Statistics
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
55
|
- |
251 |
314 |
- |
| Atk |
130
|
266 |
296 |
359 |
394 |
| Def |
115
|
239 |
266 |
329 |
361 |
| SpA |
50
|
122 |
136 |
199 |
218 |
| SpD |
50
|
122 |
136 |
199 |
218 |
| Spe |
75
|
167 |
186 |
249 |
273 |
Swords Dance and attack away. X-Scissor covers Grass Pokémon while Return is your best weapon against most Water-types and Toxicroak. Rock Slide helps against Mantine and Altaria (or Gyarados and Salamence in OU play). Brick Break covers Empoleon, who resists everything else Kingler has to offer.
This hits 270 Speed, which is a good benchmark and outruns neutral nature Toxicroak. Life Orb is recommended, but Leftovers is still acceptable to get back some HP lost while setting up.
Bags of immediate power here, and with better coverage than the Swords Dancer, due to the spare moveslot. Brick Break isn't listed here, as you will only need for Empoleon. If you are using this in OU where the steel penguin resides, you can drop Return for Brick Break. X-Scissor is a must in OU for Celebi and Starmie, and Rock Slide is a necessity for Gyarados and Salamence.
You lose a bit of power by dropping Choice Band, but the extra Speed is most welcome for the rather slow Kingler. Flail can be worked in here, and comes into play when Kingler has below 10% of its HP left, when it becomes 150 BP.
The listed EVs get Kingler up to 362 Speed, enough to outrun Persian. Even with Jolly and max Speed, you can't guarantee you will outrun Electrode, so the only other useful Speed benchmark to hit is 384 (188 EVs, Jolly), which beats Jolly Swellow. In OU battles, 270 Speed means you'll be ahead of Jolteon, Crobat, Aerodactyl and Choice Scarf Heracross.
Swords Dance if/when you can and Substitute/Endure down to 1 HP before using Flail. Water/Normal offers great type coverage and a full powered Flail, backed up with Swords Dance, is a potent weapon for sweeping. Substitute vs. Endure is mostly down to preference. Sub gives you protection against status and priority attacks, while Endure is helpful if Kingler has taken damage from Stealth Rock, Spikes, etc. since it can mess up its ability to get down to 1 HP.
Other Options
Hyper Cutter is generally the better ability as it avoids Intimidate or the occasional Charm user, although Shell Armor can be useful for switching into Stone Edge from the likes of Golem and Aggron. Knock Off is a cool support option and can be used to relieve a tank of its Leftovers. Kingler has a limited movepool and everything vaguely usable has been included in this analysis already, unless you want to use Guillotine.
EVs
Jolly nature is recommended for most sets, where 240 EVs generates 270 Speed, enough to outrun Adamant Toxicroak and Heracross. Adamant nature with 242+ Speed is sufficient to outrun anything slower than Persian and friends if you're using Choice Scarf. Max Attack and Speed for Salac/Flail sets. If you're using Substitute, make sure your HP is indivisible by four to ensure you can Sub four times, rather than three.
Opinion
The new generation gave Kingler physical STAB in the form of Crabhammer. Finally, it has something worthwhile to abuse that monstrous Attack with. With the addition of X-Scissor, Rock Slide, and Brick Break to its movepool, Kingler actually has a few toys to play with now. It has adequate Speed and that aforementioned Attack is capable of denting anything in UU. Though its 115 base Defense is somewhat undermined by its poor HP, Kingler will still survive STAB Earthquakes with plenty to spare.
Counters
Toxicroak can handle anything barring Return and Flail. Mantine can come in on Crabhammer, X-Scissor or Brick Break and hit Kingler with Toxic, or the occasional Hidden Power Electric or Grass. Quagsire does quite well due to its high Defense and Water Absorb, although it will not enjoy boosted Returns. Meganium and Leafeon can handle most sets that don't include X-Scissor. Altaria's only worry is a boosted Rock Slide or Return.
Kingler remains vulnerable on the special side, and a neutral STAB attack will severely cripple it, if not KO it. Most sweepers can take advantage of its average Speed too, although few can switch in directly.
