Rei
The arcana is the means by which all is revealed
Poison
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Nidoqueen's good bulk and access to Stealth Rock allow it to act as an entry hazard setter while also freeing up a moveslot on Nidoking. Good coverage moves in Ice Beam and Thunderbolt and the ability Sheer Force to power up its attacks also let it pressure Pokemon like Latios and Excadrill from repeatedly coming in. Nidoqueen also has more bulk than Nidoking. which allows it to survive attacks like of Mega Diancie's Earth Power and +2 Mega Scizor's Bullet Punch. However, Nidoqueen's bulk comes with the price of having less Speed than Nidoking, which makes Heatran able to outpace it. Nidoqueen also has lower Special Attack than Nidoking, allowing Pokemon like Hippowdon and Zapdos to take its attacks. Nihilego also gives Nidoqueen competition as a Stealth Rock setter that can also free up a moveslot on Nidoking and outpace Pokemon Nidoqueen cannot like Landorus-T, Garchomp and Volcarona thanks to its higher Speed.
[SET]
name: Stealth Rock (Poison)
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Thunderbolt
item: Shuca Berry / Life Orb
ability: Sheer Force
nature: Timid
evs: 164 HP / 144 SpA / 200 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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Stealth Rock allows Nidoqueen to help pressure troublesome Pokemon for Poison like Heatran and Victini as well as Dragonite, which can be OHKOed by Ice Beam once its Multiscale has been broken. Earth Power helps combats big threats to Poison like Excadrill, Mega Diancie, and Victini. Thunderbolt helps against Water- and Flying-types such as Slowbro and Mega Charizard Y and Defog users like Mantine. Ice Beam helps nail Dragon-, Flying-, and Ground-types like Hydreigon, Garchomp, Zapdos, Gliscor, and Landorus-T.
Set Details
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164 HP EVs and Shuca Berry allow Nidoqueen to last as long as possible in the Steel- and the Ground-type matchup; it easily survives Earthquake from Excadrill and Landorus-T. 200 Speed EVs allow Nidoqueen to outpace Adamant Dragonite and Breloom and KO them with Ice Beam after it they have taken chip damage. 144 Special Attack EVs along with Sheer Force are used to make Nidoqueen's attacks powerful enough to KO Mega Scizor and Klefki. Alternatively, Nidoqueen can run Life Orb for an extra boost alongside Sheer Force in order to 2HKO Zapdos, Toxapex, Hippowdon, and Ferrothorn.
Usage Tips
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Use Nidoqueen as a lead in key matchups like Dragon and Steel, as Ice Beam will threaten most Dragon-types into switching out, which is a perfect time to set Stealth Rock. Try to save Nidoqueen's Shuca Berry and enough HP to get a surprise KO on Ground-types such as Excadrill and Landorus-T. Be wary around faster and powerful Pokemon such as Mega Gallade, Kyurem-B, and Latios, as they outpace Nidoqueen and can OHKO it from full health even with its decent bulk. Use Earth Power to weaken faster Taunt users like Tapu Koko and Cobalion, as most of the time they will use Taunt to cut off Nidoqueen from using Stealth Rock. Use Nidoqueen in Flying-type matchups to set Stealth Rock, as its coverage threatens common Defog users like Mantine, Gliscor, and Landorus-T as well as Thundurus-T and Celesteela.
Team Options
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Nidoking appreciates Nidoqueen's Stealth Rock support to break through the opposition as a powerful wallbreaker that helps take care of troubling Steel-types like Heatran and Ferrothorn, and because Nidoqueen runs Stealth Rock, Nidoking can run another move like Thunderbolt to pressure Flying- and Water-types like Mantine and Slowbro. Alolan Muk helps Nidoqueen by trapping troubling Psychic-types like Alolan Raichu and Latios and OHKOing them with Pursuit. Mega Venusaur is the main way of dealing with physical attackers like Azumarill and Mega Lopunny. Thanks to its ability Thick Fat, it can also take attacks from Mamoswine and Weavile. Mega Venusaur is also important to have on the team due to its Grass typing, which helps greatly in matchups like Ground and Water, making it a good switch-in to attacks like Earthquake from Excadrill and Landorus-T and Waterfall from Mega Swampert. It can also provide Leech Seed to give passive recovery to its teammates. In return, Nidoqueen can take care of troubling Fire-types like Infernape and Heatran. Crobat offers Defog support along with being able to threaten troubling Pokemon like Mega Lopunny and Mega Gallade with Brave Bird. Furthermore, its Flying typing can help greatly with Ground-type attacks from the likes of Garchomp and Excadrill. Toxapex aids in taking care of Normal-types with its Toxic Spikes support being able to effectively cripple the bulky duo of Chansey and Porygon2. Thanks to its Water typing, Toxapex is able to switch in on Ice- and Water-type attacks from the likes of Weavile and Greninja. It can also help with Dragonite because of its amazing bulk and help with setup Pokemon like Mega Gallade and Mega Latias thanks to Haze. In return, Nidoqueen can switch into Electric-type attacks from Zapdos and Tapu Koko for Crobat and Toxapex.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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Poison
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Taunt can be used over Thunderbolt when Nidoqueen is using Life Orb to prevent slower Defog users like Mandibuzz and Mantine from removing entry hazards, block Stealth Rock by slow Pokemon like Jirachi, Ferrothorn, and Hippowdon, and stop walls like Chansey and Porygon2 from recovering their health. Flamethrower can be used over Thunderbolt in order to hit Steel-types like Mega Scizor and Ferrothorn harder; however, Nidoqueen can no longer take care of Pokemon like Mantine without Thunderbolt.
Checks and Counters
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Poison
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**Ground-types**: After Shuca Berry has been consumed, Nidoqueen struggles to take Ground-type attacks from the likes of Landorus-T and Excadrill, as they will KO it after some chip damage.
**Water-types**: Nidoqueen has trouble with Water-types like Rotom-W, and Suicune as they can take Nidoqueen's attacks and dent it with their STAB attacks.
**Faster Attackers**: Pokemon that outpace Nidoqueen like Mega Gallade, Greninja, and Kyurem-B can easily OHKO it with their super effective STAB attacks.
**Special Walls**: Special walls like Chansey and Gastrodon can easily tank any of Nidoqueen's attacks and slowly wear it down.
**Wallbreakers and Setup Sweepers**: Wallbreakers like Diggersby, Victini, and Meloetta can OHKO Nidoqueen from full health and outpace it. Setup sweepers like Mega Latias and Mew can easily set up on Nidoqueen and OHKO it with their STAB attacks.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Yami, 393488]]
- Poison analysis by: [[Yami, 393488]]
- Quality checked by: [[Moosical, 215618], [maroon, 305839], [Decem, 362454]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Fireflame479, 231476], [The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216]]
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