NationalDex
nidoking
#034

Nidoking

Drill Pokémon

PoisonGround

When it goes on a rampage, it’s impossible to control. But in the presence of a Nidoqueen it’s lived with for a long time, Nidoking calms down.

Base Stats

HP 81
Attack 102
Defense 77
Sp. Atk 85
Sp. Def 75
Speed 85
Total 505

Type Effectiveness

Abilities

Evolution Chain

Moves

Details

Category Drill Pokémon
Height 1.4 m
Weight 62.0 kg
Base Exp 227
Growth Rate Medium Slow
Capture Rate 45
Base Happiness 70
Gender 100% ♂ / 0% ♀
Habitat Grassland
Egg Groups Monster ,Ground

Sprites

nidoking Front Front
nidoking Back Back
nidoking Front Shiny Front Shiny
nidoking Back Shiny Back Shiny
nidoking Official Art Official Art
nidoking Official Art (Shiny) Official Art (Shiny)

Competitive

Wallbreaker
Item
Life Orb
Ability
Sheer Force
Nature
Modest
EVs
SpA 252
SpD 4
Spe 252

Strategy Overview

Thanks to its excellent offensive typing, ability in Sheer Force, powerful STAB moves like Sludge Wave and Earth Power, and excellent coverage moves like Fire Blast, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt, Nidoking is a very powerful wallbreaker. It can hit a large portion of the tier for super effective damage, pressuring plenty of Pokemon like Skarmory, Primarina, and Amoonguss. Even though Nidoking is one of the most dangerous threats in the tier, its mediocre Speed tier and bulk mean it can't find many opportunities to wallbreak, mandating pivot support to get it onto the field safely. Nidoking also relies on its Life Orb to do massive damage, so it despises Knock Off from the likes of Nihilego and Thundurus-T. Its typing also doesn't benefit it much defensively, leaving it weak to common attacking types like Ground, Water, and Psychic from Pokemon like Excadrill, Azumarill, and Azelf. Furthermore, despite being a Ground-type, Nidoking doesn't provide a functional Electric immunity for its team, being outsped by Rotom-W, Rotom-H, and Thundurus-T and getting hit hard by their other moves. This lack of defensive utility makes it hard to justify over other Pokemon that share its Ground or Poison typing like Hippowdon, Excadrill, and Nihilego. Nidoqueen, while weaker, has more bulk than Nidoking, allowing it to fit Stealth Rock for role compression, and its lower Speed isn't a hinderance in UU.

Most Used Moves

Ice Beam
50.6%

Most Used Items

Life Orb
82.1%

Competitive data from Smogon University via data.pkmn.cc