KINGAMBIT STRATEGY IN COMPETITIVE POKÉMON

With each generation we have new evolutions for Pokémon that we already knew, with better statistics and many times abilities. These Pokémon are usually better than their predecessors for Competitive Pokémon , except in cases like Dusclops or Murkrow. In Paldea we have the evolution of the great Bisharp, the Last Samurai: Kingambit .

With a fantastic distribution of statistics, exclusive movement and a new exclusive ability, this is a great Pokémon that will give you many victories in your games. Do you want to know how to play it? Well, we tell you how:

? KINGAMBIT STATS

His statistics add up to a total of 550 points , quite high. But it’s the cast of him that makes him spectacular:

• Health: 100.
• Attack: 135.
• Defense: 120.
• Special Attack: 60.
• Special Defense: 85.
• Speed: 50.

And it is that with this distribution Kingambit is placed as a pseudo-legendary, since its two lowest statistics are the Special Attack, a statistic that we will not use, and its Speed, which with 50 points is low enough to make the Samurai a great sweeper in Space . rare . With 135 Attack he will hit very hard and we will see below the tremendous ability of him.

With really good defensive stats of 120 Defense and 85 Special Defense (its weak point, but it’s not very low) and a Health of 100 Kingambit holds up a lot, especially considering that being a slow Pokémon we won’t improve its Speed , but his Life and Defenses.

TYPE, RESISTANCES AND WEAKNESSES

Kingambit is a Dark Steel-type , which gives it the following weaknesses and resistances:

• It is immune to Poison, Psychic and the Trickster ability (we explain it below).
• It is resistant to Normal, Grass, Ice, Flying, Rock, Ghost, Dragon, Dark, and Steel.
• It is weak to Fire and Earth.
• It is very weak to Fight.

The immunity to Psychic is not too decisive due to its low presence, while the immunity to Poison can be great to protect our Fairies. Its immunity to priority status moves using Pokémon with the Joker ability is very good. If a Grimmsnarl or  Sableye  uses a move against us (like Taunt) we will be immune to it.

9 resistances is a hell of a lot, giving us a lot of ability to get Kingambit onto the field and soak up a hit with no issues.

Only 2 weaknesses x2 and a very dangerous x4. Let’s see some very dangerous examples:

• Fire : A very tricky weakness. Pokemon like Skeledirge , Armarouge , or Charizard are very dangerous Special Attackers.
• Ground : This is a much less common type, but Garchomp is the most dangerous example.
• Fighting (x4) : If a Fighting Type hits us with its STAB it will weaken Kingambit. Keep an eye out for Quaquaval , the great Annihilape  , and coverage moves (which many Pokémon use).

SUPREME GENERAL: HIS EXCLUSIVE ABILITY

Raises the user’s Attack and Special Attack by one level for each Pokémon on your team that is weakened . This ability makes it a great Pokémon to sweep the opponent after a few turns. It is our favorite ability and the one we will use almost always.

KINGAMBIT’S OTHER ABILITIES

Although his exclusive ability will be the one we normally use, here are the others:

COMPETITIVE

This ability increases our Pokémon’s Attack by two levels when one of its statistics is reduced. It’s a great option against Intimidate and Last Word.

PRESSURE (HIDDEN ABILITY)

This ability makes the opponent lose more PP in their movements when they attack our Pokémon. A rather weak ability really.

IVS, EVS AND NATURE

The perfect Iv’s, except the Speed ​​that we will put at 0 and with the Ev’s in Health and Damage if we go to Trick Room:

• EV’s : The already standard 252 in Health, 252 in Attack and 4 in Special Defense. If you want to put Speed ​​on it, leave Health at 112 and give it 144 Speed.
• Nature : We will carry Bold Nature (+Attack, -Speed). If we don’t take our Kingambit in Rare Space we will take Steady (+Attack,-Special Attack)

RECOMMENDED ITEM

These are the objects that we recommend for Kingambit:

• Vidasfera : Enhances the damage produced by 30% and damages our Pokémon for 10% of its life. This along with our Overlord ability will give us tremendous damage.
• Leftovers : The Pokémon recovers 1/16 of its total Health points at the end of the turn. Thanks to its high Health, this item can help us endure many turns.

KOWTOW CLEAVE: ITS SIGNATURE MOVE

• Type: Sinister.
• Physical.
• Power: 85.
• Precision: 100.
• Effect: Never fails.

It’s a great STAB move for our general, which will be very useful in Singles against Pokémon that increase its evasion as it always hits.

BEST MOVES FOR KINGAMBIT

We see the best movements so that our samurai can reign in Competitive:

• Genufendiente : His favorite Dark STAB. It is very effective against Ghost and Psychic, for those threats like Annihilape, Chandelure , or Hatterene.
• Cheap Shot: Dark STAB, Physical, 70 Power, 100% Accuracy. It has priority if the target is going to use an attack move, otherwise it will miss. It’s very good against pokemon faster than us. It will destroy Gholdengo before he can attack.
• Iron Head : Steel STAB, Physical, 80 power and 100% accuracy. 30% chance to fear the opponent. It is our very effective damage for Fairy, Ice and Rock types. Our answer for Tyranitar , Tapu Koko or Baxcalibur among others.
• Demolition : Fighting, Physical, 75 power and 100 precision. It destroys Screens (Reflection, Light Screen, and Aurora Veil), which can be great against Grimmsnarl. It’s also great coverage for other Kingambit, as well as Pokemon like Meowscarade or Umbreon .
• Sword Dance : The Pokémon raises its Attack by 2 levels. We will use this move for Singles, where if we predict a switch and buff ourselves we will be very powerful.
• Protection : Normal, Status, and 100% Accuracy (but can fail if used consecutively). Prevents all damage or status moves to the Pokémon using it.

KINGAMBIT STRATEGIES

The General is a tremendous attacker ( sweeper ) once some of our Pokémon have fallen. Let’s see how you can take advantage of it with our sets :

KINGAMBIT SWEEPER HARD (SINGLES)

• IVs: Perfect.
• EVs: 112 Health, 252 Attack, 144 Speed.
• Nature: Firm.
• Object: Life Orb / Remains.
• Skill: Supreme General.
• Movements:
  • genufendiente
  • Low blow.
  • Iron head.
  • Sword Dance / Demolition.

The objective with this set is to introduce Kingambit into the field once we have lost some Pokémon , thus boosting our damage with our ability, and we have finished off the opponent’s biggest threats to our general. If we achieve this, we will be able to deal massive damage to the opponent, for which Life Orb will be the perfect choice, but if we take it with another Leftover Pokémon it will give us a little more durability.

The choice between Sword Dance and Demolition is entirely personal. While Sword Dance allows us to ramp up a lot, Breakdown has been more stable in the testing phase (we test our strategies). It gives us coverage for direct confrontations, as well as a solution for the screens.

KINGAMBIT IN TRICKY SPACE (VGC DOUBLES)

• IVs: Perfect, minus Speed ​​at 0.
• EVs: 252 Health, 252 Attack and 4 Special Defense.
• Nature: Bold.
• Object: Lifesphere.
• Skill: Supreme General.
• Movements:
  • Protection.
  • genufendiente
  • Iron head.
  • Low blow.

With this set we have a similar goal. We will place Trick Room to be able to attack first, if we have to sacrifice a Pokémon for it it won’t be so bad as it enhances our ability. It’s important to put Kingambit on a clean switch (after the opponent Attacks) to prevent it from taking too much damage. Hatterene is a great partner , it covers our Kingambit’s weaknesses, it can set up Trick Room and in case our Fairy is going to take a Poison-type attack, we can safely switch to our Kingambit.

Protection is too good in doubles, especially on slow Pokémon, and with Cheap Hit we will kill many Pokémon that will expect to hit first.

KINGAMBIT TERACRYSTALLIZATION

• Teracrystallization: Sinister.

Getting our STAB up to x2 is always a great possibility for sweepers, so Dark-type Teracrystallize is our best option. If you want a defensive option you can try teracrystallizing Ghost, in order to avoid the great weakness to Fighting.

HOW TO DEFEAT KINGAMBIT AND COUNTERS

Kingambit needs certain conditions to be devastating, so avoiding them is a great option against him. Let’s see how:

• Avoid Trick Room: If we are not under Trick Room Kingambit will be slower than most Pokémon. Options like Taunt on Pokemon like Incineroar or Arcanine are good options, as is Sealing on Pokemon like Gengar or Chandelure.
• Take him down in one hit : His weakness to the Fighting type is his Achilles heel. The bullet fist from Pokémon like Lucario will finish him off without him expecting it.
• Burned : Burning a physical sweeper is always devastating for it. Wisp Fire with Pokémon like Sableye will give us many games.