The King of Crabs!
Jul 18, 2011 18:31:28 GMT -8
Post by t3h Icy on Jul 18, 2011 18:31:28 GMT -8
Kingler is a beast and somewhat useable in OU, having ridiculous Physical power and great Special power too. Kingler is tied for second for highest Attack and has the highest Attack for Swords Dancers. Kingler is pretty simple to use once you get him out, but not everyone knows what he's capable of, so let's discuss this king crab!
First, the standard set is Body Slam, Hyper Beam, Swords Dance, Crabhammer, and nothing else really fits in. There are a few alternative options though.
Chances are you're using Kingler as a hybrid sweeper and Crabhammer is key for Tauros and Snorlax, but is inaccurate and slightly risky to use on Golem and Rhydon. However, both of them will do minimal damage back, except for Golem's Explosion, so Surf really isn't necessary.
Crabhammer vs Tauros - 194-165 (55%-47%)
Crabhammer vs Snorlax - 202-172 (39%-33%)
Surf vs Tauros - 102-87 (29%-<25%)
Surf vs Snorlax - 106-91 (20%-17%)
The loss of power is not worth the 15% more accuracy, so don't consider Surf.
Another move often on Waters with the exception of Kingler is Blizzard. Kingler is not a Specialist, but Crabhammer's ridiculous power allows Kingler to be.
Blizzard vs Exeggutor - 118-101 (30%-26%)
Body Slam vs Exeggutor - 97-82 (24%-21%)
The damage isn't that much more, Blizzard can miss (but could Freeze), and Body Slam can be powered up. The only Pokemon Blizzard should be used on is Dragonite, only because of the 4x, but Dragonite is rare in OU and when Wrap is legal, Kingler probably should be replaced by Cloyster.
That already takes out all of his moves except Double-Edge and gimmicky things. Double-Edge is stronger than Body Slam, but loses the Paralysis chance and with the massive damage Swords Dance will help you do and Kingler's low HP, the recoil is nasty. It could be useful if you find an important situation where the extra damage lets Double-Edge KO where Body Slam couldn't, but Hyper Beam could still work anyway (despite a couple risks).
So Kingler's standard moveset is the set to go. I don't really recommend anything else, but there are some moves if you want to use Kingler for some Pokemon specificly. Remember that Kingler is a Physical Pokemon and Crabhammer is just a bonus. Let's put into perspective just how powerful Crabhammer is.
With 90 base power (5 under Surf), and 8x Critical, Crabhammer is (roughly) 180 base power and cuts through changes in Special stats.
Tentacruel's Crabhammer vs Tauros - 328-279 (93%-79%)
Tentacruel's Hydro Pump vs Tauros - 217-185 (61%-52%)
Tentacruel's Surf vs Tauros - 172-147 (49%-42%)
It's pretty ridiculous, but don't let the power make you forget how fragile Kingler is to Special attacks.
Alakazam's Psychic - 213-181 (68%-58%)
Chansey's Thunderbolt - 252-214 (81%-68%)
Exeggutor's Mega Drain - 183-155 (58%-<50%)
Okay, now for dicussion that's actually interesting and not common knowledge.
Kingler is best as a late game sweeper since Paralysis gives Kingler time to power up and slay everything before he succumbs to too many hits. Kingler can be used either for stallers or for Physicals, so adjust your team accordingly for what you want Kingler to do, or otherwise use him to work with what you already have.
To beat Tauros, you need some luck. The 2HKO with Crabhammer is a 1064/1521 chance (70%), and you need to hit with both Crabhammers (72.25%), bringing the chance to beat Tauros in two turns to 50.6%. However, if you don't get the 2HKO, Tauros will at least be severely damaged, leaving him with 23 HP at most if both hit. Tauros also can only 4HKO with Body Slam, but 2x Body Slam with Hyper Beam to finish is enough. The second Body Slam also doesn't really matter if it CHs or not since it won't be enough for the KO. Tauros can also Paralyze Kingler with Body Slam though and CH on other turns.
Altogether, this brings the (rough) chance for Kingler to be Fully Paralyzed for either turn to 21.5% and Tauros can only save a turn due to CHs if the first Body Slam is (21.5%), so the rough chance for Kingler to beat Tauros is 31.2%. This jumps to 44.5% if Tauros has 23 or more damage, and goes to almost 100% if Tauros is Paralyzed beforehand. You could sacrifice some of that chance to boost Swords Dance for the next Pokemon though, but you can't OHKO with Swords Dance + Hyper Beam against Tauros (315-268 (89%-76%)).
The fresh 1v1 with Chansey is in Kingler's favor too. You'll use Swords Dance, Chansey uses Thunder Wave, then Thunderbolt and Kingler uses Hyper Beam. Chansey wins if she CHs, or Kingler FPs or misses. This gives Kingler a 60.9% chance to win, but if he loses, Kingler will have done 0 damage, and Kingler is still banged up even if he wins. If Chansey is Paralyzed beforehand, all Kingler has to do is Swords Dance and Hyper Beam the next turn. Chansey could either try for a CH with Thunderbolt, or use Thunder Wave and hope Kingler FPs, without FPing herself. It's above 95% for the Thunder Wave route and about 92.7% if Chansey uses Thunderbolt immediately.
For Alakazam, Kingler will be 2HKO'd, and needs to either CH with Hyper Beam or Paralyze with Body Slam. Since if the former fails and Alakazam can heal on the recharge, Body Slam is the best choice. The chance to avoid being CH'd, Paralyzing Alakazam (CH won't OHKO) and then hitting with Hyper Beam is 20.7%. If Alakazam is Paralyzed beforehand, Kingler just needs to Swords Dance and use Hyper Beam, while avoiding an FP by Alakazam, or a CH Psychic. If Alakazam uses Thunder Wave, the chance for Kingler to win is about 78%, and if Alakazam uses Psychic, it's about 82%.
As you can see, it is absolutely crucial for Kingler's opponents to be Paralyzed. Kingler is a very fragile, hybrid sweeper, and while the 328 Defense is massive, the 313 HP disappears fast. The other big problem for Kingler is Gengar, which completely walls Kingler. While Kingler can still hit for good damage with Crabhammer (131-111 (41%-34%)), Gengar's Thunderbolt will leave Kingler with little HP left (292-248 (93%-79%)), and also has a high CH chance, but of the Pokemon that get walled by Gengar, at least Kingler can somewhat fight back. In fact, if Gengar is Paralyzed, Kingler has a 33.5% chance to win, which is pretty impressive, further demonstrating how important Paralysis is.
If you're interested in learning more about using Kingler in OU or would like to try fighting one, I'd suggest talking with Nerd.
