God those calcs tho. Waterfall Kingler would be a major threat in the meta due to its raw power and the ability to set up on literally every Ground-type in the tier that isn't Torterra, as well as a plethora of physical attackers due to its decent Defense. Waterfall, boosted by Sheer Force, is extremely powerful and 100% accurate, which is already an amazing plus over Crabhammer. This, coupled with Kingler's near perfect coverage with Water-type STAB and Return alone, make it very hard to stop if it gets a boost in Agility or Swords Dance, or quite possibly both. Kingler would easily become one of the best cleaners in the tier, easily sweeping up the opposition. I could see it being a fantastic partner for Choiced Charizard, who is fantastic at completely dismantling the walls that Kingler can't bust through, such as Alomomola, as easily as others.
So, I got a question that may or may not solve one of Kingler's issues, that being coverage (though he doesn't really have major problems with it).
What if Kingler got Dragon Dance?
While it may be odd to give a crab Dragon Dance, it is flavorful in that crabs tend to 'dance' with their claws to both attract mates and while fighting other crabs for dominance. I would make an argument for Crawdaunt also getting it, but Crawdaunt's sorta a crawdad, not a crab :x
Dragon Dance for Kingler solves some issues for Kingler, but also leaves some things to be desired. For one, Kingler can now boost its Speed and Attack in one turn, instead of spending 2 max to boost both stats. While it's not boosting to +2 in the respective stat in a turn, it is extremely useful if you need extra power and speed, and are crunched for turns, which is common in many late-game situations in NU. Kingler can now also run a coverage move that allows it to smack the Grass-types that give it trouble, such as Tangela, Tropius, and Cradily (I should also mention that this Theorymon is building off of the Kingler getting Waterfall Theorymon.). I would personally run X-Scissor if given the extra moveslot, but another good option is Rock Slide, which deals heavy damage, accompanied by a Sheer Force boost.
There are problems with Dragon Dance Kingler, however; it still needs more than at turn of setup to hit the speed it needs to and net the OHKOs it wants to net. +1/+1 Kingler is still not so fast/not so powerful, so you'll need 2 boosts for the most part. On the double dance set, the option of one of the other allows you to either boost your speed to +2 and clean up, or go to +2 attack and bust through sturdy walls mid-game. While it is a cool tool, Kingler still would like the option to boost one or the other stat giving the situation.
So, I got a question that may or may not solve one of Kingler's issues, that being coverage (though he doesn't really have major problems with it).
What if Kingler got Dragon Dance?
While it may be odd to give a crab Dragon Dance, it is flavorful in that crabs tend to 'dance' with their claws to both attract mates and while fighting other crabs for dominance. I would make an argument for Crawdaunt also getting it, but Crawdaunt's sorta a crawdad, not a crab :x
Dragon Dance for Kingler solves some issues for Kingler, but also leaves some things to be desired. For one, Kingler can now boost its Speed and Attack in one turn, instead of spending 2 max to boost both stats. While it's not boosting to +2 in the respective stat in a turn, it is extremely useful if you need extra power and speed, and are crunched for turns, which is common in many late-game situations in NU. Kingler can now also run a coverage move that allows it to smack the Grass-types that give it trouble, such as Tangela, Tropius, and Cradily (I should also mention that this Theorymon is building off of the Kingler getting Waterfall Theorymon.). I would personally run X-Scissor if given the extra moveslot, but another good option is Rock Slide, which deals heavy damage, accompanied by a Sheer Force boost.
There are problems with Dragon Dance Kingler, however; it still needs more than at turn of setup to hit the speed it needs to and net the OHKOs it wants to net. +1/+1 Kingler is still not so fast/not so powerful, so you'll need 2 boosts for the most part. On the double dance set, the option of one of the other allows you to either boost your speed to +2 and clean up, or go to +2 attack and bust through sturdy walls mid-game. While it is a cool tool, Kingler still would like the option to boost one or the other stat giving the situation.