Immunity to Spikes and Toxic Spikes and resistance to Stealth Rock all help to make Claydol one of the best, if not, the best spinner in UU. Rapid Spin is of course a necessity on the set to spin away those entry hazards, and while you're doing that, why not set up your own with Stealth Rock? Earth Power is a reliable STAB move and is Claydol’s primary way of dealing damage. Shadow Ball is the preferred option in the final slot as it allows Claydol to hit Ghosts that may be switching in to block Rapid Spin for super effective damage. Psychic, along with its unique typing, helps Claydol in countering Fighting and Poison-types, allow it to wall quite easily, while Toxic helps it to take down walls and other bulky Pokémon that make common switch-ins.
Calm Mind is a new addition to Claydol's repertoire, and this set is built around it. Claydol is already quite sturdy in terms of physical Defense and now Calm Mind seeks to further raise its Special Defense, while simultaneously boosting its Special Attack to make it quite the formidable tank. Ground and Ice form a very potent attacking combination and are Claydol’s main choices for attacking. Shadow Ball is an alternative to Ice Beam as it helps deal with opposing Ghost and Psychic-types, especially Grumpig and Hypno, which could cause significant problems with their ability to sponge off Special hits really well. Rest is there to recover off any damage or status ailments you might have received when using Calm Mind. However, Grass Knot is there as an alternative as it gives Claydol a reliable way of damaging the many bulky Waters that that simply love to switch into Claydol.
Claydol lacks a recovery move, and this set attempts to patch that up by using Rest and Sleep Talk to help keep Claydol alive. Similarly to the previous set Earth Power and Ice Beam form a good attacking combination, but here is where the set can get a bit interesting as you can choose to mix Claydol’s attacks while using a Relaxed nature or go entirely physical with Earthquake, Stone Edge and an Impish nature. Toxic is remains an alternative for Claydol’s final spot as previously mentioned is a good way to wear down opposing walls and bulky Water-types.
This set utilizes Claydol's impressive defenses and impressive support movepool to effectively promote a UU sweep. The reason the common attacking moves on Claydol, Earthquake / Earth Power and Ice Beam, and the common supporting move, Rapid Spin, are ignored here is because this set's purpose is solely to promote a sweep, and not to prevent / stop any specific Pokémon or strategy. Explosion as the attacking move allows Claydol to set up and simultaneously deal massive damage while giving a team member a "free" switch in. Stealth Rock is generally chosen first, as its consistent 12.5% damage on the switch + negation of Focus Sash is vital for many sweepers, and it allows more turns for Light Screen or Reflect to support the team if it is picked first. Light Screen is chosen if setting up a special defensively weak sweeper like Leafeon is desired. Reflect is chosen is setting up a physical defensively weak sweeper like Altaria is desired. Again, Rapid Spin is ignored because it merely stops Stealth Rock, Spikes or Toxic Spikes from damaging your sweepers; it doesn't directly promote the sweep as much as surviving a direct attack due to the screens does. The item decision is based solely on situational preferences. If the common UU leads are leading with sleep inducing attacks, Lum Berry is an option. However, if status is not a concern, Light Clay can be chosen in order increase the duration of the screens. The EV spread is a typical defensive spread with an emphasis on Claydol's higher defensive stat, Special Defense, because special Water and special Grass moves are more common than physical Bug or physical Water moves.
Given its general sturdiness, Claydol is a good choice to set up Trick Room. However, unlike most of Claydol’s sets, this one is more offensive as it seeks to take advantage of Claydol’s low Speed with Trick Room Earthquake and Stone Edge are Claydol’s main attacking moves as they provide excellent type coverage. Explosion is used as the final option in the set as it allows Claydol to eliminate a threat while allowing your next Pokémon to come in for free to make use of Trick Room. Life Orb is the preferred item here as it boost Claydol’s mediocre attack stat, allowing it to possibly sweep in Trick Room. However if you aren’t a fan of the recoil Leftovers is an alternative option Other OptionsChoice Band and Choice Specs are always options on Claydol, but one must wonder when they would actually prove useful. It certainly has the movepool for Choice sets, but there are better contenders for Choice sweepers, and Claydol benefits mostly from using his many support options. Psychic is another STAB move, but it has less than desirable coverage, and let's face it, it will attract Dark-types. It does however make it easier to take on Fighting-types though. Light Screen and Reflect are both viable options on any set as they allow Claydol more survivability while also benefiting the rest of the team. Skill Swap is useful in double battles to give your partner a Ground immunity. Claydol can Rock Polish, but you should stick with Trick Room if you really want to play around with its Speed. Power Trick is an unusual move, but could prove useful; however, packing Reflect in tandem with it is a must. EVsClaydol may be a bit tricky to EV but it follows a similar trend for most of its sets. Max HP is a must on all sets with the majority of the remaining EVs going into Defense. Some EVs may also be allocated to Speed or Special Attack as well depending on your personal needs. Plenty of HP and Defense is good for the Calm Mind set, the 52 Speed EVs allow Claydol to outspeed Meganium as well as Blastoise, while the Special Attack EVs guarantee a 2HKO on that same Meganium and Blastoise with Ice Beam and Grass Knot respectively, provided you have Stealth Rock support. For Trick Room sets, a Brave nature is preferred if taking an offensive route but Relaxed can also be used to make Claydol more defensive. Be sure to use a Speed IV of 0 if you want Claydol to take maximum advantage of Trick Room. OpinionIt might have not been a bad thing for Claydol that it got bumped down into UU. Quite the contrary, his great defenses and movepool can really help him shine in that environment. The ability to Rapid Spin effectively, Trick Room and Calm Mind are more than enough reasons to make him a welcome addition to UU teams, so make sure that you are well-prepared for Claydol's unpredictability. Although 70 Special Attack isn't the best, STAB Earth Power will be a pain through many teams that lack a Ground resist. Sleep Talking is also quite useful as that eliminates the ability of Toxic-stalling on a Claydol. The trouble with Claydol is that it has fairly meager offenses and no reliable recovery move, making it setup fodder for certain powerful sweepers. A weakness to Pursuit is a thorn in Claydol's side, since it can easily wear it down when it is forced out. Although Claydol is still a viable choice for Rapid Spin in OU battles, thanks to its not caring about any of the three entry hazards, it has trouble competing as well as it could in ADV. Claydol may be rather average in the higher tier it once occupied, but in UU it makes a fine tank and supporter, and is worth a place on any UU team. CountersUU: Water-types are great switch-ins. Blastoise, Quagsire and Gastrodon are the best options. Mantine, Lapras and Walrein also work well if Claydol lacks Stone Edge. Sturdier Grass-types like Meganium and Vileplume do a good job too. Lunatone can set up with Calm Mind if Claydol lacks Grass Knot or Shadow Ball, although it can still lose, as Lunatone will likely carry Hypnosis. Pursuit is still a problem, but beware when switching in the likes of Drapion and Skuntank, lest they eat a super effective attack. OU: Again, Water-types are great counters for Claydol. Swampert, Suicune, Vaporeon and Milotic are good examples. Gyarados could Dragon Dance with few problems and Taunt its attempts to use Reflect or Light Screen. Bronzong resists most of its moves, but requires Grass Knot to do significant damage, although it can put Claydol to sleep with Hypnosis. Cresselia will laugh at anything Claydol throws at her and fight back with Ice Beam. Blissey takes little damage from Earthquake, but will need to be wary of Explosion. Tyranitar may not be the best switch-in against Earthquake, but it can still frighten Claydol when it comes to its Ice Beam with Dark Pulse or Crunch, or lock it in and annihilate it with Pursuit. Other Pursuit users like Heracross and Weavile also pose a big threat. |
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