Come in on other defensive Pokémon and physical attackers that are not going to use Rock, Fighting, Electric, or Grass moves and attempt to set up Spikes or Toxic Spikes. Toxic Spikes are harder to use in UU, as there are many Poison-types that absorb them, so Spikes is often the more productive choice. Both forms of spikes can also be used together on the set with the secondary form of spikes taking the place of Cloyster’s secondary attack. Rapid Spin is needed to clear Spikes / Stealth Rock from your side of the field, while Surf provides a secondary STAB attack and decent type coverage. Explosion can be used over Surf in your final slot to take out a particular Pokémon that might be posing a threat to your team once Cloyster has done its job.
Cloyster is a great support Pokémon in UU, and is a decent candidate for any team in need of Spikes or Rapid Spin support. Cloyster's main job is to set up Spikes, but it fulfills many other roles as well, unlike Omastar who is slightly bulkier but nowhere near as versatile. Cloyster functions as a great spinner, because you can play mind games with your opponent with your own Spikes and a 100 base power Payback. It also helps you with either a STAB priority attack or Explosion, coming from a solid base 95 Attack stat. Cloyster also has the ability to take a lot of physical punishment but is often overlooked because of its poor typing, despite the fact that it is second only to Slowbro for taking Azumarill's Choice Band Waterfall. Switching it into Azumarill, or many other physical attackers, is rather safe due to Cloyster's amazing Defense. The advantages of Payback include hitting Rotom and Mismagius very hard, and denting many other Pokémon on the switch. Avalanche, however, hits fairly hard (120 base power if attacked prior to use, plus STAB) against many physically frail foes such as Chansey. Ice Shard lets Cloyster double as a revenge killer, but Explosion is also an option if you want to use the good old "spike, spin, and 'splode" strategy that is commonly used by Forretress in OU. Since Cloyster has amazing Defense, an Impish nature gives Cloyster more of a stat boost and is recommended for this reason. However, with a Careful nature, Cloyster can set up Spikes more easily against Pokémon such as Milotic (without Hidden Power Electric) and Slowbro. Toxic Spikes can be used over Spikes, but Toxic Spikes are better left to Pokémon without the ability to effectively set up regular Spikes, such as Drapion or Nidoqueen, because bulky Pokémon to set up Spikes are hard to come by. Pokémon such as Drapion, Espeon, and Mismagius, who can set up a sweep for themselves, can definitely take advantage of Cloyster's Spikes. With Spikes, Pokémon such as Registeel can no longer effectively wall Espeon, and Steelix can no longer effectively wall Drapion. The best partner for Cloyster is Spiritomb, who can take Fighting-type attacks aimed at Cloyster, and more importantly, block Rapid Spin. Mismagius and Rotom work fine as well, but they lack Spiritomb's bulk. Hitmontop is quite helpful for Cloyster as well, taking the Rock-type attacks aimed at Cloyster while also helping to get rid of Stealth Rock (which Cloyster is weak to). Hitmontop can also revenge kill a Belly Drum Poliwrath, who can set up on Cloyster quite easily. Since Cloyster has Stealth Rock problems, it will appreciate any Pokémon who can either Taunt early game to avoid them getting set up, or a Pokémon who can take out Ghost-types so that Cloyster can Rapid Spin away Stealth Rock. Cloyster also appreciates Wish support, as it has no reliable recovery move, and Stealth Rock damage can add up quickly. Chansey and Umbreon are great candidates for Wish passing, because they lure out physical attackers for Cloyster to easily switch into. Gardevoir is also a good bet, allowing Cloyster to almost definitely not take a Fighting-type attack as it switches in.
Some of Cloyster’s biggest problems as a defensive Pokémon lie in its bad typing and lack of a reliable recovery move. We can’t fix it’s bad typing, but we can somewhat remedy Cloyster’s recovery problems with this set. Rest and Sleep Talk allow for more survivability while Cloyster proceeds to set up the spiking move of your choice. The choice of Cloyster’s solitary attacking move is totally up to preference and dependent on what type of Pokémon you’re aiming to cover, but if you feel the need to run both attacks then the secondary attack can take the spot of your spiking move.
This set takes a more aggressive approach to using Cloyster, taking it from its normal role of spiking and support and turning it into an all out attacker. Avalanche is Cloyster’s strongest physical STAB move, starting at a paltry base 60, but boosts to a respectable 120 if Cloyster takes a hit, and it's slow enough to not mind going last most of the time. Ice Shard is handy for picking off weakened foes, however Surf can be used as an alternative to 2HKO the likes Aggron and Steelix. Payback hits incoming Pokémon with a 100 BP Dark attack and is particularly useful against Pokémon like Froslass and Rotom coming in expecting to block Rapid Spin or against Hypno or Grumpig expecting Surfs and Ice Beams. Explosion is listed as Cloyster’s final option, as with such heavy investment in Attack, it would be a shame to ignore it as it allows Cloyster to kill off nearly everything that does not resist it. Other OptionsIcy Wind is a weak attack that can prove useful if a fast sweeper switches in due to its Speed lowering capabilities but is rather useless otherwise. If you are really enamored by Skill Link, Spike Cannon and Icicle Spear take advantage of it, but both have little overall utility. Icicle Spear does however make Cloyster one of the best Garchomp counters you can find. Thanks to Icicle Spear hitting five times, you can break its Yache Berry protection with the first hit, while the remaining four can finish it off. You can also break through Garchomp's Substitute, also killing it in a single turn. Protect could be useful for scouting Choice Band Pokémon and getting an extra turn of Leftovers recovery, and possibly draining an opponent's HP if Toxic Spikes are set up. Hidden Power Electric or Grass can hurt opposing Water types, with the former also being more useful for hitting Mantine and Gyarados, while the latter is helpful against Quagsire, Gastrodon and Swampert. EVsAlways maximize Cloyster's dismal Hit Points stat with 252 EVs and choose a nature that boosts Defense. You usually won't need a lot of Defense EVs, but they can be helpful when switching into non STABed Rock and Fighting attacks. Maxing out Defense does give Cloyster the chance to survive three hits from things like CB Dodrio's Brave Bird and CB Nidoking's Stone Edge. Otherwise, spread your EVs between Special Defense, Special Attack and Attack (if you're using Explosion or other physical attacks). It is amazing how helpful Special Defense EVs are when Cloyster is getting pummeled with Surf over and over. When using the Choice Band set you should max out Cloyster’s Attack EVs along with his HP, which should allow him to take a few hits while dishing back some of his own. OpinionSadly, Cloyster is not nearly as useful in the fourth generation of Pokémon as it was in the first three. In Advance, it was unique in that it was the only capable Spiker able to switch out of Magneton. Now, Skarmory and Forretress have the option of equipping themselves with Shed Shell to escape Magnet Pull, and the new Ice / Ghost Froslass is capable of Spiking and blocking Rapid Spin on its own. On top of those things, Cloyster is weak to Stealth Rock, which limits how much he will be able to switch into physical attackers and even his fellow Spikers that have access to Stealth Rock like Skarmory and Forretress. Still, he can perform well in UU, where he makes a great counter for Dragon Dance Altaria, and can soak up CB Returns and such. In the Uber metagame, Cloyster makes a good substitute for Forretress as STAB Ice Beam does decent damage to Giratina trying to switch in to block Rapid Spin. CountersCloyster folds to most neutral special attacks, and despite his massive Defense, attacks like Close Combat and Stone Edge should be avoided. It would take pages upon pages to make a comprehensive list of the Pokémon that can knock Cloyster out, so instead, I will just focus on strategies and moves that really render him useless. Obviously, laying down Spikes and spinning them away is usually Cloyster main role, so teams prepared with a Rapid Spinner and a method of dealing with Ghosts (hint: Pursuit) will beat Cloyster handily. In OU Starmie is the best choice as it resists both STAB moves and easily kills Cloyster with Thunderbolt. Tentacruel sucks up Toxic Spikes and spins away the regular ones while wearing down Cloyster with Sludge Bomb or HP Electric. Every Ghost will block Rapid Spin, and the majority will beat Cloyster one on one, especially those with Thunderbolt. Stealth Rock is another efficient way to kill Cloyster off. Teams with Cloyster likely will not have another spinner; therefore he will have to take a minimum of 25% damage each time he wants to clear the field. |
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