A strange set on the surface, but this does work very well. With the Speed boost and the power boost to both Water moves, Kingdra can lay down quite a hurting. Waterfall will 2HKO Blissey with Mystic Water (you will need a flinch to avoid being hit with Thunder Wave though), but Life Orb gives even more kick. Draco Meteor is designed to hit those Pokemon that resist your Water moves. It hits hard, and the Special Attack drop isn't too much of a problem, as you can continue your sweep with Waterfall. If you still want to be able to use Surf, you could use Ice Beam instead. It hits the Dragons just as well, and covers those Grass Pokemon like Celebi. Unfortunately, you will be lost against enemy Water-types. With these EVs, Kingdra outruns Scarf Garchomp with Rain Dance up. Naughty nature makes switching into Earthquakes from the likes of Gliscor and Donphan a little easier, but Lonely is also a valid nature. The rest of the EV spread depends partly which item you're running, and which non-Water attack you choose. For the 2HKO on Blissey with Mystic Water, you need 168 Attack EVs and a boosting nature. With Life Orb, you can keep the same 168 EVs, but you won't need a boosting nature (allowing you to use a Mild or Rash nature to power up your Special Attacks). Strange as it may sound, if you use Draco Meteor, then more Attack investment is often useful as it powers up Waterfall, thus making it easier to continue your sweep after a Special Attack drop. If you opt for Draco Meteor, simply switch the Attack and Special Attack EVs, leaving you with a spread of 252 Atk / 168 SpA / 88 Spe.
Purely special version of the previous set. You can't hurt Blissey much, but this has some advantage over the mixed version. You don't need Attack EVs, so you can pour more into HP to help Kingdra take hits a little better. The spare moveslot can be occupied with Hidden Power Electric, which hits Empoleon and does a little more damage to other Water types compared to STAB Dragon Pulse (140 vs. 135) and a lot more to Gyarados. Note how Draco Meteor is no longer an option, as the Special Attack drop will cripple Kingdra's sweeping potential. Dragon Pulse isn't on here, because between Surf, Hidden Power Electric, and Ice Beam, what are you using it on? This time, you have enough Speed to outrun Scarf Gengar, who is the fastest opponent you are likely to encounter. Life Orb is for a power boost and offers a better chance at a sweep, or you can use Damp Rock if you're building a team based around the rain. Leftovers is also an option.
Kingdra now has physical STAB to go with Dragon Dance, so this set takes advantage of it. Unfortunately for Kingdra, its Speed is only sufficient to tie Scarf Heracross after a Dragon Dance. If you don't like ties, move 20 Speed EVs to HP—you'll reach the magic number of 264 to outspeed Aerodactyl, Jolteon, and Crobat. The last move is a filler mostly. Hydro Pump helps against Skarmory, while Draco Meteor prevents your fellow Dragons taking you down. Substitute can protect against status moves, and could also let you to set up another Dragon Dance. Sniper is a scary trait, and Scope Lens is available to abuse this. Life Orb is an option if you want a more reliable power boost.
This set, in a word: fireworks. If Draco Meteor or Hydro Pump (some of the time) gets a critical hit, it will hit with enough force to bring down a Blissey. Hidden Power Electric is for smacking Empoleon around, although you can use any type that is super effective on the steel penguin, such as Fighting or Ground. However, Electric is recommended as it prevents Milotic recovering off damage until Draco Meteor loses its power. Dragon Pulse gives you a more reliable Dragon attack for late game sweeping, but Ice Beam is good for Celebi in particular. If you don't want to take your chances in a Speed tie with Heracross and the like, drop Kingdra's Speed to either 263 (228 EVs) to outrun all Breloom, 260 (216 EVs) to beat Adamant Mamoswine, or 254 (192 EVs) to get the drop on Modest Heatran. Remaining EVs go in HP.
Focus Energy and Scope Lens combine nicely with Sniper to give you a good chance of scoring a massively powerful hit. This isn't quite as reliable as the other sets, but it can be a useful option nonetheless. You might want to have a Baton Passer like Gliscor pass Kingdra some Speed if you're planning on using this. Other OptionsYou can use Signal Beam to keep Celebi from ruining your fun, but aside from that, Kingdra has no real use for it. Kingdra learns Yawn, which is a good general move for pseudo-phazing or sleep inducing. Flail is on offer, but good luck pulling it off with Tyranitar everywhere. EVsEVs are given for each set. For the Choice Specs and Sniper sets, Kingdra can use a Timid nature to reach higher Speeds, to outrun the likes of Adamant Lucario (196 EVs) and Adamant Electivire (232 EVs), but the extra power of Modest is often a better choice. OpinionIn the past, Kingdra has been bashed a lot for its poor movepool. In DP, like most other Pokémon, Kingdra got a huge helping of new moves to help it out. While Kingdra's movepool still isn't anything to write home about, it has a few very interesting options that do work well. It may not be as fearsome as most of its fellow Dragons, but Kingdra is certainly capable of being a powerful sweeper. CountersEmpoleon easily walls most Kingdra sets, fearing only the occasional Hidden Power. Milotic, Ludicolo, Suicune, and Celebi are also effective in this department due their Water resistance and good Special Defense, although Draco Meteor hits will take their toll. Blissey, Snorlax and Regice will beat the special based Rain Dance set. A little luck is necessary to beat Sniper sets. Kingdra's lack of resistances (aside from Fire and Water) are its greatest downfall. In general, just keep beating it down with strong attacks. |
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