A legendary Pokemon and the box art mascot of Pokemon Sapphire, Kyogre is a huge whale-like Pokemon. An important figure in the plot of generation three, Kyogre is capable of flooding the entire world. It had multiple appearances in the anime and along with its counterpart, Groudon is the driving force behind the plot of Pokemon Sapphire. Kyogre is a powerful special attacking legendary Pokemon and coupled with its ability: drizzle, it is a formidable Pokemon to face. This guide will showcase its appearances in the anime, its capability in battle, as well as other general facts about Kyogre.
About Kyogre
As a legendary Pokemon, Kyogre has extensive lore to uncover in the generation three games. In Pokemon history, it was known to cover the land with rain and huge tidal waves, making it a direct counterpart to the continent making Groudon. It is often depicted battling against Groudon until Rayquaza comes to mediate the conflict. The goal of the antagonists, Team Aqua, sought to unleash Kyogre to flood the world. Its appearances were split across multiple episodes in the anime, and it was constantly looming throughout the season. Despite its rather cataclysmic abilities, it is not malevolent and is more of a peaceful giant, even saving Ash and Pikachu from drowning.
| First appearance in anime | Pokemon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire Gaining Ground |
| First appearance in game | Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire |
| Region | Hoenn |
| Evolution | Not known to evolve into or from any Pokemon |
| 1st Evo level | N/A |
| 2nd Evo level | N/A |
| Pokedex Entry | Kyogre is named in mythology as the Pokémon that expanded the sea by covering the land with torrential rains and towering tidal waves. It took to sleep after a cataclysmic battle with Groudon. |
Kyogre Base Stats
| HP | 100 |
| ATTACK | 150 |
| DEFENCE | 90 |
| SP. ATTACK | 180 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 160 |
| SPEED | 90 |
| TOTAL | 770 |
Appearance of Kyogre
As a Pokemon capable of creating tidal waves and flooding the planet, it is absolutely massive. At a towering 14 feet and 9 inches, or 4.5 meters, it is easy to understand its awe-inspiring power. Kyogre resembles a large blue whale, with two large fins on either side of its body and a blue underbelly, in addition to its massive jaw. Most of its body is blue, but it has white accents and a red trim across its body and fins. Its tail fin is split into five ribbon-like segments that help propel its massive size. When it opens its mouth you can see pointed, shark-like teeth lining its mouth.
Behavior of Kyogre
While Kyogre is constantly at odds with Groudon, it is not particularly evil. Much of its behavior involves resting, and it seems perfectly content with the oceans it resides in. When Kyogre is not butting heads with Groudon, it is known to be rather peaceful and will intervene to save people and Pokemons’ lives. Typically calm and peaceful, it is revered to save areas of the world plagued with drought. In the Pokemon lore, a mystical blue orb is required to control Kyogre.
Strengths and Weaknesses
As a legendary Pokemon, it is hard to pin down a weakness for Kyogre. As a water-type Pokemon, of course, you can look towards electric or grass-type moves, but it has a huge bulk of defensive stats to go along with its offensive stats. You should try to end the battle with Kyogre as quickly as possible as it is not likely you will outlast this Pokemon. Since Kyogre has the drizzle ability, you can expect moves like Thunder to hit much more often making it a sufficient counter to Kyogre. With nearly unmatched special attack and defense, Kyogre is quite the force to be reckoned with.
Primal Kyogre
As if regular Kyogre was not good enough, there is also Primal Kyogre which comes with an insane 100 total stat boosts and the ability: the primordial sea. Primal Kyogre maintains most of its appearance but it becomes almost twice as large and the red trimmings on its body begin to glow yellow. It is capable of learning the exclusive move Origin Pulse to take greater advantage over Primal Kyogre’s absurd 180 bases special attack. As it is such a powerful Pokemon, it is often banned in many competitive formats or only legal in formats with other Pokemon of this caliber.
Shiny Kyogre
Shiny Kyogre replaces its blue-colored body with a hot pink color. As a legendary Pokemon, Shiny Kyogre is highly sought after and many players find themselves resetting their games constantly to catch one for themselves. Not much else changes from regular Kyogre to Shiny Kyogre other than the color palette. The red trim and the white accents remain, while the rest of the blue is swapped out for the pink. Of course, as with all other shinies, Shiny Kyogre will enter battle with a starry effect.
Shiny Primal Kyogre
If you were not impressed by Shiny Kyogre, perhaps you would be a bigger fan of Shiny Primal Kyogre. Introduced in the remakes, Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, it is only fitting that Kyogre’s Primal form also received the shiny treatment. The color changes are much more drastic in Shiny Primal Kyogre and the black is quite striking. In addition to the changes that Primal Kyogre brings, Shiny Primal Kyogre is covered in black color, the yellow remains, and the red trimming is replaced with a similar glowing yellow. A terrifying Pokemon to encounter through and through.
Mega Kyogre
If you are looking for Mega Kyogre, it is reasonable to be confused. Mega Kyogre has a different name befitting its legendary status. Instead of being called Mega Kyogre, it is called Primal Kyogre. While the different names may confuse, Primal Kyogre is essentially identical to a Mega Kyogre. It still requires holding an item, but instead of Kyogreite, it requires the blue orb. Primal Kyogre still gains an impressive stat boost as is typical of mega evolutions and gains a more powerful ability.
Best Moveset
It is really hard to go wrong with Kyogre. With its impressive statline, you should consider offensive moves to complement it, but you can also get away with a defensive moveset as well. Since Kyogre is only legal in brackets where other Pokemon can match its stats, a held item of choice specs or choice scarf is recommended to help maintain its sweeping power. If you want a more defensive set, you can consider leftovers as a held item. For moves to consider you will want Water Spout, Origin Pulse, Ice Beam, and Thunder to go along with choice scarf or specs. Whereas the more defensive set would include Scald, Calm Mind, Ice Beam, and Rest. Water Spout is a powerful special water attack, Origin Pulse is an obvious inclusion considering it is its signature move, Ice Beam to help cover difficult types, and Thunder will have an increase in accuracy thanks to drizzle. The more defensive set includes Scald to inflict burn, Calm Mind as a setup tool, Ice Beam again for difficult typings, and Rest to regain all of Kyogre’s insane health pool.
(Offensive)
| Water Spout | Origin Pulse |
| Ice Beam | Thunder |
(Defensive)
| Scald | Calm Mind |
| Ice Beam | Rest |
How to Catch Kyogre in Pokemon Go
If you want a giant whale as your buddy, good news, you can obtain Kyogre in Pokemon Go. As a legendary Pokemon, you cannot find Kyogre in the wild. You will have to opt for raid battles that spawn in nearby Pokemon Gyms. Kyogre will appear in 5-star raids, so you will have to gather some friends or fellow trainers to successfully take Kyogre down. Kyogre does not spawn from eggs so raiding is really your only option.
Video Guide
Trivia
- As Kyogre is Groudon’s counterpart, their stats are direct inverses of each other.
- Of all the Pokemon in the games, Primal Kyogre has the highest base special attack and defense.
- In the Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire games, surfing with Kyogre will allow the player to surf faster.
FAQs
Q. What evolves into Kyogre?
Since Kyogre is a legendary Pokemon, it does not evolve into or from anything. Kyogre has a Primal evolution, but this is closer to mega-evolving rather than evolving from leveling or special conditions. Kyogre is a stand-alone Pokemon that has a Primal evolution, it is not known to evolve from or into any Pokemon.
Q. Who is better, Groudon or Kyogre?
Quite simply, if you need a physical attacker/defender, Groudon is better. If you need a special attacker/defender, Kyogre is better. Their stats are direct inverses of each other and they will excel in different situations. Even in competitive Pokemon battles, they are both members of the Uber tier, meaning whatever fits your team or counters your opponents better.
Q. Why did Groudon and Kyogre fight?
Groudon wants to dry up the oceans and make continents. Kyogre wants to clear out droughts and raise the sea level. It is clear why these Pokemon would often butt heads. Other than legendary Pokemon, it is rare to see conflicts of this scale, but that is why they are both the legendary mascots of their respective games.
Conclusion
Congratulations, you now know about the sea basin Pokemon’s appearances in the anime, its fearsome capability in battle, as well as how to capture one for yourself in Pokemon Go. Kyogre will forever be in the Uber tier in competitive play and it is clear to see why. Its statline is just too good for any other bracket. While Kyogre has quite an intimidating demeanor and apocalypse-inducing power, it is a rather gentle giant and beloved of fans of the generation three games.
