[OVERVIEW]
- The other half of the Primal duo, Kyogre is also one of the most defining Pokemon in VGC 2016
- Primordial Sea offers gamechanging team support and turns Primal Kyogre into one of the best answers to Primal Groudon's devastating Fire attacks
- Deals ridiculous amounts of spread damage
- Extremely bulky, especially on the special side.
- No 4x weakness, making it difficult to remove
- Very splashable (ha!); synergizes with almost every Pokemon in the game due to its excessively high stats and weather control.
- Versatile EV spreads
- If Primal Groudon gains the upper hand in the weather war, Primal Kyogre is often stuck being an Ice Beam bot
- Its physical defense is rather low
- Origin Pulse can miss when you don't want it to
[SET]
name: Bulky Special Attacker
move 1: Water Spout / Origin Pulse
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Origin Pulse / Thunder / Scald
move 4: Protect
item: Blue Orb
ability: Drizzle
nature: Modest / Quiet
evs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 76 SpA
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
- Strong Spread Water moves are a staple on Kyogre, with its two main options being Water Spout and Origin Pulse. Water Spout is 150 Base Power when Kyogre is at Max HP but the power decreases as Kyogre's HP decreases, while Origin Pulse has a consistent 110 Base Power but has 85 percent accuracy.
- Ice Beam allows Kyogre the option to still chunk threats even while an opposing Primal Groudon's Desolate Land is negating its water attacks, as well as also threatening KO's on Dragons such as Mega Rayquaza and Mega Salamence
- Scald is an option that Kyogre can use if it wants a single target STAB water move which has a consistent 80 Base Power, unlike Water Spout, as well as 100% accuracy, unlike Origin Pulse.
- Thunder is a interesting coverage option that allows Kyogre to have a way to deal heavy damage to opposing Primal Kyogre. If you are running Thunder it is generally suggested to have Origin Pulse on the set as well, instead of Water Spout, because Kyogre very much appreciates both a consistent damaging STAB and spread move. Thunder also deals heavy damage to certain obscure Primal Kyogre checks such as Lapras or Ludicolo
- Protect allows Kyogre to be invulnerable for the turn so it may scout for moves, block Fake Out, and stall out opposing field conditions.
========
- Blue Orb is the item on Kyogre because Primal Groudon is a huge threat in the metagame and the only main way for Kyogre to deal with Primal Groudon's Desolate Land is for it to put up Primordial Sea via Primal Reversion.
- EV spread ensures that Raichu's Zap Plate Volt Tackle will not OHKO and Mega Rayquaza's Choice Band Dragon Ascent will have a very low chance of OHKOing. Additionally, Jolly Primal Groudon will not 2HKO with Precipice Blades. 76 Special Attack EVs ensures that Water Spout will OHKO uninvested Mega Kangaskhan. Maximizing defense is recommended if you are not running Water Spout, so that Yveltal's Blackglasses Foul Play will not 2HKO, and grants Primal Kyogre a solid 87% chance to survive 2 Precipice Blades from Brave/Adamant Groudon and 2 Life Orb Adamant Talonflame Brave Birds.
- Modest nature is recommended to optimize its high base Special Attack. It is required to 2HKO opposing Primal Kyogre with Thunder. Quiet with 0 Speed IVs maximizes its opportunities to outrun foes under Trick Room.
- Kyogre can run various other EV spreads. It can run a spread of 252 HP / 60 Def / 196 SpA to survive Mega Rayquaza's Life Orb Dragon Ascent, and still have enough power to OHKO uninvested Xerneas with Water Spout.
- Bold and Relaxed are other viable natures. Both grant even more physical bulk, ensuring that not even Adamant Primal Groudon can 2HKO Primal Kyogre with double-target Precipice Blades. They can also be used to survive several combinations of attacks, such as Jolly Mega Kangaskhan's Double-Edge + Timid Primal Groudon's Earth Power, or the combined Sucker Punches from Jolly max attack Life Orb Yveltal and Mega Mawile.
- When utilized with Icy Wind (or if Kyogre is using Icy Wind itself), few other Speed benchmarks can be considered. 112 speed ensures that it can outrun up to base 100s after an Icy Wind. 127 speed allows Kyogre to outrun up to -1 Speed Mega Salamence.
========
- Play hide and seek if your opponent has a Primal Groudon. You want to be looking for opportunities to send Primal Kyogre into Primal Groudon to win the weather war. Primal Groudon will most likely try to do the same, so try to bait it out by using Pokemon such as Ferrothorn or Thundurus. Be careful of its powerful Precipice Blades when switching in; having an Intimidate partner such as Salamence or Landorus-T can help soften the blow significantly.
- If your opponent lacks a Primal Groudon, or if you have a weather canceling Pokemon such as Rayquaza on your team, Primal Kyogre can be used as a lead to aggressively to exert pressure as early as possible.
Team Options
========
- Checks to Primal Groudon such as Rayquaza, Mega Salamence, Landorus-T.
- Speed control is quite valuable to unlock Primal Kyogre's deadly clean up potential. Kyogre's middling Speed stat makes it compatible with multiple forms of Speed control. Tailwind, Icy Wind, Thunder Wave, and Trick Room are all viable forms of Speed control for Kyogre
- Notable users of Tailwind include Talonflame, Crobat, Mega Salamence, and Togekiss. Notable users of Icy Wind include Gengar, Mega Gengar, and Cresselia
- Notable users of Trick Room include Cresselia, Bronzong, Dialga, Palkia, and Gothitelle. Notable users of Thunder Wave include Thundurus, Meowstic, and Liepard. Be careful to not overlap Trick Room and Thunder Wave on key targets.
- Rayquaza provides Air Lock which can negate Desolate Land for Kyogre to use its water moves and is also able to mega evolve to activate Delta Stream to make Desolate Land dissapear.
- Primal Groudon is actually a strong team option with Primal Kyogre. The two can grant you maximum weather control and their high bulk can open up numerous switching potential. Primal Groudon covers Primal Kyogre's weakness to Electric, and destroys Ferrothorn. Primal Kyogre helps take on Water attacks when the sunlight isn't up, and can threaten Ground-types such a Landorus-T and opposing Primal Groudon. The challenge of using this duo is to ensure that Primal Groudon's Desolate Land will not cripple Kyogre, and vice versa. This means that sending them both out at the same time requires extreme caution.
- Steel types like Ferrothorn and Mawile benefit from Primordial Sea negating fire moves and take out Xerneas which Kyogre may struggle, with especially after Xerneas boosts its special defense with geomancy.
- Dialga can check Electric-type Pokemon such as Raichu and Thundurus, and dangerous Pokemon such as Mega Rayquaza and Mega Salamence. Primal Kyogre offers some protection to Dialga against Primal Groudon as it does not resist Fire, although Primal Kyogre will not protect Dialga from Precipice Blades.
- Palkia can take advantage of Primal Kyogre's Primordial Sea, outrunning and OHKOing Xerneas with Life Orb Hydro Pump.
- Mega Gengar is great for its ability to trap the above two and neutralize them for Kyogre. It also neuters Kangaskhan with Will-o-Wisp to mitigate physical damage on Kyogre.
- Landorus-T is great for offering Intimidate to also lower physical damage towards Kyogre as well as it's ability to threaten groudon
- Pokemon carrying a surprise Hidden Power Water, most notably Gengar, Thundurus, or Zapdos, can make use of Primal Kyogre switching in to catch an opposing Primal Groudon off guard, often OHKOing it.
- Primal Kyogre can synergize with virtually any Pokemon.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Water Spout
move 2: Origin Pulse
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Hydro Pump / Thunder / Scald
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Drizzle
nature: Modest
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
- Water Spout is Kyogre's primary STAB move, taking advantage of its blinding Speed granted by Choice Scarf to clean up foes before they can attack.
- Origin Pulse allows Kyogre to still deal significant spread damage if it has taken damage.
- Ice Beam nails Dragon- and Grass-types such as Salamence, Rayquaza, and Amoonguss
- Hydro Pump grants significant single target damage to bypass Wide Guard with. It also OHKOes Mega Kangaskhan. Thunder deals with other Kyogre and Lapras. Scald is a reliable Water move and can burn checks like Ferrothorn.
========
- Very simple and straightforward set. Choice Scarf because it's the only viable item on non-Primal Kyogre. Other items simply do not give as much benefit as Choice Scarf does. With it, Kyogre becomes a powerful cleaner.
- EVs maximize speed and power
========
- Rayquaza is mandatory as Primal Groudon hardcounters Choice Scarf Kyogre otherwise. Drizzle cannot override Desolate Land, so Choice Scarf Kyogre can not even revenge kill Primal Groudon under normal conditions.
- Quick Guard users such as Talonflame and Crobat protect Kyogre from dangerous priority moves that look to take advantage of its poor physical bulk and/or its reliance on Speed. Some of these threatening moves include Mega Kangaskhan's Fake Out and Sucker Punch, Mega Mawile's Sucker Punch, Thundurus's Thunder Wave, and Mega Rayquaza's Extreme Speed. Talonflame and Crobat can also provide Tailwind support, ensuring that Kyogre will maintain its Speed advantage against foes under their Tailwind.
- Feint users such as Weavile, Hitmontop, or Raichu are recommended to break Wide Guard, allowing Kyogre to spam Water spout freely.
- Trick Room countermeasures are important as this Kyogre set is extremely vulnerable to Trick Room. Amoonguss can threaten Trick Room teams thanks to its extremely low Speed and Spore, and supports Kyogre by redirecting damage away with Rage Powder.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
- Though Kyogre is usually being supported by its teammates, Thunder Wave and Icy Wind are options for Kyogre to provide speed control for both itself and its teammates. Thunder Wave in particular is very good for neutering fast and powerful threats like Xerneas, Mega Salamence, and Rayquaza even if they boost their speed or switch out.
- Roar can force out Geomancy boosted Xerneas to switch out which prevents potential Xerneas sweeps. Roar also has higher priority than Trick Room so it can be used to switch out Trick Room setters before they can set it up with the plus side of not stopped by Mental Herb or Lum Berry which are common items on Trick Room setters. Keep in mind that Roar only switches out a Pokemon if there are more than 2 pokemon remaining, so if the target is one of the opponent's last two then it will be ineffective.
- Calm Mind can bolster its already high special stats, but most of the time Kyogre is better off attacking than boosting. Calm Mind is not as impactful as Primal Groudon's Swords Dance or Xerneas's Geomancy.
- 252 SpA / 252 Spe Timid Primal Kyogre is viable but is extremely vulnerable to some extremely powerful physical moves in the game. In particular, Mega Rayquaza and Mega Kangaskhan can threaten an OHKO with Dragon Ascent or Double-Edge, respectively.
===================
- **Primal Groudon**: Primal Groudon's can generally freely switch into Kyogre and its Desolate Land ability removes Kyogre's ability to fire off strong Water attacks. This forces Kyogre to rely more on Ice Beam for its damage output. However, if Primal Kyogre is the one switching into Primal Groudon, it will have the upper hand and threatens an easy OHKO on Primal Groudon with its Water attacks
- **Xerneas**: Xerneas outspeeds Kyogre and sets up a Geomancy to boost its Special Defense before Kyogre can get off an attack. While Geomancy boosted Xerneas does massive damage it is worth noting that Kyogre will survive a +2 Moonblast from full.
- **Strong Physical Attackers**: Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Salamence, and Rayquaza all threaten Kyogre due to their massive Physical Attack which hits Kyogre's weakness since its Defense is much less than its Special Defense. Raichu can threaten Primal Kyogre with Volt Tackle, OHKOing less bulky variants.
- **Grass Types**: Amoonguss and Ferrothorn both resist Kyogre's STAB Water moves. Amoonguss threatens Kyogre with Grass Knot and Spore, while Ferrothorn threatens with Power Whip and potentially stalling out Kyogre with Leech Seed. Ludicolo sports a 4x resistance to Water and is not weak to Ice Beam and Thunder. With Swift Swim or Rain Dish, it can take advantage of Primordial Sea to either be incredibly fast or difficult to knock out, respectively. Ludicolo can also deal heavy damage back to Kyogre with STAB Grass Knot.
- **Dialga and Palkia**: Both Pokemon resist Kyogre's Water-type attacks and are not weak to Ice Beam or Thunder. They can both retaliate with Thunder, potentially 2HKOing Primal Kyogre. Without Thunder, however, both Dialga and Palkia may struggle to defeat Kyogre, as its special stats are incredibly high.
- **Lapras**: If Primal Kyogre lacks Thunder, Lapras can easily wall it thanks to Water Absorb and a 4x resistance to Ice. Unfortunately, Kyogre's special bulk is so high that Freeze Dry is only a 4HKO on it. If Kyogre carries Thunder, it will 3HKO Assault Vest Lapras.
Last edited:
