|
-
Sturdy
- If the wielder is at full HP, it will survive any attack. OHKO moves will fail.
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Shell Armor
- Prevents critical hits.
-
Weak Armor
- Boosts Speed by 1 stage and lowers Defense by 1 stage when hit by a physical move.
|
Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
70
|
- |
281 |
344 |
- |
| Atk |
95
|
203 |
226 |
289 |
317 |
| Def |
125
|
257 |
286 |
349 |
383 |
| SpA |
65
|
149 |
166 |
229 |
251 |
| SpD |
75
|
167 |
186 |
249 |
273 |
| Spe |
45
|
113 |
126 |
189 |
207 |
Overview
Crustle is a crooked looking Pokemon, but don't let its looks deceive you. Its base Defense is one of the highest in the RU tier, and with access to both Stealth Rock and Spikes, Crustle becomes an excellent team supporter. Crustle's Attack stat isn't too shabby either; its access to Shell Smash and a decent physical movepool only increases its sweeping potential. The downside to using Crustle is its poor typing. Crustle is weak to common Water- and Rock-type moves, and its STAB moves don't provide excellent type coverage. Crustle's Speed is nothing short of horrible, and this doesn't help its ability to set up entry hazards, or its ability to sweep for that matter. By no means is Crustle a bad Pokemon though; it's an excellent Spiker and can greatly aid your team.
With this set, Crustle uses its base 125 Defense stat to abuse entry hazards such as Stealth Rock and Spikes. Crustle's base 70 HP isn't amazing, though it's just enough to handle some powerful, unboosted hits. Thankfully, Crustle only has two weaknesses, so it has plenty of time to switch in and set up entry hazards for your team. Stone Edge and X-Scissor are reliable STAB moves, and they ensure that Crustle isn't complete set up bait while also giving it something to do should it get Taunted. Rock Blast is an interesting alternative to Stone Edge; it has lower Base Power on average, but its accuracy is higher and it can be very useful against opponents that use Focus Sash or Substitute. Toxic is another viable option in the last slot, as it cripples bulkier Pokemon who Crustle can't break through with its STAB moves, such as Poliwrath and Dusknoir.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
In addition to the EVs listed above, Crustle can pull off an effective specially defensive spread. Using a spread of 224 HP / 32 Def / 252 SpD gives Crustle some well needed special bulk, giving it the ability to take on weaker threats, such as Rotom and Manectric. Mental Herb can be used to prevent Crustle being Taunted for a turn, which allows him to set up Stealth Rock without worry. It's especially helpful as Crustle won't be OHKOed thanks to Sturdy, so a guaranteed Stealth Rock is a major selling point to Mental Herb. Lum Berry is another option that can ensure Crustle will get at least one layer of hazards up against an opponent that tries to put it to sleep.
As this set relies heavily on entry hazards, a Ghost-type, such as Rotom, Dusknoir, or Spiritomb, who can block Rapid Spin is recommended. Crustle also appreciates Pokemon who can switch into Water- and Rock-type moves, as they can cover its weaknesses. Grass-types, such as Tangrowth and Lilligant, can switch into Water-type moves aimed at Crustle, and their powerful STAB moves will knock the users of these moves out swiftly. Water Absorb Poliwrath can also benefit from Water-type moves, as it can switch in and have 25% of its health restored.
Finally, a way to remedy Crustle's lack of recovery is recommended. Clefable and Leafeon can provide some much needed Wish support, as well as other reliable support moves, such as Heal Bell, should Crustle get statused, or Baton Pass, which aids in scouting the opposing team. Grass-types who can abuse Leech Seed are also helpful, and these include Tangrowth, Lilligant, and Ludicolo. If you really want to go down the unreliable route of Rest, Crustle should be holding a Chesto Berry to wake up immediately.
Shell Smash is one of the most amazing stat boosting moves in the game. Unfortunately for Crustle, its Speed is still pretty low after a Shell Smash boost, meaning that Choice Scarf users can still outrun it. Stone Edge and X-Scissor provide it with reliable STAB moves, but most Steel-types wall the combination. Luckily, Crustle can utilize Earthquake to dispose of them; Earthquake hits Fire- and Rock-types pretty hard as well. Sturdy is the chosen ability; providing Crustle is at full health when it switches in, Sturdy ensures that it will always be able to pull off a Shell Smash, surviving the opponent's attack with a minimum of 1 HP. White Herb is used to restore Crustle's defensive stats after a Shell Smash, allowing it to survive priority moves such as Absol's Sucker Punch and Hitmonlee's Mach Punch. Life Orb can be used for more power, but it isn't recommended due to the recoil.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Rock Blast can be used over Stone Edge to hit Pokemon behind Substitutes, but it's very unreliable in the long run. A Jolly nature could be considered over an Adamant nature, but it's fairly pointless. At +2 with an Adamant nature, Crustle reaches 378 Speed, which is enough to outspeed base 120 Speed Pokemon such as Sceptile, one of the fastest Pokemon in the tier. Lum Berry can be used to prevent any crippling status from ruining Crustle's sweep, though White Herb is superior in almost every instance.
Water-types cause this set problems, especially the bulkier ones such as Poliwrath and Feraligatr. Rotom-C and Tangrowth are great partners as they can switch into Water-types with little trouble, and their STAB moves will make short work of them. Tangrowth can also provide support in the form of Leech Seed and Sleep Powder, giving Crustle a way to restore some of its health and providing it with valuable time to set up, respectively. Fire-types, such as Entei and Moltres, are also great partners as not only do they have an immunity to Will-O-Wisp, but their STAB Fire-type moves will deal a lot of damage to opposing Steel-types, such as Klinklang and Steelix. Because of this set's offensive nature, Crustle appreciates support in the form of entry hazards. Sandslash can set up Stealth Rock, switch into Rock-type moves, and aid Crustle with Rapid Spin, making it easier for it to switch in. Uxie is another great choice thanks to its massive defenses, access to Stealth Rock, and its wide support movepool.
Sturdy and Custap Berry are the main sellers of this set, as they let Crustle set up one entry hazard, take a heavy hit, activate Custap Berry the next turn, and set up another entry hazard. Crustle is also one of the very few Pokemon that possesses both Stealth Rock and Spikes, making multiple layers of entry hazards very simple to set up. Base 95 Attack is what separates Crustle from Smeargle; Smeargle is typically shut down completely by Taunt, whereas Crustle doesn't mind it as much and can deal some heavy damage with its STAB moves. Rock Blast permits Crustle to KO Focus Sash users such as Accelgor, Aerodactyl, and Snover (granted that Rock Blast hits at least 3 times). You can opt to use Stone Edge for more consistent damage, but its shaky 80% accuracy can make it a liability and it can't KO Focus Sash users. X-Scissor is Crustle's next STAB move, which gives it the power to hit Psychic-, Dark-, and Grass-types for super effective damage, in particular taking out the popular Regenerator core of Slowking and Tangrowth. Earthquake is another viable option to hit Steel-types and common Pokemon such as Emboar, Lanturn, and Manectric for super effective damage.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
An alternative spread of 252 Atk / 252 Spe and 0 IVs in HP and Defense and 17 in Special Defense allows Crustle to get into Custap Berry range more easily while still surviving two uninvested Psychics from Uxie. Max Attack and an Adamant nature secures OHKOs on Aerodactyl, Accelgor, and Snover if Rock Blast hits three times. The Speed and HP investment give Crustle the ability to outspeed standard Druddigon while taking two non-Choice Band Dragon Claws and enduring a Choice Band-boosted Rock Blast from Cinccino. Night Slash is an alternative so Crustle can hit Ghost-types such as Rotom and Dusknoir for super effective damage, but other than that it does not serve any other purpose. Flail is an interesting move because if Crustle is knocked into Sturdy, Flail turns into a 200 Base Power attack and offers great neutral coverage.
A spinblocker is a must have for Crustle's team so that entry hazards don't go to waste. Rotom and offensive Spiritomb are great partners because Spiritomb can Pursuit trap Cryogonal while Rotom can OHKO Kabutops with Thunderbolt and deal a massive amount of damage to Sandslash with Shadow Ball. Kabutops and Feraligatr that carry Aqua Jet can cause problems for Crustle, because they can limit it to only one layer of entry hazards. To solve this problem, Choice Specs Slowking or Tangrowth make great teammates because they can sponge any hit opposing threats might throw at Crustle. Dedicated Rapid Spin leads such as Kabutops or Sandslash can stop Crustle in its tracks. Both can 2HKO or 3HKO with Stone Edge while threatening to spin Crustle's entry hazards away. Speedy Grass-types such as Lilligant, Rotom-C, and Sceptile can take a Stone Edge if necessary and then threaten with their STAB moves. This Crustle should be used on hyper offense teams that rely on entry hazards to net their KOs. Hard hitters such as Archeops, Druddigon, Entei, and Moltres are examples of Pokemon that appreciate the entry hazard support.
Other Options
Crustle is effective at what it does, but it also has a variety of other options than those in the sets listed. It has access to a variety of stat boosting moves, such as Rock Polish, Curse, Hone Claws, and Swords Dance, but most of the time it's outclassed by another Pokemon in the tier. Block is viable option to use alongside Toxic and Spikes, though if you use it against the wrong Pokemon, Crustle is as good as dead. Counter is a rather gimmicky option to bounce back physical attacks, but it works pretty well with Crustle's decent HP, massive Defense stat, and Sturdy. Other physical options include Night Slash, Aerial Ace, Shadow Claw, and Smack Down, though most of them are poor in terms of coverage, and their Base Powers aren't great either.
Checks and Counters
Steelix is probably the biggest counter to Crustle; it has massive Defense, resists Crustle's STABs, and has access to Roar to erase any stat boosts. Bulky Ghost-types, such as Dusknoir and Rotom, are good choices too, as they have access to Will-O-Wisp to lower Crustle's Attack stat, and their typing means that Crustle's STAB moves won't be doing much to them. Lastly, Water-types who have a decent Defense stat, such as Poliwrath and Quagsire, can switch into Crustle's STAB moves with little trouble, and begin firing off powerful STAB moves of their own. Trick users will generally screw up Crustle's strategy, so Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Rotom and Uxie are great checks. All in all, Crustle isn't difficult to counter as long as you beat it before it has chance to set up.
