Physical
Balanced
495Average
85Moderate
CTier

Electric moves don't affect Nidoking at all — that's the advantage of Poison/Ground typing. It sits at a decent but contested Speed tier. Known as the Drill Pokemon. Flexible enough to run physical or special sets.

An unusually even spread gives Nidoking flexibility. Attack barely edges ahead. But Special isn't far off. Tough to catch and follows a 1.06M XP medium-slow curve. Yields 3 Attack stat exp.

Base Stats
495Above
HP81
C
Attack92
B
Defense77
C
Sp. Atk85
C
Sp. Def75
C
Speed85
C
Total495
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.

Yellow

Nidoking Weakness

Vulnerable

Type-wise, Nidoking takes extra damage from Water, Ice, Ground, Psychic, and Bug. Electric moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity.

Gen I Type Chart
  • Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
  • Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
  • Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
4xCriticali
None
2xWeaki
WaterIceGroundPsychicBug
½xResisti
FightingRock
¼xResisti
Poison
0xImmunei
Electric
STAB (6)i
GrassBugFireElectricPoisonRock
5Weak
3Resist
1Immune
Scorei-3
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.

Nidoran♂ (male)'s chain ends at Nidoking (using a Moon Stone). Despite 495 base stats, this Poison/Ground type doesn't breed. Special grew the most through evolution (+45 over Nidoran M), and Nidoking peaks at 495 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 not available · Introduced in Gen 2

Best Build

Utility
Ability
Not in Gen 1
Item
Not in Gen 1
Nature
Not in Gen 1

Best Nidoking Moveset

  • EarthquakeSTAB
  • Rock Slide
  • ThunderboltCoverage
  • Ice Beam

Recommended Teammates

Alakazam
AlakazamGood
Gengar
GengarGood
Dragonite
DragoniteDecent

TMs carry this one. Nidoking learns Earthquake and Poison Sting naturally for STAB, but the offensive range comes almost entirely from technical machines. Normal and Fighting and beyond give it real matchup play.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Horn Attack
6510025Normal
Lv 1
Poison Sting
1510035Poison
Lv 1
Tackle
3510035Normal
Lv 1
Thrash
12010020Normal
Lv 8
Horn Attack
6510025Normal
Lv 12
Double Kick
3010030Fighting
Lv 23
Thrash
12010020Normal

TM Moves

Src
TM34
Bide+1
——10Normal
TM14
Blizzard
110905Ice
TM08
Body Slam
8510015Normal
TM11
Bubble Beam
6510020Water
TM18
Counter-5
—10020Fighting
TM32
Double Team
——15Normal
TM10
Double-Edge
12010015Normal
TM26
Earthquake
10010010Ground
TM38
Fire Blast
120855Fire
TM27
Fissure
—305Ground
TM07
Horn Drill
—305Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM13
Ice Beam
9510010Ice
TM05
Mega Kick
120755Normal
TM01
Mega Punch
808520Normal
TM31
Mimic
——10Normal
TM16
Pay Day
4010020Normal
TM20
Rage
2010020Normal
TM33
Reflect
——20Psychic
TM44
Rest
——10Psychic
TM48
Rock Slide
759010Rock
TM19
Seismic Toss
—10020Fighting
TM40
Skull Bash
10010010Normal
HM04
Strength
8010015Normal
TM17
Submission
808025Fighting
TM50
Substitute
——10Normal
HM03
Surf
9510015Water
TM09
Take Down
908520Normal
TM25
Thunder
1107010Electric
TM24
Thunderbolt
9510015Electric
TM06
Toxic
—9010Poison
TM12
Water Gun
4010025Water

Egg Moves

Nidoking doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Nidoking can't learn any Tutor moves

Reminder Moves

Src
Rem
Focus Energy
——30Normal
Rem
Fury Attack
158520Normal
Rem
Horn Drill
—305Normal
Rem
Leer
—10030Normal

Nidoking doesn't appear wild. Catch Nidoran♂ (male) instead, it shows up at solid rates. Evolve it through a special method to get Nidoking. The 3-stage chain is mapped in the step cards below.

How to Obtain Nidoking in Yellow

Nidoran♂ (male) is your first catch on the way to Nidoking. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 2-44 across 12 total spots in the chain.

  1. Nidoran♂ (male)
    Step 1Catch Nidoran♂ (male)
    Route 22
    GrassLv.2-4CommonEarlyRoute
    EFFORTLESS
    Safari Zone - Center
    GrassLv.14CommonEarlyFacility
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 2
    GrassLv.4-6UncommonEarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 9
    GrassLv.16-18CommonMidRoute
    EFFORTLESS
    Safari Zone - West
    GrassLv.29CommonMidFacility
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 10
    GrassLv.17UncommonMidRoute
    EASY
    Safari Zone - East
    GrassLv.21UncommonMidFacility
    EASY
    Safari Zone - North
    GrassLv.36CommonLateFacility
    EFFORTLESS
  2. Nidorino
    Step 2Catch or Evolve Nidorino
    Safari Zone - Center
    GrassLv.23UncommonMidFacility
    EASY
    Route 9
    GrassLv.18RareMidRoute
    CHALLENGING
    Route 23
    GrassLv.41-44CommonLateRoute
    EFFORTLESS
    Safari Zone - West
    GrassLv.32UncommonLateFacility
    EASY
    or evolve from Nidoran♂ (male) (Step 1)
  3. Nidoking
    Step 3Nidoking ✓

  • We rate Nidoking C-Tier — a situational pick that fills a niche. At 495 BST, the stats are spread pretty evenly.

  • Nidoking's biggest threats include Gyarados (Water), Cloyster (Ice), and Golem (Ground), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Psychic and Bug-type attackers are also a problem. With 5 weakness types, most competitive teams carry at least one counter.

  • Nidorino evolves into Nidoking using a Moon Stone. Nidoking is the final evolution in a 3-stage line starting from Nidoran M. At 495 BST, it's got solid stats to work with.

  • Base 85 Speed is workable — faster than some, slower than many. On offense, Nidoking is a physical attacker with base 92 Attack. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two.

  • 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.