[OVERVIEW]
Cloyster's viability is solely carried by Shell Smash, which lets it outspeed the entire unboosted metagame and double its offensive stats in a single turn. To complement this, it has strong STAB options that cover each other well and a Defense stat that lets it set up in front of many physical attackers, notably tanking any hit from Melmetal after Stealth Rock, as well as from Dragonite and Mega Aerodactyl. It also has Self-Destruct, which lets it sacrifice itself to OHKO or heavily damage Pokemon that could otherwise take it on like Alolan Muk and Mega Gyarados. Unfortunately, Cloyster's poor offensive movepool utilizes its lower Special Attack stat and leaves it unable to meaningfully damage Water-type Pokemon without using Self-Destruct, which can make handling it quite easy. Its abysmal special bulk limits its setup opportunities, and it faces competition from Omastar, which is vulnerable to revenge killing from the metagame's fastest Pokemon due to its poor Speed but is much more powerful and can even support its team with Stealth Rock.
[SET]
name: Shell Smash
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Self-Destruct
item: No Item
nature: Naive
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Information
========
Shell Smash lets Cloyster outspeed fast Pokemon such as Mega Aerodactyl and Mega Alakazam and boost its damage output to KO Pokemon like Nidoqueen and Zapdos. Hydro Pump somewhat mitigates Cloyster's low Special Attack, while Surf is a somewhat weaker option that lets Cloyster accurately finish off Pokemon that resist Ice Beam where Hydro Pump is not necessary; it also deals reliable damage to Pokemon when needed and allows Cloyster to be a more consistent wincon. Ice Beam offers a 100% accurate STAB attack that prevents Grass-types and Dragonite from walling Cloyster. Self-Destruct takes advantage of the Attack boost from Shell Smash to blow past special walls like Alolan Muk, Snorlax, and Chansey as well as Water-types like Mega Gyarados, Starmie, and Poliwrath.
Usage Tips
========
Do not use Cloyster early on, as your opponent will be able to use their best or most convenient check and finish Cloyster off with minimal harm to their team. Cloyster performs much better later on, when its answers are limited and it can potentially use Self-Destruct on your opponent's counterplay and open the door for another Pokemon to win. When using Self-Destruct, be mindful of how much your opponent would be rewarded for predicting Self-Destruct and saving their check, as it might be worthwhile to predict this and simply use another attack. A key to using Cloyster is deciding whether it will be more effective to have Cloyster weaken walls such as Alolan Muk and Melmetal to support its fast, offensive teammates or to wallbreak with said teammates to enable a sweep with Cloyster. This is largely dependent on your matchup— if your opponent has multiple healthy checks to Cloyster, attempting to sweep with it is unadvised.
Team Options
========
Cloyster is a spectacular partner for Mega Alakazam, as all of Alakazam's defensive checks are commonly used to check a boosted Cloyster. Cloyster can put these Pokemon into KO range of Mega Alakazam's coverage with Hydro Pump, or outright remove them with Self-Destruct in the case of Snorlax and Alolan Muk. Cloyster can also capitalize on any wallbreaking that Mega Alakazam does to sweep later on. Starmie works well with Cloyster in a similar way, but it comes with more similar coverage and utility without taking a Mega slot. Pokemon that deal with the Water-types that stump Cloyster can be useful, and Zapdos matches up well against Mega Gyarados and Poliwrath. Nasty Plot Mew is also a great special attacker that can take advantage of Cloyster's ability to force damage on many of its best answers while also setting up freely on Poliwrath. Any Pokemon that appreciate the chunks of health Cloyster often rips out of Melmetal are options, most notably Mega Beedrill, Mega Aerodactyl, and Mega Gyarados. Mega Gyarados also pressures Water-types like Poliwrath.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Cloyster's limited movepool does not offer it many options. Running Hydro Pump and Surf on the same set can offer both power and reliability, but dropping Self-Destruct is not recommended. Ice Shard is also an option, capable of picking off weakened Pokemon that outspeed Cloyster like Mega Beedrill, boosted Dragonite, and Mega Aerodactyl, but its low Base Power makes it a poor option for sweeping compared to Cloyster's standard attacking moves.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Water-types**: Starmie, Poliwrath, Mega Gyarados, and the rare Mega Blastoise can deal with Cloyster well. Ice Beam and Hydro Pump will do very little to them, but boosted Self-Destruct will OHKO Starmie and do massive damage to the others, which cannot recover that lost health.
**Specially Bulky Pokemon**: Alolan Muk, Mew, Melmetal, Chansey and Snorlax can stomach a Hydro Pump, though Mew and Melmetal must be healthy and don't appreciate losing that much health. Alolan Muk, Chansey, and Snorlax are bulky enough to take more than one boosted Hydro Pump but must be careful of Self-Destruct.
**Priority** When priority move users like Alolan Dugtrio's Sucker Punch are present, Cloyster should avoid being put into their KO range, as they will end Cloyster's sweep swiftly without it getting the chance to do damage. Also beware of the rare Pikachu-S, as it can take Cloyster out with some prior damage using its STAB priority.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Collesque, 520031]]
- Quality checked by: [[Eve, 375272], [Lilburr, 481709]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [CyroGyro, 331519]]
Cloyster's viability is solely carried by Shell Smash, which lets it outspeed the entire unboosted metagame and double its offensive stats in a single turn. To complement this, it has strong STAB options that cover each other well and a Defense stat that lets it set up in front of many physical attackers, notably tanking any hit from Melmetal after Stealth Rock, as well as from Dragonite and Mega Aerodactyl. It also has Self-Destruct, which lets it sacrifice itself to OHKO or heavily damage Pokemon that could otherwise take it on like Alolan Muk and Mega Gyarados. Unfortunately, Cloyster's poor offensive movepool utilizes its lower Special Attack stat and leaves it unable to meaningfully damage Water-type Pokemon without using Self-Destruct, which can make handling it quite easy. Its abysmal special bulk limits its setup opportunities, and it faces competition from Omastar, which is vulnerable to revenge killing from the metagame's fastest Pokemon due to its poor Speed but is much more powerful and can even support its team with Stealth Rock.
[SET]
name: Shell Smash
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Self-Destruct
item: No Item
nature: Naive
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Information
========
Shell Smash lets Cloyster outspeed fast Pokemon such as Mega Aerodactyl and Mega Alakazam and boost its damage output to KO Pokemon like Nidoqueen and Zapdos. Hydro Pump somewhat mitigates Cloyster's low Special Attack, while Surf is a somewhat weaker option that lets Cloyster accurately finish off Pokemon that resist Ice Beam where Hydro Pump is not necessary; it also deals reliable damage to Pokemon when needed and allows Cloyster to be a more consistent wincon. Ice Beam offers a 100% accurate STAB attack that prevents Grass-types and Dragonite from walling Cloyster. Self-Destruct takes advantage of the Attack boost from Shell Smash to blow past special walls like Alolan Muk, Snorlax, and Chansey as well as Water-types like Mega Gyarados, Starmie, and Poliwrath.
Usage Tips
========
Do not use Cloyster early on, as your opponent will be able to use their best or most convenient check and finish Cloyster off with minimal harm to their team. Cloyster performs much better later on, when its answers are limited and it can potentially use Self-Destruct on your opponent's counterplay and open the door for another Pokemon to win. When using Self-Destruct, be mindful of how much your opponent would be rewarded for predicting Self-Destruct and saving their check, as it might be worthwhile to predict this and simply use another attack. A key to using Cloyster is deciding whether it will be more effective to have Cloyster weaken walls such as Alolan Muk and Melmetal to support its fast, offensive teammates or to wallbreak with said teammates to enable a sweep with Cloyster. This is largely dependent on your matchup— if your opponent has multiple healthy checks to Cloyster, attempting to sweep with it is unadvised.
Team Options
========
Cloyster is a spectacular partner for Mega Alakazam, as all of Alakazam's defensive checks are commonly used to check a boosted Cloyster. Cloyster can put these Pokemon into KO range of Mega Alakazam's coverage with Hydro Pump, or outright remove them with Self-Destruct in the case of Snorlax and Alolan Muk. Cloyster can also capitalize on any wallbreaking that Mega Alakazam does to sweep later on. Starmie works well with Cloyster in a similar way, but it comes with more similar coverage and utility without taking a Mega slot. Pokemon that deal with the Water-types that stump Cloyster can be useful, and Zapdos matches up well against Mega Gyarados and Poliwrath. Nasty Plot Mew is also a great special attacker that can take advantage of Cloyster's ability to force damage on many of its best answers while also setting up freely on Poliwrath. Any Pokemon that appreciate the chunks of health Cloyster often rips out of Melmetal are options, most notably Mega Beedrill, Mega Aerodactyl, and Mega Gyarados. Mega Gyarados also pressures Water-types like Poliwrath.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Cloyster's limited movepool does not offer it many options. Running Hydro Pump and Surf on the same set can offer both power and reliability, but dropping Self-Destruct is not recommended. Ice Shard is also an option, capable of picking off weakened Pokemon that outspeed Cloyster like Mega Beedrill, boosted Dragonite, and Mega Aerodactyl, but its low Base Power makes it a poor option for sweeping compared to Cloyster's standard attacking moves.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Water-types**: Starmie, Poliwrath, Mega Gyarados, and the rare Mega Blastoise can deal with Cloyster well. Ice Beam and Hydro Pump will do very little to them, but boosted Self-Destruct will OHKO Starmie and do massive damage to the others, which cannot recover that lost health.
**Specially Bulky Pokemon**: Alolan Muk, Mew, Melmetal, Chansey and Snorlax can stomach a Hydro Pump, though Mew and Melmetal must be healthy and don't appreciate losing that much health. Alolan Muk, Chansey, and Snorlax are bulky enough to take more than one boosted Hydro Pump but must be careful of Self-Destruct.
**Priority** When priority move users like Alolan Dugtrio's Sucker Punch are present, Cloyster should avoid being put into their KO range, as they will end Cloyster's sweep swiftly without it getting the chance to do damage. Also beware of the rare Pikachu-S, as it can take Cloyster out with some prior damage using its STAB priority.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Collesque, 520031]]
- Quality checked by: [[Eve, 375272], [Lilburr, 481709]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [CyroGyro, 331519]]
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