Is it wise to play this move?

Question

I have an Umbreon. It knows Toxic, Confuse Ray, Payback, and Double Team. Should I do the following.

Opponent Move: Swords Dance (any good stat increasing move)

My move: Toxic

Opponent: Flamethrower (any move that's not super-effective)

My move: Confuse Ray

Is it a good idea to use Toxic for the third turn, hoping the opponent would switch out, poisoning two Pokemons, and putting the opponent in a bad position.

Answer 1

I would go with a No.
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With my competitive experience, opponents are more likely to switch out to something immune to Toxic, giving them a chance to reset the Toxic damage, cure of confusion and also send out something to out wall Toxic.

And sue to the rising population of using Ferrothorn, Forretress and Espeon, using Toxic will most likely back fire on you. (Espeon will be able to Magic Bounce off the Toxic onto you). So a move like Double Team would be the best. It will allow you to possibly dodge the opponents attacks and you also get a free move if he switches.

So overall, the answer if still no. I would probably go for it only if your opponent doesn't have anything with Magic Bounce, Natural Cure and Magic Guard or Steel and Poison types.

Answer 2

Firstly, Double Team is banned in competitive play. Replace it with Foul Play.

Give your Umbreon this set:
Toxic
Moonlight
Foul Play
Heal Bell/ Confuse Ray

Secondly, if your opponent sets up Swords Dance, they won't be using a special move like Flamethrower...

In any case, I would use Confuse Ray first, so it has a chance of hitting itself and you have a chance to take less damage, more time to set up Toxic, and then heal yourself with Moonlight. If your opponent switches Pokemon, use Toxic then (if it's a Pokemon you're confident Umbreon can wall). Then again, if they know Umbreon has Toxic, they'll probably either switch to a cleric like Blissey or a steel type.

Foul Play is the best offensive move for Umbreon. It will do damage calculated on your opponent's attack, not yours, and since Umbreon has abysmal attack, Foul Play is perfectly suited for it to get rid of physical sweepers (that are non-fighting type).

You also have to consider that the opponent won't switch out, probably due to the fact that they've already set up a Swords Dance and will take their chances, and that's when you use Foul Play to get rid of a Physical sweeper.

Comments

If he has got into this scenario or is using wifi, there is no point in writing that Double Team is illegal.

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I thought this was a hypothetical scenario, and not an actual one. If it was an actual one, it would have passed by now and he would have got the answer to his question. In any case, it's worthwhile to point out Double Team is banned in most competitive play.

Answer 3

Hell no. You should only do that if you're sure that the opponent is going to switch, for example a Choice Psychic vs a Dark type. Go Confuse Ray first, then Toxic, and afterwards switch out to your check to the specific Pokemon. Anyways, poisoning two Pokemon does not put the opponent in a bad position, imo, because Heal Bell exists, and even without that, the opponent can manage.

Comments

Um, JCM. Late answer, very.