Current status: COMPLETED, in need of proofreading
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/clamperl
____________
Changes:
[SET]
name: Sweeping Shell
move 1: Surf
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Hidden Power Electric / Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Toxic / Confuse Ray / Brine
item: DeepSeaTooth
nature: Quiet
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
ivs: 30 SpA / 3 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Clamperl is a unique Pokémon whose best niche is in a Trick Room team, as otherwise, you have no chance of being able to sweep with it. With the boost from DeepSeaTooth, Clamperl reaches a fantastic Special Attack stat of 540. Apart from Clamperl, the only not fully evolved Pokémon who can even compare to Clamperl is Pikachu, who also receives a nice boost from its exclusive item, Light Ball.</p>
<p>Clamperl functions the same as most other Water-types, with its main objective being in hitting the opponent as hard as possible with the coverage offered by Water- and Ice-type attacks, along with your choice of Hidden Power. Surf is the obligatory STAB move available to Clamperl, which can do anywhere from 25.39% - 30.06% to the standard 4/252 Calm Chansey, and will take down anything that doesn't resist it, bar the rare Water Absorb Pokémon. Ice Beam allows you to hit opposing Grass-types who may try to wall you, most notably, Roserade and Venasaur, and it allows you to prey on Altaria's horrible 4x weakness to Ice-type attacks. Hidden Power Electric and Hidden Power Grass are both the most effective options in being able to hit Water-types, such as Milotic, who can threaten you with their own super effective Hidden Power in return. Hidden Power Electric allows you to hit Mantine, while Hidden Power Grass is the best option in being able to hit Quagsire and Lanturn. For the last slot, either of the three mentioned moves can be used. Toxic allows you to cripple the common switch-ins to Clamperl, Confuse Ray only gives your opponent a 50% chance of attacking, and Brine deals more damage than Surf to any foe with less than 50% of its health remaining.</p>
<p>The EVs, IVs and nature are tuned so that you are as slow as possible, while still getting the right Hidden Power. Both Hidden Powers work at max power with a Speed IV of 3 and a Special Attack IV of 30. Grass also needs an Attack IV of 30. Both Hidden Powers can work with just 1 Speed IV, but instead of the standard 70, the Base Power of the attack will be only 64.</p>
<p>This set requires that Trick Room be in effect; otherwise, it will be unable to even come close to reaching its full potential on your team, as pretty much anything can outspeed it and break through its meager defenses. As such, the primary partner to Clamperl should be one that can reliably set up Trick Room. Claydol is a great choice to consider for setting up Trick Room, as it will happily switch into Electric-type attacks aimed at Clamperl; in return, Clamperl can switch into the Water- and Ice-type attacks normally aimed at Claydol. One should tread carefully against opposing Grass-types, since both Clamperl and Claydol share a common weakness to Grass-type attacks. Dusclops and Spiritomb are also good options, as both have Will-O-Wisp to lessen the damage that Clamperl would normally take from physical attacks.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Clamperl is a Pokémon that would absolutely love to have entry hazards support, as they allow you to put a certain number of threats into KO range. Toxic Spikes is extremely useful in weakening bulky Water-types, such as Milotic, which can easily put an end to your sweep. Spikes and Stealth Rock support are useful in further weakening Pokémon attempting to wall you, but Toxic Spikes is arguably the most recommended form of entry hazards to support Clamperl with; however, the limited duration of Trick Room limits the amount of turns you have for Toxic Spikes to take effect, which makes the aforementioned Stealth Rock and Spikes support even more convenient. If you feel that you are unable to switch in Clamperl without it fainting, then dual screens are perfectly viable in allowing Clamperl to switch into weaker attacks with less risk to itself.</p>
<p>Offensively, Clamperl will have an extremely tough time getting past Ludicolo, Lanturn, and Milotic. Ludicolo and Lanturn are the bigger problems out of the three, as they take literally nothing from your special attacks, as they not only have a high Special Defense stat, but they are not hit for super effective damage by any of your attacks. Milotic can easily survive one Hidden Power and retaliate with a Hidden Power of its own. For this reason, any Pokémon which helps take down the previously mentioned Pokémon is a welcome partner for Clamperl. However, your options are severely limited, as many of Clamperl's potential partners are horribly inefficient in Trick Room. The best, and perhaps only option you may want to consider here is Chansey. Chansey can effectively cripple all of the above Pokémon with Toxic, and Chansey's high HP and Special Defense stats allow her to take any attacks Lanturn, Ludicolo, and Milotic might be carrying. If you don't plan on Trick Room being in effect throughout most of the match, there are other useful options to consider pairing Clamperl with. Life Orb Roserade is a good choice here, as it can switch into the Electric- and Grass-type attacks with ease, and then hit Lanturn and Milotic with a STAB Leaf Storm and Ludicolo with a STAB Sludge Bomb. Chansey, another counter to Clamperl, can be taken out by an strong user of Fighting-type attacks, such as Hitmontop. Additionally, Hitmontop provides useful priority to a Trick Room team.</p>
<p>Clamperl will have trouble taking just about any attack that it doesn't resist, due to its pathetic defenses and low HP. As such, just about any Pokémon that can take repeated hits and heal off any taken damage makes a good defensive partner to Clamperl. As mentioned before, Roserade, and any other Grass-type, pairs extremely well with Clamperl. Clamperl takes the common Fire- and Ice-type attacks aimed at Grass-types, which in turn can easily switch into Electric- and Grass-type attacks aimed at Clamperl. Defensive buffers such as Registeel are also good options to consider, although most have trouble taking on bulky Water-types, the main counters to Clamperl, directly.</p>
<p>Ludicolo is often paired with other Pokémon who can take advantage of active rain, such as Kabutops and Omastar, and with Pokémon dedicated to actually setting up Rain Dance, such as Electrode and Uxie. Thanks to Trick Room, countering these Pokémon suddenly becomes a lot easier. With both active rain and Trick Room, Clamperl should have no problem OHKOing all of these Pokémon with a STAB Surf. Lanturn, on the other hand, is most commonly seen paired with Hitmontop, which can bypass the effects of Trick Room thanks to its powerful priority in Fake Out and Mach Punch, spelling doom for Clamperl. Any Ghost-type can essentially counter most Hitmontop as long as you avoid switching into Foresight. Dusclops and Spiritomb are both good choices here, as both have sturdy defenses and access to Pain Split, allowing them to recover most damage taken.</p>
<p>Since Clamperl is only viable in Trick Room, you will always need a Pokémon that can set Trick Room up so Clamperl can actually sweep. Claydol, along with the Ghost-types mentioned previously, are the best choices to get the job done. Claydol and Clamperl have the advantage of pairing well type wise, as Claydol can switch into the Electric-type attacks normally aimed at Clamperl, which can switch into Water- and Grass-type attacks in return. Claydol can set up dual screens as well. Porygon2 is also a good option due to its great defensive bulk and access to Recover. Uxie is also a considerable option, as it has access to U-turn, but this will mean that Clamperl will have to take whatever attack that was aimed at Uxie, which is not recommended. Along with Pokémon that can comfortably set up Trick Room, Clamperl will also need other teammates that are capable of sweeping under Trick Room. However, most Pokémon that can fill that role share the same weaknesses as Clamperl. Nevertheless, the best options to consider are Marowak and Azumarril, both of whom have a fantastic Attack stat that requires no boosts to be threatening to the opponent.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Clamperl's movepool is terrible; there's nothing serious to find here. One could use Clamperl's other personal item (DeepSeaScale), which doubles its Special Defense, and try to tank with it. While 85 base Defense is decent for an unevolved Pokémon, 35 HP isn't going to help you tank anything except a level 3 Spearow. If you're going to try this, make your way with Barrier, I guess. Protect can be used if you want to scout for incoming attacks, but is pretty worthless otherwise.</p>
[EVs]
<p>If you're using Trick Room, just use what's suggested. If you're not, use Modest and a 31 Speed IV and it will still work out fine. Clamperl's Speed is so low it won't outspeed anything significant even if you max it, so you're better off with maxing out that horrific 35 HP and obviously his Special Attack.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>This thing should never be a serious consideration on any of your teams considering how frail it is. However, if you're sick to death of Pikachu, it might actually be fun to try this one on and actually hurt with it. 540 Special Attack is a really high stat after all. Once again, without Trick Room, using this thing is insanely hard.</p>
[Counters]
<p>The best counter to Clamperl is smacking it before it has a chance to attack you. If you are unable to OHKO Clamperl the moment it enters the battlefield, you're best off with the premiere special wall in UU, Chansey. Ludicolo, Milotic, and Lanturn can also take its hits decently, and hit back pretty hard. Hypno and Grumpig might stand a chance, though they can get 3HKOed by Surf.</p>
____________
I will work on this set after I have finished working on the Heatran and Gliscor updates. I thank everyone's patience as I work on these updates.
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/clamperl
____________
Changes:
- Addition of team support options for each set
- Addition of Team Options section
- Revision and correction of any possible grammatical errors
- Team support options will be written in purple
- Revamp/Rewrite of information
[SET]
name: Sweeping Shell
move 1: Surf
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Hidden Power Electric / Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Toxic / Confuse Ray / Brine
item: DeepSeaTooth
nature: Quiet
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
ivs: 30 SpA / 3 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Clamperl is a unique Pokémon whose best niche is in a Trick Room team, as otherwise, you have no chance of being able to sweep with it. With the boost from DeepSeaTooth, Clamperl reaches a fantastic Special Attack stat of 540. Apart from Clamperl, the only not fully evolved Pokémon who can even compare to Clamperl is Pikachu, who also receives a nice boost from its exclusive item, Light Ball.</p>
<p>Clamperl functions the same as most other Water-types, with its main objective being in hitting the opponent as hard as possible with the coverage offered by Water- and Ice-type attacks, along with your choice of Hidden Power. Surf is the obligatory STAB move available to Clamperl, which can do anywhere from 25.39% - 30.06% to the standard 4/252 Calm Chansey, and will take down anything that doesn't resist it, bar the rare Water Absorb Pokémon. Ice Beam allows you to hit opposing Grass-types who may try to wall you, most notably, Roserade and Venasaur, and it allows you to prey on Altaria's horrible 4x weakness to Ice-type attacks. Hidden Power Electric and Hidden Power Grass are both the most effective options in being able to hit Water-types, such as Milotic, who can threaten you with their own super effective Hidden Power in return. Hidden Power Electric allows you to hit Mantine, while Hidden Power Grass is the best option in being able to hit Quagsire and Lanturn. For the last slot, either of the three mentioned moves can be used. Toxic allows you to cripple the common switch-ins to Clamperl, Confuse Ray only gives your opponent a 50% chance of attacking, and Brine deals more damage than Surf to any foe with less than 50% of its health remaining.</p>
<p>The EVs, IVs and nature are tuned so that you are as slow as possible, while still getting the right Hidden Power. Both Hidden Powers work at max power with a Speed IV of 3 and a Special Attack IV of 30. Grass also needs an Attack IV of 30. Both Hidden Powers can work with just 1 Speed IV, but instead of the standard 70, the Base Power of the attack will be only 64.</p>
<p>This set requires that Trick Room be in effect; otherwise, it will be unable to even come close to reaching its full potential on your team, as pretty much anything can outspeed it and break through its meager defenses. As such, the primary partner to Clamperl should be one that can reliably set up Trick Room. Claydol is a great choice to consider for setting up Trick Room, as it will happily switch into Electric-type attacks aimed at Clamperl; in return, Clamperl can switch into the Water- and Ice-type attacks normally aimed at Claydol. One should tread carefully against opposing Grass-types, since both Clamperl and Claydol share a common weakness to Grass-type attacks. Dusclops and Spiritomb are also good options, as both have Will-O-Wisp to lessen the damage that Clamperl would normally take from physical attacks.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Clamperl is a Pokémon that would absolutely love to have entry hazards support, as they allow you to put a certain number of threats into KO range. Toxic Spikes is extremely useful in weakening bulky Water-types, such as Milotic, which can easily put an end to your sweep. Spikes and Stealth Rock support are useful in further weakening Pokémon attempting to wall you, but Toxic Spikes is arguably the most recommended form of entry hazards to support Clamperl with; however, the limited duration of Trick Room limits the amount of turns you have for Toxic Spikes to take effect, which makes the aforementioned Stealth Rock and Spikes support even more convenient. If you feel that you are unable to switch in Clamperl without it fainting, then dual screens are perfectly viable in allowing Clamperl to switch into weaker attacks with less risk to itself.</p>
<p>Offensively, Clamperl will have an extremely tough time getting past Ludicolo, Lanturn, and Milotic. Ludicolo and Lanturn are the bigger problems out of the three, as they take literally nothing from your special attacks, as they not only have a high Special Defense stat, but they are not hit for super effective damage by any of your attacks. Milotic can easily survive one Hidden Power and retaliate with a Hidden Power of its own. For this reason, any Pokémon which helps take down the previously mentioned Pokémon is a welcome partner for Clamperl. However, your options are severely limited, as many of Clamperl's potential partners are horribly inefficient in Trick Room. The best, and perhaps only option you may want to consider here is Chansey. Chansey can effectively cripple all of the above Pokémon with Toxic, and Chansey's high HP and Special Defense stats allow her to take any attacks Lanturn, Ludicolo, and Milotic might be carrying. If you don't plan on Trick Room being in effect throughout most of the match, there are other useful options to consider pairing Clamperl with. Life Orb Roserade is a good choice here, as it can switch into the Electric- and Grass-type attacks with ease, and then hit Lanturn and Milotic with a STAB Leaf Storm and Ludicolo with a STAB Sludge Bomb. Chansey, another counter to Clamperl, can be taken out by an strong user of Fighting-type attacks, such as Hitmontop. Additionally, Hitmontop provides useful priority to a Trick Room team.</p>
<p>Clamperl will have trouble taking just about any attack that it doesn't resist, due to its pathetic defenses and low HP. As such, just about any Pokémon that can take repeated hits and heal off any taken damage makes a good defensive partner to Clamperl. As mentioned before, Roserade, and any other Grass-type, pairs extremely well with Clamperl. Clamperl takes the common Fire- and Ice-type attacks aimed at Grass-types, which in turn can easily switch into Electric- and Grass-type attacks aimed at Clamperl. Defensive buffers such as Registeel are also good options to consider, although most have trouble taking on bulky Water-types, the main counters to Clamperl, directly.</p>
<p>Ludicolo is often paired with other Pokémon who can take advantage of active rain, such as Kabutops and Omastar, and with Pokémon dedicated to actually setting up Rain Dance, such as Electrode and Uxie. Thanks to Trick Room, countering these Pokémon suddenly becomes a lot easier. With both active rain and Trick Room, Clamperl should have no problem OHKOing all of these Pokémon with a STAB Surf. Lanturn, on the other hand, is most commonly seen paired with Hitmontop, which can bypass the effects of Trick Room thanks to its powerful priority in Fake Out and Mach Punch, spelling doom for Clamperl. Any Ghost-type can essentially counter most Hitmontop as long as you avoid switching into Foresight. Dusclops and Spiritomb are both good choices here, as both have sturdy defenses and access to Pain Split, allowing them to recover most damage taken.</p>
<p>Since Clamperl is only viable in Trick Room, you will always need a Pokémon that can set Trick Room up so Clamperl can actually sweep. Claydol, along with the Ghost-types mentioned previously, are the best choices to get the job done. Claydol and Clamperl have the advantage of pairing well type wise, as Claydol can switch into the Electric-type attacks normally aimed at Clamperl, which can switch into Water- and Grass-type attacks in return. Claydol can set up dual screens as well. Porygon2 is also a good option due to its great defensive bulk and access to Recover. Uxie is also a considerable option, as it has access to U-turn, but this will mean that Clamperl will have to take whatever attack that was aimed at Uxie, which is not recommended. Along with Pokémon that can comfortably set up Trick Room, Clamperl will also need other teammates that are capable of sweeping under Trick Room. However, most Pokémon that can fill that role share the same weaknesses as Clamperl. Nevertheless, the best options to consider are Marowak and Azumarril, both of whom have a fantastic Attack stat that requires no boosts to be threatening to the opponent.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Clamperl's movepool is terrible; there's nothing serious to find here. One could use Clamperl's other personal item (DeepSeaScale), which doubles its Special Defense, and try to tank with it. While 85 base Defense is decent for an unevolved Pokémon, 35 HP isn't going to help you tank anything except a level 3 Spearow. If you're going to try this, make your way with Barrier, I guess. Protect can be used if you want to scout for incoming attacks, but is pretty worthless otherwise.</p>
[EVs]
<p>If you're using Trick Room, just use what's suggested. If you're not, use Modest and a 31 Speed IV and it will still work out fine. Clamperl's Speed is so low it won't outspeed anything significant even if you max it, so you're better off with maxing out that horrific 35 HP and obviously his Special Attack.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>This thing should never be a serious consideration on any of your teams considering how frail it is. However, if you're sick to death of Pikachu, it might actually be fun to try this one on and actually hurt with it. 540 Special Attack is a really high stat after all. Once again, without Trick Room, using this thing is insanely hard.</p>
[Counters]
<p>The best counter to Clamperl is smacking it before it has a chance to attack you. If you are unable to OHKO Clamperl the moment it enters the battlefield, you're best off with the premiere special wall in UU, Chansey. Ludicolo, Milotic, and Lanturn can also take its hits decently, and hit back pretty hard. Hypno and Grumpig might stand a chance, though they can get 3HKOed by Surf.</p>
____________
I will work on this set after I have finished working on the Heatran and Gliscor updates. I thank everyone's patience as I work on these updates.
