[OVERVIEW]
- High defenses and extremely potent pure Water defensive typing mean Suicune can find easy and plentiful opportunities to setup Calm Mind throughout the game.
- It also can serve as a defensive check to high echelon metagame presences such as Dragon Dance Flygon, Metagross, and physically oriented Crobat
- Scald especially can prove to be a nuisance for opposing teams, hampering a lot of the metagame from safely switching into it for fear of a burn while also racking up passive damage on defensive counterplay options that do decide to switch into it repeatedly.
- Decent speed tier that's fast enough to outspeed common threats like Nasty Plot Togekiss and Bewear when invested
- However, Suicune's defensive utility is hampered by its lack of reliable recovery, with Rest being its only option for longetivity, leaving it vulnerable for several turns.
- Low damage output and Suicune's reliance on Scald burns for progress means certain wallbreakers such as Guts Heracross can bust right through it and some setup sweepers, namely Reuniclus, can setup right alongside it and win the one-on-one interaction.
- Suicune's pure Water defensive typing is good, but still suffers from weaknesses to common Electric- and Grass-type attacks, limiting its matchup spread into common threats like Raikou and Celebi. It must be noted, though, that nearly every Electric-type bar Heliolisk dislikes switching into Scald due to the relatively high chance for a burn and that Grass-types in general don't deal with boosted Ice Beams particularly well.
[SET]
name: Substitute + Calm Mind
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Calm Mind
move 3: Scald
move 4: Ice Beam
item: Leftovers
ability: Pressure
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Suicune's solid bulk, decent Speed, and solid neutral coverage make it into a highly impactful win condition with the combination of Substitute + Calm Mind. Ice Beam muscles past Grass- and Dragon-types such as Celebi and Flygon, all while being Suicune's best move to hit prominent Flying-type threats like Crobat or Togekiss with. Substitute gives Suicune chances to dodge annoying status conditions, freeing up better setup opportunities on threats like Registeel, and also eases predictions. Protect is an option over Ice Beam to scout choice item users such as Choice Scarf Xurkitree, more effectively PP stall opponents, and to grant extra Leftovers recovery, but Suicune struggles to break past Water-resistant foes like Roserade without Ice Beam. Maximum HP and Speed investment give Suicune the ability to speed tie Heracross and outspeed Togekiss in addition to ensuring Registeel's Seismic Toss never breaks Substitute.
[SET]
name: Bulky Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Rest
move 3: Scald
move 4: Ice Beam
item: Leftovers
ability: Pressure
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Rest and a defensively inclined EV spread push Suicune's sturdiness to its high tide, permitting it to sustainably and straightforwardly surf through the waves of the metagame's most preeminent lurking attackers like Flygon and Sharpedo, all while also being a potent late-game sweeper with a tsunami of Calm Minds.
- High defenses and extremely potent pure Water defensive typing mean Suicune can find easy and plentiful opportunities to setup Calm Mind throughout the game.
- It also can serve as a defensive check to high echelon metagame presences such as Dragon Dance Flygon, Metagross, and physically oriented Crobat
- Scald especially can prove to be a nuisance for opposing teams, hampering a lot of the metagame from safely switching into it for fear of a burn while also racking up passive damage on defensive counterplay options that do decide to switch into it repeatedly.
- Decent speed tier that's fast enough to outspeed common threats like Nasty Plot Togekiss and Bewear when invested
- However, Suicune's defensive utility is hampered by its lack of reliable recovery, with Rest being its only option for longetivity, leaving it vulnerable for several turns.
- Low damage output and Suicune's reliance on Scald burns for progress means certain wallbreakers such as Guts Heracross can bust right through it and some setup sweepers, namely Reuniclus, can setup right alongside it and win the one-on-one interaction.
- Suicune's pure Water defensive typing is good, but still suffers from weaknesses to common Electric- and Grass-type attacks, limiting its matchup spread into common threats like Raikou and Celebi. It must be noted, though, that nearly every Electric-type bar Heliolisk dislikes switching into Scald due to the relatively high chance for a burn and that Grass-types in general don't deal with boosted Ice Beams particularly well.
[SET]
name: Substitute + Calm Mind
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Calm Mind
move 3: Scald
move 4: Ice Beam
item: Leftovers
ability: Pressure
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Suicune's solid bulk, decent Speed, and solid neutral coverage make it into a highly impactful win condition with the combination of Substitute + Calm Mind. Ice Beam muscles past Grass- and Dragon-types such as Celebi and Flygon, all while being Suicune's best move to hit prominent Flying-type threats like Crobat or Togekiss with. Substitute gives Suicune chances to dodge annoying status conditions, freeing up better setup opportunities on threats like Registeel, and also eases predictions. Protect is an option over Ice Beam to scout choice item users such as Choice Scarf Xurkitree, more effectively PP stall opponents, and to grant extra Leftovers recovery, but Suicune struggles to break past Water-resistant foes like Roserade without Ice Beam. Maximum HP and Speed investment give Suicune the ability to speed tie Heracross and outspeed Togekiss in addition to ensuring Registeel's Seismic Toss never breaks Substitute.
[SET]
name: Bulky Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Rest
move 3: Scald
move 4: Ice Beam
item: Leftovers
ability: Pressure
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Rest and a defensively inclined EV spread push Suicune's sturdiness to its high tide, permitting it to sustainably and straightforwardly surf through the waves of the metagame's most preeminent lurking attackers like Flygon and Sharpedo, all while also being a potent late-game sweeper with a tsunami of Calm Minds.
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