Noxolotl can hold First Aid Kit or Pillow. First Aid Kit is the preferred item for Trance Noxolot. Do not hold Pillow if your Noxolotl is not using Narcoleptic Hit.
There are Toxic Skin varients of Noxolotl that focus on spamming Stare, which opens up your gear options. Toxic Skin Noxolotl doesn't need carefully engineered TV spreads except for making its Stare move before its allies.
How does Trance work?
Trance only triggers once per battle.
If Noxolotl drops to under 30% of its health from a targeted technique, it will trigger Trance. This status effect will put Noxolotl to sleep (with some exceptions), give it 4 turns of Regeneration (10% HP gain per turn) and buff its special defense and special attack stats by 2 stages.
If Noxolotl is already alerted, is holding Energy Drink, or has an ally that can prevent status effects, it will not go to sleep but will gain every other benefit (regeneration, buffs). If Noxolotl already has regeneration when Trance is triggered, the extra turns of regeneration will not be added to Noxolotl.
If Noxolotl is holding Pillow, it will gain 10% HP if Noxolotl is asleep at the very start of the next turn. This means for 2 turns of sleep, Pillow will trigger once.
Madness Buff can put you into Trance range. Overexertion damage, Fainted Curse, and burn damage will not trigger Trance. This is because Madness Buff is a targeted technique (self), but the other damage sources are not.
Careful management of your moves and health is key. Swapping in and out of battle at key moments, choosing held gears wisely, and using the Alert status proactively are notable options when trying to get the most out of Trance.
What is Noxolotl's role in PVP?
Noxolotl is a flexible, bulky toxic type that can be somewhat customized to fit the needs of the team. Of course, the mechanics that determine how Trance triggers means that Noxolotl's TV spreads need to have a specific purpose. Any aspiring Noxolotl tamer will have to know the exact limits of their personal Noxolotl spread!
As a disclaimer, Noxolotl is so customizable that even the moveset listed above can be heavily changed to fit your needs. I highly recommend always running Acid Reflux and one turn 1 immediate attack, normally Toxic Ink, though you can rarely consider Virulent Gust. The rest of Noxolotl's moveset is variable, so depending on the team your last move slot can be Madness Buff, Turbo Choreography, Refresh, Narcoleptic Hit, Stare, or even another offensive move (running both Virulent Gust and Toxic Ink in the same set). Sometimes, people take Turbo Choreography + Hypnosis on the same set to take advantage of the speed boost. While flexible, the two most viable builds for Nox are 1) Turbo Choreography Support and 2) Bulky Offense Toxic Ink. This build is the latter.
Noxolotl should not hold Pillow if it is not running Narcoleptic Hit. Noxolotl can also use First Aid Kit with any set, so heavily consider both items and take what fits your playstyle best. Pillow is sometimes more useful when there are multiple allies on the team that can reliably buff Noxolotl and/or offer heals and First Aid Kit works on any team. Energy Drink may seem very strong initially, but it is actually a very very very niche option. Noxolotl usually appreciates the health regeneration much more than staying awake, even though a poorly timed sleep initiated by the enemy can throw a wrench in your plans.
What kind of teams appreciate Noxolotl?
Because this tem is flexible, its allies are too. The friends and foes listed here are just a small sampling. Noxolotl dislikes all winds, and while it can wall most toxics it can't reliably damage the ones that shrug off Narcoleptic Hit either. Therefore, allies that can handle these problematic types are appreciated. Noxolotl itself is liked by everything that wants a toxic pivot and everything that likes toxic synergies. Kinu helps Noxolotl survive more hits and can turn Noxolotl into a monster by healing it, and Ukama loves Noxolotl's synergy while hitting most enemies with a good amount of speedy and consistent damage. Scarravolt scares away winds, likes similar bulky / support team options, and enjoys Noxolotl swapping into its place to take hits. Meanwhile, Faraday Cage users such as Molgu always like toxic synergy / Stare, and teams that have the same slow "tempo" as Noxolotl may want to consider it as Nox makes for a reliable friend. There are many combinations of allies that can be run with Nox, which is part of what makes this tem appealing.
Tamers more familiar with the roster may wonder: why pick Noxolotl over Mushook, who can lead more aggressively and is less heavily denied by opposing toxic types? After all, both offer interesting utility options and pivot well. Simply put: Noxolotl is fantastic at denying momentum and giving that momentum back to its team just by soaking up hits. Noxolotl turns enemy damage taken into damage it can potentially dish out. When paired with allies that can account for its wind type weakness, Noxolotl is all around reliable in the right hands while occasionally offering its users some big moments. Finally, Noxolotl denies Special Attacks much better than Mushook can.
What is the best way to play Noxolotl?
So, you know what Noxolotl does, but how do you pull off plays with this Tem? Aside from knowing what your personal spread does and consequently understanding when it is worthwhile to go to sleep due to Trance, Noxolotl is not as hard to use as it first seems. Just know your defensive values, swap it into things that are scared of toxic, and use it to deny damage from enemy toxics or waters that don't have type coverage. (Examples: Ukama, Nidrasil.) Do that, and you'll be good to go.
For usage purposes this Noxolotl build is not meant to be a "raidboss". Unlike Yowlar, Valash, and the rest of their kind, you can't buff Noxolotl's defenses and offenses up and then have it 1v5. The hold on Acid Reflux is too high to get consistent payoff, especially if you make it your only goal. Additionally, in the current meta it is easier for the enemy's damage to outpace Noxolotl's durability and stamina than it is for Noxolotl to slowly wipe out teams. Just know that raidboss Noxolotl is just an option, not the only option.
What is the goal of this specific build?
Disclaimer: because this is a public TV spread that lists exact thresholds, opponents who do their research might know the weaknesses for this spread and how to keep you out of Trance range. For tamers who have become more comfortable using Noxolotl or have started reaching above average TMR, it is recommended for them to create a customized and more personal TV Noxolotl spread. It is also recommended to not publish that spread publically. Like Myx, part of using Noxolotl is forcing the enemy into hitting your trait's HP range.
Consider this build as a fully useable starting point. The easiest and most immediate changes that might be appealing involve redistributing the attack stat or Stamina stat into more special attack, attack, stamina, or maybe even speed. Alternately, you can pick your own custom set of threats that you want to account for and use the breakpoint section below as a starting point to figure out what YOU want to put Noxolotl into Trance with. Since you now know some basic reference points that you can always "reset" to, it should be significantly easier than starting from scratch (believe me, this spread took hours). The defense breakpoint for this Noxolotl specifically targets tems like Saku that take super effective damage from Nox but also hit Nox back super effectively. It does this by sacrificing several other physical HP values. Most other physical attackers such as mouflank, mushook, etc yield subpar damage %s for trance, as you'll see below. So, for example, if Noxolotl is in a melee team that struggles with Digital tems, you would want to customize your Noxolotl to reach trance from digital attacks more reliably than this "jack of all trades" Noxolotl.
The spread breakpoints: What gets you into Trance safely, and what doesn't.
These are the TV spread's "damage thresholds." In other words, these percentages are how much damage these moves will do to this specific Noxolotl, and will show what will and will not get this Noxolotl into Trance range. Since you want to reach 30% HP / be missing 70% of your HP, here is a simple guideline. You want Noxolotl to take this amount of damage (at or with a couple extra points extra) from the prioritized targets of your choice:
25%~, 35%~, 40%~, 70%~
Anything at or less than 24% damage dealt, or anything between 30%-34% damage dealt is going to get you barely outside of Trance range, which is really bad. Anything less than 35% is going to require Nox to have previously taken damage or to be hit by both enemies in certain situations, and anything doing 45%+ damage is going to be rough since on turn 2 your Nox will be at 10% health. Any specific attack pattern that will make you lose 50% of your HP within a turn is also typically bad.
The enemy ally also exists, though. Just because one specific tem's attack keeps you barely outside of trance range does not mean the ally won't hit you and knock you back into Trance range. Part of playing Noxolotl is keeping track of your HP as the game moves forward so that you can tell when a situation is going poorly, when you should keep Noxolotl on the field, or when you should swap Noxolotl in to take beneficial damage.
Reminder: This Noxolotl will regenerate 40%-50% of its HP if you swap it out and back in. Ideally, you want to hit trance at 70%, with 80% being the maximum punishment you can take. 80% is fine if it is a single attack and you swap out quickly, but be careful.
This Noxolotl's Specific Defensive Breakpoints are:
Physical:
Rhoulder
(300atk) Drill Impact 21%, Goring 25%
(500atk) Drill Impact 24%, Goring 28%
3 attacks from Rhoulder will neatly get you into Trance + First Aid Kit range, though the enemy will also have plenty of time to notice they're doing the perfect amount of damage to you.
F Koish
(500atk) Syn Master Fchip Lava Wave 42%, Syn Master Lava Wave 38%
Even if its ally mimit has war drum, Nox is still fine into double F Koish.
Venx
(500atk) Res badge Base Jump 32%, Res badge Suplex 41.1%
Base Jump -> Suplex gets Nox into trance
Saku
(300atk Air Specialist) Synergy Debris 46%, non synergy Debris 34%, Boomerang 39%, Turbine 45%
(0atk Air Spec) Synergy Debris 35%, non synergy Debris 27%, Boomerang 30% (awkward), Turbine 35%
Saku can be a little awkward, but this is the best we could do without sacrificing several other Trance thresholds. Luckily, Saku is a pretty uncommon sight.
Chimurian
(500atk) CPG 24%, +1 CPG 30%
Garyo
(500atk) Soil Steam 32%
Garyo will keep you just out of Trance range unless Garyo's ally also damages Nox.
Seismunch
(500atk) Uppercut 21%, Wreck 28%, +2 Wreck 40%
lower atk Seismunch might be ok, but full atk seismunch can make Trance values awkward between uppercut and wreck.
Gorong
(500atk) Hook Kick 25%, +1 Hook Kick 37%, Uppercut 19%, +1 Uppercut 27%, Syn massage 26%, +1 Syn Massage 38%
Skunch
(500atk) Suplex 33%, -2 def Suplex 49%
Mouflank
(500atk) res badge base jump 42%, Goring 44%
Good damage ranges for trance, especially if it is a double mouflank lead or Raican + Mouflank.
Hazrat
(500atk) Lava Wave 37%, Drum Lava Wave 40%, Syn Master Lava Wave 47%, Syn Master Drum Lava Wave 50%
If Hazrat's ally is F Koish, beware. If the ally is N Koish, you might be able to kill N Koish first with ally help, which will make Hazrat neatly put Nox into trance range.
Don't even try to fight Tutsu or Turoc. Venment will also maim you, but if Venmet swaps into Nox you can Narc hit it for some nice damage (over 50% even with Tag Team boost).
Special:
Tulcan
80% Tornado w/ handfan, 73% without. don't get hit by windburst EVER
Wiplump
87% tornado w/ handfan, 79% tornado without
Magmut
(500spatk: unusual investment) Soul Shout +2 does 71% lol
(300spatk) 25% shout, 17% fiery soul no burn | 32% fsoul +2, 49% shout +2
(0 spatk) 20% shout, 13% fiery soul no burn | 25% fsoul +2, 38% shout +2
Scaravolt
(500spatk +1) Tstrike 35%, Fnado 43%
(300spatk +1) Tstrike 30%, Fnado 37%
Monkko
(500spatk, Sensei Robe) Soul Shout 39%, Microwaves 24%
Chromeon
(500spatk) Syntyper Microwaves 31%, Microwaves 24%
(500spatk melee) Syntyper & Sensei Robe Soul Shout 49%, Syntyper no robe Soul Shout 39%, no typer robe Soul Shout 37%, no robe no typer Shout 30%
Unfortunately, Double Microwaves puts you at 48% which kind of sucks.You can take 2 turns of double Microwaves but would likely have to swap out after for a bit. Double melee Chromeon hits gives Nox solid results, since you end up taking 88% damage so you get Trance and FAK. The best option they have is to Double Microwaves Nox; any other combination results in Trance.
Momo
(500spatk res badge) Undermine 55%, Knockback 69%
Don't fight Momos with Nox.
Vulffy
(500spatk) plague 11%, DV 35%
(0 spatk) plague 8%, DV 23%
Barnshe
(500spatk neutrality) wburst 49%, wburst handfan 54%, tornado 71%, Tornado handfan 79%
(500spatk airspec) wburst 56%, wburst handfan 62%, tornado 82%, tornado handfan 90%
It is probably not even worth it to try and bait a Tornado from Barnshe, but you can do it.
Valash
(500spatk) Cspikes 29%, +2 Cspikes 56%, Cdust 9%, +2 Cdust 17% (22% with synergy)
(500atk) Base Jump 27%, +1 Base Jump 39%, Cbite 30%, +1 Cbite 44%
Only sit in front of Valash if you're careful, or Nox is already +2 spdef
Vental
(500spatk) +1 Unseen Blow 44%
Zenoreth
(500spatk) Channeler Cspikes 33%, +2 Channeler Cspikes 48%
The special attack investment is there to preserve these specific defense and special defense values and reach tiny KO thresholds. Adding those points into HP, Def, or SpDef would shift every single Trance range. Even without physical attack investment, Nox will do ~25% - 32% to 500hp enemies that have a mental weakness or toxic weakness (if we include one tick of poison damage). You'll be asleep after using Narcoleptic Hit (unless you used Stare the turn before), so you won't kill every neutral in three turns. What this does instead is allow Noxolotl to weaken Mouflank, Skunch, Venx, and Yowlar for your allies to finish off. This assumes said enemies don't have defensive buffs applied to them from supports such as Kinu, though. Speaking of Kinu, you can 2HKO most but not all of them. If you want to do 50% damage to all beefy Kinus, you'll need to give this Nox a minimum of 42 atk TVs instead. Nagaise also does not appreciate this Noxolotl at all, and even fairly bulky Koish variants will take 1/2 of their HP in damage while regularly putting Nox into Trance range after a turn or two.
None of those attack investments are critical, but moving those points into defenses would shift the Trance values, so decide if you want a little more stamina, speed or a little more damage. If you want to spam stamina-heavy moves or use Noxolotl as more of a support, that might be the better stat allocation. If you can use Madness Buff more regularly thanks to your team composition, maybe special attack is the way to go. Stare should move faster than its allies, so consider moving the "extra" TVs in this set (the stamina and special attack) into speed. Of the two defense stats, defense is more frivolous than special defense for most teams, so if your Nox needs additional speed, cut down the defense to meet your demands. If you start reducing your stats the point that Nox is rocking 0 def TVs and lower than 150 spdef TVs, Nox may not be the best fit for your team.
The stamina on this Noxolotl Build allows it to use Toxic Ink twice, Madness Buff once, and Acid Reflux. Alternatively, it accomodates for Toxic Ink -> Turbo -> Acid Reflux. You have a lot of energy to work with here, honestly.
Final Word
Use this build as a starting point. This exact spread might not work for your team, but you can go into the damage calculator and shift them around until they do. If your team doesn't need Noxolotl to get into trance range with Venx but wants it to pubstomp Vulffy, shift the attack / defense / special defense / HP around. Good luck out there, everyone.
