Daily Red Kingdra set and strategy
Kingdra is A-tier on our Daily Red tier list (#9 of 30) — a strong pick against Red. On paper it wins 4 of 6 one-on-one matchups against Red (Pikachu, Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise). Play Daily Red ↗
The Kingdra set in Daily Red
Kingdra
- Water Surf Special · 95
- Dragon Dragon Breath Special · 60
- Ice Ice Beam Special · 95
- Psychic Rest Status
Every player gets this exact set when Kingdra is in the daily six: level 100, Modest nature, perfect IVs, holding Chesto Berry with Swift Swim. The set never changes from day to day.
Kingdra vs each of Red's Pokémon
Estimated damage at level 100 with these exact stats (Gen 3 formula, no crits, no boosts). “Wins” means it should take the one-on-one trade, counting who moves first.
| Red's Pokémon | Kingdra's best hit | Red's best hit back | Moves first | 1v1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Pikachu |
Surf 132–156% | Thunderbolt 62–73% | Pikachu | ✅ wins |
 Espeon |
Surf 53–62% | Psychic 53–63% | Espeon | ❌ loses |
 Snorlax |
Surf 24–29% | Body Slam 45–52% | Kingdra | ❌ loses |
 Venusaur |
Ice Beam 50–59% (super effective) | Giga Drain 33–38% | Kingdra | ✅ wins |
 Charizard |
Surf 106–125% (super effective) | Dragon Claw 56–66% (super effective) | Charizard | ✅ wins |
 Blastoise |
Dragon Breath 23–27% | Ice Beam 28–33% | Kingdra | ✅ wins |
How to use Kingdra against Red
- Save Kingdra for Pikachu, Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise — those are the one-on-one trades it wins on paper.
- Avoid leaving it in against Espeon, Snorlax; switch to a teammate that covers them (see below).
- Charizard's Dragon Claw is super effective on Kingdra (56–66%), so don't switch it in on that attack.
- It beats Red's Pikachu lead: Surf does 132–156%.
Best partners for Kingdra
If these show up on the same day, they cover the matchups Kingdra loses:
How often Kingdra shows up
Each day's six are drawn from a fixed pool of 30 sets, so any one set appears on about 1 in 5 days. Over the first 365 days, Kingdra is in the team on 72 days (20%), and it is our suggested lead on 1 of those (1%). Its most common job in our counter plans is handling Venusaur.
Days it has appeared so far:
- Daily Red #1 — Mon, Oct 12, 2026
Other Daily Red Pokémon
Gyarados · Jolteon · Flygon · Breloom · Slowbro · Houndoom · Arcanine · Alakazam · Machamp · Gengar · Rhydon · Starmie · Scizor · Heracross · Donphan · Tyranitar · Sceptile · Blaziken · Swampert · Ludicolo · Shiftry · Gardevoir · Aggron · Medicham · Manectric · Camerupt · Milotic · Salamence · Metagross