Cloyster (Lead)

firecape

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One of the edits you made is incorrect:
<p>Shuca Heatran and support Jirachi are excellent partners with their ability to setup Stealth Rock. Rotom-A also makes a great partner because it can function as a Spin-blocker, and also helps itself gain some KO's via spikes with the SubCharge, Specs or Scarf sets. </p>
spin-blocker is not capitalized as roles are not capitalized. Other then that (I skimmed) they look correct.
 

AccidentalGreed

Sweet and bitter as chocolate.
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
Changes in Green
Deletions in Red
Comments in Blue

[Overview]

<h4>OU</h4>

<p>While Cloyster may seem like an unconventional choice for the OU tier, its one of the few viable users of Spikes with a STAB priority attack and Explosion in its repertory to fill the role of a lead. Cloyster's decent typing and great physical defensive stat allow it to take hits from many powerful leads, such as Swampert, Aerodactyl and Jirachi. While Cloyster is a solid Spikes user, its HP and Special Defense are really low on average, meaning that powerful neutral special attacks will heavily damage it and super effective hits will always eliminate it. Cloyster's decent offensive stats means it can run a mixed set with STABs alone in the form of Surf and Ice Shard, gaining fantastic coverage against the common leads in the current metagame. As always, Explosion is an excellent move for a lead that has fulfilled its job to deal great amounts of damage while preventing Cloyster from being setup fodder. Overall, Cloyster is a good choice in OU for teams that need Spikes support from the get-go.</p>

[SET]

name: OU Lead
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Surf
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Explosion
item: Life Orb
ability: Shell Armor
nature: Quiet
evs: 220 HP / 104 Atk / 180 SpA / 4 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This set takes advantage of the set up capabilities of Cloyster along with its great physical bulk. It can stack Spikes and deal with most leads in the current metagame with just its dual STAB moves and decent attacking stats. In addition, the combination of Surf followed by Ice Shard takes down many suicide leads, and Explosion lets it go out with a bang after it has finished its job. Shell Armor also helps to avoid those random critical hits that may end Cloyster's spiking before it is done.</p>

<p>The EVs are specialized for the lead position because they are tailored to beat or setup against most of the common leads. In particular, the 220 HP EVs allow Cloyster to survive Azelf’s Fire Blast, take hits from Metagross' Meteor Mash and Jirachi's Iron Head, and even survive a Machamp's DynamicPunch, all of this to allow Spiking. The 180 EVs in Special Attack along with the 104 Attack EVs are made specifically to take down Azelf leads with Surf followed by Ice Shard. 4 Speed EVs, even with a hindering nature,will allow Cloysterto outpace minimum speed Tyranitar along with the slower Swampert and Machamp.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Cloyster's Surf can handle a lot of physically defensive leads like Metagross, Gliscor, Hippowdon, Bronzong, Skarmory and Forretress without the need of Explosion, thus keeping the bang for stat uppers like Gyarados and Suicune.</p>

<p>It is worth noting that Life Orb boosted Explosion is able to OHKO Machamp and almost always takes down Swampert, so teams that have problems with Stealth Rock leads or Machamp in general will be grateful of this outcome, just have to be willing to sacrifice the Spikes. (Wait, what? I though Cloyster can set up at least one layer of Spikes and set up on these threats repeatedly. Please revise it.) By the way, Cloyster always survives Machamp's combination of Dynamic Punch and Bullet Punch, meaning Cloyster can get gutsy to lay down one layer of Spikes and attempt to avoid the confusion rate to finish off Machamp with Explosion.</p>

<p>Cloyster can also be a part of a FWG core, by complementing its weaknesses with Heatran and Celebi while they can also add to the entry hazards with Stealth Rock. A Ghost-type partner might come in handy to block Rapid Spin; Rotom-A works best here as it resist Cloyster’s Electric-type weakness and is immune to the Fighting-type weakness.<p>

[Team Options]

<h4>OU</h4>

<p>Shuca Heatran and support variants of Jirachi are excellent partners with their ability to set up Stealth Rock. Rotom-A also makes a great partner because it can function as a spinblocker, and also helps itself gain some KO's via Spikes with its own SubCharge and Choice sets. </p>

[Optional Changes]

<h4>OU</h4>

<p>Cloyster can fill the Rapid Spinner role in the lead spot as well with Rapid Spin over Explosion using the EV spread: 220 HP / 32 Atk / 252 SpA / 4 Spe and changing the item to Mystic Water in order to still gain the kill on Azelf via Surf + Rapid Spin + Ice Shard. Toxic Spikes can be used over Spikes in both sets if they are more appealing for the team. A Rash nature will speed tie with minimum speed Metagross and with some investment can be outsped, although bulk is essential to Cloyster since Rash means it can be eliminated by Azelf's Fire Blast.</p>

[Counters]

<h4>OU</h4>

<p>Celebi, Empoleon and Starmie leads walk all over Cloyster. Roserade also counters Cloyster to some extent, but at least Cloyster can badly hurt it with Ice Shard while breaking Focus Sash in the process. Infernape and Heatran fear the combination of Surf and Ice Shard but they can easily kill Cloyster with Fire Blast due being faster, although the game advantage depends if they decide whether to set up Stealth Rock or not. Beware of the random Grass Knots some leads might pack to deal with Swampert, since it hits Cloyster with 120 Base Power.</p>


The analysis is fine, just avoid Smogon dictionary slang. Also, I fixed the spaces.

EDIT: Ugh, goddamn my iTouch. When you try typing on there....
 
Thanks for the check AccidentalGreed, making the changes right now.

And for the comments, I meant it to make Cloyster blow up on 1st turn, since it is faster than both of them, as TAY commented, to stop Stealth Rock while sacrificing Cloyster. I'm gonna need to rephrase.
 

Snorlaxe

2 kawaii 4 u
is a Top Contributor Alumnus
hey, I dont have a lot of time right now (I'm on vacation and am currently sitting in a public library lol), but I really like this set, so I'm gonna attempt to check as much of it as I can for you!

pink is grammar edits
blue is prose edits

[Overview]

<h4>OU</h4>

<p>While Cloyster may seem like an unconventional choice for the OU tier, it's one of the few viable Spikes users with a STAB priority attack and Explosion in its repertory to fill the role of a lead. Cloyster's decent typing and great physical defense allow it to take hits from many powerful leads, such as Swampert, Aerodactyl, and Jirachi. While Cloyster is a solid Spikes user, its HP and Special Defense are very low by OU's standards, meaning that powerful neutral special attacks will heavily damage it and super effective hits will always eliminate it. Cloyster's decent offensive stats means it can run a mixed set with STABs alone in the form of Surf and Ice Shard, gaining fantastic coverage against the common leads in the current metagame. As always, Explosion is an excellent move for a lead that has fulfilled its job to deal great amounts of damage while preventing Cloyster from being set-up fodder. Overall, Cloyster is a good choice in OU for teams that need Spikes support from the get-go.</p>

[SET]
name
: OU Lead
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Surf
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Explosion
item: Life Orb
ability: Shell Armor
nature: Quiet
evs: 220 HP / 104 Atk / 180 SpA / 4 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This set takes advantage of the set up capabilities of Cloyster along with its great physical bulk. It can stack Spikes and deal with most leads in the current metagame with just its dual STAB moves and decent attacking stats. In addition, the combination of Surf followed by Ice Shard takes down many suicide leads, and Explosion lets it go out with a bang after it has finished its job. Shell Armor also helps to avoid random critical hits that may end Cloyster's Spikes set-up before it is done.</p>

<p>The EVs are specialized for the lead position because they are tailored to beat or set-up against most of the common leads. In particular, the 220 HP EVs allow Cloyster to survive Azelf's Fire Blast, take hits from Metagross' Meteor Mash and Jirachi's Iron Head, and even survive a Machamp's DynamicPunch, all of this to allow successful Spikes set-up. The 180 EVs in Special Attack along with the 104 Attack EVs are specifically used to take down Azelf leads with Surf followed by Ice Shard. 4 Speed EVs, even with a hindering nature, will allow Cloyster to outpace minimum Speed Tyranitar along with the slower Swampert and Machamp.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Cloyster's Surf can handle a lot of physically defensive leads like Metagross, Gliscor, Hippowdon, Bronzong, Skarmory, and Forretress without the need of Explosion, thus saving the devestating move for stat-boosters like Gyarados and Suicune.</p>

<p>It is worth noting that a Life Orb boosted Explosion is able to almost always take down Swampert, so teams that have problems with its early Stealth Rock can be stopped right away while sacrificing Cloyster in the process. If Stealth Rock isn't a problem for the team, then Cloyster can easily set up Spikes on the small damage taken from Swampert's Earthquake. Cloyster always survives Machamp's combination of DynamicPunch and Bullet Punch, meaning Cloyster can lay down one layer of Spikes and attempt to avoid the confusion rate to finish off Machamp with Explosion.</p>

<p>Cloyster can also be a part of a Fire-Water-Grass core by complementing its weaknesses with Heatran and Celebi, while they can set up Stealth Rock, adding to the residual damage inflicted on the opponent. A Ghost-type partner might come in handy to block Rapid Spin; Rotom-A works best here as it resists Cloyster's Electric-type weakness and is immune to its Fighting-type weakness.</p>
this is as much as I have time for, sorry :( nice job so far, though!
 

Fatecrashers

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Let's do this thing...

Deletions in Red
Additions in Blue
(Comments in brackets)

[Overview]

<h4>OU</h4>

<p>While Cloyster may seem like an unconventional choice for the OU tier, it's one of the few viable Spikes users with a STAB priority attack and Explosion in its repertory to fill the role of a lead. Cloyster's decent typing and great physical defense allow it to take hits from many powerful leads, such as Swampert, Aerodactyl, and Jirachi. While Although (Try not to repeat 'while' so much so close together) Cloyster is a solid Spikes user, its HP and Special Defense are very low by OU's standards, meaning that powerful neutral special attacks will heavily damage it and super effective hits will always eliminate it. Cloyster's decent offensive stats means it can run a mixed set with STABs alone in the form of Surf and Ice Shard, gaining fantastic coverage against the common leads in the current metagame. As always, Explosion is an excellent move for a lead that has fulfilled its job to deal great amounts of damage while preventing Cloyster from being set-up fodder. Overall, Cloyster is a good choice in OU for teams that need Spikes support from the get-go.</p>

[SET]
name: OU Lead
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Surf
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Explosion
item: Life Orb
ability: Shell Armor
nature: Quiet
evs: 220 HP / 104 Atk / 180 SpA / 4 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This set takes advantage of the set up set-up (Consistency) capabilities of Cloyster along with its great physical bulk. It can stack Spikes and deal with most leads in the current metagame with just its dual STAB moves and decent attacking stats. In addition, the combination of Surf followed by Ice Shard takes down many suicide leads, and Explosion lets it go out with a bang after it has finished its job. Shell Armor also helps to avoid random critical hits that may end Cloyster's Spikes set-up before it is done prematurely (Verbosity).</p>

<p>The EVs are specialized for the lead position because they are (Verbosity) tailored to beat or set-up against most of the common leads. In particular, the 220 HP EVs allow Cloyster to survive Azelf's Fire Blast, take hits from Metagross's Meteor Mash and Jirachi's Iron Head, and even survive a Machamp's DynamicPunch, all of this to allow enabling a (Awkward phrasing and verbosity) successful Spikes set-up. The 180 EVs in Special Attack along with the 104 Attack EVs are specifically used to take down Azelf leads with Surf followed by Ice Shard. 4 Speed EVs, even with a hindering nature, will allow Cloyster to outpace minimum Speed Tyranitar along with the slower Swampert and Machamp.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Cloyster's Surf can handle a lot of physically defensive leads like Metagross, Gliscor, Hippowdon, Bronzong, Skarmory, and Forretress without the need of Explosion, thus saving the devestating devastating move for stat-boosters like Gyarados and Suicune.</p>

<p>It is worth noting that a Life Orb boosted Explosion is able to almost always take down Swampert, so teams that have problems with its early Stealth Rock can be stopped right away while sacrificing Cloyster in the process. If Stealth Rock isn't a problem for the team, then Cloyster can easily set up Spikes on the small damage taken from Swampert's Earthquake. Cloyster always survives Machamp's combination of DynamicPunch and Bullet Punch, meaning Cloyster can lay down one layer of Spikes and attempt to avoid the confusion rate to and finish off Machamp with Explosion.</p>

<p>Cloyster can also be a part of a Fire-Water-Grass core by complementing covering ('Complementing' is inappropriate here, refer to its definition) its weaknesses with Heatran and Celebi, while they can ; as a bonus, they can both set up Stealth Rock, thus (Semicolon over comma for the shift in topic) adding to the residual damage inflicted on the opponent. A Ghost-type partner might come in handy to block Rapid Spin; Rotom-A works best here as it resists Cloyster's Electric-type weakness and is immune to its Fighting-type weakness.</p>
EDIT: I GP checked an incomplete write-up. Derp. Well at least you've got something solid to build up from now.
 

Snorlaxe

2 kawaii 4 u
is a Top Contributor Alumnus
just posting to say that later today I'll check the part of this analysis that I never got around to, and then I'll give Neto-senpai my stamp, meaning that he'll have two GP team stamps.
 
Hey, Neto-senpai, since this requires a full write-up for OU Cloyster, you're going to have to write Team Options, Optional Changes, and Counters sections before this can go on-site. This will also reset the GP check count to zero, although presumably because of the previous checks it will go quicker the second time around. PM me when all of this is up to date so I can add it back to the GP queue.
 
Sorry all, been busy all around lately and haven't found time to finish this.

I actually made once the entire OU sections, but on one of the last fixes from the posters I mistakenly deleted them on an update, if a mod can check on the text from editions and could copy paste the text it would really fasten up the process, if that is possible.
 

Setsuna

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I'm sorry, but that's not possible. As soon as you delete something in the OP, and OK the changes, it's lost. You'll have to write them up again, and the sooner, the better ;)
 

Snorlaxe

2 kawaii 4 u
is a Top Contributor Alumnus
GP CHECK 1/2

pink is grammar edits
blue is prose edits

[Overview]
<h4>OU</h4>

<p>While Cloyster may seem like an unconventional choice for the OU tier, it's one of the few viable Spikes users with a STAB priority attack and Explosion in its repertory to fill the role of a lead. Cloyster's decent typing and great physical defense allow it to take hits from many powerful leads, such as Swampert, Aerodactyl, and Jirachi. Although Cloyster is a solid Spikes user, its HP and Special Defense are very low by OU standards, meaning that powerful neutral special attacks will heavily damage it and super effective hits will always eliminate it. Cloyster's decent offensive stats mean that it can run a mixed set with STAB moves in the form of Surf and Ice Shard, gaining fantastic coverage against the common leads in the current metagame. As always, Explosion is an excellent move for a lead that has fulfilled its job to deal great amounts of damage while preventing Cloyster from being set-up fodder. Overall, Cloyster is a good choice in OU for teams that need Spikes support from the get-go.</p>

[SET]
name: OU Lead
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Surf
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Explosion
item: Life Orb
ability: Shell Armor
nature: Quiet
evs: 220 HP / 104 Atk / 180 SpA / 4 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This set takes advantage of Cloyster's set-up capabilities and great physical bulk. It can stack Spikes and deal with most leads in the current metagame with just its dual STAB moves and decent attacking stats. In addition, the combination of Surf followed by Ice Shard takes down many suicide leads, and Explosion lets it go out with a bang after it has finished its job. Shell Armor also helps to avoid random critical hits that may end Cloyster's Spikes set-up prematurely.</p>

<p>The EVs are tailored to beat or set-up against most of the common leads. In particular, the 220 HP EVs allow Cloyster to survive Azelf's Fire Blast, take hits from Metagross's Meteor Mash and Jirachi's Iron Head, and even survive a Machamp's DynamicPunch, enabling a successful Spikes set-up. The 180 EVs in Special Attack along with the 104 Attack EVs are specifically used to take down Azelf leads with Surf followed by Ice Shard. 4 Speed EVs, even with a hindering nature, will allow Cloyster to outpace minimum Speed Tyranitar along with the slower Swampert and Machamp.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Cloyster's Surf can handle a lot of physically defensive leads like Metagross, Gliscor, Hippowdon, Bronzong, Skarmory, and Forretress without the need to use Explosion, thus saving the devastating move for stat-boosters like Gyarados and Suicune.</p>

<p>It is worth noting that a Life Orb-boosted Explosion is able to almost always take down Swampert, so teams that have problems with its early Stealth Rock can be stopped right away while sacrificing Cloyster in the process. If Stealth Rock isn't a problem for your team, then Cloyster can easily set up Spikes on the small damage taken from Swampert's Earthquake. Cloyster always survives Machamp's combination of DynamicPunch and Bullet Punch, meaning Cloyster can lay down one layer of Spikes and attempt to avoid the confusion from DynamicPunch and finish off Machamp with Explosion.</p>

<p>Cloyster can also be a part of a Fire-Water-Grass core by covering its weaknesses with Heatran and Celebi; as a bonus, they can both set up Stealth Rock, adding to the residual damage inflicted on the opponent. A Ghost-type partner might come in handy to block Rapid Spin; Rotom-A works best as it resists Cloyster's Electric-type weakness and is immune to its Fighting-type weakness.</p>

[Team Options]
<h4>OU</h4>

<p>If you're using Cloyster in OU, chances are that you're using it to set-up Spikes. As such, you should always pair it with Pokemon that enjoy Spikes support, like Dragon Dance Tyranitar and Swords Dance Infernape; SubCharge Rotom-A can also utilize the support, and has the additional ability to block any attempts to Rapid Spin away Cloyster's Spikes. Cloyster can also be a part of a hail team based on indirect damage that doesn't want to spoil the surprise too early with Abomasnow in the lead position; Abomasnow also synergizes well with Cloyster defensively, being able to take the Grass- and Electric-type attacks thrown at Cloyster.</p>

[Optional Changes]
<h4>OU</h4>

<p>One of Cloyster's main selling points has always been the move Rapid Spin, which can be used instead of Explosion. Mystic Water is an alternative item choice that can boost the power of Cloyster's strongest attack, Surf. If using Rapid Spin, another EV spread becomes viable: 220 HP / 32 Atk / 252 SpA / 4 Spe, which allows Cloyster to 3HKO Azelf leads via Surf + Rapid Spin + Ice Shard. Toxic Spikes can go over Spikes in both sets.</p>

[Counters]
<h4>OU</h4>

<p>As far as lead match-ups are concerned, Cloyster's worst enemies are Roserade, Celebi, Starmie, and Empoleon; against Roserade, Cloyster can still badly hurt it with Ice Shard while also breaking its Focus Sash, but against all the others Cloyster has to flee for its life.</p>
uhhh ok so the analysis was great up until team options...at which point there started to be some pretty big prose and grammar issues. in the counters section, you included information that belongs in team options, so i removed it. clearly the counters section is too short without the incorrect information, however, so i urge you to make it longer by expanding on cloyster's counters outside of the lead position. anyway, good work on this.

 

Aeron Ee1

Nom nom nom
is a Top Contributor Alumnus
I'll just try my hand at this..

Additions in Blue
Deletes in Red
Comments in green brackets



Cloyster

STATUS: GP Checks 1/2

[Overview]
<h4>OU</h4>

<p>While Cloyster may seem like an unconventional choice for the OU tier, it's one of the few viable Spikes users with a STAB priority attack and Explosion in its repertory to fill the role of a lead. Cloyster's decent typing and great physical defense allow it to take hits from many powerful leads, such as Swampert, Aerodactyl, and Jirachi. Although Cloyster is a solid Spikes user, its HP and Special Defense are very low by OU standards, meaning that powerful neutral special attacks will heavily damage it and super effective hits will almost always eliminate it (Smeargle's Hidden Power won't OHKO, omg). Cloyster's decent offensive stats mean that it can run a mixed set with STAB moves(space here)in the form of Surf and Ice Shard, gaining fantastic coverage against the common leads in the current metagame. As always, Explosion is an excellent move for a lead that has fulfilled its job to deal great amounts of damage while preventing Cloyster from becoming being set-up fodder. Overall, Cloyster is a good choice in OU for teams that need Spikes support from the get-go.</p>

[SET]
name: OU Lead
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Surf
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Explosion
item: Life Orb
ability: Shell Armor
nature: Quiet
evs: 220 HP / 104 Atk / 180 SpA / 4 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This set takes advantage of Cloyster's set-up capabilities and great(space here)physical bulk. It can stack Spikes and deal with most leads in the current metagame with just its dual STAB moves and decent attacking stats (not necessary, methinks). In addition,(also not necessary) tThe combination of Surf followed by Ice Shard takes down many suicide leads, and Explosion lets it go out with a bang after it has finished its job. Shell Armor also helps to avoid random critical hits that may end Cloyster's Spikes set-up prematurely.</p>

<p>The EVs are tailored to beat or set-up against most of the common leads. In particular, the 220 HP EVs allow Cloyster to always survive Azelf's Fire Blast, take hits from Metagross's Meteor Mash and Jirachi's Iron Head, and even survive a Machamp's DynamicPunch, enabling a successful Spikes set-up. The 180 EVs in Special Attack along with the 104 Attack EVs are specifically used to take down Azelf leads with Surf followed by Ice Shard. 4 Speed EVs, even with a hindering nature, will allow Cloyster to outpace minimum Speed Tyranitar along with the slower Swampert and Machamp.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Cloyster's Surf can handle a lot of physically defensive leads like Metagross, Gliscor, Hippowdon, Bronzong, Skarmory, and Forretress without the need to use(space here)Explosion, thus saving the devastating move for stat-boosters like Gyarados and Suicune.</p>

<p>It is worth noting that a Life Orb-boosted Explosion is able to almost always take down Swampert, so teams that have problems with its early Stealth Rock can be stopped right away by while sacrificing Cloyster earlyin the process. If Stealth Rock isn't a problem for your team, then Cloyster can easily set up Spikes on the small damage taken from Swampert's Earthquake. Cloyster always survives Machamp's combination of DynamicPunch and Bullet Punch, meaning Cloyster can lay down one layer of Spikes and attempt to avoid the confusion from DynamicPunch and finish off Machamp with Explosion.</p>

<p>Cloyster can also be a part of a Fire-Water-Grass core by covering its weaknesses with Heatran and Celebi; as a bonus, they can both set up Stealth Rock, adding to the residual damage inflicted on the opponent. A Ghost-type partner might come in handy to block Rapid Spin; Rotom-A works best as it resists Cloyster's Electric-type weakness and is immune to its and Fighting-type weakness.</p>

[Team Options]
<h4>OU</h4>

<p>If you're using Cloyster in OU, chances are that you're using it to set-up Spikes. As such, you should always pair it with Pokemon that enjoy Spikes support, like Dragon Dance Tyranitar and Swords Dance Infernape; SubCharge Rotom-A can also utilize the support, and has the additional ability to block any attempts to Rapid Spin away Cloyster's Spikes. Cloyster can also be a part of a hail team based on indirect damage that doesn't want to spoil the surprise too early with Abomasnow in the lead position; Abomasnow also synergizes well with Cloyster defensively, being able to take the Grass- and Electric-type attacks thrown at Cloyster.</p>

[Optional Changes]
<h4>OU</h4>

<p>One of Cloyster's main selling points has always been the move Rapid Spin, which can be used instead of Explosion. Mystic Water is an alternative item choice that can boost the power of Cloyster's strongest attack, Surf. If using Rapid Spin, another EV spread becomes viable: 220 HP / 32 Atk / 252 SpA / 4 Spe, which allows Cloyster to 3HKO Azelf leads via Surf + Rapid Spin + Ice Shard. Toxic Spikes can go over Spikes in both sets.</p>

[Counters]
<h4>OU</h4>

<p>As far as lead match-ups are concerned, Cloyster's worst enemies are Roserade, Celebi, Starmie, and Empoleon; against Roserade, Cloyster can still badly hurt it with Ice Shard while also breaking its Focus Sash before getting slept by Sleep Powder or annihilated by Lead Storm, but against all the others Cloyster has to flee for its life. Some common switch-ins after Cloyster has taken down the opposing lead are Suicune and Gyarados that want to use Cloyster as set-up bait just to be surprised by an Explosion; Rotom-Aa is another common revenge killer that Cloyster has no business dealing with.</p>
 
GP Check 2 / 2

[Overview]
<h4>OU</h4>

<p>While Cloyster may seem like an unconventional choice for the OU tier, it's one of the few viable Spikes users with a STAB priority attack and Explosion in its repertory to fill the role of a lead. Cloyster's decent typing and great physical defense allow it to take hits from many powerful leads, such as Swampert, Aerodactyl, and Jirachi. Although Cloyster is a solid Spikes user, its HP and Special Defense are very low by OU standards, meaning that powerful neutral special attacks will heavily damage it and super effective hits will almost always eliminate it. Cloyster's decent offensive stats mean that it can run a mixed set with STAB movesin moves in the form of Surf and Ice Shard, gaining fantastic coverage against the common leads in the current metagame. As always, Explosion is an excellent move for a lead that has fulfilled its job to deal great amounts of damage while preventing Cloyster from becoming set-up fodder. Overall, Cloyster is a good choice in OU for teams that need Spikes support from the get-go.</p>

[SET]
name: OU Lead
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Surf
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Explosion
item: Life Orb
ability: Shell Armor
nature: Quiet
evs: 220 HP / 104 Atk / 180 SpA / 4 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This set takes advantage of Cloyster's set-up capabilities and greatphysical great physical bulk. It can stack Spikes and deal with most leads in the current metagame with just its dual STAB moves. The combination of Surf followed by Ice Shard takes down many suicide leads, and Explosion lets it go out with a bang after it has finished its job. Shell Armor also helps to avoid random critical hits that may end Cloyster's Spikes set-up prematurely.</p>

<p>The EVs are tailored to beat or set-up against most common leads. In particular, the 220 HP EVs allow Cloyster to always survive Azelf's Fire Blast, take hits from Metagross's Meteor Mash and Jirachi's Iron Head, and even survive a Machamp's DynamicPunch, enabling a successful Spikes set-up. The 180 EVs in Special Attack along with the 104 Attack EVs are specifically used to take down Azelf leads with Surf followed by Ice Shard. 4 Speed EVs, even with a hindering nature, will allow Cloyster to outpace minimum Speed Tyranitar along with the slower Swampert and Machamp.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Cloyster's Surf can handle a lot of physically defensive leads like Metagross, Gliscor, Hippowdon, Bronzong, Skarmory, and Forretress without the need to useExplosion use Explosion, thus saving the devastating move for stat-boosters like Gyarados and Suicune.</p>

<p>It is worth noting that a Life Orb-boosted Explosion is able to almost always take down Swampert, so teams that have problems with its early Stealth Rock can be stopped right away by sacrificing Cloyster early. If Stealth Rock isn't a problem for your team, then Cloyster can easily set up Spikes on the small damage taken from Swampert's Earthquake. Cloyster always survives Machamp's combination of DynamicPunch and Bullet Punch, meaning Cloyster can lay down one layer of Spikes and attempt to avoid the confusion from DynamicPunch and finish off Machamp with Explosion.</p>

<p>Cloyster can also be a part of a Fire-Water-Grass core Cloyster functions well as a member of a Fire-, Water-, and Grass-type Pokemon core by covering its weaknesses with Heatran and Celebi; as a bonus, they can both set up Stealth Rock, adding to the residual damage inflicted on the opponent. for your team. A Ghost-type partner might come in handy to block Rapid Spin; Rotom-A works best as it resists Cloyster's Electric-type weakness and is immune to its and Fighting-type weakness.</p>

[Team Options]
<h4>OU</h4>

<p>If you're using Cloyster in OU, chances are that you're using it to set-up Spikes. As such, you should always pair it with Pokemon that enjoy Spikes support, like Dragon Dance Tyranitar and Swords Dance Infernape; . (period) SubCharge Rotom-A can also utilize the support, and has the additional ability to block any attempts to Rapid Spin away Cloyster's Spikes. Cloyster can also be a part of a hail team based on indirect damage that doesn't want to spoil the surprise too early with Abomasnow in the lead position; Abomasnow also synergizes well with Cloyster defensively, being able to take the Grass- and Electric-type attacks thrown at Cloyster.</p>

[Optional Changes]
<h4>OU</h4>

<p>One of Cloyster's main selling points has always been the move Rapid Spin, which can be used instead of Explosion. Mystic Water is an alternative item choice that can boost the power of Cloyster's strongest attack, Surf. If using Rapid Spin, another EV spread becomes viable: 220 HP / 32 Atk / 252 SpA / 4 Spe, which allows Cloyster to 3HKO Azelf leads via Surf + Rapid Spin + Ice Shard. Toxic Spikes can go over Spikes in both sets. A Rash nature will speed Speed tie minimum speed Speed Metagross, a few EV investment but a few EVs can be taken from HP to possibly outspeed, though it will make Cloyster more prone to die by Azelf's Fire Blast, so thread tread carefully.</p>

[Counters]
<h4>OU</h4>

<p>As far as lead match-ups are concerned, Cloyster's worst enemies are Roserade, Celebi, Starmie, and Empoleon; . (period) against Against Roserade, Cloyster can still badly hurt it with Ice Shard while also breaking its Focus Sash before getting slept by Sleep Powder or annihilated by Lead Storm, but against all the others Cloyster has to flee for its life. Some common switch-ins after Cloyster has taken down the opposing lead are Suicune and Gyarados that want to use Cloyster as set-up bait just to be surprised by an Explosion; Rotom-A is another common revenge killer that Cloyster has no business dealing with.</p>


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