Is Nidoking Good in Gold & Silver Playthrough?
Still one of the strongest in-game Pokemon once you reach it. Nidoking's massive TM coverage handles whatever Johto or Kanto throws at you. The Moon Stone is harder to get early in Gold and Silver, which delays the payoff compared to Gen 1. Worth the wait.
Nidoran♂ (male) trades roughly evenly with Falkner's team.
Nidoran♂ (male) trades roughly evenly with Bugsy's team.
Nidoran♂ (male) trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Nidorino trades roughly evenly with Morty's team.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Chuck's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Jasmine's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Nidoking resists most of Lt. Surge's coverage and hits back hard.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Nidoking resists most of Blaine's coverage and hits back hard.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Will's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Catch Nidoran♂ (male)
Catch Nidoran M on Route 35 (walking, Lv 12, common).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 12)
- LV 12NormalHorn AttackPower 65Accuracy 100%PP 25
- After Bugsy
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM02NormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a man in Ilex Forest
- After Whitney
- TM13NormalSnorePower 40Accuracy 100%PP 15Moomoo Farm
- After Jasmine
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15Prize for defeating Jasmine
- TM10NormalHidden PowerPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a fisherman in a house at Lake of Rage
- TM46DarkThiefPower 40Accuracy 100%PP 10Team Rocket HQ (Mahogany Town)
Evolve Nidoran♂ (male) to Nidorino
Nidoran♂ (male) evolves into Nidorino at Level 16. Your Nidoran♂ (male) should hit Level 16 before you reach Morty, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 16)
- LV 16NormalHorn AttackPower 65Accuracy 100%PP 25
- After Bugsy
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM02NormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a man in Ilex Forest
- After Whitney
- TM13NormalSnorePower 40Accuracy 100%PP 15Moomoo Farm
- After Morty
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Olivine City
- After Jasmine
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15Prize for defeating Jasmine
- TM10NormalHidden PowerPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a fisherman in a house at Lake of Rage
Evolve Nidorino to Nidoking
Nidorino evolves into Nidoking with a Moon Stone. You can pick up the Moon Stone in Tohjo Falls. 1 other location is also available.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 25)
- LV 25NormalThrashPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Bugsy
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 5Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- After Whitney
- HM03WaterSurfPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Ecruteak City
- After Morty
- TM30GhostShadow BallPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Morty
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Celadon Game Corner
How to Get Nidoking in Gold & Silver
A Moon Stone on Nidorino is the only road to Nidoking, with nothing wild to catch. Whether you push the male or female Nidoran line to its final form is really a question of which one you raised.
Catch Nidoran♂ (male) or Nidorino at any of these 5 spots to eventually evolve into Nidoking.
Encountered via tall grass encounters
- 1Catch Nidoran♂ (male)
- 2
- 3Evolve NidokingUse Moon Stone
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8How to Obtain Nidoking in GS
Nidoran♂ (male) is your first catch on the way to Nidoking. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 12-23 across 12 total spots in the chain.
- Step 2Catch or Evolve Nidorinoor evolve from Nidoran♂ (male) (Step 1)
- Step 3Nidoking ✓BREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Goldenrod Pokemon Day Care to receive a Nidoran♂ (male) egg.
How to Get Shiny Nidoking in Gold & Silver
Nidoking never appears in the wild, so lock the shine onto a Nidorino roaming Route 13, Route 14, and Route 15, then hand it a Moon Stone to close out the evolution. Compare Shiny Nidoking odds across every game
Gold & Silver Shiny Nidoking Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Breed w/ Shiny Parent, about 1 in 64 on each try.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
Breed w/ Shiny Parent: Eggs inherit stats from a shiny parent, so about 1 in 64 hatch shiny. A shiny Ditto helps every egg, and any other shiny parent (the red Gyarados works) helps only eggs of the opposite gender.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 7-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 19-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 45-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 147-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Want exact numbers for your session? Calculate your shiny odds in Gold & Silver with Nidoking preloaded.
Nidoking Weakness
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.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Water, Ice, Ground, Psychic |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fighting, Bug, Rock |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Poison |
| 0x (Immune) | Electric |
- 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
What is Nidoking Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Nidoking
 Marowak Ground | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoking View Marowak builds →Earthquake 2x74-88% Blizzard 2x42-50% | ||
 Donphan Ground | B | |
 Lugia Psychic | S | |
Obtain MethodWhirl Islands Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoking View Lugia builds →Dream Eater 2x84-99% Earthquake 2x55-65% Hydro Pump 2x67-79% Blizzard 2x67-79% | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoking View Rhydon builds →Earthquake 2x113-133%KO Surf 2x32-37% Blizzard 2x40-47% | ||
 Suicune Water | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoking View Suicune builds →Surf 2x80-95% Blizzard 2x67-79% Dig 2x29-34% | ||
 Slowbro WaterPsychic | C | |
Obtain MethodSlowpoke Well Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoking View Slowbro builds →Dream Eater 2x92-109%KO Surf 2x87-103%KO Blizzard 2x73-87% Earthquake 2x47-56% | ||
 Vaporeon Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoking View Vaporeon builds →Hydro Pump 2x119-140%KO Blizzard 2x79-93% Mud-Slap 2x9-11% | ||
 Sandslash Ground | C | |
 Kadabra Psychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoking View Kadabra builds →Future Sight 2x128-151%KO Ice Punch 2x53-63% Dig 2x17-20% | ||
 Piloswine IceGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoking View Piloswine builds →Earthquake 2x90-106%KO Blizzard 2x73-87% | ||
 Lapras WaterIce | C | |
Obtain MethodUnion Cave Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoking View Lapras builds →Hydro Pump 2x96-113%KO Ice Beam 2x77-91% Dream Eater 2x53-63% | ||
 Xatu Psychic | C | |
 Jynx IcePsychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoking View Jynx builds →Dream Eater 2x103-121%KO Blizzard 2x123-145%KO Mud-Slap 2x8-9% | ||
 Golduck Water | C | |
Obtain MethodIlex Forest Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoking View Golduck builds →Hydro Pump 2x105-124%KO Blizzard 2x70-83% Dig 2x31-36% Confusion 2x30-35% | ||
Nidoking Evolutions
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). Sp.Atk grew the most through evolution (+45 over Nidoran M), and Nidoking peaks at 495 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Nidoking to get Nidoran M eggs using 66 partners from the Field and Monster egg groups. Notable egg moves include Amnesia, Beat Up, Confusion and 4 more.
GS Nidoking Best Moveset
Coverage that hits every type at least without being resisted: MoveEarthquake for Ground TermStab, MoveIce Beam for Grass and Flying, MoveThunderbolt for Water, MoveFire Blast for Steel. 102 Attack powers the physical moves and 85 Sp. Atk handles the special side. Held ItemLeftovers sustains through switches. No single type can safely block the full moveset.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Lovely Kiss
- Thunder
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Hard to wall, honestly. Nidoking threatens 11 types beyond its own STAB, with Fighting and Normal standing out. Pair that with Earthquake and Mud-Slap and switchins need to think twice.
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.
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
33 of 38 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It swings its big tail around during battle. If its foe flinches, it will charge with its sturdy body.
Its tail is thick and powerful. If it binds an enemy, it can snap the victim’s spine quite easily.
Nidoking Gold & Silver Guide
In Gold & Silver, Nidoking plays as a balanced. Speed is middling, so pick your spots carefully. Earthquake is the primary attack.
Game Availability
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.
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 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
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
Explore
Where to go next after Nidoking.
Keep playing · Gold & SilverGold & Silver Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Gold & Silver Tier List