POKE-FOCUS #19: KINGDRA

Introduction
Kingdra. Its name implies it is the king of dragons... quite a lofty title to live up to. And unfortunately, for the first two generations for which it was out, it could not, what with Dragonbreath being the most powerful Dragon attack it had.

D/P changed this, giving Kingdra access to Dragon Pulse and Draco Meteor as well as giving it a physical Waterfall to play around with if it wanted to Dragon Dance. Platinum sealed the deal by giving it Outrage on top of all that. The end result is that Kingdra is quite threatening; while its actual movepool isn't particularly huge, it is very focused and allows for quite a few combinations for the King of Dragons to run.

This is, of course, on top of what Kingdra was already famous for: having a typing that only had a weakness to Dragon (which most users of are going to be weak to Kingdra's own such moves anyways), as well as the fun fact that no Pokemon not named Empoleon or Shedinja will resist the Water+Dragon combo. All this makes Kingdra extremely difficult to counter. Not bad for the Pokemon who can create maelstroms by yawning, eh?

Capture/Training
Surf around Whirl Islands or Seafoam Islands for them.

Horsea evolves into Seadra at Level 32. Horsea learns Dragon Pulse at Level 42. Seadra learns it at Level 57. That is a 10-level delay to avoid having to learn a move 15 levels later, or, in other words, a good idea. No difference in Kingdra's learn levels, so once you're ready, just trade with the Dragon Scale and claim your Kingdra.

Stats  
75 HP, 95 Atk, 95 Def, 95 SpA, 95 SpD, 85 Spd
Very average stats across the board, but no particularly weak stat. That means there are numerous ways to make the most out of those stats, giving Kingdra a fair amount of versatility in what role it plays. It also makes it that much more difficult to attempt to prey on Kingdra's weaknesses (especially considering how few it has type-wise as it is).

Abilities
Swift Swim is the most notable ability here. In rain, the move grants an instant doubling of speed, making Kingdra extremely fast and thus extremely difficult to stop.

If Rain support is not expected, Sniper is an okay option. A 3x-powered critical, as any Fire Emblem player can attest to, is not something to laugh at. For best results, combine with Focus Energy.

Moves
Kingdra's moveset is small, but focused. It might not have a lot, but arguably it has everything it needs to do its job.

Offensively, it gets a lot of mileage out of its dual-STAB. Water and Dragon are a combination currently resisted only by Empoleon and Shedinja, meaning Kingdra can pretty much always get in a strong neutral hit on anyone. The first thing that the new generation did to Kingdra was open up its physical movepool a bit with Waterfall, a great consistent physical Water attack with an added flinch rate that works well in Rain with both the Water boost and Swift Swim's speed boost. This is all well and good, but then Platinum came along and gave it Outrage for a Dragon-type Physical complement. Despite the locking side-effect, it's extremely destructive, and after a Dragon Dance, it's nearly unstoppable.

On the special side, Kingdra has a few more options, reflecting the choice between power and reliability. For power, go with Hydro Pump and Draco Meteor. For reliability, go with Surf and Dragon Pulse. You can also mix and match, or even use both of one type on one set. Muddy Water is a novelty option.

Kingdra is extremely limited in its other attacking options, though arguably it doesn't need them, with Water and Dragon giving such good coverage as it is. Moves like Ice Beam, Signal Beam, and Hidden Power, nice as they are, are really more afterthoughts than anything.

Kingdra has a small but dedicated support moveset. The first move to mention right off the top is Rain Dance, which synergizes well with Swift Swim. In rain, Kingdra is a nearly unstoppable sweeper capable of destroying teams before they have a chance to even touch it. And while it can certainly rely on its teammates to set up rain, it is no slouch at setting it up itself.

Dragon Dance is Kingdra's other way of powering itself up. It can also raise its Speed to ridiculously high levels, and kick up its Attack power in the process. Dragon Dance + Outrage is a combo used often by many Dragons, and Kingdra is certainly no exception.

Yawn will cause whirlpools to form, trapping your opponent for 2-5 turns while inflicting 1/16th-HP damage for each of those turns... oh wait, never mind. It just makes the opponent fall asleep next turn, either incapacitating it or forcing a switch.

Kingdra is a great user of Substitute. It can also make use of Rest-Sleep Talk strategies. (Chain-breed Sleep Talk through a Ground+Water 1 Pokemon such as Psyduck or Wooper who learned it through Smeargle.) The nice thing about Sleep Talk is that if Outrage is chosen, Kingdra won't be locked into the move.

Focus Energy works on a novelty Sniper set, giving the dragon a 25% chance of a "Fire Emblem critical", much like giving a Swordmaster a Killing Edge in that game, and probably just as deadly.

And that's really it for Kingdra's movepool. Again, it really isn't much on its own, but it combines well, as you'll see...

Effective Movesets
Note: Except where noted, Surf can be interchanged with Hydro Pump (or Muddy Water), and Dragon Pulse and Draco Meteor are interchangeable.

1. Mixed Rain Dancer
- Rain Dance
- Waterfall
- Surf
- Draco Meteor
Ability: Swift Swim
Notes: A potentially extremely destructive set. In addition to "traditional" items, Damp Rock is an option if the rest of the team is also based around Rain Dance.

2. Physical Dragon Dancer
- Waterfall
- Outrage
- Substitute/Yawn
- Dragon Dance

3. Mixed Dragon Dancer
- Waterfall
- Outrage
- Surf/Dragon Pulse
- Dragon Dance

4. Twin Dancer
- Dragon Dance
- Rain Dance
- Waterfall
- Outrage
Ability: Swift Swim

5. Special Rain Dancer
- Rain Dance
- Surf
- Draco Meteor
- Ice Beam/Signal Beam/Yawn
Ability: Swift Swim

6. Rest-Talk Dragon Dancer
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Note: As a bonus, if selected during Sleep Talk, Outrage will not lock Kingdra into the move.

7. Physical Sniper
- Focus Energy
- Waterfall
- Outrage
- Substitute/Yawn/Draco Meteor
Item: Scope Lens
Ability: SniperNote: Scope Lens + Focus Energy makes the critical hit rate 33%, which is quite good when going for those 3x hits.

8. Special Sniper
- Focus Energy
- Surf
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Pulse/Substitute/Yawn
Item: Scope Lens
Ability: Sniper

9. Mixed Sniper
- Focus Energy
- Surf
- Waterfall
- Draco Meteor
Item: Scope Lens
Ability: Sniper

Closing Remarks
Kingdra has really evolved, so to speak, throughout the last generation into a dangerous threat. As it is, it is a Pokemon who, despite having limited moves, can hit hard from either side of the physical/special spectrum, with a type coverage unresisted by most Pokemon, while at the same time being of a great defensive type that carries few weaknesses. In rain, it becomes a monstrous beast that hits hard and fast and is near impossible to counter.