[OVERVIEW]
Toxicroak is one of the tier's most threatening wallbreakers and setup sweepers thanks to its amazing offensive typing and great movepool. This is further bolstered by its access to two excellent setup moves in Swords Dance and Nasty Plot, which makes it rather unpredictable, and its ability Dry Skin, which allows it to take advantage of common defensive Pokemon like non-Toxic Jellicent and Vaporeon. However, Toxicroak's mediocre bulk and weakness to common typings like Flying give it a hard time setting up and cleaning at times, while its average Speed often leaves it over reliant on its priority moves to hit faster foes like Talonflame and Choice Scarf Passimian.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Gunk Shot
move 3: Drain Punch
move 4: Sucker Punch / Knock Off
item: Life Orb
ability: Dry Skin
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
With this set, Toxicroak aims to wallbreak and clean thanks to the multiple setup opportunities it gets via its typing and ability. Sucker Punch hits threats that outspeed Toxicroak, like Talonflame and Archeops, while Knock Off allows it to get past defensive Ghost-types like Jellicent. Partners that struggle against defensive Water-types like Vaporeon and Lanturn appreciate Toxicroak taking them on. Archeops and Magmortar stand out as potent partners, with the former also bringing in Toxicroak in thanks to U-turn. In exchange, they can both weaken down walls Toxicroak struggles against if not running Knock Off, like Weezing and Palossand. Even if using Sucker Punch, Toxicroak can often find itself forced out by revenge killers like Ribombee, while other threats like Will-O-Wisp Talonflame can play around Sucker Punch. Answers to these, like Charizard and Palossand, are appreciated. Lastly, Toxicroak's poor bulk mean it can sometimes struggle to find setup opportunities; this makes it a potent choice on dual screens teams, with Xatu standing out as a partner thanks to its access to Teleport and Thunder Wave to further support Toxicroak.
[SET]
name: Nasty Plot
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Sludge Wave
move 3: Focus Blast / Vacuum Wave
move 4: Shadow Ball
item: Life Orb
ability: Dry Skin
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Toxicroak's coverage and access to Nasty Plot make it a solid wallbreaker capable of beating answers to its Swords Dance set like Palossand. Focus Blast allows Toxicroak to immediately threaten Rock- and Steel-types like Gigalith and Silvally-Steel without requiring a boost, while Vacuum Wave makes it harder to revenge kill and allows it to revenge kill threats like Arctovish under hail. Shadow Ball hits Ghost-types like Jellicent and, after a boost, heavily dents Weezing. Cleaners like Omastar and Swords Dance Silvally-Fairy work well with Toxicroak, as they enjoy it softening up and beating walls for them early- to mid-game; Omastar can also setup on Flying-types such as Charizard and Scyther that threaten Toxicroak. If running Vacuum Wave, Toxicroak appreciates Spikes support from Pokemon like Froslass to have an easier time picking off weakened threats like Choice Scarf Passimian. Froslass also often invites in bulky Water-types like Vaporeon for Toxicroak to use as setup fodder. Lastly, answers to threats that force out Toxicroak, like Talonflame and Whimsicott, are appreciated; Regirock and Togedemaru make for good partners due to this, as the former can also set Stealth Rock, while the latter can bring in Toxicroak via U-turn.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[gum, 434150]]
- Quality checked by: [[UberSkitty, 355061], [TONE, 213583]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Estronic, 240732]]
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