Physical
Attacker
505High
85Moderate
CTier

Electric moves don't affect Nidoking at all — that's the advantage of Poison/Ground typing. Sheer Force drops secondary effects for a straight power boost. Known as the Drill Pokemon. Flexible enough to run physical or special sets.

Attack and Sp. Atk carry most of Nidoking's stat budget. Sp. Def's the obvious dump stat. Tough to catch and yields 3 Attack EVs. Follows a 1.06M XP medium-slow curve.

Base Stats
505High
HP81
C
Attack102
B
Defense77
C
Sp. Atk85
C
Sp. Def75
C
Speed85
C
Total505
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Nidoking yields +3 Atk
HPAtk+3DefSpASpDSpe
Details
Catch45Challenging•Medium Slow1.06M XP•1.4m / 4'07"•62kg / 136.7 lbs•227Base XP
Pokedex Entries

It is recognized by its rock-hard hide and its extended horn. Be careful with the horn as it contains venom.

Fire Red

It uses its powerful tail in battle to smash, constrict, then break the prey’s bones.

Leaf Green

Nidoking Weakness

Avg

Type-wise, Nidoking takes extra damage from Water, Ice, Ground, and Psychic. Electric moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity. 4 resistances help offset the weaknesses.

Gen III Type Chart
  • Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
  • Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
4xCriticali
None
2xWeaki
WaterIceGroundPsychic
½xResisti
FightingBugRock
¼xResisti
Poison
0xImmunei
Electric
STAB (6)i
GrassFireElectricPoisonRockSteel
4Weak
4Resist
1Immune
Scorei0
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesAbsorbs on switch
Abilities
Poison PointHas a 30% chance of poisoning attacking Pokémon on contact.
RivalryIncreases damage inflicted to 1.25× against Pokémon of the same gender, but decreases damage to 0.75× against the opposite gender.
Sheer ForceHAStrengthens moves with extra effects to 1.3× their power, but prevents their extra effects.

Getting Nidoking requires an evolution item, not just grinding levels. The chain starts at Nidoran♂ (male). Breed this form to get Nidoran♂ (male) eggs (average hatch time). Attack grew the most through evolution (+45 over Nidoran M), and Nidoking peaks at 505 total stats.

How to Evolve

3 Forms
Nidoran♂ (male)
#032Nidoran♂ (male)
16
Level 16
Nidorino
#033Nidorino
Moon Stone
Nidoking
#034Nidoking
Stat Comparison 3 Stages
Nidoran♂ (male)
Poison
Nidorino
Poison
Nidoking
PoisonGround
HP
46
61+15
81+20
ATK
57
72+15
102+30
DEF
40
57+17
77+20
SP.ATK
40
55+15
85+30
SP.DEF
40
55+15
75+20
SPE
50
65+15
85+20
BST
273D-Tier
365D-Tier+92
505C-Tier+140
ROLE
Balanced
Balanced
Attacker
TYPE
Utility
Physical
Mixed
Breeding
Moderate

Breed with Nidoking to get Nidoran M eggs using 102 partners from the Ground and Monster egg groups. Notable egg moves include Amnesia, Beat Up, Confusion and 4 more.

Egg Groups
GroundMonster
Gender
♂100.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
7moves
Breed With (best first)
raichupikachunidokinggolduckampharosvenusaurcharizardblastoisemeganiumferaligatrsceptileswampert
12 of 102·

Poison Point helps Nidoking stick around while dealing real damage. Leftovers for passive recovery each turn, a spread EV build EVs for the right balance, and Earthquake as the main threat. Not the fastest, but it doesn't need to be.

Best Build

Utility
Ability
Poison Point
Item
LeftoversSUSTAIN
Nature
Rash+SPA
EVs

Best Nidoking Moveset

  • EarthquakeSTAB
  • Ice Beam
  • Fire Blast
  • Sludge BombSTAB

Recommended Teammates

Tyranitar
TyranitarDecent
Aerodactyl
AerodactylDecent
Zapdos
ZapdosDecent

Hard to wall, honestly. Nidoking threatens 13 types beyond its own STAB, with Fighting and Flying standing out. Pair that with Earthquake and Sludge Bomb and switchins need to think twice.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Double Kick
3010030Fighting
Lv 1
Focus Energy
——30Normal
Lv 1
Peck
3510035Flying
Lv 1
Poison Sting
1510035Poison
Lv 22
Thrash
12010020Normal
Lv 43
Megahorn
1208510Bug

TM Moves

Src
TM45
Attract
—10015Normal
TM14
Blizzard
120705Ice
TM31
Brick Break
7510015Fighting
HM01
Cut
509530Normal
TM28
Dig
6010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
——15Normal
TM26
Earthquake
10010010Ground
TM42
Facade
7010020Normal
TM38
Fire Blast
120855Fire
TM35
Flamethrower
9510015Fire
TM01
Focus Punch-3
15010020Fighting
TM21
Frustration
—10020Normal
TM10
Hidden Power
6010015Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM13
Ice Beam
9510010Ice
TM23
Iron Tail
1007515Steel
TM17
Protect+4
——10Normal
TM18
Rain Dance
——5Water
TM44
Rest
——10Psychic
TM27
Return
—10020Normal
TM05
Roar-6
——20Normal
HM06
Rock Smash
2010015Fighting
TM39
Rock Tomb
609510Rock
TM37
Sandstorm
——10Rock
TM43
Secret Power
7010020Normal
TM30
Shadow Ball
8010015Ghost
TM34
Shock Wave
60—20Electric
TM36
Sludge Bomb
9010010Poison
HM04
Strength
8010015Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
——5Fire
HM03
Surf
9510015Water
TM12
Taunt
—10020Dark
TM46
Thief
6010025Dark
TM25
Thunder
1207010Electric
TM24
Thunderbolt
9510015Electric
TM41
Torment
—10015Dark
TM06
Toxic
—8510Poison
TM03
Water Pulse
6010020Water

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Amnesia
——20Psychic
Egg
Beat Up
—10010Dark
Egg
Confusion
5010025Psychic
Egg
Counter-5
—10020Fighting
Egg
Disable
—5520Normal
Egg
Supersonic
—5520Normal
Egg
Take Down
908520Normal

Tutor Moves

Src
Tutor
Body Slam
8510015Normal
Tutor
Counter-5
—10020Fighting
Tutor
Double-Edge
12010015Normal
Tutor
Mega Kick
120755Normal
Tutor
Mega Punch
808520Normal
Tutor
Mimic
——10Normal
Tutor
Rock Slide
759010Rock
Tutor
Seismic Toss
—10020Fighting
Tutor
Substitute
——10Normal

Reminder Moves

Src
Rem
Flatter
—10015Dark
Rem
Fury Attack
158520Normal
Rem
Helping Hand+5
——20Normal
Rem
Horn Attack
6510025Normal
Rem
Horn Drill
—305Normal
Rem
Leer
—10030Normal

No wild encounters for Nidoking. The 3-stage chain runs through Nidoran♂ (male), which you can catch at decent rates from the locations below. Evolve through a special method once you've got the levels.

How to Obtain Nidoking in FireRed & LeafGreen

Nidoran♂ (male) is your first catch on the way to Nidoking. You'll find walking and trade encounters from Lv. 6-33 across 17 total spots in the chain.

  1. Nidoran♂ (male)
    Step 1Catch Nidoran♂ (male)
    Route 3
    FireRedGrassLv.6-7UncommonEarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 3
    LeafGreenGrassLv.6RareEarlyRoute
    CHALLENGING
    Safari Zone - Center
    FireRedGrassLv.22UncommonMidFacility
    EASY
    Safari Zone - West
    FireRedGrassLv.22UncommonMidFacility
    EASY
    Safari Zone - East
    FireRedGrassLv.24UncommonMidFacility
    EASY
    Safari Zone - North
    FireRedGrassLv.30UncommonMidFacility
    EASY
    Safari Zone - East
    LeafGreenGrassLv.24RareMidFacility
    CHALLENGING
    Safari Zone - West
    LeafGreenGrassLv.30RareMidFacility
    CHALLENGING
    Route 5
    LeafGreenIn-game tradeLimitedRouteTrade for (give Nidoran♀)
    LEGENDARY
    Underground Path 5-6
    LeafGreenIn-game tradeLimitedRouteTrade for (give Nidoran♀)
    LEGENDARY
  2. Nidorino
    Step 2Catch or Evolve Nidorino
    Safari Zone - North
    FireRedGrassLv.30UncommonMidFacility
    EASY
    Safari Zone - West
    FireRedGrassLv.30UncommonMidFacility
    EASY
    Safari Zone - North
    LeafGreenGrassLv.30RareMidFacility
    CHALLENGING
    Safari Zone - Center
    FireRedGrassLv.31UncommonLateFacility
    EASY
    Safari Zone - East
    FireRedGrassLv.33UncommonLateFacility
    EASY
    Safari Zone - Center
    LeafGreenGrassLv.31RareLateFacility
    CHALLENGING
    Route 11
    LeafGreenIn-game tradeLimitedRouteTrade for (give Nidorina)
    LEGENDARY
    or evolve from Nidoran♂ (male) (Step 1)
  3. Nidoking
    Step 3Nidoking ✓

  • Sheer Force changes the entire equation for Nidoking. The 505 BST doesn't tell the full story. Ranked C-Tier as an attacker.

  • Nidoking's biggest threats include Gyarados (Water), Cloyster (Ice), and Golem (Ground), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Psychic-type attackers are also a problem.

  • Nidorino evolves into Nidoking using a Moon Stone. Nidoking is the final evolution in a 3-stage line starting from Nidoran M. At 505 BST, it's got solid stats to work with.

  • Sheer Force is what you want on Nidoking. Every competitive set worth running is built with that ability in mind. The alternatives (Poison Point, Rivalry) work on paper but Sheer Force is what makes Nidoking worth using.

  • Base 85 Speed is workable — faster than some, slower than many. On offense, Nidoking is a physical attacker with base 102 Attack. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two. Best used as an attacker.

  • Nidoking appears in 19 games, including Yellow, Red & Blue, and Gold & Silver.

One of the original 151, Nidoking has appeared in 19 games — most mainline games. From Red & Blue through the latest titles, it's rarely been left out of a regional Pokedex.