Nidoking Weaknesses and Raid Counters in Pokemon GO

Between the two of them, Nidoking is definitely the bigger bruiser than Nidoqueen. What he lacks in speed and defensive capabilities, he more than makes up for in raw muscle. When a Nidoking comes charging at you, you either get out of the way or get trampled on. If you’d rather not get trampled on, then here are Nidoking’s weaknesses and Raid counters in Pokemon GO.

Nidoking Resistances and Weaknesses

Nidoking is a Poison/Ground type, which means his resistances break down like this:

• Resistant to: Fighting, Rock, Bug, Fairy
• Double-resistant to: Poison, Electric
• Weak against: Ground, Water, Psychic, Ice

Nidoking Moves

Meanwhile, these are the moves Nidoking is packing in his kit:

Quick Moves

• Poison Jab (Poison)
• Iron Tail (Steel)

Main Moves

• Megahorn (Bug)
• Earthquake (Ground)
• Sludge Wave (Poison)
• Earth Power (Ground)
• Sand Tomb (Ground)

Nidoking Counters

The best counters for Nidoking in Pokemon GO are Mewtwo, Mamoswine, Kingler, Blastoise, Hoopa (Unbound), Metagross, Galarian Darmanitan, Swampert, Alakazam, and Feraligatr. In spite of having lower base defense than Nidoqueen, Nidoking is, somewhat paradoxically, a bit better at covering its weak spots thanks to the moves it uses. While Nidoking has the same weaknesses to Psychic and Ice types as Nidoqueen, its ability to use Megahorn, a Bug move, makes it more of a threat to Psychic types, while its ability to use Iron Tail, a Steel move, makes it more of a threat to Ice types (albeit to a lesser degree, since it’s just a Quick Move).

List of Nidoking Counters

• Mewtwo – Confusion/Psystrike
• Mamoswine – Mud-Slap/Avalanche
• Kingler – Bubble/Crabhammer
• Blastoise – Water Gun/Hydro Cannon
• Hoopa (Unbound) – Confusion/Psychic
• Metagross – Zen Headbutt/Psychic
• Galarian Darmanitan – Ice Fang/Avalanche
• Swampert – Mud Shot/Hydro Cannon
• Alakazam – Confusion/Psychic
• Feraligatr – Water Gun/Hydro Cannon

While using strong Psychic types like Alakazam or strong Ice types like Mamoswine is still an option, it’s a bit of an unsafe one, as Nidoking’s high base attack means even Quick Move can potentially be very damaging. As such, you’ll want a Pokemon that can exploit Nidoking’s weaknesses without exposing its own weaknesses.

Some of the best candidates for this include Kingler, whose pure Water typing keeps it safe from Nidoking’s kit, Shadow Rider Calyrex, whose Psychic/Ghost typing eliminates most of its relevant weaknesses, and Unbound Hoopa, whose Psychic/Dark typing has the same effect. If you’re feeling brave, you can still try for a DPS race with someone like Mewtwo or Galarian Darmanitan, but you do so without a guarantee of victory.

For more related guides and content, you can check out our website’s Pokemon GO section.