Nidoking Analysis

[steel dragons]

Nidoking
Type: Poison/Ground

Abilities:
Poison Point
Rivalry
Sheer Force: Moves with a secondary effect are increased in power by 33% but lose their secondary effect

Base Stats:
HP: 81
Attack: 92
Defense: 77
Special Attack: 85
Special Defense: 75
Speed: 85

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/034.shtml

Overview

Nidoking has been around in the Pokemon games, even since the RBY days. It has nearly always been a Pokemon with medicore stats, and a Pokemon with a wide movepool, with moves like Flamethrower, Ice Beam, Earthquake, and Thunderbolt. In Generation Four, it was a UU Pokemon, usually suited for breaking walls with its vast array of moves. Nidoking was UU, primarily because it didn't have great speed, it didn't have great other stats, and it is weak to some common moves, like surf, Ice Beam, and Earthquake. However, in Generation Five, Nidoking became much more viable, because it got the ability Sheer Force. Many of Nidoking's attacks got boosted by Sheer force, including the attacks Earth Power, Flamethrower, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball, Sludge Wave, Rock Slide, Focus Blast, and some other attacks. These attacks became 33% more powerful under Sheer Force, which in turn has made Nidoking much more of a threat then it was before in the last generation.

Nidoking's typing can help it in some cases, but it usually hurts Nidoking. Its Poison/Ground typing makes it weak to Ground, Water, Ice, and Psychic attacks, and most of those types are common attacking types. Nidoking does have some handy resistances, resisting Electric, Fighting, Poison, Bug, and Rock attacks. Having a resistance to Fighting attacks is huge in this metagame, with the many Fighting attacks flying around. Nidoking also is immune to both Thunder Wave and Toxic, which not many other Pokemon can boast. In terms of entry hazards, Nidoking only takes 6% damage from Stealth Rock, and Nidoking also absorbs or takes away Toxic Spikes.
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In Depth/Move Sets


Sheer Force Abuse
Nidoking w/ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Timid/Modest
EVs: 252 Spe, 252 SpA, 4 Def

• Earth Power
• Fire Blast
• Ice Beam
• Thunderbolt

Set Comments

With its wide variety of special attacks, and with Sheer force, Nidoking can hit many Pokemon super-effectively with this kind of set. Once certain Pokemon are removed from play, this set can become dangerous because of its great coverage. Earth Power is Nidoking's best Stab move, and it should always be in this set. Earth Power has good coverage with Nidoking's other moves, and Earth Power also has around 126 base power with the Sheer Force boost. Fire Blast should also be included for this set, as it KOs the likes of Ferrothorn, Scizor, and Forretress, while having a good chance to KO specially defensive Skarmory. Ice Beam is also required, allowing Nidoking to hit Pokemon like Dragonite, Serperior, and Zapdos for good damage. Thunderbolt rounds off the coverage, allowing Nidoking to hit many Water Pokemon for major amounts of damage.

Additional Comments

The EVs and nature aren't hard to figure out for this set. Max speed and special attack EVs should be used, as they allow Nidoking to deal and outspeed as much as possible. A Timid nature is almost always preferred, as Nidoking can outspeed all base 80 speed Pokemon and speed tie with base 85 Pokemon. A Modest nature could be used for the extra power, as it can be helpful to ensure some KOs, but Timid is usually preferred.

Damage Calculations
(Assuming that Thunderbolt and Ice Beam have 126 base power, while Fire Blast has 159 power due to Sheer Force)
252 SpA Timid LO Nidoking (with Sheer Force):
-Fire Blast vs 252 HP/252 SpD Sassy Ferrothorn: 125% (min) - always a KO on the specially bulkiest Ferrothorn possible
-Fire Blast vs 252 HP/0 SpD Impish Skarmory: 135.3% (min) - always a KO on physically defensive Skarmory
-Fire Blast vs 252 HP/252 SpD Careful Skarmory: 91.6 - 107.8% - chance to KO without Stealth Rock, always a KO with Stealth Rock
-Thunderbolt vs 252 HP/0 SpD Bold Jellicent: 63.9 - 75.2% - 2HKO
-Thunder vs 252 HP/0 SpD Bold Jellicent: 80.7 - 95% - possible KO with Stealth Rock
-Thunderbolt vs 252 HP/252 SpD Careful Jellicent: 46 - 54.5% - almost always a 3HKO factoring in Leftovers
-Thunderbolt vs 252 HP/252 spD Careful Politoed: 50 - 59.4% - possible 2HKO factoring in Leftovers
-Thunderbolt vs 0 HP/0 SpD Timid Politoed: 83.5 - 98.4% - possible KO with Stealth Rock
-Ice Beam vs 0 HP/0 SpD Adamant Dragonite w/ Multiscale: 84.2 - 100.3% - KO with Stealth Rocks.
(Also, Multiscale only takes effect if Dragonite is at full health. Without Multiscale, Ice Beam always KOs Dragonite)
-Ice Beam vs 248 HP/0 SpD Bold Zapdos: 76.2 - 89.8% - chance to KO with Stealth Rock, factoring in Leftovers
-Ice Beam vs 0 HP/0 SpD Timid Zapdos: 91 - 107.2% - KO with Stealth Rock, possible KO without Stealth Rock
-Ice Beam vs 0 HP/0 SpD Timid Serperior: 96.2 - 113.4% - KO with Stealth Rock, possible KO without Stealth Rock
-Ice Beam vs 252 HP/104 SpD Impish Hippwodon: 73.3 - 86.7%: nearly always a 2HKO



King of Choice (Special)
Nidoking w/ Choice Scarf/Choice Specs
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Timid/Modest
EVs: 252 Spe, 252 SpA, 4 Def

• Earth Power
• Fire Blast
• Ice Beam
• Thunderbolt

Set Comments

Since Nidoking can hit many Pokemon for super-effective damage, a Choiced set can work. Nidoking can either use a Choice Scarf to outspeed some troublesome Pokemon, or Nidoking can hold the Choice Specs for more power. Earth Power should always be used for this kind of set, again, because it is Nidoking's best Stab special move. Fire Blast lets Nidoking hit Pokemon like Ferrothorn hard, Ice Beam hits Pokemon like Dragonite hard, and Thunderbolt hits Water Pokemon like Gyarados hard.

Additional Comments

The EVs and nature are designed to give Nidoking the best stats for a special attacker. Speed and special attack should be maxed, and a Timid nature is recommended to get the jump on base 80 Pokemon, like Gyarados and Dragonite. This means that Nidoking with a Choice Scarf can outspeed any Dragonite and Gyarados after one Dragon Dance. A modest nature could be used for more power, but the Timid nature is usually preferred.



Physical Sweeper
Nidoking w/ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Jolly/Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spe, 4 Def

• Earthquake
• Rock Slide/Stone Edge
• Sucker Punch
• Megahorn

Set Comments

This set offers a completely different approach to using Nidoking. As opposed to using primarily special attacks, this set uses Nidoking's higher physical attack stat. This set trades the great coverage of the specially based sets for the ability to hit certain things harder. This physical set can obviously hit special walls harder, special walls like Blissey and Chansey. This set also has the priority of Sucker Punch, which is helpful at times. Earthquake is Nidoking's main Stab move and should be used on every physical-based set. Rock Slide is preferred for this set over Stone Edge. Rock Slide has 97.5 base power because of the boost from Sheer Force, only a few points under Stone Edge's base 100 power. Rock Slide, however, has better accuracy than Stone Edge, so Rock Slide should be the main option. If Nidoking is not running the Sheer Force ability, then Stone Edge becomes the superior option. Sucker Punch should be used for the third move, as it can be used to destroy some fast, fragile sweepers, like Alakazam, Gengar, and Espeon. Be wary when using it though, as sweepers can set up while Nidoking uses Sucker Punch. Megahorn is preferred for the final slot, as Nidoking can use it to get rid of troublesome Pokemon like Serperior and Reuniclus.

Additional Comments

The EVs are pretty standard. Max speed and attack is required for this type of set, and a Jolly nature is preferred to outspeed as much as possible. An Adamant nature can be used for more power, but Nidoking outspeeds some important threats, like non-boosted Gyarados and Dragonite, if Nidoking has a Jolly nature.
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Other Options

Sludge Wave- A STAB Poison attack that Nidoking could use on a special set
Poison Jab- A STAB Poison attack that can be used on a Physical set
Taunt- can be used for Nidoking to fare better against some bulky Pokemon. Nidoking is usually better suited to either attack the bulky Pokemon or just switch out.
Head Smash- is a very powerful move in general, hitting Pokemon like Gyarados and Dragonite for a major amount of damage. However its recoil and 80% accuracy discourage many people from using it.
Fire Punch- Good for coverage, but illegal with Sheer Force
Ice Punch- Same as Fire Punch
Thunderpunch- Same as Fire Punch
Focus Blast- Powerful attack that gets boosted by Sheer Force, but low Accuracy is very off putting.
Shadow Ball- Great attack, but offers no additional coverage
Toxic Spikes- Great for a support set and offers an element of surprise
Stealth Rock- Entry hazard and great to have, but illegal with Sheer Force, so pointless
Superpower- Can be used to get rid of Blissey/Chansey, but Superpower is illegal with Sheer Force.

Teammates

Nidoking appreciates Stealth Rocks on the field, as it helps Nidoking get rid of more threats. Skarmory can work well with Nidoking, as Skarmory resists some of Nidoking's weaknesses while Nidoking resists Skarmory's electric weakness. Skarmory can also set up spikes, which can help Nidoking as well. In terms of offensive synergy, specially based Nidoking really appreciates having special walls and some Dragons eliminated. Infernape, while not as popular as it once was, can work well in this regard; as it can dispatch of Chansey and Blissey with Close Combat, while defeating many dragon Pokemon with Hidden Power Ice. For physical Nidoking sets, Infernape can, again, work well, for Infernape can beat Hippwodon, Skarmory, Bronzong, and Swampert with the right moves. In summary, most Nidoking sets appreciate having a wall breaker to deal with th physical or special walls.

Checks and Counters

Nidoking's major flaw has to be its speed. That being said, a lot of offensive Pokemon can outspeed Nidoking and KO it with the right move, or simply with a powerful move. If you can safely switch in a fast offensive Pokemon into one of Nidoking's attacks, then you would already have gone a long way to countering Nidoking. That being said, there are some Pokemon that could be considered counters. Latios can safely switch into most of Nidoking's attacks, barring Ice Beam, and proceed to KO Nidoking with a move like Surf. Other Dragon Pokemon like Salamence and Garchomp also can switch into some of Nidoking's moves and KO Nidoking. Swampert can switch into most of Nidoking's moves and dispatch of it with its Earthquake. Rotom-W, Reuniclus, Jellicent, and special walls like Blissey and Chansey also do fairly well against Nidoking.
Any Specially choiced Nidoking can be beaten with either predicting the move it's going to use or going to a Special Wall like Blissey or Chansey.
If Nidoking is physical, most Physical walls, like Quagsire, Skarmory, and Bronzong, can easily beat it.

Credits:
I give credit to Serebii for the move, stat, and other information concerning Nidoking. I also give credit to the page on Smogon concerning Nidoking also. I give credit to shaym.in.com(?) for the images.

[steel dragons]

Also, most of these sets are not finalized yet. I'm going to do some research into each of them before putting the rest of the information for them.

[lapras6666]

No mixed? That is one of Nidoking's better things!

[steel dragons]

True. I'm still working on Nidoking though, and I wouldn't be sure about what kind of mixed set to put down.

[MikeDecIsHere]

really quick comment cause I have to go to lab, but what is the viability of a toxic spike lead? With all of the Encourage Nidokings around, it could catch the opp off guard

[steel dragons]

Toxic Spikes are viable Mike. I could try making a lead set sometime.

Also, this analysis is finally done! If you all have anything to say, please let me know.

[steel dragons]

I'm bumping this, because I'm going to re-do this analysis sometime soon (with the correct format and UU stuff.)

[Tony32]

I already stated that i was doing the Nidoking analysis..

[pokemonisfun]

Why would you try to make a choice set, especially a purely special choice set when Nidoking has such an amazing mixed move pool? Locking yourself into a single move when you have type coverage that even makes most Normal pokes look shallow seems like shooting yourself in the foot.

edit: Doesn't stone edge get boosted power in the physical sweeper set because it has a high crit ratio?

[steel dragons]

Why would you try to make a choice set, especially a purely special choice set when Nidoking has such an amazing mixed move pool? Locking yourself into a single move when you have type coverage that even makes most Normal pokes look shallow seems like shooting yourself in the foot.

edit: Doesn't stone edge get boosted power in the physical sweeper set because it has a high crit ratio?

Yes, Nidoking does get amazing coverage. That is why the LO special set is first, followed by the choiced sets. The choiced sets do have merit, whether by overpowering the foes with specs or revenge killing with scarf. Nidoking's attacks are still fairly powerful, even without the help of boosting items.

Also, Stone Edge is not boosted by Sheer Force. Moves with a high crit ratio are not boosted by Sheer force, thus Rock Slide is superior to Stone Edge if Nidoking is running Sheer Force.

I've said it before, but I plan on re-doing this analysis sometime soon.