Toxapex

In spite of all that has been developed to counteract its presence, Toxapex still endures as an easy-to-fit metagame staple in SS OU. Blessed with absurd defenses and Regenerator, Toxapex can soft check just about anything and threatens item removal with Knock Off, status in Toxic and Scald, and the removal of stat boosts with Haze. This titanic bulk also means that Toxapex can pivot into an extensive amount of Pokemon and scout them, easing prediction against threats like Blaziken, Choice Specs Dragapult, Blacephalon, and Choice Band Tyranitar. As the metagame has developed, countermeasures have been mounted against the living bunker: Future Sight from the likes of Slowbro, Galarian Slowking, and Tapu Lele paired with strong attackers is a common tactic to try and break through Toxapex. However, much like the animal it takes its inspiration from, it adapts to the environment around it, most notably reinventing itself as a Light Screen pivot to halve damage from Future Sight, allowing it to effectively wall Future Sight chains by staying in and healing just before the attack hits. However, compared to other Regenerator users, Toxapex suffers from a severe case of four-moveslot syndrome that can make it very passive, often finding itself treated as set up fodder by the likes of Swords Dance Kartana, Calm Mind Clefable, and Substitute Volcarona, as it struggles to fit Scald and Haze together in the modern metagame. Additionally, its typing is both a blessing and a curse; while checking or flat out countering physical attackers like Urshifu-R and Blaziken is a large boon, it is prone to being overwhelmed by the attackers it is supposed to check by virtue of the common Future Sight support these wallbreakers often are paired with. This passivity also means most Toxapex sets are free entry points for strong offensive Ground-types like Excadrill and Garchomp. The choice of what Toxapex has to run on a given team is quite the conundrum, and every moveset Toxapex runs has some hole it can't effectively cover without the help of its teammates.