[SET]
Kingdra @ Choice Specs
Name: Choice Specs (Water)
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid / Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Pulse
- Surf / Hydro Pump
- Hydro Pump / Hurricane / Flip Turn
[SET COMMENTS]
Kingdra is a solid choice of rain sweeper for Water teams, notably helping the type improve its difficult Dragon matchup; its part-Dragon typing also helps the team deal with problematic Grass- and Electric-types like Meowscarada and Raging Bolt. Draco Meteor is an incredibly powerful STAB attack, outright OHKOing the vast majority of Dragon-types and dealing massive neutral damage to other Water-type switch-ins such as Ogerpon-W and Volcanion, both of which are OHKOed after minimal chip damage. Dragon Pulse is a more spammable STAB move that's especially useful for cleaning up weakened teams thanks to its excellent neutral coverage; it's also powerful enough to KO many opposing Dragon-types, such as Latios and Roaring Moon, without prior chip damage, letting Kingdra avoid the exploitable Special Attack drop from Draco Meteor. Surf is the default choice of Water-type STAB move for its reliability, boasting perfect accuracy and still being boosted to obscene levels by rain and Choice Specs; however, Hydro Pump is also quite useful for its extra power against specific targets. For instance, Hydro Pump in rain will always OHKO Kingambit and Choice Specs Flutter Mane as well as 2HKO Articuno and Slowbro, while Surf will never do the same. Hydro Pump is valuable enough that it can viably be run alongside Surf, but the last moveslot has other useful options as well: Hurricane is a useful tool against Grass-types like Amoonguss, Meowscarada, and Ogerpon-W, OHKOing all three after Stealth Rock without incurring the exploitable Special Attack drop from Draco Meteor. Flip Turn is another useful option to pivot out against walls like Blissey and Toxapex, giving Kingdra's teammates easy entry against them. A Timid nature is the default choice for Kingdra, letting it outspeed Regieleki and fast Choice Scarf users like Meowscarada and Roaring Moon in rain, but Modest is a viable option if these threats are sufficiently covered on the defensive side, and a Modest Kingdra is still fast enough to outspeed most Choice Scarf users in rain, notably getting the jump on Latias.
Pelipper is a mandatory teammate for Kingdra, as Kingdra is a fairly mediocre attacker outside of rain. Pelipper's U-turn is also great for pivoting into Kingdra and its other powerful teammates. Several types, such as Normal, Dragon, Psychic, and Ground, rely solely on dedicated special walls like Blissey, Hisuian Goodra, Galarian Slowking, and Water Absorb Clodsire to prevent a Kingdra sweep, so teammates that can deal with these Pokemon are great assets to it. Swords Dance Urshifu-R is a standout example, threatening all of these walls with its powerful Close Combat and coverage options; it can also help deal with Kingambit, which threatens to beat Kingdra in an endgame scenario. Swords Dance Ogerpon-W is another great setup sweeper that can also lure Toxapex and Clodsire with Zen Headbutt, making it far easier for Kingdra to clean up after it. On extremely aggressive rain teams, Barraskewda is potentially useful to form a double Swift Swim core with Kingdra, beating the aforementioned special walls with its powerful Choice Band-boosted attacks; it especially enjoys Kingdra being able to annihilate Grass-types with Hurricane or a Dragon-type move. Stealth Rock support is a must-have for Kingdra, as many of its important damage benchmarks rely on its chip damage. Swampert and Empoleon are both reliable Stealth Rock setters that also provide a ton of defensive utility: the former threatens Poison-type walls and reduces the pressure on Kingdra to deal with Electric-types, and the latter switches into Fairy-type revenge killers like Flutter Mane and Alolan Ninetales for it. Both of these Pokemon can also use Knock Off to remove Heavy-Duty Boots from common walls like Toxapex, and their access to Flip Turn lets them pivot into Kingdra easily. Choice Scarf Hisuian Samurott is a welcome teammate for Kingdra thanks to its great coverage and utility; Ceaseless Edge generates entry hazard pressure and scares Galarian Slowking, Knock Off removes Leftovers and Heavy-Duty Boots from various walls, and Sacred Sword threatens problematic Kingdra checks like Kingambit, Blissey, and Hisuian Goodra. While having a Choice Scarf user alongside a Swift Swim user may seem redundant, it's useful as a backup form of speed control for when rain isn't active. Since Kingdra has a tendency to get worn down by hazards if the game doesn't wrap up quickly, Rain Dish Tentacruel can be a useful teammate for the Rapid Spin support it provides, and its excellent special bulk also makes it a great answer to threats like Flutter Mane and Hydrapple. Although it's hard to fit and shares some checks with Kingdra, Choice Specs Greninja is a massive threat that's helpful for overloading special walls alongside it, threatening to 2HKO Clodsire and Galarian Slowking with Ice Beam and Dark Pulse, respectively, and it can put major pressure on Fairy-types like Clefable and Azumarill with Sludge Wave.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Water
--------
Scald is an alternative choice of Water-type STAB move that sacrifices some power compared to Surf, but in exchange, it can potentially hinder common switch-ins like Articuno and Hisuian Goodra with its burn chance, making them shakier checks later on. Ice Beam is an option to hit Water Absorb Clodsire super effectively, but it fails to score a 2HKO, making it hard to justify without heavy entry hazard support.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/stupidflandrs48.633500/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/boomp.637295/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/neko.542526/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
Kingdra @ Choice Specs
Name: Choice Specs (Water)
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid / Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Pulse
- Surf / Hydro Pump
- Hydro Pump / Hurricane / Flip Turn
[SET COMMENTS]
Kingdra is a solid choice of rain sweeper for Water teams, notably helping the type improve its difficult Dragon matchup; its part-Dragon typing also helps the team deal with problematic Grass- and Electric-types like Meowscarada and Raging Bolt. Draco Meteor is an incredibly powerful STAB attack, outright OHKOing the vast majority of Dragon-types and dealing massive neutral damage to other Water-type switch-ins such as Ogerpon-W and Volcanion, both of which are OHKOed after minimal chip damage. Dragon Pulse is a more spammable STAB move that's especially useful for cleaning up weakened teams thanks to its excellent neutral coverage; it's also powerful enough to KO many opposing Dragon-types, such as Latios and Roaring Moon, without prior chip damage, letting Kingdra avoid the exploitable Special Attack drop from Draco Meteor. Surf is the default choice of Water-type STAB move for its reliability, boasting perfect accuracy and still being boosted to obscene levels by rain and Choice Specs; however, Hydro Pump is also quite useful for its extra power against specific targets. For instance, Hydro Pump in rain will always OHKO Kingambit and Choice Specs Flutter Mane as well as 2HKO Articuno and Slowbro, while Surf will never do the same. Hydro Pump is valuable enough that it can viably be run alongside Surf, but the last moveslot has other useful options as well: Hurricane is a useful tool against Grass-types like Amoonguss, Meowscarada, and Ogerpon-W, OHKOing all three after Stealth Rock without incurring the exploitable Special Attack drop from Draco Meteor. Flip Turn is another useful option to pivot out against walls like Blissey and Toxapex, giving Kingdra's teammates easy entry against them. A Timid nature is the default choice for Kingdra, letting it outspeed Regieleki and fast Choice Scarf users like Meowscarada and Roaring Moon in rain, but Modest is a viable option if these threats are sufficiently covered on the defensive side, and a Modest Kingdra is still fast enough to outspeed most Choice Scarf users in rain, notably getting the jump on Latias.
Pelipper is a mandatory teammate for Kingdra, as Kingdra is a fairly mediocre attacker outside of rain. Pelipper's U-turn is also great for pivoting into Kingdra and its other powerful teammates. Several types, such as Normal, Dragon, Psychic, and Ground, rely solely on dedicated special walls like Blissey, Hisuian Goodra, Galarian Slowking, and Water Absorb Clodsire to prevent a Kingdra sweep, so teammates that can deal with these Pokemon are great assets to it. Swords Dance Urshifu-R is a standout example, threatening all of these walls with its powerful Close Combat and coverage options; it can also help deal with Kingambit, which threatens to beat Kingdra in an endgame scenario. Swords Dance Ogerpon-W is another great setup sweeper that can also lure Toxapex and Clodsire with Zen Headbutt, making it far easier for Kingdra to clean up after it. On extremely aggressive rain teams, Barraskewda is potentially useful to form a double Swift Swim core with Kingdra, beating the aforementioned special walls with its powerful Choice Band-boosted attacks; it especially enjoys Kingdra being able to annihilate Grass-types with Hurricane or a Dragon-type move. Stealth Rock support is a must-have for Kingdra, as many of its important damage benchmarks rely on its chip damage. Swampert and Empoleon are both reliable Stealth Rock setters that also provide a ton of defensive utility: the former threatens Poison-type walls and reduces the pressure on Kingdra to deal with Electric-types, and the latter switches into Fairy-type revenge killers like Flutter Mane and Alolan Ninetales for it. Both of these Pokemon can also use Knock Off to remove Heavy-Duty Boots from common walls like Toxapex, and their access to Flip Turn lets them pivot into Kingdra easily. Choice Scarf Hisuian Samurott is a welcome teammate for Kingdra thanks to its great coverage and utility; Ceaseless Edge generates entry hazard pressure and scares Galarian Slowking, Knock Off removes Leftovers and Heavy-Duty Boots from various walls, and Sacred Sword threatens problematic Kingdra checks like Kingambit, Blissey, and Hisuian Goodra. While having a Choice Scarf user alongside a Swift Swim user may seem redundant, it's useful as a backup form of speed control for when rain isn't active. Since Kingdra has a tendency to get worn down by hazards if the game doesn't wrap up quickly, Rain Dish Tentacruel can be a useful teammate for the Rapid Spin support it provides, and its excellent special bulk also makes it a great answer to threats like Flutter Mane and Hydrapple. Although it's hard to fit and shares some checks with Kingdra, Choice Specs Greninja is a massive threat that's helpful for overloading special walls alongside it, threatening to 2HKO Clodsire and Galarian Slowking with Ice Beam and Dark Pulse, respectively, and it can put major pressure on Fairy-types like Clefable and Azumarill with Sludge Wave.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Water
--------
Scald is an alternative choice of Water-type STAB move that sacrifices some power compared to Surf, but in exchange, it can potentially hinder common switch-ins like Articuno and Hisuian Goodra with its burn chance, making them shakier checks later on. Ice Beam is an option to hit Water Absorb Clodsire super effectively, but it fails to score a 2HKO, making it hard to justify without heavy entry hazard support.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/stupidflandrs48.633500/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/boomp.637295/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/neko.542526/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
Last edited:
Who's laughing now, Dragon spammers
