Overview
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Nidoqueen is viewed as one of the best wallbreakers in the tier, as it has great coverage and massive power due to Sheer Force and Life Orb. It's also known as one of the best offensive Stealth Rock users in the tier, along with being one of the few specially oriented ones. Nidoqueen is no slouch defensively either, as it has good bulk coupled with a great defensive typing which gives it an immunity to Toxic, Toxic Spikes, and Thunder Wave. However, it has a mediocre Speed, and also misses out on a few key moves that Nidoking gets, such as Megahorn. This doesn't stop Nidoqueen though, as it is very easy to fit on a team and is one of the best Pokemon in the tier.
Offensive
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name: Offensive
move 1: Sludge Wave
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Stealth Rock
move 4: Ice Beam
ability: Sheer Force
evs: 128 HP / 252 SpA / 128 Spe
item: Life Orb
nature: Modest
Moves
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Sludge Wave and Earth Power are Nidoqueen's primary STAB moves, which have good coverage in the metagame and let it 2HKO, if not OHKO, a large portion of the tier, including Victini, Mega Manectric, Florges, Shaymin, and Rhyperior. Stealth Rock provides offensive pressure on the opponent, and is easily set up due to the fact that Nidoqueen forces out a lot of Pokemon in the tier. Ice Beam serves as coverage, and lets it nail Pokemon trying to switch in on Earth Power, such as Flygon, Hydreigon, and Gligar.
Set Details
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With this set, Nidoqueen becomes an offensive force to be reckoned with while still having enough bulk to be a good check to Fighting- and Bug-type Pokemon in the tier. Thanks to Sheer Force, Life Orb recoil is canceled out, effectively giving Nidoqueen a 1.7x boost to her attacks with no secondary effects. A Modest nature and a Life Orb let Nidoqueen hit as hard as possible. The EVs let Nidoqueen outspeed defensive Roserade, max Speed Empoleon, fast defensive Suicune, and -1 Victini. The rest is invested in bulk and Special Attack. Toxic Spikes and Fire Blast can be used to cripple opponents and hit Bronzong, respectively. This is good for Nidoqueen because it's one of the few Pokemon in the tier that can do this and still be a potent threat.
Usage Tips
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This set should be setting up Stealth Rock most of the time if Nidoqueen can safely switch in and force the opposing Pokemon out. It should also be double-switching if you predict the opponent to switch into one of Nidoqueen's counters, like Mew or Umbreon. The set is geared towards wallbreaking capabilities and setting up Stealth Rock, while being a good check to a plethora of common types in the metagame, like Fairy, Fighting, and Electric.
Team Options
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Nidoqueen appreciates Pokemon that can make quick work of special walls, such as Heracross. It also likes Wish support since it usually gets worn down fairly quickly, especially since it doesn't have reliable recovery and lacks Black Sludge. This can come from Wish Passers like Umbreon and Florges. Mega Houndoom is a great partner for Nidoqueen, since it sets up all over common switch-ins to Nidoqueen such as Mew and Umbreon. Hydreigon is also a great partner, as it takes care of Mew, has good offensive and defensive synergy with Nidoqueen, and lures in Florges with U-turn for Nidoqueen to KO.
Defensive
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name: Defensive
move 1: Ice Beam / Sludge Wave
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Stealth Rock / Toxic Spikes
move 4: Dragon Tail / Roar / Protect
evs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 Spe
ability: Sheer Force
item: Black Sludge
nature: Bold
Moves
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Ice Beam and Earth Power are the primary moves for Nidoqueen, which provide good coverage and hit pretty hard, even without investment. Sludge Wave can be used over Ice Beam, doing good amounts of damage to opponents. However, Nidoqueen will miss out on hitting common Defoggers and Hydreigon if you run Sludge Wave. Stealth Rock or Toxic Spikes can be set up easily, as Nidoqueen forces a lot of switches. Dragon Tail is the preferred phazing move, as it racks up damage and Fairies usually won't come in on Nidoqueen; however, Roar can be used if you fear Substitute users. Protect can be used to scout Choiced sets, and can get free residual recovery.
Set Details
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This set lets Nidoqueen serve as one of the best Fighting-, Bug-, and Electric-type counters in the tier. Black Sludge lets it get residual recovery each turn. Bold nature allows Nidoqueen to tank physical hits with ease. The EVs let Nidoqueen outspeed certain threats, mainly uninvested Blastoise, with the rest invested into bulk. Don't use a Relaxed Nature with Dragon Tail as it won't be doing much anyway, and it's not worth it being outsped by Blastoise. Fire Blast can be used, especially with Toxic Spikes, as it gets rid of Forretress and Bronzong, who are both very annoying for this set.
Usage Tips
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Nidoqueen should be setting up entry hazards once it is able to force a switch, which can let it rack up hazards or poison damage as it starts to phaze. Nidoqueen can force out a lot of Pokemon that get phazed into it, which can give it the opportunity to either hit them hard if they choose to stay in, or phaze again if they will switch out. It's recommended that grounded Poison-types, like Nidoking and Roserade, are eliminated early in the match so that they don't absorb the Toxic Spikes.
Team Options
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Nidoqueen appreciates Wish support from Pokemon such as Umbreon, Vaporeon, or Florges, as Nidoqueen gets worn down fairly fast. Nidoqueen also pairs well with defensive Pokemon that have good defensive synergy with her, such as Snorlax and Porygon2, as they can take attacks coming from common special attackers like Chandelure with ease. They also make a good lure for Fighting-types. If you're not using Fire Blast, Fire-types such as Victini, Chandelure, and Darmanitan make good partners as they demolish Bronzong and Forretress. Victini fills this role very well, as it also takes out grounded Poison-types such as opposing Nidoqueen, Nidoking, and Roserade with ease, as well as Forretress.
Other Options
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Fire Blast, Thunderbolt, and Focus Blast are all good coverage options for Nidoqueen, as they let it get through Bronzong, Milotic, and physically defensive Umbreon with relative ease. However, it is usually forced to give up Stealth Rock or Ice Beam for this. Super Fang can be used to stallbreak fairly well, but Nidoqueen has trouble finding a moveslot for it. A physical moveset with Poison Jab, Earthquake, and the elemental punches can be used, but Earthquake makes Nidoqueen take Life Orb recoil and the other moves do significantly less, making it not as viable as a special moveset.
Checks & Counters
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**Special Walls** Common special walls, like Porygon2, Mew, and Umbreon can all take Nidoqueen's attacks with ease, and can recover back the lost health. Snorlax can also tank hits and can set up on it with relative ease or hit it hard with Earthquake. However, non-Rest variants must watch out for Toxic Spikes.
**Rotom-H** Rotom-H can use Trick or Overheat to cripple Nidoqueen or hit it hard, and specially defensive variants generally have an easy time with it, provided Stealth Rocks are off the field.
** Bulky Water-types** Nidoqueen has a hard time dealing with bulky Water-types, such as Milotic and Suicune, who can recover off damage dealt with ease and set up on it respectively, and can freely cripple it with Scald.
**Bronzong** Nidoqueen gets stopped entirely by Bronzong, who is immune to both STAB moves, Toxic Spikes, and takes minimal damage from Stealth Rock and Ice Beam. It can also damage Nidoqueen with Earthquake, or set up Stealth Rock or screens. Bronzong can't switch in if Nidoqueen is running Fire Blast.
**Ground-types** Nidoqueen can be revenge killed by Ground-types such as Flygon and Hippowdon, who can outspeed and KO or tank an Ice Beam and KO, respectively.
**Forretress** Forretress is a pain for the defensive set, as it can clear away Nidoqueen's entry hazards with ease, is immune to Toxic Spikes, and can set up entry hazards of its own. However, it must be wary of a powerful Earth Power.
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