Monotype THE POISONOUS STUFF IN THIS WORLD(Poison Monotype Balance/Semi-Stall(I don't know)) ft. Growth Amoonguss

After a long time without posting anything on the RMT forum and just looking through it, I went back to probably my favorite tier: Monotype. After making dozens of drafts on different types, I built this poison monotype team: A Semi Stall/Balance Poison Type team.

Sewer Sludge (Muk-Alolan)@ Black Sludge
Ability: Poison Touch
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Protect
- Poison Jab

(:muk-alola: is the main Special wall on the team, using the Max HP, SpD and Careful nature to help it with its role on this team. Knock Off and Poison Jab are for STAB, with Drain Punch to provide extra healing and a way to hit Steel Types, with 4 Atk EVs to make them do some damage. Protect is to get turns to heal with Black Sludge and can Toxic Stall if Poison Touch activates, making it a very good pokemon on Poison teams.)

CrownOThorns@ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Recover
- Haze
- Toxic

(Main Defensive Wall, With Max Def and close to Max HP with a little investment to SpD and a Bold Nature because why not, it’s super bulky and making it bulkier on both ends makes it more annoying to deal with. Scald is the main attacking move and has chances to burn mons and can help our team extremely. If we can’t burn, then we can just poison with toxic and make their long journey of setting back to square zero with haze. Recover is for Toxic Stall and keeps :toxapex: healthy for the heavy wallbreakers that threaten any team, but Regen+Black Sludge usually keeps :toxapex: at above half health.)

ToxicMoth @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Quark Drive
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fiery Dance
- Discharge
- Dazzling Gleam
- Energy Ball

(Choice Scarf :iron-moth: is for cleaning up and a secondary win condition with Fiery Dance having a chance to raise its SpA. Standard Choice Scarf EV Spread with Max SpA and Speed, with the rest in defense for priority whatnot, and a modest nature to boost its power because it's already really fast. The rest of the moveset is for covering the many types there are in Pokemon and abusing Iron Moth’s movepool: Discharge for Flying and Water, DazzGleam for the Dark, Fighting, and Dragon types, Energy ball for the Rock, Ground, and Water again.

Venecattus (Sneasler)@ White Herb
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Dire Claw
- Close Combat
- Acrobatics

(This is the main attacker of the team, The standard Unburden SD :sneasler: set with Max ATk and Spe. Because the only terrain setter in Poison was :weezing-galar: and the terrain prevented Dire Claw’s ability to status, I decided to go with white herb + Close Combat. SD is for boosting :sneasler:’s Attack, Dire Claw is its main STAB move, Close Combat being the UNburden Trigger, and acrobatics to take advantage of it. Adamant is to give :sneasler: more power, as again with :iron-moth:, it outspeeds most of the tier anyway, even without a Jolly nature.

HornedTurban (Slowking-Galar) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
Relaxed Nature
- Future Sight
- Chilly Reception
- Surf
- Thunder Wave

(:slowking-galar: is a secondary defensive wall(utilizing its Max HP and Def.)/pivot that can safely bring in :sneasler: to sweep. Heavy-Duty Boots are mandatory on a pivot so it doesn’t get worn down by hazards. Future Sight is for passive damage to enforce progress on the game, as you won’t be sending sneasler immediately and the team doesn’t have a lot of ways to do direct damage. Chilly Reception is used to shut down weather teams (barring snow) and also pivot out to sneasler or one of my walls, with 0 Speed IVs to make sure it goes last, only being not outsped by :hatterene:(with 0 Ivs and a negative nature, otherwise you’re the slowest pokemon in the tier) and being speed tied by other slowking with the same speed. Surf is for Ground types, as not many members on my team can hit it directly. Thunder Wave is used to slow down other pokemon so that :iron-moth: or :sneasler: can come in to clean up / set up.)

Amogus (Amoonguss) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Growth
- Giga Drain
- Clear Smog
- Spore

(Yeah, yeah, setup :amoonguss:. I even said to one of my friends a long time ago that “You should never use :amoonguss: offensively.” But this is an exception: GROUND TYPES ARE GOING TO WRECK THIS TEAM. That’s why I decided to build a Bulky (248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD spread) Offensive :amoonguss: set with a Relaxed Nature. Spore is to render the opposing pokemon useless while it sets up with Growth. Giga Drain is for recovery while it sets up, and Stomping Tantrum is for Steel types like :kingambit:.
Black SLudge provides recovery while setting up with Growth.



SO I guess that's it! Might be showing one of the other teams i've drafted in a week(thank god they shortened the time)
 
After a long time without posting anything on the RMT forum and just looking through it, I went back to probably my favorite tier: Monotype. After making dozens of drafts on different types, I built this poison monotype team: A Semi Stall/Balance Poison Type team.

Sewer Sludge (Muk-Alolan)@ Black Sludge
Ability: Poison Touch
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Protect
- Poison Jab

(:muk-alola: is the main Special wall on the team, using the Max HP, SpD and Careful nature to help it with its role on this team. Knock Off and Poison Jab are for STAB, with Drain Punch to provide extra healing and a way to hit Steel Types, with 4 Atk EVs to make them do some damage. Protect is to get turns to heal with Black Sludge and can Toxic Stall if Poison Touch activates, making it a very good pokemon on Poison teams.)

CrownOThorns@ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Recover
- Haze
- Toxic

(Main Defensive Wall, With Max Def and close to Max HP with a little investment to SpD and a Bold Nature because why not, it’s super bulky and making it bulkier on both ends makes it more annoying to deal with. Scald is the main attacking move and has chances to burn mons and can help our team extremely. If we can’t burn, then we can just poison with toxic and make their long journey of setting back to square zero with haze. Recover is for Toxic Stall and keeps :toxapex: healthy for the heavy wallbreakers that threaten any team, but Regen+Black Sludge usually keeps :toxapex: at above half health.)

ToxicMoth @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Quark Drive
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fiery Dance
- Discharge
- Dazzling Gleam
- Energy Ball

(Choice Scarf :iron-moth: is for cleaning up and a secondary win condition with Fiery Dance having a chance to raise its SpA. Standard Choice Scarf EV Spread with Max SpA and Speed, with the rest in defense for priority whatnot, and a modest nature to boost its power because it's already really fast. The rest of the moveset is for covering the many types there are in Pokemon and abusing Iron Moth’s movepool: Discharge for Flying and Water, DazzGleam for the Dark, Fighting, and Dragon types, Energy ball for the Rock, Ground, and Water again.

Venecattus (Sneasler)@ White Herb
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Dire Claw
- Close Combat
- Acrobatics

(This is the main attacker of the team, The standard Unburden SD :sneasler: set with Max ATk and Spe. Because the only terrain setter in Poison was :weezing-galar: and the terrain prevented Dire Claw’s ability to status, I decided to go with white herb + Close Combat. SD is for boosting :sneasler:’s Attack, Dire Claw is its main STAB move, Close Combat being the UNburden Trigger, and acrobatics to take advantage of it. Adamant is to give :sneasler: more power, as again with :iron-moth:, it outspeeds most of the tier anyway, even without a Jolly nature.

HornedTurban (Slowking-Galar) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
Relaxed Nature
- Future Sight
- Chilly Reception
- Surf
- Thunder Wave

(:slowking-galar: is a secondary defensive wall(utilizing its Max HP and Def.)/pivot that can safely bring in :sneasler: to sweep. Heavy-Duty Boots are mandatory on a pivot so it doesn’t get worn down by hazards. Future Sight is for passive damage to enforce progress on the game, as you won’t be sending sneasler immediately and the team doesn’t have a lot of ways to do direct damage. Chilly Reception is used to shut down weather teams (barring snow) and also pivot out to sneasler or one of my walls, with 0 Speed IVs to make sure it goes last, only being not outsped by :hatterene:(with 0 Ivs and a negative nature, otherwise you’re the slowest pokemon in the tier) and being speed tied by other slowking with the same speed. Surf is for Ground types, as not many members on my team can hit it directly. Thunder Wave is used to slow down other pokemon so that :iron-moth: or :sneasler: can come in to clean up / set up.)

Amogus (Amoonguss) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Growth
- Giga Drain
- Clear Smog
- Spore

(Yeah, yeah, setup :amoonguss:. I even said to one of my friends a long time ago that “You should never use :amoonguss: offensively.” But this is an exception: GROUND TYPES ARE GOING TO WRECK THIS TEAM. That’s why I decided to build a Bulky (248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD spread) Offensive :amoonguss: set with a Relaxed Nature. Spore is to render the opposing pokemon useless while it sets up with Growth. Giga Drain is for recovery while it sets up, and Stomping Tantrum is for Steel types like :kingambit:.
Black SLudge provides recovery while setting up with Growth.


SO I guess that's it! Might be showing one of the other teams i've drafted in a week(thank god they shortened the time)
Hello there, Monotype's number 1 Poison nutjob here, and I've got some critiques for this team.

Readjusted team: https://pokepast.es/5bbfdef0c3a09e59

First of, Toxapex lost Scald. Genuinely a big old RIP moment for the mon so your gonna need to find something more. If you want some fire power on your Pex Surf Toxic is always helpful. I would also recommend switching sludge for Helmet, There are a lot of really dangerous threats running around this meta (See Chien pao for further information) that are contact attackers so having a helmet Pex will help out majorly.

Next a major thing is Glowking. While trying to maximize is physical bulk is something, it has, issues doing so. A notable one is Landorus can look at it funny and just OKHO it which brings a vibe Poison teams really hate. My personal adjustment would be something like this.

HornedTurban (Slowking-Galar) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
Sassy Nature
- Future Sight
- Ice Beam
- Slack off/Sludge Bomb
- Chilly reception
It keeps the bulky aspects but puts it where it is needed most, in killing Landorus and Helping to deal with Bloodmoon. Sludge bomb is good old consistent STAB and helps in handling Volcarona which might feast on this team overwise (whoops)

It was at this point I realized one very major issue of the team.
Where is hazard removal or boots on god damned everything? One of Poison's biggest weaknesses is that hazard stacking can be very annoying for its walls and multiple layers of the stuff drive them insane. With this trying to bit a more balanced than a stall team outright, slapping Geezing on feels wrong. So Glimmora is my star for this team.

Glimmora @ Air Balloon
Ability: Corrosion
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Mortal Spin
- Stealth Rock/Earthpower
- Power Gem
- Toxic
Having glim as a secondary temporary Ground immunity helps a lot and with its ability to put walls like Clodsire and Heatran on timers, which Poison adores. Earth Power or Stealth rocks is personal opinion since rocks helps more against Flying while EP helps more against steel (Being able to 2 hit gambit by predicting the switch on Dark is coolio). Both problematic types for Poison naturally to deal with.

I personally would say to run this over Sneasler if I'm being honest, unburden struggles a lot on Poison with threats like Gholdengo and the unawares eating it up. Hell even Rocky Helmet Toxapex can handle it (as long as Dire claw doesn't do a funny.) That being said, you could also drop Iron Moth and run a choice scarf Sneasler set instead if you like.

If you think Geezing would be better than Glim here, more power to you and in that case I would say run Heavy Duty Boots Sneasler for the strong pivot power it brings.

And that leaves the Moong. We actually do have a growth Amoonguss set, Neko is very proud of it. So I'm going to bring it back in line with that set.

Amogus (Amoonguss) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Growth
- Giga Drain
- Stomping Tantrum
- Synthesis
Boots gets you in safely and with two Toxic spreaders + Alolan Muk having a roughly 51% chance to Poison with Pjab Poison Touch, Spore has a bit less utility on this team overall but could still be ran to proc stomping's super jump (If you try to status a mon that is already statuses, Stomping tantrum will count that as a fail and do the 150 damage hit). Having Synthesis to give some more recovery while setting up gives some much needed longevity against bulkier threats. You did mention stomping tantrum so have one. Breaking down steels is fun and even without that.
0 Atk Amoonguss Stomping Tantrum vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Iron Moth: 284-336 (94.3 - 111.6%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO used how I lived in the pre Home/DLC eras.
 
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:Muk-Alola: :Toxapex: :Iron-Moth: :Sneasler: :Slowking-Galar: :Amoonguss:

I didn't feel like doing a whole 1000-whatever ladder run so I started on an old alt I had chilling in the low 1400s to see how far I could get. It really hasn't been going too well though so far. I'm a big fan of poison in general but there are a few issues with the team that kind of need to be addressed.
Structure:
On paper I feel like the team has alot of what's needed from poison. The Pex+Amoong Core with Slowking-G added, necessary poison/dark, followed by two offensive mons.
The first problem though comes from the fact that there is no hazard removal. Glimmora or Weezing (usually Weezing-Galar) usually fills this role. To add to this, there is no hazard support on the team either. Poison in general can be very passive, and generally has long running games where status spreading and chip gets you kills over time. Instead we have a team that really suffers from these prolonged altercations, especially against any type that relies on hazard stack such as Dark. It seriously cuts down on longevity from your regenerator core, Muk which relies on passive recovery, not to mention your two offensive mons. Iron-Moth in particular is rocks weak and has no heavy duty boots, meaning if you get rocks on your side then it'd be able to swap in at most 5 times.
Adding a hazard remover would help the team tremendously in a bunch of these matchups. As of right now, any type that can set up spikes is near unplayable to go up against.
I'll also say that even if you opt to go no Weezing/Weezing G for a ground immune, some sort of immunity in the form of an air balloon is still absolutely necessary. As of right now Choice Locked Ground moves completely run through this team. In addition, the synergy of the team is also lacking in a few ways. Even aside from the lack of hazards and removal, the roles that Sneasler and Iron Moth have feel ill fitted for the team. Even though they're a fighting and fire type respectively, both mons struggle in the steel matchup with Sneasler currently hard answered by Gholdengo, and Iron Moth unable to touch Heatran. Even if it's tranless steel, the sequences vs. Empoleon or Goodra Hisui usually result in the steel player gaining momentum. I'll also point out, Slowking-Galar being fully physically defense invested rather than special defensive or AV results in it being able to check some of it's usual responsibilities, such as Heatran or Landorus-I.

Anywho, I'm going to give a few team change ideas. First let's some of the essential parts in.
:Toxapex: :Muk-Alola:
Toxapex @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Infestation/Ice Beam
- Recover
- Haze
- Toxic/Ice Beam

Muk-Alola @ Black Sludge
Ability: Poison Touch
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Protect
- Poison Jab/Rest
I changed Pex's moveslot to not have scald, mainly because it no longer gets scald. The rest is pretty fine though. Infestation is generally used to get chip damage, and in combination with Pex can make it incredibly annoying. I listed Ice Beam as an option over infestation/toxic, solely for helping with Gliscor which can run through Poison teams in the current meta. Overqwil is an option for the Poison/Dark as well, but doing so would kinda steer the team in a way different direction than you went with your core. One other option here is to put Rest>Poison Jab on AMuk. The downside is it would make Hatterene a bit more annoying, but in alot of matchups A Muk's primary role is simply to be alive.

:Iron Moth:
Iron Moth @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fiery Dance
- Discharge
- Dazzling Gleam
- Energy Ball

Iron Moth @ Choice Specs
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Fire Blast
- Dazzling Gleam
- Sludge Wave

Iron Moth @ Heavy-Duty Boots/Black Sludge
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute/Morning Sun/Toxic Spikes
- Fiery Dance
- Discharge
- Energy Ball
Now I know the Smogdex entry has Scarf as Moth's primary role, but if we're being honest there's a bit of a misunderstanding there with what Iron Moth's main benefit is on Poison in my opinion. Iron Moth is one of Poison's best answer to Gholdengo. Clodsire can handle the Nasty Plot set, but there's an issue there still as air balloon Gholdengo is immune to Clod's Stabs, meaning Clod would need to give up a utility option to handle Ghold by using Rock Slide. Alola Muk does less than 50% to most ghold's with Knock after ghold drops it's item. In contrast Iron Moth can live 2 hits and then force Ghold out.
I included your scarf set at the top - I changed it from Modest to Timid in order to not be outsped by many common threats and scarfers in the 95-110 speed range. It's still a solid option, but I wanted to present a few other ideas. Specs and sub set are both able to take advantage of the momentum you gain, with a specs blasting holes in teams and sub getting the obvious sub up. Morning Sun offers better longevity. Toxic Spikes takes advantage of the switch you force in order to help later in the match, vs. the likes of Spectrier in particular. Generally speaking I'll say you'll notice these sets as incredibly useful in the flying matchup, and you'll likely notice a bit less pressure on moth with an HDB attached. The main loss from no scarf, as you mentioned includes a bit more trouble revenge killing mons such as +1 Bax, and perhaps lacking the option to late game clean.

I will also point out, that the primary competition for a strong special attacker here is Gengar, which can more reliably ohko Landorus I with Specs Icy Wind, while also having a kill roll on Special Defensive Gliscor.

In this case I opted to continue your team with Iron Moth, but generally speaking it's not a very splashable mon that isn't on alot of poison teams. It's pretty useful in the ghost, but you will likely notice how easily it is stopped by Steel's special walls. Rather than Sneasler - which can be pretty easily handled by Steel, even when running Night Slash for Gholdengo, I decided to opt for Okidogi.
:Okidogi:
Okidogi @ Black Sludge
Ability: Toxic Chain
EVs: 208 HP / 204 SpD / 96 Spe
Careful Nature
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Taunt/Sub/Ice Punch
Bulk Up Okidogi, an incredibly difficult pokemon for alot of types to answer. In the mirror it comes down to Weezing-Galar and Unaware Clod as the best answers to it's taunt and sub sets. Ice Punch has a bit more difficulty with mons such as Haze toxapex, but is also essential to consider for Gliscor.

Next up, before it's too late, we need hazard removal. Since we're also lacking a ground resist/immune, I decided on Weezing-Galar
:Weezing-Galar:
Weezing-Galar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
IVs: 0 Atk
Bold Nature
- Strange Steam
- Defog
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp
GWeezing brings 2 crucial immunities to poison. An immunity to dragon, which otherwise would be completely unresisted, and an immunity to ground, which would be able to smash through our defensive cores. Pain Split is a form of recovery, Strange Steam hits Darks and Dragons GWeezing often answers, and lastly Defog to get rid of hazard stack.

Now it may seem surprising, but since the release of Weezing-Galar, Amoonguss has been unneeded for alot of Poison Builds. Generally speaking Poison is tight on slots, so we're left with a few issues left to resolve. The Ghost and Steel matchups seem manageable, Flying depends on build and sequences - as there are still build variants which may pose issues such as sub bulk up Lando-t. I think we're in a good spot for Dark as well for the most part. Ground will be a struggle regardless. Right now it comes down to: Do you want another mon in the defensive core? Do you want to handle any types better in particular? And do you want hazards?

:Slowking-Galar:
Slowking-Galar @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
Sassy Nature
- Future Sight
- Ice Beam
- Slack off
- Earthquake/Chilly Reception

Slowking-Galar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
Sassy Nature
- Future Sight
- Ice Beam
- Sludge Bomb/Flamethrower
- Earthquake
An assault vest is also an option here, in which case you would swap slack off with flamethrower or sludgebomb. Ice Beam is for Lando/Ursaluna. Future sight puts pressure and forces switches. I added EQ here as an option, Slowking is the best direct switchin to Heatran which can often run a stallbreaker set. Otherwise you would essentially be chilly receptioning into Oki every time. If you opt for an AV and choose sludge bomb, that allows you to drop Poison Jab on AMuk in exchange for Rest.

A finished team would look something like this: https://pokepast.es/18742fdb35bf1b8a
The team was made to revolve around fitting Iron Moth, but you can definitely change a few things. Right now one of the bigger problem matchups would actually be the Poison Mirror. In which case the solution would be either to replace Iron Moth for Salazzle, which has the benefit of encore to help prevent setups, and Corrosion so it can use toxic on opposing poison types as well as Steels. Iron Moth is a more reliable switchin to Gholdengo though, and I'd imagine is far more threatening in the water matchup, with it's electric + grass coverage, though that's winnable matchup regardless. Another idea to help with the poison matchup would be to swap Glowking for Glimmora, which also has Corrosion, Stealth Rock and the added benefit of threatening fire monos. This would put a bit more pressure on AMuk however as a special wall, and create a few more openings in other matchups. I honestly see both these alternatives as viable, though having their own hurdles.
Such alternatives would look like this https://pokepast.es/63086ce688f3e11a https://pokepast.es/2b4f14edd41389bb
 
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