Mixed
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

Its steel-like hide adds to its powerful tackle. Its horns are so hard, they can pierce a diamond.

Lets Go Pikachu / Lets Go Eevee

Nidoking Weakness

Avg

Type-wise, Nidoking takes extra damage from Water, Ice, Ground, and Psychic. Electric moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity. 5 resistances help offset the weaknesses.

4xCriticali
None
2xWeaki
WaterIceGroundPsychic
½xResisti
FightingBugRockFairy
¼xResisti
Poison
0xImmunei
Electric
STAB (7)i
GrassFairyFireElectricPoisonRockSteel
4Weak
5Resist
1Immune
Scorei+1
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 from the Ground and Monster egg groups.

Egg Groups
GroundMonster
Gender
♂100.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body

Nothing fancy here. Nidoking builds around Life Orb for extra damage on every hit for a health trade, Timid nature for the right stat lean, and max Sp. Atk and Speed EVs. Sheerforce does its job quietly.

Best Build

Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee uses different battle mechanics.

Competitive build content is not applicable for this game. Select a main series game for builds.

Hard to wall, honestly. Nidoking threatens 12 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
Counter-5
—10020Fighting
Lv 1
Focus Energy
——30Normal
Lv 1
Leer
—10030Normal
Lv 1
Peck
3510035Flying
Lv 1
Poison Sting
1510035Poison
Lv 1
Supersonic
—5520Normal
Lv 1
Thrash
12010010Normal
Lv 55
Megahorn
1208510Bug

TM Moves

Src
TM51
Blizzard
110705Ice
TM13
Brick Break
7510015Fighting
TM10
Dig
8010010Ground
TM34
Dragon Pulse
8510010Dragon
TM17
Dragon Tail-6
609010Dragon
TM58
Drill Run
809510Ground
TM41
Earthquake
10010010Ground
TM12
Facade
7010020Normal
TM46
Fire Blast
110855Fire
TM31
Fire Punch
7510015Fire
TM37
Flamethrower
9010015Fire
TM01
Headbutt
7010015Normal
TM03
Helping Hand+5
——20Normal
TM48
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM55
Ice Beam
9010010Ice
TM35
Ice Punch
7510015Ice
TM19
Iron Tail
1007515Steel
TM60
Megahorn
1208510Bug
TM39
Outrage
12010010Dragon
TM57
Pay Day
4010020Normal
TM26
Poison Jab
8010020Poison
TM07
Protect+4
——10Normal
TM09
Reflect
——20Psychic
TM05
Rest
——10Psychic
TM22
Rock Slide
759010Rock
TM15
Seismic Toss
—10020Fighting
TM43
Shadow Ball
8010015Ghost
TM52
Sludge Bomb
9010010Poison
TM56
Stealth Rock
——20Rock
TM08
Substitute
——10Normal
TM49
Superpower
1201005Fighting
TM47
Surf
9010015Water
TM02
Taunt
—10020Dark
TM38
Thunder
1107010Electric
TM23
Thunder Punch
7510015Electric
TM36
Thunderbolt
9010015Electric
TM27
Toxic
—9010Poison

Egg Moves

Nidoking doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Nidoking can't learn any Tutor moves

Nidoking tops out at low spawn rates across 2 locations in late-game routes. The encounters below are sorted by rate so you can see exactly what you're working with.

Where To Catch Nidoking in Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee

To get Nidoking, start by catching Nidoran♂ (male) through walking encounters at Lv. 3-46. The chain covers 3 catchable stages before reaching the final form.

  1. Nidoran♂ (male)
    Step 1Catch Nidoran♂ (male)
    Route 22
    Let's Go EeveeGrassLv.3-420%EarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 22
    Let's Go PikachuGrassLv.3-420%EarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 9
    Let's Go PikachuGrassLv.17-2215%MidRoute
    EASY
    Route 9
    Let's Go EeveeGrassLv.17-2215%MidRoute
    EASY
    Route 10
    Let's Go EeveeGrassLv.18-2315%MidRoute
    EASY
    Route 10
    Let's Go PikachuGrassLv.18-2315%MidRoute
    EASY
    Route 23
    Let's Go PikachuGrassLv.41-4610%LateRoute
    MODERATE
    Route 23
    Let's Go EeveeGrassLv.41-4610%LateRoute
    MODERATE
  2. Nidorino
    Step 2Catch or Evolve Nidorino
    Route 9
    Let's Go PikachuGrassLv.17-225%MidRoute
    CHALLENGING
    Route 9
    Let's Go EeveeGrassLv.17-225%MidRoute
    CHALLENGING
    Route 10
    Let's Go EeveeGrassLv.18-235%MidRoute
    CHALLENGING
    Route 10
    Let's Go PikachuGrassLv.18-235%MidRoute
    CHALLENGING
    Route 23
    Let's Go EeveeGrassLv.41-4619%LateRoute
    EASY
    Route 23
    Let's Go PikachuGrassLv.41-4619%LateRoute
    EASY
    or evolve from Nidoran♂ (male) (Step 1)
  3. Nidoking
    Step 3Nidoking ✓
    Route 23
    Let's Go EeveeGrassLv.41-461%LateRoute
    HARD
    Route 23
    Let's Go PikachuGrassLv.41-461%LateRoute
    HARD
    or evolve from Nidorino (Step 2)

  • 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 mixed attacker — base 102 Attack and 85 Sp. Atk. 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.