Darksafadao
best of the second options
- [OVERVIEW]
- Nidoqueen carves its niche in the tier as a good pivot for Pokemon such as Zeraora, Amoonguss and Nihilego.
- With the aid of its good coverage and Sheer Force, it is able to reliably keep hazards up, as it is rather hard to effectively remove hazards with Nidoqueen out on the field.
- Such traits make it a unique Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes user, differing itself for its offensive capabilities to easily pressure common Pokemon that usually would take hazards off the field versus more passive setters, such as Hippowdon and Tentacruel.
- Such rare typing grants it resists to important typings such as Fairy, Rock, and Fighting, which can help it finding good opportunities to set hazards up.
- However, Nidoqueen's typing also grants it weaknesses to many common typings such as Water, Ice, and Ground, and that coupled with its mediocre Speed makes it be forced out by common breakers such as Kyurem and Crawdaunt.
- Nidoqueen makes good use of its typing to set up hazards or fire off attacks on many common Pokemon such as Klefki, Sylveon, and Nihilego.
- Offensive Nidoqueen, compared to its counterpart, gives up on a lot of Speed that is very helpful to check Pokemon like Togekiss with not much compensation for that and as such it only has a niche over Nidoking if the extra bulk is really needed to take on Pokemon such as Zeraora and Mega Manectric.
- Nidoqueen can also afford a bulkier spread, making it able to tank hits from Pokemon like Scizor, Terrakion, and Infernape, while giving up on offensive power.
- However, Nidoqueen has strong competition as a Ground-type and Stealth Rock user, with the huge factor that it can't take Mega Aerodactyl and strong Fighting-types on as well as others can such as Hippowdon, Gligar, and Palossand.
- It also struggles competing with other bulky Ground-types out of not having reliable recovery.
name: Defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Earth Power
move 4: Sludge Wave
item: Black Sludge
ability: Sheer Force
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 72 SpD / 76 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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- Stealth Rock is used to support Nidoqueen's teammates into getting KO's more easily.
- Ice Beam is used to make it a more effective hazard setter as it hits Gligar and also provides good coverage for hitting Pokemon like Latias and Hydreigon.
- Earth Power allows Nidoqueen to hit Steel-, Poison-, and Fire-types for important damage, such as Cobalion, Tentacruel, Infernape, and Empoleon.
- Sludge Wave allows Nidoqueen to mainly threaten Fairy-types like Mega Altaria.
- Flamethrower is an option for teams that are Scizor weak as it lets Nidoqueen OHKO it, but it has no use outside of this scenario.
- Nidoqueen can also run Toxic Spikes, wearing down the opposing team and helping its teammates. Its Ground coverage helps it pressure opposing Poison-types from just switching in and removing them.
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- 76 Speed EVs let Nidoqueen outspeed Gligar.
- 72 Special Defense EVs allow it to live a +2 Fire Blast from Infernape.
- 108 Defense EVs, the rest in HP, and Bold Nature allow Nidoqueen to take on better Pokemon like Cobalion and Terrakion.
- Black Sludge grants Nidoqueen useful recovery.
- Sheer Force lets it be less passive by boosting up the power of its moves.
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- Although Nidoqueen has good coverage, many Pokemon can come into it, such as Latias. With that in mind, usually the best move that can get the most off a turn is going to be setting up hazards.
- Avoid playing with Nidoqueen recklessly as uncareful play can end up in unrecoverable damage, as it relies solely on Black Sludge to get health back. Be mindful even when switching into Pokemon that Nidoqueen is meant to take on, as Zeraora can Knock Off its Black Sludge and stop it from ever recovering and Mega Manectric can use Hidden Power Ice as it switches in.
- Try to double Nidoqueen in as something that is threatened by it comes to the field as this allows you to get hazards up and optimizes Black Sludge's recovery.
- Be attentive regarding potential doubles to strong wallbreakers, such as Kyurem and Primarina, as Nidoqueen comes in, as its passivity and low Speed will make it unable to stop them.
- Be also wary of overall hard switches to wallbreakers and setup sweepers as Nidoqueen's lack of power allows them in and prevents it from forcing them out or making the setup stop, such as Latias and Suicune.
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- Nidoqueen finds its place on bulky offense or balance teams that need a reliable hazards setter, as that support their wallbreakers, such as Celebi and Infernape, and their setup sweepers, such as Mega Altaria and Scizor.
- Pokemon that can make good use of Toxic Spikes being up, such as Kyurem and Suicune, are great partners as they appreciate Nidoqueen's capacities to keep them up.
- Bulky Water-types, such as Slowbro and Suicune, complement Nidoqueen well as they can take on Ice-type attacks while Nidoqueen can take on Electric-types that would annoy them.
- Pokemon that dislike Electric- and Rock-types, such as Togekiss, can find a good teammate in Nidoqueen as it takes on some common ones such as Zeraora, Diancie, and Nihilego.
name: Offensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Sludge Wave
move 4: Ice Beam
item: Life Orb
ability: Sheer Force
nature: Modest
evs: 128 HP / 252 SpA / 128 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
- Stealth Rock is used to wear down the opposing team and Nidoqueen can efficiently keep them up by firing off strong attacks with excellent coverage.
- Ice Beam gives Nidoqueen a good way of hitting Pokemon like Latias, Hydreigon, and Gligar.
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- 128 Speed EVs let Nidoqueen outspeed Modest max Speed Primarina
- 128 in HP helps Nidoqueen be a better blanket check to Pokemon like Nihilego and Zeraora.
- Life Orb and Sheer Force are used to maximize Nidoqueen's damage output by boosting its attacks.
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- Many teams don't have safe switch-ins to Nidoqueen's powerful attacks. Capitalize on that by getting it in as many times as you can by taking advantage by doubling or hard switching into Pokemon such as Klefki and Diancie, and use that to fire off such attacks or get hazards up.
- Be careful with on what you switch into as Nidoqueen's mediocre Speed means it is usually the one that has to take a hit. Once it takes considerable damage many Pokemon can take it out before it has the chance to attack, making it much less threatening. Such hits will also take away the potential it has to take hits from Pokemon such as Mega Manectric and Zeraora.
- If you are faced with a passive foe that can't really damage you predicting your opponent to make a switch is usually the way to go as you don't lose much if you get it wrong. Predicting, in general circumstances, can be very effective as most teams have to rely on pivots such as Latias to try to take or avoid a hit and scare Nidoqueen out and a well timed prediction can mine down such strategy. However, don't predict aimlessly, as that can make you have a worn down and less efficient Nidoqueen out of being revenge killed more easily.
- Be wary of double switches as many Pokemon can outspeed Nidoqueen and OHKO it, such as Kyurem and Volcanion.
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- This Nidoqueen set is used on teams that highly praise Stealth Rock being up and want a backbone for Pokemon like Zeraora and Nihilego, as if there is no need for the latter point it's usually advisable to just go with Nidoking as it has better Speed.
- Nidoqueen also works well as a Volt Switch blocker which helps offensive teams not lose momentum, which is very valuable.
- Setup sweepers like Mega Altaria appreciate Nidoqueen's capabilities of keeping Stealth Rock up and firing off strong attacks that weaken the opposing team.
- Wallbreakers like Lucario enjoy the Stealth Rock support Nidoqueen provides as it wears down the opponent's Pokemon.
- Hydreigon and other Pokemon that enjoy some bulky Fairy-types being annoyed, such as Klefki, Diancie and Sylveon, appreciate Nidoqueen's ability to come in and threaten them or get up hazards.
Other Options
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- Toxic can be used on the Defensive set to punish common switch-ins such as Hydreigon and Latias and it pairs well with Nidoqueen's Earth Power as it punishes most Poison- and Steel-types that could absorb the status move. It also helps dealing with Defoggers that could be troublesome such as Moltres and Mantine.
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**Bulky Water-types**: Pokemon such as Suicune and Mantine can easily take on hits from the Defensive set and potentially annoy the Offensive one. Mantine is mainly annoying out of being able to defog away Nidoqueen's hazards.
**Special walls**: Pokemon like Blissey, Snorlax, Articuno, and Mantine can eat up Nidoqueen's attacks with the latter two being able to defog hazards away.
**Water-, Ground-, and Ice-type wallbreakers** Pokemon like Crawdaunt, Mamoswine, and Kyurem can force Nidoqueen out with their strong STAB moves and will always make the trainer with a Nidoqueen think twice before sending it out with the fear of a potential double switch.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[DarkSafadao, 399489]]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
Last edited:
