This is a strategy guide for using Nidoking in competitive play for the games Pokemon Sword and Shield. Read on for tips on the best Nature, EV spreads, Movesets, and Held Items to use with Nidoking, as well as its strengths and weak points.
| Nidoking - Related Guides | |
|---|---|
| Evolution and Learnset |  Build for Ranked Battle |
List of Contents
- Basic Information for Nidoking
- Singles Movesets for Nidoking
- How to Use Nidoking Effectively
- How to Build a Team with Nidoking
- Counters for Nidoking
- Related Links
Basic Information for Nidoking
Types and Abilities
| Pokemon | Type 1 | Type 2 |
|---|---|---|
Nidoking | ||
| Abilities | ||
| Poison Point | Contact with the Pokemon may poison the attacker. | |
| Rivalry | Deals more damage to a Pokemon of same gender. | |
| Sheer Force(Hidden) | Removes added effects to increase move damage. | |
Nidoking Weaknesses and Resistances
| Type | |
|---|---|
| Takes 4x damage | - |
| Takes 2x damage | |
| Takes 0.5x damage | |
| Takes 1/4x damage | |
| Takes 0x damage |
What is Type Effectiveness?
Base Stats
| HP | Attack | Defense | Sp. Atk | Sp. Def | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 81 | 102 | 77 | 85 | 75 | 85 |
Best Nature for Nidoking
| Best Natures | ||
|---|---|---|
| Timid (+Spd, -Atk) | ||
What are Natures?
Singles Movesets for Nidoking
Sheer Force Special Sweeper Moveset & Best Build
| Nature | Timid (+Spd, -Atk) |
|---|---|
| EV Spread | Sp.Atk 252 / Sp.Def 4 / Spd 252 |
| Final Stat Values | HP 156 / Def 97 / Sp.Atk 137 / Sp.Def 96 / Spd 150 |
| Ability | Sheer Force |
| Held Item | Life Orb |
| Moveset | ・Sludge Wave ・Earth Power ・Thunderbolt ・Ice Beam |
Despite its immediate stats will tell you, Nidoking works best as a special sweeper thanks to its plethora of special moves that get a boost from its Sheer Force ability.
About Nidoking's Moves
Sludge Wave is Nidoking's strongest STAB move, hitting Fairy-types and Grass-types hard and even potentially KOing them. Earth Power is its secondary STAB move, and provides great coverage alongside its other STAB move.
Nidoking's remaining two moves are Thunderbolt and Ice Beam, giving it the fabled "BoltBeam" coverage. This allows Nidoking to hit a variety of different Pokemon for super effective damage!
About Nidoking's EV Spread
We're using a basic special attacking EV spread with full investment in Speed and Special Attack. The remaining EVs are placed in Special Defense to round off its bulk.
About Nidoking's Ability
We're using Sheer Force for this build. This ability boosts the power of all moves that have additional effects by 30%, but removes the additional effects.
Note: Sheer Force doesn't work when the Pokemon is in a Gigantamax state.
About Nidoking's Held Item
We're giving Nidoking Life Orb for this build. This item boosts the power of Nidoking's attacks by 30% at the cost of some recoil damage.
Since Nidoking has Sheer Force as an ability, the Life Orb recoil is ignored but the item still provides a damage boost. This gives Nidoking a total 60% damage boost with Sheer Force and Life Orb combined!
Other Viable Moves
| Focus Blast | An alternative to either Ice Beam or Thunderbolt that allows Nidoking to hit Dark-types harder. |
|---|---|
| Shadow Ball | An alternative to either Ice Beam or Thunderbolt that allows Nidoking ti hit Psychic-type Pokemon. |
| Sludge Bomb | A weaker alternative to Sludge Wave but is the better choice in Doubles. |
How to Use Nidoking Effectively
Make the Most Out of its Coverage
Nidoking's advantage over other special sweepers is its unmatched coverage thanks to its wide special movepool. It's main STAB moves alone hit the very common Fairy, Grass, Steel, and Fire-types that dominate the metagame, while its BoltBeam coverage give it great neutral coverage.
As a result, Nidoking is played not as a straigtforward wallbreaker but as a check that can threaten certain Pokemon and force switches.
How to Build a Team with Nidoking
Nidoking faces stiff competition from stronger special sweepers, but its unmatched coverage alone is enough to give it a spot in most teams - especially Monotype Teams that are in need of good coverage.
A Monotype Sweeper with Excellent Coverage
Nidoking excels in Monotype teams where it provides valuable team support thanks to its impressive coverage. Since Nidoking is a dual-type Poison/Ground Pokemon, it can fit in either Monotype Poison or Monotype Ground teams!
Check out our full article below to learn more about building a Monotype Team.
How to Build a Monotype Team
Counters for Nidoking
| Weakness |
|---|
Outspeed and KO with a Faster Sweeper
Despite its great move coverage, Nidoking has one glaring weakness: it's rather lackluster speed for a sweeper. Even with full investment, it is still outsped by faster sweepers in the Metagame and some can outright KO Nidoking if given the chance!
Best Pokemon to Use
| Pokemon | Description |
|---|---|
| Starmie | Ranking: ★★★★★・Faster than Nidoking and can KO with Hydro Pump or Psychic ・Rivals Nidoking in sheer coverage thanks to its STAB and access to BoltBeam |
| Urshifu Rapid-Strike Style | Ranking: ★★★★★・Faster than Nidoking and can KO with Surging Strikes |
Related Links
All Competitive Builds for Ranked Battle
Competitive Guides for Pokemon Sword and Shield
| Competitive Pokemon Battle Guides | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier List | Best Builds | Series 10 List of Contenders | |||
| Doubles Tier List | Team Building | Rental Teams | |||
Best Builds for The Crown Tundra Pokemon
| Movesets & Best Builds for The Crown Tundra Pokemon | ||
|---|---|---|
| Galarian Articuno | Galarian Zapdos | Galarian Moltres |
| Raikou | Entei | Suicune |
| Articuno | Zapdos | Moltres |
| Tornadus | Thundurus | Landorus |
| Tapu Koko | Tapu Lele | Tapu Bulu |
| Tapu Fini | Regieleki | Regidrago |
| Latios | Latias | Heatran |
| Cresselia | Glastrier | Spectrier |
 Nidoking | Swampert | Dragonite |
| Salamence | Garchomp | Metagross |
| Galarian Slowking | Nihilego | Naganadel |
| Pheromosa | Buzzwole | Celesteela |
| Kartana | Stakataka | Blaziken |
| Kyogre | Yveltal | Xerneas |
| Necrozma (Dusk Mane) | Calyrex (Shadow Rider) | Mewtwo |
| Calyrex (Ice Rider) | Dialga | Lugia |
| Black Kyurem | Zekrom | Ho-Oh |
| Rayquaza | Zygarde | Reshiram |
| White Kyurem | Groudon | Regirock |
| Palkia | Regigigas | Registeel |
| Regice | Giratina | Solgaleo |
| Lunala | Kyurem | Necrozma |
| Uxie | Mesprit | Azelf |
| Calyrex | ||
