#453 - #454: Croagunk & Toxicroak

Looks like Croagunk is contemplating its life. 

Okay, so who remembers Brock's Croagunk pulling him away from attractive women? Instead of Misty or Max grabbing him by the ear, Brock gets Poison Jabbed by his own fucking Pokémon for harassing all the girls. (If the #MeToo movement were a thing in the Pokémon world, Brock would be in big trouble.) Getting owned by his own goddamn Pokémon is embarrassing, to be honest, not to mention Poison Jab should have killed Brock a thousand times over. You see, Croagunk is based on the poison dart frog, an amphibian that uses its bright coloration to warn other species of its toxicity, which is called aposematism. The fact that its fingers and and cheek pouches contain a poisonous fluid makes it as lethally noxious as the poison dart frog, yet it has just the right amount of goofiness to act as a comic relief in the anime series. Interestingly enough, the poison from Croagunk's fingers is a crucial ingredient in a medicine for lower back pain, which is... odd. And oddly specific, too; how on earth did they find out Croagunk's poison was essential to creating a remedy for lower back pain? I'm no doctor, and I'm sure not every ache is the same, but it's still a little odd why Croagunk's poison cannot be processed as a cure for other kinds of aches as well.

Croagunk as a playable character in Pokkén Tournament DX.

Anyway, Croagunk is one of only two unevolved Pokémon that can be used as a playable character in Pokkén Tournament DX, the other one being Braixen. I don't know why they didn't just include its evolution Toxicroak, but maybe it has something to do with Croagunk's unfair fighting style? It usually distracts opponents by inflating its poison sacs and making an eerie blubbering sound with those, after which it tries to stab its opponents with its poisonous fingers. However, the Pokédex mentions that Croagunk does this only to survive and that it is normally a mild Pokémon, even though it is literally also a fighting type. It indicates that Croagunk isn't a strong Pokémon to begin with, and doesn't seem to me like Croagunk can compete against the likes of Blaziken, Scizor, Decidueye, Chandelure, Suicune, Gengar, Gardevoir and Sceptile (and a whole lot more). I've never played Pokkén, however, and so I can't say for sure.

Toxicroak in TCG.

What I can say for sure, though, is that I like Croagunk just a little bit better than Toxicroak design-wise. It's not that I think Toxicroak is a bad Pokémon per se, I just think that the bulbous poison sac beneath its chin is incredibly distracting. It would have been better if Ken Sugimori, the artist who provides official art for all Pokémon, had just drawn a red patch on Toxicroak's throat and that its in-game sprites show this patch inflating whenever it croaks. This shouldn't have been hard at all, especially since all Gen. IV sprites move when a Pokémon is sent out in battle and constantly moving sprites were introduced only one generation later. But the sac does serve a purpose, as Toxicroak churns the poison stored in its sac for more potency, channeling it to its knuckle claws through tubes in its arms. Even a scratch from these claws could prove fatal. So Toxicroak can actually be cruel and fearsome as opposed to Croagunk's mild nature, lunging out to opponents with its poisonous claws by swaying and dodging their attacks and weaving its flexible body in close. Its claws and level of ferocity may have been inspired by the hairy frog, which defends itself by breaking its own toes and projecting sharpened bones from its skin, while the spike on Toxicorak's head is reminiscent to some horned frogs and toads in general. Bulbapedia says this spike is part of its skull, and I am inclined to believe them.

Seismitoad (left) and Toxicroak (right) would undoubtedly make
for perfect BFFs.

You'd think Toxicroak's violent attitude displays itself in the competitive metagame, but I honestly have to say this Pokémon's stats are a little disappointing. It has a fair amount of HP, but it doesn't have the defenses to back it up, and its special attack and speed are average at best. Its speed can be fixed with a Choice Scarf, after which its base 106 attack can do the rest, but this means it cannot use Swords Dance or Nasty Plot as it is locked into a single move until it is switched out. With a Swords Dance set, a Jolly or Adamant nature is required (Jolly is generally better due to the slight boost in speed) and physical moves like Drain Punch, Gunk Shot, Sucker Punch, Pursuit, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, Throat Chop, Earthquake, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, X-Scissor, Knock Off, Poison Jab or Cross Chop are used to fill up the rest of its moveset. Keep in mind that Toxicroak is a poison/fighting type and that it should at least have STAB moves of those two types, as well as a type coverage move - usually something like Knock Off or Sucker Punch. When using Nasty Plot, you're much better off with a Modest or Timid nature and a special moveset consisting of either Sludge Wave or Sludge Bomb, Focus Blast and a type coverage move like Dark Pulse or... well, that's it, basically. It has access to Shadow Ball via TM, but as it already learns Dark Pulse and both dark and ghost cover the same types, that move is pretty redundant. And let's not talk about Mud Bomb, shall we? Maybe you should give it Vacuum Wave, a weak fighting-type move that does give Toxicroak some reliable priority that it doesn't have when running a physical moveset. It would hit pretty hard after a Nasty Plot boost, too.

Either way, a Life Orb is always a great item that gives Toxicroak's attacks some much-needed oomph behind them, whereas its ability Dry Skin gives it an immunity to water-type moves (but a weakness to fire-type moves, unfortunately). The Anticipation ability causes Toxicroak to 'shudder' if an opponent has a super-effective or OHKO move on it, as well as Self-Destruct and/or Explosion, and Poison Touch has a chance to poison the opponent if Toxicroak uses a direct move against it - so it is the exact opposite of Poison Point, where the opponent may be poisoned when it uses a direct move against your Pokémon. Neither ability is all that great, and the water immunity is preferred over Anticipation or Poison Touch.

Toxicroak in the anime, fucking Electivire all the way up.

I've got to give props to Game Freak for creating an interesting Pokémon like Toxicroak, but I have to be honest and say that this Pokémon isn't one of my favorites. There are a few aspects present in its design that I think are distracting (the enormous sac) or that I deem somewhat redundant, and its red upper lip falls into the latter category. This lip gives Toxicroak the appearance of having a mustache, and I think it would have looked better on it if it had been black, really. Also, I have no idea why both of its middle toes are red as well. It's not irritating or something, and they're probably red to have them tie in with the rest of its design, but I don't think it was entirely necessary. Otherwise, this is a great attempt at creating a unique Pokémon with a unique typing, although Game Freak could have done a bit better, especially regarding Toxicroak's stat distribution.

Rating: 4/5