Hi Pojo

I am talking about the one and only Nidoking! This card is so good if played in the right deck and has the potential to kill off any pokemon in next to no time at all. Let's take a look at his stat's......

The hp is more than satisfactory to say the least if anyone queries. The first attack, Thrash , is just a carbon copy of 'Electabuzz's Thunderpunch', but for one extra colourless energy. Bet you didn't realize that did you? And if there are people complaining about the extra energy cost, Nidokings higher hp make the self-damaging side effect easier to ignore.

The second attack, Toxic , in my opinion,is just absolutely phenomenal! It lays down 20 damage straight away with another 20 damage added on immediately after. By the time the opponent has attacked you, their active pokemon is on 60 damage, and by your next attack, it will be on 100 hp! That alone is enough to kill off almost any pokemon. So we are looking at an attack that can cause a total damage count of 100 on your second, yes you read it right, second turn after you first attacked! And that's not all. If you use Toxic first of all, and then for your second attack ( they will then be 60 damage ) use Thrash and flip heads, We are talking about 120 damage on turn two! Incredible!

It's retreat cost may be high, but then how many stage 2 pokemon have a retreat cost of lower than C,C,C? It's evolution line may not be great either, but I usually keep Nidoran on the bench and then skip out the Nidorinos by using Pokemon Breeders.

Weakness to Psychic make it vulnerable to the Gengar family, and that pesky Mr. Mime I hear you say? Wrong again! Nidoking is Mr. Mime's worst nightmare, as it's 20 base damage is low enough to still hurt mimey, and then it's automatic poison status effect add that extra 20 damage to kill mimey in one devastating swipe! As for the ghostly Gengar line, You should combine Nidoking with that big old egg Chansey. Chansey's resistance to Psychic mean that Gengar can't touch her, and when you have enough energy, Double-Edge to knock out that gastly ghost in one shot! And, once again, for all those Chansey-doubters who scoff at it's self-damaging attack, that leaves it with only 40hp left, remember that it has a resistance so that anything psychic on the bench won't be able to hurt her. Then on your next turn, retreat! Simple really.