http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/clamperl
[Overview]
<p>Don't be fooled by Clamperl's baby face and charms; she's one of the most deadly Pokemon in UU. DeepSeaTooth doubles her Special Attack stat, giving her more immediate power than even the feared Deoxys-A. However, without her signature item, Clamperl is essentially useless. Clamperl also has awful Speed, making Trick Room a necessity to her success. If you can provide adequate support for her, Clamperl will be a dangerous addition to your team.</p>
[SET]
name: Trick Room Sweeper
move 1: Surf
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Brine / Toxic
item: DeepSeaTooth
nature: Quiet
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
ivs: 30 Atk / 30 SpA / 3 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Although Clamperl is slow and frail, she hits like a truck. When Trick Room is in effect, Clamperl becomes one of the fastest Pokemon in the game. Additionally, Her Water-typing gives her a resistance to many common priority moves, such as Ice Shard, Bullet Punch, and Aqua Jet, making her the ideal Trick Room abuser. DeepSeaTooth doubles Clamperl's Special Attack to an insane 542, turning her into a dangerous threat when used correctly. Surf provides reliable STAB, Ice Beam hits Grass-types, and Hidden Power Grass is for rival Water-types, like Quagsire and Milotic. Finally, Brine deals more damage to weakened opponents, which is especially helpful against Chansey and Registeel, while Toxic cripples defensive Pokemon who are difficult to get past. Keep in mind that when using Clamperl, it is very important that you switch her in unscathed, as her defenses are very low.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The idea behind this set is to be as slow as possible, so a Quiet nature and 0 Speed EVs are used. The IVs give Clamperl the lowest possible Speed while keeping Hidden Power Grass at 70 Base Power. Hidden Power Electric is an option instead of Hidden Power Grass, as it allows Clamperl to use a lower Speed IV of 2, though this leaves Clamperl vulnerable to Quagsire, Lanturn, and Gastrodon.</p>
<p>Clamperl appreciates the presence of entry hazards, as they greatly aid her sweep. Spikes and Stealth Rock are both capable of damaging the opposing Pokemon upon switching in, eliminating Focus Sashes and crippling bulkier Pokemon such as Registeel. Cloyster and Cacturne are wonderful choices to set up Spikes, while Registeel and Donphan are good choices for Stealth Rock. Toxic Spikes are also awesome, as they cripple bulky Water-types like Milotic and Slowking, though they also activate Guts, which is the main downside to using them. Omastar and Nidoqueen both do a good job at setting up Toxic Spikes due to their high defensive stats.</p>
<p>Trick Room support is vital to Clamperl's success, making Uxie, Claydol, and Solrock good partners. Claydol and Solrock are probably the best, as they can set up Stealth Rock and then Explode after setting up Trick Room, allowing Clamperl to switch in unharmed. Rain Dance support is also helpful, boosting the power of Clamperl's Surf. This can be set up by Pokemon such as Uxie, Slowbro, and Mesprit.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Defensive Water-types can be difficult to get past, so a partner who can dispose of them is recommended. Grass-types such as Exeggutor, Venusaur, and Cacturne are all excellent choices, as they can hit Water-types with their super effective STAB moves, while most of them also have access to Leech Seed to drain the HP of more defensive Pokemon. Exeggutor also has the added bonus of providing Trick Room support. Electric-types such as Ampharos, Magneton, and Lanturn are also good options due to their ability to hit Water-types super effectively; additionally, they generally have high Special Defense stats and are slow enough to function in Trick Room. Finally, Toxic Spikes are helpful, as they wear down bulky Pokemon like Milotic.</p>
<p>Chansey and Clefable are nigh impossible for Clamperl to break through due to their massive HP and Special Defense stats. Fighting-types such as Hariyama and Hitmontop are good choices to get past these walls due to their high Attack stats; as an added bonus, Hariyama doesn't mind status due to his Guts ability, making him an ideal switch-in to the aforementioned walls. Blaziken is another great choice due to his mixed attacking stats, allowing him to lure in special walls with Fire Blast and Hidden Power, then hit them with STAB Superpower. Finally, Dugtrio is an excellent partner, as he can switch into Electric-type moves with immunity, trap Chansey or Clefable with his ability, and proceed to smash them with Earthquake or Beat Up.</p>
<p>Trick Room is almost a must when using Clamperl, so having a teammate that can use it is a requirement. Exeggutor, Solrock, and Claydol can all provide Trick Room support and follow up with Explosion to allow Clamperl to enter the battle unscathed. Porygon2 and Dusclops also make great partners and are far more bulky than most other users of Trick Room. As Clamperl is quite frail, priority moves will become an issue, especially moves such as Sucker Punch, ExtremeSpeed, and Shadow Sneak. To counter this, a defensive partner like Registeel or Milotic may be used to switch into common priority moves, while Milotic can restore damage taken from entry hazards with Recover or Rest. Finally, Uxie and Mesprit are amazing teammates as well, as they can provide dual screen, Stealth Rock, and even Trick Room support.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Clamperl has a very limited movepool, giving her few options to play with. DeepSeaScale can be used on a defensive set, along with Toxic and Protect to stall, though Pokemon such as Milotic do this much better thanks to their reliable recovery moves and much higher HP stats. Substitute may be used on a switch to ease prediction, though if Trick Room is in effect, this will waste a valuable turn.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Pokemon with high Special Defense are the best counters, taking reduced damage from Clamperl's attacks and having a way to stall or retaliate. Chansey, Clefable, and Registeel are good choices, with all of them having access to some form of recovery (in Registeel's case, using Rest to recover damage), while hitting Clamperl with Seismic Toss or Earthquake. Bulky Water-types also do a decent job, as they don't take much damage from Surf or Ice Beam, and usually carry a super effective Hidden Power that will KO Clamperl. Just be careful about switching into Hidden Power Grass, as most bulky Water-types can be 2HKOed by it. Ludicolo is a lesser-used counter, though he can switch into Surf and Hidden Power thanks to his handy resistances, and takes less damage from Ice Beam due to his high Special Defense. Provided you can switch in safely, priority moves will be deadly towards Clamperl. Arcanine can switch into Ice Beam or Hidden Power Grass and hit Clamperl with ExtremeSpeed, while Spiritomb does a fine job with Sucker Punch and his good defensive stats. Finally, Clamperl is useless without her signature item, so Knock Off, Trick, and Switcheroo users utterly destroy Clamperl.</p>
