Just a nitpick, but Rotom-H resists Ground/Fire/Electric/Ice. Maybe he should be listed as a counter?
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Nidoking (Analysis)
- Thread starter religiousjedi
- Start date
Why is there no Gravity mention? I know they aren't generally done but with Blizzard, Fire Blast, Thunder and Focus Blast Nidoking is a beast. Put something about these options in OC.
Thanks to both for reminding me of that. Still doing write up so I'll be sure to implement suggestions.
Edit: write up now complete, but any more suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Edit: write up now complete, but any more suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
IMO, Hone Claw set outclass it.
You asked me to add this to the queue, but I'd really like to see a little bit of elaboration in the Counters and Team Options sections. (You also have a stray
- tag that should be deleted) You also shouldn't have one sentence paragraphs. If you could bulk up those really important sections with more explanation and content before this gets checked for grammar, that'd be nice.
No problem, worked on it a bit more by converting those one sentence paragraphs into other more developed paragraphs. Also added a bit more content where needed, so hopefully it's ready to go.
Proofread (Choose to refer to Nidoking as either 'it' or 'he'). Although 'he' seems much more logical so I changed all 'it' to 'he'.
[Overview]
(Space)
<p>Nidoking has returned to wreak havoc in a new generation. Whereas before he was a decent wallbreaker in the lower tiers, Nidoking received the blessings in his Dream World ability, Sheer Force, which effectively serves a pseudo-Life Orb in terms of moves that have secondary effects. In addition, when paired up with Sheer Force and such a move, Life Orb damage is actually negated, meaning Nidoking hits like a truck and gains the freedom of attacking with whichever move he likes at the cost of no secondary effect. Nidoking takes great advantage of this, as he has a massive movepool of special attacks with secondary effects. In addition, the array of Fighting-type Pokemon this generation makes Nidoking's Poison typing an advantage, as he can take Fighting moves and hit back with a souped up STAB Earth Power. The Poison / Ground typing is unique (shared with Nidoqueen), in that he can come in on most status moves and entry hazards, taking little to no damage at all.</p>
<p>Hitting like a truck though doesn't mean lasting like a truck. Nidoking's defenses are average at best, and even though Sheer Force helps in powering up that decidedly average Attack and Special Attack, its Speed is still a detriment to its sweeping potential. Water, Ground, and Psychic weakness Weakness to Water-, Ground- and Psychic-type attacks do not help its case either. Still Regardless, Nidoking received an ability many Pokemon would drool over for, and that warrants enough for many trainers to once again fear the horned one.</p>
[SET]
Name: Special Attacker
Move 1: Earth Power
Move 2: Thunderbolt
Move 3: Ice Beam
Move 4: Flamethrower / Fire Blast
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
(Space)
<p>Running off an impressive 454 Special Attack thanks to Sheer Force and Life Orb, Nidoking will be punching plenty of holes with the given moveset. Earth Power is the STAB move of choice, providing wide coverage to common foes such as Heatran and Chandelure. With Nidoking's massive movepool of special attacks to take advantage of Sheer Force and Life Orb boosts, Nidoking can attain near perfect neutral coverage with the remaining moveslots. Thunderbolt and Ice Beam form the infamous BoltBeam combo, wreaking havoc on Flying, Water, Dragon, Grass, and Ground types hitting a great number of types for super effective damage. The final moveslot is reserved for a Fire-type attack, with the choice of Flamethrower or Fire Blast. Either one will do with roasting Forretress, Scizor, and Ferrothorn.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
(Space)
<p>Sludge Wave is an option in the last slot: as it also takes advantage of Nidoking's Poison STAB as it also gains the Life Orb/Sheer Force boost. Shadow Ball does not provide much to this set as apart from battering frail Ghost and Psychic types, it only reduces the great coverage the above moves provide. However, these should only be considered if you have of other ways of dealing with the aformentioned Steel-types. Speaking of Steel-types Pokemon, it should be noted that while Fire Blast is indeed more powerful than Flamethrower, it still only achieves a 2HKO on Bronzong, much like
Flamethrower.</p>
<p>It should be noted that while454 Special Attack is indeed impressive, however Evolution Stone Chansey and Blissey still laugh this off. Since Earth Power won't be causing the secondary effect of possibly lowering Special Defense, there won't be any way Nidoking will be scaring them off force them to switch out. As such, strong physical Fighting-types make great partners for Nidoking, namely Conkledurr or Blaziken. Since Nidoking is immune to Toxic and Thunder Wave, both can come in to scare off the respective pink blobs and set up or if they foolishly stay in, KO them. Rotom-H also serves as a counter to Nidoking, since it is immune to Earth Power and resists most of its attacks. Water-types such as Swampert or Lanturn can shut down most Rotom-H sets.
<p>Baton Passing can also be of great service to Nidoking, as passing a few Speed or Special Attack boosts in Speed or even Special Attack can open the way to a Nidoking sweep. That being said, consider a Modest nature in such a case.</p>
[SET]
Name: Scarfking
Move 1: Earth Power
Move 2: Thunderbolt
Move 3: Ice Beam
Move 4: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
(Space)
<p>Slap a Choice Scarf on the king and watch him perform a great job as a revenge killer. Essentially a slightly weaker but faster Heatran with differing typing, Nidoking has some advantages over the walking volcano. For one, its Ground typing means no Electric-type attacks will come around and potentially neuter him with paralysis. Secondly, Earth Power is hitting off STAB, and finally, Nidoking doesn't need to resort to Hidden Power to gain an additional coverage move. Nidoking fires off attacks from 349 Special Attack at a blitzing 442 Speed, outrunning and hurting the adversaries with a positive nature and Base Speed of 150. From there, go to town with Earth Power as STAB and Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, and Fire Blast as coverage moves.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
(Space)
<p>Much like the Special Attacker set, this set suffers from the four moveslot syndrome. Shadow Ball would be loved dearly to reliably KO Scarfed Gengar on the switch. And yet again, the pink blobs of Evolution Stone Chansey and Blissey wall this set, which means physical Fighting-types are once again the way to go as partners. Since Nidoking is essentially as your revenge killer, it's best to keep him alive as much as possible to get the jump on various foes, so Wish support would be appreciated. Entry hazards also help soften up foes for Nidoking, whom he won't be hitting as hard as the Special Attacker.</p>
[SET]
Name: Mixed Claws
Move 1: Hone Claws
Move 2: Earthquake
Move 3: Blizzard
Move 4: Thunder / Fire Blast
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Naive
evs: 40 Atk / 244 SpAtk / 224 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
(Space)
<p>Nidoking finally received a boosting move in the form of Hone Claws, which raises Attack and Accuracy by one stage. However, there is very little physical moves which take advantage of, which is why Earthquake is chosen as the STAB move of choice. Though it doesn't get boosted by Sheer Force, with the given EVs in Attack and Life Orb, it deals 51.8% - 61.1% to 252 HP / 252 Def Bold Blissey, a surefire 2HKO with entry hazards.</p>
<p>Still, the accuracy boost shouldn't be overlooked. With a +1 Accuracy boost, Nidoking can make use of high power, poor accuracy moves. Blizzard and Thunder both get their Accuracy bumped up to roughly 91%, making them very attractive options over Ice Beam and Thunderbolt respectively. There is also the option of Fire Blast over Thunder to roast Ferrothorn and Forretress; the advantage it has over the other two moves is the fact that one Hone Claws boost gives it perfect accuracy.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
(Space)
<p>As mentioned earlier, thereare very little physical moves that get powered by Sheer Force. Of the most notable, Rock Slide can be used over Earthquake to attain the Sheer Force, Life Orb, and Hone Claws boost to reliably KO Rotom-H. However, this is a bad trade off since Nidoking won't have any STAB moves to take advantage of.</p>
<p>The EVs given ensure outspeeding Jolly Gyarados from the start while providing enough power to 2HKO Blissey after the boost. The rest are put into Special Attack to power up Blizzard and Thunder. Though this Nidoking provides an effective way to deal with the pink blob, note that one moveslot must be given up for Hone Claws. Also, because Earthquake doesn't get the Sheer Force boost, its usage means NIdoking will be affected by Life Orb recoil. Depending on the move you choose in the last two slots, be sure to have Pokemon that can counter Nidoking's newfound counters: Ferrothorn and Forretress if he lacks Fire Blast; Dragon- and Ground-types if he lacks Blizzard, and Water-types if he lacks Thunder. Also, Wish support is a plus if you would like to keep Nidoking around for constant Earthquake uses.</p>
[Team Options]
(Space)
<p>Nidoking's great versatility means you should plan Nidoking around your team, not your team around Nidoking. It's problem has always been being too mediocre and Sheer Force solves a lot of that, but it's still primarily backup. That being said, Nidoking's typing, as mentioned before, is a blessing this generation. It's Poison typing helps him serve as a great check to the highly lauded Conkledurr: for starters he resists most moves Conkledurr sets carry (with the exception of Payback). If Conkledurr forgoes Payback, even a +1 Bulk Up Drain Punch + Mach Punch won't be KO'ing Nidoking.</p>
<p>Still, since Nidoking is, for the most part, converted into a Special Attacker this generation, the reliable special walls in Blissey and now Evolution Stone Chansey wall the majority of sets (with the exception of the mixed Hone Claws set). It has been mentioned constantly that physical Fighting-types are the best partners for Nidoking and Conkledurr is the leading candidate. Conkledurr has respectable bulk and easily sets up on those opponents Pokemon that wall Nidoking, with Guts to exploit any status they may try to inflict. Scrafty also makes a great partner since it is immune to Psychic attacks aimed at Nidoking while Nidoking doesn't mind taking Fighting hits aimed at it.
<p>Hazards are very valuable to Nidoking, and Ferrothorn can set them up as well as deal with Nidoking's Water- and Psychic-type weaknesses. In turn, Nidoking helps cover Ferrothorn's Fighting-type weakness with its Poison typing. Gravity is highly recommended to ensure perfect coverage and makes Nidoking's biggest counter, Rotom-H, nothing more than an oven waiting to be crushed by Earth Power. Chansey and Blissey make great partners in this case, since both can Wish pass to Nidoking and reliably take any Special Attack aimed at Nidoking. Nidoking returns the favor by coming in on any Figthing Fighting-type attack aimed at either fairy.</p>
[Optional Changes]
(Space)
<p>Nidoking finally gets a boosting move in the form of Hone Claws. However, there is very limited physical moves Nidoking can take advantage of with the boost of Sheer Force and +1 Attack. Sucker Punch is Nidoking's only form of priority. It is a good move to consider to get the jump on faster Psychic and Ghost types. The elemental punches can be taught via 4th Gen movetutors and can work well with Hone Claws. However, using the elemental punches means you must use Poison Point or Rivalry, since 4th Generation Move Tutor moves are illegal with Sheer Force.</p>
[Counters]
(Space)
<p>Very little can come in to stop Nidoking; Sheer Force and Life Orb ensure something will be getting severely hurt. However, Rotom-H serves as the greatest counter, only fearing Nidoking if he carries a Rock attack or the affects of Gravity are on the field. Next, Evolution Stone Chansey and Blissey serve as decent checks to Nidoking; it should be noted only Blissey can do sufficient damage to Nidoking with Ice Beam (though it won't KO outright)--Chansey will have to resort to Seismic Toss to cause some damage.</p>
<p>The best way to beat Nidoking outside of Rotom-H is to prey on his low Speed. 295 is not blazing fast in the metagame, so the best route to go is with revenge killing. Choice Scarf Nidoking is weaker than Life Orb / Sheer Force Nidoking, but he still packs a punch; still the fastest Choice Scarf Nidoking will cap off at 442 Speed. Choice Scarfers faster than Base 85 Speed will be able to outrun him.</p>
[Dream World]
(Space)
<p>The analysis has been based on the exploration of Nidoking's Dream World ability, Sheer Force. As explained earlier, it essentially provides a Life Orb boost without recoil on moves with secondary effects, but those moves lose their secondary effects. To note, here are the moves Nidoking can use that get boosted by Sheer Force:
Code:
Blizzard
Earth Power
Fire Blast
Flamethrower
Ice Beam
Poison Jab
Rock Slide
Sludge Bomb
Sludge Wave
Thunder
Thunderbolt
</p>
(Space)
<p>Nidoking has returned to wreak havoc in a new generation. Whereas before he was a decent wallbreaker in the lower tiers, Nidoking received the blessings in his Dream World ability, Sheer Force, which effectively serves a pseudo-Life Orb in terms of moves that have secondary effects. In addition, when paired up with Sheer Force and such a move, Life Orb damage is actually negated, meaning Nidoking hits like a truck and gains the freedom of attacking with whichever move he likes at the cost of no secondary effect. Nidoking takes great advantage of this, as he has a massive movepool of special attacks with secondary effects. In addition, the array of Fighting-type Pokemon this generation makes Nidoking's Poison typing an advantage, as he can take Fighting moves and hit back with a souped up STAB Earth Power. The Poison / Ground typing is unique (shared with Nidoqueen), in that he can come in on most status moves and entry hazards, taking little to no damage at all.</p>
<p>Hitting like a truck though doesn't mean lasting like a truck. Nidoking's defenses are average at best, and even though Sheer Force helps in powering up that decidedly average Attack and Special Attack, its Speed is still a detriment to its sweeping potential. Water, Ground, and Psychic weakness Weakness to Water-, Ground- and Psychic-type attacks do not help its case either. Still Regardless, Nidoking received an ability many Pokemon would drool over for, and that warrants enough for many trainers to once again fear the horned one.</p>
[SET]
Name: Special Attacker
Move 1: Earth Power
Move 2: Thunderbolt
Move 3: Ice Beam
Move 4: Flamethrower / Fire Blast
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
(Space)
<p>Running off an impressive 454 Special Attack thanks to Sheer Force and Life Orb, Nidoking will be punching plenty of holes with the given moveset. Earth Power is the STAB move of choice, providing wide coverage to common foes such as Heatran and Chandelure. With Nidoking's massive movepool of special attacks to take advantage of Sheer Force and Life Orb boosts, Nidoking can attain near perfect neutral coverage with the remaining moveslots. Thunderbolt and Ice Beam form the infamous BoltBeam combo, wreaking havoc on Flying, Water, Dragon, Grass, and Ground types hitting a great number of types for super effective damage. The final moveslot is reserved for a Fire-type attack, with the choice of Flamethrower or Fire Blast. Either one will do with roasting Forretress, Scizor, and Ferrothorn.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
(Space)
<p>Sludge Wave is an option in the last slot: as it also takes advantage of Nidoking's Poison STAB as it also gains the Life Orb/Sheer Force boost. Shadow Ball does not provide much to this set as apart from battering frail Ghost and Psychic types, it only reduces the great coverage the above moves provide. However, these should only be considered if you have of other ways of dealing with the aformentioned Steel-types. Speaking of Steel-types Pokemon, it should be noted that while Fire Blast is indeed more powerful than Flamethrower, it still only achieves a 2HKO on Bronzong, much like
Flamethrower.</p>
<p>It should be noted that while454 Special Attack is indeed impressive, however Evolution Stone Chansey and Blissey still laugh this off. Since Earth Power won't be causing the secondary effect of possibly lowering Special Defense, there won't be any way Nidoking will be scaring them off force them to switch out. As such, strong physical Fighting-types make great partners for Nidoking, namely Conkledurr or Blaziken. Since Nidoking is immune to Toxic and Thunder Wave, both can come in to scare off the respective pink blobs and set up or if they foolishly stay in, KO them. Rotom-H also serves as a counter to Nidoking, since it is immune to Earth Power and resists most of its attacks. Water-types such as Swampert or Lanturn can shut down most Rotom-H sets.
<p>Baton Passing can also be of great service to Nidoking, as passing a few Speed or Special Attack boosts in Speed or even Special Attack can open the way to a Nidoking sweep. That being said, consider a Modest nature in such a case.</p>
[SET]
Name: Scarfking
Move 1: Earth Power
Move 2: Thunderbolt
Move 3: Ice Beam
Move 4: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
(Space)
<p>Slap a Choice Scarf on the king and watch him perform a great job as a revenge killer. Essentially a slightly weaker but faster Heatran with differing typing, Nidoking has some advantages over the walking volcano. For one, its Ground typing means no Electric-type attacks will come around and potentially neuter him with paralysis. Secondly, Earth Power is hitting off STAB, and finally, Nidoking doesn't need to resort to Hidden Power to gain an additional coverage move. Nidoking fires off attacks from 349 Special Attack at a blitzing 442 Speed, outrunning and hurting the adversaries with a positive nature and Base Speed of 150. From there, go to town with Earth Power as STAB and Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, and Fire Blast as coverage moves.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
(Space)
<p>Much like the Special Attacker set, this set suffers from the four moveslot syndrome. Shadow Ball would be loved dearly to reliably KO Scarfed Gengar on the switch. And yet again, the pink blobs of Evolution Stone Chansey and Blissey wall this set, which means physical Fighting-types are once again the way to go as partners. Since Nidoking is essentially as your revenge killer, it's best to keep him alive as much as possible to get the jump on various foes, so Wish support would be appreciated. Entry hazards also help soften up foes for Nidoking, whom he won't be hitting as hard as the Special Attacker.</p>
[SET]
Name: Mixed Claws
Move 1: Hone Claws
Move 2: Earthquake
Move 3: Blizzard
Move 4: Thunder / Fire Blast
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Naive
evs: 40 Atk / 244 SpAtk / 224 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
(Space)
<p>Nidoking finally received a boosting move in the form of Hone Claws, which raises Attack and Accuracy by one stage. However, there is very little physical moves which take advantage of, which is why Earthquake is chosen as the STAB move of choice. Though it doesn't get boosted by Sheer Force, with the given EVs in Attack and Life Orb, it deals 51.8% - 61.1% to 252 HP / 252 Def Bold Blissey, a surefire 2HKO with entry hazards.</p>
<p>Still, the accuracy boost shouldn't be overlooked. With a +1 Accuracy boost, Nidoking can make use of high power, poor accuracy moves. Blizzard and Thunder both get their Accuracy bumped up to roughly 91%, making them very attractive options over Ice Beam and Thunderbolt respectively. There is also the option of Fire Blast over Thunder to roast Ferrothorn and Forretress; the advantage it has over the other two moves is the fact that one Hone Claws boost gives it perfect accuracy.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
(Space)
<p>As mentioned earlier, thereare very little physical moves that get powered by Sheer Force. Of the most notable, Rock Slide can be used over Earthquake to attain the Sheer Force, Life Orb, and Hone Claws boost to reliably KO Rotom-H. However, this is a bad trade off since Nidoking won't have any STAB moves to take advantage of.</p>
<p>The EVs given ensure outspeeding Jolly Gyarados from the start while providing enough power to 2HKO Blissey after the boost. The rest are put into Special Attack to power up Blizzard and Thunder. Though this Nidoking provides an effective way to deal with the pink blob, note that one moveslot must be given up for Hone Claws. Also, because Earthquake doesn't get the Sheer Force boost, its usage means NIdoking will be affected by Life Orb recoil. Depending on the move you choose in the last two slots, be sure to have Pokemon that can counter Nidoking's newfound counters: Ferrothorn and Forretress if he lacks Fire Blast; Dragon- and Ground-types if he lacks Blizzard, and Water-types if he lacks Thunder. Also, Wish support is a plus if you would like to keep Nidoking around for constant Earthquake uses.</p>
[Team Options]
(Space)
<p>Nidoking's great versatility means you should plan Nidoking around your team, not your team around Nidoking. It's problem has always been being too mediocre and Sheer Force solves a lot of that, but it's still primarily backup. That being said, Nidoking's typing, as mentioned before, is a blessing this generation. It's Poison typing helps him serve as a great check to the highly lauded Conkledurr: for starters he resists most moves Conkledurr sets carry (with the exception of Payback). If Conkledurr forgoes Payback, even a +1 Bulk Up Drain Punch + Mach Punch won't be KO'ing Nidoking.</p>
<p>Still, since Nidoking is, for the most part, converted into a Special Attacker this generation, the reliable special walls in Blissey and now Evolution Stone Chansey wall the majority of sets (with the exception of the mixed Hone Claws set). It has been mentioned constantly that physical Fighting-types are the best partners for Nidoking and Conkledurr is the leading candidate. Conkledurr has respectable bulk and easily sets up on those opponents Pokemon that wall Nidoking, with Guts to exploit any status they may try to inflict. Scrafty also makes a great partner since it is immune to Psychic attacks aimed at Nidoking while Nidoking doesn't mind taking Fighting hits aimed at it.
<p>Hazards are very valuable to Nidoking, and Ferrothorn can set them up as well as deal with Nidoking's Water- and Psychic-type weaknesses. In turn, Nidoking helps cover Ferrothorn's Fighting-type weakness with its Poison typing. Gravity is highly recommended to ensure perfect coverage and makes Nidoking's biggest counter, Rotom-H, nothing more than an oven waiting to be crushed by Earth Power. Chansey and Blissey make great partners in this case, since both can Wish pass to Nidoking and reliably take any Special Attack aimed at Nidoking. Nidoking returns the favor by coming in on any Figthing Fighting-type attack aimed at either fairy.</p>
[Optional Changes]
(Space)
<p>Nidoking finally gets a boosting move in the form of Hone Claws. However, there is very limited physical moves Nidoking can take advantage of with the boost of Sheer Force and +1 Attack. Sucker Punch is Nidoking's only form of priority. It is a good move to consider to get the jump on faster Psychic and Ghost types. The elemental punches can be taught via 4th Gen movetutors and can work well with Hone Claws. However, using the elemental punches means you must use Poison Point or Rivalry, since 4th Generation Move Tutor moves are illegal with Sheer Force.</p>
[Counters]
(Space)
<p>Very little can come in to stop Nidoking; Sheer Force and Life Orb ensure something will be getting severely hurt. However, Rotom-H serves as the greatest counter, only fearing Nidoking if he carries a Rock attack or the affects of Gravity are on the field. Next, Evolution Stone Chansey and Blissey serve as decent checks to Nidoking; it should be noted only Blissey can do sufficient damage to Nidoking with Ice Beam (though it won't KO outright)--Chansey will have to resort to Seismic Toss to cause some damage.</p>
<p>The best way to beat Nidoking outside of Rotom-H is to prey on his low Speed. 295 is not blazing fast in the metagame, so the best route to go is with revenge killing. Choice Scarf Nidoking is weaker than Life Orb / Sheer Force Nidoking, but he still packs a punch; still the fastest Choice Scarf Nidoking will cap off at 442 Speed. Choice Scarfers faster than Base 85 Speed will be able to outrun him.</p>
[Dream World]
(Space)
<p>The analysis has been based on the exploration of Nidoking's Dream World ability, Sheer Force. As explained earlier, it essentially provides a Life Orb boost without recoil on moves with secondary effects, but those moves lose their secondary effects. To note, here are the moves Nidoking can use that get boosted by Sheer Force:
Code:
Blizzard
Earth Power
Fire Blast
Flamethrower
Ice Beam
Poison Jab
Rock Slide
Sludge Bomb
Sludge Wave
Thunder
Thunderbolt
</p>
If one of the "pink blobs" switches into special Nidoking, he is forced to switch out as he can't do anything to them. So Conkledurr or Blaziken can't come in safely, because the opponent knows that Nidoking is going to switch out -> thunderwave/toxic inc, though Nidoking is immune to them.
Blaziken=no. Conkledurr=yes. It will adore status since it means Guts abuse.
Tea: how would you reword it?
channerz: Drizzle + Swift Swim is banned right now, if that's what you're suggesting. In any case, I already made it clear about Nidoking's speed.
channerz: Drizzle + Swift Swim is banned right now, if that's what you're suggesting. In any case, I already made it clear about Nidoking's speed.
add
remove
comments
I'm not a member of GP, but I hope this helps a bit.
comments
I'm not a member of GP, but I hope this helps a bit.
Rename ScarfKing "Choice Scarf". There really isn't any difference trying to call this set ScarfKing when other Pokemon like Staraptor, Flygon, and Garchomp have their Choice Scarf sets named "Choice Scarf".
dream world section isnt needed since sheer force nidoking is already available
I'm quite curious about Nidoking, so I'll do some grammar while I'm at it.
Unofficial
remove
add
There are only a few objective errors, which are explained in-text. There is also some subjective stuff you may want to consider to make this Analysis have more analysis.
Unofficial
remove
add
There are only a few objective errors, which are explained in-text. There is also some subjective stuff you may want to consider to make this Analysis have more analysis.
[Overview]
<p>Nidoking has returned to wreak havoc in a new generation. Whereas before it was a decent wallbreaker in the lower tiers, Nidoking received the blessings in his Dream World ability, Sheer Force, which effectively serves a pseudo-Life Orb in terms of moves that have secondary effects. In addition, when paired up with Sheer Force and such a move, Life Orb damage is actually negated, meaning Nidoking hits like a truck and gains the freedom of attacking with whichever move it likes at the cost of no secondary effect. Nidoking takes great advantage of this, as it has a massive movepool of special attacks with secondary effects. In addition, the array of Fighting-type Pokemon this generation makes Nidoking's Poison typing an advantage, as it can take Fighting moves and hit back with a souped up STAB Earth Power. The Poison / Ground typing is unique (shared with Nidoqueen), in that it can come in on most status moves and entry hazards, taking little to no damage at all.</p>
<p>Hitting like a truck though doesn't mean lasting like a truck, unfortunately. less abrupt Nidoking's defenses are average at best, and even though Sheer Force helps in powering up that decidedly average Attack and Special Attack, its Speed is still a detriment to its sweeping potential. Weakness to Water-, Ground-, and Psychic-type attacks do not help its case either. Regardless, Nidoking received an ability many Pokemon would drool over for, and that warrants enough for many trainers to once again fear the horned one.</p>
[SET]
Name: Special Attacker
Move 1: Earth Power
Move 2: Thunderbolt
Move 3: Ice Beam
Move 4: Flamethrower / Fire Blast
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Running off an impressive 454 Special Attack thanks to Sheer Force and Life Orb, Nidoking will be punching plenty of holes with the given moveset. Earth Power is the STAB move of choice, providing wide coverage to against common foes such as Heatran and Chandelure. With Nidoking's massive movepool of special attacks to take advantage of Sheer Force and Life Orb boosts, Nidoking can attain near perfect neutral coverage with the remaining moveslots. Thunderbolt and Ice Beam form the infamous BoltBeam combo, hitting a great number of types for super effective damage. The final moveslot is reserved for a Fire-type attack (maybe mention what a Fire-type attack does exactly for Nidoking? Hit steels better? Attaining better neutral coverage [mention the types it further covers])?, with the choice of Flamethrower or Fire Blast.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Sludge Wave is an option in the last slot as it takes advantage of the Sheer Force boost. Shadow Ball does not provide much to this set, (comma) as apart from battering frail Ghost and Psychic types, it only reduces the great coverage the above moves provide. Either should only be considered if you have other ways of dealing with the aformentioned Steel-types. Speaking of Steel-type Pokemon, it should be noted that while Fire Blast is indeed more powerful than Flamethrower, it still only achieves a 2HKO on Bronzong, much like Flamethrower.</p>
<p>454 Special Attack is indeed impressive, ; (semicolon when using "however" in this manner) however, (comma) Eviolite Chansey and Blissey still laugh this off. Since Earth Power won't be causing the secondary effect of possibly lowering Special Defense, there isn't any way Nidoking will force them to switch out. As such, strong physical Fighting-types make great partners for Nidoking, namely Conkledurr or Blaziken is Blaziken banned from OU? (I use PO mostly) If so, remove this reference. [Since Nidoking is immune to Toxic and Thunder Wave, *both* can come in to scare off the respective pink blobs and set up or if they foolishly stay in, KO them.] I don't understand this sentence. Do you mean Conk and Blaze (*both*) won't ever be caught by a status move on the switch in because Blissey would never use Thunder Wave or Toxic on Nidoking? And because of this, they can safely come in to force Blissey out? Rotom-H also serves as a counter to Nidoking, since it is immune to Earth Power and resists most of its attacks. Water-types such as Swampert or Lanturn can shut down most Rotom-H sets. Baton Passing also be of great service to Nidoking, as passing a few Speed or Special Attack boosts can open the way to a Nidoking sweep. That being said, consider a Modest nature in such a case.</p>
[SET]
Name: Choice Scarf
Move 1: Earth Power
Move 2: Thunderbolt
Move 3: Ice Beam
Move 4: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Slap a Choice Scarf on the king and watch him perform a great job as a revenge killer. Essentially a slightly weaker but faster Heatran with differing typing, Nidoking has some advantages over the walking volcano. For one, his its consistency: you use "its" everywhere else, so don't change to "he" Ground typing means no Electric-type attacks will come around and potentially neuter it with paralysis. Secondly, Earth Power is hitting off STAB, giving it more power (or some short statement as to what exactly EP accomplishes, if you want), and *period* capitalize F finally, Nidoking doesn't need to resort to Hidden Power to gain an additional coverage move. Nidoking fires off attacks from 349 Special Attack at a blitzing 442 Speed, outrunning and hurting the adversaries with a positive nature and Base Speed of 150. From there, go to town with Earth Power as STAB and Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, and Fire Blast as coverage moves.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Much like the Special Attacker set, this set suffers from the four moveslot syndrome. Shadow Ball would be loved dearly to reliably KO Scarfed Gengar on the switch. And yet again, Eviolite Chansey and Blissey wall this set, which means physical Fighting types are once again the way to go as partners. Since Nidoking is essentially your revenge killer, it's best to keep him alive as much as possible to get the jump on various foes, so Wish support would be appreciated. Entry hazards also help soften up foes for Nidoking, since he won't be hitting as hard as the Special Attacker.</p>
[SET]
Name: Mixed Claws
Move 1: Hone Claws
Move 2: Earthquake
Move 3: Blizzard
Move 4: Thunder / Fire Blast
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Naive
evs: 40 Atk / 244 SpAtk / 224 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Nidoking finally received a boosting move in the form of Hone Claws, which raises Attack and Accuracy by one stage. However, there is are very little few physical moves which take advantage of, which is why Earthquake is chosen as the STAB move of choice. Though it doesn't get boosted by Sheer Force, with the given EVs in Attack and Life Orb, it deals 51.8% - 61.1% to 252 HP / 252 Def Bold Blissey, a surefire 2HKO with entry hazards.</p>
<p>Still, the accuracy boost shouldn't be overlooked. With a +1 Accuracy boost, Nidoking can make use of high power, poor accuracy moves. Blizzard and Thunder both get their Accuracy bumped up to roughly 91%, making them very attractive options over Ice Beam and Thunderbolt respectively. There is also the option of Fire Blast over Thunder to roast Ferrothorn and Forretress; the advantage it has over the other two moves is the fact that one Hone Claws boost gives it perfect accuracy.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>As mentioned earlier, there are very little few physical moves that get powered by Sheer Force. Of the most notable, Rock Slide, (comma) can be used over Earthquake to attain the Sheer Force, Life Orb, and Hone Claws boost to reliably KO Rotom-H. However, this is a bad trade off since Nidoking won't have any STAB moves to take advantage of.</p>
<p>The EVs given ensure outspeeding Jolly Gyarados while providing enough power to 2HKO Blissey after the boost. The rest are put into Special Attack to power up Blizzard and Thunder. Though this Nidoking provides an effective way to deal with the pink blob, note that one moveslot must be given up for Hone Claws. Also, because Earthquake doesn't get the Sheer Force boost, its usage using it means Nidoking will be affected by Life Orb recoil. Depending on the move you choose in the last two slots, be sure to have Pokemon that can counter Nidoking's newfound checks or counters: Ferrothorn and Forretress if he it lacks Fire Blast; Dragon- and Ground-types if he it lacks Blizzard, and Water-types if it lacks Thunder. Also, Wish support is a plus if you would like to keep Nidoking around for constant Earthquake uses.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Nidoking finally gets a boosting move in the form of Hone Claws. However, there are a limited number of is very limited physical moves Nidoking can take advantage of with the boost of Sheer Force Sheer Force boost and +1 Attack. Sucker Punch is Nidoking's only form of priority. It is a good move to consider to get the jump on faster Psychic and Ghost types. The elemental punches can be taught via 4th Gen movetutors and can work well with Hone Claws. However, using the elemental punches means you must use Poison Point or Rivalry, since 4th Generation Move Tutor moves are illegal with Sheer Force.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Very little can come in to stop Nidoking; Sheer Force and Life Orb ensure something will be getting severely hurt. However, Rotom-H serves as the greatest counter, only fearing Nidoking if he carries a Rock attack or the affects effects of Gravity are on the field. Next, Eviolite Chansey and Blissey serve as decent checks to Nidoking; it should be noted only Blissey can do sufficient damage to Nidoking with Ice Beam (though it won't KO outright)--Chansey will have to resort to Seismic Toss to cause some damage.</p>
<p>The best way to beat Nidoking outside of Rotom-H is to prey on his low Speed. 295 is not blazing fast in the metagame, so the best route to go is with revenge killing. Choice Scarf Nidoking is weaker than Life Orb / Sheer Force Nidoking, but he still packs a punch; still the fastest Choice Scarf Nidoking will cap off at 442 Speed. Choice Scarfers faster than Base 85 Speed will be able to outrun him.</p>
<p>Nidoking has returned to wreak havoc in a new generation. Whereas before it was a decent wallbreaker in the lower tiers, Nidoking received the blessings in his Dream World ability, Sheer Force, which effectively serves a pseudo-Life Orb in terms of moves that have secondary effects. In addition, when paired up with Sheer Force and such a move, Life Orb damage is actually negated, meaning Nidoking hits like a truck and gains the freedom of attacking with whichever move it likes at the cost of no secondary effect. Nidoking takes great advantage of this, as it has a massive movepool of special attacks with secondary effects. In addition, the array of Fighting-type Pokemon this generation makes Nidoking's Poison typing an advantage, as it can take Fighting moves and hit back with a souped up STAB Earth Power. The Poison / Ground typing is unique (shared with Nidoqueen), in that it can come in on most status moves and entry hazards, taking little to no damage at all.</p>
<p>Hitting like a truck though doesn't mean lasting like a truck, unfortunately. less abrupt Nidoking's defenses are average at best, and even though Sheer Force helps in powering up that decidedly average Attack and Special Attack, its Speed is still a detriment to its sweeping potential. Weakness to Water-, Ground-, and Psychic-type attacks do not help its case either. Regardless, Nidoking received an ability many Pokemon would drool over for, and that warrants enough for many trainers to once again fear the horned one.</p>
[SET]
Name: Special Attacker
Move 1: Earth Power
Move 2: Thunderbolt
Move 3: Ice Beam
Move 4: Flamethrower / Fire Blast
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Running off an impressive 454 Special Attack thanks to Sheer Force and Life Orb, Nidoking will be punching plenty of holes with the given moveset. Earth Power is the STAB move of choice, providing wide coverage to against common foes such as Heatran and Chandelure. With Nidoking's massive movepool of special attacks to take advantage of Sheer Force and Life Orb boosts, Nidoking can attain near perfect neutral coverage with the remaining moveslots. Thunderbolt and Ice Beam form the infamous BoltBeam combo, hitting a great number of types for super effective damage. The final moveslot is reserved for a Fire-type attack (maybe mention what a Fire-type attack does exactly for Nidoking? Hit steels better? Attaining better neutral coverage [mention the types it further covers])?, with the choice of Flamethrower or Fire Blast.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Sludge Wave is an option in the last slot as it takes advantage of the Sheer Force boost. Shadow Ball does not provide much to this set, (comma) as apart from battering frail Ghost and Psychic types, it only reduces the great coverage the above moves provide. Either should only be considered if you have other ways of dealing with the aformentioned Steel-types. Speaking of Steel-type Pokemon, it should be noted that while Fire Blast is indeed more powerful than Flamethrower, it still only achieves a 2HKO on Bronzong, much like Flamethrower.</p>
<p>454 Special Attack is indeed impressive, ; (semicolon when using "however" in this manner) however, (comma) Eviolite Chansey and Blissey still laugh this off. Since Earth Power won't be causing the secondary effect of possibly lowering Special Defense, there isn't any way Nidoking will force them to switch out. As such, strong physical Fighting-types make great partners for Nidoking, namely Conkledurr or Blaziken is Blaziken banned from OU? (I use PO mostly) If so, remove this reference. [Since Nidoking is immune to Toxic and Thunder Wave, *both* can come in to scare off the respective pink blobs and set up or if they foolishly stay in, KO them.] I don't understand this sentence. Do you mean Conk and Blaze (*both*) won't ever be caught by a status move on the switch in because Blissey would never use Thunder Wave or Toxic on Nidoking? And because of this, they can safely come in to force Blissey out? Rotom-H also serves as a counter to Nidoking, since it is immune to Earth Power and resists most of its attacks. Water-types such as Swampert or Lanturn can shut down most Rotom-H sets. Baton Passing also be of great service to Nidoking, as passing a few Speed or Special Attack boosts can open the way to a Nidoking sweep. That being said, consider a Modest nature in such a case.</p>
[SET]
Name: Choice Scarf
Move 1: Earth Power
Move 2: Thunderbolt
Move 3: Ice Beam
Move 4: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Slap a Choice Scarf on the king and watch him perform a great job as a revenge killer. Essentially a slightly weaker but faster Heatran with differing typing, Nidoking has some advantages over the walking volcano. For one, his its consistency: you use "its" everywhere else, so don't change to "he" Ground typing means no Electric-type attacks will come around and potentially neuter it with paralysis. Secondly, Earth Power is hitting off STAB, giving it more power (or some short statement as to what exactly EP accomplishes, if you want), and *period* capitalize F finally, Nidoking doesn't need to resort to Hidden Power to gain an additional coverage move. Nidoking fires off attacks from 349 Special Attack at a blitzing 442 Speed, outrunning and hurting the adversaries with a positive nature and Base Speed of 150. From there, go to town with Earth Power as STAB and Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, and Fire Blast as coverage moves.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Much like the Special Attacker set, this set suffers from the four moveslot syndrome. Shadow Ball would be loved dearly to reliably KO Scarfed Gengar on the switch. And yet again, Eviolite Chansey and Blissey wall this set, which means physical Fighting types are once again the way to go as partners. Since Nidoking is essentially your revenge killer, it's best to keep him alive as much as possible to get the jump on various foes, so Wish support would be appreciated. Entry hazards also help soften up foes for Nidoking, since he won't be hitting as hard as the Special Attacker.</p>
[SET]
Name: Mixed Claws
Move 1: Hone Claws
Move 2: Earthquake
Move 3: Blizzard
Move 4: Thunder / Fire Blast
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Naive
evs: 40 Atk / 244 SpAtk / 224 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Nidoking finally received a boosting move in the form of Hone Claws, which raises Attack and Accuracy by one stage. However, there is are very little few physical moves which take advantage of, which is why Earthquake is chosen as the STAB move of choice. Though it doesn't get boosted by Sheer Force, with the given EVs in Attack and Life Orb, it deals 51.8% - 61.1% to 252 HP / 252 Def Bold Blissey, a surefire 2HKO with entry hazards.</p>
<p>Still, the accuracy boost shouldn't be overlooked. With a +1 Accuracy boost, Nidoking can make use of high power, poor accuracy moves. Blizzard and Thunder both get their Accuracy bumped up to roughly 91%, making them very attractive options over Ice Beam and Thunderbolt respectively. There is also the option of Fire Blast over Thunder to roast Ferrothorn and Forretress; the advantage it has over the other two moves is the fact that one Hone Claws boost gives it perfect accuracy.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>As mentioned earlier, there are very little few physical moves that get powered by Sheer Force. Of the most notable, Rock Slide, (comma) can be used over Earthquake to attain the Sheer Force, Life Orb, and Hone Claws boost to reliably KO Rotom-H. However, this is a bad trade off since Nidoking won't have any STAB moves to take advantage of.</p>
<p>The EVs given ensure outspeeding Jolly Gyarados while providing enough power to 2HKO Blissey after the boost. The rest are put into Special Attack to power up Blizzard and Thunder. Though this Nidoking provides an effective way to deal with the pink blob, note that one moveslot must be given up for Hone Claws. Also, because Earthquake doesn't get the Sheer Force boost, its usage using it means Nidoking will be affected by Life Orb recoil. Depending on the move you choose in the last two slots, be sure to have Pokemon that can counter Nidoking's newfound checks or counters: Ferrothorn and Forretress if he it lacks Fire Blast; Dragon- and Ground-types if he it lacks Blizzard, and Water-types if it lacks Thunder. Also, Wish support is a plus if you would like to keep Nidoking around for constant Earthquake uses.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Nidoking finally gets a boosting move in the form of Hone Claws. However, there are a limited number of is very limited physical moves Nidoking can take advantage of with the boost of Sheer Force Sheer Force boost and +1 Attack. Sucker Punch is Nidoking's only form of priority. It is a good move to consider to get the jump on faster Psychic and Ghost types. The elemental punches can be taught via 4th Gen movetutors and can work well with Hone Claws. However, using the elemental punches means you must use Poison Point or Rivalry, since 4th Generation Move Tutor moves are illegal with Sheer Force.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Very little can come in to stop Nidoking; Sheer Force and Life Orb ensure something will be getting severely hurt. However, Rotom-H serves as the greatest counter, only fearing Nidoking if he carries a Rock attack or the affects effects of Gravity are on the field. Next, Eviolite Chansey and Blissey serve as decent checks to Nidoking; it should be noted only Blissey can do sufficient damage to Nidoking with Ice Beam (though it won't KO outright)--Chansey will have to resort to Seismic Toss to cause some damage.</p>
<p>The best way to beat Nidoking outside of Rotom-H is to prey on his low Speed. 295 is not blazing fast in the metagame, so the best route to go is with revenge killing. Choice Scarf Nidoking is weaker than Life Orb / Sheer Force Nidoking, but he still packs a punch; still the fastest Choice Scarf Nidoking will cap off at 442 Speed. Choice Scarfers faster than Base 85 Speed will be able to outrun him.</p>
Fini. And done with all contributions I was listed for.
Remove the Dream World section, because the DW ability is released, and the section is exclusively for unreleased stuff.
The mixed claws set is great for a mixed sweeper in a UU team. I use that set on my UU team, haven't gotten any sweeps with it or anything, but it has been able to take down at least one of my opponents pokes with at least one hone claws set up.
I really want to try Nidoking and with it's new ability Sheer Force I think it's beastly enough to fit on 1 or 2 of my teams.
I could have a little trouble with Blissey though so I will bring a Terrakion =D
I could have a little trouble with Blissey though so I will bring a Terrakion =D
