Nidoking

After 4 POTW we are finally back to Kanto, and this week we are reviewing not the queen but the King of Nido =p. Nidoking may not be your best sweeper for OU, but in UU play, he has a sweet sweeping role, that can be found on almost any team. With an absolutely amazing movepool, an typing that allows him to take little damage from stealth rocks, remove toxic spikes, and not be effected by electric moves. So now you might be asking, "Why is he in UU then", well honestly, it's because he doesn't have the raw stats to overpower pokemon like Blissey and Skarmory in OU. But if your looking for an effective sweeper in UU, look no further, because the King is here.

King-Breaker
Ability: Poison Point
Item: Life Orb
Rash Nature
176 spd 252 sp atk 80 atk
-Earth Power
-Thunderbolt
-Flamethrower/Ice Beam
-Superpower/Stone Edge
Nidoking may not be the best wall breaker in UU, but he is one of the top dogs, and can effectively break most physical walls, and some special walls. Earth Power is for STAB, and can catch most steel switch ins expecting earthquake and easily OHKO them like Registeel. Thunderbolt is for bulky waters that will also be common switch ins. Flamethrower is for grass types, and steel types occasionally. Ice Beam is useful for grasses, flying, and ground types. Superpower tears through most special walls(say bye bye Chansey), and it has a lot of power. Where Stone Edge has equally as much power, but won't hurt Chansey as much, so the choice between Superpower and Stone Edge is either for accuracy and Chansey bait with Superpower, or no atk/def drop and critical hit chance with Stone Edge. The Ability Poison Point might get you a lucky poison, and Rivalry is just way to risky. Life Orb is useful for getting some extra damage. The EV's give you a lot of speed and special attack to sweep normally, while just enough attack to dent things.

NidoLead
Ability: Poison Point
Item: Focus Sash
Jolly Nature
252 atk 252 spd 4 hp
-Earthquake
-Stealth Rock/Toxic Spikes
-Taunt
-Counter/Sucker Punch
With access to Taunt and a entry hazard, you may already see a lead, but with Nidoking's great typing and speed, this one is a no brainer. Earthquake is obvious, as it has STAB, and great power, and can hit other leads hard. Stealth Rock is nice to have easy access to, but if someone else on your team can set it up, it's not necessary. Toxic Spikes, while very good to set up, you may not have enough time to set up 2 layers, so Stealth Rock might be more useful. Taunt, with your good speed, allows you to stop other leads from setting up, and allows your other Pokemon to take advantage of no entry hazards. Counter works very well with Taunt, as they have to attack you, which can score you a easy Sash KO. While Sucker Punch works great with Earthquake, as you can EQ, then Sucker Punch the remains. The Ability again is for a slight chance of poison, and Rivalry is just to risky. Focus Sash is obvious for a suicide lead like Nidoking. Jolly nature gives you some decent speed, and the EV's max your attack and speed, as there is no need for def/sp def since you have a Focus Sash.

Pick Your Poison
Ability: Poison Point
Item: Life Orb/Choice Band/Scarf/Specs
Adamant/Jolly OR Modest/Timid
252 atk 252 spd 4 hp OR 252 sp atk 252 pd 4 hp
-Earthquake_Earth Power
-Megahorn_Flamethrower
-Stone Edge_Thunderbolt
-Sucker Punch_Ice Beam
I'm not joking, pick your poison. You can either go special with 252 sp atk 252 spd 4 hp with Timid for speed or Modest for special attack nature, or physical with 252 atk 252 spd 4 hp and either Adamant for power or Jolly for speed nature, from there you either decide Life Orb, or Choice Scarf/Band/Spec for your item. And of course you use Poison Point, because Rivalry is too risky. There are a lot of choices for this set, it's either special or physical, then choiced or Life Orb, so don't get too confused. The first move on both sets is for STAB, and will be your main hitter with Earth Power for special, or Earthquake for physical. Then for physical you go with megahorn to deal with grasses and psychic types, and for special you go with Flamethrower for grass, ice, or steel types. Then for physical you go with Stone Edge, because it hits really hard, and takes care of flying types, and for special you go with Thunderbolt to take care of flying types. For the last slot you either go physical with Sucker Punch, which has priority and takes care of ghosts, or Ice Beam for special, which gives you great coverage with Thunderbolt and Flamethrower. Psssh and you guys said i couldn't combine 3 sets into one =].

So there you have, the sweeping special or physical machine in UU for this weeks POTW. Of course Nidking is going to need a little help. Because he is a sweeper, you will need to give him some entry hazards, like Stealth Rocks or Spikes to get OHKO's or 2HKO's on some pokemon. Nidoking isn't that fragile, but he does appreciate sponges that can recover damage. And because he will be taking out most water/rock types, and for the lead set, taking out other entry hzards, Pokemon that benefit from no entry hazards or bulky rock/waters greatly appreciate it, like i don't know all Fire types. For counters, even with some wall breaker sets, really bulk pokemon can just give Nidoking a hard time, so pokemon like Milotic can crush you with recover and surfs. Also, since his speed is not amazing, anything faster with ice/psychic/ or water moves is going to hit Nidoking hard, although watch out for Sucker Punch.