Mastering the Flinch: A Deep Dive into King’s Rock and Move Compatibility
The King’s Rock is a fascinating item in the Pokémon universe, known for its ability to induce flinching in opponents. But it’s not a universal flinch-inducing tool; its effectiveness depends heavily on the moves used. So, what moves actually work with King’s Rock? The answer is straightforward: King’s Rock adds a 10% chance to flinch to any damaging move that doesn’t already have an inherent flinch chance. This means that moves with a predetermined flinch rate, like Headbutt or Fake Out, will not have their flinch chance increased by the King’s Rock. Conversely, moves that inflict damage but have no pre-existing flinch chance are the ones that will benefit from the item. Understanding these nuances is crucial for strategic gameplay.
The Core Mechanics of King’s Rock
The core function of King’s Rock is to introduce a flinch chance where one didn’t exist before. Let’s break it down:
How It Works
- Base Flinch Chance: The King’s Rock bestows a 10% flinch chance on moves that don’t inherently have one.
- Non-Stacking: This flinch chance does not stack with existing flinch chances on a move. For example, a 30% flinch move like Headbutt will always maintain that 30% rate and will not become 40% with King’s Rock.
- Multi-Hit Exception: King’s Rock is particularly useful with multi-hit moves as each individual hit is given a separate 10% chance to flinch. This significantly increases the overall odds of flinching the opponent during a single turn.
Moves It Doesn’t Affect
- Moves with Existing Flinch: Any move that already has a chance to cause flinching, such as Headbutt (30%), Rock Slide (30%), or Air Slash (30%), will not benefit from an increased chance.
- Non-Damaging Moves: Status moves or moves that don’t inflict damage, like Swords Dance or Will-O-Wisp, are not affected by King’s Rock.
Strategic Implications and Pokemon Synergies
The strategic benefit of King’s Rock is undeniable, especially when used with the right Pokémon and moves. Certain Pokémon are better suited to leverage this item than others:
Multi-Hit Masters
- Pokémon with access to multi-hit moves like Cloyster using Icicle Spear, or Cinccino utilizing Tail Slap become potent flinch-inducing threats when equipped with King’s Rock. With each strike having its own flinch chance, the likelihood of preventing the opponent from acting increases significantly.
High-Speed Threats
- Fast Pokémon that can consistently attack first can better utilize the flinch mechanic. A well-timed flinch can disrupt enemy strategies and provide a significant advantage, especially in competitive battles.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some commonly asked questions about the King’s Rock, providing further clarity on its usage and mechanics:
1. Does King’s Rock stack with Serene Grace?
Yes, Serene Grace does stack with King’s Rock. Serene Grace doubles the secondary effect chance of moves. This would turn the 10% flinch chance of King’s Rock into a 20% flinch chance. This can be especially powerful when combined with already good moves.
2. Does King’s Rock stack with other flinch-inducing items like Razor Fang?
No, King’s Rock and Razor Fang do not stack. They both give the same 10% chance of flinching and will not combine to give 20%. The game will only apply the 10% of one item.
3. Does King’s Rock stack with Stench?
Similar to Razor Fang, King’s Rock does not stack with the Stench ability. Stench also grants a 10% flinch chance, meaning equipping a Pokémon with Stench and King’s Rock is redundant.
4. Can I use King’s Rock with moves like Rock Slide or Headbutt?
Yes, you can, but it won’t increase their flinch chance. Rock Slide and Headbutt already have their own chance to flinch (30% and 30% respectively). King’s Rock will not stack with this chance to increase it.
5. Does King’s Rock work with moves like Seismic Toss, Draco Meteor, Dragon Rage or Hex?
No. King’s Rock only works with moves that deal damage. Seismic Toss always deals damage equal to the user’s level. Draco Meteor is a special attack that reduces the user’s special attack stat. Dragon Rage does a fixed 40 damage, and Hex deals more damage if the target has a status effect. These moves all have some form of secondary effect, but that is not the same as having a flinch chance. This means King’s Rock will have no effect on these moves.
6. Does King’s Rock increase the chance to flinch on Fake Out?
No, Fake Out already has a 100% flinch chance, and the King’s Rock’s effect will not trigger because Fake Out already has a chance to flinch. Therefore, using King’s Rock with Fake Out is pointless.
7. Is King’s Rock useful on multi-strike moves?
Absolutely. Multi-strike moves are one of the best use cases for King’s Rock. Each hit is treated individually and has a separate chance to flinch, drastically increasing the chance for flinching the opponent. For example, a five-hit move will give a 1-(0.9^5)= 41% chance to flinch the target at least once.
8. How do you evolve Slowpoke into Slowking with King’s Rock?
To evolve Slowpoke into Slowking, you must give a Slowpoke the King’s Rock to hold, and then trade it to another player. Upon trading, the Slowpoke will evolve into Slowking. You can then trade it back to yourself to get it to your own account.
9. How do you evolve Poliwhirl into Politoed with King’s Rock?
Similar to Slowking, to evolve Poliwhirl into Politoed, you must give a Poliwhirl the King’s Rock to hold, and then trade it to another player. Upon trading, the Poliwhirl will evolve into Politoed. You can then trade it back to yourself to get it to your own account.
10. Does King’s Rock work with Population Bomb?
While Population Bomb can hit up to 10 times, it also has a chance to miss on each strike. Each successful hit will have a separate 10% chance to flinch with King’s Rock, but the move’s low accuracy means this chance will be heavily reduced in practice.
11. What are some effective Pokemon to pair with King’s Rock?
Pokémon with multi-hit moves like Cloyster using Icicle Spear or Cinccino using Tail Slap are highly effective with King’s Rock due to the chance to flinch multiple times during a single turn. Fast attackers will also appreciate it.
12. What other Pokemon evolve with items?
Seadra evolves into Kingdra with a Dragon Scale. Many Pokemon in the games evolve by trading with a hold item. These include Porygon, Scyther, Magmar and many more.
13. How does Sticky Hold prevent items from being removed?
The ability Sticky Hold prevents the Pokémon’s held item from being removed or stolen by the opponent, making items like King’s Rock much safer.
14. Is King’s Rock a generally “good” item in competitive play?
King’s Rock can be useful, but it’s not universally broken. It requires specific synergy with mult-hit moves or fast attackers. Often there are other more reliable items to use.
15. Does King’s Rock have any effect on the move Headbutt if the user has Sheer Force?
Yes, but not in the way you would expect. Usually Sheer Force removes the 30% chance to flinch that Headbutt has, but King’s Rock would then give Headbutt a new 10% flinch chance instead.