Continental Shift: Groudon and Kyogre in AG

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Introduction

Often revered as some of the most powerful monsters out there, these forces of nature have been ruling the soils and seas for ages now. Groudon and Kyogre have both been absolute powerhouses in every generation, almost always standing clearly above the rest. Even in today's metagame, they manage to stand out; Primal Groudon is one of the most versatile and efficient Pokémon, being able to fulfill a multitude of useful roles and bring solid role compression to most teams. Primal Kyogre, on the other hand, is a fantastic wallbreaker that can absolutely shred teams once its checks are gone and can dish out insane amounts of damage. So let's take a look at their uses and roles in the current Anything Goes metagame!

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Primal Groudon

• HP[100]
• Atk[180]
• Def[160]
• SpA[150]
• SpD[90]
• Spe[90]

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Groudon's Qualities

Look first at Primal Groudon's stats. A BST of 770 brings extremely solid bulk and power, allowing Groudon to tank the strongest of hits and retaliate with full force. Its typing is also good, granting it solid dual STAB coverage and useful resistances to Fairy, Steel, and Fire. However, that 4x weakness to Water looks pretty — wait, what? Oh right, Desolate Land makes Primal Groudon completely immune to Water, thus leaving it with a sole weakness in Ground, and makes its Fire-type attacks feel less like being burned and more like being roasted into oblivion. Groudon's movepool is nothing to scoff at, either; useful options like Roar, Swords Dance, Precipice Blades, Lava Plume, Rock Polish, and the ever-necessary Stealth Rock allow Primal Groudon to fulfill a ton of roles. A lot of Groudon's viability comes from its ability to compress a lot of these roles together and still perform them all efficiently. For instance, it can act as a Stealth Rock setter, phazer, and check to Pokémon like Xerneas, Marshadow, Yveltal, Mega Gengar, and Necrozma-DM all at once.

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Flaming Sets

[Specially Defensive Stealth Rock]

• Groudon @ Red Orb
• Ability: Drought
• EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
• Sassy / Relaxed Nature
• - Stealth Rock
• - Precipice Blades
• - Lava Plume / Overheat
• - Toxic / Roar

This set is probably Primal Groudon's most common, utilizing its fantastic bulk and wide range of support options. Groudon is stellar at getting Stealth Rock up consistently throughout a game thanks to its solid bulk and ability to threaten many Pokémon with its hard-hitting STAB moves. A specially defensive spread complements Primal Groudon's already fantastic physical bulk and allows it to fearlessly face threatening Pokémon like Mega Gengar, Necrozma-DM, Ferrothorn, and Primal Kyogre. If you ever need a blanket check to a multitude of Pokémon in the metagame, this Primal Groudon is your 'mon.

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[Double Dance]

• Groudon @ Red Orb
• Ability: Drought
• EVs: 252 Atk / 100 SpD / 156 Spe
• Adamant Nature
• - Swords Dance
• - Rock Polish
• - Precipice Blades
• - Stone Edge / Fire Punch

A complete turnaround from the previous set, Double Dance Primal Groudon does away with support and instead focuses on wallbreaking and sweeping. Primal Groudon has the bulk to set up both Rock Polish and Swords Dance on many foes and can sweep with even minimal chip damage on checks or break apart teams with sheer power. EdgeQuake coverage hits the entire metagame for at least neutral damage, with Stone Edge nailing Ground-immune Pokémon like Mega Rayquaza, Lugia, and Ho-Oh, but Fire Punch can be a more reliable option that still hits incredibly hard thanks to STAB and Desolate Land. Primal Groudon can set up on forced switches against the likes of Arceus-Steel, Ferrothorn, Magearna, and Necrozma-DM and after checks like Zygarde-C and Celesteela have been chipped. Finding good opportunities to set up anywhere in the game is paramount for success. 156 Speed EVs suffice to outrun Adamant Necrozma-DM, 100 Special Defense EVs give Primal Groudon more overall special bulk, and max Attack investment gives Groudon the power to OHKO almost everything at +2.

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Shaking The Ground

Primal Groudon should avoid being badly poisoned by Toxic, as unless it carries Rest or a teammate has Heal Bell or Aromatherapy, Primal Groudon will continue to take damage over the course of a match, cutting into its ability to perform its roles. This is especially troublesome because Toxic is becoming increasingly common and is used on a lot of Pokémon Primal Groudon would otherwise check, like Ho-Oh and Arceus-Fairy. Primal Groudon should also be played carefully; though it can switch into threats like Primal Kyogre pretty easily, avoid mindlessly throwing it into attacks, since it can get worn down easily due to its lack of reliable recovery and may need to preserve its health.

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Good Teammates

Primal Groudon is a great teammate to most Pokémon. Its Stealth Rock support is very useful for wallbreakers and sweepers like Mega Rayquaza, Necrozma-DM, Yveltal, and Ho-Oh. It is easy to fit on almost every team thanks to its capabilities and the support it can offer. Primal Groudon can also form solid defensive cores with Pokémon such as Ho-Oh and Arceus-Fairy and offensive cores with Mega Rayquaza and Necrozma-DM. On the other hand, Groudon enjoys Stealth Rock support on more offensive sets to soften up foes and make them easier to break.

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Aftershock

Due to Primal Groudon's sheer versatility, it is hard to check typically and often requires scouting the set first. Couple this with its sole weakness in Ground and you've yourself a pretty sturdy Pokémon. This weakness to Ground, however, is fairly common, leaving Primal Groudon prey to attackers like Arceus-Ground and Zygarde-C. Arceus-Ground hits very hard with Judgment, can shrug off hits with Recover, and, most importantly, can Defog away the hazards that Groudon sets. Zygarde-C takes almost nothing from anything Groudon throws at it, can use it as setup fodder, and can heal Toxic poison and damage with Rest. Arguably Primal Groudon's biggest issue, however, is its lack of longevity; without reliable recovery, Primal Groudon is easily chipped throughout a match. This is accentuated by how much Primal Groudon is often relied on to check, which means Pokémon it would ordinarily beat can sometimes bust through it provided Groudon is damaged enough. Other Pokémon can situationally check Groudon: Celesteela beats it if it isn't carrying Fire-type coverage, support Arceus formes can cripple it with Toxic, Primal Kyogre can beat it if rain is up, and some Flying-types threaten it out.

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Primal Kyogre

• HP[100]
• Atk[150]
• Def[90]
• SpA[180]
• SpD[160]
• Spe[90]

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Kyogre's Qualities

Primal Kyogre's biggest assets are most definitely its off-the-charts Special Attack and its insane coverage. Rain-boosted Origin Pulses coming off a base 180 Special Attack stat heavily dent anything that doesn't resist it and isn't a blob. Kyogre also boasts unresisted Water + Ice + Electric coverage, allowing it to hit everything neutrally and reducing the number of Pokémon that can switch into it safely to a measly four. While Kyogre's Defense isn't the best, it can invest in the stat to better take on attackers like Primal Groudon, and its special bulk is already very solid, allowing it to shrug off hits from Pokémon like support Arceus formes and Mega Gengar. Primal Kyogre's best matchup is against bulkier teams, as even though its Speed is decent, Kyogre is still outsped by threatening Pokémon like Mega Rayquaza and Marshadow. Kyogre doesn't add too much defensively, though, and is more on a team to help offensively pressure teams.

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Wet Sets

[Calm Mind]

• Kyogre @ Blue Orb
• Ability: Drizzle
• EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
• IVs: 0 Atk
• Modest Nature
• - Origin Pulse
• - Ice Beam
• - Calm Mind
• - Substitute / Thunder

Calm Mind augments Primal Kyogre's already ridiculous Special Attack and Special Defense to ensure absolute nothing wants to come in on its attacks. Substitute gives Primal Kyogre a layer of security, blocking troublesome status and Leech Seed, and eases prediction and can be set up easily against weaker special attackers and bulkier foes. Thunder is an alternative for coverage that Water- and Flying-types, but Ice Beam shreds most Thunder targets anyway, and Arceus-Water and opposing Primal Kyogre are relatively uncommon. With boosts, Kyogre is able to murk all switch-ins and can be hard to take down without a powerful physical attacker, so removing checks before setting up is a good idea. Be wary of being revenge killed by powerful physical attackers such as Mega Rayquaza as well.

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[RestTalk]

• Kyogre @ Blue Orb
• Ability: Drizzle
• EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
• IVs: 0 Atk
• Calm Nature
• - Scald
• - Rest
• - Sleep Talk
• - Toxic / Ice Beam

A more defensive approach to Primal Kyogre, this set is good at spreading status and annoying typical checks to Kyogre. Scald is spammable and can spread burns easily, patching up Kyogre's subpar Defense. Toxic nails Primal Groudon on the switch, and Rest and Sleep Talk together make Kyogre a great pivot and status absorber. This set can often switch into special attackers like Yveltal to fire off rain-boosted Scalds that hit very hard even without investment, which is even easier if there isn't a Primal Groudon around. This set lacks the offensive presence of the Calm Mind set, so spreading status is the best way to support teammates. The EVs allow Kyogre to survive Life Orb Marshadow's Close Combat, Primal Groudon's Precipice Blades, and Life Orb Ho-Oh's Brave Bird, all after Stealth Rock.

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Surf's Up

The name of the game for Primal Kyogre is breaking down teams, either through the use of sheer power or through continuously wearing down foes. Primal Kyogre shines brightest when it's given free turns to fire off powerful attacks, so it can be a good idea to use VoltTurn partners like Magearna and Yveltal to get it into favorable positions. Removing checks like Primal Groudon and Ferrothorn also makes Primal Kyogre's job a lot easier and stops the need to predict constantly, so if the opposing team is weak to Primal Kyogre if these checks are gone, removing or weakening them is paramount.

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Good Teammates

Since Kyogre's Defense isn't the most spectacular and its Special Defense is, physically defensive Pokémon that might struggle to take special attacks like Primal Groudon and Zygarde-C are very useful. Primal Groudon is especially useful for setting up Stealth Rock to aid Primal Kyogre's wallbreaking and taking on Ferrothorn as an added bonus. As previously mentioned, VoltTurn users such as Yveltal can help bring in Primal Kyogre for free. Fearsome sweepers such as Dragon Dance Mega Rayquaza and Double Dance Necrozma-DM can benefit from Primal Kyogre's ability to break open foes as well.

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Breaking The Wave

While switching into Primal Kyogre certainly isn't a cakewalk, it has a number of stops that hinder it. The biggest of these is Primal Groudon, whose immunity to Water by virtue of Desolate Land makes it one of the best switch-ins to Kyogre. The Kyogre versus Groudon matchup is almost entirely dependent on the weather; in most cases, whoever has their weather up wins. Ferrothorn, Chansey, and Blissey are also great stops to Primal Kyogre thanks to their fantastic special bulk and, in Ferrothorn's case, resistances to Water and Electric. Kyogre can also be pretty easily revenge killed by powerful physical attackers faster than it, like Marshadow and Mega Rayquaza.

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Destruction

Now that you've (hopefully) read all about Primal Groudon and Kyogre in the Anything Goes metagame, maybe you've been inspired to use these Pokémon to their fullest extent. So get out there and destroy your opponents!

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Puzzle Page

Welcome to the thirteenth edition of the Flying Press's Puzzle Page! Congratulations to Bartimaeus, who earned the most points on our last edition! Thanks to everyone who submitted their answers, and don't forget to check the leaderboard at the bottom of the page.

Thanks also to all of the members of the puzzle team who helped out with the puzzles in this edition, including GoodMorningEspeon, Engiineer, Conni, ILRB, CloudyNatu, Level 51, and GMars!

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Parameters

By using the /dexsearch command on Pokémon Showdown, find out which parameters match only the Pokémon listed. For example, say you are given these Pokémon: Bibarel, Bidoof, Pachirisu, Patrat, Raticate, Rattata, Smeargle, and Watchog. Even though all of them learn both Protect and Substitute, there are many other Pokémon that can learn these moves as well, so the trick is to try to narrow down your options as much as possible. Parameters may include moves, abilities, tiers, generations, colors, and so on.

1. Cranidos, Exploud, Grumpig, Hariyama, Hippopotas, Hippowdon, Loudred, Makuhita, Munchlax, Rampardos, Snorlax, Spoink, Tapu Bulu, Whismur (1 parameter, 1 exclusion)
2. Avalugg, Mudbray, Mudsdale, Numel, Rockruff, Smeargle (2 parameters)
3. Kartana, Morelull, Pikipek, Pyukumuku, Shiinotic, Toucannon, Trumbeak (1 parameter, 1 exclusion)

Pokémon Mondegreens

Mondegreens are short homophone phrases that require you to say them out loud to try to figure out what they actually mean. For example, "Rye Doubt These Dorm" would be "Ride out the storm," and "Up Racked Hick Gulch Oak" would be "A practical joke".

1. Show ice panda arm and it ten
2. Mit ape adieu zed are done
3. Mage icky are abused splay shh Banette ding append

Cryptogram

In a cryptogram, every letter used in a message is replaced with a different letter. In order to solve it, you must determine what the original message is. For example, a cryptogram of "VDWXQFR REBU AFRSUBKYTCA!" would unscramble to become "Pikachu used Thunderbolt!", as each U in the original sentence is swapped for R, each E is swapped for B, and so on.

1. "CX GXMFXHF HUVJT QZXH MUQVZSU DVZQ FXMGQF YVED! YKFCU! MUGH MCHMFH MFQQGYKF!" - Pokémon Spinoff

What's That Sprite?

These images have been zoomed in from the sprites of several Pokémon-related images. Your aim here is to find out what the original picture is. For example, this:

is a cropped version of:

Sprites may include items, Trainer classes, and Pokémon and their formes.

1	2	3

Pokémon Link

In this puzzle, you must create a path from one Pokémon to the other identical Pokémon by drawing a continuous line. Each line must be either horizontal or vertical but can change directions wherever applicable. Every square in the grid must be filled, and lines cannot pass through other filled boxes or boxes with icons in them. Keep in mind that lines may not be created diagonally and boxes can't be filled without being part of the continuous line.

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Leaderboard

1. Bartimaeus: 91 points
2. Yellow Paint: 84 points
3. 6Infernapes: 65 points
4. Calm: 42 points
5. AWailOfATail: 41 points
6. Max. Optimizer: 34 points
7. adiass: 25 points
8. Someoneelse: 23 points
9. Axel Rouche: 21 points
10. Heliodor: 16 points
11. Mowtom: 13 points
12. Saywhaat: 13 points
13. Silver_Lucario42: 13 points
14. HikozaruYes: 12 points
15. Seito Hakari: 10 points
16. Robotjam2: 9 points
17. EnemyJurist: 7 points
18. baconbagon: 6 points
19. {Pokémon_Vigilante}: 4 points
20. flygonfanatic: 4 points
21. mxmts - 4 points
22. Aragorn the King: 3 points
23. Martin: 3 points
24. SovereignC2: 3 points
25. Pax Hamburgana: 3 points
26. KnightsofCydonia: 3 points
27. LeviticusBrynhildr: 3 points
28. Vanillish Wafer: 2 points

Closing Remarks

The answers to the previous issue's puzzles will be posted here, and answers for this issue will be posted with the next issue. As usual, once you've completed one, some, or even all of the puzzles that this page has to offer, send your answers via a private message to Smogon's Flying Press on the forums (a Smogon account is required), with its title as "Puzzle Page: Volume 13". The deadline for answers will be 4 weeks. Good luck to all who dare to participate, and we'll see you again sometime!

Answers

Answers to the previous puzzles:

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