Status: QC Approval 3/3. GP Approval 0/2
QC Approval: Iconic, panamaxis, Delta 2777
GP Approval: cosmicexplorer (stamped by Zystral), NatGeo
Deck Knight's Analysis
[Overview]
<p>Nidoking has returned to wreak havoc in a new generation. Before it was a decent wallbreaker in the lower tiers. However in this generation Nidoking received a blessing with its Dream World ability, Sheer Force, which gives the equivalent of a Life Orb boost to moves with secondary effects. In addition, when such a move is used with Sheer Force, Life Orb damage is actually negated, meaning Nidoking hits like a truck and retains the freedom of attacking with whichever move it likes, at the cost of secondary effects. 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. Its Poison / Ground typing is unique, 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 doesn't mean lasting like a truck though. Nidoking's defenses are average at best, and even though Sheer Force helps it utilize its decidedly average Attack and Special Attack, its Speed is still a detriment to its sweeping potential. Weaknesses to Water-, Ground-, and Psychic-type attacks do not help its case either. Regardless, Nidoking received an ability many Pokemon would drool over, and that may be 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>The Sheer Force and Life Orb boosts mean Nidoking will be punching plenty of holes with the given moveset. Earth Power is the STAB move of choice, providing good coverage against common foes such as Heatran and Terrakion. 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, 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, 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 Steel-types. 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, but 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. Since Nidoking is immune to Toxic and Thunder Wave, both Chansey and Blissey are less likely to use a either status move. However, if the opponent predicts Nidoking will switch out, Conkledurr can absorb the status and will scare both away immediately. Rotom-H also serves as a counter to Nidoking, since it is immune to Earth Power and resists the rest of its attacks. Water-types such as Swampert or Lanturn can shut down most Rotom-H sets. Baton Passing can 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 said, consider a Modest nature in such a case, as a Speed boost will make a Timid nature much less useful.</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 a different typing, Nidoking has some advantages over it. For one, its Ground-typing means no Electric-type attacks will potentially neuter it with paralysis. Secondly, Earth Power has a STAB boost, 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 blistering 442 Speed, outspeeding everything up to positive natured base 150s. From there, go to town with Earth Power as STAB, Thunderbolt to battle Water-types, Ice Beam to pound Dragon- and Ground-type foes, and Fire Blast to combat Steel-types that are neutral or immune to Earth Power.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Much like the Special Attacker set, this set suffers from a four moveslot syndrome. Shadow Ball can reliably KO Choice Scarf Gengar on the switch, but again, the coverage of this set suffers if Shadow Ball is used. Eviolite Chansey and Blissey wall this set as well, which means physical Fighting-types, such as Conkledurr, are once again the way to go as partners. Since Nidoking is essentially a revenge killer, it's best to keep it alive as much as possible to get the jump on various foes, so Wish support can help tremendously. Teammates such as Chansey and Blissey can switch on various special attackers to absorb hits aimed at Nidoking and set up a Wish; meanwhile, Nidoking can come in on most Fighting-type attacks aimed at either. Entry hazards also help soften up foes for Nidoking, since this set won't be hitting as hard as the Special Attacker. Ferrothorn and Skarmory are best in this regard, with Ferrothorn taking Water-type attacks fantastically and Skarmory being immune to Ground-type attacks.</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 are very few physical moves which take advantage of the boost, which is why Earthquake is the STAB move of choice. Though it doesn't get boosted by Sheer Force, with the given EVs in Attack and a 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 moves with poor accuracy. Blizzard and Thunder both get their Accuracy bumped up to roughly 91%, making them very attractive options over Ice Beam and Thunderbolt respectively. Fire Blast gets perfect accuracy with a Hone Claws boost, and allows Nidoking to roast Ferrothorn and Forretress.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>As mentioned earlier, there are very few physical moves that get powered by Sheer Force. Of the most notable, Rock Slide can be used over Earthquake to reliably KO Rotom-H. However, this is a bad trade off since Nidoking won't have any STAB moves to take advantage of. Stone Edge suffers from the same fate, but in addition also doesn't gain a Sheer Force boost.</p>
<p>The EVs given ensure Nidoking outspeeds Jolly Gyarados, while providing enough power to 2HKO Blissey after a Hone Claws 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 boosted by Sheer Force, Nidoking will be affected by Life Orb recoil when it uses it. 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 lacks Fire Blast, Dragon- and Ground-types if he lacks Blizzard, and Water-types if it lacks Thunder. Wish support is also helpful if you would like to keep Nidoking around for constant uses of Earthquake.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Though Nidoking finally has a boosting move in Hone Claws, there are very few 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 but is useful to get the jump on faster Psychic- and Ghost- types. The elemental punches can be taught via 4th Gen move tutors 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 almost anything that switches in will be getting severely hurt. However, Rotom-H serves as the greatest counter, only fearing Nidoking if he carries a Rock-type attack or if the effects of Gravity are on the field. Eviolite Chansey and Blissey also serve as decent checks to Nidoking, save for the Mixed Claws set, which can 2HKO Blissey with Earthquake after the Attack boost.</p>
<p>The best way to beat Nidoking outside of Rotom-H is to prey on its low Speed. 295 is not blazing fast so the best way to deal with Nidoking is to revenge kill it. Choice Scarf Nidoking is weaker than Life Orb Nidoking, but it still packs a punch; still, the fastest Choice Scarf Nidoking will cap off at 442 Speed. Choice Scarf users faster than Base 85 Speed will be able to outrun it.</p>
QC Approval: Iconic, panamaxis, Delta 2777
GP Approval: cosmicexplorer (stamped by Zystral), NatGeo
Deck Knight's Analysis
[Overview]
<p>Nidoking has returned to wreak havoc in a new generation. Before it was a decent wallbreaker in the lower tiers. However in this generation Nidoking received a blessing with its Dream World ability, Sheer Force, which gives the equivalent of a Life Orb boost to moves with secondary effects. In addition, when such a move is used with Sheer Force, Life Orb damage is actually negated, meaning Nidoking hits like a truck and retains the freedom of attacking with whichever move it likes, at the cost of secondary effects. 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. Its Poison / Ground typing is unique, 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 doesn't mean lasting like a truck though. Nidoking's defenses are average at best, and even though Sheer Force helps it utilize its decidedly average Attack and Special Attack, its Speed is still a detriment to its sweeping potential. Weaknesses to Water-, Ground-, and Psychic-type attacks do not help its case either. Regardless, Nidoking received an ability many Pokemon would drool over, and that may be 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>The Sheer Force and Life Orb boosts mean Nidoking will be punching plenty of holes with the given moveset. Earth Power is the STAB move of choice, providing good coverage against common foes such as Heatran and Terrakion. 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, 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, 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 Steel-types. 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, but 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. Since Nidoking is immune to Toxic and Thunder Wave, both Chansey and Blissey are less likely to use a either status move. However, if the opponent predicts Nidoking will switch out, Conkledurr can absorb the status and will scare both away immediately. Rotom-H also serves as a counter to Nidoking, since it is immune to Earth Power and resists the rest of its attacks. Water-types such as Swampert or Lanturn can shut down most Rotom-H sets. Baton Passing can 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 said, consider a Modest nature in such a case, as a Speed boost will make a Timid nature much less useful.</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 a different typing, Nidoking has some advantages over it. For one, its Ground-typing means no Electric-type attacks will potentially neuter it with paralysis. Secondly, Earth Power has a STAB boost, 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 blistering 442 Speed, outspeeding everything up to positive natured base 150s. From there, go to town with Earth Power as STAB, Thunderbolt to battle Water-types, Ice Beam to pound Dragon- and Ground-type foes, and Fire Blast to combat Steel-types that are neutral or immune to Earth Power.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Much like the Special Attacker set, this set suffers from a four moveslot syndrome. Shadow Ball can reliably KO Choice Scarf Gengar on the switch, but again, the coverage of this set suffers if Shadow Ball is used. Eviolite Chansey and Blissey wall this set as well, which means physical Fighting-types, such as Conkledurr, are once again the way to go as partners. Since Nidoking is essentially a revenge killer, it's best to keep it alive as much as possible to get the jump on various foes, so Wish support can help tremendously. Teammates such as Chansey and Blissey can switch on various special attackers to absorb hits aimed at Nidoking and set up a Wish; meanwhile, Nidoking can come in on most Fighting-type attacks aimed at either. Entry hazards also help soften up foes for Nidoking, since this set won't be hitting as hard as the Special Attacker. Ferrothorn and Skarmory are best in this regard, with Ferrothorn taking Water-type attacks fantastically and Skarmory being immune to Ground-type attacks.</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 are very few physical moves which take advantage of the boost, which is why Earthquake is the STAB move of choice. Though it doesn't get boosted by Sheer Force, with the given EVs in Attack and a 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 moves with poor accuracy. Blizzard and Thunder both get their Accuracy bumped up to roughly 91%, making them very attractive options over Ice Beam and Thunderbolt respectively. Fire Blast gets perfect accuracy with a Hone Claws boost, and allows Nidoking to roast Ferrothorn and Forretress.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>As mentioned earlier, there are very few physical moves that get powered by Sheer Force. Of the most notable, Rock Slide can be used over Earthquake to reliably KO Rotom-H. However, this is a bad trade off since Nidoking won't have any STAB moves to take advantage of. Stone Edge suffers from the same fate, but in addition also doesn't gain a Sheer Force boost.</p>
<p>The EVs given ensure Nidoking outspeeds Jolly Gyarados, while providing enough power to 2HKO Blissey after a Hone Claws 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 boosted by Sheer Force, Nidoking will be affected by Life Orb recoil when it uses it. 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 lacks Fire Blast, Dragon- and Ground-types if he lacks Blizzard, and Water-types if it lacks Thunder. Wish support is also helpful if you would like to keep Nidoking around for constant uses of Earthquake.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Though Nidoking finally has a boosting move in Hone Claws, there are very few 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 but is useful to get the jump on faster Psychic- and Ghost- types. The elemental punches can be taught via 4th Gen move tutors 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 almost anything that switches in will be getting severely hurt. However, Rotom-H serves as the greatest counter, only fearing Nidoking if he carries a Rock-type attack or if the effects of Gravity are on the field. Eviolite Chansey and Blissey also serve as decent checks to Nidoking, save for the Mixed Claws set, which can 2HKO Blissey with Earthquake after the Attack boost.</p>
<p>The best way to beat Nidoking outside of Rotom-H is to prey on its low Speed. 295 is not blazing fast so the best way to deal with Nidoking is to revenge kill it. Choice Scarf Nidoking is weaker than Life Orb Nidoking, but it still packs a punch; still, the fastest Choice Scarf Nidoking will cap off at 442 Speed. Choice Scarf users faster than Base 85 Speed will be able to outrun it.</p>
