How to Evolve Croagunk

Croagunk evolves into Toxicroak upon reaching level 37. This evolution requirement remains consistent across all mainline games, from Generation 4 to Generation 9. Disclaimer: Pokedex.me is an unofficial fan-site.

Players do not need to use Evolution Stones, trade the Pokémon, or meet specific friendship thresholds. Once the experience bar fills and hits level 37, the evolution screen triggers automatically. Croagunk sits in the Medium Fast experience group, meaning it needs precisely 50,653 Exp. Points to achieve this level.

In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, reaching level 37 simply unlocks the ability to evolve. Players must manually trigger the evolution from the party menu. In Pokémon GO, evolving Croagunk requires exactly 50 Croagunk Candies, which players can farm efficiently by catching the species during Cloudy weather for a weather boost.

Toxicroak earns a 6.5/10 in competitive viability. It functions primarily as a niche physical wallbreaker or a setup sweeper in lower tiers like NU or RU. Its base 106 Attack is solid, but its base 85 Speed leaves it outpaced by common offensive threats.

Toxicroak relies entirely on its ability, Dry Skin, to carve out a specific role. Dry Skin grants a full immunity to Water-type attacks and restores 12.5% of its maximum HP at the end of every turn during Rain. This makes Toxicroak an excellent counter to defensive Water-types.

Players must ignore its other abilities. Anticipation only warns of super-effective moves, providing no tangible combat stats. Poison Touch gives a 30% chance to poison on contact, which is entirely outclassed by Dry Skin's defensive utility. However, Dry Skin increases damage taken from Fire-type moves by 25%, making Toxicroak a liability against Sun teams.

Toxicroak presents a polarized profile that demands precise teambuilding. It is not a universally splashable Pokémon.

• Pros: Excellent matchup against Rain teams and Water-types due to Dry Skin. Access to Swords Dance and Nasty Plot allows versatile setup. Sucker Punch provides crucial priority to bypass its mediocre Speed tier.
• Cons: A devastating 4x weakness to Psychic-type attacks makes it instant setup fodder for Pokémon like Tapu Lele or Hatterene. Base 83 HP, 65 Defense, and 65 Special Defense mean it rarely survives neutral STAB attacks. Weaknesses to common Ground and Flying moves further limit its switch-in opportunities.

Toxicroak is for players running dedicated Rain teams or those needing a specific check to Water/Fairy defensive cores. It is a poor choice for players seeking a bulky pivot or a fast, self-sufficient sweeper.

The standard Toxicroak set utilizes Swords Dance to boost its base 106 Attack. Gunk Shot serves as the primary Poison STAB, hitting Fairy and Grass types for massive damage, despite its risky 80% accuracy. Close Combat provides the Fighting STAB, essential for breaking through Steel and Rock types like Kingambit or Tyranitar.

Because Toxicroak sits at an awkward base 85 Speed, Sucker Punch is mandatory. This Dark-type priority move allows Toxicroak to strike faster, frailer threats like Dragapult or Gengar before they can exploit its poor defenses. A Life Orb maximizes damage output, while Black Sludge provides passive recovery.

For teambuilding, Pelipper or Politoed are the optimal partners. Their Drizzle abilities set the Rain, activating Toxicroak's passive healing. Steel-types like Corviknight or Scizor pair well to absorb the Psychic and Flying attacks aimed at Toxicroak.

While Swords Dance is the standard, Toxicroak possesses a usable base 86 Special Attack and access to Nasty Plot. This special setup set acts as a lure to defeat physical walls that typically switch into it, such as Dondozo or Slowbro.

Sludge Bomb replaces Gunk Shot, offering perfect accuracy and a 30% chance to poison the target. Vacuum Wave provides special Fighting-type priority, fulfilling the same speed-control role as Sucker Punch but scaling with Nasty Plot boosts.

Shadow Ball or Focus Blast rounds out the coverage. This set requires a Focus Sash to guarantee a Nasty Plot setup turn due to Toxicroak's frailty. It functions best in lower-tier formats where specialized physical walls are common and easily baited.

Reaching level 37 quickly in modern generations involves optimized experience farming. In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, players can use the Let's Go auto-battle feature against Chansey spawns in North Province Area Three. Defeating these Chansey yields massive experience without entering traditional turn-based combat.

Alternatively, completing 4-star and 5-star Tera Raid Battles rewards players with Exp. Candies M and L. Feeding approximately 15 Exp. Candies M to a freshly caught level 20 Croagunk will instantly push it past the level 37 threshold.

In older titles like Platinum, farming Route 212 with the Vs. Seeker remains the fastest method. In Sword and Shield, completing Max Raid Battles in the Wild Area provides the necessary Exp. Candies to bypass manual grinding entirely.