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[Overview]
<p>Since Generation I, Cloyster has been seen mainly as a supporter Pokemon. It had a great Defense stat and the ability to set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes, but this was basically everything it could do.
However, Ssince there were so many better Pokemon
to do this for this role, such as Forretress, Roserade, and even Froslass, Cloyster was always relegated to the lower tiers.</p>
<p>But
then Generation V came in and, with it, Cloyster received a gift it could only
have dream
ed with of: Shell Smash. With one of the best boosting moves around, the clamp now finds itself being able to perform an entirely different role
;as it is now one of the most threatening sweepers around. When one also takes into account its ability
, Skill Link, Cloyster can abuse 125 Base Power Icicle Spear
s and Rock Blast
s that, at +2 Attack, will destroy anything that doesn't resist them. Its Water-type
move of choice also makes sure that Steel-types aren't sure-fire counters as a +2 STAB Hydro Pump or Razor Shell will inflict huge damage
to most of them.</p>
<p>However, Cloyster isn't without its flaws.
The Its Ice
-typ
eing means
that it takes 25% of damage to switch in thanks to Stealth Rock and that
it is weak to Mach Punch and Vacuum Wave. With Co
nkeldurr and Lucario
around available, one has to make sure they are eliminated first or Cloyster won't be able to
set up and sweep
after setting up. Cloyster also has some troubles getting past bulky Water-types such as Jellicent and Vaporeon that can burn or phaze it
, and thus prevent
ing a sweep.
After reading this, there's only one more thing to say: Arceus Bless Shell Smash!</p>
[SET]
name: Shell Smash
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Icicle Spear
move 3: Rock Blast
move 4: Shell Blade / Hydro Pump
item: Life Orb / White Herb
ability: Skill Link
nature: Jolly / Naive
evs: 48 HP / 252 Atk / 208 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is the set Cloyster should always use. With a very good Defense stat, Cloyster will have many chances to set up. After the clamp manages to use Shell Smash, its Attack and Speed skyrocket to 578 and 500, respectively. Icicle Spear is the main attack and, thanks to Cloyster's ability Skill Link and STAB, it gets to a who
opping 187 Base Power,
thus and destroy
ings everything that doesn't resist it. To show how true this sentence is, specially defensive Ferrothorn is OHKOed by Icicle Spear and the standard set will often be OHKOed with a layer of Spikes. Rock Blast is the other very
useful move Cloyster may carry to abuse Stealth Rock
I don't know what this sentence is supposed to say, but I do know that it isn't saying it. It helps by giving some coverage against Ice- and Water-type Pokemon, the latter being the most important because otherwise, these would wall Cloyster
even more badly almost entirely. The final slot brings one of the decisions one
should has to make when using this set. Since Cloyster has a much higher Attack than Special Attack - 578 against 412 - and the fact Hydro Pump would require a drop in the clamp's defenses, Shell Blade is the superior option to hit the Steel-types that resist both of the previous moves.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A Jolly nature with 208 Speed EVs are needed to outspeed Scarf Garchomp after a Shell Smash. Then one should use 252 Attack EVs to maximize the damage output and the rest into HP to give a small boost to Cloyster's bulk. Life Orb is the preferred item to power up the clamp's attacks but White Herb nullifies the defense drops from Shell Smash,
and thus
being is useful to maintain Cloyster's bulk. The first three moves on the set are, due to Skill Link, irreplaceable and thus, the only change that should be considered is Hydro Pump over Shell Blade. Hydro Pump has the benefit of hitting most Steel-types for greater damage due to their superior Defense stat
This seems to be the opposite of what you said in the set comments. However, when using it, one should go with a Naive nature
so as not to hurt Cloyster's sweeping capabilities and to still outspeed Scarf Garchomp after a boost. If one wants Cloyster to have more power, an Adamant or Naughty nature can be used with an EV spread of 8 HP / 252 Atk / 248 Spe to outspeed Scarf Darmanitan and Kyurem after the boost.</p>
<p>Due to the sheer power of this set, there aren't many Pokemon that can counter it. However, Empoleon resists every attack Cloyster carries and can OHKO back with Grass Knot. Entry hazards can also limit the clamp's potential so Magnezone is a great teammate that can trap and KO Empoleon and, as a bonus, it can trap some of the most common entry hazard
s set uppers users, such as Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Forretress. The aforementioned entry hazards also limit Cloyster's potential so having a teammate with Rapid Spin is a good idea. Forretress is the one that synergizes better with the clamp and it can also set up entry hazards to help Cloyster sweep.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Outside of using Shell Smash, Cloyster doesn't have many
other options. It can still set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes but, with the return of Deoxys-S and the appearance of Ferrothorn to lay down Spikes, and the
new abilities
of Nidoqueen and Forretress
got that help them set
ting up Toxic Spikes, Cloyster is now even more outclassed at this job. The last thing it can do is to use Rapid Spin to support its team but Forretress, Starmie, Tentacruel, and Excadrill can spin entry hazards more efficiently.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Empoleon is the only true counter to Cloyster because its typing grants resistance against the three attacks Cloyster will often carry. It can then OHKO the clamp back with Grass Knot. Entry hazards are the second thing Cloyster should be aware of as it is weak to Stealth Rock and vulnerable to Spikes and Toxic Spikes that can limit and, sometimes, prevent a sweep. Water-types are also tough to take down as, for example, Jellicent and Vaporeon can both come in while Cloyster uses Shell Smash and, if they're healthy enough, threaten it out thanks to both having a status move and the latter also has Roar. If entry hazards are up, this can be done multiple times due to the fact they both have recovery moves, and Cloyster will eventually lose.</p>
<p>Strong priority users can also abuse the
drop in the defenses
drop to KO Cloyter. Lucario is the most threatening among these and its Vacuum Wave targets the clamp's very frail Special Defense,
thus OHKOing it. Conkeldurr is, however, the most common of the
dangerous priority users and can deal at least 53% with Mach Punch
, so if Stealth Rock is on the field,
it can stop Cloyster
won't be able to attack
ing more than twice
if the opponent has the aforementioned Fighting-type. Finally, Pokemon that are faster than Garchomp can still outspeed Cloyster after a boost if they hold a Choice Scarf. Luckily, the most common is Starmie that has no troubles OHKOing with Thunderbolt, but even the star only rarely is found holding it.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Cloyster gets Overcoat as its Dream World ability. Overcoat should never be used because without Skill Link, Cloyster can no longer count
with on reliable and high powered
moves such as Icicle Spear
s and Rock Blast
s, thus losing its
main niche in OU.</p>