Camerupt

Magma Armor
Prevents freeze. Halves the number of steps required to hatch Eggs.
Solid Rock
Reduces damage from super effective hits by 25%.
Anger Point
Raises Attack to +6 if struck by a critical hit.
Type Tier
Fire / Ground NU
Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
Min- Min Max Max+
HP
70
- 281 344 -
Atk
100
212 236 299 328
Def
70
158 176 239 262
SpA
105
221 246 309 339
SpD
75
167 186 249 273
Spe
40
104 116 179 196

Overview

As intimidating as the sound of a volcano-wielding camel might be, Camerupt rarely instills fear in its opponents. Despite its explosive offensive stats and good STAB coverage, Camerupt is plagued by the dreaded Surfs and Waterfalls that litter the upper tiers, each a potential OHKO looming around the corner. NU has no lack of Water-types; between Gorebyss, Samurott, and even Ludicolo, Camerupt has plenty to be wary of. Outside the massive weakness to Water-type attacks, Camerupt has a solid defensive typing which allows it to handle several popular NU threats, such as Eelektross, Raichu, and Rotom-S. Camerupt's 70 / 70 / 75 defenses are not exceptionally bulky by any means, but they are enough to allow it to survive a few assaults and retaliate accordingly. Solid Rock is a somewhat useful ability, allowing Camerupt to survive the occasional non-STAB Earthquake. Camerupt is no slouch offensively, either—alongside its 100 / 105 offensive stats, Camerupt's dual STAB moves sport excellent coverage. This combination is only resisted by the likes of Altaria, Pelipper, and Swanna, which are all swiftly dealt with by Hidden Power Rock. Camerupt can be a quality performer both offensively and defensively, as long as you steer clear of any bodies of water.

Name Item Ability Nature

Tank

Leftovers Solid Rock Calm
Moveset EVs
~ Stealth Rock
~ Earth Power
~ Lava Plume / Fire Blast
~ Roar / Toxic
252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD

Camerupt's excellent typing gives it a unique niche as a defensive Pokemon in NU, allowing it to handle many powerful, specially-oriented threats. It provides a great switch-in to the Electric-types that inhabit the tier, such as Electabuzz, Rotom-S, Eelektross, and Raichu. Camerupt is also one of the most reliable users of Stealth Rock, as it can switch into the aforementioned threats and set up the entry hazard as they switch. Earth Power is its most powerful and accurate STAB attack and will deal quite a bit of damage to Raichu and friends, even with minimal Special Attack investment. Lava Plume has a 30% chance to inflict a burn on the opponent, which can be incredibly helpful for potential Samurott switch-ins. On the other hand, Fire Blast offers a great deal more power and will ensure a KO on Tangela, but it also has imperfect accuracy, and Camerupt cannot afford to miss. Roar allows Camerupt to prevent opposing Pokemon from setting up on it and will shuffle the opponent's team around, causing entry hazard damage. Ninjask and other common Baton Pass users generally have no way to deal with Camerupt either, so Roar will usually spell doom for such a team. However, Toxic can surprise Alomomola and other bulky Water-types that expect to get a free switch-in.

Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Name Item Ability Nature

Rock Polish

Life Orb Solid Rock Modest
Moveset EVs
~ Rock Polish
~ Fire Blast
~ Earth Power
~ Hidden Power Rock / Hidden Power Ice
40 HP / 252 SpA / 216 Spe

With its pitiful base 40 Speed, it's hard to believe that Camerupt could pull off any kind of sweep, but after a Rock Polish, it becomes surprisingly fast and can work well as a late-game sweeper when special walls have been broken down, outspeeding everything up to positive-natured base 105s; this includes threats such as Charizard and Sawsbuck. This doesn't mean that Camerupt has suddenly transformed into a speed demon, though—Tauros and Swellow can both outrun it even after a Rock Polish boost, and Camerupt will be hard-pressed to outrun most common Choice Scarf users. Earth Power and Fire Blast are Camerupt's strongest moves and provide great coverage together, only resisted by four Pokemon in the NU metagame. The fourth moveslot is simply a decision of who you want to hit harder: Hidden Power Rock OHKOes Charizard and deals heavy damage to Altaria, Swanna, and Pelipper, while Hidden Power Ice is largely for the purpose of cleanly OHKOing Altaria.

Team Options & Additional Comments >>>

Other Options

Camerupt can work very well when paired with a Trick Room user, as it is abysmally slow and will outpace most Pokemon under Trick Room; it can also abuse a powerful Eruption with such a set, as it's unlikely that it will take damage before Eruption hits. Will-O-Wisp and Yawn are two more defensive options to inflict status and potentially force switches, respectively, but both moves are generally inferior to the listed options. Camerupt can set up Sunny Day and use SolarBeam to lure and KO bulky Water-types such as Alomomola, but faster Water-types such as Gorebyss can OHKO Camerupt (even in sun!). Explosion can take advantage of Camerupt's good base 100 Attack stat and act as a parting blow if Camerupt is already on low HP. Stockpile and Amnesia are interesting options, but even with defensive boosts, Camerupt can hardly tank super effective attacks. Solid Rock is pretty much the best ability for Camerupt; Magma Armor is hardly useful at all because the chance of being frozen is rare, and Camerupt won't be able to live through a critical hit to take advantage of Anger Point.

Checks and Counters

Camerupt is incredibly slow and has no recovery moves apart from Rest, so any Pokemon that can outspeed and hit it with a super effective attack can be considered a good check. Gorebyss and Samurott have very little to fear from any of Camerupt's moves and can OHKO it with their STAB attacks. Bulkier Water-types such as Alomomola are better equipped to handle the more offensively-inclined sets, as they have access to recovery and can Toxic stall Camerupt to death. Camerupt's defenses are not exactly proficient, and it also relies heavily on resistances to wall effectively, so powerful Pokemon that can hit it hard neutrally can also handle Camerupt well. Swellow, Choice Band Sawk, and Braviary will all 2HKO Camerupt with their STAB attacks.