[OVERVIEW]
Thanks to its impressive bulk, good defensive typing, and Pressure, Suicune can PP stall many Pokemon in Ubers, such as Necrozma-DM, slow Yveltal, Eternatus lacking Toxic, Ho-Oh, Blissey, and Tyranitar. The combination of Calm Mind, Substitute, and Scald's burn chance leaves few Pokemon that can offensively threaten Suicune without being stalled out or crippled. Furthermore, Suicune is very potent against passive teams, wearing down the PP of Water-type checks such as Dragon Tail Eternatus, which wall other Water-types like Kyogre. On the other hand, it faces heavy competition as an offensive Pokemon from Kyogre, thanks to its much higher Special Attack and stronger moves. Additionally, Suicune has no reliable recovery, leaving it easily worn down by entry hazards and other sources of chip damage. This also means it is extremely reliant on Leftovers, leaving it weak to Knock Off. Finally, without Rest, Suicune is very susceptible to status conditions.
[SET]
name: VinCune
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Scald
move 3: Substitute / Rest
move 4: Protect
item: Leftovers
ability: Pressure
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 44 SpD / 176 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Calm Mind prevents Pokemon such as Eternatus and Calm Mind Kyogre from breaking its Substitute, and it lets Suicune threaten walls such as Necrozma-DM if it stays in long enough. Scald's burn chance discourages physical attackers such as Marshadow and Groudon from switching in or setting up, reduces the chance of Ferrothorn breaking its Substitute, and helps chip Eternatus over time. Substitute blocks status moves from slower Pokemon such as defensive Necrozma-DM and Blissey, with the HP and Defense EVs letting Suicune's Substitute take multiple hits from these foes, in particular two Knock Offs from Necrozma-DM and two Seismic Tosses from Blissey. Protect is useful in tandem with Pressure to further waste the foe's PP. It can also scout Choice-locked Pokemon such as Calyrex-S, Kyogre, and Marshadow. Be careful, however, of allowing in threats such as Zekrom for free. Rest can be used to shrug off status from Eternatus, stay healthy throughout a game to sponge attacks from the likes of Galarian Darmanitan and Weavile, and avoid wasting PP for two turns. However, The sleep turns let opponents bring in strong attackers. 36 Defense EVs with a Bold nature let Suicune's Substitute withstand a maximum Attack burned Groudon's Earthquake. 44 Special Defense EVs alongside maximum HP investment allow the Substitute to survive a Dynamax Cannon from uninvested Eternatus after a Calm Mind. All these EVs can be dropped for more Defense if not running Substitute. 176 Speed EVs outspeed everything up to Adamant Dracovish.
Pokemon that can take strong physical hits for Suicune such as Xerneas and Zygarde-C are appreciated. Electric-immune or resistant teammates such as Groudon and Ferrothorn help cover Suicune's most dangerous type weakness. A cleric such as Blissey or Calyrex-S can aid Suicune with its weakness to status and can end sleep on Rest variants. Entry hazard removers such as Yveltal and Ho-Oh are necessary, as hazards very easily wear Suicune down. Toxic Spikes Eternatus can help Suicune to wear down susceptible Pokemon with Substitute and Protect. Offensive teammates such as Marshadow, Calyrex-S, and Geomancy Xerneas appreciate Suicune stalling out walls. It burning foes such as Yveltal, Lunala, and Necrozma-DM is appreciated by dangerous sweepers such as Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM, Dragon Dance Zekrom, and Geomancy Xerneas, as they get free momentum to set up and sweep. Suicune is also useful on more defensive teams, as it paired with Eternatus forms a solid Pressure core that can win the PP war against opposing walls.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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Sleep Talk can be used instead of Protect alongside Rest, but this leaves Suicune much worse at PP stalling.
Checks and Counters
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**Zarude**: Zarude can shrug off Scald, heal burns with Jungle Healing, and set up on Suicune.
**Palkia**: Palkia entirely walls Suicune; while it cannot risk switching in on Scald, it can easily set up its own Substitute against Suicune and use it as setup fodder.
**Ferrothorn**: Ferrothorn has no trouble switching in on Suicune. Specially defensive variants, in particular, generally run a Grass-type attack like Power Whip or Bullet Seed, and Ferrothorn can use Suicune to set up its entry hazards.
**Strong Physical Attackers**: Pokemon such as Marshadow, Zekrom, and Groudon can deal heavy damage to Suicune that it struggles to heal off, though they must be wary of burns. In particular, Marshadow's Spectral Thief bypasses Suicune's Substitute and steals its boosts.
**Shedinja**: Suicune cannot harm Shedinja, though variants without Swords Dance may be PP stalled.
**Scale Shot**: While they hate being burned, Scale Shot users such as Rayquaza, Zekrom, and the aforementioned Palkia can break through Suicune's Substitute and inflict direct damage, ruining its PP stall strategy. The former two, in particular, have a 75% chance to break Suicune's Substitute in two hits.
**Status Conditions**: Without Rest, faster Pokemon with status such as Eternatus can easily cripple Suicune, especially with poison and burn.
**Taunt**: Taunt users such as Yveltal can completely shut Suicune down.
**Phazing**: Suicune can be phazed by Pokemon such as Lunala, Ho-Oh, and Kyogre, which negates its boosts and preys on its entry hazard weakness. Although the former doesn't want to be burned, Kyogre can be especially dangerous, as it can feign not having Roar and set up.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Mr Geets, 510170], [Eledyr, 415367]]
- Quality checked by: [[SiTuM, 274590], [Minority, 222996], [Lasen, 273339]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Adeleine, 517429], [Sulo, 528036]]
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