Status: Done.
QC Approved [3/3]
1. Iconic
2. Fireburn
3. PK Gaming
GP Approved [2/2]
1. Flora (Credit to guddagudda, afti, and detroitlolcat)
2. Chou Toshio
http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/toxicroak
[Overview]
<p>Toxicroak is a very diverse Pokemon. It has a plethora of boosting moves allowing it to choose from powerful Swords Dance, Bulk Up, SubPunch, or Nasty Plot sets. It has a wide variety of offensive options as well, including strong priority in Sucker Punch and the new-and-improved Drain Punch, a far more reliable STAB option than Cross Chop. Toxicroak also has a great ability in Dry Skin, which grants it 12.5% recovery each turn during rain. Abusing its resistances to Grass-, Water-, Fighting-, Bug-, and Dark-type moves, it is relatively easy for Toxicroak to set up. By virtue of its Poison-typing and ability, Toxicroak can wall nearly every single bulky Water-type in the game. A Bulk Up set can make Toxicroak very tough to take down, given investment in HP; it also dramatically increases Toxicroak's HP recovery through Drain Punch, particularly when combined with Dry Skin and Leftovers. Toxicroak's Ground-, and rather uncommon Psychic- and Flying-type weaknesses are easy to cover with any number of potential teammates. Toxicroak has improved drastically this generation because of the introduction of Drizzle Politoed and a vastly improved Drain Punch.</p>
[SET]
Name: Swords Dance
Move 1: Swords Dance
Move 2: Sucker Punch
Move 3: Drain Punch / Cross Chop
Move 4: Substitute / Ice Punch
Item: Leftovers / Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p> A respectable base 106 Attack stat coupled with Swords Dance and Sucker Punch makes Toxicroak a very potent sweeper. After a Swords Dance Toxicroak hits a massive 684 Attack that puts a dent in almost anything with Sucker Punch or STAB Drain Punch. Substitute is the main option for the fourth slot on this set, as it allows Toxicroak to block status, and set up Swords Dance. Ice Punch is an option to defeat Gliscor but is illegal with Drain Punch. It is fairly easy to set up a Swords Dance with Toxicroak by coming in on either a predicted Water attack or a weaker attack it resists; the health that you lose can be greatly softened by Dry Skin healing. This set allows Toxicroak to be one of the most dangerous Pokemon in the game once behind a Substitute. After two Swords Dances neither dedicated physical walls nor standard Toxicroak checks can stop it. </p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs on this set are pretty straightforward with 252 invested in Attack to maximize Toxicroak's power and 252 in Speed to help outspeed slower Pokemon and set up faster Substitutes. The Adamant nature gives Toxicroak max Attack. It is important to note that Ice Punch is illegal with the new Drain Punch and thus Cross Chop must be used instead of Drain Punch when running Ice Punch. With Leftovers + Dry Skin Toxicroak heals a massive 18.5% of its health per turn in rain. That's more than what Poison Heal Gliscor and Breloom heal per turn. With this combination you only lose 6.5% of your health after using Substitute. Life Orb is another option as it greatly augments Toxicroak's damage output and Dry Skin essentially cancels out recoil. </p>
[SET]
name: Nasty Plot
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Vacuum Wave
move 3: Dark Pulse
move 4: Sludge Wave / Hidden Power Ice
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
nature: Modest
ability: Dry Skin
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Toxicroak can also utilize Nasty Plot to hit hard despite its lower Special Attack. Toxicroak retains priority in the arguably better form of STAB Vacuum Wave. Dark Pulse helps hit the Psychic- and Ghost-types that resist its Fighting STAB, with Sludge Wave or Hidden Power Ice mixing in to complement the phenomenal coverage Toxicroak attains with the Dark- and Fighting-type attack combination. Maximum Special Attack and Speed EVs with a Modest nature provides the most attacking power. This set surprises Swords Dance Toxicroak's counters with strong special attacks. The choice between Sludge Wave and Hidden Power Ice depends on what your team needs: STAB Sludge Wave destroys Grass-types, while Hidden Power Ice wrecks the common Landorus and Gliscor switch-ins. Sludge Wave is also your most powerful attack against neutral targets.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Life Orb is the preferred item as Toxicroak's Special Attack isn't stellar and recoil damage is canceled out in the rain due to Dry Skin. However, Leftovers heals a remarkable amount of health in conjunction with Dry Skin. Substitute is an option over the third coverage move to block status and enable an easier time setting up, but Nasty Plot Toxicroak's indifference to the Attack drop from burn makes it much less vulnerable to status. Even paralysis isn't particularly worrisome thanks to Toxicroak’s access to STAB priority in the form of Vacuum Wave. Unfortunately, like most special attackers, Blissey and Chansey completely wall it bar a +6 Vacuum Wave or Sludge Wave. Focus Blast can be used over Hidden Power Ice or Sludge Wave for a stronger STAB move but the coverage is usually needed to take out specific targets. An alternative EV spread of 244 HP / 252 SpA / 12 Spe is viable but Nasty Plot Toxicroak likes outspeeding as many enemies as possible rather than trading hits.</p>
[SET]
name: Bulk Up
move 1: Bulk Up
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Drain Punch
move 4: Payback / Sucker Punch
item: Leftovers
nature: Adamant
ability: Dry Skin
evs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>The idea is to come in on something that you can set up on, ideally a Water- or Bug-type move, and use Substitute on the switch. Substitute provides protection from status but leaves you vulnerable to phazing. However, the common OU phazers Skarmory and Hippowdon are more likely to attack with their STAB Ground and Flying-type moves, respectively. Nevertheless, once Toxicroak is set up, it can essentially be more destructive than the Swords Dance set. After a few Bulk Ups the Defense boosts allows it to take Earthquakes from the likes of Hippowdon, survive, and recover lost health back with Drain Punch, leaving Hippowdon scrambling in futility with Slack Off and Earthquake, as long as it lacks Roar. 244 EVs in HP keeps Toxicroak as bulky as possible without taking away attack power. Speed investment isn't worth much, considering Toxicroak's low base Speed and the set's need for heavy investment in bulk.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Substitute gives Toxicroak many more opportunities to set up and with a few Bulk Ups under its belt, Toxicroak achieves bulk on par with physical walls, holding up to many powerful attacks bar super effective STAB Earthquakes. Toxicroak becomes so physically bulky after one Bulk Up that even Choice Band Scizor will not be able to 2HKO with Bullet Punch - plus Toxicroak naturally resists Scizor’s other common moves Bug Bite, U-turn, and Superpower. Low Kick is an option over Drain Punch to hit heavy foes, but this set usually needs the healing from Drain Punch to stay around as long as possible. Toxicroak can also utilize Taunt to prevent phazers like Skarmory from ruining its sweep, but Toxicroak is rather frail and will be KO’ed by Skarmory's Brave Bird or Hippowdon's Earthquake unless it can get its boosts.</p>
[Set]
name: SubPunch
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Focus Punch
move 3: Sucker Punch / Payback
move 4: Ice Punch
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Dry Skin
nature: Adamant
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>The idea of this set is to come in on something you can force out or wall, and either use Substitute or Focus Punch on the switch with the latter doing serious damage even when resisted. Sucker Punch is used to beat faster threats that are immune to Focus Punch such as Gengar, but Payback can be used if Sucker Punch feels too unreliable. Ice Punch destroys Gliscor on the switch and also hits other Flying-types, which are often KO'd by a follow up Sucker Punch. The EVs provide reasonable bulk; this set doesn't need Speed. Toxicroak can scare faster threats like Latios and Latias with Sucker Punch to force a switch - however, if they use Substitute, Toxicroak will always lose. Leftovers could be used over Life Orb but it isn't recommended as Toxicroak needs the extra power it provides in the absence of Swords Dance or Bulk Up.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>An alternative EV spread of 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Speed allows Toxicroak to outspeed most Gliscor and other threats hovering around the Base 80 range, but this set is focused on using Substitute to avoid direct hits so Speed investment isn't as necessary as smart switching. Unlike the other sets which have a means of boosting, this set will not be able to sweep without properly removing enemy checks and physical walls. This set is meant to abuse Focus Punch to break walls in the early game while also having some potential to clean up late game thanks to Sucker Punch. With the proper support, SubPunch Toxicroak can pose a serious threat. Because of its ability it is always recommended to have Politoed as a teammate to provide permanent rain and counteract Ninetales' Drought. With regards to other moves, Toxicroak doesn't really have that many alternative options other than potentially using Stone Edge over Ice Punch which brings no notable benefits other than helping against Gyarados, but Toxicroak already walls Gyarados should it lack Earthquake or Bounce.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Toxicroak is best paired with Politoed to abuse his Dry Skin ability. Skarmory, Zapdos, and Scizor are all great teammates for Toxicroak since they cover its weaknesses to Psychic, Flying, and Ground. In addition, Zapdos and Scizor directly benefit from permanent rain, with the former gaining a perfectly accurate Thunder and the latter gaining some welcome protection from Fire attacks. Skarmory deserves special mention for its abilities to set up entry hazards and phaze, both of which help Toxicroak get KO’s more easily. Substitute is essential for every physical set as it provides Toxicroak with many more opportunities to set up and attack, but the loss of Ice Punch is notable and leaves you unable to defeat Gliscor barring a critical hit. A Choice Band set with Drain Punch or Cross Chop / Sucker Punch / Stone Edge / Ice Punch could work although it is mostly outclassed by the Swords Dance set.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Most physical walls can beat physical Toxicroak due to his frailty, but must watch out for Nasty Plot variants. Skarmory resists Dark-type moves, is neutral to Fighting-type moves, immune to Poison-type moves, and can KO with STAB Brave Bird or phaze him out with Whirlwind. Hippowdon also works well as it phazes Toxicroak out with Roar or KOes with Earthquake, but a +2 Life Orb Drain Punch can 2HKO, and a Nasty Plot boosted Hidden Power Ice will usually OHKO. Gliscor can wall all of Toxicroak’s sets bar the Nasty Plot set with Hidden Power Ice and the physical sets with Ice Punch, and in return KOes with Earthquake or Acrobatics. Gliscor is generally the best counter due to its enormous defense and resistance to Fighting-type moves. Faster Flying-types will usually beat Toxicroak - Tornadus is particularly worrisome with its 100% accurate Hurricane in rain. Possessing decidedly mediocre defensive stats, Toxicroak will usually fall to even strong neutral hits like Thundurus’ Life Orb Thunderbolt. Ghost-types with Substitute can work around a Toxicroak utilizing Sucker Punch to outstall and eventually KO it. SubDisable Gengar works especially well as once Sucker Punch or Dark Pulse is Disabled, Toxicroak is completely walled by Gengar bar Ice Punch or Hidden Power Ice.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Toxicroak’s Dream World ability is Poison Touch, which gives a 20% chance of causing poison to all of his contact moves. This ability is nearly as useless as Anticipation and should not be used over Dry Skin under any circumstances. Dry Skin is the primary reason that Toxicroak is viable in OU; without it, Toxicroak is just an average Pokemon.</p>
QC Approved [3/3]
1. Iconic
2. Fireburn
3. PK Gaming
GP Approved [2/2]
1. Flora (Credit to guddagudda, afti, and detroitlolcat)
2. Chou Toshio
http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/toxicroak
[Overview]
<p>Toxicroak is a very diverse Pokemon. It has a plethora of boosting moves allowing it to choose from powerful Swords Dance, Bulk Up, SubPunch, or Nasty Plot sets. It has a wide variety of offensive options as well, including strong priority in Sucker Punch and the new-and-improved Drain Punch, a far more reliable STAB option than Cross Chop. Toxicroak also has a great ability in Dry Skin, which grants it 12.5% recovery each turn during rain. Abusing its resistances to Grass-, Water-, Fighting-, Bug-, and Dark-type moves, it is relatively easy for Toxicroak to set up. By virtue of its Poison-typing and ability, Toxicroak can wall nearly every single bulky Water-type in the game. A Bulk Up set can make Toxicroak very tough to take down, given investment in HP; it also dramatically increases Toxicroak's HP recovery through Drain Punch, particularly when combined with Dry Skin and Leftovers. Toxicroak's Ground-, and rather uncommon Psychic- and Flying-type weaknesses are easy to cover with any number of potential teammates. Toxicroak has improved drastically this generation because of the introduction of Drizzle Politoed and a vastly improved Drain Punch.</p>
[SET]
Name: Swords Dance
Move 1: Swords Dance
Move 2: Sucker Punch
Move 3: Drain Punch / Cross Chop
Move 4: Substitute / Ice Punch
Item: Leftovers / Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p> A respectable base 106 Attack stat coupled with Swords Dance and Sucker Punch makes Toxicroak a very potent sweeper. After a Swords Dance Toxicroak hits a massive 684 Attack that puts a dent in almost anything with Sucker Punch or STAB Drain Punch. Substitute is the main option for the fourth slot on this set, as it allows Toxicroak to block status, and set up Swords Dance. Ice Punch is an option to defeat Gliscor but is illegal with Drain Punch. It is fairly easy to set up a Swords Dance with Toxicroak by coming in on either a predicted Water attack or a weaker attack it resists; the health that you lose can be greatly softened by Dry Skin healing. This set allows Toxicroak to be one of the most dangerous Pokemon in the game once behind a Substitute. After two Swords Dances neither dedicated physical walls nor standard Toxicroak checks can stop it. </p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs on this set are pretty straightforward with 252 invested in Attack to maximize Toxicroak's power and 252 in Speed to help outspeed slower Pokemon and set up faster Substitutes. The Adamant nature gives Toxicroak max Attack. It is important to note that Ice Punch is illegal with the new Drain Punch and thus Cross Chop must be used instead of Drain Punch when running Ice Punch. With Leftovers + Dry Skin Toxicroak heals a massive 18.5% of its health per turn in rain. That's more than what Poison Heal Gliscor and Breloom heal per turn. With this combination you only lose 6.5% of your health after using Substitute. Life Orb is another option as it greatly augments Toxicroak's damage output and Dry Skin essentially cancels out recoil. </p>
[SET]
name: Nasty Plot
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Vacuum Wave
move 3: Dark Pulse
move 4: Sludge Wave / Hidden Power Ice
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
nature: Modest
ability: Dry Skin
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Toxicroak can also utilize Nasty Plot to hit hard despite its lower Special Attack. Toxicroak retains priority in the arguably better form of STAB Vacuum Wave. Dark Pulse helps hit the Psychic- and Ghost-types that resist its Fighting STAB, with Sludge Wave or Hidden Power Ice mixing in to complement the phenomenal coverage Toxicroak attains with the Dark- and Fighting-type attack combination. Maximum Special Attack and Speed EVs with a Modest nature provides the most attacking power. This set surprises Swords Dance Toxicroak's counters with strong special attacks. The choice between Sludge Wave and Hidden Power Ice depends on what your team needs: STAB Sludge Wave destroys Grass-types, while Hidden Power Ice wrecks the common Landorus and Gliscor switch-ins. Sludge Wave is also your most powerful attack against neutral targets.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Life Orb is the preferred item as Toxicroak's Special Attack isn't stellar and recoil damage is canceled out in the rain due to Dry Skin. However, Leftovers heals a remarkable amount of health in conjunction with Dry Skin. Substitute is an option over the third coverage move to block status and enable an easier time setting up, but Nasty Plot Toxicroak's indifference to the Attack drop from burn makes it much less vulnerable to status. Even paralysis isn't particularly worrisome thanks to Toxicroak’s access to STAB priority in the form of Vacuum Wave. Unfortunately, like most special attackers, Blissey and Chansey completely wall it bar a +6 Vacuum Wave or Sludge Wave. Focus Blast can be used over Hidden Power Ice or Sludge Wave for a stronger STAB move but the coverage is usually needed to take out specific targets. An alternative EV spread of 244 HP / 252 SpA / 12 Spe is viable but Nasty Plot Toxicroak likes outspeeding as many enemies as possible rather than trading hits.</p>
[SET]
name: Bulk Up
move 1: Bulk Up
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Drain Punch
move 4: Payback / Sucker Punch
item: Leftovers
nature: Adamant
ability: Dry Skin
evs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>The idea is to come in on something that you can set up on, ideally a Water- or Bug-type move, and use Substitute on the switch. Substitute provides protection from status but leaves you vulnerable to phazing. However, the common OU phazers Skarmory and Hippowdon are more likely to attack with their STAB Ground and Flying-type moves, respectively. Nevertheless, once Toxicroak is set up, it can essentially be more destructive than the Swords Dance set. After a few Bulk Ups the Defense boosts allows it to take Earthquakes from the likes of Hippowdon, survive, and recover lost health back with Drain Punch, leaving Hippowdon scrambling in futility with Slack Off and Earthquake, as long as it lacks Roar. 244 EVs in HP keeps Toxicroak as bulky as possible without taking away attack power. Speed investment isn't worth much, considering Toxicroak's low base Speed and the set's need for heavy investment in bulk.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Substitute gives Toxicroak many more opportunities to set up and with a few Bulk Ups under its belt, Toxicroak achieves bulk on par with physical walls, holding up to many powerful attacks bar super effective STAB Earthquakes. Toxicroak becomes so physically bulky after one Bulk Up that even Choice Band Scizor will not be able to 2HKO with Bullet Punch - plus Toxicroak naturally resists Scizor’s other common moves Bug Bite, U-turn, and Superpower. Low Kick is an option over Drain Punch to hit heavy foes, but this set usually needs the healing from Drain Punch to stay around as long as possible. Toxicroak can also utilize Taunt to prevent phazers like Skarmory from ruining its sweep, but Toxicroak is rather frail and will be KO’ed by Skarmory's Brave Bird or Hippowdon's Earthquake unless it can get its boosts.</p>
[Set]
name: SubPunch
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Focus Punch
move 3: Sucker Punch / Payback
move 4: Ice Punch
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Dry Skin
nature: Adamant
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>The idea of this set is to come in on something you can force out or wall, and either use Substitute or Focus Punch on the switch with the latter doing serious damage even when resisted. Sucker Punch is used to beat faster threats that are immune to Focus Punch such as Gengar, but Payback can be used if Sucker Punch feels too unreliable. Ice Punch destroys Gliscor on the switch and also hits other Flying-types, which are often KO'd by a follow up Sucker Punch. The EVs provide reasonable bulk; this set doesn't need Speed. Toxicroak can scare faster threats like Latios and Latias with Sucker Punch to force a switch - however, if they use Substitute, Toxicroak will always lose. Leftovers could be used over Life Orb but it isn't recommended as Toxicroak needs the extra power it provides in the absence of Swords Dance or Bulk Up.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>An alternative EV spread of 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Speed allows Toxicroak to outspeed most Gliscor and other threats hovering around the Base 80 range, but this set is focused on using Substitute to avoid direct hits so Speed investment isn't as necessary as smart switching. Unlike the other sets which have a means of boosting, this set will not be able to sweep without properly removing enemy checks and physical walls. This set is meant to abuse Focus Punch to break walls in the early game while also having some potential to clean up late game thanks to Sucker Punch. With the proper support, SubPunch Toxicroak can pose a serious threat. Because of its ability it is always recommended to have Politoed as a teammate to provide permanent rain and counteract Ninetales' Drought. With regards to other moves, Toxicroak doesn't really have that many alternative options other than potentially using Stone Edge over Ice Punch which brings no notable benefits other than helping against Gyarados, but Toxicroak already walls Gyarados should it lack Earthquake or Bounce.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Toxicroak is best paired with Politoed to abuse his Dry Skin ability. Skarmory, Zapdos, and Scizor are all great teammates for Toxicroak since they cover its weaknesses to Psychic, Flying, and Ground. In addition, Zapdos and Scizor directly benefit from permanent rain, with the former gaining a perfectly accurate Thunder and the latter gaining some welcome protection from Fire attacks. Skarmory deserves special mention for its abilities to set up entry hazards and phaze, both of which help Toxicroak get KO’s more easily. Substitute is essential for every physical set as it provides Toxicroak with many more opportunities to set up and attack, but the loss of Ice Punch is notable and leaves you unable to defeat Gliscor barring a critical hit. A Choice Band set with Drain Punch or Cross Chop / Sucker Punch / Stone Edge / Ice Punch could work although it is mostly outclassed by the Swords Dance set.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Most physical walls can beat physical Toxicroak due to his frailty, but must watch out for Nasty Plot variants. Skarmory resists Dark-type moves, is neutral to Fighting-type moves, immune to Poison-type moves, and can KO with STAB Brave Bird or phaze him out with Whirlwind. Hippowdon also works well as it phazes Toxicroak out with Roar or KOes with Earthquake, but a +2 Life Orb Drain Punch can 2HKO, and a Nasty Plot boosted Hidden Power Ice will usually OHKO. Gliscor can wall all of Toxicroak’s sets bar the Nasty Plot set with Hidden Power Ice and the physical sets with Ice Punch, and in return KOes with Earthquake or Acrobatics. Gliscor is generally the best counter due to its enormous defense and resistance to Fighting-type moves. Faster Flying-types will usually beat Toxicroak - Tornadus is particularly worrisome with its 100% accurate Hurricane in rain. Possessing decidedly mediocre defensive stats, Toxicroak will usually fall to even strong neutral hits like Thundurus’ Life Orb Thunderbolt. Ghost-types with Substitute can work around a Toxicroak utilizing Sucker Punch to outstall and eventually KO it. SubDisable Gengar works especially well as once Sucker Punch or Dark Pulse is Disabled, Toxicroak is completely walled by Gengar bar Ice Punch or Hidden Power Ice.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Toxicroak’s Dream World ability is Poison Touch, which gives a 20% chance of causing poison to all of his contact moves. This ability is nearly as useless as Anticipation and should not be used over Dry Skin under any circumstances. Dry Skin is the primary reason that Toxicroak is viable in OU; without it, Toxicroak is just an average Pokemon.</p>
