Kyurem White

Using Kyurem White in a Playthrough

Kyurem is a Dragon/Ice Legendary with three battle formes. Standard Kyurem has base 125 HP, 130 Attack, 130 Special Attack, and 95 Speed with Pressure, supporting mixed or special offense through Ice Beam, Freeze-Dry in later generations, Draco Meteor or Dragon Pulse, Earth Power, Roost, Substitute, and coverage. Using the DNA Splicers to fuse Kyurem with Zekrom creates Black Kyurem, which reaches base 170 Attack, 100 Defense, and uses Teravolt alongside Fusion Bolt and Freeze Shock; fusing it with Reshiram creates White Kyurem, which reaches base 170 Special Attack, 100 Special Defense, and uses Turboblaze alongside Fusion Flare and Ice Burn. All three remain Dragon/Ice, resisting Water, Electric, and Grass but remaining weak to Fighting, Rock, Steel, and Dragon, with Fairy added from Generation VI onward. Black Kyurem is best suited to physical or mixed offense, while White Kyurem is an extraordinary special wallbreaker and standard Kyurem is the most balanced. Jolly or Adamant suit Black, while Timid or Modest are natural for standard and White Kyurem.

Kyurem White in Competitive Pokémon

The three Kyurem formes have very different competitive histories. Standard Kyurem was only UUBL in BW despite a 660 base stat total, because its Ice typing created several common weaknesses and Stealth Rock vulnerability; nevertheless, Substitute, Roost, Ice Beam, and Earth Power made it a dangerous balance breaker. Black Kyurem was remarkably allowed in BW OU despite base 170 Attack, largely because it lacked a practical physical Ice STAB at the time; Outrage, Fusion Bolt, Ice Beam, and Teravolt still made it one of the tier's most devastating wallbreakers. Later generations eventually gave it stronger physical Ice options and boosting tools, and it rose to Ubers in Sword and Shield. White Kyurem entered directly into Ubers, where base 170 Special Attack, Draco Meteor, Ice STAB, Fusion Flare, and Turboblaze gave it extraordinary wallbreaking power. All three formes share the same base 95 Speed and hazard vulnerability, which prevents their immense raw stats from becoming effortless dominance.

Kyurem White in Nuzlockes

Kyurem is extraordinarily powerful if permitted in a Nuzlocke, but Dragon/Ice typing gives all three formes more weaknesses than their legendary stat totals might suggest. Standard Kyurem has enormous 125 HP and balanced offenses, while Black and White Kyurem specialize so heavily that most ordinary opponents can be removed before they retaliate. Black Kyurem's physical power is exceptional, but Freeze Shock requires a charge turn unless special mechanics bypass it, making Ice Beam or later physical Ice moves safer in many games; White Kyurem similarly should not rely blindly on the two-turn Ice Burn when immediate Ice damage is available. Fighting, Rock, Steel, Dragon, and later Fairy attacks are the primary dangers, and Stealth Rock chips one-quarter of maximum HP on entry. Timid or Jolly natures are often safer than maximum-power alternatives because base 95 Speed leaves all forms vulnerable to fast attackers.

White Kyurem is created through Absofusion when Kyurem merges with Reshiram using the DNA Splicers. The transformation exposes more of Kyurem's hidden tendril-like structures and incorporates Reshiram's flame-generating traits, granting Fusion Flare, Ice Burn, and the Turboblaze Ability. The form represents Kyurem temporarily filling part of its incomplete body with the dragon of truth. The fusion is reversible, and Reshiram returns unchanged when the DNA Splicers separate the two.