Is Kingler Good in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Playthrough?
Physical Water attacker with 130 Attack. Crabhammer hits like a truck. Handles Roark, Flint, and Byron. Fragile on the special side, so keep it away from Lucian and Cynthia's special attackers.
Krabby resists most of Roark's coverage and hits back hard.
Krabby trades roughly evenly with Gardenia's team.
Krabby has the type edge here and should clean up Maylene's team.
Krabby trades roughly evenly with Crasher Wake's team.
Krabby has the type edge here and should clean up Fantina's team.
Krabby has the type edge here and should clean up Byron's team.
Krabby has the type edge here and should clean up Candice's team.
Krabby trades roughly evenly with Volkner's team.
Kingler has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Kingler has the type edge here and should clean up Bertha's team.
Kingler has the type edge here and should clean up Flint's team.
Kingler trades roughly evenly with Lucian's team.
Kingler trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Catch Krabby on Route 226 (walking, Lv 52, common). Swarm.
Your Krabby should hit Level 28 before you reach Aaron, at typical leveling pace.
How to Get Kingler in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
No wild encounters for Kingler. The 2-stage line runs through Krabby, which you can catch at solid rates from the locations below. Evolve at level 28 once you've got the levels.
How to Obtain Kingler in BDSP
The path to Kingler starts with Krabby at Lv. 52-63 via walking encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.
Step 1Catch KrabbyRoute 226Lv.52GrassRate 40%Swarm activeDazzling CaveLv.58-63CavePost-gameSpacious CaveLv.58-63CavePost-gameStargleam CavernLv.58-63CavePost-game
Step 2Kingler ✓
Kingler Weakness
Kingler's Water typing leaves it vulnerable to Electric and Grass. It resists 4 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. Kingler's physical bulk (base 115 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Grass |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Ice, Steel |
What is Kingler Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Kingler
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
 Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
 Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
 Cacturne GrassDark | C | |
 Abomasnow GrassIce | C | |
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Rillaboom's U-turn hits Kingler for 35-41%. Regieleki threatens a KO with Thunderbolt (255-300%).
 Rillaboom Grass | A | |
Recommended Build AbilityGrassy Surge ItemChoice Band NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Kingler View Rillaboom builds →Knock Off33-39% U Turn35-41% | ||
 Regieleki Electric | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityTransistor ItemChoice Specs NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Kingler View Regieleki builds →Volt Switch 2x198-233%KO Thunderbolt 2x255-300%KO Rapid Spin10-12% | ||
Kingler Evolutions
Kingler is the evolved form of Krabby. Breeding produces Krabby eggs, and they're average hatch time. Evolving from Krabby gave Kingler the biggest boost in HP (+25), bringing the total to 475 stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Kingler to get Krabby eggs easily using 21 partners from the Water3 egg group. Notable egg moves include Agility, Ally Switch, Amnesia and 9 more.
BDSP Kingler Best Moveset
Held C-tier with 130 Attack and hidden AbilitySheer Force adding 30% power to moves with secondary effects. Water TermStab at that Attack behind the boost hits extremely hard physically. The moveset runs raw power at 75 Speed, but 55/50/50 across HP, Sp. Atk, and Sp. Def fold to special attackers.
Best Build
Kingler best EVs are Attack and Defense
Physical Tank Moveset
- Knock Off
- Liquidation
- Swords Dance
- High Horsepower
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
You'll want to breed for Agility and Ally Switch on Kingler. These egg moves aren't just nice to have. Combined with STAB from Crabhammer and Surf, they expand what Kingler can actually threaten in practice.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
The larger pincer has 10,000-horsepower strength. However, it is so heavy, it is difficult to aim.
Kingler Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Guide
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Don't let Kingler's 475 base stat total fool you. Sheer Force is what makes it tick. It punches way above its weight class. We rate it B-Tier as a wallbreaker. Knock Off with Life Orb is the standard set.
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Run Sheer Force on Kingler. It's the ability that defines how you build around it and the main reason it holds a competitive niche. Kingler also gets Hyper Cutter and Shell Armor, but they don't compare. On wall sets, Sheer Force pairs with Kingler's base 115 Defense to absorb physical hits on the switch.
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Kingler fills the wallbreaker role. It's a physical attacker with base 130 Attack. Base 75 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many. And it's enough bulk to take a hit or two.
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, run Knock Off, Liquidation, Swords Dance, and Highhorsepower on Kingler. Knock Off is the most common pick at 0% usage. Liquidation provides reliable STAB damage.
Game Availability
Kingler first appeared in Red & Blue and spans 20 games across 10 generations. It later gained a Gigantamax form in Generation 8, adding new dimensions to its competitive identity.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwShGigantamax
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves