Are Pokemon natures THAT important?

Question

I have EV trained a handful of Pokemon in the past, so I know the edge a beneficial nature can give you. I have a Shiny Nidoking that I caught in FireRed, so it was before I learned about EVs. I want to EV train it (I can use stat reducing berries to get rid of the random EVs he already has gotten). Problem is, he has a Hardy nature, which gives no bonuses at all. Do you think it can actually put up a fight against EV trained Pokemon with beneficial natures? My guess is no, but this has been bugging me and I need to ask someone...

Answer 1

In some cases they can be very important. Most of the time they arent.

Answer 2

-Yes. If you plan on doing competetive battles I suggest you just hatch a Nidoran with a beneficial nature instead. IMO Nidoking's job can easily be replaced by Tyranitar which imo is a way better Pokemon and it has overall better stats too.

-If anything use Nidoking as a tool for trading in case you need something badly.