Swords Dance boosts Toxicroak's above average Attack stat, thus opening up possibilities for a sweep. Cross Chop and Stone Edge form an excellent attacking combination while Sucker Punch aids in taking out faster opponents, also notably Ghost and Psychic types. X-Scissor is an alternative option that can hurt Psychics, if you're worried about them trying to set up against Sucker Punch. As an alternative to the Rock/Fighting combination, you can use Poison Jab and Earthquake. Earthquake allows Toxicroak to take on Nidoqueen and other Poison-types like opposing Toxicroak which would otherwise prove problematic. Poison Jab is suggested as a STAB move over Cross Chop in this case, as the coverage provided by Fighting and Ground tends to overlap. Life Orb gives him some extra power, and the recoil can be compensated for by providing Rain Dance support. Wide Lens is an option if you have both Cross Chop and Stone Edge (but not needed otherwise), as it helps avoid a costly miss. The boost from 80% to 88% may seem minor, but it can really make a difference.
No need to set up here; just get in and let fly with well predicted attacks. The first three moves in the set are all a must for their power and type coverage, however the last move is up to personal preference. Earthquake allows Toxicroak to hit opposing Poison types, while Poison Jab offers a reliable STAB move. Pursuit is a neat option that's cool for wearing down a fleeing opponent and can net Toxicroak some surprise kills against Ghosts and Psychics. Should he find himself facing a Choice Specs user such as Rotom or Grumpig, they may be unwilling to risk staying in and facing a quick death at the hands of Sucker Punch. As they run, Toxicroak hops after them and finishes—or at least severely dents—them on their way out. A slightly risky strategy, but the pay off can be incredibly rewarding.
You're using the lower of his offensive stats here, but this is a worthy consideration nonetheless and shouldn't be underestimated. Vacuum Wave alone makes this a very potent set. With boosts from STAB, Life Orb, and Nasty Plot you have a very good chance to OHKO the likes of Swellow, Steelix, Absol, Sharpedo, amongst others. Shadow Ball helps against Ghosts and Psychics, especially the likes of Hypno, Grumpig and Claydol while Hidden Power Ice will OHKO Altaria, Nidoqueen and Sandslash after a Nasty Plot. Sludge Bomb is the preferred option in the last slot, as Toxicroak's options for a more powerful special based Fighting STAB move are limited to the inaccurate Focus Blast, or the comparatively weak HP Fighting. It will also help against some of the targets you can't hit with the moves from the third slot. For example, if you elected to use Shadow Ball, then Flying-types can be a problem, and without Shadow Ball Psychics can get in the way of a sweep. Sludge Bomb offers reliable power against most of them. However, if your team has other ways to deal with such problems, you can use Focus Blast or Hidden Power Fighting, as it is generally a much better attacking type than Poison.
The beauty of this set is that the crucial moves work together so well: Substitute not only allows you to Focus Punch freely, but it also urges your opponent to attack, which makes Sucker Punch less of a risk to use. Set up a Substitute on one of Toxicroak's multiple resists and, and fire away.
Abuse Dry Skin by setting up Rain Dance for some free healing. Life Orb is really cool when you have Rain Dance set up. You lose 10% of your HP with each attack due to Life Orb, but with Rain healing 12.5% you actually gain 2.5% each turn, while having the advantage of operating with a respectable Attack of 444. Other OptionsFake Out and Bullet Punch round out his choices for priority attacks. Brick Break is an alternative over Cross Chop if the 80% accuracy bothers you. A Choice Scarf set with Me First could work as a surprise in some situations, but is generally inferior to the Choice Bander. Taunt is a useful move and can force a Ghost or Psychic to attack, so they can be brought down with Sucker Punch. However, it does limit your type coverage. Anticipation (ability): Helps to scout if your opponent is carrying a super effective attack. However, Earthquakes, Psychics, and Flying attacks are usually fairly predictable so the added immunity to Water and potential healing Dry Skin brings is usually preferable. Scouting for Explosions can prove useful, though. EVsFor most sets, maxing out Attack is a must. Maxed Speed is also fine, if you want to take a chance in a Speed tie with other Toxicroak and Nidoking. With a Jolly nature, Toxicroak is guaranteed to outrun all base 80 Speed Pokemon, including Kabutops and Altaria. In OU, this puts Toxicroak a few points ahead of max Speed Mamoswine, and neutral nature Lucario and Porygon-Z. Modest nature is recommended for the Nasty Plot set due to Toxicroak's mediocre Special Attack stat. Timid is however not a bad option for the reasons listed above. Max Speed and Special Attack. For the SubPunch set, you can invest more in HP to make sturdier Substitutes. When using Life Orb, make sure you HP is odd, so the "recoil" rounds down. OpinionAlthough his defenses are poor, potential healing from Water attacks and handy resistances to Bug, Fighting, Dark and Rock do go some way to compensate for this. His attacking prowess may not quite be up to Lucario proportions, but with his impressive movepool Toxicroak is not to be underestimated. Competition between Fighting types is fierce, but Toxicroak has some rather unique and useful selling points, which makes him a cool choice to add to your team. CountersNidoking and Nidoqueen beat him easily if he doesn't have Earthquake or HP Ice, while Claydol can beat him if he doesn't have Sucker Punch, X-Scissor or Shadow Ball. Most other sturdy Ground types like Sandslash, Quagsire, and Gastrodon will also work, but a critical hit from Cross Chop can spell their demise. It should also be noted that an Impish Steelix is not OHKOed by a Sword Danced Cross Chop and can make short work of Toxicroak with Earthquake. Ghosts that pack status moves or Substitute can be a problem, since he can't hit them with Sucker Punch if they don't attack. Rotom and Froslass are good examples, as both will outspeed him, so he'll be unable to finish them with Stone Edge before they can burn or paralyze him. Ghosts don't fare as well against the Nasty Plot set as Shadow Ball isn't dependent on Toxicroak being attacked to function and a burn will only hinder, rather than cripple him. Venomoth, on the other hand, counters the Nasty Plot set very well. It boasts a 4x resistance to Fighting, which makes Vacuum Wave useless, while threatening to outspeed and OHKO Toxicroak with Psychic. However, it doesn’t fare as well against the Swords Dance set which OHKOs with Sucker Punch after a Swords Dance if Stealth Rock is on the field. Generally, just take advantage of his rather average Speed. Anything faster and not weak to Sucker Punch or Vacuum Wave should easily KO him with a Ground or Psychic attack. |
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