
Nidoking (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power
- Flamethrower / Ice Beam
- Substitute / Ice Beam / Taunt
With a wide array of Sheer Force-boosted coverage moves, Nidoking is a fantastic wallbreaker in the current OU metagame. Its typing not only is great offensively, threatening staples like Clefable, Tapu Fini, Toxapex, and Heatran with STAB Sludge Wave and Earth Power, but also has some nifty utility applications in providing an Electric-type immunity and a Toxic Spikes absorber. Flamethrower nails Ferrothorn and Corviknight, while Ice Beam threatens Landorus-T and Mandibuzz. Substitute can be used to ease prediction and prevent Nidoking from being revenge killed by threats like Rillaboom and Landorus-T. Taunt stops desperate Defog attempts and improves its matchup against Blissey, as it prevents it from recovering or using Teleport to pivot out. One of Nidoking's main downsides, however, is that its mediocre bulk makes it hard to switch in safely. Therefore, it greatly appreciates pivoting support from teammates like Slowbro, Slowking, Blissey, Mandibuzz, and Swampert. Ferrothorn also makes for a fitting partner, as Nidoking tends to force a lot of switches and Spikes can put its foes in range of its attacks.
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