[OVERVIEW]
* Toxapex is arguably the best physically defensive pivot for balance and stall teams.
* It's able to reliably answer many of the tier's most dangerous offensive threats such as Pheromosa, Mega Charizard Y, Mega Scizor, and Magearna and Genesect lacking Thunderbolt.
* Toxapex is the best Toxic Spiker in OU because its general utility makes it far easier to fit on teams than other Toxic Spikers such as Nihilego.
* Although Toxapex is extremely weak, Scald and access to Haze and Regenerator diminish its passivity and prevent it from becoming setup bait.
* However, it's still extremely reliant on status to punish otherwise free switches from dangerous wallbreakers such as Tapu Koko.
* In addition, Toxapex is hurt by weaknesses to relatively common offensive types in Electric and Psychic and the ubiquity of Ground-type coverage.
[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Scald
move 2: Recover
move 3: Toxic / Toxic Spikes
move 4: Haze
item: Black Sludge / Rocky Helmet
ability: Regenerator
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Scald, while pitifully weak, comes with a burn chance that deters Pokemon such as Choice Band Hoopa-U from switching directly into Toxapex.
* Recover provides Toxapex with longevity and allows it to stall out opposing Pokemon until they succumb to Toxic damage or a Scald burn.
* Toxic prevents Toxapex from being total dead weight against Pokemon that have recovery or do not mind a burn such as Tapu Lele and Mantine.
* Toxic Spikes, on the other hand, supports its team in general, spreading poison to soften up teammates' checks, although this method is far less consistent due to its inability to affect Flying-types and the fact that they can be removed in various ways.
* Haze nulls opposing setup sweepers, preventing them from taking advantage of Toxapex's immense passivity.
Set Details
========
* Black Sludge provides Toxapex with passive recovery and allows it to avoid certain KOs, such as the 2HKO from Adamant Buzzwole's Earthquake.
* However, Rocky Helmet is equally viable to chip away at physical attackers, especially U-turn users such as Pheromosa.
* Regenerator gives Toxapex the liberty not to be required to Recover every time it takes a hit, which is extremely useful for conserving momentum.
* The given EVs along with a Bold nature maximize physical bulk while having enough Special Defense investment to avoid the OHKO from Porygon-Z's non-STAB +1 Thunderbolt, which guarantees that you will get a Haze off.
* Another potential spread is 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SpD, which allows Toxapex to avoid the OHKO from Mega Alakazam's Psychic.
Usage Tips
========
* Take full advantage of Regenerator by attempting to double switch on an opponent's predicted switch after coming in to take a hit.
* Similarly, avoid using Recover whenever possible to retain momentum, as there are few hits that Toxapex will be coming into that Regenerator recovery won't patch up almost completely.
* Use free turns not spent switching out to spread status or lay Toxic Spikes, although it may be wiser to simply go for a burn with Scald if the opponent has a grounded Poison-type that will soon absorb them or a number of Pokemon immune to them altogether.
* Be liberal with your use of Haze against potential setup sweepers, but be wary of the inevitable "Will they attack or set up?" mind games that are quite common against certain Pokemon such as Mega Charizard X; the vast majority of the time, your best option will be to keep clicking Haze to allow a partner to revenge kill.
Team Options
========
* Celesteela is far and away the best partner for Toxapex due to their phenomenal defensive synergy, although it's best to add a good Electric check to this pair, which is why Alolan Marowak is often added to this core.
* Skarmory shares similar synergy and is also capable of forming a hazard stacking core.
* Specially defensive Excadrill is another excellent partner for Toxapex due to its Electric- and Psychic-type resistances; it is also ideal because of its access to Rapid Spin, which provides hazard removal without also removing Toxapex's Toxic Spikes, unlike Defog.
* Chansey is another good partner, specifically on stall, as its enormous special bulk lets it more comfortably stomach hits from special attackers such as Ash-Greninja that plague Toxapex, and it appreciates Toxapex's ability to reliably answer Fighting-types and provides cleric support for when Toxapex is burned, which is a very common occurrence.
* Yet another good partner is Mega Sableye, which can act as a reliable spinblocker to keep Toxapex's Toxic Spikes on the field.
* Tyranitar can also help with opposing hazard removal by trapping common Defoggers like Latios and enjoys good synergy with Toxapex in general.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Shed Shell is a viable item that prevents Dugtrio from trapping Toxapex.
* A specially defensive set is somewhat viable on Toxapex, as it completely shuts down even Thunderbolt Genesect and more comfortably handles certain special attackers such as Volcanion, but it otherwise walls very few threats that the physically defensive set doesn't also handle.
* Baneful Bunker usually constitutes little more than a wasted slot on Toxapex that only serves to give free turns to the opponent, which makes it rarely worth using over another more useful move.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Psychic-types**: Tapu Lele, Hoopa-U, Mega and non-Mega Alakazam, Mega Metagross, and all the rest will have no trouble breaking past Toxapex barring a Scald burn on the physical attackers.
**Electric-types**: Tapu Koko and Xurkitree can largely switch directly into Toxapex and immediately deal it massive amounts of damage, as they often function as hit-and-run attackers that are generally unhindered by status.
**Ground-types**: While they must be wary of switching into Scald, many powerful Ground-types exist such as Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Zygarde-10% that can threaten massive damage if not outright OHKO Toxapex.
**Powerful Wallbreakers**: Certain exceptionally powerful wallbreakers such as Choice Specs Hydreigon and Ash-Greninja and Choice Band Tapu Bulu can simply break through Toxapex with brute force.
**Substitute / Taunt**: If Toxapex is unable to status its target, it will rarely do any significant damage to it, which makes it a prime target for setting up Substitutes and numerous common stallbreaking tactics like Taunt + Calm Mind from the likes of Tapu Fini.
* Toxapex is arguably the best physically defensive pivot for balance and stall teams.
* It's able to reliably answer many of the tier's most dangerous offensive threats such as Pheromosa, Mega Charizard Y, Mega Scizor, and Magearna and Genesect lacking Thunderbolt.
* Toxapex is the best Toxic Spiker in OU because its general utility makes it far easier to fit on teams than other Toxic Spikers such as Nihilego.
* Although Toxapex is extremely weak, Scald and access to Haze and Regenerator diminish its passivity and prevent it from becoming setup bait.
* However, it's still extremely reliant on status to punish otherwise free switches from dangerous wallbreakers such as Tapu Koko.
* In addition, Toxapex is hurt by weaknesses to relatively common offensive types in Electric and Psychic and the ubiquity of Ground-type coverage.
[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Scald
move 2: Recover
move 3: Toxic / Toxic Spikes
move 4: Haze
item: Black Sludge / Rocky Helmet
ability: Regenerator
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Scald, while pitifully weak, comes with a burn chance that deters Pokemon such as Choice Band Hoopa-U from switching directly into Toxapex.
* Recover provides Toxapex with longevity and allows it to stall out opposing Pokemon until they succumb to Toxic damage or a Scald burn.
* Toxic prevents Toxapex from being total dead weight against Pokemon that have recovery or do not mind a burn such as Tapu Lele and Mantine.
* Toxic Spikes, on the other hand, supports its team in general, spreading poison to soften up teammates' checks, although this method is far less consistent due to its inability to affect Flying-types and the fact that they can be removed in various ways.
* Haze nulls opposing setup sweepers, preventing them from taking advantage of Toxapex's immense passivity.
Set Details
========
* Black Sludge provides Toxapex with passive recovery and allows it to avoid certain KOs, such as the 2HKO from Adamant Buzzwole's Earthquake.
* However, Rocky Helmet is equally viable to chip away at physical attackers, especially U-turn users such as Pheromosa.
* Regenerator gives Toxapex the liberty not to be required to Recover every time it takes a hit, which is extremely useful for conserving momentum.
* The given EVs along with a Bold nature maximize physical bulk while having enough Special Defense investment to avoid the OHKO from Porygon-Z's non-STAB +1 Thunderbolt, which guarantees that you will get a Haze off.
* Another potential spread is 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SpD, which allows Toxapex to avoid the OHKO from Mega Alakazam's Psychic.
Usage Tips
========
* Take full advantage of Regenerator by attempting to double switch on an opponent's predicted switch after coming in to take a hit.
* Similarly, avoid using Recover whenever possible to retain momentum, as there are few hits that Toxapex will be coming into that Regenerator recovery won't patch up almost completely.
* Use free turns not spent switching out to spread status or lay Toxic Spikes, although it may be wiser to simply go for a burn with Scald if the opponent has a grounded Poison-type that will soon absorb them or a number of Pokemon immune to them altogether.
* Be liberal with your use of Haze against potential setup sweepers, but be wary of the inevitable "Will they attack or set up?" mind games that are quite common against certain Pokemon such as Mega Charizard X; the vast majority of the time, your best option will be to keep clicking Haze to allow a partner to revenge kill.
Team Options
========
* Celesteela is far and away the best partner for Toxapex due to their phenomenal defensive synergy, although it's best to add a good Electric check to this pair, which is why Alolan Marowak is often added to this core.
* Skarmory shares similar synergy and is also capable of forming a hazard stacking core.
* Specially defensive Excadrill is another excellent partner for Toxapex due to its Electric- and Psychic-type resistances; it is also ideal because of its access to Rapid Spin, which provides hazard removal without also removing Toxapex's Toxic Spikes, unlike Defog.
* Chansey is another good partner, specifically on stall, as its enormous special bulk lets it more comfortably stomach hits from special attackers such as Ash-Greninja that plague Toxapex, and it appreciates Toxapex's ability to reliably answer Fighting-types and provides cleric support for when Toxapex is burned, which is a very common occurrence.
* Yet another good partner is Mega Sableye, which can act as a reliable spinblocker to keep Toxapex's Toxic Spikes on the field.
* Tyranitar can also help with opposing hazard removal by trapping common Defoggers like Latios and enjoys good synergy with Toxapex in general.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Shed Shell is a viable item that prevents Dugtrio from trapping Toxapex.
* A specially defensive set is somewhat viable on Toxapex, as it completely shuts down even Thunderbolt Genesect and more comfortably handles certain special attackers such as Volcanion, but it otherwise walls very few threats that the physically defensive set doesn't also handle.
* Baneful Bunker usually constitutes little more than a wasted slot on Toxapex that only serves to give free turns to the opponent, which makes it rarely worth using over another more useful move.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Psychic-types**: Tapu Lele, Hoopa-U, Mega and non-Mega Alakazam, Mega Metagross, and all the rest will have no trouble breaking past Toxapex barring a Scald burn on the physical attackers.
**Electric-types**: Tapu Koko and Xurkitree can largely switch directly into Toxapex and immediately deal it massive amounts of damage, as they often function as hit-and-run attackers that are generally unhindered by status.
**Ground-types**: While they must be wary of switching into Scald, many powerful Ground-types exist such as Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Zygarde-10% that can threaten massive damage if not outright OHKO Toxapex.
**Powerful Wallbreakers**: Certain exceptionally powerful wallbreakers such as Choice Specs Hydreigon and Ash-Greninja and Choice Band Tapu Bulu can simply break through Toxapex with brute force.
**Substitute / Taunt**: If Toxapex is unable to status its target, it will rarely do any significant damage to it, which makes it a prime target for setting up Substitutes and numerous common stallbreaking tactics like Taunt + Calm Mind from the likes of Tapu Fini.
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