Who doesn't love some adorable baby Pokemon? Toxel is actually the first baby Pokemon introduced since Generation IV and was welcomed into the world of Pokemon wholeheartedly by fans. It and its evolutions are the only Pokemon to currently have an Electric/Poison typing making them especially unique.
Players can all get a single Toxel easily in Pokemon Sword And Shield making them common on many players' teams. However, those that want to maximize the potential of Toxel and their future Toxtricity will want to take steps to make their little friend into the best Pokemon it can be by avoiding some common mistakes.
8 Not Having The Best Abilities
It's worth making sure Toxel has the best ability available to it while training to give it an advantage as it is a baby Pokemon after all! While it could be tempting to try and get its hidden ability Klutz as something special, in the end, Static is far more effective as it can potentially Paralyze opposing Pokemon.
For its evolution, there is no reason to not have Punk Rock as its ability. Period. All of the other options are vastly inferior so make sure Toxtricity has it by using an Ability Capsule if necessary.
7 Not Stocking Up On Throat Spray
One of the coolest parts of Toxel is its evolution, Toxtricity. it's ability Punk Rock boosts the damage done by sound-based moves but players can take this one step further. If they want to be prepared, players should stock up on Throat Spray while training up their Toxel before it evolves.
This consumable item raises Pokemon's special attack if they use a sound-based move. As most sound-based moves are special attacks, this works out perfectly to make Toxtricity into quite a powerhouse.
6 Not Knowing How It Evolves
Toxel has two potential evolutions, sort of. In the end, Toxel will always become a Toxtricity but it will be in either its Amped Form or Low-Key form depending on what nature Toxel has when it reached level 30.
Toxel will evolve into its Amped Form if its Nature is Hardy, Brave, Adamant, Naughty, Docile, Impish, Lax, Hasty, Jolly, Naive, Rash, Sassy, or Quirky. It will evolve into its Low Key Form if its Nature is Lonely, Bold, Relaxed, Timid, Serious, Modest, Mild, Quiet, Bashful, Calm, Gentle, or Careful.
5 Not Choosing Amped Form
It's tough to hear but Amped Form is going to be better for players who want to use Toxtricity in battle. The ability to learn Shift Gear once it reaches level 52 is far better than learning Magnetic Flux in Low-Key form. If players simply want to have a fun bass-playing Poke-friend however, the Low-Key form is just fine.
4 Not Using Its Best Moves
With Punk Rock as an ability, players want to make sure they're using the best sound-based moves in the game after they evolve their Toxel. Players may need to hunt down TMs if needed to make sure they can teach them so it's best to do this while getting Toxel up to level 30.
Some of the best moves overall for Toxtricity include Overdrive, Boomburst, Hyper Voice, and Snarl. Even though it's not a sound-based move, players should consider using Sludge Bomb as well for its powerful Poison Type damage.
3 Not EV Training It Well
To get the most out of Toxel and later Toxtricity, players should be carefully EV training from the beginning. EV training looks complicated on the surface but thankfully, there are tricks to make EV training easier so players shouldn't feel too afraid to give it a try.
It tends to be better to focus harder on a few EV stats than spreading them out overall. For Toxel and Toxtricity, HP, Special Attack, and Speed tend to be the most important
2 Not Giving It Good Teammates
Neither Toxel nor Toxitricity can find success without strong teammates to back them up! It has a quadruple weakness to Ground and Psychic Types so players should make sure they have Pokemon on their squad that can take out threats with these types on opposing teams. According to statistics from Pikalytics, some of the most popular teammates include Whimiscott, Tapu Fini, and Dragapault.
1 Bringing It To Competitive Events
It's sad to say but Toxel and its evolutions are usually quite outclassed by other options players can choose from. In Smogon's Little Cup, there's simply no reason to use Toxel when poison types like Croagunk and Koffing are far superior. Toxtricity doesn't even see use in serious VGC events or in online battles are there are also better Poison and Electric types for players to choose from.
There's nothing wrong with players wanting to use their favorite Pokemon! However, it's important to realize if competitors have a goal of purely winning as much as possible that Toxel and its evolution aren't good choices for them.