[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Drain Punch / Close Combat
move 3: Gunk Shot
move 4: Sucker Punch / Knock Off / Earthquake
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
ability: Dry Skin
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
tera type: Dark
[SET COMMENTS]
Unlike other Fighting-types, which can be easily checked by bulky Water-types like Milotic and Qwilfish, Toxicroak, thanks to its ability, can use these Pokemon as setup fodder. Toxicroak also has the benefit of not being able to be hit by priority in Aqua Jet from Bruxish and Paldean Tauros-W, letting it check them in a pinch with its Sucker Punch, and its STAB combination is quite good due to how it dissuades Steel-types, like Copperajah and Duraludon, with its Fighting-type STAB moves, which might've switched into its Gunk Shot otherwise. However, Toxicroak is generally weaker and slower than the other Fighting-types it competes with, making it much more niche. Drain Punch provides Toxicroak with a form of longevity and can counteract Life Orb chip damage, but unlike Drain Punch, Close Combat can OHKO Copperajah from full and after minimal chip, Skuntank as well. Sucker Punch allows Toxicroak to pick off faster threats like Delphox, Meloetta, and Choice Scarf Hoopa. However, Knock Off is a more reliable coverage move that lets Toxicroak hit Bronzong and Galarian Slowbro harder while also crippling item-dependent Pokemon like Gligar. Earthquake instead gives Toxicroak a means to hit Poison-types like Toxtricity, Galarian Slowbro, and Tera Poison Florges and Wo-Chien. Ice Punch could also be run as a last move to hit Altaria and Gligar, but the former doesn't take Gunk Shot too well, while the latter can be worn down over time with its lack of recovery. Leftovers allows Toxicroak to switch in repeatedly and reliably check Milotic and Paldean Tauros-W over the course of a battle; however, more offensive builds can opt for Life Orb to maximize Toxicroak's damage output, as at +2, Toxicroak can OHKO Altaria with Gunk Shot, Meloetta with Sucker Punch, Gligar with Ice Punch, and, after Stealth Rock chip, Galarian Slowbro with Knock Off. Tera Dark gifts Toxicroak the ability to blank Psychic-type attacks, and it simultaneously boosts Sucker Punch and Knock Off. It also removes Toxicroak's Ground weakness, helping it versus Gastrodon, but instead of being resistant to Fighting-type attacks, Toxicroak is now weak to them, and it can be hit by Toxic. Jolly is preferred to outpace Goodra and Bombirdier and to Speed tie with Duraludon, but Adamant can be used to always OHKO Wo-Chien with Gunk Shot and Close Combat and Meloetta with Sucker Punch when Toxicroak is at +2.
Toxicroak fits best on offense and balance teams that like having a Pokemon that can consistently come in on defensive Water-types like Milotic and Qwilfish and take advantage of them. Because of this, teammates that like the aforementioned bulky Water-types gone like Bruxish, Arcanine, and Ambipom have good synergy with Toxicroak. While Toxicroak can take a hit or two from Fighting-types like Flamigo, Heracross, and Paldean Tauros-W to then finish them off, it is a poor long-term check, as most of them carry coverage for it or can simply overwhelm it with their repeated high-Base Power attacks, meaning switch-ins for these Pokemon like Galarian Slowbro and Milotic are greatly appreciated. Psychic- and Ghost-types like Galarian Articuno, Hoopa, and Decidueye enjoy Toxicroak's presence, as it reliably switches into and takes care of Dark-types like Skuntank, Zoroark, and Wo-Chien for them. Toxicroak can struggle when up against defensive Ground- and Poison-types like Mudsdale, Gligar, Galarian Slowbro, and Tera Poison Florges, so Pokemon like Decidueye, Rotom-C, Golurk, and Delphox that can threaten these checks pair excellently. If not running Sucker Punch, Toxicroak fears faster Psychic-types like Galarian Articuno, Meloetta, and Bruxish, so it likes Steel- and Dark-type partners such as Bronzong, Wo-Chien, and Bombirdier that can alleviate this weakness. In return, Toxicroak can weaken checks it shares with the first like Mudsdale and Gligar, and Toxicroak can take care of Fairy-types like Florges and Tera Fairy Galarian Slowbro for the latter two. Due to Toxicroak's frailty, it enjoys slow pivots that can get it into battle safely, such as Gligar, Bellibolt, and Flip Turn Milotic.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/powerofmemes.583607/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bella.567483/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tbolt.555379/
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Drain Punch / Close Combat
move 3: Gunk Shot
move 4: Sucker Punch / Knock Off / Earthquake
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
ability: Dry Skin
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
tera type: Dark
[SET COMMENTS]
Unlike other Fighting-types, which can be easily checked by bulky Water-types like Milotic and Qwilfish, Toxicroak, thanks to its ability, can use these Pokemon as setup fodder. Toxicroak also has the benefit of not being able to be hit by priority in Aqua Jet from Bruxish and Paldean Tauros-W, letting it check them in a pinch with its Sucker Punch, and its STAB combination is quite good due to how it dissuades Steel-types, like Copperajah and Duraludon, with its Fighting-type STAB moves, which might've switched into its Gunk Shot otherwise. However, Toxicroak is generally weaker and slower than the other Fighting-types it competes with, making it much more niche. Drain Punch provides Toxicroak with a form of longevity and can counteract Life Orb chip damage, but unlike Drain Punch, Close Combat can OHKO Copperajah from full and after minimal chip, Skuntank as well. Sucker Punch allows Toxicroak to pick off faster threats like Delphox, Meloetta, and Choice Scarf Hoopa. However, Knock Off is a more reliable coverage move that lets Toxicroak hit Bronzong and Galarian Slowbro harder while also crippling item-dependent Pokemon like Gligar. Earthquake instead gives Toxicroak a means to hit Poison-types like Toxtricity, Galarian Slowbro, and Tera Poison Florges and Wo-Chien. Ice Punch could also be run as a last move to hit Altaria and Gligar, but the former doesn't take Gunk Shot too well, while the latter can be worn down over time with its lack of recovery. Leftovers allows Toxicroak to switch in repeatedly and reliably check Milotic and Paldean Tauros-W over the course of a battle; however, more offensive builds can opt for Life Orb to maximize Toxicroak's damage output, as at +2, Toxicroak can OHKO Altaria with Gunk Shot, Meloetta with Sucker Punch, Gligar with Ice Punch, and, after Stealth Rock chip, Galarian Slowbro with Knock Off. Tera Dark gifts Toxicroak the ability to blank Psychic-type attacks, and it simultaneously boosts Sucker Punch and Knock Off. It also removes Toxicroak's Ground weakness, helping it versus Gastrodon, but instead of being resistant to Fighting-type attacks, Toxicroak is now weak to them, and it can be hit by Toxic. Jolly is preferred to outpace Goodra and Bombirdier and to Speed tie with Duraludon, but Adamant can be used to always OHKO Wo-Chien with Gunk Shot and Close Combat and Meloetta with Sucker Punch when Toxicroak is at +2.
Toxicroak fits best on offense and balance teams that like having a Pokemon that can consistently come in on defensive Water-types like Milotic and Qwilfish and take advantage of them. Because of this, teammates that like the aforementioned bulky Water-types gone like Bruxish, Arcanine, and Ambipom have good synergy with Toxicroak. While Toxicroak can take a hit or two from Fighting-types like Flamigo, Heracross, and Paldean Tauros-W to then finish them off, it is a poor long-term check, as most of them carry coverage for it or can simply overwhelm it with their repeated high-Base Power attacks, meaning switch-ins for these Pokemon like Galarian Slowbro and Milotic are greatly appreciated. Psychic- and Ghost-types like Galarian Articuno, Hoopa, and Decidueye enjoy Toxicroak's presence, as it reliably switches into and takes care of Dark-types like Skuntank, Zoroark, and Wo-Chien for them. Toxicroak can struggle when up against defensive Ground- and Poison-types like Mudsdale, Gligar, Galarian Slowbro, and Tera Poison Florges, so Pokemon like Decidueye, Rotom-C, Golurk, and Delphox that can threaten these checks pair excellently. If not running Sucker Punch, Toxicroak fears faster Psychic-types like Galarian Articuno, Meloetta, and Bruxish, so it likes Steel- and Dark-type partners such as Bronzong, Wo-Chien, and Bombirdier that can alleviate this weakness. In return, Toxicroak can weaken checks it shares with the first like Mudsdale and Gligar, and Toxicroak can take care of Fairy-types like Florges and Tera Fairy Galarian Slowbro for the latter two. Due to Toxicroak's frailty, it enjoys slow pivots that can get it into battle safely, such as Gligar, Bellibolt, and Flip Turn Milotic.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/powerofmemes.583607/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bella.567483/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tbolt.555379/
Last edited:
