Cloyster
Credits go to zdrup15 for the original analysis and also to yee for the utility set. A special thanks to Nachos for updating the Checks and Counters section. I updated the Shell Smash set and also rewrote Other Options.
[Overview]
<p>With the introduction of BW, Cloyster received a gift it could only have dreamed of: Shell Smash. With one of the best boosting moves around, the clam now finds itself being able to perform an entirely different role as of the most threatening sweepers around. Taking Cloyster's Skill Link ability into account, it can abuse a 125 Base Power Icicle Spear and Rock Blast at +2 Attack, that will destroy anything that doesn't resist them. Its Water-type move of choice also makes sure that Steel-types aren't surefire 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. Its Ice typing provides it with a crippling weakness to Stealth Rock, as well as the often-seen priority moves such as Mach Punch. With Conkeldurr and Lucario in the tier, one has to make sure they are eliminated first or Cloyster won't be able to 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 a sweep.</p>
[SET]
name: Shell Smash
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Icicle Spear
move 3: Rock Blast
move 4: Hydro Pump / Razor Shell
item: White Herb / Life Orb
ability: Skill Link
nature: Naive / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Cloyster's main set is one that can sweep most teams with ease; in fact, it's a liability to have a bulky Ground-type when your opponent has a Cloyster. This set is best used on an offensive team, where other sweepers can open up holes in defensive cores for Cloyster to take advantage of. Shell Smash is the crux of this set, doubling Cloyster's Attack, Special Attack, and Speed to threatening levels. Icicle Spear is the perfect move for Cloyster; because of Skill Link, it will always hit five times, effectively making it a 125 Base Power STAB move. Rock Blast offers great coverage with Icicle Spear, hitting Fire-, Water-, and Ice-types for at least neutral damage. In the last slot, either Hydro Pump or Razor Shell are acceptable. Hydro Pump is the preferred option for getting past Skarmory, Scizor, Forretress, and Metagross, since it hits their weaker Special Defense; however, Razor Shell will destroy Tyranitar and Heatran without fail, as they both commonly run specially defensive sets.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Maximum Speed investment allows Cloyster to outspeed Scarf Latios with Hidden Power Fire and Modest Venusaur in the sun, among other things. Full investment in Attack bolsters the power of Icicle Spear, Rock Blast, and Razor Shell greatly, while the remaining EVs are thrown into Special Attack to slightly boost the power of Hydro Pump. A Naive nature boosts Speed while not detracting from Hydro Pump's power, but if you are using Razor Shell, a Jolly nature is the way to go. Likewise, if you are not using Hydro Pump, the 4 EVs can instead go into HP. White Herb is the preferred item on this set, as it restores Cloyster's godly Defense and Special Defense, cushioning it from priority attacks such as a Scizor Bullet Punch or a Conkeldurr Mach Punch. However, Cloyster does get some notable KOs with a Life Orb, such as Ferrothorn with Icicle Spear and bulky Rotom-W with Rock Blast. White Herb is usually superior, as Cloyster often doesn't need the extra power and lowering its defenses makes it more susceptible to priority. Other items are viable on Cloyster as well, however. Focus Sash allows Cloyster set up on even the most powerful of special attackers, but due to the abundance of entry hazards, Sandstorm, and priority, Focue Sash is easily broken. King's Rock gives both Icicle Spear and Rock Blast a 41% flinch rate, giving Cloyster the chance to even get past its short list of checks. An Icicle Plate can also work as an alternative to Life Orb, as it still allows Cloyster to pick up the OHKO on Ferrothorn without the recoil damage.</p>
<p>If using Cloyster on a sun team, Hidden Power Fire should be used instead of the Water-type attack, as it can hit Steel-types while getting pseudo-STAB. However, this leaves Cloyster walled by Heatran, which already gives sun teams problems, so using Cloyster on a sun team is not recommended. However, using Cloyster in conjunction with rain support from Politoed is an excellent decision. By boosting the power of Hydro Pump or Razor Shell, rain allows Cloyster to defeat checks such as Conkeldurr, Jirachi, specially defensive Jirachi, specially defensive Forretress (believe it or not, Volt Switch actually OHKOes), and Magnezone after it sets up.</p>
<p>Dual screens are also great support for Cloyster; with Reflect up, Cloyster can survive Jolly Choice Band Terrakion's Close Combat, even after one layer of Spikes. Espeon is a fantastic partner, as its ability, Magic Bounce, prevents hazards or Taunt from being used, which gives Cloyster an easier time setting up. Entry hazard support is also greatly appreciated, as with just Stealth Rock up, Cloyster can OHKO Choice Scarf Rotom-W and Choice Scarf Politoed most of the time. Both Forretress and Ferrothorn have good synergy, but Forretress can also utilize Rapid Spin to aid Cloyster. Another useful teammate is Magnezone, since it can trap and KO troublesome Pokemon such as Scizor, Jirachi, and Ferrothorn, giving Cloyster a much easier time sweeping.</p>
[SET]
name: Utility
move 1: Icicle Spear
move 2: Rapid Spin
move 3: Spikes / Toxic Spikes
move 4: Surf / Ice Shard
item: Leftovers
ability: Skill Link
nature: Relaxed / Impish
evs: 248 HP / 84 Atk / 176 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
<p> While Cloyster is normally used as a Shell Smash sweeper, it has a unique niche defensively. This set focuses on its base 180 Defense and utility moves in a way similar to Forretress; in exchange for a less useful defensive typing, you gain a significantly better attacking capability. STAB Icicle Spear takes out threats such as Dragonite, Substitute Gliscor, and Sturdy Level 1 Aron.</p>
<p>Icicle Spear remains the biggest selling point of Cloyster, since it receives a STAB boost and will always hit five times thanks to Skill Link. Rapid Spin may seem like an ineffective choice when Cloyster is both affected by all entry hazards and is 2x weak to Stealth Rock, but it often finds opportunities to spin hazards away against physical tanks and many physical attackers on offensive teams. Spikes or Toxic Spikes should be used to soften up the opponents team or when a bulky Ghost-type switches in, but using both is inadvisable; Cloyster fills its niche more effectively with another attacking move and will certainly not have the opportunity to set up both hazards. Surf is a good secondary STAB move to broaden coverage against Steel-types, Fire-types, and Mamoswine, but Ice Shard is also useful to pick up a possible KO on Gengar and to revenge kill threats such as Dragon-types and Landorus.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The following calculations demonstrate Cloyster's excellent physical bulk.</p>
<ul class="damage_calculation">
<li>+1 Adamant Dragonite Outrage vs. Cloyster 52.8-62.7%</li>
<li>Jolly Terrakion Close Combat- 63.4-75.2%</li>
<li>Jolly Life Orb Terrakion Close Combat- 81.8-97%</li>
<li>Adamant Breloom Focus Punch- 87.1-103%</li>
<li>Ferrothorn Power Whip- 39.6-47.5%</li>
<li>Specially Defensive Tyranitar Superpower- 36.3-42.9%</li>
</ul>
<p>The EV spread gives Cloyster an extra point in Defense and allows it to obtain a few notable KOs. Assuming you have Stealth Rock and hail on the field, Icicle Spear will OHKO Gengar, 2HKO standard Gastrodon, and 3HKO standard Ferrothorn. While the Attack EVs provide Cloyster with a little more power, you also have the option of adding more Defense. 16 SpD EVs guarantee that Cloyster will survive Dragon Pulse from an unboosted 4 SpA EVs Latias.</p>
<p>On sun teams, Hidden Power Fire is an excellent secondary attacking move; it is the ideal attack against Steel-types such as Scizor, Skarmory, and Forretress. Rain gives Surf more power, but Cloyster is then outclassed by Tentacruel and Starmie, who do better on rain teams. Rock Blast can make further use of Skill Link, hitting Pokemon such as Gyarados and Volcarona hard. Razor Shell may replace Surf as a secondary STAB move, but it doesn’t hit physically bulky Steel-types such as Skarmory and Forretress hard. Lastly, Clamp or Whirlpool can be used to prevent direct switching, which may help keep momentum in your favor. However, the popularity of “Volt-Turn” tactics makes these moves less viable.</p>
<p>To maximize Cloyster's utility, it should be used only on hail, sun, or weatherless teams, as sand and rain teams are better off using other Rapid Spin users. The main thing to remember when fitting this Cloyster into a team is that a resisted Surf is as threatening to Cloyster as a super effective Close Combat; in other words, you can’t rely on Cloyster to check special attackers at all. Nidoqueen is an excellent defensive partner who not only covers three of Cloyster's weaknesses, but also absorbs Toxic Spikes, giving Cloyster more opportunities to switch in. Latias and Celebi are also ideal partners for Cloyster; they also cover three of its weaknesses, sponge special attacks that plague Cloyster, and take advantage of Cloyster's Ice-type resistance.</p>
<p>Function-wise, Abomasnow and Ninetales are great partners; the former gives Cloyster the advantage of robbing its opponents of Leftovers recovery, while the latter allows Hidden Power Fire to be used as a solid secondary attack. A spinblocker is a good teammate to help preserve Cloyster’s hazards. Jellicent is generally the best option because it boasts more resistances than other defensive Ghost-types, which is very important considering Cloyster only resists Water- and Ice-type moves.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Explosion could see use on one of Cloyster's sets, but with the mechanics change in BW, Explosion is much less effective and is better off not being used. Toxic could also get some use on the utility set to wear down bulky Water-types, but Cloyster will take large damage, even from their resisted attacks, due to its poor Special Defense, leaving Cloyster unable to effectively stall them out. Also, a Choice Scarf set can come in handy for checking faster threats such as Dragonite, Landorus, Virizion, Tornadus, Latios, and Infernape, among others. However, it is generally not recommended, as Cloyster's lack of power is usually its downfall without Shell Smash to boost its stats.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Being part Ice-type is a double-edged sword for Cloyster. On one hand, it gains an awesome STAB move, on the other, it takes 25% damage from Stealth Rock whenever it switches in, and is liable to being hit by both Spikes and Toxic Spikes. For this reason, having Stealth Rock on the field is a good first answer to Cloyster. A Bullet Punch from Choice Band Scizor will 2HKO Cloyster after it has taken Stealth Rock damage, while the only thing Cloyster can do back is Hydro Pump, which fails to OHKO Scizor even at +2, leaving aside the fact that it has shaky accuracy; if rain is up however, Scizor will be easily OHKOed. Conkeldurr will 2HKO offensive Cloyster with Mach Punch as well. Vaccum Wave Lucario is another option to deal with Cloyster; as Vacuum Wave hits its pitiful Special Defense, and Lucario will easily KO if it holds a Life Orb. As Cloyster is incredibly fast after Shell Smash, there aren't many Choice Scarf users that can outspeed it after it gets a boost. However, Latios can do so and will send the clam back to the ocean with Draco Meteor.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, bulky Water-types and Steel-types can handle Cloyster. Bulky Rotom-W resists Cloyster's STAB moves, and isn't too fussed about Rock Blast. It can promptly OHKO the clam with Thunderbolt, making it a good switch-in to Cloyster in general. Jellicent and Tentacruel also have the possibility to annoy Cloyster greatly. Both can use Scald on Cloyster and hope for a burn, they also have other options that can put a damper on Cloyster's life. Will-O-Wisp from Jellicent will help prevent Cloyster from being a huge problem, and Tentacruel's option is Toxic, which will quickly wear Cloyster down when used in tandem with Protect. Slowbro is another bulky Water-type who can tank anything that Cloyster can throw at it, and target its weaker Special Defense stat with Psychic or Flamethrower. It can also use Thunder Wave on Cloyster to cripple it. Skarmory can't do much to Cloyster, but can Whirlwind it out to prevent the immediate problem. This is significant due to the fact that Cloyster usually carries a White Herb, and Cloyster is extremely vulnerable later on in the game without its White Herb. Defensive Jirachi can quite easily take Cloyster's Water STAB move, and retaliate with Thunderbolt on a Calm Mind version or Body Slam and Iron Head on a physical Jirachi. Ferrothorn can take a +2 Icicle Spear, and either hit back with Power Whip or cripple Cloyster with Thunder Wave. Thanks to Unaware ignoring Shell Smash boosts, Quagsire can take Icicle Spear nicely and Toxic Cloyster back, or even hope to burn it with Scald. A slightly unusual but effective option to deal with Cloyster is specially defensive Heatran; if Hydro Pump is favored over Razor Shell on Cloyster, it will be unable to OHKO Heatran even at +2. In return, Heatran will OHKO Cloyster after it's taken Stealth Rock damage with Lava Plume. Take note that if rain is up, Heatran will be decimated by any Water-type move from Cloyster.</p>
<p>In the event that you either don't have a check to Cloyster or it is knocked out in the game, Cloyster may pose a larger threat. In that case, your best bet is to simply prevent Cloyster setting up by any means possible. This can be done by not leaving something in that Cloyster can easily set up upon after something on your opponent's team dies, or by setting up as many hazards as you can so all of your Pokemon can later stand a chance against it. One should take note not to underestimate Cloyster. Should the opponent lack any strong answer to Cloyster, this clam can become one of the most dangerous Pokemon to face in OU in a single turn.</p>
