Utility
Balanced
540High
85Moderate
BTier

Kingdra's stats are solid on their own, but Swift Swim is what pushes it over the line. It doubles its Speed in rain. Only weak to Dragon and Fairy. Flexible enough to run physical or special sets. A longtime staple going back to Gen 2.

You won't find a real weakness in Kingdra's stat line. It's well-rounded for the Dragon Pokemon, and what it does with that depends on moveset and items. Yields 3 Attack and Sp. Atk and Sp. Def EVs, on a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats
540High
HP75
C
Attack95
B
Defense95
B
Sp. Atk95
B
Sp. Def95
B
Speed85
C
Total540
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Kingdra yields +1 Atk, +1 SpA, +1 SpD
HPAtk+1DefSpA+1SpD+1Spe
Details
Catch45Challenging•Medium Fast1M XP•1.8m / 5'11"•152kg / 335.1 lbs•243Base XP
Pokedex Entries

It lives in caves on the seafloor and creates giant whirlpools every time it moves.

Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl

Kingdra Weakness

Good

Type-wise, Kingdra takes extra damage from Dragon and Fairy. Not many exploitable gaps in the Water/Dragon typing defensive chart. With 75 HP and balanced defenses, Kingdra can afford to eat a neutral hit or two.

4xCriticali
None
2xWeaki
DragonFairy
½xResisti
Steel
¼xResisti
FireWater
0xImmunei
None
STAB (4)i
FireGroundRockDragon
2Weak
3Resist
0Immune
Scorei+1
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesVulnerable
Abilities
Swift SwimDoubles Speed during rain.
SniperStrengthens critical hits to inflict 3× damage rather than 2×.
DampHAPrevents self destruct, explosion, and aftermath from working while the Pokémon is in battle.

Kingdra evolved from Horsea's chain using a trade. It's a non-standard trigger, so check the details below. Breed this form to get Horsea eggs (average hatch time). The evolution from Horsea pushed Kingdra to 540 total stats. Sp.Def saw the largest single gain at +70.

How to Evolve

3 Forms
Horsea
#116Horsea
32
Level 32
Seadra
#117Seadra
Trade + Dragon Scale
Kingdra
#230Kingdra
Stat Comparison 3 Stages
Horsea
Water
Seadra
Water
Kingdra
WaterDragon
HP
30
55+25
75+20
ATK
40
65+25
95+30
DEF
70
95+25
95
SP.ATK
70
95+25
95
SP.DEF
25
45+20
95+50
SPE
60
85+25
85
BST
295C-Tier
440C-Tier+145
540B-Tier+100
ROLE
Balanced
Balanced
Balanced
TYPE
Special
Special
Mixed
Breeding
Very Easy

Breed with Kingdra to get Horsea eggs easily from the Dragon and Water1 egg groups. Notable egg moves include Aurora Beam, Clear Smog, Disable and 6 more.

Egg Groups
DragonWater1
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
9moves

Flying coverage keeps opponents guessing about Kingdra's real targets. Wide Lens provides extra utility while flexible EVs EVs and Modest nature handle the stat profile. Swiftswim ties it together.

Best Build

Special Attacker
Ability
Swiftswim
Item
Wide Lens
Nature
Modest+SPA
EVs

Best Kingdra Moveset

  • Draco MeteorSTAB
  • HurricaneCoverage
  • Muddy WaterSTAB
  • ProtectFAST +4

Recommended Teammates

Politoed
PolitoedGood

Breeding's the move. Aurora Beam and Clear Smog give Kingdra options it can't learn any other way, and Ice and Normal coverage and more already covers a decent range on top of Draco Meteor and Outrage. The egg moves push it further.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Leer
—10030Normal
Lv 1
Smokescreen
—10020Normal
Lv 1
Twister
4010020Dragon
Lv 1
Water Gun
4010025Water
Lv 1
Whirlpool
358515Water
Lv 1
Yawn
——10Normal
Lv 15
Focus Energy
——30Normal
Lv 20
Dragon Breath
6010020Dragon
Lv 25
Bubble Beam
6510020Water
Lv 30
Agility
——30Psychic
Lv 37
Laser Focus
——30Normal
Lv 44
Dragon Pulse
8510010Dragon
Lv 51
Hydro Pump
110805Water
Lv 58
Dragon Dance
——20Dragon
Lv 65
Rain Dance
——5Water

TM Moves

Src
TM45
Attract
—10015Normal
TM14
Blizzard
110705Ice
TM55
Brine
6510010Water
TM32
Double Team
——15Normal
TM59
Dragon Pulse
8510010Dragon
TM58
Endure+4
——10Normal
TM42
Facade
7010020Normal
TM91
Flash Cannon
8010010Steel
TM68
Giga Impact
150905Normal
TM07
Hail
——10Ice
TM15
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM13
Ice Beam
9010010Ice
TM17
Protect+4
——10Normal
TM18
Rain Dance
——5Water
TM44
Rest
——10Psychic
TM49
Scald
8010015Water
TM82
Sleep Talk
——10Normal
TM90
Substitute
——10Normal
TM95
Surf
9010015Water
TM87
Swagger
—8515Normal
TM03
Water Pulse
6010020Water
TM99
Waterfall
8010015Water

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Aurora Beam
6510020Ice
Egg
Clear Smog
50—15Poison
Egg
Disable
—10020Normal
Egg
Dragon Breath
6010020Dragon
Egg
Flail
—10015Normal
Egg
Muddy Water
908510Water
Egg
Octazooka
658510Water
Egg
Outrage
12010010Dragon
Egg
Splash
——40Normal

Tutor Moves

Src
Tutor
Draco Meteor
130905Dragon

The chain to Kingdra requires a trade evolution through a trade. Catch Horsea at solid rates and level through the stages, but line up the trade first. The rest of the chain runs on levels alone.

Trade Evolution Required — Requires trading with another player

How to Obtain Kingdra in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

To get Kingdra, start by catching Horsea through walking and fishing encounters at Lv. 10-63. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.

  1. Horsea
    Step 1Catch Horsea
    Route 226
    Shining PearlGood RodLv.10-2535%EarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 226
    Brilliant DiamondGood RodLv.10-2535%EarlyRoute
    EASY
    Fountainspring Cave
    Brilliant DiamondGrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    Fountainspring Cave
    Shining PearlGrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    Riverbank Cave
    Brilliant DiamondGrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    Riverbank Cave
    Shining PearlGrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    Still-Water Cavern
    Shining PearlGrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    Still-Water Cavern
    Brilliant DiamondGrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
  2. Seadra
    Step 2Catch or Evolve Seadra
    Route 226
    Shining PearlSuper RodLv.30-5535%MidRoute
    EASY
    Route 226
    Brilliant DiamondSuper RodLv.30-5535%MidRoute
    EASY
    or evolve from Horsea (Step 1)
  3. Kingdra
    Step 3Kingdra ✓

  • Kingdra looks average on paper at 540 BST. But Swift Swim is why it sees play — build around that and it pulls its weight. B-Tier on our tier list.

  • Kingdra's biggest threats include Dragonite (Dragon) and Gardevoir (Fairy), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Only 2 weaknesses means fewer dedicated counters to worry about.

  • Seadra evolves into Kingdra while holding a Dragon Scale. Kingdra is the final evolution in a 3-stage line starting from Horsea. At 540 BST, it's got solid stats to work with.

  • Kingdra gets Swift Swim, Sniper, and Damp. But Swift Swim is the one that matters — it's the centerpiece of every viable set. Build around that.

  • Kingdra is leaning toward the physical side (base 95 Attack). Enough bulk to take a hit or two, too. But the speed tells the real story — base 85 Speed is workable — faster than some, slower than many.

  • Kingdra appears in 17 games, including Gold & Silver, Crystal, and Ruby & Sapphire.

Since Gold & Silver, Kingdra has been in 17 games. Requiring a trade evolution to obtain means it's consistently available but requires more effort than simply catching it in the wild.