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friendly reminder: this pokemon literally almost kills you in bw2
[OVERVIEW]
Access to Ice Beam, Earth Power, and Fusion Bolt gives Kyurem-B a unique set of moves that can threaten a lot of common Pokemon in the metagame, especially those used on bulky offense, such as Landorus-T, Heatran, Tapu Fini, Mega Salamence, Zapdos, and Zygarde. On top of its offenses, Kyurem-B has very solid defenses and access to Icy Wind, which allows it to effectively run a more supportive role with an Assault Vest. In addition, Kyurem-B can be unpredictable, as it can also effectively run a Life Orb or Icium Z set. Icium Z, in particular, allows Kyurem-B to harness the sheer power of its otherwise unusable signature move Freeze Shock and its underutilized base 170 Attack, which in combination output a ton of damage and can easily take OHKOs even on neutral hits, letting a player easily remove key threats on opposing teams. This ability to effectively run a variety of powerful sets, along with the ease with which it fits on teams, gives Kyurem-B a solid place in the metagame. However, Kyurem-B's very unfortunate Speed tier leaves its offensive sets outsped by fast attackers such as Mega Metagross and Kartana and the Assault Vest set slower than some bulkier foes it wants to threaten such as Zygarde and Zapdos. Because of its weakness to Stealth Rock and lack of a recovery option, Assault Vest Kyurem-B is easily chipped down and is rarely at full health to take on all the foes you want it to. Additionally, even if it lands a super effective hit, Kyurem-B won't be doing very much damage against bulkier Pokemon, such as Tyranitar and Aegislash.
[SET]
name: Icium Z
move 1: Freeze Shock
move 2: Fusion Bolt
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Protect
item: Icium Z
ability: Teravolt
nature: Hasty
evs: 204 Atk / 52 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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Freeze Shock acts as the base move for Kyurem-B's Subzero Slammer and is the main driving force behind its power, becoming a one-use 200-Base Power move capable of breaking down or outright KOing a wide range of opposing threats. Fusion Bolt gets excellent coverage with Kyurem-B's Ice-type STAB moves and allows it to deal heavy damage to the Water-types that resist its Z-Move, such as Tapu Fini and Milotic, while Ice Beam grants Kyurem-B a consistent Ice-type STAB move to use even after its Z-Move has been expended. Finally, Protect rounds out the set, allowing it to maneuver around potential deadly attacks to give it a greater chance to successfully fire off its Z-Move.
Set Details
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This set utilizes Icium Z to turn Kyurem-B's Freeze Shock into an extremely powerful but one-use attack, with the intent of being able to outright remove a given key threat on an opposing team. Its EVs are thus centered around the use of the Z-Move, making it as likely as possible that Kyurem-B can use it to get big damage off on a foe. 252 Speed EVs and a Hasty nature are used to maximize Kyurem-B's Speed, giving it a greater chance to get its Z-Move off before it's hit by a potentially deadly opposing attack. 52 EVs placed into Special Attack allow Kyurem-B to always OHKO 252 HP / 4 SpD Landorus-T with Ice Beam, while the remaining EVs are placed into Attack to heighten the power of Subzero Slammer. Additionally, a Hasty nature is used instead of a Naive nature in order to slightly bolster Kyurem-B's matchup against opposing Tapu Koko.
Usage Tips
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This set's main selling point is Subzero Slammer, which is great for removing a key threat from an opposing team. Generally, semi-bulky Pokemon like Zapdos, Tapu Lele, and Hoopa-U don't expect to be OHKOed by Kyurem-B and can thus be good targets to remove early due to their tendency to stay in against Kyurem-B. On the other hand, don't use Subzero Slammer carelessly, and try to avoid using it into a Protect or a resisting switch-in, since it's this set's main form of damage output, with the set becoming significantly weaker once it's used. The set is also far less bulky than an Assault Vest set, so Kyurem-B should stay away from potential super effective hits unless it's definitely able to remove the transgressor before it takes a hit itself. In a similar vein, attempt to bring Kyurem-B in before Stealth Rock goes up in a game, since the number of hits it can reasonably take is greatly hindered by the 25% chip damage from Stealth Rock. As long as it's not in direct danger of being KOed, though, Kyurem-B can almost always do significant damage each turn, so it's generally beneficial to play it aggressively.
Team Options
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Icium Z Kyurem-B is mainly used to chunk or KO key threats on an opposing team and thus is often used over other Kyurem-B sets alongside typical strong cleaners and endgame sweepers: Choice Band Zygarde, Choice Scarf Landorus-T, and Calm Mind Tapu Fini are all great examples of Pokemon weak to a small group of specific threats that appreciate Kyurem-B's ability to outright remove those threats. In terms of supporting Kyurem-B itself, offensive Tailwind setters like Zapdos and Kartana are great options to ameliorate Kyurem-B's rather medicore Speed tier while keeping up with the offensive pressure it exerts. Tapu Koko can further enhance Kyurem-B's offensive presence, boosting Fusion Bolt's power by setting Electric Terrain and heavily threatening the bulky Water-types that tend to try to switch in to resist Kyurem-B's Ice-type moves.
A number of Pokemon also synergize well with Kyurem-B offensively. Volcanion can offensively threaten Steel-types like Mega Metagross and Ferrothorn, which can deal large amounts of damage to Kyurem-B and doesn't take much from its attacks, while it also appreciates Kyurem-B's tendency to force out Volcanion's largest threats in opposing Landorus-T and Zygarde. On the other hand, a Landorus-T and Zygarde alongside Kyurem-B are also good options to check Tyranitar, Aegislash, and Tapu Koko, which offensively threaten Kyurem-B; Landorus-T's Intimidate also makes Kyurem-B harder to remove in general and gives it more opportunities to fire off its Z-Move. Mega Gengar hugely threatens several offensive threats to Kyurem-B as well: it has a high chance to OHKO the common Steel-types Mega Metagross and non-Focus Sash Kartana with Shadow Ball and can deal heavy damage to Tapu Fini. Notably, it also traps opposing Pokemon so that Subzero Slammer can more consistently hit its intended target. Finally, slow pivots like Landorus-T and Incineroar make it easier to bring Kyurem-B into play safely off the back of a U-turn, preventing it from taking unnecessary damage on the switch in and thus giving it a greater chance of successfully firing off its Z-Move.
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