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Ever since their debut in the Generation Seven update for Pokemon GO, Mareanie and Toxapex have risen through the ranks to become some of the best Pokemon available. Although they may not look menacing, their high defense stats combined with a strong type combination makes them very formidable foes for anyone on the opposite end of the field.

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To get the most out of Mareanie and Toxapex you need to play to their strengths. You should focus on their defenses and durability rather than quick burst damage to deal with enemies and not expect them to be your main powerhouse of the team.

Fast Moves

  • Bite
  • Poison Sting (Mareanie)
  • Poison Jab (Toxapex)

The best fast move for Mareanie is Poison Sting. This move provides Mareanie with its highest possible energy charge rate of 11.7 EPS and decent DPS of 8.3. Remember that the major strength of Mareanie and Toxapex is their survivability. Their typing and defenses allow them to stay on the field longer, so having a high charge rate on your fast move allows you to get as many charged attacks off as possible.

Similarly, Toxapex’s best fast move is Poison Jab. Poison Jab is a slightly changed version of Poison Sting, sacrificing some charge speed for higher DPS. Bite will give you a higher DPS of 12 and good coverage for psychic types, but will cut your EPS gain to only eight, making charged attacks less frequent. Since both Pokemon rely so heavily on getting charged moves off, it is crucial to choose fast moves that provide the highest EPS to maximize the return on your charged attacks.

Charged Moves

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  • Sludge Wave
  • Brine
  • Gunk Shot

When it comes to charged moves, you have a few options. For the best possible set, Gunk Shot is the way to go for both Mareanie and Toxapex. Being able to deal 130 damage for 100 energy makes this attack a valuable part of either Pokemon’s kit. Combining this with the faster recharge rate from Poison Sting or Poison Jab, Gunk Shot becomes the deadliest part of each Pokemon’s arsenal.

Just like with fast moves, you also have a good option for coverage with Brine. This move is nearly half the base damage of Gunk Shot, but in exchange only requires 50 energy to use and provides coverage against dangerous ground types. Brine also gains the benefit of being a multi-bar charged move, meaning it can be used more often than Gunk Shot.

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Should You Use Mareanie And Toxapex?Mareanie and Toxapex from Pokemon

Mareanie and Toxapex are strong choices for your team. Being only weak to electric, ground, and psychic while resisting eight of the 18 types makes the poison/water type combination a very strong defensive asset. Even though Mareanie and Toxapex focus mostly on defenses, their offensive coverage is nothing to laugh at. Being able to hit fairy Pokemon for super effective damage while also resisting fairy moves increases their versatility even more. Their offenses may be subpar, but there is no single type in the game that resists both poison and water, making it uncommon for both types of attacks from them to be resisted by the opponent.

Toxapex and Mareanie do lack quite a bit in offensive stats, making them unideal choices for raids and other time-based battles. Unfortunately, Mareanie and Toxapex's poison typing also becomes somewhat of a weakness. While they can hit fairy Pokemon for super effective damage, lots of fairy Pokemon tend to have psychic-type coverage moves like Confusion and Psychic to deal with poison types, making Mareanie or Toxapex much harder to use against fairy types.

Both Pokemon work well as defensive tanks, being able to eat hits and outlast their opponent. However, the main issue with these Pokemon is their CP. The maximum CP for a Toxapex is around 1,905 which is low compared to other defensive Pokemon like Snorlax and Blissey. Still, Mareanie and Toxapex are some of the best Pokemon available for holding down lower-level gyms and even getting through The Great League.

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