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Community POTW #48
- Thread starter Serebii
- Start date
- Status
Serpentine
Pokemon Breeder
With Shell Smash, Torkoal could probably do really well in Little Cup especially on a Trick Room team.
My favorite Trick Room set for Doubles/Triples:
Sassy, EVs to Sp.Def, HP, and both attacks
Flamethrower, Earth Power*, Rock Slide, Gyro Ball
Expert Belt/EV Training Item/Iron Ball
* White Smoke Ability only
Baton Pass some extra defenses to this Torkoal and have partners that can use Trick Room or handle Water, Ground, and/or Rock Types. I like Slowbro/king, Reuniclus, or Exeggutor for Trick Room and Storm Drain Cradily or Storm Drain Gastrodon for taking on those Types with Torkoal.
Ability Issues: White Smoke VS Shell Armor Torkoal
Where to start on this issue...
-Intimidate and anything with added stat debuffs are blocked by White Smoke
-Shell Armor blocks Criticals
Since you'll see criticals more from crit-spammers than anything else, White Smoke is marginally preferred. That said, a lucky critical ruins your day if you use stat buffs and debuffs yourself.
Kraleck's Analysis
Torkoal, by itself, is not so much of a threat. Considering its Speed is equal to Ferrothorn and Escavalier, you have some big names to look up to in Trick Room play. Like a few others in recent PotW's, Torkoal does better as part of a group, rather than solo, and ties the second-best Trick Room Speed among fully-evolved Pokemon (only Shuckle has lower Speed, but it's not too much of a threat without proper setup).
Sassy, EVs to Sp.Def, HP, and both attacks
Flamethrower, Earth Power*, Rock Slide, Gyro Ball
Expert Belt/EV Training Item/Iron Ball
* White Smoke Ability only
Baton Pass some extra defenses to this Torkoal and have partners that can use Trick Room or handle Water, Ground, and/or Rock Types. I like Slowbro/king, Reuniclus, or Exeggutor for Trick Room and Storm Drain Cradily or Storm Drain Gastrodon for taking on those Types with Torkoal.
Ability Issues: White Smoke VS Shell Armor Torkoal
Where to start on this issue...
-Intimidate and anything with added stat debuffs are blocked by White Smoke
-Shell Armor blocks Criticals
Since you'll see criticals more from crit-spammers than anything else, White Smoke is marginally preferred. That said, a lucky critical ruins your day if you use stat buffs and debuffs yourself.
Kraleck's Analysis
Torkoal, by itself, is not so much of a threat. Considering its Speed is equal to Ferrothorn and Escavalier, you have some big names to look up to in Trick Room play. Like a few others in recent PotW's, Torkoal does better as part of a group, rather than solo, and ties the second-best Trick Room Speed among fully-evolved Pokemon (only Shuckle has lower Speed, but it's not too much of a threat without proper setup).
dragon zero
Member
;324;
Stealth rocker set
Stealth Rock
Yawn
Gyro Ball
Lava Plume/Inferno
nature: Sassy
EV's: 248 HP, 252 Sp.def, 8 def
Ability: White Smoke/ Shell Armour
A standard entry hazard setter. yawn is there to force swithces thus racking up damage. gyro ball goes well with its poor speed. Lava Plume/Inferno for STAB hits and both have a nice chance of burn, your choice.
letting off steam and cursing
Curse
Gyro ball
Eartquake
stone edge/rock slide
Nature: Careful
EV's: 252 HP, 252 sp.def, 4atk/def
Abillity: White Smoke
Another pokemon with the curse/ gyro ball combo. Earthquake and stone edge are for coverage(and a great one at that). you can go with rock slide if it in a Trick room team or if stone edge's accuracy is an issue.
Big Defender
amnesia
lava plume/inferno/will-o-wisp
rest
Earth power/hidden power(grass, fighting)/gyro ball/Stealth rock
nature:sassy
EV's: 248 HP, 252 Sp.def, 8 Atk/Sp.atk/def or 252HP,252Sp.def,4Atk/Sp.atk/def
item:leftovers
Ability: White Smoke
A torkoal with high defences. Amnesia helps it become a sold sp.defender(upto a nice 524 after 1 use). The 2nd moves all have nice chances of burn(thus helping it defence stat): Lava plume with 30% and inferno and will-o-wisp with 100% if they hit. Also lava plume and inferno stops you being helpless after a taunt. Rest recovers your health fully and if you've already gotten in an amnesia and burned the opponent then you wont have to worry much about the 2 turn sleeping too much(hopefully). Earth power for another attack and can hit waters neutrally and covers its rock weakness and fire types whom cant be burned, stealth rock for its only purpose, Hidden power; grass to cover all weaknesses, fighting for good coverage and gyro ball(you know why). If you do go with with another attack move you could spread its EV's to help its attack stats.
perfect partners for torkoal ar the likes of reuniclus, musharna, slowking basically any one whom can do trick room or can help it take downnthose it cant beat essentially
Stealth rocker set
Stealth Rock
Yawn
Gyro Ball
Lava Plume/Inferno
nature: Sassy
EV's: 248 HP, 252 Sp.def, 8 def
Ability: White Smoke/ Shell Armour
A standard entry hazard setter. yawn is there to force swithces thus racking up damage. gyro ball goes well with its poor speed. Lava Plume/Inferno for STAB hits and both have a nice chance of burn, your choice.
letting off steam and cursing
Curse
Gyro ball
Eartquake
stone edge/rock slide
Nature: Careful
EV's: 252 HP, 252 sp.def, 4atk/def
Abillity: White Smoke
Another pokemon with the curse/ gyro ball combo. Earthquake and stone edge are for coverage(and a great one at that). you can go with rock slide if it in a Trick room team or if stone edge's accuracy is an issue.
Big Defender
amnesia
lava plume/inferno/will-o-wisp
rest
Earth power/hidden power(grass, fighting)/gyro ball/Stealth rock
nature:sassy
EV's: 248 HP, 252 Sp.def, 8 Atk/Sp.atk/def or 252HP,252Sp.def,4Atk/Sp.atk/def
item:leftovers
Ability: White Smoke
A torkoal with high defences. Amnesia helps it become a sold sp.defender(upto a nice 524 after 1 use). The 2nd moves all have nice chances of burn(thus helping it defence stat): Lava plume with 30% and inferno and will-o-wisp with 100% if they hit. Also lava plume and inferno stops you being helpless after a taunt. Rest recovers your health fully and if you've already gotten in an amnesia and burned the opponent then you wont have to worry much about the 2 turn sleeping too much(hopefully). Earth power for another attack and can hit waters neutrally and covers its rock weakness and fire types whom cant be burned, stealth rock for its only purpose, Hidden power; grass to cover all weaknesses, fighting for good coverage and gyro ball(you know why). If you do go with with another attack move you could spread its EV's to help its attack stats.
perfect partners for torkoal ar the likes of reuniclus, musharna, slowking basically any one whom can do trick room or can help it take downnthose it cant beat essentially
Zachmac
Well-Known Member
Without an evolution, it's banned from little cup.
Missingno. Master
Poison-type Trainer
Torkoal? Who's Torkoal?
Torkoal@Leftovers
Calm nature
White Smoke/Shell Armor
252 HP/252 Def/4 Sp. Def
~Amnesia
~Stealth Rock
~Lava Plume/Will-O-Wisp/Toxic
~Protect
Well, looks like my prediction that we'd be doing Bisharp this week was kinda off. Nevertheless, Torkoal is a cool Pokémon. Here, we abuse Torkoal's nice defenses, particularly its incredible Defense stat and usable HP. Amnesia boosts its Special Defense to viable levels. Stealth Rock is good for supporting your team. Protect allows for extra Leftovers recovery. And now we come to the status move. Burn and Bad Poison are both good status ailments to inflict on an opponent. Lava Plume is an option to prevent Torkoal from becoming total Taunt bait.
Item is obvious. Either ability is usable here, depends on what frightens you more; the possibility of stats being lowered, or the possibility of critical hits.
TorKurse
Torkoal@Leftovers
Careful nature
White Smoke/Shell Armor
252 HP/252 Sp. Def/4 Atk
~Curse
~Rest
~Sleep Talk
~Gyro Ball/Rock Slide
This set attempts to capitalize on Torkoal's semi-decent special bulk, hence the EVs. Curse increases Torkoal's Attack and Defense at the cost of Speed, allowing it to attempt a bulky sweep. The RestTalk combo is there for quick and reliable recovery.
Item keeps Torkoal alive moar. Ability I already covered.
Other options:
*Shell Smash may be the best stat boosting move in the history of the universe, but consider that with a +Speed nature, 252 Speed EVs, and a Speed IV of 31, after one Shell Smash, Torkoal only hits 304 Speed. Just what the hell is it supposed to outspeed like that? It needs to use Shell Smash twice just to be able to outspeed anything. And given the defense drops, nothing's ever likely to get in more than one Shell Smash.
*Base 85 Special Attack isn't bad, so Torkoal can attempt a special set. Flamethrower/Sludge Bomb/Earth Power/Hidden Power (Dragon). Unfortunately, that's more or less Torkoal's entire notable special movepool. Unless you use a sun team, in which case SolarBeam is an option.
*Clear Smog can work its way into a defensive set to discourage setting up. It's illegal with Stealth Rock on a Shell Armor Torkoal, though.
Abilities:
*White Smoke: Prevents Torkoal's stats from being lowered. Unfortunately, does not prevent Torkoal from lowering its own stats with its own moves, so Curse will still lower Speed, Shell Smash will still lower Defense and Special Defense, and Overheat will, unfortunately, still lower Special Attack.
*Shell Armor: Torkoal's Hidden Ability. Prevents critical hits, which will be far more common than stat reductions. If you want a Shell Armor Torkoal with Stealth Rock, however, it's illegal with any of its egg moves. And if you want a Shell Armor Torkoal with any of its egg moves, it's illegal with Stealth Rock.
Partners:
Special walls aren't a bad idea. Be sure to also have a Heatran counter lying in wait.
Counters:
Any Torkoal without Earthquake (which it never runs) is screwed over pretty thoroughly by Heatran. Especially that first defensive set. Heatran can't be burned or poisoned, and packs Flash Fire to absorb those Wills-O-Wisp and Lava Plumes. Taunt doesn't screw Torkoal over completely, but it does cripple it significantly. And beware of Stealth Rock, as Torkoal is weak to it.
Opinion:
Another oft-overlooked Pokémon that's so cool and yet so messed up in terms of stats and/or movepool. Torkoal might have made a great defensive Pokémon if Fire wasn't such a shitty defensive type. Could be worse, though. No quadruple weaknesses to common types, like Aggron, Bastiodon, and Probopass. What is it with GameFreak anyway, always trying to force Rock/Steel on us as a defensive typing? It sucks as a defensive typing! Ahem. But I digress. I'll save my ranting for when we actually cover Aggron, Bastiodon, or Probopass.
Prediction for next week:
Arbok
Torkoal@Leftovers
Calm nature
White Smoke/Shell Armor
252 HP/252 Def/4 Sp. Def
~Amnesia
~Stealth Rock
~Lava Plume/Will-O-Wisp/Toxic
~Protect
Well, looks like my prediction that we'd be doing Bisharp this week was kinda off. Nevertheless, Torkoal is a cool Pokémon. Here, we abuse Torkoal's nice defenses, particularly its incredible Defense stat and usable HP. Amnesia boosts its Special Defense to viable levels. Stealth Rock is good for supporting your team. Protect allows for extra Leftovers recovery. And now we come to the status move. Burn and Bad Poison are both good status ailments to inflict on an opponent. Lava Plume is an option to prevent Torkoal from becoming total Taunt bait.
Item is obvious. Either ability is usable here, depends on what frightens you more; the possibility of stats being lowered, or the possibility of critical hits.
TorKurse
Torkoal@Leftovers
Careful nature
White Smoke/Shell Armor
252 HP/252 Sp. Def/4 Atk
~Curse
~Rest
~Sleep Talk
~Gyro Ball/Rock Slide
This set attempts to capitalize on Torkoal's semi-decent special bulk, hence the EVs. Curse increases Torkoal's Attack and Defense at the cost of Speed, allowing it to attempt a bulky sweep. The RestTalk combo is there for quick and reliable recovery.
Item keeps Torkoal alive moar. Ability I already covered.
Other options:
*Shell Smash may be the best stat boosting move in the history of the universe, but consider that with a +Speed nature, 252 Speed EVs, and a Speed IV of 31, after one Shell Smash, Torkoal only hits 304 Speed. Just what the hell is it supposed to outspeed like that? It needs to use Shell Smash twice just to be able to outspeed anything. And given the defense drops, nothing's ever likely to get in more than one Shell Smash.
*Base 85 Special Attack isn't bad, so Torkoal can attempt a special set. Flamethrower/Sludge Bomb/Earth Power/Hidden Power (Dragon). Unfortunately, that's more or less Torkoal's entire notable special movepool. Unless you use a sun team, in which case SolarBeam is an option.
*Clear Smog can work its way into a defensive set to discourage setting up. It's illegal with Stealth Rock on a Shell Armor Torkoal, though.
Abilities:
*White Smoke: Prevents Torkoal's stats from being lowered. Unfortunately, does not prevent Torkoal from lowering its own stats with its own moves, so Curse will still lower Speed, Shell Smash will still lower Defense and Special Defense, and Overheat will, unfortunately, still lower Special Attack.
*Shell Armor: Torkoal's Hidden Ability. Prevents critical hits, which will be far more common than stat reductions. If you want a Shell Armor Torkoal with Stealth Rock, however, it's illegal with any of its egg moves. And if you want a Shell Armor Torkoal with any of its egg moves, it's illegal with Stealth Rock.
Partners:
Special walls aren't a bad idea. Be sure to also have a Heatran counter lying in wait.
Counters:
Any Torkoal without Earthquake (which it never runs) is screwed over pretty thoroughly by Heatran. Especially that first defensive set. Heatran can't be burned or poisoned, and packs Flash Fire to absorb those Wills-O-Wisp and Lava Plumes. Taunt doesn't screw Torkoal over completely, but it does cripple it significantly. And beware of Stealth Rock, as Torkoal is weak to it.
Opinion:
Another oft-overlooked Pokémon that's so cool and yet so messed up in terms of stats and/or movepool. Torkoal might have made a great defensive Pokémon if Fire wasn't such a shitty defensive type. Could be worse, though. No quadruple weaknesses to common types, like Aggron, Bastiodon, and Probopass. What is it with GameFreak anyway, always trying to force Rock/Steel on us as a defensive typing? It sucks as a defensive typing! Ahem. But I digress. I'll save my ranting for when we actually cover Aggron, Bastiodon, or Probopass.
Prediction for next week:
Arbok
Charizard Lizzy
BARRELS!!!
Torkoal is a tricky Pokémon to use. Its painful base 20 Speed calls out for Trick Room support, but base 85 Attack and Special Attack means it won’t be hitting much very hard anyways. And sadly, it doesn’t have many ways to increase its offense. Torkoal is one of the few blessed with Shell Smash, but there’s no point to using it with such awful Speed: you’d have to use it twice to truly outrun any big threat, and by then your defenses will be so frail you might as well pick another Pokémon suitable for the job instead.
At the very least, Torkoal does have the potential to be a decent bulky supporter for your team. It has access to Amnesia which means it can patch up its bad Special Defense. It can also set up Stealth Rock as well as use Rapid Spin against anyone doing the same thing.
Abilities:
White Smoke – Prevents the opponent from lowering your stats. Apparently, this is fine in areas like the Battle Frontier or the Battle Subway, but in true competitive battling, White Smoke may see little use.
Shell Armor – Prevents Critical Hits from landing on Torkoal. If you’re going on the defensive route, I guess this would help. I’ve mentioned in past POTW how Shell Armor has never proven its worth to me as a superior ability choice, so I unfortunately can’t be of any help here.
;324;
Tank + Stealth Spinner
Item: Leftovers
Ability: White Smoke/Shell Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Sp. Def
Nature: Relaxed (+ Def, - Spd) OR Sassy (+ Sp. Def, - Spd)
- Amnesia
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Gyro Ball / Flamethrower / Clear Smog
Torkoal’s not fast, it’s not very strong, but it can prepare itself to stall other opponents. Amnesia sharply boosts its Special Defense, allowing it to become a mixed sponge. Stealth Rock is a nice entry hazard against your opponent’s team. Rapid Spin keeps your opponent from also setting Stealth Rock or the Spikes on you. Finally, the last slot can be devoted to an offensive attack so Torkoal has more to use than... well, Rapid Spin. Gyro Ball increases in power the slower Torkoal is. Flamethrower is a signature Fire-type attack. Clear Smog will reset all stat changes the target has made, reducing their sweeping/bulking capabilites. It’s essentially a variation of Haze, but Clear Smog lets you pick whose stats are affected rather than everyone, including your own teammates’ stats.
Torkoal does not have any way to heal itself outside of Rest, so Leftovers is the only way it can regain health.
Other Options:
• Toxic and Will-o-wisp for status support
• If you have Gravity in effect or some other way to increase Torkoal’s accuracy, Inferno will deal damage on top of always inflicting a burn on the target.
• Heat Wave strikes both targets in 2-v-2 and has more power than Flamethrower, just a little less accuracy
• Curse is the only other way to raise Torkoal’s stats (especially its Attack), but it already has gargantuan Defense and should really be concerned about fixing its lackluster Special Defense. Lowering its Speed will assist it in a Trick Room as well as power up Gyro Ball even further.
• Flail increases in power the lower Torkoal’s HP is.
• Yawn can cause your opponent to force-switch.
• Eruption is very powerful, but decreases in power the lower your HP is. However, if Torkoal’s bulkiness is working well and keeping its health up rather high, Eruption will prove effective.
Countering:
Until it has used Amnesia, Torkoal is only a physical wall. Because of its low Speed, you can easily take it out with a super effective Special Attack before it has time to bulk up. Other than that, you might want Rapid Spin support in case Stealth Rock is thrown your way (literally). It might have Trick Room support, but it still won’t be able to do much (unless maybe your name is Ferrothorn, but even then...).
Attacks List:
• Amnesia – Lvl. 49
• Clear Smog - EGG
• Curse – Lvl. 12
• Eruption - EGG
• Flail – Lvl. 52
• Flamethrower – TM35/Lvl. 28
• Gyro Ball – TM74
• Heat Wave – Lvl. 55
• Rapid Spin – Lvl. 23
• Stealth Rock – Dream World/Gen IV TM76
• Toxic – TM06
• Will-o-wisp – TM61
• Yawn - EGG
At the very least, Torkoal does have the potential to be a decent bulky supporter for your team. It has access to Amnesia which means it can patch up its bad Special Defense. It can also set up Stealth Rock as well as use Rapid Spin against anyone doing the same thing.
Abilities:
White Smoke – Prevents the opponent from lowering your stats. Apparently, this is fine in areas like the Battle Frontier or the Battle Subway, but in true competitive battling, White Smoke may see little use.
Shell Armor – Prevents Critical Hits from landing on Torkoal. If you’re going on the defensive route, I guess this would help. I’ve mentioned in past POTW how Shell Armor has never proven its worth to me as a superior ability choice, so I unfortunately can’t be of any help here.
;324;
Tank + Stealth Spinner
Item: Leftovers
Ability: White Smoke/Shell Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Sp. Def
Nature: Relaxed (+ Def, - Spd) OR Sassy (+ Sp. Def, - Spd)
- Amnesia
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Gyro Ball / Flamethrower / Clear Smog
Torkoal’s not fast, it’s not very strong, but it can prepare itself to stall other opponents. Amnesia sharply boosts its Special Defense, allowing it to become a mixed sponge. Stealth Rock is a nice entry hazard against your opponent’s team. Rapid Spin keeps your opponent from also setting Stealth Rock or the Spikes on you. Finally, the last slot can be devoted to an offensive attack so Torkoal has more to use than... well, Rapid Spin. Gyro Ball increases in power the slower Torkoal is. Flamethrower is a signature Fire-type attack. Clear Smog will reset all stat changes the target has made, reducing their sweeping/bulking capabilites. It’s essentially a variation of Haze, but Clear Smog lets you pick whose stats are affected rather than everyone, including your own teammates’ stats.
Torkoal does not have any way to heal itself outside of Rest, so Leftovers is the only way it can regain health.
Other Options:
• Toxic and Will-o-wisp for status support
• If you have Gravity in effect or some other way to increase Torkoal’s accuracy, Inferno will deal damage on top of always inflicting a burn on the target.
• Heat Wave strikes both targets in 2-v-2 and has more power than Flamethrower, just a little less accuracy
• Curse is the only other way to raise Torkoal’s stats (especially its Attack), but it already has gargantuan Defense and should really be concerned about fixing its lackluster Special Defense. Lowering its Speed will assist it in a Trick Room as well as power up Gyro Ball even further.
• Flail increases in power the lower Torkoal’s HP is.
• Yawn can cause your opponent to force-switch.
• Eruption is very powerful, but decreases in power the lower your HP is. However, if Torkoal’s bulkiness is working well and keeping its health up rather high, Eruption will prove effective.
Countering:
Until it has used Amnesia, Torkoal is only a physical wall. Because of its low Speed, you can easily take it out with a super effective Special Attack before it has time to bulk up. Other than that, you might want Rapid Spin support in case Stealth Rock is thrown your way (literally). It might have Trick Room support, but it still won’t be able to do much (unless maybe your name is Ferrothorn, but even then...).
Attacks List:
• Amnesia – Lvl. 49
• Clear Smog - EGG
• Curse – Lvl. 12
• Eruption - EGG
• Flail – Lvl. 52
• Flamethrower – TM35/Lvl. 28
• Gyro Ball – TM74
• Heat Wave – Lvl. 55
• Rapid Spin – Lvl. 23
• Stealth Rock – Dream World/Gen IV TM76
• Toxic – TM06
• Will-o-wisp – TM61
• Yawn - EGG
I Liek Turtlez
Torkoal @ Leftovers
Impish
252 Def, 200 Sp Def, 56 HP
-Stealth Rock
-Curse
-Protect
-Flame Charge
This is probably an odd set. Stealth Rock sets up hazards. Curse strengthens it offensively and defensively while Protect, well, protects. Flame Charge gets rid of the Speed drop from Curse and gets stronger as well.
Torkoal @ Leftovers
Impish
252 Def, 200 Sp Def, 56 HP
-Stealth Rock
-Curse
-Protect
-Flame Charge
This is probably an odd set. Stealth Rock sets up hazards. Curse strengthens it offensively and defensively while Protect, well, protects. Flame Charge gets rid of the Speed drop from Curse and gets stronger as well.
Vodka Haze
Well-Known Member
If you are holding a White Herb, and you use Shell Smash, will that fix both your Defence and Special Defence, or just one of them?
Torkoal really is crap. I like him, but he's crap.
Great defense, and... Well, "okay" attacking stats.
But he actually has quite the movepool. A wide range of support moves, but stats that won't let him utilize them too well.
And not to forget, a bad typing for a defensive pokémon, with SR weakness and weakness to three of the most commonly used attack types; Ground, Water and Rock.
This moveset is maybe a bit unorthodox, and won't do in any higher tier, but if it gets to set up against a weak physical attacker, it sometimes works.
Can't remember the name of the moveset
- Amnesia
- Rest
- Lava Plume / Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock / Rapid Spin / Yawn / Toxic / Will-o-wisp
Item attached: Leftovers
Ability: White Smoke
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Sp.Def
Bold Nature (+Def, -Sp.Atk)
Speaks for itself. EVs and nature to max HP and Defense, since Amnesia fixes the Special Defense. Rest is its only recovery move (sadly).
Lava Plume is great, with a high chance of burning the opponent. May be traded for Fire Blast for more damage if you use another status move.
The support move is of your own choice, SR is always great. Getting rid of SR is also nice (just not too appealing to switch Torkoal in, to spin them away, due to his SR-weakness). Yawn to force switches or induce sleep, Toxic does great damage over time. Will-o-wisp if you don't feel like hoping for Lava Plume to burn them.
Great defense, and... Well, "okay" attacking stats.
But he actually has quite the movepool. A wide range of support moves, but stats that won't let him utilize them too well.
And not to forget, a bad typing for a defensive pokémon, with SR weakness and weakness to three of the most commonly used attack types; Ground, Water and Rock.
This moveset is maybe a bit unorthodox, and won't do in any higher tier, but if it gets to set up against a weak physical attacker, it sometimes works.
Can't remember the name of the moveset
- Amnesia
- Rest
- Lava Plume / Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock / Rapid Spin / Yawn / Toxic / Will-o-wisp
Item attached: Leftovers
Ability: White Smoke
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Sp.Def
Bold Nature (+Def, -Sp.Atk)
Speaks for itself. EVs and nature to max HP and Defense, since Amnesia fixes the Special Defense. Rest is its only recovery move (sadly).
Lava Plume is great, with a high chance of burning the opponent. May be traded for Fire Blast for more damage if you use another status move.
The support move is of your own choice, SR is always great. Getting rid of SR is also nice (just not too appealing to switch Torkoal in, to spin them away, due to his SR-weakness). Yawn to force switches or induce sleep, Toxic does great damage over time. Will-o-wisp if you don't feel like hoping for Lava Plume to burn them.
Both of them but only once in a match
GirlKirbyZombie
Pokemon Rancher
Clear smog
I haven't seen any sets that have clear smog in it yet (as of now. I'm still browsing). In my opinion, clear smog and haze are super important now that we have tons of monsters with stat raising moves. Got any ideas?
I haven't seen any sets that have clear smog in it yet (as of now. I'm still browsing). In my opinion, clear smog and haze are super important now that we have tons of monsters with stat raising moves. Got any ideas?
It was mentioned but lacking a recovery move torkoal isn't the best user of this move.
Not to mention, Torkoal's STAB Fire gives you a better option than any Poison Type Move for coverage, unless the opponent has Flash Fire and isn't Heatran or is a Water Type that doesn't resist Poison.
The main problem I see with Torkoal using Clear Smog is that a Clear Smog user needs to be able to negate the boosts before the opponent has the chance to use them, or at least be able to survive an attack before negating the boost and keep going. Torkoal has neither the speed nor survivability needed (special bulk is terrible, and it lacks recovery to take advantage of its physical bulk). I guess it stops Curse users pretty well, although those tend to be few and far between.
Overview: Oh Torkoal.
You are a slow defensive Pokemon in an fast offensive Pokemon's World. Your passive-aggressive ways mean nothing in a world where Earthquake, Stone Edge, Stealth Rock, and Bulky Waters rule the day. In a society where being the top of the class means everything you, dear sir, are outclassed. As a spinner you're outclassed. As a setter for Stealth Rocks you're outclassed. As a Curse user you're out classed. As a wall you're outclassed. As a Shell Smasher you are, again, outclassed.
Fear not, sir, for you still have fans who will attempt to use you. I use offensive Torkoal in Dream World, but my variation is banned from Standard. Here's another Standard-friendly version.
Some Turtles just want to watch the World Burn
Torkoal @ White Herb / Life Orb
EV: 252 Defense / 252 HP / 4 Attack or Special Attack
Relaxed (+ Defense / - Speed)
White Smoke
Body Slam
Lava Plume
Shell Smash
Stealth Rock / Rapid Spin / Yawn / Toxic
With only 85 Attack Torkoal isn't going to kill much even after a Shell Smash. I saved it for situations where I thought it would be " safe " to smash: when I thought the opponent would switch, wouldn't KO Torkoal, or would use a set up move. Shell Smash's primary objective is to boost its attack so it can either pluck off a Pokemon or leave it in a state where I can easily finish it off with another Pokemon.
If you don't think you'll get off a Shell Smash go straight onto the offensive. As said before this Torkoal's goal is to cripple, not KO, so you'd have either Body Slam for Paralysis or Lava Plume for Burns. Torkoal did well surprising Taunt users who thought it was Taunt Bait.
The last attack depends on what you want Torkoal to ultimately accomplish. Torkoal could spin but he's the second worst spinner in the game in front of Delibird due to a Stealth Rock weakness and no way to recover from it. With such low speed he isn't a surefire way to set up Stealth Rock, either, unless you sacrafice any offensive usefulness Torkoal might have by running Focus Sash. Yawn and Toxic round out your status inflicting options.
I usually lead with Torkoal, but if you have Spin Support you can experiment with Torkoal as a supporting Team Member.
You are a slow defensive Pokemon in an fast offensive Pokemon's World. Your passive-aggressive ways mean nothing in a world where Earthquake, Stone Edge, Stealth Rock, and Bulky Waters rule the day. In a society where being the top of the class means everything you, dear sir, are outclassed. As a spinner you're outclassed. As a setter for Stealth Rocks you're outclassed. As a Curse user you're out classed. As a wall you're outclassed. As a Shell Smasher you are, again, outclassed.
Fear not, sir, for you still have fans who will attempt to use you. I use offensive Torkoal in Dream World, but my variation is banned from Standard. Here's another Standard-friendly version.
Some Turtles just want to watch the World Burn
Torkoal @ White Herb / Life Orb
EV: 252 Defense / 252 HP / 4 Attack or Special Attack
Relaxed (+ Defense / - Speed)
White Smoke
Body Slam
Lava Plume
Shell Smash
Stealth Rock / Rapid Spin / Yawn / Toxic
With only 85 Attack Torkoal isn't going to kill much even after a Shell Smash. I saved it for situations where I thought it would be " safe " to smash: when I thought the opponent would switch, wouldn't KO Torkoal, or would use a set up move. Shell Smash's primary objective is to boost its attack so it can either pluck off a Pokemon or leave it in a state where I can easily finish it off with another Pokemon.
If you don't think you'll get off a Shell Smash go straight onto the offensive. As said before this Torkoal's goal is to cripple, not KO, so you'd have either Body Slam for Paralysis or Lava Plume for Burns. Torkoal did well surprising Taunt users who thought it was Taunt Bait.
The last attack depends on what you want Torkoal to ultimately accomplish. Torkoal could spin but he's the second worst spinner in the game in front of Delibird due to a Stealth Rock weakness and no way to recover from it. With such low speed he isn't a surefire way to set up Stealth Rock, either, unless you sacrafice any offensive usefulness Torkoal might have by running Focus Sash. Yawn and Toxic round out your status inflicting options.
I usually lead with Torkoal, but if you have Spin Support you can experiment with Torkoal as a supporting Team Member.
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I like Torkoal. He's just so cool. I was actually planning on training one, so I'm pretty happy about this 
. He has fantastic Defense, with three weaknesses, all of which are annoyingly common. His Speed is non-existent, and his Attack and Special Attack are both usable. His Hp is ok. Special Defense is ok I guess... His moveset is decent from what I've seen so far, and it's great he can work on either side of the attacking spectrum. On to the abilities (which, tbh, aren't very good).
White Smoke: Stats can't be lowered. Would be nicer if it counted for Shell Smash as well.
Shell Armor: No crits. Eh, it's ok.
Screw the Shell, I'm all powerful!
- Shell Smash
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Item: White Herb
Ability: Doesn't matter -__-
EVs and Nature: Modest (+Sp. Atk, -Atk)
252 Hp/252 Sp. Atk/ 4 Def
Bulky Shell Smash. Heat Wave is STAB, Earth Power is just a good move, and HP [Grass] takes care of all of his weaknesses. I guess you could change Modest and the 252 Sp. Atk EVs to something more suited for Defenses, but whatever. White Herb to stay bulky.
Curses, I'm too slow!
- Curse
- Gyro Ball
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
Item: Life Orb
Ability: White Smoke
EVs and Nature: Sassy (+Sp. Def, -Spd)
252 Hp/4 Atk/252 Sp. Def
Totally gimmicky set. Curse lowers Speed and makes his Attack and Defense higher, and with the "high" Hp and Sp. Def, he becomes bulky as hell. Edgequake for coverage against everything, and Gyro Ball to take advantage of his terrible Speed. With 0 IVs, his Speed at level 100 is 22 0_o. White Smoke so his stats stay high enough for him to be a tank.
Spinning rocks!
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Yawn
- Will-o-Wisp
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Shell Armor
EVs and Nature: Impish (+Def, -Sp. Atk)
252 Hp/4 Atk/252 Def
Set up SR or spin it away. Yawn and WoW to stop sweeps or just piss the opponent off. Shell Armor so nobody can score lucky crits.
Double and Triple Options
Weak to Rock Slide, Earthquake, Bulldoze, Surf... Just don't.
Partners
Beeheeyem to set up TR. Any Grass type to take out his weaknesses. Also Electric types.
Countering Torkoal
Any pokemon that uses Special Attacks. By which I mean Lanturn, Milotic, bulky Waters in general, even Pelliper. Take advantage of it's lower Sp. Def.
. He has fantastic Defense, with three weaknesses, all of which are annoyingly common. His Speed is non-existent, and his Attack and Special Attack are both usable. His Hp is ok. Special Defense is ok I guess... His moveset is decent from what I've seen so far, and it's great he can work on either side of the attacking spectrum. On to the abilities (which, tbh, aren't very good).White Smoke: Stats can't be lowered. Would be nicer if it counted for Shell Smash as well.
Shell Armor: No crits. Eh, it's ok.
Screw the Shell, I'm all powerful!
- Shell Smash
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Item: White Herb
Ability: Doesn't matter -__-
EVs and Nature: Modest (+Sp. Atk, -Atk)
252 Hp/252 Sp. Atk/ 4 Def
Bulky Shell Smash. Heat Wave is STAB, Earth Power is just a good move, and HP [Grass] takes care of all of his weaknesses. I guess you could change Modest and the 252 Sp. Atk EVs to something more suited for Defenses, but whatever. White Herb to stay bulky.
Curses, I'm too slow!
- Curse
- Gyro Ball
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
Item: Life Orb
Ability: White Smoke
EVs and Nature: Sassy (+Sp. Def, -Spd)
252 Hp/4 Atk/252 Sp. Def
Totally gimmicky set. Curse lowers Speed and makes his Attack and Defense higher, and with the "high" Hp and Sp. Def, he becomes bulky as hell. Edgequake for coverage against everything, and Gyro Ball to take advantage of his terrible Speed. With 0 IVs, his Speed at level 100 is 22 0_o. White Smoke so his stats stay high enough for him to be a tank.
Spinning rocks!
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Yawn
- Will-o-Wisp
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Shell Armor
EVs and Nature: Impish (+Def, -Sp. Atk)
252 Hp/4 Atk/252 Def
Set up SR or spin it away. Yawn and WoW to stop sweeps or just piss the opponent off. Shell Armor so nobody can score lucky crits.
Double and Triple Options
Weak to Rock Slide, Earthquake, Bulldoze, Surf... Just don't.
Partners
Beeheeyem to set up TR. Any Grass type to take out his weaknesses. Also Electric types.
Countering Torkoal
Any pokemon that uses Special Attacks. By which I mean Lanturn, Milotic, bulky Waters in general, even Pelliper. Take advantage of it's lower Sp. Def.
- Status