Kingdra

Kingdra is a Pokémon with a very unique typing, Water and Dragon. The only way to obtain it is to evolve Seadra with a Dragon Scale, which can be obtained by spinning Pokéstops, Gym Photodiscs or via the 7-day streak rewards. In this Battledex entry, we will analyse its viability in the current metagame, its best movesets and how to counter it.

Pokémon	Stats			Max CP
	ATK	DEF	STA
Kingdra Water Dragon	194	194	150	2424

Kingdra overview

Kingdra is a great example of how balanced stats in the main series games translate into usually mediocre stats in Pokémon GO (you can check out the formula here). Furhermore, since abilities are not yet implemented in the game, Kingdra loses one of its main uses in the metagame of the main series games, which is being a very fast sweeper in rainy weather.

It is not considered a meta-relevant Pokémon as of now, and sadly that does not seem likely to change in the near future. However, it could have some PvP potential, if that feature is ever implemented. Being a Water and Dragon type Pokémon makes it resist Steel type moves, double resist Fire and Water type moves and take super effective damage from Fairy and Dragon type moves.

Its main strengths are:

• It has just 2 weaknesses and quite a diverse movepool
• It could have some PvP potential (especially if abilities are implemented in the future)
• Double resisting Water and Fire type moves (and resisting Steel type moves too) isn’t meta-changing, but definitely helpful in some situations

However, its main weaknesses should be mentioned too:

• It is weak to Dragon and Fairy type moves, and there are plenty of great Dragon type generalists in the current metagame ready to counter it
• Balanced stats in the main series games = mediocre stats in Pokémon GO most of the time. It lacks offensive power and bulk to be meta-relevant
• It is outclassed by plenty of Dragon and Water types, and that does not seem likely to change in the near future

Best Kingdra movesets

Best Kingdra moves in Pokémon GO

The following Table compares the cycle DPS (with STAB) of every single moveset that Kingdra is able to learn. Some movesets are more viable or commonly used than others. Keep in mind that some movesets might not top the DPS charts but could be good to use in certain scenarios.

*Keep in mind that STAB cycle DPS calculations just compare the different movesets and they are not Pokémon-specific

• Waterfall and Hydro Pump (its Water type moveset) is the best choice for offensive purposes, but there are plenty of better Water type Pokémon on offense
• Blizzard or Outrage can be used to counter the Dragon type generalists if you are planning to put Kingdra in a gym (tip: don’t)
• Water Gun is a legacy move, but it is inferior to Waterfall as a fast move. Only keep it for collecting purposes

Kingdra counters in Pokémon GO

Supreme Counters

Pokémon	Fast move	Charge move
Rayquaza Dragon Flying	Dragon Tail Dragon	Outrage Dragon
Dragonite Dragon Flying	Dragon Tail Dragon	Outrage Dragon
Salamence Dragon Flying	Dragon Tail Dragon	Draco Meteor Dragon
Gardevoir Psychic Fairy	Confusion Psychic	Dazzling Gleam Fairy

Kingdra is weak to Dragon and Fairy type attacks. Rayquaza is the best Dragon type attacker in the game, followed by Dragonite and Salamence. Keep in mind, though, that you will take super effective damage from Kingdra’s Dragon type moves if you use them as counters, and especially watch out for incoming Blizzards, as you will take double super effective damage!

Gardevoir is an interesting option too. It is the best Fairy type attacker in the game, but it does not have access to a Fairy type fast move because they do not exist in Pokémon GO yet. Gardevoir will double resist incoming Dragon type moves from Kingdra while dealing super effective damage with Dazzling Gleam, which makes it a supreme counter despite dealing less DPS than the dragons.

Other viable alternatives

Pokémon	Fast move	Charge move
Latios Dragon Psychic	Dragon Breath Dragon	Dragon Claw Dragon
Latias Dragon Psychic	Dragon Breath Dragon	Outrage Dragon
Granbull Fairy	Snarl Dark	Play Rough Fairy

Latios is a great Pokémon to use but its Dragon type moveset isn’t as powerful as Dragon Tail and Outrage. Furthermore, it will take super effective damage from Kingdra’s Dragon type moves, just as the other dragons. Latias is a bulkier alternative with a lower attack stat but a slightly better moveset.

Granbull is another interesting Fairy type alternative to Gardevoir. Its attack stat is not as high, but it double resists Dragon type moves while dealing super effective damage with Play Rough.

Weather influence

Viability in raids

Kingdra is not the best Water or Dragon type Pokémon to use in raids. The most important metric in raids is normally time to win, and thus other Pokémon are better options than Kingdra. Keeping that in mind, here is a compilation of the raids in which it is a decent counter (or filler for your team), despite existing better options:

Raid Boss	Fast move to use	Charge move to use
Piloswine Ice Ground	Waterfall Water	Hydro Pump Water
Golem Rock Ground*	Waterfall Water	Hydro Pump Water
Rhydon Ground Rock*	Waterfall Water	Hydro Pump Water
Houndoom Dark Fire	Waterfall Water	Hydro Pump Water
Moltres Fire Flying*	Waterfall Water	Hydro Pump Water
Entei Fire*	Waterfall Water	Hydro Pump Water
Ho-Oh Fire Flying	Waterfall Water	Hydro Pump Water
Groudon Ground*	Waterfall Water	Hydro Pump Water
Rayquaza Dragon Flying*	Dragon Breath Dragon	Blizzard Ice
Latios Dragon Psychic	Dragon Breath Dragon	Outrage Dragon
Latias Dragon Psychic	Dragon Breath Dragon	Outrage Dragon
Regirock Rock**	Waterfall Water	Hydro Pump Water

*Legacy raid boss **Potential future raid boss