SS LC Spotlight: Poison-types

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Overview

"I'm addicted to you, don't you know that you're toxic?" Love them or hate them, Poison-types have been a staple of the LC metagame since SM. They are incredibly versatile, checking some of LC's most powerful Fighting-types, soft checking other Pokemon, and providing key defensive utility. In this article, we will explore three of LC's most popular Poison-types: Koffing, Mareanie, and Foongus. We will have an in-depth analysis on each Pokemon, go through some of their best partners, and discuss crucial counterplay to them.

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The Crew

In SM LC, Koffing was a very niche pick that rarely saw usage. However, it's one of the best Poison-types in the SS metagame, serving as a check to powerful physical attackers such as Mienfoo and Grookey. The introduction of Neutralizing Gas to Koffing's arsenal has made it the premier offensive Poison-type, negating some of LC's most powerful abilities such as Regenerator and Arena Trap. Denying Regenerator is especially important for fighting Mienfoo, Mareanie, and Foongus and for using Koffing's vast movepool to demolish cores. Also, unlike other Poison-types, Koffing cannot be trapped, which makes playing around Diglett and Trapinch much easier. Fire Blast targets Steel-types like Pawniard and Ferroseed and hits Diglett on the switch, while Thunderbolt handles Water-types like Staryu, Mareanie, and Frillish as well as Natu. Pain Split shores up Koffing's lack of recovery, but Will-O-Wisp is an option to reliably cripple foes like Mienfoo. Koffing can also utilize Levitate on teams lacking a strong answer to Mudbray, but it makes Koffing significantly worse against Mienfoo.

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Mareanie's unique blend of Regenerator, typing, and offensive and defensive utility makes it a premier Poison-type in LC. It can consistently switch into powerful attacks such as Mienfoo's High Jump Kick, Charmander's Weather Ball, and Choice Scarf Porygon's Ice Beam, and it soft checks foes such as Grookey, Ponyta, and Staryu. Knock Off distinguishes it from other Poison-types and makes progress against checks such as Ferroseed, Foongus, Natu, and Frillish. This progress is complemented by Scald and Sludge Bomb, which can further cripple the aforementioned Pokemon with status.

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The mushroom has seen better days in LC, but it still remains notable as a defensive Poison-type. Spore is Foongus's main selling point, as sleep is a very powerful status in the fast-paced LC metagame. It forces players to always carry an anti-sleep measure on their teams, whether it be a Grass-type, like Ferroseed or your own Foongus, or more specialized choices like Taunt Mienfoo and Sleep Talk Koffing. Foongus's typing and strong recovery options in Regenerator, Synthesis, and Giga Drain let it handle foes such as Mienfoo, Grookey, and Mareanie; it can also scout and soft check powerful offensive threats like Staryu and Mudbray. Sludge Bomb makes it difficult for Grass-resistant foes like Ponyta and Natu to reliably switch into Foongus, especially with Stealth Rock up.

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General Partners

Steel and Poison make an excellent defensive pair. Ferroseed is one of the best partners for Koffing and Mareanie and covers many of their flaws. It switches into powerful special attackers like Abra, Porygon, and Staryu, provides a Spore immunity, and has Thunder Wave, entry hazards, and Knock Off to support their offense. In return, Koffing and Mareanie handle Fighting-types, with Koffing also handling Drain Punch Grookey and denying Regenerator recovery with Neutralizing Gas and Mareanie checking powerful Fire-types like Ponyta and Vulpix. Pawniard is able to partner with all three Poison-types and benefits from them checking Fighting-types. Pawniard's Dark typing is its greatest asset, allowing it to absorb Psychic from powerful threats like Abra, Galarian Ponyta, and Choice Scarf Porygon. Furthermore, its powerful Knock Off is key to handling bulky Pokemon like Natu, Frillish, and Slowpoke, which can consistently switch into the Poison-types; this is especially important against Natu, as Pawniard is capable of setting Stealth Rock against it and forcing progress.

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It wouldn't be a LC article without mentioning Fighting-types. Although they stack weaknesses to Psychic-types, Fighting-types complement Poison-types by pressuring Steel-types like Ferroseed and Pawniard and providing Knock Off; in return, they benefit from Poison-types checking opposing Fighting-types and other threats based on their secondary typings. Mienfoo is the tier's premier Fighting-type, and it forms a potent Regenerator defensive core with Foongus or Mareanie. U-turn is one of the keys to its success, allowing Mienfoo to pivot against Poison-types and bring in your own Poison-type; for example, a common scenario is Mienfoo using U-turn against an incoming Mareanie or Foongus and going to Koffing to apply pressure. The other key is Fake Out, which allows Mienfoo to revenge kill weakened offensive threats. On the other hand, Timburr trades Mienfoo's pivoting capabilities and Regenerator for a powerful punch. To be exact, it has Thunder Punch and Ice Punch, letting it potentially KO Mareanie and Foongus. Alternatively, Timburr can opt for Defog to remove entry hazards, preventing the Poison-types from getting chipped down consistently.

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Trappers like Diglett and Trapinch play a crucial role in allowing your Poison-types to shine. Diglett is able to remove many of the powerful offensive threats in LC, specifically Psychic-types like Abra and Galarian Ponyta as well as foes like Ponyta for Foongus, Magnemite for Mareanie, and weakened Staryu for all Poison-types. In addition, it eliminates the opponent's Poison-type, especially Mareanie. Trapinch, on the other hand, is more specific with its targets. Its powerful First Impression is especially helpful to revenge kill Grookey, preventing the Poison-types from being overwhelmed. Superpower lets it remove Ferroseed, which is extremely beneficial for Mareanie and Foongus, and Porygon, a massive offensive threat.

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Counterplay

Although they provide great defensive utility, Poison-types also have flaws that can be exploited. They are weak to two of the best offensive types: Psychic and Ground. Powerful threats like Abra, Galarian Ponyta, and Mudbray can force them out to make progress against their teammates. Furthermore, each Poison-type has its downsides that proper teammates must patch up. While Koffing is the best offensive Pokemon out of the three, it lacks reliable recovery. Pain Split often will not provide Koffing with longevity, especially if it has to check multiple physical wallbreakers like Mienfoo and Grookey. Mareanie has the perfect balance of offensive and defensive utility, but it is most vulnerable to being trapped. Mienfoo's U-turn or a good double switch will generally allow Diglett to eliminate Mareanie. Also, Mareanie's neutrality to Grookey's STAB attacks can be problematic for itself and its teammates. Foongus is the weakest offensively, and it can be taken advantage of by the prevalent Ferroseed, which walls all of Foongus's moves. Furthermore, its Grass typing makes it vulnerable to common offensive threats such as Ponyta.

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Finishing Thoughts

Whether it be Koffing's offensive presence and Neutralizing Gas, Mareanie's Knock Off and ability to spread status, or Foongus's Spore and longevity, each Poison-type provides a certain defensive niche to a team. So, the next time you are building teams, be sure to give each of these Pokemon a try!

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