Special
Support
540High
85Moderate
CTier

Kingdra doesn't stand out in any single area, but it gets the job done for in-game teams. Only weak to Dragon. Been around since Gen 2. Flexible enough to run physical or special sets. It sits at a decent but contested Speed tier.

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 stat exp, 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 stores energy by sleeping at underwater depths at which no other life forms can survive.

Crystal

Kingdra Weakness

Excellent

Type-wise, Kingdra takes extra damage from Dragon. 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.

Gen II Type Chart
  • Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
  • Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
  • Special stat split into Sp.Atk and Sp.Def
4xCriticali
None
2xWeaki
Dragon
½xResisti
Steel
¼xResisti
FireWater
0xImmunei
None
STAB (4)i
FireGroundRockDragon
1Weak
3Resist
0Immune
Scorei+3
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 using 13 partners from the Dragon and Water1 egg groups. Notable egg moves include Aurora Beam, Disable, Dragon Rage and 3 more.

Egg Groups
DragonWater1
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
6moves
Breed With (best first)
gyaradosazumarillcharizardkingdrablastoisegolduckferaligatrslowbroslowkingoctillerydewgongarbok
12 of 13·

Best Build

Utility
Ability
Not in Gen 2
Item
LeftoversSUSTAIN
Nature
Not in Gen 2

Best Kingdra Moveset

  • SurfSTAB
  • Ice Beam
  • Dragon BreathSTAB
  • RestRecovery

Recommended Teammates

Snorlax
SnorlaxGood
Dragonite
DragoniteDecent

Breeding's the move. Aurora Beam and Disable give Kingdra options it can't learn any other way, and Ice and Normal coverage already covers a decent range on top of Hydro Pump and Surf. The egg moves push it further.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Bubble
2010030Water
Lv 1
Leer
—10030Normal
Lv 1
Smokescreen
—10020Normal
Lv 1
Water Gun
4010025Water
Lv 8
Smokescreen
—10020Normal
Lv 15
Leer
—10030Normal
Lv 22
Water Gun
4010025Water
Lv 29
Twister
4010020Dragon
Lv 40
Agility
——30Psychic
Lv 51
Hydro Pump
120805Water

TM Moves

Src
TM45
Attract
—10015Normal
TM14
Blizzard
120705Ice
TM03
Curse
——10Ghost
TM32
Double Team
——15Normal
TM24
Dragon Breath
6010020Dragon
TM20
Endure+4
——10Normal
TM21
Frustration
—10020Normal
TM02
Headbutt
7010015Normal
TM10
Hidden Power
6010015Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM16
Icy Wind
559515Ice
TM17
Protect+4
——10Normal
TM18
Rain Dance
——5Water
TM44
Rest
——10Psychic
TM27
Return
—10020Normal
TM35
Sleep Talk
——10Normal
TM13
Snore
4010015Normal
HM03
Surf
9510015Water
TM34
Swagger
—8515Normal
TM39
Swift
60—20Normal
TM06
Toxic
—8510Poison
HM07
Waterfall
8010015Water
HM06
Whirlpool
358515Water

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Aurora Beam
6510020Ice
Egg
Disable
—5520Normal
Egg
Dragon Rage
—10010Dragon
Egg
Flail
—10015Normal
Egg
Octazooka
658510Water
Egg
Splash
——40Normal

Tutor Moves

Src
Tutor
Ice Beam
9510010Ice

Kingdra's 3-stage chain starts with Horsea, which appears at solid rates in the locations below. Level through 3 stages while you find a trade partner. Everything except the trade step is solo.

Trade Evolution Required — Requires trading with another player

How to Obtain Kingdra in Crystal

Horsea is your first catch on the way to Kingdra. You'll find fishing and surfing encounters from Lv. 15-40 across 13 total spots in the chain.

  1. Horsea
    Step 1Catch Horsea
    Whirl Islands - 1F
    Surfing on waterLv.15-19CommonEarlyWater
    EASY
    Whirl Islands - B2F
    Surfing on waterLv.15-24CommonEarlyWater
    EASY
    Whirl Islands - B2F Inner Cave
    Surfing on waterLv.15-24CommonEarlyWater
    EASY
    Whirl Islands - 1F
    Good RodLv.20UncommonMidWater
    MODERATE
    Whirl Islands - B2F
    Good RodLv.20UncommonMidWater
    MODERATE
    Whirl Islands - B2F Inner Cave
    Good RodLv.20UncommonMidWater
    MODERATE
    Whirl Islands - 1F
    Super RodLv.40CommonLateWater
    EASY
    Whirl Islands - B2F
    Super RodLv.40CommonLateWater
    EASY
    Whirl Islands - B2F Inner Cave
    Super RodLv.40CommonLateWater
    EASY
  2. Seadra
    Step 2Catch or Evolve Seadra
    Whirl Islands - B2F Inner Cave
    Surfing on waterLv.20-24UncommonMidWater
    MODERATE
    Whirl Islands - 1F
    Super RodLv.40UncommonLateWater
    MODERATE
    Whirl Islands - B2F
    Super RodLv.40UncommonLateWater
    MODERATE
    Whirl Islands - B2F Inner Cave
    Super RodLv.40UncommonLateWater
    MODERATE
    or evolve from Horsea (Step 1)
  3. Kingdra
    Step 3Kingdra ✓

  • Kingdra works as a support with 540 BST behind it. C-Tier on our list — a situational pick that fills a niche.

  • Kingdra's biggest threats include Dragonite (Dragon), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Only 1 weakness 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 is a special attacker with base 95 Sp. Atk. 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. Fits the support role.

  • 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.