Cloyster (Singles) [GP 3/3]

[bobochan]

[OVERVIEW]

Cloyster is one of the most terrifying, yet predictable, setup sweepers in the metagame, without the need to take up a Mega slot. Its colossal Defense stat, which rivals that of Mega Slowbro, along with its good offensive typing means Cloyster can set up on many physical attackers commonly seen in Battle Spot such as Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Dragonite. Thanks to its ability, Skill Link, Icicle Spear becomes a reliable multi-hit STAB move that allows Cloyster to easily break through Focus Sash and Substitutes. Furthermore, having access to a priority STAB attack in Ice Shard makes Cloyster rather difficult to revenge kill once it sets up and differentiates it from other common Shell Smash users such as Gorebyss and Barbaracle. However, Cloyster desperately needs a boost to become threatening, as both its Attack and Speed are below average prior to Shell Smash. Cloyster cannot afford to take any status such as a burn, which severely cripples it, and, given its abysmal HP and Special Defense stats, even resisted attacks like Scald can prove to be fatal.

[SET]
name: Smash n' Sweep
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Icicle Spear
move 3: Rock Blast
move 4: Ice Shard / Razor Shell
item: King's Rock / Focus Sash
ability: Skill Link
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 108 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 140 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Shell Smash is a must on Cloyster, boosting its offenses to dangerous levels and allowing it to sweep unprepared teams at a moment's notice. Icicle Spear is Cloyster's most powerful and reliable STAB attack, which is guaranteed to hit five times due to Skill Link, reaching 125 Base Power. This lets it easily break through Focus Sash and Substitute, as well as OHKO Intimidate users such as Salamence and Landorus-T even at -1. Rock Blast is another move that benefits from Skill Link and offers Cloyster coverage against Fire- and Ice-types such as Charizard, Volcarona, Glalie, and opposing Cloyster, while also hitting bulky Water-types that resist Icicle Spear neutrally, such as Rotom-W, Suicune, and Slowbro. These attacks are non-contact moves as well, meaning that common Rocky Helmet users such as Cresselia and Hippowdon cannot hurt Cloyster with residual damage outside of Toxic and, in Hippowdon's case, Sand Stream. Ice Shard is a STAB priority move that is very useful because Cloyster struggles to take a hit after Shell Smash's defense drops. It also helps against other priority users such as Thundurus, Talonflame, and Breloom. Alternatively, Razor Shell gives Cloyster a secondary STAB option that it can use to OHKO defensive Heatran and Mamoswine after a Shell Smash boost.

Set Details
========

An Adamant nature along with full investment in Attack gives Cloyster maximum damage output. Cloyster is relatively flexible with the amount of Speed investment it can run; 140 EVs allow it to outspeed all the relevant threats up to Adamant Choice Scarf Landorus-T after a Shell Smash boost. However, 100 Speed EVs can be run if only outspeeding the base 135 Speed tier is desirable, or even 84 EVs if you only need it to outspeed Mega Gengar. The rest of the EVs go into HP, Defense, and Special Defense to increase Cloyster's overall bulk. A much simpler spread of 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe is viable if you want Cloyster to outspeed every +1 base 100 Speed Pokemon after one Shell Smash boost; this includes common Dragon Dance users such as Mega Charizard X and Speed Boost Mega Blaziken. It also allows Cloyster to Speed tie with Adamant Breloom prior to Shell Smash. A Jolly nature with maximum Speed allows Cloyster after a Shell Smash to outspeed everything up to the base 110 Speed tier at +1, including Choice Scarf Latios, while Speed tying with maximum Speed Breloom before the boost. King's Rock is the best item on Cloyster, pairing nicely with Skill Link and Cloyster's multi-hit moves to provide a great 41% chance to make the foe flinch. Cloyster can fully take advantage of King's Rock to potentially muscle through defensive threats such as Rotom-W, Cresselia, Porygon2, and Mega Venusaur. Focus Sash means Cloyster can always survive a hit, allowing it to set up on special attackers such as Gengar and Thundurus, which would otherwise OHKO it with their STAB move of choice; however, this is normally outclassed by King's Rock's ability to immobilize slower and bulkier threats. Lum Berry is an option to allow Cloyster to set up more effectively, as it wouldn't be fearing Breloom's Spore, Hippowdon's Yawn, or Thundurus's Thunder Wave. Skill Link is chosen to guarantee Icicle Spear and Rock Blast hit five times.

Usage Tips
========

Cloyster has a large enough presence at Team Preview that your opponent will think twice before sending out their physical attackers and common Ground-type leads such as Garchomp and Landorus-T, and even going up against these threats usually means a chance to boost. Therefore, you can use Team Preview to your advantage when picking your lead. With that said, Cloyster is best used as a lead, especially if it runs Focus Sash. Don't be careless by switching into Outrage and Earthquake, as both of these moves have a high chance to 2HKO it. Go for an early Shell Smash take out as many threats as possible or simply try to make them flinch before going down, and then let your team clean up. It's better to leave Cloyster for later or bench it entirely if you're against teams that have Steel- and Water-types, particularly Mega Mawile, Aegislash, Suicune, Rotom-W, and Slowbro, or against rain offense or Trick Room teams. You can afford to be more aggressive if running Substitute or Lum Berry, as it allows Cloyster to use Shell Smash much more safely against moves such as Hippowdon's Yawn, Breloom's Spore, and Suicune's Scald.

Team Options
========

Volcarona is able to easily threaten out the Steel-types that Cloyster struggles with, such as Aegislash and Mega Mawile, while Cloyster eliminates Ground-types such as Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Hippowdon, all of which threaten Volcarona. Dual screen setters such as Klefki and Raikou are particularly helpful to Cloyster, making it extremely difficult to take down. Assault Vest Raikou can also help Cloyster by sponging nasty Electric-type attacks such as Thunder Wave and Thunderbolt, and in return Cloyster can set up on the Ground-types that Raikou doesn't like. Thunder Wave support from Thundurus is also appreciated for Cloyster due to its low Speed prior to Shell Smash. Consider Mega Charizard X when using Cloyster, as Mega Charizard X appreciates the removal of Ground- and Dragon-types, which Cloyster can set up on. Mega Gengar is great for trapping defensive walls that Cloyster might have trouble breaking through, such as Slowbro and Cresselia. Bulky Ground-types such as Landorus-T and Hippowdon help Cloyster deal with Steel-types such as Aegislash and Mega Mawile. Chansey can come in on any special attacker that may threaten Cloyster, such as Thundurus, Greninja, or Mega Charizard Y, and provide Thunder Wave support if required. Talonflame threatens Fighting-types such as Breloom and Blaziken and is able to burn Mamoswine with Will-O-Wisp. Specially defensive variants of Talonflame can also deal with Aegislash, which can easily wall Cloyster, very well. In return, Cloyster can help Talonflame remove Ground-types that it struggles with, such as Garchomp and Landorus-T. It can set up Shell Smash against these threats, as they would most likely want to get up Stealth Rock as soon as possible upon seeing both Cloyster and Talonflame in Team Preview. Heatran can take special attacks relatively well and beat Steel-types for Cloyster, while Cloyster can take Earthquake thanks to his high natural physical bulk and remove Ground-types for Heatran. Serperior can easily set up on and remove bulky Water-types such as Suicune, Rotom-W, and Slowbro and is able to spread paralysis through Glare or set up dual screens to allow Cloyster to boost more easily. Cresselia has access to Lunar Dance and other support moves such as Thunder Wave and Toxic, and it can also easily wall bulky attackers such as Mega Kangaskhan and Conkeldurr.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Substitute is a viable option in the last slot if you decide to forgo priority or a more reliable STAB move, as it is especially useful to avoid various status moves from defensive threats such as Hippowdon's Yawn, Ferrothorn's Leech Seed, and defensive Gyarados's Thunder Wave. Running a Jolly nature and maximum Speed investment along with a Choice Scarf allows Cloyster to outspeed Mega Gengar, which is useful because Icicle Spear has a very high chance to OHKO it with Stealth Rock on the field. Explosion is a nice option that will deal decent a amount of damage even to Steel-types, especially after a Shell Smash boost, and it can be used to exit the field if you no longer need Cloyster, allowing a teammate to come in safely. Surf and Hydro Pump are Cloyster's secondary STAB options that can be used over Razor Shell, hitting Steel-types such as Mega Mawile, Aegislash, and Klefki. Surf trades power for reliability, as opposed to Hydro Pump, which does the opposite, and a Naughty or Naive nature should be used if running either of these moves so that Cloyster's Special Attack isn't hindered, while still maximizing the damage output of Icicle Spear. Life Orb is a viable alternative that gives a substantial boost to Cloyster's attacks, allowing it to OHKO Mamoswine with Surf at +2; however, this is situational, as other items such as Lum Berry are more reliable.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Steel-types**: Bulky Steel-types such as Mega Mawile and Aegislash easily wall Cloyster and are able to retaliate with powerful STAB moves. While Mega Lucario isn't bulky, special variants are particularly threatening, being able to OHKO Cloyster with Adaptability Vacuum Wave right off the bat.

**Water-types**: Bulky Water-types such as Rotom-W, Suicune, and Mega Slowbro have an easy time beating Cloyster due to their high Defense and the ability to spread nasty status. Making these threats flinch via King's Rock is sometimes the only way to break through them.

**Mamoswine**: Mamoswine has Thick Fat, which reduces the damage from Icicle Spear, and takes neutral damage from Rock Blast. It can then retaliate with a powerful Earthquake. Running Razor Shell or Surf helps immensely with this, especially if Cloyster is at +2.

**Blaziken**: Blaziken threatens to OHKO Cloyster with its Fighting-type STAB move of choice, either High Jump Kick or Superpower, and having Speed Boost means Cloyster will be unable to outspeed it after Shell Smash unless Cloyster is running a Jolly nature and maximum Speed EVs.

**Status**: Any status cripples Cloyster for the remainder of the match, although Lum Berry somewhat alleviates this problem. In particular, Rotom-W spreads burns and Thundurus threatens to OHKO Cloyster with STAB Thunderbolt while also having access to Prankster Thunder Wave. Breloom will more often than not outspeed Cloyster and can put it to sleep with Spore, which allows it to try to KO with Bullet Seed.

**Bulky Attackers**: Mega Kangaskhan packs enough power and bulk to overwhelm Cloyster prior to Shell Smash, and Cloyster needs to watch out for a potential Sucker Punch. Conkeldurr's Fighting-type STAB moves hit Cloyster super effectively, and packing priority means that Cloyster will have to use Ice Shard, which fails to KO it swiftly.

**Special Attackers**: Common special attackers such as Gengar, Thundurus, and Greninja with Grass Knot have the Speed to easily OHKO Cloyster with their powerful STAB attacks, unless Cloyster is holding a Focus Sash or is already boosted.

 

[Misaka Mikoto]

[Overview]

• "Its colossal Defense stat (rivals that of Mega Slowbro) means..." I'd also mention its offensive typing as well that helps it against those threats.
  
• Not only its Special Defense, but I'd also add HP as well because its base 50 HP is another reason why it can't take special attacks at all. 50 HP just takes away its overall way of actually tanking.

Moves
========

• "Ice Shard is a STAB priority which is extremely helpful due to Cloyster's drop in its defense" Maybe replace drop in its Defense to "Shell Smash?" I'm not sure that saying a drop its Defense is really helpful there. q.q
• I don't think you need to mention it but I can say that Substitute also helps scout for moves while protecting Cloyster from any powerful attack. (The only reason I say you don't have to mention it is due to Cloyster's "meh" Speed lol).

Team Options
========

• "Blaziken while being able to burn Mamoswine while Cloyster deals with the Ground-types that wall it (Chomp, Lando)." I'd move this to the subject of, "When using Baton Pass Blaziken with Focus Sash, it can pass Swords Dance/Bulk Up boosts along with Speed to Cloyster, while Cloyster takes an Earthquake and proceeds to sweep without the need to boost." And that you can also mention how specially defensive Talonflame can take on Aegislash.
• "Cresselia has access to Lunar Dance" Expand a little on what Lunar Dance can do for Cloyster.
• For Raikou, I'd also mention how helpful it'll be in switching into resisted Electric-type attacks and predicted Thunder Waves.
• For set up sweepers such as Cloyster, I'd mention Thunder Wave support from the likes of Thundurus. Additionally, it can freely switch into Ground-type moves due to its immunity to them.
• Maybe mention Gyarados and Landorus-T? Can be pretty good for Intimidate partners for Cloyster only because Battle Spot Singles has plenty of physical attackers. With that in mind, Cloyster has an excellent Defense for it to take an extra hit and set up Shell Smash afterwards (or it'll be a good opportunity to use either as a fallen teammate. The way I look at it, the opponent would end up switching out, which will give you a free Shell Smash boost). Also both could switch into Fighting-type moves pretty well.

So far that's all I have for you Senpai! To be honest, writing is most great!

I'll double check the analysis again to make sure I didn't miss anything else and I'll add more!

*wipes sweat off* q.q

 

[bobochan]

These rainbow titles are so op @_@
Anyhow, implemented most of these nitpicks except that part about Substitute and not including Landorus-T with Gyarados under Team Options (because Landorus-T was already mentioned under bulky Ground-types).
Thank you for the assistance Lucy!

 

[Theorymon]

I think you mostly nailed what Closyster does. Only thing I'd consider is slashing in Razor Shell before Substitute. After a boost, it OHKOs even Specially Defensive Heatran, which is pretty nice! Also OHKOs Mamoswine after a boost. Otherwise, QC Approved 1/2

 

[bobochan]

Theorymon senpai has successfully revived this forum

5 QC's within 3 hours is a new Battle Spot record (previously held by cant say's 3 QC's).
Anyhow, implemented Razor Shell to the main set as you suggested, and written up ready for second check~!

 

[cant say]

[OVERVIEW]

Cloyster has a lot of arsenals (1) under its belt to be one of the most terrifying setup sweepers in the metagame, without the need to take up a Mega slot. Its colossal Defense stat which rivals that of Mega Slowbro along with its offensive typing means Cloyster becomes a nightmare to face for (2) physical attackers commonly seen in BS (3) such as Garchomp, Mega Salamence (4) and Landorus-T. Thanks to its ability Skill Link, Icicle Spear becomes a reliable multi-hit STAB which allows Cloyster to easily break through Focus Sash and Substitutes, while having access to priority STAB in Ice Shard makes Cloyster rather difficult to revenge kill once it sets up and differentiates it from other Shell Smash users (5). Cloyster does have its fair share of flaws however, given its abysmal HP and Special Defense stats, even resisted attacks are fatal such as Scald because Cloyster cannot afford to take any status like burn. Cloyster also need a Shell Smash boost to be threat as both of its offensive stats and Speed is below average (6).

1. not the best choice of word, I've never heard this saying so probbaly drop it. However, Cloyster is really one-dimensional so I dunno why you'd imply he has lots of tricks up his sleeve. Shell Smash and Sweep is basically it and that should be his selling point. I guess 5-guaranteed-hits + King's Rock is a cool trick, which should also be outlined in the Overview, but not enough to make him some kind of unpredictable set up sweeper....
2. I think this oversells him as well. I would instead say something like "can set up on many..."
3. Don't be lazy
4. Pretty iffy, if already set up then yeah, but lead matchups are awkward. If you go for SS and they DD, then Mence outspeeds and kills, and your +1 (coz Intimidate) Ice Shard doesn't kill. Sure, you can go for Spear as they set up or attack you, but yeah it isn't as straightforward as the Chomp + Landog matchup. I would instead change Mence to Drgaonite and list him after Landog.
5. such as?
6. I get what you're saying but this is a GP nightmare of a sentence (sorry). You go from talking about resisted hits to status in one sentence, then the last sentence is just ordered weirdly. The information you're trying to get across is all accurate, I'm sure if you take a second shot at it you'll get a much nicer sentence without my advice.

[SET]
name: Standard (1)
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Icicle Spear
move 3: Rock Blast
move 4: Ice Shard / Razor Shell / Substitute (2)
item: King's Rock / Lum Berry (3) / Focus Sash
ability: Skill Link
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 156 HP (4) / 252 Atk / 100 Spe

1. If there's only one set in an analysis like this then I'd prefer a more descriptive / creative name than "standard" but that's probably just me. "Smash n' Sweep" is cute if you wanna do something like that.
2. Move to OO
3. List last or remove and just mention in Set Details. I'm not a fan of 3 items on an analysis (looks really clunky on-site)
4. 148 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 100 Spe gives ~1% greater bulk. In pretty much all spreads where you're speed creeping and putting the rest in HP, you get slightly better bulk by taking 8 from HP and putting 4 each in Def and SpD. You've just gotta play with the calc. When explaining the EVs in Set Details, you can just say "the rest goes into bulk" rather than explaining the whole 'drop 8 from HP' thing.

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Shell Smash is a must on Cloyster, boosting its offenses to dangerous levels and can sweep unprepared teams at a moment's notice. Icicle Spear is Cloyster's most powerful and reliable STAB, reaching 125 BP, which is guaranteed to hit five times due to its ability Skill Link, easily breaking through Focus Sash and Substitute while being able to OHKO Intimidate users such as Salamence and Landorus-T even at -1. Rock Blast is another move that benefits from Skill Link which offers Cloyster coverage against Fire-, Ice-types such as Charizard, Volcarona, Glalie and opposing Cloysters while hitting bulky Water-types that resists Icicle Spear neutrally like Rotom-W, Suicune and Slowbro. Another perk with both of these attacks is that they are non-contact moves, meaning common Rocky Helmet users such as Cresselia and Hippowdon cannot damage Cloyster with residual damage, outside of Toxic. Ice Shard is a STAB priority move which can is very useful due to Cloyster's drop in its defenses after Shell Smash and against other priority users such as Thundurus, Talonflame and Breloom. Alternatively, Razor Shell gives Cloyster a secondary STAB option which it can use to OHKO defensive Heatran and Mamoswine after a Shell Smash boost. Substitute is a viable option in the last slot if you decide to forgo priority or STAB, as its especially useful to avoid various status moves from defensive threats such as Hippowdon's Yawn, Ferrothorn's Leech Seed and defensive Gyarados's Thunder Wave.

This is fine. Few GP errors but I'll leave those to the experts.

Set Details
========

An Adamant nature along with full investment in Attack allows Cloyster to have maximum damage output. Cloyster is relatively flexible with the amount of Speed investment it can run, 100 EVs in Speed allows it to outspeed all the relevant threats up to base Speed 135 after a Shell Smash boost, including Mega Manectric and Mega Lopunny. However, 84 Speed can be run if only outspeeding Mega Gengar is desirable, and the rest of the EVs can be allocated to HP to increase its bulk. A much simpler spread of 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe is viable if you wish to outspeed every base Speed 100 Pokemon at +1 after one smash boost, this includes common Dragon Dance users such as Dragonite (1), Mega Charizard X and Speed Boost Mega Blaziken. It also allows you to Speed tie with Adamant Breloom prior to Shell Smash. A Jolly nature with maximum Speed after Shell Smash allows Cloyster to outspeed everything up to the base Speed tier 110 at +1 after Shell Smash, including Choice Scarf Latios, while tying with max speed Breloom before boost. King's Rock is the most used item (2) on Cloyster, which gives all of Cloyster's attacks except Ice Shard and Razor Shell, a very nice 41% chance to flinch the foe (3). Cloyster can fully take advantage King's Rock to potentially muscle through defensive threats such as Rotom-W, Cresselia, Porygon2 and Mega Venusaur. Lum Berry is an option to allow Cloyster to set up more effectively, as it wouldn't be fearing Scald burns from Suicune or Slowbro, and any status in general such as Breloom's Spore or Hippowdon's Yawn (4). Focus Sash allows Cloyster to live a hit, allowing it to set up on special attackers such as Gengar and Thundurus which would otherwise OHKO with their STAB move of choice, however this is normally outclassed by King's Rock's ability to flinch slower and bulkier threats and Lum Berry's much appreciated removal of a status. Out of the three possible abilities available to Cloyster (5), Skill Link is by far the best ability and its required to actually make Icicle Spear and Rock Blast reach the maximum amount of hits.

1. Dragonite is base 80 and is outsped with the main EV spread.
2. People don't wanna read that, they wanna read that it's the BEST item. It also makes it seem that you wrote this analysis based off usage stats rather than experience WHICH I KNOW YOU DIDN'T DO lol
3. This could be explained better. "King's Rock pairs nicely with Skill Link and Cloyster's multi-hit moves to provide a great chance at flinching the foe" is a little better. You also make it sound like it doesn't benefit the other moves at all (kinda like it doesn't work for them or something). You can always fish for a flinch with Ice Shard in a pinch, for example (but don't include that tidbit in the analysis, I'm just making a point).
4. I can't imagine you trying to set up on too many Suicune and Mega Slowbro so they're not the best examples. Breloom has to be wary of Icicle Spear so it's a bit shaky but I'm fine with leaving it. One thing you left out (a big one) is Thundurus' Thunder Wave. If you're set up, they will want to send in their Thund to get off a sacrificial para so they can at least revenge Cloyster.
5. No point in comparing to the other abilities, just explain that Skill Link is chosen for its ability to guarantee Icicle Spear and Rock Blast hit 5 times...
6. added onto this as I realised while doing Usage Tips notes. 140 Spe EVs is a good benchmark as it beats Adamant Scarf Landog after a Smash. You might think "but hey +1 Ice Shard OHKOes ScarfDog" which is true, but if it U-turns as you boost, then comes in again you'll be at +0 (initial Intimidate + second one negates the smash boost), and can then outspeed and pick you off with Rock Slide. In short, the added speed makes sure you can just go for the safe Icicle Spear and stops good Lando players from outplaying you. The EV spread should then be 108 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 140 Spe

Usage Tips
========

Cloyster has a large enough presence at Team Preview that your opponent will think twice before sending out their physical attackers and common Ground-type leads such as Kangaskhan (1), Garchomp and Landorus-T, and even going up against these threats usually means a free boost or chance to use Substitute (2). Therefore you can use Team Preview to your advantage when picking your lead when you have Cloyster in the team. With that said, don't let Cloyster be carelessly switching into Outrage and Earthquake, as both of these have a high chance to 2HKO without some HP investment (3). Your opponent can never be "too safe" when dealing with Cloyster, as going for status when Cloyster has Lum Berry or when going for the kill against Sash variants, and losing these mind games could potentially end in a sweep for your opponent as Cloyster becomes very dangerous after one Shell Smash (4). Although Cloyster isn't a bad lead especially with Focus Sash intact, its better brought out during later stages of the match once its checks and counters have been scouted for or weakened, so it may sweep late game or clean up (5). Teams that are Steel- and Water-type heavy, particularly Mega Mawile, Aegislash, Suicune, Rotom-W, Slowbro, Rain Offense, or against Trick Room teams, it's better to leave Cloyster for later or bench it entirely. You can afford to be more aggressive when playing Cloyster if running Substitute or Lum Berry, as it allows you to Shell Smash much more safely against more threats such as Hippowdon's Yawn, Breloom's Spore, Suicune's Scald and possibly Klefki's annoyance with Swagger + Thunder Wave (6).

1. Khan doesn't give a shit about Cloyster in a lead matchup. Fake Out + Double Edge (or DE + Sucker Punch) beats Cloyster. Cloyster easily OHKOes if already set up (gotta watch out for Sucker Punch though if weakened) but the way you've put it is wrong. Khan also obviously isn't a Ground-type lead, which is how it sounds the way you'be put it.
2. If you drop Substitute from the main set then drop this as well.
3. People are gonna use the EV spread you have on the set, so don't confuse them by alluding to other EV spreads here. Just leave it as "have a chance to 2HKO"
4. What? I'm not sure what you're trying to tell the potential Cloyster user reading this analysis as it isn't giving them any 'Usage Tips' advice. That whole sentence can be dropped without hurting the paragraph...
5. I thought Cloyster would work best as a lead, going for the early Shell Smash and trying to take out / flinch as much as it can before going down. Pretty much all of its Checks / Counters are 2HKOed so Cloyster just needs to get the flinch to beat them, and if they switch in on a boosted hit well then you just auto-win. And if you don't then at least you've done a respectable amount of damage in the process.
6. I dunno if you wanna set up in front of Klefki, even with Sub or Lum, as it will just use Prankster to status you even after you outspeed, and Foul Play will be hurting like crazy.

Team Options
========

Volcarona is able to easily threaten out the Steel-types that Cloyster struggles with, such as Aegislash and Mega Mawile, whole Cloyster eliminates the Ground-types such as Garchomp and Landorus-T both of which threaten to OHKO Volcarona. Dual Screen Raikou is particularly helpful to Cloyster, being able to set up screens which make Cloyster extremely difficult to take down (1). Assault Vest Raikou can also help Cloyster sponge nasty Electric-type attacks such as Thunder Wave and Thunderbolt and in turn, Cloyster can set up on Ground-types Raikou doesn't like such as Garchomp, Landorus-T (2) and Hippowdon. Thunder Wave support from Thundurus is also appreciated for Cloyster due to its low Speed prior to Shell Smash. Consider Mega Charizard X and Y when using Cloyster, as Mega Charizard X appreciates the removal of the aforementioned Ground- and Dragon-types, which Cloyster can set up on. But when using Mega Charizard Y, do note this decreases the damage output of Cloyster's Water-type STAB Razor Shell, so you may consider running Hidden Power Fire instead (3) as it gets the sun boost to hit most Steel-types other than Heatran. Mega Gengar is great for trapping defensive walls which Cloyster might have trouble breaking through, such as Slowbro, Cresselia and Chansey (4). Bulky Ground-types such as Garchomp, Landorus-T and Hippowdon not only provide Stealth Rock support for Cloyster (5), but deals with Aegislash and Mega Mawile (6) that Cloyster struggles with. Baton Pass Blaziken with Focus Sash can potentially pass Swords Dance or Bulk Up boosts along with Speed to Cloyster, while Cloyster takes an Earthquake and proceeds to sweep without the need to boost (7). Chansey can come in on any special attackers that may threaten Cloyster such as Thundurus, Greninja and Mega Charizard Y and provide both Stealth Rock (8) and Thunder Wave support if required. Talonflame threatens Fighting-types such as Breloom and Blaziken, while being able to burn Mamoswine with Will-O-Wisp. Specially defensive variants of Talonflame can also deal with Aegislash very well, something which can easily wall Cloyster. In return, Cloyster can help Talonflame remove Ground-types that it struggles with, such as Garchomp and Landorus-T, while putting pressure on these threats to prevent Stealth Rock on the field (9). Heatran can take special attacks relatively well while being able to beat Steel-types for Cloyster while Cloyster can take Earthquake (10) and remove Ground-types for Heatran. Serperior can easily set up on and remove bulky Water-types such as Suicune, Rotom-W, Slowbro and non Choice Scarf Mamoswine (11) while being able to Glare or set up dual screens to allow Cloyster to set up more easily. Cresselia has access to Lunar Dance while easily walling bulky attackers such as Mega Kangaskhan and Conkeldurr and has access to other support moves such as Thunder Wave and Toxic. Cloyster and any sweepers in general, benefits from Lunar Dance greatly as not only does it grant full HP and status recovery, but also restores used PP (12). Gyarados, with its ability Intimidate provides Cloyster with more opportunities to set up Shell Smash while being able to comfortably come in on Fighting-type STAB moves that threaten Cloyster, although both of them are extremely weak to Electric-types (13).

1. Why Raikou of all things? Does Raikou provide something that other screeners like Klefki don't?
2. This seems repetitive. Maybe say "the aforementioned Ground-types that Raikou also doesn't like."
3. lol dude no. This has 'HP Fire Breloom' written all over it. I calced it and yeah, even Adamant sun-boosted HP Fire does do impressive damage to Steels, but you have to have the sun active while using it, which means spending two turns getting Cloyster in (or sacking Char Y) and then using Shell Smash. It's just a scenario I don't see happening and is silly to put in an analysis. Plus, Ice Shard is almost always the fourth move so not that many people are even gonna use Razor Shell, let alone with Char Y and think HP Fire is a good idea...
4. Is Chansey really that hard to fight through with Cloyster?
5. Does Cloyster even need rocks support when it has multi hit moves as it's main offense?
6. I feel like Garchomp doesn't have that solid a matchup with Mega Mawile
7. I'm not a fan of this idea. It's just saying that Cloyster likes to receive boosts via Baton Pass, the same as every single other Pokemon. Why does it like it from Blaziken? Do those two specifically work well together? Like so well that it's worth bringing up? Cloyster doesn't have much trouble setting itself up so why use another whole Pokemon to do it for it?
8. see 5
9. If I see both Cloyster and Talonflame in team preview I'm getting rocks up ASAP and not letting some stupid Talonflame Taunt me before doing so, especially when I can just hit it with a rock move to kill it.
10. You've mentioned 'taking an Earthquake' twice now, stating it like it's one of Cloyster's innate abilities. I think you should say "due to his high natural physical bulk" or something at least since it's not like he resists the move...
11. Mamo isn't a bulky water type, try to break that sentence up so it doesn't look like you're including him in that group. I don't think Serp has such an easy time against him though, thanks to Ice beating Grass... (also Assault Vest Mamo exists)
12. We don't need a lesson on Lunar Dance's mechanics, especially when the PP thing isn't even relevant to Cloyster since he's not using them all up very often
13. which is why you should take him out. I don't know why Gyara is #9 in his teammates....

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Running a Jolly nature and max speed along with a Choice Scarf, Cloyster is able to outspeed Mega Gengar and the 130 base Speed tier by one point, which Icicle Spear has a very high chance to OHKO with Stealth Rock on the field. Explosion is a nice option that will deal decent amounts even to Steel-types, especially after a Shell Smash boost, which you can use to exit the field if you no longer need Cloyster, allowing a team mate to come in safely. Surf (1) is Cloyster's other reliable secondary STAB option which can be used over Razor Shell, hitting Steel-types such as Mega Mawile, Aegislash and Klefki. But Naughty or Naive nature should be used if running Surf so that Cloyster's Special Attack isn't hindered while still maximizing the damage output of its Icicle Spear. Life Orb is a viable alternative which gives a substantial boost to Cloyster's attacks, being able to OHKO Mamoswine with Surf at +2, however this is situational as other items such as Lum Berry is more reliable.

1. No Hydro Pump?
2. This very short OO section supports my opening point about Cloyster not having many "arsenals" to make it a terrifying sweeper

Checks and Counters
===================

**Steel-types**: Bulky Steel-types such as Mega Mawile and Aegislash easily wall Cloyster and are able to retaliate with powerful STABs. While Mega Lucario isn't bulky, special variants are particularly threatening, being able to OHKO with Adaptability Vacuum Wave right off the bat.

**Water-types**: Bulky Water-types such as Rotom-W, Suicune and Mega Slowbro have an easy time walling Cloyster due to their high Defense and the ability to spread nasty status. Pseudo flinching method via King's Rock is sometimes the only way to break through these threats.

**Mamoswine**: Mamoswine has Thick Fat which reduces damage from Icicle Spear, while taking neutral damage from Rock Blast and is able to retaliate with powerful Earthquake. Running Razor Shell and Surf helps immensely with this, especially true at +2.

**Blaziken**: Blaziken threatens to KO Cloyster with its Fighting-type STAB of choice, either High Jump Kick or Superpower, while having Speed Boost means Cloyster will be unable to outspeed it after Shell Smash unless Cloyster is running Jolly max speed.

**Status**: Any status cripples Cloyster for the remainder of the match, although Lum Berry somewhat alleviate this problem. Common burn inducers include Talonflame (1) and Rotom-W. Thundurus threatens to KO with STAB Thunderbolt while having access to Prankster to Thunder Wave. Breloom deserves a mention for its powerful Technician-boosted Bullet Seed and has access to Spore while having the same Speed as Cloyster (2).
**Bulky Attackers**: Kangaskhan packs enough power and bulk to overwhelm Cloyster prior to Shell Smash, while Cloyster needs to watch out for potential Sucker Punch. Conkeldurr's Fighting-type STAB moves hits Cloyster super effectively while packing priority means Cloyster's Ice Shard will fail to KO it swiftly.

**Special Attackers**: Common special attackers seen in the metagame like Gengar, Thundurus and Greninja (3) have the Speed to easily OHKO Cloyster with their powerful STABs, unless Cloyster is holding a Focus Sash (4).(5)

1. Talonflame does not want to cop a Rock Blast though. I would probably still boost in Talonflame's face as it can't beat you with Brave Bird anyway
2. They often run Jolly 252 S so they will usually outspeed. Maybe say "Breloom will more often than not outspeed Cloyster and can put it to sleep with Spore, which allows it to try and KO with Bullet Seed"
3. Needs to get a roll on Dark Pulse or have Grass Knot
4. Or already boosted

---

OK that is a lot but I'm sure you'll do a great job so consider it 2/2 when implemented!

 

[bobochan]

Asked if a QC was possible for the next weekend, got a QC within 6 hours... cant say is a BEAST【o(^▽^)o】

I would like to thank Lucy, Theorymon and of course cant say for the assistance in those QCs.
Anyhow cant say, I've implemented EVERYTHING you've mentioned, should be sweet for GP, thank you again man!

Sorry in advance to the GP team for my poor English.

 

[Haund]

add remove comments
1/2
you really seem to like "X bla bla bla, while bla bla". It's not wrong, but it can become a bit repetitive at times :s

Hide

[OVERVIEW]

Cloyster is one of the most predictable, yet terrifying, (AC) setup sweepers in the metagame, without the need to take up a Mega slot. Its colossal Defense stat, (AC) which rivals that of Mega Slowbro, (AC) along with its (I'd insert and adjective here, because technically the typing is the same both offensively and defensively, but one of them can be good and the other not so good :o) offensive typing means Cloyster can set up on many physical attackers commonly seen in Battle Spot such as Garchomp, Landorus-T, (AC) and Dragonite. Thanks to its ability, (AC) Skill Link, Icicle Spear becomes a reliable multi-hit STAB move which that allows Cloyster to easily break through Focus Sash and Substitutes, while having access to a priority STAB attack in Ice Shard makes Cloyster rather difficult to revenge kill once it sets up and differentiates it from other common Shell Smash users such as Gorebyss and Barbaracle. However, Cloyster does have its fair share of flaws however, since it Cloyster desperately needs a boost to become a threatening, (AC) (a threatening what? Pokemon/sweeper/other. Or you can just cancel the "a" and leave "to become threatening", up to you) as both its Attack and Speed are below average prior to Shell Smash. Cloyster cannot afford to take any status such as a burn, (AC) which severely cripples it, and, (AC) given its abysmal HP and Special Defense stats, even resisted attacks like Scald can prove to be fatal.

[SET]
name: Smash n' Sweep
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Icicle Spear
move 3: Rock Blast
move 4: Ice Shard / Razor Shell
item: King's Rock / Focus Sash
ability: Skill Link
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 108 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 140 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Shell Smash is a must on Cloyster, boosting its offenses to dangerous levels and can allowing it to sweep unprepared teams at a moment's notice. Icicle Spear is Cloyster's most powerful and reliable STAB attack, reaching 125 BP, which is guaranteed to hit five times due to its ability Skill Link and reaches 125 Base Power, easily breaking through Focus Sash and Substitute while being able to OHKO Intimidate users such as Salamence and Landorus-T even at -1. Rock Blast is another move that benefits from Skill Link which and offers Cloyster coverage against Fire-, (RC) and Ice-types such as Charizard, Volcarona, Glalie, (AC) and opposing Cloysters, (AC) while also hitting bulky Water-types that resists Icicle Spear neutrally, (AC) such as like Rotom-W, Suicune and Slowbro. Another perk with both of These attacks is that they are non-contact moves as well, meaning that common Rocky Helmet users such as Cresselia and Hippowdon cannot damage Cloyster with residual damage, outside of Toxic. Ice Shard is a STAB priority move which that can is very useful due to Cloyster's drop in its defenses after Shell Smash and against other priority users such as Thundurus, Talonflame, (AC) and Breloom. Alternatively, Razor Shell gives Cloyster a secondary STAB option which that it can use to OHKO defensive Heatran and Mamoswine after a Shell Smash boost.

Set Details
========

An Adamant nature along with full investment in Attack allows Cloyster to have maximum damage output. Cloyster is relatively flexible with the amount of Speed investment it can run; (SC) 140 EVs in Speed allows it to outspeed all the relevant threats up to Adamant Choice Scarf Landorus-T after a Shell Smash boost. However, 100 Speed EVs can be run if only outspeeding the base 135 Speed 135 tier is desirable, or 84 EVs if you only wish to outspeed Mega Gengar. The rest of the EVs goes into HP, Defense, and Special Defense to increase Cloyster's overall bulk. A much simpler spread of 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe is viable if you wish to outspeed every base Speed 100 Pokemon at +1 after one Shell Smash boost; (SC) this includes common Dragon Dance users such as Mega Charizard X and Speed Boost Mega Blaziken. It also allows you to Speed tie with Adamant Breloom prior to Shell Smash. A Jolly nature with maximum Speed after Shell Smash allows Cloyster to outspeed everything up to the base Speed tier 110 at +1 after Shell Smash, including Choice Scarf Latios, while tying with maximum Speed Breloom before the boost. King's Rock is the best item on Cloyster, pairing nicely with Skill Link and Cloyster's multi-hit moves to provide a great 41% chance at to flinching the foe. Cloyster can fully take advantage of King's Rock to potentially muscle through defensive threats such as Rotom-W, Cresselia, Porygon2, (AC) and Mega Venusaur. Focus Sash allows Cloyster to always live a hit, allowing it to set up on special attackers such as Gengar and Thundurus, (AC) which would otherwise OHKO it with their STAB move of choice; (SC) however, (AC) this is normally outclassed by King's Rock's ability to flinch slower and bulkier threats. Lum Berry is an option to allow Cloyster to set up more effectively, as it wouldn't be fearing Breloom's Spore, Hippowdon's Yawn, (AC) or Thundurus' Thunder Wave. Skill Link is chosen for its ability to guarantee Icicle Spear and Rock Blast hit five times.

Usage Tips
========

Cloyster has a large enough presence at Team Preview that your opponent will think twice before sending out their physical attackers and common Ground-type leads such as Garchomp and Landorus-T, and even going up against these threats usually means a chance to boost. Therefore, (AC) you can use Team Preview to your advantage when picking your lead when and you have Cloyster in the team. With that said, Cloyster is best used as a lead, especially if it runs Focus Sash (I changed it slightly, because like this it appears that sash isn't the main item, whereas the original kinda implied that it is the main item on the set and only being at full hp or not mattered.). Don't let Cloyster it be carelessly switching into Outrage and Earthquake, as both of these have a high chance to 2HKO it. Cloyster is best used as a lead, especially with Focus Sash intact. By going for an early Shell Smash take out as many threats as possible or simply try to flinch them before going down, and then let your team clean up. It's better to leave Cloyster for later or bench it entirely if you're against teams that are have Steel- and Water-types heavy, particularly Mega Mawile, Aegislash, Suicune, Rotom-W, Slowbro, and Rain Offense, or against rain offense or Trick Room teams, it's better to leave Cloyster for later or bench it entirely. You can afford to be more aggressive when playing Cloyster if running Substitute or Lum Berry, as it allows you Cloyster to use Shell Smash much more safely against more threats moves such as Hippowdon's Yawn, Breloom's Spore, and Suicune's Scald.

Team Options
========

Volcarona is able to easily threaten out the Steel-types that Cloyster struggles with, such as Aegislash and Mega Mawile, whole while Cloyster eliminates the Ground-types such as Garchomp, Landorus-T, (AC) and Hippowdon, (AC) all of which threaten Volcarona. Dual Screen users setters such as Klefki and Raikou are particularly helpful to Cloyster, being able to set up screens which and makinge Cloyster extremely difficult to take down. Assault Vest Raikou can also help Cloyster sponge nasty Electric-type attacks such as Thunder Wave and Thunderbolt, (AC) and in return, (RC) Cloyster can set up on the aforementioned Ground-types that Raikou also doesn't like. Thunder Wave support from Thundurus is also appreciated for Cloyster due to its low Speed prior to Shell Smash. Consider Mega Charizard X when using Cloyster, as Mega Charizard X appreciates the removal of the aforementioned Ground- and Dragon-types, which Cloyster can set up on. Mega Gengar is great for trapping defensive walls which that Cloyster might have trouble breaking through, such as Slowbro and Cresselia. Bulky Ground-types such as Landorus-T and Hippowdon helps Cloyster deal with Steel-types such as Aegislash and Mega Mawile. Chansey can come in on any special attackers that may threaten Cloyster, (AC) such as Thundurus, Greninja and Mega Charizard Y, (AC) and provide Thunder Wave support if required. Talonflame threatens Fighting-types such as Breloom and Blaziken, while being able to burn Mamoswine with Will-O-Wisp. Specially defensive variants of Talonflame can also deal with Aegislash very well, something which that can easily wall Cloyster. In return, Cloyster can help Talonflame remove Ground-types that it struggles with, such as Garchomp and Landorus-T, while being able to set up Shell Smash against these threats, (AC) as they would most likely want to get up Stealth Rock as soon as possible, (AC) seeing both Cloyster and Talonflame in Team Preview. Heatran can take special attacks relatively well while being able to and beat Steel-types for Cloyster, (AC) while Cloyster can take Earthquakes (You keep using Earthquake over and over, wouldn't it be better to mention Ground-types moves in general? I don't really know if Earth Power or other moves are common, so this is entirely up to you) due thanks to his high natural physical bulk and remove Ground-types for Heatran. Serperior can easily set up on and remove bulky Water-types such as Suicune, Rotom-W, and Slowbro, (AC) while also being able to use (or, if you want to be more specific, "spread paralysis through Glare or..") Glare or set up dual screens to allow Cloyster to set up more easily. Cresselia has access to Lunar Dance and other support moves such as Thunder Wave and Toxic, while and it can alsoeasily walling bulky attackers such as Mega Kangaskhan and Conkeldurr. and has access to other support moves such as Thunder Wave and Toxic.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Substitute is a viable option in the last slot if you decide to forgo priority or a more reliable STAB move, as its it is especially useful to avoid various status moves from defensive threats such as Hippowdon's Yawn, Ferrothorn's Leech Seed, (AC) and defensive Gyarados's Thunder Wave. Running a Jolly nature and maximum Speed investment along with a Choice Scarf, (RC) allows Cloyster is able to outspeed Mega Gengar and the base 130 base Speed tier by one point, which Icicle Spear has a very high chance to OHKO with Stealth Rock on the field (is this referred to Mega Gengar? If so, move it to "to outspeed Mega Gengar, which Icicle Spear...". If not, Pokemon that have both base 130 Speed and are relevant in the metagame are not many, I assume, so you might as well mention them [and leave the sentence as it is]). Explosion is a nice option that will deal decent a amounts of damage even to Steel-types, especially after a Shell Smash boost, which you and it can be used to exit the field if you no longer need Cloyster, allowing a teammate (no space) to come in safely. Both Surf and Hydro Pump are Cloyster's other reliable secondary STAB options which that can be used over Razor Shell, hitting Steel-types such as Mega Mawile, Aegislash, (AC) and Klefki. With Surf trading reliability for power as opposed to Hydro Pump. Surf trades reliability for power, as opposed to Hydro Pump, and But a Naughty or Naive nature should be used if running Surf it so that Cloyster's Special Attack isn't hindered, (AC) while still maximizing the damage output of its Icicle Spear. Life Orb is a viable alternative which that gives a substantial boost to Cloyster's attacks, being able to OHKO Mamoswine with Surf at +2; (SC) however, (AC) this is situational, (AC) as other items such as Lum Berry is are more reliable.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Steel-types**: Bulky Steel-types such as Mega Mawile and Aegislash easily wall Cloyster and are able to retaliate with powerful STABs moves. While Mega Lucario isn't bulky, special variants are particularly threatening, being able to OHKO with Adaptability Vacuum Wave right off the bat.

**Water-types**: Bulky Water-types such as Rotom-W, Suicune, (AC) and Mega Slowbro have an easy time walling Cloyster due to their high Defense and the ability to spread nasty status. Pseudo-flinching (add hyphen) method via King's Rock is sometimes the only way to break through these threats.

**Mamoswine**: Mamoswine has Thick Fat, (AC) which reduces the damage from Icicle Spear, while taking neutral damage from Rock Blast and is being able to retaliate with a powerful Earthquake. Running Razor Shell and Surf helps immensely with this, especially true if Cloyster is at +2.

**Blaziken**: Blaziken threatens to (OH?)KO Cloyster with its Fighting-type STAB move of choice, either High Jump Kick or Superpower, while having Speed Boost means Cloyster will be unable to outspeed it after Shell Smash unless Cloyster is running a Jolly nature and maximum Speed EVs.

**Status**: Any status cripples Cloyster for the remainder of the match, although Lum Berry somewhat alleviates this problem. In particular, Rotom-W spreads burns, (RC) Thundurus threatens to (OH?)KO it with STAB Thunderbolt while also having access to Prankster to Thunder Wave. Breloom will more often than not outspeed Cloyster and can put it to sleep with Spore, which allows it to try and to KO with Bullet Seed.

**Bulky Attackers**: (Mega?) Kangaskhan packs enough power and bulk to overwhelm Cloyster prior to Shell Smash, while Cloyster needs to watch out for a potential Sucker Punch. Conkeldurr's Fighting-type STAB moves hits Cloyster super effectively, (AC) while packing priority means that Cloyster's will have to use Ice Shard, which will fails (I assume this is what you meant?) to KO it swiftly.

**Special Attackers**: Common special attackers seen in the metagame like such as Gengar, Thundurus, (AC) and Greninja with Grass Knot have the Speed to easily OHKO Cloyster with their powerful STABs attacks, unless Cloyster is holding a Focus Sash or is already boosted.

 

[bobochan]

^The next great GP member in the making.
Thank you Haund, everything has been implemented.
Sorry about all the repetitiveness lol.

 

[Lemonade]

add remove comments

Hide

[OVERVIEW]

Cloyster is one of the most predictable, terrifying, yet terrifying, predictable, setup sweepers in the metagame, without the need to take up a Mega slot. (Comment: predictable and doesn't take up a Mega slot vs terrifying and doesn't take up a Mega slot. Megas are usually the terrifying ones ) Its colossal Defense stat, which rivals that of Mega Slowbro, along with its good offensive typing means Cloyster can set up on many physical attackers commonly seen in Battle Spot such as Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Dragonite. Thanks to its ability, Skill Link, Icicle Spear becomes a reliable multi-hit STAB move that allows Cloyster to easily break through Focus Sash and Substitutes. Substitutes, while Furthermore, (Comment: sentence starts with "Thanks to Skill Link", but Ice Shard isn't related to it ) having access to a priority STAB attack in Ice Shard makes Cloyster rather difficult to revenge kill once it sets up and differentiates it from other common Shell Smash users such as Gorebyss and Barbaracle. However, Cloyster desperately needs a boost to become threatening, as both its Attack and Speed are below average prior to Shell Smash. Cloyster cannot afford to take any status such as a burn, which severely cripples it, and, given its abysmal HP and Special Defense stats, even resisted attacks like Scald can prove to be fatal.

[SET]
name: Smash n' Sweep
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Icicle Spear
move 3: Rock Blast
move 4: Ice Shard / Razor Shell
item: King's Rock / Focus Sash
ability: Skill Link
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 108 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 140 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Shell Smash is a must on Cloyster, boosting its offenses to dangerous levels and allowing it to sweep unprepared teams at a moment's notice. Icicle Spear is Cloyster's most powerful and reliable STAB attack, which is guaranteed to hit five times due to Skill Link, reaching Link and reaches 125 Base Power. (Comment: lots of commas, but this change better implies that reaching 125 BP is a result of hitting 5 times rather than some outside factor ) Power, easily This lets it easily break breaking through Focus Sash and Substitute Substitute, as well as OHKO while being able to OHKO Intimidate users such as Salamence and Landorus-T even at -1. Rock Blast is another move that benefits from Skill Link and offers Cloyster coverage against Fire- and Ice-types such as Charizard, Volcarona, Glalie, and opposing Cloysters, Cloyster, while also hitting bulky Water-types that resists Icicle Spear neutrally, such as Rotom-W, Suicune Suicune, and Slowbro. These attacks are non-contact moves as well, meaning that common Rocky Helmet users such as Cresselia and Hippowdon cannot damage hurt Cloyster with residual damage, outside of Toxic. Ice Shard is a STAB priority move that is very useful because Cloyster strugges to take a hit after Shell Smash's defense drops. due to Cloyster's drop in its defenses after Shell Smash (Comment: don't know if this is the actual reasoning, but the original version reads like "priority is useful because Shell Smash causes defense drops", which doesn't quite make sense ie explain why defense drops matter ) and It also helps against other priority users such as Thundurus, Talonflame, and Breloom. Alternatively, Razor Shell gives Cloyster a secondary STAB option that it can use to OHKO defensive Heatran and Mamoswine after a Shell Smash boost.

Set Details
========

An Adamant nature along with full investment in Attack gives allows Cloyster to have (Comment: more direct ) maximum damage output. Cloyster is relatively flexible with the amount of Speed investment it can run;140 run; 140 EVs in Speed allow it to outspeed all the relevant threats up to Adamant Choice Scarf Landorus-T after a Shell Smash boost. However, 100 Speed EVs can be run if only outspeeding the base 135 Speed tier is desirable, or even 84 EVs if you only wish to outspeed Mega Gengar. The rest of the EVs go into HP, Defense, and Special Defense to increase Cloyster's overall bulk. A much simpler spread of 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe is viable if after one Shell Smash boost you wish to outspeed every +1 base 100 Speed Pokemon; Speed 100 Pokemon at +1 after one Shell Smash boost; (Comment: eliminates any possible ambiguity of what's at +1 and what has the Shell Smash boost ) this includes common Dragon Dance users such as Mega Charizard X and Speed Boost Mega Blaziken. It also allows you to Speed tie with Adamant Breloom prior to Shell Smash. A Jolly nature with maximum Speed allows Cloyster after a Shell Smash to outspeed everything up to the base 110 Speed tier 110 at +1 +1, after Shell Smash, including Choice Scarf Latios, while tying with maximum Speed Breloom before the boost. King's Rock is the best item on Cloyster, pairing nicely with Skill Link and Cloyster's multi-hit moves to provide a great 41% chance to flinch the foe. Cloyster can fully take advantage of King's Rock to potentially muscle through defensive threats such as Rotom-W, Cresselia, Porygon2, and Mega Venusaur. Focus Sash allows means Cloyster to can (Comment: reduce repitition of "allow" ) always live a hit, allowing it to set up on special attackers such as Gengar and Thundurus, which would otherwise OHKO it with their STAB move of choice; however, this is normally outclassed by King's Rock's ability to flinch slower and bulkier threats. Lum Berry is an option to allow Cloyster to set up more effectively, as it wouldn't be fearing Breloom's Spore, Hippowdon's Yawn, or Thundurus' Thunder Wave. Skill Link is chosen for its ability to guarantee Icicle Spear and Rock Blast hit five times.

Usage Tips
========

Cloyster has a large enough presence at Team Preview that your opponent will think twice before sending out their physical attackers and common Ground-type leads such as Garchomp and Landorus-T, and even going up against these threats usually means a chance to boost. Therefore, you can use Team Preview to your advantage when picking your lead. lead and you have Cloyster in the team. (Comment: redundant ) With that said, Cloyster is best used as a lead, especially if it runs Focus Sash. Don't let it be carelessly careless by switching into Outrage and Earthquake, as both of these have a high chance to 2HKO it. By going Go for an early Shell Smash take out as many threats as possible or simply try to flinch them before going down, and then let your team clean up. It's better to leave Cloyster for later or bench it entirely if you're against teams that have Steel- and Water-types, particularly Mega Mawile, Aegislash, Suicune, Rotom-W, Rotom-W, or Slowbro, or against rain offense or Trick Room teams. You can afford to be more aggressive if running Substitute or Lum Berry, as it allows Cloyster to use Shell Smash much more safely against moves such as Hippowdon's Yawn, Breloom's Spore, and Suicune's Scald.

Team Options
========

Volcarona is able to easily threaten out the Steel-types that Cloyster struggles with, such as Aegislash and Mega Mawile, while Cloyster eliminates Ground-types such as Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Hippowdon, all of which threaten Volcarona. Dual Screen screen setters such as Klefki and Raikou are particularly helpful to Cloyster, being able to set up screens and making Cloyster extremely difficult to take down. Assault Vest Raikou can also help Cloyster sponge nasty Electric-type attacks such as Thunder Wave and Thunderbolt, and in return Cloyster can set up on the Ground-types that Raikou also doesn't like. Thunder Wave support from Thundurus is also appreciated for Cloyster due to its low Speed prior to Shell Smash. Consider Mega Charizard X when using Cloyster, as Mega Charizard X appreciates the removal of Ground- and Dragon-types, which Cloyster can set up on. Mega Gengar is great for trapping defensive walls that Cloyster might have trouble breaking through, such as Slowbro and Cresselia. Bulky Ground-types such as Landorus-T and Hippowdon help Cloyster deal with Steel-types such as Aegislash and Mega Mawile. Chansey can come in on any special attacker that may threaten Cloyster, such as Thundurus, Greninja and Mega Charizard Y, and provide Thunder Wave support if required. Talonflame threatens Fighting-types such as Breloom and Blaziken and is Blaziken, while being able to burn Mamoswine with Will-O-Wisp. Specially defensive variants of Talonflame can also deal with Aegislash very well, something that can easily wall Cloyster. In return, Cloyster can help Talonflame remove Ground-types that it struggles with, such as Garchomp and Landorus-T. It can Landorus-T, while being able to set up Shell Smash against these threats, as they would most likely want to get up Stealth Rock as soon as possible, seeing both Cloyster and Talonflame in Team Preview. Heatran can take special attacks relatively well and beat Steel-types for Cloyster, while Cloyster can take Earthquakes thanks to his high natural physical bulk and remove Ground-types for Heatran. Serperior can easily set up on and remove bulky Water-types such as Suicune, Rotom-W, and Slowbro, and is while also being able to spread paralysis through Glare or set up dual screens to allow Cloyster to set up boost more easily. Cresselia has access to Lunar Dance and other support moves such as Thunder Wave and Toxic, and it can also easily wall bulky attackers such as Mega Kangaskhan and Conkeldurr.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Substitute is a viable option in the last slot if you decide to forgo priority or a more reliable STAB move, as it is especially useful to avoid various status moves from defensive threats such as Hippowdon's Yawn, Ferrothorn's Leech Seed, and defensive Gyarados's Thunder Wave. Running a Jolly nature and maximum Speed investment along with a Choice Scarf allows Cloyster to outspeed Mega Gengar, which useful since Icicle Spear has a very high chance to OHKO with Stealth Rock on the field. Explosion is a nice option that will deal decent a amount of damage even to Steel-types, especially after a Shell Smash boost, and it can be used to exit the field if you no longer need Cloyster, allowing a teammate to come in safely. Both Surf and Hydro Pump are Cloyster's other reliable secondary STAB options that can be used over Razor Shell, hitting Steel-types such as Mega Mawile, Aegislash, and Klefki. Surf trades reliability for power, as opposed to Hydro Pump, and a Naughty or Naive nature should be used if running it so that Cloyster's Special Attack isn't hindered, while still maximizing the damage output of Icicle Spear. Life Orb is a viable alternative that gives a substantial boost to Cloyster's attacks, being able to OHKO Mamoswine with Surf at +2; however, this is situational, as other items such as Lum Berry are more reliable.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Steel-types**: Bulky Steel-types such as Mega Mawile and Aegislash easily wall Cloyster and are able to retaliate with powerful STAB moves. While Mega Lucario isn't bulky, special variants are particularly threatening, being able to OHKO with Adaptability Vacuum Wave right off the bat.

**Water-types**: Bulky Water-types such as Rotom-W, Suicune, and Mega Slowbro have an easy time walling beating Cloyster due to their high Defense and the ability to spread nasty status. (Comment: spreading status implies you want to beat / gain an advantage on the opponent in some way ) Pseudo-flinching method via King's Rock is sometimes the only way to break through these threats.

**Mamoswine**: Mamoswine has Thick Fat, which reduces the damage from Icicle Spear, and takes while taking neutral damage from Rock Blast Blast. It can then and being able to retaliate with a powerful Earthquake. Running Razor Shell and Surf helps immensely with this, especially if Cloyster is at +2.

**Blaziken**: Blaziken threatens to OHKO Cloyster with its Fighting-type STAB move of choice, either High Jump Kick or Superpower, while and having Speed Boost means Cloyster will be unable to outspeed it after Shell Smash unless Cloyster is running a Jolly nature and maximum Speed EVs.

**Status**: Any status cripples Cloyster for the remainder of the match, although Lum Berry somewhat alleviates this problem. In particular, Rotom-W spreads burns and Thundurus threatens to OHKO it Cloyster with STAB Thunderbolt while also having access to Prankster to Thunder Wave. Breloom will more often than not outspeed Cloyster and can put it to sleep with Spore, which allows it to try to KO with Bullet Seed.

**Bulky Attackers**: Mega Kangaskhan packs enough power and bulk to overwhelm Cloyster prior to Shell Smash, while and Cloyster needs to watch out for a potential Sucker Punch. Conkeldurr's Fighting-type STAB moves hit Cloyster super effectively, while and packing priority means that Cloyster will have to use Ice Shard, which fails to KO it swiftly. (Comment: note about while: either it shows contrast or "At the same time that Cloyster needs to watch out, Mega Kanga packs enough power to beat it" which doesn't really make sense )

**Special Attackers**: Common special attackers such as Gengar, Thundurus, and Greninja with Grass Knot have the Speed to easily OHKO Cloyster with their powerful STAB attacks, unless Cloyster is holding a Focus Sash or is already boosted.

 

[bobochan]

Thank you Mr. Lemonade. n_n and P Squared for that mini check.
Cloyster is now COMPLETE!

 

[apricity]

Feel free to ignore this. Some minor grammatical issues, mostly subjective fluency corrections. Rewrote your team options portion.

[OVERVIEW]

Cloyster is one of the most terrifying, yet predictable, setup sweepers in the metagame, without the need to take up a Mega slot. [Starting sentence has too many clauses. Recommend changing ', without the need...' to 'non-mega setup sweepers' in the prior clause] Its colossal Defense stat, which rivals that of Mega Slowbro, along with its [unnecessary pronoun, coincides with the Its at the beginning of the sentence] good offensive typing means Cloyster can ['allows Cloyster to' over 'means Cloyster can'. Minor correction for fluency.] set up on many physical attackers commonly seen in Battle Spot such as Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Dragonite. Thanks to its ability, Skill Link, Icicle Spear becomes a reliable multi-hit STAB move that allows Cloyster to easily break through Focus Sash and Substitutes. Furthermore, having access to a priority STAB attack in Ice Shard makes Cloyster rather difficult to revenge kill once it sets up and differentiates it from other common Shell Smash users such as Gorebyss and Barbaracle. However, Cloyster desperately needs a boost to become threatening, as both its Attack and Speed are below average prior to Shell Smash. Cloyster cannot afford to take any status such as a burn, which severely cripples it, and, given its abysmal HP and Special Defense stats, even resisted attacks like Scald can prove to be fatal.

[SET]
name: Smash n' Sweep
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Icicle Spear
move 3: Rock Blast
move 4: Ice Shard / Razor Shell
item: King's Rock / Focus Sash
ability: Skill Link
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 108 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 140 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Shell Smash is a must on Cloyster, boosting its offenses to dangerous levels and allowing it to sweep unprepared teams at a moment's notice. Icicle Spear is Cloyster's most powerful and reliable STAB attack, which is guaranteed to hit five times due to Skill Link, reaching 125 Base Power. This lets it easily break through Focus Sash and Substitute, as well as OHKO Intimidate users such as Salamence and Landorus-T even at -1. Rock Blast is another move that ['Rock Blast also benefits from' is sufficient. We know Rock Blast is a move.] benefits from Skill Link and offers Cloyster coverage against Fire- and Ice-types such as Charizard, Volcarona, Glalie, and opposing Cloyster, while also hitting bulky Water-types that resists ['resist'] Icicle Spear neutrally, such as Rotom-W, Suicune, and Slowbro. These attacks are non-contact moves as well, meaning that common Rocky Helmet users such as Cresselia and Hippowdon cannot hurt Cloyster with residual damage, outside of Toxic. [Technically, hippowdon can hurt Cloyster with residual damage through sandstorm. For simplicity, I recommend 'that Rocky Helmet doesn't affect Cloyster.'] Ice Shard is a STAB priority move that is very useful because Cloyster strugges to take a hit after Shell Smash's defense drops. It also helps against other priority users such as Thundurus, Talonflame, and Breloom. Alternatively, Razor Shell gives Cloyster a secondary STAB option that it can use to OHKO defensive Heatran and Mamoswine after a Shell Smash boost.

Set Details
========

An Adamant nature along with full investment in Attack gives Cloyster maximum damage output. Cloyster is relatively flexible with the amount of Speed investment it can run; 140 EVs allow it to outspeed all the relevant threats up to Adamant Choice Scarf Landorus-T after a Shell Smash boost. However, 100 Speed EVs can be run if only outspeeding the base 135 Speed tier is desirable, or even 84 EVs if you only wish to outspeed Mega Gengar. The rest of the EVs go into HP, Defense, and Special Defense to increase Cloyster's overall bulk. A much simpler spread of 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe is viable if after one Shell Smash boost you wish to outspeed [Should be 'viable if you wish to outspeed every +1 base 100 Speed Pokemon after one Shell Smash boost;', since the 'wishing' happens prior to the shell smash boost.] every +1 base 100 Speed Pokemon; this includes common Dragon Dance users such as Mega Charizard X and Speed Boost Mega Blaziken. It also allows you to Speed tie with Adamant Breloom prior to Shell Smash. A Jolly nature with maximum Speed allows Cloyster after a Shell Smash to outspeed everything up to the base 110 Speed at +1, including Choice Scarf Latios, while tying with maximum Speed Breloom before the boost. King's Rock is the best item on Cloyster, pairing nicely with Skill Link and Cloyster's multi-hit moves to provide a great 41% chance to flinch the foe. Cloyster can fully take advantage of King's Rock to potentially muscle through defensive threats such as Rotom-W, Cresselia, Porygon2, and Mega Venusaur. Focus Sash means Cloyster can always live a hit, [Can't live a hit, should be survive or live through. The former is simpler, of course] allowing it to set up on special attackers such as Gengar and Thundurus, which would otherwise OHKO it with their STAB move of choice; however, this is normally outclassed by King's Rock's ability to flinch slower and bulkier threats. Lum Berry is an option to allow Cloyster to set up more effectively, as it wouldn't be fearing [Ambiguous pronoun, awkward (wrong?) tense. Recommend 'Lum Berry allows Cloyster to set up without fear of Breloom's Spore...'] Breloom's Spore, Hippowdon's Yawn, or Thundurus' Thunder Wave. Skill Link is chosen for its ability [It's a little weird to see 'ability' used implicitly in two different ways here. I recommend 'Skill Link is chosen to guarantee...', works just as well] to guarantee Icicle Spear and Rock Blast hit five times.

Usage Tips
========

Cloyster has a large enough presence at Team Preview that your opponent will think twice before sending out their physical attackers and common Ground-type leads such as Garchomp and Landorus-T, and even going up against these threats usually means a chance to boost. Therefore, you can use Team Preview to your advantage when picking your lead. With that said, Cloyster is best used as a lead, especially if it runs Focus Sash. Don't be careless by switching into Outrage and Earthquake, as both of these have a high chance to 2HKO it. Go for an early Shell Smash take out as many threats as possible or simply try to flinch them before going down, and then let your team clean up. It's better to leave Cloyster for later or bench it entirely if you're against teams that have Steel- and Water-types, particularly Mega Mawile, Aegislash, Suicune, Rotom-W, or Slowbro, or against rain offense or Trick Room teams. You can afford to be more aggressive if running Substitute or Lum Berry, as it allows Cloyster to use Shell Smash much more safely against moves such as Hippowdon's Yawn, Breloom's Spore, and Suicune's Scald.

Team Options
========

Volcarona is able to easily threaten out ['out' seems extraneous?] the Steel-types that Cloyster struggles with, such as Aegislash and Mega Mawile, while Cloyster eliminates Ground-types such as Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Hippowdon, all of which threaten Volcarona. Dual screen setters such as Klefki and Raikou are particularly helpful to Cloyster, making Cloyster extremely difficult to take down. Assault Vest Raikou can also help Cloyster sponge nasty Electric-type attacks such as Thunder Wave and Thunderbolt, and in return Cloyster can set up on the Ground-types that Raikou also doesn't like. Thunder Wave support from Thundurus is also appreciated for Cloyster due to its low Speed prior to Shell Smash. Consider Mega Charizard X when using Cloyster, as Mega Charizard X appreciates the removal of Ground- and Dragon-types, which Cloyster can set up on. Mega Gengar is great for trapping defensive walls that Cloyster might have trouble breaking through, such as Slowbro and Cresselia. Bulky Ground-types such as Landorus-T and Hippowdon help Cloyster deal with Steel-types such as Aegislash and Mega Mawile. Chansey can come in on any special attacker that may threaten Cloyster, such as Thundurus, Greninja and Mega Charizard Y, and provide Thunder Wave support if required. Talonflame threatens Fighting-types such as Breloom and Blaziken and is able to burn Mamoswine with Will-O-Wisp. Specially defensive variants of Talonflame can also deal with Aegislash very well, something that can easily wall Cloyster. In return, Cloyster can help Talonflame remove Ground-types that it struggles with, such as Garchomp and Landorus-T. It can set up Shell Smash against these threats, as they would most likely want to get up Stealth Rock as soon as possible, seeing both Cloyster and Talonflame in Team Preview. Heatran can take special attacks relatively well and beat Steel-types for Cloyster, while Cloyster can take Earthquakes thanks to his high natural physical bulk and remove Ground-types for Heatran. Serperior can easily set up on and remove bulky Water-types such as Suicune, Rotom-W, and Slowbro, and is able to spread paralysis through Glare or set up dual screens to allow Cloyster to boost more easily. Cresselia has access to Lunar Dance and other support moves such as Thunder Wave and Toxic, and it can also easily wall bulky attackers such as Mega Kangaskhan and Conkeldurr.

[This paragraph is a particularly long laundry list, and I found it incredibly hard to read. I've reorganized (with very minimal loss of information, most cuts are just through concatenation):

Cloyster performs well alongside Fire-types such as Volcarona, Mega Charizard X, and Talonflame. Cloyster threatens Ground-types leads wishing to set up Stealth Rock, while its teammate can deal with Steel-type switchins. Assault Vest Raikou also benefits from Cloyster's threat to Ground-types, in turn sponging Electric-type moves. Cloyster struggles with Steel-types such as Aegislash and Mega Mawile. They can be checked by bulky Ground-types such as Landorus-T and Hippowdon. Like any setup sweeper, Cloyster can be supported by Thunder Wave and screens. Cloyster especially appreciates special-type walls such as Chansey, due to its own low special bulk. Certain walls that give Cloyster a hard time, especially bulky Water-types, can be dealt with by Mega Gengar or Serperior, the latter of which can also spread paralysis and set up screens. Lastly, Cresselia has access to status moves, screens, Lunar Dance, and sufficient bulk to wall bulky attackers such as Mega Kangaskhan and Conkeldurr.]


[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Substitute is a viable option in the last slot if you decide to forgo priority or a more reliable STAB move, as it is especially useful to avoid various status moves from defensive threats such as Hippowdon's Yawn, Ferrothorn's Leech Seed, and defensive Gyarados's Thunder Wave. Running a Jolly nature and maximum Speed investment along with a Choice Scarf allows Cloyster to outspeed Mega Gengar, useful since Icicle Spear has a very high chance to OHKO with Stealth Rock on the field. Explosion is a nice option that will deal decent a amount of damage even to Steel-types, especially after a Shell Smash boost, and it can be used to exit the field if you no longer need Cloyster, allowing a teammate to come in safely. Surf and Hydro Pump are Cloyster's other reliable secondary STAB options that can be used over Razor Shell, hitting Steel-types such as Mega Mawile, Aegislash, and Klefki. Surf trades reliability for power, as opposed to Hydro Pump, and a Naughty or Naive nature should be used if running it so that Cloyster's Special Attack isn't hindered, still maximizing the damage output of Icicle Spear. Life Orb is a viable alternative that gives a substantial boost to Cloyster's attacks, being able to OHKO Mamoswine with Surf at +2; however, this is situational, as other items such as Lum Berry are more reliable.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Steel-types**: Bulky Steel-types such as Mega Mawile and Aegislash easily wall Cloyster and are able to retaliate with powerful STAB moves. While Mega Lucario isn't bulky, special variants are particularly threatening, being able to OHKO with Adaptability Vacuum Wave right off the bat.

**Water-types**: Bulky Water-types such as Rotom-W, Suicune, and Mega Slowbro have an easy time beating Cloyster due to their high Defense and the ability to spread nasty status. Pseudo-flinching method via King's Rock is sometimes the only way to break through these threats.

**Mamoswine**: Mamoswine has Thick Fat, which reduces the damage from Icicle Spear, and takes neutral damage from Rock Blast. It can then retaliate with a powerful Earthquake. Running Razor Shell and Surf helps immensely with this, especially if Cloyster is at +2.

**Blaziken**: Blaziken threatens to OHKO Cloyster with its Fighting-type STAB move of choice, either High Jump Kick or Superpower, and having Speed Boost means Cloyster will be unable to outspeed it after Shell Smash unless Cloyster is running a Jolly nature and maximum Speed EVs.

**Status**: Any status cripples Cloyster for the remainder of the match, although Lum Berry somewhat alleviates this problem. In particular, Rotom-W spreads burns and Thundurus threatens to OHKO Cloyster with STAB Thunderbolt while also having access to Prankster to Thunder Wave. Breloom will more often than not outspeed Cloyster and can put it to sleep with Spore, which allows it to try to KO with Bullet Seed.

**Bulky Attackers**: Mega Kangaskhan packs enough power and bulk to overwhelm Cloyster prior to Shell Smash, and Cloyster needs to watch out for a potential Sucker Punch. Conkeldurr's Fighting-type STAB moves hit Cloyster super effectively, and packing priority means that Cloyster will have to use Ice Shard, which fails to KO it swiftly.

**Special Attackers**: Common special attackers such as Gengar, Thundurus, and Greninja with Grass Knot have the Speed to easily OHKO Cloyster with their powerful STAB attacks, unless Cloyster is holding a Focus Sash or is already boosted.

 

[cant say]

Can we have someone look over the above changes? I actually really don't mind them, especially the Team Options section, so if bobochan is ok with replacing those parts then I think we should.

Haund Lemonade.

 

[bobochan]

I'm okay with it, it's actually better for the analysis with that extra pair of eyes.
In the mean time I'll drop a note on P Squared's profile (lol) since I already asked her earlier today about a sentence :D

 

[Haund]

I don't agree on the first sentence change because it seems like being a non-Mega Evolution isn't something that important, so I would keep the original (the change it's grammatically correct, so if the original writer wants to change it there is no problem at all)
In Set Details "resists" should definitely be changed to "resist", this is an oversight most likely. Same for "live" -> "survive".
Other changes can be implemented but are not really necessary.
I don't particularly like the completely rewritten paragraph because I do think that there were some parts that were lost. For example, Talonflame is mentioned with the other Fire-types that can deal with generic Steel-types, whereas it is later said that it can also deal with Fighting-types (Blaziken and Breloom in particular, which also have ways to deal with Clostyer in Speed Boost and priority). Also Heatran is not mentioned at all, not even among those Fire-types. I feel that in general the original version is a bit more detailed, and I don't personally think it's that hard to read. I'm also not sure how important these details are because I'm no Battle Spot expert, so, again, if bobochan wants to implement these changes there shouldn't be any problem (maybe change "special-type" walls to just "special walls" huh, and referring to Aegislash "something that etc" is really ugly lol, maybeu se "a Pokemon that can etc")
I did the first check though so it would be cool if someone else could take a look at this

 

[Empress]

Add Remove Comment

Here ya go

[OVERVIEW]

Cloyster is one of the most terrifying, yet predictable, setup sweepers in the metagame, without the need to take up a Mega slot. (What Haund said. It's a subjective change; bobochan has the final say.) Its colossal Defense stat, which rivals that of Mega Slowbro, along with its ("its" is necessary here) good offensive typing means Cloyster can (again, subjective change; not really necessary here) set up on many physical attackers commonly seen in Battle Spot such as Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Dragonite. Thanks to its ability, Skill Link, Icicle Spear becomes a reliable multi-hit STAB move that allows Cloyster to easily break through Focus Sash and Substitutes. Furthermore, having access to a priority STAB attack in Ice Shard makes Cloyster rather difficult to revenge kill once it sets up and differentiates it from other common Shell Smash users such as Gorebyss and Barbaracle. However, Cloyster desperately needs a boost to become threatening, as both its Attack and Speed are below average prior to Shell Smash. Cloyster cannot afford to take any status such as a burn, which severely cripples it, and, given its abysmal HP and Special Defense stats, even resisted attacks like Scald can prove to be fatal.

[SET]
name: Smash n' Sweep
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Icicle Spear
move 3: Rock Blast
move 4: Ice Shard / Razor Shell
item: King's Rock / Focus Sash
ability: Skill Link
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 108 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 140 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Shell Smash is a must on Cloyster, boosting its offenses to dangerous levels and allowing it to sweep unprepared teams at a moment's notice. Icicle Spear is Cloyster's most powerful and reliable STAB attack, which is guaranteed to hit five times due to Skill Link, reaching 125 Base Power. This lets it easily break through Focus Sash and Substitute, as well as OHKO Intimidate users such as Salamence and Landorus-T even at -1. Rock Blast is another move that (Cutting the fluff here is nice but not required imo.) benefits from Skill Link and offers Cloyster coverage against Fire- and Ice-types such as Charizard, Volcarona, Glalie, and opposing Cloyster, while also hitting bulky Water-types that resists Icicle Spear neutrally, such as Rotom-W, Suicune, and Slowbro. These attacks are non-contact moves as well, meaning that common Rocky Helmet users such as Cresselia and Hippowdon cannot hurt Cloyster with residual damage, (RC) outside of Toxic and, in Hippowdon's case, Sand Stream. Ice Shard is a STAB priority move that is very useful because Cloyster struggles to take a hit after Shell Smash's defense drops. It also helps against other priority users such as Thundurus, Talonflame, and Breloom. Alternatively, Razor Shell gives Cloyster a secondary STAB option that it can use to OHKO defensive Heatran and Mamoswine after a Shell Smash boost.

Set Details
========

An Adamant nature along with full investment in Attack gives Cloyster maximum damage output. Cloyster is relatively flexible with the amount of Speed investment it can run; 140 EVs allow it to outspeed all the relevant threats up to Adamant Choice Scarf Landorus-T after a Shell Smash boost. However, 100 Speed EVs can be run if only outspeeding the base 135 Speed tier is desirable, or even 84 EVs if you only wish need it to outspeed Mega Gengar. The rest of the EVs go into HP, Defense, and Special Defense to increase Cloyster's overall bulk. A much simpler spread of 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe is viable if after one Shell Smash boost you wish want Cloyster to outspeed every +1 base 100 Speed Pokemon after one Shell Smash boost; this includes common Dragon Dance users such as Mega Charizard X and Speed Boost Mega Blaziken. It also allows you Cloyster to Speed tie with Adamant Breloom prior to Shell Smash. (All this applies to Cloyster. It does not apply to you, the player.) A Jolly nature with maximum Speed allows Cloyster after a Shell Smash to outspeed everything up to the base 110 Speed tier at +1, including Choice Scarf Latios, while Speed tying with maximum Speed Breloom before the boost. King's Rock is the best item on Cloyster, pairing nicely with Skill Link and Cloyster's multi-hit moves to provide a great 41% chance to make the foe flinch the foe. Cloyster can fully take advantage of King's Rock to potentially muscle through defensive threats such as Rotom-W, Cresselia, Porygon2, and Mega Venusaur. Focus Sash means Cloyster can always live survive a hit, allowing it to set up on special attackers such as Gengar and Thundurus, which would otherwise OHKO it with their STAB move of choice; however, this is normally outclassed by King's Rock's ability to flinch immobilize slower and bulkier threats. Lum Berry is an option to allow Cloyster to set up more effectively, as it (Nah I think it's relatively clear what pronoun "it" refers to here. If bobochan fears it's not clear, though, he can change it.) wouldn't be fearing Breloom's Spore, Hippowdon's Yawn, or Thundurus's Thunder Wave. Skill Link is chosen for its ability (yeah I agree with this one, as what you have now is essentially saying "chosen as an ability for its ability to..." which is obviously redundant.) to guarantee Icicle Spear and Rock Blast hit five times.

Usage Tips
========

Cloyster has a large enough presence at Team Preview that your opponent will think twice before sending out their physical attackers and common Ground-type leads such as Garchomp and Landorus-T, and even going up against these threats usually means a chance to boost. Therefore, you can use Team Preview to your advantage when picking your lead. With that said, Cloyster is best used as a lead, especially if it runs Focus Sash. Don't be careless by switching into Outrage and Earthquake, as both of these moves have a high chance to 2HKO it. Go for an early Shell Smash take out as many threats as possible or simply try to make them flinch them before going down, and then let your team clean up. It's better to leave Cloyster for later or bench it entirely if you're against teams that have Steel- and Water-types, particularly Mega Mawile, Aegislash, Suicune, Rotom-W, or and Slowbro, or against rain offense or Trick Room teams. You can afford to be more aggressive if running Substitute or Lum Berry, as it allows Cloyster to use Shell Smash much more safely against moves such as Hippowdon's Yawn, Breloom's Spore, and Suicune's Scald.

Team Options
========

Volcarona is able to easily threaten out ("threaten out" is fine imo) the Steel-types that Cloyster struggles with, such as Aegislash and Mega Mawile, while Cloyster eliminates Ground-types such as Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Hippowdon, all of which threaten Volcarona. Dual screen setters such as Klefki and Raikou are particularly helpful to Cloyster, making Cloyster it extremely difficult to take down. Assault Vest Raikou can also help Cloyster by sponging sponge nasty Electric-type attacks such as Thunder Wave and Thunderbolt, and in return Cloyster can set up on the Ground-types that Raikou also doesn't like. Thunder Wave support from Thundurus is also appreciated for Cloyster due to its low Speed prior to Shell Smash. Consider Mega Charizard X when using Cloyster, as Mega Charizard X appreciates the removal of Ground- and Dragon-types, which Cloyster can set up on. Mega Gengar is great for trapping defensive walls that Cloyster might have trouble breaking through, such as Slowbro and Cresselia. Bulky Ground-types such as Landorus-T and Hippowdon help Cloyster deal with Steel-types such as Aegislash and Mega Mawile. Chansey can come in on any special attacker that may threaten Cloyster, such as Thundurus, Greninja, or and Mega Charizard Y, and provide Thunder Wave support if required. Talonflame threatens Fighting-types such as Breloom and Blaziken and is able to burn Mamoswine with Will-O-Wisp. Specially defensive variants of Talonflame can also deal with Aegislash, which very well, something that can easily wall Cloyster, very well. In return, Cloyster can help Talonflame remove Ground-types that it struggles with, such as Garchomp and Landorus-T. It can set up Shell Smash against these threats, as they would most likely want to get up Stealth Rock as soon as possible, (RC) upon seeing both Cloyster and Talonflame in Team Preview. Heatran can take special attacks relatively well and beat Steel-types for Cloyster, while Cloyster can take Earthquakes thanks to his high natural physical bulk and remove Ground-types for Heatran. Serperior can easily set up on and remove bulky Water-types such as Suicune, Rotom-W, and Slowbro, (RC) and is able to spread paralysis through Glare or set up dual screens to allow Cloyster to boost more easily. Cresselia has access to Lunar Dance and other support moves such as Thunder Wave and Toxic, and it can also easily wall bulky attackers such as Mega Kangaskhan and Conkeldurr. (Overall, Haund's right. You don't wanna take out stuff that might actually be important.)

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Substitute is a viable option in the last slot if you decide to forgo priority or a more reliable STAB move, as it is especially useful to avoid various status moves from defensive threats such as Hippowdon's Yawn, Ferrothorn's Leech Seed, and defensive Gyarados's Thunder Wave. Running a Jolly nature and maximum Speed investment along with a Choice Scarf allows Cloyster to outspeed Mega Gengar, which is useful since because (I'd be fine without a transition word if this was Flying Press, but it's not. Also changed to "because," as "since" needs a comma preceding it in this way, and that'd be too clunky.) Icicle Spear has a very high chance to OHKO it with Stealth Rock on the field. Explosion is a nice option that will deal decent a amount of damage even to Steel-types, especially after a Shell Smash boost, and it can be used to exit the field if you no longer need Cloyster, allowing a teammate to come in safely. Surf and Hydro Pump are Cloyster's other (redundant with "secondary." It's up to you as to which to remove, though.) reliable (Are you really calling Hydro Pump reliable?) secondary STAB options that can be used over Razor Shell, hitting Steel-types such as Mega Mawile, Aegislash, and Klefki. Surf trades power for reliability for power, as opposed to Hydro Pump, which does the opposite, and a Naughty or Naive nature should be used if running it either of these moves so that Cloyster's Special Attack isn't hindered, while still maximizing the damage output of Icicle Spear. Life Orb is a viable alternative that gives a substantial boost to Cloyster's attacks, being able allowing it (Life Orb itself doesn't do the OHKOing.) to OHKO Mamoswine with Surf at +2; however, this is situational, as other items such as Lum Berry are more reliable.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Steel-types**: Bulky Steel-types such as Mega Mawile and Aegislash easily wall Cloyster and are able to retaliate with powerful STAB moves. While Mega Lucario isn't bulky, special variants are particularly threatening, being able to OHKO Cloyster with Adaptability Vacuum Wave right off the bat.

**Water-types**: Bulky Water-types such as Rotom-W, Suicune, and Mega Slowbro have an easy time beating Cloyster due to their high Defense and the ability to spread nasty status. Pseudo-flinching method Making these threats flinch via King's Rock is sometimes the only way to break through these threats them.

**Mamoswine**: Mamoswine has Thick Fat, which reduces the damage from Icicle Spear, and takes neutral damage from Rock Blast. It can then retaliate with a powerful Earthquake. Running Razor Shell and or (It doesn't sound like Cloyster ever runs them together. If it does, though, then keep it as is.) Surf helps immensely with this, especially if Cloyster is at +2.

**Blaziken**: Blaziken threatens to OHKO Cloyster with its Fighting-type STAB move of choice, either High Jump Kick or Superpower, and having Speed Boost means Cloyster will be unable to outspeed it after Shell Smash unless Cloyster is running a Jolly nature and maximum Speed EVs.

**Status**: Any status cripples Cloyster for the remainder of the match, although Lum Berry somewhat alleviates this problem. In particular, Rotom-W spreads burns and Thundurus threatens to OHKO Cloyster with STAB Thunderbolt while also having access to Prankster to Thunder Wave. Breloom will more often than not outspeed Cloyster and can put it to sleep with Spore, which allows it to try to KO with Bullet Seed.

**Bulky Attackers**: Mega Kangaskhan packs enough power and bulk to overwhelm Cloyster prior to Shell Smash, and Cloyster needs to watch out for a potential Sucker Punch. Conkeldurr's Fighting-type STAB moves hit Cloyster super effectively, and packing priority means that Cloyster will have to use Ice Shard, which fails to KO it swiftly.

**Special Attackers**: Common special attackers such as Gengar, Thundurus, and Greninja with Grass Knot have the Speed to easily OHKO Cloyster with their powerful STAB attacks, unless Cloyster is holding a Focus Sash or is already boosted.

apricity most of those changes were rather subjective. If you're gonna make subjective changes, be sure to mark them as such, as not all of them were necessary. Also found some other stuff along the way.
GP 3/3

 

[bobochan]

Best late GP sweeper, Snobalt senpai n_n
DONE (again).