blinkie
¯\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯ dank meme crew
Taken over from PISTOLERO with some changes
Original: http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/toxicroak-qc-2-3-written.3520284/
Overview
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Toxicroak's unique typing makes it a good choice for teams that need a solid answer to defensive Water- and Fairy-types, and a loose check to other threats such as Terrakion. Being a Poison-type allows Toxicroak to beat most Fairy-types and Keldeo, while being a Fighting-type prevents Tyranitar from Pursuit trapping Toxicroak. Dry Skin allows Toxicroak to counter most Water-types and it has access to Swords Dance to set up on them. Although Toxicroak has a Speed tier that leaves it outsped by many offensive threats such as Mega Diancie and Landorus, it can still beat some of them with Sucker Punch. While Toxicroak has many helpful resistances to types such as Fighting and Dark, it also is weak to common attacking types such as Flying, Psychic, and Ground.
Offensive
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name: Offensive
move 1: Gunk Shot
move 2: Drain Punch
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Swords Dance / Ice Punch
ability: Dry Skin
item: Life Orb / Black Sludge
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly / Adamant
Moves
========
Gunk Shot is Toxicroak's most powerful STAB move, which also has a 30% chance to poison the foe. A Life Orb boosted-Gunk Shot is very powerful, 2HKOing defensive Mega Venusaur. It also rips all variants of Clefable to shreds and can OHKO Gardevoir, as well as deal significant damage to everything that doesn't resist it. Drain Punch hits Steel-types super effectively, gives Toxicroak a means of gaining its health back alongside Dry Skin, and OHKOes Bisharp, allowing Toxicroak to easily check Bisharp thanks to Toxicroak's resistance to Sucker Punch. Sucker Punch gives Toxicroak priority to use against offensive Pokemon that outspeed it. In the last moveslot, Swords Dance is generally the best option, as it allows Toxicroak to set up on the Pokemon it walls and/or threatens out. If you don't feel like setting up, Ice Punch lets Toxicroak hit Landorus-T and Gliscor. However, Landorus-T is not too hard to wear down, especially with Gunk Shot's poison chance, so Swords Dance is generally the better option.
Set Details
========
Life Orb is the best item choice because it gives Toxicroak a significant power boost and Toxicroak can heal off the recoil damage with Drain Punch. However, Black Sludge is viable if you desire extra recovery. An Adamant nature can be used for more power, but Jolly is superior, as Toxicroak is then guaranteed to outspeed Mega Heracross, regular Gardevoir, Gyarados, and Mamoswine, while Speed tying with regular Heracross. Finally, a Jolly nature lets Toxicroak take on sand offense reasonably well, as it outspeeds Adamant Excadrill outside of sand and Toxicroak is easily able to Drain Punch Tyranitar away. The EVs maximize Attack and Speed, making Toxicroak hit as hard as possible while also taking advantage of its decent Speed.
Usage Tips
======
Toxicroak should switch in on opposing Water-type moves from the likes of Keldeo, Kingdra, and Omastar, restoring its HP and often forcing the foe out due to the fact that a lot of Swift Swim users and Keldeo are Choice-locked. Toxicroak should also be used as a check and pivot into Water-type Pokemon, as it is able to take attacks such as Stone Edge from Kabutops or Ice Beam from Omastar and OHKO them back, with any free turns obtained being used to hit the switch-in or set up a Swords Dance. The ability to switch in on bulky Water-types such as Alomomola and Suicune should also be taken advantage of, as neither Scald nor Toxic do anything to Toxicroak, while Toxicroak can set up a Swords Dance against them, easily taking weak Ice Beams or other potential coverage moves and completely walling Calm Mind Suicune.
Team Options
========
Politoed and other Pokemon that work well on rain teams such as Kingdra and Kabutops make great partners. Toxicroak benefits from rain to continuously restore its HP and to destroy opposing rain teams, whose Choice-locked Swift Swim users are ruined because they can't spam their Water-type moves anymore, and whose Ferrothorn is hit for super effective damage with Drain Punch. Rain teams also deal with Sand Rush Excadrill, with Toxicroak being able to Drain Punch Tyranitar and survive any attack besides Earthquake from +1 Mega Tyranitar. Toxicroak can also work on sand itself to deal with opposing rain teams, bulky Water-types, and Keldeo. Toxicroak can also take a couple of hits from Terrakion, as Toxicroak resists its STAB moves and easily OHKOes Terrakion back. Any Pokemon walled or checked by bulky Water-types appreciates Toxicroak's ability to come in on said Water-types. Toxicroak is a solid check to all variants of Azumarill and can switch in on all of Azumarill's moves bar Play Rough. Teams with weaknesses to Water-types such as Keldeo and Azumarill really appreciate Toxicroak's ability to take them on. Offensive teams that have trouble with Bisharp and Clefable appreciate Toxicroak being able to Drain Punch the former and Gunk Shot the latter for easy OHKOs. Electric-types such as Raikou and Mega Manectric have great defensive synergy with Toxicroak. Both Pokemon can check Flying-type attackers, while Toxicroak can defeat Clefable, which walls Raikou and Mega Manectric. Checks to Ground-types, such as Ferrothorn and Landorus-T, are very nice, as this covers Toxicroak's Ground weakness. Landorus can also take Secret Sword from Keldeo easily, allowing Toxicroak to pivot into Keldeo.
Other Options
########
Substitute can protect Toxicroak from status ailments and opposing revenge killers. Taunt can also prevent status ailments while stopping opposing Leech Seed, Defog, entry hazards, and recovery moves. Bulk Up is an interesting option that allows Toxicroak to take a more defensive approach to boosting, but it works best alongside Substitute, which limits Toxicroak's coverage significantly. Specially based sets with Sludge Bomb, Focus Blast, Nasty Plot, Vacuum Wave, Dark Pulse, and Hidden Power can catch usual checks to Toxicroak off-guard. Belch, Focus Blast or Vacuum Wave, Nasty Plot, and Substitute with a Salac Berry can work quite nicely, as Belch continues to function even if Toxicroak switches out. Knock Off can be useful to deal significant damage to defensive Psychic-types at +2, but it means giving up valuable priority in Sucker Punch. A Choice Scarf set is usable to get surprise KOs on usual checks such as Mega Diancie. Finally, Thunder Punch can be used to hit Water-types super effectively and OHKO Gyarados.
Checks & Counters:
########
**Flying-type Priority**: Talonflame and Mega Pinsir easily OHKO Toxicroak with Brave Bird and Quick Attack, respectively. Both of them outspeed Toxicroak as well, so they will thwart Toxicroak's Sucker Punch.
**Physically Bulky Pokemon**: Landorus-T can easily switch in on all of Toxicroak's moves bar Ice Punch, with Choice Scarf variants outspeeding and easily OHKOing Toxicroak with Earthquake. Gliscor completely walls Toxicroak without Ice Punch, does not care about Gunk Shot's chance to poison, and can OHKO Toxicroak with Earthquake. Finally, Hippowdon can wall Toxicroak and OHKO it with Earthquake. Skarmory walls Toxicroak and OHKOes it with Brave Bird or Counter while phazing away any attempts to set up with Swords Dance by using Whirlwind. Doublade also can take anything Toxicroak throws at it. Mega Charizard X can burn Toxicroak with Will-O-Wisp or OHKO it with Flare Blitz, and Gyarados can deal heavy damage with Earthquake or Bounce.
**Faster Threats**: Landorus, Garchomp, Mega Diancie, and other faster threats can all take a Sucker Punch and OHKO Toxicroak.
**Bulky Psychic-types**: Mew can burn Toxicroak and continually avoid Sucker Punch with Soft-Boiled, can Knock Off Toxicroak's Life Orb, and resists Drain Punch. Slowbro and Mega Slowbro can also deal heavy damage with Psyshock or cripple Toxicroak with Thunder Wave.
**Mega Sableye**: Mega Sableye can take a +2 Gunk Shot and burn Toxicroak, rendering it useless.
Original: http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/toxicroak-qc-2-3-written.3520284/
Overview
########
Toxicroak's unique typing makes it a good choice for teams that need a solid answer to defensive Water- and Fairy-types, and a loose check to other threats such as Terrakion. Being a Poison-type allows Toxicroak to beat most Fairy-types and Keldeo, while being a Fighting-type prevents Tyranitar from Pursuit trapping Toxicroak. Dry Skin allows Toxicroak to counter most Water-types and it has access to Swords Dance to set up on them. Although Toxicroak has a Speed tier that leaves it outsped by many offensive threats such as Mega Diancie and Landorus, it can still beat some of them with Sucker Punch. While Toxicroak has many helpful resistances to types such as Fighting and Dark, it also is weak to common attacking types such as Flying, Psychic, and Ground.
Offensive
########
name: Offensive
move 1: Gunk Shot
move 2: Drain Punch
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Swords Dance / Ice Punch
ability: Dry Skin
item: Life Orb / Black Sludge
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly / Adamant
Moves
========
Gunk Shot is Toxicroak's most powerful STAB move, which also has a 30% chance to poison the foe. A Life Orb boosted-Gunk Shot is very powerful, 2HKOing defensive Mega Venusaur. It also rips all variants of Clefable to shreds and can OHKO Gardevoir, as well as deal significant damage to everything that doesn't resist it. Drain Punch hits Steel-types super effectively, gives Toxicroak a means of gaining its health back alongside Dry Skin, and OHKOes Bisharp, allowing Toxicroak to easily check Bisharp thanks to Toxicroak's resistance to Sucker Punch. Sucker Punch gives Toxicroak priority to use against offensive Pokemon that outspeed it. In the last moveslot, Swords Dance is generally the best option, as it allows Toxicroak to set up on the Pokemon it walls and/or threatens out. If you don't feel like setting up, Ice Punch lets Toxicroak hit Landorus-T and Gliscor. However, Landorus-T is not too hard to wear down, especially with Gunk Shot's poison chance, so Swords Dance is generally the better option.
Set Details
========
Life Orb is the best item choice because it gives Toxicroak a significant power boost and Toxicroak can heal off the recoil damage with Drain Punch. However, Black Sludge is viable if you desire extra recovery. An Adamant nature can be used for more power, but Jolly is superior, as Toxicroak is then guaranteed to outspeed Mega Heracross, regular Gardevoir, Gyarados, and Mamoswine, while Speed tying with regular Heracross. Finally, a Jolly nature lets Toxicroak take on sand offense reasonably well, as it outspeeds Adamant Excadrill outside of sand and Toxicroak is easily able to Drain Punch Tyranitar away. The EVs maximize Attack and Speed, making Toxicroak hit as hard as possible while also taking advantage of its decent Speed.
Usage Tips
======
Toxicroak should switch in on opposing Water-type moves from the likes of Keldeo, Kingdra, and Omastar, restoring its HP and often forcing the foe out due to the fact that a lot of Swift Swim users and Keldeo are Choice-locked. Toxicroak should also be used as a check and pivot into Water-type Pokemon, as it is able to take attacks such as Stone Edge from Kabutops or Ice Beam from Omastar and OHKO them back, with any free turns obtained being used to hit the switch-in or set up a Swords Dance. The ability to switch in on bulky Water-types such as Alomomola and Suicune should also be taken advantage of, as neither Scald nor Toxic do anything to Toxicroak, while Toxicroak can set up a Swords Dance against them, easily taking weak Ice Beams or other potential coverage moves and completely walling Calm Mind Suicune.
Team Options
========
Politoed and other Pokemon that work well on rain teams such as Kingdra and Kabutops make great partners. Toxicroak benefits from rain to continuously restore its HP and to destroy opposing rain teams, whose Choice-locked Swift Swim users are ruined because they can't spam their Water-type moves anymore, and whose Ferrothorn is hit for super effective damage with Drain Punch. Rain teams also deal with Sand Rush Excadrill, with Toxicroak being able to Drain Punch Tyranitar and survive any attack besides Earthquake from +1 Mega Tyranitar. Toxicroak can also work on sand itself to deal with opposing rain teams, bulky Water-types, and Keldeo. Toxicroak can also take a couple of hits from Terrakion, as Toxicroak resists its STAB moves and easily OHKOes Terrakion back. Any Pokemon walled or checked by bulky Water-types appreciates Toxicroak's ability to come in on said Water-types. Toxicroak is a solid check to all variants of Azumarill and can switch in on all of Azumarill's moves bar Play Rough. Teams with weaknesses to Water-types such as Keldeo and Azumarill really appreciate Toxicroak's ability to take them on. Offensive teams that have trouble with Bisharp and Clefable appreciate Toxicroak being able to Drain Punch the former and Gunk Shot the latter for easy OHKOs. Electric-types such as Raikou and Mega Manectric have great defensive synergy with Toxicroak. Both Pokemon can check Flying-type attackers, while Toxicroak can defeat Clefable, which walls Raikou and Mega Manectric. Checks to Ground-types, such as Ferrothorn and Landorus-T, are very nice, as this covers Toxicroak's Ground weakness. Landorus can also take Secret Sword from Keldeo easily, allowing Toxicroak to pivot into Keldeo.
Other Options
########
Substitute can protect Toxicroak from status ailments and opposing revenge killers. Taunt can also prevent status ailments while stopping opposing Leech Seed, Defog, entry hazards, and recovery moves. Bulk Up is an interesting option that allows Toxicroak to take a more defensive approach to boosting, but it works best alongside Substitute, which limits Toxicroak's coverage significantly. Specially based sets with Sludge Bomb, Focus Blast, Nasty Plot, Vacuum Wave, Dark Pulse, and Hidden Power can catch usual checks to Toxicroak off-guard. Belch, Focus Blast or Vacuum Wave, Nasty Plot, and Substitute with a Salac Berry can work quite nicely, as Belch continues to function even if Toxicroak switches out. Knock Off can be useful to deal significant damage to defensive Psychic-types at +2, but it means giving up valuable priority in Sucker Punch. A Choice Scarf set is usable to get surprise KOs on usual checks such as Mega Diancie. Finally, Thunder Punch can be used to hit Water-types super effectively and OHKO Gyarados.
Checks & Counters:
########
**Flying-type Priority**: Talonflame and Mega Pinsir easily OHKO Toxicroak with Brave Bird and Quick Attack, respectively. Both of them outspeed Toxicroak as well, so they will thwart Toxicroak's Sucker Punch.
**Physically Bulky Pokemon**: Landorus-T can easily switch in on all of Toxicroak's moves bar Ice Punch, with Choice Scarf variants outspeeding and easily OHKOing Toxicroak with Earthquake. Gliscor completely walls Toxicroak without Ice Punch, does not care about Gunk Shot's chance to poison, and can OHKO Toxicroak with Earthquake. Finally, Hippowdon can wall Toxicroak and OHKO it with Earthquake. Skarmory walls Toxicroak and OHKOes it with Brave Bird or Counter while phazing away any attempts to set up with Swords Dance by using Whirlwind. Doublade also can take anything Toxicroak throws at it. Mega Charizard X can burn Toxicroak with Will-O-Wisp or OHKO it with Flare Blitz, and Gyarados can deal heavy damage with Earthquake or Bounce.
**Faster Threats**: Landorus, Garchomp, Mega Diancie, and other faster threats can all take a Sucker Punch and OHKO Toxicroak.
**Bulky Psychic-types**: Mew can burn Toxicroak and continually avoid Sucker Punch with Soft-Boiled, can Knock Off Toxicroak's Life Orb, and resists Drain Punch. Slowbro and Mega Slowbro can also deal heavy damage with Psyshock or cripple Toxicroak with Thunder Wave.
**Mega Sableye**: Mega Sableye can take a +2 Gunk Shot and burn Toxicroak, rendering it useless.
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