bit rushed, but I'll update later maybe. kinda happy with these.
Pokemon: Nidoking
Typing: Poison
Old Stats: 81 / 102 / 77 / 85 / 75 / 85 (505 BST)
New Stats: 90 (+9) / 105 (+3) / 80 (+3) / 105 (+20) / 80 (+5) / 105 (+20) (565 BST)
Abilities: Dazzling / No Guard / Sheer Force (HA)
New Moves: Gunk Shot, Meteor Mash, Swords Dance
Justification/Niche:
Why, yes, I'm doing Nidoking right after Nidoqueen! And this Nidoking hopefully reclaims its 'kingly' designation. Better mixed offenses, an actual Speed stat, and still decent bulk comparable to Marshadow combined with a better Physical movepool all help. His Special Attack is up to normal levels, and with Sheer Force he hits like a truck.
Or a train, that works too. Dazzling helps a Swords Dance set not be outmemed by Extreme Speeders, Mach punch users, and notably Hariyama, who may try to revenge with Bullet Punch. No Guard helps Special Attacking sets that want to carry inaccurate moves like Blizzard, Thunder, and Focus Miss, making them even more viable options. Sheer Force, though, is the standard, and will almost always be used, with better Physical STAB for using alongside this and a higher Special Attack to abuse all of its moves with.
Pokemon: Toxicroak
Typing: Poison/Dark
Old Stats: 83 / 106 / 65 / 86 / 65 / 85 (490 BST)
New Stats: 75 (-8) / 125 (+19) / 65 / 125 (+39) / 65 / 115 (+30) (570 BST)
Abilities: Dry Skin / Technician / Infiltrator (HA)
New Moves: Fire Punch, Stealth Rock, Parting Shot
Justification/Niche:
In stark contrast to the seemingly endless waves of Dark/Poison Levitaters I can already see climbing the horizon, Toxicroak aims to abuse its good STABs, mixed potential, and ability to force switches to its advantage. By whacking things with Technician boosted moves like Mach Punch or Infiltrating past Aurora Veil and Substitutes with Gunk Shot or Knock Off, you can put on quick pressure alongside Toxicroak's already good coverage movepool. Stealth Rock helps it put more pressure up, forcing Defoggers in which choose to survive or take a Gunk to the face, while Parting Shot gives Toxicroak a nice pivoting move. Fire Punch hits Ferrothorn, but not much else, due to the removed Fighting STAB. Stats are made nicer for modern-day meta too, sporting good offenses but piss defenses, meaning he plays akin to a Tapu Koko: Pick which battles you take, then if you dislike a situation, just pivot out.
Pokemon: Claydol
Typing: Poison/Psychic
Old Stats: 60 / 70 / 105 / 70 / 120 / 75 (500 BST)
New Stats: 100 (+40) / 40 (-30) / 125 (+20) / 80 (+10) / 135 (+15) / 90 (+20) (570 BST)
Abilities: Levitate / Cloud Nine
New Moves: Sludge Bomb, Recover, Spikes
Removed Moves: Earthquake, Signal Beam
Justification/Niche:
An odd typing fits this odd... Doll thing, giving it a few better niches than its previous incarnation. Levitate alongside Poison/Psychic leaves only Dark and Bug, much more managable than the extra Ice and Water weaknesses its standard typing befalls upon it. Cloud Nine can help survive against weather teams in a pinch, although will generally see less use than Levitate. Sludge Bomb exists as a STAB option, something I feel every Pokemon must come with if it has a secondary typing, Recover provides Claydol with a much-needed buff into the sustain, and Spikes helps it become even further into utility. Its Special Attack is a bit less bad, its Speed tier is now cactching up to modern day Pokemon, and its defenses are incredibly tedious to break without hitting it with a Knock Off.