Toxapex PvP IV Deep-Dive

Toxapex has arrived to Pokemon GO with the 2022 Fashion Week event. Given that Toxapex has as much bulk as Azumarill and Cresselia, a fantastic Water+Poison defensive type, and the powerful Fast Move Poison Jab, it is projected to be a massive player in the Great League meta. This guide, the Toxapex PvP IV Deep Dive, highlights Toxapex’s most important stat checks and optimal IVs for Great League PvP. On the surface, Toxapex’s IVs appear pretty straightforward, but there can be a lot of complexity lurking underneath. 

This guide discusses the hidden true stats of Pokemon in Pokemon GO. In order to see these true stats you need to use an IV checking app (CalcyIV, Pokegenie) or an IV checking website (GOStadium, PvPIVs.com, or PvPoke itself). To make things simple, the guide also features PvP IV tables. 

If you’re not familiar with PvP IVs, check out this PvP IVs Simplified video:

Given that Toxapex is new, here are some lite tips regarding Toxapex’s role.

• Toxapex is a high bulk Poison/Water dual-type Pokemon
  • Bulkier than Azumarill and Cresselia
• Toxapex’s moveset of choice is Poison Jab + Sludge Wave + Brine
  • Gunk Shot is also worth considering, but Sludge Wave is more consistent
• Toxapex dominates most Grass, Fighting, Fairy, Ice and Fire-type Pokemon
  • Given Toxapex’s bulk, it overcomes most neutral matchups too
• Toxapex is vulnerable to many Steel, Ground, and Ghost-type Pokemon 
  • Galar Stunfisk, Registeel, Swampert, Nidoqueen, and Sableye are solid counters

PvP IV Tables

The tables below feature the IV spreads that meet some of the more important stat checks highlighted in the article. It’s important to review the guide itself to make sure you’re getting what you want out of your Toxapex. For example, you may want even more HP for consistency in the mirror match or greater Def for the Swampert matchup.

High Bulk (226.73 Def, 118 HP)

• For tie-breakers, generally HP > Def
• If you fear Swampert, 227.82+ Def is important
• If you hate Venusaur & Jumpluff, 91+ Atk is important

Mirror Slayer/Big HP (219 Def, 121 HP)

• If you hate Venusaur & Jumpluff, 91+ Atk is important

Lickitung Slayer (93 Atk, 118 HP)

• Rank 1 and 2 Best Buddy Lickitung require 94.13 Atk

Great League Toxapex has 2 primary flavors: High Bulk and High Atk/HP. Both have their own distinct advantages, so most players will want to have IVs for both. High Bulk Toxapex has 3 sub-flavors based on how much you want to prepare for Swampert and the Mirror. 

Avoiding Swampert’s Breakpoint is important to avoid brutal farm down scenarios, the potential to flip the 1-0 shield scenario, and overcoming Sludge Wave Swampert in the 1-1 and 2-2. 226.73 Def covers the Rank 1 Swampert, which has the same Atk weight of 10 of the top 20 stat product Swampert. 227.82 Def covers 18/20. Swampert that are focused on Charge Move Priority in the mirror, can require up to 229.7 Def or even higher. Atks that go beyond 122.6 will be unreasonable for Toxapex to chase. When it comes to your personal ideal Toxapex IVs, it comes down to how much you respect the Swampert matchup and how realistic you think it is to avoid the Breakpoint. In a high end tournament, you could expect the Rank 1 Swampert. In GO Battle League, you’ll probably be facing >122.6 Atk weight ones. 

As for Toxapex’s HP, 118 is the minimum to maintain the Altaria 1-1, the Skarmory 1-0, the Froslass 0-0, the Deoxys Defense 0-0, and to tie various mirror match scenarios that end on the Fast Move.119 offers more mirror tie consistency, and may enable the Drapion 1-1, Shadow Venusaur 2-2, Diggersby 2-1, and Umbreon 0-0. 121 HP enables Toxapex to better flip mirror matchups that end on the Fast Move rather than just tie (often the 1-1 and 2-2). What’s interesting about these HP wins is that many of them end on the Fast Move. So if the opponent has higher Atk than expected, their drop in bulk often causes Toxapex to maintain the same win condition.

The main Atk Breakpoint High Bulk Toxapex has to think about is roughly 91 Atk. This Atk weight can enable the Venusaur 0-0 and 2-2 shield scenarios, an improved Jumpluff matchup, and may even get a cheeky Breakpoint on some Shadow Nidoqueen (no even matchup flips). Charge Move Priority for the mirror mostly helps in the 0-0 but having higher HP is more consistent for the 1-1 and 2-2, so chasing CMP isn’t exactly the focus for High Bulk Toxapex.

High Atk Toxapex aims to have over 93 Atk and at least 118 HP. High Atk Toxapex won’t have enough bulk to do anything meaningful about Swampert, so choosing ideal IVs here is much more straightforward than it is for High Bulk Toxapex. 

The main target of High Atk Toxapex’s wrath is Lickitung. In general, Toxapex beats Lickitung in the even shield scenarios. With the Atk Breakpoint, Toxapex has more straightforward win conditions, may end some scenarios in a Fast Move farm down, and may overcome Lickitung at a shield disadvantage. 93 Atk covers the majority of Lickitung, including the Rank 1 non-Best Buddy Lickitung, but >94 Atk would be required for the Rank 1 and 2 Best Buddy Lickitung (max Def). 

93+ Atk also gets a Breakpoint on Ferrothorn, giving Toxapex a chance to flip the 1-0 and 2-1 shield scenarios. This Atk weight may also get a Breakpoint on Shadow Skuntank (1-1 flip) and Shadow Venusaur (1-1 straight Brine, 2-2 Fast Move farmdown). As a reminder, 93+ Atk confers the same advantages against Venusaur (0-0 and 2-2) and the Jumpluff domination that 91+ Atk has. 

Having many options for “good IVs” can be great, as trying to get 1 specific spread of 4096 can be quite difficult. But if you happen to have several good ones, which one is best? For Toxapex, the answer isn’t so straightforward. 

You could say the Rank 1 (0/15/15) is the best because it has the highest Stat Product.

You could also say the Ranks 2 (0/13/14) or 3 (1/14/15) are better because they can get Charge Move Priority in the mirror and possibly Breakpoints in other matchups. 

The Rank 4 (0/15/13) or 9 (0/15/11) may be the best as they’re more fortified against Swampert.

The Rank 6 (0/8/15) could be best of all if you feel the Swampert matchup is lost anyways and that 121 HP is king.  

If you’re staring down the Rank 1 Best Buddy Lickitung, then all of a sudden the Rank 1077 (7/2/15) could be considered the best.

It’s up to you to determine which matchups you value more. If you’re completely unsure, just build the best Stat Product one you have from either the “High Bulk” or “Mirror Slayer” lists in the PvP IV Tables section. If you have IV spreads that do different jobs better than the one you have built, star them and hold onto them indefinitely as the tides may shift one day, and you may find that particular IV spread more valuable.

Toxapex is here and Azumarill has left the country. It’s been a while since Pokemon GO has introduced such a dominant threat and it’s interesting how much Toxapex reinforces the current Ground/Steel meta. Will Toxapex manage to stay at the top, or will Aegislash be announced in October and knock this Apex Pokemon down a peg?