Balance Kyurem + Magnezone
(Click on the pokemon under the video for the pokepast)
Hello to you who had the curiosity to read this RMT, as you can see from the title, the team presented is built around a pokemon relatively uncommon in the metagame: Kyurem. The objective of this RMT is not only to share a decent team (I hope) around this pokemon, but also to explain the interest that Kyurem may have in the tier (and, therefore, perhaps, to help other players who want to try the pokemon).(Click on the pokemon under the video for the pokepast)
Why would I want to play this pokemon?
Let's skip the banalities, let's focus on the essentials instead. Basically, Kyurem has three great qualities which are as follows:
1-The combination of Substitute + Roost, coupled with its natural bulk (taking into account its Dragon-Type which offers resistances to Electric, Water and Grass types) allows it to abuse common defensive pivots such as Rotom-Wash or Toxapex . In addition, the offensive combination of its attacks (Ice beam + Earth Power), being rather rare (a characteristic found mainly in Latios-Mega, Life Orb Kyurem-Black, Z-Ground Protean Greninja and more generally as coverage in Tyranitar -Mega, Diancie-Mega, Swampert-Mega and many others) is, thus, rarely taken into account by the classic defensive cores of the tier and therefore reinforces its offensive effectiveness.
2-Still in connection with the first point, Kyurem is able to pressure extremely well a very dominant pokemon in the metagame: Gliscor (in particular its SD set, which is one of the best win condition in balance/fat). As it was mentioned before, because of its very good staying power (Roost) and its bulk allowing it to correctly absorb Gliscor's attacks even after a SD (+2 0 Atk Gliscor Earthquake vs. 56 HP /0 Def Kyurem: 225-265 (55.5 - 65.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO) and, most importantly, it outspeeds Gliscor and OHKO with Ice Beam (200 SpA Kyurem Ice Beam vs. 244 HP / 244 + SpD Gliscor: 496-588 (140.9 - 167%) -- guaranteed KO in 1 turns after Poison Heal); Kyurem is a great answer to the purple bat in the long run.
3-His ability Pressure is a good tool to PP Stall certain pokemons, especially defensive walls like Chansey, thus allowing to have better MUs against certain playstyles (notably Stall/Semi-Stall).
Teambuilding Process
+ 
This is the basic core of the team. In general, Kyurem will have difficulty to break Steel (especially Scizor-Mega). Thus, Magnezone seems logical to answer this issue (it is good to remember that Magnezone, apart from trapping Steel, has excellent defensive abilities which are its double resistance to Fly-type and the fact that it also traps offensive Steels like Kartana or Mawile-Mega). Taking this core into account, the best playstyle to take advantage of it seems to be Balance.
+ + 
Gliscor will have the role of preventing hazards on our terrain (especially Toxic Spikes, which must absolutely be removed for Kyurem). In addition, it grants the classic mandatory immunities in the tier: Ground and Electric. Also, Gliscor represents a more than decent answer against Heatran.
+ + + 
Due to the core of Kyurem + Magnezone, having a strong response against offensive Fights is essential. Two candidates were possible on this slot: Slowbro and Reuniclus. If Reuniclus is a better answer against Medicham-Mega compared to Slowbro (252 Atk Pure Power Medicham-Mega Thunder Punch vs. 252 HP / 212+ Def Reuniclus in Electric Terrain: 183-216 (43.1 - 50.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery) and himself being a solid win condition, Slowbro has the advantage of being a solid Fire-resist (especially against Choice Band Victini and Charizard-Mega-X), a decent answer against Swampert-Mega (252 Atk Swampert-Mega Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 123-145 (31.2 - 36.8%) -- 77.4% chance to 3HKO) and, in general, an answer against offensives Ground (especially Garchomp, which is also very scary, even though the Z-Dragon, less common, destroys it). For all these reasons, Slowbro was retained in the team.
+ + + + 
Like before, two candidates for this slot: Kommo-o and Chansey. The choice here is less obvious. Basically, Chansey is better than Kommo-o as a special sponge (Ash-Greninja, Charizard-Mega-Y, Volcarona, ...) bringing the Stealth Rock. Nevertheless, Kommo-o has an additional advantage which is not negligible: the Dark-resist. Indeed, and we will see it at the end, depending on the MU, it is possible to prefer Kommo-o instead of Chansey. However, overall, Chansey is the one retained in the team.
+ + + + + 
Scizor-Mega fits very well into the team. Thanks to the teammates already present, most pokemon capable of abusing Scizor-Mega are already covered. Thus, Scizor-Mega will bring relevant elements to the team: an U-turn coupling very logically with Kyurem (allowing, in particular, to bait Toxapex and Heatran, offering a safe switch for Kyurem who precisely abuses them), a tool to contain bulky Calm Mind users (Latios-Mega, Reuniclus, Clefable,... ), speed control in the form of Bullet Punch and, finally, a win condition with Swords Dance.
Presentation of sets
Kyurem @ Metronome
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 56 HP / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Substitute
- Roost
The set is ordinary. Ice Beam + Earth Power provides wide offensive coverage. Roost increases staying power. Finally, Substitute allows both to strengthen Kyurem's ability to PP Stall while allowing him to abuse certain pokemon such as Rotom-Wash. Regarding the Evs, 56 in HP makes it possible to reach 405, preventing Chansey from breaking the clone.
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 HP / 4 Def / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch
Choice Scarf will be the item for Magnezone. This gives us better speed control (in particular allowing us to better contain threats like Kartana). The choice of moves is classic. For Evs, 4 ev in HP and 4 ev in Def allows this: 252 Atk Kartana Sacred Sword vs. 4 HP / 4 Def Magnezone: 224-264 (79.4 - 93.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 240 SpD / 24 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Defog
- Roost
This is the traditional Gliscor Defog set. Knock Off is preferred here because it allows you to remove important items such as Leftovers on Celesteela or the Shed Shell on Skarmory to help Magnezone. Regarding the Evs, the investment in HP and Spedef allows this: 252+ SpA Heatran Inferno Overdrive (180 BP) vs. 244 HP / 240 SpD Gliscor: 310-366 (88 - 103.9%) -- 25% chance to OHKO. In addition, the 24 in Speed with Jolly Nature allows Gliscor to outspeed pokemon with 254 speed (which corresponds to the pokemon also wanting to outspeed Modest Heatran), thus facilitating these confrontations against users of Hidden Power Ice such as Landorus-Therian or Zapdos.
Slowbro @ Psychium Z
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Future Sight
- Slack Off
Investment in HP and Def is necessary to better hold off offensive Fires and Grounds. Scald is necessary to punish switches from physical pokemon wanting to abuse Slowbro (Garchomp, Kyurem, Kartana, Swampert-Mega,... ). Ice Beam is required for Garchomp. Finally, here, Slowbro is played with the Psychium Z on Future Sight. If Future Sight is not an uninteresting attack, taking advantage of the switches that Slowbro forces to weaken the Steels in particular (especially in conjunction with Kyurem), the Psychium Z is a good nuke button, allowing to catch Toxapex (wanting to abuse Slowbro) and, if he was weakened beforehand, killing him, greatly benefiting Scizor-Mega: 0 SpA Slowbro Shattered Psyche (190 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex: 230-272 (75.6 - 89.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
- Soft-Boiled
The classic set, there's nothing to explain.
Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Def / 244 SpD
Impish Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Swords Dance
- Roost
Swords Dance + Bullet Punch is a great combination giving Scizor-Mega the ability to sweep if the conditions are met. Finally, U-turn is preferred because it allows you to bait Toxapex, Heatran or Zapdos; offering a very safe switch for Kyurem, basically granting him a free action. For Evs, the Impish nature with 248 HP and 16 Def allows this: 252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Sacred Sword vs. 248 HP / 16+ Def Scizor-Mega: 127-150 (37 - 43.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock. Additionally, the rest of the Evs are injected into the Spedef, allowing Scizor-Mega to better endure Alazam-Mega/Tapu Lele.
Threatlist
Like most Balances, Mawile-Mega is nearly impossible to answer defensively. Nevertheless, it is still possible to weaken it with Gliscor or Scizor-Mega and, thus, ensure the RK with Magnezone.
or 
Hoopa-Unbound and Crawdaunt, if brought on Slowbro or Chansey, are guaranteed to take a kill. So, as said in the Teambuilding Process section, if you're sure you're facing these pokemons, it's entirely possible to replace Chansey with Kommo-o.
+ This core is quite annoying because Scizor-Mega is our only answer to Reuniclus, so if Magnezone manages to trap and eliminates Scizor-Mega, Reuniclus can basically sweep the team (unless it's scammed with a freeze from Ice Beam or other possible haxx).
Like every Balance that does not play Calm Mind Latias-Mega, Manaphy can totally destroy the team.
Another very difficult wallbreaker to contain (especially if it has the right coverage).
Conclusion
Thank you for staying until the end, hoping that the team and the explanations will be useful to you. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or suggestions to improve the team. Hoping that you will have fun and success with the team.
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