Kyurem, also known as the Boundary Pokemon, is the dual dragon/ice type legendary of the Black 2 and White 2 games. While it did appear in the prequel games, Kyurem is seen at the height of its power in its Zekrom and Reshiram themed forms in the Black 2 and White 2 games.
About Kyurem
| First appearance in anime | In the Pokemon movie ‘Kyurem VS. The Sword of Justice’ |
| First appearance in game | Black and White |
| Region | Unova |
| Evolution | None |
| Pokedex Entry | Kyurem: Dwelling within it is power even greater than that of Reshiram or Zekrom, but the extreme cold keeps that power bound. It appears that this Pokémon uses its powers over ice to freeze its own body in order to stabilize its cellular structure. White Kyurem: The sameness of Reshiram's and Kyurem's genes allowed Kyurem to absorb Reshiram. Kyurem can now use the power of both fire and ice. It has foreseen that a world of truth will arrive for people and Pokémon. It strives to protect that future. Black Kyurem: It's said that this Pokémon battles in order to protect the ideal world that will exist in the future for people and Pokémon. The sameness of Zekrom's and Kyurem's genes allowed Kyurem to absorb Zekrom. Kyurem can now use the power of both electricity and ice. |
Kyurem’s Base Stats
Kyurem
| HP | 125 |
| Attack | 130 |
| Defense | 90 |
| Sp. Attack | 130 |
| Ap. Defense | 90 |
| Speed | 95 |
White Kyurem
| HP | 125 |
| Attack | 120 |
| Defense | 90 |
| Sp. Attack | 170 |
| Ap. Defense | 100 |
| Speed | 95 |
Black Kyurem
| HP | 125 |
| Attack | 170 |
| Defense | 100 |
| Sp. Attack | 120 |
| Ap. Defense | 90 |
| Speed | 95 |
Appearance of Kyurem
Kyurem is a dragon-like Pokemon though some of its design is also taken from a T-rex like in its arms. Its ice typing is represented in the icy accents on its head and tail as well as its wings being large icey appendages with ice spikes at the end.
Behavior of Kyurem
Kyurem is said to give off cold energy but in reality, cold is the absence of energy. This is actually reflected in its inspiration as Kyurem is a representation of wuji, which in Taoism is the absence of Yin and Yang and therefore the absence of energy. Its intense cold froze Kyurem’s body and thus trapped its true power within the ice. However, that power is released when it thaws and takes on its alternate forms.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Kyurem and both its forms are dual dragon/ice types and are therefore strong against water, grass, and electric type moves, taking half damage from them. However, its weaknesses are numerous due to its typing. It takes double damage from fighting, rock, steel, dragon, and fairy-type moves.
Shiny Kyurem
While Shiny Kyurem is difficult to obtain, being incredibly rare like most shiny Pokemon, Shiny Kyurem has very little difference from its normal form. Shiny Kyurem’s ice is a slightly darker tone and its whole body is just a touch darker. The biggest difference Shiny Kyurem offers is that its middle head spike and eyes are pink instead of yellow.
Black Kyurem
Black Kyurem is a fusion of Kyurem and Zekrom. Though its typing stays the same, Black Kyurem obtains a few moves and abilities right from Zekrom. Black Kyurem also stands taller than Kyurem, taking a stance closer to Zekrom’s as well as having longer arms. Black Kyurem’s tail and wings are also shaped like Zekrom’s though it's somewhat split in half with one half being ice and the other half being Zekrom’s black coloring.
White Kyurem
White Kyurem is similar to Black Kyurem, taking design and gameplay elements from Reshiram and fusing them with Kyurem. White Kyurem is slimmer, similar to Reshiram, as well as having no wings on its back. Instead, White Kyurem has wings on its arms and its tail is once again shaped differently, now like Reshiram’s. Though, unlike Reshiram, White Kyurem has red patterns on its wings, crest, and tail, looking like fire or magma is flowing from it.
Shiny Black Kyurem
Shiny Black Kyurem has a lot of changes to its coloring. On the Kyurem side of its design, its changes are similar to Shiny Kyurem. Shiny Black Kyurem has darker ice and a darker body. Shiny Black Kyurem also has a pink spike on its head and pink eyes just like Shiny Kyurem. On the Zekrom side, the black body is now accented with green patterns. Shiny Black Kyurem is covered in glowing green tubes and spots, all colored an almost sickly green.
Shiny White Kyurem
Shiny White Kyurem is a strange recolor, making its body black. Shiny White Kyurem keeps the coloring of the Reshiram parts the same while changing the Kyurem parts. Like Shiny Kyurem, Shiny White Kyurem is overall darker in tone and has darkened ice pieces. Shiny White Kyurem’s body is a dark black color making it almost resemble its opposite, Zekrom.
Best Moveset for Kyurem
Substitute Kyurem: Kyurem is one of the Pokemon that can learn both Substitute and Roost, two moves that synergize well when trying to keep a Pokemon on the field for a long time. Combine that long time with a Metronome item to power up consecutively used moves and Kyurem can start sweeping teams with no stat setups.
| Substitute | Ice Beam |
| Earth Power | Roost |
All out Special Offense: Kyurem has a fantastic special attack stat, making it an ideal choice for the special attack boosting Choice Specs. This does lock Kyurem into using only the move it first chooses, the sheer power of the combination will make even unfavorable type matchups lean in your favor.
| Draco Meteor | Ice Beam |
| Hidden Power Fire | Earth Power |
How to Catch Kyurem in Pokemon Go
Kyurem appears in all three of its forms in Pokemon Go in the form of a raid boss. This means in order to capture it you have to team up with fellow players in order to defeat it first. Make sure to bring strong Pokemon with type counters to Kyurem and its high HP and defensive stats will make it a long fight if you don’t. Once defeated though, you will have the chance to capture Kyurem or the form it appears in.
Video Guide
Trivia
Kyurem is the only Pokemon that is a dual dragon/ice type and in its normal form is the only Pokemon with a base stat total of 660.
White Kyurem and Black Kyurem are the two ice-type Pokemon with the highest base stat total, both having a total of 700.
In the Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra, White and Black Kyurem don't have animations for being whistled at and therefore will not react to it.
Conclusion
Kyurem is a Pokemon that is readily available for capture in most Pokemon games and with its alternate forms packing some of the biggest punches in the entire series, it's a worthwhile catch. And who wouldn’t want to beat their friends in a battle and claim it was with a Pokemon that represented zero energy?
