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Poison Point
- 30% chance to poison when struck by a contact move.
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Rivalry
- Move power depends on gender of the opponent.
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Sheer Force
- Increases power of moves with secondary effects by 30%, but removes the effects.
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Level 50 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
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Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
81
|
- |
156 |
188 |
- |
| Atk |
92
|
100 |
112 |
144 |
158 |
| Def |
77
|
87 |
97 |
129 |
141 |
| SpA |
85
|
94 |
105 |
137 |
150 |
| SpD |
75
|
85 |
95 |
127 |
139 |
| Spe |
85
|
94 |
105 |
137 |
150 |
Overview
Nidoking finds great strength in his Dream World ability, Sheer Force, which not only boosts the power of moves that have secondary effects, but also negates recoil damage from Life Orb when said moves are used. Base 85 Speed isn't the greatest for a sweeper, but with enough investment, it suffices for Nidoking's purposes. To add to this, Nidoking has an amazing special movepool, which includes powerful moves such as Thunderbolt and Ice Beam; one can even use Nidoking on a weather team in order to use moves such as Blizzard and Thunder. However, Nidoking is fairly frail, and will fold to nearly any attack that comes its way. This is huge drawback of using Nidoking, but if you can work around its issues, you will clearly see how much of a monster he can be for your opponent.
At Level 50, Modest Nidoking has a Special Attack stat of 150. With Sheer Force, STAB, and Life Orb boosting most of his moves, Nidoking is a force to be reckoned with. Earth Power, Nidoking's main STAB move, is put into the first moveslot. Earth Power hits almost everything that isn't up in the air for great damage. Ice Beam is needed so Nidoking can eliminate Dragon-type threats, such as Latios and Garchomp, who easily OHKO him. However, Ice Beam only helps KO these threats when you have either Tailwind or Trick Room up, as otherwise, Latios and Garchomp will outspeed Nidoking. The third slot is reserved for a secondary STAB move, Sludge Bomb; it hits a number of opponents very hard, but lacks coverage due to Nidoking's poor offensive typing. Sludge Bomb can OHKO Ludicolo, another Pokemon that Nidoking doesn't like to be around, as Ludicolo can easily tear through Nidoking using Scald or Ice Beam. Flamethrower is also a worthy move for the set, as it hits Pokemon such as Scizor, Abomasnow, and Escavalier for incredible damage. However, its coverage overlaps with Earth Power, which often renders it useless. Protect is just a general staple for nearly every VGC Pokemon: it can help stall, prevent Nidoking from taking damage from Fake Out, or simply allow Nidoking to live for another turn.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
To abuse Sheer Force to its full potential, Life Orb is the item of choice. A Modest nature is recommended for Nidoking, as he misses out on some key KOs otherwise. Sheer Force is obviously the best ability for Nidoking, as it provides his moves with much-needed boosts, and negates Life Orb recoil damage. The EV spread is a simple special sweeper build; it ensures that Nidoking is as fast and strong as possible. In terms of moves, Shadow Ball is an option for coverage against Psychic-type threats, but it struggles to find itself a moveslot among Nidoking's other excellent coverage moves.
Thunder Wave and Helping Hand support is greatly appreciated; the former allows Nidoking to outspeed naturally faster opponents, while the latter gives him even more power. Cresselia is an excellent teammate, as it can provide this support and set up Trick Room for Nidoking. Steel-type partners are nice, as they are able to sponge most attacks that Nidoking is weak to. Bronzong stands out, as it can also use Hypnosis to cripple an opponent in addition to providing key resistances. Latios and Garchomp are major problems for Nidoking, as they can outspeed and OHKO with Psychic and Earthquake, respectively. Nidoking also doesn't like rain very much, as rain teams tend to include Pokemon that pose threats to him, such as Ludicolo, Politoed, and Kingdra. Some great Pokemon that can help beat rain for Nidoking are Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Ludicolo; as an added bonus, most of them have excellent synergy with Nidoking. Out of these, Scizor is most likely the best choice, as it can beat Latios that don't carry Hidden Power Fire. Latias can be very helpful to Nidoking, as she is able to set up dual screens as well as use Helping Hand; she can also help rid Nidoking of Latios.
Other Options
Nidoking can definitely make use of a physical set that takes advantage of Head Smash and Sucker Punch, but his physical movepool is too small to abuse Sheer Force properly. If you want more power, you could try and use moves such as Fire Blast, Blizzard, and Thunder, but the accuracy is off-putting. However, Thunder and Blizzard will be perfectly accurate in rain and hail respectively, making them good choices with the right team support. Thunder and Thunderbolt aren't good choices in general though, as they only hit two of the Pokemon commonly seen on rain teams, Politoed and Jellicent, for super effective damage. Sludge Wave is a decent STAB spread move, but it requires a Steel-type teammate, as hitting an ally won't be enjoyable. If you're worried about Nidoking getting outsped, a Timid nature can work, but again, he misses out on significant KOs. The same set with a Quiet nature and 0 Speed IVs could work on a Trick Room team, but his base 85 Speed might be too fast. A Choice Scarf can be used to help Nidoking outspeed threats such as Latios and Garchomp, but the significant power drop is discouraging.
Checks and Counters
As mentioned before, Nidoking has issues with Psychic-types, such as Latios and Cresselia, as most of them can either outspeed and OHKO Nidoking or take a hit and KO him. Rain and sandstorm are problematic weathers for Nidoking, as rain teams include many Water-type Pokemon, who can easily KO Nidoking with rain-boosted STAB attacks, while sandstorm activates the abilities Sand Force and Sand Rush, allowing some Pokemon to take a hit and retaliate full force, or easily outspeed Nidoking and take him out. Again, Latios and Garchomp are major threats to Nidoking, as both of them outspeed and KO. While Abomasnow is normally easily dispatched by Nidoking, Choice Scarf variants are good counters, as they can outspeed and OHKO Nidoking with Blizzard. Nidoking's defenses are not great, so a majority of Pokemon that outspeed him will KO him as well.
