Nidoking

Ground

Nidoking is Ground's best special wallbreaker due to its various coverage moves boosted by Sheer Force and Life Orb, which let it break past physically defensive walls such as Skarmory, Amoonguss, and Ferrothorn that are otherwise difficult for the type to break through. Nidoking also helps against types like Fairy, Flying, Steel, and Grass, as they lack sturdy defensive switch-ins to it. Its part-Poison typing provides useful defensive utility by letting it switch in on Fairy-type attacks and remove Toxic Spikes. It is additionally the only way for Ground teams to set Toxic Spikes themselves. However, while Nidoking can pressure many physically defensive walls, its Speed tier leaves it outsped and KOed by a plethora of offensive Pokemon, such as Tapu Lele, Excadrill, and Hydreigon, to name a few. Nidoking's mediocre bulk also makes it difficult to come in on Pokemon that it can deal with but can wear it down, such as Celesteela, Ferrothorn, and Tapu Bulu. This frailty also makes it vulnerable even to revenge killers lacking super effective moves such as Spectrier.

Poison

Nidoking is one of the best wallbreakers that Poison has to offer thanks to its powerful combination of Life Orb and Sheer Force. Its role as a wallbreaker is very important in the Steel matchup, as Earth Power + Flamethrower demolishes Steel teams after Heatran's Air Balloon has been popped. Nidoking also offers Poison an Electric immunity to prevent Volt Switch spam from Electric-types like Regieleki and Tapu Koko. Its access to BoltBeam coverage allows Nidoking to apply more pressure on Flying teams, which is nice, since Stealth Rock cannot pressure Flying much because of how often it uses Heavy-Duty Boots. Nidoking is, however, slower than many faster threats like Excadrill, Cinderace, and Keldeo and weak to Water-, Ice-, and Ground-type moves like Scald, Ice Beam, and Earthquake. These flaws mean, Nidoking can only come in on certain passive walls or slower Pokemon like Galarian Weezing, Skarmory, and Toxapex.