JockeMS
formerly SuperJOCKE
Claydol
[Overview]
<p>Claydol has been a rather decent supportive Pokemon throughout two generations, always pulling its weight for its team. However, things have changed for this ancient Pokemon. With threats lurking in each corner, more powerful than the next, Claydol can't hold on its own anymore. Crippling weaknesses to the common Ice-, Grass-, Water-, Bug-, Ghost-, and Dark-type moves make it unable to switch in with ease. The lack of any reliable recovery move outside of Rest prevents Claydol from taking repeated hits, which can make it hard for Claydol to accomplish its task several times in one game. However, one can't just overlook Claydol's good qualities, of which it has plenty. While its HP stat can be a bit disappointing at times, Claydol's great defensive stats make up for it. 105 / 115 defenses give Claydol great mixed defensive capabilities, and when coupled with its useful resistances to Electric-, Fighting-, Rock-, Psychic-, and Ground-type moves, Claydol is able to to take on certain threats in the tier with somewhat ease. However, the main reason one should ever use Claydol in the first place is its access to the highly coveted Rapid Spin. With most of the more reliable and better Rapid Spin users residing in OU, Claydol is one of few viable users of the move in the UU tier. The ability to keep entry hazards off the field in this Spikes-flooded metagame while being able to remove Stealth Rock from the field for the many Fire- and Bug-type Pokemon in the tier is a godsend to any team. Claydol is also unique in that it is the only spinner in the game who is immune to Spikes and Toxic Spikes and resists Stealth Rock, which makes Rapid Spinning an easier task for Claydol to do. This, coupled with the ability to support its team with both Stealth Rock and dual screens as well, make Claydol a solid support Pokemon in UU, even though it has its drawbacks.</p>
[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Rapid Spin
move 2: Stealth Rock
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Ice Beam / Toxic
item: Leftovers
nature: Sassy / Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Claydol is one of the few viable Rapid Spin users in the UU tier, and this set capitalizes on that factor. While Claydol does face competition from Hitmontop, it has some things going for it that Hitmontop lacks. The main factor is its ability, Levitate, which allows Claydol to switch unharmed into Spikes and Toxic Spikes, unlike Hitmontop. Even though Hitmontop has better initial Defense factoring in Intimidate, as well as better offenses, this more than makes up for it. Second in line is Stealth Rock. Hitmontop, along with all other Rapid Spin users beneath it, lack the ability to set up any entry hazard, so Claydol has much better utility and can give much better support to its team in general. For its offensive options, Claydol doesn't have many useful moves to choose from, though two stand out. Earthquake is a great, reliable STAB move that allows Claydol to hit Pokemon such as Raikou hard. Ice Beam works great in conjunction with Earthquake, allowing it to hit Flying-types that avoid Earthquake, such as Zapdos and Togekiss, for decent damage. Toxic is still a good option for wearing down certain opponents, especially opposing walls and setup sweepers, such as Calm Mind Raikou.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>An alternate EV spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD with a Relaxed or Bold nature, depending on what moves Claydol uses, is perfectly viable. However, it should be noted that the specially defensive spread is more suited for Claydol, as Claydol can then better take on certain threats, such as Raikou. The physically defensive spread does make better use of Claydol's Rock- and Fighting-type resistances, but Pokemon such as Rhyperior and Heracross also carry powerful super effective moves against Claydol, making it the lesser choice. Earth Power can be used over Earthquake to do more damage to physically bulky Pokemon, such as Cobalion, Rhyperior, and Slowbro, but it's a much worse choice against the Pokemon Claydol should be capable of handling, such as Calm Mind Raikou. If you decide to use it, go with a Calm or Bold nature instead, depending on what EV spread you're using. Claydol lacks a recovery move, which makes its job of spinning multiple times in a match much harder. This makes Rest somewhat viable, as it brings Claydol back to full health, while also removing any troublesome status. However, Rest puts Claydol in an awful position, making it even bigger setup bait for several Pokemon while it's asleep. This is a bit of a turn-off for using Rest, but it's unfortunately Claydol's only recovery move.</p>
<p>Cleric and Wish support are great for Claydol, especially if it does use Rest. Pokemon such as Umbreon and Roserade can use Heal Bell and Aromatherapy respectively to cure Claydol of status ailments; Umbreon can also pass relatively huge Wishes to Claydol to restore its health. In addition, Umbreon resists Claydol's Ghost- and Dark-type weaknesses, while Claydol covers Umbreon's Fighting-type one; however, they do share a weakness to Bug-type moves. Roserade has decent type synergy with Claydol, resisting Grass- and Water-type moves, but they share an Ice-type weakness with each other. Suicune and Chandelure make great teammates for Claydol as well. Suicune resists Ice- and Water-type moves, while Chandelure resists Grass-, Bug-, and Ice-type moves. In return, Claydol covers Suicune's Electric-type weakness, as well as Chandelure's Ground- and Rock-type weaknesses. Obviously, one should also pair Claydol with Pokemon that really need Rapid Spin support. Yanmega, Victini, Darmanitan, Chandelure, and Zapdos are all weak to Stealth Rock and hence appreciate Claydol's support.</p>
[SET]
name: Dual Screens
move 1: Reflect
move 2: Light Screen
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Rapid Spin / Toxic
item: Light Clay
nature: Careful / Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Just like most other bulky Psychic-types, Claydol can pull off a dual screens set pretty decently. Even though Pokemon such as Bronzong pull off this set better in most situations are present in the tier, Claydol sets itself apart by having access to Rapid Spin. Even though it can sometimes be hard to both set up Reflect and Light Screen and spin at the same time, having all three moves on one set can relieve a spot on your team for another Pokemon. Earthquake rounds off this set quite nicely, giving Claydol a somewhat reliable STAB move. However, it does leave Claydol vulnerable to Flying-types and Levitate users, most notably Zapdos, Nasty Plot Togekiss, and Mismagius. Toxic makes a good choice to give Claydol some kind of shot against these Pokemon, shortening their time on the field. One needs to be wary of the occasional Substitute, though.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>An alternate EV spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD with an Impish or Relaxed nature works fine as well, as it can take advantage of Claydol's good resistances to Fighting- and Rock-type moves. One needs to keep in mind that Rock- and Fighting-type Pokemon such as Rhyperior, Heracross, and Scrafty still carry super effective moves against Claydol, and that it can't take on physical attackers as well as specially oriented ones; this makes the specially defensive spread superior in most cases. Earth Power is a perfectly viable substitution over Earthquake, as it allows Claydol to hit more physically defensive Pokemon such as Cobalion and Rhyperior much harder, though it fails in comparison when used against Pokemon such as Roserade and Raikou. This version of Claydol does not need much support itself, but if you plan on having Claydol stick around for a longer amount of time, cleric and Wish support is a great aid as Claydol lacks any recovery move itself. Roserade and Umbreon are both good candidates. They can both provide cleric support with Aromatherapy and Heal Bell, respectively, while Umbreon can pass Wishes to Claydol as well. Claydol also has decent type synergy with the two. Set-up sweepers, such as Calm Mind Raikou, Swords Dance Cobalion, and Bulk Up Scrafty, all appreciate the extra boost to their defenses while in the process of setting up, while Stealth Rock-weak Pokemon such as Yanmega and Victini appreciate Rapid Spin support.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Claydol has a wide array of moves in its movepool, but not all of them are highly usable. Psyshock and Psychic does give Claydol a secondary STAB move to use besides Earthquake, though they don't provide any additional coverage other than hitting Heracross for super effective damage. However, Claydol shouldn't be taking Heracross on in the first place, making Ice Beam or Toxic much more viable choices. Claydol can provide weather support by utilizing Rain Dance and Sunny Day, but there are often better candidates for that role than Claydol, and weather is not really a good playstyle in UU in the first place. Claydol can also provide Trick Room support, but this playstyle is almost as weak as weather. Other gimmicky support options include Trick used in conjunction with Choice Scarf, Magic Coat, and Gravity, but there will always be better options for Claydol to use. Calm Mind does build up the mixed bulk Claydol already possesses while also increasing its power, but Claydol's disappointing Special Attack makes it much worse than it should be, while it has a really bad HP stat in comparison to other Calm Mind users and no recovery outside of Rest. RestTalk won't do much either as Claydol's STAB moves are either resisted by or ineffective against several Pokemon in the tier. However, it does have a good special movepool. Explosion can be used, though it is incredibly weak and has only any real use, if so slightly, on the dual screens set.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Even though Claydol is reasonably bulky, the UU tier is filled with powerful attackers that can take advantage of its common weaknesses. There are plenty of Ghost-types in the tier, and they are some of Claydol's worst enemies for several reasons. The first reason, and arguably the biggest, is that they can easily prevent Claydol from spinning away entry hazards simply by switching in on Rapid Spin. Not only has Claydol wasted a turn, it can hardly do anything back to these Ghost-types and is often forced to switch out, giving the opponent a chance to set up. Mismagius and Froslass are two most prominent Ghost-type counters to Claydol. They both have access to Taunt, making them able to shut down Claydol quite easily by preventing it from using Stealth Rock, Toxic, and dual screens. Furthermore, they will usually take little damage from Claydol's offensive moves as well, while Mismagius is even immune to Earthquake and can avoid being hit by Toxic by using Substitute. Chandelure is another good example. While it can't really shut Claydol down quite like Froslass and Mismagius can, it can threaten Claydol with its STAB Shadow Ball and immense power. Choice Specs Chandelure has a 50% chance to OHKO 252/252 Claydol, which means that if Claydol has suffered any prior damage, it is done for. Choice Scarf variants of Chandelure can only 2HKO the same Claydol, so it really needs to be careful of Stealth Rock and Earthquake. Last but not least is Cofagrigus. Cofagrigus can easily set up both Trick Room and Nasty Plot against Claydol by utilizing its great bulk; even a Cofagrigus with just one Nasty Plot boost can sweep an entire team. The only real damage Claydol can do against Cofagrigus is by limiting its time on the field with the use of Toxic.</p>
<p>While not as menacing as the Ghost-types, the Dark-types in the tier can cause severe trouble and damage to Claydol as well. Zoroark and Houndoom can easily 2HKO specially defensive Claydol with a combination of Sucker Punch and Dark Pulse, or even OHKO weakened ones. They can even proceed to set up with Nasty Plot, but they need to be careful of Earthquake, especially Houndoom, as it will put a severe dent into both of them, if not outright KO Houndoom. Weavile can OHKO the same Claydol with ease by using Ice Punch, while it also have the opportunity to set up with Swords Dance. The physically defensive version of Claydol will have a much easier time against Weavile, while Sucker Punch from Houndoom and Zoroark won't do nearly as much. However, their Dark Pulses will do much more damage now, possibly resulting in a OHKO. Scrafty can easily set up on Claydol with Bulk Up, using Shed Skin and Rest to stop any attempts to Toxic it. It can then proceed to easily KO Claydol with a boosted STAB Crunch. Heracross and Escavalier are also two really good candidates. They take little damage from Claydol's offensive moves and certainly don't mind Toxic; their STAB-boosted Megahorns will easily OHKO Claydol. Rhyperior is in a similar situation, as it takes little damage from even super effective moves thanks to Solid Rock. Its Megahorn won't nearly as hard the former two's, but will still put a huge dent into Claydol. Repeated U-turns from the likes of Mienshao, Darmanitan, and Flygon will also wear down Claydol in time until it goes down. Water- and Grass-types, such as Slowbro, Azumarill, Shaymin, and Roserade, will always threaten any Claydol, dealing huge amounts of damage to it while not taking nearly the same in return. Xatu is one of the biggest blocks to Claydol. Not only does it take little to no damage from Ice Beam and Earthquake, it also bounces back both Stealth Rock and Toxic thanks to Magic Bounce; if there is one Pokemon that can stop Claydol, it's Xatu.</p>