Kingler

Crabs can't climb waterfalls.

I love Kingler, I really do, but he's just outclassed without Aqua Jet, as others have said. Kingler is one of those Pokemon that sucks because of its movepool, like Aerodactyl and Klinklang.
 
November Blue said:
Crabs can't climb waterfalls.
Click to expand...

But lobsters can? :P

0IXQW.png
 
BlackLightAttack said:
But lobsters can? :P

0IXQW.png
Click to expand...

Well, I can't find anything specifically that says lobsters do climb waterfalls, but according to this link, some river lobsters do migrate upstream past waterfalls. Crawdaunt is based on some combination of a lobster and a crayfish (which is generally found in rivers, brooks and streams) so it would make some sense for Crawdaunt to have characteristics akin to river lobsters. The fact that it is largely found in ponds and streams would seem to support this.

Kingler on the other hand, appears to be based on some form of Fiddler of Land Crab (based on its giant claw), which are not exactly known for climbing waterfalls, probably in large part due to the fact they largely are found on beaches. Also, the giant claw, that pretty much all its Pokedex entries say is both heavy and unwieldy to move (with Silver going as far as saying "If it lifts the pincers too fast, it loses its balance and staggers."), probably has something to do with it.

...or Gamefreak just forgot to give it access to the HM in gen II and decided to roll with it. Either (or something else entirely for that matter) could be true.

Anyway, so this post isn't entirely off topic, does anyone see any viability for some sort of mixed sheer force hone claws set. I know Kingler's base 50 SpAtk is really, really bad, but it does get Blizzard, which has 156 power after sheer force and 93 accuracy after a hone claws. I was thinking something like:

Kingler@Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature and EV's not worked out yet
~Hone Claws
~Crabhammer
~Blizzard
~Rock Slide/X-Scissor

With Rock Slide no one in NU resists its three moves and it doesn't take Life Orb recoil, while with X-Scissor only Frillish, Tentacool, and Shedinja do. Once again, I understand how bad Kingler's special attack is, but are there any surprise ko's or anything it might be able to get with this (water/rock does have pretty good coverage even by itself, so I could see it potentially being worth it if this is the case)?
 
Well, it doesn't let it deal any more damage to Tangela than a +2 X-Scissor, and it still won't be getting past Alomomomomomoloma.

Pretty much everything worth considering gets hit harder by the SD set, so I don't really see the point.


 
What about a set of SD / Sub / Crabhammer / X-Scissor. Run SD to set-up +2 or get behind a sub if Amomola decides to toxic you(or any defensive poke that can't hit you back while behind a sub).
 
I've found Kingler to never be as amazing as its stats might suggest, its lack of priority such as Aqua Jet as well as middling Speed without Agility and not enough Attack without Swords Dance makes it hard for Kingler to pull its weight. Coupled with the fact that Tangela and Quagsire are everywhere, Kingler's job isn't going to get any easier. Even with a Sub, I don't see how Kingler is going to get past Tangela anytime soon. Personally, I would rather be using Samurrott as it totally outclasses Kingler.
 
Physically orientated Water types really have it tough in this meta. Tangela/ Leafeon/Quagsire/Alomomola are pretty much on every team and whereas most of the other Waters have ways and means around these like the ability to go mixed (Samurott, Carrcosta) Kingler is stuck with shitty SpA and poor coverage moves.

I am however, intrigued by the prospect of a double boosting set. Agility helps to patch up his speed against frail offensive teams and SD would help him break through a stall team pretty easily. Also, its coverage options may be crap but as Samurott has so effectively demonstrated Water/Bug is as good a combo as any in the metagame.
 
Kingler really needs Waterfall. >_< Even before the Physical/Special split, Kingler's always been jipped, since its' horrible Sp. Attack always screwed it over with Water being Special oriented and Kingler's movepool always being shallow physical wise. The only decent Physical Water move it gets is Crabhammer, and even that isn't that good for competitive purposes.
 
Choice Socks said:
kingler might not have many SF abusable moves, but I feel everyone is forgetting that SF still negates LO. To be this is a brilliant trait, you can play mind games with an opponent by bluffing choice items for a start. Not to mention a no recoil 30% boost to your attacks, so it isn't hard to bluff band. I think he makes a very effective wall breaker, if not a late game sweeper.
Click to expand...
if the holder's ability is Sheer Force and the attack was boosted by Sheer Force, then the holder takes no damage from Life Orb.
Click to expand...
So the only competetive move this tactic would work with is Rock Slide.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top