Kukui & Lycanroc find themselves much more usable with their sync grid providing ample ways to capitalize on a sandstorm battlefield. As a Tech sync pair, their primary function is using Leer to weaken opponent Defense and act as the tank for Garchomp and Palossand with evasion and healing in a sandstorm.
The best sync grid build for Kukui & Lycanroc would be to go for Sand Shelter, Shifting Sand, Soothing Sand, Unbending, and focus a build on one specific move.
Sync Grid Builds
Stats Down (3/5) uses both Leer and Rock Tomb to cause opponents to become brittle and sluggish for a well placed attack to strike them down. Rugged Disruption (3/5) leaves opponents flinching with their quick move Accelerock to keep opponents locked down from attacking . Breaking Barriers (3/5) uses Lycanroc’s sync move to leave opponents defenseless for stronger partners to deal the final blow.
Both Stats Down and Rugged Disruption feature sync level 2 builds, but their viability is diminished with the loss of locked tiles.
Universal Upgrades
- HP +10
- Attack +10
- Defense +5
- Sp. Def +5
- Speed +5
- Sand Shelter
- Shifting Sand
- Soothing Sand 1
- Unbending
Universal Lucky Skill Recommendations:
Stoic, Fast-Track 2, Surging Sand 3
Plenty of skills are universal upgrades for Kukui & Lycanroc and for good reason! Unbending will prevent Defense from being lowered. In a sandstorm, Sand Shelter protects Lycanroc from sandstorm damage, Shifting Sand boosts his evasion, and Soothing Sand 1 will heal a portion of HP whenever Lycanroc uses a move.
Lycanroc is built for a sandstorm team and pairs nicely with Cynthia & Garchomp and Acerola & Palossand. In this team, Kukui & Lycanroc function as the tank in the first slot of team tactics. Picking up Stoic for their lucky skill will help improve their defenses, especially with Unbending. Fast-Track 2 will instead improve their speed, which will help Cynthia & Garchomp to keep up the Earthquakes. Surging Sand 3 will boost Lycanroc’s damage while in a sandstorm.
Stats Down Build (Sync Level 3/5)
Total Sync Orb Cost: 738
Total Energy Used: 59
Unique Upgrades:
- HP +10
- Speed +5
- Rock Tomb Power +16
- Rock Tomb Move Gauge Refresh 2
- Rock Tomb Move Gauge Refresh 2
- Woo! Refreshing! MP Refresh 3
- Sands of Time 2
2/5 Variation:
– Rock Tomb Power +4 (upper right tile)
– Rock Tomb Move Gauge Refresh 2
+ Sp. Defense +10
+ Rock Tomb Power +4 (lower right tile)
Between Leer and Rock Tomb, opponents become frail and more easily defeated. Using Leer to cut down all opponents’ Defense stats and then Rock Tomb to lower the Speed of the syncing Pokémon is the plan.
Rock Tomb gains +14 power and picks up both Move Gauge Refresh 2 tiles. What helps the move gauge further is Sands of Time 2 which recharges the gauge more quickly in a sandstorm. Allow your primary Striker to use their costly attacks as Lycanroc sets up for them.
Despite focusing on Rock Tomb, this build picks up Woo! Refreshing! MP Refresh 3 because Accelerock can be used in a pinch when the move gauge is depleted and you just need one more attack in.
At sync level 2, Sp. Defense +10 is picked up to reach the remaining Move Gauge Refresh and the remaining energy goes to the remaining Rock Tomb Power +4 tile in the lower right quadrant.
Rugged Disruption Build (Sync Level 2/5)
Total Sync Orb Cost: 750
Total Energy Used: 60
Unique Upgrades:
- Accelerock Power +12
- Accelerock Staggering 5
- Woo! Refreshing! MP Refresh 3
- Hunter’s Instinct
- Sands of Time 2
2/5 Variation:
– Accelerock Staggering 5
– Hunter’s Instinct
+ Defense +5
+ Speed +10
+ Leer Move Gauge Refresh 4
+ Surging Sand 5
Paired with Palossand’s Astonish attack, Lycanroc’s Accelerock works to keep opponents stuck in a continual flinch and uses Leer to weaken opponents.
Woo! Refreshing! MP Refresh 3 is extremely important to this build, allowing Accelerock to be used beyond its nine uses normally. Accelerock gains +12 power, but the real power comes from Staggering 5, which gives Accelerock a good chance to flinch opponents.
Sands of Time 2 will speed up the move gauge regen in a sandstorm so it can be used by ally sync pairs since Accelerock has no cost. The only reason Hunter’s Instinct is picked up is because it is the cheapest way to reach Staggering 5, which is why it is dropped in the sync level 2 variation.
Losing out on Staggering 5 makes this build much less appealing at sync level 2, but to make up for it, Leer Move Gauge Refresh 4 and Surging Sand 5 are picked up to increase damage.
Breaking Barriers Build (Sync Level 3/5)
Total Sync Orb Cost: 738
Total Energy Used: 59
Unique Upgrades:
- Accelerock Power +12
- Island Splintered Stormshards Power +50
- Cakewalk
- Sand Blaster 5
- Surging Sand 5
2/5 Variation:
Not recommended
There are some cases where you may not want to Mega Evolve Garchomp and take advantage of Lycanroc’s ability to shatter defenses with his sync move.
Island Splintered Stormshards gains +50 power but its power also increases from Cakewalk and Sand Blaster 5. The former increases the sync move’s power based on how much the target’s Speed is lowered and the latter when the move is used in a sandstorm.
Accelerock gains +12 power, but that might be used only after every opponent has reached -6 Defense and the target sync opponent has reached -6 Speed with Rock Tomb. Surging Sand 5 will boost moves while there is a sandstorm on the field, but the sync move does not benefit from it.
With much of the damage for the sync move locked behind sync level 3, a level 2 version could be used but it would be very different from this build.