicune, and Rotom Wash work well as partners. Aegislash and Metagross also beat the Rock, Fighting, and Fairy Types that trouble Kyurem. For Kyurem Black, Bisharp works well to discourage Intimidate and remove Fairy Types, which is especially useful if you opt for a fourth move other than Iron Head.

Kyurem White can work well alongside Abomasnow and Mega Abomasnow, simply by virtue of Blizzard spam. A Choice Scarf variant can take advantage of that and spam Blizzard. Best practised out of Primordial Sea, Desolate Land and Delta Stream, it will be a surprise to opponents who are not prepared and net the successful user an early 4-2 lead.

Kyurem White also works well with Primal Groudon, as it not only boosts the damage of Fusion Flare through Desolate Land, but can also help deny opposing Primal Kyogre and Xerneas the chance to switch in and set up on the Boundary Pokemon, by virtue of Precipice Blades.

Kyurem White also works well with Zekrom, simply because of the Bolt Strike + Fusion Flare combination. A Choice Scarf Zekrom can hit target A like Primal Kyogre and take it out, allowing Life Orb Kyurem White to clean up with a 200 Base Power Fusion Flare.

Like Zekrom, Kyurem Black works well with Primal Groudon as Primal Groudon can deal heavy damage to opposing Primal Groudon, Xerneas and Mega Mawile, while Kyurem Black settles Primal Kyogre and Mega Rayquaza in return. Kyurem Black should be used to take out threats to Primal Groudon early game (read: Primal Kyogre) in order for the latter to switch in safely.

Kyurem Black also functions well under Tailwind, because this will allow it to outspeed threats such as Xerneas or Rayquaza. Reliable Tailwind setters like Crobat and Talonflame are sterling examples.

Checks and Counters:
Like Reshiram and Zekrom, faster Dragon Types like Mega Sceptile, Mega Salamence and Mega Rayquaza all give Kyurem a hard time. The former smashes through Kyurem with a Dragon Pulse after one Lightningrod boost, while the other two both carry Draco Meteor.

Pokemon like Terrakion, Mega Mewtwo X and Ferrothorn are also good counters to Kyurem, with the first two able to out-speed the Boundary Pokemon and KO with their Fighting STAB, while Ferrothorn resists every move bar Fusion Flare from Kyurem White and can KO either set with Gyro Ball.

Kyurem is also weak to priority in the form of both Mach Punch and Bullet Punch, and although neither is common, this means it can struggle against Conkeldurr, Mega Scizor, and Mega Metagross.

On the restricted Legendaries end, Pokemon like Primal Kyogre and Ho-oh are also great counters to Kyurem White. Defensive variants of Primal Kyogre can take any hit and proceed to stall out Kyurem White, phaze it, and cripple it with status. For Ho-oh, once it comes in unscathed, Kyurem White does not have much viable moves to hit it for Super Effective damage.

 

 

 

Cynthia’s Dragon – A Preliminary Analysis of Zekrom in VGC 2016

“This legendary Pokémon can scorch the world with lightning. It assists those who want to build an ideal world.”

Type:
Dragon/Electric

Ability:
Teravolt: Moves can be used on the target regardless of its Abilities.

Strengths:
1. Zekrom has a great Base Attack of 150, which allows it to fire off its signature moves more effectively. This is especially valuable because there are otherwise few physical Electric-type attacks. Opposing Trainers are likely to train many of their Pokemon to withstand special attacks instead of physical attacks because of the focus on special attacks by other restricted Pokemon, making Zekrom’s attacks harder to defend against. Bolt Strike and Fusion Bolt are physical attacks, so Zekrom is able to hit Kyogre’s much lower Defense instead of its Special Defense. This strategy is also useful for facing a Lugia that has boosted its Special Defense with Calm Mind.
2. Zekrom has slightly better physical bulk than Mega Rayquaza, coming in with a Base of 100 120 100.
3. Zekrom’s Teravolt Ability prevents Abilities like Lightningrod, Motor Drive, and Volt Absorb from stopping its damage.

Weaknesses:
1. Zekrom has Type Weakness to Ice, Ground, Dragon, and Fairy. The Pokemon that best exemplify that are Primal Kyogre, Primal Groudon, Mega Rayquaza, and Xerneas, all of which are common restricted Legendaries. This means that, while it can do heavy damage to Primal Kyogre and Mega Rayquaza by virtue of STAB moves, it will go down if it does not out-speed the aforementioned restricted Legendaries.
2. Its Base Speed of 90 leaves it tied with the Primals and slower than Mega Rayquaza and Xerneas.

While Zekrom is very effective against Kyogre and Lugia, it struggles against the Ground Type Groudon and the Fairy Type Xerneas, two Pokemon that will define the metagame in VGC 2016. The key to using Zekrom is finding ways to defeat that devastating duo using other Pokemon so that Zekrom can focus on the Pokemon it fares better against.

Key Items:
1. Choice Scarf – 36.1%
2. Life Orb – 16.7%
3. Choice Band – 11.1%
4. Safety Goggles – 5.6%
5. Air Balloon – 5.6%

Key Natures:
1. Adamant – 44.4%
2. Jolly – 22.2%
3. Modest – 8.3%
4. Naughty – 8.3%
5. Brave – 5.6%

Key Moves:
1. Bolt Strike – 72.2%
2. Dragon Claw – 63.9%
3. Fusion Bolt – 50.0%
4. Protect – 41.7%
5. Outrage – 27.8%

Other Options: Draco Meteor, Volt Switch, Tailwind, Rock Slide, Stone Edge

Common Teammates:
1. Landorus Therian
2. Primal Kyogre
3. Primal Groudon
4. Sableye / Mega Sableye
5. Talonflame
6. Mega Kangaskhan
7. Cresselia
8. Mega Salamence
9. Sylveon
10. Garchomp / Mega Garchomp

Top Counters:
1. Primal Groudon
2. Xerneas
3. Landorus Therian
4. Mega Rayquaza
5. Primal Kyogre
6. Mega Kangaskhan
7. Mega Mawile
8. Rayquaza
9. Yveltal
10. Kyurem White

[Data extracted from the Masters Division Generation Showdown Competition held in February 2015]

Sets:
Zekrom @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 136 HP / 252 Atk / 120 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Bolt Strike
– Dragon Claw
– Hone Claws
– Substitute

Hone Claws boosts Attack and Accuracy, allowing Zekrom to break through Ground Types with its Dragon Type moves while also reducing the miss chance of Bolt Strike. Bolt Strike complements Zekrom’s Dragon STAB type well, hitting Xerneas and other Fairy Types for sizable damage. Dragon Claw is the preferred primary Dragon-type move, as it offers consistency in comparison to Outrage, which has a locking effect that the opponent can take advantage of. Substitute is used to ease prediction, avoid status, and expand Zekrom’s setup opportunities, allowing it to set up on Pokemon that would normally wall it, such as Ferrothorn. Notably, it gives Zekrom an edge versus stall teams.

The HP investment allows Zekrom to never be OHKOed by Primal Kyogre’s Ice Beam. The remaining EVs are invested into Speed to allow Zekrom to out-speed Geomancy Xerneas with 44 Speed EVs and a neutral nature. An Adamant nature is necessary for breaking Ground Types; a Jolly nature should never be considered. Shuca Berry allows Zekrom to soft check boosted Mega Salamence, as well as tank any unboosted Ground Type attack from the likes of Primal Groudon in order to set up Hone Claws.

Zekrom @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
– Bolt Strike
– Draco Meteor
– Dragon Claw
– Volt Switch

Bolt Strike demolishes anything that isn’t a Ground Type. Draco Meteor helps Zekrom deal heavy damage to Primal Groudon and Landorus Therian, while Dragon Claw does the same but from the physical spectrum. Volt Switch allows Zekrom to maintain momentum for its team while simultaneously inflicting decent damage.

Maximum investment in Attack and Speed is necessary for Zekrom to hit as hard and as quickly as possible. A Naughty nature is preferred over Naive because Zekrom finds maximum Attack to be more useful than maximum Speed. Teravolt is useful to OHKO Lugia through Multiscale (which has yet to be released). If running Focus Blast, an EV spread of 160 Atk / 96 SpA / 252 Spe can be used to always 2HKO Ferrothorn.

Team Options:
Zekrom works well alongside Primal Kyogre, as Primal Kyogre’s Primordial Sea is a huge deterrent to opposing Primal Groudon, and Zekrom can smash through opposing Primal Kyogre, reducing the need for Primal Kyogre to run Thunder.

Ho-oh can also be considering alongside Zekrom, as it can safely come in on a Precipice Blades and resists not only Primal Groudon’s Fire STAB but also Fairy STAB from Xerneas thanks to its typing and sheer Special Defense.

On a side note, Gengar also makes for a surprisingly good teammate, as it is able to switch in on Precipice Blades, or can prevent opponents switching into Xerneas or Primal Groudon by Mega Evolving and trapping the opponents with Shadow Tag. It also carries Poison STAB to help settle Fairy Types like Xerneas before a Geomancy.

Checks and Counters:
Faster Dragon Types like Mega Sceptile, Mega Salamence and Mega Rayquaza all give Zekrom a hard time. The former smashes through Zkerom with a Dragon Pulse after one Lightningrod boost, while the other two both carry Draco Meteor.

Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon also poses problems to minimum Speed investment variants of Zekrom, as the former can KO with Ice Beam and the latter can shrug off Zekrom’s STAB Dragon Claw and OHKO with Precipice Blades.

Xerneas also gives Zekrom problems with Moonblast, though it cannot afford to switch into even an unboosted Bolt Strike. Additionally, Aside from the occasional Focus Blast, Ferrothorn resists all of Zekrom’s moves and walls it to no end.

Diantha’s Dragon – A Preliminary Analysis of Reshiram in VGC 2016

“This legendary Pokémon can scorch the world with fire. It helps those who want to build a world of truth.”

Type:
Dragon/Fire

Ability:
Turboblaze: Moves can be used on the target regardless of its Abilities.

Strengths:
1. Reshiram has a rather impressive 150 in Base Special Attack for a restricted Legendary, which makes its STAB moves like Draco Meteor and Overheat hit extremely hard.
2. Reshiram has slightly better bulk than Mega Rayquaza, with a decent 100 100 120 to rely on. Coupled with only 3 Type Weaknesses, it will not be easy to take down the Vast White Pokemon.
3. It is the one of the only two Pokemon able to learn the moves Blue Flare and Fusion Flare, which provides for some unique move combinations. Blue Flare, for example, when compared to Overheat, trades 5% Accuracy for retaining the user’s Special Attack. This would allow Reshiram to continue with a Draco Meteor instead of having to switch it out to reset the stat drop. Fusion Flare, on the other hand, sees its Base Power double from 100 to 200, if another Pokemon uses Fusion Bolt or Bolt Strike immediately before the Pokemon using Fusion Flare, but only during that use. Likewise, it will double the power of Fusion Bolt if Fusion Flare is used immediately before the Pokemon using Fusion Bolt, during that use. This allows for a unique combination with Zekrom and subsequently, Kyurem Black.

Weaknesses:
1. While Reshiram has 3 2x Resistances and 2 4x Resistances, those Resistances are not common, meaning that the common hits like Origin Pulse and Moonblast is still going to hurt, especially after respective boosts.
2. Reshiram’s Base Speed of 90 leaves it tied with Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon, as well as keeping it behind Xerneas, Mega Rayquaza and Mega Sceptile.
3. Reshiram’s amazing Fire STAB choices are useless against Primal Kyogre, or to be more specific, under Primordial Sea.
4. Draco Meteor lowers Reshiram’s Special Attack by 2 stages.
5. It pales in comparison to Kyurem White, who has more spammable STAB moves, is faster, and hits harder.

Reshiram, without the threat of Primordial Sea, functions well as a wallbreaker owing to its fantastic STAB coverage and sheer power output. The item choice will be crucial here, with Choice Specs, Life Orb, Choice Scarf and Assault Vest all extremely viable based on the support they provide.

Key Items:
1. Life Orb – 28.6%
2. Choice Scarf – 23.8%
3. Assault Vest – 19.0%
4. Air Balloon – 4.8%
5. Flame Plate – 4.8%

Key Natures:
1. Modest – 61.9%
2. Timid – 33.3%
3. Quiet – 4.8%

Key Moves:
1. Blue Flare – 61.9%
2. Dragon Pulse – 57.1%
3. Draco Meteor – 52.4%
4. Earth Power – 42.9%
5. Heat Wave – 42.9%

Other Options: Protect, Fusion Flare, Focus Blast, Solar Beam, Tailwind

Common Teammates:
1. Primal Groudon
2. Talonflame
3. Landorus Therian
4. Rayquaza / Mega Rayquaza
5. Sylveon
6. Greninja
7. Mega Kangaskhan
8. Gengar / Mega Gengar
9. Klefki
10. Aegislash

Top Counters:
1. Primal Groudon
2. Mega Rayquaza
3. Primal Kyogre
4. Xerneas
5. Landorus Therian
6. Mega Kangaskhan
7. Landorus Incarnate
8. Kyogre
9. Talonflame
10. Terrakion

[Data extracted from the Masters Division Generation Showdown Competition held in February 2015]

Sets:
Reshiram @ Life Orb or Choice Scarf
Ability: Turboblaze
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
– Blue Flare
– Draco Meteor
– Flame Charge
– Protect / Roost

252 SpA Life Orb Turboblaze Reshiram Draco Meteor vs. 128 HP / 0 SpD Primal Groudon: 175-208 (91.6 – 108.9%) — 56.3% chance to OHKO

252+ SpA Life Orb Turboblaze Reshiram Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Primal Groudon: 192-227 (92.7 – 109.6%) — 62.5% chance to OHKO

Draco Meteor and Blue Flare are Reshiram’s strongest STAB moves and deal huge damage to anything that doesn’t resist them. Blue Flare also has a handy chance to Burn. Roost helps to regain HP lost to recoil and chip damage. Flame Charge can be used to pick off weakened opponents and net Reshiram a boost in Speed for each use.

Maximum Special Attack and Speed EVs produce maximum offensive output. A Timid nature allows Reshiram to Speed tie or out-speed other base 90 Speed Pokemon and out-speed neutral Natured Base 95 Speed Pokemon. Life Orb is used to hit hard while being able to switch moves, as locking Reshiram into any move gives a free turn to big threats: Blue Flare is a free switch for Primal Kyogre, Latias, and Latios, and Draco Meteor gives a free switch to Xerneas and Klefki. A Modest Nature is required to give the player the best chance at securing a OHKO on bulky Primal Groudon.

Choice Scarf variants work well alongside a Kyurem Black, with Blue Flare doubling the power of Kyurem Black’s Fusion Bolt from 100 to 200, making full use of Kyurem Black’s amazing Base Attack of 170. If players are not keen on being Choice locked, Life Orb is still viable but Timid Nature on Reshiram and Adamant Nature on Kyurem Black is required to pull the tactic off properly.

Assault Vest, if used over Life Orb, beefs up its already impressive Special Defense, typically enough for Reshiram to last through a Draco Meteor from another Legendary Dragon-type Pokémon and fire back with a more damaging Draco Meteor in response.

Team Options:
Reshiram works well with Primal Groudon by virtue of Desolate Land, which doubles the power of the former’s Blue Flare. However, this leaves the duo weak to an opposing Primal Groudon or even a Primal Kyogre switch in, assuming the partnership derives from Fire STAB stacking.

Zekrom and Kyurem Black are also decent partners to Reshiram, due to the attack combination of their signature moves, Fusion Flare and Fusion Bolt. Both also help Reshiram deal with Primal Kyogre by targeting its softer physical belly through Bolt Strike and its amazing Attack stat. This combination, however, is still weak to Precipice Blades, for the former.

Xerneas also works well with Reshiram, with the former taking out opposing Dragon Types like Rayquaza, Dialga and Palkia, while Reshiram eliminates Pokemon like Mega Mawile and Aegislash.

Checks and Counters:
Faster Dragon Types like Mega Sceptile, Mega Salamence and Mega Rayquaza all give Reshiram a hard time. The former smashes through Reshiram with a Dragon Pulse after one Lightningrod boost, while the other two both carry Draco Meteor.

Primal Kyogre is no doubt a nightmare for Reshiram, with Primordial Sea fizzling out Reshiram’s Fire STAB, and the Special bulk to withstand a Draco Meteor. Likewise, Primal Groudon will deal heavy damage through Precipice Blades. Primal Groudon does not like a lick of Draco Meteor though, so at least there is something for Reshiram to fall back on during such times.