Statistics
|
Stat |
| HP |
81
|
365 |
| Atk |
92
|
282 |
| Def |
77
|
252 |
| SpA |
85
|
268 |
| SpD |
75
|
248 |
| Spe |
85
|
268 |
This is a good set to lead off a team. Fire Blast will deal with Steel-types and Grass-types wonderfully (in addition to the occasional Heracross). Thunderbolt will hit Water-types (Nidoking's main counter) hard. And, as always, you have the option to put something to sleep with Lovely Kiss. You may not want to use Lovely Kiss right off the bat; otherwise you might waste it on a Sleep Talker. Ice Beam is a popular alternative in Fire Blast's spot to fend off other Ground-types and Zapdos. Thunder can 2HKO Starmie and 3HKO Suicune.
Other Options
Substitute can be used to ease prediction off of you while you fire away with super-effective attacks. Counter is VERY unexpected on Nidoking, and unexpected things usually win matches in GSC. Protect and Morning Sun are options for recovery so that Raikou and Zapdos don't wear you down (keep in mind that Morning Sun is illegal with Lovely Kiss), and Protect can scout for sneaky moves. Nidoking can also Surf, but you're better off with the other special attacks. It's too bad he doesn't learn Sludge Bomb.
Opinion
Nidoking's attacking stats are great and his movepool is awesome, albeit a little limited. While he can't sweep teams, he can be a monster in the late game, so don't let him get paralyzed, because while his Speed is average, it's better than a lot of the GSC hard hitters.
Counters
The most reliable counters can take attacks from both ends of the spectrum without instantly dying, such as Suicune and Porygon2. Hypno and Snorlax (to an extent) also work well. While Alakazam isn't particularly defensive, its extremely powerful Psychic can nearly OHKO Nidoking. Depending on the moves present in the set, a variety of Pokemon with super effective moves against Nidoking or good defensive capabilities might be viable.
