Toxicroak


Toxicroak
This is a gen 4 pokemon that was decent but never really spectacular. This pokemon has so many options open for it to annoy your oppenent, sweep with priority, or counter rain dance teams. This thread is dedicated to the discussion of the Pokemon competitively, not whether it will or will not be banned or if it will be OU or UBER. But chances of that are slim anyways... Just keep that in mind.
Code:
[B]#313 Toxicroak [/B]
Typing: Fighting / Poison
Ability 1:
     Anticipation
      Warns when the foe has a 1-hit KO or super-effective moves.
Ability 2:
     [B]Dry Skin[/B]
      HP is restored when hit by Water-type moves or when it is raining but also makes the Pokemon Weak to Fire-type moves and reduces their HP during strong sunlight.
Ability 3: Dream World Ability:
     Poison Hand
      The opponent can become poisoned just by touching this Pokemon.

[B]HP[/B]:83
[B]Atk[/B]:106
[B]Def[/B]:65
[B]Sp.Atk[/B]:86
[B]Sp.Def[/B]:65
[B]Speed[/B]:85

[B][U]Level-Up Moves[/U][/B]: 
Lv1: Astonish
Lv1: Mud-Slap
Lv1: Poison Sting
Lv3: Mud-Slap
Lv8: Poison Sting
Lv10: [B]Taunt[/B]
Lv15: Pursuit
Lv17: Faint Attack
Lv22: Revenge
Lv24: Swagger
Lv29: Mud Bomb
Lv31: [B]Sucker Punch[/B]
Lv36: [I]Venom Shock[/I]
Lv41: [B]Nasty Plot[/B]
Lv49: [B]Poison Jab[/B]
Lv54: [B]Sludge Bomb[/B]
Lv62: Flatter

[I]Venom Shock[/I]:POISON Special PP: 15 / Power: 65 / Accuracy: 100
It hurls a special poison. Its power doubles if it hits an opponent with Poison Status.

[B][U]TMs[/U][/B]:
TM06 - Toxic
TM08 - Bulk Up
TM09 - Venom Shock
TM10 - Hidden Power
TM11 - Sunny Day
TM12 - Taunt
TM15 - Hyper Beam
TM17 - Protect
TM18 - Rain Dance
TM21 - Frustration
TM26 - [B]Earthquake[/B]
TM27 - Return
TM28 - Dig
TM30 - [B]Shadow Ball[/B]
TM31 - Brick Break
TM32 - Double Team
TM34 - [B][I]Sludge Wave[/I][/B]
TM36 - Sludge Bomb
TM39 - Rock Tomb
TM41 - [B]Torment[/B]
TM42 - Facade
TM44 - Rest
TM45 - Attract
TM46 - Thief
TM47 - [I]Ankle Sweep[/I]
TM48 - [I]Sing A Round[/I]
TM52 - [B]Focus Blast[/B]
TM56 - Fling
TM63 - Embargo
TM66 - Payback
TM67 - [I]Vengeance[/I]
TM68 - Giga Impact
TM71 - [B]Stone Edge[/B]
TM75 - [B]Swords Dance[/B]
TM78 - [I]Smooth Over[/I]
TM80 - [B]Rock Slide[/B]
TM81 - [B]X-Scissor[/B]
TM83 - [B][I]Cheer Up[/I][/B]
TM84 - Poison Jab
TM87 - Swagger
TM90 - [B]Substitute[/B]
TM94 - Rock Smash
HM01 - Cut
HM04 - Strength

[I]Sludge Wave[/I]:POISON Special PP: 10 / Power: 95 / Accuracy: 100
It attacks those near it with a wave of sludge. It will sometimes cause poisoning.

[I]Ankle Seep[/I]: FIGHTING Physical PP: 20 / Power: 60 / Accuracy: 100
With speedy movements it aims at the opponent's feet.

[I]Sing A Round[/I]:NORMAL Special PP: 15 / Power: 60 / Accuracy: 100
It attacks the opponent with a song. If everyone sings together you can use the move in successive turns and have its power increase.

[I]Vengeance[/I]: NORMAL Physical PP: 5 / Power: 70 / Accuracy: 100
It takes revenge for a fainted teammate. If a teammate is fainted that turn the attacks power is increased.

[I]Smooth Over[/I]: GROUND Physical PP: 20 / Power: 60 / Accuracy: 100
It stamps out the ground and attacks anything nearby. It lowers the opponent's speed.

[I]Cheer Up[/I]: NORMAL Other PP: 30 / Power: -- / Accuracy: --
It musters its courage and raises its Attack and Special Attack.

[B][U]Egg Moves[/U][/B]:
[B]Me First[/B]
Feint
DynamicPunch
Headbutt
[B]Vacuum Wave[/B]
Meditate
[B]Fake Out[/B]
Wake-Up Slap
SmellingSalt
[B]Cross Chop[/B]
[B]Bullet Punch[/B]
Counter
[B]Drain Punch[/B]
Acupressure

[B][U]Gen IV TMs[/U][/B]:
TM01 - [B]Focus Punch[/B]
TM43 - Secret Power
TM49 - Snatch
TM58 - Endure
TM78 - Captivate
TM79 - [B]Dark Pulse[/B]
TM82 - Sleep Talk
TM83 - Natural Gift

[B][U]Gen IV Move Tutor Moves[/U][/B]
Fury Cutter
[B]Ice Punch[/B]
Icy Wind
[B]Knock Off[/B]
Sucker Punch
[B]Thunder Punch[/B]
Vacuum Wave
Helping Hand
Snore
Spite
[B]Bounce[/B]
[B]Gunk Shot[/B]
Mud-slap
$[B]Super Fang[/B]
$[B]Magic Coat[/B]
$Role Play
$[B]Low Kick[/B]
$Headbutt


$=HG/SS only
Potential Sets:
*Gen IV move only, must be given move in D/P/Plt or HG/SS


Firefly Boosted SuperFrog
Dry Skin~Leftovers
-Naive/Hasty or Mild/Rash 252 speed / 252 sp atk-
Vacuum Wave
Sucker Punch
*Dark Pulse/Shadow Ball
Sludge Wave/Sludge Bomb

--This set is an ideal partner to receive a baton pass boost from the new ultimate sp.atk passer that is Volbeat. don't skip this set because i mentioned Volbeat now... It is actually a viable strategy and Volbeat is now better than you would ever think it could be. in 2 turns volbeat can get a +3 sp.atk boost, and baton pass to Toxicroak with a priority baton pass. it also has access to priority encore and substitute to aid it. and if it has time can even get a 2nd tail glow in, essentially maxing out sp.atk for the pass. it is best to do this when expecting to be hit by an obvious Water, Bug, Grass, Rock, Fighting, Poison, Dark attack or stat boosting move.

It should be very easy to receive this boost outside of hail/sandstorm. Once you have sponged the attack or switched in on the opponents set-up, you can proceed to fire Vacuum Waves at +3 or +6 sp.atk. That can make his special attacking stat rise to 1084 or even 1192 if using mild/rash. Sucker Punch and Shadow Ball/Dark Pulse are their so you aren't destroyed by incoming ghost types. Sludge Wave/Sludge Bomb are for stronger attacks on slower grass types and slower pokemon with no priority that don't resist it. You can even run a Hidden Power of choice if you think sucker punch is enough to handle psychics and ghosts

It is ideal to go for the +6 baton pass and it shouldn't be too difficult considering all that Volbeat has at its disposal with it's new ability. Vacuum Wave being the only Special priority attack, Toxicroak seems like one of the most ideal candidates to have his sp.atk stat maxed out. It also helps that he is not weak to any priority moves himself, unlike Lucario who doesn't take Mach Punch or Vacuum Wave hits very well.

Leftovers should gradually heal you as you get OHKOs and he wouldn't mind Politoed rain support for the Dry Skin healing, but it is by no means necessary. Watch our for Sunlight however as this version gradually loses HP in the sun. If you are wary of Ninetails, use a different ability, but the added ability to come in on water moves will be missed dearly. the natures are there so sucker punch does the best it can with no investment, however you will take hits harder on one side so choose wisely. Speed vs Power is preference, just dont let base 85 or lower pokemon running max speed get the better of you.

-- here is a link to the Volbeat thread i created to better understand the basis of this moveset and the synergy these 2 have together. Link to My New Volbeat Thread


Swamp Life
Dry Skin~Life Orb
-Adamant/Jolly 252 speed 252 atk-
Sucker Punch
Earthquake/Ice Punch
Drain Punch/ *Low Kick/Cross Chop
Poison Jab / *Gunk Shot
Set Details:
A basic life orb set that works even better in the rain do to the "leftovers" effect rain gives toxicroak. Drain Punch is suggested over the other two so that you heal off life orb damage while doing decent damage yourself. Poison Jab is for Stab and Grass types, plus possible poisoning. Sucker Punch for fast psychics and ghost that trouble him, and earthquake for coverage and a powerful attack, especially on the switch. pretty straight-forward. Speed vs Power preference on nature, healing vs power vs accuracy on the fighting-type move, and accuracy vs power on the poison move. Ice Punch is an option to hit dragon, ground and flying types harder


Shocking Suprise
Dry Skin~Leftovers
-Adamant/Jolly 252 speed 252 atk-
Toxic
Venom Shock
Substitute / Super Fang / Sucker Punch / *Low Kick
Protect
Set Details:
A very fun set to use and will probably surprise/SHOCK the heck out of your opponent, and then just annoy it. Works even better with rain support. Use toxic on an opponent you can withstand an attack from or who will try to set-up or switch out. Now not only are they badly poisoned, but Toxicroak can hit them with a 135BP+STAB move, so a 203BP move if i calculated that correctly, coming off a 311 or 342 attack stat depending on nature. You can then toxic stall with protect and substitute, gaining leftovers HP in between (and possibly Dry Skin HP in the rain), and Venom Shock when in KO range or just to lower their hp even more. Opting for Substitute assures you are completely walled by steel types which are becoming more common however, but if you have taken care of your foe's steel type, then proceed. If you dont want to test your luck, i would suggest low kick (a Gen IV move tutor move) to hit steel type for super-effective STAB damage or at the very least neutral damage. Sucker Punch if you want to KO your opponent with a priority move and make quick work of ghosts and psychics, and of course Super Fang if you just want to cripple your opponent by 1/2 their hp, putting them in the danger zone for Venom Shock and also taking a big chunk out of steels..

This set begs for rain support, it would make taking hits so much easier due to the HP gain of rain and leftovers.


Frogs Have Teeth?
Dry Skin~Focus Sash
-Naughty/Lonely 252 atk 252 Speed-
*Super Fang
Sucker Punch
Vacuum Wave / Drain Punch
Drain Punch / *Bounce

Set Details:
This set is made to try and take advantage of the HG/SS move tutor move: Super Fang... it automatically hits most pokemon for 1/2 their HP (minus ghost types of course). thats quite a feat and should be taken advantage of. the goal with this set is to use Super Fang to put them down to half, and then use Sucker Punch/Bullet Punch/Vacuum Wave to finish them off with priority if it is super effective. this doesn't work as well for really bulky opponents but should work well with more frail sweepers. Bounce is listed for an unexpected flying attack to hit other fighting types, grass types and bug type for super-effective damage, and if the opponent switches out on the charge up turn for a counter, it also carries a 30% paralysis chance, which is helpful. Drain Punch and Vacuum Wave hit Dark types that resist your Sucker Punch.


Dissect THIS!
Poison Hand/Dry Skin~Focus Sash/Leftovers
-Adamant/Jolly 252 atk 252 speed-
Swords Dance
Sucker Punch
Drain Punch/Low Kick/Cross Chop
Earthquake
Set Details:
I couldn't help myself with the title. A frog using "swords" dance... lol. the irony... any who, this is a good option as well. Swords Dance away and follow up with a super effective KO hit with Drain Punch if you can, to heal off any damage. if it isn't a favorable match-up, us one of his other 2 attacks. Earthquake over Poison Jab for better coverage and to hit Fire types hard as they pose problems for Dry Skin variants. Sucker Punch helps with ghosts and psychics as always, and levitating ghosts as well.



Up To No Good
Dry Skin/Poison Hand~Balloon
-Timid 252 speed 252 sp.atk-
Nasty Plot
Sludge Wave/Sludge Bomb
Vacuum Wave
Icy Wind/ Focus Blast
Set Details:
Toxicroak has access to Nasty Plot, so if you want to raise his sp.atk yourself, the option is there. Vacuum Wave for priority STAB. Poison attack for it most consistent damage, and icy wind to slow down faster enemies and hit ground, flying and dragons super-effectively. You could opt for Focus Blast for its strongest STAB, but it has unreliable accuracy. Toxicroak also has access to Dark Pulse and Shadow Ball if you want to se those in place of any of these, depending on your needs. Baloon is there as Toxicroak yells to the opponent to use a ground move on it, seeing as Earthquake is more common than Psychic and Flying moves. Sucker Punch is also an option if you do fear Psychics.



Rain Abuse Counter
Dry Skin~Bulb
*Lonely/Naughty 252 atk, mix of hp and def or sp.def*
Sucker Punch
*Thunder Punch
Vacuum Wave
Earthquake/Drain Punch
Set Details:
This set is created to be used against your foe's Rain Team in an ideal situation, but can be used as a revenge killer if necessary outside of that niche. Switch in on something that will obviously use a Water type move to absorb the attack and gain a boost in Attack from your Bulb (i believe it activates even if the attack is absorbed, more testing/confirmation may be needed). It has Thunder Punch(from gen IV move tutor) to hit the inevitable water types in the opposing team super-effectively. Sucker Punch and Vacuum Wave are for the vast amount of Swift Swimmers on rain teams or fast Rain abusers like Starmie who can carry Thunder. With your immunity to water however, you will not fall to their boosted Waterfall or Surf attacks. Earthquake are for Electric types trying to abuse Thunder's 100% accuracy, but watch out for Zapdos as it pretty much destroys this. Drain Punch is for STAB and recovery. Running with a +1 in attack for free is good for Toxicroak, as it boosts his Sucker Punch to acceptable levels. Bullet Punch is not mentioned here as water and electric types resist it, therefore it wont be of much use. Lonely and Naughty are suggested so as not to weaken his vacuum wave. No speed EVs were listed due to the fact that you wont really outrun much in the rain due to swift swim, and you have priority moves.




The Main purpose of this thread was to let people know about the possibility of Toxicroak and its +6 Vacuum Wave combo with Volbeat. But looking closely at its moves this Gen and the prominence that should be Rain due to Politoed, i think Toxicroak has a lot of different niches it can fill and could possibly find a home in many of our teams.

Which do you think will be Toxicroak's most noticeable Moveset. Will it rise in competitive use to be a staple, or will it fizzle to the powerhouses that is Gen V!? How well will Toxicroak do overall? And will the Volbeat combo really work in your opinion? Feel free to give your opinions on the poisonous frog and let us know what you think.
 
What about a rain team SubPuncher? With Dry Skin he can recover damage from using Substitute, and since he has access to Focus Punch and Sucker Punch, he could possibly fake out an opponent trying to predict one or the other.
 
Good sets. I like the one paired with Volbeat, but I'd pair them up with a MeanLookPassing Umbreon too. That way, if Umbreon is vsing a status using Pokemon, then it could MeanLook them and pass to Volbeat, who would proceed to Encore the move that is now essentially usesless, double TailGlow, and pass to Toxicroak w/ little trouble. That takes up 3/6 of your team, but while it's gimmicky, it may work.

Toxicroak makes a great ricipient of TG. Even w/out MeanLook/Encore support, he should be able to absorb blows easily due to his typing.
 
Toxicroak can absorb water into his hp, is 4 times resistant to bug, and has resistances to rock, grass, poison, fighting and dark so it can come in on many common moves which helps it take a baton pass very well. i personally just dont understand the admiration of mean look and umbreon. i think you can pull it off nicely without mean look support. but thats IMO of course.


You can also make use of toxicroak as an Anti-Lead with access to Magic Guard in HG/SS. with it he can essentially bounce back status and hazards back to the opponent. Just that one move can Sleep a Breloom, bounce back a Stealth Rock or who knows what else. this makes your opponents first turn useless while benefiting on what they were going to do. and if you do bounce a Spore back to Breloom, its a free turn to setup with Nasty Plot, Swords Dance or Cheer Up.


speaking of Cheer Up, he has it but i didnt make a set for that move. anyone is free to try to make a competitive Mixed set with Cheer Up if they want. Im too lazy right now, lol
 
A thought about using this guy in Ou, which is going to be one of my pet projects: Use aerial ace/sludge bomb in one of his sets to be able to deal with heracross. In fact, heracross may saunter down to UU. The reasoning behind this is that stabed sucker punch and cross chop have similar coverage and do more damage than earthquake.
 
one minor thing about toxicroak - use black sludge not leftovers, it is less likely to help your opponent on a trick.
toxicroak's real forte is double and (presumably) triple battles in any case. i once tried to make a sucker punch/focus punch build but the prediction required to make it work was insane.
 

Super Mario Bro

All we ever look for
one minor thing about toxicroak - use black sludge not leftovers, it is less likely to help your opponent on a trick.
toxicroak's real forte is double and (presumably) triple battles in any case. i once tried to make a sucker punch/focus punch build but the prediction required to make it work was insane.
No -- If Black Sludge gets Tricked away from you, then it can easily be Tricked onto someone else on your team.
 
toxicroak's real forte is double and (presumably) triple battles in any case. i once tried to make a sucker punch/focus punch build but the prediction required to make it work was insane.

ive never been a fan of the Focus Punch/Sucker Punch prediction trick. if you mispredict then you take a hit to the face or a lost turn that they could have healed with leftovers and set up on you. i prefer sets with things you know will hit. accuracy vs power argument no doubt, but im very interested in Drain Punch this Gen
 
No -- If Black Sludge gets Tricked away from you, then it can easily be Tricked onto someone else on your team.
only after it has poisoned the trickster. provided he survives long enough and that you cannot correctly predict when that second trick is coming and bring toxicroak (or anyone else immune) back in on it.
i just think the damage from the toxic orb to the trickster is more advantageous than letting him heal with leftovers and it is just as likely to force your opponent to switch as the choice item toxicroak got stuck with is.
 

Super Mario Bro

All we ever look for
only after it has poisoned the trickster. provided he survives long enough and that you cannot correctly predict when that second trick is coming and bring toxicroak (or anyone else immune) back in on it.
i just think the damage from the toxic orb to the trickster is more advantageous than letting him heal with leftovers and it is just as likely to force your opponent to switch as the choice item toxicroak got stuck with is.
That may be true, but I would not like being in a position where Toxicroak is dead, and because of this, one of my members would be forced to receive Black Sludge. Leftovers is the safer option, hands down.
 
Super Fang Toxicroak would be a nice lead. It might warrant its own moveset in 5th generation.
I attempted a super fang thread in my post, not sure how well it will be once i get the game and try it out but it certainly is intriguing to theorymon about. super fang is an awesome move that isnt widely spread except for in HG/SS, so new pokemon and dream world pokemon wont get it. not a problem for toxicroak though seeing as it wants to use its old ability Dry Skin anyways. SUPER FANG!
 
only after it has poisoned the trickster. provided he survives long enough and that you cannot correctly predict when that second trick is coming and bring toxicroak (or anyone else immune) back in on it.
i just think the damage from the toxic orb to the trickster is more advantageous than letting him heal with leftovers and it is just as likely to force your opponent to switch as the choice item toxicroak got stuck with is.
I agree 100% with Super Mario Bro, Black Sludge is not what you want. It's far, far too easy for it to backfire on you and the upside is minor at best. I would much rather have Leftovers and remove Trick from the equation (for the most part) then have my enemy's tricker be given another weapon to play with.
 
the only time id prefer black sludge is if your team already has a leftover pokemon (assuming item clause). but its not an issue either way as i rarely see trick being used personally.

On the Shocking Surprise set, which do people think would be more effective? running substitute, or one of the attacking options?
 
That may be true, but I would not like being in a position where Toxicroak is dead, and because of this, one of my members would be forced to receive Black Sludge. Leftovers is the safer option, hands down.
This. The only time I ever use Black Sludge is if someone wants to play with the Item Clause for some reason, and I need to have a replacement item for my Muk. :3
 
I'm disappointed to see he can't learn claw sharpen via TM... with cross chop, stone edge and gunk shot he could have made pretty good use of it. I don't understand why he didn't either since he has larger, more pronounced claws than half of the stuff that does learn it.
 
very good point Duct_Tape, i didnt even think of that. he does have freakishly long red claws that could easily warrant him the move claw sharpen. i think the main use would have been to make gunk shot his main stab, but extra accuracy on coverage moves like stone edge would have appreciated it as well. maybe in Grey?
 
It has a nice typing, barring the glaring 4* Psychic weakness, nice priority, Rain healing.


Plus, you are assured to never see Volbeat in OU, it is just too frail.
 
i dont see how toxicroak works better for a +3 receiver than lucario with its higher base attacking stats
Lucario works very well too, the idea however was its advantages. he can be passed to easily against rain teams do to easily predicted Surf and Waterfall attacks and has free "leftovers" in that rain, and he isn't weak to priority moves such as Mach Punch like Lucario is. toxicroak also lacks a fighting weakness which is a common move type (at least in Gen IV).


It has a nice typing, barring the glaring 4* Psychic weakness, nice priority, Rain healing.


Plus, you are assured to never see Volbeat in OU, it is just too frail.
He counters his psychic weakness with access to Sucker Punch and that fact that really only psychic pokemon carry psychic attacks nowadays, so its pretty much guaranteed he can get a super-effective hit in on them, possibly OHKOing (haven't done the calculations)

And you are by no means "assured" he will not be seen in OU as tier lists haven't come out. and pretty much all of the pokemon with the new ability Mischievous Heart are frail with bad defenses. But they get by this with their priority status and phasing moves. why does it need good defenses if it will just set up and baton pass out before the foe can kill it?? i think it has a good balance for what it does.

I for one, am waiting for the second that Mischievous Heart Volbeat is released by nintendo, as i will get one and use him on my team competitively. the possibility to have a +3 or +6 Vacuum Wave is too enticing, whether its on Toxicroak or Lucario.
 
Rain Bulkup Tank
Dry Skin~leftovers
Jolly/impish
252 HP 136 Def 160 speed
Bulk up
Drain Punch
Sucker Punch
Stone edge/Poison Jab

One of the best roob/terrakion counters. This thing is very hard to kill physically once it has set up 1-2 bulk up in the rain. Switch it into any of its resistance mainly fighting/rock/bug and set up. Rain recovers 12.5+6.25 hp per turn and with drain punch this thing stays above 75% health most of the time. Drainpunch+suckerpunch+stone edge has great coverage. a more physically bulky impish set can be run if you want extra protection against earthquake and rely more on drain punch recovery(by going last and healing). SuckerPunch deals with psychic and ghost types that lack substitue, otherwise stone edge is your best attack against them.
 
They are essentially the same but with Black Sludge you run the risk of having it Tricked off and on to another one of your pokemon.
 

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