In-battle formes
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| HP: | 75 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Attack: | 95 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Defense: | 95 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sp. Atk: | 95 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sp. Def: | 95 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Speed: | 85 |
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Strategies
- en
Overview
Kingdra's incredible speed in the rain thanks to Swift Swim, unique typing, and access to the spread move Muddy Water make it a top choice for a rain team. It is an exceptional late-game sweeper when backed by the rain boost due to the STAB Water-type spread move combined with its quite decent Special Attack stat. Kingdra's unique typing also gives it many benefits; traditional Water-type checks such as Kyurem-B and Hydreigon are blown back by its secondary STAB move, and defensively, the typing only leaves it with two weaknesses while giving it handy resistances to common attacking types like Water and Fire. However, Kingdra has very mediocre stats across the board, including both defenses. It is wide open to being sniped by priority attacks such as Talonflame's Brave Bird and Bisharp's Sucker Punch after only a bit of prior damage. It also faces competition from other common Swift Swim users such as Ludicolo and Mega Swampert; the former can break past bulky Water-types, the bane of Kingdra, and the latter is immune to Thunder Wave, which cripples Kingdra for the entirety of the match. Finally, Kingdra is nearly worthless without its preferred field conditions intact. If it is not raining or the opponent has the speed advantage from using Trick Room or Tailwind, Kingdra is completely ineffective.
Rain Attacker
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Moves
Muddy Water functions as Kingdra's primary STAB move, dealing significant damage under the rain to neutral targets while also OHKOing many Fire-, Ground-, and Rock-types such as Heatran, Landorus-T, and Terrakion. It also has a 30% chance to drop accuracy, which is useful for having a chance to avoid attacks from slower enemies. Draco Meteor is Kingdra's powerful secondary STAB attack that covers the Dragon-types such as Kyurem-B and Hydreigon that resist Muddy Water. It also dents Pokemon such as Amoonguss and Volcanion that can take Water-type attacks with ease. Hydro Pump is a single-target move that nukes anything it hits, which is useful for finishing off Pokemon that are not in the range for Muddy Water. Because it is not a spread attack, it hits the foes through Wide Guard's protection, allowing Kingdra to hit the common users, Conkeldurr and Aegislash, for massive damage. Protect is a staple move in Doubles, giving Kingdra the ability to stall out field conditions like Trick Room and allowing its partner to improve Kingdra's position. Substitute is a potential option that makes Kingdra exponentially more difficult to deal with. This shields it from status and allows it to avoid getting hit by Sucker Punch from Pokemon like Bisharp and Mega Kangaskhan, as well as taking a strong hit for Kingdra.
Set Details
As an offensive powerhouse, Kingdra needs all the investment it can get into Special Attack, so it opts for as much power as possible as well as a Modest nature. Maximum Speed investment is used to tie with opposing Kingdra and outspeed positive-natured base 70s like Breloom when rain is not up or when the opposition is under Tailwind. Swift Swim gives Kingdra the speed necessary to function well. Life Orb allows Kingdra to hit harder while retaining the ability to switch up moves, which is valuable for a late-game cleaner that needs to position itself well on the field with Protect. 152 HP / 160 SpA / 60 SpD / 136 Spe is an option for a more bulky spread with Substitute. This EV spread lets Kingdra's Substitutes survive an Amoonguss Giga Drain while still outspeeding neutral-natured base 70s outside of rain.
Usage Tips
Due to its insane power, spread, and lack of drawbacks, Muddy Water is the main attack Kingdra will be using unless it desperately needs to KO a certain Pokemon currently on the field. Be very wary of using Draco Meteor, as having to switch Kingdra out or leave in a crippled one can lead to a huge loss of momentum. Using Draco Meteor on a switch-in that resists it also gives up a ton of momentum. Note that -2 Kingdra is still a threat with its Water-type moves. Try to save Kingdra for the late-game, as it is very hard for a weakened team to be able to tank rain-boosted Muddy Waters, but make sure priority users such as Talonflame and Thundurus are out of the way first. Sacrificing Politoed after rain has run out in the late-game for a free switch in to Kingdra tends to be an effective maneuver, as it leaves Kingdra untouched with five or eight fresh turns of rain. If using Substitute, attempt to set up it on predicted Protects or Sucker Punches, which are especially easy to predict when the opponent is stalling out rain turns.
Team Options
Politoed is mandatory with Kingdra, as it provides rain with its ability. Its access to Helping Hand can help Kingdra sweep, and its own Water-type attacks can weaken Kingdra's checks for later. Mega Gengar traps problematic Grass-types with Shadow Tag to get rid of them and can help trap other weather setters like Mega Charizard Y and Abomasnow. Though a somewhat rare situation, it can also prevent the opponent from pivoting around to lure Kingdra into dropping its Special Attack with Draco Meteor. Teammates that take out threats to Kingdra such as Mega Charizard Y and Talonflame are appreciated. Some examples include Terrakion and Mega Diancie. Kingdra requires teammates that can break down bulky Water-types like Suicune. Electric- and Grass-types such as Thundurus and Mega Venusaur work quite well.
Other Options
Scald is a more reliable option to Hydro Pump with an additional chance to burn but lacks the immediate power that Kingdra desires. Similarly, Dragon Pulse is a more reliable Dragon-type STAB move but suffers the same drawback as Scald. Lum Berry is an option to prevent status, specifically paralysis from Thunder Wave users such as Thundurus. Disable disrupts the opponent's move choices and works quite well with Politoed's common support move of Encore, forcing the foe to Struggle, and Mega Gengar's Shadow Tag ability, disallowing the ability to switch. Ice Beam finishes off weakened Amoonguss without forcing Kingdra to incur Draco Meteor's Special Attack drop but suffers from having largely redundant coverage. Splash Plate increases the power of Kingdra's most spammable option while keeping it healthy and out of range of strong priority, though it gives Kingdra less power and does not boost Draco Meteor's damage output.
Checks and Counters:
Grass-types: Bulky Grass-types like Ferrothorn and Amoonguss switch into Water-type attacks with ease and are generally Kingdra's best counters, retaliating with Power Whip and Spore, respectively.
Water-types: Kingdra struggles to break through bulky Water-types such as Suicune and Assault Vest Ludicolo, which can proceed to threaten Kingdra or its partner in return.
Fairy-types: Fairy-types such as Sylveon and Azumarill can switch into Draco Meteor thanks to their immunity and stomach a Water-type attack while retaliating with a STAB Fairy-type move.
Opposing Weather: When the rain is not up, Kingdra struggles to do anything meaningful to the opposing team, as it loses out on the Swift Swim speed boost. Weather setters such as Mega Charizard Y and Abomasnow, while being directly threatened by Kingdra's strong attacks, are very annoying to deal with, as they get rid of Kingdra's most valuable asset.
Paralysis, Tailwind, and Trick Room: The most effective way of preventing a Kingdra from barreling through a team is a Prankster Thunder Wave from a Pokemon such as Thundurus. A paralyzed Kingdra is unable to do its job and can be easily KOed due to its mediocre defenses. Trick Room, coming from Pokemon such as Cresselia and Reuniclus, and Tailwind, used commonly by Suicune and Hydreigon, also mess with its Speed advantage and prevent it from cleaning up late-game.
Priority Attacks: Due to Kingdra's mediocre defenses, it is unable to clean up late-game when threatened by strong priority attacks such as Talonflame's Brave Bird and Bisharp's Sucker Punch.
