Is Nidoking Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
Trade import and still one of the most flexible TM users in the game. AbilityPoison Point adds passive damage on contact. The coverage handles Wattson, Sidney, and Steven. RS is the first game where Nidoking has an ability, and it doesn't need one to be good.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Roxanne's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Brawly's team.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Flannery's team.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Winona's team.
Tate & Liza's team hits Nidoking's weaknesses hard.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Wallace's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Sidney's team.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Phoebe's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Glacia's team.
Nidoking has the type edge here and should clean up Drake's team.
Nidoking trades roughly evenly with Steven's team.
Trade
Nidoking cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four.
Recommended Moves
- After Brawly
- TM35FireFlamethrowerPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Mauville Game Corner
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Abandoned Ship
- After Norman
- TM36PoisonSludge BombPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Dewford Town
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 115
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- HM03WaterSurfPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Petalburg City
- After Tate & Liza
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Seafloor Cavern
How to Get Nidoking in Ruby & Sapphire
Take a traded Nidoran-M to Nidorino at level 16, then apply a Moon Stone for Nidoking. That same Moon Stone is also what the Clefairy and Nidoqueen lines want.
How to Obtain Nidoking in RS
- Step 1Obtain Nidoran♂ (male)CARTRIDGE TRADEfrom FireRed & LeafGreenAvailableCatch in FireRed & LeafGreen via Walking · Safari Zone, then trade to the current game via link cable.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Red & BlueNot TradeableAppears in Red & Blue via Walking · Route 22. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom YellowNot TradeableAppears in Yellow via Walking · Route 22. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Gold & SilverNot TradeableAppears in Gold & Silver via Walking · Route 35. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom CrystalNot TradeableAppears in Crystal via Walking · Route 35 · the Yanma swarm that Bug Catcher Arnie reports by. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Diamond & PearlNot TradeableAppears in Diamond & Pearl via Pokeradar · Route 201. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom PlatinumNot TradeableAppears in Platinum via Pokeradar · Route 201. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
- Step 2Evolve into Nidorino
- Step 3Nidoking ✓
How to Get Shiny Nidoking in Ruby & Sapphire
Raise a shiny up the Nidoran line in FireRed or LeafGreen and trade the finished Nidoking over, since the species has no Hoenn presence. See every game where Shiny Nidoking can be hunted
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
What is Nidoking Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Nidoking
 Latios DragonPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodRoaming Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoking View Latios builds →Psychic 2x103-121%KO Surf 2x73-86% Ice Beam 2x73-86% Earthquake 2x55-65% | ||
 Latias DragonPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodRoaming Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoking View Latias builds →Psychic 2x90-106%KO Surf 2x63-74% Ice Beam 2x63-74% Earthquake 2x50-59% | ||
 Gardevoir Psychic | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Nidoking View Gardevoir builds →Future Sight 2x133-156%KO | ||
 Flygon GroundDragon | B | |
 Donphan Ground | B | |
 Kadabra Psychic | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Nidoking View Kadabra builds →Future Sight 2x128-151%KO | ||
 Xatu Psychic | C | |
 Swampert WaterGround | S | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Mudkip (Route 101 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoking View Swampert builds →Earthquake 2x97-114%KO Surf 2x77-91% Ice Beam 2x51-60% | ||
 Claydol GroundPsychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoking View Claydol builds →Earthquake 2x67-80% Psychic 2x63-74% Ice Beam 2x43-51% | ||
 Walrein IceWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Spheal (Shoal Cave Surfing) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoking View Walrein builds →Surf 2x84-99% Ice Beam 2x84-99% Earthquake 2x50-59% | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoking View Rhydon builds →Earthquake 2x113-133%KO Ice Beam 2x32-37% Surf 2x32-37% | ||
 Sandslash Ground | A | |
 Grumpig Psychic | C | |
 Regice Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 105 Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nidoking View Regice builds →Ice Beam 2x87-103%KO Earthquake 2x34-41% | ||
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 102 partners from the Field and Monster egg groups. Notable egg moves include Amnesia, Beat Up, Confusion and 4 more.
RS Nidoking Best Moveset
Coverage movepool that hits every type without being resisted: MoveEarthquake, MoveIce Beam, MoveThunderbolt, MoveFire Blast from 85 Sp. Atk and 102 Attack. AbilityPoison Point punishes physical contact. Held ItemChoice Band boosts MoveEarthquake to devastating levels. Nothing safely blocks the coverage.
Best Build
Nidoking best EVs are Speed and Defense
Utility Moveset
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Bomb
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
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.
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
All 38 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
NIDOKING’s thick tail packs enormously destructive power. With one swing, it can topple a metal transmission tower. Once this POKéMON goes on a rampage, there is no stopping it.
Nidoking Ruby & Sapphire Guide
No. Nidoking isn't catchable in Ruby & Sapphire. Obtain one in FireRed or LeafGreen, then trade it over.
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 · Ruby & SapphireRuby & Sapphire Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Ruby & Sapphire Tier List