[SET]
name: Physically Defensive (Water)
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Poison Jab
move 3: Haze
move 4: Recover
item: Black Sludge
ability: Regenerator
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Thanks to its amazing defensive stats, good typing, and excellent ability in Regenerator, Toxapex is key to Water teams' success by serving as one of the type's best possible walls. With its Poison typing and bulk, Toxapex can wall threats to Water teams such as Aegislash, Tapu Bulu, and Dragapult, and it can use Regenerator to outlast teams by switching. Knock Off is Toxapex's main utility move, and it is crucial for removing many items such as Celesteela's Leftovers, Galarian Slowking's Assault Vest, Tornadus-T's Heavy-Duty Boots, and Dragapult's Dragon Fang. The combination of Knock Off + Black Sludge is crucial for taking down a huge threat in Dragon Dance Dragapult, with Knock Off letting Toxapex remove Dragapult's Dragon Fang before using Haze, and Black Sludge allowing Toxapex to outstall it. Poison Jab prevents Toxapex from being setup fodder against Tapu Bulu, Hatterene, and Tapu Fini and helps spread status against other Pokemon such as Tyranitar and Slowking. Haze is crucial to the set, as it prevents Toxapex from losing to the setup sweepers that it excels at checking, such as the aforementioned Dragapult as well as Zarude, Dragonite, and Volcarona. A physically defensive EV spread is used to allow Toxapex to wall the aforementioned physical attackers, which would otherwise be hard to switch into.
Toxapex pairs well with other defensive Pokemon to form defensive backbones for Water teams. Swampert and Gastrodon are two Pokemon that can switch into Electric-type attacks from Pokemon such as Tapu Koko, Zeraora, and Thundurus-T, while Toxapex can switch into Grass-type Pokemon such as Zarude and Tapu Bulu in return. Slowking is another great Pokemon that pairs well with Toxapex thanks to its resistance to Psychic and even better special bulk, which allow it to come in on attacks such as Tapu Lele's Psychic and Substitute Kyurem's Freeze-Dry. It also has Regenerator, just like Toxapex, allowing the Water user to outstall opposing defensive cores just by switching in and out between the two Pokemon. Volcanion is a good partner that beats Steel-types such as Celesteela, Melmetal, Klefki, and Ferrothorn for Toxapex, and it can Defog away the entry hazards Ferrothorn gets up for free against Toxapex. It also forms a good Fairy-breaking core with Toxapex by offensively threatening Pokemon such as Clefable with Sludge Bomb. Toxapex's defensive backbones pair will with many offensive Pokemon, but Urshifu-R in particular is a really good partner for Toxapex, as it can commonly take on Pokemon that punish Toxapex's passivity such as Ferrothorn, Arctozolt, Kyurem, Galarian Moltres, and Hydreigon.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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Water
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Scald can be used on Toxapex to spread burns against Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Celesteela, as well as setup sweepers like Bisharp and Dragonite. Toxic Spikes can be used for types such as Fairy and Ice, in particular, that do not have a good absorber. Toxic directly punishes offensive threats such as Thundurus-T and Garchomp, which would otherwise take advantage of Toxapex's passivity. However, all of these moves require Toxapex to give up a crucial moveslot, and the aforementioned Pokemon and types can be taken care of by other teammates. Wacan Berry and Payapa Berry are both decent options: Wacan Berry allows Toxapex to stay in on Choice Specs Tapu Koko to retaliate with Poison Jab, and Payapa Berry means Toxapex can stay in on Tapu Lele and do the same, which is especially useful if the team lacks Slowking. Rocky Helmet is good for punishing attacks from U-turn users such as Urshifu-R, as well as putting Tapu Bulu into Poison Jab range after one of its attacks. Eject Button can be used on rain teams in order to generate momentum. Heavy-Duty Boots can be used to ignore Spikes against Fairy, letting Toxapex switch into the likes of Tapu Bulu more easily. However, Black Sludge is preferred over all these items to help Toxapex stand up to Pokemon such as Dragapult, and another item can only really be considered on teams that are not weak to it. If Toxapex does run another item or replaces Knock Off, Tapu Fini is a decent partner to serve as a good Dragapult answer.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[mushamu, 362454]]
- Water analysis by: [[mushamu, 362454]]
- Quality checked by: [[neko, 542526], [roxiee, 481576], [Mateeus, 321991]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429]]
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