[Overview]
<p> (remove space)At first glance Toxicroak appears to be outclassed in OU. However Toxicroak has a couple things going for it; thanks to his typing and ability he is immune to Water-type attacks and Toxic. This gives him the unique ability to take on a good number of the bulky waters of OU and come out on top, without slowing down momentum, which is valuable crucial for offensive teams. He also has Sucker Punch which gives him a powerful priority move that has good coverage with his STAB moves. Toxicroak also rips Rain Dance teams apart, being healed by rain and the boosted Water-type attacks. Toxicroak isn't without his downsides flaws however. He is relatively easy to revenge kill with his lower Speed, which is mediocre when compaired to other sweepers in OU at best. Even with his priority attacks it's easy to find a pokemon who can safely revenge kill him. Also he isn’t the bulkiest Pokemon around, and relies mostly on his good typing and ability to switch in. </p>
<p>Despite these minor setbacks Toxicroak is still a great addition to offensive teams who require a good check to bulky waters without sacrificing offensive momentum by using bulky walls to get by them(I would rewrite this sentence). Underestimate this frog at your own peril. </p>
[SET]
name:OU Swords Dance Croak
move 1:Swords Dance
move 2:Cross Chop / Low Kick
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Stone Edge/Taunt / Thunder punch
item: Life orb
nature: Adamant
ability: Dry skin
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD /252 Spe
[Set Comments]
<p>After one Swords Dance Toxicroak’s Attack becomes 684. This allows him to kill bulky waters as a boosted Cross Chop will hit anything that doesn't resist it hard. Anything that does resist it is hit hard by Stone Edge or Sucker Punch. The idea is to switch in on a bulky water (roles such as "bulky water" are not capitalised, but "Water-type" would be)such as Vaporeon, Tentacruel or Suicune, and set up Swords Dance. and If it is foolish enough to stay in you will OHKO it with help from Stealth Rock. Against Starmie you should use just attack right away with Sucker Punch as it can OHKO it without Swords Dance, and Toxicroak risks being 2HKOed by Ice beam. Offensive Suicune can also 2HKO you with a boosted Ice beam and you need a Swords dance boost to OHKO, so you may want to use a powerful revenge killer instead to deal with offensive Suicune. However, against Crocune however you can set up with no worries. While this is meant to deal with bulky waters you still check Gengar and offensive Rotom-A. Gengar will always be OHKOed by Sucker Punch and so will Rotom-A 80% of the time after Stealth Rock.</p>
<p> (remove space)The given EVs allow Toxicroak to outspeed all necessary defensive Suicune (extra space), Tentacruel and Vaporeon. Max Attack and Adamant are used for maximum power. The last slot should be chosen according to preference and your team.(space)If you opt for Low Kick as a more reliable option, you should use Thunderpunch in order to damage lighter Water-types like Vaporeon. Taunt is also viable should your team be weak to defensive Rotom-A or Dusknoir so you can prevent Will-O-Wisp, but you lose an important coverage move.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>Toxicroak has a large movepool, but the moves listed are usually the best options.the coverage provided by the listed moves is very much appreciated. Pursuit is somewhat viable for checkmating Starmie without question and is also useful for leaving a dent in bulky waters should you find them constantly running. Ice Punch may be useful if you're confident in your prediction skills as it will hit Flygon, Gliscor and even Dragonite on the switch, but is a weak move in general. Earthquake hits Heatran but does nothing besides that. Finally, Poison Jab and Gunk Shot are STAB moves but hit almost nothing in OU super effectively.</p>
<p>To show how powerful this set is here are some calculations, assuming an Adamant nature.</p>
<ul class="damage calculation">
<li>LO +2 Cross Chop vs. 252/252+ Vaporeon 86% - 101.1%</li>
<li>LO +2 Cross Chop vs. 4/0 Suicune 105.3% - 124%</li>
<li>LO +2 Cross Chop vs. 252/252+ Suicune 65.6% - 77.5%</li>
<li>LO +2 Cross Chop vs. 240/216+ Swampert 77.2% - 90.8%</li>
<li>LO +2 Cross Chop vs. 252/168+ Hippowdon 66% - 77.9%</li>
<li>LO Sucker Punch vs. 0/0 Rotom-a 84.6% - 99.6%</li>
<li>LO Sucker Punch vs. 0/0 Starmie 95% - 111.9%</li>
<li>LO +2 Sucker Punch vs. 252/168+ Rotom-a 104.6% - 123.7%</li>
<li>LO +2 Sucker Punch vs. 0/0 Jirachi 62.8% - 74.5%</li>
<li>LO +1 Stone Edge vs. 248/248+ Gyarados 86.5% - 102.3%</li>
<li>LO +2 Stone Edge vs. 252/120 Tentacruel 89.3% - 105.2%</li>
<li>LO Thunder Punch vs. 252/120Tentacruel 67% - 79.1%</li>
<li>LO +2 Thunder Punch vs. 252/252+ Vaporeon 85.8% - 101.3%</li>
</ul>
[Team Options]
<p> (remove space)Toxicroak needs Stealth Rock to secure certain KOs, and it is a good option for offensive teams in general. A lead that can reliably set up Stealth Rock is recommended, such as Aerodactyl or Azelf. Using Pokemon that greatly benefit from the removal of bulky waters, such as Gyarados, (space) Heatran, and Infernape. (space) Life Orb Heatran and Swords Dance Infernape are the best options though because they also do Toxicroak favors such as taking Will-O-Wisp should he lack Taunt and help him switch in the Water-type attacks they attract. as they attract Water-type attacks. However, they are all weak to Ground-type attacks meaning a Flying-type or Levitator is helpful. Toxicroak can also function on a Rain Dance team decently (remove space).</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>(remove space) Toxicroak does have has a huge movepool, as mentioned earlier. Rain dance can be used looks good, but Toxicroak may have trouble setting it up. Rock Slide can be used as a more reliable option over Stone Edge but it still doesn’t have perfect accuracy and has less power. Toxicroak has Nasty Plot, but that is better left for Infernape. Finally, Toxicroak has Bulk Up, but that is better left for Heracross.</p>
[Counters]
<p> “Countering” Toxicroak is hard as even the mighty Hippowdon is taking takes around 77% max from a boosted Cross Chop. Therefore the best way to deal with it Toxicroak is to just revenge kill it. Anything faster that can take a Sucker Punch and can KO is the best way to go. Choice Band Scizor can do 75% minimum with Bullet Punch, meaning that with two rounds of Life Orb damage he can almost always KO after Stealth Rock. Choice Scarf Tyranitar can do that as well as long as if he has Earthquake. Choice Scarf Heatran is also a good check as Dry Skin makes Toxicroak weak to Fire-type attacks. Hippowdon can survive the hit and OHKO with Earthquake, then Slack Off the damage later. Gliscor outruns Toxicroak and OHKOes with Earthquake, but must watch out for Ice Punch on the switch.</p>
