UU Cloyster

[Villa]

[OVERVIEW]

* Cloyster's access to Shell Smash makes it a threatening late game sweeper and wallbreaker thanks to its ability to boost both Attack and Speed by two stages.
* Cloyster has a good offensive typing as well as access to a multi-hit STAB move in Icicle Spear paired with Skill Link, amplifying Cloyster's sweeping capabilities.
* A base 180 Defense gives it some setup opportunities; however, a very poor defensive typing, abysmal Special Defense, and Shell Smash weakening both its defensive stats make it harder to find set up opportunities in comparison to other setup sweepers such as Cobalion.
* Mediocre offensive base stats and below average Speed make Shell Smash boosts essential; otherwise, it lacks the power and speed needed to be overly threatening.

[SET]
name: Shell Smash
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Icicle Spear
move 3: Hydro Pump
move 4: Explosion / Rock Blast
item: Normalium Z / Life Orb
ability: Skill Link
nature: Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Shell Smash is a fantastic setup move for Cloyster to utilize, boosting its Attack, Special Attack, and Speed by two stages; however, it lowers both its defensive stats in the process.
* STAB Icicle Spear reaches 125 Base Power with Skill Link, and it being a Multi-hit move also allows Cloyster to break through potential Focus Sash users.
* Hydro Pump is a secondary STAB that can be used to break past Steel-types such as Cobalion.
* Explosion can be used as a one-time attack to remove some of its checks and counters to benefit other team members. A Breakneck Blitz can KO frail Pokemon that resist its main STAB moves without Cloyster KOing itself.
* Rock Blast can be used as an alternative coverage option to Explosion that doesn't involve sacrificing Cloyster, hitting Pokemon such as Volcanion.

Set Details
========

* Maximum Attack investment to guarantee that Cloyster hits as hard as possible with it's main attacking move Icicle Spear.
* Maximum Speed means that Cloyster outspeeds all of the unboosted metagame and Choice Scarf users up to base 110 Speed after a Shell Smash
* A Naive nature and 4 Special Attack EVs mean that Hydro Pump hits as hard as possible without giving up any power for Explosion and Icicle Spear. Alternatively, 40 evs can be moved from Attack to Special Attack to guarantee a KO on Cobalion with Hydro Pump after one layer of Spikes damage.
* Skill Link is the preferred ability, as it allows Cloyster to use Icicle Spear most effectively.
* Normalium Z can allow Cloyster to use Breakneck Blitz to knock out weaker Water-types such as Keldeo, Primarina, and Tentacruel after a Shell Smash boost without Cloyster sacrificing itself, as well as being able to dent bulkier Pokemon such as Clefable, Starmie, and Mega Blastoise.
* Life Orb can be used to increase the damage output for Cloyster; however, the residual damage can be detrimental to its sweeping capabilities.
* Focus Sash can be used to guarantee a Shell Smash if entry hazards are off the field; however, it makes Cloyster more vulnerable to priority attacks.

Usage Tips
========

* Cloyster's poor defensive typing and lack of significant bulk can make setting up particularly challenging. Therefore, finding adequate set-up opportunities can be a difficult and patient process.
* Against more offensive teams, Cloyster can be brought in against physical attackers that are choice locked into a move that doesn't deal significant damage, giving Cloyster a chance to set-up.
* Cloyster can find easier set up opportunities against bulkier teams, however, it finds it much more difficult to guarantee a sweep due to being walled by many staples on defensive teams such as Alomomola or Unaware Clefable. Explosion can put a huge dent into these Pokemon allowing other team-mates to revenge kill them.

Team Options
========

* Generally, Cloyster is used on more offensive teams as a wallbreaker or cleaner.
* Entry hazard removers are vital to ensure that Cloyster is at the maximum possible health to set up a Shell Smash. Latias covers the Electric-, Grass-, and Fighting-type weaknesses Cloyser has and can remove entry hazards easily. Tsareena is another good option, as it can Rapid Spin, keeping your hazards on the field to aid in Cloyster's wallbreaking and sweeping potential.
* Due to Cloyster struggling to switch into attacks, it appreciates U-turn and Volt Switch users to generate free switches to set up. Raikou, Tsareena, and Forretress are all good users of Volt Switch and U-turn, and the latter two can both remove entry hazards simultaneously.
* Entry hazard setters such as Azelf, Froslass, and Roserade are good partners as Cloyster appreciates the residual damage to guarantee KOs on Pokemon such as Mew.
* Explosion can be used to significantly weaken Pokemon such as Suicune and Alomomola, which can help other strong physical attackers such as Entei and Scizor affect the game
* Alolan Ninetails and Klefki can be used to set up Aurora Veil and dual screens, respectively, aiding Cloyster's attempt to set up a Shell Smash due to the reduced damage it would take.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

* Cloyster can use a Focus Sash in tandem with Shell Smash to guarantee a boost, assuming there are no entry hazards on the field. However, the lack of power and the prominence of entry hazards, priority, and sandstorm make this inferior to Normalium Z and Life Orb.
* White Herb, Kings Rock, and Lum Berry can be used as alternative options for the Shell Smash set; however, they are more situational than Normalium Z and Life Orb.
* With a support movepool consisting of Rapid Spin, Spikes, and Toxic Spikes, a defensive set can be used, but it is significantly outclassed by Forretress and Tentacruel.
* A Choice Scarf set can be used as a way to surprise more offensive teams; however, it lacks the power and speed to be effective against the majority of teams.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Bulky Water-types**: Suicune, Alomomola, and Empoleon have little trouble with Cloyster, as +2 Rock Blast does not do enough to cause trouble for them, while they are able to potentially burn Cloyster with Scald. Breakneck Blitz + Explosion can knock them out at +2, but Cloyster is sacrificed in the process.

**Unaware Users**: Clefable and Quagsire both avoid the 2HKO from Cloyster and ignore any potential boosts. Both take significant damage from Explosion but can recover off the damage fairly easily.

**Steel-types**: Steel-types that can live a +2 Hydro Pump such as Scizor can revenge kill Cloyster after having its defenses weakened.

**Priority Users**: After a Shell Smash, Cloyster can be easily picked off by priority, especially if it has been brought down to its Focus Sash. Lucario, Conkeldurr, and Infernape in particular have little problem dealing with Cloyster with their respective priority moves.

**Special Attackers**: Cloyster's incredibly low base 45 Special Defence means that even the weakest of special attackers can easily stop Cloyster from being able to set up.

**Fast Choice Scarf Users**: Pokemon with base 110 Speed or higher holding a Choice Scarf can outspeed and pick off Cloyster, as they are faster than Cloyster even with the Shell Smash boost.

 

[dodmen]

Honestly I don't think Ice Shard has a place on this set. With whimsicott usage low and no dominant 4x weak Pokemon to pick off, it's better off just targeting water types with explosion.

I'd also slash Normalium Z and Life Orb before Focus sash. In Set Details, say that Breakneck Blitz KOes frailer water types like Keldeo, Primarina, and Tentacruel, without Cloyster having to kill itself.

Add Aurora Veil Ninetales and screens Klefki to Team Options.

Finally in checks & counters add Quagsire and Unaware Clefable, neither are 2HKOes by Icicle Spear (factoring in Protect for Clefable) although both can take 65%+ from Life Orb Explosion. Also give examples of priority - Conkeldurr and Lucario especially can easily pick off Cloyster.

Great work again man! Very thorough. Implement this and 1/3.

 

[Ark]

To start off with, after you implement this check, please write everything up to be in full sentences.

Explaining what Normalium Z does should happen in Set Details only. However, as it is relevant to Explosion, you are allowed to say what it does; e.g. "Explosion is used to break past walls. A Breakneck Blitz coming from this move can also be used to KO Pokemon such as Keldeo without Cloyster KOing itself." Well, of course this needs to be worded a bit more elegantly, but I think you get the point.

The order of items in Set Details should be Normalium Z > Life Orb > Focus Sash, since that is the order of the slashes. The content itself is fine, so just move that around.

In Usage Tips, say how Cloyster can find setup opportunities; what are some situations in which it can usually set up? When do you ideally want to set up to wallbreak, and when do you want to set up to clean?

The first part of Team Options should probably say something like "Generally, Cloyster is used on more offensive teams as a wallbreaker or cleaner." Its wallbreaking role needs to be mentioned here, as it does that better than cleaning, although it can of course clean.

Give some examples of hazard removers and U-turn/Volt Switch users that pair well with Cloyster.

Merge "Physicall defensive water types" and "Empoleon" in Checks and Counters, and call the section "Bulky Water-types". Call it "Unaware users", not just "Unaware". Mention "Special Attackers" as a more general term in Checks and Counters, and say that due to Cloyster's low Special Defense, they can often prevent it from setting up.

Nice job, qc 2/3 after you have implemented these changes.

 

[Villa]

Ok finally found the time to get the above done so ready for 3rd check

 

[Kreme]

Overview

• For the first bullet point, I would change the sentence a bit because it kind of sounds like the lowered Defenses is a good thing for Cloyster.
• I would definitely mention in the third bullet point how the 180 Defense helping with setup opportunities is almost completely mitigated by the very low SpD and the mediocre defensive typing, as well as the fact Cloyster's setup move lowers its Defenses. Put the point about it not being as threatening as it should be as another point imo.

Set - Shell Smash

Set Details

• I would change the point about Breakneck Blitz a bit, since it shouldn't just be used to KO weaker Water-types after a boost, it helps with nuking down bulkier Water-types as well, and also stuff like Clefable that doesn't take as much damage from anything else.
• Mention Skill Link and why it is used over other abilities.

Also a lot of GP stuff I can see here, I'd maybe brush up on that a bit before sending it in to lessen the workload for the dudes over there.

3/3 after though.

 

[Bouff]

the first bullet point in overview sounds like something that would go in the moves section, and is honestly better than what u have there so just put that in over that and get rid of it in overview. to replace it just say something about how shell smash gives it a niche as an offensive sweeper, altho u can make it a bit more meatier than how im wording it.

last bullet point sounds like something that would go into usage tips lool. you go into this in more detail there, so i would get rid of it entirely.

add in the overview that its middling speed tier before a boost holds it back

>* Hydro Pump is a secondary STAB that can be used to break past Steel-types such as Cobalion with and some physically defensive walls that other coverage options do not allow

after the cobal mention this sentence kinda falls apart lool. thing is aside from steel-types like cobal forre magneton etc hydro does not really do much - icicle spear hits things like hippo and clef for more dmg, so you can just say that they're used for steel-types.

this is good otherwise, qc 3/3

 

[Pearl]

Excuse me for holding this back even though it is supposedly sitting at 3 QC checks‚ but could you please refrain from moving this onto Copyediting? I've used Cloyster extensively this generation and there are some bothersome details I'd like to go over before this gets uploaded. For reference‚ those are the removal of Focus Sash from items (since it is often regarded as what people call a "noob trap" and the power boost provided by Life Orb/Normalium Z is absolutely vital for this Pokemon's success. Plus‚ Focus Sash doesn't really make sweeping easier due to how common entry hazards‚ Sandstorm and priority moves are). The other two things I'd worry about are the Overview (messy organization hardly goes over what makes Cloyster an appealing choice on offenses) and whether or not 'Zam stays in the tier‚ as that is probably the #1 Icicle Spear target aside from Bewear.

edit:

RE: Focus Sash

Move it to other options. Something along the lines of: "Cloyster can use Focus Sash in tandem with Shell Smash in order to guarantee it gets a boost assuming there are no entry hazards on its side of the field but it's generally an inferior option due to [insert reasons i've mentioned above: hard to keep intact, prio, loss of dmg]". I've already gone over why this is a below average option that people should avoid using.

RE: Alakazam

Just do your thing and then we'll edit the analysis with information regarding the Pokemon after the analysis has been uploaded. A nonissue here.

RE: Overview

Current:

[OVERVIEW]

* Shell Smash is a fantastic set up move for Cloyster to utilize, boosting its Attack, Special Attack, and Speed by two stages, however, it lowers both its Defences in the process.
* It has a good offensive typing and good movepool to support its ability Skill Link.
* Base 180 Defence gives it some set up opportunities but a very poor Defensive typing, abysmal Special Defence and Shell Smash weakening both its defences make Cloyster very hard to utilize.
* Mediocre attacking base stats make boosts essential otherwise it lacks the power to be overly threatening.
* Cloyster can be used as an early game wallbreaker or a late game sweeper depending on the team you're playing against.

My issues with it:

Cloyster's role on teams being mentioned so late into the overview. I think that the first point should be something along the lines of: "Thanks to its access to Shell Smash, [generic description of the move that doesn't drag out for too long yada yada], Cloyster is able to act as either a fearsome late game sweeper or a wallbreaker depending on the opposing team"

The whole "its moveset supports its ability nicely" bit. It might not be a blatant lie, but it's still phrased in a pretty bizarre way. A more appropriate approach to this would be a sentence like this: "access to Skill Link and a Multi-Hit STAB move in Icicle Spear further amplify Cloyster's prowess as a set up sweeper"

The things you mentioned that make Cloyster, in your own words, "hard to utilize". They do and it's probably OK if you keep that paragraph as is, but since I'm extremely nitpicky, I feel that "make it harder to find set up opportunities" is probably more appropriate in this context.

Everything else is fine. I feel like Tentacruel might be a better direct comparison to defensive Cloyster than Forry [OO], but that's debatable. I'd say 3/3, but this is the 5th QC check for whatever reason, so...

 

[Villa]

yea ok finally got around to finishing this off sorry for the delay. ready for gp ig

 

[Fireflame]

Remove Add Comments (AC)= add comma (RC)= remove comma (AH)= add hyphen (RH)= remove hyphen

Hide

[OVERVIEW]

* Cloyster's access to Shell Smash makes Cloyster it a threatening late-(AH)game sweeper or and wallbreaker thanks to its ability to boost both its Attacks Attack and Speed by two stages.
* It Cloyster has a good offensive typing as well as access to a multi-hit STAB move in Icicle Spear paired with Skill Link,(AC) amplifying Cloyster's sweeping capabilities.
* A base 180 Defense gives it some set up setup opportunities,(AC) but a very poor defensive typing, abysmal Special Defense,(AC) and Shell Smash weakening both its defences defensive stats make it harder to find set up setup opportunities. (These contradict each other. add how similar sweepers get easier setup opportunities or something like that)
* Mediocre attacking offensive base stats and below average Speed make Shell Smash boosts essential;(add semicolon) otherwise,(AC) it lacks the power or and speed needed to be overly threatening.

[remove line break]
[SET]
name: Shell Smash
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Icicle Spear
move 3: Hydro Pump
move 4: Explosion / Rock Blast
item: Normalium Z / Life Orb
ability: Skill Link
nature: Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Shell Smash is a fantastic set up setup move for Cloyster to utilize, boosting its Attack, Special Attack, and Speed by two stages;(add semicolon), however, it lowers both its Defences defensive stats in the process.
* STAB Icicle Spear reaches 125 Base Power with Skill Link,(AC) and it being and STAB.(remove period) Being a Multi-hit move also allows it Cloyster to break through potential Focus Sash users.
* Hydro Pump is a secondary STAB that can be used to break past Steel-types such as Cobalion.
* Explosion can be used as a one-(AH)time attack to remove some of its checks and counters to benefit other team members. A Breakneck Blitz from Explosion can be used to KO frail Pokemon that resist its main STABs STAB moves without Cloyster killing KOing itself.
* Rock Blast can be used as an alternative coverage option to Explosion which that doesn't involve sacrificing Cloyster. (mention what Pokemon it hits)

Set Details
========

* Maximum Attack investment to guarantees that Cloyster hits as hard as possible with it's main attacking move in Icicle Spear.
* Maximum Speed means that Cloyster outspeeds all of the unboosted metagame and Choice Scarf users up to base 110 Speed after a Shell Smash. (right?)
* A Naive nature and 4 Special Attack EVs mean that Hydro Pump hits as hard as possible without giving up any power for Explosion and Icicle Spear. Alternatively, 40 EVs can be moved from Attack to Special Attack to guarantee a KO on Cobalion with Hydro Pump after one layer of Spikes damage.
* Skill Link is the preferred ability,(AC) as it allows Cloyster to use Icicle Spear most effectively.
* Normalium-(RH)Z can allow Cloyster to use Breakneck Blitz to knock out weaker Water-(AH)types such as Keldeo, Primarina,(AC) and Tentacruel after the a Shell Smash boost without Cloyster sacrificing itself, as well as being able to dent bulkier Pokemon such as Clefable, Starmie,(AC) and Mega Blastoise.
* Life Orb can be used to increase the damage output for Cloyster;(add semicolon) however,(AC) the residual damage can be detrimental to its sweeping capabilities.
* Focus Sash can be used to guarantee a Shell Smash if entry hazards are off the field;(add semicolon) however,(AC) it makes Cloyster more vulnerable to priority attacks.

Usage Tips
========

* Cloyster's poor defensive typing and lack of significant bulk can make setting up particularly challenging;(add semicolon).(remove period) therefore, finding adequate set-up setup opportunities can be a difficult and patient process.
* Against more offensive teams, Cloyster can be brought in against physical attackers that are Choice-(AH)locked into a move that doesn't deal significant damage, giving Cloyster a chance to set-up set up.
* Cloyster can find easier set up setup opportunities against bulkier teams;(add semicolon),(RC) however, it finds it much more difficult to guarantee a sweep due to it being walled by many staples on defensive teams,(AC) such as Alomomola or and Unaware Clefable. Explosion can put a huge dent into these Pokemon,(AC) allowing other team-(RH)mates to revenge kill them.

Team Options
========

* Generally, Cloyster is used on more offensive teams as a wallbreaker or cleaner.(period)
* Entry hazard removers are vital to ensure that Cloyster's Cloyster is (less awkward) at the maximum possible health to set up a Shell Smash. Latias covers the Electric-, Grass-,(AC) and Fighting-type weaknesses Cloyster has and can remove entry hazards easily. Tsareena is another good option,(AC) as it can Rapid Spin, keeping your hazards on the field to aid in Cloyster's wallbreaking and sweeping potential.
* Due to it's struggles Cloyster struggling to switch in to into attacks, it appreciates U-turn and Volt Switch users to generate free switches for Cloyster to set up. Raikou, Tsareena,(AC) and Forretress are all good users of Volt Switch and U-turn,(AC) and while the latter 2 two can both remove entry hazards simultaneously.
* Entry hazard setters such as Azelf, Froslass,(AC) and Roserade are good partners,(AC) as Cloyster can appreciates the residual damage to guarantee kills KOs on Pokemon such as Mew.
* Cloyster's Explosion can be used to significantly weaken Pokemon such as Suicune and Alomomola,(AC) which can help other strong physical attackers such as Entei and Scizor to affect the game
* Alolan Ninetails and Klefki can be used to set up Aurora Veil and dual screens,(AC) respectively,(AC) aiding Cloyster's attempt to set up a Shell Smash due to the reduced damage it would take taken.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
[add line break]
* Cloyster can use a Focus Sash in tandem with Shell Smash to guarantee a boost,(AC) assuming there are no entry hazards on the field. However, the lack of power,(RC) and the prominence of entry hazards, priority,(AC) and sandstorm make this inferior to Normalium-(RH)Z or and Life Orb
* White Herb, Kings Rock,(AC) and Lum Berry can be used as alternative options for the item in the Shell Smash set;(add semicolon) however,(AC) they are more situational than Normalium Z and Life Orb the above options. ("above options" is ambiguous)
* With a support movepool boasting consisting of Rapid Spin, Spikes,(AC) and Toxic Spikes, a defensive set can be used,(AC) but it is significantly outclassed by Forretress and Tentacruel.
* A Choice Scarf set can be used as a way to surprise more offensive teams;(add semicolon),(RC) however, it lacks the power and speed (in this case, it would be speed with a lowercase "s") to be effective against the majority of teams.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Bulky Water-(AH)types**: Suicune, Alomomola,(AC) and Empoleon namely have little trouble with Cloyster,(AC) as +2 Rock Blast does not do enough to cause trouble for them,(AC) while being they are able to potentially burn Cloyster with Scald. Z-Explosion Breakneck Blitz + Explosion can knock them out at +2,(AC) but however Cloyster is sacrificed in the process.

**Unaware Users**: Clefable and Quagsire both avoid the 2HKO from Cloyster and ignore any potential boosts. Both take significant damage from Explosion but can recover off the damage fairly easily.

**Steel-types**: Steel-types that can live a +2 Hydro Pump such as Scizor can revenge kill a Cloyster after having its defenses weakened.

**Priority Users**: After a Shell Smash, the weakened defences mean that Cloyster can be easily picked off by priority,(AC) especially if it has been brought down to its Focus Sash. Lucario, Conkeldurr,(AC) and Infernape in particular have little problem dealing with Cloyster with their respective priority moves.

**Special Attackers**: Cloyster's incredibly low base 45 Special Defense means that even the weakest of special attackers can easily stop Cloyster from being able to set up.

**Fast Choice Scarf Users**: Pokemon with base 110 Speed or higher holding a Choice Scarf can outspeed and pick off Cloyster,(AC) as it is they are faster than Cloyster even with the Shell Smash boost.

GP 1/1

 

[Villa]

i believe this is ready to go

 

[Hogg]

Uploaded.