Overview
In April 2025, Kingdra has emerged as a top-tier offensive threat due to its unresisted Water/Dragon typing and plethora of set options (primarily Focus Energy and Dragon Dance) which make it as unpredictable as it is dangerous.
Dragon Dance is the most common set for Kingdra, patching up its Speed issue and allowing it to fire off boosted high base power moves. Wave Crash and Outrage are the strongest stabs Kingdra has, allowing it to OHKO most offensive Pokémon in the tier and 2HKO most defensive walls. Iron Head can be utilized instead of secondary water STAB to hit Cradily without resorting to Outrage. Longevity is very valuable on Dragon Dance sets, so Lum Berry is the most commonly used item. Both natures are usable on this set: an Adamant nature makes Kingdra more powerful, consistently 2HKOing Type: Null, whereas a Jolly nature allows Kingdra to outspeed Scarf Bombirdier after a Dragon Dance. Substitute sets are another option, allowing Kingdra to set up on Pokémon like Cradily and Gastrodon which often run Toxic. Loaded Dice sets with Scale Shot allow Kingdra to have a powerful Dragon STAB that doesn't lock Kingdra into a move, although this does make it possible for it to be revenge killed by priority users more easily. The variety of this set plus the existence of CritDra makes Kingdra difficult to answer both consistently and immediately. Physically defensive Miltank checks virtually all variations of Dragon Dance set, but instantly loses to the infamous Critdra.
CritDra leverages Focus Energy with Scope Lens to achieve a 100% critical hit rate. This not only makes all of its moves more powerful, but also lets Kingdra ignore the drawback of Kingdra’s Special Attack being reduced by Draco Meteor, allowing Kingdra to spam an effective 195 Base Power STAB move. Kingdra’s access to the Sniper ability in concert with the aforementioned boosts makes Kingdra an absolute killing machine - if you find the opportunity to set up. Because Focus Energy doesn’t boost Speed like Dragon Dance does, Kingdra will be vulnerable to any faster Pokemon that the opponent might have. To remedy this, CritDra uses Agility to boost its Speed, but it is often difficult to find the two turns required to do so in combination with Focus Energy. However, because of Dragon Dance Kingdra's prominence, the surprise factor of CritDra might let you get away with setting up on physical walls like Miltank, Cradily, and Gastrodon. Unfortunately, CritDra is completely walled by Type: Null, who can stomach Draco Meteors quite easily thanks to its Battle Armor ability. Rain Dance with Swift Swim is an alternative set that forgoes the extra power granted by Sniper in favor of boosting Water moves without relying on critical hits, meaning Kingdra can break Type: Null and start dealing damage immediately in situations where it can’t afford two turns to set up.
Drawbacks
Kingdra doesn't come without its (albeit few) flaws. Its frailty, mediocre Speed and Dragon typing leaves it vulnerable to Pokémon like Cyclizar, Dedenne, and Dipplin which can use super-effective STAB moves to stop Kingra from sweeping. Generally fast attackers which have the power to KO Kingdra before it can set up, like Raticate, also exist as significant obstacles.
Written by mmtaccoss
Quality Checked by Typhon